the_spyder

Reply to Alignment system change for the better [suggestion] in Galactic Civilizations III GalCiv3 Forums

For my money, wouldn't it be easier on the whole to apply a negative value to the opposing ideology every time you get a positive point value towards a chosen direction? That way you end up with a slider scale that moves with your decision making and rewards you for focusing while not preventing those who merely want to do the most expedient path. You would merely have to limit or close off certain technological advancements if you get far enough away from the ideology (and ev

Reply to Galactic Civilizations III Trailer is up! in GalCiv III News GalCiv3 Forums

Huge fan of the series. I've lost so many hours to this game series that it isn't funny. Loads of fun, but not funny (or punny). I loved the trailer. It looked awesome. But not a lot in the way of "In game" visuals. Any idea on how this will play? Specifically in comparison to the previous games?

Reply to Ringer: Sarah Michelle Gellar finally got out of that Scooby Contract! in Movies & TV & Books Elemental Forums

I have been enjoying it as well. Though there was one episode that they seemed to think that loud obnoxious music was the answer.... to everything. thankfully it was only one episode. I'm curious what others think about the current plot to date. Who do you all think Siobhan is working with in NY? Do you all really believe that Gemma is dead? And if so, who killed her? If not, where did she go and why?

Reply to When is the beta? in War of Magic Elemental Forums

WoM was not the first,nor will it be the last game rushed to market far before it was ready. What made WoM so note worthy was that Stardock doesn't usually make that sort of boo boo. Here is hoping that FE is handled in a manner more consistent with StarDock's track record. And +1 on the [i]"I think having internal testing is more important than rushing a release, like WoM was."[/i]

Reply to Stardock in War of Magic Elemental Forums

[quote who="Emperor_Nero" reply="3" id="2971284"] No code is ever useless, that is the beauty of programming. You can update code and make something better with it. Look at the Unreal engine, they began with a simple engine and look where it is now. Its not like they started over every time. [/quote] It might be more accurate to say that the code would not translate into anything useful by today's gaming standards. Or to put it another way, overha

Reply to So how will we get our FREE copy? in War of Magic Elemental Forums

As stated above you may want to contact them directly shortly after launch and see what they can do. They might be able send you an executable burned on to a generic DVD (possibly at cost). Or they may ask you for postage costs. But I think a box and manuel is out of the question.

Reply to So how will we get our FREE copy? in War of Magic Elemental Forums

Not to mention that boxes cost to design, manufacture and deliver. Some time ago, there was a huge argument where one consumer made a stink with Stardock that they were "Promised" a box set on an expansion that was download only. It went back and forth and the user provided a link to a picture and stated that he/she had a place on his/her shelf all ready for the box. I think it was Frogboy who came back at the consumer, very nicely I might add, stating that the box never phy

Reply to Elemental RPG Request in Life, the Universe and Everything Elemental Forums

There is definitely interest in more Tactical RPG type games, although most game developers don't seem to believe that is a viable market anymore. Certainly there is a heavy focus on making the game "Console Compatible" and Real time focused. Unfortunately, as has been stated, that really curbes the strategic components. Admittedly BG series had heavy real time strategic combat, but almost everything since then has been on a slow slide towards dumbed down console

Reply to Elemental RPG Request in Life, the Universe and Everything Elemental Forums

@Edwin99, there is a PW server in NWN2 that has most of what you are looking for. They have done a lot of custom stuff including climbing and swimming, weight/encumberance, types of armor having negative impact on actions taken like negatives to Hiding ability and even limiting actions based on what is in your hands. it is called Sea of Dragons. You should check it out. Regarding the main thread, I really like the idea of an RPG type game with a more tactical tu

Reply to Spore ships vs Terror Stars in Galactic Civilizations II Stardock Forums

[quote who="qrtxian" reply="2" id="2947702"]To be honest, I've always found the inefficiency of Terror Stars rather amusing. The fact that your system-killing weapon of death takes enormous efforts to build and can be destroyed by some lone punk of a fighter seems so right, somehow. I do wish the AI would use them, though - I've never seen it happen. [/quote] Yes, but remember, it took stolen battle plans and an entire fleet of distractions just to give Red 5 t

Reply to Spore ships vs Terror Stars in Galactic Civilizations II Stardock Forums

I am totally cool that they aren't early game tricks. The fact that they only come after a HUGE research tree feels right. But the power is way off (IMHO). And maybe the problem is with how powerful spore ships are. As I said, once I have spore ships, empires tumble. I routinely lead off an attack by taking 15-30 planets in one turn, crippling or decimating an empire. And then the pain keeps on rolling. Sure I have to follow up with troop transpor

Spore ships vs Terror Stars in Galactic Civilizations II Stardock Forums

I wanted to get people's opinion on the vast disparity between the power of Spore ships over Terror Stars. I routinely play Korath and it is usually a race for me to get Spore ships early on. Once I do (and Psyonic Beams) i pretty much count the game over. In a recent game, I am well on to dominating the lesser races and had resource points to spare so I researched Terror Stars. I have done this before and it is a novel thing to wipe out an entire star system (part

Reply to Scout Ship AI in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Great. Good to know I am not the only one who sees this problem. Maybe with GS3.

Scout Ship AI in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I am curious if anyone else has this issue and if there is a suggested solution. Early on in the game, I grind out half a dozen or more scout ships to explore my local area. Mainly, i send them to the four corners of the map and then let them "Auto Explore". However, invariably, 20 turns or so along, I find clumps of them all searching the same area of space. Is there a way to make the scout ships actually search different areas without micro-managing them?

Reply to How to recover install after Win7 upgrade in Bug Reports Stardock Forums

Thanks for the response. I was able to open up Impulse and download the patches that I was behind on and that updated the registry.

How to recover install after Win7 upgrade in Bug Reports Stardock Forums

So I have been playing Gal Civ2 for a while (with both expansions). Recently I upgraded my system to Win7 but neglected to do the easy transfer program that MS offers. So the long and the short of it is I have the game and expansions installed, but Windows doesn't recognize this fact. Is there any way to force the recognition or get Windows to see the install? I could re-install, but I only have the disk for the Base game. the other two were downloads.

Reply to 1.09n[b].109: File download error in War of Magic Stardock Forums

[quote who="scifi1950" reply="44" id="2831680"] When you open Impulse, highlight Elemental. In the bottom right corner of screen there are 3 buttons. Click on "More" button. Select "cancel update". Run button should now reappear. BTW - it looks like a DEV pulled the update. It no longer appears when you load Impulse.[/quote] So tried as you indicated above (more or less. Had to go a different route to get same effect). An

Reply to 1.09n[b].109: File download error in War of Magic Stardock Forums

Recently downloaded "Update" (looks like 1.09n). now when i go to start the game, it gives me a message saying that I need to be connected to Internet and have Impulse up and running and my firewall is not blocking the game. Then C(lose)TD. So I am Connected, impulse is opened and signed in and Firewall is all AOK with the game. Impulse says there is "Another" update? So I tried to download that. I get (as others have) file size is smaller than expected.&nb

Reply to 1.08 ETA? in War of Magic Stardock Forums

[quote who="Sethai" reply="126" id="2773172"]i am also unconcerned about campaigns. in my ideal world the two become one: i never played the gc2 campaigns, but from what i know of the story i can totally have imagined them being incorporated in a sandbox as an improved version of the dreadlords event. also, if brad is thinking about it, i'd also wish NO to unique tech trees. it bothers me a little already that there's such an arbitrary line drawn between kingdoms and empires. to my

Reply to front page of Gamespot in War of Magic Stardock Forums

So I gotta say, I read the PC gamer review which wasn't terrible. But definitely indicated that work needed to be done. Then the Gamestop review was just horrible. I haven't purchased yet. Still waiting on fixes in the hopes that it will make the game closer to what it should be. I am a big fan of GalCiv 2 and so I KNOW that Elemental can be worth the time. Just wish that the game wasn't (to all appearances) pushed out the door before it was ready.

Reply to Where are these engines? in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

If I might, I think that what the OP is looking for are techs like Fleet Warp Bubbles. Things that, above and beyond drives, increase the speed of ships. Not every race gets them, but like the Humans do.

Reply to Should I play all campaigns in Twilight of the Arnor? in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

As Kryo indicated, you may find the most enjoyment from starting out merely with TA. Least wise, you don't miss much if you do that. Also keep in mind that a lot of people (like me) mostly just play the sand box mode. I personally consider this a perfectly valid way of enjoying the game and has provided me hours and hours of enjoyment. This certainly doesn't detract from the really good campaign stuff that the good folks at Stardock put together, so if

Reply to delete custom race in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

Yeah, I was hoping that you could delete individual races. I have a couple that I don't want gone and one or two that I WOULD. Shame too because I like playing the random selection races and the ones I want to delete ALWAYS end up in the mix.

Reply to What would you do with a class 26 planet? in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

So it would seem to me that a PQ26 planet screams of specialization. I mean with all of the +24% tiles that are out there, you could crank out some HEFTY something. But as to what, that is entirely based on what race/tech's you have researched, where the planet is, what your econ is like, what your strategy is at that stage of the game, etc... There are far to many variables to say "This is the best Strategy" (one of the things i love about 4X games and Gal Civ2). I

Reply to Super Dominator Means Massive Maintenance? in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

Early on in the game, when the number of ships is small, it provides a good boost for that early rush. You all of the sudden get 5-6 ships out of no-where that are just about as good as you would make normally. Later on, they make good "Decoy" ships in that the enemy will try and destroy them while you do other stuff. Spread them out so that they spend a good long time tracking them down. After they are done "kicking the corpses" you have had weeks and weeks building u