drrider

Reply to Some thoughts on the game in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Other than that, the speed techs advance at default is way to fast... And the AI is still great fun. I never play with the tech dev speed on anything other than Very Slow,...and I sort of convert the whole game time scale of weeks to "months" in my head. Even at that, my suspension-of-disbelief is based on a assumption that I don't really want to test by a direct question to Brad - that all (most) of the tech discoveries in GalCiv2 are really the exploi

Reply to Asteroids and Mining in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

Asteroid mines yield ("beam") extra manufacturing points to the nearest same civ planet. Planet can be changed by selecting the mine then right-clicking on the new target planet. % of total possible points recieved from a particular mine is diminished by the distance to the target planet. Later levels of Space Mining technology increase the points produced by upgraded mines, but the mining ship DOES need to revisit to upgrade the mines. Manufacturing points from asteroid mines are "potential

Reply to so what does this bonus do? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

There are some posts from kyro in a couple of other threads that say he thinks the "starship" bonus applies to Attack AND Defense total value of ships produced at that planet. drrider

Reply to planet quality bonus trait 10% 20% is it worth it? in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

There are several extensive threads in the forums discussion the effects of the Luck Characteristic. Scan them for the comments by kyro and other Stardock reps; take all other comments with a large grain of salt. Including my own. drrider

Reply to planet quality bonus trait 10% 20% is it worth it? in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

I play with Luck selected consistently, because of the combat results calculation bonus and because I am convinced it DOES lead to the discovery of more precursor ships in the mid-late game. However, I have also done a lot of experimenting with starting planet characteristics, including LOTS of restarts, so I have probably seen several hundred home planet terrains generated with Luck turned on. My impression is that Luck characteristic DOES NOT affect the distribution of bonus tiles - s

Reply to Just watched the pilot of Firefly in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

I loved Firefly. Too bad it didn't last longer. Fox only aired about 6-7 episodes and aired them out of sequence. They played the 2nd epi first, and the pilot was the last aired. Don't ask, I have no idea why. Anyway, enjoy. It's excellent. I watched it in its original airing, on USA or whatever, then again in the (I think) SciFi rebroadcast, and I have the DVD set, with Whedon's commentaries. According to Whedon, the 2nd scripted/filmed episode

Reply to Are custom races inferior to the pre-made ones? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I think custom races are handicapped compared to the canned races owing to the larger number of points assigned to abilities. I recently played a game with my custom race against all customs on crippling. For quite a while, the MINOR races were the top civilizations in the game. Something just isn't right when the Jessuins are the No. 1 most powerful civ. That this situation could arise outside of some sort of mega event is crazy. By midgame, I was the only player who'

Reply to Farm Spies in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

Possibly a good use for your small 2nd home system planet before you get it fully terraformed. Sort of the Bikini Atoll of your civ. drrider

Reply to Farm Spies in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

I tried placing an agent on the Tri-Quan superproject to cause the enemy's soldiering to drop 25 before invading but their soldiering remained unchanged! Only after I captured the planet with the Tri-Quan did there soldier drop. I think this is a bug because when I place the agent it suggests the enemy is taking a soldiering hit but remains unchanged during the invasion. I was under the impression that the actual building was meaningless, that once it w

Reply to DA: Lag when Ships are on Screen in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

if my driver is the issue, then i'm screwed, because we all know how helpful the phone support for Dell is. and then no one understands them either cause english is their second language....*grumble* I've recently had pretty good luck using the online chat support instead of phone. drrider

Reply to Question concerning Gal Civ II campaign in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

As long as all options are available in sandbox mode, it is almost certainly one of the storyline restrictions of the campaign. Certain civs are foreced in certain directions for 'universe history' resons in the campaign, by the restriction of available technologies in particular scenarios. drrider

Reply to Regarding Used Copies of GalCiv II in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

for the price of a renewed serial PLUS a used copy you might as well just purchase the game new. Exactly! Excellent use of basic economics vs puntative measures on Stardock's part. However, the circumstances we are discussing here address the case of someone who has already purchased/recieved as gift/etc the media and code for the game. drrider

Reply to Regarding Used Copies of GalCiv II in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

aamazingmon, did anyone mention somewhere in the parts of this thread that you have viewed, that in your situation you are supposed to be able to contact [email protected] (or maybe it is support@stardock .com) and purchase a renewed/replacement serial/license for a discount from the boxed price? drrider

Reply to OK. So now I feel cheated by Stardock in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Boy, I am sooo dumb! If I had been mailed a survey by a favored game company for whom I am willing to download betas and provide game feedback and suggestions over and over for a total of many hours of web time, I think I would have just filled it out. But now I know I could hold out for a COUPON! Darn. drrider

Reply to A matter of opinion, what's yours? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Since the PQ bonus does not get applied until after your initial landing, I don't think this will be a problem. Not sure though, since I haven't used PQ since the final 1.6. drrider

Reply to Green Economy in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

center built on a bonus counts as two morale centers, and a farm counts as two on the weak bonus, and THREE on the large bonus. Actually a farm built on the yellow bonus symbol tile counts as 4 farms. drrider

Reply to Green Economy in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Oh, darn, forgot an important one. 14) Favor economic research whenever its costs/time are even clos e to the other possible tech choices. drrider

Reply to Green Economy in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

1) Keep your populations low (13 or under) while building initial (that is, filling all tiles up through Habitat Improvement), except the home world, and maybe a world with a mystic spring. 2) Never build a world over 20 pop until you are pretty expert at the game. (Even then it is probably counter productive unless it has a couple of mystic springs and you mine several morale resources.) 3) Except for 1-2 producer planets, to start build every tile you can in money enhancers.

Reply to A matter of opinion, what's yours? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I prefer Altarians, with max research, creativity, luck, econ and/or morale (sometimes PQ), combined with the Technologist Party. +60% econ, +65% research with bursts of creativity (est. worth ~5-10% research over long haul). I think that stacking enables one to play a strategy that is synergistic with your civ's great strengths. I'm considering trying a game as the Iconians with max espionage, econ, and some PQ. drrider

Reply to [Ability25] Creativity in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Not exactly. See kyro replies #s 3 & 9, this thread: https://forums.galciv2.com/?forumid=346&aid=147860 drrider

Reply to save game/updating... in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

My current game was available, on each of my computers, when I moved from 1.5x to the various betas of 1.6, eventually to real 1.6, and then 1.61. However, there are no guarantees of compatability of all features when moving up. I may not have been using some feature that would break from the change. In general, when scanning over the change log for 1.6, I don't see anytning that looks like it should have trouble with a one generation old save game. The dev-endorsed but ind

Reply to Galactic Civilizations II: Beginner's Strategy Guide in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

Got a sticky mouse button there, val?? drrider

Reply to Vacation bound 2007 in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

Wait! Let's blend in some Prey code, and (virtually) stick his desk to the ceiling! drrider

Reply to Are custom races inferior to the pre-made ones? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Or charge an extra point or 2 for the second selection. drrider

Reply to Are custom races inferior to the pre-made ones? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

17 ability points (vs the 15 now available), AND allowing them to "double select" (i.e. toggle on 2 selection boxes) in any ability category Not sure if you realize, but 17 points and allowing a player to double select a skill would make them able to have +4 speed bonus or +40% planet quality. I know you said it's your opinion, but just mentioning that incase you missed. I was just commenting off the cuff. I didn't work out a detailed and