Review :
In the 23rd century the known galaxy is at war. The Terran Alliance and
their coalition are fighting a desperate interstellar war with the evil
Drengin Empire and their ruthless allies. Behind the scenes the precursor
civilization called the Dread Lords pulls the strings on both sides. As
leader of a galactic civilization, it is up to you to ensure the triumph
of your civilization. Fight wars, design star ships, research new techno-
logies, negotiate treaties and build an empire that will stand the test
of time in this award-winning turn-based strategy game.
Features :
*
Each civilization gets its own unique technology tree. This is huge.
There are 12 major civilizations each with over a hundred technologies. No PC
strategy game has ever attempted this kind of thing (and in hindsight, it’s
obvious why, as it added months to our development time, but it’s worth it!).
*
Terror Stars. These giant starbases move slowly but can wipe out entire
star systems. Plus, they look incredibly cool.
*
Unique planetary improvements per civilization. This is also a huge deal.
Like the techs, it’s not just cosmetic differences. Each civilization has its own
history that results in different philosophies of how to succeed. It also means
massive replayability and visual richness.
*
Lots of new types of ships. Once again, because of the unique technology
trees, you end up with different weapons and other components which results in
unique ships. Or, as the accountants put it, “So, how much thought did you really
put into this giving each race its own tech tree? Did you really consider the
logical consequences of that?”
*
New victory condition: Ascension. This optional victory condition will
cause five ascension crystals to be placed in a given map. Build a starbase on
them and collect one ascension point per turn for each one you control: gather
1000 points and you win. Of course, other players will attempt to annihilate you
in the process.
*
New features / polish for new players. Inevitably, this game will be
packed up into some super mega GalCiv bundle, so a lot of small features have
been added to make it easier for new players to get into. For instance, players
can now choose to have the computer design their ships for them.
*
Map Editor. Players can now make their own maps.
*
Scenario Editor. Players can design in-depth custom scenarios that
change the overall game rules. It’s been designed to be very easy to use.
*
Tech Tree Editor. Players can now create their own technology trees or
modify ones that come with the game with a very easy to use editor.
*
Planetary Improvement Editor. Add your own planetary improvements to
the game.
*
New invasion screen. The planetary invasion screen in GalCiv II looked
like something out of an Apple 2 game. That’s partially because it was inspired
by an old Apple 2 game. Regardless, we’ve replaced it with something that brings
the graphics quality from the 1980’s into the 1990’s.
*
Metaverse tournaments. Custom tournament maps/scenarios are being
provided with their own online scoring so people can compare their playing
ability to others directly.
*
New galaxy size: Immense. Due to the memory optimizations, Stardock was
able to create a ridiculously large galaxy size called Immense.
*
New soundtrack. Lots of new music in the game.
*
Tons of new content. It would take pages to list all the new small
additions we’ve added.
*
Massive graphics overhaul. Just about every graphical element has been
redone. Moreover, it’s been redone to use less memory at the same time. We’ll
discuss this a lot more later.
*
New Campaign: Twilight of the Arnor.
*
Hundreds of tweaks and enhancements. Everything from animated ship
components to new types of planetary governors to new options for ship handling,
the expansion pack is literally an exercise in strategy gamer wish fulfillment.
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