Before I Buy It...

Some things I'd like to know.

from GalCiv2 Forums
I own and play(ed) GalCiv 1, but before I buy 2, I'd really like to know about a few things.
1) Has the long reload problem been fixed? I run Win2000 with a 3 ghz P4 and 500+ MB mem, but when I played in a large galaxy, and the game was approaching mid-point, it'd takes up to 10 minutes (some times longer) to reload a saved game. (Yeah, I was running with the latest patches.) That's the main reason I quit playing the game.
2) Does it still take 20 or 25 turns to move from one side of a hugh galaxy to the other. I admit, it's a big universe out there, but I don't like to wait 20+ turns to move a freigher or a warship to the front line, and especially when I've got the fastest engine possible. A close 2nd to my other reason for quiting the game.
3) I tried a few mods (really, really simple ones) and they worked fine -- until the next patch, then they didn't work anymore. I wonder if that's going to be addressed in GalCiv2.
4) Finally, any hope that the game editor will be improved? The one I got with GalCiv 1 was the worst I've ever encountered, and I've seen a few in the years I've been playing computer games.
Thanks!!!
4,232 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
1. It can still take a while to load a saved game. Version 1.11 takes longer (probably twice as long) to load them on my machine than previous versions. But a huge map in late game can take several minutes on mine.
I have a Pentium D 2.8GHz with 3GB of ram, by the way. I'm not sure if yours takes longer because I have more ram or dual cpu's. But I suspect that adding ram might help, since with only 512MB you are into swap file quite a bit.

2. Add more engines to the ship.

3. If you mod the main files, the mods will be lost when upgrading to a newer version because those files are replaced with the new versions files.
Save your changes in a separate file, and simply put them back in if you upgrade.
When the mods folders are finally working correctly and fully that may not be a problem anymore.

4. Don't know about that one.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
1. On a X2-3800 2gig ram, it takes about 30-45sec late in a huge gal game with max amount of AIs populating the gal

2. Add more engines, or upgrade you engines, and/or install lifesupport systems to your ships to increase range

3.look above

4.look above
ObjectDock - Access shortcuts and frequently used applications from an animated dock.
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Firstly, galciv1 and 2 are COMPLETELY different games. Premade ships= steaming hunk of poo. New UI. New planet interface. Planets on map. Ships with own icons you can see what weapons it had. 3 way attack system. So comparing them generally is not a bad thing, but not really relevant either.

1. Yes. I get a while to load occasionally, but 1.11 has tweaked load times, and it can be pretty snappy.

2. Like moosetek said, you make your own ships, so chuck on 10 hyperwarp and speed of about 50 p/c a week. Crosses huge galaxy fairly damn fast (but gigantic still takes ages)

3. In 1.2, the mod folder will be working. Simply put any mods in this folder, and they're immune to overwrite, and can be turned on/off at your own leisure.

4. Yes. It's .xml files, edited with wordpad. Nice, easy, and doesn't look awful. Everything makes sense, and is easy to change.

Enjoy!
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks Marcathonas et al, I do 'preciate it. I hope my questions didn't sound too negaive. I actually liked 1, and played it a lot before I got seriously aggravated by the load time issue. And, truth to tell, that's part of the reason I upgraded again. So I'll buy 2.
Wrong thread for this, but I do like what I've seen about 2. Reminds me of MOO3 somewhat. That's a game that had great potential, but...(you fill in the blank!). If anybody can make it work, Stardock can.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
And they really did (points towards reviews).

If I may quote one reviewer, MoO is dead, Long Live Galactic Civilisations!