A question about custom races.

I was just experiencing the same thing - why does the custom race have to be super soldiers - not very custom, is it?...

In: program files /stardock/ totalgaming /galciv2 /data /english (or whatever your lang is) you will find the XML file RaceConfig open that and scroll through it till you find custom race. then change the values to suit your needs .
Back Up Your RaceConfig XML first though !!!! Save it to a subfolder withtin name it back up race config or whatever you wish Enjoy

That's great but I play on the Metaverse, wouldn't that register as cheating?

The custom race gets a racial bonus, the same as all the other ones. The Yor, for example, get the miniaturization bonus along with something else. The custom race gets a +25 to soldiering and I believe a +20 (or thereabouts) to Loyalty. These do not cost you any points; often the racial abilities are better than what you can select manually. If you clear the attributes you will always see those two pop up, along with the full 10 points to spend elsewhere.

Alright, I understand that, but I guess I would like to make a custom race and use a racial bonus besides the 20 soldiering. I mean it is a custom race right?

Well then you're back to what Pmutzu said, which means you're SOL for a metaverse game.

Yeah for metaverse games you can not do anything to change those values already assigned to custom race.
I also was A bit dissapointed that they would assign some bonuses that I could not change for a supposed "CUSTOM " race because I play primarily metaverse games

Bonuses (and, to a lesser extent, techs and planets) determine the race. You can change your race name, planet name, leader name, race portrait, race icon, ship styles, ship/civ colors, political party, and 10 points of abilities for any of the 11 races. In fact, the ONLY thing that makes the Custom race fundamentally different from the others is that they get to choose their starting techs (well, that and the fact that you can't play against them).

So, basically: Just customize another race. They're almost as custom as the Customs anyway.

Incidentally, that soldiering bonus is quite nice. It passively protects all of your planets from invasion, making the Customs much more durable when the AI has space superiority in a war.

You definetly have a point Dreadarchon, I guess I just wanted my killer space Teddy Bears.

As for the soldiering thing, I find at the higher levels if I have lost the space war I'm sure not going to survive through the ground war.

In fact, the ONLY thing that makes the Custom race fundamentally different from the others is that they get to choose their starting techs (well, that and the fact that you can't play against them).

Not true, actually. I was playing metaverse with some rather odd settings the other day with random races, and what turned up as I was expanding? Custom leader of custom race! That spooked me a little...

Not true, actually. I was playing metaverse with some rather odd settings the other day with random races, and what turned up as I was expanding? Custom leader of custom race! That spooked me a little...

That was fixed in the last beta patch I believe.

how do you change a XML file? when i click it, it rings me to the internet and i can't change it.

figured it out