Do I get Gal Civ II or Space Empire V?

It really depends on what aspects of combat are important to you. If the only reason you want tactical combat is to see two fleets of capital ships blow the crap out of one another, buy GCII. If you want to play space admiral and command one of those two fleets, buy Homeworld.  

Honestly, SEV has a lot going for it - more detailed race creation, more interesting anomalies and far, far more options for diplomacy - but great tactical combat isn't one of them. That aspect is essentially "Empire at War with a turn-based campaign mode."

http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/spaceempiresv/

The demo just came out a few weeks ago for SEV..I know a few of the GC2 regulars have said good things about it, so my best suggestion would be to give it a spin too.  Nothing like getting your hands dirty in a few turns of gameplay to see the key differences and help make your decision

Like BoogieBac said play both demos, then buy GC2, u know it makes sense...

well i am downloading the demo for SE V just found it, taking forever to download lol.

I just might get GC just because the comunity is so good, that no one said "duh you on GC site so get this game," love that everyone can be objective and honest.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

They're considerably different games. If you want a polished, balanced singleplayer game with an AI that can give you a challenge, GalCiv2 is your game. If you want a game that gives you a zillion options of things you can do, is a little on the geeky side, and is probably going to be more fun multiplayer than single, then SEV might be the better choice.

Some warnings, just so you don't get any nasty surprises:

GC2 Warning: There is no multiplayer.

SEV Warning: SE games are often released in a somewhat rough state and then constantly worked on post-release, both by the original developer as well as by a dedicated modding community. An SE game "out of the gate" is often a bit of a bumpy ride. (For the record, I'm going to pick up SEV, so I'm not just slamming the game.)

But yeah, play the demos. They'll both give you a good idea of what you're in for.

Here's the thing...GC 2 has been out a *long* while now, has had plenty of patches *and* was released in a reasonably healthy state (by current game industry standards). It's very close to the finished article.

Space Empires V is bound to be bug-ridden for at least a couple of months and the way these sort of games go, it may well be *nastily* bug ridden.

By the time you've finished with GalCiv 2, that "very long time" you mentioned before getting another game will probably be up, and SE V will have had most of the bugs removed.

Actually, I hate to break it to you but, you need to buy them both. I suggest buying GalCiv2 first, then get SE V. Reason being GalCiv2 has been out longer. As mentioned you can try the demos if you want but I bet you will end up having them both anyway. So you may want to just buy them now and get it over with. Also an expansion pack is due out soon for GalCiv2 and you going to definitely want to get that as well, I am REALLY looking forward to that! At last, sounds like you need to get some funds together eh?   

Also an expansion pack is due out soon for GalCiv2

Errrm...that's still to be deceided. Oct/Nov or Feb?

I think I may eventually get SE V, I will give the demo another go when I get time and deceide for definite then. It's the horrible interface that's the killer with me, having to go through loads of screens to get something done.

i just tried the SEV demo... i HATED it... the look and feel is so... 10 years ago. i didn't even finish reading the tutorial...

I believe I am going to be getting GC II. Tried the demo didn't get past turn one. So much to learn, love all the options, but I have a really good feal for GC II. I might get SE V later, but I will get CG II if I have the money, either this weekend of next weekend.

See you on the boards when I bug you guys for tips and help.

Thanks again guys, appreciate the help.

see you soon again.

back to the demo.

Well, I have not seen SEV or played the demo. But I did play SEIV it its day and loved it. Of course its old now so some of the flaws might not be present. But I do rember one of my Outlining stadegies in SEIV was just to Mine The choke points (which was a little cheesy but worked). I use to destroy half the enemy fleets that way, because they would just keep coming. And I would have 1-2 mine Layers at each choke point ready to replace the mines. LOL.

I believe I am going to be getting GC II.

Excellent choice if I say so myself, though I may be a bit biased

Two words: Ship Builder

I think you should definitely consider getting SE V (of course I'd like you to get GalCiv as well ).

The SE5 has these things going for it IMO:

1. Immense IMMENSE depth. There's a lot to learn but you really do feel like you're building an interstellar empire.
2. Incredible custmization options.
3. Multiplayer.
4. MODDING. The game is designed for modding and its active modder community will help make sure your purchase has a very long shelf life.

The two games really are quite different from one another. Like others have mentioned, definitely try out the demos. GalCiv II's demo is actually pretty old (the latest version is much better I think).

 

I havent tried SE V but now shall look for the demo since its kinda geeky.

So far I like and dislike GC2. he planet battles are rather wimpy compared to those of either Moo3 or Imp Gal. The 2 main factos for me buying it (or having my g/f buy it for me) was the ship design (ship jewelry) and the story. Only the Moo story rivals the GC2 story so far. The fleet battles are kinda bland as well as the tech tree, but it can still be addictive, especially designing your own ships.

Hell, just get them both, there the best strategy games out there imo

Get both. Support the precious few developers that actually cater to us turn-based space strategy fans.

yeah, both would help make more 4x lol

After looking at a few screenies SEV looks like a cross between Imp Gal, Moo3, and Stars lol Oh well, why not reuse some of the old stuff and try to make it better.

Greetings,

Beeing a SE IV (and modder), SE V Beta and GALCIV player I think I can give my 2 cents:

- SE V has a looooooot of dept. The learning curve will be very steep for a non SE IV player. It is not the combat rock/scisor/paper type galciv has. You have mines, satellites, tons of weapons, shields, armors, cloaks, fighters, carriers, formations, experience to deal with.
- SE V does not have the nice look and feel of Galciv. Don't even think it comes close.
- SE V universe is based on warp points. You hold a few choke points and manoeuver with choke points in mind.
- SE V does not have influence.
- SE V starbases are really starbases around planets, in sectors or defending warpoints.
- SE V does not have the same emphasis on dealing/diplomacy. There is diplomacy, but it is not as important than in galciv.
- SE V has tactical and strategic combat. Galciv combat is a little bit like the SE V strategic combat.
- SE V has modding capabilities that are simply incredible. However, Galciv modding capabilities are quite nice.
- SE V can built ships on planets, in other ships or starbases when you equip them with space yards.
- SE V, when you invade a planet of another race, you get the ability of that race on that planet and you can move those people to other planets to transport the ability. For example, you invade a gas based race and you are rock base race. You can move those people to any gas planet and you don't have the penalty.
- SE V support ships are very important.

I am still playing SE IV after more than 2 years of play because of that complexity. galciv is great, but after a while you experienced every gameplay you could have. In SE V, you can play defensive (mine warp points), you can play very offensive (use all ships type and fighters or play economically. technology is VERY important in SE V. If your ship is equiped with a defense combat sensor and the enemy has not a combat support computer, he will get wipped by you because he can't hit you.

Don't get me wrong. Galciv is a great game. The programmers simply put their energy on different things than Space Empire. One last thing: Galciv support and presence by the development team is a lot superior of what I saw with SE IV. the like-those-guys factor is a lot higher with galciv than SE.

Thank you

Get Sword of the Stars.   

I believe the original poster made his decision, but since flogging the deceased equine is one of the oldest Internet traditions, I'll add some observations.

I'm new to the whole SE series (in fact, I found out about it from this website). So far, I've played 97 turns out of the 100 turn demo. When that runs out, I plan on starting over. Overall, the game is excellent.

As Brad mentioned above, the game is DEEP. An example: I have seen a half dozen different weapon types so far. These weapons are REALLY different from each other, with features like: long range, short range, rapid fire, slow fire, amount and type of damage done, amount and type of supplies used when firing.

And that will probably tell you whether you'll like the game or not: do you want that level of detail? All those details make for LONG games. If you want to conquer the galaxy in the space of an afternoon, you want GalCiv2. If you want a game that can run for a long time (weeks, maybe?), you want SE:V.

The SE:V demo runs well in 256MB; I expect the full version will use more. GalCiv2 needs at least a 1Gig or more.

I've seen posts in various places that knock the graphics in SE:V as "dated". This is pure nonsense. The main screen and all combat screens are fully 3D rendered. There are places where stills are used, such as the race graphics; but I don't see this as a serious fault. I suppose if you think that an animated bobble-head in the Diplomacy screen is a requirement for "state-of-the-art" graphics, then SE:V isn't up-to-date.

The one place where SE:V falls down, and falls hard, is in the interface. Controls for the various screens are NOT intuitive. There are dozens of icons for different commands (the price for all that detail), and they can be hard to find. Command icons and information screens can be buried two or three levels deep; in terms of interface design, that's bad. REALLY bad. I know I'm using keyboard commands as much as possible, just to avoid the interface. It's that awful. GalCiv2 wins by a mile in this category.

AI is the difference for me. SE4 was full of geeky goodness, as I expect SE5 to be. You can develop and deploy specialized ships and strategies, which I miss in GC2. I think the reason for the "rock/paper/scissors" combat in GC2 is to give the AI a chance. All the weapon choices in SE4 mean that each race is scripted. It's a good script, and I played SE4 for a long time before I felt I had beaten it. I don't feel that way about GC2. This game is trying to kill me!

I don't play multiplayer, though. I tried it a little with Command&Conquer and I don't have the time or patience. SE4 is supposed to be awesome as multi. But I like GC2 just fine.

I'll buy SE5, though. I miss some of that geeky goodness!

I might get SE V later,

As others have said, perhaps best to get it when the 1.1 patch comes out. I'm sure you'll have saved another $40 by then ;o)

Get Sword of the Stars.

Another very good one that is also worth having.

Already bought GC II. I tried looking for SE V but not here in Canada yet. I will wait as some of the posters said till it's done, by patch fixes or mod fixs.

Thanks guys for helping me make my choice, not to install the game and bug you guys some more for help lol

davor