I don't feel like it, will I get it?

The graphics, while nice, are not the reason to get the expansion packs.

It's the gameplay. Dark Avatar plays a million times better than the original GalCivII. From the super abilities to the better defined tech tree to the asteroid fields to the enhanced AI to the addition of two races that are absolutely necessary for a good game to the mega events to . . .

You get the idea.

And from what I've read, Twilight of the Arnor is going to make it even more varied and give it even more depth.

I promise, you'll be sad if all you get is Dread Lords. I hardly ever play in the original, just in Dark Avatar.

I agree. Now that I've tasted Dark Avatar, I can't go back and enjoy Dread Lords. I'm not beta testing Twilight of the Arnor, but even the look of it makes me feel unsatisfied with what I've already got.

By the way TotA is the 2nd and last expansion pack, so you won't need to buy millions.

Well...do what you would like to do I'd say.

Buy the original game...if it bores you or you don't like it ...well at it's current price it's not exactly a major loss.

If you later decide that you like it and want to see all the improvements from the expansions ...just buy the expansion bundle. At the current rates it's just $5 more than buying the complete bundle right away.

That's my take at least
Of course I personally wouldn't want to play DL without the DA-expansion anymore, but when I only had the base game I liked that a lot too

Well I have GalCiv1 and it's expansion... Got it for $4.99 at Circuit City.

I like it.

What makes Dark Avatar so much better?

GalCiv1?!!!

Erm... the difference is that... um... DA is the EXPANSION to the SEQUEL?

Yeah, we're on GC2 now...

Info on Dark Avatar: WWW Link

Info on Twilight of the Arnor: WWW Link *drool*

The depth, man, the depth.

I, too, purchased and played GalCivI first. And it's a pretty okay game. Nothing to write home about, but certainly not the waste of money some games I've played have been.

But then I bought the Gold Edition version of GalCivII. And it's a night and day difference. The AI is so much more intelligent, you can choose to be other races besides the Terrans ('cuz let's be straight - they're boring! Custom races FTW!), the tech tree is MUCH bigger and more developed, you get to design your own ships, besides all the stuff I mentioned in my first post (mega events, super abilities, etc.)

If you like the first one, you won't regret buying the second and at least Dark Avatar. I know I sure haven't.

My point wasn't if GalCiv2 was better, I've tried the demo.

What makes Dark Avatar so much better then Dread Lords?

I don't bother with an expansion unless I love the game, as in the case with Titan Quest or Sims 2...

I'd probably love GalCiv2, but what do the expansions bring to the table?

You'd probably call me old, or at least, kids do to a 28 year old...

But I've played strategy games since I got my first pc, a Tandy 1000 tl.

I still remember my first strategy games on it, Populous (See if anyone remembers that, by a certain Peter Molyneux), and Sim City 1.

I'm not new to strategy, but I am new to GalCiv2.

Keep this all in mind and explain in a way a person not new to strategy but new to GalCiv2 would understand the differences.

Okay, I'll try to be more Dark Avatar-specific.

1. The graphics are still a huge step up from DL (Dread Lords) to DA. The ships have a lot more texture, and there's even little details like when you zoom in closer on a planet you can see all the ships docked at that planet in orbit around it. Very, very cool. But the nice thing is, it'll still run on my crappy old machine.

2. The AI is certifiably smarter, and if you read the posts that Brad (Draginol or Frogboy, depending on his mood) has put up the last few days, it looks like Twilight of the Arnor is going to have even better AI. He's pulling it to bits and fixing all sorts of annoying things, making one of the best AIs I've encountered in a strategy game even more wicked strong.

3. DA adds more realism in that many of the 'colonizable' planets have certain conditions that must be met, such as technology to deal with heavy gravity, aquatic worlds, barren worlds, etc. as well as offering the opportunity to mine asteroids to increase production and such.

4. The super abilities are an awesome part that keep me from playing DL. Each race has a certain thing that they're really freakin' good at, like the Altarians with their 'Super Organizer' and how they can convince people to go to war against you just because they're a good race if you are hostile against them, or 'Super Warrior' which allows the Arceans first strike capability - not really handy in the first part of the game, but mid-game on they're a super threat if they're not on your side. Or you've got the earthlings with their 'Super Diplomat' ability and their penchant for avoiding war, or (my personal favorite) the Korath Clan, an offshoot from the Drengin, who are Super Annihilators and can develop Spore Weapons. (I don't ever conventionally invade planets anymore. ;))

5. DL had events - things that would happen that will often throw off the equilibrium of the game a bit, like having the I-League appear out of nowhere and turn a level 0 planet into a tasty prize of a level 15. DA, in contrast, has the option to turn on mega events - cataclysmic things that seriously screw with the balance of the game, like galactic plagues, the Jagged Knife showing up and stealing half your planets (and the planets of all your foes, too), or economic downturns that can have you bankrupt in no time. It's great when your game gets on, when you've hit a stride and you think you've pretty much got the AI figured out to have something like that come in and now you get to deal with totally new adventures.

6. The two new races in DA are cooler than almost any of the races in DL. They're just cool, man.

If I think of anything else, I'll come back and post it. At any rate, I hope this helps, man - if you want my advice (and with the prices the way they are) you'd be best to buy the Gold Edition that has both DL and DA. I really think it'll be worth your money. If you really like it, pony up and buy TA when it comes out, but for some people DA is enough.

But I know that, after playing DA, I wouldn't be happy with just DL anymore.

Hum, all these would definately help with a strategy game, and wouldn't be like some kind of Sims 2 excpansion where they add a few new objects... (With the one exception to that being SIms 2 Seasons, which was a decent expansion).

I'll wait and see how Twilight is, then maybe buy all 3. If not, Gold.

Yeah, these are not eye-candy expansions. These are substantial improvements to an already pretty great game. For sure go with the Gold at least. I haven't bought TA yet (because I can't download the betas, so I figure what's the point?) but once it's officially released, I'll definitely bite. Brad continually says that this will be a much bigger expansion than DA was, so I'm pumped. With your background in strategy and your taste for the demo, I really seriously doubt you'll be disappointed.