The Galactic
Civilizations II beta has been underway for some time, and I’ve had the
opportunity to run the current build through its paces. As an unabashed fan of the original, I am
happy to say that GalCivII is
shaping up to be a great game.
For those new to the series, Galactic Civilizations II is a classic 4X space strategy sim,
chronicling the rise of various races as they strive to become the supreme
Civilization in the galaxy. Unlike the
original, players are not limited to playing Humans. Instead, they can take control of any of the
10 galactic races, or chose to customize their own. A typical game begins with a single colony
and the discovery of hyperdrive, and the race to colonize the galaxy is on.
GalCiv fans will
notice quite a few changes in GalCivII. First off, the graphics have received an
impressive tune-up. Moving into a 3D
engine, the game looks great. Although
play still takes place on a 2D plane of the galaxy, it’s now possible to zoom
and spin the camera around the much-more-detailed planets, stars, and
starships. Star Systems themselves have
been tweaked—now planets are visible on the game map, rather than being
sub-menus of a given star. Not all the
graphics are in place as of yet, but with each new beta version GalCivII is looking sharper and
sharper.
The planets themselves have undergone a rather striking
change. No longer can a planet support
unlimited planetary improvements. A
planet’s numeric rating will determine not only how large a population it can
hold, but also how many social structures can be built. And the improvements seem to be a lot more
useful this time out. One of my biggest
complaints about the original Galactic
Civilizations was the feeling that most of the improvements just weren’t
worth the effort to build. Now, with the
limitations on improvement numbers, it’s necessary to tailor planets to
particular tasks. Research-heavy
planets, production facilities, and income-generating planets now must be
separate entities.
For those lamenting the lack of ship customization in the
original GalCiv, Galactic Civilizations II is a welcome change. Now burgeoning shipwrights can have a blast
fine-tuning their fleets to their heart’s content. As technologies are researched, new ship
options become available. Through an
intuitive ship-design interface, players can build their armada from the hull
up. There are a lot of options to the
design, and it’s important to tailor the ships to react to the strengths and
weaknesses of the enemies. Ships can be
outfitted with varying weapon types, and each weapon has a defense that can
counter it. So if the Tor are loading
up on Mass Drivers, and Altairians are arming their fleets with Phasers, those
caught in the middle had better play nice or be able to defend against both
types of attacks. When all is said and
done, the completed ships look wonderful, and each Civilization’s fleets are
quite distinct.
While still early, the AI managed to thoroughly crush my
newly designed fleet several times in my initial playings. Perhaps I’m a bit rusty, perhaps I was too
ambitious in my difficulty settings, or maybe the AI is just that good. Regardless, I found my opponents to offer a
fun challenge. In my defense, a Conquest
victory was the only active winning condition in the version I played, and I
usually made a Technology or Culture run in the original game. The groundwork is well-laid for the
Technology and Culture paths, so I’m certain I’ll soon be back in my element in
an update or two.
Galactic
Civilizations II: Dread Lords also introduces a new, non-linear
single-player campaign, in addition to the usual “take over the galaxy” sandbox
mode. Following the events in The
Altarian Prophecy, sequel to the original GalCiv,
Dread Lords promises to weave together a series of scenarios featuring the titular
galactic enemies.
One of the best aspects of the Galactic Civilizations
franchise is the hand-in-hand working of the developers and the fanbase. The GalCivII
team is continuing that tradition, as is shown by the open beta format they’ve
used. Anyone who preordered the game had
the opportunity to follow along for the entire beta testing process, adding
praise and criticism where necessary.
And it’s easy to see that the developers actually listen to their fans,
taking feedback from the original GalCiv
and the beta and making a game that players will truly enjoy.
I’ve just scraped the surface of all the new goodies
available in Galactic Civilizations II. Diplomacy models have been tweaked, the
Technology Tree has been revamped and given a slick new interface, and the
galaxy has been filled with many new random events. All in
all, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread
Lords is bound to eat up many, many hours in my near future. Look for its release early in 2006.
