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Reply to Summer reading, space operas in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]How about Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card? Great book.[/quote] Absolutely one of the best books in any genre I have ever read...

Reply to Expansions, should I get them? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Expansion packs for the Galactic Civilizations 2 series are well worth the money. It is not just about the campaigns (which I have never played). They add features that make the game better than the original. Overall, the expansion packs have received higher marks than the original game! Search on GameRankings.com to see results

Reply to Summer reading, space operas in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Try this gem from Eric Frank Russell: The Wasp - about an interplanetary spy It's an older book, but it's pretty cool. It can be found at Amazon: WWW Link

Reply to Your favorite economic/tycoon games in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]That's my biggest problem with SD's strategy titles - damn things suck me in for hours at a time, and that's against my usual gaming code.[/quote] Agreed...that is a problem with strategy games in general. Sometimes it is difficult to start one if I don't have a block of at least an hour to play. (Which means that sometimes I can't play for days at a time). But I like to pretend that I am in control of something, so these games are a blast!

Reply to Brad's Impulse Launch Review in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]I liked the possibility to backup the game to disk. I don't see this possibility in Impulse. Am I right or is it hidden somewhere in that nasty colorfull design?[/quote] FYI - Much harder to find (for me anyway...I found the archive feature quickly) is the "Restore Archive" feature, found in the Stardock symbol at the top left.

Reply to Your favorite economic/tycoon games in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]I'VE GOT IT I'VE GOT IT I'VE GOT ITI'm just going to start calling Deathmatch-style games 'Tycoon' games. I'll refer to UT as 'Bodycount Tycoon' and Quake III as 'Giblet Tycoon'. I mean, isn't the goal of a Tycoon-style game to amass wealth and control something? In a Deathmatch game, I amass corpses and lay down bitchslaps!Then I, too, can be a Tycoon gamer! (I'm vaguely sorry that I haven't been at all contributing to the greater discussion. But this thought made me laugh.)[/quote]

Reply to DIABLO 3!!!!!!!!!!!!! in PC Gaming GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]When a game's mechanics work so well, there is only so much you can improve upon. They have such a large following of the three staple games they may as well keep it up. If someone made X-com UFO:Defense with better graphics and worked with XP without any problems, hell, even improved the game a bit, I'd buy it for $50.[/quote] Have you tried UFO:Alien Invasion (http://ufoai.sourceforge.net/)? It's a free, open source game. Basical

Reply to Your favorite economic/tycoon games in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Some of the tycoon games I find enjoyable: Roller Coaster Tycoon series Railroad Tycoon series Monopoly Tycoon Capitalism 2 Though not a tycoon game, Sim City 4 is awesome, and is similar to many tycoon games Boring Tycoon games: Restaurant Empire (might be fun if you like cooking) Zoo Tycoon (seems to be for kids)

Reply to Video glitches in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Thanks for the fast reply. The problem is very intermittent. I will post the debug when it happens next time.

Reply to The one bad thing about digital distribution. in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

I agree that it will slow down price drops. But Stardock has already lowered the price of Dread Lords since its release. A few good things about digital distribution: I think it will make games readily available for longer and I can play a game right now, without having to go to a store to get it.

Reply to Impulse wants to delete ToA but says files not found? in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Did you install the game using Stardock Central? If so, can you uninstall it using Stardock Central, and then reinstall it using Impulse? Another possibility: Try uninstalling TA using Add/Remove Programs and reinstall using Impulse...

Video glitches in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I have been having video glitches in GC2 (and the expansion packs). When I am in a screen (i.e. Civilization Management), sometimes the minimap has some weird flashing. It is only a minor annoyance, but if there is a fix, I'd be happy to try it. If this is the wrong place to post this, please let me know. Thanks. My Specs: 2.4 Ghz Pentium 4 1 GB Ram Win XP Home SP3 NVidia 5500 256 MB with latest video drivers applied Video Settings: 2x Antialiasing / Disabled Animated Comp

Reply to My First Computer Game in PC Gaming GalCiv2 Forums

I started out with the Mac version of SimCity 2000. I logged more hours with that game than maybe any other since (though I'm sure Civ 2 comes in a close second).

Reply to Impulse: Why is there no uninstall utility? in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

You should be able to uninstall Impulse using Control Panel > Add and Remove Programs. I haven't tried it myself, but it is in there.

Reply to Brad's Impulse Launch Review in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

I have some concerns regarding Impulse. Shouldn't customers have the option of being able to manually download update patches? Also, I did not order the CDs when I made digital purchases. I would like to either be able to download a self-extracting archive/installer with a digital purchase, or at least have Impulse be able to create self-extracting archives. I don't like having to use a program to install another. BTW - Is it too late to pay the S&H and get the CDs after the digital pu

Reply to Firefox 3 Sets World Record? in Personal Computing GalCiv2 Forums

I once switched back to IE, back in the days of FF1. Then I switched back to FF with v2. FF3 is even better, and I can't imagine going back to IE (especially with the IE Tab Add-on, I don't even need IE for the MS site!).

Reply to Tell me what is a good game? in PC Gaming Stardock Forums

Most of the best games ever have already been listed. Here are a few more worthy of mention: Sim City 4 Deluxe Edition UFO Alien Invasion (free, open source version of UFO: Defense; download at: http://ufoai.sourceforge.net/)

Reply to How do you give karma to sinners? in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

LOL...I thought it was a spiritual question. :D

Reply to Update next week in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I appreciate Stardock's work at not only making a great game better, but also working at constant improvement. The vast majority of software companies respond to game problems with a series of lame workaround "solutions." They assume that the problem has to be with either your hardware or third-party software. Stardock, on the other hand, seeks out constructive criticism and tries to not only fix their product, but increase the coolness quotient.

Reply to GC 2.0 feature request thread in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

One of the things that I would like to see is an improvement in the diplomacy screen: an option to offer something for trade and ask the other party, "What will you give me for this?"

Reply to Why PC Gaming is Dying in PC Gaming GalCiv2 Forums

Dying? No. A paradigm shift? Definitely. I think that there has been a "visual revolution" where games look prettier. However, there has been lacking (in my opinion) an element of fun and creativity. Many new games are simply better looking rehashes of previous ideas. But I think we have yet to see PC gaming hit its peak. PC gaming can only grow as much as the market will bear. I think there has to eventually be a leveling off in requirements. (At least I hope so). I think that the PC

GC2 Dark Avatar v2.0 update? in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

I seem to remember hearing, some time back, that there would be a Dark Avatar update (2.0). As I recall, there would be a new option to return to the espionage model from the original GC2 (which I prefer to the one in DA). Does anyone know if I am remembering this correctly, and if so, when it might happen? Thanks

GC2 DA bug(?) in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

When I am playing GC2 DA, I sometimes get a flicker in the small map (or the graphics around the small map) when I am in a window (i.e. the civ management window). Not a huge deal...just slightly annoying. Is this a bug? Is there a workaround? I would appreciate any info. Thanks! GC2 DA 1.80g.100 Windows XP Home SP2 NVIDIA FX5500 256 MB 1 GB RAM 2.4 Ghz Pentium 4

Reply to No Background Stars in DA 1.80G in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Maybe go for a high-end older DX9 card on eBay? Something like a GeForce 6800GT or Radeon X1900. You could get one pretty cheap and it will run the game nicely, especially if you don't have a very powerful video card right now.[/quote] Unfortunately, I have only PCI slots. I have tried an X1300, and also a Geforce 6200OC which both gave me grief. The FX 5500 seems to the best one I can get for my current system. [quote]Try disabling the enhanced rendering option as well

Reply to No Background Stars in DA 1.80G in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I have experimented and it appears this is associated with the graphics in DA itself. When I uncheck "Allow Mixed Vertex Processing Mode" in Video Options, I can see the background stars, but the nebula disappears and the whole game becomes choppy. This setting is not available in Dread Lords. Apparently my graphics card cannot handle the background stars in DA. Bummer.