Galactic Civilizations

"A fair and accurate review of a fine game"

Please Note
The version of Gal Civ reviewed is 1.05.071, current as of 7/11/2003.

Introduction
Galactic Civilizations, like its OS/2 counterpart of the same name from the early 90s, is a title of which few gamers have heard. Lacking the advertising blitz and fanfare that heralded the disappointing Masters of Orion III, Galactic Civilizations flew in the stores just under the radar of all but the most progressive of the gaming media. Luckily, a title that many initially ignored is slowly gaining the respect, admiration, and constructive criticism that it so richly deserves. Over the last few months since its release, PC gaming magazines, websites, and an ever-growing number of dedicated players have credited Gal Civ for its robust AI, and for the unprecedented support its publisher, Stardock, has given gamers in the form of constant updates and game enhancements. While certainly not perfect, Gal Civ is a work in progress that continues to evolve toward becoming one of the finest 4X space titles available on the PC.

Story
The story has a simple premise at heart. Beginning in the 23rd century, mankind has finally made contact with an alien presence, the Arceans. Humanity, once made aware that it was truly not alone in the universe, initiated a concerted effort to communicate with other beings and develop a means of traversing the void between civilizations. As a result, human scientists would invent the hyperdrive. Upon sharing their invention with the five major races, humanity would witness a galactic free-for-all as alien civilizations quickly began to colonize star systems. In an effort not to fall victim to the imperialist whims of the other races, humanity decided to participate in this colonial venture as well.

The game begins at the onset of this new age of exploration and colonization. With a colony ship, a research vessel, and the production might of Earth at their disposal, human beings are on the verge of staking out their own claims in a cold, and increasingly dangerous universe.

Gameplay: 9
As with all space-based 4X style strategy games, Gal Civ is about one thing: becoming the dominant force in the universe. Luckily, Gal Civ gives players a number of ways in which to achieve this goal. Players can achieve victory through diplomatic, cultural, economic, scientific (research the technology that allows for a race to transcend mortality) and/or military means.

What makes the victory conditions truly dynamic is that the gameplay encourages you to form an overall strategy for victory, which in turn evolves as you interact with the computer opponents. Unlike other 4X strategy games I've played where diplomatic and economic actions are merely preludes for the next *military* campaign, it is entirely possible for a Gal Civ player to stake out a solid core of home planets, beef up a defensive-style military, and use diplomacy and cultural influence to win over the other civilizations. While it may be necessary to switch temporarily to a military footing from time to time when faced with a hostile race, Gal Civ makes a pacifist strategy feasible. Whether you want to rule the world by force or conquer it with kindness is all up to you!

However, none of this would be fun if the AI was dumber than sitting in the nosebleed section of an indoor tractor pull. Luckily, Gal Civ is an evolving masterpiece of AI. Players are treated to five distinct races (Torian, Yor, Arcean, Drengin, & Altarian), each with their own personalities and playing styles. The development team set out to create a unique AI for each race, making the game play and feel as if one were matching their wits against a human opponent.

To add even more flavor to the mix, Gal Civ players have the option of adjusting the difficulty of each race, which in turn influences the composite difficulty rating of the game. Moral alignment may be also set by the player, and figures greatly into the dynamics of the game. Want to play in a universe teeming with cutthroats and alien Hitlers? Simply set the races to ''chaotic evil'' and brace yourself for game heavy on military expansionism. By adjusting the alignment of each race, one can customize a universe that will make either a ''dove'' or a ''hawk'' happy--or create a universe spiced with good & evil that arrives somewhere in between. The choice, once again, is up to you.

In addition to a fully customizable AI, Gal Civ players must choose a political alignment of their own. (Sorry, at this point players cannot assume the mantle of alien races.) Whether you want to be a militarist, a pacifist, an intergalactic tycoon, or the research captain of the universe, there is a political party for you. Each political party gives players a number of advantages, ranging from increased abilities for ships to faster social production. Party bonuses may also be readjusted at the beginning of the game to the player's whim. There is one catch: you must remain in political power to keep these advantages. Gal Civ features a simple, yet ample political system that forces you keep an eye on the happiness of your people. Keep them happy to keep your control of government (and your bonuses). Loose the government, and not only will your bonuses temporarily dry up, but it will become more difficult to declare war and marshal relations with other races.

On the surface, Gal Civ mechanically plays like most other 4X games. You use scout ships to explore space and colony ships to claim star systems and settle planets. Throughout space you can find anomalies and debris that award bonuses to ships and/or your civilization. Once your cadre of planets is established, you receive resource allotments in relation to the planet's resource value. Overall production throughout your territory can be adjusted to favor military, social, or research ventures using a series of intuitive slide bars. If micromanagement is not your cup of tea, then assign a governor to a planet and give him a laundry list of projects to finish. Research plays an important role as one would expect, which in turn makes possible the building of more advanced structures and ships. And then there is combat, which is essentially ship-on-ship and provides for very little in the way of tactics (i.e. Civ II & III)

...Yep, we've seen and played this all before. This all sounds well and good, but one must wonder how Gal Civ weaves the robust AI and customizable features into a coherent game. As stated before, the AI is intelligent, and reacts in a proactive (rather than the traditional reactive) manner. Stardock designed the AI to think while you do, to make decisions on the fly so as to help eliminate the lag of computer movements at the end of your turn and allow the computer to more accurately ''adapt'' to your strategies.

For example, on one of my more militaristic bends I found myself setting up a distant neighbor race for an invasion rather early in the game. Unfortunately, I was in the process of procuring the necessary technology to build troop transports and needed to buy a little time. I stationed a number of offensive ships (corvettes to be exact) around the enemy planet and consistently blew away every inferior ship the alien race built to defend itself. Having played games like Civ before, I more or less assumed that beating down the alien race consistently would ensure my success. I was wrong. Once I had produced the troop transport, the AI ceased making fighters to engage my corvettes for a couple of turns. With only a turn to go before my troop carrier would arrive and crush the planet's population, the planet's shield icon came up, denoting a new ship in orbit to protect the planet system. A little too cocky and overanxious, I threw my corvettes at it immediately, all of which were destroyed...at the hands of a defensive style ship. Unable to defeat the enemy ship, I had to turn my transport back and reassess my strategy. I eventually took the planet system, but it took far longer than I had initially expected. Uncanny.

The first reaction that most gamers have to a situation like this is simply, ''Hey, the computer cheated!'' And given the cheap AI afforded by most strategy games, who could blame them? After testing the research time and effort for myself, I confirmed my initial estimation of the AI: the computer acted within the confines of the game to develop the technology and ship necessary to beat my aggressive strategy. This has been personally confirmed by dozens of situations played out in later games, as well as from chatter on Gal Civ boards. The AI in Gal Civ is intelligent!

Furthermore, the AI deals with diplomacy in an equally intelligent manner. The AI player is no pushover, and it will not give in to capricious demands on any but the easiest difficulty settings. If a computer player believes it has the upper hand in war, then your peace treaty better include a number of star systems and a serious amount of money! If you dominate a particular quad of the galaxy, don't be surprised if a neighboring civ courts your favor with a gift, or begs for your aid in a war. Make war on a lesser civ and watch it beg for mercy. You can even set and amend the terms of the peace! Would you like to expand your coffers by extracting a yearly ''gratuity'' from lesser civs? Go ahead, for if you have the influence you can make it so in Gal Civ. The same is true for the computer, so beware! Should that Drengin military machine march up to you and demand tribute, be prepared to fork out the cash or fight. In other words, the AI carefully assesses its situation and your strength on the more advanced difficulty settings, allowing for a hard-nosed diplomatic aspect to boost the overall value of the gameplay.

In addition, players must deal with a number of random events that give bonuses or penalties according to the choices they make. Each event includes an altruistic, neutral, and evil option. How players decide to react to these events determines how they are perceived by other civs. While you start off as a neutral player, your decisions determine whether you are good or evil in nature. As one would imagine, good civs react better to civs of their alignment and vice versa. Make too many choices toward evil, and that good civ will likely break off relations. Make too many decisions toward good, and that evil civ may decide you're too much of a lightweight and attack. It’s a simple concept that's easy to get into, but it takes quite some time to master. Once again, it’s up to you to be a saint or a devil!

No space civ game would be complete without some sort of overarching interplanetary organization designed to allow civs to meet and hash out matters that affect one and all. In Gal Civ, this comes in the form of the United Planets. You will be summoned to the UP floor on a regular basis to vote on matters ranging from where to hold Olympic-style competitions (which means $$$ to you if it’s held in your territory) to the prohibition and/or taxation of civs at war. The number of votes you have depends on your territory and population (votes can also be bartered in the form of influence points in diplomatic matters). Once resolutions are passed, they usually stay in effect for a number of years. You even have the option of breaking away from the UP if its decisions are too distasteful, but it will cost you the ability to trade with the five primary civs.

When all of the aforementioned dynamics are combined, Gal Civ is one of the best playing 4X games ever created. The interface is simple to get into, but as one can readily tell, hard to master. Unlike its competition, Gal Civ does not drag you down with a great deal of time-wasting micromanagement. Therefore, the 60 hour a week professional can enjoy it as much as the unemployed and overstimulated teenager. The gameplay is addictive to say the least, and offers players the greatest value for their gaming dollar.

Graphics: 7
Well, there is really not much to say here, simply because Gal Civ isn't much to look at. Not that the graphics of Gal Civ are unattractive, but it is painfully obvious that Stardock spent its resources on the gameplay over the flash and pretty colors for which graphic tarts moan. Let's face it; this is a strategy game, not a Metal Gear-esque action title. In all fairness, the graphics are clear and crisp, and they more than get the job done. The coming expansion pack will offer a few welcome graphical upgrades, but nothing to write home about. The style and flair of Gal Civ is not visual, it’s cerebral. Simpleton graphic tarts need not pursue this title.

Sound: 6
Ditto for the sound. The music score is pleasant to listen to, but many will quickly appreciate the MP3 player after a game or two. The sound effects amount to nothing more than a number of space-style clicks and whirls. The sound is not bad, but it could have been much better with a little more effort.

Replay Value: 10
Nearly infinite! With the gameplay, interface, and AI so well done, Gal Civ keeps you coming back for more. While the game lacks multiplayer abilities, it makes up for it with the Metaverse, an online posting site for your best games. By uploading your finished game packet of information for posting, Stardock gains a detailed analysis of how you won the game, and uses the information from the best players to tweak the AI for updates.

Therein lays Gal Civ's greatest strength: Stardock! Stardock has given Gal Civ an unprecedented level of support. For a time the updates were coming twice a week! Mind you, these were not patches to make the game playable (like MOO3), but rather to accentuate the gameplay of a title that was already superior out of the box! Stardock even plans to release a free expansion pack to the general public online at the end of this summer. To the best of my knowledge, no other developer has done so much for its customers. Furthermore, they have cultivated a helpful online community of players through a massive message board. Players can even post suggestions for future updates. Best of all, the game's primary developer, Brad Wardell, consistently looks over and posts to the boards.

In a nutshell, it is obvious that Gal Civ isn't just another title to Stardock; it’s almost like a child. Gal Civ is constantly growing, constantly evolving. The game of Gal Civ I'm playing now is faster, smarter, and better than it was out of the box. As a result, I'm still playing, as many of you would be, too.

Conclusion
Galactic Civilizations is a welcome addition to the software library of any true fan of strategy games on the PC. While it may not have the flash or micromanagement aspects of its competition, Gal Civ more than makes up for it with two things the others lack: gameplay and heart. It is not perfect, but it does set a new mark for the larger game companies to emulate. Gal Civ is not just a game you can play, it is a game you can respect.

Score: 8/10

Who Should Buy: Strategy fans
Who Should Stay Away: Micromanagement addicts & graphic tarts

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/11/03, Updated 07/11/03