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EXCLUSIVE RESEARCH TREE SCREEN
(22 September 2005, 20:02 | GalCiv2 | 0 comments)  An exclusive Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords screenshot for Apolyton Civilization Site comes courtesy of developer Stardock Systems. Entitled "Research Tree", it shows part of the research tree in the game. It is available for viewing in 1600x1200 resolution in JPEG (JPG) format in addition to its thumbnail image at right. Very few GalCivII screens at this resolution have been taken and made publicly available to date.
GalCivII, presently scheduled for a February 2006 release, will be published by Take-Two Interactive. - DanQ
ANY SCREENSHOT REQUESTS?
(17 September 2005, 18:39 | GalCiv2 | 5 comments) One of Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords` beta testers is Apolyton Civilization Site forum user `Darkstar`. He is one of the game`s beta testers because he pre-ordered the title currently under development by Stardock Systems (SS). The game`s third beta is available for download and playtesting for those who pre-ordered the game before the beginning of this month, and he has asked the Apolyton community what kinds of screenshots they want to see from the game... and now. In other words, he`s taking requests.
[SS] does not believe in NDAs for its betas. [They] like[ their] customers helping to spread the word. So, I can legally do this. So can the other beta participants that also post here.
NDA is short for Non-Disclosure Agreement, which obligates signatories not to disclose confidential material that they may have access to as described in the contract. As no GalCivII beta testers are subject to one, they are free to discuss in public what they see, don`t see, like, dislike... and caputre and publish in-game screenshots at will. - DanQ
`ENGROSSED` AND IT`S NOT EVEN FINISHED YET
(8 September 2005, 23:35 | GalCiv2) GameSpy`s (GS) Allen "Delsyn" Rausch is asking if Stardock Systems` Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords will be the game Master of Orion III should have been? MoO3 was released a month before the original GalCiv for the PC in 2003 from developer Quicksilver Software. The GS writer takes the opportunity to answer his own question in the affirmative. He even notes that the original GalCiv almost made me forget that MoO3 ever existed.
The original GalCiv had its flaws too, though, Rausch notes: simplistic planetary development and simplistic space fleet outfitting. GalCivII changes this and this previewer wasn`t disappointed. One of my chief complaints about the original game was that the appearance of your ships never altered as your technology advanced, he elaborates. That`s not a problem anymore, because the enormously powerful Ship Builder screen makes every ship in your fleet as unique as you want to make it. [..] [S]hips... are incredibly easy to identify visually. [..] [Besides appearances, this is] important because ship-to-ship battles have become much more involved.
As Rausch played through the as-of-yet incomplete game, now in its third beta, he still couldn`t help but realize that he had eventually become thoroughly engrossed in a game that wasn`t even close to finished! To this end, he writes that he has faith that the final version will have the killer A[rtifical] I[ntelligence], the robust diplomacy system, the good campaign, and the kind of rich, strategic depth that it needs.
Thirteen new screenshots accompany the two-page article. - DanQ
BLENDING PREDECESSOR AND `MOO2`
(5 September 2005, 22:46 | GalCiv2 | 3 comments) A look at the third Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords beta is in store for GameSpot (GS) readers as of last Friday. [It] is finally beginning to look more like a game and less like a technological placeholder, reads the byline in this, the company`s first hands-on look at the upcoming title from developer Stardock Systems [see related story]. Here`s some of what GS staff writer and GalCivII previewer Jason Ocampo had to say:
[I]n many ways, Galactic Civilizations is very similar to the classic space strategy game Master of Orion -- and that`s high praise, indeed. [..] Dread Lords is far more like [MoO] than its predecessor. [..]
The entire planet system has been overhauled since the first game, adding a lot more complexity to the game as well as the potential for micromanagement. [..] Ship design is finally up and running in this version of the game, as well. [..] [T]he [A]rtificial [I]ntelligence has never been a slouch in [GalCiv], and it appears that it`s as sharp as ever [here]. [..]
[W]e came away from [GalCivII] feeling like it was a blend of the original [GalCiv] and Master of Orion II, and those are arguably two of the finest space strategy games ever made. That`s good news for galactic emperor wannabes everywhere.
Ocampo takes the time to run readers through a written description of setting up a game and what players can expect to see in the first moments of a new space adventure. The medium for this galactic journey is presently scheduled for a February 2006 target release. Twenty-one in-game screenshots were added to GS` media gallery alongside the write-up. - DanQ
PRETTY FLY FOR ANY EYE
(31 August 2005, 21:51 | GalCiv2) A week-and-a-half ago, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords development team member `CariElf` published the latest edition of her journal of the game housed on the game`s website hosted and operated by her employer, Stardock Systems.
We`ve been pretty busy here getting ready for Beta 3, she writes. The game has come a long way since Beta 2, and we still have miles (or should I say, milestones) yet to go. For the last two weeks, my primary responsibility has been fixing and tweaking stuff. One of the bigger issues that we`ve been dealing with almost since we started working on [GalCivII] has been the load time.
In what `CariElf` herself calls a pretty good translation, GalCivII site forum user ` primarycolorman` translat[es] the original technical explanation of these load time woes and their background as follows in part.
[I]n GalCivI, the interface was just a bunch of images. No work was required to display them... But, since images...don[`]t change dimensionally[,] it locked everything to a certain display resolution. In GalCivII, [however,] they are rendering the menus... ["]on the fly["]. Since they [do change dimensionally], they can change display resolution and add in extra eye candy at will, depending on your PC`s ability..
No screenshots are included alongside this write-up. - DanQ
THIRD BETA READY FOR EXTERNAL TESTING
(31 August 2005, 20:27 | GalCiv2) The pre-ordering public beta testing team for Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords can now use the game`s third beta. The official announcement of this fact was made earlier today by Brad "Draginol" Wardell, the game`s Project Lead and Founder/President of developer Stardock Systems. With the success of Stardock`s last two games, [Galactic Civilizations I and The Political Machine,] [we] ha[ve] been able to put a lot more resources towards the development of [GalCivII]. The new 3D engine, increased production values, and more sophisticated planet and ship design elements add more strategic depth while also making the game more fun and have less micro-management than the first [GalCiv] had .
Wardell notes that while ship textures have been disabled and numerous features, most notably diplomacy and fleet combat, are missing a working computer Artifical Intelligence for one is present. This is one element that was not to be found in previous betas for the game. Another addition is a new technology manager with built-in technology tree. [L]ots of play balancing in, the new ship battle system, cleaner UI, and many other changes round out the quick list of changes over previous pre-releases.
Those who pre-order GalCivII before September 1 can participate in this beta as those who have pre-ordered earlier can, but those who miss this deadline will have to wait for the fourth beta in October [see related story] to get in on the action in advance of its commercial release scheduled for February 2006. - DanQ
SITE`S SECOND BATCH OF EXCLUSIVE SCREENS
(31 August 2005, 19:58 | GalCiv2) Two-and-a-half months after receiving their first set of exclusive Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords screenshots [see story], The Wargamer (WG) has receoved three more from developer Stardock Systems. Posted by WG's Sean Drummy, the first image is of the main map, the second looks at spaceship design in progress and the third and final one shows research on `Manufacturing Theory` being considered.
Thumbnails and 650x~500 copies of each are all in JPEG format. - DanQ
DEVELOPER CHAT SCREENS RELEASED
(31 August 2005, 17:21 | GalCiv2 | 6 comments)  Earlier this week, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords developer Stardock Systems (SS) held a live chat with with interested and available participants over the company`s Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server [see story]. The development team member in attendance was the game`s Project Lead and SS Founder/President Brad "Draginol" Wardell. While taking questions from attendees, he multi-tasked by taking and sharing screenshots from GalCivII`s latest build -- Beta 3 -- with them.
Today, Wardell released four of these screenshots publicly for the first time through Apolyton Civilization Site`s forums. He also provides descriptions for each image and promises [m]ore to come. Multiple space battle views, a game board-type view, general map view, and starship battle still make up the majority of the set. The fifth is a previously released image of a spaceship Wardell himself designed. [I]f you ever played with legos, you`re going to love this, he says of this creation.
A thumbnail of Wardell`s ship is pictured above and to the right. Full versions of all screenshots are at 1024x768 resolution. - DanQ
WON`T SOMEONE THINK OF THE FARMS?
(31 August 2005, 01:33 | GalCiv2 | 65 comments) The screenshots from various beta builds of Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords have impressed some, others not, and ultimately generated lively debate. I`m a little disapppointed by some of the stuff I`ve noticed, says Apolyton Civilization Site (ACS) forum user `Sandman`. For example, I don`t think there`s any need for `farms` in a space strategy game. It`s just pointless busy-work for the player. [..] Space-faring civilizations with anti-matter, neutronium and nanobots shouldn`t have to worry about whether they`re producing enough wheat. Fellow ACS forum user `mart7x5` disagrees. I think providing food for population is one of the most interesting elements of empire building games. [..] Farms, their number or quality just further represents how good is a colony or planet in maintaining sufficient food supply.
Next 'LDiCesare', a presumed GalCivII pre-orderer and beta tester' intervenes and in the [game`s] current beta is there`s so little tech[nology] and little discontent that it`s quite hard to see what it`ll give in the finished game, but I think having planets with nice production spots... makes planets separate and more interesting than the simple figures they were in [the first GalCiv for the PC]. [This is] how StarDock has responded to the gaming community`s demand for a way to better micromanage their worlds, adds `Darkstar`. Now, this particular squabble has caught the attention of GalCivII Project Lead Brad "Draginol" Wardell, who is also the Founder and President of its developer Stardock Systems.
In GalCivI, one of the frustrating "mechanics" was trying to keep your people happy. The player really had little control over the happiness of the people. [..] So in GalCivII, we decided to make food the limiting factor. A "farm"... can only feed X millions of users. As a result, players can control their top-level population by limiting the number of farms they build.
Whether this explanation and incorporation of farms will satisfy 'Sandman' and other like-minded gamers remains to be seen. - DanQ
FIVE NEW SCREENS DELIVERED
(31 August 2005, 00:49 | GalCiv2) Five exclusive Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords screenshots were delivered by developer Stardock Systems to Gamecloud who published them at the beginning of this week. One image is of the `Battle Axe` class ship in the Ship Yard and the others are a Colony Management screen view of Thindor IV, general map view, another `Battle Axe` view and a research complete note entitled `Starship Defences Perfected`.
According to the title bar visible in the first and fourth shots, they come from the game as of version 0.28 -- to be more commonly referred to as `Beta 3` scheduled for release the day after their posting. - DanQ
-- Galactic Civilizations 2
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