Galactic Civilizations IV

1/26 I've been playing Galactic Civilizations IV, as a new player, for about a month. I love this game. The game is subtly nuanced enough to pull me back each and every time. I still hold with my original review: This is a great game. 12/25 This is really a great game! GCIV was a total surprise to me and I highly recommend that you get it.

I put a ton of time into GalCiv 2 back in the day. I played a moderate amount of GC3. GC4 feels like they've added complexity but not managed to improve it meaningfully. The game is crashing over 2 years after it came out (3 crashes in 6 hours!). I think one of the same structural weaknesses the series has always had is still here - the AI does really dumb stuff based on simplistic strength calculations and launches suicidal wars against people who have outteched them but not got much in the way of an immediate standing fleet. Only once you get very late in the war does their fighter spam decline sufficiently for them to believe they're actually losing, despite getting smashed in battle after battle by superior craft and losing planets. It's also just as exhausting to fight that way. Nobody wants to worry about tiny holes in their lines as 2 enemy useless fighters destroy your constructor in vain. Like technically that's realistic and a valid strategy but nobody actually WANTS to to have to play the game super slowly to make sure everything is fully protected at all times and pay attention to every single thing to make sure nobody snuck through your lines without you noticing until suddenly some random planet is 2 turns from being conquered. That's stuff the AI is super good at dealing with because it has infinite attention and patience but humans want to zoom through turns to progress what's actually happening. I never even got to finish a game due to crashing and getting exhausted. I hit the (very nearly) 7 hour mark and just don't have any energy to continue.

I have the base game, and I enjoy it a lot. I find myself playing through it, but haven't taken any games to full completion. After you know you're going to win or lose, it gets pretty repetitive. Could use some updates to the "automations", and I'm betting a lot of that is done in the DLC, so I'm waiting on a sale for those.

It may not have the story-telling potential of Stellaris, but this is a solid space 4X game. The more I play it, the more that I appreciate its design. As quoted in Wikipedia, "[In] early 2022, CEO Brad Wardell shared that 'one of the reasons I think GalCiv IV is turning out so well is that we have no shame,' saying that their team would 'borrow/inspire/steal as needed' from other 4X games including Stellaris, Endless Space, Distant Worlds, Civilization VI, Old World, and Humankind." Yes, I can definitely see much of that in here. Well done.

Als ich dann doch noch Endless Space 2 sie.. ähm.. ja irgendwas, spielen konnte man es nicht nennen... überlebte! Als ich dies tat wurde ich sowas von Überzeugt von GC IV. Dieses Spiel hat alles übersichtlicher und leichter handhabbar. Ich ziehe völlig frei durchs All Ich baue meine Planeten aus wie ich möchte Ich kann locker meine 'Helden' einsetzen wie es mir gefällt Ich kann ein vorgefertigtes Schiff wählen oder ein ganz eigenes konstruieren. Ich kann jeden und alles angreifen wann ich es möchte und nicht wie ***ES2 es vorschreibt Ich werde nicht mit sinnlosen Infos geflutet: Diplomatie hat Konsequenzen Die Menues sind sowas von übersichtlich gestaltet, das es eine Freude ist sie zu nutzen. Die Kämpfe brauchen nicht ewig und sind auch nicht grottenlangweilig wie in ***ES2 Ob du n kleines Spielfeld haben willst oder ein richtig fettes, das ist hier drinnen tatsächlich so. Testet es einfach. Macht einfach und testet es. ***ES2-Spieler sollten es zwangsweise spielen müssen!

i'm Done with this game totally regret buying, the maps generated are impossible, missing resources, core worlds too far, or empty solar systems despite choosing the option of abundant habitable planets Update New patch and the map generator still SUCKs!!! same things missing resources, empty solar systems or core worlds FAR FAR FAAAAAAR AWAY and the IA has everything even a solar system with 4!!!!! core worlds

GALCIV 4 isn't Stellaris (thank god) and can be fun but it is in need to learn a thing or two (that isn't PDX's DLC policy) from other 4X games. Main problems: -Race leader screens is an eyesore, they are uncanny as hell and not for being aliens. +AI generated things won't land no matter how and why you use it -Warlords DLC shouldn't be a DLC, focus on additions like races. -Like many other strategy games, GC4 fails to convey information. Highlighing enemy is a MUST and making bright red "We are being Invaded morron" shouldn't be in a window that can be clicked away from (and forgotten) Likes: + NPCs feel like they are trying to be participants. They can be annoying and frustrating sometimes but not Paradox AI... + Influence zones and an open hexbased map. No lines like Stellaris and you can go wherever your reach can....reach. +Planetary management like a boardgame

Overall a great game however the ships could look better and the diplomacy could be a bit more in depth.

As a long time player of the GalCiv series, there is a lot of commonality between GalCiv 1 and 4. The new planetary districts and adjacency bonus work well and offer constant decision making. Freighter and Supply ships adds a new dimension to the civilian economy. The race creation AI is a game in itself. I tried to make a Borg style race and the AI nailed it. Very cool. Stardock kept the best parts of the GalCiv series, made them better and then added more cool stuff. I played the base game for 100 hours and now I am going to buy the expansions.