Galactic Civilizations II v1.31 Change log

Just bug fixes..

from JoeUser Forums

The downside of putting out updates that add tons of features is that inevitably some of those new features or changes to game play create unexpected side-effects.  We call those things Kilgore of the deep but most people refer to them as "bugs".  So 1.31 is a good old fashioned bug fix.

+ fixed bug with planet quality bonus not being applied for home planet; I believe that we have now nailed all the bugs that caused a difference between the planet class and the number of useable tiles.
 
+ fixed bug where bonuses from improvements were never removed if they were built on a tile with a special bonus
 
+ fixed crash caused by the Delete key trying to destroy improvements that were not fully built yet
 
+ fixed bug where the internal name of an improvement was not being restored from a save game, which would have caused lots of small, non-obvious problems.
 
+ increased time-out limit for pathfinding algorithm so that it won't time out for really long distances; this should fix the bugs where ships would just stop moving, prevent mini-freighters from getting stuck if their destination planet is all the way across a gigantic galaxy, etc.
 
+ fixed bug where Minimap would not redraw after a planet culture flipped (causing the so-called "trapeziod of doom" bug)
 
+ ships will no longer be selected when they leave orbit, except when launched from the Info Icons

+ 'free' (default) race abilities will no longer show up in the abilities listbox on the Customize Race Screen on the Abilities tab as it was unclear that these were free abilities and that choosing another option in that category would overwrite these changes rather than adding to them.  However, these abilities bonuses will still be overwritten, and they will still show up on the Overview tab if they are not modified. 

28,681 views 19 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Oh well, another version shows up before I get a chance to play under the previous one - again.   

Seriously, thanks for the quick fumigation.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm glad I am between games.

Hooray for the minimap fix. I look forward not having to deal with that anymore, too.

Thanks, Stardock.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
+ 'free' (default) race abilities will no longer show up in the abilities listbox on the Customize Race Screen on the Abilities tab as it was unclear that these were free abilities and that choosing another option in that category would overwrite these changes rather than adding to them. However, these abilities bonuses will still be overwritten, and they will still show up on the Overview tab if they are not modified.


Stealer. Thief! you took that out of INVADER-Mod. (Joking) You can steal whatever you want out of my mod. (at least you are even looking at it for bug fixes.)

Populations are lower and approval buildings aren't as effective. For example, an advanced farm provides a 7MT population bonus instead of 10MT. Virtual reality centers provide a 25% morale bonus versus 60%. Mining modules are not as effective. In general, you have to run much lower taxes to keep approval out of the red. It has a huge impact on how much money comes in and how long it takes to "get over the hump".

^
I want all the weak gameplay changes that make the game longer changed back.
Max pop should be 24 not 19
I don't like how much you nerfed the economy.
I don't mind the morale changes but guess what? I want those changed back too.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I don't like how much you nerfed the economy.


I think it works great. It makes the mid-game more interesting. Heck, my last game was on a Large map with very few planets and I was (at the end) running 75% taxes and still holding over 90% morale. Granted, I had bonuses and the like but it was harder to get it there....I had to keep inching it up over the course of the game along with more careful planet management.



+ fixed bug where Minimap would not redraw after a planet culture flipped (causing the so-called "trapeziod of doom" bug)


Woo! I had never encountered that one before, got it once (sent bug report) and then kept on getting it after that. Drove me nuts.

Great work as always Stardock!

Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I want all the weak gameplay changes that make the game longer changed back.


Considering my major complaint about the game was that the game would become less fun after the colonizing and the first major conflict (cause thats when the superpowers emerge and it's clear who's going to win). The more changes they add to slow down the gameplay and make the game last longer the better (considering my tech tree is now modded to be 20x more expensive). Can't wait till DA comes out and we have more diplomatic choices.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I think it works great. It makes the mid-game more interesting. Heck, my last game was on a Large map with very few planets and I was (at the end) running 75% taxes and still holding over 90% morale. Granted, I had bonuses and the like but it was harder to get it there....I had to keep inching it up over the course of the game along with more careful planet management.


Well then we need a poll or consensus. I know plenty of people who do not like these changes. They are all over the forum. And I am one of them. I will become very "vocal". These changes I feel were made just for high ranking metaverse players and people who play the extreme harder difficulty levels. Those of us who play the game on an everyday basis do not like the changes. I already spend 36-42 hours on a gigantic galaxy I don't need 2-4 hours tacked on just to get my econmy up and don't want to. They shouldn't have to mess with there taxes AT ALL if they choose. This forces them to use the economy tax bracket in the game which I hate. This isn't Sim Taxes This is GalCiv2.

But I see we are at the mercy of the "Yes Men" again.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The "trapeziod of doom" was my biggest irritation I'm glad they finally got it fixed. Now if I can just get the game to stop randomly crashing that would be nice.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Your not the only one wirefire, mine crashes so regularly that im just so used to it now.

I auto save every turn just to try and stay on top of it.....but i play on anyway...

The planet quality bug im glad to is gone.....but the economy is certinly one change that i wasnt so happy about....i think my game time has doubled playing on maso now...

Oh well ill take the good with the bad.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
If the game crashes on consistantly you may have something running in the background that is interfering, or a driver or hardware issue. Overheating can cause problems too.

Have you sent in error reports using Smart Exception to support so they can try and pinpoint the problem, if it is a problem with the game?
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yea, I gotta say, I can't remember the last time the game crashed and I've logged many hundreds of hours on the game since it's 1.0.  If you're getting crashes, you need to install Smart Exception from SDC and have that running and send it in so it can be looked at and diagnosed.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Honestly- my complaint about the farm nerf is that farms do need something to compensate.

Suggestion: Create a branch of techs off Xeno Farming that grant a pop growth bonus to farms (not increased by food bonus)

Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
+ ships will no longer be selected when they leave orbit, except when launched from the Info Icons


Is a by-product of this being, the planet no longer has the focus when you launch a ship from the ship builder screen?

When I am building constructors I tend to let the starport fill up, and when I see a Full Starport in the Governer screen I go to the planet, launch a ship, reset the port to build a ship, then exit.

Before this update when I exited I would only have to click the Launch button several times to launch the rest of the ships, because the planet I launched from was already selected. That is no longer the case. Now I have to find the planet with the single ship next to it, select it, then launch the rest of the ships.

I don't like that change.
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I would have rather seen the AI build a better economy, but the changes work out fairly well. I don't really like the new population limits, but again they work out especially for the AI.

I would like to see more diversity in planet management. (ie give me a reason to have high population planets, or a need for morale buildings.)

Before 1.3 it was just too easy to get "over the hump", now you generally end up in your 1st war before you're coasting which makes things interesting.

What I really want to see now is a lot more AI code clean up. Work on the fundamentals, like the feedback of what ships to build and when, and re-evaluating a given strategy. (like not sending hords of transports out when every battle group they've sent out has been dissimated...)
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Is a by-product of this being, the planet no longer has the focus when you launch a ship from the ship builder screen?

When I am building constructors I tend to let the starport fill up, and when I see a Full Starport in the Governer screen I go to the planet, launch a ship, reset the port to build a ship, then exit.

Before this update when I exited I would only have to click the Launch button several times to launch the rest of the ships, because the planet I launched from was already selected. That is no longer the case. Now I have to find the planet with the single ship next to it, select it, then launch the rest of the ships.

I don't like that change.


Its funny how everyone complained the opposite. (look around you'll see the posts.)

Everyone wanted to go straight to the ship I don't know why. The blank starport planet screen must have bothered them.

But I agree. Maybe later Stardock could make it so the game knows whether a planets starport is empty or not before shifting focus.
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
+ increased time-out limit for pathfinding algorithm so that it won't time out for really long distances; this should fix the bugs where ships would just stop moving, prevent mini-freighters from getting stuck if their destination planet is all the way across a gigantic galaxy, etc.


Thank you SD for finally fixing this one!

Reply #16 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Well, at least in my last game the AI races were not overdoing the stock markets.
Overall, the game seems to be running very smoothly.

And for the first time in I don't know how long, NO minimap problems.
  
Reply #17 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Well then we need a poll or consensus. I know plenty of people who do not like these changes. They are all over the forum. And I am one of them. I will become very "vocal". These changes I feel were made just for high ranking metaverse players and people who play the extreme harder difficulty levels. Those of us who play the game on an everyday basis do not like the changes. I already spend 36-42 hours on a gigantic galaxy I don't need 2-4 hours tacked on just to get my econmy up and don't want to. They shouldn't have to mess with there taxes AT ALL if they choose. This forces them to use the economy tax bracket in the game which I hate. This isn't Sim Taxes This is GalCiv2.

But I see we are at the mercy of the "Yes Men" again.

My guess is that most people prefer a complex game instead of a dumbed-down game where you don't have to touch the economy AT ALL (which you apparently want). I'm one of them.
This is Galactic CIVILIZATIONS 2. Economy is a part of every civilization.

Frogboy, one comment about the morale. Stock Markets morale bonus need IMO to be decreased to 5%, they are too good as they are now. This would make the morale buildings more important and useful.
Reply #18 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I enjoy the economy changes as well, once you learn how to run the early game, (hint: build markets first, don't auto buy the first factory) My economy can keep up with the AI on crippling. At some point in the game my taxes are set at 22% just to get the population growth increase by having 100% morale, more people more money.

I really like the fact that mid game is still a losing possibility. Before if you lasted till mid game it was another two hours of 'clean up', not fun.

Great work Stardock.
Reply #19 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
just back to the crashing guys....its soething i have learned to live with and im sure it is a prob with my graphics and/or driver not the game itself so much...

and of course i have had smart ex for quite some time and sent many an email back to the devs........

With the ecomony changes and the change to the morale bonus of the vr buildings i have found it actually slows the game down in the first 1 to 2 years and takes alot lomger to get over the hump.......for later in the game it is far more balanced, cause i used to see some very high bc's every month......i guess it comes down to the balance of the game depending on whether you enjoy the long marathon games or ones for just a few hours.....a shorter game just had a bit more appeal to me....all imo of course....