It is hard to believe now, but I started playing Gal Civ on OS/2 when it first came out! I also had to switch over to Windows when it became clear that OS/2 wasn't going to make it in the long run and I picked up a copy of the first Windows version. Looking at the graphics on OS/2 now, I had forgotten how far the game has come. I was also a Founder for GalCiv 3 and there is a star with my last name. This is one of my all time favorite series of games and outstanding gameplay has been consistent throughout!
GalCiv 2 (2006) remains my favourite in the series. It contains all the important features I want from a GalCiv game, but doesn't get bogged down with the tedium that later games do.
Playing Galciv IV and I LOVE it. There's a lot of options in the game but overall it is more accessable than say something like Stellaris or Distant Worlds. I love the fact that they added characters with perks. Only thing I am unsure about is the combat plays. I think Brad wanted to get rid of it but seems people in the community argued for it. I think if they turn it into a simple realtime combat system where you can direct ships, utilize special orders etc. it would be amazing. And a time sink!
OK This is a pretty amazing video for me. I was a big OS/2 user back in the day -- a big gamer, ran a bulletin board (which meant the forums were important to me). So much nostalgia in the images -- I had that C book, some of those computers, etc.. Also Great to see Battlemode here too! Excellent!
I still play GalCivII on my rickety old desktop from time-to-time. A lot of the older games really had very interesting GAMEPLAY, and a lot of that is gone. (Speaking of games in general, not GalCivs specifically.) Graphics are all well and good, if the GAME is GOOD. I'll say this, too, for GalCivII...by the time I bought it, it was pretty bug-free. I get some stuff just doesn't pop up often enough in testing, but too often in modern gaming (like the last twenty years, really), it seems like a "Dump it on the market, we'll patch it forever." mentality is at work. It drove a lot of gamers to platforms for a long time because those games HAD to function out of the box. Until downloads happened for those games too. So now those games are always 'works in progress' for months-to-years too. Luckily, it seems like Stardock has done their best to at least minimize this frustration, and I appreciate that. Also... The expansions really matter. A lot of times, expansions are ONLY adding another race or tweaking some minor rule, or putting in some glorified mod that you have to dedicate a role-play to that you probably wouldn't bother with otherwise. So good job on those.
I'm new to Galciv series (but not to 4x) with Supernova being my first game of the series and i hope it has a great future. Very nice historical video, 90-s were such a dynamic and fascinating time for gamers and developers.
I never realized that I played Galactic Civilizations, Windows remake of the game (2003). Not GC2. I thought OS/2 was #1 and the Windows version was #2. I was wrong.
unique Civ techs/buildings was so nice.. i miss a better and more impactful and interesting tech tree - i don't want to see 10%, 10%, 10% on each upgrade - i want quality in upgrades, new possibilities, new ways to play give me an update that makes ships shoot computer viruses or teleport nukes :D not just 10% more dmg... Master of Orion 2 has a GREAT tree!!! Path of Exile has a great tree that is a clear example on how to provide quality instead of quantity in tech (;
I still hold dearly to my Collector's Edition of the GalCiv II that I bought on Impulse. Back then, I really thought Impulse was going to get the upper hand over Steam. And I was really happy to be a Founder of the GalCiv III, although I must confess to not have played it nearly enough - specially down the road when the rest of the DLC came through.
Not much love for GalCiv3 here. I really like it and with a few additions from the community, as well as some races I created with their editor, so far it remains my favorite. I bought it twice, actually and I played the early GCiv 4 with poor interaction. I know it's going to be great someday just like GCiv3 took two years to really mature.
I've always been curious about the original two Gal Civs (the OS/2 games). I'd only ever heard them mentioned in passing (no screenshots or a description, just the names) to the point I thought Stardock had just bought the rights to some old games to make a (then) modern reboot/reimagining. It is interesting to see how the alien races' designs have changed through the years. Such as in the first games ( 2:30 ), the Torians look vaguely like what the Arceans will look like in the Windows version but in a bad toupee (and the Altarians looking like the "reboot" Torians - I suspect they weren't mysteriously genetically close to Humans in those games).
