Galactic Civilizations IV News

[h2]The Battle of Ivan’s Star[/h2]
Task Force Kenga included an Ann Arbor class Destroyer as well as the original TAS Gibraltar.


It was evenly matched with the Drengin fleet.


But the Drengin had something that the humans did not: Long-ranged missiles


These instantly took out the Frigates. The Drengin Doom Giver class had twice the armor as the Terrans who relied heavily on shields. Shields are indeed very useful but having the shields annihilated before they reached weapon range is a problem:


The Ann Arbor class ships could go toe to toe but there was only one of them in the fight.

Eventually only the Ipsi (the Ann Arbor class) remained:


It was time for a new ship class.

[h3]From Kalamazoo[/h3]


Equipped with the new Plamsa pod plans sent from Earth, protected by Thulium alloy and an array of shield generators, the Kalamazoo class was hoped to turn the tide.

The question was would it come soon enough?


While the Kalamazoo classes were rushed into service, the Drengin were methodically taking out our mining bases.

[h3]Rematch[/h3]
Task Force Gilda was led by one of the first of the Kalamazoo class ships, the TAS Rapids and escorted by a host of B-5 Pursuers.

Gilda also had a couple of Kalamazoo class Destroyers in the group.


Looking at a Kalamazoo vs. an Ann Arbor class ship really showed a big difference in capability:


The Kalamzoo class had slightly better weapons but was heavily armored. The Drengin Doom Givers remained mostly the same. Their defenses were not remotely in the same league as the Kalamazoo but their weaponry was much better. The Doom Givers continued to rely on their kinetic based weapons.

The B-5s weren’t able to do any damage before going down. Their particle beam weapons just could not penetrate the armor of the Drengin cruisers.


The Rapids, the new Kalamazoo class ship, was absolutely devastating the enemy with two different kills. Two Drengin Guardians.

The Gigamass plating on the Doom Givers were still mitigating the green plasma beams.


And now, the Drengin had closed the distance and a hail of Neutronium balls began wearing down the armor and shields of the Rapids.


Finally, a DoomGiver goes down. The first kill of the war.


At this stage, the Rapid’s armor was absolutely gone.


Shields down. Armor gone. It was just hull vs hull. Now it was just hull to hull.


Unfortunately, the Drengin had slightly more hull to spare.

Now it was down to the last two ships in each fleet. The TAS Canton and a Drengin Sadist. Drengin power vs. Terran defense.


Unfortunately, their punch was stronger their the Terran ability to take it.


In the end, the Drengin fleet came out on top.

However, Commander Voss was not too concerned. The TAS Rapids had done well and a whole fleet of Kalamazoo class ships would soon be in the war.

It wasn’t over yet.

[h2]Two years later[/h2]
The Atherish Sector continued to develop. The Terran Alliance in this sector was pondering whether it was worthwhile to trade with the Drengin in this sector.


After all, the two civilizations were not actually at war. There was actually no specific treaty stipulation that said that the Drengin were to be confined to their homeworld after the war.

It’s just that no one foresaw the development of slipstreams opening up far flung parts of the Milky Way Galaxy. Instead, for a hundred years, the major powers had operated in the Orion sector and all the useful planets had long been claimed. Now that other sectors were available, the Drengin were, technically, free to expand.

However, there was concern about the Drengin’s military spending which had recently jumped. What were they planning?


Moreover, it was becoming obvious that the Drengin were now far ahead in developing this sector.


The decision was made to prepare for war in this sector. We were far from Earth and we were under no illusions that we were not on our own.

To that end, the Ann Arbor class Destroyer was created:


And to go with it a Gibraltar class Frigate.


This day was inevitable


One problem both sides would have is to deal with the Pacifier Sentinels.


Long ago, for reasons unknown, the Precursors set up various automated devices that detect warships and attack them to try to “keep the peace”. The Drengin long noticed these and since, for centuries, could not overcome them, relied on their shocktroops to simply take over worlds.

Of course, today, our fleets can actually defeat these if enough effort is directed at it. But they remain a significant issue for the civilization that wants to sacrifice precious lives to deal with them first.

In each case, the Terran industrial complex is always willing to let us know what weapon equivalent they have (and will sell to the government) that is roughly equivalent to what they have.


To deal with the Sentinels Task Force Kanga, led by the TAS Gibraltar and the TAS Monroe would be sent in.

Even the T.A.S. Hobbes, handling exploratory duties was tasked with helping clear the path.


These Precursor drones used to be the terror of the galaxy. It is refreshing to see our ships able to take them out one on one.

However, the Drengin fleet approachin, led by the infamous Master Murthon, was significantly more powerful than Taskforce Kanga.


It was for that reason we sent Task Force Berlin in.


Unfortunately, the Gibraltar class ships, while heavily equipped with powerful short-range weapons, were not able to get into range to use their weapons.

The TAS Jackson, a Destroyer class ship did better.


In Phase 23 we can see the issue. The TAS Jackson scored a full hit with its powerful particle beam array only to have the Drengin’s armor absorb it.


Their secret is the Gigamass Plating which is a technology unknown to us. The Titanium plating on the Jackson is helpful but just not enough.

Eventually, it is only the Jackson left against the others.


Taskforce “Uther” was assigned to soften them up with Kanga to finish them off. But after seeing Uther wiped out, Kanga fell back to a safe distance.

In the meantime, a bomber was designed, the B-5 Pursuer with a Neutrino lancer installed to hopefully give the Gibraltars more time to close the distance.


The pursuer was only 23 meters long, fairly tiny for a ship equipped with hyperdrive. But it packed a punch.

Meanwhile, Kanga situated itself near Ivan’s Star, where a hyperlane was discovered.


But the Drenign Horde was approaching. It was time to make them go somewhere else..


And so off to some other part of the galaxy they were sent. But there was no doubt, we were losing the war.


And the Drengin knew it.

To be continued. . .

[h2]A year’s worth of feedback, suggestions and general improvements make their way into Stardock’s massive update[/h2][h3]Join us today from 1pm - 3pm EST for a livestream event here on Steam[/h3][h3]Full Changelog Here

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Stardock Entertainment has released the v3.0 Hyperlane Update of its space strategy title, Galactic Civilizations IV. The update introduces major new features such as Hyperlanes, Fleet Supply, a new Map Generation System, updated AI and hundreds of changes based on player feedback over the past year.

“We’ve been pouring through fan feedback for over a year on how to make GalCiv even better,” said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock Entertainment. “We’ve tried to address everything, and then some, of what players wanted like more strategic options, more interesting map generation options, better AI, better late game performance, user interface improvements and a lot more.”

Some of the major updates include:
Hyperlanes. While Galactic Civilizations has free-form map movement of units, Hyperlanes provide direct lines between distant stars allowing for very fast travel between disconnected sections of a sector.

New Map Generation. The map generation system of the game has been remade and now includes new options when setting up a game.

Fleet supply.  To allow for more strategic options during war time, civilizations have a Fleet Supply cap that is increased by technologies and planet improvements to make different starship designs more distinct.

Adaptive AI. At higher difficulty levels, AI can adapt their difficulty if they are losing to ensure a more challenging game.  Moreover, at all difficulty levels, the AI has been significantly improved.

Major UI improvements.  Dozens of updates, big and small have been made to the user interface of the game to streamline player interaction.

Performance overhaul. Maps have been made bigger and more stars in a map are supported to go along with a year-long effort to optimize the game engine’s performance.  This should be particularly noticeable on lower end hardware.

Balance wishlists implemented.  Stardock painstakingly reviewed posts on its forums, Steam, Reddit, third-party forums, etc. on balance suggestions, wishlists, etc. and implemented them after careful review.

Visual Updates. The engine received a major update to intelligently anti-alias ship components with each other on a ship to make starships visually look better on screen.

Better Steam Workshop integration. Players can design and share their ships online. Version 3.0 is more responsive, requires fewer steps and generates higher quality screenshots for modders.

DLC updates. All of the released expansions and DLC for Galactic Civilizations have received updates over the past year to provide additional content and features for those who have them.

The award-winninig Galactic Civilizations series is the oldest actively developed space strategy game series starting with its first beta release in 1993 for IBM’s OS/2 operating system.  

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[h2]Background[/h2]
The Terran Alliance was formed shortly after the confirmation of intelligent life in the galaxy following a probe from a mysterious alien civilization known as the Arcean Empire. This contact soon resulted in the development of FTL travel which quickly spread throughout this area of the known galaxy which inevitably led to an encounter with the quadrant’s most powerful civilization, the Drengin Empire.

The saga of the various conflicts between the Drengin and the coalition of civilizations put together by the Terran Alliance is told elsewhere. Ultimately, the Drengin Empire was defeated and for a time thought permanently restrained.

However, the Drengin continued their ambitions which ultimately led to them discovery the Navigators, a species from well outside the known area of space. These creatures had discovered a series of constructs built, we presume, by the Precursors that crisscross the entire Milky Way galaxy. These constructs, called Subspace streams, opened vast areas of the galaxy to the attention of the Drengin who quickly explored and settled in new areas covertly.

Now, a decade later, the Drengin have regained much of their former might and the Terran Alliance is now frequently engaged in far flung skirmishes with the Drengin in sectors far from home. This After Action Report covers one such skirmish in the Atheris Sector.


[h2]Beginnings[/h2]
Commander Voss has operational authority for the entire sector. Her command post is on planet Aetheris Prime, a promising Terrestrial world.


Voss also has a small contingent of Navigator advisors who have provided some additional technology. They also have agreed to build boreholes on the world that their teams will make use of.


The sector has two clumps of stars in them:


Subspace sensors have indicated that there is definitely another hyperspace using entity somewhere in this sector. But we do not know where yet.


[h2]Exploration[/h2]
The TAS Excursion has found an abandoned Precursor world which we have called Tabit III.


The hyperstorms on the planet make it fairly unpleasant to live but it has a Durantium deposit that may prove invaluable. Nevertheless, not exactly a vacation destination.


A starbase is hastily sent out to Tabit III to help begin processing the ore. It quickly becomes known as “Tom’s Mine” named in honor of Ensign Thomas Yule who, sadly, perished during the setting up of the starbase.


[h2]Operational Report: 90 days[/h2]
Commander Voss’s 90 day report provides many insights on the unusaul sector. It is a very resource rich sector and multiple high quality colonization targets found. No sign of hostile activity yet.


In addition, the Navigators present a new device known as a Hyperlane detector. These are similar to subspace streams except they exist within a sector. It shows that that this sector even has one:


Which spans the gap between the two clumps.

The only negative in the report is that Xia Isoda and her team were forced to relocate to Tabit III since no one would go voluntarily.




[h2]Ringworld[/h2]
This sector also contains a ruined Ringworld.


This could be very interesting later. The ringworld, ironically, was discovered by miners from Tom’s Mine. Naturally, it has been called Tom’s Ringworld.




[h2]Contact: Drengin Outpost[/h2]
After traveling to the other clump of stars, our probe discover the Drengin Empire. They have not, as of yet, noticed us yet. But they are here.


Voss orders the construction of a military starbase to monitor them.

Voss also orders the design of a new Frigate class ship.




[h2]Drengin Travelers[/h2]
The Drengin end up noticing our presence due to one of their Gladiator explorers (i.e. a spy) making their way to Aetheris.


Needless to say, we have no intention of releasing their murderous spy back to them.


[h2]Artifacts[/h2]
The TAS Hobbes has, in its various adventures in this sector, recovered a number of Precursor devices. The most impressive so far is the Gift of the Mithrilar which is a device that when activated on a planet uses some sort of nano devices, operated by a Yor (not the sentient Yor we know today) that increase the intelligence of our citizens. Voss orders it deployed on Aetheris Prime. Hopefully this doesn’t become a decision to regret later.




[h2]Drengin Expansion[/h2]
The Drengin have clearly been operating in this sector for some time. Voss orders additional research into military hardware to deploy in this sector.


To be continued. . .

[p]Attention, Galactic Civilizations fans! We are thrilled to announce an exciting livestream event showcasing the highly anticipated v3.0 Hyperlane Update! Join us as we delve into the universe of Galactic Civilizations IV and explore the groundbreaking features that will elevate your gameplay experience to new heights.[/p][p][/p][h3]📅 Thursday, June 12, 2025 at 1:00 PM EST[/h3][h3]📍Location: Galactic Civilizations IV Steam Page[/h3][p][/p][h3]Some of the major updates in the Galactic Civilizations IV Hyperlane Update include:[/h3]

• [p]Hyperlanes. While Galactic Civilizations has free-form map movement of units, Hyperlanes provide direct lines between distant stars, allowing for very fast travel between disconnected sections of a sector.[/p]
• [p]New Map Generation. The map generation system of the game has been remade and now includes new options when setting up a game.[/p]
• [p]Fleet supply.  To allow for more strategic options during war time, civilizations have a Fleet Supply cap that is increased by technologies and planet improvements to make different starship designs more distinct.[/p]
• [p]Adaptive AI. At higher difficulty levels, AI can adapt their difficulty if they are losing to ensure a more challenging game.  Moreover, at all difficulty levels, the AI has been significantly improved.[/p]
• [p]Major UI improvements. Dozens of updates, big and small, have been made to the game's user interface to streamline player interaction. [/p]
• [p]Performance overhaul. Maps have been made bigger, and more stars in a map are supported, following a year-long effort to optimize the game engine’s performance. This should be particularly noticeable on lower-end hardware. [/p]
• [p]Balance wishlists implemented.  Stardock painstakingly reviewed posts on its forums, Steam, Reddit, third-party forums, etc. on balance suggestions, wishlists, etc. and implemented them after careful review.[/p]
• [p]Visual Updates. The engine received a significant update to intelligently anti-alias ship components with each other on a ship to make starships visually look better on screen.[/p]
• [p]Better Steam Workshop integration. Players can design and share their ships online. Version 3.0 is more responsive, requires fewer steps and generates higher quality screenshots for modders.[/p]
• [p]DLC updates. All of the released expansions and DLC for Galactic Civilizations have received updates over the past year to provide additional content and features for those who have them.[/p]