Galactic Civilizations IV News

The Terran Alliance have had a tough time in the Galactic Civilizations universe: with the optimism, and some might say naivety, of a new species discovering they were not alone in the galaxy for the very first time, mankind shared their advanced technology “Hyperdrive” with the Arceans. Those precious plans were stolen by Drengin spies and from there, this advanced technology for rapid space travel was sold, hacked or otherwise disseminated to the other races out across the Centauron sector, and beyond.

On the one hand, this one act of benevolence probably caused more death, destruction and misery than any other before it. On the other, it closed the vast gap between the different species of the galaxy and heralded a race for galactic outreach that spurred each civilization on to ever greater heights.

Unfortunately for the Terrans, they were eventually conquered by the Drengin Empire and retreated back to the surface of Earth, protected by an ancient Precursor device that prevented anything from getting in, or from leaving the planet. After finally pushing the Drengin back and waging a dreadful war of vengeance, they were freed to once again chase their own destiny.


Today we’re going to take a look the Terran Alliance and check out some of the features that differentiate them from the other civilizations in the game. Space 4X games tend to have the human faction as the “vanilla” or baseline faction, and while that’s also true to some extent in GalCiv IV (we want new players that tend to gravitate towards playing a familiar race to learn basics of the game without too many unusual mechanics to get in the way), we’ve tried to add a bit more flavor in for them to make them just as fun to play as the other races.


The Terran Alliance start in the Sol system and have access to two potential colonies early on. Both Mars and Artemis have their own colonization event, so you can pick an early game boost and help shape the direction you want to take the Terran Alliance in.



Mars gives you the choice between an early Leader, +1 Minerals or +1 Technology. The Leader can be useful to staff a government position, saving you paying for one yourself and freeing up valuable Credits for rush-building an early Probe or Colony Ship for faster expansion out into the sector, Minerals will help kickstart your industrial development faster, while Technology is a good choice to hit an early research goal sooner.



The Artemis event gives either +10 Culture Points, to advance you quicker along a desired Ideology to grab an early Ideological Trait. Alternatively pick a +3 Cultural Significance and a +10% Approval bonus for Earth, a solid choice which would gradually increase Influence on Earth, spreading its borders faster and keeping its Citizens working harder and faster.

Finally, the +500 Credits has precisely 500 Credits worth of utility, and can be used in all sorts of ways to get the Terran Alliance off to a strong start. Purchasing a competent Leader, rush building a valuable Improvement, trading for a much needed Tech with a neighboring civilization… you get the idea!

The Terran Alliance start with access to the standard set of Improvements: the Industrial Center and the Capital Mainframe, both working as strong centerpieces for your Manufacturing and Research assets respectively.


We don’t need to cover those as you’ve seen them before, but with the Tales of Centauron DLC the Terrans do get access to a homeworld Event that gives yet another choice of three rather powerful Improvements to be placed onto a random hex on Earth.


First up is the Global Wellness Initiative. In previous developer journals we’ve discussed just how important Approval is in keeping your Manufacturing and Research going, and this handy resource grants a +15% Approval bonus right off the bat, with +5% more for each adjacent Approval boosting District or Improvement and an extra Adjacency Level Bonus of +1 Wealth and Approval to those neighboring tiles too.

The Citizens of Earth are going to be happy to be pushed harder and longer towards whatever goal you have: whether that’s increasing their tax burden for more Credits, or keeping your more ideologically possessed Citizens from causing too much unrest, having a high Approval will help you get the best out of your world.



Your second choice is the Civil Stability Corps, this time granting a more modest, but still significant+5% Approval bonus, but this time with an accompanying -10% to Crime, with that reduction increasing by -5% per level of adjacency scored. Furthermore this Improvement will improve adjacent Manufacturing assets a little, and any Military Improvement a lot.

Crime is one of those statistics that can really hurt if it is piled on, and while more Approval might seem like a better overall statistic to boost as it does somewhat mitigate the worst effects of Crime, there will be times when a big Crime reduction will be more effective. Furthermore, if you decide to build Earth as your main Manufacturing world, the adjacency bonuses are likely to be attractive.

On this topic, I’d suggest that while Approval might initially seem like the better option here since it does mitigate some of the worst effects of Crime when it is very high and is a big help to your Manufacturing and Research output, it does give diminishing returns the more you stack it, and the Global Wellness Initiative does give a very big stack of Approval. If you’re playing like the Drengin and your people are very unhappy, this might be the way to go, but even the smaller boost of +5% from the Civil Stability Corps could be enough to support your playstyle, and then the Crime reduction and extra Manufacturing/Military centre could be a better bet.


Finally, the Human Expansion Council option gifts you an Economic Council Improvement, granting a flat +10 Social Skills per Citizen located on Earth, with an additional +1 Social Skills and a +5% Gross Income per attached qualifying District or Improvement. It’ll also boost adjacent assets by a huge +3 Wealth and +1 Military.

The Terran Alliance are geared towards Individualism and if that’s the route you take, this is a strong option to pick: Social Skills will not only allow you to train very effective Entertainers for higher Approval, but will also the Entrepreneur job once you’ve unlocked the Ideological Trait called Private Property Rights.

This is a nice build if you’re planning on hothousing Growth on Earth to pump out a lot of Citizens. With such high Social Skills, you can train a lot of Entrepreneurs and the Entertainers to keep your high, cramped-in population happy too. Now think of the Credits you’re gonna be generating with all those beautiful, shiny golden Wealth Districts surrounding the Economic Council, and all those high Social Skills Entrepreneurs to make use of them?


And that’s not all. The Terran Alliance have yet another Event that comes early in the game, the New Generation Event, which grants you an option of a new Citizen in a Job: do you pick a Solider, a Scientist or an Entertainer? I guess that could depend greatly on your neighbors, or to support the build you’ve picked with your earlier choices, right?

As you can see, the Terrans get a whole lot of options now when it comes to building Earth and its surrounding Colonies, and that means more ways for you to play them.

If you’ve forgotten about the good ol' Terran Alliance, or never played them before, why not give them another spin and see if you can conquer the galaxy in a new way?

In the last developer journal we took a look at the Drath Freehold, a race of ancient dragon-like creatures forcibly removed from their ancient homeworld of Altaria by the Mithrilar, only to be replaced by another new civilization who became known as the Altarians. These philosophically minded blue skinned humanoids bear an uncanny resemblance to the humans of the Terran Alliance and Terran Resistance, and there’s more to their past than meets the eye!

Like several of the other civilizations we’ve examined in this series, the Altarians have the Ancient Civilization Ability and can therefore access the Tower of Procipinee and the Elemental Fabricator.


We’ve seen those before, see this dev-journal, but let’s have a look at the homeworld Event that comes with the Tales of Centauron DLC and the options that it adds to the Altarians' early game.


The Altarians are one of the most influential and cultured of all the galactic civilizations in the game, and are utterly oppressive when it comes to Culture production. The Temple of Enlightenment powerhouses this playstyle and will gear Altaria up with a +25% Influence Growth and +3 Level to Influence Adjacency Level Bonus too. After some much needed balancing, Influence now requires the player to build for that type of playstyle a lot more, and this gives the Altarians much of their bite back when it comes to pushing for a Influence victory.


The second option from this Event is the Arcane Sanctuary, a rather expensive Improvement in terms of Maintenance but providing a huge +3 boost to Social Skills, Intelligence and Diligence. For those players who like to put their Citizens at the front and centre of their civilization’s growth, and like to keep large population numbers, this could be a very powerful strategy for the Altarians.

Diligence and Intelligence will ensure your empire keeps apace of your most productive and enterprising rivals, while the Social Skills boost keeps them happy too. Altaria is Tropical and already has a lot of Approval boosting tiles, ensuring you can keep a large population happy.

I’m sure a canny player can figure out a way to exploit this Improvement and push their civilization’s Research and Manufacturing levels through the roof!


Finally we have the Council of Sages, which provides a flat +1 Research and a flat +2 Level to Research as an Adjacency Level Bonus. This will provide a strong Research centrepiece when surrounded with like Districts and Improvements, and makes for a strong early-game play to push for the later Research tiers and those sweet high-tech goodies they bestow. If you’re not overpopulating Altaria, instead playing with less Citizens and going for Districts and Improvements for your Research instead, this could be a solid choice.


Finally, within the first few turns the Altarians get access to the Empathic Connection Civilization Policy that comes from their Cultural Trait “Empathy”, granting a +15% Approval bonus for free! Approval is one of the most punishing mechanics in GalCiv IV, and for good reason: push your people too hard, and they’re gonna push back by refusing to work or research for you. Any tool that boosts Approval allows you to push your people harder: more taxes, more colonies, more production.

These new tools help the Altarians in pushing their… unique and rather dangerous culture out into big wide galaxy around them very quickly, overwhelming their unwitting foes, who can only watch their own planets join their enemy one by one! Alternatively, you could take the option of playing somewhat tall, with Altaria as the centre of a thriving cottage industry of culture, economics and manufacturing. Or do they grab an early Research boost, rush for some early military technologies and either defend themselves from a scary neighbour, or take another civilization by force?

The Altarians have the power to claim their place in a hostile galaxy, and the way you do it is up to you!

In an exciting turn of events for the Galactic Civilizations IV community, a new challenge has been launched that promises to test the mettle of both novice and veteran players alike. Dubbed "Flight of the Phalenoids," this scenario sets the stage for an epic struggle for survival, with players taking the helm of the Phalenoid civilization to stave off impending doom.

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[h2]Join the Challenge[/h2]
The "Flight of the Phalenoids" community challenge offers a rich tapestry of strategic possibilities, inviting players to immerse themselves in the intricate gameplay mechanics of Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova. Whether you're a seasoned veteran looking to test your skills at higher difficulty levels or a newcomer eager to explore the depths of galactic strategy, this challenge promises a rewarding experience.

The game-save for this challenge is available for download below, and players are encouraged to share their experiences, strategies, and outcomes in the community Discord channel. As the Galactic Civilizations IV community embarks on this thrilling adventure, the "Flight of the Phalenoids" stands as a testament to the game's enduring appeal and the vibrant community that surrounds it.

• Download the Game Save
  
• Share your epic strategies, victories, or even defeats on our #Community-Challenges channel on Discord

[h2]The Scenario Setup[/h2]
The challenge kicks off with the player controlling the Phalenoid Advance, a civilization of moth-like beings, for the first thirty turns. After which, the baton is passed to the community, inviting players to navigate the treacherous waters of interstellar diplomacy and warfare to secure the Phalenoids' future. The AI factions have been meticulously selected to create a challenging yet enjoyable gameplay experience, emphasizing the need for strategic prowess to emerge victorious.

[h2]Game Settings Overview[/h2]
The scenario unfolds on a Small-sized map, featuring a single sector peppered with an above-average number of Stars, Minor Races, and Extreme Planets. Strategic Resources are abundant but unevenly distributed, compelling the Phalenoids to possibly engage in skirmishes for their acquisition. The Galaxy Difficulty is set to Bright, offering a balanced challenge that hinges more on the dynamics between AI civilizations and their proximity to the player.

[h2]Introducing the Phalenoids[/h2]
The Phalenoids are distinguished by their Civilization Ability "Nocturnal," which influences their playstyle significantly. They experience two major cycles - the Season of Waking and the Season of Dreaming - each providing boosts to Manufacturing and Growth, and Research and Influence, respectively. Their diplomatic prowess is bolstered by traits such as Hopeful and Persuasive, making them adept at navigating the complex web of galactic diplomacy.

[h2]Early Game Strategy and Analysis[/h2]
The initial strategy revolves around expanding the Phalenoid empire by establishing Core Worlds and optimizing Research and Manufacturing to accelerate growth. Despite a slow start due to their homeworld's isolated location, strategic colonization and the establishment of Trade Routes lay the groundwork for a prosperous empire. However, the Phalenoids' expansion and the possession of an Ascension Crystal put them on a collision course with neighboring civilizations, setting the stage for potential conflicts.

[h2]Community Challenge and Strategy Tips[/h2]
As the scenario transitions to the community challenge phase, players are faced with a precarious situation. With a modest empire and limited military capabilities, strategic decisions in diplomacy, resource management, and military expansion become crucial. The proximity of aggressive AI civilizations like the Drengin Empire and the Krynn Syndicate adds to the complexity, requiring a delicate balance between strength and diplomacy to avert war or emerge victorious from it.

Players are encouraged to leverage the Phalenoids' strengths in diplomacy and trade to forge alliances and stave off aggression. Strategic research and development of military technologies, alongside the judicious expansion of influence and strategic resources, are vital for securing a path to victory, whether through conquest, diplomacy, or the pursuit of a Prestige victory via the Ascension Crystal.

Happy strategizing, and may the best civilization prevail!

The Drath are an ancient species in the Galactic Civilizations universe, and alongside the Altarians, a long hated rival, they evolved on the planet of Altaria a long, long time ago. Strange rumours and whispered legends amongst both the Altarians and the Drath hint that Altaria may have once been known by another name, but if the lore-masters of each race know more, they’re not letting on.


Unceremoniously exiled from their homeworld in millennia past by a strength far beyond theirs, the Drath have long brewed a powerful concoction of cunning and resentment: two skills vital to survival in a hostile universe, if harnessed in the correct way.

With access to the Ancient trait, like the Altarians and the Iconians, the Drath Freehold also have access to the Elemental Fabricator and the Tower of Procipinee, and for details of those two special Improvements, check out last weeks developer journal focusing on the Iconian Refuge.


But the Drath have another unique Improvement too, the Arms Expo, a base for the import and export of the Drath’s most lucrative trade resource: weapons of war.

The Drath Freehold make a good profit from Trade Routes when trading with civilizations at war, but now this powerful Civilization Achievement assists this goal even further: the +1 Diplomacy Bonus goes some way to offset the penalties incurred when convincing other civilizations to declare war on one another. Furthermore when employed as part of a wider effort to support relations with existing trade partners, this extra diplomatic ability reduces the likelihood of the Drath being on the receiving end of a declaration of war themselves.

But that’s not all! This is a powerful Wealth Improvement that not only grants a large +25% to the Core World’s Gross Income, but also boasts an impressive Adjacency Bonus: +3% per level to both Gross Income and to Research.

You’ve got a choice here: do you powerhouse your generation of credits or stack up your Research efforts instead? Fortunately, this incredibly useful Improvement will provide a centrepiece for either of these extremes, or a healthy mix of the two, ensuring your precious tiles on Dratha are always well utilised.


The Tales of Centauron DLC adds a homeworld Event that kicks in soon after the game’s start, as always presenting the Drath with a choice between three new homeworld Improvements.


First up is the Eldars' Council Chamber, where the very oldest Drath lecture the younger spawn on the deepest affairs of the ancients, alone granting a modest +1% to Research but also adding a hefty+3 Level to Research to all qualifying adjacent Districts and Improvements. A lucky placement can grant the Drath a huge Research bonus once it is fully developed to best take advantage of the arcane ramblings of these wizened old dragons.


Next up is the Warrior Training Grounds. Sometimes, even a shadowy collection of sneaky warmongering lizards need to get their claws dirty, and so once more the Drath Freehold turn to the wisdom of their long, dark past. The Warrior Training Grounds instil young Drath Soldiers with the martial history of their people and increasingly… draconian training regimes that grant Dratha a massive +20% to Soldiering, and a further +3 Level to Military Adjacency Level Bonus.

If you’re planning on a very war-focused playthrough, or you’ve got someone big and scary breathing down your neck in the early game, this might be a great choice to propel the Drath Freehold into the top tier of all military civilizations in the game.


When the younger, less educated Drath shut their ears to the lectures of their elders and refuse the honourable teachings of their ancient war philosophers, the temptation to indulge in extra-societal activities can take hold. Choosing to place the Dragon Mythos Preserve brings these wayward elements back into line by instilling in them the pride of their illustrious past, reducing Crime by 50% and granting a +1 Military Adjacency Level Bonus too.

With these new tools at their disposal, the Drath Freehold can be now be played in many new ways, whether that’s emphasising their traditionally Tall, secret trade-empire style, building them to be more militarily active or propelling them forwards technologically for a more Research oriented approach to victory.

Those sappy, do-gooding Altarians will never know what hit them, and a return to the ancient world of Elemental seems all but assured!

The history of the Galactic Civilizations universe is replete with tragedy, and the desperate Iconians are no exception. After spending their lives in service to a Precursor race known as the Arnor and creating themselves synthetic servants called the Yor to further their aims, an Arnor splinter faction called the Dread Lords gave the Yor sentience and set them on the Iconians in an epic act of spite, driving them off their beautiful homeworld of Iconia.

As the events of Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova unfold, the sorry Iconians find themselves on the modest world of New Iconia. Armed with little more than an inclination towards scientific endeavors and a deep and lasting mistrust of anybody not of their own race, the Iconians strive to reclaim themselves an empire in and amongst the turmoil unfolding around them.

This week, we’re going to take a quick look at some of the tools the Iconians have access to at the start of the game, with a note that, as always, the Homeworld Event content requires the optional “Tales of Centauron” DLC.


Like the Altarian Republic, with whom the Iconians share the “Ancient” Civilization Trait, our suspicious friends gain immediate access to the Elemental Fabricator. With a cheeky nod to a previous popular Stardock title, I think, this adds an immediate +5 Manufacturing to the Core World it is built upon. This is likely to be New Iconia at the start of the game, unless you’re particularly patient, with plans for an epic-scale industrial planet later in your empire’s development. With +1 Manufacturing and +1 Military to any adjacent assets, it could form a solid centerpiece for such a development.


The Tower of Procipinee boosts the Influence output of the Core World it is located upon by +10%, but better still, doubles the Intelligence of all Citizens located there. With a +2 Research Adjacency Level Bonus and added to the Iconian’s Civilization Trait “Clever”, when carefully placed it will greatly advance their civilization’s overall research efforts. The Iconians might find it hard making friends, but they’ll have the technological advantage in any given conflict!


With the “Tales of Centauron” DLC added, the Iconians will get a homeworld Event pop up somewhere between turn 2 and turn 9. We’re familiar with these now, so let’s take a look at the choices on offer.


First up is Ancient Archive. Nothing fancy here, this repository of precursor-era knowledge gives a flat out +3 Research boost, and +1 Research to adjacent tile Districts and Improvements, and is designed to slingshot the research-oriented Iconians into a higher level of technological advancement even earlier than their rivals. This could be a wise-choice when playing the Iconians in classic style, powerhousing Research above all other things and hoping to overpower your rivals with the most advanced weaponry in the universe.


Next we have the Bio-Digital Fusion Centre that gives the world+20% Growth and nicely plugs into your Research network with a +3 Research boost to adjacent Districts and Improvements. This might be a good choice on a map with more space for the Iconians to expand, or if you’re planning on an early war and want lots of Soldiers to crush your enemies with!


Finally, we have the Galactic Diplomacy Hub. The Iconians tend to rely on deception over diplomacy, but this provides an option to play nicer with your neighbours, a strong choice if hemmed in early. In cases like this, your only option is a taller playstyle focusing on trade and diplomacy, keeping most of your rivals sweet but with a mind to single out a weaker neighbor and take their worlds with the support of your new-found friends.


The Ancient trait allows the Iconians access to the Civilization Policy called “Heritage Protection”, giving New Iconia (and only that one homeworld) a 100% Influence Growth bonus. With this, the Iconians can pretend to be the Altarians and push their dubious cultural benefits out into the galaxy around them.

Rapid expansion of Influence takes territory fast, but can be a double-edged sword when those borders start pushing in on someone a lot stronger and scarier than you are. Fortunately, the “Paranoid” Civilization Ability means the Iconians fight very well when protected by their own cultural borders; knowing when to push your borders out, and when not to, is a key component of any strong Iconian player’s bag of tricks.

The Iconians traditionally liked to turtle up and outpace their rivals with superior technology, but with these extra tools, they’ve got the option of playing more diplomatically or physically expanding a lot faster too.

Let’s hope they make it back to Iconia itself, where their malevolent progeny await them…