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Galactic Civilizations IV News

Video Dev Blog #9 - The Secrets of the Galaxy

In the vast expanse of space, Galactic Civilizations offers players the chance to embark on a grand adventure. The opening moves of this strategy game introduce a sense of wonder and excitement as you explore the sector, discovering star systems and resources, all fuel for the imagination and helping to shape your plans for building a great galactic civilization. But the fun doesn't stop there, as in-game events present you with meaningful choices that can have long-lasting consequences.

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Exploring Your Sector

Your journey begins with exploration, and the humble Probe is your best tool for the job. Equipped with a Probe Module, it boasts infinite range and a wide sensor sweep, perfect for scouting uncharted territory. While the locations of all stars in the sector are known, you need to get closer to determine their class and the presence of any orbiting bodies.

Different star classes offer varying possibilities for habitable worlds and resources. Yellow stars tend to have the best chances for habitable worlds, while white stars provide more asteroids and Durantium. Choosing the right planet to colonize depends on various factors, including your home system's quality, your gameplay style (wide or tall), growth rate, and the presence of nearby neighbors.

Asteroids, found in clusters around stars, offer a valuable Mineral boost when you establish Mining Bases nearby. Pre-settled Minor Worlds occupied by alien civilizations can be a source of early trade income or, if you prefer, you can invade them and establish your own Core World in their place.

Nebulae and Radiation Storms provide unique terrain features that slow down or hamper passing fleets, while Strategic Resources like Elerium and Antimatter can be found in specific locations. The enigmatic Precursor Relics, discovered as you explore the galaxy, grant powerful bonuses when studied with the appropriate Starbase module. Ascension Crystals, when controlled, provide a steady stream of Ascension Points, contributing to a Prestige Victory.

With the research of Subspace Scanning, you unlock Subspace Gates that lead to new worlds, resources, allies, and foes.



Cosmic Plunder

The galaxy is brimming with secrets in the form of Anomalies. These can be abandoned space junk, ancient artifacts, or other unique findings. Scanning Anomalies requires high-tech equipment known as a Flag Module, scavenged from Precursor technology. Some Anomalies can trigger quests and challenges, offering game-changing effects when used strategically. As you progress in the game, more Anomalies will appear, making cosmic plunder a lucrative endeavor for your civilization.


Hostiles!

Life exists in the depths of space, and some of it is organized enough to pose a threat. Pirates roam the galaxy, preying on non-allied vessels, including unescorted Colony Ships, Freighters, or Constructors. It's essential to scout potential colonies before sending civilian ships into pirate-infested areas. Additionally, there are other threats lurking in the void, such as spacefaring monsters.


Critical Decisions

Galactic Civilizations is a game of choices. From selecting your first landing planet to deciding whom to trade with and which Commander to assign to your Flagship, you'll constantly face important decisions. In-game events present you with multiple choices, like deciding whether to strip a ship component for resources or sell it on the black market for a credit boost.

Many higher-class planets come with unique features, histories, and alien presences that allow you to shape your colony to your liking. Leaders with various traits and backgrounds can trigger events with powerful effects, and their loyalty plays a significant role in the game's narrative.

Throughout your campaign, our core civilizations will interact with you in thematic ways, adding depth and drama to your experience. The choices you make during critical events can have far-reaching repercussions.


The galaxy in Galactic Civilizations is vast and full of secrets, promising adventure, danger, and hidden treasures. Your choices, be they in exploration, cosmic plunder, or dealing with hostiles, will shape your civilization's destiny until the end of time.

As you embark on this journey, remember to choose wisely, for the fate of your civilization rests in your hands. Happy gaming!

Dev Journal #30 - Ability Visibility

One of the most common complaints that we’ve received regarding the user interface in Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova is one of visibility of the various characteristics for each Civilization in play.

Most notably, players were reporting that after selecting a Civilization, there was no way to check their own Civilization Abilities, Traits and other attached information, without exiting to the main menu, starting a new game and checking those details in the game-setup screens there. This information was visible in the Diplomacy screen once the player had unlocked Universal Translator and commenced in some intergalactic hobnobbing with their neighbors. At the start of the game however, the new game setup screens were your only option.

This was frustrating, to say the least. I should know: as a Youtuber making videos for GalCiv4: Supernova, I was one of the people complaining about it.

To address this problem, we’ve added a new “Civilization” information screen to the in-game Data Bank.



Summarized here are the most important of your Civilization’s statistics, including your Cultural Priority (your main Ideological focus), Civilization Traits (including Biology type and Civilization Abilities too), Character Traits (which determine the behavior's of the AI when its playing this faction), some basic background lore and information on its Citizens too.

You also get a video feed of a rather patient looking DL Bradley, or whatever noble/dreadful/bizarre creature it is that leads your budding galactic empire.

Next up, we’ve improved the visibility of these same critical statistics for your rivals too. Previously, this information was available only in the Diplomacy Screen, again locked behind the Universal Translator technology.



To eliminate the need to enter the Diplomacy screen purely to check up on an enemy’s vital traits, we’ve added a handy tooltip to the Summary tab on the right box of the main screen. Just hover over the Civilization you want to check out, et voila!



On top of the Abilities, Biology, Traits and Cultural Focus, we’ve included their Prestige score (a reasonable indicator of how well they’re doing in-game), your current relations score and any modifiers listed below. Note that you can scroll this tooltip if there are more modifiers than would normally fit into the box.

Let us know what you think of these changes!

v2.01 Update Now Available for Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova

Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova v2.01 brings tons of community requested fixes and updates


Experience a revamped AI with superior decision-making skills, an influx of new in-game events and anomalies for an unpredictable galaxy. Enjoy improved multilingual support, refined multiplayer stability, and balanced gameplay mechanics. Plus, embrace a reimagined user interface with community-requested quality-of-life updates.



[h2]Featured Updates for v2.01[/h2]
  • Updated A.I decision making intelligence - The A.I is now better aware of its surroundings and resources and how best to use them.
  • New Events and Anomalies - A variety of new in-game events (examples: The Grammar Enforcer, The Specter's Grasp, Broken Teleporter) survey results and anomalies have been added to the game.
  • Improved Translations for All Languages - Supported subtitles for intro movies in French and English , better grammatical accuracy for AlienGPT, more accurate image matching for AlienGPT based on player prompts in Chinese, numerous typo fixes and a more focused German text update.
  • Optimized Multiplayer - Resolved multiple desync issues, crashes, increased stability, resolved stuck turns when re-authenticating with the platform in mid-game.
  • Rebalances on Influence, planetary/orbital improvements and Pollution Mechanics
  • A variety of U.I updates based on community QOL requests - Added a new "Your Civilization" tab to the Data Bank Window, showing information related to Your Civilization , better sizing and layout of stats and longer names, resolved clipping issues, fixed incorrect infocards and players can now scroll through text in the Research window. 
  • A ton more updates and bug fixes, see the full changelog here.






Livestream for Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova

Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova released Thursday, October 19th, 2023. Join us for a livestream event where we will play the game; talk about what's new, create a new civilization with AlienGPT, provide tips on managing Core Worlds, navigate the tech tree, create a custom ship and tap into some additional midgame content.


Release Livestream for Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova

Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova released yesterday, October 19th, 2023. Join us for a livestream event where we will play the game; talk about what's new, create a new civilization with AlienGPT, provide tips on managing Core Worlds, navigate the tech tree, create a custom ship and tap into some additional midgame content.