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Galactic Civilizations IV News

Dev Journal - Improving the Ship Design Screen

We currently have a challenge when it comes to designing ships in GalCiv. Most players are less into the cosmetic aspect and more into the functionality of ship design. And some players are really into the cosmetic design of ships.

For GalCiv IV: Supernova, we are going to give up on trying to have one UI to rule them all and instead begin to have two different UIs. One for those who want to design the look of the ships and have a lot more tools available and one for players who are more focused on configuring a ship.

[h2]Ship classes and how they work[/h2]
We have gone through a lot of theory craft on how the different classes should work. When the player chooses to design a ship they should get this:



However, in OPTIONS we want to add a button called “Enable Freeform Design” which would unhide a button in the middle here that would let players design a ship without having to deal with any rules at all.



  • This UI needs to eliminate the Combat Role as that’s confusing.
  • Equipment Slots should be renamed Equipment Space.
  • Tactical Speed should show the actual speed in KM/s (we have this under the covers)
  • Acceleration should be added as well (we have this too) in KM/s^2 which tells you how maneuverable they are.
  • If they don’t have weapons, targeting priorities should be hidden.
  • If they have weapons a new section should be a section called Combat Abilities which describes, in text how they work (which I’l l describe below).


[h2]The classes of ships for GalCiv IV: Supernova are intended to be:[/h2]
  1. Probe. Probes are also ignored by monsters and pirates btw and this should be added to our description.
  2. Miner. No one will really change this except for modders who want to create a custom look.
  3. Flag. We need to add a late game tech that lets people build ships with Survey Modules.
  4. Fighter. Fighters should be updated to get a 50% evasion bonus and they should target Bombers->Fighters->Capital Ships->Cruisers->Frigates (note that we need to update targeting priorities to get away from the old combat role naming).
  5. Bomber. Bombers should be added to the game and also get a 50% evasion bonus. They should target in this order: Capital Ships->Cruisers->Frigates->Fighters.
  6. Frigate. Frigates should get a 50% Accuracy bonus and target in this order. Bombers->Fighters->Frigates->Cruisers->Capital Ships.
  7. Cruisers wouldn’t get any special bonuses but target Capital Ships->Cruisers->Frigates->Bombers->Fighters.
  8. Capital Ships also don’t get any special bonuses but target the same as Capital Ships.
  9. Supply Ships. Generally won’t be adjusted by players but are needed to be there for people wanting to make cosmetic changes.
  10. Siege. Some players will want to add engines to these to make them faster.
  11. Invader. Same.


[h2]Now, let’s say we pick a Cruiser…[/h2]

(ignore the little propulsion box in the UI, that’s from a thrown away idea)



[h2]The game should pick a random hull to start with and go right to the Equip mode with these 4 options:[/h2]
  1. Weapons (default tab – not drives as it is now for some reason)
  2. Defenses
  3. Propulsion
  4. Special (combine “modules” and “support”)


There’s a currently a bug where Helios Rockets and Gauss Cannons show up as enhanced Kinetic weapons. I’m not sure why but we need to fix this.

There are NO hard points shown in this mode. Instead, players simply drag and drop components they want (or double click on it or press the “Place” button).

Now, if they do want to cosmetically change the ship, they can press the Visual Edit button in the top right which will take them to the Appearance, cosmetic pieces area.



And this screen should be set up so that people who want to really go town on the creative aspect of ship design have all the tools they need to do whatever they want.

v1.61 Early Access Update

[h2]Improved strategic AI, refined ship construction, balanced ship combat, and enhanced battles[/h2]

The latest early access update for Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova, v1.61 is here. Immerse yourself in a galaxy teeming with enhanced strategic gameplay and thrilling battles.



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1357210/Galactic_Civilizations_IV/

View full changelog

[h2]
Here's a brief overview of the exciting features included in this update:[/h2]


[h2]Major Strategic AI Improvements[/h2]
Experience an evolved AI that strategically defends its worlds by utilizing its fleets effectively, even if it means sacrificing ships to weaken enemy forces. The AI now prioritizes gaining space superiority before launching sieges and invasions, ensuring a formidable challenge. Additionally, the AI's fleet management has improved, enhancing its territorial control.


[h2]Major Strategic Update to AI's Starship Construction[/h2]
The AI's ship construction capabilities have received a significant upgrade. When faced with resource scarcity, the AI dynamically recalculates ship design strategies within the same turn. It now assembles balanced fleets by leveraging the advantages of different ship classes. You'll encounter larger AI fleets strategically positioned to control various territories. Moreover, the AI has diversified its ship designs and improved weapon layouts for more cost-effective and lethal ships.


[h2]Ship Balance Updates[/h2]
We've conducted a comprehensive balancing pass on weapons, defenses, and hull sizes, making larger ships more cost-effective. This adjustment adds a new layer of strategy to your fleet composition choices, allowing for more diverse and impactful gameplay.


[h2]Enhanced Battle Experience[/h2]
The battle viewer has been refined to provide more visually captivating encounters. Camera adjustments have been made to improve battle visibility, ensuring you don't miss any thrilling moments. Ships' layouts and positions have been carefully adjusted, granting each ship type a distinct placement and reinforcing their unique roles in combat.


Get the Galactic Civilizations v1.61 early access update now and explore an improved strategic AI, refined ship construction, balanced ship combat, and exhilarating battles.

Announcing the Name A Star Contest

As many of you know, the GalCiv III Elite Founders had the ability to name their own star in game. We wanted to extend a similar offer to our beloved fans of GalCiv IV: Supernova Edition through this contest, where up to 100 lucky winners will have their star name added in-game. Immortalizing them forever in Supernova!

Anyone with a Stardock account (new or existing) is eligible to submit a star name. All submissions will be approved by myself and the team at Stardock, and approved contenders will be publicly displayed on the website.

Finally, Stardock staff will vote internally on their favorites as winners to be placed into the game forever.

We look forward to seeing your submissions, what will your immortalize in the stars above? A fun joke, a loved one, a wish, or maybe even yourself?

Good luck commanders.



Submissions end date: 1PM EST, July 19th
Winners will be announced: Wednesday, July 26th


[h2]Rules/Guidelines: [/h2]
  • Must have a Stardock account to submit a name.
  • Only ONE entry per user. You may change your entry once it has been submitted, but it will need to be re-approved.
  • Any inappropriate, trademarked, or copyrighted content will result in the entire entry being rejected.
  • Star names are limited to 30 characters (letters/numbers/spaces), no punctuation or special characters. Star names will be converted to title case in-game (only first letter capitalized).
  • If more than one instance of the same star name is submitted, the first submitted will remain approved and the second will be rejected.


GalCiv IV: Supernova v1.6 Early Access Update

[h2]German Language Beta, New Anomalies, Updated Culture Traits, and Enhanced Battle Viewer Await Players in Early Access v1.6[/h2]

Assume the role of a space commander and delve into a vast and immersive universe. Witness epic space battles with an enhanced battle viewer and conquer the cosmos with the added advantage of German language support. Explore the potential of anomalies to enhance your empire's capabilities and customize your path by adopting culture traits. Prepare for an exhilarating journey as you chart new frontiers, engage in strategic warfare, and shape your interstellar empire in unprecedented ways. 

View the Full Changelog

[h2]Top Features in Early Access v1.6[/h2]

[h3]German Language (Beta) Support[/h3]
Stardock Entertainment brings a beta version of German language support to Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova v1.6, inviting a wider audience to join the intergalactic adventure. Players from German-speaking regions can begin to enjoy the captivating storytelling and immersive gameplay in their native language.




[h3]New Anomalies[/h3]
In response to the feedback from our community, version 1.6 introduces exciting additions that greatly enhance your empire's capabilities. One highly requested feature is the ability to add survey abilities to your ships. Now, your vessels can explore uncharted territories and gather valuable information. Expand your fleet's mobility, extend ship range, reduce crime, or grant enhanced evasion capabilities. These new anomalies offer strategic opportunities, empowering players to shape their interstellar empires according to their preferences.




[h3]Improved Civilization Designer[/h3]
We've refined the civ designer based on your feedback for a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. Enjoy the updated layout as you create the civilization of your choice.




[h3]Revamped Culture Traits[/h3]
Some culture traits have been reassigned to new cultures that align more appropriately. This adjustment aims to enhance the overall gameplay experience. But that's not all! Stay tuned for upcoming changes that will continue to refine and expand the cultural dynamics in Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova.


[h3]Enhanced Battle Viewer[/h3]
The enhanced battle viewer provides a deeper appreciation of the scale and intricacies of each engagement, ensuring every encounter is an exhilarating and visually captivating experience.


[h3]The Vault Additions[/h3]
New ship modules that can be added to ships at any time.




View the full changelog


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1357210/Galactic_Civilizations_IV_Supernova/

v1.55 Early Access Update

GalCiv IV: Supernova v1.55 Update - Introducing New Features and Major Balance Overhauls


Greetings!

We're excited to announce the release of GalCiv IV: Supernova v1.55, a significant step forward. This update brings a collection of new features, key balance changes, and improvements that will transform your intergalactic adventures. Here are some of the highlights:
  1. Gameplay Overhaul: Expect a major rework of the technology tree, including an entirely new approach to Exotic World colonization, Interstellar cabinet, and Space Weapons. We've fully rebalanced the AI's tech prioritization, and you can look forward to seeing them focusing more on weapons and hull research. 
  2. New Anomaly Events: We've introduced several new anomaly events to keep things fresh. If you've been tired of the "stealth field", you're in for a treat!
  3. Improved Ship Mechanics: Ships can now attack multiple times per turn as well as invade multiple times per turn if that's applicable.
  4. Custom Factions: We've improved AlienGPT and added a host of improved abilities for civilizations including new citizen types.
  5. Economy and Diplomacy Tuning: Trade routes have been revamped to be more valuable, with their value multiplier increased from 15% to 33%. Various factions, including the Banking Clan and Capitalist Society, have undergone balance tweaks to offer a more fair and engaging gameplay experience.
  6. You can move your Civ Capital. Enough said. We've also done a full balance pass on planetary improvements.
  7. Many many small and large improvements: We've been spying on you as much as we can. Or at least, we've been reading your feedback and have jammed as much as we can into this.




NOTE: This update will break the previous version's (1.51).  If you have a game in progress you want to finish, you can use the 1.51 branch. Read here to learn more.

We hope these updates will significantly improve your game experience in the GalCiv IV universe. As always, your feedback is invaluable to us, so please don't hesitate to share your thoughts on these new features and improvements.





[h2]Full change log:[/h2]
  • Update siege ship strategic icons and stat icons.
  • Resized faction logos resized to reduce scaling artifacts.
  • Visual display of ship hull sizes modified to make it easier to view them in battle.
  • You should see fewer "failed generate error" messages.
  • Fixed the Voyagers ability to actually for realsies give a +2 moves, +2 sensors.
  • "Hive Mind" ability HP buff in territory decreased from 25 to 5.
  • Several new anomaly events (tired of the "stealth field" yet?).
  • "Grand festival" length decreased from 25 turns to 12.
  • Major rework of technology tree.
    • Full rebalance of the AI prioritization of techs to get it to better research weapons and better hulls.
    • Exotic World colonization replaces the myriad of specialty planet types techs.
    • Interstellar cabinet replaces the myriad of "Ministry of X" techs.
    • Space Weapons. Early game tech to give some additional weapons before specialization.
    • Point Defense tech tree removed (point defenses and other specific weapon counters will become part of a specialized defense branch later along with new evasion techs).
    • Beam weapon theory renamed Directed Energy Weapons.
    • Space Lasers (sigh) renamed Photonic Alignment.
    • Devastator Missile System renamed to Phoenix Missile System to match the weapon it gives.
    • Shrunk the size of the cruiser tech description.
    • Removed drones as a resource / element of the game until we can do something more interesting with them.
  • Self Determinism now grants 3 leaders.
  • Ministers unlocked mostly between Interstellar cabinet, political capital and colonial bureaucracy.
  • Various exotic world planet types (like radioactive worlds) are unlocked by a single tech: Exotic World Colonization.
  • Several new ship components for early game use.
  • Ideology naming updated to fit new culture system.
  • Festron no longer take a penalty for not being on an aquatic world because they don't actually like water. They're not water bugs. They're bug bugs and prefer jungle which they now get a huge morale boost of if they're on those worlds.
  • Invite leader cooldown reduced from 50 to 10, control cost increased from 10 to 20.
  • Trade route value multiplier increased from 15% to 33% to make trade routes more valuable.
  • The number of Trade licenses greatly reduced.
  • Tech Inflation multiplier reduced from 11% to 10%.
  • Number of rounds in a battle increased from 40 to 100 so that battles have a better chance to play out.
  • YOU CAN MOVE THE CAPITAL. Players can destroy their capital and then place it on any tile they want.
  • Colony capitals can now be destroyed and relocated as well.
  • Civ capital maintenance removed.
  • Durantium Processor level bonus increased from 1% to manufacturing to 3%.
  • A new upgraded research project added.
  • Garrison now increases Planetary Defense instead of Resistance.
  • More improvements moved to earlier in the tech tree.
  • Low quality planets now rarely have any food output to make food more valuable.
  • Coerced colonization approval penalty increased from 5% to 15%.
  • Hull Reinforcing changed form providing 25 HP to every ship to 20% (percent) buff to a ship.
  • Major Prestige Victory balance pass. Should feel a lot better.
  • Siege Ships are now Frigate class.
  • Carriers are now Dreadnought sized.
  • Siege ship template changed from medium to small.
  • Tactical speed of ships altered to be better balanced.
  • Cruiser hull Manufacturing cost increased from 40 to 100.
  • Battleship hull manufacturing cost increased from 100 to 300.
  • Dreadnought hull manufacturing cost increased from 250 to 1000.
  • Dreadnought hull usable space increased from 32 to 36.
  • Updated starbase modules to fit with the updated tech tree.
  • Various command ship requirements updated for new tech tree.
  • Banking Clan faction diplomacy penalty increased from 0.5% to 1%
  • Capitalist Society faction gross income buff changed from a flat 1 per intelligence of leader to a 1% buff to income per intelligence of leader while increased the approval penalty from 0.1% to 0.5% per social.
  • Emporium faction Bazaar discount changed from 0.005 flat to 0.5% per intelligence of leader added wile Crime is now increased by 0.01% per diligence of that leader.
  • Trade routes no longer create the trade ship mission. Kills perf. 
  • Minister of Finance provided a 1% buff per colony income per intelligence.
  • Minister of Defense now provides a Planetary Defense buff instead of resistance.
  • Cleaned up which ideology gets a buff from event choices.
  • Cleaned up ideology buffs based on event choices.
  • AI ships will no longer bother with marginal colonies unless it can take them in less than 2 turns.
  • Improvements to AI tax rate handling some issues with the way the AI was choosing techs to research.
  • Planets will rebel much faster than before.
  • Fix to the galactic market changed to simply see if they have the universal translator. No fancy stuff.
  • Economic Power no longer takes the treasury into account.
  • Much bigger approval penalty from high crime.
  • HP buff to ships based on # of colonies is now the square root of the # of colonies rather than linear.
  • Raw fleet weapon rating greatly reduced for determining the siege rating of a fleet.
  • Update to support cheesing of building capital improvements on all your planets.
  • Renamed Explorers ability to Voyagers.
  • Lots of new lines of text for the AI to speak to the player rather than "we want peace".
  • Trader renamed Independent Trade ship.
  • Prison World explains what it does now
  • General UI text update to fit better on screens (especially for people in Germania) and clearer descriptions of stats.
  • Forum link now goes directly the GalCiv IV sub-forum.
  • 3 new citizen types: Avian, Canine, Feline.
  • [Placed limit on AI Freighter construction
  • Improved Map Generation
  • Tiny maps are now slightly bigger.
  • Fixed common, abundant black holes over spawning.
  • Updated Orders menu to display the relevant stat each profession uses.
  • Damage numbers no longer float off before they do damage on hit.
  • Adjusted the tactical speed of ships.
  • Terror stars always show up in the battle replay
  • Custom faction Traits tab to fit single column
  • Make sure that when you edit the name and short name fields, the faction data is updated
    correctly.
  • Strip additional invalid characters from the "name" and "short name" fields.
  • Custom factions no longer default to Totalitarianism.
  • Fixed a problem where the Steam authentication cache silently fails.
  • Abundant map setting resources balanced.
  • Massive change to the cultural trait system.
  • Consolidated cultural traits used to create factions.
  • AI manages its defenders better.
  • AI players won't start covering worlds until much later.
  • Fixed missing anomalies.
  • Fleets automatically form at rally points.
  • Made it so that sentinels only attack ships.
  • Make fleets can attack more than once per turn.
  • Updated AI to use a new ship class system.
  • When you pick a given ideology, ALL of them increase the cost by N, not just the one in that tree.
  • Yor home system always starts with a Durantium resource.
  • If the player has a strong military, some civs will give you some respect.
  • New Mercenary added.
  • Set up data for commander ships for Korath and Seeing.
  • Fixed broken triggers on anomalies.
  • Added missing Tech prereqs.
  • Added misused Tech prereqs on events.
  • Slight buff to the conquest ability.
  • Compassion Trait now gives the correct approval bonus.
  • Fairness trait only gives 1 colony ship now.
  • Synthetic life civs can no longer get the "Dwindling Numbers" event.
  • The "Culture Clash" event is now using the correct strings.
  • The Starport improvement restored.
  • Removed cultural awareness buffs from improvements.
  • Precursor Accelerator event:
    • Changed "Individualism" choice to improve planetary defense.
    • Removed "Totalitarianism" choice (was OP).
  • Fixed ideology effects from the "Legacy" and "Prototype" events.
  • Crimelords get a new executive order: Impress Constructors. Make the workers an offer they can't refuse.
  • New improvement: Heritage Center. Early game tourism improvement.
  • Terror Stars no longer show up in the cargo hulls when you play as the Terrans.
  • Fairness culture trait now correctly spawns a colony ship.
  • Trade routes create a mission ship.
  • The Festron are NOT aquatic.
  • Festron homeworld is no longer aquatic.
  • Bazaar is now unlocked by the "Universal Translator."
  • Fixed a problem where if you unlocked the bazaar and then started a new game, the bazaar was unlocked at the start. Bizarre!
  • Steam achievements are now enabled.
  • Make asteroids go to the nearest core world, not the nearest colony.
  • Added more Anomaly images.
  • Big changes to the culture tree:
    • Iron Fist control reward increased from 50 to 100
    • Fairness now spawns 3 colony ships.
    • Deep Investigation spawns a bunch of anomalies.
    • Kindness now spawns 3 constructors with it
    • Individualism(new) - Lowers decay, the player is awarded a flagship.
    • Added a bunch of new placeholder traits that aren't functioning yet.
    • Getting a trait increases only the discount for the next tech by 1%.
  • Shorten some of the quest events that were too long.
  • Changed references of "Empire" to "Civilization"
  • Cultural affinity choice now gives a 25% upfront discount.
  • Updated resistance bonus description.
  • Inconsistent improvement warnings have been removed (for now).
  • Military consistently renamed to Shipyard Production.
  • Tweaked culture window
  • Planetary Crime tooltip breakdown is less confusing.
  • Removed redundant stat breakdowns in the Planetary defense tooltip.
  • The planet tooltip for colonies shows who they send their resources to at the bottom of the
    tooltip.
  • The Y and N keys should no longer hide the shipyard window.
  • We are updating our combat U.I to display battle rating, conquest, and HP stats. Screens updated so far include:
    • Ship design "stats" box
    • Starbase and Shipyards
    • Battle start and results screen
  • Changed distances to be consistently measured in KM
  • Disable Tech brokering by default.
  • Improve the Rally Point UX flow. Now you click on the map to set the point, rather than going
    through a series of menus.
  • Mission Rewards are now in whole numbers, not fractions (e.g., you won't get 1.45 Elerium as a
    reward anymore).
  • Resource Popup should show how much you already have.
  • The splash screen is longer stretched on ultrawide screens.
  • The tech tooltips need to show what stats they change.
  • Update Planet Tool tip icons to be consistent with the yield tokens.
  • Made a pass on all techs and ensure they are color coded most sensibly and aesthetically.
  • Show Ship Range on the ship tooltip and ship details.
  • Upgrade Window - Text is no longer cut off for the lowest line of text.
  • Fleet names no longer include their faction's name and instead just uses their call sign (e.g., TAS if playing as Terrans).
  • Anomaly alerts now display the event name, description, and choice.
  • Updated Starbase Missile Salvo text.
  • Fix String issue with "Pirate" Frigate and Cruiser. The name was given to the Onyx and the Baratak.
  • Disabling the Tutorial really really disables the Tutorial robot.
  • The options screen only warns of restart needed due to graphics changes only if you've actually changed the graphics.
  • Move the controls so that they're docked to the top bar.
  • Shrink the writing in the log such that you can fit 2 more rows.
  • Increase the size so that it goes to the very bottom.
  • Fix missing ideology traits in custom civs created in builds prior to v1.55.
  • Prevent core world capital from being able to be built on the capital world.
  • The Shipyard manufacturing value is now referencing the correct number.
  • Updated battle viewer combat stat displays to just battle rating and HP.
  • Update Galaxy Settings slider icons for Minors, and Entities.
  • Updated the Bazaar popup card to support one more line.
  • Make more room for long custom faction names on the turn button.


Good luck!