Galactic Civilizations IV News

[h2]Megastructures Expansion Set for December 10, 2024 [/h2]
[h3]Transform your empire with colossal structures that redefine galactic strategy and exploration. [/h3]

Stardock is pleased to announce that the "Megastructures" expansion for Galactic Civilizations IV will be released on December 10, 2024. Players will have the opportunity to harness the power of stars to create monumental structures like Dyson Spheres and Stellar Gateways, offering new strategic options for late-game civilizations to turn the tide and achieve victory.

“Megastructures offers players the chance to think on a grand scale, allowing them to reshape their empires in innovative ways,” said Brad Wardell, CEO at Stardock. “We’re excited to see how players will utilize these new features to enhance their gameplay experience.”

Each Megastructure presents unique benefits and challenges, encouraging players to engage in careful planning and resource management. As empires expand, players will encounter new diplomatic opportunities and potential conflicts with rival civilizations.

[h3]Key features of the Megastructures expansion include:[/h3]

• Dyson Spheres: Harness stellar energy to power your empire and support advanced structures.
  
• Ringworlds: Construct massive habitable rings that provide essential living space and resources for your population.
  
• Stellar Nexus: A versatile Megastructure that functions as a command center, research hub, or trading post.
  
• Stellar Gateways: Establish a transportation network for instantaneous travel across the galaxy.
  

[h3]For more information or to pre-order the Megastructures Expansion, check out the webpage here:[/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2671160/Galactic_Civilizations_IV__Megastructures/

Hello Everyone! For this week’s journal, I want to take a quick look at Executive Orders and Artifacts.

[h2]Let's start with Executive Orders:[/h2]

Executive Orders are your Civilization’s secret weapon: allowing you to issue commands to your civilization for immediate benefits and instant change. You can access your arsenal of Executive Orders by clicking the icon fourth from the left on the main-screen hot bar.


Most Civilizations start turn one with a suite of Executive Orders including: “Draft Colonists,” “Telescope Takeover,” “Print Money,” and “Emergency Speed”.

These Executive Orders can fast-track the growth of your empire in the early game. “Draft Colonists” and “Telescope Takeover” are particularly helpful in early exploration and colony establishment.


Executive Orders can be utilized by selecting one from the list available. Some Executive Orders will activate immediately while others will require you to choose a target. For instance, the order “Draft Colonists” will instantly spawn a Colony ship while the order “Emergency Speed” needs a target fleet to enhance.


But remember, power doesn’t come for free, and Executive Orders require a resource called “Control.” Additionally, Executive Orders have Cooldowns, adding a layer of strategy to when and how they are used. “Draft Colonists,” for example, has a cooldown of 12 Months before it can be deployed again.


In the early game, your main source of Control will be your Capital City which generates 1 Control per month. As empires expand, the “Logistics Array” Orbital and “Coordination Beacon” Improvement can enable players to amass Control and unleash Executive Orders with more frequently.


While the benefits of Executive Orders are immediate and enticing, wield them wisely. Most come with minor drawbacks, such as an Approval debuff for your citizens. While these debuffs are usually manageable, they can become perilous when compounded with other negative effects.

In the early stages of a game, however, the advantages of using an Executive Order often eclipse the drawbacks. A mere two-percent Approval drop from “Draft Colonists” is a small price for an extra Colony Ship on turn one!



[h2]Next, let’s talk about Artifacts:[/h2]
Artifacts are powerful tools similar to Executive Orders but are free-to-use, single-use, and without drawbacks.

They are stored in your “Vault,” accessible via the icon fourth from the right on the main-screen hot bar, ready to be used when you need them most.


Unearthing new Artifacts is an adventure in and of itself, often triggered by Events initiated when Flag Ships successfully Survey Anomalies. These Events usually present the player with a difficult choice: acquire a new Artifact or trade it in for Credits or other resources.


Artifacts have an array of effects useful in an equally wide selection of situations.

These effects include completing current research, increasing a fleet’s weapon damage, raising a planet’s class, purging Pollution, and more.

And while the Events and Artifacts that players can access are random, there are ways to raise the odds of encountering and acquiring them.

The “Hyperwave Radio,” “Emissaries,” and “Interstellar Cabinet” Technologies provide Flag Ships and Commander slots. Having more Flag Ships means you can survey Anomalies and increase the chances of acquiring powerful artifacts. Similarly, the “Anomaly Detection” and “Greater Anomaly Detection” Technologies reveal more Anomalies for players to survey.


Executive Orders and Artifacts are excellent ways to instantly generate momentum in a game that usually depends on turns of buildup and preparation.

Few systems allow you to react to unexpected challenges as swiftly and decisively.

Need a boost? Don’t forget to check your Vault or issue an Executive Order to turn the tide in your favor. With these powerful tools at your disposal, you’ll be ready to tackle any challenge that comes your way!

Continuing this series of short guides aimed at helping new players, we’re going to be looking at some of the base resources, and they don’t get much more basic than money. In GalCiv we use the term Credits, which sounds a little bit fancier! In this developer journal, we’ll take a quick look at how Credits are acquired, and a few of the many ways you can spend them.


Credits are rather unique in that they’re both acquired and spent in many more ways than Manufacturing, Food, Control or any of the other in-game resources you’ll come across. Credits are gained by taxation, through Trade Routes, diplomatic exchanges with other players, selling Strategic Resources at the Bazaar and as a consequence of the many varied Events that crop up during the game.

So, how exactly are Credits generated via taxation? Here follows a very brief and simplified rundown, if you want more detail, I’ll point you to the developer blog video I made covering the economy here.


Core Worlds and attached Colonies have a Planetary Input value called Wealth Input, representing the riches on and flowing into the planet. Citizens, Financial Districts and certain Improvements further modify this value, representing combined on-world commercial activities.



Your tax-rate, set at the top level with the one rate affecting your entire Civilization, is then applied to this modified Wealth Input value as a multiplier to become a Core World’s Income.

The sum of your Core World’s Income is shown on the Civilization Overview screen too, where you can see your Civilization’s GDP (summed Income) before it’s modified by tax.

You can also see that you make Credits from the Trade Routes you set up by sending a Freighter from one of your Core Worlds to one owned by your neighbors. You can see the Trade Route UI below, with all the current Trade Routes set up between yourself and your trade partners.


Going back to the Civilization Overview screenshot, you can also see some of the things Credits are spent upon: maintenance for your Ships, Colony Maintenance (stuff you’ve built on your Core Worlds), Starbases and the Credit cost of an Civilization Policies you have set.


Credits can be used for barter in diplomacy, either to acquire other goods or to sweeten a Treaty proposal. Not sure I like this deal much though, those Navigators don’t seem very willing to part with their Credits here.

This is simple stuff: sell whatever you’re willing to part with for Credits when you’re in need of them, and if you’ve got extra Credits to spare, you can buy Techs, Strategic Resources, Diplomatic Capital and other useful things from those that have them.


If you have excess Strategic Resources, you can sell them at the Bazaar in exchange for Credits, which is the preferred barter resource for the aliens who run it. Here they’re offering 83 Credits for each Aurorus Arboretum. Sadly, I don’t have any. Be aware that repeatedly selling the same resource will devalue that stock and reduce the Credits you’ll receive for each unit.


Certain Events, such as finding exotic Artifacts, modules or useful space junk, will give you the option to sell your new acquisition for Credits. This can make Survey a profitable endeavor for much of the game, so don’t neglect those Flag Ships!


With the Credits earned from selling that Armor Module, Lord Kona can rush build a warship he needs. This will cost a lot of Credits but the faster you build your military, the stronger you’ll be. This will also cost some Control, and you’ll take a hit to your Approval too as your Citizens don’t much enjoy being forced to work long overtime, even if they are being paid extra for it.

Building a large treasury of Credits can be handy, as you’ll notice that Credits are used as a shortcut to gaining certain things a lot faster than you’d be able to without that cash injection: quickly gaining Techs through diplomacy, rush building Ships, Districts or Improvements, buying Strategic Resources from the bazaar and more.

Credits are such a ubiquitous resource that I’ve likely missed some of their more subtle uses here, but I hope this has clarified just how you can make and spend them.

Stardock is pleased to announce the release of Galactic Civilizations IV v2.9, titled the 'Starview Update.' This update focuses on enhancing the player experience with a variety of quality-of-life improvements, visual upgrades, and gameplay refinements based on community feedback.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In this substantial update, players can look forward to a range of key changes designed to streamline gameplay and improve immersion. "We’re committed to continuously refining Galactic Civilizations IV based on player input," said Brad Wardell, lead designer of the GalCiv series. "With the Starview Update, we’re not only addressing bugs and balance issues but also enhancing the overall experience to make it even more enjoyable for our players."

[h2]Major Updates: [/h2]

• Revamped Yor Ship Designs: The Yor Singularity ships have received a visual upgrade, while the classic designs remain available as "Classic Yor" for nostalgic players.
  
• Polished Artifacts and Game Events: Various artifact effects and game events have been refined for better balance and consistency, with deprecated technologies removed from the tech tree to streamline research.
  
• UI Enhancements: The Shipyard and Starbase screens now feature dynamic backgrounds showcasing the galaxy, along with a cleaner and more intuitive interface.
  
• Streamlined Civilization Policy Management: The Civilization Policy screen has been redesigned for better organization, introducing a tax slider for more precise economic control and improved access to Rally Points via dedicated hotkeys.
  
• Offline Access for DLC Owners: Players who own any of the DLC for Supernova will no longer need to be online to access that content.
  
• Gameplay Improvements: A significant batch of gameplay updates, including bug fixes, balance changes, and general polish, enhances the overall experience.
  

For a comprehensive list of all changes and improvements in the Galactic Civilizations IV v2.9 “Starview Update” update, see the full changelog here.

Hello everyone! This week, I would like to look at GalCiv IV’s most terrifying weapon: Terror Stars.

Terror Stars are one of the most powerful and difficult-to-acquire objects in all of GalCiv IV: each one can reduce entire star systems to rubble.

In this Dev Journal, I’d like to walk you through how you can unlock them, how they work, and why you might want to utilize the awe-inspiring power of a Terror Star.



[h2]Terror Stars: How Do You Unlock Them?[/h2]
To unlock Terror Stars, players must acquire the “Terror Stars” Cultural Trait via the Nihilism Ideology Tree. “Terror Stars” is the capstone trait of the Nihilism tree which means that players will need to have acquired at least five other Nihilistic Cultural Traits before it can be unlocked.

Cultural Traits like “Terror Stars” are acquired by spending Culture Points. Culture Points can be earned from events and from player’s Capital City improvement which provides 1 Culture Point per turn.

Players can hasten the acquisition of various Cultural Traits by increasing their civilization's Awareness of each ideology. The more Awareness an ideology has, the larger the Ideology Discount for traits in that Ideology’s tree. Awareness can be increased through certain choices in events. To get to “Terror Stars,” players will want to make choices that add points of Nihilism.

Nihilism in particular has the Trait “Moral Relativism” which makes it so all event choices give awareness into every ideology which can greatly accelerate the growth of your Ideology Discount.

If you are planning to play a game with the goal of unlocking Terror Stars, I highly recommend playing as a Civilization with Nihilism as its Cultural Focus such as the Korath or Cosmic Contaminant. A Civilization’s Cultural Focus provides an additional 25 Awareness for that Ideology starting turn one - translating into a 25% discount for Cultural Traits in that tree.



As I said before, Terror Stars are a late-game unlock. In the game I played to gather screenshots for this Dev Journal, it took me until turn 77 to unlock the “Terror Stars” Cultural Trait. Once unlocked, I still needed to research the “Terror Stars” tech which would have taken 50 turns with my research.



Luckily, I was able to quickly ramp up the quality and quantity of Scientists, Research Districts, and Improvements across all of my worlds pretty quickly. When paired with a near-zero tax rate for maximum approval and various Research-boosting Policies, my Research per Turn scaled from around 90 to upwards of 500.

This leap in Research allowed me to unlock the Terror Stars technology on turn 99.



With the Technology researched, I now had the option to build a Terror Star Foundation with Constructor ship.





Before a Terror Star can be fully operational, you will need to complete the remaining four stages of its construction starting with the Terror Star Command. Each stage costs a handful of Credits, some Resources, and a Module to install.















Once complete, you’ll be able to move your Terror Star on the map like you would most ships and fleets. Terror Stars are fairly slow with only 3 Moves per Turn and are somewhat vulnerable. They can be defended by stationing fleets on them or toggling “Guard” from the Terror Star Context Window.

Also important to note is that you are limited to one Terror Star per Sector.





With all of that aside, what exactly can you do with your completed Terror Star?

[h2]Terror Stars: What Do They Do?[/h2]
Terror Stars have what is called a “Terror Star Beam.” To use a Terror Star Beam, you will need to move your Terror Star within range of a Star at which point you will be able to select the Star as the target of the beam.

Once selected, the Terror Star will begin charging - taking three turns before being ready to fire.



At the end of the three turns, you will have a blocking event informing you that your Terror Star is ready to fire. Clicking it will initiate the attack.



After witnessing the destruction of the Star, you will receive a message from any Civilization with Planets destroyed in the blast professing their unending hatred of you. They will declare a war that will not end until either you or they are destroyed.



Closing this message will reveal the aftermath: all planets that once circled that Star have been reduced to Asteroids. Your Terror Star will need three turns to cool down before it can fire again.



[h2]Terror Stars: Why Would I Use One?[/h2]
Terror Stars are the scorched-earth, nuclear option of warfare in Gal Civ IV.

Using one wipes entire planets and star systems off of the map. This can be extremely useful for players experiencing war in the late-game.

Standard conquest and war in Gal Civ IV can steadily increase the workload of the player as they capture more and more enemy planets, assign them governors, manage their shipyards, and defend them against enemies trying for a comeback. A player at war late enough in the game to have unlocked Terror Stars will likely be managing an already vast empire.

By removing entire Star systems from the equation, players can avoid taking on additional responsibilities and simultaneously stifle any opportunity for an enemy player’s resurgence.

All-in-all, Terror Stars are a tool for the most ruthless of conquerors. Even obtaining one requires focus and commitment.

And so, my question for you all today is this:

Will you Defend the galaxy from its most terrifying threat yet? Or will charge forward to rule with an iron fist?