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GalCiv IV: Video Dev Blog #3 - The Lore of Galactic Civilizations

Today, we embark on a journey into the vast expanse of 4X gaming and explore the rich lore and captivating background story of the Galactic Civilizations series. 4X games, with their procedurally generated content, offer fertile ground for imagination, but there's something truly magical about an epic narrative that breathes life into emergent stories. Join us as we activate the databanks and take a trip back in time to the origins of this captivating universe. &nbs... [read more]

8/1/2023 By redskittlesonly in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

Sins II: Dev Journal 9 - The Ankylon Titan

The TEC Ankylon-class titan is the pinnacle of loyalist Trader wartime technology. Literally a mobile fortress city, the Ankylon is a flexible cornerstone for loyalist forces. As the newest warship in the loyalist arsenal, the Ankylon features powerful defensive abilities and 18 medium autocannon turrets around the ship. Optional Defense Upgrades for the Ankylon-class Titan Hull Plating (3 levels): Greatly increases the Armor, Hull Points and passive Hull Point regeneration of the ti... [read more]

8/1/2023 By Yarlen in Sins Dev Journals

WIP: YouTube Embedded Test Post

[confluence title=""]https://stardock.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SHC/pages/1544355846/NETDEV-2660+Test+Page[/confluence] [read more]

7/31/2023 By WithinRafael in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #23 - A Weekend of Polishing

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #23 - A Weekend of Polishing GalCiv IV Beta 1.66 Test Game So what did you do on your Summer sunny day? Oh, you know, I um…played GalCiv and made tweaks! Let’s see how it worked out. Play Test Time I created a custom civ of explorers. Humans. Change #1: We spell out that the survey modules came from a Precursor dig . That’s why you can’t just crank these out. Change #2: Planet screen gets better fonts. Statistically, you reading this ha... [read more]

7/31/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

v1.65 Early Access Update - GalCiv IV: Supernova

The Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova v1.65 Early Access Update introduces new alien and robot images within AlienGPT, revamped culture traits, thrilling events, and galaxy enhancements. With new technologies, planetary options, and improved user interface, players can enjoy an even more immersive and dynamic 4X space strategy experience. Wishlist Now Enhanced Planet Screen Experience diverse and challenging planetary governance with new planet types, terrain tiles,... [read more]

7/27/2023 By redskittlesonly in GalCiv News

Omens of Conflict Update: Sins of a Solar Empire II

The Omens of Conflict update brings forth a host of exciting features, including the Future Orbit System, which grants players the ability to glimpse orbits up to one hour ahead. Alongside this, there are several new maps including the Twin Giants scenario, where colossal gas giants and their moons traverse the inner orbits, challenging your strategic finesse. With the addition of 2, 3, and 4-player random map types, the galaxy is now your oyster. Engage in epic battles, embrace cosmic wonders, ... [read more]

7/27/2023 By redskittlesonly in Sins of a Solar Empire News

Winners Announcement for Name a Star Contest - GalCiv IV: Supernova

Hello everyone, We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their entries! Choosing the winners wasn't easy for us here at Stardock, but it was a grand time all the same. We saw entries ranging from names, references, mythologies to memes and jokes, you all really brought us the entire gambit! Everyone's enthusiasm and participation makes us hopeful for future events and contests to involve the community further. Now through a series of selections we've narrowed down the 100 w... [read more]

7/26/2023 By RammaStardock in GalCiv News

GalCiv IV: Video Dev Blog #2 - The Basics of Galactic Civilizations

Today, we embark on a thrilling journey into the heart of the Galactic Civilizations universe, uncovering the core mechanics that make this 4X strategy series so captivating. Galactic Civilizations, developed by Stardock, is a renowned series of 4X games set in the vast expanse of space. Your ultimate goal is to guide your civilization to interstellar dominance amidst a galaxy teeming with formidable rivals. The gameplay is a harmonious blend of economic and industrial development, ... [read more]

7/25/2023 By redskittlesonly in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Video Dev Blog #1 - What is a 4X Game?

Welcome to the realm of 4X games, a genre that blends strategy, empire building, and immersive gameplay. In this dev blog, we'll take a deep dive into the world of 4X games, discovering their unique elements, iconic titles, and the reasons why they have captured the hearts of gamers worldwide. Unveiling the 4X Genre The term "4X" was coined to describe games that embody the principles of "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate." These games encompass empire b... [read more]

7/18/2023 By redskittlesonly in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #22 - Improving the Ship Design Screen

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #22 - 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 shi... [read more]

7/17/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

v1.61 Early Access for Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova Now Available

Galactic Civilizations v1.61 Early Access Update Improved strategic AI, refined ship construction, balanced ship combat, and enhanced battles The latest early access update for Galactic Civilizations, v1.61 is here. Immerse yourself in a galaxy teeming with enhanced strategic gameplay and thrilling battles. View the Full Changelog | Add to Steam Wishlist Here's a brief overview of the exciting features included in this update: Major Stra... [read more]

7/13/2023 By redskittlesonly in GalCiv News

Name A Star Contest - GalCiv IV: Supernova

Hello all! 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 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 Stardo... [read more]

7/12/2023 By RammaStardock in GalCiv News

Save up to 80% on Stardock Games, DLC, and Software in the Steam Summer Sale!

Save up to 80% on Stardock Games and Software Games for under $5 STEAM KEYS ARE PROVIDED WITH PURCHASE GalCiv IV: Supernova $39.99 Early Access Pricing or Wishlist Star Control: Origins $29.99 Now $11.99 - 60% Off Galactic Civilizations III ( Includes FREE: Crusade and Retribution Expansions, Mega Events DLC) $39.99 Now $12.79 - 68% Off Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation $... [read more]

6/29/2023 By redskittlesonly in Stardock Entertainment Announcements

The Pirates, Planets, and Plunder Update: Sins of a Solar Empire II

Sins of a Solar Empire II: Pirates, Planets, and Plunder Update Updated bounty system, added Pirate Raid events, modified planet components, updated UI, deploy more capital ships early in the game, increased number of collectible derelicts. View the full changelog Pirates at Large: Bounties are now visible to all players, and those with the highest bounties better brace themselves for relentless pirate raids! But don't fr... [read more]

6/27/2023 By redskittlesonly in Sins of a Solar Empire News

GalCiv IV: Supernova - v1.6 Early Access Update

GalCiv IV: Supernova Early Access v1.6 - German Language Beta, New Anomalies, Updated Culture Traits, and Enhanced Battle Viewer Await Players in Early Access v1.6 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... [read more]

6/22/2023 By redskittlesonly in GalCiv News

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #21 - What to do about Space Bugs in Battle

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #21 - Pretty vs. mechanically satisfying space battles Forget realistic space battles. In a real space battle, the ships would be incredibly far apart and only missile weapons that are flying at relativistic speeds would matter. So putting that aside, let’s talk about the challenge of making space battles look pretty. The Mechanics We want kinetic weapons (guns), direct energy weapons (beam weapons) and payload weapons (missiles) to have very different ran... [read more]

6/5/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova v1.55 Early Access Update

v1.55 - 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: Gameplay Overhaul : Expect a major rework of the technology tree, including an entirely new approach to Exotic World colonization, Interstellar cabi... [read more]

6/1/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv News

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #20 - How people use AlienGPT

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #20 - How people use AlienGPT The Generative AI feature of Galactic Civilizations IV seems to be the breakout feature so far. To recap: When a player wants to create a custom civilization, they can choose to enter in a short description and then press “Generate”. There are two parts of this. The first part uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT which generates the text and code for describing the civilization as well as quests in the game. The second part uses AI... [read more]

5/30/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

The Titan Onslaught Update: Sins of a Solar Empire II

Greetings, Sins II players! We have been receiving valuable feedback from our players, which has enabled us to make numerous improvements to the game. We appreciate the input and will continue to use it to enhance the gaming experience for everyone. Before we talk about what's in the new update, here's an important note: this update is NOT save game compatible with prior versions! This means you'll need to start fresh games to play with the features in this update. For the highlights i... [read more]

5/25/2023 By redskittlesonly in Sins of a Solar Empire News

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #19 - Culture is your Civilization's Character

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #19 - Culture is your Civilization's Character The feedback we got from Beta 1 of GalCiv IV: Supernova was that the Cultural Progression tree was too big and too “soft”. Soft meaning the choices didn’t have meaningful consequences. We read all the feedback and used it to rethink the concept of culture in a 4X game. Here’s what we’ve come up with. Culture vs. Influence Influence affects how far your borders go from your planet. Culture is the input that ... [read more]

5/24/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #18 - Should there be a campaign?

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #18 - Should there be a campaign? Sandbox 4X games generally lack a campaign, but that changed with GalCiv III, which introduced one. Over the past 30 years, a wealth of lore has been created for the GalCiv universe. I started writing the lore that would come to be used for GalCiv when I was in college which is when I wrote the first game. The question remains: should we include a campaign in the base game or offer it as DLC? Each GalCiv game has been gui... [read more]

5/15/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova v1.51 is Now Available

GalCiv IV: Supernova v1.51 brings big updates: improved visuals, new gameplay settings, unlocked civs and much more. View the full changelog here Get into Early Access: Steam | Epic Additional Custom Civ Portrait Options Users can now select "More Images" until they get the image they want (based on the description of your civ) . Previously, to get more potential race images to choose from, you had to regenerate the entire civilization. Because ... [read more]

5/11/2023 By redskittlesonly in GalCiv News

GalCiv IV: Supernova - Experiments we're trying

Greetings! In recent years, "Early Access" has meant "Game is basically done but with bugs". And while it's true that the engine for this game is pretty "done" we are trying to take advantage of early access to try out a lot of crazy new things to get your ideas and feedback on. GalCiv IV: Supernova is being developed by the GalCiv II team and so some of the changes the team wants to make are things that come from the things we really liked in GalCiv II but in a GalCiv IV game. Some of ... [read more]

5/8/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #17 - How much should you see?

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #17 - How much should you see? In both GalCiv III and in the Epic release of GalCiv IV (GC4Epic) we were very generous with how much the player could “see”. On turn 1, you could see several solar systems away. Go ahead and see for yourself. When I began designing GalCiv IV: Supernova, I wanted to emphasize the exploration aspect of the game, which was something I loved in GalCiv II. After all, exploration is one of the key elements in 4X games. So how... [read more]

5/8/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #16 - The importance of onboarding

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #16 - The importance of onboarding Long ago we had these things called “user manuals”. I loved reading a good user manual. I’d sit back with my copy of the Civilization manual or the Ultima IV manual and just spend a weekend afternoon reading it. The days of manuals seem long gone. Gamers expect that the game will walk them through how to play the game and there is a real art form for doing this. For Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova we are adding not... [read more]

5/8/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova - The Combat System Discussion

GalCiv IV: Supernova - The new combat system discussion thread Greetings. I’m making use of two particular threads as background for this one: https://forums.galciv4.com/518716 Feedback on the new weapon system and class system » Forum Post by Halicide (galciv4.com) The currently designed system for Supernova I say designed because it’s not actually working correctly. But here is how it is supposed to work: Weapons Weapons have 4 primary characteristics: Potential Dama... [read more]

5/7/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Preview for May 11

GalCiv IV: Supernova: May 11 Lots of big updates coming the second week of May. Here’s some highlights: Civ image re-rolling Previously, to get more potential race images to choose from, you had to regenerate the entire civilization. Because of how taxing that is on the AlientGPT system, we had to limit that to 5 tries per civ and 25 per day. But since most people just want to try out to see more images, we are separating the civ regen to the reroll of the images. So just r... [read more]

5/6/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv News

GalCiv IV: Supernova - AMA & Community Dialogue with Brad Wardell

We're excited to announce that we'll be hosting a special Community Dialogue / AMA (Ask Me Anything) session with our CEO, Brad Wardell, to discuss and bounce ideas around while answering your questions about Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova! This event will take place on our Discord server on Thursday, May 11th at 2PM ET 4PM ET . This is a good opportunity for you to share your thoughts, ask questions, and get insights directly from Brad about the development and future of G... [read more]

5/5/2023 By RammaStardock in GalCiv News

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #15 - Thinking about planets

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #15 - Thinking about Planets I feel like the GalCiv IV planet management is missing something. I think the bones are right but seems like there’s a lot of nobs that ultimately amount to very little. The philosophy of being king of the world In GalCiv IV the basic idea is that raw materials come, you do stuff with them, and the output can then be used in various useful ways. The concept is simple. The execution is…complicated. Adjacency Bonuses Th... [read more]

5/5/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova - First 10 Turns, May 2023

GalCiv IV: Supernova - The First 10 Turns Today we’re going to do a fairly simple game to “smoke test” the AI and general game mechanics. Here we will find bugs, AI issues and balance issues. Setup I’m playing as the Terran Alliance, the default civ. Small galaxy, ONE sector. This lets us do an apples and apples comparison with GC3 and GC2. Only 3 opponents. In the beginning… Our home solar system. I wouldn’t mind if Mars was moved so that it was closer. Month 1: Febr... [read more]

5/3/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #14 - How many turns should that thing take?

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #14 - How many turns should that thing take? So how many turns should it take to get a thing? Turn based games live and die on pacing balance. We don’t have a speed button to zip over bad pacing choices. So we have to be very, very careful on the number of turns something takes to get. Take research for example. How many turns? 1 turn seems too generous. 8 turns is pretty long. But do you make the tech cost more or find ways to reduce the amount of re... [read more]

5/1/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #13 - AlienGPT

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #13 - GPT GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer” and since the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT the world of generative AI has really taken off. For the past several months, we have been working to build GPT technology into our Tachyon engine, Stardock’s cloud-based metagaming technology that has previously been seen in Ashes of the Singularity, Offworld Trading Company and Star Control: Origins. Thanks to OpenAI’s ChatGPT API and Tachyon, we are proud... [read more]

4/27/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

Now in Early Access - Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova Edition

Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova Edition now available in early access Early Access adds ChatGPT integration: AlienGPT [Early Access Gameplay Trailer] Stardock has released the latest sequel of its award-winning space strategy game series today into early access. Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova sees the player as the ruler of a united home world that has just discovered faster-than-light travel. Join Early Access Now: www.galciv4.com ... [read more]

4/27/2023 By Tatiora in GalCiv News

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #12 - Humanoids?

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #12 - Humanoids? One of the things we are definitely looking at widely expanding are the number of different species categories: There’s a lot of reasons to do this. For one, I think it would be a good way to have several different tech trees. Right now, the tech tree in the game is different per race but they are all derived from the same master. But imagine if we could make it so that each biology category had its own completely different tech tree? ... [read more]

4/24/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #11 - The AI Elephant in the Room

Supernova makes heavy use of AI art generation. While our human art staff on GalCiv IV is the biggest it’s ever been, the art team has made a great deal of use of using AI to vastly increase the amount of variance of art assets in the game. There are a lot of different types of AI generated content in Supernova including text, missions, AI dialog, citizen portraits and even the aliens themselves. Some uses of AI are controversial. For example, one of the controversial aspects of AI art... [read more]

4/20/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #10 - Little New Things

I spend a lot of time debugging AI in games. This means having to play the game over and over and over again trying to see why the AI is doing something dumb. Two features that will be rolling out into Supernova and then back to the base game are: Fast Move Fast Battles When you turn these on, ships move instantly to their destination and battles occur without any fanfare. It makes the turns go by insanely fast. ____________________________________________________... [read more]

4/13/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

NOW AVAILABLE: Sins of a Solar Empire II - Technical Preview 5

Technical Preview 5 Features Major AI and UI Improvements, Audio Balancing, Quality-of-Life Updates, and More Read the full changelog Greetings, Sins II players! Thanks to everyone who played during our opt-in period and sent us any bug reports or weird issues that you came across. Your diligence helps us deliver the best game possible, and we're happy to let you know that Technical Preview 5 is now officially released. Before we talk about what's in the... [read more]

4/13/2023 By Tatiora in Sins of a Solar Empire News

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #9 - The FAQ

What is Galactic Civilizations? GalCiv is a 4X turn-based strategy game series where players lead civilizations, expanding and conquering the galaxy. What is a 4X game? In 4X games, players explore space, expand empires, manage resources, and strategize in battles for galactic dominance. So this is the 4th GalCiv game, then? Technically, it’s the 7th as there were 3 versions on IBM’s OS/2 operating system in the 1990s. GalCiv is the oldest, continually dev... [read more]

4/5/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

GalCiv IV: Supernova Dev Journal #8 - The Supernova Crisis

In the year 2245, the Terran Alliance and their coalition had emerged victorious in a battle against the Drengin Empire, thanks to the recovery of a mysterious Precursor weapon. The Thalans, an advanced civilization that claimed to be from a nightmare future where humans were responsible for the destruction of the entire Milky Way galaxy, persuaded the humans to send the Precursor weapon back into the void of the pocket dimension it had been previously sent to. Shortly after, the Thalan Empir... [read more]

3/31/2023 By Frogboy in GalCiv IV Dev Journals

Sins II: Dev Journal 8 - An RTS with a Changing Map

The Art of War tells us that there are five fundamental factors to war: Politics, Weather, Terrain, the Commander, and Doctrine. But the terrain has been largely static in RTS’s. A new feature of Sins of a Solar Empire II is that all the planets are in active orbits. Their location and the links between them change over time. Because the orbit differs based on how far from the sun the planet is (Mercury orbits our sun much faster than Uranus), formerly cohesive empires can become scattere... [read more]

3/31/2023 By DerekPaxton in Sins Dev Journals

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