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Galactic Civilizations III v1.5 Changelog (Release 12/9)

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Galactic Civilizations III v1.5 Changelog (Release 12/9)

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Galactic Civilizations III v1.5 Change Log (Release 12/9)

For this update, we've been working on improving the diplomacy system.  We've also reintroduced the Planetary Wheel through the new Coercion system and removed the large empire penalty.  We've also introduced a new, in-game metaverse experience.  Finally, we've made some improvements to the multiplayer lobby experience.  

Major Features 

  • Improved Diplomacy. Added new diplomatic interactions including "Leave my territory" and "Demand Tribute." 
  • Planetary Spending Wheel. The Planetary Spending Wheel is now available again either  through the "Bureau of Labor" planetary improvement or through the new civilization ability "Coercive." This new ability replaces the Krynn's "Patriotic" ability (which ignored the large empire penalty) which is longer needed.  
  • Coercion system.  Setting the civilization or planetary spending to overly specialize in one area reduces raw production.  Penalty is modest for most spending schemes.  
  • Removed the large empire penalty. You'll to start a new game to experience this change
  • In-Game Metaverse: Clicking on the "Metaverse" button on the main menu will display your gameplay statistics, leaderboard standings, and universal stats via the new "GNN Universe Report".
  • Multiplayer Improvements.  Players can now invite their friends to play through Steam.  We have also resolved several crash and lobby problems.   

Gameplay 

  • Improved Diplomacy. Added new diplomatic interactions including "Leave my territory" and "Demand tribute." Go to the Diplomacy screen and ask to talk about something else to access the new changes.  
  • The new "Coercion" faction trait allows the faction to use the planetary spending wheel throughout the empire without building the "Bureau of Labor" Improvement.  This new trait replaces the Kyrnn's Patriot trait which is now obsolete.
  • New "Bureau of Labor" Improvement unlocks the Planetary Spending Wheel for a specific planet.  This improvement is unlocked through the "Interstellar Governance" technology.
  • Removed Large Empire Penalty. This makes the Krynn's Patriotic ability (which overrode the penalty) obsolete and the former trait has been replaced by the new Coercion trait.  Note: you'll need to start a new game to enjoy this benefit.
  • Added Coercion effect to spending wheel.  Spending programs that are overly specializes will be not as efficient in overall production.
  • Lowered the Capital Production points bonus
  • Raised the default Population growth rate
  • Reduced the number of tech required for each Age to better reflect the current tech research norms. 
  • Re-balanced ship upgrade costs
  • Set minor races frequency game option "common" by default
  • Reduced Civilization and Colony Capital production bonuses.   
  • To make the galaxy feel more alive, the AI will talk more often.  We've also increased frequency of minor races.

AI  

  • Added bridge building feature to the AI. if the AI can't reach a target world for invasion, the AI will build military starbases to extend its range.
  • AI now does a better job of picking weapon and defense techs  
  • AI chooses better weapons and defense systems for its ship.

Multiplayer 

  • Added Invite Friends button.  Players can now invite their Steam friends to join a multiplayer lobby.  
  • Fixed a problem with player count was getting messed up after choosing a custom map and then choosing a different map with a different number of players.  This would cause problems in lobby and sometimes crash.   
  • Addressed a problem where the lobby information wasn't always being updated correctly or in a timely manner.   
  • Fixed a crash caused by entering Snathi Campaign after leaving the MP lobby 
  • If peer who doesn't have the same DLC as the host leaves the lobby and starts a new lobby, the game no longer crashes.     
  • The first entry Multiplayer Setup listbox  no longer overlaps the header. 
  • Custom factions now appear correctly after restoring games 
  • The Auto-upgrade on the Planetary Governor screen will now properly remember its state in multiplayer.   
  • When a player with a custom factions leaves a game, the custom factions no longer leave the game as well. 
  • Fixed a race condition that would occasionally cause a custom faction to be eliminated when the game started.  If the custom faction was a player, the game would crash.

Graphics / Audio

  • Added in-game Metaverse experience. From the main menu, click on Metaverse to see your gameplay statistics, leaderboard standings, and universal stats via the new "Yor Galactic Report". 
  • Removed legacy DX9 Dependencies in the atlas generation system to improve stability on startup. 
  • Addressed several crashes related to the Atlas generation system 
  • Fixed issue with some buttons having a non power of two texture and looking weird on mouse down. 
  • Updated the Snathi Peace and War music tracks
  • Addressed a problem with the battle viewer where the camera didn't always rotate around the correct axis.

Mods 

  • Changed flavor text definitions so that they can have groups appended to with mods. 
  • Changed the preclusion rule so that the player can build a single improvement from a set that you've defined.   

Ship Designer

  • Addressed problems with that made it difficult to attach parts that were scaled or animated in a particular fashion. 
  • Attached parts are now scaled correctly when attached to scaled groups within Ship Templates  
  • Fixed issues that made it hard to place parts onto grouped parts in ship designer 

UI 

  • Added tooltips to tile bonuses Planet Window to better explain what they do and help you better plan your world. 
  • The Design Button (and a few others) no longer displays incorrectly when pressed.
  • Rolling over the turn count now displays the current galactic date. 
  • Changed the Campaign and Scenarios Difficulty from a dropdown to a spinner so that it no longer spills past bottom of screen 
  • Updated the Treaty Details background image used for highlighting/selecting so it doesn't attempt to upscale an image not meant for that size. 
  • Added scrollbars to the dropdowns in the custom faction screen so they don't break out of the bounds of the screen. 
  • The Wealth Summary screen does a better job of prioritize important information by hiding items with a value of zero.  .  
  • Added text to Starbase Module tooltips so that if they are disabled due to another player claiming the resources/relics that module needs, it will show a message notifying the player that the resources/relics are already claimed. 
  • Galaxy difficulty setting no longer moves to the bottom when changed 
  • Increased the width of the Large Distances Break tooltip to allow for 3-digit numbers to appear correctly. 
  • Added a scrollbar to the Load Ship popup window to make it more obvious that you can scroll the planet's list.  This also prevents the planet names from being clipped in medium UI.  
  • Shipyard Next/previous arrows are no longer clipped.    
  • On the starbase window, if a resource is already claimed it will now grey out the module name instead of allowing you to build it.
  • Battle Viewer: Selecting a ship changes no longer changes to free cam
  • Battle Viewer: Ship info now properly updates in top down camera (along with all other cameras) when battle is paused
  • Ideology button is now disabled and includes a helpful tooltip if the player has no ideology points.
  • Diplomacy button is now disabled until the player meets someone. 
  • The focus buttons are hidden when planetary production wheel is unlocked
  • Fix logo alignment issue with Fleet tooltip. 

Bugs 

  • Fixed bad xml value that could lead to Antimatter showing up on maps that had Resources set to none. 
  • If a fleet of freighters arrive at a planet, one freighter establishes the route. The remaining freighters are not longer stationed at the planet. 
  • Fixing a crash related to pirates building ships 
  • Fixed a crash that happened right after invading a minor race planet 
  • When decommissioning a Shipyard, stationed ships are now ejected instead of being destroyed.   
  • The default custom race images are available again.  
  • DLC Available Button should appear for any missing DLC, not just the map pack 
  • Updated the Class Zero Planet feedback to clarify that it can't be colonized.   
  • Fixed intermittent failure to load campaign saved games that had bad tech tree data. 
  • Fixed trade exploit for infinite credits 
  • Fixed a divide by zero crash error that happened if you restored a very old save game and won the game on the same turn. 
195,222 views 48 replies
Reply #26 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I'm not too far into a game on the 1.5 opt in. One thing I would put down to consider so far is the diplomatic penalty incured when demanding that an AI move its ships out of your territory. I feel that it should not incur a penalty when there is no open border treaty active, but that an AI can still refuse to budge if it thinks the player is only capable of flogging it with warm lettuce.

Reply #27 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

  If the actual concern is that it's unreasonable to turn the economy around completely from moment to moment (going from 100% manufacturing to 100% research on the spot) then both the wheel and the focus system are bandaids on the real problem: that you CAN turn the economy around on the spot.

 

  If changing to your production distribution actually takes time to go through - you can move the wheel/change the focus/etc-front-end all you like, but the actual output of each planet only shifts by a few % or by a few base production points each turn (so 100% one thing to 100% something else would take a loooong time to complete), the problem would be solved and it would be reasonably 'realistic' into the bargain.

WindowBlinds - Free yourself of the default settings, customize your desktop.
Reply #28 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Can't help but feel that this "diplomacy" update has needlessly suffered because of Stardock's knee-jerk reaction to some negativity regarding 1.4.

 

Reply #29 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I saw AI Scout Ship investigated "graveyard of ships", and does not decrease the 100 hp. As AI Cheat!

Reply #30 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

UI fixes are nice but the game still needs some major improvements in that regard. No fixes for any of the problems I've been encountering, either. :(

Reply #31 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

So far, I am having fun with 1.5. I love the diplomacy flavor. I like how the Ai is chaining star bases to get to me. All are good. The Wheel and its implementation currently do feel 'clunky'. I know some folks want it and some don't. I was all for it than learned to play without it. 

 

My question, is the ai going to be balanced with folks using it or not? I currently have 53 planets and use the planetary wheel on one planet, my prime research planet. I set the wheel to 100% full on research and floated four star bases to maintain full 100% happiness. Viola 1285 research per turn. I have 6 other research planets but those are doing 280 to 400 per turn. 

Its a lot of work to get the wheeled planet up to maximum. I had to sacrifice a tile for the building and then float four star bases to maximize production, research and happiness.

 

No crashes, not hiccups. Game plays well. I am seeing ai ships with 2 different types of weapons which is what it SHOULD do!  I am also seeing diversity across factions on weapon preferences thanks!

 

 Game is insane with 30 factions and abundant minors. I am 350 turns thereabout into the game. 

Reply #32 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Larsenex, reply 31

I set the wheel to 100% full on research and floated four star bases to maintain full 100% happiness. Viola 1285 research per turn. I have 6 other research planets but those are doing 280 to 400 per turn.

When I read the patch notes, I was thinking about this.

As far as the wheel goes, it doesn't feel like the coercive system adds enough penalty. Considering the massive multipliers of a planet with full research or production infrastructure...it still seems like specializing the planet is the way to go, even if I take a penalty. Sure I take a 25% production hit, but with a 250% multiplier to research....do I really care? Would I ever make a 50/50 world (with the 50/50 infrastructure to match)....because of that penalty?

Reply #33 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting xpadd91, reply 29

I saw AI Scout Ship investigated "graveyard of ships", and does not decrease the 100 hp. As AI Cheat!

 

Haven't done many of these, but are the pirates random spawn?  If so the scout has all 3 defenses, it's possible it just took no damage..

Reply #34 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Wait, the "Diplomacy patch" will have just two additions to the diplomacy options? Eh, just a patch, can't ask for too much.

Reply #35 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting eviator, reply 34

Wait, the "Diplomacy patch" has just two additions to the diplomacy options?

 

Yea, I was wondering about that as well.  I assume that some of it just got back-burnered for the time being...  No complaints, just funny..

 

Also, the "Precursor Worlds DLC" was mentioned earlier ... was there an announcement somewhere that I missed?  The only mention of it that I can find is at

http://explorminate.net/2015/12/07/galactic-civilizations-3-patch-1-5-dlc-this-week/

 

I feel like I missed a memo..?

Reply #36 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

DLC will come out when 1.5 is Live, not just Opt-in.

I think the Diplomacy improvements are good as far as they go but the number of improvements is a bit Meh. It seems sensible to me to make a huge jump in Diplomacy with the Espionage expansion as they are to me quite closely linked. Using spies to undermine Diplomatic relationships between races etc...

 

 

Reply #37 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Stalker0, reply 32


Quoting Larsenex,
reply 31

I set the wheel to 100% full on research and floated four star bases to maintain full 100% happiness. Viola 1285 research per turn. I have 6 other research planets but those are doing 280 to 400 per turn.



When I read the patch notes, I was thinking about this.

As far as the wheel goes, it doesn't feel like the coercive system adds enough penalty. Considering the massive multipliers of a planet with full research or production infrastructure...it still seems like specializing the planet is the way to go, even if I take a penalty. Sure I take a 25% production hit, but with a 250% multiplier to research....do I really care? Would I ever make a 50/50 world (with the 50/50 infrastructure to match)....because of that penalty?

 

Yep, it looks like the same 'abuses' of the wheel are alive and well. And as usual, if there is a 'best', then it behooves players to use it. In 1.4, I had worlds that weren't overly specialized but I can see going back to all specialized (on any decent world anyways) very quickly.

Definitely feels like a step backwards. Add to that the fact that the AI still isn't fixed (ie, still puts it ships in the player's territory while being overrun) and my desire to crank the game up with 1.5 is pretty much gone. Hopefully 1.51 or whatever comes next at least fixes the AI.

Reply #38 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Haven't done many of these, but are the pirates random spawn?  If so the scout has all 3 defenses, it's possible it just took no damage..


 

AI scout ship investigated the anomalous "ship graveyard"
Intelligence
2 beam 4 rocket, cannon 2
0 protection, protection 0, 8 defense.

2 Pirate ship for "ship graveyard"
8 ray-equipment.

I check my scout ship, the battle, and then my damage about 40 damage.

Reply #39 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Looks like there are four new diplomatpic options, not two. I'm in the middle of a game right now (Drengin, not Krynn) so I hope to try these out.

Reply #40 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Bug "flight abroad".
after the vote, why not show the percentage of A% and B% B% D% .....?

Reply #41 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

 

 

Seriously, this is why I hated all those whiners about bringing back the wheel. BS cheese shit that lets you have insane results. It seems like a lack of options for strategy. Just ultra specialize each planet and wheel away. Fucking boring.

I'll be getting the dlc because I love this game but I need to emphasize how much I want more Ai tweaks to diplomacy. The parking your entire army in my sector for no reason is pissing me off. And since I want to repeat my hate of the cheese wheel, fuck the wheel

Reply #42 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Disappointed, perhaps even angry at the update reverting 1.4 and actually making things worse.  Major step backwards.

 

 

 

Reply #43 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Alstein, 

Sorry to hear that you are disappointed.  Can you be more specific as to what is worse now?

Reply #44 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I don't like the wheel- it forces unfun micromanagement.   Rest of the changes are positive, but that's a huge negative for me. 

 

After playing a bit more 1.5, the positives are there as well.  Enough that it tempts me to get into modding.

 

I suspect if you reverted things, you'd find folks saying the same thing- that a lack of wheel would make them stop playing.   So I understand you can't win either way.

 

Maybe I can mod this out of the game entirely - never really modded before, I'd just need to come up with a good replacement for Coercive.  I do enjoy the rest of the game.

 

Reply #45 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Alstein, reply 44

I don't like the wheel- it forces unfun micromanagement.   Rest of the changes are positive, but that's a huge negative for me.

 

I suspect if you reverted things, you'd find folks saying the same thing- that a lack of wheel would make them stop playing.   So I understand you can't win either way.

 

 

The question for me is whether or not it is well balanced, as I don't think it should make the focus system redundant as well as breaking game balance with absurd output. I know coercion is the concept that is meant to balance it out, but does it work in practice? 

 

Also, another query that comes to mind is whether or not the AI, particularly those that benefit from the flexibility of the wheel, is capable of utilizing it?

Reply #46 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Uncle_Joe, reply 24

I you don't like the planetary wheel then only use the global wheel problem solved you just eliminated micromanagement just handle expanses through global wheel you are the only reason you use the planetary wheel. You don't have to use it. Use the global wheel. It can only bother you if you unessisary use it. Finances can be handled globally. This is only needed when you need to specialize, your welcome I solved your micromanagement problem only use the global wheel.



No, see here lies the problem with that...the game can't be 'balanced' for both using the wheel and not using it. If the costs are adjusted for using the wheel (ie to account for the ridiculous on-the-fly specialization) then people who aren't using the wheel will struggle (in MP or against the AI which is presumably going to be balanced for one way or the other). But if the costs are adjusted for NOT using the wheel, then people using the wheel will find it too easy (and the inevitable complaints about 'the AI sucks! I can beat it with one hand behind my back!").

 As I said in 1.4, they eventually have to pick a system AND STICK TO IT. If it means the wheel, then get rid of the other crap and put the wheel back from the beginning but adjusts the costs to reflect the output allowed by that type of control. If they want to get rid of the wheel, then do it and be done with it! 

This hybrid system where you can just the wheel but only once you research 'x' tech and then go back and build 'y' building on every decent world is just a mess IMO. And the focuses are still there for some reason so it's just a jumble of mechanics. Add in the global wheel (no idea what that is supposed to represent other than a legacy of GC2) and there are far too many controls and interfaces shifting throughout the game. 

This is what happens when you don't stick to your guns and you try and appease everyone....you get a mess of a system.

As I've said before, I'm not a fan of the wheel. But I'd rather have that original system and the costs BALANCED for it (ie, no pumping out large/advanced ships every 1-2 turns...) rather than this where I use one mechanic early on, then switch that to default as the game goes on, then use the focus UI,  then research and build a structure that enables me to go back and re-tweak my planets at will (but only within certain constraints of diminishing returns). 

Anyways, I hope they decide to 're-tweak' this mess. But honestly there don't appear to be too many people consistently posting on the forum anymore so perhaps they will take silence as consent that this is a viable and enjoyable system to build on...

What he said. It is impossible to balance the game for both economies and the current implementation is game breaking IMHO.

I hate the wheel but could life with it if things get balanced around it. Make up your mind Stardock, please.

 

It is strange. With GalCiv2 i always had the feeling Stardock has some razor sharp design plan, which i really liked. With GalCiv3 i feel they are all over the place and unsure how to proceed.

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Reply #47 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

This (above post) is a big problem right now- it feels like Stardock is trying to have it both ways, on something where you have to make a hard decision either way.  The current implementation is actually worse than what it was before 1.4, as there are now extra steps to cheese the game.

Reply #48 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting OsirisDawn, reply 46


It is strange. With GalCiv2 i always had the feeling Stardock has some razor sharp design plan, which i really liked. With GalCiv3 i feel they are all over the place and unsure how to proceed.

 

I feel like GC2 was fairly locked down by the time I started playing it, and I also had no expectations (this was slightly pre-twilight expansion), expectations really make a huge difference on my impression of things.  So I feel like it's a difficult comparison to make.

My expectations of GC3 have been that it'll be a bit rough around the edges @ release, it will get cleaned up and streamlined to the point of being 90% figured out and locked down by the time of the first expansion (~1 year) and will continue along this line of general development until by the 3rd expansion everyone will think that it's the greatest game of all time and is the gold standard of 4x (just like GC2 ended up being).

I'd say, thus far GC3 is meeting 95%+ of this expectation.  I also expected it to be great fun - which I'm finding that it is!.  When everything's locked down I might even give MP a go... 

cheers