Lyndy62

Join Date 01/2006

Will GalCivII have an in-depth tutorial?

Hiya everyone,
Having never played GalCiv 1, I downloaded the demo yesterday (and to be honest... I am not one to read manuals a lot. I like a good tutorial (which GalCiv 1didn't have) that walks me through the basic concepts and controls of the game. Yes I enjoy having my hand held when learning a new game lol. My normal procedure is to open game, install game, play tutorial a few times, then play game with manual very close by in case something needs to be verified or explained more. Probably backwards from the way you are supposed to do it... but I bet I'm not alone doing it this way lol.
I was wondering if GalCiv2 will have a tutorial and if so, has anyone heard how good the tut is ? does it just give you the minimum descriptions in text somewhere or does it vocally and visually walk you through the main aspects of the game?
Just wondering since GalCiv1 seems to have a fairly steep learning curve (at least for me) with little direction outside the manual and if GalCiv1 is hard for me then can you imagine how difficult GalCiv2 will be.... ACK!

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Well, I believe that tutorials are planned. I don't how they will be and how depth they are: movies explaining how to interact with the UI, scenarii to help you at basic functionnalities ...

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I am glad you asked that question Lyndy because I was just about to. It looks like a pretty complicated game for a newbie to pick up. Fascinating to see even the developers having trouble with the AI on "normal" settings!!

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I also have a question that I was originally going to make a seperate thread for but I figured that it might as well go here.

Will there be a downloadable demo for GalCiv2 like there was for GalCiv1?

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the demo for GC1 seems a rather bad starting point, but its the only one avalible to some of us that signed on during the 'month of no beta/demo'.

my GC1 demo experince was as follows

My first error was to build to many structures that needed upkeep. That was a frustrating experience, not haveing any resources to build stuff, and not knowing how to solve the problem. I dident get to the next 'error/learning experience', bechause the demo ended rather quickly. I did play it a second time, but i still dident get anywhere, no battles nothing.

i can only expect the sequel to be more complex, but to what degree, who knows ?
(the luck basta... um 'beta testers' *hacking cough*)

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Will there be a downloadable demo for GalCiv2 like there was for GalCiv1?

I think so, but only after the release at the end of february I think.

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the demo for GC1 seems a rather bad starting point,

Well, it is based on version 1.03 I think. The current version of GCI is 1.22 I think. And lots of tweak have been made in the gameplay. More, you don't have all ships (some techs give nothing) in the demo. That may limits greatly the way battle are conducted.

bechause the demo ended rather quickly

Well, the demo for GC1 ends in 2190. And this is enough for some people to get an alliance victory at the higher level of difficulties.

i can only expect the sequel to be more complex, but to what degree, who knows ?

From your post, I would say that the GC1 is more complex than the demo. what were your galaxy/opponents settings? I don't remember what kind of galaxies is possible in the GC1 demo. Could you play a game with all aliens at high level of difficulties and with abundant habitable planets?

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"From your post, I would say that the GC1 is more complex than the demo. what were your galaxy/opponents settings? I don't remember what kind of galaxies is possible in the GC1 demo. Could you play a game with all aliens at high level of difficulties and with abundant habitable planets?"

lots of enemys to attack, and 'cakewalk'. the tech tree is prolly the biggest obsticle to getting attack ships. or what ever is needed to invade

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Yarlen

Join Date 01/2005

+367

GalCiv II will have a number of video tutorials that will go into a good amount of detail on the game and how to play. The game manual should fill in the rest.

There will be a demo for GalCiv II, but it won't be released until several weeks after the game ships.

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lots of enemys to attack, and 'cakewalk'.

Then try harder AI setting to better see the complexity of the game

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THanks Yarlen !!!
Video Tutorials... Couldnt ask for much more !!

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Im new to this too, but it looks sweet!

The tutorial is good to have, but im going to read the manual 6thousand times anyway.

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Hi, I've been reading the forums and following the game for a while but this is my first post. After reading about Galciv2 at gamespot i was intrigued by the idea of ruling my very own galaxy with warfare, diplomacy, trade, and all that good stuff. I'm fairly new to pc gaming and have never played ANY turn based strategy game before. Being a big fan of RTS games, i really wasnt sure whether i could handle the slower pace of a TBS so i got the Galiv1 demo and was really amazed at how addicting it was. I had a tough time at first and almost quit cuz there was a lot of info thrown at me i didnt understand ( definitely more complicated than any RTS I've played), but i was determined to give it a shot and hit the galciv1 forums for any tips i ould find. Before long i actually understood what i was doing and had an incredible time (albeit a short time being the demo and all). So to put a sock in my mouth a great tutorial would definitely help me and a lot of people new to the genre out. Oh, and props to u Stardock. I've never seen a more involved and dedicated developer before. Keep up the good work!

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So to put a sock in my mouth a great tutorial would definitely help me and a lot of people new to the genre out.

Could you describe the kind of tutorials that would have helped you for GC I ?

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Could you describe the kind of tutorials that would have helped you for GC I ?

A guide that would walk you through the first several moves within the game. It would include step by step information as well as explaining exactly why you are doing this. My problem was exactly the same as hadal. GalCiv1 is completely overwhelming to a new player. A good tutorial would break things down for you and help you with the first few moves and thier strategies

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Could you describe the kind of tutorials that would have helped you for GC I ?

For me, it doesn't need to be simplistic... none of that, Move your mouse to the edge of the screen business.

I would like to have tutorials on: how to effectively build my trade network, how to design ships, how to balance my economy. etc

Mini scenarios that required you to reach say a trading goal, a population number, a status with other civs, a percentage of domination.... that actually had walkthrough elements to it with pointers would be fantastic!

Ultimately though, with any game like this, I hammer out a strategy that works for me, then plough through 900 pages of forums to learn all the bits I don't know. So as long as the Tutorials gave me a slightly more than basic understandingof the functions of the game, I would be satisfied!

And I agree with Lyndy - WHY is often the most important piece of knowledge lacking in both your n00b understanding and most tutorials!

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Well, I am not sure if Stardock will put those kind of informations in their tutorials. They will surely explain the working of some screens but I fear you won't have the kind of in-depth tutorial you are expecting.

As Yarlen (a member of Stardock) have said:

GalCiv II will have a number of video tutorials that will go into a good amount of detail on the game and how to play. The game manual should fill in the rest.

I think that "how to play" refer to "how use the UI provided and offered functionnalities", not "how to grasp correctly the effects of the various mechanisms".

BTW, you should take a look at the draft of the manual.

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Lyndy62 hit it on the head. Just a walk through of the first several moves and an explanation of the various screens and their functions would have done wonders my first time. The manual is great and explains quite a bit, but is not quite the same as an in game tutorial holding your hand the first time u start up. I could read till im blue in the face and some things would still go in one ear and out the other--or in the case of reading the manual --in one eye and out my arse or whatever. It would be kind of like reading a book on how to drive a car as opposed to having an instuctor in the car telling u what to do your first time. The manual is great, dont get me wrong, and necessary, but should be supplemented with something in-game.
I wouldnt think any strategy coaching is necessary--that could be atained from reading forums and such or figuring it out on your own the old fasioned way( which IMO is half the fun), just an overview of the basics for someone like myself with no history of TBS games would be awesome. I have faith that all will turn out well in the end.

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Well, since going Gold is in less than a week, if they aren't yet planned, those in-depth tutorials won't surely be in the retail version.

BUT, since there will be one month between the gold status and the release, there will should be a bonus pack for the day of the retail release, like it was the case for GC 1. And lots of things can be part of the bonus pack:
- bug fixes
- gameplay enhancements
- new multimedia
- new movies
- new tutorials
Who knows what we will have the day of the release?

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Peace Phoenix we aren’t talking about GalCiv2... The original post is of course but it got off topic a bit after Yarlen posted and confirmed tutorials for the upcoming game. Now we are talking about how a good tutorial for the first GalCiv1 would help new players integrate better. It was already posted by Yarlen with Stardock that ... "GalCiv II will have a number of video tutorials that will go into a good amount of detail on the game and how to play. The game manual should fill in the rest "
A lot of people having never been introduced to the game before are downloading the demo of GalCiv1 to better acclimate to the upcoming GalCiv2. While playing GalCiv1 it has been suggested that a tutorial would be of great help. That is what we are talking about now. Thanks for trying to help!

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