What does the game difficulty mean?

I'm confused.

from GalCiv2 Forums
I hear people (including Frogboy) say things like, "I was playing a game on Intelligent, and..."

However, there's no "Intelligent" setting. Difficulty goes "Normal", "Challenging", "Painful"... with no "Intelligent".

Now, the individual races can be set to "Intelligent". But that's a race setting, not a game setting. So I'm wondering....

What is the difference between a game set to "Easy" with all races set to "Normal", and a game set to "Normal" with all races set to "Easy" (or sub-normal, or whatever)? Does the game difficulty override the race intelligence, or vice versa? Does a "Suicidal" game with all races set to "Moronic" give you a higher score than a "Cakewalk" with all races set to "Genius"? Do they play out differently?

Thanks!
10,657 views 7 replies
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I vaguely remember seeing intelligent. But Im crap and I play on normal and challenging only :>
Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
See the difficulty level article on galciv 2 wiki.
galciv.wikicities.com/wiki/Difficulty_level
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
So... they seem be the same thing. And I'm still left wondering which overrides the other. Since you have to set the AI for each opponent anyway, why have a global setting that seems to do the same thing (but with different names)?
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
why have a global setting that seems to do the same thing


Less mouse clicks
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
#4 by Citizen Saber Cherry --snip--
So... they seem be the same thing. And I'm still left wondering which overrides the other.


There's actually one Individual AI Difficulty missing on the Wiki list, Gifted, which comes immediately after Intelligent. However I've found no description of the Gifted setting anywhere.

You are not required to select an individual AI's setting. You can choose to just pick the Global setting.
The Global difficulty settings override the Individual settings for each opponents Intelligence. (ie Global takes precedence)

by Citizen Saber Cherry --snip--
Since you have to set the AI for each opponent anyway, why have a global setting that seems to do the same thing (but with different names)?


I believe the Global Setting is acting as an overall indicator of a games difficulty level dependent on how many AI players you've chosen and their Individual AI settings. (try varying Individual Intelligence Settings for 5 or 6 races and keep an eye on the Global setting)

For others who may not have noticed or are wondering how an Individual AI setting relates to each of the Global Settings here's a brief chart:

Individual Setting--------Global Setting----------->Description

Fool ....................................Calkwalk ---> (AI's economy is run at 10% of normal, no higher algorithms enabled)
Beginner ...........................Easy ---> (AI's economy is run at 25% of normal, no higher algorithms enabled)
Sub-Normal......................Beginner --> (AI's economy is run at 50% of normal, no higher algorithms enabled)
Normal...............................Normal ---> (AI's economy is run at 75% of normal, AI evaluates common human tactics)
Bright..................................Challenging ->(AI's economy is run at 100% of normal,AI evaluates most known human tactics)
Intelligent.........Tough->(AI economy run at 100% of normal,AI expertly pick abilities,all known tactics searched, countered)
Gifted..................................Painfull ----> ( ????)
Genius...............................Crippling -->(AI's economy is run at 125% of normal,All algorithms in place (same as above))
Incredible...........................Masochistic -->(AI's economy is run at 200% of normal,All algorithms in place)


I think the description for Genius may in fact be the missing description for Gifted.
The description for Genius would then become:
Genius................Crippling -->(AI's economy is run at 150% of normal, All algorithms in place (same as above))

Hopefully all that's correct and a few things are cleared up.

Ubbax
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks a lot, Ubbax; that's exactly what I was looking for.