4.21 also brings a number of long requested balance updates.
What players will probably notice the most, however is how much better the AI is at putting together fair trade offers. This may only merit a single line in the change log but represented the bulk of the engineering time for this update.
Changelog
All versions:
AI is now significantly better at putting together trade offers with the player (ones likely to be acceptable to the player).
Asteroid likelihood in a system increased from 20% to 25%
Ion storm spawn likelyhood an a sector increased from 50% to 65%
Retribution:
Minimum star distanced reduced from 7 parsecs to 5 parsecs
Approval requirement for content reduced from 45% to 40%
Civilization capital raw resource production increased from +2 to +3
As hardware continues to become more powerful we have bumped up the number of objects a map can spawn:
Small galaxy base object spawn increased from 300 to 400 (this is how many planets, stars, etc. are allowed)
Medium galaxy base object spawn increased from 500 to 700 (this is how many planets, stars, etc. are allowed)
Large galaxy base object spawn increased from 750 to 900 (this is how many planets, stars, etc. are allowed)
Huge galaxy base object spawn increased from 900 to 1000 (this is how many planets, stars, etc. are allowed)
Gigantic galaxy base object spawn increased from 1000 to 1200 (this is how many planets, stars, etc. are allowed)
Excessive galaxy base object spawn increased from 1400 to 1500 (this is how many planets, stars, etc. are allowed)
Insane galaxy base object spawn increased from 1500 to 1600 (this is how many planets, stars, etc. are allowed)
AI weighting of technologies improved to ensure the AI researches the updated tech tree more effectively
Ministry of Alien Affairs now gives a +0.25 diplomacy bonus
Interstellar Tourism prereq changed from requiring Immigration to ministry of alien affairs to make available earlier in the game.
Supply ship manufacturing cost reduced from 200 to 125
Early game music tracks updated
Language Hotfix Released
This small update resolves some issues with using non-English versions of the game not displaying characters properly. It also updates the in-game version string.
Galactic Civilizations III v4.2 Change Log
Stardock released a v4.2 update today for Galactic Civilizations III, its massive space sandbox 4X strategy game. The update has taken a large amount of community feedback into account as it works to address the game’s balance.
The version 4.2 update focuses on balancing several existing elements within the game, including planet classes, resource requirements for certain Starbase modules, habitable planet counts in each map size, and more.
“This update wouldn't have been possible without our community,” said Stardock CEO Brad Wardell. “Without their feedback and their sharing of saved games, it would have been much more difficult for us to take a look at some of the more specific balance issue within various play scenarios.”
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Some adjustments have been made to values granted by certain technologies, and the default player count on each map size has also been increased. The AI has been updated to be more generous when trading tech, and an AI player will no longer rush a ship when it doesn’t need to.
Since Galactic Civilizations III released in 2015, Stardock has made frequent updates while taking player feedback into account. Because of this, the game has continued to improve throughout the years, ensuring that even long-time players have something new or interesting to look forward to when an update is released.
The v4.2 update is now available. Make sure to check out the full changelog down below!
Change Log
Fixes
Typo Fixes
Fixed an initialization bug
Balance
Planet class 26 added
General balance of planets classes moved down some.
Players can start slightly closer together.
Starbase particle beam support weapon no longer requires Elerium
Starbase Stinger missile support weapon no longer requires anti-matter
Starbase Shield Generator support module no l,onger requires Elerium
Starbase Point defense support module no longer requires Elerium
Starbase Titanium plate module no longer requires Durantium
Starbase perimeter Scanner no longer requires Durantium
Starbase sector scanner Durantium cost reduced from 2 to 1
Starbase modules resource cost reduced by 1
Starbase Archeology module benefits increased
Starbase level 1 economic modules no longer require special resources
Content approval threshold reduced from 45% to 40%
Starting year increased from 2242 to 2243 for Retribution
Tiny map habitable planet count increased from 32 to 36
Small map habitable planet count increased from 40 to 48
Medium map habitable planet count increased from 100 to 120
Large map habitable planet count increased from 200 to 250
Huge map habitable planet count increased from 300 to 320
Gigantic map habitable planet count increased from 400 to 450
Immense map habitable planet count increased from 500 to 550
Retribution: Star distance reduced from 7 tiles to 5 tiles.
Default player count per map size increased:
Small: 3 to 5
Medium: 6 to 9
Large: 8 to 11
Huge: 12 to 17
Gigantic: 16 to 21
Colony ships cost more
Prototype hyperdrive requires anti-matter instead of Promethion
Slight bump to improvement costs.
Tiny hull receives +2 speed buff
Small hull receives +1 speed buff
Cargo hull cost increased.
Capital world now provides +5 Credits per turn.
Capital production bonus increased from 2 to 3.
AI
AI more generous in tech trading
Fixed bug that could cause an AI player to rush a ship when it didn't want to.
AI will no longer overwrite its current improvement project.
Galactic Civilizations III v.Next - Beta Now Available
Galactic Civilizations III's next update is now in opt-in and ready to test out! Players can expect tons of improvements and user requested changes, check them out below:
GalCiv III v.Next
Tiny hull receives +2 speed buff
Small hull receives +1 speed buff
Cargo hull cost increased
Slight bump to improvement costs.
Colony ships cost more
Prototype hyperdrive requires anti-matter instead of Promethion
Fixed bug that could cause an AI player to rush a ship when it didn't want to.
Easier difficulty levels made easier with "dumber" AI.
Default player count per map size increased: - Small: 3 to 5 - Medium: 6 to 9 - Large: 8 to 11 - Huge: 12 to 17 - Gigantic: 16 to 21
Maps given more habitable planets: - Tiny map habitable planet count increased from 32 to 36 - Small map habitable planet count increased from 40 to 48 - Medium map habitable planet count increased from 100 to 120 - Large map habitable planet count increased from 200 to 250 - Huge map habitable planet count increased from 300 to 320 - Gigantic map habitable planet count increased from 400 to 450 - Immense map habitable planet count increased from 500 to 550
Content approval threshold reduced from 45% to 40%
Starting year increased from 2242 to 2243 for Retribution
Starbase particle beam support weapon no longer requires Elerium
Starbase Stinger missile support eapon no longer requires anti-matter
Starbase Shield Generator support module no l,onger requires Elerium
Starbase Point defense support module no longer requires Elerium
Starbase Titanium plate module no longer requires Durantium
Starbase perimeter Scanner no longer requires Durantium
Starbase sector scanner Durantium cost reduced from 2 to 1
Starbase modules resource cost reduced by 1
Starbase Archeology module benefits increased
Starbase level 1 economic modules no longer require special resources
Planet class 26 added
General balance of planets classes moved down some.
Players can start slightly closer together.
We'll be updating this list as we put out new updates. We have a lot of plans for this Summer.
To Access
Go to Steam, go to the properties, go to Betas and choose the Opt-in (regardless of what it's labeled).
Notes for March 17, 2021 Update
Small hotfix to correct installation errors for users who don't own the Crusade expansion.
Galactic Civilizations III v4.01 Now Available
Stardock is pleased to announce the release of version 4.01 for its hit 4X strategy game, Galactic Civilizations III. This update contains crash fixes, AI fixes and language updates for German and Russian players.
Version 4.01 Change Log
Fixed an issue with the auto-upgrade colony default option
Fixed crashes for players that had missing data if they don't own Crusade
Fixed crashes when playing non-English versions of the campaign
Fixed an issue where AI ships could stop moving
Fixed a crash if some events can find an empty planet to trigger on
Fixed an issue causing the AI to be nuttier than a Snathi waste disposal unit
Fixed typos
Added German translations for:
Heroes of Star Control: Origins DLC
Villains of Star Control: Origins DLC
Worlds in Crisis DLC
Retribution Expansion
Updated translations for all prior content as needed
Added Russian translations for:
Heroes of Star Control: Origins DLC
Villains of Star Control: Origins DLC
Worlds in Crisis DLC
Retribution Expansion
Updated translations for all prior content as needed
NOW AVAILABLE: GalCiv III 5th Anniversary Update and Worlds in Crisis DLC
Galactic Civilizations III 5th Anniversary Update and Worlds in Crisis DLC are Now Available
Experience new world crises, planet types and traits, plus visual and balance improvements with v4.0
Every world has a story, and it’s up to you to decide how it ends.
In Worlds in Crisis, you will encounter a host of new world events with ideological choices that you will have to resolve. Several new planet types and over a dozen new planet features also await you, breathing new life into the game for old-time Galactic Civilizations players while offering exciting options for people picking up the game for the first time.
The free v4.0 update adds huge performance increases and makes vast visual improvements to the game’s planets, both on the surface and from orbit. Thanks to the numerous feedback we've received from fans, a lengthy list of balance and AI improvements are also in v4.0. To see what's new, check out the complete changelog for the update at the bottom of the post!
Worlds in Crisis Features
New Planetary Crises
Ruling a galaxy is tough work, full of perilous and precarious decisions that must be made on a regular basis. As you explore and expand, you may encounter worlds struggling with crises from planetary mutations, to raging pandemics, to murderers on the loose, and much more.
Some of the troubles you might encounter are:
Native intelligent primates - We’re not monkeying around here. A newly terraformed continent reveals quite a surprise.
Mad Governor - Just what is going on here? Mass hallucinations, city-wide parties, and people disappearing off the streets make for an unusual adventure.
Notorious Smugglers - Will this smuggler have a change of heart, or go back to his old ways? That’s entirely up to you.
And more! - A host of new choices await you. Will you handle them benevolently, pragmatically, or malevolently?
New Planet Types
Explore worlds sterilized by mad scientists, landscapes littered with ancient battlefields, and tranquil planets overflowing with milk, honey - and whatever that blue stuff is that the Altarians drink. Sterile World: This planet isn’t meant for housing life, but it’s perfect for running certain “controlled” experiments…
Fertile World: Abundant with life and foliage, it’s the perfect planet for feeding an entire empire.
Tranquil World: Beautiful and serene, this place is just waiting to be overrun by retirees.
Volcanic World: Abundant power is nice, but boy do the earthquakes get old.
Fissured World: Deep and abundant fissures may hide secrets within the planet’s core. Dive deep and uncover them.
Bombarded World: Boiling calderas and abundant geothermal energy are all that remain here after the Precursors’ ancient wars.
New Planet Features
New islands, continents, and landmasses leave you with more options as you explore and colonize planets. You’ll enjoy beautiful shorelines, vibrant color, and careful detail on each planet that you visit. There are also several new worlds to explore which offer new and exciting bonuses for those brave enough to colonize them. Some of the new planet features you’ll find in Worlds in Crisis are:
Volcanic Rifts: If you can’t handle the heat, then get off the planet! Mine below the surface to extract heat to use in power production.
Thriving Reef: Dive into a world of abundant reefs and wide oceans. Truly a magical sight to behold.
Floating Mountains: Mountains in the sky - well, that’s new. Studying this bizarre land feature could bolster your research.
Permanent Rainbow: We’ve finally found the rainbow connection! The beauty of this world improves the mood of the local populace.
Giant Mushrooms: Exploring this world should be fun...gi. These freakishly large mushrooms present a generous food source.
Gold Fields: It’s so shiny! Fields on this world are rich with precious gold.
And more: It’s a vast galaxy. Over a dozen other planetary types are out there, so start exploring!
v4.0 Changelog
Better Looking Worlds
Both from the surface and from orbit, planets received a facelift (or continent lift). We've introduced many new islands, continents, and landmasses used by the planet generation system. We've also improved our material system to improve shorelines, add more color, and add more detail to planets.
Fixes
Fixed various bugs that caused autoskip not to, you know, bloody auto skip!
Fixed an issue where Prototype Hyperdrive said it needed Promethion, but it actually needed Anti-matter (it now requires Promethion correctly).
Fixed an issue where the Thullium Hull Reinforcement required Durantium.
Fixed an issue where the United Earth faction wasn't using the correct Map Color, UI Color or Appearance.
Fixed an issue where some events weren't changing population correctly (thanks to Old Spider for the fix!)
Fixed a crash when using debug commands to trigger events out of order.
Fixed a typo in the Nanite Fabricator description.
Fixed the Illegal Cloning event Pragmatic growth bonus.
Fixed the Illegal Cloning event Malevolent Population bonus.
Fixed the UP Resolution War Fine to have a duration.
Fixed the Mowling duplicate intro screen text.
Updated the Cultural Beacon description to state that it allows the training of celebrities.
Fixed an issue keeping the Nanite Transmitter Complex from being buildable.
Fixed an issue where Space Monsters might not appear on some events if you don't have Crusade installed.
Fixed an issue where players wouldn't receive credits in trades
Fixed a stuck turn if you continued playing after winning the game.
Balance
Occasional planet frequency increased from 1 to 1.2
Occasional habitable planets increased from 20 to 30
Occasional minable planets change increased from 0.15 to 0.2
Occasional Durantium asteroid increased from 0.2 to 0.3
Common planet frequency increased from 1.25 to 1.5
Common Habitable planets increased from 30 to 50
Common Asteroids increased from 0.08 to 0.10
Common Min asteroids in a field increased from 2 to 3
Common Blackholes increased from 5% to 7%
Common minable planet chance increased from 0.25 to 0.33
Common Durantium asteroid increased from 0.3 to 0.4
Abundant blackholes increased from 10% to 12%
Abundant Minable planet chance increased from 0.4 to 0.6
Abundant Durantium increased from 0.4 to 0.5
Non-Aggression treaty minimum relation requirement reduced from 4 to 3.
Asteroid base production reduced from 1 to 0.5
Computer Core cost increased from 32 to 40
Industrial Center cost increased from 30 to 40
Colonization Center cost increased from 30 to 40
Administrative Center now available at the start of the game
Administrative Center admins provided increased from 1 to 2
Administrative Center influence increased from 1 to 5
Administrative Center now provides adjacency bonuses for Research, Manufacturing and Tourism
Substantially more fertile tiles added to planets.
Ministry of Alien Affairs now awards an administrator.
Xeno Commerce tech now provides 5 trade routes (instead of 3)
Cultural exchange increases global influence per turn by 2 (instead of 1)
Galactic Trade now provides 5 more trade routes (instead of 2)
Updated score system to differentiate scoring more between victory types.
Player scores are higher so that we can have more nuance between performance in the future.
AI
Adjusted AI players that have sufficient resources to focus more on larger ship construction.
AI wakes up to ascension victory faster.
AI weighs trade with target player more so when deciding who to attack.
Reduced AI bonuses at higher difficulties.
New AI evaluator for handling ships that have destinations.
Civs that want to conquer the galaxy will more aggressively increase their diplomatic stance to do so.
AI is more flexible in what weapons it will research.
AI takes more account of what resources it has when deciding what to focus on.
Constructor won't ask for new orders if destination is blocked.
Assault ships will ask for new orders if destination becomes defenseless.
AI more circumspect about attacking if the enemy fleets / planet / starbase is substantially stronger.
Default Ai difficulty lowered form Gifted to Beginner.
Performance
Block some unneeded planet screen UI calls.
New function created for AI movement that is more efficient on large maps.
Improved the performance of recalculation when improvements are place.
Blocked AI treasury evaluation checks if the AI doesn't have any money (a small improvement but it adds up).
Optimized player calculation.
Added a new timer threshold for updates occurring more than once per second.
Updated AI to be able to "see" planets and asteroids if the FOW is exposed to it already rather than recalculating (just like humans). It still can't see if it's under FOW or if it's a ship that is in exposed FOW.
Reduced the frequency at which map objects are updated.
Optomization for systems with more than 4 logical threads.
Game Timer added to control how often we update Human awareness level drawing.
Removed hidden (but CPU intensive) UI calls when soaking is on.
Disabled UI screen calc updates if soak is on.
AI doesn't need to recalcuate its virtual UI.
Dramatically reduced the distance before the pathfinder starts requiring way points.
Fixed bug where passing an invalid ID would simply crash the Object Finder rather than, you know, returning a NULL pointer.
AI players don't need to update their virtual UI for removing and adding things to their build queue.
Citizen units when they arrive at a destination planet now set a dirty flag to recalc rather than force recalculating all stats right then and there.
Game update threshold lowered from 30ms to 10ms for better visual fidelity.
Made Galaxy Destruction faster (most noticeable when you go to load a save from within a game).
UI
Fixed typos.
Clearer description of some planetary improvements.
Galactic Civilizations III: Worlds in Crisis and Major v4.0 Update Announced
Experience new world crises, planet types and traits, plus visual and balance improvements with v4.0
GalCiv III - Worlds in Crisis DLC
Stardock announced the new Worlds in Crisis DLC and free v4.0 update for its massive space sandbox 4X strategy game, Galactic Civilizations III today.
Worlds in Crisis introduces several new world events with ideological choices, new planet types, and over a dozen new planet features. Long-time players will find many new strategic options while players picking up the game for the very first time will also encounter exciting new experiences.
v4.0 Update
The free v4.0 update adds huge performance increases and makes vast visual improvements to the game’s planets, both on the surface and from orbit. A massive list of additional balance and AI improvements also accompany v4.0, which is already in opt-in. The current changelog is available in the forums.
In Worlds in Crisis, players may encounter worlds struggling with crises from planetary mutations, to raging pandemics, to murderers on the loose, and much more. Each crisis tells a planet’s story and the player’s decisions on how to handle them will determine how it resolves in the end.
There are also several new planet types to explore, offering new and exciting bonuses for those brave enough to colonize them. Players might encounter a sterile planet that isn’t meant for housing life, but is suited for the experiments of a mad scientist, or a beautiful and serene tranquil type world, perfect for retirement and tourism. New islands, continents, and landmasses provide many new options.
“Our community provided most of the feedback that shaped v4.0,” said Stardock CEO Brad Wardell. “Thanks to them, we were able to review and optimize everything in order to make things run faster. We also worked in some performance improvements while still making the game look better than ever.”
The Worlds in Crisis DLC and 4.0 update is coming soon!
GalCiv III Dev Journal: April 2020
We are on the road to v4.0.
It's hard to believe that GalCiv III was released nearly five years ago. We've made a lot of changes since then.
Version 4.0 is being designed to bring a ton of new features, we won't go over all the changes here but instead will take you on a bit of a guided tour.
Most of the changes are for users of Retribution which is the latest expansion. If you don't have that, I highly recommend getting it.
Turn 1
On your first turn you're going to likely notice some subtle but important changes.
First, more food. There are a lot more fertile tiles in general that you can use either for farming or plow away to build other things.
There is also an Administrative Center that you can have 1 per planet with. It gives you 2 admin points but it's also useful because it enhances adjacent structures.
There has also been a slight tweak to the costs of planetary improvements (on Retribution). You also end up with a fuller set of choices.
Not only have asteroid fields been made bigger but Durantium is more common as well.
Technologies have been tweaked so that more administrative points are handed out and a lot more trade routes are handed out. For instance (Retribution), Xeno Commerce now provides 5 trade routes instead of 2.
Early game changes
Resources like Promethion are somewhat more common as well.
On the other hand, while we've added more asteroids, we've reduced the amount of raw resources mining bases give from 1.0 to 0.50. As many know, by late game, a disproportionate amount of raw resources ends up coming from the asteroids which was not the intent.
Instead, because food is so much more common, players will tend to have much larger populations which do provide, over time, more production.
Planets themselves have gotten a bit of a make-over. More interesting layouts and more interesting cosmetics.
Even Mars.
And this is all in the first 20 turns or so. We will discuss more as we get closer.
Highlighted feature
A lot of users have asked for the ability to turn OFF the colonies auto-upgrading structures.
v4.0 Coming in May!
GalCiv III: Dev Journal - March 2020
I found a magic planet.
It’s not that it is a class 20 planet – it only started as a class 14 and I’ve upgraded it since. It is that it had 6 fertile tiles with 5 of them ready to have something amazing placed in the middle. In this case, Kimberly’s Refuge. Combined with the planet being a fertile world the result is that this one planet produces 34 food.
Of course, having the time to build this up required relative peace to be the norm which is the subject of this dev journal.
Leave me alone
One of the most common questions we get is how do you keep everyone from going to war with you? Can you play the game without having to build up a huge military. The answer is, yes and…maybe.
I’m playing as a benevolent civilization. This means my polar opposite civilizations (malevolent) will be inclined to go to war with me. If I were playing as pragmatic, they would also not like me but they are somewhat less likely to pull the trigger on going to war with a pragmatic civilization versus one that is their opposite.
So what’s the key to getting them to leave me alone?
Relationship factors
Here is the Drengin. The biggest two things helping me with them are the fact we’re trading with them and they are relatively far away.
Tip #1: Trade with them
When I play as a peaceful civ, I am careful to trade as much as I can. You do take a hit due to trading with their enemies but it’s still a big benefit.
Trade helps in so many other areas too. For example, the more you trade, the less easy of a target you are since they really want your money.
Tip #2: Treaties
Make sure you are setting up treaties with them.
Tip #3: Financial Aid / Tribute
You can give tribute to civilizations (give them money) which will make them happy.
Tip #4: Don’t be an easy target
If a bear is chasing after you and your friends, you only need to be faster than the slowest friend. You don’t need a big military to keep from being attacked. But if you are absolutely defenseless then you are inviting conquest.
Tip #5: Use Diplomats
If you have trained any diplomats, you can use them on the powerful civilizations that you want to leave you alone. You don’t need them to love you, you just need them to hate someone else more.
Tip #6: Build up your diplomatic skills
There are certain planetary improvements and technologies that give your civilization more diplomatic points. Your increased skills will cause other civilizations to like you more.
Tip #7: Spy with Freighters
A lot of players will try to keep an eye on what other civilizations are doing by building starbases and sensor ships. But these can sometimes cause other civilizations to consider them trespassers. But freighters don’t have that issue.
Instead, design freighters that have great sensor ranges. Make sure you get an open borders treaty with them.
Hopefully these tips will help you maintain a galactic peace…or at least long enough to either ascend or get a diplomatic victory!
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