The Humble Store Spring Sale has now been underway for about a week, and that apparently means that it's time for a new free game. For the next two days, Stardock's Galactic Civilization 2: Ultimate Edition, which includes the base game and the Dark Avatar and Twilight of the Arnor expansions, is yours for the taking if you want it.
Galactic Civilizations 2: Dread Lords was originally released in 2006, but the great thing about strategy games is that as they get older, they tend to get better: The graphics will obviously be dated, but updates and expansions can mean significantly better experiences may be had years after a game first comes out. In fact, GalCiv2 got a surprise update in 2015 that made major improvements to gameplay, races, and AI, and even tuned up the graphics a bit.
Galactic Civilizations 2: Ultimate Edition will be free until 1 pm ET on May 19. The Humble Store Spring Sale goes until May 24.
The story of Galactic Civilizations has been around for 24 years - can you believe that? Yeah, neither can we. Let's reflect!
24 YEARS AGO
GalCiv - the first commercial game for IBM's OS/2. Years ahead of its time, the game took full advantage of 32-bit memory addressing, multi-threading, and high-res graphics.
22 YEARS AGO
GalCiv II released for OS/2 in 1996. Expanding on the success of GalCiv, it added larger maps, new starships, and updated graphics supporting 16.8 million colors.
15 YEARS AGO
GalCiv for released Windows. The "just one more turn" feeling of gameplay found a much larger user base through digital download and traditional retail channels.
12 YEARS AGO
GalCiv II released for Windows. It included the first ever ship builder & released 2 expansions devoted to the mystery of the Dread Lords, a cliffhanger, a decade in the making.
3 YEARS AGO
Galactic Civilizations III released. The latest iteration of the largest space-strategy sandbox games of all time received praise from critics and is still receiving updates today.
When our CEO Brad created Galactic Civilizations from his dorm room at Western Michigan University, he had no idea that it would lay the groundwork for Stardock growing into what it is today. He was just looking for a pay to pay the bills while he went to school - he didn't expect to launch his own gaming company!
Although Stardock has made many other titles throughout the years, everything comes back to Galactic Civilizations, the thing that started it all. Let's take a look at some side-by-side screenshots and see how the game has grown and evolved.
Let's start with one of the most beloved (ok, not beloved, but definitely most recognizable!) races, the Drengin.
Brad wrote a blog post awhile back showing the progression of the Drengin race throughout the years, but let's just take a quick look at a "then" and "now" photo of Lord Kona:
Lord Kona has aged since his GalCiv I days! Must be all the pressure of guiding his people while overthrowing enemy empires and eating their leaders.
All of the classic GalCiv races have seen some upgrading throughout the years. Take a look back at the old image below of the racial selection screen and see how far they've come:
GalCiv I << The Yor >> GalCiv III
GalCiv I << The Altarian >> GalCiv III
GalCiv I << The Arcean >> GalCiv III
GalCiv I << The Torian >> GalCiv III
Stardock has always been supportive of modding so we found a way to include tools for our players right in the game itself.
Original GalCiv may have had the map, scenario, and campaign editors, but GalCiv II pioneered the ship builder feature. This of course made its way into its successor, GalCiv III. We're constantly in awe of our community's creations using this tool!
The Ship Builder from GalCiv II vs the Ship Builder from GalCiv III
UI, trade screens, research screens, and so much more have seen a lot of refining over the years. With every game, expansion, and DLC that we release, we've learned what our players need and have done our best to give it to them. Below are a few more screenshots of GalCiv I, II, and III.
GalCiv I Map vs GalCiv III Map
GalCiv I Research Robot vs GalCiv III Research Robot
GalCiv I Senate and Elections vs GalCiv III Senate and Elections
Thanks for celebrating 24 years of Galactic Civilizations with us! To keep up with what Stardock's doing, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, and join us on Twitch every Tuesday at 4pm ET!
A new Galactic Civilizations 3 expansion called Intrigue brings what sounds like a touch of Civilization to the 4X interstellar empire-building game. It adds 20 styles of planetary government, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, new special events called Crises to deal with, a new "Commonwealth" status and options for your outer worlds, a Galactic Market, and a Galactic News Network that will deliver word of treaties, war, and other important current events.
"In Intrigue, once you settle your second planet, your people begin to demand some sort of government that recognizes that you have a significant offworld population. This adds a completely new element to the Galactic Civilizations that fans know and love," Stardock CEO Brad Wardell explained.
"You could rule democratically, but then you need to make sure to win your elections. Or you could just enslave your working class under an Owner Aristocracy, and the opinions of your people don't matter. You just have to deal with some potential civil unrest."
Governments and crises won't just enrich your empire and annoy your citizens: They can also lead to rewards including new ships included with the expansion that aren't obtainable through other means.
Stardock also released the GalCiv3 3.0 update, free for all players, adding adjustable tax rates, tourism, farming, and a "substantially increased" likelihood of extreme worlds, which sounds like it might actually be a good thing. "Certain species can now colonize particular worlds without tech," Stardock explained. "For example, carbon-based lifeforms can settle on a corrosive planet, but synthetic life cannot."
The full rundown of the Galactic Civilizations 3 3.0 update is available on the Stardock forums. The game is also on sale on Steam until 1 pm ET on April 13 (that's tomorrow) for $14/£11/€13, while the Intrigue expansion goes for $20/£16/€20.
Galactic Civilizations III is one of the largest strategy sandboxes ever made. Start with a single world and expand across the galaxy through diplomacy, trade, cultural hegemony, or military conquest in this single-player or multiplayer 4X strategy game. Send spies to infiltrate enemy civilizations, encounter mysterious anomalies and events across space, let your citizens help lead your civilization into a golden age, and so much more.
Choose your government, lead your civilization through terrible crises, and earn the trust and faith of your people in the newest expansion, Galactic Civilizations III: Intrigue!
The free v3.0 update brings support for Intrigue’s new features while providing a richer experience with the same unrivaled scale. View the details below.
INTRIGUE'S KEY FEATURES
Form your own government
Rule with a gentle touch - or, with an iron fist Choose from 20 available government styles and set your civilization on a path to greatness. Each style of governing has advantages and disadvantages. You can rule democratically, but you’ll need to make sure to keep the favor of your people so you don’t lose the next election. You can also adopt an Owner Aristocracy to enslave your working class, or choose an Interstellar Plutocracy and allow your corporations to rule, and then the opinions of your people don’t matter! Of course, there’s the potential for civil unrest, but you can handle that - right?
See your people through crises
Choose your own adventure Special events that have certain triggers throughout the course of gameplay can pop up and throw a wrench into your plans for your civilization. These events, called "Crises," are navigated through a series of choices that you make. You might have to quell a group of violent revolutionaries, or rally your forces against a massive space creature lurking at the fringes of your empire. How you decide to handle each situation will affect what events, options, opportunities, and rewards become available to you.
Establish a commonwealth
Put your colonies on a path to self-sufficiency As your empire grows, worlds on the outskirts will want to become independent.These subject-states will do as they're told without you having to lift a finger. By granting these worlds a status of commonwealth, they will be converted into an ally with a favorable disposition and will be inclined to implement your requests on the galactic scene, as well as provide a substantial stipend back to your home civilization.
Trade on the Galactic Market
There's always a good deal at the market Well, maybe not always, but that’s what they’ll tell you, anyway. Sell Durantium before extensive mining drives down the price, or pay a premium to get some Elerium to construct that new prototype flagship you’ve been wanting. How steep the price gets depends entirely on how much is (or isn’t) available, so buy and sell with care!
Stay informed with the Galactic News Network
In space, there is no biased reporting - that's because we've hired a robot to handle it Check the news to monitor who's allying with who, who's declared war on each other, and many other activities that are going on across the galaxy. Keeping up with current events and galactic happenings is the best way to stay one step ahead of your opponents.
Explore exciting new content
Be prepared for anything From famine to protests, you’ll face new events that challenge your leadership and test your people. Certain governments and crises will award you with brand new ships that can’t be obtained through any other means. Your choices determine your path and what rewards and penalties you’ll have to deal with, so choose wisely.
Galactic Civilizations III v3.0 - Top Features
Taxes - You can now set your tax rate on the govern screen. Increasing it will decrease your civilization's morale, but it will provide more income for things like war or infrastructure.
New Tutorial - The game is now more accessible for newer players! v3.0 features a brand new tutorial and a re-worked user experience, while still retaining the depth that Galactic Civilizations III is known for.
Tourism - Planets and starbases generate influence that will grow over time and capture a percentage of travelers that pass through the player’s area of control.
Farming - All planets will come with arable tiles where farms can be built in order to generate food. Food will help to grow the population, which in turn will increase production.
Extreme Worlds - The frequency of extreme worlds has been substantially increased. Certain species can now colonize particular worlds without tech - for example, carbon-based lifeforms can settle on a corrosive planet, but synthetic life can't.
To learn more about all of the new improvements in v3.0, view the full changelog here.
We're really excited about the upcoming Intrigue expansion, and we know you are, too! Not only are we sharing the release date today, but we also have a special announcement regarding a stream, a CEO, and a certain angry YouTube show host...
We're really excited about the upcoming Intrigue expansion, and we know you are, too! Not only are we sharing the release date today, but we also have a special announcement regarding a stream, a CEO, and a certain angry YouTube show host...
There are many perils of running a galactic civilization. People need structure and guidance in order to survive - and that's where government types come in.
Governments in Galactic Civilizations III: Intrigue aren't just stats. They unlock new game mechanics, provide new ships, and give you access to special abilities. Learn more about them in this week's dev diary!
