Starbases

The other half of the Galactic Civilizations equation is the starbase. Planets and ships have capabilities; starbases improve them. There can be four types of starbase, the ones built on galactic resources military starbases, economic starbases and influence starbases. Resource starbases are unique, they can only be built on an unoccupied galactic resource like an influence boost, economy boost, or something of the type. These will give a global improvement to your civ’s capabilities in that area, and the bonus itself can be increased by building more constructor ships to expand the starbase.

The other three types of starbases have a limited radius, but their effects tend to be more powerful in that area than the global effect resource starbases. An influence starbase can, with enough upgrades and the proper technology, expand the borders of the player’s empire. This can help win a cultural victory, or – if alien planets with low morale fall within your borders – you might win over a planet without a shot. Economic starbases boost planetary production and trade route revenue within their sphere of influence, while military starbases can improve the firepower and defenses of friendly ships.

The game offers some interesting challenges to players then, they need to decide whether to spend their money on research or production (by building the appropriate improvements), and then what kind of research and production. Technological victories require long games to get all the techs necessary, so that puts pressure on the player to defend himself or make “strategic acquisitions” with a handy fleet. Similarly, the AI, facing pressure from influence starbases will declare war rather than simply watch as the player gobbles up quadrant after quadrant unopposed.

Similarities appear in the tactical game as well. Does the player build a ship with missiles, beam weapons or mass drivers as the primary armament? That depends on what kind of defenses the enemies have – ECM, shields or armor. The defenses all offer some protection against all weaponry, but only give their full benefits against the weapon they were intended to counter. This kind of pressure and counter-pressure balancing can be seen throughout the game.


The best part of Galactic Civilizations II is the AI. The AI plays in believable ways, even on the dumber settings, and doesn’t get production or economy cheats until the highest difficulty levels. It will recognize player build-ups near planets or along the border, or sneakily build up by itself. Even if you’re friendly, a treacherous AI may take the opportunity to steal a few undefended or lightly-defended planets from you, should you be careless. The AI takes into account its alignment, militaristic tendencies, military, economy, technology, past relations and whether or not one of you is in a state of war before deciding on a course of action. AIs will be careful about not provoking more wars if they’re already engaged, for example. What makes the AI really rich is the dialogue written for it. Stardock, the developers, have quite a sense of humor and share it with the player. If you’re banging around on an easier difficulty level and build up an invasion force near a planet, the AI is likely to say to you something like “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing. Just because the difficulty is low and my generals are idiots and can’t do something to stop you, doesn’t mean I’m stupid and don’t see it.” This is both amusing and serves as training for higher difficulties.