galacticcivilisations3 Suggestions how to have new depths for the game

[SaladinTheKind]

I want stardock to consider my suggestions how to add new depths to GalCiv3, improving greatly already fascinating game, but I do not know how to approach actual GalCiv 3 programmers/game designers, so I decided to post my ideas here. Perhaps Stardock could see new selling opportunities that previously were not imagined and these could be reached with no big programming effort, perhaps someone likes my ideas and sees just how these could be implemented. Perhaps someone has a suggestion or comment on this.

Please give consideration to following ideas:

MULTIPLE GALAXIES, STELLAR MANIPULATION and UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

 

MULTIPLE GALAXIES means that „map” consists of not one but several maps (galaxies) at the same time. You cannot have battles during galaxy travel, so there is nothing much that ties galaxies together other than ships. A powerful computer simply could process the turn, calculating one galaxy after the other, as if they were seperate games, seperate maps. The only difference is that ships can appear from one map to the other. There are tons of computers that have overkill capabilities nowadays so technically this shouldnt be a problem.

Perhaps naive thought from programming perspective, but maybe in such way you can expand already insane size maps. What certainly is possible however is to add multiple smaller galaxies together, having overall limit to insane map size.

 

MULTIPLE GALAXIES especially could benefit multiplayer. What it could add to the game:

1. Different experiences in multiplayer. All-players-in-one galaxy, one-player-one-galaxy, mixed, balanced and all kinds of experiences that previously were not there.
2. Reserves unexplored/uncolonized territories to late stages of the game (depending on virtual distances between the galaxies, expressed in light years)
3. Depending on galaxy size, distances and other specifics, you can add new strategic depth of the game. Since these galaxies are different in characteristics, no longer is true previously experienced that galaxy is more or less even throughout entire map, generated according to one and the same pre-defined setup conditions. Huge „imbalances”/strategic aspects now possible. Deserted galaxies/sectors where nothing of interest lies, hidden tiny paradise galaxies, basically everything you can choose from setting up galaxy options.
4. New tiers in tech tree now possible. Not only you can think of super engines that are supposed to cross light years distances in longer term but also wormhole development/instant travel
5. Some surprises might emerge. Civilizations thought to be extinct can actually develop offshore, that is, in other galaxy, and come back stronger than ever.

 

STELLAR MANIPULATION:

A new, very powerful, highly costly tier in tech tree. Stellar manipulation basically means that you can influence and even manipulate stellar objects like suns, planets, asteroids, even black holes and everything else. Stellar manipulation is a way of shaping cosmos and circumstances for you or your opponents as you wish. There are lots and lots of strategic options and powerful inventions one can imagine as soon as thinking of stellar manipulation, but one of the greatest perhaps is a tactical option how to win in the long term. Right now we have influence/cultural control, espionage is about to be developed and there are other ways such as alliances. But perhaps there could be even one way more how to win other way than military, which is stellar manipulation. With massive investments and insane effort at the beginning (and faster, easyer goals/achievements as player develops), one could slowly but surely have the power over the galaxy that cannot be challenged no matter the opponent’s fleet size. A human could shape the galaxy as he desires. Black holes alone could offer sense of power previously undreamed of.

 

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

In astronomy, economy and science in general, everything is measured so that one can have an idea of what the other is talking about/showing/seeing. As an optional feature, the game could invent units of measurement. In numbers there are well and not so well known units such as: Billions, trillions, quattuordecillions and so on. In weight there are miligrams, tonnes, kilotonnes, megatonnes, petatonnes for example. There are other interesting units of measurement, such as: terabytes, terawatts, parsecs, light years, etc.

If collected something in large enough numbers, you could even play between them, expressing one and the same number in different measurement. For example, if you have 8300bn (billion) credits, if you wish, you can express them on your screen in different ways and different colours – as an actual number which is 8 300 000 000 000 or trillions which is just 8.3

What it adds to the game:

1. New level of seriousness arises because now these are megatonnes, light years and zetawatts, not just tiny spheres and centimetres on computer screen. It helps to the imagination knowing that ships on the map are travelling billions of kilometres and not centimetres - just because the player „can understand” the measured distance that is given. This adds to the feeling that the GalCiv portraited reality is or could be physical, actual - because there is difference between numbers (that express reality as we know it) and no numbers, just colorful picture on the screen that is virtual. It is not necessary that these numbers correspond with actual life, actual proportions by comparison, much more important is that measurement is given at all.
2. It gives desire to „collect” the universe because of two reasons 1) just to see how huge it is, expressed in numbers 2) you can „own” the universe now as if put in bank account as soon as measured in numbers that show how much/what you own.

 

Please give suggestions how to increase chances of something of this to see a daylight or just how to improve these ideas.

[Pendrokar]

Only Multiple Galaxies is possible. You simply have to create an image with multiple galaxy layers. See the following mod for an example: https://www.nexusmods.com/galacticcivilizations3/mods/44