Game Help hints and tips for Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords

Game Help

Here are a few hints to help you in your game:-

You can choose from ten civilizations, each with it's own unique.

Strengths and weaknesses. Or, if you prefer, you can design your.

Own from scratch..

Once you have chosen which civilization to lead, you will start with.

A homeworld, a colony ship, and a survey ship. Your colony ship.

Can be used to colonize new worlds to expand your population,.

Influence, and military might. Every planet in the galaxy is unique.

But some are better than others. Making sure your civilization has.

The best planets is the key to your success..

When you start a new game you will need to set up the galaxy in.

Terms of size, who you are playing as, and who you are going to.

Go up against..

The Galaxy Setup screen is your first set of choices for what sort.

Of game you�d like to play..

Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge, and Gigantic set.

The map size, but don�t necessarily affect the number of stars and.

Planets, which are set separately on the Galaxy Settings at the.

Bottom of the screen. If you prefer to use a specific map, use the.

Drop down menu to choose a pre-made custom map..

The Normal setting will proceed with the default victory.

Conditions. Otherwise, you can choose from among various.

Scenarios in this drop down menu. The text for each scenario.

Details the rules and victory conditions that will apply. Note that.

Some settings will be disabled if you choose to play a scenario..

Habitable Planets, Number of Planets,.

Number of Stars, and Anomalies can be set to Rare, Uncommon,.

Occasional, Common, or Abundant..

Star Density sets stars in Loose Clusters, Tight Clusters, or.

Scattered. This controls how far apart different stars are from.

10.

One another and whether they�re in groups or spread out evenly..

The distance between the stars can determine how quickly you.

Interact with other civilizations as well as provide different types of.

Strategies for warfare, influence, and diplomacy..

Technology Rate can be set to Very Slow, Slow, Normal, Fast, or.

Very Fast, which will determine the base price for each technology..

This screen allows you to choose which race you�ll play by clicking.

On the thumbnail picture of one of the ten preset races or by.

Clicking on the mesh model to create your own race. You can.

Read specifics for each race in the main window. To the right of.

The race�s image is it's name, the name of it's homeworld, and.

The symbol that will represent it in the game. Beneath that is.

The race�s default political party and the bonus it confers. Along.

The bottom of the screen, from left to right, are the race�s innate.

Abilities, it's starting technologies, and a 3D model of it's ship style..

You can edit one of the preset races or create your own species by.

Clicking the Edit button under the image in the main screen. This.

Will take you to the Customize Race screen..

Use the directional buttons.

Beneath the images to choose.

Your race�s picture and symbol. In.

The text boxes, you can enter a.

New race name, leader name, and.

Homeworld name. The Overview.

Tab displays the same information.

As the main window. The Techs.

Tab will let you spend up to 200.

Points on your race�s starting.

Technologies. The Abilities tab will.

Let you spend 10 points on special racial abilities. The Political tab.

Lets you select your race�s starting political party, each of which.

Offers a unique bonus. The Appearance tab lets you select your.

Ship style, ship colors, and race colors, which are used in the.

Interface. Note that some options will be disabled for preset races..

Each race has different abilities and you can choose your own if.

You design a custom race. The abilities include:.

Courage gives a bonus to the attack value of your ships when.

You�re fighting against an opponent who has a higher score than.

You. The degree of the advantage is based on how far ahead your.

Opponent is..

Creativity will lead to your race randomly discovering technologies.

From time to time..

Defense improves your ship�s rating for all three types of.

Defenses..

Diplomacy adds to your diplomatic advantage when dealing with.

Other civilizations..

Economics adds a bonus to your tax revenue..

Espionage adds to the effectiveness of your espionage spending..

Hit Points adds to the hit points of all your ships..

Influence adds a bonus to the production of Influence Points on.

Each of your colonies..

Loyalty reduces the amount of other civilizations influence applied.

To your colonies, thereby reducing the chance that they�ll rebel..

Luck is a mysterious under-the-hood advantage that can help.

You at various points throughout the game. It can improve the.

Chances of a critical hit in combat or reduce the odds of getting a.

Negative random event..

Military Production adds to the number of shields you produce on.

Each colony, which are used to build ships..

Morale adds to the morale rating for each of your colonies, making.

It less likely that you�ll suffer the effects of low morale..

Planet Quality raises the base number of usable tiles available after you colonize a planet..

Population Growth adds to the population growth rate on all of.

Your planets..

Range lets your ships stray farther from planets and Starbases..

Repair allows ships to repair themselves faster than normal..

Research increases the amount of research your colonies produce..

Sensors extends the range your ships can see by a given number.

Of parsecs (tiles on the map)..

Social Production adds to the number of �hammers� you produce.

On each colony, which are used to build projects..

Soldiering gives you a bonus in ground combat..

Speed adds to the number of parsecs your ships can move each.

Turn..

Trade increases the amount of money you receive from trade.

Routes with other planets..

Trade Routes increases the number of trade routes your.

Civilization can maintain..

Weapons improves your ship�s attack rating for all three types of weapons..

There are 8 political parties that players.

Can choose from. Each one has it's own.

Advantages and disadvantages. When.

Your political party is in control of the.

Galactic senate, you gain the advantage.

Of it..

However, if your political party loses.

The election, then whatever political.

Party gains control applies it's strengths as your weaknesses. For.

Example, if you play as the Pacificsts and lose the election to.

The Federalists, your civilization will take a -20% to it's economy.

Because the Federalist strength is 20% to economy..

It is important that you maintain control of the senate. By default,.

Your government starts out as an Imperial form of government.

(everything run from the home planet) so there is no concern with.

Popular opinion. But as you research other forms of government.

And upgrade to them, it becomes increasingly difficult..

Players can also choose the color of the Galactic Civilizations user.

Interface, the color of ships, the style of ships and more..

TIP: If you customize your color, try to pick your race color to.

Be different from any other race. There are 16.8 million different.

Colors to choose from. For instance, if you choose blue as your.

Color, you may find it difficult to differentiate your color from the.

Terrans. If you customize your color, find a unique one that will.

Stand out from the rest..

Use the Opponents setting at the bottom of the screen to.

Determine the total number of races � the number includes you.

� in your game. Click on a race�s picture to highlight it and use.

The enable/disable button to set whether it will be included..

You can also set each race�s Intelligence, selecting Fool, Beginner,.

Sub-Normal, Normal, Bright, Intelligent, Genius, or Incredible..

At the Intelligent setting, the AI will function with a fully enabled.

AI. For everything below Intelligent, certain aspects of the AI will.

Be turned off or toned down. For instance, at lower levels, the AI.

Will earn less tax revenue. For everything above Intelligent, the.

AI will get bonuses that the human player doesn�t have, mainly.

In terms of a tax revenue bonus. You can also set your beginning.

Relations with each race..

Alternatively, you can use the Difficulty setting at the bottom of.

The screen to select Cakewalk, Easy, Simple, Beginner, Normal,.

Challenging, Tough, Painful, Crippling, Masochistic, Obscene, or.

Suicidal. These settings will override the individual settings for.

Each opponent�s Intelligence..

Click the Next button to begin your game..

The galaxy is composed of a number of sectors determined by.

The size you chose on the Galaxy Setup screen. Each sector is.

Divided into a 15x15 grid of parsecs. A parsec may contain a sun,.

A planet, an anomaly, a resource, a Starbase and/or ships..

Stars may be orbited by up to five planets, each rated from.

Class 0 to class 26 (or higher when you�ve researched certain.

Technologies). The greater the rating, the more habitable the.

Planet. The class also indicates the number of tiles that will be.

Available if you colonize the planet..

Anomalies can be investigated by ships with a survey module,.

Such as the survey ship that each civilization gets as it's flagship.

When a game begins. Some anomalies will add permanent.

Bonuses to your empires. Some might teleport your ship across.

15.

The galaxy. Others will simply be useless debris..

Resources are colored polygons that give your civilization a.

Bonus if you build Starbases on them. Starbases can also be.

Built to defend certain areas, extend a civilization�s influence, and.

Extend the range of it's ships. Ships are used to explore and fight..

The galaxy is interacted with via the main screen of Galactic Civilazions..

The main screen can be broken down into 3 primary components:.

The top border which includes the options menu button, the.

Currently selected sector display and the current date..

The main map itself that displays planets, ships, stars, etc..

The control panel at the bottom which displays information.

About your civilization in general (on the left), the currently.

Selected object (in the middle) and the mini-map (on the.

Right)..

Controlling the map with the mouse.

Players can interact with the map through the keyboard and.

Mouse -- mostly the mouse. The mouse is used in the following.

Way:.

LEFT-BUTTON CLICK. Selects the object that the mouse is.

Currently over..

RIGHT-BUTTON CLICK. Sends the currently selected object.

To that location as it's destination (if applicable)..

MIDDLE-BUTTON CLICK. Controls the game camera. By.

Holding down the middle mouse button players can rotate.

The map. If the mouse has mouse-wheel, the user can zoom.

In and out of the map in this way. The middle mouse button.

Also enables players to scroll on a zoomed-in mini-map.

Display..

The left button on the mouse can also enable players to grab the.

Screen and slide it around which can make navigating around the.

Map much easier..

Holding down the SHIFT key while dragging the mouse can select.

Multiple objects..

The main map.

The largest objects on the main map are stars. Surrounding stars.

Are planets (up to 5). If a planet is colonized, it will have the.

Controlling civilization�s icon on the bottom left..

Colonies have a number of different symbols used to represent.

Activity:.

17.

A hammer icon indicates that there are empty tiles that can.

Hold projects; a bright hammer indicates a project is being.

Developed and a darkened hammer indicates that Social.

Production is idle for that colony..

A Star Port icon indicates the presence of a Star Port; a blue.

Icon indicates a ship is being built and a yellow icon indicates.

That Military Production is idle for that colony..

A shield means that a ship is in orbit and the planet is.

Therefore defended (ships must be defeated before troop.

Transports can attempt an invasion)..

An unhappy face indicates an approval rating below 30%..

A pirate flag indicates an opponent�s influence is strong.

Enough to cause a planet to rebel..

A colored line on the map represents that civilization�s influence..

Influence is not the same as the borders of one�s.

Civilization. In Galactic Civilizations II, borders go only as far as.

Ones planet. If alien planets fall under your influence, it means.

That your influence on that planet is greater than the native.

Influence. If that influence reaches 4X the native influence, it will.

Likely revolt and join your civilization..

Influence is important for the following reasons:.

It determines how many votes you get in the United Planets..

Tourism is based on the total population of the galaxy times.

Your percentage influence of the galaxy..

You can win planets from other civilizations without firing a.

Shot..

When a ship is selected, a light grey line on the map represents.

The currently selected ship�s range. Ships can extend their range.

Through more advanced life support systems or by building star.

Bases which will extend your range..

Using the +/- keys or the mouse-wheel the map itself can be.

Zoomed out on. If you zoom back far enough, the 3D graphics will.

Be replaced with 2D icons:.

Uninhabited planets are circles. The lower the class and.

Therefore less inhabitable the planet, the more hollow the.

Circle. Higher classes are more solid circles..

Ships and Starbases are indicated by icons and rally points.

Are indicated by arrows..

Anomalies are indicated by atomic symbols..

Resources are indicated by box icons..

Important messages will trigger an alert box that drops down the.

Right side of the screen. Clicking on the alert box will bring you to.

The relevant screen or location in the game..

The Control Panel.

The box in the lower left of the screen displays the technology.

You�re currently researching, along with the time it will take at.

Your current research point production. Below that is the average.

Approval rating for all of your population..

To the right of this display is a vertical bar with a colored segment.

For each civilization. This displays each civilization�s galactic.

Power, which is an amalgam of their total influence, total military.

Power, and total tax revenue..

Below that is your total population and the amount of money.

In your empire�s treasury. If your net income is positive, the.

Treasury amount is displayed in green. If your net income is.

Negative, the treasury amount is displayed in yellow..

If an empty parsec is selected, the bottom center display will.

Show one of six graphs, tracking players� comparative standings.

In population, military, economy, research, influence, or.

Industry..

The population graph compares the total population of all that.

Civilization�s colonies. The military graph compares the value of.

All that civilization�s ships with an attack rating (the exact formula.

19.

Is attack rating + defense rating + hit points/10). The economy.

Graph compares tax revenue. The research graph totals each.

Civilization�s research points per turn. The influence graph ranks.

The total influence of all that civilization�s colonies. Finally, the.

Industry graph totals up all the manufacturing points from each.

Of that civilization�s colonies..

If you select a star, the bottom center display will show the.

Number of planets, how many of them are habitable (i.e. Have.

A class greater than zero), how many of them are colonized,.

And which civilizations live there. For details on the information.

Presented when you select a planet or ship, see the later sections.

In the manual..

Below the central display are information display buttons..

They are, from left to right:.

View Ships/Planets.

Research.

Domestic Policy.

Foreign Policy.

The Civilization Manager.

And the Ship Yard.

The View Ships/Planets display opens a list of planets that can.

Be arranged by a number of criteria using the arrow buttons at.

The top. You can then click the filters options to display your.

Planets (Mine), opponents� planets (Foreign), uninhabited planets.

(Unowned), or all planets (All). You can click the magnifying glass.

To perform a search of planets by name or partial name. The list.

Displays each planet�s name, class, population, and approval. The.

Bars show progress towards any ships or projects being built. A.

Shield icon displays whether there are any ships in orbit at that.

Planet. Double-click on any planet�s display to jump to it's Colony.

Management screen..

To the right of the center display is a minimap. Green lines.

Indicate sectors. A grey fog-of-war effect shows which parts of.

The galaxy you�ve seen with your sensors. The plus and minus.

Buttons to the lower left allow you to zoom the minimap, while.

The triangle above the minimap lets you minimize the interface.

20

For a fullscreen view of the galaxy. The legend to the upper

Right of the minimap allows you to select what information is

Displayed. Ships, planets, stars, anomalies, and rally points

Can be toggled on and off. The ownership buttons shows each

Civilization�s influence. Population and industry display each

Colony�s population and manufacturing point as colored spheres

Representing their comparative size. Ships range will shade the

Range of a selected ship, and autopilot will show white lines to the

Destination of any ship with an autopilot command.

Mini-Map button controls:

Show Ships on map

Show planets on map

Show stars on map

Show anomalies

Show rally points

Show influence borders

Show population centers

Show industrial centers

Show auto-pilot

Show selected ship�s range

This is it for now, I'll give more help later, Adios!

We have more cheats and tips for this game here, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords cheats