Just Coming Back To The Game - Very Slow Too Fast

from GalCiv3 Forums

So I'm just getting back into the game after a long hiatus, as the initial version at launch failed to grab my attention like GalCiv II:  Twilight of the Arnor.

I'm playing on the largest size galaxy with only 8 races, no minors.  I have all settings set to VERY SLOW and have habitable planets set to rare (currently I have 4 planets settled, as do the Torians, the first race I've encountered)

 

But anyway, I'm finding the pacing to just be too fast even on the slowest setting.  Most research projects complete in 5-7 turns, constructing buildings is done in 1-3 turns, ships are built in a similar handful of turns.

 

I really enjoy a long-paced game where it takes awhile to unlock new weapons, where introducing those weapons is a big deal from the previous weapons being used and where they're used for awhile before you're able to upgrade them.

 

I'm finding it too easy to accumulate money, grow my planets and research tech, with no sense of accomplishment, it's just lots of clicking and not really caring that I just finished a tech because the next wiz-bang will be done in 5 turns.

I feel like if this pacing problem could be resolved, it would go a long ways towards drawing me back in to caring about this game.  But at the moment this is its second chance and it's failing (although less so than when first released, so there's been at least some progress)

56,151 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

What version and DLC are you using?

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Latest version updated via Steam, only DLC I have is Crusade

Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

You can adjust things with a pacing MOD by editing the

pacingDefs file.

Reply #4 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

You may want to pick up Retribution, the biggest focus of it was pacing.  All new tech tree, improvement list, etc.  Full rebalance pass of the entire game.

Reply #5 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I feel the same as you. Everything on very slow is still way too fast. Once you have neutralized the -50% modifiers to research and construction (very easy for a human player), the game feels like normal again.

And the AI on Genius is not good at handling it. While it helps them a bit early game, they fall behind dramatically when you reach Age of War.

My solution is to set pacing to normal but selectively increase the research costs in MasterTechDef.xml according to age:

Double for Age of Expansion, triple for Age of War and quadruple for Age of Ascension (I wrote a crappy python script to change the file for me). Now it feels MUCH, MUCH better. The hull and weapon techs for instance now take dozens of turns to research, as it was pre-Crusade and as it should be. You just have to forbid yourself to use epiphanies. B)  

Reply #6 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I don't own Retribution, but somewhat I agree with the tech pacing. I remember that in the days of yore (maybe pre-Crusade, I'm not sure) I used to have multiple planets dedicated to research, often stacking more than 1k+ research per turn. Nowadays I feel like that you speed through all the research no matter the Age you're in with only about 500 research per turn. Takes all the joy from progress, when you can research most of the techs in 1-2 turns. So Croc411's solution sounds appealing to me.