I’ve been working on Galactic Civilizations nearly my entire adult life.  I wrote the first one back in college starting back in 1992.  I was/am a huge fan of Sid Meier’s Civilization and wanted a game that continued the story of mankind’s expansion into space.  What happened after the spaceship took off? Since then, it has evolved massively.

This article outlines how the game has changed over the years.  Let’s start out with a simple chart that outlines some of the unique (or ground breaking) features that has helped make the series so popular over the years.

Core/Special features of the Galactic Civilizations series

Helpful Links to the past

• GalCiv History
• GalCiv OS/2 FAQ (this is why there’s a system named “Anderson” in the game)
• GalCiv I vs. GalCiv II

Screenshots

GalCiv I	GalCiv II	GalCiv III (beta 5)
GalCiv I planets were within the stars.	GalCiv II placed planets on the map	GalCiv III places the shipyard on the map
GalCiv I planets were totally abstract	GalCiv II visually displayed improvements	GalCiv III makes improvement placement matter
GalCiv I techs provided new ships, planet improvements	GalCiv II techs added civilization bonuses	GalCiv III techs can do many many different things.
GalCiv I trade screen	GalCiv II trade screen was prettier	GalCiv III trade screen adds lots of new items to trade
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No ship design in GalCiv I	GalCiv II adds ship design	GalCiv III makes ship design determine tactical combat behavior.
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No strategic zoom	First PC game to implement strategic zoom	More sophisticated strategic zoom.
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No combat viewer	GalCiv II added the combat viewer (purely cosmetic).	GalCiv III combat viewer allows players to see how their ship roles and ship components affect combat.
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		GalCiv III adds ideology, what kind of civilization are you creating?