Last week I did a one on one test against the Drengin AI set at Normal. It was on a tiny map in which I rushed for invasion tech and killed them.

This time, let's bump the AI to Genius...

AI at Genius

The 2.5 GalCiv III AI is a lot smarter than previous iterations. It handles fleets better. It researches better. It builds up planets more intelligently.  But it is really difficult, even in human 1 on 1 games, to deal with a rush.

Now, at Genius, the AI starts out with more money so it's not quite a "fair" game but then again, I'm not playing fair either.  Let's see how it goes.

Continue Reading...

Our story so far...

Every once in awhile, Do a 1 on 1 test on a relatively balanced map to see how well the AI is doing.   I play on Normal or Gifted as that puts the AI on roughly equal terms with me.

I choose  the Drengin because they are a vicious, evil civilization that has few redeeming qualities and they play the game very differently than most people do (they are absolutely amoral).  Their strategies aren't always ideal but they do tend to be interesting.

And so it begins...

Both humans and Drengin start with a class 14 world (a very nice planet) as well as two habitable nearby worlds.

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I want to tell you the story of a situation I ran into with a Google employee named Tab Atkins Jr.

So what do you get if you combine a petty little man like Tab Atkins Jr. and a culture that promotes defaming people who don't share your ideology? The answer:  Manipulated search results to punish those they believe "deserve it".

With the increasing evidence that Google some employees have no problem trying to ruin the careers of those that they disagree with, it is not surprising that its employees feel comfortable using their privileged position at Google to smite those guilty of wrong-think.

Take the case of Google search employee Tab Atkins Jr.  After a Twitter spat with Zoe Quinn, Atkins decided that social justice needed to be served and wrote a libelous smear of me on his blog with the title "Brad Wardell is a douchebag"...three years ago.

As a semi-public figure I'm pretty used to someone, somewhere writing something unpleasant about me. What I was not prepared for, however, was someone who knew Google's search algorithms well enough to keep their little blog post up at the top of Google (but no other search engine's) search results for three years.

Compare the difference:

BING:

No where to be found.

DuckDuckGo:

No where to be found.

GOOGLE:

Right at the top just behind my Twitter and Wikipedia pages.

Now mind you, I've been featured in a lot of newspapers, magazines and websites over the years from Time Magazine to the WSJ to USA Today and of course frequently in the technology news sector.  None of those articles come up.  LinkedIn.com doesn't even come up. Even the infamous false allegation of "sexual harassment" that certain gaming journalists latched onto (and later apologized for) can't beat it. 

Either the SEO managers at LinkedIn, FaceBook, Kotaku, USAToday.com, Time.com, etc. need to recruit this guy...or, more likely, this guy knows how to manipulate Google search results.  I don't know if Google gives preferential treatment to results from its employees or not. What is known is that the results are unique to Google and have managed to survive 3 years at the top despite his blog not being notable.

However, the issue I have isn't just about Tab bt rather, what it says about Google's culture. I don't think anyone I have ever worked with would feel comfortable doing this to someone.  I'm the publisher of Neowin and it's never occurred to me to use my power to try to ruin an individual.  What is the mindset of someone who writes something like that and then uses what appears to be insider SEO knowledge to ensure it nears the top?  What it says to me is that there's something gross about Google's culture and that they have a pretty high confidence that they can mete our social justice at those they feel deserve it.

Now, imagine if I weren't already a successful CEO that will never have to find a new job but instead was just "some guy".  What Tab did would be catastrophic. It sends a chilling message to those who participate in social media: Piss off an SJW at Google and they will use their privileged position to harm you.

Now, you might ask "Have I reached out to Tab?" and the answer is, yes:

That was two years ago.  In which he responded "he'd think about it". 

Perhaps Google has some other explanation as to how their employee's 3 year-old blog gets to the top only on Google and no other site.  I have my own opinions.

In the meantime, consider this: Imagine if an employee at Google had written such an article about say Zoe Quinn or some other SJW darlying?  What do you think would happen to them?

Up until the revelation that Google employees will actively banish people who don't share their politics I was willing to think that Tab was just an isolated "bad apple".  But now, I feel very uncomfortable at that thought that anyone out there with the "wrong opinion" is only a few keystrokes away from being smeared by Google employees in the online search results.  

I am hopeful that this current trend of using the Internet to deplatform, defame and otherwise attempt to harm people comes to an end. 

The irony of returning the favor by naming this post after Tab isn't lost on me.  However, since Tab doesn't seem to be familiar with the concept of empathy or decency, the best I can do is make sure that others know the kind of unethical behavior being engaged in by Google employees.

Your opinions are welcome.

Update:

You may have heard that Zoe Quinn's accusations against someone resulted in that person killing themselves.  It's just a reminder that SJWs are not the "good guys". They're often horrible people who virtue signal in order to distract from the fact that they are, themselves, terrible people.

Notes:

• Using Galactic Civilizations III: Crusade version 2.5 BETA

In the year 2242...

This is my random playthrough of Galactic Civilizations III: Crusade v2.5.  This is my story.

Continue Reading...

For part 1 go here.

Version 2.5 is easily the biggest update to the base game of GalCiv III since its first release back in 2015.  What makes these updates possible is the continuing sales of DLC and expansions like Crusade.

The much beloved Galactic Civilizations II never got an update like this one.  That is because back then, games were sold at retail and so there was no realistic way to keep updating the base game like we can today for budgetary reasons.  Hence, GalCiv II came out in 2006. Dark Avatar came out in 2007. And Twilight of the Arnor in 2008 each being its own stand-alone game with the version before it being retired.

I don't know about you guys but I much prefer today's model where the base game keeps getting updated.  However, developers often don't communicate the importance of expansions and DLC that make these updates possible.

Also, if you want to help us you can make a huge difference: REVIEW GALCIV III ON STEAM. If you've already reviewed it, feel free to write a new review. It helps reflect a more accurate recent review score. Steam uses the review score in their discoverability algorithm.  Anything below 70% is basically invisible. Below 80% is mostly invisible (i.e. won't offer it on the search the store suggestions).

Continue Reading...

  I'm so excited!

We live in magical times, my friends.

I've talked about the challenge of building a 4th generation game engine over at IGN.  Stardock's first attempt at building a 3rd generation engine failed pretty spectacularly (Elemental). Galactic Civilizations II was arguably a 2nd generation (upgraded) engine.  Its code base could be traced back to 1997.  So by the time it was released, it was almost 10 years old. 

For GalCiv III, we decided to go directly to 4th generation (which meant 64-bit, core neutral).  The good news is that this future proofed GalCiv III.  The bad news is that we had to throw out 100% of our GalCiv II code.  Even our libraries. Everything. 

For programmers out there who want to know the difference between a 3rd gen and 4th gen engine just by looking at the engine code: 4th gen engines don't use pointers or addresses.  You use handles.  So think about all that code you have where you're passing around pointers and imagine if you had to throw it all out.

For our customers in 2015, this really sucked because GalCiv III, when it shipped, didn't have as many features as GalCiv II: Ultimate Edition.

GalCiv II: Ultimate Edition was actually GalCiv II: Dread Lords + Dark Avatar + Twilight of the Arnor expansions combined. 

September 2017

This brings us the upcoming release of GalCiv III v2.5.  So far, we've had one small expansion pack (Mercenaries) and one big expansion pack (Crusade).   Our goal with GalCiv III v2.5 (the base game) is to bring our code improvements from Crusade without transforming the base game into Crusade.  That is, we want people to still buy Crusade of course but we also want to make sure that the base game gets a big improvement.  So let's take a look at what's new.

Updated UI

The base game gets all the new UI improvements from Crusade.  This includes the new check system for better info at a glance.

Something old and something new

In Crusade, you don't get to start with a shipyard or a bunch of ships.  In the base game, you get a shipyard and ships.  I don't really like that myself.  I suspect we'll be creating a "fast start" option for Crusade players though at some point.

Those with Crusade will recognize the UI.  You now get the Summary tab on the right from Crusade.  But you don't get citizens.

Tech Tree

The tech tree is the GalCiv III tech tree but the UI is updated to the Cruade UI.

Planets

Planets get the Crusade UI but since there are no citizens, there's no bonuses from them.  Players do get the word on the street feature. 

Govern

The govern screen gets the Crusade UI but again, no citizens.  Instead, you have the Production Wheel which magnifies what planets are focusing on.  In a future Crusade update, we're going to make one of the player abilities be to be able to govern with the production wheel but lose the benefit of citizens (i.e. looking at you robot people!)

Ships

Cosmetically, the ships get the Crusade upgrade but there are no missions (a Crusade feature) available.  But it's a pretty huge update for the base game.

Performance

What you can't see in a screenshot is the performance.  GalCiv III: Crusade moves the AI system to the core-neutral engine.  Now, the base game inherits that.

Diplomacy

The Diplomacy UI from Crusade moves over along with the underlying AI for it.   This includes the barter bar (the boring looking bar in the middle) that makes trading so easy and fun.

AI

The AI improvements from Crusade also make it over.

Economics

The economics of the base game remains mostly the same with one huge difference: Galactic resources now accumulate.  Before, if you controlled 1 anti-matter resource you could have 1 anti-matter using component.  We have decided to adopt the accumulation system from Crusade here.

Crusade vs. base game

Inevitably, someone is going to say "You're basically giving away Crusade!" but Crusade was practically a sequel to the base game rather than just an expansion.  And we really don't want to get into the business of charging money for AI/engine upgrades. 

Crusade is about these things:

1. Galactic Citizens (and all the things that entails)
2. Interactive Invasions
3. Espionage
4. Civ Builder with Fleets
5. New Races

DLC unity

One nice thing about a single code base is that we can make it so that when you run a given DLC, we can have it inherit the base game's balance.  That has been one of the frustrating things for Crusade players.

Next up

What we want to be able to do is make sure the base game is incredibly compelling on its own.  And that Crusade offers a very easy to understand improvement to the game (namely the 5 features I mention above but particularly a citizen based economy). 

I'll be around this weekend on Discord doing a lot of balance work.

This weekend I will be working on the big update to GalCiv III and GalCiv III Crusade.  My work focuses heavily on balance so if you have any particular exploits or balance issues you'd like me to look into...

1. Post here.

2. Share a save game for me to look at.

You can also join me this weekend on Discord: https://discord.gg/JN2XH6A

I don't know how common this is with dogs but my dog, an Entlebucher mountaint dog, has a fairly complex moral system when it comes to food.  Namely, she seems to have an internal rule set on what it is okay for her to take food.

Here's an example of my dog's morality in action.  If my wife brings me a plate of cheese and crackers, she can set it right in front of me and the dog.  I could get up, leave the room and come back without fear that she would take it.  However, if I begin eating it and then leave the room, there is a point where if I were to leave the room that the plate would be picked clean when I returned.

Similarly, we have a walk in pantry filled with food (including her dog food).  Bread, crackers, cookies, etc. are all within easy reach of her.  We keep the loafs of bread on a shelf that is eye level.  We never keep the pantry door closed and she won't take any food from there. However, if I take the same bread, open it up and eat a slice and then put it on the table, the dog will eat the entire loaf right off the table if I walk away.  However, put the same loaf back in the pantry and it is safe.

Over the years, I've tried to experiment to learn how her seeming morality system works.  She won't ever steal food in front of someone unless it falls to the floor. Then it's fair game. If I'm lying around on the couch with a bowl of chips on the floor in front of her, I'm safe. If I get up and leave to go to the bathroom the bowl is safe also.  But if I have eaten a sufficient amount of it and leave, the bowl gets chowed down if I leave for just a few moments.

Those of you with dogs, have you encountered this sort of thing?

Summer continues.  Unless you're in Australia or New Zealand. But they're not people. Not really.  I mean, they can't feel heat and cold.  So what's been up? The boring job of architecture update.  We've been spending the past month fixing architectural issues that have slowly built up. This shines through in the form of bug fixes.  It's slow, time consuming but important work. 

We are also working on merging the GalCiv III base game and Crusade core together.  The net effect is that late this Summer, there will be a massive update to GalCiv III (v2.5) that will bring some of the elements of Crusade over to it.  This will mostly be seen as a major improvement in balance, stability, AI, diplomacy, memory use and performance. 

The next DLC: The Dread Lords

This Fall we hope to release the Dread Lords DLC.  This will be accompanied by a number of new features into the game itself (which doesn't require anyone to buy the DLC to benefit from). 

The Dread Lords will bring the backstory of the GalCiv universe up to where GalCiv III started.  This will bring back the Korath.  Because Dread Lords will be combining the events from GalCiv II + Dark Avatar + Twilight there will be some consolidation to keep the gameplay cohesive.

Technical work

I'm happy to report that the latest GalCiv III does work on the Surface Pro 4.  We are working hard to try to reduce the hardware requirements further and increase performance.  That's why you haven't seen a lot of gameplay updates recently.  Making the game run faster and more stable and improve the multiplayer experience (we are close to custom races in multiplayer) is very important.

Multiplayer

Speaking of multiplayer.  While very few people play multiplayer, supporting it has a benefit to single player users.  It forces the engine development to be much more disciplined.  So players end up with a much better experience.  In the long-run, we want to make GalCiv III have not just good multiplayer but so compelling of a multiplayer experience that people will want to play it that way.  This will mean adding some new modes to the game (that will work in single player as well) to allow for much shorter games. 

The next expansion

It's far too early to start talking about the next expansion.  What I can say it that it will focus heavily on politics and government. 

Modding

One area that Stardock is actively hiring for are C# developers.  Doesn't even have to be full-time.  It's more like we will pay for various tools that we can share with the community.  We are going to be releasing a Flavor Text Editor shortly as well as a Mega Event editor.

It may come as a shock but GalCiv III has supported full-blown quests (as in, extremely sophisticated quests and stories and linked events) since 1.0.  However, there is no tool to create them. You current have to edit XML files in a text editor which is very tedious and time consuming. 

Thus, we are looking for:

• A campaign editor
• A tech tree editor
• An event editor
• A C# map (separate from the game) map editor

and that's just off the top of my head.  These kinds of editors are basically glorified XML editors since the output is just XML.  But imagine what effect it would have if people could create and share their own campaigns and events.

Now, before anyone starts emailing me or PMing me, bare in mind, one of the reasons we haven't done this is because we don't really have time to walk people through the various XML files and their corresponding .XSD files.  So the short answer is, you make the thing, we will be happy to pay for it if we can use it (and you can even make a prototype that just needs polish and we'll pay and pay more for the polish).

Just look at the XML files and the XSD files and you'll see just how powerful the system is.

Next up

So next month, get ready for GalCiv III v2.5!

Video games normally take liberties with the size of the universe.  We know the universe is big but we frequently trivialize the immense size of the galaxy.

Even scientists seem to trivialize this with questions like "Why haven't we detected aliens?".  The answer might be because our radio signals haven't even reached a trivial distance of the milky way galaxy.

Our solar system out to Jupiter.

Zooming way way out to our local neighborhood.

Now this is zooming out to about as far as we can go and still name stars without skipping over lots of them.

NOTE: Our radio signals haven't even come close to leaving this area yet.  Also, we only know the distances of these starts within +/- 8 light years.  A lot of people think we have nailed down where all these stars are.

And all that fits in the dot within that box.

and that last screenshot fits within the red box in this screenshot.

Now, in the new Star Control game, we are going to do our best to mix accuracy with gameplay.  But hopefully you get the idea of just how insane the scales really are.