What type of game would you like to see Stardock make next?
Votes: 1248
Galactic Civilizations III
Turn-based fantasy strategy game
Strategy RTS
Role Playing Game
Other
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Galactic Civilizations III
Turn-based fantasy strategy game
Strategy RTS
Role Playing Game
Other


GameSpot


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IGN


UGO


IC-Games


Firing Squad
Welcome

In the 23rd century the known galaxy is at war.  The Terran Alliance and their coalition are fighting a desperate interstellar war with the evil Drengin Empire and their ruthless allies. Behind the scenes, the precursor civilization called the Dread Lords pulls the strings on both sides. As leader of a galactic civilization, it is up to you to ensure the triumph of your civilization. Fight wars, design star ships, research new technologies, negotiate treaties and build an empire that will stand the test of time in this award-winning turn-based strategy game.

The second and final expansion pack to Galactic Civilizations II is now available. Get Twilight of the Arnor on its own or pick up the entire saga together at a discounted price.
Galactic Civilizations II v2.01 released
Frogboy
Twilight gets more love
11/25/2008 7:27:13 PM

We released Galactic Civilizations II v2.01 today which adds some improved computer AI updates, economic balancing improvements and fixes some crashes we introduced in v2.0.

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You can download thew new version from Impulse.

Download: GalCiv II: Twilight of the Arnor v2.01

 
GalCiv II v2.01 is Here!
Island Dog
11/25/2008 6:44:16 PM

The v2.01 update for Galactic Civilizations II is now out.  Frogboy listed some of the notable features, improvements, and more screenshots here.

  • First, the AI is better. I made changes to how the AI decides which planets to colonize and improved how they pick their research projects.  The overall "Feel" of 2.01 in terms of pacing and general fun is just much improved really in my opinion.
  • Second, the team fixed some crashes that we had noticed.  I'm not sure what caused them but I know that they're gone now. We're not sure how they crept in there but it was certainly something that got introduced in v2.0.
  • Another cool feature is really a set of changes to research costs and tourism that just make the game feel a bit better. It's hard to really define but long time players I think will appreciate the general maturing of the play balance.
  • Lastly,I updated more of the game images to get rid of older images. I'll bee doing this more and more as I play so expect a v2.02 at some point in the near future. 

Players can download the update via Impulse (www.impulsedriven.com), Stardock’s digital distribution platform that enables users to purchase, download and update hundreds of different PC games and applications.

Players can get the entire Galactic Civilizations II saga at their local retail outlet or direct from Stardock at www.galciv2.com.

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Galactic Civilizations II: New Frontiers!
kryo
11/11/2008 12:34:11 PM

Is Twilight of the Arnor 2.0 still not enough to fill your hunger for Galactic Civilizations? I-Mod Productions has recently begun work on a new fan-expansion: New Frontiers. This massive new mod will be packed to bursting with original content, including:

  • Two brand new races, the Asa and the Vanir.
  • Tons of new graphics--weapon effects, models, backgrounds, and more.
  • New ship templates, styles, and modules, with more variation between races.
  • New main interface design.
  • Several new immense-size maps encompassing the sectors of the Andromeda Galaxy.
  • Post your scores and compete online through I-Mod's Mod Metaverse.

Look good? Keep an eye on I-Mod's Impulse blog for further updates as the mod progresses; a public beta is planned for late December. Also, if you have experience in 2D/3D art, music, or writing and would like to contribute to the project, I-Mod would be glad to have your help (contact them for further details).

 
Galactic Civilizations II 2.0 Released!
Island Dog
Major free update for players of the Dark Avatar and Twilight expansion packs
11/5/2008 1:53:44 PM

Stardock has released a major free update to its award-winning PC strategy game, Galactic Civilizations II. The update adds a host of new features to its latest expansion pack Twilight of the Arnor as well as expands on features found in the Dark Avatar expansion pack.

Galactic Civilizations II was originally released in 2006 and won numerous PC game awards including “Turn-based Strategy Game of the Year from GameSpy”. In 2007 the first expansion pack, Dark Avatar was released and became the highest-rated expansion pack of all time according to Metacritic. This year, the second expansion pack, Twilight of the Arnor was released and surpassed Dark Avatar in ratings and sales.

Version 2.0 has been developed as a major free update, primarily for Twilight of the Arnor, to help integrate the expansion packs together with the original into a single consolidated experience.

New features include but are not limited to:

  • Players can now design new starships from the main game menu
  • All game campaigns have been updated to be playable within Twilight of the Arnor
  • New user manual
  • Numerous new game setup options
  • Updated diplomatic options
  • New planetary governors for automating the building of planets
  • Revamped espionage system
  • Auto-building for starbases
  • Balance updating
  • Improved graphics

Since its release, Galactic Civilizations II has sold over 300,000 copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling PC turn-based strategy games of all time and has built a significant player base amongst strategy gamers, modders and sci-fi fans.

Players can download the update via Impulse (www.impulsedriven.com), Stardock’s digital distribution platform that enables users to purchase, download and update hundreds of different PC games and applications.

Players can get the entire Galactic Civilizations II saga at their local retail outlet or direct from Stardock at www.galciv2.com.

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ELEMENTAL is announced!
Frogboy
New fantasy strategy game from Stardock
11/4/2008 11:22:55 AM



Elemental announced!

 
Stardock 2008 Report
Island Dog
10/16/2008 9:08:33 AM

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Like most companies, Stardock puts together an internal business plan for setting up goals and objectives for the company for the forthcoming year (Stardock's fiscal year begins its execution phase every October 1).  As part of this business plan is an appendix that acts as a critical analysis of what Stardock customers can expect to see and what challenges the company faces to better satisfy customer expectations. 

For this year, it has been decided to make this appendix available to the public. The Stardock 2008 customer report goes over some of the successes Stardock has experienced but also looks at the failings with a considerable amount of criticism in areas that the company needs to improve on.

The contents include:

  • Impulse digital distribution status report
  • The status on Stardock game projects
  • Stardock's position on "DRM" and copy protection explained
  • An update on the Gamer's Bill of Rights
  • The status of Object Desktop
  • A look at the dock technology now used by Dell and others.
  • The results of the 2008 customer survey report (VERY interesting results)

If you're interested in the inner workings of a consumer PC software company, you may find this document to be very interesting.

URL: http://www.stardock.com/media/stardockcustomerreport-2008.pdf

 

 
Impulse Gets an Update
Island Dog
Store and Support areas get a makeover
10/9/2008 10:21:28 AM

Have you been to Impulsedriven.com in awhile? Well if you have, you'll notice that we've done some redecorating to not only the  website but the store itself.

We've made the website much more informational with the homepage now adding a featured title section highlighting a major software or game, a latest news section showing off recent releases, and a recent articles section authored by people from the Impulse community. You'll also find the navigation to be a lot more friendly with the left hand-side search bar and menu.

When you're ready to search through our library of games and software, you'll notice a whole new look to the Impulse store. First, check out the featured tab that lists all the latest and popular additions with our new "lightening bolt" popularity ranking. Sorting through all your favorite games is now as easy as simply clicking on the Category name you want to sort by i.e. product name, popularity, release date, or price. If you choose to see a bigger list, you can click on the +/- button to expand your list and see all that there is to offer. 

Need some help? We've also added a support tab where you can easily find answers to some of our most frequently asked questions, or if you don't see what you're looking for, you can contact support directly through our email system.

If you haven't checked out Impulse yet, visit www.impulsedriven.com to get your exclusive free download of Stardock's new digital distribution platform.

Click here to view link.
 
Galactic Civilizations II: v2.0 is coming...
Frogboy
A massive FREE update
9/17/2008 11:49:12 AM

imageStardock has been busy this summer enhancing Galactic Civilizations II with lots of new features. Most of those features will be for players who have purchased Twilight of the Arnor. But Dark Avatar users will also see a revamped espionage system as well.

We've put together an on-going preview of GalCiv II v2.0 at the link below: Check it out!

http://forums.galciv2.com/324858

Galactic Civilizations II v2.0 is scheduled to go into beta this month with general availability next month.

 

 

Click here to view link.
 
ShackNews Interview with Brad Wardell (Part 2)
Island Dog
9/15/2008 6:58:14 AM

Recently I posted the first part of the interview with Stardock CEO Brad Wardell by ShackNews.  Part 2 of the interview goes into Stardock’s appearance at PAX ‘08, the upcoming game Demigod, and the upcoming turn-based fantasy strategy game that Stardock is currently working on.

Another quick excerpt:

“Shack: How was your time at PAX?

Brad Wardell: It was great. That was so fun. Because we were out there and we had the Gas Powered Games guys [Supreme Commander], and the Ironclad guys [Sins of a Solar Empire]. They got to hang out, and that was fun.

It was great to inter-mix the teams, because a lot of our Impulse stuff isn't developed purely by Stardock. Pieces come from GPG, pieces come from Ironclad. It's so informal. I mean we literally cross-pollinate on each other's projects now.”

Head over to ShackNews and read the full interview.

Click here to view link.
 
ShackNews Interview with Brad Wardell (Part 1)
Island Dog
9/10/2008 7:49:55 AM

ShackNews has a two-part interview with Stardock CEO, Brad Wardell.  The first part talks about the plan to “revitalize” PC gaming. It also covers Stardock's stance on copy-protection.

A quick excerpt:

"Shack: A lot of people think the solution is making games that are so connected with the online experience that everything is validated online, patched online, controlled through the internet. But what you're talking about is an offline, almost traditional solution.

Brad Wardell: Well I think [we need] a combination. You have to be able to protect your intellectual property. And I'm a big believer in activation. Our games, not all of our games, but Galactic Civilizations uses activation for downloads. Basically, our system has always traditionally been that you purchase a game, it has no copy protection, but if you want to update it you have to get it from us with your serial number, and we validate who it is."

It's a great interview, so be sure to check it out.

Click here to view link.
 



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