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astronomy

Galactic Civilizations

Galactic Civilizations is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Galactic Civilizations rather than just read about it. In short: Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of an OS/2 series of the same name.

Galactic Civilizations — main illustration
Galactic Civilizations — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Galactic Civilizations belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Galactic Civilizations to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Galactic Civilizations from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of an OS/2 series of the same name. An expansion pack entitled Altarian Prophecy was released in 2004. A sequel, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords, was released February 21, 2006. On May 14, 2015, Stardock released Galactic Civilizations III. On April 26, 2022, Stardock released Galactic Civilizations IV.

Gameplay The goal of the game is to eventually dominate the galaxy. It is possible to achieve victory through war, cultural domination, diplomacy or by developing overwhelming advanced technology.

Story The game is set in the future. Humankind has made contact with the 5 other major alien races. Space travel is risky and expensive, requiring huge jump gates which only permit travel between two specific points. Because space travel is so difficult, the galaxy remains mostly uncolonized. The humans make a great discovery—hyperdrive. It permits fast travel between any two stars. The humans share their discovery with the other five major races. All communication stops. The humans consider that sharing their discovery may have been a mistake. Now that the galaxy is open for exploration, there's going to be a rush to claim all the uncolonized worlds.

Development

Galactic Civilizations was first developed for OS/2 in April 1993 by Brad Wardell. Although revenue from the initial OS/2 release was never paid by the bankrupt publisher, popular support encouraged Stardock to release Shipyards, an add-on pack that allowed users to design their own starships, and this provided enough revenue to support further development, with a simplified version being sold to IBM in 1995 as Star Emperor. The game sold above 30,000 units for OS/2. Galactic Civilizations II was released later that year, adding several new concepts and tweaks. It was followed by another version of Shipyards (which added both the ship design feature and improved governors/AI), and an expansion pack in April 1997, before Stardock was forced to withdraw from significant OS/2 development with the loss of their market. It is possible to run OS/2 versions of the game under emulation using Virtual PC.

Expansion pack

An expansion pack, called Galactic Civilizations: Altarian Prophecy, was released in 2004.

Reception

Galactic Civilizations

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. By December 2005, the game had sold 75,000 copies, which Computer Gaming World's Bruce Geryk called "impressive" for its genre. According to writer Greg Costikyan, the game's sales had surpassed 100,000 units by 2008. Galactic Civilizations was named the ninth-best computer game of 2003 by Computer Games Magazine, and it won the publication's "Best AI" award, tying with Halo: Combat Evolved. A writer for the magazine called it "the sort of game that will still be on your hard drive when all the other games you are playing right now are gathering dust on a shelf." The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Galactic Civilizations for their 2003 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. They wrote that they "found it impossible to ignore the [game's] almost overwhelming depth of strategy".

Altarian Prophecy

The Altarian Prophecy expansion pack received "favorable" reviews, although slightly less than the original, according to Metacritic.

References

Stardock's OS/2 history by Brad Wardell

External links Official website Galactic Civilizations at MobyGames Galactic Civilizations: Altarian Prophecy at MobyGames

Illustrations

Galactic Civilizations: GalCiv for OS/2
GalCiv for OS/2

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Galactic Civilizations

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Galactic Civilizations claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Galactic Civilizations before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Galactic Civilizations ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Galactic Civilizations

In research
Galactic Civilizations appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Galactic Civilizations in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Galactic Civilizations is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2003 video games, 4X video games, Fictional civilizations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Galactic Civilizations outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Galactic Civilizations in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Galactic Civilizations means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Galactic Civilizations out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Galactic Civilizations in simple terms?

Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of an OS/2 series of the same name.

Why does Galactic Civilizations matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Galactic Civilizations?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Galactic Civilizations.

Tags

  • 2003 video games
  • 4X video games
  • Fictional civilizations
  • Indie games
  • Milky Way in fiction
  • OS/2 games
  • Science fiction video games
  • Single-player video games
  • Space opera video games
  • Stardock games
  • Strategy First games
  • Turn-based strategy video games

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