Gal Civ takes the 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate) seriously and the whole game is built around exploring the universe, expanding your empire, exploiting recourses and diplomatic relations, and exterminating anyone who dares stand in your way. If it's story and the creation of a journey you prefer, Stellaris has the early game nailed, hands-down, but Gal Civ does something better than Paradox's game: strategy. Just like Stellaris and previous Gal Civ games, Stardock has steadily released DLC to add new features. It's an even playfield and allows for some smart tactics to be employed. There are no set methods of travel, and you simply use movement points up and hit end turn.

How Gal Civ III differs is by allowing the player to move anywhere in space, which is restricted only by the distance your ships can travel - increased by expanding borders, researching new modules, and other means. While both games are vastly different in terms of UI design and mechanics, they share various systems, including simulated combat, diplomacy, alliances, planet management, governments, random events, and more. Think Sid Meier's Civilizations, but set in space. The most notable difference between Gal Civ III and Stellaris is Stardock opted for turn-based gameplay, which was the norm back when the first game was rolled out. Galactic Civilizations III is currently listed on Steam for around $14. Stardock released the first installment in 2003, and the latest release hit Steam in 2015. Galactic Civilizations, as a series, has been around for ages. This makes it easier to defend against attacks (and manage choke points), as well as make the game more efficient in the late game, but does limit what players can do. Initially, it was possible to have species rocking different methods of moving between stars, but now everyone is restricted to hyperplanes. Later patches have resolved this issue, but it's still a minor complaint, as is the way the developers removed two of the three forms of travel, wormholes and warp drives. The community refers to the phenomenon as a 'doomstack,' and wars quickly developed into attempting to avoid the other doomstacks with your own, bypass defenses and lay siege to planets.

Dealing with 'doomstacks'Īn issue that plagued Stellaris from the beginning was its doomstacks, which essentially saw every player (or AI) place every ship they owned into a single fleet. Stellaris is a game that allows you to go a little deep but keeps everything user-friendly to allow those new to the 4X and strategy genres to feel right at home without getting utterly destroyed. Not only do you have the ability to design ships, but also manage planets, form governments, create alliances, become ascendants, and work with others in surviving against foes and potential crises.

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