Buying the game

Hi, I would like to buy Gratuitous Space Battles + Gratuitous Space Battles: Galactic Conquest but I heard from a lot of people that it crashes a lot(the campaign), is that true?
Also is the campaign very replayable?

P.S.
How come this game costs on steam 20 euros and Killing Floor costs 15 euros which is an FPS with like 4GB…was GSB on sale on steam like all games are?

Both items are 5 euros cheaper on Impulse, but then the game wouldn’t be on steam list and nobody would know I’m playing it etc. etc…do you think I should get it on steam despite being more expensive there?

Personally, I’d buy it direct from Positech; the creator of all these great indie games (and with another one in the pipeline!).

If you’re truly pinched for cash (student? limited income?), go Impulse.

Sounds like a simple choice to me.

Oh you mean from here…I didn’t even notice it, I’ll get it from there then, I just have to go to bank first to check my PayPal card status.

So the campaign crash bug has been fixed?

Wait, so how exactly would I get the game once I buy it from this site? I only bought games from steam…

And if I don’t buy all the races now that means they won’t appear as enemy in the campaign?

It’s a weekend now anyway so you can answer me by Monday or Tuesday and please don’t ignore my questions like you did so far…you already could have answered the question I stated again.

I respectfully disagree with this statement, one of your questions was answered directly, however it seems it was not one of the important questions you have. Therefore i will try and answer each and every question you have asked to the best of my ability.

Please note the following is based on my experiance running GSB on ancient (8yo) PC with windows XP.

I have not had any problems with the Game or the Campaign. I have heard that there has been a few problems for users on the steam forum which Cliffski is currently trying to address. Quickly reviewing the support forums here, it seems there no current problems from people that have bought the game direct and running on PC.

The campaign is very replayable since it comes with 4 maps to start with and you can futher increase the replayability of GSB if you use a player developed Random Campaign Map Generator. (its a seperate program that creates new maps for you to import into the game). You also have access to the new races / weapons and ships developed by the modding community to increase the replayability once again.

I think i understand what your asking, but since i have never bought a game on steam i hope you forgive me should i fail to answer the question your trying to ask.

You do not need people to know that you are playing GSB since it is not like an online co-op or PvP game like Team Fortress 2, but more like playing chess via email. For example Archduke Astro sent me an online challange though GSB. After several failed attempts i destroyed his uber fleet challange and posted a retaliation fleet of my own. In GSB it does not matter WHERE you bought the game from, once you have your code you become part of the GSB community challange group.

I have not had any problems with the game - as i mentioned earlier, I am running GSB on a windows XP platform with a ancient (8yo) PC. I bought the game DIRECT from Positech (as you highlighted earlier) so i do not need steam to run the game. By buying direct from Positech i have the latest patches the moment they are deployed by Cliffski (the game auto updates). However with steam i have heard that they are a few version behind for one reason or another.

As suggested above, i would STRONGLY advise that you buy the game direct from Positech (again from that URL you identified).
When you buy the game you will be asked a few questions, name, method of payment and email.
Once the purchase is complete BMT Micro will send an email to you containing:

  • A link to download your purchases
  • A online registration code
    From there its a simple case of downloading the game, enter the code and rule supreme over your galaxy of choice. Please note that if at any point you need to redownload the game, BMT Micro or Cliff will resend you the link should you loose the email. In my oppinion the support provided by Cliffski and BMT Micro are the best i have seen in a long time [size=40](Unlike otheres that Take-2-long)[/size]

You are correct, only the races you have purchased will appear in the online campaign.

I hope that fully answers all you current questions in relationship to buying the game. I have included a few questions that you have not asked but i have answered in case you think about them later.

  • How easy is the game to modify.
    The game is extreamly easy to modify, all you need is:

Image modifying software like Adobe Photoshop or the free ones like Gimp or Paint.net.
Text editing software
Time and an idea of what you would like
Once you have these tools, you can make new races, ships, scenario, missions, weapons, modules and campaign maps.

  • Why is it cheaper on Steam than direct from the Programmer.
    Based on the limited information i have gained from reading these forums, the reason why its cheaper is because steam send a very small portion of the games profit back to the Programmer, hence they can reduce the price and undercut the main site.
    The only advantages you get from purchasing direct are:

You get quick and direct support from the Programmer
You get the latest version and any bugfixes the moment they are released
you get a warm fuzzy feeling supporting an indie developer :slight_smile:

OK, I bought everything from this site, core game, DLC bundle and galactic conquest. I think that is everything GSB related…

Just 2 more questions:

  1. what is the difference between guidance scrambler and high point defense, is the high point defense model better than guidance scrambler and does the scanner(for discerning decoys) affect the guidance scrambler?

  2. when will Parasites come out, I would like to play against them in the campaign.

btw, the campaign is even better than I thought it would be.

1: im not entirely sure. i just know that the scrambler makes enemy missiles fly around randomly, while the point defence shoots em down. i dont know which is the most efficent, but ive heard that people tend to use the scrambler more often.

2: it would take a little while before you meet any in campaing. they are selected from player-made fleets. the players would nto have made any fleets to select the first day of its release. give it about a week, then parasites should appear more frequently. (if you bought pasarites that is)

Once you finish playing all that - dont forget the mods and online challanges :slight_smile:

(The following is based on my knowledge)

  • Guidance Scrambler - As the name suggests it tries to scramble the guidance of any incoming missile but only takes 1 shot at each missile. So if it misses it will not shoot at that missile again
  • Point defence, tries to destroy the missile outright and will take as many shots as it can before the missile strikes the ship.
  • Scanners increases the chance of identifying fake missiles from real ones for both types of anti missile systems

As for which one is better, people that play online challanges are more qualified than me to answer that question
In my oppinion the Swarm have the best anti missile system with their smart bomb . . problem is that it will take out every missile in the blast radius (including your own missiles)

As would i - But as of yet Cliff has not announced a release date so you will not be facing them in the campaign - yet

Careful, dont fall into the trap of “just one more turn”

Have fun
Darkstar

gah, i misread your question! :open_mouth:

i thought you asked: when parasites are out, i want to play against them in campaing.

ignore my post, DS is right…

Is it just me or is the campaign and the game in general way better than Sins of a Solar Empire?

I can’t believe I almost missed this game…

Sins of a Solar Empire is not even comparable to this game. One is a 4x real time strategy, the other is a battle simulator with an excuse for a campaign.
How can you even compare an interactive RTS to a space battle manager where, once you’re done planning, simply watch the battle unfold?