I hope this dev log finds you well and ready for some exciting updates on GalCiv IV: Supernova. Today, I wanted to share with you some recent work we've been doing on the battle viewer.

First and foremost, we have completely redone the cinematic mode. We know that players love to watch their battles unfold in a dramatic and visually stunning way, so we took this to heart and completely overhauled the camera movements. The result is an epic and movie-like experience that truly captures the feeling of a space battle. With the new camera movements, you’ll experience widescreen slow pans of the entire battle before jumping into close up action cams where you'll feel like you're right in the thick of it.

In addition to Cinematic Mode, we have introduced a new mode called Battlefield Mode. This mode keeps the entire battlefield in view, allowing players to follow the tactics of the battle while still maintaining the cinematic look. This is in addition to the existing top-down and follow camera modes, giving players even more options for viewing the battle.

Balancing the view of the battle was a challenge for us. We understand that different players have different preferences when it comes to how they want to view the battle. Some players prefer close up action shots of a fighter making a run on a capital ship, while others want to see the entire battle at all times so they can follow the large-scale tactics. We have worked hard to balance these needs, so everyone can follow the “story” of the battle.

Last but not least, our senior graphics engineer Jesse has been hard at work adding a blur filter that brings warmth and glow to the beams and explosions in the game. The result is truly stunning and adds a level of immersion that was previously missing. Watching your ships unleash their weapons has never been more satisfying!

Along with the updates to the Battle Viewer and effects, we have also been working on making the battle role behaviors for ships more defined. Our goal is to provide more clarity and certainty in how ships behave in battles, giving players better heuristics for fleet composition and strategy. For example, fighters will attempt to clear out other fighters, then regroup to attack larger ships. These new, more defined behaviors will allow players to make more informed decisions about how to build their fleets, leading to even more exciting and strategic space battles

We believe these changes to the Battle Viewer and battle behaviors will provide players with a more immersive and exciting battle experience. We hope players will enjoy the new camera movements, Battlefield Mode, updated weapon effects, and battle behaviors. Keep an eye out for more updates in the future, as we continue to work on making GalCiv IV: Supernova the best it can be.

Until next time,

Zack, Associate Game Designer

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Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova Dev Journals

• Dev Journal #56 - Ship Types

• Dev Journal #55 - Ship Classes

• Dev Journal #54 - Warlords Preview

• Dev Journal #53 - Abilities & the Intueri

• Dev Journal #52 - Moving People

• Dev Journal #51 - Citizens in AlienGPT

• Dev Journal #50 - Terran Tactics

• Dev Journal #49 - Children of Altaria

• Dev Journal #48 - Survivors of Elemental

• Dev Journal #47 - The Exiles of Iconia

• Dev Journal #46 - Expanding the Drengin Empire

• Dev Journal #45 - The Torians' New Toys

• Dev Journal #44 - New Improvements for the Arcean Republic

• Dev Journal #43 - Diplomacy & Surrender

• Dev Journal #42 - Spotlight on the Yor Singularity

• Dev Journal #41 - Managing a Large Game

• Dev Journal #40 - Return of the Korath

• Dev Journal #39 - Fleet Management Tools

• Dev Journal #38 - UI Updates in the v2.2 Ethnology Update

• Dev Journal #37 - New Biomes in the v2.2 Ethnology Update

• Dev Journal #36 - v2.2 Preview

• Dev Journal #35 - The Juggernaut of Culture

• Dev Journal #34 - v2.1 Genesis Update

• Dev Journal #33 - Mod Manager

• Dev Journal #32 - It's the Little Things...

• Dev Journal #31 - The AI Strikes Back!

• Dev Journal #30 - Ability Visibility

• Dev Journal #29 - What’s New in Supernova

• Dev Journal #28 - Replacing the Tech Victory in 4X

• Dev Journal #27 - Localization

• Dev Journal #26 - The Animals of AI

• Dev Journal #25 - A Galaxy for Everyone

• Dev Journal #24 - AIs Drinking Coffee on Planets

• Dev Journal #23 - A Weekend of Polishing

• Dev Journal #22 - Improving the Ship Design Screen

• Dev Journal #21 - What to do about Space Bugs in Battle

• Dev Journal #20 - How people use AlienGPT

• Dev Journal #19 - Culture is your Civilization's Character

• Dev Journal #18 - Should there be a campaign?

• Dev Journal #17 - How much should you see?

• Dev Journal #16 - The importance of onboarding

• Dev Journal #15 - Thinking about planets

• Dev Journal #14 - How many turns should that thing take?

• Dev Journal #13 - GPT

• Dev Journal #12 - Humanoids?

• Dev Journal #11 - The AI Elephant in the Room

• Dev Journal #10 - Little New Things

• Dev Journal #9 - The FAQ

• Dev Journal #8 - The Supernova Crisis

• Dev Journal #7 - What's New in Supernova

• Dev Journal #6 - Technology and Ideology Changes

• Dev Journal #5 - The Planets are Liars

• Dev Journal #4 - Event Updates

• Dev Journal #3 - Battle Viewer And Ship Behavior Improvements

• Dev Journal #2 - Updating Visuals

• Dev Journal #1 - The 2023 plan