I rarely post here anymore, but I'd really like to ask: has anyone here heard of Galactic Civilizations II? It's a single player 4X space-based TBS game that was released Feb. 21st for the PC. It's extremely good, in my opinion. Very fun. I have a few screenshots I've taken, if you'd like to see what it's like.

Here's a screenshot of the map. This is a fairly close in view of a star system. This is my home system -- I'm playing as the Drath Legion. That Starbase there can be upgraded to provide Trade and manufacturing bonuses to all planets within a certain radius.

Here's another map pic. This is the tactical view of the game. Zoom out far enough and everything turns into icons, letting you manage stuff without moving the screen around. Very convenient, if you're into that sort of thing.

Another piccie. This is information of a rival civilization. This happens to be the Iconian Refuge -- freaky looking guys, aren't they? There are 10 main races you can play as -- from the [hopefully] familiar humans to the cruel, evil Drengin, to the mysterious insectoid Thalan. Each has their own unique AI, personality, and racial bonuses.

Another foreign pic. Negotiations with another race, this time -- in this case, the vile merchant civilization, the Dominion of Korx.

And this is the last screenshot I took.The big thing with this game, though, is starship design. I designed this starship from a basic hull, tons of little "jewelry" parts that are just for show, and functional parts. This is probably my favorite part. I'm hoping I'm not the only one who has heard of it...