20150604:
I've played plenty of Galcon Fusion before, but this was the first time I've played the sequel, Galcon Legends.
Setup: The game automatically loaded in fullscreen, but as was the case with some other games I've played on my laptop, the game showed up oversized.
However, unlike other games, the game also failed to play nice in windowed mode. Fortunately, this caused me to go searching for a solution and I found one!
Apparently the game was set to 'display scaling on high DPI displays' and the problem could simply be corrected by finding the executable, right-clicking the executable, going to 'Properties', clicking on the 'Compatibility' tab, and checking the option 'Disable display scaling on high DPI displays'.*
General Gameplay Log:
Unlike Galcon Fusion, Galcon Legends had a story mode. I managed to get to Level 5, but I couldn't beat it as either Captain or Commander.
I wasn't entirely sure why, but thirty minutes into the game, it felt harder and lacked the spark of Galcon Fusion. I later suspected that I was too eager with ramping up the difficulty.
In any case, I then decided to go back to Lieutenant difficulty, where I could see the numbers. Unfortunately, the game was still too hard - I couldn't believe it.
Eventually, however, I developed a strategy to constantly send all my forces after planets that were recently attacked or planets which Ms. the enemy had recently left. Then, sweeping through, with focus on Ms. Magpie, I made sure that neither opponent could establish him/herself while I continued to grow.
In part, I think the hint given by the game was misleading. Instead of using the hint, I would forget about the middle planets, just expand and fuck 'em up instead. (The hint might help in higher ranks, but that's questionable.)
In vs. Phantom King and vs. Banjo Trio, I focused on keeping it the score even on the little planets, and looked for the moments where I could invade into the big planets. At first, I would just juggle which big planet I controlled, patiently doing so until I was able to control all three big planets the majority of the time.
Finally, for Zanthor, the onslaught caused me to switch back to Lieutenant where I could see the numbers. It was very easy on Lieutenant difficulty.
Credits: Reference to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: "Be Excellent to Each Other."
Tip: Click-and-drag is easier/faster/smarter than click-and-click.
After the conclusion of the story, the game had regained its appeal. In particular, I began trying to improve some of the rankings with difficulty below Admiral to Admiral.
Tip: Sometimes double-clicking to select all feels inefficient, but it's quite efficient with enough planets.
In the first Phantom level (Admiral difficulty), I realized that his position was better than mine, and that's when I realized all I needed to do was switch! Get his position and let him take mine.
*Again, the steps are as follows:
[20150604][20170313 Edit]
Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Story Mode (adds variations on AI strategy) (makes me nostalgic for Advance Wars)
Cons:*
- Can sometimes feel overly hectic. Only the truly skilled/practiced can play this game mechanically.
- Not the best PC controls. Though I might be missing the reroute command, unless they removed it (it was a feature in the first game)
*Might be due to playing with a touchpad.
Recommendation:
After I re-familiarized myself with the game, I ended up playing the campaign for about three and a half hours.
I liked the game's story.
Otherwise, the game itself had some flaws in terms of control. In general, it didn't feel responsive. Then again, I just realized I was playing with a touchpad. I'll have to try putting some time in with this game using a proper mouse.
20240324 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 4.3 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20150605
20240324:
Today I revisited this game and was able to complete every level in the campaign at Admiral or higher (most of the levels are completed at Admiral). Afterwards, I played the very first level at incrementally harder ranks until defeating it at the hardest rank, Grand Admiral. I then tried to play the second level at Grand Admiral but couldn't win. I then felt discouraged from playing anymore.
Rating: 3.4/5
Steam Game Time: 5.0 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.7 hours (session game time)
Galcon Legends (PC) (2014)
Relevant Links:
Galcon Legends (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Galcon Legends (Steam Store Page)
Galcon Legends Webpage
I've played plenty of Galcon Fusion before, but this was the first time I've played the sequel, Galcon Legends.
Setup: The game automatically loaded in fullscreen, but as was the case with some other games I've played on my laptop, the game showed up oversized.
However, unlike other games, the game also failed to play nice in windowed mode. Fortunately, this caused me to go searching for a solution and I found one!
Apparently the game was set to 'display scaling on high DPI displays' and the problem could simply be corrected by finding the executable, right-clicking the executable, going to 'Properties', clicking on the 'Compatibility' tab, and checking the option 'Disable display scaling on high DPI displays'.*
General Gameplay Log:
Unlike Galcon Fusion, Galcon Legends had a story mode. I managed to get to Level 5, but I couldn't beat it as either Captain or Commander.
I wasn't entirely sure why, but thirty minutes into the game, it felt harder and lacked the spark of Galcon Fusion. I later suspected that I was too eager with ramping up the difficulty.
 |
| Buck (left, player character) and Walter (right) |
In any case, I then decided to go back to Lieutenant difficulty, where I could see the numbers. Unfortunately, the game was still too hard - I couldn't believe it.
Eventually, however, I developed a strategy to constantly send all my forces after planets that were recently attacked or planets which Ms. the enemy had recently left. Then, sweeping through, with focus on Ms. Magpie, I made sure that neither opponent could establish him/herself while I continued to grow.
In part, I think the hint given by the game was misleading. Instead of using the hint, I would forget about the middle planets, just expand and fuck 'em up instead. (The hint might help in higher ranks, but that's questionable.)
In vs. Phantom King and vs. Banjo Trio, I focused on keeping it the score even on the little planets, and looked for the moments where I could invade into the big planets. At first, I would just juggle which big planet I controlled, patiently doing so until I was able to control all three big planets the majority of the time.
Finally, for Zanthor, the onslaught caused me to switch back to Lieutenant where I could see the numbers. It was very easy on Lieutenant difficulty.
Credits: Reference to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: "Be Excellent to Each Other."
Tip: Click-and-drag is easier/faster/smarter than click-and-click.
After the conclusion of the story, the game had regained its appeal. In particular, I began trying to improve some of the rankings with difficulty below Admiral to Admiral.
Tip: Sometimes double-clicking to select all feels inefficient, but it's quite efficient with enough planets.
In the first Phantom level (Admiral difficulty), I realized that his position was better than mine, and that's when I realized all I needed to do was switch! Get his position and let him take mine.
 |
| Buck, Ms. Magpie, and the Crab Lord |
*Again, the steps are as follows:
1) Find executable. For example, "galcon2.exe".
2) Right click on it.
3) Click on "Properties".
4) Click on "Compatibility".
5) Check "Disable display scaling on high DPI displays".
[20150604][20170313 Edit]
Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Story Mode (adds variations on AI strategy) (makes me nostalgic for Advance Wars)
 |
| Attempting to improve all the rankings to Admiral or better |
Cons:*
- Can sometimes feel overly hectic. Only the truly skilled/practiced can play this game mechanically.
- Not the best PC controls. Though I might be missing the reroute command, unless they removed it (it was a feature in the first game)
*Might be due to playing with a touchpad.
Recommendation:
After I re-familiarized myself with the game, I ended up playing the campaign for about three and a half hours.
I liked the game's story.
Otherwise, the game itself had some flaws in terms of control. In general, it didn't feel responsive. Then again, I just realized I was playing with a touchpad. I'll have to try putting some time in with this game using a proper mouse.
 |
| Buck and Slug Princess |
20240324 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 4.3 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20150605
20240324:
Today I revisited this game and was able to complete every level in the campaign at Admiral or higher (most of the levels are completed at Admiral). Afterwards, I played the very first level at incrementally harder ranks until defeating it at the hardest rank, Grand Admiral. I then tried to play the second level at Grand Admiral but couldn't win. I then felt discouraged from playing anymore.
Rating: 3.4/5
Steam Game Time: 5.0 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.7 hours (session game time)
Galcon Legends (PC) (2014)
Relevant Links:
Galcon Legends (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Galcon Legends (Steam Store Page)
Galcon Legends Webpage
Date/Time
Thursday, June 4, 2015
@
11:00
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