Galcon
Encyclopedia
Galcon is a series of real time strategy video games for Android, iPhone
, Windows
, Linux
, Mac OS X
and Flash
, which were developed by Phil Hassey. It is a real time strategy game set in space and involves maneuvering fleets of ships to capture enemy planets.
PlayStation minis version developed and published in October 2011 by Beatshapers
The name is short for Galactic Conquest.
Galcon Classic, was released for the desktop in late 2006 for Ludum dare
, a timed game development contest. It was then developed into a more advanced video game. Galcon Classic features dozens of singleplayer game modes and full multiplayer.
In July 2008, Galcon was publicly released on Instant Action (IA)
, a web browser game platform released by GarageGames. This is the first time Galcon was released with campaign sort of gameplay.
A couple months later, Galcon was released for the iPhone, frequently called "iGalcon" by fans. iGalcon was one of the first true multiplayer experiences for the iPhone but never gained enough publicity to kick off. iGalcon comes with multiple singleplayer modes featuring varying degrees of bot difficulty, and an advanced online multiplayer system where players can battle in rooms up to four.
In June 2009, Galcon Flash was released. Galcon Flash was a Flash port of Galcon and closely resembled the iPhone port. Although Galcon Flash was given a small introductory price, the amount of registered users was very small; however, there is a limited demo version.
Galcon Labs was released in early October 2009. Galcon Labs is a sequel to the first iGalcon. Galcon Labs features four new modes which are both singleplayer and multiplayer compatible. Galcon Labs has been received as a very positive addition to the Galcon family.
On February 11, 2010, Galcon Fusion was released for Mac and Windows as the latest addition to the Galcon family. It is the desktop and iPad equivalent to Galcon Labs and the original Galcon.
gave the game 4 stars praising the game for being entertaining and online play but felt the single player levels did not progress evenly from easy to hard, in some cases. PocketGamer gave the game 8 out of 10 commenting it was an 'innovative space game with simple controls and deep strategy'. Slide to Play gave the game 3 (good) out of 4 saying that the extremely satisfying online play made it a good game.
as a basis for the contest problem. For the contest participants wrote programs that competed in a simplified version of the game.
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
, which were developed by Phil Hassey. It is a real time strategy game set in space and involves maneuvering fleets of ships to capture enemy planets.
PlayStation minis version developed and published in October 2011 by Beatshapers
Beatshapers
Beatshapers Ltd. is a new generation video game developer and publisher working on global markets for seventh generation handhelds and consoles and Apple Inc...
The name is short for Galactic Conquest.
Games
The original Galactic Conquest, Copyright 1987 by Rick Raddatz was a shareware title for the PC. It is a multiple player conquest game similar to the board game Risk. It was based on a game called Stellar Invasion by BEARBYTE software.Galcon Classic, was released for the desktop in late 2006 for Ludum dare
Ludum Dare
Ludum Dare is an accelerated game development competition. It was founded by Geoff Howland and were first held in April 2002. Ludum Dare has received mainstream media coverage from sources such as PC Gamer and Wired...
, a timed game development contest. It was then developed into a more advanced video game. Galcon Classic features dozens of singleplayer game modes and full multiplayer.
In July 2008, Galcon was publicly released on Instant Action (IA)
InstantAction
InstantAction was a web gaming site and digital distributor featuring 3D, browser-based games.The site was created by game and technology developer GarageGames after its acquisition in 2007 and released a year later. InstantAction's goal was to allow publishers and developers the ability to embed...
, a web browser game platform released by GarageGames. This is the first time Galcon was released with campaign sort of gameplay.
A couple months later, Galcon was released for the iPhone, frequently called "iGalcon" by fans. iGalcon was one of the first true multiplayer experiences for the iPhone but never gained enough publicity to kick off. iGalcon comes with multiple singleplayer modes featuring varying degrees of bot difficulty, and an advanced online multiplayer system where players can battle in rooms up to four.
In June 2009, Galcon Flash was released. Galcon Flash was a Flash port of Galcon and closely resembled the iPhone port. Although Galcon Flash was given a small introductory price, the amount of registered users was very small; however, there is a limited demo version.
Galcon Labs was released in early October 2009. Galcon Labs is a sequel to the first iGalcon. Galcon Labs features four new modes which are both singleplayer and multiplayer compatible. Galcon Labs has been received as a very positive addition to the Galcon family.
On February 11, 2010, Galcon Fusion was released for Mac and Windows as the latest addition to the Galcon family. It is the desktop and iPad equivalent to Galcon Labs and the original Galcon.
Gameplay
Players start with 1-3 home planets and send off ships to conquer other planets around them. The numbers on each planet indicate how many ships it will take to conquer them. The numbers on a player's own planet indicate the amount of ships that their planet holds. Each planet a player owns produces ships for that player with more ships at a faster rate produced depending on the planet's size. Players can select what percentage of the ships to send from a planet and players can redirect ships in midair. The aim of the game is to defeat the other player(s).Rankings
All versions of Galcon (with the exception of the Instant Action port) involve a unique ranking system. After ten days a player's score is erased, meaning a player must keep winning matches to increase his or her score and keep it high on the score boards, which can be found on Galcon.com. Each ranking is symbolized by a flag. The flags are:- Cabin Boy - Pink flag, generally for the unregistered
- Ensign - Green flag, usually takes winning one game to achieve this rank
- Lieutenant - Yellow flag
- Commander - White flag
- Captain - Red flag
- Admiral - Blue flag
- Admiral (one stripe) - Blue flag with one yellow stripe
- Admiral (two stripe) - Blue flag with two yellow stripes
- Admiral (three stripes) - Blue flag with three yellow stripes
- Grand Admiral - Blue flag with yellow triangle, normally nearly impossible to gain, if gained only for a few days at most
Reception
Galcon Classic received good reviews and won multiple awards. Both iPhone Galcons also received excellent reviews, but there was a smaller publicity angle. The IA version was given few public reviews, but the overall rating is high. Galcon Flash also did not receive very many reviews, and mostly failed in the popularity.iGalcon (Standard)
MacworldMacworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
gave the game 4 stars praising the game for being entertaining and online play but felt the single player levels did not progress evenly from easy to hard, in some cases. PocketGamer gave the game 8 out of 10 commenting it was an 'innovative space game with simple controls and deep strategy'. Slide to Play gave the game 3 (good) out of 4 saying that the extremely satisfying online play made it a good game.
Other Offshoots
In the fall of 2010 Galcon was used by the Google AI ChallengeAI Challenge
The is an international programming contest started by the University of Waterloo Computer Science Club.Initially the contest was for University of Waterloo students only...
as a basis for the contest problem. For the contest participants wrote programs that competed in a simplified version of the game.