First of all I want to say that Galactic Civilizations 2 really is a great game, which is monumental and has a good sense of humor. It is a space strategy game I always had imagined. And most changes in the past went into the right direction.

But there are some minor issues that bother me a little bit. I have the Gold Edition (Dread Lords plus Dark Avatar). I most often play the sandbox because this gives a really epic game.

1.) I find it irritating that sandbox games begin in 2225 or 2226 although the race for the galaxy began in 2178 when all races suddenly got hyper drive (see galactic civilizations I).

I think for that reason a sandbox game should always begin in 2178. This only requires a change of the number - not more.

2.) 1 turn in a sandbox game should be 1 month instead of 1 week. If 1 turn means 1 week, the population growth within your empire (or tax payer growth ) is really a little bit too unrealistic. I always wonder where 100 billion humans within one decade came from.

This does not require a change of the engine. Only 1 turn should be called 1 month. Then the pop growth is still very high but could be explained with large families. I understand that the campaign requires a different pace of time for story purposes but there is not a story in sandbox mode.

3.) Unedited alien opponents have random political parties. This often leads to unrealistic results. For example the ruling party of the Yor leader was the pacifists in one game as the humans.

I think unedited civilizations should have a standard ruling political party that fits into their mentality: For example warrior civilizations should begin with the war party in power. Civilizations that focus on trade should begin with the respective party. But it should not be just random.

4.) Then there is one thing that really annoys me. I played the humans in one game and replaced leader name Bradley with my own name. Then I began a game as another race. And when I encountered the humans their leader still had MY name.

I suggest if you choose other civilizations as opponents they should always have their respective standard settings. If you want to do so you can still edit them on the last screen before you begin a new game (at least in Dark Avatar). Then there is no longer such a confusion of standard settings and personal settings.

I know these are minor issues but for me they are a little bit annoying or destroy the illusion a little bit. The fact that I complain about such minor issues shows that this is really a great game. But I would like you to think about it. And if I simply misunderstood one feature then please think about the other suggestions.

And: It would not require great changes. And: It could be made optional so that there is still a choice for everyone.