How do I see an overview of everything built at a colony?

[Reg Pither]

Hi all, newbie here.

I want to able to see what is built at a colony - defensive bases, research centres, etc - but can only find a screen which gives me a breakdown of each type across the whole empire. Is there a screen that shows them per colony? I assume I'm missing something very obvious... [&:]

Also, I keep seeing references to the music in the game, but I've never heard any. Any tips?

Thanks.

[feelotraveller]

Welcome to the forums [:)]

I'm don't think that you can see an overview for all colony holdings in one place. But you can it get by checking out two places. 1) For anything in space look visually at colony, one or two clicks out on zoom should do it. Look for hexagonal shapes if there is a clutter of ships. 2) All facilities (buildings on surface) are listed in the 'facilities' tab for each planet on the colonies screen. They also show as icons in the buildings line of the colony mini window when the colony is selected.

You do get sounds in game? Have a look in the options screen to make make sure music is turned up.

[Reg Pither]

Thanks for the reply. [:)]

ORIGINAL: feelotraveller


I'm don't think that you can see an overview for all colony holdings in one place. Really? I thought it was my inexperience with the game that meant I just couldn't find the right screen. Lack of such a screen seems like a major oversight in a 4X game, IMHO. [:(]

1) For anything in space look visually at colony, one or two clicks out on zoom should do it. Look for hexagonal shapes if there is a clutter of ships. That's what I've been doing, but it's so clumsy and time consuming I assumed there must be a simpler way.

2) All facilities (buildings on surface) are listed in the 'facilities' tab for each planet on the colonies screen. They also show as icons in the buildings line of the colony mini window when the colony is selected. Well, so far, all my colonies have no 'Facilities' built according to those screens. What kind of buildings would these be?

You do get sounds in game? Have a look in the options screen to make make sure music is turned up. I do and it is. I must state that I can never start the game properly, though. I never see any intro screen, just pixellated, moving grey stars or something at the top of the screen which stay there until I click the mouse, which opens the Galactopedia. When I close that, the Load/Options/Start etc menu appears and I can start the game.

Otherwise, the game looks promising. [:)]

[feelotraveller]

The facilities are limited in Distant Worlds. They are troop related buildings (e.g. bunkers for defence, troop cloning facilities...) planetary shields, giant ion cannons, terraforming and wonders (I've probably left some out). They all unlock through the technology tree and none are available at the starting level. Check out the tech tree to find out their requirements. It is not a game based on building lots of facilities at your colonies (although the wonders are nice) but rather fleet, territory and resource based. It's lots of fun so give it some time...

Hm. Normally there is a long intro video. Clicking through this takes you to the Galactopedia screen by default. So it would seem that your video and music aren't loading properly. Check that the files are present - C:\Matrix Games\Distant Worlds\Sounds\Music (on my system - the default installation path) should contain 20 mp3's with the music, for example. \Movies has the videos. Run them manually (outside of game) to confirm that this is possible. You didn't install the game to your program files did you? That can sometimes cause problems. Otherwise you might want to start a thread in the technical issues forum.

[Reg Pither]

Yes, I assumed they might be items I just hadn't researched yet. Still a shame about the lack of a colony overview that gives all of the info in one place, though, as that would really help with enjoying this game more. I've got all the music files and can play them on their own, looks like I'm off to the Tech forum, then. [:D]

Thanks for your help. [:)]

Edit : I see that the ability to see what bases are built on a colony is no. 31 in the Visuals/Warnings section of the Wishlist thread. *crosses fingers*

[sbach2o]

ORIGINAL: Reg Pither

Also, I keep seeing references to the music in the game, but I've never heard any. Any tips?

The game needs a relatively new version of Microsoft's Media Player to play music, I think the required version is 11. If you're on Windows XP you may have an older one. It should be possible to update (not sure). I am on XP myself, but never bothered.

This is a known issue, btw. It has been reported several times and the developers are aware of it. Fixing this is low priority. What I like about this game is that I have the CD drive free to play my own music.

[Reg Pither]

ORIGINAL: sbach2o

The game needs a relatively new version of Microsoft's Media Player to play music, I think the required version is 11. If you're on Windows XP you may have an older one.

Thanks, I've upgraded now and it works. And the music isn't bad at all.[:)]