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OK, enough with the maps. Let’s get a few more setup details out of the way so we can get on with the game.

Clicking on the "computer icon" at the top left of the screen takes us back to the main menu where we can select the Options menu.

This all pretty much works just as before, except you will see a few subtle changes. For example in the Automation section you can see a new option to select manual or automatic control over building new facilities.

As always this screen is all about serving up the game just the way you like it. For my game I’ve set the options as they appear in this screen shot.

Before jumping back to main screen I want to click on the Empire Settings button so I can tweak the default behavior of my attack fleets.
I usually want my invasion fleet to press on to their target without veering off mission to engage any system defense fleets in the area. Of course this strategy is only effective if I have one or two fleets in the system providing a screen for the transports and bombers.

It’s getting late, but I’m going to try and press on so I can get my initial research objectives setup. Research just happens to be one of my favorite parts of the game so you can bet I’m enjoying myself as I make these next few posts.

A great deal of work went into this area and truth be told, I’d have bought this expansion for the new research options alone.

So here it is, the new research screen.

Mate I appreciate your dedication! You keep posting I'll keep reading!

Research is still divided between the primary fields of weapons, energy, and high tech. But the entire dynamic of this function has been expanded to give the player more options and more control.

Since the screen defaults to the weapons field, lets begin there.

We can see that Energy Torpedo Weapons is the currently active research project since the number (1) appears in parentheses after the project name and the border around the project is pulsing from yellow to orange.

In this screen I am hovering the mouse over the project to bring up the project description. Just under the project name you can see the option to right-click to cancel this project and the option to left click to rush the project to an earlier completion by paying for the research in cash.

This project level 1 project will cost 60K to build (remember the cost/speed of research slider from the setup screen?) and it is currently 28% complete.

The final data provides the operational specifications for this first generation torpedo.

It looks like the blue is everything you have queued but the torpedo is the only one actually getting any progress. Does that many only one tech in that area can be researched at once? I though laser weapons and torpedoes research was separate.
I am also guessing the top portion where the diagonal red lings for wave weapons are is tech you cant research??

Like the original, the game randomly chooses the beginning project so you never know what you will get until you take a look. I'm going to cancel this project (It won't cost any money to do so and I can pick-up later just where I left off).

The reason for teh cancelation is simple - the expansion pack gives us fighters!

I want em.

ORIGINAL: Kregoth

It looks like the blue is everything you have queued but the torpedo is the only one actually getting any progress. Does that many only one tech in that area can be researched at once? I though laser weapons and torpedoes research was separate.
I am also guessing the top portion where the diagonal red lings for wave weapons are is tech you cant research??

All three areas are researched at the same time (unless crash researching), but only one item per area at a time (Weapons, Energy, High Tech).

You can queue up as many items as you want though and they'll be researched in progression as each item is completed.

Of course, in a highly customizable game like DW players will chart their own course through the tech tree. But, if you take the time to align your research with your playing style and to compliment the good and bad characteristics of your chosen race and government, the overall effort can be quite rewarding. One thing is for sure, when you meet another race it's a safe bet you ships will be very different from each other.

Now that my fighters are in the queue, it's time to line up one or two more projects in this area before moving on to energy.

I've clicked on Enhanced Beam Weapons making them next up in the weapons research queue. You can add and delete projects to the queue to your hearts content (is this cool or what?)

Here is another fantastic feature - The enhanced beam weapons are an upgrade to my entry level Maxos Blaster! That's right a genuine upgrade that will be applied across my entire fleet once research is complete! Easily worth the money, but also adds great depth to your strategic choices. Is it best to spend more on the final upgrade in a weapon line or diverge into a new weapon line that will eventually provide better weapons but also require new ship designs. Score one for micromanagement!

It's always a good idea to have projects in the queue since any money left over from the previous project will be applied to the next (unless the queue is empty).

So as you can see I've decided to pick-up the torpedo project just where I left it as the third item in my queue.

Then I want to get a better class of fighter in the field to keep an edge in air superiority.

Finally, I want to start researching Missile weapons. It's a safe bet other empires will have their own fighters so I want to get those missile point defense systems in place before any major encounters.

Now it's on to Energy Research.

Since I'm playing as a SLUKEN, I have exclusive use of Very High Thrust Engines. This is a big advantage early in the game. For one thing they allow my to outrun any of the monsters or pirates I'm likely to encounter and thats a big plus for my explorer class ships. Since my strategic goal is to quickly conquer three star clusters, getting those recon ships out fast and keeping them from harm is high on my list of priorities.

And as luck would have it, I have already made progress researching the next "upgrade" to this engine. But, it's an expensive project and my current engine already sets me up as the gingerbread man. So it's time to tweak.

Before researching a faster engine, I'll probably get a better ROI from investing in larger ships.

I see a typo there "maximumbase size" should be "Maximum base size" at least it looks that way to me could be the screenshot.

EDIT:
Looking closer it is the screenshot but it's weird seeing how the top part is indented but not the second line under Increased Construction Size.

Again, thinking along the lines of a fast break out strategy, I'm going to need a better hyperdrive. And since it's an upgrade I won't have to bring those far flung explorers back to port in order to get them moving faster between stars.

Ahhh! I feel better with bigger and faster ships on the way. Now I think I'll queue up that advanced new engine to ensure my speed advantage for many years to come. Hey four eyes - go long!

OK, it's after midnight in Atlanta so let's push through the initial research selections and call it a wrap for tonight.

Now here is an interesting situation. My starting High Tech project is Colonization of Marshy Swamp planets. Now it just so happens that this is the natural habitat for my race. Yup, you guessed it. In this expansion you do not start off having already researched you native planet type. But you will gain population advantages for researching it.

Also, you might notice that "wet & dry" paths to colonization have been established (Marsh to Ocean and Continental to Desert).

However, while colonization is one of my priorities, it has probably become clear that my big push early in the game is to get some killer fleets out early in the game to try and roll over any resistance before they have a chance to get established. What I need is the best early game fighting ships I can get my feelers on.

Soooooo.

I need to get my ships equipped with all the basics first and then begin to specialize them later.

Sensors sound good. Oh and take a look at some of the cool new techs further down the sensor line.

Then it's on to targeting systems and countermeasures to round out the offensive and defensive systems on the destroyers.

Then one last "upgrade" to those explorers to cut down the time it takes them to scan each new system.

And finally, get ready to colonize Continental planets & improve conditions on the homeworld.

O.o jamming and stealth me like... Great addition to the game imagine having your enemy take out your home world before you even knew they where there, and also directional jump sensing my guess with that means when a ship goes into warp drive mode you have no idea where they are actually going without that tech unlock... hmm nice touch.

Nice, the new UI is looking fantastic.  Also, glad to hear the mouse zooms smoothly now [:)]