Matrix Games Forums

Ok, here are the second part's pics in high-res. Again, due to ownership - do not use these without permission.

Research:


Component Detail:


OOOH! Something I didn't use for the preview - the Construction Yard Screen:


Options Menu:

Adviser Dialogue Popup:


Galaxy Map:


Queuing a new mission:

This screen got left out, the Right-Click building context menu (note: these options might change and also reflect your personal designs):


Weak Pirate Attack:


Pirate Fight:


Pirate Fight Closeup:

Great thanks! I wonder how expensive and powerful capital ships are compared to destroyers/cruisers.

I really, really wanted to click on the drop down menu buttons of these screenshots. It's like looking at pictures of food and becoming very hungry. Thanks for the treats Son_of_Montfort.

Goodaye,

In the second last picture above ("Pirate Fight") it shows details on Drazoon 9, a gas giant planet in the mid left of the picture.

Beneath "Unoccupied" are four coloured icons with percentages "73%, 51%, 38%, 97%"

What do these refer to?

Cheers,
Lancer

This four icons are a avialable resources and numbers how abudant are they.

Goodaye,

This four icons are a avialable resources and numbers how abudant are they.

Thanks for the reply but why would they represent resources as coloured circles here when everywhere else the resources are shown as specific icons?

And why would you show a resource as 97%, for instance. 97% of what?

Just curious.

Cheers,
Lancer

ORIGINAL: lancer

Goodaye,

This four icons are a avialable resources and numbers how abudant are they.

Thanks for the reply but why would they represent resources as coloured circles here when everywhere else the resources are shown as specific icons?

And why would you show a resource as 97%, for instance. 97% of what?

Just curious.

Cheers,
Lancer

Good points. I want to know also. It loooks like there MIGHT be symbols in those colored circles. Even if there are it's badly portrayed. The percentages can seem odd but maybe they're trying to simplify a way to display a resource quantity value as it applies to resource gathering mines. Maybe the percentages are a kind of bonus the miners get to represent the amount of that resource present.

The other way to show the resource amount would be an actual number quantity by weight or some thing. That can get technical and implies that the resources can run out/deplete. Thus if the game has unlimited resources the percentages would be acceptable instead.

Those colored circles are indeed resources and they are somewhat indistinct because they represent four different types of gases. The percentage does indicate how good a source of each resource this particular planet is. Definitely a good place for a gas mining station. That blue gas, for example, is Caslon which is a primary fuel resource.

Goodaye,

Thanks, once again, Eric.

Are resources endless or finite and subject to depletion?

[edit] Ahhh. I might have the answer. Each resource is a 'source' that provides a set amount and the percentages indicate the 'reserve', which, over time, decrease as the resource depletes. So a 50% source isn't going to last as long as a 100% source of Caslon.

Have I guessed right? I heard that you're running a 'giveaway a free copy' competition for the best detective work here. I could be a contender! [edit]

Cheers,
Lancer

I doubt that the resources deplete. Many games of this sort have unlimited resources at the locations. The resource point locations such as planets are usually abstracted to represent such an abundent supply of resources that they ar unlimited in the game.
If they were limited then eventually you'd be a galaxy barren of anything valuble in the resourse area. If there are enough locations of resources yet they still are unlimited then it would not be fun to have to build alot of mining and defense infrastructure at a particular location that would eventually have no purpose as there as the resource is depleted.

This game is looking better and better.
But there is still one thing i'm dissapointed by, visually..

The galaxy map / zoomed out nebulas and clouds.
It just looks so horrible. Even worse than Immortal Empires (that at least looked like space, not a plate of spaghetti after your cat puked on it). [:D]
Its gonna be a wierd clash of visuals with those amazing race portraits, nice planets and ships, everytime you zoom out to see those horrible clouds.
I think its the yellow-puke'ish color tint that is the bandit.

Heck im sure it will be moddable, perhaps even just a color tint in a .ini file or something, a .png cloud sprite at the most. But im just confused as how the rest of the game looks great, but the overall galaxy looks like that

In my view the Galaxy Map with all nebulas and clouds looks real enough. What 4X space games have a better Galaxy Map? The Immortal Empires has too abstract and unreal map, IMHO.

Of course, that is a matter of taste.

The galaxy map has a thousand+ ships to track in real time on the screen which will be tough on your CPU.Most 4X games have not got those issues.The map looks fine in my view.I also love the icons when zoomed out,gives me a armchair emperor feel.

What does an energy collector do?

The yellow on the zoomed out galaxy map can be thought to represent the billions of stars while the large star dots that are in game play can be thought to represent the best or average of all stars of an area or sector.

Those screenies are eXcellent selling points for the game!

Next couple of weeks will be very eXciting. [:D]

JosEPh [:)]

Im just talking about the general artwork of the galaxy map, it could be vastly more beautiful and/or realistic with the same number of sprites, same resolution textures, or just another hue

On the galaxy map, what do the purple '+' symbols represent? They tend to occur mainly in nebula, so I'm guessing some sort of gas resource?