Galaxy Interface
Getting to know the galaxy interface is key to victory. It is from this view that you will build your empire, manage its resources, construct and deploy your fleets and rise to become the dominant force in the galaxy.
The Basics
Along the top of the screen from left to right you will find:
1) Time Control
A common feature in 4X games use the time control to Play (start), Pause (stop) or adjust the progression of time to suit your needs, While the game does not work in terms of 'turns' it does respect the progression of time so choose a setting that is comfortable for you.
2) Notifications
From time to time special events occur and in the middle of the top edge of the screen you will see a notification slide across. You can click the notification icon to read more about it or right click to dismiss it. Do pay attention as notifications will expire over time.
3) Game Menu
In the right upper corner of the screen you will see a Menu icon, click it, this is your game menu. From here you can save your progress, adjust game settings or exit to the main menu.
Along the lower edge of the screen from left to right you will find:
1) Progress Grid
Over time you earn progression points these are based on your growth and development and can be spent in the progression grid to enhance your organization, its star systems, space stations and war fleets. To access the Progression Grid simply click the icon located in the lower left corner of the screen.
2) Current Status
Along the lower middle edge of the screen you will find a series of coloured icons followed by a set of numbers. These report the current status of your organization as a hole. The icons are as follows
a) Credits;
this reports your current credit total followed by the credits gained per month
b) Resources;
this reports your current resource total followed by the resources gained per month
c) Population;
this reports your current total population, population most directly effects influence gain and credit gain via taxation
d) Economy;
this reports your current economic total, this is an expression of how much trade you are conducting as an empire
e) Industry;
this reports your current industry total, this is an expression of how much industry production is occurring empire wide
f) Science;
this reports your current science total, this is an expression of how much scientific research your empire is producing
g) Citadel;
this reports your current and maximum citadel count. Citadels are powerful system bound stations that enforce your influence and control over the system and nearby systems. You can efficiently manage a limited number of citadels though you can exceed this max limit the administration costs for doing so will be massive.
h) Fleet;
this reports your current and maximum fleet ship count. Fleet ship count is the number and scale of ships in your fleets as with Citadel it is a 'soft cap' e.g. you can exceed the max amount reported however there will be massive costs involved.