Some Beginner Questions

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

Some Beginner Questions

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Distant Worlds 1 Series >> Some Beginner Questions

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Some Beginner Questions - 5/5/2012 9:58:42 PM

Kobracan

Posts: 42
Joined: 4/24/2012
Status: offline

I just got into this game. It's great. As a programmer, I can say it's impressive that it's the work of a single programmer. Kudos to the programmer.

I have some beginner questions I couldn't answers for in the in-game help.

1) Every planet shows its resources as a percentage and quantity. What do those mean? The in-game help says the resources should never run out. So what does the percentage (64%) and quantity (573K) signify?

2) When I discover a ruin, there is usually some description that says the ruins are situated in a snowy hill or lush swamp etc. Is that just flavor text or does it indicate anything about the ruins?

3) In the diplomacy screen where all empires are listed, there is colored bar background where the empire name is. It's generally longer for strong empires and short for weak empires but I checked it doesn't directly correspond to winning percentage or military or anything else. What does it show exactly?

These are my initial questions. I am sure I'll have more later on.

Thanks.

Post #: 1

RE: Some Beginner Questions - 5/5/2012 10:26:31 PM

Ralzakark

Posts: 225
Joined: 4/24/2012
Status: offline

1. Greater percentage means you will get more of the resource for your effort, so a mining station on a planet with 60% polymer will extract twice as much as an identical mining station on a planet with 30% polymer.

2. The description is just for fun.

3. Can't remember!

Welcome to the game Kobracan!!

(in reply to Kobracan)

Post #: 2

RE: Some Beginner Questions - 5/6/2012 8:37:36 AM

Theluin

Posts: 189
Joined: 5/13/2011
From: Europe, Terra
Status: offline

1. Resources on colonies can run out, they can't run out on non colonized worlds (afaik)
3. The coloured bar shows that empire strategic value (It's calculated based on many things, but population has the biggest impact on it)

(in reply to Ralzakark)

Post #: 3

RE: Some Beginner Questions - 5/6/2012 8:47:30 AM

Kobracan

Posts: 42
Joined: 4/24/2012
Status: offline

Thanks Ralzakark and Theluin.

So the percentage is mining quality or efficiency. What about the quantity value? Is it supposed to go down as the resource runs out? I watched a resource on one of my world for years and it seems to stay at 60% percentage and 573K quantity. It doesn't change.

What's strategic value anyways? Does it have any meaning in the game besides being a compound strength value that you can use to judge empires' strengths?

(in reply to Theluin)

Post #: 4

RE: Some Beginner Questions - 5/6/2012 12:06:25 PM

Modest

Posts: 172
Joined: 11/26/2011
From: Warsaw, Poland
Status: offline

As for the strategic value, it has important impact on, at least two things. Firstly other empires will take it in account when dealing with You. Even if they have more military power but have far less strategic value they are more likely to ask for peace, or to consider You as a better trade partner or possible ally. Secondly it influence how fast You can research new tech. I do not know the proper formula, but the more strategic value You have the more research points You get. Now a question - do You know how research works? Because it is not so easy, and not so obvious as it may seem at the begining.

As for reources on planets - they never run out completly, no matter how much of them You are spending. But they may run out temporaly. I do not remember how ofthen they are mined on colony by Your population, but for this example lets say it is one month (it is not, but it will be only an example). You have 573k or resource on a planet with 60% or that resource quality. Resource quality will never change so we will just skip it in this example. Let's say that You are building many ships on this planet (in space port over this planets) and they are using a lot of this resource. So the quantity of it will be droping down over time, but at the end of each month it will rise up again (how much - it depend on resource quality, and 60% is really nice quality). If You would spend resources really fast than at some point it would reach 0. So Your planet would run out of resource, but at the end of the month it would get another, fresh supply which was mined by population. So yes, resources may run out, but only temporaly. And the resource quality will never change. Of course there are exeptions from this! Resource may be exhausted totally, but it is not a matter of extensive mining. It is a matter of random event which is happening sometimes. Also it's quality may change in the same way - by event. Heh... You can even find additional resource on planets by event. But those are not things which You could influence (unles You can mod them, but I do not know nothing about modding). I hope that I could help.

(in reply to Kobracan)

Post #: 5