There are different technology categories one can research. For modules / structures, the first tech level (1) will enable the manufacturing option in Ship->Manufacture on the left menu. The ship manufacturing bays are equal to the ship hull, thus a ship with hull type III will have 3 manufacturing bays, enabling 3 manufacture task at one time.

Each new tech level after level 1 will enable the option to either manufacture a module with the current tech mark, e.g. lvl 2 tech will result in up to Mark II, or upgrade an existing module to the achieved tech level mark.

The power of the default mark I is shown in the technology description in green. Each new mark will add 25% to the power, and increase the resource cost of the module by +100%. Thus, a high level module with cost a lot more then a mark I module, but the advantage could prove invaluable during space exploration, as ships and stations have a limited number of slots for modules while planets have a limited space to deploy. Colonizing a planet early (especially a super-Earth planet) and barricading it would be a great asset.

The SOL Corporation holds the patent to the Wormhole Generator technology, that enables ships to jump to other stars. Every ship captain is a volunteer in exploring space and holds a license for each ship. The license grants the user the right to use the WHG technology.

Earth is in great need of resources, thus the SOL Corporation has set a fixed price on resources, so that Earth can recoup the investment in the development of the wormhole generator technology. Thus, all captains have to sell the resources at the price fixed by the SOL Commodity Exchange.

Captains also have the right to buy any resource in any amount at the price listed by the SOL corporation in the SOL Commodity Exchange station on Earth orbit, otherwise it would be too difficult to find all needed resources to produce high tech modules. So captains can sell mined resources on Earth orbit and buy fuel and other resources they need to manufacture modules and upgrade existing modules.

The SOL Auction:

The auction will offer fully equipped ships and modules for entrepreneur captains that want to make a profit by designing ships and high-tech modules. The price will be set by offer and demand, and anyone would be able to bid on auctions and get a good deal on ships and high-end modules. The ships and modules to be auctioned will be at the SOL Commodity Exchange station for pickup, but anyone will be able to bid from anywhere then claim the winning item.

The SOL Commodity Exchange station in Earth orbit will sell fuel cells, minerals and gases.

Click on each category to see it where it says:

Goods available to buy at station:
Local storage:    Products    Minerals    Gases


The price is 20% more then what they buy the minerals,gases for so you can basically get resources there and sell, then buy what you need to manufacture.

crud... i didn't know modules were scraped if left on a protected planet... i'm such a newb (i would say noob but i don't know if that word is tolerated here)

Yes Venus is a SEA protectorate, there's a warning about that, but it's ok you get solars for it like it would be if you sold it.

You don't need to wait for the module to produce a cubic meter, just deploy it, issue a switch mining command, and then scoop it back up for that SEA step.

If you don't want to travel back to Earth, you can call a salvage ship by clicking Bridge->Navigation and in the lower area click on "Salvage ship" where it says "Distress signals". It costs a bit more to install the mining facility though.

If nothing else, you can always restart the game and SEA course if you think it's too big of a mistake.
Once you graduate the SEA to full captain rank, you won't be able to start again.

Ok the weights are relatively simple:

- one unit of mineral / gas will have 1 cubic meter (m3)
- one packaged module will have 100 m3

For your ship to have more cargo bay space, you need to install the Cargo Bay modules on the ship. If the module is packaged and in the cargo bay, it will not function and will occupy the 100 m3 cargo space.

A type III ship is more then enough to finish the SEA course, of course you'll have to make some compromise and sell the science module or marines assault unit, before going on the expedition to the other star. Going for type IV will take some more solars but it's achievable, if you covert some of the QP you get as reward into solars.

I'm going to write another knowledge bit about minerals and gases, what's rare and how planet environment affects resource deposits.

- Ships Auction, can auction ship from default selling at Sol value to infinite markup. Min 24 hours, max 7 days, 5 minutes snipe rule, buyout / no buyout, can bid / see from anywhere but you have to pickup the item on Earth at SOL Commodity Exchange station.
        -> bid increments: 1000 solar for ship, 100 solar for module
   -> ships can have modules / personnel and cargo in it   
   -> Modules Auction, can auction modules, same rules.
   -> can only auction things on Earth, can only pick it up from Earth.   
   -> when ship is in auction, it still appear on ships list, but you can not activate it or interact with it. It remains parked on Earth orbit until sold.
   
   -> auction fee to create auction: 1000 Solars / ship, 100 / module posted + 1% of the value at witch the item is sold. The 1% is subtracted from the sale price at the moment of sale and will show in the finance logs as auction tax.

Welcome to AG, make sure to check out the knowledge bits, I post one every day

Enjoy the game

http://forum.astro-galaxy.com/index.php/board,19.0.html

Welcome to AG, make sure to check out the knowledge bits, I post one every day

Enjoy the game

http://forum.astro-galaxy.com/index.php/board,19.0.html

Welcome to AG, make sure to check out the knowledge bits, I post one every day

Enjoy the game

http://forum.astro-galaxy.com/index.php/board,19.0.html

Hi, good questions.

I've included the response to your questions in a knowledge bit, I try to post one per day

http://forum.astro-galaxy.com/index.php/topic,8158.0.html

Thank you.

1. The Astro Galaxy Universe

The universe is extensive and is divided in quadrants, each quadrant is a square with 32 LY width and length.

The Sol star with Earth sits in the middle on the 0,0 quadrant. From -1,-1 to 1,1 that's about 50 LY from Sol that is explored area where star maps are available. As you get out of this area, there are unexplored stars. Basically, the universe is infinite and new un-explored quadrants can be added. At the moment we have populated quadrants -4,-4 to 4,4 and in total there are about 723 stars, but more quadrants can be added at any time, it all depends on the game growth.

2. Distance from Earth is important, as you get further out into space it gets harder to resupply with fuel. The fuel cells can be obtained by converting mined minerals / gases into fuel. Stations can be deployed and used as trading posts. Docking privileges can be set by captains that deploy the stations, so other captains can dock with it. Trade rules can be set to buy / sell fuel cells and resources on the stations.

The prices are set by the Sol corporation though, so independent station can trade but the price / unit will be determined by Sol. This fixed price on the resources & fuel price may be lifted in the future, as the space exploration expands.

Stations can be bought from the SOL Shipyard and transported in the ship cargo bay to the place where you want to deploy it. As you go deeper into unexplored space, it is imperative to establish mining outposts to gather the fuel needed to push further. Stations can be set to auto un-load resources from the mining facilities on the ground, reducing the micro-management. By remotely commanding the station, you can also convert the mined resources into fuel directly on the station, then just set trade rules to sell the fuel to others or transfer it to your ships when docking.

For the economic part, there are also plans for a Sol auction, where one can auction fully equipped ships and expensive modules on the SOL Commodity Exchange station in the orbit of Earth. This auction will enable captains that want to design ships and have the technology to manufacture high-tech modules to make a lucrative business. The prices on auction will be set set by the market.

3. Distress calls, SoS and Com (Combat) contracts. Those can be lucrative, the SoS signals usually require a transport vessel with big cargo bay, while the Combat signals will require a military equipped ship. The Combat signals will try and match your ship power with the signal power & difficulty, so using a more powerful ship will yield a more difficult mission and more solars to be gained.

4. Aliens. Yes, we have big plans for an alien encounter. There will be stories / sightings complete with news coverage. Captains will have the opportunity to embark into a campaign against alien ships & facilities, in an effort to help Earth when the threat breaks out into war as communications degrade. Aliens will make bases and expand, and it will be up to the captains and independent corporations to protect their territories. Lucrative opportunities may arise from the conflict, and all will be covered by news.

It is possible to capture enemy personnel during boarding / planetary ground combat.

The prisoners of war (POW) can be hired on the ship for half wages as civilians, if the ship has Living Quarters module, or marines if there is a Marines Assault Unit module installed. Also, the prisoners can be transferred between owned ships, stations and transported to Earth and handed over to the authorities in exchange for a bounty.

The POW can not be ejected into space or sold, they act just like normal passengers and you can talk to their representative via the cargo manifest.

Defending your planetary facilities, orbital stations.

When attacked, all the units belonging to the defender will enter battle. Thus, having a ship in orbit will protect your weak mining outposts on planet and the small orbital station you will have. It is imperative that you keep the ship(s) in orbit to protect it, as the facilities will be very vulnerable at the beginning. A single ship with a weapon module can blast a lone  mining facility from space, with little to no damage for the attacker ship, as the weapon fires first and the mining facility only has civilians on it.

Next step is to barricade your foothold on the planet. Add additional modules on planet, like weapons, shields, marine assault units. Everything helps. Orbital stations should be equipped with weapons, shields, armor to the best you can muster. Take note that planetary facilities and orbital stations can not flee if attacked, and will fight until destroyed.

Having a ship in orbit will also provide some time to evacuate. If you have a bigger force on planet and orbit, the attacker will also need a big force. This will make attacking / maneuvering take some time, maybe even hours. This will provide you with ample time to gather everything and escape into space. There is no shame in retreating from a much more powerful opponent...

Bridge->Navigation on the left menu will open up the navigation computer interface.

The red circle is the range the computer can scan around the ship.

By default, the the navigation computer has a maximum range of 12 Light Years. VIP status will upgrade this range to 16 Light Years.
The maximum range determines how far the ship can jump. For 12 LY range, you will be able to jump from 0.01 to 12 LY away. If your destination is at a distance of 48 LY, then you will need about 4 jumps to reach it.

As you explore, you can add coordinates to the nav computer database. Every nav computer has the Sol coordinates incorporated, so in case you don't know where Sol is, just use the nav computer coordinates database to set a course to Sol. Please note that it may take several jumps until Sol becomes visible.

You can use the manual navigation menu and plot a course in a specific direction, in order to explore specific areas of space.

Space is divided in quadrants, with each quadrant being a square with 16 Light Years across. Sol is in the center of quadrant 0,0
Quadrants -1,-1 to 1,1 have been explored and there are star maps for it, while farther quadrants are unexplored.

In order to jump to another star, a Wormhole Generator module needs to be installed on a ship and manned by personnel. Higher mark modules or multiple wormhole generator modules installed will decrease the time needed to calculate the jump but will also increase the fuel cell costs.

When jumping into a new star system, the ship is at the edge of the system. To travel to any astral body within the star system, click on it and set a course.

The Astro Galaxy battle system incorporates ship combat, station combat and planetary combat into a universal battle system.

Attacks can be initiated either by a ship towards an enemy ship / station / planetary structure or by a station against planetary structures.

When an attack is made, all units belonging to the attacker and the defender in that location (planet / moon / belt) will enter combat. Every ship, station, planetary force is a unit in the battle. Units are ordered from highest power to lowest, with the most powerful units going against each other.

When two units battle, there are 4 phases to the attack.

Phase 1: Combat speed initiative is determined to see who attacks first. For ship vs. ship, the ship with the highest combat speed goes first. If equal combat speed, the chances are 50% - 50%. For ship vs. station or ship vs. planet, the combat speed is irrelevant so chances are again equal on witch unit fires first.

Phase 2: Weapons assault. If the unit has weapons installed and manned by personnel, it will fire the weapons. Damage is done to target shields, armor, manpower. Once the damage gets past shield and armor, it begins to kill personnel on board.

Damage:
Ships enter emergency warp and flee if 25% of the crew is lost. Planetary units and stations do not have that luxury. Planetary structures can be either captured or destroyed when all personnel is killed. If destroyed, some resources can be recovered from the wreckage. Stations blow up and are destroyed when all personnel is killed. From stations, cargo bays can be looted and resources from the station wreckage.

Phase 3: Boarding assault. Marine assault units are sent to the enemy unit in order to sabotage and do damage. Marines are trained soldiers, tougher then civilians. If the marines successfully defeat the enemy unit, enemy personnel can also be captured as POW (prisoners of war). The POW can either be disembarked at Sol->Earth for a bounty, or incorporated into the crew at 50% the personnel costs.

Phase 4: Civilian boarding: Civilians try to sabotage / do damage to the enemy unit. Rather weak assault, but could work if there are many personnel. Rather costly though. Kind of like a desperate assault.

When ships are defeated and it flees / enters emergency warp, sometimes the fleet looses cargo. The victor can then scoop this cargo if there is available cargo bay, in case of ships / stations. This way resources, fuel, modules can be looted from the defeated ship cargo bay.


The use of weapons such as viper / laser / railgun / etc is recommended as the weapons will fire first. While you can not capture POW if you annihilate the enemy unit with weapons, it is an effective means of ensuring minimal casualties. Mining outposts and stations that do not have weapons can easily be defeated by a ship with a few weapons installed on it, so it is recommended that all facilities be defended by weapons.

Shields are great in defending a ship, but are generally weaker then armor. The shields will replenish after each battle, while armor needs to be repaired. Armor can only be installed on ships / stations. Shields can be installed on ships / stations / planets. If damaged, the armor will need to be repaired using resources and it may also take time.

If you want to create a boarding platform ship, it's good to use shield / armor to protect against incoming weapons fire and then have Marine Assault Units for boarding.



The Attack timer to position / maneuver

The attack position / maneuver time is directly influenced by the ship power involved in the battle. This serves as a warning to the defender as well as a way to match out forces. Basically, if you have a very powerful ship and attack a tiny ship, the tiny ship will have ample time to escape.

It is of course possible to optimize this attack / maneuver time by the attacker in order to reduce time it takes to attack. What you need to do is try to power down weapons if you can, by shifting marines from manning the weapon to the Marine Assault Unit module, this will effectively reduce your ship power rating, making the attack faster, though it will also decrease your winning odds if you're too closely matched with the opponent. Also, powering down shields may also decrease your power, again with a risk of less defense

For example, if you have a ship with just an FTL, Cargo, MAU with 0/1000 pers, and 5x Laser MK I module with 50/50 personnel. Powering down the 5x Laser MK I modules by assigning personnel from the laser module to the MAU, making 250/1000 marines will greatly reduce the ship's power and lower the attack time to position, but the Laser modules will not fire in combat as their power will be 0, so only the marines will enter combat.

Having many weapons on the ship and attacking different targets, a ship captain can estimate how many weapons are needed online to ensure victory, thus optimizing attack timers.

So the attack time to position is in no way affected by the size of your ship, just by the power rating it generates. Thus you can have a highly flexible ship that could be modified for combat speed, boarding, weapons etc. depending on your target. It makes for interesting strategies.