Guide - The Galaxy

The game world is the entire Milky Way Galaxy which is displayed and navigated through the Viewscreen tab. The galaxy is subdivided into a 25x25 grid 6 levels deep to reach a single location at what is called a "Galactic Coordinate". This calculates to a game field that is 244,140,625 coordinates vertically and horizontally (25 to the 6th power) which makes for a possible 59,604,644,775,390,625 total locations (close to 60 quintillion). The game is not expected to populate the smallest fraction of that number but it gives plenty of room for long distance travels or player communities seperated by events such as unstable wormholes.

The first level of subdivisions which have the entire Milky Way Galaxy as a backdrop are called Quadrants. They have Greek Numeral names such as "Alpha", "Beta" and so on.

The second level of subdivisions are called Clusters represented by 25 randomly named nebulas ("Orion" for example).

The third level of subdivisions contain 25 randomly placed Sectors represented by star cluster images and are numbered ("Sec 1", "Sec 2").

The next subdivision inside a sector is called a System which is represented by a bright star of a solar system and are named after the star they represent ("Sol System", "Centauri System""). Stars are colored from cold to hot (yellow, orange, red, white, blue) which has a subtle effect on the types of planets you can expect to find there.

The subdivision within a System is called a Planet as it usually represents a single planet or moon. Each star system will have 3-10 planets named after their star and with roman numerals to indicate its orbit (i.e. "Centauri II", "Centauri V"). Moons orbiting a planet have an additional lower case a,b,c or d behind them ("Centauri IIIb"). The exception is the Sol system which contains Earth and the 9 planets which are named normally.

The final subdivision of a Planet is called a grid and is represented by its X and Y coordinate (0 to 24) or the name of the city populating that grid (i.e. "Madrid" or "13:22"). This last subdivision also contains actual galactic coordinates where units, structures and items reside and is also reffered to as a "Location" (Delhi is at Galactic Coordinates 122070343 : 190429558 ").

Resources

(click to enlarge)

The driving factor of the economy in Barons of the Galaxy are the resources which the planets and moons contain. There are 18 types of resources in the game. These resources can be sold as they are or combined into other products which the cities also demand. Each resource location has a value to it from around 5-20 with 10 being an average. This value is how many units of that resource a structure will produce per turn. Higher values are obviously better but when the total production against a specific resource location becomes large an increasing penalty is applied to all structures producing it. This is called the "Overcrowding Penalty" and it increases the cost it takes for structures to operate against that resource. It works just like the bonus for Corp HQ or Research bonuses but as a negative value. This penalty insures that, eventually, the lower value resources become viable as more and more production happens in an area. Overcrowding starts when the total producton of a resource, by all corps, reaches (10 x Resource Value). For example a resource at value 12 can be mined up to 1200 quantuy a turn before overcrowding penalty starts. The percentage penalty will increase until the output reaches 2400 where it will be 100% which essentialy means everyone mining that resource is paying double to produce it.

There is one type of structure, besides your Corp HQ, that can mine each resource (Farm structure can mine a Fields resource; Chemical Factory can mine any Chemical resource). Field and Pasture resources can produce several different products from the same Farm or Ranch structure (10 different Crops or Meat) but the other resources only produce one product but can sometimes use the same structure (A Chemical plant can produce from any of the 4 different chemical resources which are often in the same location).

The 18 resource types are and their details are below:

• Water - Requires Water Purification Plant. Produces Water as a product.
• Fields - Requires a Farming structure. Can produce one of 10 different food products.
• Pastures - requires a Ranch Structure. Can produce 10 different kinds of meat product.
• Basic Wood - Requires Lumber Mill. Produces Basic Wood.
• Rare Wood - Requires Lumber Mill. Produces Rare Wood.
• Exotic Plants - Requires Lumber Mill. Produces Exotic Plants.
• Basic Minerals - Requires Mineral Quarry. Produces Basic Minerals.
• Precious Minerals - Requires Mineral Quarry. Produces Precious Minerals.
• Exotic Minerals - Requires Mineral Quarry. Produces Exotic Minerals.
• Basic Metal - Requires Metal Mine. Produces Basic Metal.
• Precious Metal - Requires Metal Mine. Produces Precious Metal.
• Radioactive Metal - Requires Metal Mine. Produces Radioactive Metal.
• Exotic Metal - Requires Metal Mine. Produces Exotic Metal.
• Basic Chemical - Requires Chemical Plant. Produces Basic Chemical
• Industrial Chemical - Requires Chemical Plant. Produces Industrial Chemical
• Rare Chemical - Requires Chemical Plant. Produces Rare Chemical
• Exotic Chemical - Requires Chemical Plant. Produces Exotic Chemical
• Artifacts - Requires Research Facility. Produces Artifacts.

Planet Types

There are 10 types of planets in the galaxy which determine the kind of resources values that can be found on them. In addition, planets can have up to 4 moons adjacent to them which also have unique characteristics when it comes to resources. Each star can have up to 10 planets in the same system each planet has a roman numeral that indicates its orbit from the star (how many spaces away it is), a planets orbit greatly influences the type of planet it can be. Planets closer to the stars are usually Volcanic, Rocky or Desert worlds while planets far away are usually Icy. The number and types of planets in a system are determined randomly with some influence from the type of star they are orbiting. The 10 types of planets are listed below:

• Terran - The earth-like planets with normal weather and living conditions without the need for enclosed structures. Average values for every resource except Fields and Pastures of which is has very high. There is an abundance of the basic resources and a scarcity of the exotic ones.
• Forest - These worlds are covered in lush forests providing the highest levels of wood and planet resources. They also have high levels of Farm and Pasture resources. Most of their resources are present at lower levels.
• Swamp - Similar to forested worlds but covered in mostly swamps. These worlds also have high levels of wood and plants but also good values for all kinds of checmical resources.
• Ocean - Mostly covered by the oceans these worlds have high level of water resources available. They also contain normal levels of Minerals but not much of anything else.
• Desert - Covered in mostly sand and desolation but usually having fair atmospheres. Desert worlds contain an abundance of Basic Minerals and high levels of Rare Plants. They are also one of the most common planets to find high values of Artifact resources.
• Icy - These worlds are desolate, covered with ice and without many resources to be found at all. However, Ice world do have the highest value of Water resources of any planet type.
• Rocky - Barren rock and mountains make up these worlds. Good values for Mineral resources can be found here but these planets specialize is the highest values for Metal resources of any planet type.
• Volcanic - Similar to Rocky worlds but littered with active volcanoes. These worlds have good level of Metal but they have the highest values for Minerals of any planet type.
• Toxic - Almost inhospitable due to the vast lakes of corrosive chemicals these worlds obviously contain great values for Chemical resources and the highest values of Basic Chemicals of any planet type.
• Gaseous - These world don't even have solid ground to build on but they contain the highest values for Exotic Chemicals in the galaxy

In addition to the 10 planet types there are couple more space bodies that exist:

• Moons - Moons can orbit any planet and they only contain a few resource locations but those resources and their values can vary quite wildly. They are also a popular place to find Artifacts.
• Asteroid Fields - Similar to Moons, Asteroid fields can contain nearly any resource at varying values. Asteroid fields don't necessarily orbit a star and can be found anywhere.

Planet Traits (not implemented yet)

In addition to the varied resource types the different planet types can also have a wide range of traits that affect a certain game aspect on that planet. These range from combat bonuses to increased occurances of certain types of events happening there. The different traits are below:

• Fountain of Youth - Something in the water or planet life of this planet has remarkable healing properties. Population growth rate +100%.
• Scenic - The Natural beauty of this planet makes it a popular place to live. Population growth rate +25%.
• Low Gravity - This planet has lower than normal gravity making construction projects easier. Construction Speed +25%.
• Android Workers - Ancient self-maintaining machines that exist to serve have been left here by an ancient civilization. Construction Speed +25%.
• Metal Fissures - Minor earthquakes often expose pure metal deposits on this planet. 10% of all events will supply free metal products.
• Diamond Rain - Volcanic eruptions on this planet often spew forth pure minerals. 10% of all events will supply free mineral products.
• Toxic Rivers - Underground lakes of pure chemicals often come to the surface of this planet. 10% of all events will supply free chemical products.
• Harvest Moons - A helpful seasonal radiation engulfs this planet making sudden bursts of crops arise. 10% of all event will supply free farm products.
• Fertility - Something in the air or water of this planet makes animals here increasingly "Active". 10% of all events will supply free Ranch products.
• Hidden Valleys - This planet contains secluded and underground forests which offer pristine Wood and Plants when discovered. 10% of all events will supply free wood or plant products.
• Boon from the Heavens - This planet benefits from frequent meteor strikes that deliver all kinds of resources or contain radiation that increase crops or livestock production. 10% of all events will supply free resources of some kind.
• Ancient Ruins - This planet once contained an ancient civilization who left pieces of thier Research behind. 10% of all events will supply free Artifacts
• Hostile Indigenous Life form - A random life form plagues this planet and often group together and attack civilizations. 10% of all events will be Monster attacks.
• Cratered - This planet suffers from periodic meteor strikes which can cause widespread damage to entre locations. 10% of all events will be Meteor Strikes.
• Bad Vibes - A strange electromagnetic field on this planet often causes the population to become temporarily irrational. 10% of all events will be population based (i.e. terrorism, riots).
• Paranormal - This planet has an eerie and haunted atmosphere with increased incidents of unexplained events. 10% of all events with be paranormal.
• Clear Skies - Unusually clear weather gives bonuses to all aircraft. +15% combat bonus to Scout, Corvette, Fighters, Bombers, Orbital Bombardment.
• Perpetual Storms - Constant sand, electric or rain storms affect this planet making aircraft difficult to operate. -15% combat penalty to Scout, Corvette, Fighters, Bombers, Orbital Bombardment.
• Ground Cover - The landscape of this planet is particularly helpful to ground units. -15% damage to all ground units.
• No Where To Hide - The landscape of this planet offers no safe places for ground units. +15% damage to all ground units.
• Gravity Waves - Fluctuating gravity across the atmosphere of this planet makes accurate orbital bombardment difficult. -15% to Orbital bombardment.

Galaxy Expansion

The majority of the galaxy is obscured and remains empty until mankind spreads outward and reveals more star systems which populates them with fresh new planets and resources for players to migrate to if desired. This expanding edge of the play area is called "The Frontier". At the beginning of the game only the Sol system and the rest of Sector 1 is inhabitable. Even though everything else down to the Cluster level is visible, they will have questions marks over them to show that they have not been populated with stars yet.

Once a sector contains a certain amount of city population other nearby sectors will populate with stars and planets and become available to the players. Once enough population is present in a star cluster other nearby star clusters will populate with sectors and so on. There will almost always be clear virgin territory for players to migrate to if they feel their current location has become difficult or hostile to them.

The current threshold for the next nearby Star System to open up is when 25 cities are founded in the current one. When 10 Star Systems are populated then the next nearby Sector will open up to the players and so on. Outside of Sol there will automatically be a new available system.

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