Let Me Tell You About My Paladin
Spore! Terrible Secrets of Space
Here are some handy interface tips that I worked out. I didn't find any reference to these in the manual, and I've come to rely on them. Somebody at EA was thinking -- they just didn't write it down. Or I blinked during a tutorial.
* HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOU SHOULD SELL OR TERRAFORM (Solar System Screen): You can save some time figuring out if a visit to a planet is worth it. Watch your cargo screen when you approach planets. Icons will blink for one of two reasons: either you just picked something up from that planet into your cargo, or -- and this is handy -- a particular item you already have is in demand.
If an icon is blinking that you didn't just pick up, that means either you'll fetch a good price for spice or you have the trifecta that can up a planet's T-Score. Similarly, plants and animals that are already on the planet will have little green checks on their icons. Nice touch.
* HOW TO GAUGE YOUR EMPIRE AT A GLANCE (Galactic Screen): I'm obsessive about having optimal colonies everywhere. Note the circles around your systems on the galactic map. More developed planets make for thicker circles. Less developed ones are thinner and still have work to do.
* HOW TO GAUGE YOUR COLONY CITIES AT A GLANCE (Planetary Screen): Hover the mouse over the city icons on the minimap. I use this after every piracy attempt or planetary attack, just to make sure all the defense turrets are still running.
* HOW TO QUICKLY FIND NEW PLANTS AND ANIMALS (Planetary Screen): If you're looking to fill a hole in a planet's food web, it's helpful to know what you're after rather than picking up samples willy-nilly. Here's how. Activate your scanner tool, your radar tool, and switch the mini-map to terraform mode.
What's the trick? On the terraform chart, click the circle of the thing you're looking for. Need an herbivore? Click an herbivore circle. Your radar will home right in when you're in range. You can even check which species are on-planet by hovering the mouse on the circle. If you already have one in your cargo hold, its icon will blink. Combine that with the little green checks mentioned above, and you can fill in a food web on another planet super-quick: just grab something you don't already have.
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Frankly, I wish there were more of these interface tips. I'd like to see, for example:
* Spice inventories on the pop-up colony stats at the galactic screen
* Names of empires on the pop-ups instead of little, illegible icons
* A screen that summarizes the relationships I have with other races
Anybody else notice helpful visual hints? I'd like to know more.
Also: I just added a Spore critter gadget to my page. 'Cuz I'm a dork that way.
* HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOU SHOULD SELL OR TERRAFORM (Solar System Screen): You can save some time figuring out if a visit to a planet is worth it. Watch your cargo screen when you approach planets. Icons will blink for one of two reasons: either you just picked something up from that planet into your cargo, or -- and this is handy -- a particular item you already have is in demand.
If an icon is blinking that you didn't just pick up, that means either you'll fetch a good price for spice or you have the trifecta that can up a planet's T-Score. Similarly, plants and animals that are already on the planet will have little green checks on their icons. Nice touch.
* HOW TO GAUGE YOUR EMPIRE AT A GLANCE (Galactic Screen): I'm obsessive about having optimal colonies everywhere. Note the circles around your systems on the galactic map. More developed planets make for thicker circles. Less developed ones are thinner and still have work to do.
* HOW TO GAUGE YOUR COLONY CITIES AT A GLANCE (Planetary Screen): Hover the mouse over the city icons on the minimap. I use this after every piracy attempt or planetary attack, just to make sure all the defense turrets are still running.
* HOW TO QUICKLY FIND NEW PLANTS AND ANIMALS (Planetary Screen): If you're looking to fill a hole in a planet's food web, it's helpful to know what you're after rather than picking up samples willy-nilly. Here's how. Activate your scanner tool, your radar tool, and switch the mini-map to terraform mode.
What's the trick? On the terraform chart, click the circle of the thing you're looking for. Need an herbivore? Click an herbivore circle. Your radar will home right in when you're in range. You can even check which species are on-planet by hovering the mouse on the circle. If you already have one in your cargo hold, its icon will blink. Combine that with the little green checks mentioned above, and you can fill in a food web on another planet super-quick: just grab something you don't already have.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frankly, I wish there were more of these interface tips. I'd like to see, for example:
* Spice inventories on the pop-up colony stats at the galactic screen
* Names of empires on the pop-ups instead of little, illegible icons
* A screen that summarizes the relationships I have with other races
Anybody else notice helpful visual hints? I'd like to know more.
Also: I just added a Spore critter gadget to my page. 'Cuz I'm a dork that way.
Comment
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Comment by Sir Golgotha, KEoPS on September 18, 2008 at 1:31pm - PAK CHOOIE UNF!
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Comment by Cameron Goble on September 17, 2008 at 9:40pm
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Do not trust the shover-spore. He is malfunctioning.
We are here to protect you.
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Comment by Sir Golgotha, KEoPS on September 17, 2008 at 10:25am
- Do you have a shover-spore and a pusher-spore?
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