Sounds like a reasonable request. Bring this suggestion back up once the devs get back from working on the political machine.

Please assist. How is the game "Defiantly" fun? It defies you to have fun? You have fun in defiance of the probabilities? You play from the bridge of the Defiant?

LOL.

Seriously, it sounds reasonable. I always seem to have a blind spot where the mini-map is concerned and just go blindly exploring, usually scoping for anomalies rather than planets.

Very good point Silphius. It might be too much of an advantage to the player.

Sentient species taste better...

I'm not sure what you mean by needing the extra challenge. Are you saying that you like having to squint and study the minimap to figure out where to go? My suggestion essentially turns the main map into a bigger minimap which is easier to see. You aren't being given any FOW info that isn't already on the minimap. You can just analyze it faster and easier, giving you more time to focus on the many other things which the game requires.

The minimap itself isn't made redundant because it's still the best way to see the big picture.

Kind of forgetting its a game not a simulator. I'm all for realism but gameplay should always be a consideration.

I think theres something about that jolt of excitement when you stumble across a huge class 20+ planet that just would not be the same if you knew where it was from the start and even discovered some enterprising fellow had set up a food court and a gift shop in anticipation of your colony ship.

At that point there would also be less decision making on the part of the player as there would be a logical sequence of which planets to settle first.

I was referencing my earlier post about how purple stars almost always have a class 20+

Therefore anything that indicates the presence of a purple star indicates (almost certainly) the presence of a very high quality planet.

I do agree that it would be a good thing if the information of the minimap were shared with the main map. I do see no reason why it should make a difference if i maneuver my ships by clicking on the minimap in microscopial scale or if i am able to see planets and stars(only their location)on the mainmap when stellar cartography has been researched. It just makes orientation easier and does not affect gameplay very much in my opinion.

testing

The way ive always understood it the mini map was never intended to show more than the the star and the number of planets .carthography only gives you the sun and how many planets orbit that sun!! You have to physically explore that system to find out the type and quality of those planets.I personelly prefer it that way this is a 4x game and explore is an integral part of this type of game.

Out of curiosity what size and resolution are you running at? What galaxy size? A larger monitor or more advanced use of the minimap may be a solution to the problem.

You may have forgotten or overlooked the fact that you can zoom in on the minimap if needed - you certainally do not need to see the entire universe during the colonisation phase, especially on the larger galaxy sizes.

I never find a need to squint but perhaps that has to do with my 22inch LCD Widescreen running at 1680x1050. It really does show a very sharp and distinct picture and I remember how blurry CRTs are. As somebody who wears glasses I highly recommend getting a LCD if you are still using a CRT and find yourself squinting.

By preference I have planets switched off on my minimap as it produces clutter and can confuse which are the stars and which are the planets. Now while that may seem to be a point in the favour of transferring the information to the main screen, I really think it has more to do with the progressive nature of the initial phase.

Zoom in to begin with and turn planets on if you so desire. Zoom out and turn them off when they are redundant data to display and the whole of the galaxy requires your attention.

My reservations are about information overload. But its not the only reservation.

After patient study on other aspects of GalCiv2 that did not immediately make sense or made me wish it was implemented differently I have, almost without fail, discovered there were very good reasons for why the game is the way it is.

These things are not always apparent or simply require some time to become accustomed to. As I mentioned earlier I'm completely happy with the current implementation but I do remember a time when I also found the interface restrictive and nonsensical in places.

So I'd rather explore ways at helping you out that does not require the team being pulled away from other aspects of the game that need attention to address something that may not even be an actual issue.

As I said earlier I'm completely happy with the current implementation. I dont find it hard work, quite the opposite infact.

As for advanced minimap techniques... no? I believe you are arguing for the presence and number of planets in uncharted territory. I get that at a glance from the minimap. I can't really see any further potential for complexity in that.

Squinting is defeated by zoom functions. As for work - clicking one button? once? twice? per game? Thats hardly work in my book. Compared to the hundreds of clicks per game managing the economy sliders? Hell the dozens of clicks just to get the economy slider window?

I think it's a good idea.