Hints and Tactics
September 22,1995
Author Unknown
Getting Started
For basic hints on getting started. please check the manual that was
included with your copy of Millennia: Altered Destinies (MAD). This
manual will provide you with some game background and tell you how
to use the first person interface. As this is a strategy game, it is
essential that you at least refer to the game manual during play. We
have done our best to keep that document brief and easy to read.
When you begin the game, you will find yourself at the controls of a
time traveling space craft known as an XTM. You have been placed
here by an alien who wants you to use the XTM to defeat a race of
evil aliens known as "the Microids" and restore equilibrium to his
galaxy. As play commences, you are informed by ANGUS, your shipÆs
computer that four systems essential to your return trip have been
irrevocably damaged in transit. In order to escape the Echelon
Galaxy you will need to have these systems replaced by the
indigenous species. These replacements each require the resources of
an advanced civilization and as play begins none of those
civilization yet exist.
To assist you in playing the game for the first time, we have
assembled a series of questions and answers that we hope will
address your basic concerns. We have found these questions to be
those that are most often asked by players who have never played
Millennia before. Again, for information on working with the
interface, please refer to the manual where it is thoroughly
explained.
With that being said, dig in and have fun. We hope that you will be
pleasantly surprised with what promises to be unique experience in
strategy gaming.
How do I seed a planet?
To seed a planet go to the ship's transporter room. Click on the
scanner button to identify the planet environment. Each of the game
races is suited for a specific planet environment. Reptoids -
Desert, Slothoid - Tundra, Entomon - Tropical and the Piscine -
Oceanic. To access the seeds, click on the store toggle button. The
transmitter will slide open and reveal a conveyor belt. By clicking
on the left and right arrow buttons, you can scroll the conveyor. An
object description can be obtained for each item that appears in the
window by clicking on the advisor button. Move the appropriate seed
into view on the conveyor and click on store toggle to move it to
the transmitter pad. Now, click on the transmit button to send the
seed to the surface.
What is a "Seed"?
Each seed is a genetically engineered morph or chameleon like
creature that adapts itÆs physical appearance to emulate a member of
a specific indigenous species. Once seeded, the morph immediately
sets about influencing the planetÆs population to undertake the
initial steps for creating a recognizable civilization. His first
task is always to construct a temple that serves as a platform for
transmission of technology to and from the planetÆs surface. The
morph will also act as an emissary between yourself and the seeded
species as you attempt to influence its evolution. Your emissary is
effectively ageless. If left unmolested by outside forces, he will
stay on the planet where he was seeded until the end of the 10,000
year time frame encompassed by the game.
Why can I seed only one planet for each species?
There is only one seed for each species. Keep in mind that the seed
is not the DNA for a species but a personal emissary for you to use
to organize and communicate with the indigenous primitive life forms
that already exist in the Echelon Galaxy. This emissary will help
you to build one of four distinct and necessary empires.
What is a temporal storm?
A temporal storm represents the disturbance in the time space
continuum that is created by changing an existing history. As a
device in the game, the temporal storm is there to let you know that
what you or some other entity has done has changed time.
What does it mean when I have done nothing to effect time and all of
the sudden a temporal storm happens.?
This is an indication that an alternative version of yourself, one
that has been sent in to assist the microids, has done something to
effect the timeline of one of your friendly species. He is your
alter-ego.
What is a "Hood Attack"?
The hoods are the sixth species indigenous to the Echelon Galaxy. If
the "Hood Attack" icon appears in your timeline, it indicates the
intervention of hoods from another time space continuum. These hoods
are motivated by their own concerns and are attempting to address
problems relevant to their own time.
What is the best strategy for choosing a planet to seed?
There are two concerns that should be addressed when selecting a
planet for seeding. The first is proximity to the microid home world
and the second is access to fuel for time/space travel. At the
beginning of play and before you seed a planet, go the ship's
navigation chamber (F2) and look at the star map. You will see a
single red star among all the white ones. This is the Microid home
world. If you advance time, using the right arrow button on the
interface, you can watch the microids spread across the galaxy until
they occupy every star system. Note the star systems that are
conquered last. These would be the best choices for seeding. Be sure
to move the target time back to the actual date before actually
seeding a planet! Otherwise you will be dropping your seed on the
planet too late for it to develop enough to defend itself. Millennia
is designed so that even the most experienced players will require
at least 3000 years to bring any race up to the point of development
necessary to meet the victory requirements.
Fuel is the second concern to take into account when choosing a
planet to seed. Time and space travel require a considerable amount
of fuel. With this in mind, it is often wise to choose a star system
that contains a gas giant to place your seed in. Go to the
navigation chamber and click on the "Gas Giant" button to eliminate
all stars systems from the galaxy map that do not contain gas
giants. Seeding planets in these systems will allow you to refuel as
you need to without traveling to a distant system.
A third concern is proximity to the other three "friendly races". As
the various species develop and advance they will start competing
with each other for control of star systems. Some species are more
aggressive than others, but as a general rule, it is a good idea not
to seed planets too close to each other.
I seeded a planet and then went to the histograph it showed an
"Unoccupied Planet".
This is a common mistake for new Millennia players. It will happen
when your ship is targeted on a planet other than the one that you
have seeded in the NAVCOM screen. To correct it, press the "Target"
button in the navigation interface. You will see a line drawn from
the planet that you are occupying to one that is targeted. Move the
target cross hairs over top of the planet that you are orbiting and
click on it. Now check the histograph again. The proper timeline
should be displayed.
I ordered my emissary to do something but I didn't get a temporal
storm, and when I checked the histograph the planet's timeline had
not changed.
Not every solution offered in a conversation is going to change the
course of history. Some solutions fail. Others lead time lines that
were even worse than the original one. If the timeline has not
changed, go back to your emissary and try another option. Because
alternative versions of you can never be in the same place on the
material plane at the same time, your emissary will usually not
recognize the fact that you have spoken to him already. As far as he
is concerned, this is your first encounter at that crisis event.
Also, don't assume anything about the four races that you are
assisting. Just because one course of action is appropriate for one
species, it is not necessarily so for another. Remember that your
goal is to develop each species into its most viable form for
survival against the microids, not to create a utopia for them.
What do the red and green borders mean on the icons in the
histograph?
The red borders on histograph icon represents a crisis event. These
are turning points in a species' history, and often represent the
times when it is most advantageous to communicate with your
emissary.
The green borders represent significant inventions developed by a
species. Any invention can be beamed up from the planet's surface
with equipment found in the XTM's transport chamber, though it is
not always advisable to undertake this course of action.
Why doesn't my emissary have anything to say to me when I contact
him?
This usually happens when you are contacting the emissary during a
noncrisis time period. If the targeted time on the histograph shows
a crisis event when you are getting this result from contacting your
emissary, make sure that the targeted time is the same as the actual
time. You may need to travel through time to talk to your emissary
about the targeted crisis.
No matter which course of action I choose in a conversation for a
crisis, I cannot effect the histograph timeline.
Not every crisis can be solved by conversation. Sometimes your
emissary is powerless against the catastrophe confronting him. Other
times, he is oblivious to his impending doom. At these junctures,
the player may have to tamper with the timeline or travel to the
planet's surface to correct a problem.
How do I refuel my ship?
The source of fuel to power your ship is the gravitational fields of
planets. Although all planets supply you with some fuel in the form
of trickle flow, the best sources are large, somewhat amorphous
planets known as Gas Giants. These planets you can actually fly by
and graze their atmospheres in an effort to rapidly replenish your
fuel supply.
The Refuel Control screen (F5) provides information on your current
fuel supply. Clicking on the Initiate Fly-by button here will bring
your ship close enough to a gas giant (if one is present) to refuel
it quickly. Due to friction with the gas giantÆs atmosphere, this
procedure can potentially cause damage to your ship. ANGUS will
inform you of any damage incurred during a fly-by. You can abort a
fly-by that is in progress by left clicking on the Abort Fly-by
button
I'm traveling through time and all of the sudden, I'm floating in a
greenish void with another XTM facing me. What's going on?
You are in the fifth dimension. An anomaly of time travel is that on
rare occasions, you will actually meet another version of yourself
that is traveling from another time, outside the material plane.
When you encounter this phenomenon you can use it to your advantage,
if you are very clever. There is some information that we canÆt
bring ourselves to divulge to anyone.
What does it mean to achieve "Equilibrium"?
You can achieve equilibrium in the Echelon Galaxy by eradicating the
microids and then developing each species to a point where it
controls approximately one quarter of the star systems by the game
year 10,000. This is one of the two objectives that you must achieve
to win the game. Unfortunately, in accomplishing this, you often
find yourself unable to accomplish the second goal which is
repairing your ship so that it can escape back to Milky Way.
How do you win the game?
You have two goals in Millennia. You must restore equilibrium to
the Echelon Galaxy as proscribed by the entity that sent you there,
and you have to find a means of escaping that galaxy once you have
accomplished this. The order in which you undertake these aims is
entirely up to you. You will find that in the process of realizing
one of these ends, you will necessarily have to thwart the other.
In a balanced galaxy, none of the indigenous species can evolve far
enough or control sufficient power to develop the technology that
you need to escape. It is possible to escape the galaxy without
restoring equilibrium, but there are two end game sequences. One
will take you back into the game if the equilibrium is not restored.
The other will play if you have restored the galaxy and won the
game.
That should get you going. Remember crises are random and the game
will not play the same way twice. You may get the same crisis for
two different races, but the solution will most likely not be the
same. The planets are random. The Microid advance is random We had
fun with this one and we hope you will too.
