Hints and Tactics:
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 ship?s 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 it?s physical appearance to emulate a member of a specific indigenous species. Once seeded, the morph immediately sets about influencing the planet?s 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 planet?s 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 develo
