Millennia – Altered Destinies

Millennia - Altered Destinies

Hints and Tactics
September 22,1995

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 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 giant's 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 can't 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.