Game details - the obscure but vital info

[FroBodine]

I just watched the advanced tutorial on the Arcen website.  At one point he brought in a ship (I forget what one it was) that identified what wormhole the enemy wave was coming through.  That wormhole was highlighted in red instead of green.  

My question is where do I learn about all the small intricate details of the game like that.  I'm sure there are a TON of them.  Also, some of teh planet information in the popup once you explore a planet.  It shows what kinds of structures are there, forts, etc. other stuff I can't remember, with numbers and abbreviations along with them.  Where do I read what all that means?

So, does the wiki describe all this stuff, or do I have to just browse and/or ask in the forums as needed?

I am very close to purchasing this, but I would like to know that there is a place to read and learn EVERYTHING in the games popups, effects of different ships special abilities, etc.

[Edit] Oh yeah, also, do the expansions have manuals with them to explain what all the new features are and how they work?  Like I see a trade ship floating around in the video tutorials, but he doesn't even talk about that.

Thanks!

[Commiesalami]

I just watched the advanced tutorial on the Arcen website.  At one point he brought in a ship (I forget what one it was) that identified what wormhole the enemy wave was coming through.  That wormhole was highlighted in red instead of green. 

Every unit has a list of abilities text of the unit description.  I think thats called advanced warp detection.  There is a small structure that does the same thing that you can research on the support tab.  Its 250 Knowlege, its generally my first research.

Other abilities include armor piercing, radar damping etc.  You can find out a lot about these on the wiki

My question is where do I learn about all the small intricate details of the game like that.  I'm sure there are a TON of them.  Also, some of teh planet information in the popup once you explore a planet.  It shows what kinds of structures are there, forts, etc. other stuff I can't remember, with numbers and abbreviations along with them.  Where do I read what all that means?

A lot of the descriptions of what they do are on the units themselves actually, when your scouting the system you can mouse over the structure (you can use the side bar as well)  and the large text box will tell you what you need to know, like mousing over an alarm will tell you what causes it to go off and what happens when it goes off.

So, does the wiki describe all this stuff, or do I have to just browse and/or ask in the forums as needed?

I am very close to purchasing this, but I would like to know that there is a place to read and learn EVERYTHING in the games popups, effects of different ships special abilities, etc.

[Edit] Oh yeah, also, do the expansions have manuals with them to explain what all the new features are and how they work?  Like I see a trade ship floating around in the video tutorials, but he doesn't even talk about that.

Thanks!

The wiki right now is the place to go for all the advanced ship abilities and the differing features of the expansion.  But the best way to learn is to actually try it out!  You can download the full game and have access to all features (except defender mode) and all expansions, the only cravat is that it cuts you off after 3 hours game time. 

[FroBodine]

Thanks for the info.  I checked the wiki and found nothing that describes all the ships/support/turrets and what they do.  I also found nothing on advanced warp sensor.

I realize I can just play the game and see what the ships do, but there is nowhere in game that tells me using an advanced warp sensor will mark the wormhole in red where forces are incoming.  I'm sure there will be many other things similar to this, and I would like a place to read and learn what things do and mean exactly.

Is there anyplace that describes this kind of stuff in detail?

[Hearteater]

Play the tutorials.  They cover nearly everything you need to know, including about the Advanced Warp Sensor.  You will learn not only about the game itself and the units in it, but also common strategies (gate raiding, using transports, etc).  I don't even think the 3 hour limit applies to tutorials (although I don't think any of them go that long anyway).

[Echo35]

Forums + IRC will serve you incredibly well. Also, the in game tutorials are fairly adequate, at least at giving you enough knowledge to go get yourself killed enough times that you start learning

[Cyborg]

OP,

I have put more time into this title than any game I've ever owned. About a few hundred hours, recorded between Steam and standalone. I don't know if I have seen even half of the content; every game I've played is new. And every eight months or so new content is added.

If you were worried about making the wrong decision purchasing this product because you don't know everything about it, I wouldn't be concerned at all. The wiki has all the mechanics you need to know. The rest of the stuff about spaceship specifics and structure details, just mouse over them.

Join the fun.

[keith.lamothe]

Thanks for the info.  I checked the wiki and found nothing that describes all the ships/support/turrets and what they do.  I also found nothing on advanced warp sensor.

I realize I can just play the game and see what the ships do, but there is nowhere in game that tells me using an advanced warp sensor will mark the wormhole in red where forces are incoming.  I'm sure there will be many other things similar to this, and I would like a place to read and learn what things do and mean exactly.

Is there anyplace that describes this kind of stuff in detail?

If you want to see every single ship type in the game and its description:

1) Start a game.
2) Press F1 to put the planetary summary (the sidebar on the right when in planet-view that normally shows each distinct ship type on the planet) to put it in the "encyclopedia mode" (it's not really called that, but anyway).
3) Move your mouse over each box in the summary, read the tooltip for each one.
4) When done, press F1 again to go to the next "page" of that, and read them again.  Repeat until it wraps around.

Alternatively you could just read the language files (notably ships.xml) included with the game, but the info wouldn't be quite in context then.

[keith.lamothe]

I believe you can also get a "see all the tooltips" experience by using the reference tab of the stats screen and mousing over the left-most column of the results table.  You can use the filters to narrow down which types you want to see.

[FroBodine]

Thank you all for the help.  I really appreciate the awesomeness of everyone on this forum.  The F1 ship details are incredibly helpful, as are all the popups everywhere.  I have never seen a game better documented "in-game" as this one.

However, none of these tips explain my original point.  Nothing tells me specifically that the warp point being invaded will change color to red when you have advanced warp detection.  Yes, the third party tutorial video tells me this, but it is the only way I would have known.  

Also, nothing tells me that "Fort" means Fortress in the planetary summary you see when you scout a planet and mouse over it. 

My concern is that there are other things like this.  I realize this is just a tiny point, and I am not freaking out about it at all.  

I will use the forums to seek help.  Obviously this is a very active and friendly forum.  

[keith.lamothe]

However, none of these tips explain my original point.  Nothing tells me specifically that the warp point being invaded will change color to red when you have advanced warp detection.

I realize this is just a tiny point, and I am not freaking out about it.  Yes, the tutorial video tells me this, it is the only way I would have known this.

Ah, I get it.  Yes, some of the info in the tutorial is only in the tutorial.  And some of the info in the tooltips is only in the tooltips.  And, regrettably, some of the info in the wiki is only in the wiki.  And so on.

This is, indeed, the way of things.  Your suspicions are correct

[BobTheJanitor]

AI War includes a secret second game. This game is all about figuring out all the hidden details in AI War. Really you're getting two games for the price of one!  Eh? No? Yeah, it can be a little confusing some times, but the great thing is that you can post just about any question on the forums and a dozen people will jump to answer it for you, and one of the answers will usually come straight from a developer. You just can't beat that.