Games - Imperium Galactica

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	Games - Imperium Galactica

Imperium Galactica is a computer game made by Hungarian-based Digital Reality that combines many of the features of turn-based with some from real-time tactical games. The same company would later make its sequel, Imperium Galactica II, in 2000.

Description

Imperium Galactica is a Single-player game by released in 1997. Containing turn-based as well as real-time strategic and tactical aspects IG is classified as a 4X (eXpand, eXploit, eXplore, eXterminate) "empire-building" game not unlike the turn-based Master of Orion series. Initially the player would start out with a small capital ship and three fighters (later in the game the player would command up to 28 capital ships and 180 fighters in one fleet), and three colonies, unable to move beyond the boundaries of the small sector assigned to him. The story would serve as an entry point, gradually introducing the player to new concepts (planet management, space battles, ground battles, research, component & ship production, diplomatic functions) as he rose through the ranks from Lieutenant to Captain, Commander, Admiral and eventually Fleet Admiral (where all functions would be unlocked and the player had full control).

Colony management

Colonies, as in all 4x-games, played a central role in this game. They'd be the centres for production and research, and not last the planets you controlled were your main source of income. (the NPC traders found on the map would generate additional income when a planet had appropriate buildings, these being Trade space ports and Banks.)

A colony would be typically consists of the following buildings (in later stages of the game):

Colony center - This one would be required to build anything at all on a planet.
Power plants - One of three types of power plants (Nuclear, Fusion, Solar) which would power the colony.
Food producing buildings - such as Hydroponic farms and food factories, to prevent your colonists from starvation
Planetary defenses - consisting of up to five planetary guns and a planetary shield
Military installations - such as a military space port and the local fortresses and garrisons (housing the local tank regiment)
Production & Research facilites - those were limited to one research and one production per planet, so the player had to decide which type of research facility or factory was more important here.
Civilian buildings - Typically housing, firefighters, police, hospitals and additional buildings giving morale or monetary bonuses.

Combat

Generically speaking there are two types of battles in the game: Space battle and Planetary assault.

Space combat

Space battles were exclusively fought by fleets. A fleet in Imperium Galactica could house up to 28 capital ships and 180 starfighters.

3 flagships - these were the biggest ships of the fleet, the most heavily armed ones, and the only one able to transport tanks for planetary assaults.
25 destroyers or cruisers - the vast majority of the firepower in a fleet. Destroyers were usually less powerful in terms of firepower and armor, in the later game stages a player would rather produce cruisers.
30 starfighters broken up in 6 fighter types. In the beginning the player only had two fighter types available, thus limiting him to a total of 2*30 fighters in the fleet. Later on, with research, the player could unlock four more fighter and bomber types bringing the fighter total to 180.

A space battle would last as long as either one side was completely annihilated or one side retreated from battle.

Planetary assault

The objective of planetary assaults were to take (or to defend) a planet from another civilization. Usually, especially in later games, a player would have to break through the planetary defenses first before being able to land tanks for the actual ground combat to take place. A planetary defense could consist of up to five planetary guns, a shield generator (essentially increasing the durability of planetary guns) and three starbases. If a fleet of the planet owner was nearby when the battle started, it would be present as well, greatly increasing the difficulty. Once a player (or the AI) had broken through this first line of defense, combat would move on to the surface. The attacker would place the tanks he brought along in the outskirts of the colony, while the defender placed them on the inside, usually nearby defense buildings as fortresses. The fighting would not stop until either side was obliterated.

Late game AI colonies tended to have a lof of defensive buildings, though, and even with a fleet with maxed out capacity of high-tech tanks would probably need multiple attempts to take a colony.

Research

Research was a little different from the common 'produce as many research points to get the technology as fast as possible' theme in other strategy games. Instead you had research centers for five categories (Computer, Construction, A.I., Military, Machinery); But on each planet you controlled you were only allowed one of these five centers. Each technology required a certain amount of research centers in each of these five categories before it could actually be researched (which required time and money). The player was forced to either demolish and rebuild research centers repeatedly, or to gain new planets by either conquest or colonization (the latter becoming available relatively late into the game). A.I. players weren't bound to this limitation, though, which often resulted in the player suddenly having multiple research centers on planets recently conquered.

Production

One would build production facilites for equipment (shipboard weapons & equipment), tanks and starships (fighters, destroyers, cruisers); Flagships required their own production facility, an orbital station. Each factory would contribute to a total factory capacity, which designated how fast the player could produce items (given the player had enough money to produce).

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