A few pre-purchase questions...

[Zylon One]

Hi, potential new pilot here, callsign Zylon One.

I am in the early stages of writing a sci-fi story, and for inspiration, I have been looking for the "perfect" space exploration sim to help get the 'feel' of my story as I'm writing. I find it helps me in my writing to bring a feeling of authenticity to the storyline when I am able to actually play it out in some way.

After scanning though the first 25 pages of a "space exploration" search in the Steam Store, I finally narrowed down my list of "possibles" from about 20 titles, to just the three, after doing my due dilligence and trawling through inumerable pages of reviews for each product. I established that Imperium Galactica II, Rebel Galaxy and Starpoint Gemini 2 seemed the only candidates that would come close to offering me the knd of flexibility in game play I was looking for. I bunkered down to read through every review on each to help me decide. RG soon fell by the wayside due to a (for me) 'game-breaking' bug of not being able to skip character dialogue, and IG II followed for its own reasons, which left SG2 as the apparrent victor. But I still wasn't convinced it was going to really offer exactly what I wanted.

It was then that I came across a reply to a review comment, mentioning EvoChron Mercenaries. When I began checking it out, it not only sounded too good to be true, but better still, lead me further to discover this newer Legacy installment! I have downloaded the demo and spent many hours trying things out in the Training Manual, and have to say that this really looks to be a massively impressive creation! Exactly what I am looking for, in the sense of space simulation over character driven roleplaying game, and endless in scope with its open-ended sandbox design.

I am pretty much almost sold -- but just have a few questions first, and seeing that this place seems like a rarity these days (a helpful dedicated dev and friendly community) I thought I'd jump in and just ask, to see if you guys can help me out in discovering if I'm going to be able to get what I need out of it.

I've already read through the FAQ, used the search engine, and read through many topics here (including the development one, but can't quite find the info I need.


Central to my story, are the planet Vega and one of its moons (which I am happy to see is already charted on the map), the planet Erra (a satellite of the Taygeta system in the Pleiades / M45 starcluster), Arcturus, Andromeda, and the existence of a habitable planet in the Wolf 424 system. Unfortunately (at least on the in-game map), none of these appear to be represented in the game.

I was surprised to see, considering you have many local real-life planets and systems in the game (Orion Sirius etc.), that there is no Pleiades, not even the main star of Alcyone!? But you do appear to have an "Atlas" (as in the one from the Pleiades, but none of the other ones?) So I'm a bit confused on that. Are the other of the "seven sisters" still "awaiting discovery" in the game world, or simply not written in?

Also confusing me, is that whilst not on the in-game map, I did find this online: http://www.evochron2.junholt.se/main/le ... ystems.htm -- which possibly indicates that places such as the Wolf system and Andromeda are there to be discovered "off map" as it were? I know from what I've read that there are numerous "uncharted" planets to discover, so does this mean that the in-game map I see is purely the "starting" one, and that it will expand outwards as I discover more? Also, when discovering a new planet, can we name it ourselves, and does it then appear on that in-game map? If someone could clear these questions up for me, I would really appreciate it.

The other things I wanted to ask, are (and as stated, I've read the development page, so I understand the reasons for the simple two faction set-up) is it possible via modding, to add back into the game, the faction from Mercenaries called "Seekers / Renegades"? - as a group like this is also quite prominent in my story.


And finally -- I usually buy with Steam as its a platform I know and trust, but as I've already downloaded the demo, it seems extraneous to download the game again via Steam when it can simply be activated by purchasing from here onsite. If I bought from Steam though, does the dev lose out financially in any way, or do you get the same income regardless of whether I pay direct or via Steam?

Thanks for your time to listen to my ramblings and hopefully offer some answers to my questions. I look forward to hear from you as soon as you are able.


Zylon.

[Vice]

Hello and welcome. Here are some answers to your inquiries:

- There's some yes and no to the questions on universe layout. The game's universe is not modelled after the real thing in terms of every star and charted system/cluster/nebulae/etc. In some areas, the game's lore resulted in changed naming convention and/or theorizes entirely destroyed structures. In other parts, it's entirely fictional and primarily designed to facilitate gameplay and/or design objectives. That said, two or three of the regions you listed are in the game in one form or another, but are not displayed on the charted section(s) of space. For those, yes, they are considered 'off grid' so to speak and you'd need to explore for them outside of the charted nav log data. In terms of absolute realism, no, if you are looking for a completely authentic representation of the actual universe, this probably won't be a good fit for what you're looking for.

I know from what I've read that there are numerous "uncharted" planets to discover, so does this mean that the in-game map I see is purely the "starting" one, and that it will expand outwards as I discover more?

Nav sensor range map mode yes, quadrant map mode no. What you see on the quadrant map in the game is the charted quadrant of Evochron and represents the vast majority of the play field the game offers (including both charted and uncharted systems and locations). There are some places on the fringes and outside the map, but the primary focus and field of play is within the quadrant of sectors you see on the map.

Also, when discovering a new planet, can we name it ourselves, and does it then appear on that in-game map?

You can mark it with the map log and leave a labelled icon at its location that appears when in range on the nav map, just not (re)name it as it is listed in the nav log database.

The other things I wanted to ask, are (and as stated, I've read the development page, so I understand the reasons for the simple two faction set-up) is it possible via modding, to add back into the game, the faction from Mercenaries called "Seekers / Renegades"? - as a group like this is also quite prominent in my story.

No, at least not from a functional standpoint as that aspect is locked into the game's core framework and design.

And finally -- I usually buy with Steam as its a platform I know and trust, but as I've already downloaded the demo, it seems extraneous to download the game again via Steam when it can simply be activated by purchasing from here onsite. If I bought from Steam though, does the dev lose out financially in any way, or do you get the same income regardless of whether I pay direct or via Steam?

Steam takes a larger portion, but I appreciate the support however anyone chooses to buy the game. Hope that adequately answers your questions.

[Marvin]

The Evochron universe has often been called the Evoverse because it's more like the universe which is far, far away than it is the Milky Way. Even though the background constellations look quite familiar to anyone who has studied astronomy. But, if you looked at the Evoverse as if you were someone from another planet who just happens to have given similar names to star systems which are not the same star systems displayed on an Earthly map, then you'd have the right idea about why those star systems are situated as they are.

To get a proper handle on the Evoverse, I'd suggest doing a couple of the quests.

[Zylon One]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Having the Pleiades in my story is pretty central to everything, so I think I'll deepen my search for a couple of weeks first, and see if I can find something that has it. From what I've seen though, I really do love your game, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if I'm back very soon to buy it anyway.

Seeing as when we're looking at the Pleiades from Earth, we're actually only seeing it as it was 27,000 light years ago, it could make a pretty interesting plot twist if my main character finally managed to get back to the system his family originated from, only to find that Atlas is all that is left.

Thanks for your help, you'll likely be seeing me again soon.

[Marvin]

Elite Dangerous has the Pleiades. But it's a dangerous place to visit.