Frequently Asked Questions What is Infinity Empire? What’s the difference between Infinity Empire and Time of Defiance? I’m having trouble connecting to the server, what should I do? I am using Zone Alarm - is this a problem? I have forgotten my login details, how can I get a reminder? What are the minimum and recommended computer specifications for Infinity Empire? I have been given a Player ID (PID) of -1, what's going on? What happens if I get destroyed in the first week? Are there any restrictions to how long I can spend online? How do I register? What do I do if I still have questions? What do I use my Quantum Gate for? What is the Eighth House? What do I use a Quantum Trader for? I bought a Shadoo Crystal Moss Miner from the Eighth House and now I cannot find it? I sent a Quantum Trader to the Eighth House and now it has disappeared? How do I get my Mining Transport ship to mine? How do I survey for and mine moss? How do I transfer resources from unit to unit? Do I have to transfer resources to the Constructor or HQ manually? What are trading routes? There does not appear to be any islands near me - how do I find new ones? Where do I get water from and what do I use it for? My mine is mining very slow, is there any way to speed the process up? Why is it that the last time I played I claimed lots of islands but now I cannot see them on the map? Does the game continue when I am not playing? How long does a game last? What does the Travelling Miner do? What is a Quantum Disturbance? What if my empire is attacked when I’m asleep or at work? What is Infinity Empire? Infinity Empire (IE) is a Massively MultiPlayer (MMP) real-time strategy game presented in a full 3D environment. It has been designed so that ALL players within the game are real. IE will run on a Windows XP or higher PC with a minimum 500MHz Pentium III processor. Also either a 56K modem, Cable or ADSL Internet access to connect to our games servers. Games can run anywhere from a week to four weeks with each game supporting many hundreds of players. The idea of the game is simply to expand your empire by battling or trading with other players and to hold the largest, most powerful empire when the game ends. ^ back to top What’s the difference between Infinity Empire and Time of Defiance? Infinity Empire utilizes the Infinity Empire engine and follows many similar rules in terms of game play elements, trading and world settings however Infinity Empire takes off where IE leaves with new and more refined game interface that is easier to use as well as new vehicle models, building and units along with continued improvement on gameplay and better performance to give the user cooler visual aspect like textures and special effects. Our look is also more Anime/Mecha-inspired. In addition, IE emphasizes more on community which in return, gives a much better user experience because of a dedicated flash-chat where newbies and loyal fans of the game can congregate and discuss game play and technical issues 24/7. ^ back to top I’m having trouble connecting to the server, what should I do? Initially check to see if you are using the latest version of the game client - either download the client from the website or log into the website with your Customer ID and password and go to the "My Empire" page and download the latest updates for your specific version of Infinity Empire (IE) from there. If you have version 4.733 or above then the launcher programme will automatically ensure that your installation is up to date. Secondly check to see if your machine is up to date from Windows Update and that you have the latest version of DirectX installed. Recent updates to DirectX have addressed a number of previous problems. If you are using a hardware or software firewall then you should ensure that you have granted permission for the client and server to talk to each other. Details of which ports Infinity Empire utilises can be found in the "Release Notes.rtf" file found within your IE installation directory. You should also ensure that your graphics card and sound card drivers are up to date as possible and you will need to check with their respective manufacturers websites for details of updated driver software. If you cannot login via the launcher program then you need to ensure that you are using your correct customer identification number (CID) and password. Your Customer ID is the same number you were issued with when you registered to play Infinity Empire. The most common problems are having NUMLOCK or CAPSLOCK on whilst typing in your password. If you are failing to connect to your game server after you have logged in to the launcher then it's almost certain that you are being blocked by either your current network configuration, a corrupt DirectX installation or your firewall solution. If you are continuing to have issues with the client connecting to the game servers then please mail support@typhoongames.com with the following information: Complete product title (including version number) Exact error message reported (if applicable) and a brief description of the problem you're encountering Processor speed and manufacturer Amount of RAM Operating system Video card that you are using and amount of RAM it has Maker and speed of your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive Type of sound card you are using A detailed description of the problem that you are experiencing. ^ back to top I am using Zone Alarm - is this a problem? Users of the Zone Alarm personal firewall version 4 under Windows 2000 (any service pack) may experience application freezes on disconnecting and ultimately a STOP 0x00000076 error. This is a known and documented fault in Zone Alarm version 4. (see www.zonealarm.com.) There are known issues with the latest versions of Zone Alarm (Version 5) and as yet there appears to be no way in which Zone Alarm users that are experiencing connection problems can access the game servers. This is NOT a problem with the game client and hopefully it will be resolved in future editions of Zone Alarm. We would strongly suggest that any users of Zone Alarm that are experiencing problems to please take them up with Zone Labs. If anyone does manage to discover a work around then please let us know as we would greatly appreciate the situation being resolved to aid other users. We recommend the use of Kerio personal firewall: www.kerio.com as it is a stable firewall solution and is easy to use. ^ back to top I have forgotten my login details, how can I get a reminder? If you cannot remember your Customer ID or password, you will need to email us at support@typhoongames.com - please try to include as much detail as possible e.g. Empire name or Nick name and the email addresses used to register. ^ back to top What are the minimum and recommended computer specifications for Infinity Empire? The specifications you require are here: Minimum specification: Pentium 3/Athlon XP, or better, processor 128Mb RAM 64Mb DirectX 9.0 compatible graphics card DirectX 8.1 compatible audio card 56.6Kbps internet connection 300Mb Hard drive space Windows XP Recommended specification: Intel Pentium 4/ Athlon 64, or better, processor 512 Mb RAM 128Mb DirectX 9.0 compatible graphics card DirectX 9 compatible audio card 300Mb Hard drive space Broadband internet connection Windows XP NOTE: To obtain the latest version of DirectX visit www.microsoft.com/directx or select Windows Update from your START button menu. Your Graphics Card: The Infinity Empire Game is 3D. This means that the graphics requirements are heavy. You will need a good AGP/PCI Express 3D card to play the game. Your Internet Connection: You do not need a high-speed connection to play Infinity Empire. It is more than possible to play the game over a 56.6Kbps connection. You will need to remain connected to the Internet to give instructions to your units in-game. We recommend a Broadband connection to give the best performance. ^ back to top I have been given a Player ID (PID) of -1, what's going on? The game you have joined has yet to start; games start between 14:00hrs and 16:00hrs GMT on Fridays, once the game has gone live your PID will be sent to you. ^ back to top What happens if I get destroyed in the first week? a If you do get wiped out of the game, you are able to restart your empire in another area of the map. We’ve had a player in our preview group go on to finish in 5th place after restarting three weeks into the game. It’s not quite a complete restart however – all your centrally banked resources are kept in the 8th House, allowing you to cash in your banked resources for more advanced vehicles and intelligence information. ^ back to top Are there any restrictions to how long I can spend online? No. Some of our players connect over ADSL or Cable Modem and because of this remain connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the game is over. They keep IE running in a window in the background, returning back to the game every once in a while to check on progress, construct new vehicles and buildings and to guard their empire against invaders. ^ back to top How do I register? Registration occurs within the game client. Please go to the downloads section to download the client. After installation, the client will prompt you to provide the necessary information reciept of which will be your customer i.d. and other important details. ^ back to top What do I do if I still have questions? Send an email to us at support@typhoongames.com and we’ll do our best to answer any questions you may have. ^ back to top What do I use my Quantum Gate for? Think of the Quantum gate as a teleporter or a worm-hole. The gate allows you to access the 8th House, other player’s gates and also sends vehicles between gates that you own. You can access the 8th House using a Quantum Trader, or get a report from the 8th House by clicking on Ambassador’s Chat. You can also check 8th House prices for vehicles etc. from the Gate’s menu. To access other player’s gates you need to use their code. Only give out your gate code (found by clicking on ambassador’s report on your Quantum Gate menu) to players that you really trust. If you feel that the trust has been broken, then you can set a password on your gate to prevent other players from coming through. Click on image to view details ^ back to top What is the Eighth House? The Eighth House is an area of Nespanona where the Eighth House of the Cog Tribe allow all other members on Nespanona to interact, bank resources and buy items. The 8th House are at war with the Shadoo. This results in the capture of Shadoo Craft, which they make available to your Empire (for a fee of course). Once in the 8th House, on the left side of the screen you will find a menu where you have the option of buying vehicles filled with resources, a selection of advanced vehicles you cannot normally build, gate coordinates, intelligence information, transfer crystal moss and read the 8th House newspaper. More information on the history of the Cog, Shadoo or Nespanona can be found in the articles available on this site. Click on image to view details ^ back to top What do I use a Quantum Trader for? This ship has only one purpose, to take resources into the Eighth House. It can take 80t of water, 20t of moss and 150t of all other resources. You can take as many traders through your gate as you wish but you will need to load your Quantum Gate with enough water or crystal moss to allow the gate to activate. ^ back to top I bought a Shadoo Crystal Moss Miner from the Eighth House and now I cannot find it? Ships purchased from the Eighth house will come through the other side of your gate, so by zooming out the camera (use the mouse wheel or Page Down on the keyboard) you should be able to see your Crystal Moss Miner behind your gate. ^ back to top I sent a Quantum Trader to the Eighth House and now it has disappeared? Quantum Traders hold just enough fuel for a one way trip and the 8th House will keep any Quantum Trader sent through as payment for using their services. If you make a withdrawal of moss or water from the 8th House, then you will get a Quantum Trader back in return. Traders are quick and cheap to build, so loosing one to the 8th House is nothing to be too concerned about. ^ back to top How do I get my Mining Transport ship to mine? Mining Transport vehicles will mine automatically so long as they are at an island with resources to be mined. Just send them to an island and they will commence mining automatically. ^ back to top How do I survey for and mine moss? To survey and mine moss you need a Shadoo crystal moss miner, Shadoo far reach scout, Shadoo advanced scout or a Shadoo coloniser / HQ. You can purchase all of these vehicles from the Eighth House except for the Shadoo Advanced Scout that can only be built by the Shadoo vehicle constructor. Send your vehicle to an island and Left click on it and select ‘perform mineral survey’ to see if there’s any moss on that island. If there is sufficient moss to mine, then you will need to place a moss miner in orbit, deploy a Far Reach Scout or build a Shadoo resource mine by colonising the island. ^ back to top How do I transfer resources from unit to unit? Resources contained within vehicles or buildings are displayed on coloured bars below the Energy read-out of the unit concerned. To transfer resources, start by selecting the unit you want to transfer resources from. On the units menu you will have up to three options, “Transfer Resource,” “Transfer all of all,” and “Transfer all except fuel.” Transfer all except fuel will attempt to transfer everything except fuel to a target unit and Transfer all of all will attempt to transfer everything that is stored to the destination unit. If you want to specify which resource and a quantity to transfer then select Transfer resources. You can then highlight which resource/s you wish to transfer by clicking on each resources icon – then select the amount to transfer and finally click on the target unit. Remember to ensure that your target unit has enough space to accommodate the transfer. You may need to transfer from one large storage vessel to a number of smaller storage spaces. The units involved have to be in proximity of each other to transfer resources. ^ back to top Do I have to transfer resources to the Constructor or HQ manually? Unique to the Cog storage silo and Shadoo storage silo are the commands for 'auto fill constructor' and 'auto fill HQ'. These two toggles allow the silo to pass minerals to any vehicle constructors present and HQ buildings automatically. By default, silos are set to auto fill both the HQ and Vehicle constructors. Click on image to view details ^ back to top What are trading routes? Trade Routes are a means of giving long-term orders to mining transports and other transport vessels used to mine and move resources from one island to another. A trade route comprises of at least 2 islands, and at most 3 islands. When setting up a trade route, you will need to choose whether the vehicle will load (mine) or unload resources at each step, and which resources to load/unload. You can unload to island buildings or other transports that are orbiting the target island. You can also specify how many times that you would like the unit to travel the trade route and can also set it to “Repeat until out of fuel.” Make sure that you periodically check your trade routes to ensure that there are still resources to move around and/or that there is still sufficient fuel in the islands to make the journey. You can force a unit to flip to the next stage of its trade route by using the ‘Force next trading route stage’ command. To stop a unit that is operating a trade route you simply give it new orders ... for example, 'stop', 'move to island', or 'head in direction' will all stop the vehicle from following its trade route. ^ back to top There does not appear to be any islands near me - how do I find new ones? From detail view you might be able to see at least one blue square in your radar display - these represent unclaimed islands in your local grid square. You will want to send a Scout to one of these islands to claim it and assess its potential. You start the game with a couple of Scouts - select one now and look at its command menu. Make sure it’s fully stocked with all resources (wood, metal, stone and coal) as these allow it to build an outpost on an island. With the Scout selected, you can choose the option to 'Move to island' and then select an island. Your Scout should give a confirmation message in the chat window and start off towards this island. You can also send scouts to neighbouring grid squares. To do this select your other scout and select head in direction. Choose to move to the next grid square to your home island - usually the corner adjacent to another square is most fuel-efficient as you can move to another grid square with little extra fuel. The Vehicle Constructor can also construct a super-fast scout called a one-shot-scout. This rapid vehicle has sacrificed the ability to carry resources and cannot therefore construct Outposts. The engines have also been highly tuned (like a race car) to give this vehicle even more speed – the downside of which is that the one-shot-scout will disintegrate when it runs out of fuel. Once you set a one-shot-scout in motion, it’s like lighting the blue touch-paper on a firework. Due to the speed at which these scouts travel, it’s advisable to keep a close eye on them and not to set too many off exploring at once. Click on image to view details ^ back to top Where do I get water from and what do I use it for? You need to mine water from islands with either your Resource Mining building or your Mining Transport vehicles. You can use water to trade in the Eight House, power your Quantum Gate and also for the shields on many of the Shadoo units. ^ back to top My mine is mining very slow, is there any way to speed the process up? Building extra Mining Transports will speed up the production of resources on the island they are parked around. If you send lots of mining transports to an island, then they will ‘strip-mine’ all resources on that island in one go. ^ back to top Why is it that the last time I played I claimed lots of islands but now I cannot see them on the map? To be able to see islands you need one of your units in that particular grid square. You can put an outpost on islands that are not good enough for colonisation - this solves your problem of not being able to see islands and also allows you to perform mineral surveys at any time. ^ back to top Does the game continue when I am not playing? Absolutely, the game runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the duration of the game. So you might want to think about giving your Mining Transports and Construction buildings plenty to do while you are not on-line. Trading Routes and Construction queues are very handy for automating parts of your empire. ^ back to top How long does a game last? Games normally last between 14 and 28 days – we also run special 3 and 7 day games at vastly increased speeds. ^ back to top What does the Travelling Miner do? The travelling miner is a renegade in the world of Nespanona - he swears allegiance to no house, but will sell his services to whoever pays his fee. For 5t of moss he will mine the island he is parked around (so don't pay him if you see him travelling!) and within 3 hours he will have a full load of minerals ready to offload to you. Make sure you have a transport, or a silo, on that island otherwise he will be unable to deliver the goods to you. ^ back to top What is a Quantum Disturbance? A Quantum Disturbance is an event that will travel across the planet very slowly (think of it as a floating worm-hole). It is mostly harmless and can be used to good effect by a prepared player. It is a (as its name suggests) a disturbance in the fragile nature of the planet caused by the Quantum Core and its interactions with Crystal Moss. You will see a Quantum Disturbance as an unfriendly object crossing your empire. They travel at quite a slow speed so you will have a good chance to take advantage of one of its effects which is to transport any object within 50 metres to a random place on the planet. You can take advantage of this effect by sending a vehicle to intercept the quantum disturbance. This vehicle will then be transported through a quantum tube to somewhere on the Northern Continent. If you were, for example, to send several scouts to intercept the quantum disturbance you will find that they are all transported to various places in the game area (a great way to explore far and wide, especially if you reappear in the middle of another players empire). If you find an interesting area you can then use your Quantum Gate to gate a coloniser (or a fleet of warships if you prefer) to the location of your scout (you’ll need to purchase the co-ordinates from the 8th House). ^ back to top What if my empire is attacked when I’m asleep or at work? This may well happen! Many of the greatest co-ordinated attacks that we have seen so far have been planned to coincide with the target’s weekend away. There are four key things to note, which may help you when you’re offline. Offline notifications - These can be set up so IE e-mails you about events that occur when you’re not connected. Go to the status screen and you’ll see the Notifications button just above the Chat Status button in the bottom right of the status screen. Autonomous responses – Your objects are not entirely reliant on you and can perform some tasks on their own. They will do the best to defend your empire until you return. A powerful empire can take a couple of weeks to destroy. The size of the Gaming theatre – The world is big, very big in fact. The games have a gaming theatre that is 4,000 Km by 4,000 Km and a journey from one side to the other, stopping for fuel, will take several days of dedicated work with support vehicles. Defensive buildings and vehicles – be sure to upgrade any Defence Turrets to Reinforced Turrets and to turn on Auto-gather stone for all Artillery Turrets. You can also build more Turrets on your home island to improve your defences. Warships are not just for attacking – you can station many of them around your home island and gate to provide an additional ring of defence. Destroyers are also a good defensive vehicle if you’ve got enough resources to build them. ^ back to top If you have any questions or need any advice (or tips and tricks), please send an email to: support@typhoongames.com.

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