Cadet I/Minimap: Difference between revisions

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The Basics

The Minimap displays a lot of information in a very small space. On the top of the minimap pane is the sector that is the current focus of the minimap, which is by default the sector that you are flying through or observing through the command view. The information in the Minimap is dependant on the team's sensors and probes, for if something is not eyed then it will not be on the minimap. Stations, once eyed, are essentially permanently eyed and will stay on the minimap until they are destroyed. Ships, however, only appear when they are eyed and will dissappear from the minimap as soon as they are no longer eyed.

Asteroids

When the minimap is expanded through the use of the arrow on the top right corner, it shows information about the asteroids in the sector. Regular asteroids are not included on the minimap, but Helium 3 asteroids and asteroids that a Techbase, such as a Supremacy, can be built on. While the information defaults to the sector the pilot is in, the minimap will show the asteroids that are in a sector that you hold the mouse pointer over in the minimap display. This is especially useful for finding sectors that have not been scouted yet.

Helium (He3)

Information about Helium asteroids is given in two places. The first information is listed as He3 followed by a number, and is at the very top above the asteroids in the sector. As you may notice, this is often a large number, and is not the number of Helium Asteroids in the sector. This is the number of units of Helium that can be mined from the sector. Keep in mind that each unit of Helium is usually worth about $80 and that miners can usually carry 90 units of Helium per load, making a fully loaded miner bring in about $7200. The second place that the information about Helium asteroids is listed is at the bottom of the asteroids list, below any tech rocks. The number beside this icon is the number of helium rocks in the sector, represented by the white asteroid icon:

Tech Rocks

Tech rocks are the asteroids that Techbases can be built on. There are three types, Uranium, Silicon, and Carbon. While in most cases there are rarely multiple tech rocks in a sector and it is even more uncommon for there to be more than one of the same type, the number of each rock is given next to its indicator.

An Expansion techbase can be built on a Uranium asteroid, represented by the orange asteroid icon:

A Tactical techbase can be built on a Silicon asteroid, represented by the green asteroid icon:

A Supremacy techbase can be built on a Carbon asteroid, represented by the purple asteroid icon:

Icons

In order to use the minimap effectively, you must know what each icon on the minimap represents. The icons that will be most important to most pilots are those found between the sector name and the minimap itself. These represent ships, bases, and the number of each that are in the sector. As with the asteroids, this information changes depending on which sector the mouse is over on the minimap.

Sectors

Sectors are the individual sections of the map, connected to other sectors through alephs. Sectors appear on the minimap as a circle, and are often filled in with one color or another. Aleph links appear as lines on the minimap, connecting the sectors together.

Sector Colors

The color of a sector on the minimap indicates which team holds it. A sector that is yellow is a sector controlled by the yellow team. Similarly, a sector that is blue is controlled by the blue team. A sector that is shown as empty is usually one that is not directly controlled by any team. However, a sector with an unspotted base in it will still appear to be empty until that base is spotted. Occasionally, bases from multiple teams will be in the same sector. In this case, the sector has one team's color surrounded by a ring of the other team's color.

Indicators

There are several important indicators that appear around or near sectors in the minimap. These let you know things such as where you are and where you clicked last on the minimap.

Ship Indicators

Beside each sector a number of colored squares will be shown, indicating the number of ships of each team in the sector. Like the sectors themselves, the color of the squares represent the team from which the ships come. While each square does not represent one ship, they do allow for the strength of each team to be estimated.

Yellow Arrow

The yellow arrow () above the sector is something that is always on the minimap, as it represents your current location, regardless of wether you are currently flying or in a base. This will move with you to whatever sector you fly to.

Green Arrow

The green arrow () to the left of the sector represents the last sector that you clicked on the minimap. It will stay on the sector until you click on another sector.

Red Arrow

A red arrow () will appear below some sectors on the minimap when you either have a constructor selected or are hovering over a station in the construction tab of the Investments (F5) pane. This arrow represents all of the sectors where that particular station can be constructed. For example, if you hover over the Build Expansion icon or have an Expansion constructor selected, then all sectors that have a Uranium rock in them will have a red arrow appear underneath of them.

Red Diamond

When you are ripcording, red diamonds () will appear under the sectors that your team has teleport receivers in. If a diamond is flashing () then it is the sector that you are currently ripcording to.

Warning Indicators

There are three warning indicators, with three corresponding levels of threat. The first level is when an enemy ship is detected in the sector. This is indicated by this red circle around the sector:

The second level is when either a friendly drone detects enemies in its sector or when a ship that can threaten one of your stations is detected in a sector that is not yours. This is indicated by this spikey red circle around the sector:

The third level is when either a ship that can threaten one of your stations is in one of your sectors or when an enemy capital ship is detected. This is indicated by this spikey red and yellow circle around the sector:

Piloting with the minimap

As covered previously, left-clicking on any sector in the minimap will engage your autopilot to take you to that sector. If there is a teleport receiver available in or closer to that sector, your autopilot will ripcord you there first. Ripcording will be covered in more depth in a later lesson. When you find an aleph to a new sector, it will immediately appear on the minimap. If you are in a scout, it is useful to select this sector to autopilot to, as any information about what is in that sector can help your team

Example Minimap

A: The icon row, showing 6 blue eject pods, 5 blue Advanced Fighters, 3 yellow scouts, 2 Yellow PT Bombers, 8 Yellow Heavy Interceptors, a yellow Heavy Troop Transport (AP), a blue Refinery, and a Blue Teleport Reciever.

B: The Sector name. In this case, it is the Torc sector.

C: The sector's He3. There is currently 78 units of He3

D: The sector's asteroids. There is no tech rock in this sector, meaning that one must have been destroyed earlier in the game, but there are four He3 asteroids.

E: This sector has a small number of both blue and yellow craft in it, making it only slightly contested

F: This sector is the sector currently occupied, and it was also the last sector selected by the pilot. It has bases friendly to the pilot that are at direct risk from enemy craft.

← Remapping controls

Minimap icons →

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 __NOTOC__
-{{Wikify}}
 {{:Cadet I/Week 1}}
 {{Nav|Remapping controls|Minimap icons}}
-{{Ugly}}
-===The Minimap===
+==The Basics==
+The Minimap displays a lot of information in a very small space. On the top of the minimap pane is the sector that is the current focus of the minimap, which is by default the sector that you are flying through or observing through the command view. The information in the Minimap is dependant on the team's sensors and probes, for if something is not eyed then it will not be on the minimap. Stations, once eyed, are essentially permanently eyed and will stay on the minimap until they are destroyed. Ships, however, only appear when they are eyed and will dissappear from the minimap as soon as they are no longer eyed.
+===Asteroids===
+When the minimap is expanded through the use of the arrow on the top right corner, it shows information about the asteroids in the sector. Regular asteroids are not included on the minimap, but Helium 3 asteroids and asteroids that a Techbase, such as a Supremacy, can be built on. While the information defaults to the sector the pilot is in, the minimap will show the asteroids that are in a sector that you hold the mouse pointer over in the minimap display. This is especially useful for finding sectors that have not been scouted yet.
+====Helium (He3)====
+Information about Helium asteroids is given in two places. The first information is listed as He3 followed by a number, and is at the very top above the asteroids in the sector. As you may notice, this is often a large number, and is not the number of Helium Asteroids in the sector. This is the number of units of Helium that can be mined from the sector. Keep in mind that each unit of Helium is usually worth about $80 and that miners can usually carry 90 units of Helium per load, making a fully loaded miner bring in about $7200.
+The second place that the information about Helium asteroids is listed is at the bottom of the asteroids list, below any tech rocks. The number beside this icon is the number of helium rocks in the sector, represented by the white asteroid icon: [[Image:helium_icon.png]]
+====Tech Rocks====
+Tech rocks are the asteroids that Techbases can be built on. There are three types, Uranium, Silicon, and Carbon. While in most cases there are rarely multiple tech rocks in a sector and it is even more uncommon for there to be more than one of the same type, the number of each rock is given next to its indicator.
-First and foremost, you must be aware that the minimap and any other system that gives you information can only give you information about what your team has detected. Undetected bases and ships do not appear on the map, nor on your command view nor on your HUD. However, as soon as you or any other sensor detects anything, the whole team receives the information.
+An Expansion techbase can be built on a Uranium asteroid, represented by the orange asteroid icon: [[Image:uranium_icon.png]]
-The Minimap displays a lot of information in a very small space. Therefore, it is necessary that you understand every little icon displayed. At the top is the name of the sector in which you currently are or are currently observing through your command view. Right under are all kinds of small icons that you'll learn easily. They represent ships and stations present in the given sector. On minimap 1, we can see a scout of each team, 2 blue miners, and a refinery platform. Beside the minimap itself is the amount of He-3 in the sector. The number 264 does not represent $264, but 264 units of He-3, each corresponding to about 80$ (so this sector contains about 21 $120). Under the He-3 indication are the special rocks present in the sector and their quantity. A white rock is a He-3 rock. A green one is Silicon asteroid, orange is Uranium and purple is Carbon. Generic asteroids are not indicated on the minimap because they are so common.
+A Tactical techbase can be built on a Silicon asteroid, represented by the green asteroid icon: [[Image:silicon_icon.png]]
-The minimap itself displays the whole map on which sectors are represented by circles and aleph interconnections by lines between the sectors. Most maps are, like this one, designed so that they look geometrically simple. You could however have the exact same map displayed in a very complex fashion but keep the interconnections the same, keeping the exact same map but making it look awfully complicated.
+A Supremacy techbase can be built on a Carbon asteroid, represented by the purple asteroid icon: [[Image:carbon_icon.png]]
+==Icons==
+In order to use the minimap effectively, you must know what each icon on the minimap represents.  The icons that will be most important to most pilots are those found between the sector name and the minimap itself. These represent ships, bases, and the number of each that are in the sector. As with the asteroids, this information changes depending on which sector the mouse is over on the minimap.
+===Sectors===
+Sectors are the individual sections of the map, connected to other sectors through alephs. Sectors appear on the minimap as a circle, and are often filled in with one color or another. Aleph links appear as lines on the minimap, connecting the sectors together.
+====Sector Colors====
+The color of a sector on the minimap indicates which team holds it. A sector that is yellow is a sector controlled by the yellow team. Similarly, a sector that is blue is controlled by the blue team. A sector that is shown as empty is usually one that is not directly controlled by any team. However, a sector with an unspotted base in it will still appear to be empty until that base is spotted. Occasionally, bases from multiple teams will be in the same sector. In this case, the sector has one team's color surrounded by a ring of the other team's color.
+===Indicators===
+There are several important indicators that appear around or near sectors in the minimap. These let you know things such as where you are and where you clicked last on the minimap.
+====Ship Indicators====
+Beside each sector a number of colored squares will be shown, indicating the number of ships of each team in the sector. Like the sectors themselves, the color of the squares represent the team from which the ships come. While each square does not represent one ship, they do allow for the strength of each team to be estimated.
+====Yellow Arrow====
+The yellow arrow ([[Image:self_icon.png]]) above the sector is something that is always on the minimap, as it represents your current location, regardless of wether you are currently flying or in a base. This will move with you to whatever sector you fly to.
+====Green Arrow====
+The green arrow ([[Image:lastclick_icon.png]]) to the left of the sector represents the last sector that you clicked on the minimap. It will stay on the sector until you click on another sector.
+====Red Arrow====
+A red arrow ([[Image:buildable_icon.png]]) will appear below some sectors on the minimap when you either have a constructor selected or are hovering over a station in the construction tab of the Investments (F5) pane. This arrow represents all of the sectors where that particular station can be constructed. For example, if you hover over the Build Expansion icon or have an Expansion constructor selected, then all sectors that have a Uranium rock in them will have a red arrow appear underneath of them.
+====Red Diamond====
+When you are ripcording, red diamonds ([[Image:ripstation_icon.png]]) will appear under the sectors that your team has teleport receivers in. If a diamond is flashing ([[Image:ripstationtarget_icon.png]]) then it is the sector that you are currently ripcording to.
+====Warning Indicators====
+There are three warning indicators, with three corresponding levels of threat.
+The first level is when an enemy ship is detected in the sector. This is indicated by this red circle around the sector: [[Image:level1_icon.png]]
-An empty sector means that no team has claimed it. A colored sector means that the corresponding team has claimed the sector (has built a base in it). A sector that has more than one color has been claimed by at least two teams (see leftmost sector on minimap 1). Note that an uncolored sector may have been claimed by your enemy, but you don't know yet that they built a base there. A sector only becomes colored once you know there is a station in it. Beside each sector may appear little colored squares, they represent the number of ships inside each sector, so that you know approximately what is the amount of forces all over the map, with the colors corresponding to the team's color.
+The second level is when either a friendly drone detects enemies in its sector or when a ship that can threaten one of your stations is detected in a sector that is not yours. This is indicated by this spikey red circle around the sector:[[Image:level2_icon.png]]
-The large yellow arrow pointing down indicates the sector in which you currently are (if you're in space) or which you currently are viewing (if you've docked and are simply looking at the map). The green arrow indicates the sector on which you last left-clicked, as left-clicking on a sector generally starts your autopilot to take you there. A small red, blinking diamond indicates where you are currently ripcording. If you open the investments window (F5), and place your mouse over a certain station, small, red arrows pointing up will appear under the sectors where your team has detected asteroids that allow this station to be built. Placing your mouse over the icon to build an expansion complex will make red arrows appear under sectors where your team knows that uranium asteroids are present.
+The third level is when either a ship that can threaten one of your stations is in one of your sectors or when an enemy capital ship is detected. This is indicated by this spikey red and yellow circle around the sector:[[Image:level3_icon.png]]
+==Piloting with the minimap==
+As covered previously, left-clicking on any sector in the minimap will engage your autopilot to take you to that sector. If there is a teleport receiver available in or closer to that sector, your autopilot will ripcord you there first. Ripcording will be covered in more depth in a later lesson.
+When you find an aleph to a new sector, it will immediately appear on the minimap. If you are in a scout, it is useful to select this sector to autopilot to, as any information about what is in that sector can help your team
-When you are ripcording (ripcord will be covered later), red diamonds appear under all sectors which contain a teleport receiver. The diamond under the sector where you are currently ripcording will blinking to indicate that it is the one which has been selected. Notice on minimap 3 here: I have started my ripcording sequence and red diamonds have appeared under each sector where a teleport receiver exists. However, only the one with the green arrow (the one where I clicked because I am going there) is blinking, indicating that I will be using the teleport receiver in this sector.
+==Example Minimap==
-Around sectors can appear red or yellow circles which warn about dangers. In minimap 1, we can see a yellow circle around a blue sector. This sunny icon means that one of your stations is at risk of being destroyed or captured. A red, spiky circle means that an important ship, like a constructor or miner, detects an enemy in the same sector, or that an enemy bomber is present but not directly threatening any stations yet. A simple red circle means that an enemy ship has been detected in that sector, but does not necessarily represent a threat.
 {| align="center"
 |-
-|[[Image:minimap.jpg|thumb]]
+|[[Image:Minimap.png]]
-|[[Image:minimapbuild.jpg|thumb|Notice the small red arrows pointing toward sectors containing a U rock.]]
-|[[Image:minimapripcord.jpg|thumb|Notice the red diamonds pointing where teleport receivers exist.]]
 |}
+A: The icon row, showing 6 blue eject pods, 5 blue Advanced Fighters, 3 yellow scouts, 2 Yellow PT Bombers, 8 Yellow Heavy Interceptors, a yellow Heavy Troop Transport (AP), a blue Refinery, and a Blue Teleport Reciever.
-===Getting around with the Minimap===
+B: The Sector name. In this case, it is the Torc sector.
+C: The sector's He3. There is currently 78 units of He3
-As covered in the previous lesson, left-clicking on a sector on the minimap engages your autopilot toward that sector. If a teleport is available at that sector or at a sector closer to the one in which you are, a ripcord sequence will be engaged to get you to destination as quickly as possible. Ripcording will be covered in a subsequent lesson.
+D: The sector's asteroids. There is no tech rock in this sector, meaning that one must have been destroyed earlier in the game, but there are four He3 asteroids.
-When you discover a new sector while scouting, it will immediately appear on the minimap You can then left-click on it to engage your autopilot, which will direct your ship toward the aleph to go in the newly discovered sector which you can then explore. This is most useful when scouting.
+E: This sector has a small number of both blue and yellow craft in it, making it only slightly contested
+F: This sector is the sector currently occupied, and it was also the last sector selected by the pilot. It has bases friendly to the pilot that are at direct risk from enemy craft.
 {{Nav|Remapping controls|Minimap icons}}