What is "SITREP"

[BleedTheFreak]

As shown in this screenie:

http://www.gamespy.com/asp/image.asp?platform=GC&genre=strategy&image=/previews/november02/moo3pc/4.jpg

At the menu above the gameplay area, just to the right of "game menu", what does that button do? Or am I just dense?

As a side note, the screenhost I noticed this in, did you notice you can have somone be diplomatically isolated? Yikes. That would suck if it happened to you!

[Craig P.]

SITuation REPort.

(IIRC)

[Xentax]

Yes, "SITuation REPort" is correct.

It's the evolution of the Turn Summary from MOO2. Lots niftier; entries are prioritized and (if appropriate) contain a hyperlink to the appropriate area of the game. For example, an entry informing you of diplomacy messages takes you to the diplomacy screen; entries about technology take you to the technology screen, etc.

[Kloreep]

I'm glad to see it'll be more intelligent than MOO2. It always amazed me how a new Hydroponic farm was more important than an inter-galactic war breaking out.

[vmxa1]

Sounds like the report in Space Empires that you can goto the action refleced in the news.

[Xentax]

I don't remember the news report from SE (I haven't played that game much), so I can't comment on that.

But the SitRep seems like a fairly critical and fundamental aspect of MOO3. The whole idea underlying MOO3 is to make the player truly RUN an empire, rather than micro-manage it. If it's working, that means the player is being event-driven -- he takes those high priority events and acts. He may choose to take the lower priority events and micromanage, but those big events -- Diplomatic or Senate interactions, for example -- are what he needs to see first and foremost, and act upon.

The SitRep lets you see things in order of priority, and (even better) provides the facility to immediately act upon the ones of interest, by linking you appropriately (at least for those events which have a reasonable "destination").

[vmxa1]

I am not sure why we need a prioitize list. I mean, we will see all of the events and it is turn based, so you can get to all of them in time. The old summay had all events and it mattered not which one was done in what order, time was not moving.

[Xentax]

Look at it this way: If there are, say, 100 events this turn, wouldn't you rather have the ones you're least likely to act upon at the end of the list?

Remember that, though the game is turn-based, at least some folks will play with a per-turn time limit.

Besides that, it makes sense to handle the mundane stuff in light of the really important stuff. It'd waste a lot of time if you set some things up only to go back and redo it all when you realize you've just been invited to play Interstellar War with your neighbor...

[Craig P.]

Besides which, if there's a lot of stuff in there that is not of any importance to me, I'd be really PO'ed if I had to scroll through it all to find the stuff that mattered.

[BleedTheFreak]

Originally posted by vmxa1
I am not sure why we need a prioitize list. I mean, we will see all of the events and it is turn based, so you can get to all of them in time. The old summay had all events and it mattered not which one was done in what order, time was not moving.

Uh, it sounds like your complaining about there being *too many* useful featuers.

[Grumbold]

Oh no, I'm being overwhelmed by useful features! Down with usefulness overload!