Astro Empires Official Blog

Interactive Tutorial hits AE!

2009-11-20T21:17:00.004Z

Hi guys!

This week has seen some changes to the game that most of you won't be making use of but hopes to expand the community and keep fresh blood flowing into the game. A new interactive tutorial has been added to the game allowing new users a fresh and easy way to learn how to play without having to read through walls of text or get overwhelmed with formulas before they are ready. Of course the original tutorials and guides will still be available but it is hoped that more and more players will opt to use this new interactive option when starting the game.

In other news Wizard is celebrating a few new additions to his family as he discovered with a shock that his new pet hamster was pregnant and a healthy litter of babies were the result. Would any of you be looking for a new pet hamster?

On the AEverywhere front we have been having more excellent and obscure entries. Lets take a look at a couple more shall we?

Our first group entry is by LightSpeed, mindlessdrone and arrogantb**tard. An epic setup indeed, its just a pity you couldn't run your full guild ops from it isn't it? That would be cool...

On the theme of education I took this one. AE101, its only a matter of time really!

That's it for this week guys, till next time, adeus.

Brinca Interview - Part I

2009-11-13T09:01:00.005Z

Hi guys!

As some of you might have noticed Wizard this week announced the launch of Graphics Pack development kit. Any of you who have taken a hand at making your own graphics pack for AE you will know just how fidgety they can be and how difficult it can be to get your head around it. Well this new kit aims to make the process simple enough for anyone in the hope of allowing everyone to get involved and show they're own vision for Astro Empires! Details are on the forums.

We have decided to take this opportunity to interview the chief designer of the new game layout and visual guru of Astro Empires, Brinca!

Tell us a little about yourself. Who is Brinca?

I'm a portuguese designer/programmer with over 20 years of experience in the field, 10 of which working as a professional. I started programming at age 9, when I got my first ZX Spectrum 48K computer, and found that I liked making games more than actually playing them.. :)

I consider myself to be a sorta-geeky-but-not-quite, easy going workaholic.

Could you give us an idea of what you do as part of the Astro Empires team.

Although my primary skill is programming, I'm currently in charge of developing the design and other visual features of the site. I still do some programming (the new layout engine, flash/js scripts, etc), but nothing to do directly with game play or game mechanics. I also work as a general and creative consultant, since I do have a substantial amount of knowledge/experience in the Internet and Gaming industries.

Graphics packs are a core element of user content for the game, what do you feel we should do to encourage users to use and develop them?

A big part of our current strategy is to grow a wider and tighter community, getting more people involved with the game, but in more aspects than just playing. To this end we're currently building several tools to allow people not only to create their own customized content, but also to easily share it with their friends and online community.

A new Graphic Pack kit has just been released, loaded with many useful tools, documentation and examples, that will make Pack customization a breeze. An online repository of user-submitted Graphic Packs is being setup on our new community portal, which will allow users to download, comment and rank other user's packs. Contests and other competitions are about to be launched, and we're preparing a serious marketing campaign targeted towards design-related sites, hopefully to spark some interest from the design community.

We also think that as word of the new layout spreads, we'll attract the attention of more designers, who perhaps didn't like the limited text-only looks of the previous layout, but are now able to use the new layout engine to develop cool artwork for the game (which is a nice opportunity to expose their skills to thousands of users).

As for your part in this, you can give the new kit a spin and share your creations online through the repository, and/or spread the word with your friends, on your site, blog, facebook, etc

Do you have any phobia's? Perhaps the fear that nobody would like your new layout? ;-)

Well, I'm no stranger to failure, so I'm quite at ease with people's criticism, as long as it's constructive.. I'd say my biggest fear is overlooking some small detail in the production phase, that would later prove to be a pain to fix once deployed.. yes, having one of your blunders negatively affect the gaming experience of thousands of players probably qualifies as a programmer's worst nightmare.

We know that Xaman and Wizard have both played the game in the past, however have you ever given it a shot as a newer member of the team?

I definitely play the game, although mainly as an observer as I try not to influence things too much. If you have an active role in the game's development, I think it's mandatory that you play it yourself, since that is one of the best ways to test out the features, while scooping unfiltered feedback from the players themselves.

It's also great fun to watch people chatting in the forum about something you were a part of.. :)

What would be your perfect job? And no you can't say working for AE, that would be a cop-out :P

Sorry, but I do have my perfect job already.. :) I'm fortunately one of those lucky bastards that has ever known what he wanted to do, and is doing exactly what he always dreamed of doing.. ;)

Do you have any pets? If not what animal would you like as a pet?

I don't have any pets at the moment, but when living with my parents we always had plenty of cats and dogs around. The only pet I'm looking forward to right now is my baby daughter, due in the next few weeks.. :)

---

We'll conclude our interview with Brinca early next week so watch this space. Catch you then ;-)

Brinca Interview - Part II

2009-11-16T23:51:00.005Z

Hi guys,

As promised guys here is the second part of our interview with Brinca!

You were recently at the core of the development of Astro Empires new layout. Did you find it challenging reworking a layout to be used by thousands of players?

Actually, the challenging bit was making the new layout engine so versatile that it wouldn't need another rewrite any time soon..

Of course that when designing a layout for a broad audience there are many factors that must be taken into account, such as keeping it compatible with several different browsers, tweaking the balance between what is pretty and what is practical, limiting bandwidth consumption and server load, etc, all the while taking care not to hurt anyone's feelings too much (especially the older, hardcore, fans).

In the past few months we have seen some small 3D images appearing on the games homepages, are these a sign of things to come?

Oh yeah, 3D artwork is definitely going to play a major role in the game's design, not only for ships, but also for many other things, most of which I'm not at the liberty to discuss.. I can say that we have ideas involving CGI that go well beyond anything that anyone has ever done in the browser-based game arena so far.

Development is important in a dynamic browser based game. What sort of cool new projects are you working on now?

I could tell you, but then I would have to shoot you, and who would then write our amazing blog articles..!? ;-) Seriously though, we have planned or already started work on 50+ new features, which will be released throughout this and the next year.

Some of these are mostly eye candy, but there are many actually useful tools, aimed to improve user creativity, sharing and communication.

As we know English is not your first language, how do you coup with working day in and day out in another language?

Well, I'm pretty at ease with English, since it's been a part of my life for a really long time (I attended an English school in Lisbon, have a Scottish nephew, read lots of books in English, regularly surf the Internet which is mostly in English, etc).

Also, in Portugal all movies and series are subtitled, so you get to hear the original language over the subtitle text, which is a great way to learn another language.

How did you get involved in Astro Empires?

I've known Wizard for a while back, but there was only talk of actually becoming involved with AstroEmpires when Xaman suggested it, while the three of us were hanging out at a local coffee shop.

We started off with a simple request to redesign the old layout, but things quickly evolved into dozens of ideas for improvements, features and campaigns, which eventually led to the new Layout Engine and DeepSpace skins (oddly enough, we never did get the redesign of the old layout done). With the rate of creativity pouring in every day, we have enough to keep our team busy for the next few decades..

Is there anything else you would like to pass onto our readers?

There are many exciting things to come, so stay tuned and check the site/blog regularly. We hope you'll have as much fun with these features as we're having developing them. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas on the forum, since feedback is always welcomed (and yes, developers do actually read it).

Thats everything guys, catch you Friday!

Hei Astro Empires

2009-11-07T09:39:00.005Z

Hi guys,

Today saw Astro Empires open its doors to the Finnish people as we launch Finnish as an official Astro Empires language. Although Finnish has a relatively small speakership of 6 million we already know the Finnish Astro Empires players can punch above their weight and hope more excellent players will now have the ability to join the community.

At this point I would like to personally thank Kreivi and Niklas for their hard work translating Finnish. Without the hard work on players like them and the dozens of others working on AE's translation none of this would be possible. Keep up the good work guys!

On the AE Everywhere front we are coming down with excellent entries and we would love to see more! Keep them coming guys! Send entries to community@astroempires.com, guidelines can be found on the forums. Here are a few more entries to take inspiration from ;-)

We have another entry from Catfud, using AE as he ace's through the Fire and the Flames in Guitar Hero III.

Sheena has sent us an entry which answers everyone's question of how two Delta airlines pilots missed their airport ^^

That's everything for this week guys, till then, adeus.

Spotlight on AE Everywhere

2009-10-30T23:16:00.007Z

Hi guys!

Well another week has passed and here we are with our latest news digest blog. In game news this week Wizard announced a new ‘Spotlight’ feature which will highlight non-game issues of note. Competitions, recruitment and events to name a few, oh and that’s not including a certain AE blog that I hear is quite good. *cough* What? :-P Get the details on the forums.

The more eagle eyed of you will have noticed the announcement of AE’s new contest on the blogs this week. The less eagle eyed will have seen it in the oh so subtle global announcement on the forums ;-) AE Everywhere is a contest encouraging AE players everywhere to take snapshots of themselves or others dealing with AE in an extreme or unusual way. Details are on the forums. We’ve already received a few excellent entries including Catfud and his attempts to teach his pet goat to play AE.

In other news since its Halloween tomorrow night Ikari will be heading out with friends clad in the costume of ‘Friend’ from ‘Naoki Urasawa’s’ 20th century boys. Pictures of him in costume will not be posted ^^

That’s us for this week guys, till next time, adeus.

Contest: Astro Empires Everywhere!

2009-10-28T19:11:00.006Z

Hi guys!

Today we're launching a new contest for all Astro Empires to get involved in. A picture can say a thousand words, and we want yours to say twice as many ;-) First place will score a free years upgrade with second and third place taking six and three month upgrades respectively. So what excuse do you have to not get involved?!

Take an image of yourself or friend playing AE in an unusual or extreme way! Do you use 3 computers at once? Have you mapped out an entirely galaxy on printed sheets and posted them about your room? Have you ever accessed in a hospital? On your company fishing trip? After sneaking away from a date with your girlfriend? We want to see them and reward the best and most imaginative ones.

Here is an example shot to perhaps inspire you!

Some guidelines:
* Photos should demonstrate extreme or unusual play or fandom of AE
* Entries are to be sent to 'community@astroempires.com'
* Please include 'AE Everywhere' in your subject line
* Photoshop is allowed as long as a real photograph is at its core
* Multiple entries are allowed, however you can only win once!
* A selection of the best entries will be published on the blog
* Please include your username and server with your entry

* The best entries will be judged and selected by a panel of admins
* Entries close on December 31st
* The results will be announced in early January

Bonjour Astro Empires!

2009-10-24T00:40:00.002+01:00

Hi guys!

This week has seen the launch Astro Empires 4th official language, French! We would like to thank Techloup, PhDCus, Zeus and Babel for all the work they have put into making this launch possible. Existing French players can now play AE in their native tongue and opens up the game to literally millions of new players.

To play the game in French you need to go to your accounts page, display, and change your language to French. I've played AE so long I can actually play in a language I don't know a word in... how about you? ;)

Till next time guys, adeus.

Features Blog

2009-10-21T23:13:00.006+01:00

Hi guys,

Its time for our first features blog. It won't be a regular blog but keep your eyes open as it will surface every now and then. ;) If you want to get involved in these community blog features the details follow.

AExtremes is the feature were we share your stories of taking AE to the extreme! Pictures, stories and plots where you, your friends or guild mates have taken AE just that little bit too far, we want them all! ;) Email them to community@astroempires.com now!

"I stayed up all night the night before my math project was due and I left it at home beacuse I was so tired from fighting the night before. So instead of having my project I presented the Ae battle calc and the way game mechanics worked and how to figure out if you would win or not.

I got an A+." ~ Ian Smith

Ask Astro Empires is the feature we're you get to put your questions to the admins! Post your questions on the Ask Astro Empires thread and your questions might be answered here next week ;)

Rainier Wolfcastle asks, on the new skin that is in its beta stage there are spots on the construction, production, and research page that look like they are for pictures. Are there going to be pictures there and if so when?

Yes we are working on adding ship images into the game. Last week we had an early example of the work being done in this area by our new grathic designer here at AE. Watch this space for details :D ~ Ikari

Supersonic asks, why didn't you guys use twitter since its all the rage?

*Cough* *Cough* - https://twitter.com/astro_empires ~ Ikari

That’s everything for this week guys, till next time adeus.

Artwork bonanza!

2009-10-17T00:39:00.007+01:00

Hi guys!

Its been a quiet week here in AE HQ so I decided to make another run at our graphic designers desk during his coffee break. Make sure nobody tells Xaman or Wizard though, *shifty*. It's another early design, this time it's a detailed look at a cannon a top of the fleet carrier.

In forum news Canaris has joined the moderation team and will be looking after the Roleplay forums. We wish him the best of luck with his new post, and hope you guys will too. In other news Jabba the Hutt has shown the community exactly how much time he has free creating a highly original piece of AE artwork, take a look below or on the original forum thread.

We at AE feel there is only one way to describe this image, and luckily Wayne Nylund has done an image for us to say it with,

That’s everything for this week guys, till next time adeus.

AE takes one large linguistic step forward!

2009-10-09T21:01:00.001+01:00

Hi guys!

Taking another large step in expanding who can play AE across the world both French and Finnish have entered beta testing. French and Finnish players of AE are currently working with our translators to get the languages ready for full launch early in November. We want to thank Niklas and Kreivi for their hard work getting Finnish ready and Zeus, Techloup, PhDCus, hardyfu and guijo for their working bringing French into Beta. Once launched this will allow another 128 million people to be able to access AE in their native language!

In game news, the debris collection changes have now been implemented to great cheering among many users. In forum news the AE forum has launched a Finnish board in preparation for the new Finnish players this feature will enviably bring to the game.

We have no Ask Astro Empires today as we'll be relaunching it along with AExtremes next week ;-)

Till next time, adeus.

Debris Changes and babies

2009-10-02T21:04:00.001+01:00

Hi guys!

Not a lot of news for you this week at all. On the game front Wizard has announced some long requested features into the debris collection system. These changes include accounts in Vacation Mode will no longer collect debris and the location of your collections shall be tracked in your credit log. These changes will be implemented in one weeks time, details on the forums.

In other news Xaman became uncle to a cute baby girl. Now onto our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details on the forums.

Jimmy777j asks, how many of the mods know each other in real life?

For game admin (and myself) we all know each other. Since I was down to AE HQ a few weeks ago we have now all met in person. As for the forum moderators, I don't believe any of them know each other in real life. Most of their game identities are as much a mystery to each other as they are to the community. ~ Ikari

Saer asks, why is the game called Astro Empires? Were there other names that were in mind?

We thought of Star Wars initially, but some guy named George Lucas registered it first. Astro Empires was the second best name. ~ Xaman

That's all for this week guys, till next time, adeus.

Danish & AExtremes

2009-09-25T17:02:00.007+01:00

Hi guys!

Today saw the launch of AE's third official Language, Danish! After months of translation and a September of beta testing Danish is up and ready for use. We would like to thank Lord_Mike and Beeblebrox for their hard working translating the language and hope this will encourage a lot more native Danish speakers to the game.

To play the game in Danish you need to go to your accounts page, display and change your language to Danish. I've played AE so long I can actually play in a language I don't know a word in... how about you? ;-)

On the game front Wizard has announced a new updates box for the game, nothing to exciting but this box will make sure you see new game updates when they are announced without that all important visit to the forums. That said we would still encourage you to visit the forums, its almost a game in and of itself over there ^^. We hope this will encourage more of the community to get involved in offering feedback for developments in future. Details on the forums

Now, last week we mentioned new changes to the blog, well with this in mind we are announcing a new feature due for launch in a few weeks time, though only if enough of you show interest!

For AExtremes we want 'your' stories! We want you to email us examples of you, your friends, your guildmates taking AE to the extreme. Have your gotten up in the middle of the night for a battle when you have an exam the next morning? Have you logged on while at the hospital while a family member has been ill to check your fleet was safe? Have you spent days preparing scenarios of evil to take political control of a server? If so, we want to hear about it! Give us your stories and we'll put them on the blog, with or without your name.

To get you into the mood, here is an example I took myself,

Now get emailing them. Send your emails to community@astroempires.com asap with the subject AExtremes. We'll only start this feature if we get enough replies so get to it! Now onto our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details on the forums.

Tixo asked, I would like to ask why won't AE add more Layouts to the game :) the last one seems so pleasant and cool and I always wanted to have a big stash to choose from, is it so hard to put like 5-10...or even more new Layouts?

The new Layout Engine is the most versatile ever and a new Graphic Pack Kit with lots of goodies is coming up, so we expect the community to start building high quality custom layouts in no time soon.. as for official AE Layouts, there are at least three more planned for the near future, although they're not a high priority at the moment (not with all the cool stuff we're working on right now.. ;)). ~ Brinca

Sear asks, how old are all moderators and administrators on this forum? I don't know, I am curious, considering most players are in college, from a poll I seen a while back.

Well I couldn't give out everyone's age... I can say that Xaman (30), and Wizard (31) and myself (24) have already given out our ages in previous blogs. I did a wee poll of our moderators and will share the results with you ;-) ~ Ikari

That's all for this week guys, till next time, adeus.

BBGsite.com interview

2009-09-23T08:33:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,

We wanted to let you all know that an interview with Wizard and Xaman has been published by BBGSite.com. The interview focus's on the development of new 3D elements for the game which any player will want to read for themselves! Read the interview yourself at BBGSite.com.

Birthdays & Logo's

2009-09-18T19:39:00.015+01:00

Hi guys!

Last week in the blog we took a look into the future of Astro Empires in the form of a sneak peak at the new ship designs we'll be introducing in the coming months. This week we will be taking a look into the games past, but sticking to the graphical theme.

Back in 2006 AE was launched but one thing was still to be finalised, what would AE use as it's logo? Anyone who knows anything about marketing should know how important a brand is to any company or game. Taking a look through AE's archives I have unearthed 5 alternative logo's which were considered for Astro Empires created by Kn0xx. Today, I share them with you :)

In other news yesterday Wizard celebrated his 31st birthday. He and some of the AE staff will be heading out to dinner to celebrate tonight. On the blog front we're looking at some changes over the next few months. Some of these include regular competitions, new features and additional posts over the week. We'll be letting you know more in the coming weeks so watch this space!

Now onto our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details on the forums.

DetriotFan11 asks, will/Can there be more ways to win upgrades?

At the moment there are several ways to win upgrades. The Drekon frigate competition is only one example. In the coming months we are looking at having more regular competitions to get the community more involved in the game and game upgrades will often be the prizes ;) ~ Ikari

SuperSonic asks, why did you Guys Go with a Blog?

Because it's cool? Seriously, we wanted a less informal and more friendly way to interact with our community. Blogs seem perfect for it. ~ Xaman

That's it for this week guys, till next time adeus.

Battleships and Drekons

2009-09-11T13:27:00.006+01:00

Hi guys!

This week we have something special for you. As you know AE recently brought on a new employee to design ships for use in the game, well he has been hard at work and is now moving onto 3D modelling. While he was on his coffee break I sneaked over to his desk and 'borrowed' one of the early hand designs for the Battleship. Remember this is an early design so it will change before it reaches the game itself but this is the first stage in the development of Astro Empires ships!

In game news it was announced that the Drekon hordes have made their way to the Gamma galaxies. Batten down the hatches and watch those scanners if you don't want to be caught off guard by this alien menace! Details are on the forums.

In forum news long time language moderator phoenix777 who has been looking after our Hungarian and Romanian language boards and global Moderator Green have retired from their forum moderation duties to focus on work in Real Life. We wish them both luck in the future.

In other news Ikari is enjoying his stay at Astro Empires HQ and trying to do as little work as possible. He selected a single shot from his many photographs taken while on the trip to make you all jealous.

Now onto our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details on the forums.

Narth Vader asks, just how much of the stuff in the store does the staff actually own or use?

Mouse pads, mugs, clocks, t-shirts, you name it. I love my AE stein. ~ Xaman

Microwave Oven asks, is it possible for Ikari to send us emails of former moderators to say hi?

I'm afraid not. When our moderators retire they vanish into the ether never to be seen again. ~ Ikari

That’s all for this week guys, till next time adeus.

Time ticks on

2009-09-04T23:40:00.002+01:00

Hi guys!

Its been a quiet week here at Astro Empires HQ and believe it or not we have no news to report. That said, it doesn't mean we're relaxing enjoying the sun. Work is continuing on translating Astro Empires into fifteen other languages including French, German, Chinese and many more. If your interested in helping the translation find details on the forums. Wizard and his team of developers are also working on other projects though they are more hush hush, and if I told you I would have to kill you which would be difficult over the internet. *shifty*

In forum news we have received a fresh moderator recruit in the form of Hammurabi. He'll be taking over the Alpha boards so Belenus can focus his efforts entirely on his new victi... users in Fenix. Wish him luck and please Alpha, be kind while he finds his feet.

In other news Ikari is preparing to jet our to Portugal to join up with the rest of the Astro Empires team at headquarters tomorrow and of course take the opportunity to thoroughly sun himself on the Portuguese beaches. Now onto our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details on the forums.

Saer asks, how do administrators spend their days off?

We spend them worrying about getting an SMS that one of the servers went down. But we do have a life, sorta. ~ Xaman

Zelketron asks, Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Trek. Deep Space Nine, The best science fiction shows of the 1990's IMO. Star Wars is overrated. ~ Ikari

Im Good Not God asks, is Mort still around?

Nope, Mort has gone back to the abyss he crawled out of to help us. We could summon him again if we were in need though for now we are letting the new moderators live without the terror of having the Grim Reaper on their team ;-) ~ Ikari

That’s all for this week guys, till next time adeus.

Danish hits beta!

2009-08-28T21:35:00.004+01:00

Hi guys!

We have some exciting news for those of you who hail from the Kingdom of Denmark. This week Danish became the third language to be implemented into Astro Empires following English and Portuguese. At this point I would like to thank Lord_Mike and Beeblebrox for their tireless work to bring the language to Astro Empires. As the language is in beta testing we would ask that Danish players using the interface highlight errors on the forums.

To select the language go to your account menu, then display and select your language as Danish. We hope that in the coming weeks the language will be officially launched allowing native Danish speakers to get involved in AE too :-)

In other news the forum administration have announced some changes to their suspension system, details on the forum. Now onto our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details on the forums.

JokeySmurf asks, how many game devs are there?

Currently we are 3 persons working in game development, me as game director and programmer, more recently a programmer/designer (have worked the new layout) and a designer working in 3D stuff that later can be used in the game. ~ Wizard

Albend asks, is it true.......that one of the mods is a woman?

I'm afraid at the moment we don't have any female moderators though we would like to have more. In the past we have had a couple, Crimsan and Jelanda for example. ~ Ikari

Tixo asks, will a faster paced version of AE, resetting every once in awhile, ever be released? Has it even been considered?

The idea of a speed server has been raised more than once in FR and on the Volunteer board and it remains a distinct possibility. Further than that, we'll have to wait and see. ~ Ikari

That’s all for this week guys, till next time adeus.

Contests and Interviews

2009-08-21T19:57:00.012+01:00

Hi guys,

This week we're going to do things a little differently. We'll give you your weekly fix of news but instead of our Ask Astro Empires feature we have a full blown interview with Astro Empires right hand man, Xaman. With that in mind lets get the news out of the way shall we?

Ingame we have seen a further expansion to the Gamma Galaxies, opening G50-59. As always these galaxies will be closed to existing players for two weeks and only open for new players. Details are on the forums. Beyond our servers we are working with popular gaming site BBGsite.com to bring a contest for 25 free upgraded accounts (3 months). You will need to register to enter, do so on their site.

With the news out of the way let's get on with our sit down with Astro Empires Operations Manager, Xaman.

I started by asking him to give us a little information about himself.

"I’m just a regular Portuguese guy who likes to play browser MMOGs and happens to work in one."

Well how did it come about that you got involved with Astro Empires in the first place?

"Wizard is a friend since school days and he invited me to help him out when the game was launched. I was working in Barcelona at the time and installed the game forum and became the forum administrator."

Today you are working as the 'Operations Manager', could you tell us a little about what you do in your day to day job at Astro Empires?

"I do routine stuff such as supervising the customer support and game operators, looking for game abuse, checking the forum, doing backups and managing our marketing. The list goes on."

Until earlier this year you were also chief admin of the Astro Empires forum before handing it over to Ikari, what was behind that change?

"With the increase of my tasks and responsibilities within the game and company my time for the forum was decreased greatly, so I no longer could manage the forum as I did before due to time limitations. Ikari was one of our most trusted and competent moderators and after a while as super moderator he was invited to take the position of forum administrator. It was a good decision."

As you mentioned earlier you are responsible for operations and as such oversee the work of most of the Astro Empires staff. Could you let us know what its like to coordinate staff for an online game, including ones from other countries?

"We have a great working environment in our office and the relation with our volunteer staff (mods, translators) has been easy going and fun. It’s great to be able to communicate with people from different geographic locations and cultures and I’m very happy with the service they have provided us and still provide."

As we know English is not your first language, how do you cope with working day in and day out in another language?

"It’s fine, I speak English since I was 11 or 12 and have worked abroad for companies where English was the primary communication language."

On a lighter note, in previous weeks you have mentioned your pet cat, could you tell us a little about him?

"He’s lazy, loves to eat and sleep all the time and is the most gentle cat in the World. Never scratched anyone in his life, he behaves like a dog more than a cat some times, following me around and answering to his name."

A few weeks ago the moderators where asked about their phobia's. Do you have any interesting fears? Perhaps fear of failure when starting AE?

"Not really, when first starting with AE it was all done as a hobby, I didn’t have many expectations and didn’t earn any salary at all for some time, I did it for the fun and friendship for Wizard. Now that it has became a bit more serious and more people are involved the expectations have risen a bit, but nothing that will keep me from sleeping."

There have always been rumours that you play the game or rather did. Is there any truth to these rumours and if so where did you play?

"Sure, I used to play on the Alpha server for a while, although I tended not to interfere in the game too much for obvious reasons. Now I only play on the development server for testing purposes."

What kind of Television shows and films do you like?

"That would be a long list, but I guess one of my favorite kind of TV series and films are comedies. Recently I watched 'You don't mess with the Zohan' which was great and of course I love 'Star Wars'"

Thanks for the interview Xaman, just before we finish is there anything else you would like to pass onto our readers?

"Don’t do drugs and stay out of trouble? Seriously, hope you continue to enjoy our game as much as we enjoy providing it to you."

Alright guys that's everything for this week. As always if you want to submit questions for Astro Empires staff you can do so on the forums. Till next time, adeus

Mygames.pt article on Astro Empires

2009-08-14T19:34:00.013+01:00

Hi guys,

This week has seen MyGames.pt, one of Portugal's largest gaming website publish an in-depth look at Astro Empires taking a look at the game, its development and its future. To read the article, visit MyGames.pt here, for a translated version, click here. With the implementation of the Portuguese language version of the game we expect to see further interest from Portuguese language sites.

Now we Have something interesting this week, some pictures of AE HQ. Using my hidden camera I was able to snap a few pic's while everyone was out for lunch, just don't tell Xaman or Wizard. The question is can you guess whose desk is whose? ;-)

Ingame, the promised increase to the Ion Bomber and Ion Frigate power have been implemented with the hope of expanding there use. On the Social Networking front Astro Empires opened official presences on multiple popular Social Networking Sites including Bebo, Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. We would encourage you all to join up if you're on any of these sites for regular updates and making friends :D

In other news last Tuesday Ikari celebrated his 24th Birthday, skipping out on work for a few hours to celebrate with family and friends. Next week we'll have an interview with AE's Operations Manager Xaman as well as all the weeks news. Now onto our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details here.

Albend asks, where did you get the name Astro Empires?

I had thinked in several names that can fit the game project, and have also made a search to see what names are not yet used by other games, and have selected this one as it seems to fit the game environment of astros colonization and space empires. ~ Wizard

Cactuschewer asks, will you ever bring Test back?

Sorry to all the test fans out there, its gone for good. Back when we started the forum we decided it would be good to have an area where users could test their new signatures and avatars. This changed though when we upgraded to PHP3 as it allowed users to test it themselves when uploading, making the board kinda redundant so we decided to close it to avoid spam. ~ Ikari

That’s all for this week guys, till next time adeus.

Operations turns it's eyes homeward

2009-08-07T22:30:00.004+01:00

Hi guys,

It’s been a quiet week here at AE HQ so I sat down with Operations Manager Xaman and discussed what his department is working on right now.

Operations deal with the day to day running of AE, from Customer Support to making sure the bills get paid allowing the developers to focus on what’s important, the code. This week however the department’s eyes have been moving squarely onto its Portuguese homeland.

With the launch of the Portuguese language version of Astro Empires Operations have been working to expand AE’s advertisement networks to include Portuguese language sites along with the English language sites we have traditionally worked with. As Portugal is the home of Astro Empires the Operations team have been making up for lost time, spreading the word among their fellow countrymen. Beyond the advertising, Wizard has been interviewed by Portugal’s largest gaming site, MyGames.pt, an interview which is set to be published in the coming weeks.

This week also saw the announcement of a change in some of our least used game units. Since their release the Ion Bomber and Ion Frigate have been the poor cousins of the their sister ships. Expensive with a very specialised use. In hope of expanding their use this week saw the announcement that their power stats would be increased. Details can be found here.

In other news Ikari has spent the week moving into his new house while Xaman escaped his desk just long enough to catch Linkin Park and James Morrison in concert in Portimão. I’m also happy to report that Xaman’s cat Chico has made a full recovery and is looking forward to its 19th birthday.

Now onto our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details here.

Black Legionnaire asks, so do all the mods play on their respective server? (I assume so)

In the past some moderators have moderated boards they played and at other times they haven't. For example when I was moderator of Delta I was playing there though I quit quite early. I even suspended my Guild Master at one point though luckily he had no idea who I was >_< Today however we do not select moderators who play on the server they will moderate and have been moving those who have been moderating boards they play. We hope this will remove any impression of bias even if there isn't any in the moderators decisions. ~ Ikari

Saer asks, how did administrators, moderators, and staff make up their usernames on the Forum?

You'll have to ask them individually. Myself I used to play World of Warcraft and my character was a Shaman, thus "Xaman". ~ Xaman

Microwave Oven asks do all of the devs and staff share an apartment together?

Hell no. But we're trying to have Wizard build a mansion just for us kinda like Google has. Or at least a nice little shack near the beach so we can relax while thinking of answers for all these questions. ~ Xaman

Sandalphon asks, what's your shoe size Ikari?

One size 11, one size 11.5. Yeah I know my feet are freaks. ~ Ikari

That’s everything for this week guys, till next time adeus.

New blood at Astro Empires HQ

2009-07-31T19:53:00.007+01:00

Hi guys,

This week there has been some excitement at AE HQ with our team expanding for the second time in this many months. This week a new 3D designer has taken his place on the AE development team. Initially he shall be focusing on ingame images for ships, tech and structures which means in the not too distant future AE should become more pleasing to the eyes. Keep your eyes on the blog for an interview in the coming weeks. ;-)

In other news our first AE Newsletter was dispatched last week which we hope will allow the less active users to keep in touch with what's happening in the AE-verse. Now onto our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details here.

Narth Vader asks, when the Staff aren't in the office, and a calamity strikes the servers (re: Gamma), generally what happens to fix the problem?

Most of the times those problems are related to server or network malfunction, as we have the servers hosted at an external company, we make sure they are aware of the problem, and when necessary we work with them to solve the problem. ~ Wizard

JokeySmurf asks, is knoxx still the forum developer?

No, he has left us some time ago, I handle that now. ~ Xaman

Witch-King of Agmar asks, what is the name of Xaman's old cat? And what breed?

He's named "Chico" and he's a handsome Siamese cat. ~ Xaman

DetroitFan11 asks, what's your favorite football team Ikari?

I don't really follow football either soccer or American football. When I was younger I used to follow the Soccer team Leeds United. Oh how the mighty have fallen *shakes head* ~ Ikari

That’s everything for this week guys, till next time adeus.

New layout launched

2009-07-24T18:15:00.004+01:00

Hi guys,

After a period of open beta testing, our new layout has finally been launched. We hope this will bring a bunch of new players to the game and that will make the game experience more pleasing to the existing players.

On ther other news, Xaman's 18 year old cat had to go to the vet this week. The worst was expected when a strange wound was noticed, but it turned out to be only a small infection. Hopefully he will stick around for a while longer.

As the week before, here are some answers to the questions you have been asking us. If you want to post your own questions get the details here.

RudolphStorr: Why do fleets whose owner is in vacation mode collect debris?

Wizard: Right now adding a check to the process to see if the fleet owner is in vacation mode or not, adds more processing time to it, and it is already taking too much time. After workout the new layout, I will complete review/remake the process and try to remove the collecting of debris while in vacation mode.

sky: Wizard and Xaman: How long have you 2 known eachother? how did you meet?

Xaman: We know each other for over 17 years now. We met in school through mutual friends.

Saer: How did administrators, moderators, and staff make up their usernames on the Forum?

Ikari: My username was something I had rolling around in my head from a couple of old forums where I used it. When I applied to be a moderator I wanted to use a shadowy cruel overlord personally and as anyone who has seen Neon Genesis Evangelion would agree the name is apt. I kept the look but the personally didn't really stick.

That’s everything for this week guys, till next time adeus.

Astro Empires goes multilingual

2009-07-17T18:20:00.005+01:00

Hi guys,

This week has seen the first non-English language version of Astro Empires launch offering Portuguese players the chance to play the game in their native language for the very first time. I am sure you will all agree this is apt as Astro Empires was founded in Portugal. You can try out the Portuguese language version of the game by changing the language in your display settings.

This week is also seeing the end of the this year’s great Drekon frigate hunt with the vast majority of free upgrades claimed. Wizard has posted a few extra clues as to the remaining frigates whereabouts on the forums. In other news Astro Empire's new newsletter which will be emailed to all active players is due for launch in the coming week and shall be distributed when there is some major news to announce. Not all players read the forums, this blog or even their accounts page so hopefully this new newsletter will help us keep you all informed of major updates and changes.

Now, as promised we start our Ask Astro Empires feature with some answers from the team. If you want to post your own questions get the details here.

hipie089 asks, why was this game made and who originally programmed it?

The game born from my interest in space strategy games and in programming. I have started making the game alone, and after lunching it in May 2006, my friend “Xaman” start help me with the game, since then a few more persons have join the staff. ~ Wizard

Johnny Tightlips asks, on the new skin that is in its beta stage there are spots on the construction, production, and research page that look like they are for pictures. Are there going to be pictures there and if so when?

Probably later, we have already start making 3D models of our game objects (ships, buildings, etc..), those models can later be used to make the icons and in other features. ~ Wizard

TEK Triton asks, what's you favorite Forum Section?

Trash Talk for laughs and Feedback to read what the players have to say about our game and service. ~ Xaman

Rabid Parrots asks, what kind of hours do AE staff put in? Is there like some Astro Empires HQ in Portugal where everyone comes to work on a daily basis like a regular job or is it all done over the web? Is it a full time job or do you guys have other sources of income aswell?

We all come to the office during normal working hours during the week plus we all work from home during the evening and weekends. Some work full-time, others part-time. ~ Xaman

Saer asks, what is the favorite beverage of your staff?

My favourite drink is a little known Scottish soft drink called IRN BRU (Pronounced Iron Brew). I don't drink alcohol so I'm afraid I can't comment on what kinds of it I would like ;-) ~ Ikari

On a lighter note albend asked if any of the moderation team where afraid of cats. Well I asked around and although some have had nasty encounters with vicious little scratchers no one has owned up to being afraid of them. Some have admitted to more run of the mill fears of falling or having something fall on them while one member of the team has a more unusual fear of Sunflowers.

That’s everything for this week guys, till next time adeus.

BBG Interviews Wizard as horizons expand

2009-07-10T17:30:00.007+01:00

Hi guys!

We have a few bits and pieces to share with you this week. Top of the list is BBG Site one of the Internet's largest Browser game portals ran a special story on Astro Empire's third anniversary along with an interview with AE's chief developer Wizard. Wizard took the time away from his busy schedule to answer questions relating to Astro Empires roots, it's future and the new interface which entered beta testing last week.

To read the interview yourself or comment on it's content click here.

A few other pieces of news for you this week. The new interface is scheduled to exit beta testing next week with a some touch up's. Thanks to everyone who commented on the new interface in feedback, hopefully you will love the end product as much as we do. Next week should also see the launch of the first alternative language version of Astro Empires as the Portuguese language interface launches with the end of beta testing.

On the forum front, new moderator 'Thor' has been appointed to the Delta server boards, replacing 'Remiel' who decided to retire for real life reasons. We welcome Thor to the moderation team and ask that Delta citizens refrain from starting any server wars for a few days while he finds his feet.

That's it for this week guys, next week we shall start answering your questions with our Ask Astro Empires feature, details here, as well as the news from the team. Till then, adeus.

Open beta testing for the new layout

2009-07-01T15:24:00.004+01:00

We have been working on a new layout for the game for the past few months and today we have opened the beta testing to the general public. Until now it was only available to our group of volunteers.

The new layout is expected to make the game more appealing, especially for new players. Although we all know Astro Empires is a highly additive game and that for hardcore players the graphical part is secondary to the gameplay, we also realize that for new players the initial impact will greatly influence their decision on whether to play the game or look elsewhere, and that graphics play a crucial part in this.

Obviously older players have not been forgotten in all this. The old layout will still be available and there will be "lighter" versions of the new skin, for those who prioritize simplicity and speed over more appealing graphics.

If you want to give the new layout a try, you'll need to change the skin on your account/display page to the new one (DeepSpace).

Please remember that this is still a beta version, so there may bugs in it and it can suffer changes. If you're not comfortable in using a beta version of a skin, I recommend you keep using the original layout until this one is fully launched.

To report bugs related to the new layout, please click here.

If you want to give your feedback or make suggestions for the new layout, please click here.