Exploration and the galaxy map

The galaxy is a hex map. Every tile is a hex; every hex is one of seven terrain types. What you can see, where you can move, and what’s worth visiting is the heart of every campaign.

The map at a glance

Each hex is a single, addressable tile. A fleet on hex A can move to any of the six neighbouring hexes — assuming it has the movement budget for that terrain.

Galaxies are vast, and the systems worth visiting are scattered thinly across them. Even a small galaxy is a wide field of mostly empty space with star systems spread far apart; the largest are enormous, separated by long, quiet stretches you will spend real time crossing. A bigger galaxy means more room to expand, more distance between you and your rivals, and a longer campaign. You pick the size when you start a game, from small (quicker games) up to epic (sprawling, long campaigns); the map seed is generated randomly unless you pin one.

Fog of war

You don’t see the galaxy as it is. You see it as your scouts have left it.

Three states for each hex:

1. Unexplored — black. You’ve never seen this tile. You don’t know what’s on it.
2. Explored, not visible — dim. You’ve seen it before, but no fleet of yours is currently within sensor range. The terrain is shown, but enemy fleets, recent population changes, or new structures are hidden.
3. Visible — fully lit. A fleet of yours has line-of-sight on this hex right now.

Sensor range depends on the ship — a Scout Corvette sees further than a Heavy Cruiser. Stationary sensors at colonies extend visibility around your settlements.

Scouting strategy

Three principles:

1. Scout early. Knowing where the systems are is more valuable than colonising the wrong one. A first-turn scout move that reveals two adjacent star systems pays for itself within ten turns.
2. Scout the borders. The hex between you and your nearest neighbour is the highest-information tile on the map. Park a corvette there.
3. Don’t scout into death. Black holes and ion storms damage fleets that enter them. A scout corvette can survive an ion storm; it cannot survive a black hole.

Terrain in brief

The seven terrain types and what they mean for movement:

Terrain	Movement	Notes
Deep space	Cheap	Most of the map
Nebula	Slow	Hides fleets; Vanguard ignores the penalty
Asteroid field	Slow	Mineral-rich; settle adjacent to harvest
Ion storm	Slow + damage	Avoid unless you have shielding tech
Star system	Cheap	Settleable; almost always worth visiting
Black hole	Impassable	Do not enter
Wormhole	Free jump	Links to a paired wormhole; great shortcut

For the full strategic notes on each, see Terrain types.

Wormholes

Wormholes come in pairs. Entering one takes you instantly to its partner — no movement cost. They’re rare (typically two pairs per galaxy) but transformative when you find one.

Implications:

• A wormhole between you and a distant ally cuts your effective travel time in half.
• A wormhole an enemy controls is a knife at your throat — they can deploy a fleet in your back yard in one turn.
• Capturing both ends of a pair gives you control of the shortcut.