I like this idea, but I am confused about the phase lanes idea...

Use the info cards, thats what they're there for! (THe cards in the lower right of the screen split your alert log into 4 seperate "ques", and by left and right clicking on them you can "scroll" through the events in each que. The incoming enemy alert goes into the combat que, the rightmost card. It'll focus you in on the assault force, and by zooming out you can see where they're headed easily)

I like the infocards...

I can see where you're coming from though. Now that I'm becoming accustomed to using the Empire Tree, I'm really loving that feature. Last night I really experienced the convenience it provides. Battles raging across multiple planets. Open up the fleet node so it shows all the ships, alt click on bombers and pick target. Double click on next planet to change view, make adjustments. Scroll within the empire tree (w/o changing the view) to find nearby planet building ships, click on flak frigates and then click within the current view to reinforce their current position. With that nearby planet still in the empire tree, click to queue more ships (again without changing view). It's awesome.

With the phase lines, you could identify nearby planets w/o having to scroll to that system and check the map to see who's connected. It's easy to forget planet names and what's connected to what. Think of it as something for those of us who aren't able to quickly memorize things.

that looks nice in theory, but what about planets with 4-5 connections?

I don't think it would look right, lines would be crossing all over the place

whats clickable the phase lanes that connect the planets or the planets themselves that will then show the phase lanes?

*brain hurts*

The phase lanes ofcourse

I use it all the time. Very, very convenient. And its not like it changes my camera orientation, which would drive me nuts.

I see what Multianna's saying. It would be a very helpful tool if you had an empire spanning several systems, but if you've only got a single system, it would be a nuisance more than anything else. After waging a few wars back and forth through your home system, you know the names well enough.


As for the infocards, they're a good idea in theory, but I haven't started to use them. They mainly seem not to work right for me, but maybe I've been doing it wrong. I'll try rightclicking on the alert card next time.

I feel like I could use the info cards, but I don't. I feel the same way about zoom to mouse.

I disagree....

why?

Info Cards
Battle/Combat cards: I use these when I am unsure of the location of a planet, or am simply interested in quickly jumping to the action. I don't use them very often

Bounty cards: To be honest, I try to ignore these. When I want to find a target that can earn me some quick cash, I hit F1.

Research/Economic cards: Never really bother with them, It's easier to just press F2 or to click the icon at the top of the screen for research. With the Planet upgrades and such, I normally have the planet highlighted and am waiting until I have enough resources to get to the next tier.

Planet cards: I never even look at these, I normally have a very good idea of where my ships are colonizing/taking, and I would hope that I would know if I was losing a planet.

Original Post & Topic
The flashing icon for when a planet is getting attacked is a great idea. It is a whole lot easier and faster to simply mouse over the Empire Tree to see something, rather than clicking an info card and jumping to it.

Showing the phase lanes is a good idea in theory but I would probably get annoyed by the insane amount of lines representing phase lanes connecting everyone's planets. A typical icon would have 2-5 lines coming out of it. I would find this acceptable in very small scenarios, but it would be horrible to see in action on a large universe.