Interface Guide

The Galactic Empires Interface

The Main Interface

This is the main information area and will contain an assortment of context specific information. It acts as the location for most of the information that will be provided to you.

On desktop, the Command Feed stays open as the main work area while a right-hand dashboard carousel rotates between Sector Map, Planet Status, User Profile and Fleet Command. You can use the keyboard to move through those panels with Left Arrow and Right Arrow. The top menu also supports single-key shortcuts: C for Colony, M for Military, E for Empire, R for Research, O for Comms, P for Planets, N for News, and S for Empire Strength. Menu hotkeys and Command Feed scrolling are ignored only while typing in a text-entry field, while Left Arrow and Right Arrow always keep moving the carousel. See the Keyboard Shortcuts Guide. On shorter laptop-height screens, the active desktop carousel panel now scales down automatically so the full panel stays visible instead of clipping below the viewport.

Bulk checkbox screens also share a common shortcut: Hold Shift and click another checkbox to apply the same checked state to every visible row between them.

Planet Information Screen

Information listed here includes:

• The planet name: this can be changed and duplicates can occur
• The planet location: this is used for many different functions in the game. Clicking on it will copy the location to any input box that requires a location.
• Development: this displays the number of buildings on the planet and the maximum capacity of the planet.
• Credits/Exium: these show the current resources available on the planet. The number in brackets represents the income (white) or loss (red) of resources. Loss of resources only occurs when you have more than the amount allowed by your Silos
• Owner and Empire: these display the owner of the planet, and the empire to which he/she belongs. Clicking on the owner or empire will take you to the appropriate information panel.
• Planet fleets/armies: this will open a panel displaying all fleets or armies (own, ally or enemy) on the planet, including inbound fleets.

Planet Navigation Buttons

These three buttons allow quick and convenient swapping between your planets. The left and right arrows take you to the previous and next planets on your planet list, and the up arrow refreshes the current planet information.

Fleets Menu

The Fleets Menu is located on the right side of the interface and provides quick access to your empire's fleets. You can filter fleets by:

• Sector
• System
• Planet

Each fleet is displayed with a star rating indicating its size (based on total hull), the fleet name, and travel status. See the Fleets Menu article for more details.

The Map

This section can contain a map of the galaxy or any sector or system. The line of text above the map allows for navigation out of the three levels, and clicking on specific sectors or systems on the map allows you to move into the sector.

System maps use the Perihelion composition: a large sun bleeds off the left edge of the map, dashed elliptical orbits fan outward, and planets sit on alternating upper and lower orbital lanes. Planet size still follows the world's actual size. Each planet keeps a compact information cluster with its location link, name, status line, and status indicators. Status text reflects what you know about the world — for example Your colony, Allied colony, Hostile occupation, Occupied by you, or Outside scanner range — and a single allegiance-colored ring surrounds the planet. A second ring appears only when a planetary shield is charged, and a selection ring appears only when that planet is selected. Planet information always stays above or below its planet (never beside it), and the map nudges clusters apart so descriptions do not overlap each other or the planets. Wormhole systems use the same information-box style under the wormhole, showing its coordinate, destination system, and stabilizer status. Fleet and ion paths remain tied to the rendered planet centers. Desktop and mobile shells share this system-map design; the compact vertical map uses the same perihelion styling in rotated mode.

Celestial Motion

Suns, planets and wormholes use visual motion throughout maps, lists and planet panels. Planets rotate around a vertical axis at different speeds and directions, while asteroids remain static. Animated planets preserve the original PNG sphere size inside their existing layout slot and use higher-resolution canvas backing, capped at the native 128 px asset, for sharper surface detail. Rotated maps use the original layout dimensions rather than enlarged post-transform screen bounds. Each sun type has its own axial period and color-matched surface activity, with solar flares appearing at changing positions and sizes. Large system suns use a sharper 120 px maximum core size and are never enlarged beyond their PNG's native dimensions. Small suns on sector maps rotate without pulsing. Wormholes use rotating outer matter, counter-rotating inner energy and inward-moving rings.

Celestial motion is always active while the game is open. It does not affect travel, combat or any other game calculation.

Mobile Interface

On mobile devices, the main panels are shown one at a time in a full-screen view below the header. You can switch between panels and open the menu with the header buttons:

• Tap Panels to open the panel list (Command Feed, User Profile, Sector Map, Planet Status, Fleet Command).
• Tap Menu to open the main menu.
• The Sector Map rotates into a vertical view on mobile while keeping labels readable, and can be panned within its panel. System maps on mobile use the same perihelion planet rings, status boxes, and orbit/fleet styling as desktop, fitted to the rotated viewport.
• The User Profile panel uses a compact layout that fits within the panel without scrolling, with actions available from the profile menu button.
• Planet Status opens as a right-side drawer when you select a planet link.
• Autobuild opens in the Command Feed panel with a scrollable table for managing planet targets and limits.
• Empire Strength opens with a mobile card layout so ranks, scores, and tech level never overlap.

The Main Menu

This section contains links to the main components of Galactic Empires. More information about some of them can be found further down in this article or elsewhere in the wiki.

Colony

• This is where you will manage your selected planet
• Develop new buildings or demolish existing ones
• Build units and assign them to fleets and armies
• Transfer resources to and from other planets directly, or through the use of Multiple Transfer
• Manage and build fleet templates
• Donate or disband the planet

Combat

• This is where you can manage all of your fleets and armies.
• If the box is shaded red, then it signifies that an enemy has launched a fleet at you.
• View fleets and armies belonging to you and your empire members
• Filter your fleets and armies to hide idle ones
• View current wars
• View battle reports
• View any enemy fleet or army that is attacking you

Empire

• This screen is where you can manage your empire and its members.
• View empire members and score
• View all planets for all empire members
• Change empire profile\*
• Change members' role\*
• Change tax rate\*
• Create alliance\*
• View the empire forum
• Make a press release
• Anything above that is marked with a "\*" is an emperor only feature

Research

• This screen will allow you to develop new technology.
• Contribute resources from your current planet research projects.
• View the design libraries and manage the empire's units (senators and emperor only)
• Improve the empire's tech level
• Design new weapons and units

Mail

This box becomes green when you have unread mail in your inbox. The inbox bulk message list supports the same shortcut: Hold Shift and click another checkbox to apply the same checked state to every visible row between them.

News

• This screen contains a news bulletin showing recent events, press releases and the high scores.

Profile

• This screen displays your biography, planet count and rank.
• It is also possible to change your biography, email address and password.
• On mobile, the profile panel keeps key stats, empire totals, and timers in a single screen, with the actions menu accessed from the profile header.

Marks

• This is the bookmark screen and keeps track of any planets you have bookmarked.
• You can also add planets to your bookmarks here.

Planets

• This gives a list of all planets you own along with their location, development and resources.

Autobuild

• This screen lets you set autobuild targets and limits per planet.
• On mobile, the table scrolls horizontally and vertically so all fields remain accessible.
• The planet status settings icon opens the Autobuild screen on mobile.
• Hold Shift and click another checkbox to apply the same checked state to every visible row between them.

Help Me. I can't see anything because the map is in the way.

If you are playing on a mobile phone then there is a reasonable chance that the map may be obscuring sections of the screen. A fix for this has been introduced. Simply click on the alternating arrows symbol on the bottom left corner of the screen to invert the layout.

Links

• Forum ? a link to the official Galactic Empires forums
• Help ? a link to Admin?s quick guide
• Chat ? a link to the IRC chat for Galactic Empires

Keyboard Shortcuts Guide

This guide covers the keyboard shortcuts available in the desktop Galactic Empires main game shell.

Desktop Menu Hotkeys

These single-key shortcuts open the matching page in the Command Feed panel and mark the matching header button as selected:

Dashboard Carousel

Use these keys to move through the right-hand dashboard carousel:

• Left Arrow moves to the previous panel.
• Right Arrow moves to the next panel.

Command Feed Scrolling

Use these keys to scroll the Command Feed panel:

• PageDown scrolls down inside the Command Feed.
• PageUp scrolls up inside the Command Feed.

Bulk List Selection

Bulk checkbox screens share a range-selection shortcut:

• Hold Shift and click another checkbox to apply the same checked state to every visible row between them.

When Hotkeys Are Ignored

Desktop menu hotkeys and Command Feed scrolling do not fire when your cursor is inside a text-entry field such as:

• a text input
• a textarea
• a contenteditable text box

Left Arrow and Right Arrow always move the dashboard carousel, even while focus is inside a text-entry field or while an overlay is open.

Related Guides

• Game: Quick Help
• The Galactic Empires Interface