Guide 08: Activity guide

    • Wiki Updated

    • Guide 08: Activity guide

      =Activity indicators=
      Activity indicators will tell you if there is/was an activity at a planet or moon at a certain period of time.

      There are three phases:
      - There is activity at a planet: 0 minutes - 14 minutes 59 seconds
      - There was activity at a planet XX minutes ago - 14 minutes 59 seconds - 59 minutes 59 seconds
      - There was no activity - beyond 59 minutes 59 seconds

      There are three ways you can see the activity:
      For the first 14 minutes 59 seconds after the activity stops (*) will be shown next to the planet name. Beyond 15 minutes a time is then displayed in place of the star (15 min). This time value is shown up until 59 minutes 59 seconds (59 min) and then after that point there will be no activity indicator displayed next to the planet name.
      If you scroll over the planet picture, you will see another activity indicator. When there's an activity at the planet (for the first 14 minutes 59 seconds), you can see an orange triangle.

      Beyond 15 minutes, you will see "Activity: XXm". Time indicator here also disappears at 59 minutes 59 seconds. You can only see it when scrolling over a planet picture. Scrolling over a moon picture will show same kind of activity.
      Third way of seeing activity is via espionage reports. Whenever you probe a moon/planet, you will see activity report which tells you if there's been any activity at the planet/moon. Activity report is under resources and you see it in any case, no matter what your espionage technology is. If there's activity only at moon and you probe a planet, the report will show no activity vice verse. If you're probing a planet with a moon, this is the only way to see whether the activity was made on planet or moon. It will look like this:

      For the first 14 minutes 59 seconds:
      -Your espionage report shows abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet which suggests activity within the last 15 minutes.

      For time between 14 minutes 59 seconds and 59 minutes 59 seconds:
      -Your espionage report shows abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet which suggests activity within the last XX minutes.

      After 59 minutes 59 seconds:
      -Your espionage does not show abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet. There appears to have been no activity on the planet within the last hour.

      NOTE: Seeing your own activity is a bug. Your own activity does not behave like a normal activity, thus it can not be used to test the activity.

      =Activity behavior/creating activity=
      General:
      - An * appears on the home planet when you login.
      - An * appears on the current planet/moon when you logout.
      - An * appears on the NEW location at changing the current planet / moon.
      - An * appears on the current planet/moon with EVERY click on all menu items.
      - NO * appears with click on Support/GameForge/Help/Board/Rules/Imprint.
      - The * (or the time) from the planet and the associated moon overlaps. It appears always the last activity.

      ==Events:==
      - An * appears on the current planet/moon with click on reload at event list, sensor phalanx and fleet movement.
      - An * appears on the current planet/moon with auto reload at event list and fleet movement.
      - NEW foreign fleets ONLY appears in the event list when reloading the overview.

      ==Flights:==
      - An * appears at departure on the starting planet/moon.
      - An * appears at arrival on the target planet/moon.
      - An * appears at return on the starting planet/moon.
      - An * appears at abort on the current planet/moon.

      ==Special situations:==
      - Normal * behavior for banned players without vacation mode.
      - Normal * behavior for inactive players. (i and I)
      - Activation and deactivation of vacation mode will cause activity on every planet and moon.

      =How can I use activity?=
      Activity is a very important part of the gameplay. There are many strategies based on it.

      Activity indicators can tell you two things. One is that a player is/was online and making activity. The other is that activity was caused the other way - with fleet contact. Once you combine watching the activity and probing a planet, you can determine player's online times and fleetsave times. This is very useful when it gets to hunting and planning missions like moon destructions or blind phalanx.

      Note: Server forces you to log off at 3:00 AM German time. As logging in again creates activity, players with no activity at homeworld are not online at this time. It is quite safe to attack them at that time of a day.

      Watching activity will also help to prevent you from being ninja'd, as well as hiding your activity can make you look offline thus ninja-ing a player.

    • Spell and general check done. Just one thing to be pointed out:
      NO * after 35 days inactivity. ( No account deletion in existing PURCHASED DM )

      I'm pretty sure that's not like that, * do appear nevertheless. I'll be waiting for a confirmation before applying any change.

      Also, the topic is one of the most delicate in the ogame hunting strategies, so it would be nice to include hints and discussion about how do hunters use * to study and seek their targets. I'll be trying to add some elements at the bottom of the guide just to integrate it. So, a further check is necessary also for this addition. I'll start editing the last paragraph this way:

      3. How can I use activity?

      Activity is a very important part of the gameplay. There are many strategies based on it.
      First of all, you should know that server forces you to log off at 3:00 AM ST. As logging in again creates activity, players with no activity at homeworld at that time are not online. So, attacking after 3:00 AM ST is quite a safe way to prevent ninja or to carry out slow actions such as MoonDestruction attacks.
      But the "art of hunting" is far more complicated than this. In this guide we will show you just some very basic informations, since we all know that reading a guide will teach you much less than experiencing.
      First of all let's say that * can be created by 2 different kind of events: any activity on the planet/moon made by the player himself or any kind of fleet contact. Probing can help you understand which was the kind of activity shown, and in case there is a moon, to understand if it was on planet or moon, but your probing will create another * which will overlap on the previous one, so you could miss some important details for your chase this way. That is why a good hunter will spend much more time looking at you patiently on galaxy view rather then carpet probing all your planet/moons at 2:40 AM waiting for a lucky shot!
      That is the best way to understand your prey's habitudes and fleetsave style. Simply looking at galaxy view, you can figure out his usual online/offline times, when he usually fleetsaves, when and possibly where the fleet comes back, if the player is online before or after his fleet landing and most of all, if he commits any remarkable mistake.
      You won't need to probe that much either. At the contrary, knowing when and where to send a single probe is the perfect completion to your hunt. You don't need always to look for the fleet, but maybe just to see how much deut there is on the planet/moon, to see if anything changed since the last time you probed that target, to check for similarities or differences towards other panets/moons of your prey, to see if your probe is the last activity done on that planet/moon, and many more things you could like to have "just as informations".
      Moreover, seeking a target by his activity stars is the only way to catch "un-catchable fleetsaves" such as deployment between moons (recalled or not), moon-df or moon-colonization fleetsave as well. Of course some mistake on the defender side is needed, but even the most careful player has some day in which he cannot take all the necessary precautions or in which he has to act differently than usual. If you know which are his habitudes, you'll notice it, if you just random probe, you'll miss him even if he made all the possible mistakes.
      Scared? You'd better do, so you can finally figure out why one of the several untold rules of this game says: "being paranoid in ogame is never a bad idea"!

      For further details about how to hunt a fleetsave, check the Fleetsaving Guide.

    • Activity (*) Explanation

      Credits go to Francolino from the Game Technics team, thanks to whose work (he spent a LOT of time on this) I was able to write this explanation.

      1. Activity indicators:

      Activity indicators will tell you if there is/was an activity at a planet or moon at a certain period of time.

      There are three phases:

      There is activity at a planet: 0 minutes - 14 minutes 59 seconds
      There was activity at a planet XX minutes ago - 14 minutes 59 seconds - 59 minutes 59 seconds
      There was no activity - beyond 59 minutes 59 seconds

      There are three ways you can see the activity:
      • For the first 14 minutes 59 seconds after the activity stops (*) will be shown next to the planet name. Beyond 15 minutes a time is then displayed in place of the star (15 min). This time value is shown up until 59 minutes 59 seconds (59 min) and then after that point there will be no activity indicator displayed next to the planet name.
      • If you scroll over the planet picture, you will see another activity indicator. When there's an activity at the planet (for the first 14 minutes 59 seconds), you can see an orange triangle:


      Beyond 15 minutes, you will see "Activity: XXm". Time indicator here also disappears at 59 minutes 59 seconds. You can only see it when scrolling over a planet picture. Scrolling over a moon picture will show same kind of activity.
      • Third way of seeing activity is via espionage reports. Whenever you probe a moon/planet, you will see activity report which tells you if there's been any activity at the planet/moon. Activity report is under resources and you see it in any case, no matter what your espionage technology is. If there's activity only at moon and you probe a planet, the report will show no activity vice verse. If you're probing a planet with a moon, this is the only way to see whether the activity was made on planet or moon. It will look like this:
      For the first 14 minutes 59 seconds:
      Your espionage report shows abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet which suggests activity within the last 15 minutes.
      For time between 14 minutes 59 seconds and 59 minutes 59 seconds:
      Your espionage report shows abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet which suggests activity within the last XX minutes.
      After 59 minutes 59 seconds:
      Your espionage does not show abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet. There appears to have been no activity on the planet within the last hour.

      NOTE: Seeing your own activity is a bug. Your own activity does not behave like a normal activity, thus it can not be used to test the activity.

      2. Activity behavior/creating activity:
      State June 12th 2010
      • General :
        - An * appears on the home planet when you login.
        - An * appears on the current planet / moon when you logout.
        - An * appears on the NEW location at changing the current planet / moon.
        - An * appears on the current planet / moon with EVERY click on all menu items.
        - NO * appears with click on Support / GameForge / Help / Board / Rules / Imprint.
        - The * (or the time) from the planet and the associated moon overlaps. It appears always the last activity.
      • Events :
        - An * appears on the current planet / moon with click on reload at event list, sensor phalanx and fleet movement.
        - An * appears on the current planet / moon with auto reload at event list and fleet movement.
        - NEW foreign fleets ONLY appears in the event list when reloading the overview.
      • Flights :
        - An * appears at departure on the starting planet / moon.
        - An * appears at arrival on the target planet / moon.
        - An * appears at return on the starting planet / moon.
        - An * appears at abort on the current planet / moon.
      • Special situations :
        - Normal * behavior for banned players without vacation mode.
        - Normal * behavior for inactive players. ( i and I )
        - Activation and deactivation of vacation mode will cause activity on every planet and moon.

      3. How can I use activity?

      Activity is a very important part of the gameplay. There are many strategies based on it.

      Activity indicators can tell you two things. One is that a player is/was online and making activity. The other is that activity was caused the other way - with fleet contact. Once you combine watching the activity and probing a planet, you can determine player's online times and fleetsave times. This is very useful when it gets to hunting and planning missions like moon destructions or blind lanx.

      Note: Server forces you to log off at 3:00 AM German time. As logging in again creates activity, players with no activity at homeworld are not online at this time. It is quite safe to attack them at that time of a day.

      See details here:
      Watching activity will also help to prevent you from being ninja'd, as well as hiding your activity can make you look offline thus ninja-ing a player.


      I made a small changes in already written guide, there is still work to be done on this one.


    • =Activity indicators=

      Activity indicators will tell you if there is/was an activity at a planet or moon at a certain period of time.

      There are three phases:
      -There is activity at a planet: 0 minutes - 14 minutes 59 seconds
      -There was activity at a planet XX minutes ago - 14 minutes 59 seconds - 59 minutes 59 seconds
      -There was no activity - beyond 59 minutes 59 seconds

      There are three ways you can see the activity:
      For the first 14 minutes 59 seconds after the activity stops (*) will be shown next to the planet name. Beyond 15 minutes a time is then displayed in place of the star (15 min). This time value is shown up until 59 minutes 59 seconds (59 min) and then after that point there will be no activity indicator displayed next to the planet name.
      If you scroll over the planet picture, you will see another activity indicator. When there's an activity at the planet (for the first 14 minutes 59 seconds), you can see an orange triangle.

      Beyond 15 minutes, you will see "Activity: XXm". Time indicator here also disappears at 59 minutes 59 seconds. You can only see it when scrolling over a planet picture. Scrolling over a moon picture will show same kind of activity.
      Third way of seeing activity is via espionage reports. Whenever you probe a moon/planet, you will see activity report which tells you if there's been any activity at the planet/moon. Activity report is under resources and you see it in any case, no matter what your espionage technology is. If there's activity only at moon and you probe a planet, the report will show no activity vice verse. If you're probing a planet with a moon, this is the only way to see whether the activity was made on planet or moon. It will look like this:


      For the first 14 minutes 59 seconds:
      -Your espionage report shows abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet which suggests activity within the last 15 minutes.


      For time between 14 minutes 59 seconds and 59 minutes 59 seconds:
      -Your espionage report shows abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet which suggests activity within the last XX minutes.

      After 59 minutes 59 seconds:
      -Your espionage does not show abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet. There appears to have been no activity on the planet within the last hour.


      NOTE: Seeing your own activity is a bug. Your own activity does not behave like a normal activity, thus it can not be used to test the activity.

      =Activity behavior/creating activity=

      General :
      - An * appears on the home planet when you login.
      - An * appears on the current planet / moon when you logout.
      - An * appears on the NEW location at changing the current planet / moon.
      - An * appears on the current planet / moon with EVERY click on all menu items.
      - NO * appears with click on Support / GameForge / Help / Board / Rules / Imprint.
      - The * (or the time) from the planet and the associated moon overlaps. It appears always the last activity.


      Events :
      - An * appears on the current planet / moon with click on reload at event list, sensor phalanx and fleet movement.
      - An * appears on the current planet / moon with auto reload at event list and fleet movement.
      - NEW foreign fleets ONLY appears in the event list when reloading the overview.


      Flights :
      - An * appears at departure on the starting planet / moon.
      - An * appears at arrival on the target planet / moon.
      - An * appears at return on the starting planet / moon.
      - An * appears at abort on the current planet / moon.


      Special situations :

      - Normal * behavior for banned players without vacation mode.
      - Normal * behavior for inactive players. ( i and I )
      - Activation and deactivation of vacation mode will cause activity on every planet and moon.


      =How can I use activity?=

      Activity is a very important part of the gameplay. There are many strategies based on it.

      Activity indicators can tell you two things. One is that a player is/was online and making activity. The other is that activity was caused the other way - with fleet contact. Once you combine watching the activity and probing a planet, you can determine player's online times and fleetsave times. This is very useful when it gets to hunting and planning missions like moon destructions or blind lanx.

      Note: Server forces you to log off at 3:00 AM German time. As logging in again creates activity, players with no activity at homeworld are not online at this time. It is quite safe to attack them at that time of a day.

      Watching activity will also help to prevent you from being ninja'd, as well as hiding your activity can make you look offline thus ninja-ing a player.

    • =Activity indicators=
      Activity indicators will tell you if there is/was an activity at a planet or moon at a certain period of time.

      There are three phases:
      - There is activity at a planet: 0 minutes - 14 minutes 59 seconds
      - There was activity at a planet XX minutes ago - 14 minutes 59 seconds - 59 minutes 59 seconds
      - There was no activity - beyond 59 minutes 59 seconds

      There are three ways you can see the activity:
      For the first 14 minutes 59 seconds after the activity stops (*) will be shown next to the planet name. Beyond 15 minutes a time is then displayed in place of the star (15 min). This time value is shown up until 59 minutes 59 seconds (59 min) and then after that point there will be no activity indicator displayed next to the planet name.
      If you scroll over the planet picture, you will see another activity indicator. When there's an activity at the planet (for the first 14 minutes 59 seconds), you can see an orange triangle.

      Beyond 15 minutes, you will see "Activity: XXm". Time indicator here also disappears at 59 minutes 59 seconds. You can only see it when scrolling over a planet picture. Scrolling over a moon picture will show same kind of activity.
      Third way of seeing activity is via espionage reports. Whenever you probe a moon/planet, you will see activity report which tells you if there's been any activity at the planet/moon. Activity report is under resources and you see it in any case, no matter what your espionage technology is. If there's activity only at moon and you probe a planet, the report will show no activity vice verse. If you're probing a planet with a moon, this is the only way to see whether the activity was made on planet or moon. It will look like this:

      For the first 14 minutes 59 seconds:
      -Your espionage report shows abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet which suggests activity within the last 15 minutes.

      For time between 14 minutes 59 seconds and 59 minutes 59 seconds:
      -Your espionage report shows abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet which suggests activity within the last XX minutes.

      After 59 minutes 59 seconds:
      -Your espionage does not show abnormalities in the atmosphere of the planet. There appears to have been no activity on the planet within the last hour.

      NOTE: Seeing your own activity is a bug. Your own activity does not behave like a normal activity, thus it can not be used to test the activity.

      =Activity behavior/creating activity=
      General:
      - An * appears on the home planet when you login.
      - An * appears on the current planet/moon when you logout.
      - An * appears on the NEW location at changing the current planet / moon.
      - An * appears on the current planet/moon with EVERY click on all menu items.
      - NO * appears with click on Support/GameForge/Help/Board/Rules/Imprint.
      - The * (or the time) from the planet and the associated moon overlaps. It appears always the last activity.

      ==Events:==
      - An * appears on the current planet/moon with click on reload at event list, sensor phalanx and fleet movement.
      - An * appears on the current planet/moon with auto reload at event list and fleet movement.
      - NEW foreign fleets ONLY appears in the event list when reloading the overview.

      ==Flights:==
      - An * appears at departure on the starting planet/moon.
      - An * appears at arrival on the target planet/moon.
      - An * appears at return on the starting planet/moon.
      - An * appears at abort on the current planet/moon.

      ==Special situations:==
      - Normal * behavior for banned players without vacation mode.
      - Normal * behavior for inactive players. (i and I)
      - Activation and deactivation of vacation mode will cause activity on every planet and moon.

      =How can I use activity?=
      Activity is a very important part of the gameplay. There are many strategies based on it.

      Activity indicators can tell you two things. One is that a player is/was online and making activity. The other is that activity was caused the other way - with fleet contact. Once you combine watching the activity and probing a planet, you can determine player's online times and fleetsave times. This is very useful when it gets to hunting and planning missions like moon destructions or blind phalanx.

      Note: Server forces you to log off at 3:00 AM German time. As logging in again creates activity, players with no activity at homeworld are not online at this time. It is quite safe to attack them at that time of a day.

      Watching activity will also help to prevent you from being ninja'd, as well as hiding your activity can make you look offline thus ninja-ing a player.