This milestone consists mostly in writing the game's engine and most of the common administrative functionalities. Because of this, the game itself is pretty limited, and so is the interface.

Game server

The stand-alone game server runs independently of any interface and is responsible for all administrative and game functionalities. This release concentrates on:

• system basics - logging, run-time access to game-related "constants", internationalisation, communications with user interfaces,
• accounts - from registration to preferences to inactivity management,
• naming system - the names of all in-game entities (empires and planets in this release) are managed through the same sub-system,
• bug tracking system - because it will not be possible to include forums until much further in the game's development cycle, the bug-tracking system is an essential tool,
• scheduler - because ticks still need to run, sometimes.

Server administration

Server administration is one of the most important areas for this release, although most people will (hopefully) never get to see it. It is implemented as a separate user interface accessing the server through its external communication interface. The administration interface includes:

• privilege system (not all administrators are equal),
• account management,
• game parameters access,
• bug tracker administration,
• names validation,
• log viewer,
• automated error reports.

Game and interface

While the game does not bring anything really new, it is based on a per-minute update system. Its interface is probably not really appropriate, as Beta 5's external layout is a bit cramped when it comes to displaying all required in-game information; it is however temporary.

This release is available in two languages - English and French - as the internationalisation system needs to be tested. However, it is extremely likely that future milestone releases will only be available in English.