Hyperiums, Massively Multiplayer Strategy Game

Hyperiums in a few words

Hyperiums is an international massively multiplayer strategy game running since January 2001. It is based on a universal and timeless science-fiction theme: the conquest of planets. But Hyperiums is not just a wargame. It is also about trading, spying, alliances... and can be considered, in some ways, as a role playing game too (RPG). Successful players are skilled in diplomacy as much as in pure strategy.

More about the concept

Hyperiums is a real-time game, which means the time goes by even when you are disconnected. You can login once in the morning, take a few minutes to read the news and launch your orders, then reconnect in the evening, check how your empire has evolved and launch new orders for the night. You get alerts by email whenever your planets are attacked, so that you can immediately connect and take the appropriate decisions. Unlike most other strategy games, Hyperiums features a permanent round, where all players fight together. By permanent, we mean "that is never supposed to end". Actually, there have been several "permanent" rounds so far, each of them lasting longer than the previous one, up to several years. But after ten years of tweaking and improving the game, the current round may be "the good one" and run forever... The fact that we are able to provide such lengthy rounds is an evidence of the exceptionnal gameplay offered by Hyperiums. Parallel to the standard permanent round, a Real Life Friendly (RLF) permanent game is running at one third of the standard speed, allowing those with little free time to enjoy Hyperiums. Moreover, short games ("matches", or "galaxies") are launched every 3 or 4 months, usually with an accelerated speed and exotic settings for greater fun.

The game

When you start the game, you are given one planet to administer. Five days later, you get another one offered. It is now your job to manage your empire, set up trading relations with the other planets, develop your own planets, research technologies, build factories and fleets, raise armies, spy and/or communicate with your neighbours, find or create one or several alliances, define target planets, load armies into your ships and launch your fleets, drop your armies on the target planets and fight for their control... Your possibilities are endless: You can stay within the protection of Hyperiums, or entrust an existing alliance. You can become the vassal of another player in compensation of a financial grant. You can be a peaceful trader or participate in any fight. You can be loyal with your alliance or betray it by giving away confidential information to another alliance. You can fight for your influence rank or for your inflicted damage rank. You can develop your planets as fast as you can, or preserve their resources for a longer living. ...

The interface

Hyperiums has been designed to be played with just a simple web browser, through a light but very efficient HTML interface. So you can play it from anywhere, including your office or any cybercafe, without having to install any specific software. The HTML interface is very intuitive, and makes it really easy for a novice to start off, thanks to its integrated tutorial. It also provides all expected communication tools, fully integrated into the game, including the discussion forums and everything to create and manage alliances.

The rules

Hyperiums is based on a set of simple and intuitive rules that combine with each other to provide very deep possibilities. Casual players will profit from the initial protection period to progressively discover the rules, while hardcore gamers can read the full manual within a half hour and decide to leave the protection earlier and have a faster start. All kinds of players can have fun in Hyperiums, from those spending 10 minutes a day, to those making it their full time job.

The community