View source for Top-Down View

[[File:OverlayRock.jpg|thumb|right|[[Planet]] in the outer [[Orbit_Zone|orbit zone]] with lots of [[ice]], [[oil]] and even some [[lumenite]].]]
The top-down view is used to easily locate natural [[resource]]s and get an overview of [[building]]s in a [[city]].

Press the <code>Backspace</code> key to switch between top-down view and the first-person view of your character.

==Overlays==
Top-down view shows several categories of information, overlayed as icons or words on the terrain. Cycle between 8 different categories of information displayed using the <code>\</code> and <code>Shift+\</code> keys.

{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Information Provided
|-
| All Rocks
| Shows presense of mine-able [[resource]]s.
|-
| Rocks
| Shows presense of mine-able resources. Excluding [[stone]] and [[eludium]], as they are almost everywhere.
|-
| Plants
| Shows plant [[resource]]s. Size of the icons indicate density. This is only used for [[Forage|foraging]].
|-
| Buildings
| Shows types, levels and [[TL]] of [[building]]s.
|-
| Roads
| Shows [[road]]s and road slabs.
|-
| Flags
| Shows military bases and flags. Showing the current ownership of each [[Military_Flag|military flag]] and the [[Town_Square|town square]].
|-
| Cities
| Shows [[city]] ownership of each building and road.
|-
| Blank
| Shows nothing. Good for taking pictures.
|}

===Rocks Overlay===
The '''Rocks''' overlay is used when placing [[mine]]s and [[well]]s. Is it possible to find the [[resource]]s as rocks in the terrain, but that can be a very slow process.

There are two '''Rocks''' overlays, one with [[stone]] and [[eludium]] and one without. This is because stone and eludium are resources that can be found almost everywhere where there isn't another resource already. Eludium is of course commonly only found on [[moon]]s.

The rocks found using this overlay can be [[forage]]d, but not many of them have any [[Hand_Craft|hand craft]]ing uses.

'''Note:''' The range at which this overlay displays information, is affected by the ''Rock View Range'' slider on the ''Settings'' (<code>Shift+F12</code>) window's ''Render'' tab.

===Plants Overlay===
[[File:OverlayPlants.png|thumb|right|Using the '''Plants''' overlay.]]
The '''Plants''' overlay is only used for [[Forage|foraging]]. The placement of [[farm]]s and [[orchard]]s is not affected by plants in the environment.

===Buildings Overlay===
The '''Buildings''' overlay can be used to help with managing and navigating a [[city]]. The overlay displays the [[building]] icons for each building, as well as its number of levels.

This overlay also helps greatly when checking the [[TL]] of buildings in a city.

===Roads Overlay===
The '''Roads''' overlay is not used for much, it simply display the road types.

===Flags Overlay===
[[File:OverlayFlags.png|thumb|right|Scouting of a ''French Empire'' [[city]] using the '''Flags''' overlay.]]
The '''Flags''' overlay is very useful when attempting to invade an enemy city.

All [[Military_Flag|military flag]]s and [[Town_Square|town square]]s are highlighted and display the flag of the empire that hold them.

Military buildings are have their icons displayed, much like with the '''Buildings''' overlay.

===Cities Overlay===
The '''Cities''' overlay is used to see the name of a [[city]]. It becomes more useful when two cities are placed right next to each other.

[[Category:Guides]]