Mechanics
In Ascendancy we choose a race - each of them has an individual special skill, giving it a potential advantage over the others. In addition, we need to decide on the density of stars in the cluster (which translates into the number of planetary systems suitable for colonization), the number of opponents and the political climate (opponents can be peaceful, neutral or be our fierce enemies).
According to the principles of the genre, our primary goals are the four Xs: exploration, expansion, exploitation and extermination. In the initial phase of the game, we have a single colony, but as we progress, we gain access to technology that enables us to build spacecraft and leave the mother planet using the so-called star lanes. The crews of individual ships may settle on uninhabited planets or subjugate the inhabitants of other globes in planetary or space battles.
During the game we should pay attention to three parameters that reflect the functioning of our colonies. The first is research, which enables us to acquire new technologies; the second is industry, which determines the speed with which individual colonies can achieve their goals; and the last is prosperity, which reflects the birth rate on a particular planet. We increase the value of these coefficients by erecting specific buildings. Individual buildings can only be erected in selected places - while white fields enable for the creation of any kind of structure, green fields can only be used to build structures responsible for prosperity, red - for industry, while blue fields allow us to build structures to increase our research capabilities. Additional fields are also found in planetary orbits - it is there that we create, for example, spacecraft and planetary defence systems.
It is also important to maintain more or less friendly relations with other races - the diplomacy system enables us to form alliances with our neighbors, declare war or exchange useful information with them.
Technical aspects
At the moment of release, Ascendancy's visuals were quite impressive - the title allows for a smooth transition from the map of a group of stars to a view showing a selected planet or even our fleet.
In the 2011 edition for Apple iOS devices, the interface has been redesigned to suit the game on smartphones and tablets. In addition, some improvements have also been made to AI. Sometime after the release the title disappeared from AppStore's offer.
