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Master of Orion III
gimpy writes "Alan Emrich is a gaming veteran's veteran. He's done it all, from boardgames to card games, from computer games to pen and paper role-playing. Now, he's working as designer and lead writer on a title that has strategy fans drooling: Master of Orion [?] III. SharkyGames recently had a chance to sit down with Alan and get the inside scoop on what's happening with MOO3." The website for the game is available as well. I cannot count the sheer number hours spent playing MOO/MOO2 - hopefully this can live up the legacy of those games.
Actually, the new game has features meant to deal with this specifically. From the faq:
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Since its written in Java, it works under Linux (and developed for the most part under Linux.)
Can Quicksilver find a combination of these three that produces some synergy, without having to improve on all of the above games? A lot of it can be done with the application of aesthetic sense, common sense and attention to detail, but it sounds like they have a real challenge in the AI area.
I had one of the first copies of MOO2 out of the carton at my local game store, and I loved it. But I quickly mastered it. Pax Imperia II for the Mac became my new galactic empire game, and I've yet to master the most difficult settings. So there's yet another comparison MOO3 must win...
Best of luck for them - I admit I'm anxious to see what they turn out...
I can see the fnords!
You're asking for two types of game in one, here. Do you really want to be in the middle of empire management, and then spend two hours in a Starcraft-esque tactical battle? Not only will it totally bloat the game, but they'd have to reinvent a wheel that's already got tough competition, and it would ruin the continuity of the overall game.
If they could just smooth the edges off of the MOO2 fleet combat mechanics, I'd be happy. I had a lot of fun going to war in MOO2.
One of the few problems I had in this area was that a lot of the combats were totally unbalanced. Tech levels could vary so much that often, one or the other combatant was totally outmatched. This can be fun when you're the one on top, but it's still nowhere near as fun as a good contest between equally matched opponents.
More Ship types/mods
I would add that they need custom starship design. If you haven't seen Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain yet (was it released for Windows?) take a look at it, especially the research and custom ship designs. The original Pax had even MORE detail in its system and ship design screens, but that was abandoned due to the dubious excuse of it was too complex. Some people loved it.
3-dimetional glaxy map and space combat
Oh yeah. If they could pull that off, it would be a hit even if other parts of it sucked.
That things stay turn based.
I'd generally agree, but when things were slow, I'd want the option to let the clock run while I manage the economy, production, etc... Games like this can sometimes be long periods of tedium interrupted by crises.
I can see the fnords!
I also still play Master of Magic on occasion. You've just got to love a game that allows so many interesting combinations. Flying, invisible, spell-locked warships are a particularly deadly combination, because they're almost unstoppable.
There is a petition for a Master of Magic sequel here. This game is just crying out for a sequel. I would absolutely love to see what a Flame Strike would look like with today's graphics capabilities.
--
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke
Anybody else remember Spaceward Ho! ?
MSK
I don't know about MOO... but I've tried it with MOM (master of magic), and it ran like a charm.. or at least no less instable then the original dos version. I liked MOM better than MOO though, and I still think it's a mistake that there was no MOM2. :)
yeah, the classics run fine
//rdj
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
--Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
I love Moo2, but the networking capability was so lame. I remember playing the game on a few P2s on 100 Megabit switched networks.
I figured, well, the game took some time on P166s with modems, so it'll fly now... nope...
They game was mad fun, but waitting to sync was maddening.
Alex
I'm going to lose my job, my girlfriend, my dog...
So go get a country CD, and play it backwards. You get your job back, your girl back, your dog comes back to life...
Three dits, four dits, two dits, dah!
Radio, radio, rah rah rah!
Also, I submitted the same story last Tuesday and it was rejected! I take this as a personal insult!
[Before flaming, please re-read this post as parody. Thank you.]
TheFrood
If you say "I'll probably get modded down for this..." then I will mod you down.
Thank you, now I feel real old. :(
:)
I might have to adopt your tactic though, so my wife doesn't catch me.
"The words of the prophets are written on the Slashdot walls."
Who needs anymore damn games flooding the market. Nethack is all I need. That game has it all, it takes skill, immagination, smarts, and fearlessness. Yes you must be fearless to play this game for hours and hours with your hand constantly clicking on the hjkl keys... hlhlhhjjjhhllhhjjlhlhjjjjljj... yes, carpal tunnel be damned. RSI HA! I laugh in your face. Hour after hour,click click click cold numbness, click click click.. sharp shooting pain...click click click
Ah yes, nethack, the one true game.
Yours,
Bob
All the best,
--Bob
A game worth mentioning in any discussion of Masters of Orion is Space Empires IV. It's only distributed online (to my knowledge), so you won't see it in any stores. It's not for those who like big luxurious cut scenes and beautiful graphics. The graphics are merely functional.
However, if you're interested in the strategy side of things, it's got a lot going for it.
Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?
I'm not big on purchasing games, but MOO I and II are definately ones I've loved. In fact, its kind of strange this came up, because I loaded the original MOO onto my PC a few days ago, and I've been readdicted! Playing the Psilons is so much fun, using my repulsor beams along with my tri-focus weapons at 3x range. It was produced in 1995 I believe, and it STILL draws my attention. Excellent strategy game.
I enjoyed MOO II because of the technology update, but also the new rules and stuff were a GOOD addition. Someone here KNOWS how to make a game, and KNOWS how to make sequels!
MOO was the game that got me into Strategy/Galactic Conquest games. I spend most of my off time in the military playing MOO2. My friends and I used to talk about what kind of features we'd add if we were on the dev team for MOO3.
Creative, +2 research, +1 Production -20% down the middle... the standard Custom race.
This is also the game that truly threw me into network gaming. I am glad that there is going to be a sequel and I am anxious to hear about added features. The "official site" is dismally slow right now (No doubt the impact of slashdot readers). But I personally am hoping for:
Detailed ground combat
More options for custom races
More races
More Ship types/mods
3-dimetional glaxy map and space combat
That things stay turn based.
In this age of RTS games I think we need new, good turn based strategy game. Something I haven't seen since Alpha Centauri.
______________________ There is no
Master of Orion (2) is one of my all time favourite games, and the undisputed king of X4 games. I still occasionally play MOO2, but the gameplay has unfournately become so routine that a campaign on the impossible skill level only takes an evening :(
:), let's hope the MOO team can do better. While they're at it they should try to find some middle ground between micro-managment and letting the computer manage everything.
I really hope they can manage to catch the original spirit of the games. The web site talks about random generated "plot lines". Imperium Galactica II, another X4 game, tried it and it didn't really work (plus the game was just lame, enless micromanagment and no ship customizing! Plus who's the genius to come up with "interesting" techs like Laser 1 and Laser 2? MOO is all about the cool ships/technologies, I want my stellar converters and spatial compressors and xentronium armor
Take it from one with experience, you can get a college degree and still get in all the gaming that you require. Use the following as a guideline:
- Forget your dreams of Stanford or Northwestern, and enroll at a university where they don't get all upset about missing class once or twice a week. Focus your search on mid-sized universities with either an excellent basketball or football program: chances are they have many classes that grade "on the curve".
- Limit your course load to around 15 hours a semester, or better yet, the minimum of 12. Sure, it will add another year to your stay, but that can only be a good thing. A lot of advisors will try to sneak you into Physics and Calculus class in the same semester with promises of "similar course material": resist the temptation.
- Never take more than 2 classes that count for more than 3 credit hours in one semester. Also, for every class that has a number starting with 5 or higher (501, 637, etc), you must have two classes that are 250 or lower.
- Be sure to get a job as a computer lab procter, preferrably in the education, english, or buisness departments. You can pretty much do anything you want on a computer in those places.
- Focus your energies! Sure, that lab paper was due two days ago, but is it really worth losing valuable Achilles Targeting Unit research time?
When MOO2 was out I was in college! I had no girlfriend! I had a part time job! I could afford to spend 36 hours straight playing computer games!
I'm going to lose my job, my girlfriend, my dog...
Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud.
I was making such progress on breaking my MOO addiction, and they have to start designing another one. They just don't want me to get my homework done, do they?
Bugrit! Millenium hand and shrimp!
We would spend so many countless hours playing that game, I'm afraid to pick up a copy of MOO3 when it comes out!
A couple of other people have mentioned it, but I just want to plug my all-time favorite game, Master of Magic, or MOM.
To say MOM was inspired by MOO is of course accurate, but it's also not doing MOM justice. Not exactly a "sequel", and more than just a knock-off, MOM had a level of strategy and depth of gameplay all it's own. As you might expect by the title, it's a fantasy-based game, which borrows heavily from the Magic:The Gathering style of magic system (Chaos, Life, Death, Nature, and Sorcery magics). The gameplay was also similar to MOO, in that you started with a home city (planet), and from there could build or capture other cities while battling enemy wizards. A unique twist in MOM was the addition of "nodes"; mana-generating squares that you had to capture, guard, and channel for more magical energy.
Unlike MOO, where exploration and combat was relegated mostly to ships, you had a variety of forces at your command in MOM. Normal units like pikeman, archers, and magicians could be trained. You could also summon up to 6 hero's, who not only had thier own unique skills and abilities (plus the ability to cast magic for some), but could wield powerful artifacts to increase thier strenght. In addition, you could summon monsters to do your bidding, things like drakes, fire giants, and the ever-popular wraiths.
Thanks to the sheer number of possibilities of starting pick combinations, combined with different strategies available for waging war, MOM had some incredible replay value. I still occasionally play MOM even today, and I still get a kick out of trying some new strategy or pick-combination once in a while.
Microprose made me their bitch for most of the 90's with MOM, along with titles like MOO, MOO2, Civ, Civ2, Colonization, and XCom 1&2. It's a damn shame that they never got around to making MOM2, and there are those of us still hopeful, though the possibility seems less likely every day. I mean damn: if they can churn out 3 MOO's, 3 Civ's, and 4 XCom titles, surely there's room in the world for MOM2?
Never ever play against another (real)person. It's worse then a game of monopoly. It's like one of those really long traffic lights where you can literaly feel yourself aging except it spans 3+ hours of turn-based madness. It can be even worse... the length of a multiplayer game is exponentially proportional to the skillz of the player. You've been warned!
"Me Ted"
BOSTON SUCKS!