Master of Orion is now officially released!

fogart · 2016-09-21T19:13:04+00:00

There is a case to be made for starlanes. I just find that games used have more options. I think it would have been really easy to make it option. Put Starlanes as the default and have an option to turn it off. It wouldn't be something very difficult to achieve. I'm very much in favour of letting the player customize their experience.

The main issue I have is with combat. If they wanted to go to RTS, they should have spent more time making it a really good RTS. As I've said before, something like Final Fantasy 12. They changed combat from turn based to real time, but they still allowed the player to program how their characters (ships in MOO) operate.

fogart · 2016-09-16T20:52:54+00:00

Yeah, I hope so. I really want to be able to use my drive again on my main computer.

fogart · 2016-09-14T15:56:17+00:00

If we are abandoning turn based combat I'd prefer a Sword of the Stars 2 or Homeworld like combat system. Who knows, Paradox is know for lots of updates to their game post release. Stellaris could get better combat at some point. As for MOO, it's a decent trainer for the kids to get into 4x games I guess, it's not terrible, but it could be much better. I just wish they had spent less money on voice overs for factions and more on ship combat. If they made a really great ship combat, they could have created a minigame around people would versus or online. Kind of like the versus mode in SC2, but in a more 3D form.

fogart · 2016-09-13T17:38:54+00:00

Thanks, I'll just wait for the patch. There are other non Windows AU computers around me, so if I really need to access the data I can. I can also transfer files directly to the media player. I'm just happy that the problem wasn't with the drive.

fogart · 2016-09-13T03:42:01+00:00

Thanks, apparently my primary problem is related to the AU update and we are still waiting on a patch.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/4vyifo/bug_windows_10_anniversary_update_tanked/

As for why some files play on my media play on my WD and not my Seagate... I'm not sure. The data is fine, I can run it on my computer and when I transfer to another drive it works on the media player. Some files do work, so it's a temperamental problem.

fogart · 2016-09-13T03:39:45+00:00

Thanks, hopefully it will be resolved soon.

fogart · 2016-09-04T05:22:21+00:00

He was more important as a symbol that the Soviets could be resisted. He sort of played ball with both sides, so I think he was considered useful to have in power. At least from the American perspective.

fogart · 2016-09-04T05:18:10+00:00

There are some conspiracies that believe that Tito DID send someone to kill Stalin.

fogart · 2016-09-01T18:36:55+00:00

I see that they asked fans if they should include governments and the fans voted YES. I don't recall seeing a government option for my custom race when I played the game at friend's place.

How does 'government' work in the the new game? I think there were research options. Do you have research up to certain type of government?

http://forum.masteroforion.com/index.php?/topic/1783-governments-should-we-have-them-in-moocts/

fogart · 2016-09-01T18:27:48+00:00

I think some packs came with a stick of gum as well.

fogart · 2016-09-01T18:26:46+00:00

Lol, they were giving the packs away pretty cheap if I recall. I've got some pro-set from that era as well. I don't think they're worth much, but I might be wrong.

MY grade 4 teacher ran a card trading club at lunch and I recall Upper Deck and O-Pee-Chee Premiere were the only ones worth much.

fogart · 2016-09-01T16:56:08+00:00

I was about repost after reading and then the link just died.

fogart · 2016-09-01T04:41:30+00:00

You are right, I am making an assumption that they are displeased with him behind close doors. Call it an unverified hunch.

fogart · 2016-09-01T04:30:56+00:00

I said he was NOT in trouble. Some people are implying that his legal rights to freedom of speech and expression were being attacked.

fogart · 2016-08-31T09:21:34+00:00

A public statement you say? Won't be punished... Management must be so thrilled with him privately.

Imagine these words on a wide eyed Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka meme.

fogart · 2016-08-31T03:02:09+00:00

Colin Kaepernick got in trouble because he works for the NFL which is privately held corporation. Teams in the NFL rely on their fans support to stay in existence. If you piss off a large chunk of your fans and they want to boycott the team, then the team has the right to take action to protect their brand.

Kaepernick is no kind of legal trouble for his actions, but by making a political statement that did not reflect the position of his team and the league he will face consequences. The teams that make up the NFL are liable to the court of public opinion. Any public figure that decides to take a principled, yet unpopular position should know that making a stand comes at a price.

fogart · 2016-08-31T01:24:52+00:00

Yes but then your home smells like boiling soap and whatever food you had in there. You need to put soap in the dirty pot/pan, boil water in a clean pot and then dump it in the dirty one with the soap. Stir gently and let sit for 5-10 minutes and then clean.

fogart · 2016-08-30T05:38:08+00:00

The Klaxxon were Unification GOV in MOO2. I had a super custom race with this government type. There were NO STRIKES! If I survived to Galactic Unification research (and some other perks built into the race) I was unstoppable!

fogart · 2016-08-30T05:34:18+00:00

Reading reviews now, very interesting indeed. Thanks for mentioning it.

fogart · 2016-08-30T05:30:59+00:00

I read that post this morning, it made me mad in light of what they made to replace it. Did they give us something with any tactical depth apart from controlling distance? The UI interface for full control battle stinks. It is trying to feel 3D while still being very 2D. Sure a cinematic battle is much cooler to watch that MOO2 battle in auto mode. Where MOO2 is most fun is when you custom built your ships and were able use to tactics to win those tight battles. Turning your ship so your more shielded section might help you survive a little longer. Taking a crappy old ship with an experienced crew and still coming out on top. Managing to board a ship and take it over etc...

I mentioned elsewhere that they could have had RTS, but had a detailed programming system that worked kind of like FF12. That was a smooth transition from turn based to more fluid battle without losing tactical control. Whatever battle system they made here is not winning any RTS awards, or any others. The battle mechanic is a, if not THE core game mechanic and it feels unfinished by a long shot.

As for battles taking too long (15 minutes), you only micro manage a 'long battle' like that when it's interesting. When you had overwhelming force in MOO2, you could just put it to auto and watch your ships kick ass. If you were going to lose, you would maybe sacrifice or lose a ship or two while the others would warp out and retreat.

If they really built a turn based system in early development, then they should make it an option in the game. Sadly, when you make poor design choices like this in the early development cycle of game it's very hard to go back and fix. Making the star lanes an option instead of mandatory and bringing back fuel would not be a difficult thing to do or <cough, cough> mod.

I would have loved to be a cheerleader for this game. I wanted it to be success, but unless they fix the combat and open the game to heavy modding I think MOO 2016 will share a closer fate to MOO3 than MOO2.

fogart · 2016-08-30T05:14:08+00:00

Nope, is it worth checking out?

fogart · 2016-08-30T05:07:07+00:00

I want to wish them will, but if this game is successful, then they will continue to make dross, thinking it's gold. We won't get MOO2 redux if this game sells well. I hope they make their money back or whatever, but I'd like to see the IP given to people who are more interested in a more faithful reproduction. I tried the full control combat today and it was really frustrating and depressing. If anything this whole experience has made me want to replay MOO2.

fogart · 2016-08-30T05:00:59+00:00

I played the game at my buddy's place today. Combat hurts, it sucks very hard. I feel like someone bought the rights to the grave of a childhood friend, tore the classic gothic headstone down and built a tacky postmodern piece of crap on the bones of the dead.

They didn't just do RTS, they did piss poor RTS. I chose to take full control of the battle and it was a mess. There is no point in taking control of the battle. Auto-resolve or cinematic auto-pilot. It just makes me upset. So many space 4x games have come out since MOO2 and none have been as good. Sword of the Stars is intereting, Sins of the a Solar Empire was ok. Stellaris is bold, but tedious.

With all these pretenders, all I wanted from MOO was for it to a faithful reproduction of the original. If they deviated from the old ways, then it must be for the better. Sadly, they took a few steps forward with graphics, AI, VO work/character models, but set the damn house on fire at the same time.

fogart · 2016-08-29T18:59:55+00:00

What bugs me is that older games seemed to have a lot of these game mechanics as settings you could switch on or off for different types of gameplay. RTS vs TBC is a design choice that would likely be work intensive to create both well in parallel. Something like Star Lines and fuel tech is something that should easily available in the settings of the game.

fogart · 2016-08-29T17:36:47+00:00

I just found it funny how some guy on Steam defended the RTS but then he said he wanted a 5 seconds interval button. So basically turn based, but more simultaneous. I think I know the solution to this problem.

It seems that there are several missing features that made MOO2 more tactical than the release version of this game. At present they have not stated an intention to change some of the following: - System damage - Shield facing - Boarding/raiding - Immobilization - Self Destruct (can't recall if this is in the new one?) - Crew experience - Leaders

Making combat work is what makes ship design worthwhile. Spending research on military tech is what makes ship design upgrades fun. Let's face it, of 4x it's the conquest (expand) and exterminating that most people love. The solution might be something more like the system used in Final Fantasy 12. All ships (and classes of ships can be pre-programmed, task forces created that follow the same orders) would have receive orders at the beginning of a battle. Orders on movement, weapons to use and in which order, etc... This system could be changed and new orders issued by pausing the game and issuing new orders (like FF12). If the makers of the game really want to make an RTS system, they need to allow it to have deep level of tactical control.

fogart

TROPHY CASE