Game Club 199X #21 - Master of Orion (DOS)

[Snarboo]

The podcast is now available! Grab it here.


This month's game is all about strategy and exploiting your enemies, so buckle up for some galactic dominion:

Master of Orion (PC-DOS)

SPOILER: Click to show

Master of Orion (MoO or MOO) is a critically acclaimed turn-based, 4X science fiction computer strategy game released in 1993 by MicroProse on the MS-DOS and Mac OS operating systems. The rights are currently held by Atari. The purpose of the game is to lead one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing technology, exploring and colonizing star systems.

Master of Orion is turn-based game in which players alternate actions and decisions with computer-controlled opponents using a point-and-click interface as well as keyboard shortcuts to control the management of colonies, technology, ship construction, diplomacy, and combat. The game begins with a single colonized homeworld, one colony ship and two scout ships that can be used to explore nearby stars.

Victory is gained either by eliminating all opponents or by winning a vote on peaceful unification.

Wikipedia's Master of Orion Article

PRO TIPPZ:

• Cardinalfang has graciously shared the manual with us!
• "As for starting race, the manual recommends the Klackons, with a Medium-sized galaxy and Simple difficulty. I'd recommend browsing the manual that Cardinalfang uploaded. The manual appears to have some useful hints on page 29." courtesy of zerker
• "The quick reference card recommends the Alkaris, Klackons, and Silicoids for beginners. Also, apparently you should pick a medium-sized galaxy for your first outing (small will lead to contact with other races too quickly)." courtesy of Joseph Joestar
• "As with most 4X games and strategy games in general the best thing to do is to jump in - you're going to lose the first few games for sure so just try to work out what's going on (and read the manual!)." courtesy of kal
• "Also, protip: Don't fuck with The Guardian. No matter how many ships you bring, no matter how good the stuff on them is, it's not enough, and you WILL need more." courtesy of Bobinator
• Feynman has a few tips on stopping rebellions and managing finances.
• Need help? xerxes has got you covered with these fool proof tips for galactic domination!
• kal has everything you need to know about how combat works in MOO.
• Need to get the first strike? kal tells you all about combat initiative!
• "If you have crap for planets that's a big problem, you want to make sure you let your starting planet + free colony build up some decent Industry before trying to build anything." courtesy of kal
• Feynman gives the lowdown on starting the game in style.
• "The main advantage of missiles is that they allow hit-and-run tactics. The missiles reload right after you retreat. Also, even if you don't have the space communications thingy, you can redirect a retreating ship to any planet within range. So just redirect it back to the fight you ran from and fire off another load of missiles." courtesy of xerxes
• xerxes spills the beans on colonizing the galaxy.
• "Also, don't ignore Poor class planets! They may not generate as much BC, making them lower priority, but resources are resources, and a Poor class planet is good enough if there are no other options." courtesy of Feynman

Voting ended on July 5th at 10:30 PM EST.

*NOTE*: When voting, please choose a game that you want to play - and will play - but have not beaten entirely or beaten recently, say, within the last 5 - 10 years.

You may not vote for a game that you have played or spoiled within the last year! It's also best to vote for a game that you have not played before.

All votes are final, so no going back if you change your mind. Make your vote as clear as possible. If you don't wish to vote, please say so in your post. If you're going to vote, we'd like to have you along for the ride!

Previous GC9X Threads:

• Game Club 199X #20: Terra Nova *PODCAST NOW AVAILABLE!*
• Game Club 199X #19: Madden NFL 95
• Game Club 199X #18: Home Improvement

[Snarboo]

Putting in my vote for Master of Orion! I believe this game supports e-mail games, so we could theoretically play against each other.

[doctorallosaurus]

I've been wanting to play Ogre Battle 64 for quite a while now so I'll throw it my vote.

[zerker]

I too will vote for Master of Orion.

It is also conveniently on GOG:
www.gog.com/gamecard/master_of_orion_1_2

And 50% off right now (until July 5) for the low price of $3.

[Scylla]

Even though I have Ogre Battle 64 and don't have the other two, I'm going to vote for Treasure Hunter G because I've yet to play the first Ogre Battle and would like to tackle that sometime before I play the N64 game.

[Wildcat]

I'm not going to vote here, but I'd follow the thread and offer advice if Ogre Battle 64 wins. It's such a wonderful game; one of the gems of the N64.

[lentfilms]

I've been meaning to try out the Ogre Battle series so I cast my vote for Ore Battle 64!

[Weasel]

As with the last time it came up, my vote goes to Treasure Hunter G.

[countzero]

After much deliberation, I'm going with Treasure Hunter G. Masters of Orion was a close second, as I love 4x games, though I absolutely suck at them.

[Bobinator]

I've been wanting an excuse to play Master of Orion for a while, so I'm going to put my vote out for that.

[muteKi]

What the hell, I'll go with Ogre Battle as well, because of the 3 I think it's the one I'm most likely to actually stay focused on.

[kal]

Absolutely Master of Orion.

[nivery]

Votin' for MOO.

[Joseph Joestar]

Treasure Hunter G; never got around to playing that, and it was hyped to all hell in GameFan, so it's probably total shit.

[suprjami]

I'd like to see Master of Orion done!