In-House Preview Online: Part 2

DanQ · January 16, 2003, 14:24

The second of a six-part detailed preview of Master of Orion III is now online. This six-page article, accompanied by sixteen screenshots, is written by Apolyton CS Co-Owner/Administrator Daniel Quick.

In late December, 2002, an advanced beta copy of [MoO3 arrived in my mailbox. Since then, I have had the opportunity to examine this much-anticipated turn-based strategy title first hand – both inside and outside of the gameplay itself, says Quick. What has been posted today is the first of six installments of this feature. In this edition, the focus is on the wealth of pre-gameplay customization options and their importance in a healthy and enjoyable engagement.

On behalf of the Apolyton CS staff and administration, I would like to thank MoO3 Producer Constantine Hantzopoulos and the rest of the game's team at both Infogrames Interactive and Quicksilver Software for this opportunity.

Part 3 will be posted next Thursday (barring any unforeseen circumstances). Comments on this article are welcomed in this thread.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

Alexfrog · January 16, 2003, 15:14

Awesome!!

I have wanted some race custmization details (w/screenshots) for awhile.

Thanks!

Also: the last screenshot for me would not maximize...the little picture if clicked on only lead to a tiny picture of it in a new window.....there a problem there?

Could you just say how many picks it is to go from Random to Yes or to No in the Orion Senate pick??

Also, I know the #points for the various picks differs some by race...do you have any examples? does it differ a little or a lot?

How much does it cost to chace picks like accuracy, toughness, etc. Are they 20 like most of the other ones up there, or something else.

13Matt13 · January 16, 2003, 15:48

The part about sole survivor should say "...and is the on one that an NOT be disabled", shouldnt it?

The link to the biodiversity pic opens up the "special attributes" pick.

And the phrase "as eluded to above" should be "as alluded to above"; "eluded to above" would mean "escaped from above".

The "Senate" link doesnt maximize.

Kc7mxo · January 16, 2003, 16:20

Nice to get some new info, but not to to be rude or anything, was it neccessary to spend 3 pages describing the menus?

I liked the screenshots though. Pictoral descriptions of menu systems are for more interesting. So, can we expect part 3 next week?

DanQ · January 16, 2003, 16:53

Quote:

Originally posted by 13Matt13
The part about sole survivor should say "...and is the on one that an NOT be disabled", shouldnt it?

The link to the biodiversity pic opens up the "special attributes" pick.

And the phrase "as eluded to above" should be "as alluded to above"; "eluded to above" would mean "escaped from above".

The "Senate" link doesnt maximize.

Hi 13Matt13.

re: "Sole Survivor"
An oversight on my part -- corrected.

re: 'Biodiversity' screenshot
Link fixed.

re: phrase...
You are right -- an oversight on my part. Corrected.

[re: "Senate" screenshot link]
A 'legacy' code remnant from Part 1. Corrected. Thanks to Alexfrog too for pointing this one out.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

moomin · January 16, 2003, 16:54

Nice work, Dan. Keep it up.

The last screenshot shows a thumbnail when clicked, at least for me.

DanQ · January 16, 2003, 16:57

Quote:

Originally posted by moomin
Nice work, Dan. Keep it up.

The last screenshot shows a thumbnail when clicked, at least for me.

Hi moomin. Thank you for the kind words!

I just finished repairing an issue with the last screenshot as described in posts above -- you likely the saw the problem just before it was corrected. Try again; if the problem is persisting, hit "Refresh"/"Reload" in your browser. If that still does not clear things up, clear your browser cache(s) and try again.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

DanQ · January 16, 2003, 17:05

Quote:

Originally posted by Kc7mxo
Nice to get some new info, but not to to be rude or anything, was it neccessary to spend 3 pages describing the menus?

I liked the screenshots though. Pictoral descriptions of menu systems are for more interesting. So, can we expect part 3 next week?

Not at all, re: rude. Some people will find the discussion interesting and others not -- I realize that.

Glad you liked the screenshots. As indicated in the related news item, Part 3 is to be posted next Thursday barring any unforeseen circumstances.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

13Matt13 · January 16, 2003, 17:16

Hi DanQ

No problem, theres a couple of other errors, if youd like me to nitpick.

Kudos, and look forward to reading the others.

PS.- Are you guys gonna do 1 per week? Or is it gonna start to pick up as release approaches? Or is MOO not coming out for at least antoher 4 weeks?

DanQ · January 16, 2003, 18:20

Quote:

Originally posted by 13Matt13
Hi DanQ

No problem, theres a couple of other errors, if youd like me to nitpick.

Kudos, and look forward to reading the others.

PS.- Are you guys gonna do 1 per week? Or is it gonna start to pick up as release approaches? Or is MOO not coming out for at least antoher 4 weeks?

If you find additional errors, please email them to me and I will correct them as soon as possible. Yes, they are nitpicking points but to me they are important to me to fix. I appreciate people taking the time to both read what I have written and sending me feedback... even if it is to nitpick.

Given the volume of material I of course re-read what I wrote several times, but it is not always possible for one to catch all of their own errors after staring at a document for some time...

As far as the scheduling of future instalments goes, see the related news item to the article in question as well as one of my previous responses above that addresses this.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

Adacore · January 16, 2003, 20:26

Great! Really interesting article DanQ. And it cleared up most of the queries i had about this area of the game (it also answered some queries i didn't even know i had, as well as raising new ones).

At the rate of a preview a week, the game might be in the stores by the time the preview is finished - that just seems a bit odd to me - it wouldn't really be a preview any more.

RolandtheMad · January 16, 2003, 20:35

"The range runs from one through fifteen. That's right – if you want all of Master of Orion III's races actively present in a game including yourself, you can make it so. "

I don`t think this is correct. I believe the players are of random race and specie with the possibility of duplicates..

Main_Brain · January 16, 2003, 20:44

Its nice :=)

Im surprised there are only three Difficulty Levels though?

Alexfrog · January 16, 2003, 21:17

Yes, regarding the number of races: if you put 15 computer races, you DONT get all 16 races in the game, since there can be duplicates. UNLESS they changed that and no longer allow duplicates, which is always a possibility.

On the infogrames moo3 boards, there is a thread where we calculated out all the probabilities of various numbers of races being represented in a game with 16 empires....

Re: 3 difficulty levels. I read somewhere (official I think) that there were 4. Maybe one is a tutorial difficulty??

In the past, MOO games have had easy/normal/hard/impossible or tutor/easy/normal/hard/impossible.

However, it would seem to be in Rantz and Chantz's 'style' to not have an 'impossible' mode. They cut everything they consider 'cheesy', and a game difficulty level of 'impossible' could be perceived as such.

I realled liked this preveiw, as it was a much more in depth and detailed look at race creation than we have had before from any previous source. And race creation is the part that interests me the most (as it did in MOO2).

Got Milk?? · January 16, 2003, 21:27

Nice preview. I'm currently taking double BA for history and poli so I'm also intrested like you on your next preview. I also have a tendency to play the hardest in all the games I play, very much suicidal like those types that pick generally deficient race you mention

. Also I read in another preview, wargamers I believe that said combat is in realtime or so. Is it like 'Star Trek:Birth of the Federation' type deal? not sure you ever played that game thou

I'm assumin you didn't play multi yet so you wouldn't know if everyone does their turns at the same time. A final point is there hotseat?

Gamble · January 16, 2003, 22:08

I feel compelled to suggest you (DanQ) should stick to writing law papers, where your writing style may be more appreciated, in some twisted way. You said too little using far too many cumbersome words, IMHO.

Two errors I happen to remember... it's "lest you regret it later", not "least". And it says "+.5" as manufacturing production bonus for Natural Engineers. The text states +5. Not like I personally care too much, having no clue whatsoever what exactly manufacturing production is and how it operates and influences things.

Those screenshots are nice to have though.

Hrett · January 17, 2003, 00:18

Quote:

Originally posted by Gamble
I feel compelled to suggest you (DanQ) should stick to writing law papers, where your writing style may be more appreciated, in some twisted way. You said too little using far too many cumbersome words, IMHO.

DanQ -- Gamble may be right, but I guess we all have our own opinions. I thought it was well written and informative, but then, I am a lawyer and probably warped beyond all hope or reason.

I do have a question -- I think you mentioned something that suggests that you have only played one game for about 80+ turns? Is this correct? If so, why only one game?

Thanks for the preview! Keep it up and good luck with your school.

Trachmyr · January 17, 2003, 00:25

Well if you want people to nitpick...

Page 4, First paragraph:
"To the left of each option, usually grouped in a set of four ore more, you will see a radio button."

ravagon · January 17, 2003, 03:41

Thanks Dan.

Erm, entirely by coincidence, I'll be back next Thursday ... barring unforseen circumstances.

LDiCesare · January 17, 2003, 04:49

The most interesting bit of info was IMO the part about the Orion Senate.
If it is random and you have an advantage by being part of it, running again until you are part of the Senate at no pick cost is a valid strategy, but is boring.
They should have made it so that the player has to take a pick in order to be part of the Senate.

I also found the review long for what it says, but without that amount of detail, would I have spotted the above-mentioned problem?
I think it is good to have a thorough review. It is just that everyone would like to learn about the gameplay...

campfreddie · January 17, 2003, 06:27

Quote:

Originally posted by Got Milk??
Also I read in another preview, wargamers I believe that said combat is in realtime or so. Is it like 'Star Trek:Birth of the Federation' type deal? not sure you ever played that game thou

I'm assumin you didn't play multi yet so you wouldn't know if everyone does their turns at the same time. A final point is there hotseat?

Real time combat is true realtime, no pausing. Not like ST-BotF It's a slow pace though, so it isn't a click-fest (according to the beta testers and I'm inclined to trust them).

Multiplayer: No hotseat I'm afraid. However, players take their turn at the same time, then their orders are processed once all players have hit 'end turn'. MOO2 played this way over LAN. There are also turn time limits that can be set to prevent micro-management freaks from ruining everyones fun!

ikilledmybroker · January 17, 2003, 06:54

Real-Time Combat. Is there an option to "Auto-Combat" or am I confusing with GalCiv ?

Paddy_ · January 17, 2003, 09:38

@LDiCesare bonjour
You can take a pick to be member of the senate or not, but you are using 10 race picks for that.( it´s on one of the screenshots)
With random and restart you keep this 10 points for other attributes.

iamafrogok · January 17, 2003, 11:43

The preview cleared up some points (minor). But it did seem to be just a textural descirption of the pictures :\. Exploring your own personal views more maybe worthwhile. The interface slick, responsive? Have you test the game out on some computers of varying performance. How was the installation (no problems? length of time? 2CD issue?).

Maybe a submission of questions that you can sift through and pick out. [a]majority of asked questions [b] Questions that your allowed to answer

The one week time displacement between posts is that a restriction imposed on you?

Also commenting on teh quality of the opening video maybe a sweet touch.

Unspeakable Horror · January 17, 2003, 12:41

Quote:

The one week time displacement between posts is that a restriction imposed on you?

I think it´s because Real Life (TM)

Craig P. · January 17, 2003, 12:50

Quote:

Originally posted by LDiCesare
The most interesting bit of info was IMO the part about the Orion Senate.
If it is random and you have an advantage by being part of it, running again until you are part of the Senate at no pick cost is a valid strategy, but is boring.
They should have made it so that the player has to take a pick in order to be part of the Senate.

This got thrashed out rather thoroughly on Delphi, and I believe the current system is the compromise that people largely agreed made the most sense.

There are supposed to be race designs which have an advantage by NOT starting in the Senate. The Senate gives you the advantage of diplomatic contacts, at the cost of early contact and less space to expand.

Of course, anyone who's really lame can keep restarting until they hit the option that's "right" for their race, but if you're so set on that you might as well just spend the picks.

Alexfrog · January 17, 2003, 18:14

Quote:

Originally posted by LDiCesare
The most interesting bit of info was IMO the part about the Orion Senate.
If it is random and you have an advantage by being part of it, running again until you are part of the Senate at no pick cost is a valid strategy, but is boring.
They should have made it so that the player has to take a pick in order to be part of the Senate.

I also found the review long for what it says, but without that amount of detail, would I have spotted the above-mentioned problem?
I think it is good to have a thorough review. It is just that everyone would like to learn about the gameplay...

note that choosing NOT to be in the senate is ALSO 10 points...

Basically, for some stratgies you want to be in, for some you dont. If you want to guarantee this, you must pay 10. i.e. CHOICE of whether to be in senate is 10, random is 0.....of course in SP you can restart, but in MP you probably cant, so it matters there.

It would of course be best to save the 10 points and be flexible...having a strategy for each case.

LDiCesare · January 18, 2003, 09:11

Quote:

of course in SP you can restart, but in MP you probably cant, so it matters there.

I will only do SP so I think it shouldn't be random in SP. As for MP, if it provides a definite advantage to be or not to be part of the Senate, then that's one more ransom factor that I'd rather get rid of. Having bad starting position is already hard enough. If you are stuck with no contact or lose 10(!) picks, then you will be easy prey to your neighbours.

Quote:

Of course, anyone who's really lame can keep restarting until they hit the option that's "right" for their race, but if you're so set on that you might as well just spend the picks.

I am sure I will always restart until I always have the same setting (whatever that be, doesn't matter), so I can compare my games one with another. If in my second game I had 10 free race picks, I cannot really compare it with my first and know whether I made a progress in terms of strategy.

TCO · January 18, 2003, 13:21

Dan, you wrote a poor article. It was wordy and pompous. You used empty filler phrases and recounted unimportant observations--who cares that you watched a friend play MOO2?

Concentrate on the real content. Ditch the faux sophistication and fake lawyer style. Deliver your message in the minimum amount of text. This doesn't mean for you to eliminate detail. What it means is that every word must count.

Read THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE by Strunk and White. Or any good composition book. You will learn to write more interesting prose.

TCO · January 18, 2003, 13:25

From Strunk and White, Rule 13:

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

Many expressions in common use violate this principle:

the question as to whether: whether
there is no doubt but that: no doubt (doubtless)
used for fuel purposes: used for fuel
he is a man who: he
in a hasty manner: hastily
this is a subject which: this subject
His story is a strange one.: His story is strange.

In especial the expression the fact that should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs.

owing to the fact that: since (because)
in spite of the fact that: though (although)
call your attention to the fact that: remind you (notify you)
I was unaware of the fact that: I was unaware that (did not know)
the fact that he had not succeeded: his failure
the fact that I had arrived: my arrival

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An online text: http://www.bartleby.com/141/

(this is the earlier edition, prior to White, now public domain.)