java moo

[Ray K]

screen shot for medium-size map attached.

I'm doing the technology screens next.

[vmxa1]

Well looks nice, but what am I looking at and where can I find out more about it? Is this a game that was createdusing Moo as the template?

[Ray K]

Originally posted by vmxa1
Well looks nice, but what am I looking at and where can I find out more about it? Is this a game that was createdusing Moo as the template?

I am rewriting the original game in Java; at least that's the plan.

Why? Because it will be fun for me and I believe that this is one game that does not belong in the abandonware bin.

I plan on staying true to the original game and avoid the litany of mistakes made in MOO2. The playability of the game can be improved substantially simply with the use of modern visual widgets.

[vmxa1]

Best of luck and keep us posted.

[Urban Ranger]

Cool! Good luck with your efforts.

[DaveV]

Originally posted by Ray K
The playability of the game can be improved substantially simply with the use of modern visual widgets.

... and with better AI! How are you planning on doing the AI? That was the only weakness of the original game, IMO.

[Ray K]

Originally posted by DaveV

... and with better AI! How are you planning on doing the AI? That was the only weakness of the original game, IMO.

What's really sad is that the state of the AI in computer games has not really improved since the days of MOO. Tons of money and programmers are thrown at features that improve sales instead of gameplay.

It drive me nuts when I see some gamer in the Civ forum complaining to the developers that he can't get the Wonder movies to work.

[DaveV]

Originally posted by Ray K
What's really sad is that the state of the AI in computer games has not really improved since the days of MOO.

And how is your (presumably) one-man project going to be different? I don't mean to be adversarial, but you've bitten off a very large chunk here. If you come up with a bug-free implementation of MOO with state-of-the-art AI all by yourself, more power to you. But I think you're much more likely to produce yet another half-finished game after you get bogged down in the details.

[Ray K]

Originally posted by DaveV

And how is your (presumably) one-man project going to be different?

it won't be abandoned for the next version?

I don't mean to be adversarial, but you've bitten off a very large chunk here. If you come up with a bug-free implementation of MOO with state-of-the-art AI all by yourself, more power to you. But I think you're much more likely to produce yet another half-finished game after you get bogged down in the details.

well, for what it's worth, i've done bigger projects. however, I guess we'll have to see what happens.

[catullus]

Can I suggest that you plan for multiplayer when programming? It's always easier to add a module to a program when you have the data structure prepared for it in advance.
Maybe to late already, I realize.

C.

[Ray K]

Originally posted by catullus
Can I suggest that you plan for multiplayer when programming? It's always easier to add a module to a program when you have the data structure prepared for it in advance.
Maybe to late already, I realize.

C.

wow, I feel like a game company already!

MOO is, first and foremost, a turn-based strategy game. Those are two characteristics that will always work against it being a multiplayer game.

Adding multiplayer would be like conceding defeat to the concept of a competent AI.

[Todd Hawks]

I wish you the best!

(What bigger projects did you work on, if I may ask?)


If you really see this through, then PLEASE make it bigger than MoO concerning map size. I.e. more stars. As many as possible.

[Skanky Burns]

Originally posted by Ray K
Adding multiplayer would be like conceding defeat to the concept of a competent AI.

Save time, concede defeat to that idea now.

[Urban Ranger]

I'd say a competent AI on the level of an average player is very, very hard to pull off.

[Ray K]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
I'd say a competent AI on the level of an average player is very, very hard to pull off.

Actually, it simply requires something that game developers do not have: time to actually play the finished game in order to develop winning strategies and tactics. That is advantage that the human players always have over the computer once the final version of the game is released.

No one could expect to write a competent Chess AI unless they already had considerable experience playing the game. Why should any other game be different?

In other words, it would be extremely difficult to deliver a competent AI with a brand new game. And every time they substantially alter the mechanics of the game (like MOO2 & MOO3), they have to start the AI all over again from scratch.

I intend to keep this version of the game close to the original, meaning that I have the ability to encode proven strategies into the AI. That is something that the original programmers could not do.