******************************************** MASTER OF ORION II Battle at Antares DOS Version 1.40b18 (Unofficial Patch) Readme File Oct 27, 2004 ******************************************** THIS PATCH IS NOT SUPPORTED BY MICROPROSE OR ANYONE AT ALL. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. ******************************************** NOTE: THIS IS A ENGLISH DOS VERSION PATCH ONLY. IT REQUIRES THAT ENGLISH VERSION 1.31 PATCH IS APPLIED FIRST. How to Update to Version 1.40 ***************************** 1) Download the updater file named "MOO2V140.EXE" Please be sure to note which directory you download the file to. 2) Copy MOO2V140.EXE to the Master of Orion II directory on your hard drive. This directory is usually \MPS\ORION2. 3) To update your copy of Master of Orion II to version 1.40, simply run the MOO2v140.EXE. It will create a separate Orion2v140.exe and optionally a desktop icon. 4) To play the updated v1.40 version of the game, run Orion2v140.exe or use the desktop icon. To play the v1.31 version of the game, run Orion2.exe. Networked games *************** All players must be using the same version number of the game (such as version 1.40). You will not be able to join a game if your version is different than the host. Version 1.40 Changes ******************** Bug Fixes ********* Ship leader crash - You will no longer crash the game when you visit the ship leaders screen and you have no ships. Credit cheat - You will no longer receive Trade goods and produce an item at the same planet in a single turn. Last race bugs - The last race button has been removed from multiplayer game screens due to numerous bugs (duplicate race pictures / various crash bugs) Arti planet bug - The arti planet special will no longer be removed when an opponent ends their turn first. Stealth tech bug - Stealth tech now works on ships equiped with it. XP LAN game support - Lockups and Crashes related to Windows XP LAN games are fixed. Now supports XP SP2. Missing VESA bug - You should no longer receive the erronious "missing vesa.com" on some computers. New Features ************ Improved home systems - There will be at least one colonizable planet plus your homeworld in your home system. New command line switches - various command line switches have been added to improve the map generator. /nowh No wormholes are generated on new maps /nobh No black holes are generated on new maps /noorion Orion is hidden on new maps ( cannot be reached ) /minstart The unoccupied planet closest to the sun in all home systems will be at least 2 production per worker to a normal G race. /hugestart The unoccupied planet closest to the sun in all home systems will be huge and its gravity will match that of the homeworld. /richstart The unoccupied planet closest to the sun in all home systems will be rich and its gravity will match that of the homeworld (this switch is ignored if /goodstart is used). /goodstart The unoccupied planet closest to the sun in all home systems will be Ultra Rich and its gravity will match that of the homeworld. /nosplint No splinter worlds unless there is a monster guarding it. /planets=# Sets the minimum number of planets in all home systems to #. This value includes the home world. Valid values are 2-5 (default is 2). If you try a value outside of the valid range it will use the default. /picks=# Sets the starting race picks points to #. Valid values are 10-14 (default is 10). If you try a value outside of the valid range it will use the default. Note: some screens in the game only show the first 11 race picks (it is possible to pick more than 11). NOTE: the switches /minstart, /hugestart, /richstart, and /goodstart all effect the same planet. The effect is cumulative. These switches ONLY EFFECT ONE PLANET. ALL OTHERS ARE COMPLETELY RANDOM. Other Changes ************* The modem comm info button has been disabled in order to make room for the patch code. If you need to configure the modem settings, you can use the 1.31 version of the game to do so. Also, the TEN button has been disabled for the same reason.