java moo

[grinningman]

Originally posted by vmxa1

BTW I do not think you can start with any planets of 140 or better legally. Standard HW is 100. Largest starting default planet is 110, unless already fertile. Fertile has never occurred in any starting HW I have ever seen in over 2000 games at all levels.
Even Saks start at 100. A 100 planet can reach 270 with complete terraform and advanced soil. A few planets, such as Orion can reach 300. If you started at 140 (standard) the planet would be able to grow to 330, never seen that.

I should have been a bit clearer here - I meant that the first planet I colonised with my starting colony ship (second planet after my homeworld) was a fertile terran planet. I'm not sure that it was max 140, either, might have been 120 or 130. I've also never seen a starting fertile homeworld.

You are probably right about the way the AI works. But it would be nice if, before the AI sends a fleet to attack a planet, there was some sort of check (based on previous attacks and knowledge of the opponent's technology) as to whether the fleet has any weapons that can damage defending missile bases.

Also, perhaps some sort of check just after the AI declares war that at least one of its current ship designs can damage the opponent's missile bases. If the AI doesn't have such a design, but it has researched weapons that *can* damage the opponent's bases, then scrap an existing design (which design to scrap based on a combination of obsolesence and production value, I suppose) and design another.

Anyway, I also hope Ray K is still going on java MoO. I'd love to play it when it's done.

Grinning man

[vmxa1]

Remember this game was written back in the DOS days, so mem and CPU was not much.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by vmxa1
I don't that is correct. First we were talking about a start of the planet (HW). Anyway I have captured many radiated planet from accidents and never had one go over 300. It would be unusual to see the accident so late in the game that you have all of the boosters.

What if that happens on Orion? Would fixing it back to Gaia bring the total pop to over 300? Hmmm

[vmxa1]

No, nothing will get any planet over 300, except maybe an editor. Largest standard starting planet is Orion at 120. Adv Soil adds 60, Complete terra +120 = 300.
Non std starts are for fertile terrans that means they already have some terraforminig applied. The std base is the modifing point.

[CenturionV]

so is there a timetable on when we might get to play this game or what

[vmxa1]

Originally posted by CenturionV
so is there a timetable on when we might get to play this game or what

I take it you are referring to Moo3. Rich at GoneGold is saying it is going gold this week. I know we have heard every thing, but Rich has a very good record, so it is better than any other idea I have at this point.

[Zed-F]

I thought he was referring to JavaMoo, in which case he would need to talk to RayK. Since it's a one person job, he'd probably say it'll be done when it's done.

[vmxa1]

You are probably correct, I forgot what thread I was in again.

[vmxa1]

BTW, I hope Ray does stop by and give us an update. It must be a gigantic task.

[CenturionV]

ya re-creating a game like moo in java would be hard for a group of people not to mention just one.

[Harry Seldon]

Has anyone tried PMing RayK. I wonder if he bailed...

[The Templar]

After playing MOO 3, I think the continued need for this project should be obvious.

[Ray K]

No, I have not bailed. I delayed the project pending the quality of MOO3 and decided to resume it.

However, I'm looking at GalCiv now and starting to get pretty excited. We need a real MOO game, and they seem to be doing things in GC that I would not have the time to reproduce in a Java implementation of Moo.

If GC is a suitable replacement for MOO1/MOO2, I will bail because I'll be too busy playing

[Ray K]

Originally posted by CenturionV
ya re-creating a game like moo in java would be hard for a group of people not to mention just one.

Actually, the mechanics of the game are very straightforward. It's simply of matter of setting up the data structures, writing the UI to manipulate them, and updating them in the next turn logic. I've completed a considerable portion (>50%) of this part of the game.

The AI is more difficult because you have to play the game, find out what works best, and then code that behavior. This will always involve adding meta-structures for managing the AI's "knowledge" that are not always apparent in the initial design. Compounding this is the need to use multiple players & strategies so that the AI isn't easily exploited. Plus a considerable amount of dialogue needs to be pre-written to handle all of the possible diplomatic possibilities (including similar responses that simply require a different demeanor).

Worst of all, for the single designer, is graphics. Most individuals do not have the wide range of talents to do programming & graphics design. This is an area I am going to completely bail on, because "eye candy" is an absolute black hole in development resources.

JavaMoo, if ever completed, will have functional, spartan graphics that only a true 4X enthusiast could love. Think along the lines of Civ1.

[vmxa1]

Are you kidding, we are true fanatics here.