Master of Orion 3 - What Went Wrong?

[Kc7mxo]

I started playing civ1 in middle school. And It didn't take me very long before I understood how to play. Somehow I doubt I would have been able to figure out moo3 before I got too frustrated to bother back then.

Moo3 lacks accesibility. How am I supposed to get friends to play agame (let alone myself) that apparently takes between 10 to 20 hours of play to get the hang of, and isn't any fun while you're learning? The most likely result of trying would be ->

[wilebill]

No Kc7mxo!

"The most likely result of trying would be -> "
possibly with YOUR head in the starring role!

What you need here is the Tom Sawyer approach! Convince them not just anybody can whitewash the fence properly. Con them into begging for the opportunity to suffer ... er ... I mean learn! Use flattery! Make playing MOO3 seem elitist and snobbish! Grease them up with "getting there is all the fun" and "happiness must be earned."

Seriously, I have not played a strategy game since Civ I (which is why I replied) and learning MOO3 is not quite as bad as represented. I think the learning curve is more like six to eight hours at most (that's all it took a dolt newbie like myself) if you have a beginner's tutorial, such as is not supplied with the game and which has to be hunted down on the web.

As for being fun, is there a gamer who does not find the challenge all the fun?

I do agree that learning MOO3 could be a lot easier even than what it is and maybe after a couple or three patches it will be easier.

[GhengisFarb™]

Originally posted by Kc7mxo
How am I supposed to get friends to play agame (let alone myself) that apparently takes between 10 to 20 hours of play to get the hang of, and isn't any fun while you're learning? The most likely result of trying would be ->

You are absolutely right. The entire underlying momentum of the MOO franchise was its multiplayer beat up your best friend ability.

The only people who will be playing MOO3 (SimSpace) are those of us who are diehard MOO fanatics and are stubborn enough to make MOO3 work.

[wilebill]

Checked old Gamespot.com review of MOO2 Battle at Antares. They rated the learning curve of MOO2 at 2.5 hours. The difficulty level was rated as "Impossible." I think from the tone of the review "Impossible" referred to the difficulty of winning the game, not to the game mechanics per se. So I think the learning curve of MOO3 is only a bit over twice that of MOO2, maybe three times as difficult without a beginner tutorial.

I have never played MOO2, but I am more and more curious about it from all that has been said. I think it was a DOS program. Does anyone know if it will run in Windows 95 compatibility mode under Windows XP (assuming I could find a copy)?

The review implies it was a considerable lively game, though, with the selectable option of Antarans arriving unexpectedly out of hyperspace to "hoo'rah your place and bust it up."

[kalbear]

Yeah, the antarans. Heh. Heheh. They were reALLY fearsome. Except so not.

Yes, pick up MoO2. Whatever you think of MoO3, MoO2 is a good game and is easy to learn. There's a lot of bad with it as well, but it's very addictive.

And I have heard success of people playing it in XP. It also is a windows program, so you should be able to play it that way.

[Ianpolaris]

Guys,

Slightly OT, but where can I get Moo 2? After this 'experience' with Moo III, I want to do some real mooing again (to wash the taste from my mouth), but unfortunately I can not find my old Moo 2 CD....and I switched systems some time ago so I don't have it in memory.

-Polaris

[kalbear]

You should be able to find it at various online stores. You might check ebgames first, or amazon. I've seen it for about $10.

I still find it highly ironic that the author of this thread now likes the game. Doesn't discount his arguments or anyone else's (except for CT, who still has not played the game and continues to troll), but it's amusing.

[darcy]

Good old HotU lists this link

http://www.crucialstore.com/acatalog/STRATEGY.html#a27

for buying MoO2. But the price is in this horribly outdated currency called Pounds.

[Arrian]

Yikes. Just checkin' in to see what people are saying and it sure looks ugly.

Then again, if I had decided whether or not to purchase CivIII based on the CivIII General forum threads right after it came out...

Keep the feedback coming, guys.

-Arrian

[wilebill]

King Arrian, keep in mind that the founder of this thread later recanted and decided that he likes MOO3 after all and the last posting I saw he was playing and enjoying the experience. Sure, I want to try MOO2, but I am not giving up MOO3! I bought SimCity 4 the day it came out and later on discovered SimCity 3000 Unlimited and now play both with enjoyment. I hope the MOO series turns out the same way for me.

MOO3 has rough edges, teething problems, but these will eventually be fixed. Tonight I will spend another two or three or four hours playing and learning. Please, please do not take any of my words as discouragement.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Hmmm... sounds like the CivIII debacle (and yes, that was a regrettable purchase in the end).

OH well, this looked like a good game.

[vee4473]

Originally posted by Ianpolaris
Guys,

Slightly OT, but where can I get Moo 2? After this 'experience' with Moo III, I want to do some real mooing again (to wash the taste from my mouth), but unfortunately I can not find my old Moo 2 CD....and I switched systems some time ago so I don't have it in memory.

-Polaris

I found my copy in the bargain software bin at an ebgames store at the mall. $9.99 if i recall.
just the jewel case version.


It was literally just laying on the absolute bottom shelf of one of those rotateable shelf thingies. And on the bottom of the pile no less...
the shelves were a mess...as if wolves had ripped it apart looking for food..


(Ironically I was looking for a copy of CTP2...thinking that that should be readily available, and MOO2 is probably gone forever..but I found and got MOO2 instead).

You DO have to get in there and dig into the bargain bin though, never let the thought that there just aint no point in digging anymore stop you...you NEVER know what will turn up...(wow, some of the software you see...)

[kalbear]

There's an ad for MoO2 right at the bottom of this page. 10 bucks from amazon.

[Ianpolaris]

Kalbear,

Yep, I just saw that and took advantage of it. Thanks.

-Polaris

[wilebill]

You can also get MOO2 from www.ebgames.com. I ordered mine yesterday with "two-day shipping" and still had change from a $20. "Two-day shipping" but it arrived this morning!

This evening I will print out the manuals from disk, load the program, and then if all goes well the resident strategy game newbie and self-proclaimed Master of Obtusity (huh?) who has never played MOO2 before will provide a first impressions report next day or two or three. The jewel case label says MOO2 will run under Windows 95 or 98, so Windows XP should run it either straight or under emulation mode.

MOO3 is going very well also. Last night I started a new game and playing as cyborg, managed to exchange mutual declarations of war with the AI silicoids by Move 4!