Rantz Responds

[dadacp]

Micromanagement definitely does a better job than the AI, and is definitely made so extremely difficult as to be nearly impossible. The documentation is so bad as to require searching the forums or delving into the game files. To get basic information in the game one requires the patience for a long series of clicks and a pencil and notebook to write down important information.

One cannot alt-tab out of the game, nor can one save the game and resume it properly. Combined with the poor documentation and information presentation, this means that one should:

a) Buy a new computer.
b) Put the old computer next to the new computer.
c) Play MOO3 on the old computer while using the new computer to look up information and store notes for MOO3.
d) Leave MOO3 running on the old computer while doing other work on the new computer.

I actually did just buy a new computer recently and am doing exactly this. It's keeping me from giving up MOO3 in frustration.

[Craterus]

Is two computers listed on the box as a requirement or recomended?

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by dadacp


One cannot alt-tab out of the game, nor can one save the game and resume it properly.

I was able to leave the game via alt-tab and opening other Programs.

The only Problem I occasionally encountered war, that sometimes after returning to the game you had to use the middle of the Mousepointer if you wanted to klick on a button or the like within the game and not the Tip of the pointer as it was before.
But even then I was always able to save and end the game correctly (and after restarting the game the Problems with the Mousepointer didn´t reapear).

But yes, using two Computers would be much better of course

[vmxa1]

I am using the Windows key to get out and come back. The screen is all scrambled, but running the cursor over it or hitting esc fixes it.

[Corentor]

Alt-tabbing can be used but it did screw up the game once for me. I got a message like Direct X surface could not be drawn or something and the screen went black.

Its not a big deal though since the game autosaves your last 5 turns.

[notyoueither]

This game is incredibly complex. At first I didn't get it at all and I had some grumblings. The more I look the more I discover that most of the things I thought were missing were there somewhere, and the way I expected it to work is not the way it works at all, but it works (or seems like it might).

The manual and Encyclopaedia are pretty useless though. Or maybe I just haven't figured them out.

Anyays, it is good to know that a newer manual is being worked on, although by that time I'll have figured most things out or read something by someone who has.

[bhaight]

Not sure about the pollution, but, for the terrorism, try setting your oppressometer up a notch or too. That's what works for me.

Originally posted by PaulNAdhe
If this becomes a patch request ... the encyclopedia doesn't have nearly enough entries.

1. Nothing on pollution. How do I combat it?

2. Nothing on terrorism. How do I combat it?

And finally. I thought we did away with manuals w/o indices a loooong time ago. It seems they've reemerged here. It's too bad. This game has the makings to be a great game if we can figure out how to play it. But, an indexless manual doesn't help.

[Trystan]

Originally posted by Comrade Tribune


Yeah, but what I am getting at is, it will turn out you can achieve the same results as you would with micromanagement, by micromanaging the macromanagement , just *much, much, much* more tedious, and this tactic will always beat the Ai. My bet!

I've noticed this too. I get a kick out of the people saying stop trying to micromanage the game, set the dev plans and let it go, then turn and say that they tweak what the AI does every so many turns.

My amusement is that, what do you think micromanagement means? This is just that. Tweaking = micromanagement. It needs to be streamlines, better UI, better info at the screens you need it at.

[vmxa1]

If no MM was needed, why would we need to play? Wouldn't it just be a video, if all we do is hit the turn button?

[Ianpolaris]

Originally posted by vmxa1
If no MM was needed, why would we need to play? Wouldn't it just be a video, if all we do is hit the turn button?

That's the way the game already is, pretty much....at least once you have mastered the interface.

-Polaris

[vmxa1]

You are not far from the truth.

[playshogi]

Can you save development plans from game to game?
That would be a chore if you had to re-do your development plans for each game. Especially in MP, there might be no time to do it (make development plans).

[vmxa1]

There are gone, unfortunetly.

[darcy]

Do we listen to the complaints and objectively evaluate them? Yes. Why? Because we believe in the game and making sure that it's everything that it can be. Hence a running bug/suggestion list.

Where is this list?

[starfox]

same here. A direct X plane error.

And last night I saved. I was in the orion senate. This morning I load my game and I'm no longer in the orion senate, and some computer races went hiding. I no longer see the Orion. Really weird.