Master of Orion 3 for Dummies.

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

Alright, some company needs to make a freaking book "MoO3 for Dummies" or "MoO3 for Idiots" so I figure out to play this stupid game.

Any help or pointers, clarifications, or Encyclopedia entries (since the one in the game is a blank book) would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, for your support.

[Trystan]

Have you tried any of the player updated encyclopedias? I don't have a link for you, but check in the modding section on these forums.

The last one I saw added the specials, Loreweaver's race guide, and someone's 8 step newbie guide. Sorry, forgot who wrote it. Those 2 guides are also stickied on the IG forum. It is much better to have them in game though.

[DCMike]

A tutorial would have been nice (instead of those annoying master notes).

[Yodasplat]

Originally posted by DCMike
A tutorial would have been nice (instead of those annoying master notes).

... which I deactivated IMMEDIATELY upon starting the first game.

The manual is helpful (mildly) and it's a good start. For the most part the really important questions I figured out by reading posts in these forums.

[TheMaestro]

The master notes are...not very helpful. The game isn't too complicated, but it is kinda dubious in explaining some things. Like why an empire is declaring war, even if the only reason is, "Because you are there, and we want your planets."

[Yodasplat]

Originally posted by TheMaestro
The master notes are...not very helpful. The game isn't too complicated, but it is kinda dubious in explaining some things. Like why an empire is declaring war, even if the only reason is, "Because you are there, and we want your planets."

yes that is a mildly annoying issue.

The Psilons keep on trying to get into a war with me... even if I didn't do anything to them, I am 12 times as massive as they are in terms of Navy and I have almost 60% of the New Orion strenght. I will make it my personal goal to wipe out those butt-ugly little $hites and rid the universe of their reeking presence

[Epistax]

hmm I noticed this in Moo2. On hard and impossible, one or two races would be assigned to irrationally hate you. Not necessarily repulsive mind you, but constantly do everything to piss you off, unless you wanted to fight them then it was all good.

[TheMaestro]

I just don't get how the Meklar can ever get mad, as truly mechanical creatures...they should be logic based, not emotion based. But them and the Cynoids are the ones I always seem to magically piss off as the humans.

Humans are kinda cool actually, I just customize them with more manufacturing.

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

UPDATE ON MY EXPERIENCES.

Okay, from what I've been able to determine there are some basic concepts you need to grasp when playing MOO3.


1) It isn't MOO3. It's SimSpace. You don't play the game. You suggest, hint, nudge, whatever to the game in the direction you want it to go and it plays itself. The human is simply an observer watching the game.

2) Don't put too much effort into it. The game's going to ignore you. Every so often delete every ship you can build by obsoleteing them and then design new ones. Don't waste time doing the details. Click a class (Cruiser), then select the type (Long Range Attack), then click AutoBuild and confirm. If you waste time designing it yourself the game will just ignore you anyway.

Even better, tell it to build Task Groups instead of individual ships.

3) Don't waste your life playing it single player. The AI in nonexistent. Single player is to learn how the game works since it didn't come with a manual or an in-game Encyclopedia. This game seems as though it will only be fun and challenging if you play it against other human players.

And finally....
4) Print out the readme file so you don't have to keep switching windows to look at it.

[Hokiemon]

Page 107 of the semi-useless Offical Strategy Guide lists the base relations of the various races with each other. Humanoid and Cybernetik start off with a -60 penalty to diplomacy relations. (The programmers at Quicksilver must have been big fans of the Cylons from Battlestar Galatica and the Borg from ST:TNG ) For a Humanoid, only the butt-ugly Harvestors start with a lower rating.