Rate MoO3 (1-10)

[aiin]

The game feels unfinished. Alot of features seem to be added on real late in development. Like the spies and some victory conditions.

Senate victory is pointless unless you start the game in the senate. Otherwise you either get lucky and get in or lose the game some hundred turn lader.

The stupid X victory feels tacked on since you don't get to pick which fleet to send. The AI seem to pick randomly from your reserver and sends them on their way.

Of course the lone surviver is just tedious to try to wipe out 8 races not to mention 16.

I give it a 6. Maybe the score will raise if the AI gets patched.

[The Templar]

I gave the game a five. It's playable, even fun, but has several big flaws IMHO.

(1) The Quicksilver guys should hav eplayed MOO I more - that in my opinion was the best 4x space game ever (with MOO 2 a close second). I liked dealing with sliders controlling the whole system at a time. Why give us separate planets with separate regions? Why say that a mining region has this and that building when you don't build it - your viceroy does. Just give us the damn MOO I sliders and tell us how much each planet is producing. There is too much useless information here, and its a clickfest to get to anything.

(2) The above is a mere gripe, this complaint is about something that damn near kills the game - who the hell did the diplomacy and senate? No AI ever makes peace. Are the peace options even connected to anything else in the software? I haven't seen diplomacy this flawed since CTP 2. I had a Grendarl empire down to its last set of colonies in a single system, I've got 40+ worlds all well developed. THESE IDIOTS WON'T EVEN LET ME SURRENDER TO THEM! Much less sign a peace accord or even a cease fire.

(3) The senate blows. Period. Can't get in if I'm not there already; if I am there I can't get a bill passed unless someone else proposes it and I second it. Hey, Quicksilver guys - play SMAC. I should be able to at least bribe other races to vote my way. Again, this feels like a feature that isn't plugged in to the rest of the software.

In short MOO 3 should have kept its interface simple like MOO I (and maybe put more resources into the space battle graphics) and actually spent some time on diplomacy and senate programming. Fun game overall, but won't be on my hard drive in a few months (whereas Civ 3 has been there since it came out).

[Eric S]

I abstained because I couldn't rate the AI seperately. The game is good except for the AI. Fix the AI, the PD bug, and a few other tweaks, and this could hit an 8. Get some SMAC-like behind-the-scenes diplomacy, and it could hit 9. Give us all that and military policies like the planetary policies (to emphasize/deempasize building certain military units), and it could hit 9.5.

[Tuberski]

I originally gave it a 5. After playing some more I'm up to a 7. Could go up to a 9 or a 9.5 with previously mentioned fixes.

Especially some way to make contact with another civ.

I hate waiting for them to come calling. Or am I missing something?


ACK!

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by Tuberski
Especially some way to make contact with another civ.

I hate waiting for them to come calling. Or am I missing something?
ACK!

I think that you have a planet within a certain distance of their planet. not sure what distances are.

there are certain techs which increase the spceport jump something or other, whatever that means, perhaps that increaases the contact lenght? who knows

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by The Templar
I gave the game a five. It's playable, even fun, but has several big flaws IMHO.

(1) The Quicksilver guys should hav eplayed MOO I more - that in my opinion was the best 4x space game ever (with MOO 2 a close second). I liked dealing with sliders controlling the whole system at a time. Why give us separate planets with separate regions? Why say that a mining region has this and that building when you don't build it - your viceroy does. Just give us the damn MOO I sliders and tell us how much each planet is producing. There is too much useless information here, and its a clickfest to get to anything.

The reason that you can see this is that you can go in and change stuff, micromanage it, if you want to. If you don't want to mess with it, you don't have to. This is a bit for the micros, a bit for the non-micros

Originally posted by The Templar
(2) The above is a mere gripe, this complaint is about something that damn near kills the game - who the hell did the diplomacy and senate? No AI ever makes peace. Are the peace options even connected to anything else in the software? I haven't seen diplomacy this flawed since CTP 2. I had a Grendarl empire down to its last set of colonies in a single system, I've got 40+ worlds all well developed. THESE IDIOTS WON'T EVEN LET ME SURRENDER TO THEM! Much less sign a peace accord or even a cease fire.

This really depends on your race and your opponents race. If you are the ithkul, then of course you are going to be at war throughout the game. I get ceasefires and unconditional surrenders all the time aganst some enemies. some enemies i have to fight to the death.

Originally posted by The Templar
(3) The senate blows. Period. Can't get in if I'm not there already; if I am there I can't get a bill passed unless someone else proposes it and I second it. Hey, Quicksilver guys - play SMAC. I should be able to at least bribe other races to vote my way. Again, this feels like a feature that isn't plugged in to the rest of the software.

You can get it, but it takes a bit of work. You have to have a strong ally in the senate and someone who would second your entry. I've gotten it before. Though more often than not, i don't want to be in it. Takes some work, but is entirely possible.

[Harry Seldon]

I've built a colony in the same system as another race and not been contacted. On the flip side, I've been contacted by a race I'm not even connected to in any way with star lanes and then had them mysteriously drop off right after my first communique. I don't think there's any set way to do it; it must be a randomly generated event that is influenced, but not controlled by, various galactic factors.

[Ghostbear]

I'm trying to give it a 2

But the poll keeps bombing.

Anyway, my two biggest unforgivable gripes are:

Research - It simply makes no sense that you can't NOT research a project.

AI - Perhaps someday when I'm retired I'll have enough time to give MP a fair try, but right now, I don't. No AI, NO GAME!

I think it would make a good screen saver if someone could figure out how to make the computer push the NEXT TURN button.

GB

[Tuberski]

Re: I'm trying to give it a 2

Originally posted by Ghostbear
But the poll keeps bombing.

Anyway, my two biggest unforgivable gripes are:

Research - It simply makes no sense that you can't NOT research a project.

GB

Why is it so hard to understand? If your scientists don't realize the applicationsa possibilities, then they won't persue them.

Hell, somebody, in real life, my have found the cure for
AIDS or cancer and just didn't notice.

Just because you, the player, know all the techs, doesn't mean your scientists should.

ACK!

[Capt Dizle]

Re: Re: I'm trying to give it a 2

Originally posted by Tuberski


Why is it so hard to understand? If your scientists don't realize the applicationsa possibilities, then they won't persue them.

Hell, somebody, in real life, my have found the cure for
AIDS or cancer and just didn't notice.

Just because you, the player, know all the techs, doesn't mean your scientists should.

ACK!

Tubes, are you gonna be a Moo fan boy too?

[Tuberski]

Re: Re: Re: I'm trying to give it a 2

Originally posted by jimmytrick


Tubes, are you gonna be a Moo fan boy too?

Why, are you a moo whiner? I would have thought you had enough of whining with Civ 3.

However, MOO 3 isn't nearly as broken as Civ 3 was at release.

ACK!

[Killazer]

Interesting the avg. score for this poll is about 4.6 at this time -the same rating given to the game by the reader reviews at Gamespot.

[Crostoneman]

I'll give this a seven for now, I truely enjoy the deepness of this game and I do believe the A.I. is good but hindered. The guys at QS were smart enough to make this a spreadsheet game so we could try to make the game to our own specification.

[notyoueither]

Re: Re: Re: Re: I'm trying to give it a 2

Originally posted by Tuberski


Why, are you a moo whiner? I would have thought you had enough of whining with Civ 3.

However, MOO 3 isn't nearly as broken as Civ 3 was at release.

ACK!

[asleepathewheel]

I probably rate this at the gamespot 6.7, seems about right for me. Fun to play, more fun than the majority of games I've played, and more fun for me to play than its predecessor (heresy I know, and I loved MoO2).

Once the players get the AI to be at least somewhat agressive, it will probably rate a 7.5.

once its patched, pd and ai agression and some bugs, I will probably rate at 8-8.5 maybe higher.

What saves the game for me is the new viceroy. i love that I dont have to babysit obscure planets the whole game, which is what seems to happen in most other games I play. I can play with what i want to play with and have a sucessful game, albeit against a patsy ai.