[Baalz]

Yeah, my biggest beef with Galactic Civ was "ok I've now got +4 lasers instead of +3 lasers. Guess it's time to start researching +5 lasers so I can keep ahead of my opponents +4 shields..." Contrasted with Calahan's description of MOO (which is a pretty accurate depiction of how the game felt to me), it just felt very flat to me. Deciding to go with rapid fire shield piercing death rays or MIRV'ing ECM'ed missiles or tractor beams and boarding crews makes a pretty big difference in how your ships fight as opposed to generic weapon A, B, or C. Energy dampeners or shield capacitors? Point defense lasers, a lightning shield or good old ECM? Long range torpedoes or a bigger engine and point blank maulers? Punch through a section of the shield or go for enveloping weapons.

Damn, I think I might have just talked myself into digging up a copy of MOO2...