OT) MoO3 and SE IV

[Aloofi]

Originally posted by bostonrpgmania:

well for moo2 it had some nice (but still sub par to today's standard) graphics that helped you to be immersed... that is what I am emphasizing.

That's the diference between you and me. I don't get immersed by graphics, but by gameplay/data. Don't worry about my unpoliteness, I'm just picking on you. Its just that most companies out there make products for you instead of me, so I kind of envy the amount of games you get, and I kind of blame you for it too.

I haven't bought MOO3, and I'm not planning too, cause some of the bad reviews were by *******s like me that love to micromanage and have ALL data in easy access, and if they didn't like it there is a very small chance of me having fun with it.

[Chronon]

bostonrpgmania, check out Tampa Gamer's comments over on the MoO3 Finished! forum. He has some interesting things to say about MoO3, and he's one of the veterans here on the SEIV forums.

[ February 28, 2003, 20:40: Message edited by: Chronon ]

[Suicide Junkie]

Since I am not a hard core 4x gamers. graphics is somewhat important and I was a bit more involved with MoO2 since I could actually see which building were build on a planet (I Hope SE V do this next time rather than just describing which building were built on a planet in a table--maybe this is just my opinion).

Just right-click on the item, and it'll pop up a window with stats and a nice portrait.

[gregebowman]

I like eye candy too, but with my old computer, I couldn't play any of the new games that came out because it seemed the game companies like to razzle dazzle people with the graphics and forget to spend time on gameplay and interfaces. Now that my old computer seems to have bit the dust, I'll try to get a new computer that will play all of the 3D games that need mega-ram to play them. I'll try out MOO3 when I get the chance, but I won't spend big bucks on it.

[klausD]

I prefer good gameplay to eye candy as well.
(for example two games that I am currently playin is Uncommon Valor and SE IV at the moment)
But I am wondering why MoO3 is so badly reviewed..

Uncommon Valor - a very good game. And the most complex game I ever played. I cannot believe that your are "just" a casual gamer. One have to be rather a hardcore strategist to play this game.

MOO3 is not for everyones taste. It is not for the mainstream, because it has a lot of complexity deeply buried in it. For example ground combat units have up to 7 different values. You can group them in divisions, corps and whole armies. Each of these formations do have different advantages. You have tax sliders to control system tax, planetary tax and empire tax rates. You have 3 main governments and each of these have up to 5 subtypes. For example you can play a corporate democracy or a representative democracy and so on. You have advanced trade agreements and many more features. The list of complex game mechanics is long that i could write one hour without an end.

But the big problem is that the designers did not want to let you know the details and numbers. Only colour coded sliders. They dont also want to let you control something of the above mentioned features. Ok, you can control most of it, but its a pain in the arse (to recite a poster below), because you have to click in about 5times ! till you are able to change the production queues of a planet. And if you go to the next system to change something you have to click 5 times again. Oh man what a bad design.

And the game has no fun in it. Because its so tedious to make adjustments you will in the end do what the designers want you to do. Just collecting ships and fight it out. And the realtime combat system is soo bad. The most time you are looking for your ships and if you find them all you can do is watching the light show. Örkward.

But the game has some good things MM could use in SEV. Collecting ships and building task forces are very good in MOO3. And the spy system is VERY VERY good. Its much better than in every other 4X game I played. (only the intelligence gathering spy is missing, but everthing else is perfect)
Ship movement and starlanes are also very fine.

I hope this helps a little
klausD

[bostonrpgmania]

As usual, I got a lot of helpful comments from this site.
I especially thank you KlausD for helpful comments. Now I have the idea about MoO3.
Thanks!

ps) I decided to wait a bit until price drops somewhat. My expectation about MoO3 was really high and it is a little bit disappointing to know the current situation of the game.

[Atrocities]

I have to be honest, one of the best "looking" 4 X games that I can recall was BOTF. It was designed by the folks who designed MOO2. MOO3 did not employ any of those people.

SEIV may not have all of the "eye candy" of other games, but it does look good. I actually like the DOS look of the game over that of MOO2 and now MOO3.

SEIV has a mild learning curve that is rewarding, not penalizing. I love the way that you can get the information you want or need within a click or two. This is why SEIV is so damned addictive to play. It draws you in, while allowing you to play the role that you want without all of the "peel the onion" crap.

You can do as much micro-managment as you want, or as little as you want.

The planets look like planets, the ships like ships. The game is one of the most well thought out games of this kind that I have ever played, and I have played a few.

So welcome back to SEIV, and I hope you enjoy yourself.