Master of Orion IV

How the heck did I miss this!?

By Chibiabos Posted June 16, 2009 16:36:32

Wardell also mentioned Simtex's Master of Orion as a franchise he would like to see Stardock continue. Like Star Control, its third entry was developed by a different studio -- in this case, Quicksilver Software -- and was not as well-regarded as the original games.

"We'd like to do a Master of Orion 4," said Wardell, noting that those rights are owned by Atari as well. "It would be an updated Master of Orion 2. There would be more to it, but that would be the basis of it."

-- Brad Wardell in an interview with Gamasutra

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20998

WHOAH, how did I miss this!? Is this going anywhere!???

0 Karma 34 Replies 5 Referrals

I would love a game moo 2 as another spiritual sequal, much like total annihilation to supreme commander. Even if the original moo 2 crew for various reason can't or won't make it.

I don't know if StarDock would want to make a Master of Orion 4. If they base it off Moo2 and it's any where near as good as GalCiv series, then they will probably end up really really rich. [e digicons]:grin:[/e]

Basically, as Starcraft is for RTS's, Moo2 is for 4X games. Making a Moo4 (or Moo3 if you want to forget it ever existed) is like making StarCraft 2.

Seeing what Blizzard is planning for Starcraft 2, i'd be happy if Stardock was to release this title too [e digicons]:annoyed:[/e]

For me Moo1 was better than Moo2 in some ways.

Sword of the Stars is the best successor to Moo1 I have ever encountered (that includes Moo2, Galciv and what have you). That game is oriented completely about expanding your empire with spaceships and as little micromanagement as possible to go with it.

And that game is FUN.

Anyone who love(d/s) Moo1 and/or Moo2 should try Sword of the Stars or risk missing out on the best 4X game ever created. This game greatly surprised me recently and it's the first one that captured the great feel I remember from playing MoO 1.

http://www.swordofthestars.com/

SotS has also cured me of the desire to see MoO4. The 4X games already available more than cover the legacy left by Master of Orion, and then some.

Branko while sots is certianly fun and similar to moo in more than one ways. I still desire to see a Master of Orion sequal much like how elemental is spiritual sequal to master of magic series. What sots lack is planet choice per systems and the ability to make undesirable planets possible to terraform. The capability to create an armada of nothing but swiss-knife style scouts. 15 pure combat starbases per planets not the repair/command/sensor etc.. Moon giving bonus to planets. I could go on and on but you get the idea.

Your Imperial Majesty Xaviour,

The things you mention I cannot recall from Moo1 or Moo2, but I think I've only seen them in MoO3 and that game just didn't fly for me. I would like to see as many good 4X games out there as possible, but I feel the only games I would like are the ones that manage to capture the simplicity of MoO1 and be challenging with it.

I'm hoping several developers will surprise us with stuff like SotS or maybe Elemental?

My point is that while they are from Moo 3 certainly but they can also make it look realstic you know? You just don't have "one solar system with a planet" ala SotS but Galciv 2 were at least a little more realstic with rocks/planet/moon. Despite that the moon has no impact on game play, it just has to be there. From what I understand SotS 2 is in the work just after finishing up northstar.

"Source: http://sots.rorschach.net/Category_talk:NorthStar accessed at Oct, 10 2009"

We're not planning to set it in the SotS universe: we already have several other games in mind for the SotS franchise and we'd like to develop another completely unique SF milieu.

SotS is about being alien as much as it is human — NorthStar is more about the things humans are all about and the variety they come in. Think in terms of the difference between B5 and Firefly in terms of focus and the kinds of stories being told.

NorthStar will have co–operative multi–player.

The current plan is to ship it with a level builder and mission generator so fans can make their own missions and story arcs to trade amongst each other. The plan is also for there to be official download–able new side mission arcs from time to time for players to add to their universe. ie: "The Jade Dragon Gambit" might be a story arc of 10–12 missions...have a few new characters, pieces of equipment or ships to add into the universe and set you back 5 or 10 bucks. It would mesh into whatever current game you are playing just as another side mission that you could encounter any number of places.

NorthStar will use the Kerberos inhouse RPG engine, Chimera, which is being developed over multiple projects.

Notice the several other games in mind for SotS.

Oh boy.

Well, I've played almost every 4x game there is, and Moo1 & 2 holds a special place in my heart.

There are some other good ones that has been released though.

Moo3 - the less said the better. A good example of listening too much to the players, I believe. (We want more of that and that and that and oops it became overloaded with details??)

Sword of the Stars is one of the better successors, but it's also not for everyone. Lighter on micromanagement by a long shot, it's really mostly about building starships and blowing up others' ships, and it's the only one with real time tactical starship battles. Which it does a rather good job of. Planetary bombardment with siege drivers is such fun. SOTS2 is in development, which is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

GalCiv 2 - sort of the other evolutionary branch to SOTS. Heavier on the planetary development and details, lighter on the starship combat, without becoming hopelessly cluttered by details. My preference is on seeing huge dreadnaughts pound at each other 'til something gives, but GalCiv is still quite good, and its racial options seem more developed.

Sins of a Solar Empire is not really a successor to Moo, in my opinion; it shares few details. It is a limited 4x game with many RTS elements, or even an RTS with 4x elements, if you prefer. Still, it is a good game in its own right, though.

Hegemony, and even Star Wars - Empire at War could qualify, but both fall short in some way, although both are somewhat interesting games. I remember liking Hegemony, but it wasn't memorable - at least I can't remember much from it.

The thing is, right now, depending on what you prefer, the options are SOTS *OR* SOASE *OR* GalCiv 2, IMO. They each have strengths that appeal to some 4x players. Neither of those got the balance just right, like Moo did, at least for me, but there are some very good successors.

Still, definitely going to look at Moo4 if it's ever released. Also definitely going to check out SOTS2.

Moo2 is the best strategy game ever. Every little detail in the game and building your own strategy is working superbly all the way - making it like chess but more fun. What to develop, where to focus your production and how, when and where to use it - that's different in every start. And of course everything may change in one turn.

Moo4 would be a dream come true, if... It's like moo2 but bigger!

Bigger galaxy, more tech development, bigger ships, more leaders (than 8), more challenging Antarens, etc. Some practical gameplay UI improvements in example controlling the planets and their production would be nice. In large games with plenty of planets Moo2 has a bit too much mouse clicking - Otherwice, it's just excellent.

Absolutely not like Moo3.

Mac OS X support would be fantastic (I still emulate OS 9 to play Moo2!!)