There's obviously something very special about this game

nzgunner · March 9, 2003, 04:40

I've been a keen strategy gamer for a long time and like everyone else who liked MOO2 I've been salivating in anticipation of MOO3 ever since I heard it was in development.

As the release date loomed here in NZ (a week or so after the US release) I began to cruise the forums to see how it was being received - never before have I seen such a strong reaction to a game as I have with this.

MOO3 has got to be the most villified game ever released. Sure there's a lot of trolling but in my experience the trolls are usually balanced out by the fanboys - and in any case the trolls usually get bored and move onto something else.

I haven't got the game and for a while the negative publicity had me convinced that I shouldn't buy the game at all. But now I have this perverse desire to see if the bad MOO3 reviews and posts are really just a bizarre troll phenomenom (and in which case I'll be better placed to identify the same sort of thing in the future in relation to other games) or if this game really is a dud and you ignore the online community at your peril.

vmxa1 · March 9, 2003, 04:45

Well let us know how you like it. I would say don't expect to fire it up and get hooked right away. It has taken me a week to start to figure out what I am doing and have fun.
People that buy the game and do no come to the forums are going to struggle and miss out on the helpful mods.

CharlesBHoff · March 9, 2003, 04:48

Well this game is total different from other stragic game and it is than great game . I than no troll or fanboy and you can read my other posts if you want to. I got rid of the direct x surface error message I got when saveing my game when I lower the graphic setting in opion down to medium from hight. I have to use autosave to play the games before.

Zanman · March 10, 2003, 03:02

It's worth hanging in there because it really is a great game. But it has a very VERY steep learning curve and the manual is really not much help.
You are going to play for hours without knowing what you are doing, why things are happening, or even, in my case, WHAT is happening ...
At somewhere between the 10 and 15 hour mark, from what I have read, you are hooked!

Q Classic · March 10, 2003, 03:22

i think it's hit or miss. i see that it has a lot of depth, and a lot of potential...

but as of right now, it's been unable to hold my interest, and the learning cliff has just made it unenjoyable.

northstar · March 10, 2003, 09:30

I have admit I was nervous about purchasing the game after the delays and negative press but I am glad that I did. I did not find the learning curve difficult. The only negative thing so far is the size of the ships I wish they were bigger and clearer during combat. Otherwise I love the game.

Stuie · March 10, 2003, 11:36

Honestly, I wasn't a big fan of MOO2 (now I'll probably get burned as a heretic). Two of my biggest gripes were with space combat, which was pretty lame, and the random maps, which seemed uninspiring.

I like the feel of MOO3 much better - the maps are very cool (and starlanes harken back to my Traveller days), space combat actually makes sense (not just line up and shoot but actually formations fighting/firing in real time) and the overall feel is more like running an empire.

Also I would echo what vmxa1 said:

Quote:

I would say don't expect to fire it up and get hooked right away. It has taken me a week to start to figure out what I am doing and have fun.

This is the first time I've had to learn a game in years - MOST refreshing and shows that the game has taken a unique turn where others are just rehashing the same stuff over and over. I don't want the same stuff with a new GUI, I want something NEW, and that's what MOO3 has provided... and probably why a lot of people are disappointed.

MichaeltheGreat · March 10, 2003, 18:38

I don't see it as being a viable MP game, but I've definitely gotten into it in single player, although there are some aspects that are annoying.

I would probably like it less if there wasn't such a dearth of good new TBS games on the market. The game has great potential, but there are a lot of ways in which the interface could be improved, some things could be simplified, and some just annoy the hell out of me.

The manual sucks - all this effort on creating a much too large backstory, and gaping holes in explanations of how stuff works.

Overall, I'd give it about 7/10, but it could easily be 9 if a few things were improved.

CharlesBHoff · March 11, 2003, 03:14

Quote:

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
I don't see it as being a viable MP game, but I've definitely gotten into it in single player, although there are some aspects that are annoying.

I would probably like it less if there wasn't such a dearth of good new TBS games on the market. The game has great potential, but there are a lot of ways in which the interface could be improved, some things could be simplified, and some just annoy the hell out of me.

The manual sucks - all this effort on creating a much too large backstory, and gaping holes in explanations of how stuff works.

Overall, I'd give it about 7/10, but it could easily be 9 if a few things were improved.

Orginate there where going to be 120 inferface panels in the game and they mangerate to reduce it to only 20 inferface panel.

The Unknown · March 11, 2003, 21:38

Not viable as a multiplayer game? The whole thing seems geared for multiplayer, in my opinion. They've done a lot to make quick turns (even late in the game) possible, which is necessary for multiplayer (something that SMAC and yes, even moo2, were horrible about--how can you play a 5 player game of moo2 when late in the game the space battles will take upwards of a half an hour to complete? Now they take 4 min--at least that's what I have the timer set to).

I'd say with the AI as it is, moo3 isn't viable as a single player game, but it's great for multi.

Pallidyne · March 12, 2003, 12:37

Quote:

Originally posted by CharlesBHoff

Orginate there where going to be 120 inferface panels in the game and they mangerate to reduce it to only 20 inferface panel.

So--- That means he probably (as would I) have given it an even lower rating then.

Just because something improves, does not make it neccessarily good or great.

For instance, with the Encyclopedia Mod (that makes it just about what the developers should have had in the first place), MOO3 is better. You can look many relevant things up. However, this would not make the game a 10/10, but might bump the playability up a partial or whole point.

-P

MitchDev · March 12, 2003, 12:52

MoO3 is Special in a "Jerry's Kids" or "Special Olympics" kind of way...

CharlesBHoff · March 13, 2003, 04:34

They just need it more time to finish it too many fan where inpartient they want the game right away.

nzgunner · March 15, 2003, 04:15

Well I've got it - a mission in itself as copies are pretty thin on the ground over here.

I've read the manual, printed off the readme file and played around for an hour or so. After reading a fair bit on the forums I was sort of expecting the manual to be a bit a lame and it lived up (or should that be down) to my expectations - a bit of backstory is nice but I thought it was overkill and more space could have been given to gameplay and a proper tutorial.

From the little I've seen in-game I haven't come across anything too bad. A lot of people seem to dislike the interface but I don't actually mind it - maybe that's because my job involves a lot of work with spreadsheets and databases so I'm used to drilling down to get detail. The graphics are okay although I'm surprised at the small number of ship models - I haven't been to the combat screen yet but I don't like the idea of all my ships of a similar size looking the same.

One thing I don't like is starting off already having diplomatic contact with some races - it seems a bit unfair that I have to modify my race and sacrifice 10 poits elsewhere to ensure I'm not in the Senate.

I do have the impression that there's a lot of depth and that lurking somewhere below the surface is a good game trying to find its way out - hopefully with a bit of perseverence I'll find it.

BlueO · March 15, 2003, 16:37

I think the interface is okay The biggest complaint I've seen is how the game micromanages for you. I like that feature. That way, I only spend time managing key worlds, and let the ai do whatever they want on my off-worlds. One thing I do is set the regions DEA first. And let the AI take over.

The passive AI needs fixing, obviously. I'm using colin's mod, but haven't gone into any major wars yet.

Combat is actually kinda fun. I like seeing the ships shoot beams, missiles and fighters at each other. Just too bad the game only has 800x600 resolution. Everything looks like blobs.

The game can also use more visual feedbacks on planet developments. Nothing more boring then looking at new text and icons get inserted as my planets 'develops'. Takes away any thrill of developing planets.

Oh, others also complained about ship design and tech research. I thought they were done well in the game.

Overall, the game is okay. Could have been awesome, but its not, and no amount of patching could make it awesome, or even very good..

smellymummy · March 15, 2003, 18:37

the newest version of colin's mod is awesome. The thing that many have discovered is that 'impossible' is broken, imagine that.

Get colin's RC2 mod, and play on hard. Unless you get a really fantastic starting location (ie: 4 flood plain+wheat tiles, 4 hills with iron, and starting tile on the river...) the game is really hard.

peacenik · March 15, 2003, 20:17

I agree smellymummy. The work of colin the grey shows the potential this game has if it gets a couple of good patches, as QS promises.

Simpleton · March 18, 2003, 20:07

Quote:

This is the first time I've had to learn a game in years - MOST refreshing and shows that the game has taken a unique turn where others are just rehashing the same stuff over and over. I don't want the same stuff with a new GUI, I want something NEW, and that's what MOO3 has provided... and probably why a lot of people are disappointed.

Good point! I never thought of that before.
Take a look at Civ3 (don't get me wrong I think it's an awesome game!!!!) but it really borrowed a lot of gameplay elements from Civ2 and SMAC and wasn't truly innovative. In its own defense CIV3 improved a lot of things unlike the poor cousins CTP and CTPII which totally ripped off the genre and ruined the gameplay.
I've only tried MOO3 and in the hour or two that I've played it I didn't like it. That being said when I have more time I will return because it does seem innovative and I'm curious to see how the envelope has been pushed.