Master of Orion 2

[Anonymous]

One of you guys has got of been good at this game (it seems like an RPGCodex sorta thing), could someone give me pointers in it?

I've read the manual over pretty well and i've got a pretty strong grasp on the game, not to mention i've played and done well at 4X games before too, but no matter what, I get my ass blasted in MOO2.

Even on Huge galaxy, Tutor difficulty, using Pslions and only against 1 other race, I get whooped. They have almost the whole galaxy while I have 3 star systems and 2 ships in orbit. What exactly do I need to do to move out and conquer? I always try to make my colonies stable and stuff, so it's tricky to just hop out somewhere, what should I do about colonizing?

Also, I think I might 'turtleshell' too much, on every planet I have, I build all upgrades and everything, is that bad? I heard I should just devote planets to specific jobs, but i'm not all sure how to go about that.

I tried looking around the Atari board about beginner help but all I saw was some barely understandable guy ranting and raving with tons of netspeak and blaring out powergame stuff I didnt understand too well.

halp smart peepal.

 

[Psilon]

It's been a few years since I last played, but here are some suggestions based on my playing style.

Have you considered building outposts? They serve nicely at marking territory, and let your ships refuel as well. Don't build an outpost if it's a good planet--that's colony territory--but asteroid belts, gas giants, and Tiny Radiated Ultra-Poor worlds are just screaming for an outpost.

Don't build more than one colony per system. If you see a second good planet, send a Colony Base there, but make sure that population's already set up another full-fledged colony somewhere else.

Think about trying a custom race with 2 or 3 opponents. Telepathy, Creativity, and the homeworld advantages are very handy. Balance them with disadvantages like ground combat (shell them from orbit first, or consider converting them with telepathy), spying, or low gravity. It's very easy to create a munchkin species, and the extra opponents will keep each other in check.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Expansion comes first, stability later. Do that and the game gets very easy. Make a custom race to cover your wear areas. That's about it.

 

[Sheriff05]

One of you guys has got of been good at this game (it seems like an RPGCodex sorta thing), could someone give me pointers in it?

I've read the manual over pretty well and i've got a pretty strong grasp on the game, not to mention i've played and done well at 4X games before too, but no matter what, I get my ass blasted in MOO2.

Even on Huge galaxy, Tutor difficulty, using Pslions and only against 1 other race, I get whooped. They have almost the whole galaxy while I have 3 star systems and 2 ships in orbit. What exactly do I need to do to move out and conquer? I always try to make my colonies stable and stuff, so it's tricky to just hop out somewhere, what should I do about colonizing?

Also, I think I might 'turtleshell' too much, on every planet I have, I build all upgrades and everything, is that bad? I heard I should just devote planets to specific jobs, but i'm not all sure how to go about that.

I tried looking around the Atari board about beginner help but all I saw was some barely understandable guy ranting and raving with tons of netspeak and blaring out powergame stuff I didnt understand too well.

halp smart peepal.

Using the stock races, the Psilons are one of easiest due to the massive research bump they get. Research faster engines first and expand early, couple things to always keep in mind for Moo2. 1) always build 1 generation behind your last research breakthru,
if you just researched Mass drivers, and have moved on to Ion Pulse Cannons build ship with Fusion beams, stick with Nuclear Missles unitil later in game and research all weapon expansions (like Mirv). With Psilons you'll be ahead of the game anyway with research so even operating 1st generation behind you'll still comptete with your opponents easily 2) ecomomy, ecomomy, as Psilions your scientists get more bang for the buck so keep a strong research total but keep your manufacturing strong enough to keep up with your expansion., reseach thing like terraforming convert all planets in good systems, etc,etc. Watch out for negative effects like pollution, etc...these really hamper your production. There is alot of micromanagement in Moo2 (which is half the fun)
you just need to stay on top of things
There are several really good Moo2 guides out there I see if I can find one for you when I get time. Try a Med or large galaxy with a couple opponents at Beginner difficulty, and try to expand as quickly as you can. From what you say above it looks like you are just expanding to slowly...

 

[Greenskin13]

I've only really played MOO1, but if it is anything like MOO2 then being the Psilon can be very easy. Usually, the AI likes to build attack ships very early on, which suck. I like to hold off building any ships until I research Tachyon Beams, Sub Light drives, and the bomb of your choice. Then just make a death fleet to cut through the baddies. Of course, you'll have to maintain peace with them until you make your fleet, to prevent them from taking a preemptive strike.

 

[chrisbeddoes]

Creativity , Creativity , Creativity


Did i mention Creativity ?

Oh and high mineral production.

 

[Human Shield]

Yep, when I played the other races got more and better battle ships then me with my nice radiation shields.

I got down to me and Psilons being a diplomat and when I built my first doomstar they had 20 doomstars guarding a planet.

I always played with custom races.

Start on advanced mode. I liked starting on prewarp but many combat/spying/charsima bonuses are wasted because you can't meet a new race for a while.

I played a space pirate race and won. +20 Ground combat, High G, Replusive (don't need to talk), +20 spying. I had many spies going on every race taking technology and I fitting my ships with marine shuttles, two shuttles could capture most any ship + star bases. I kept capturing ships and stealing tech. By the end I was able to capture Anter (whatever they were) ships, and I killed their homebase.

 

[Otaku_Hanzo]

You definitely want to expand right away. How much you can get away with depends on the race you are playing. But expansion out the gate is the key. You want more planets so you get more income. Every race is different though and so you'll need to experiment until you find the right amount of expansion from the start. Usually three or four more planets under your belt is good grounds. Then it's a matter of stabilizing everything, getting it all in working order. I agree one hundred percent with VD on this strategy. Their are some races where the strategy isn't really necessary or, sometimes, prudent. It's all a matter of experimentation. Building your own race can often be the best strategy, but only once you are used to the system. Psilons are probably the best race for starters.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow! Thanks for all the help, after applying most of these strategies, a bit of my own decisions and a bit of practice, i've become alot better than I was. I'm still wading it out on Tutor (but with more enemies now) until I get a bit more down.

So far in my game I started with your help, i've totally wiped out a race (the aquatic dudes) and the other race only has a slight edge above me (the lizardmen), but I imagine with careful planning I can pull though. So yeah, i'm owning them planets up.


What I found kinda ironic, is in this game that i'm playing with the tips, the aquatic guys were playing like I used to, haha.

 

[Voss]

Spawn colonies quickly.

Make sure you have $$ coming in (some of the early leaders with Megawealth make this easy) , buy production.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I was doing that, set up a trade agreement and did wealth improving improvements and was getting like +500 BC a turn

 

[fnordcircle]

Whenever possible, I had a recipe I would put into place on a new planet. As soon as I'd colonize I'd pay the whatever credits to buy an automated factory. This gets planets with a 10000 build time down into something more reasonable and for the rest of your planets, helps with their productivity. Which equals money.

Whenever I come in contact with a new race I would try to get a research and a trade treaty in place with them. That helps a lot with the money and the research points.

I hold off on combat for as long as possible and only start making ships when I can construct Titans and Doomstars.

Sad how much better MOO2 is than MOO3.

 

[Whipporowill]

Why don't we get a PBM game on or something? I mean, there are loads of us here that still love this game...

Just tell me in due time, seems I have lent my copy to a friend. Gotta get it back first

 

[Sheriff05]

I was thinking the same thing...it's been so long since I played a multi-game of Moo2
is there PBEM?, I thought it was Network, and Direct Modem and the craptacular
TEN service for TCP/IP games, I used to play on Kali for awhile.Anyone know is there anyway to by-pass all that and do a direct IP game..those work best,

 

[Whipporowill]

Darn, you might be right. I haven't played it multi in years... a PBEM seemed logical for a TBS game. Doh!

 

[Psilon]

Yeah, as I recall there's only modem, serial, IPX, and TEN. Kali or a similar program could bridge IPX to TCP/IP, but PBEM ain't happening unless we do something obscene to the hotseat mode.

 

[Ortchel]

How long till someone refers to MoO3 as MoO: Enforcer?

 

[Human Shield]

I liked rushing research into construction, passing by some of the other chemical and other area's pollution reducers, and getting planetary drill (or bore) that completely removes pollution.

 

[Psilon]

I liked taking the Telepathy advantage, rushing to Assault Shuttles, and then stealing every ship my fleets came across. Winning a genocide victory using a fleet that's half stolen from the defenders and half hijacked Antaran ships is, well, satisfying.

 

[Anonymous]

My favorite ability so far is Cybernetic, because I like to build things.