Master of Orion III

[sabotai]

I've been reading good things about this game after the patch. Anyone here have any insight on how th egame plays now?

[Franklinnoble]

If I had any free time anymore, I'd be debating over whether to buy this or GalCiv... I've heard much better things about GalCiv up to this point...

[Bee]

I just saw where GalCiv was getting a "major" patch/upgrade this week (Friday I think).

[Franklinnoble]

Originally posted by Bee
I just saw where GalCiv was getting a "major" patch/upgrade this week (Friday I think).

The plot thickens...

[WSUCougar]

I have a copy of GalCiv available if anyone's interested.

[Calis]

GalCiv actually had a freebie "Expansion" released today, you can pick it up from the Stardock place or whatever.

Haven't checked it out, nor do I even know where my GalCiv CD is anymore, just thought I'd share the info. :)

[Franklinnoble]

Originally posted by WSUCougar
I have a copy of GalCiv available if anyone's interested.

What do you want for it?

Edit: I have a copy of SimCity 4 I'd be willing to part with.

[Bee]

BTW, gogamer.com has MOO3 for $14.90 now. If the mod and the last patch does the job in fixing all the problems, it would probably be worth buying for that price.

[sabotai]

My opinion is that you should probably go with GalCiv.

My initial impressions of MOO3 (which I haven't played much since I bought Freelancer when I bought MOO3, and Freelancer has taken up most of my non-FOF4, non-NCAA game playing time) is that it's not as good as GalCiv.

First off, the developers of GalCiv is adding things to their game while MOO3 basically just patched it til it was working.

One big thing I don't liek with MOO3 is that you have to travel through Space Lanes. Their like "warp points" (SE IV) except they several turns to go through. Annoying as hell. Either give us warp points that move us instantly or give us free flight. Ther'es nothing more annoying than having to take 20 turns to get to a nearby star because there's no space lane going to it.

While there is customization of ships, it still doesn't feel like you get full control over the design (like in SE IV). It still feels limited.

The diplomacy between empires almost feels useless. Like in SE IV, I get some messages that just make me go "Why did they send this? What the hell does this mean?"

I have to play it more, but there doesn't seem to be any real effect when declaring a trade embargo on someone.

I guess that's a real complant of mine. It doesn't feel like I'm controlling a nation in a living universe. In GalCiv, the universe feels more alive (but still not enough for my tastes)

And then you get to the Orion Senate (or whatever it's called). You and othe other natiosn get 20 votes, while the Orions gets like a 1000. What's the point? Maybe it effects things later in the game, but if nothing happens for a long time, don't bring it into the game until it actually does something.

So, that's my list of complaints so far. I'll have to play it more to give a better account of the game, but from what I've seen so far, go with GalCiv.

Although, I do have complaints about that game too.... (No ship design, all races use the same ships and stations, though I think they have a unique ship or two...I can't remember. But no ship design? I hate that)

EDIT: However, I did only spend $20 at Best Buy for MOO3, and from the looks of it, I'll at least get my money's worth. I would say that this is a good game to get at the bargin bin price you'll find it for now. You'll get your money's worth, but not much more. But I feel sorry for those who bought it for $50.

[Blade6119]

Go gal civ all the way...much more fun...

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm curious, are these reviews after the patch?

I am a sucker who bought it for 50 and never returned it. I haven't been able to get myself to give it another try since the patch came out. I'm wondering if it is worth giving another go with the most recent patch?

[Bee]

Originally posted by Eaglesfan27
I'm curious, are these reviews after the patch?

I am a sucker who bought it for 50 and never returned it. I haven't been able to get myself to give it another try since the patch came out. I'm wondering if it is worth giving another go with the most recent patch?

I don't have first hand knowledge, but I've heard with the latest patch and the user made "mod" that's available, the game is actually quite enjoyable now. It probably still isn't quite as good as GalCiv with the free expansion though.

[sabotai]

What I wrote is after the patch. I would say to give it another shot. It's pretty stable and the AI seems ok.

[sabotai]

I finally sat down with MOO3 to give it a good go through.

I'm playing along and everything's going fine. Questionable AI and everything. Pretty much ther standard with 4x games.

Then I get to something...I find something I REALLY don't like....I can't veiw the ship designs of my enemies! I get into a battle. I've been to war on and off with a nation for most of the game when I finally decide to send a group of ships I was going to scrap at them to get a look at their ships. My guys die quickly, but I expect that...

What I didn't expect was to not be able to see the designs of my enemy's ships. I hope I'm missing something here...anyone else play MOO3? Is this right? I can't view the enemy designs?

[sabotai]

Just started a new game. First message from another nation: "We've tried to negotiate with you. We must enfore sanctions on you." (Paraphrase)

Eh?

One of my major beefs with most Space 4x games is that they computer opponents seem to just act completely at random.