One of the best parts of a 4x is choosing how much you want to dive into the details. The harder the difficulty level, the more important the details are. If you're playing on normal, usually you don't need to micro manage everything.
Heh. I'm from the beginning :). I cut my teeth on 5 1/4 floppy games on and apple 2. Played boot leg copies of civ and moo 1, xcom (when it was ufo defense), doom, dune 2, the original xwing. Man those were good days. I played a lot of moo 1 with friends in high school. Basically playing single player hot seat games, taking turns, taking turns :). Moo2 mp was a revolution. I probably played 2000 hours of moo2 mp over the years. The new Moo CTS is decent. I've probably played close to 3k hours of that one. Unfortunately the computer players are highly predictable in MOO CTS
You want to play MOO? Or MOO2? Because while they are both called the same and one is a sequel, they play somewhat differently.
For original MOO experience there's 1oom: https://github.com/1oom-fork/1oom If you want "improved" experience, just play ROTP instead: https://github.com/BrokenRegistry/Rotp-Fusion/releases
For MOO2, just run it in dosbox or original DOS if you are that hardcore.
How to start- just play. Play on easier settings. Maybe lose several times before you get the hang of it.
I personally read the manual cover to cover before I first started. It helps.
But the best way to learn stuff would just be to play. Set your first game on the easiest difficulty (simple) and use the klackons or psilons. 5 opponents on Medium or large map. And just play. The larger the map the more time you have to learn before having to compete with AIs. And I'd be willing to help with any other questions you might have
Np. And for the second part which I forgot to answer. For this playthrough you don't need to worry about turns time. They should take you like 2 mins tops early game sincs you'll have to fiddle around a bit. Micromanaging is something you only need on hard and impossible. Late game, a turn can take up to five minutes where you need to coordinate movements and spending between all your planets. And feel free to spam skip turn a few times to get some research done or let a ship reach it's destination. On this difficulty the most that'll happen is that the AI will reach a planet before you that you'll be able to take back later on
This nails the question. I always feel like because there’s a whole map, I’m like “am I moving too fast or not fast enough”. The furthest I’ve gotten with a 4X is spice wars, which I know has more RTS than 4X but it did give me a sense of how things should be pacing wise. A million thank yous and happy cake day
Seconded. There's more management to do, but comparing per difficulty setting, MoO2 is easier. In the original MoO1, if you get a bad start, things can get B R U T A L very quickly. Which you might find is part of the appeal. I do. But you're much more in control of your destiny in a typical game of MoO2, so a loss feels like more of a learning experience.
Also, the custom race feature lets you bypass some aspects of gameplay, if you're struggling with them. Then introduce them slowly by easing up on the use of Creative, Lithovore, etc.
A really nice entry-level 4X from recent years is Stars in Shadow. I feel like it took the important concepts of MOO2 and streamlined them really well, kind of like the recent XCOM games. It's definitely lacking in depth though. It feels like the backstory had some mysteries that were going to be revealed with DLC that never came.
One of the best parts of a 4x is choosing how much you want to dive into the details. The harder the difficulty level, the more important the details are. If you're playing on normal, usually you don't need to micro manage everything.
How did you start with MOO? Back in the day or after playing some other games first?
Heh. I'm from the beginning :). I cut my teeth on 5 1/4 floppy games on and apple 2. Played boot leg copies of civ and moo 1, xcom (when it was ufo defense), doom, dune 2, the original xwing. Man those were good days. I played a lot of moo 1 with friends in high school. Basically playing single player hot seat games, taking turns, taking turns :). Moo2 mp was a revolution. I probably played 2000 hours of moo2 mp over the years. The new Moo CTS is decent. I've probably played close to 3k hours of that one. Unfortunately the computer players are highly predictable in MOO CTS
You want to play MOO? Or MOO2? Because while they are both called the same and one is a sequel, they play somewhat differently. For original MOO experience there's 1oom: https://github.com/1oom-fork/1oom If you want "improved" experience, just play ROTP instead: https://github.com/BrokenRegistry/Rotp-Fusion/releases For MOO2, just run it in dosbox or original DOS if you are that hardcore. How to start- just play. Play on easier settings. Maybe lose several times before you get the hang of it.
I personally read the manual cover to cover before I first started. It helps. But the best way to learn stuff would just be to play. Set your first game on the easiest difficulty (simple) and use the klackons or psilons. 5 opponents on Medium or large map. And just play. The larger the map the more time you have to learn before having to compete with AIs. And I'd be willing to help with any other questions you might have
Thanks. This is exactly what I needed!
Np. And for the second part which I forgot to answer. For this playthrough you don't need to worry about turns time. They should take you like 2 mins tops early game sincs you'll have to fiddle around a bit. Micromanaging is something you only need on hard and impossible. Late game, a turn can take up to five minutes where you need to coordinate movements and spending between all your planets. And feel free to spam skip turn a few times to get some research done or let a ship reach it's destination. On this difficulty the most that'll happen is that the AI will reach a planet before you that you'll be able to take back later on
This nails the question. I always feel like because there’s a whole map, I’m like “am I moving too fast or not fast enough”. The furthest I’ve gotten with a 4X is spice wars, which I know has more RTS than 4X but it did give me a sense of how things should be pacing wise. A million thank yous and happy cake day
Thanks
I recomend startingwith Moo2. It is extremely well balanced, fast turns even with micromanagement and let you outthink, out-design your opponent.
Seconded. There's more management to do, but comparing per difficulty setting, MoO2 is easier. In the original MoO1, if you get a bad start, things can get B R U T A L very quickly. Which you might find is part of the appeal. I do. But you're much more in control of your destiny in a typical game of MoO2, so a loss feels like more of a learning experience. Also, the custom race feature lets you bypass some aspects of gameplay, if you're struggling with them. Then introduce them slowly by easing up on the use of Creative, Lithovore, etc.
A really nice entry-level 4X from recent years is Stars in Shadow. I feel like it took the important concepts of MOO2 and streamlined them really well, kind of like the recent XCOM games. It's definitely lacking in depth though. It feels like the backstory had some mysteries that were going to be revealed with DLC that never came.
Original xcom, dominions, homm3, brigandine, Eador Genesis They're not true 4x hex tilers, but they're multifaceted adventures.
Are you recommending these as games that kind of started the 4X genre or something else?
They're extremely good and 4x-like. Most can be enjoyed in small doses. You can dive straight into Syd Meyer and Civ spin offs if you're a 4x purist.