The best 4X game of all times

eXplorminate initiated this sequence of polls in a knockout system to determine the best 4X game of all times.

Unfortunately, our beloved Moo2 encounters the classic Moo1 already in the first round.
Difficult, if not hopeless since the moo1 community prospers again (thanks to the moo1 remake https://www.reddit.com/r/rotp/ )  

So, if you want help Moo2 not to be crushed, please vote:

https://www.polltab.com/bracket-poll/fP7Q1Vqgit                                               

XL Mods

New Star Densities for Maps with 71 Stars

Thanks to very nice 1.50 it is now quite easy to create mods via configuration files. In the pretty user-friendly launcher these mods can be selected in a drop down menu. Furthermore, there is now a distinction between core mods which can now be combined with any desired map mod. Kudos to Rocco and Alexey for adding this flexibility!!!

Noticing this new flexibility I had the impression that this feature could be used to reduce the monotony of the multiplayer games where almost solely the large galaxy size is used. The respective map size parameters in the configuration files do still only properly support the known default values for the small, medium, large and huge galaxy sizes but thanks to the new 1.50 patch we can now add postprocessor scripts to the configuration files which allow us to rescale the default maps in a second step. This means the displayed galaxy map is the huge default size but the placement of the stars is recalculated based on a smaller galaxy size. In such a way we can generate galaxy sizes between large and huge, which could be an approach to solve the old trade-off in classic maps:

In online multiplayer games, the large galaxy size is by far the most popular choice. Only when there are more than 4 players, the huge galaxy is discussed beforehand (adding more stars, increasing the distance to the neighbors). Regarding 1v1, I can barely remember the huge galaxy ladder games – but we observed that many huge maps made deuterium mandatory for an appropriate expansion early on - and this slows down a slow game even more. The low star density in huge maps reduces the number of stars in 6parsec-homeworld range and this leads to more unbalanced maps (compared to large). Furthermore, the very low star density in huge maps does sometimes even create maps where only one system with a monster world is in 6 parsec range. The idea of this mod is to generate better start densities to avoid these problems. Let us illustrate the classic galaxy sizes and its densities:

In this table the density is illustrated in the X*Y/Stars column. Please note that height/width value of 30 represents 1 parsec. Therefore, a 6 parsec circle is roughly 100.000 but if a home world is placed in the corner the respective corner arc only covers about 25.000.

The XL mod now does use in all 5 galaxy sizes the maximum number of 71 stars – and the star placement is based on the map generation of the huge galaxy, but in the second step a LUA script does use the following height/width values to compress the huge galaxy:

For example, the XL medium galaxy size has now about the same density as the classic large galaxy.

Just download this zip file and extract the files into the ... \150\mods\maps folder. Afterwards, the launcher should display for all 1.50 OOTB maps the respective XL option:

In summary, you have now 7 flavors for the 1.5 OOTB maps with 71 stars, ordered by density:

So, for example you could start with an XL Medium which has 71 stars and a density of a classic large map. Please note, since LUA scripting does not include an option to update the in_nebula flag of the stars, I recommend to play nonebula for now. Otherwise, the map display might mislead you in battles, if you expect (de)activated shields over some star system – please note, that also the classic cluster has the same bug since 1.4. And finally, many thanks to Admiral Loknar who recreates and rereleases the old mods as 1.5 config files. He recreated the DR mod, and I included DR and DR XL in the above mentioned zip file!

Happy Easter!
Have fun!

MOO2 - 1.50 Patch

The 1.50 patch for Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares has been in development since early 2016. The latest version, 1.50.17, has just been released on January 19, 2020.
The patch, and more info about it, can be found here: http://moo2mod.com/

Everyone working on the project is a fan of the original

http://wccftech.com/e3-2015-master-of-orion-should-marry-the-best-of-the-originals/

"The decision to lessen the amount of technology one can research was because the original was perhaps a bit too complex, over-reaching and just overwhelming. There’s still a wide swathe of different technologies to enjoy regardless, and it should still prove pleasing to veterans of Masters of Orion. That, and it should be far more accessible overall. There are even some back-end changes that help you to choose a path you want to take. You can, of course, search through the entire catalogue and then choose a technology you wish to have in the future, and the system will highlight everything needed to achieve that end goal for you."

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/conferences/e3-2015/14165-Master-of-Orion-Remake-Will-Be-a-Labor-of-Love-For-Wargaming

"Kislyi, who used Civilization as his MBA, fully believes that a good 4x strategy game can be educational. "I want my kids to play Master of Orion to make them smarter. Learning economy and how to manage a civilization will do that for you." No release date has been set for the game, mainly because the game is not one of Wargaming's tentpole franchises that needs to have a deadline. "We can afford to make this perfect," Kislyi said. "Everyone working on the project is a fan of the original, and we aren't going to live or die with this project. It needs to be polished and fantastic.""

MOO4 - Let us hope for Tactical Combat

Once you start colonizing planets, the way that you choose to grow and expand your race is up to you. If you get embroiled in war with another culture at some point, which you will, then there is an option of either simulated combat – which still lets you make attack decisions if needed – or tactical combat, which is much more hands-on. The tactical mode wasn’t shown in my demonstration, but it was clearly on option on the screen that they weren’t ready to talk about yet.

http://thekoalition.com/2015/master-of-orion-preview-the-remake-we-deserve

SimTex team involved!

[We went] back and contacted the original [SimTex] team. We brought in several of them as consultants. Their job is to make sure that we stay on point. We got the original producer, original art director, the original composer is doing the music for the new game, a couple of designers as well. So yeah, we've got people onboard that are very relevant to the process." Many of the old SimTex developers were stunned when Keeling tracked them down with consultancy offers for a new Master of Orion game. Some of them took him on a field trip to the old SimTex offices, which are on the same street as Wargaming's Austin location. The cradle of Master of Orion, it turns out, is now a mall restaurant.

http://www.pcgamer.com/wargaming-on-master-of-orion-this-is-a-passion-for-us/

Master of Orion Announcement Trailer

Masters of Orion Reboot Coming From World of Tanks Dev

Key members of original game's team are working on the reboot.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/masters-of-orion-reboot-coming-from-world-of-tanks/1100-6427911/?utm_source=daily_updates_registered&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Master+of+Orion

Total Annihilation and Master of Orion are strategy game classics

"Total Annihilation and Master of Orion are strategy game classics," said Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi. "Although it's too soon to disclose any details, we are more than willing to give a new lease of life to these games most of us grew up playing. It's exactly where our major focus will be."
(http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/2/4582218/wargaming-net-acquires-total-annihilation-master-of-orion)