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"Ask The Beta Testers"
Recently we opened up a thread on the discussion board asking for fan questions that the beta testers might be able to answer. Here are the results:Which type of strategy do you think will be most successful in SP and MP?
Lore Weaver:SP & MP are two completely different beasts. In an SP game, a win by Senate or Antaran X's is very viable. Speaking strictly stock races, the gasbags should have the quickest win, assuming they start in the senate. Winning by X is easiest for the Harvesters due to their semi-strong research, fat oppresometer (8 or 9 all game), and beefy military (to fry possible senate victories). In MP, winning by Senate isn't as easy. Other players can vote for the New Orions to keep them in office. Getting the X's isn't easy in MP because other humans are likely to get some as well. MP games are going to last for the long haul, regardless of galaxy size. Don't take any of this as negative towards the AI, they try to win as well, they just do it differently than humans do :-) All that being said, there are plenty of viable strategies for MP and SP. Heck, I managed to do OK in an MP game focusing on Economic FLU production with a Silicoid empire! One thing to note that in any game some level of manufacturing is important. The poor manufacturer is going to have trouble getting a foot-hold in the galaxy. It's possible to play a poor manufacturing race well, but it requires some good strategizing.
Chaos Avatar:
A combination of tech development and building/expansion is probably the stronger way to really "win" the game. Spying and diplomacy are tools that enhance that, but won't win the game on their own. Aggressive rushing in the early game can, however, be a major factor in getting a solid lead in smaller or crowded galactic maps.
Grand Potato:
Strategy? I'm too busy thinking about defending my empire from those damn colony ships and raids to worry about strategy. In multiplayer, we know the other guy is out to conquer the galaxy, just like us. The Human-player is your worst enemy. You can work with the AI. You can trust them - to a point - to follow your treaties. In MP, your best friend is just that while he carefully places fleets around your systems.
- Building/expansionist:
Expand too fast, and you'll have lots of useless colonies that you'll have a hard time defending. Of course, if you're able to keep them out reach of the enemy, they'll grow and prosper.
- Straight diplomacy (without too aggressive teching or building):
Keeping the enemy at bay while you become big enough to kick his ass is always good..
- Spying diplomacy (see above):
Spies are best used to kneel behind the enemy while your fleet pushes them from the front.
- Aggressive "rushing" (attacking/conquering early and often):
Attacking early and often more often than not will leave you with too much land you'll be hard pressed to defend. Selective conquests are much better.
Moral: Balanced approach..
Reptile:
Others have spoken about SP, but in MP, I've so far learned that speed kills. Although I still prefer the slow-buildup style of play, most players apparently don't have my patience and I often end up taking one in the chin as my growing but underdefended colonies get swarmed by a bunch of gnats. =)
Is "off-roading" practical and does it present a valid strategy?
Lore Weaver:In the early game "off-roading" isn't very practical at all, even the shortest of distances can take 50 turns to traverse. In the mid-late game, when you've researched faster drives, off-roading, combined with stealth technology, can be a clever way to snag that undefended world that happens to have a mobilization center.
Winner == You.
Chaos Avatar:
This one depends on the map size and the player's position. If you're trapped, it can be useful. In later games, when engine tech has reached a high point, it can also be viable.
Grand Potato:
It is necessary for certain strategies, but the long travel times makes it impractical to use in your everyday war.
Reptile:
As others have said, not in the early game. Later on it becomes more viable, although it still SEEMS to take forever (because by then, your fleets will be zipping from one quadrant to the next in a few mere turns).
How much more difficult is the AI as you set the difficulty rating higher? Also, will all MP games be played on easy?
Lore Weaver:The AI setting basically controls the AI's drive to win. The AI will basically be different diplomatically. If the AI thinks you are going to win (or on the path to winning) it will declare war on you. The AI wants to destroy human players above all else. The AI can be quite clever at times, but, after playing MoO3 for several months, I've noticed some "consistant behaviors" regarding TaskForce creation. In MP games, it's fun to have good AI's, you never know when another human player wants to jump in. You don't want to give a human player a peice of junk empire, unless it's APOC :-)
Grand Potato:
I think we've played most of our MP games on hard. and I've noticed that I've done much better in Easy games than any harder levels. Nothing I could describe.
Reptile:
The AI is noticeably tougher at higher levels, but so far I have not seen anything resembling the 50 Doomstar armadas that permeated the endgame of MOO2. This is a good thing. Don't know about the MP question.
How well is the play balanced between the races? The strat guide (for whatever its worth) seemed to think poorly of this area. Has the situation improved?
Chaos Avatar:The strat guide, in this case, is based on older information and one person's opinion. Some races are stronger than others, might have a few more advantages or picks, but I don't think any one races will *ALWAYS* win over all other races.
Grand Potato:
It could use some tweaking. but I'm not the best guy to judge balance. There's no zergling rush, or equivalent, that I'm aware of.
Reptile:
This is purely anecdotal, but I haven't noticed any patterns in my SP games where any one race consistently dominates the power rankings.
Can you explain a bit more about the pluses and minuses of being a senate member, how its effects vary between SP and MP, and whether there are any races you would not want to play without being a member?
Chaos Avatar:Pluses: Being in contact with all members of the senate leads to more trade opportunities in the early game, as well as the faster establishment of treaties. If you're playing for Senate victory, this is a major advantage, since getting into the Senate from the outside is very difficult.
Minuses: Being in the Senate generally means being in close proximity to Orion and all other Senate members. This limits expansion. It also means that, should someone decide to get the Senate together and declare Total War against you, you could be faced with the entire membership united in fighting you. Obviously, in MP, "human" players operate in a completely different style from AI players. This still does not make much of a difference in being a Senate member or not, but it does make a difference in overall diplomatic options.
DeckPrism:
Senate membership in a galaxy with a large number of players can take a lot of your attention, which if you are playing with timed turns can be a disadvatage. On the other hand, gettting a large number of research and trade treaties realy starts to add up. In MP, you can tend to count on a human player acting in thier own interest regaurdless of thier race's preferences.
Grand Potato:
The senate is fun, and there are definitely pluses and minuses to each. Senate members have to start near each other, so expansion can be a problem, but the diplomatic contacts that the Senate gives makes up for it somewhat.
Reptile:
Senate members get good prospects for trade/research agreements early on, but tend to hem each other in and limit each other's expansion. also, there is a chance that a number of the other senate members will be racial enemies, earning you an early war. Senate members are also susceptible to early espionage - this can be either good or bad depending on your point of view and starting race. I cannot think of any races that would cause me to restart the game if I did not get a senate placement, but then again I like a challenge.
What is your favorite non-player race and why?
Chaos Avatar:Gargantua. They have a good history. And they beat ass.
DeckPrism:
Darlocks. They are creepy and good ground troops. Also I've found them the most so far. :)
Grand Potato:
New Orions. The Magnate races are nice and all, but their planets aren't defended by the Great Antaran Fleets.
Reptile:
I still enjoy seeing an Alkari magnate from MOO2, but my favorite of the new NPC races has to be the non-corporeal. Obviously, they make great ground troops and add some ghostly finesse to my Grendarl bash-em-up hordes. :)
Multiplayer: Is it worth the hype or kinda boring?
Chaos Avatar:TBS games are always slow in multiplayer, and I never really enjoyed them all that much. That being said, MOO3 is one of two TBS games that I have played and liked in MP. I like it better LAN style, so I can yell at my fellow players to hurry up. ;)
DeckPrism:
Nothing can match matching wits with a live opponent.
Grand Potato:
I've devoted pretty much the last four entire Saturdays to it. Does that tell you something? This is from a guy who hardly ever plays MP.
Reptile:
It's definitely worth it if you have some players with reasonable attention spans who are able to make a time commitment.
How effective are timed turns in multiplayer?
Chaos Avatar:Very. Don't play MP without them. They really add to the suspense and challenge.
DeckPrism:
They work; hope you have the nerves for it!
Grand Potato:
Beautiful. Better than IFPs ever could've done it.
Reptile:
They serve their purpose. I wouldn't attempt a multiplayer game without them.
What has been your worst MP battle defeat (or best success)?
Chaos Avatar:Best success: defending a fresh colony from Constantine's invading hi-tech gasbags with a band of Bulrathi militia and some raw Ithkul recruits. Lucky day, that...
Grand Potato:
I've managed to keep the humans happy and pick on the AIs. I figure when I have all the former AI planets under my belt, I'll be better equipped to take on the human players.
Reptile:
I have yet to complete a multiplayer game from start to finish, but I have had some neat experiences. Once, playing the Sakkra, I had nearly an entire quandrant of galaxy neatly choked off via starlane, so I gambled on a rapid colonization strategy. Too early and too greedily, it turned out, as I wound up overextending my resources and had 10 starving planets on my hands with rapidly falling populations. I was very nearly ready to concede when one of my scouts discovered a high level bioharvesting tech in the last unexplored system of my part of the galaxy, saving my scaly butt from a very early and embarrassing self-defeat. =)
How long does the average game in an average size galaxy last? What are the longest and shortest games you've played?
Chaos Avatar:If you're playing to Senate victory, that's the shortest game. Under 300 turns. For Sole Survivor or Antaran X, that takes a bit longer. (also depends on the number of other players)
Smallest map, maximum AI players- 191 turns.
Biggest map, maximum AI players- 500+ turns, never finished.
DeckPrism:
This depends on how hard you make it and if you are using timed turns. I've played one in a small easy galaxy for 400+ turns over weeks. On the other end, we have blazed through 100 turns in a 3 minute per turn MP game in one day, though we did not finish.
Grand Potato:
Shortest. senate victory in roughly 130 turns. longest. I've only made contact with one other empire at turn 350 in a huge 3-armed spiral. I expect this will be the longest.
Reptile:
Depends greatly on your playing style and chosen race. I have had SP games, using average starting conditions, go from ~150 to well over 300 turns. 93 turns (SP senate victory) shortest and 500+ turns and counting in my current SP game (16 races, 3 arm spiral) as the longest.
What are your three favorite things about MoO 3 (short)?
Chaos Avatar:Setup choices. Planetary AI. Harvesters!
DeckPrism:
It is MOO; it has strategic galactic conquest and ship design. So it draws on that heritage, puts a new face on it, and does a better job of making you feel high level, truely epicly galactic.
Grand Potato:
Multiplayer, AI help in managing colonies, and AI accountants managing the budget
Reptile:
I love the twist the starlanes add to planning the defense and expansion of your Empire and that that ship design remains as fun as ever in the MOO series. I enjoy seeing planets revolt and new Empires arriving into the game to keep things interesting. And I like how there are three different saurian species to choose from. =)
If you were designing an expansion, what would you add and how would you improve the game?
Chaos Avatar:More details- graphics, options, events, possibilities... more of everything. The little details help flesh out the big picture. Also, more cheese. I like cheese. Like space monsters. ;)
DeckPrism:
Mmph, details really. Now stop taking me away from the game. :)
Grand Potato:
A few more races, both playable and magnate. And the rest I'll wait until the game comes out.
Reptile:
The core of the game is solid. An expansion would benefit mainly from the sorts of things you usually buy an expansion for - added art, added leaders, added events, etc. Here's hoping that day comes.
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