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Does one need sound to play Master of Orion two?

And, it only has one CD, right?

Only one CD, correct. And I don't think you really need any sound, most are just weapon noises or bleeps.

JediNeophyte wrote:Only one CD, correct. And I don't think you really need any sound, most are just weapon noises or bleeps.

So no speeches or anything story related huh? excellent

And thank you for answering my question.

PS does it have an online multi player function?

Jaded Masses wrote:

JediNeophyte wrote:Only one CD, correct. And I don't think you really need any sound, most are just weapon noises or bleeps.

So no speeches or anything story related huh? excellent

And thank you for answering my question.

PS does it have an online multi player function?

It does, but no BattleNet-esque community. I know for a fact that it's playable over IPX or with hotseat (both ways are horrifyingly slow).

Eleas wrote:

Jaded Masses wrote:

JediNeophyte wrote:Only one CD, correct. And I don't think you really need any sound, most are just weapon noises or bleeps.

So no speeches or anything story related huh? excellent

And thank you for answering my question.

PS does it have an online multi player function?

It does, but no BattleNet-esque community. I know for a fact that it's playable over IPX or with hotseat (both ways are horrifyingly slow).

As all real strategy should be!...keevan and I have played hotseat and ipx very successfully however...we bested the computer with the ai turned right up no problem....it's not that slow...it's slower than 5 turns at once single player....but I like being in control

Coaan wrote: As all real strategy should be!...keevan and I have played hotseat and ipx very successfully however...we bested the computer with the ai turned right up no problem....it's not that slow...it's slower than 5 turns at once single player....but I like being in control

MOO2 is easy enough to beat at any level. Especially if you make up a lethal combo like Psilon-analogue + Industrial-analogue. And I haven't even started on the Time Warp cheats...

I have no Idea what any of you are talking about, could you explain.

A comment earlier implied that one could play CO-OP in multi-play, is this true?.

In MoO2 you can create your own race from scratch from options called 'Picks'. They have different point values depending on how good they are and IMO creative is one of the best picks you can have. You get to research every item in a field, and when you've got a research boost, it puts you way ahead of the game early on.

creative is a waste of points if you know what you want. I can get
aquatic and artifacts HW for the same points. Aquatic gives you
better planets and you start with a gaia equivalent HW. Gaia means
I need less farmers - less farmers = more scientists/workers. Add
+3 research from artifact HW and I will have superrior technology.

Aquatic giving better planets helps only at the beginning. Creative, Telepathic and Subterran give you immense boost through the game.

SHODAN wrote:Aquatic giving better planets helps only at the beginning. Creative, Telepathic and Subterran give you immense boost through the game.

It helps though the game because swamp + tundra = terran , terran, ocean = gaia.
I get a much better selection of planet with aquatic. Subterran take a while
to kick in and can be gained via slave race. Telepathic is always nice. Creative
costs 8 points - you can get better combos for 8 points.

Thunderfire wrote:creative is a waste of points if you know what you want. I can get
aquatic and artifacts HW for the same points. Aquatic gives you
better planets and you start with a gaia equivalent HW. Gaia means
I need less farmers - less farmers = more scientists/workers. Add
+3 research from artifact HW and I will have superrior technology.

At the end, simply having Creative will give you the immense bonus of having all little things come together. And let's not talk about the nastiest bloody tech combo in the game, where both just so happen to be in the same technological advancement category...

When playing alone, Creative is too dangerous in the short term. When playing as a team, it can be God.

Thunderfire wrote:It helps though the game because swamp + tundra = terran , terran, ocean = gaia. I get a much better selection of planet with aquatic.

Too much trouble to terra/gaiaform your planets?

Creative costs 8 points - you can get better combos for 8 points.

Such as?

IMO, creative is the overall best ability in the game. If the Psilons and any other race ally (Mrrshan or Klackon are the two I've worked with), they can transfer enough tech to keep their ally ahead in exchange for coverage from allied ships.

I enjoy the Darlok much more than I should, though. Who cares if the Psilon can develop every tech when I can just steal it from under their noses?

SHODAN wrote: Too much trouble to terra/gaiaform your planets?

Yes. Other research areas are more important. Gaia
forming is very far down the tech tree. Creative vs
Reseachboni is quality vs quantity. Aquatic+Artifacts
HW means my HW is really good at research. +2
Production and Rich means my HW is really good at
producing stuff. Superior production combined with
research or combat abilities is a winner in this game.
Auqatic , Artifacts HW , Unification , +1 Prod , +1
Research is really nice in pre warp games. Lots
of research and lots of production. Concentrate on
the Chemisty? Tech Tree. This one gives you missiles
, armor and fuel cells. Superior Armor and Missiles
is a winner in early battles when the enemy lacks
the equipent to shoot down alot of missiles.

My two top priority picks are creative and lithovore. I get laughed at everytime I tell people about choosing lithovore, but I like to make things that much simpler by having to worry about managing one less resource. It's a big boost in the early game. It's not up to much later on, of course, with all the advanced farming tech, but by then you own the AI anyway.

Thunderfire wrote:Yes. Other research areas are more important.

Hardly. Unless you are lithovore you'll have to keep half of the population farmers without decent farming tech.

Gaia forming is very far down the tech tree. Creative vs
Reseachboni is quality vs quantity. Aquatic+Artifacts
HW means my HW is really good at research. +2
Production and Rich means my HW is really good at
producing stuff.
Auqatic , Artifacts HW , Unification , +1 Prod , +1
Research is really nice in pre warp games. Lots
of research and lots of production.

All that helps in the beginning of the game mostly. Quality of homeworld (or any single world) matters only in small galaxies or pre-warp games. Since Unification also nullifies moral bonus it is not worth six racial points IMO. Production/research bonuses also are point or two too expensive for me to seriously consider them.

Superior production combined with
research or combat abilities is a winner in this game.

Indeed, and superioir production, research and combat abilities are acquired by accumulating as wide technology base as possible which means you either have to steal a lot of be Creative.

SHODAN wrote: Hardly. Unless you are lithovore you'll have to keep half of the population farmers without decent farming tech.
All that helps in the beginning of the game mostly. Quality of homeworld (or any single world) matters only in small galaxies or pre-warp games. Since Unification also nullifies moral bonus it is not worth six racial points IMO. Production/research bonuses also are point or two too expensive for me to seriously consider them.

The Quality really matters in any non advanced start game. Better
Tech is better than many lower techs. Most Food techs are low on
the tech tree. The expansion in the early game often decides the
game. Beeing able to research and build colony ships fast early in
the game is a huge boost. Better fuel cells , armor and missiles means
that the chance that I will get the good planets first is pretty high.

Personally, I prefer cybernetic + telepathic. Lower farming requirements so you can throw more of population into industry and research, and a large-size or better ship lets you just convert enemy planets instead of launching costly invasions.

I like to run the following:
-20% spy
-20% ground combat
democratic or unification
creative
telepathic (a cruiser or better above an enemy planet can mind control it and make the planet yours)

If there's any spare points left, I slap in large homeworld or a plus to production.

EDIT: I sometimes slap in a -0.5 to money just so I can have more points to distribute into something else, say Omniscient or something. After I research evolutionary mutation, I tend to slap the extra points into production, so I can start cranking out the heaviest ships in droves.

The way I see it, once you have creative as a choice, there's no need for any + to research, and especially if you have democracy enabled, in which case you have MASSIVE research working for you.

In the latter stages of the game, with most farm tech researched, I usually have a farming setup like this:

For every 4 colonies or so (lets say they're in the 23-27 population range), I have one colony (terran or gaia) with 3 natives on them, and those 3 natives are doing the farm work for the 4-6 colonies, which have all of their population split between production and research as required.

one of my more favorite combos was creative with a high spying bonus. I usually take fuedalism as it really doesn't matter when you can start cranking ships out at a rapid pace.

Subterrainian was always my favourite. Doubled population max everywhere led to huge production capability.

Subterran is nice - but its main bonus can be gained via conquests.
MOO2 can some killer combos like transporters/neutron gun ,
or time warp + phase cloak. A player who get these first has a huge
advantage over his opponents.

Thunderfire wrote:Subterran is nice - but its main bonus can be gained via conquests.
MOO2 can some killer combos like transporters/neutron gun ,
or time warp + phase cloak. A player who get these first has a huge
advantage over his opponents.

Sorry... Transporters + Neutron gun? Sounds kinda very weak. Compare that to Plasma cannon, which in later stages reach unholy levels of miniaturization and carnageability. Best gun in the game, for most purposes. While Time warp + Phase cloak just has the feel of a program bug to me.

Frankly I don't know what all the rage is with all of those strange combos...once you crank up your production with 12-18 maxed out colonies, you can mass-produce doom stars with 3 stellar converters every 16-18 turns or so, and back them up with Titans with the strongest beams every 8-10 turns. Not to mention that you slap in the Time-Warp Facilitators on all, +50 beam dmg for the Titans, and maybe +50% shield strenght, and you're unstoppable. And build the occasional light ship with a gravity well generator, to keep your enemies from escaping slaughter.

Oh, for every 2 stellar-converter-based Doom Stars, I like to add a best-beam-weapon-based Doom Star, with Time-Warp, +50% beam dmg, and +50% shield str.

On the other hand, Moo3 is a whole different ballgame.