posted 06-16-99 02:20 PM ET            

Flaw in the AI? Who would have thunk it? Naw, obviously the programmers meant for that Jimmy!

posted 06-20-99 02:36 PM ET            

AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

posted 06-21-99 01:55 AM ET            

It is just me, or are the Darloks absolutely pathetic? Only bonus is for spying, which pisses the other races off, who already hate you as it is.

posted 06-21-99 02:20 AM ET            

In MOO, the Darloks and Mrrshan were the hardest races for me to play. Mrrshan just got cruddy starts almost always, and Darloks speciality means you need to frame the other races... a lot.

3rd roughest was the Silicaids due to their extreme slow growth.

Easiest to win were the Psilons (High Research) and the Humans (Great Diplomacy and Economics bonus). I used to get my butt kicked playing the Humans until I started using diplomacy.

Enjoy the game! Its a classic...

posted 06-21-99 11:02 PM ET            

I liked to Custom something with ground troop penalties, Creative, and get rid of that LowG environment. Spying penalties can also be easily eradicated due through Creative.

posted 06-22-99 01:09 AM ET            

But MOO2 just didn't have the magic fun formula for me that MOO did. Mind you, I thought it was fun, but it played different, and it was just missing that something.

posted 06-25-99 12:09 PM ET            

Rex: Spot on, MOO1 and MOO2 require entirely unlike thinking: the techs are very differently balanced, and their effects scarcely coincide. Strategies that win every game in MOO2 get you killed early in MOO1.

Darkstar: Yes, I love playing Psilons in MOO1. But in MOO2, Creative isn't such a big deal: Creative races get quickly stomped by custom Unification Tolerants and Subterranean Lithovores, and by various Aquatic combinations, not to mention the Telepathic Blitz that succeeds even in Huge galaxies.

Teleblitz: build a laser or missile cruiser ASAP and set out mind-controlling Sakkra, Klackon and other high production homeworlds, to build more Cruisers. First homeworld conquered around turn 50; game over around turn 100.

Silicoids in MOO1: I actually found their ability to colonise everything from the start quite handy for getting that edge in early growth, production and research.

Talking about Darloks: being able to customise races is marvellous in MOO2; pity I don't know how to do that in MOO1. Try this MOO2 race for size:

Top spying bonus.
Telepathic.
Charismatic.
Transdimensional.
Dictatorship.

You can quickly (transdimensional) reach out and spy on everyone, get away with it because you're so charming (Charismatic and Telepathic), soon attract those good leaders (like Chug with terraforming) including the spymasters and assassins and get them cheaply (again because you're so charming and the game somehow knows that you can use spy heroes).

Being dictatorship, all the morale techs you steal can be put to good use, and you have a command point bonus for supporting more ships.

Telepathy also means that you can mind-control enemy worlds. So your race can be weak, because as with the specialist Teleblitzers, you'll soon have better citizens from among the Sakkras, Silicoids, and Trilarians, which are instantly assimilated, and can therefore be immediately sent to populate your other worlds (which they reach quickly because you're Transdimensional).

If you don't like Transdimensional (why not?), then try the old Darlok favorite, Stealthy Ships, to mind-control where the enemy least expects it.

I like TD for two reasons:

(1) You expand (remarkably) more quickly (using outposts if necessary for rapidly extending your range), so getting contact with more races sooner, which is great for spying out lots of tech, which you can also trade to your advantage (Charm and Telepath again!).

(2) TD fleets are quicker on the galaxy screen, which is a great strategic advantage for both offence and defence; and significantly faster in combat, the tactical advantages of which are that you get first shot (with initiative on), can outrun missiles, can get in quickly to fire your own missiles and best short-range weapons into the enemy before they can react, and you're harder to target (beams and missiles miss you more often).

(3) You might even be able to outrun the faster space monsters.

(4) You'll be running rings around the Antarans sooner than most.

Though I must admit that combat bonuses are the best thing for capturing Antaran tech, remember that this spy race is almost Creative in its ability to get the knowledge it needs, since it's as Creative as the whole galaxy put together; if the Psilons are in the game, our spies are better than Creative!

Ship Defence and Offence bonuses can be better than Transdimensional, especially Offence for targetting accuracy, but they don't improve flight times between the stars, which is so often necessary to capture an enemy colony before it gets its defences up and fleet in place.

Also quick fleets can save many a world of your own.

Think about this: normally you have to wait for Star Gate to get between systems really fast. With Transdimensional, it's almost as good to have Jump Gate, which is much lower in the tech tree.

Finally, when the dreaded Hyperspace Flux hits, but you're TD, it's glee time (with a capital glee)! You can hit (and with Telepathic, take over) vital enemy worlds with impunity from their main fleets, you travel so fast that you'll do a lot of damage fast, wiping out whole civilisations before the Flux lifts. Of course you're spying the whole time, and while their fleets are stranded, there's no way for them to vent their displeasure.

Also, if you gather a superior fleet, and attack their scattered fleets, you know what happens when the enemy attempt to flee - they vanish into hyperspace, never to be seen again, whereas if you find "oops! I'm overmatched", you can flee with impunity, and they can't even follow.