[MoO] Master of Orion 2 unofficial patch

[Bladrov]

Thanks Ponkyo! But I was able to get the mod to work by simply adding that line to 150i.CFG.

 

[Bladrov]

For anyone who needs them here are some step-by-step instructions for installing it in Ubuntu:

Create a folder for the patched game to live in (eg, Orion2F)
Create a subfolder in it called "CD"
Copy the contents of the CD there
Take off read-only attributes on all the files
Install MoO II via DOS
- Create an entry in DBGL. Have it mount the game folder as C (you could just run DOSBox, but I had to use a DBGL entry in order to capture the mouse)
- Have it run Orion2F/CD/INSTALL.EXE
- Run it, tell it to install to C:\MPS
- Let it auto-select and configure sound
- Exit the window
There will now be a MPS subfolder next to the Orion2F/CD subfolder
- Move all its contents Orion2F, and delete MPS subfolder
Apply the 1.31 patch

Now install the fan patch, per the install instructions
- Copy the folder to the parent directory of the folder the game lives in
- Execute sudo chmod +x *
- Execute sudo ./install-linux
- Tell the installer to install it to C:\MPS
- Have it auto-select and configure the sound options
Run the game using the launcher
If it errors out, find the files it complains aren't there, and copy them from the CD subfolder up to where the game lives

Now run the game. If the sound gets crackly, try closing the game and reopening, with Output set to ddraw

If the game runs without sound, you may have to change the sound settings

Be sure to delete the DBGL entry you made for the install, plus the patch folder you copied to the parent directory for Orion2F

If you want to mod the game, you can edit the .CFG file you want to base it on, and add lines to it; e.g. to remove the limit on how many leaders you're allowed in the regular 150 Improved, you can open 150i.CFG and under
enable MAP1_150; # improved map.
you can add:
leaders_no_limit = 1;

 

[Bladrov]

Has the group considered changing the travel time of a leader to their assigned colony? It seems like, rather than a fixed 5 turns to non-homeworld colonies, it would make more sense if the travel time depended on distance and your most advanced drive speed.

Of course, that could get complicated if you unassign someone from a non-homeworld colony (NHC) and then assign them somewhere else. Perhaps someone unassigned from an NHC would have an ETA back to homeworld (to join the officer pool) based on distance & drive speed, but if you unassigned them from one NHC and assigned them to another their ETA would be based on distance & drive speed between worlds.

If you unassign someone and then assign them to another NHC the following turn, their ETA would be longer since they'd have to finish coming back to homeworld (just like you can't always change a ship's destination in-flight), then go out to their new assignment.

Obviously this isn't a suggestion that would be quick & easy to implement, but I thought I'd throw out the idea.

Edit: Come to think of it, that might get messy with ship leaders. Maybe it could be based on where the affected ships are when you assign them, and ship movements after that wouldn't affect the leader's arrival time?

 

[Bladrov]

Another thing that would be handy would be if that weapons screen would respond to the mouse wheel. I'm so used to moving Web pages up and down with it that it feels natural to use it there too.

 

[Ponkyo]

Another thing that would be handy would be if that weapons screen would respond to the mouse wheel. I'm so used to moving Web pages up and down with it that it feels natural to use it there too.

I'd like that too, but DOS games don't support mouse wheel (it didn't exist back then), and neither DosBox, so it's not possible.

 

[Bladrov]

Oh yes, that makes sense! I hadn't thought about the limitation that it's a DOS game. (We recently dealt with a DOS limitation in the Race Into Space project.)

 

[plasmacannon]

I'd like that too, but DOS games don't support mouse wheel (it didn't exist back then), and neither DosBox, so it's not possible.

Just another reason that it would be nice to see a 64-bit, multicore capable, high RAM modern version of MOO2 with no starlanes.

 

[Bladrov]

Can't disagree with you there, but I consider myself lucky that fans have been working to improve the original MoO II. The MoO 2.5 we would have liked probably isn't in the cards.

 

[Ponkyo]

Just another reason that it would be nice to see a 64-bit, multicore capable, high RAM modern version of MOO2 with no starlanes.

I'm amazed that no one has made a MOO2 clone so far. Most older games have been cloned already (like OpenTTD, OpenXcom, OpenRA etc) and have a vivid community. While the Unofficial Patch 1.50 brings a breath of fresh air, it will always be constrained by the game itself and DOSBox. MOO2 has a hunk of details, but isn't technically hard to replicate, maybe it's simply not popular enough to deserve a remake?

 

[plasmacannon]

I'm amazed that no one has made a MOO2 clone so far. Most older games have been cloned already (like OpenTTD, OpenXcom, OpenRA etc) and have a vivid community. While the Unofficial Patch 1.50 brings a breath of fresh air, it will always be constrained by the game itself and DOSBox. MOO2 has a hunk of details, but isn't technically hard to replicate, maybe it's simply not popular enough to deserve a remake?

MOO lost fans when MOO3 came out. There was much anticipation for MOO4. When it came out, the graphics and voice actors were excellent, but it disappointed many of us with its starlanes which were not in MOO1 or 2, and its lack of tactical combat similar to MOO1&2.

Now, there has been some progress in the area of MOO clones.
Remnants of the Precursors in open beta and is probably the most complete so far. It is based on MOO1. It duplicates some of the races, but gives that duplicate different stats.
https://www.remnantsoftheprecursors.com/
Here is a YouTube video on it.

Lord of Rigel seems to be on a long hiatus. No updates since 2016.
http://www.lordofrigel.com/

M.O.R.E isn't a direct remake. It has different races, more planets per galaxy size, etc. No updates since 2018.
http://morethegame.com/video/

There are the massively multiplayer games, such as Astro Empires. Not a direct MOO1 or 2 remake at all.
https://www.astroempires.com/

and Starborne. Currently in open beta. Again, not a direct MOO1 or 2 remake at all.
https://starborne.com/

There were others links, but I lost them after I reformatted my hard drive a few years ago.
We should probably make a more complete list somewhere. There have always been enthusiasts out there looking for a better space 4x game.

 

[Bladrov]

I was tempted to mention FreeOrion or MoO: Conquer the Stars, but they both went the way of starlanes too. That's pretty much a showstopper for me, and (I guess) for a lot of old-school MoO fans. (It also doesn't help that the Conquer the Stars people don't seem to know the difference between "interstellar" and "intergalactic".) Glad to see reference to Remnants of the Precursors - that's the project formerly known as Java MOO, IIRC.

For my part, I've been really enjoying playing a new version of MoO II after all these years. Ponko, I deeply appreciate the work you and the others have put into creating this patch. It's been in the same spirit as what we've done with RIS: it's the original game, Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space, but better: the same game but with bug fixes and little improvements and the removal of lots of annoyances in the original.

 

[Ponkyo]

@plasmacannon
Interesting links, but I wouldn't call them MOO2 clones... Lord of Rigel looks quite active to me, it seems they are planning a steam release this year.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/437440/Lord_of_Rigel/
On the same theme there's also Stellaris but it has same annoying issues.

Ponko, I deeply appreciate the work you and the others have put into creating this patch.

Alex, Rocco and Darza are the authors of the patch. I've only done the O2M tool for easier modding.

 

[Bladrov]

FYI, yesterday I finally did a long-overdue update of my Master of Orion fan site, and among other things I added a shout-out to the fan patch.

http://peyre.x10.mx/Orion/index.htm

 

[Bladrov]

Um, I'm experiencing an issue with savegames. When I load them, they often crash when I try to open production from the Colonies screen. Once a save game starts doing that, it continues to, so I often can't pick up where I left off the night before and have little choice but to abandon that game. I don't see anything about this in the manual. Is this a known issue?

 

[Rocco.40]

sounds like trouble in paradise. on what version was it played? and can you share such save?

 

[Bladrov]

Thanks Rocco! I've experienced it in both versions I've played so far - 150 Improved and ICE-X. (In ICE-X the Antarans are brutal, btw!) I'll have to send in the save when I get home (and I'm working late tonight).

Also, I should reword what I said above - the game doesn't actually crash to the Desktop, it hangs. So there's no change in what you see on-screen...even when there should be. The game stops responding and I have to X out of it.

 

[Rocco.40]

Patch version 1.50.18 has been released!

Changes are described in the changelog:
https://moo2mod.com/patch/CHANGELOG_150.TXT

This release got the all new "Mirror Map" functionality that splits the galaxy in identical shards mirroring each other, so each player gets an identical start.

Also with revamped scripting, you will find in Launcher the option to play with a random tech tree. Combined with a new parameter that can prevent player from seeing future tech tree, it will make for an entirely different moo2 experience.

Enjoy!

 

[Bladrov]

Um, I don't see anything in there to indicate that the Antarans have been ramped up substantially. However in my ICE-X game they attack in much more force than back in 1.31. Early on they were attacking me with fleets including cruisers and would wipe out my defenses & fleets before I could get a shot off. Later, when I was deploying ships with Phasors, their attack fleets included 2-3 Titans. There was no point, ever, in trying to defend a system targeted by the Antarans; the best I could hope for was to have a second colony in the system so I could replace the destroyed one with a Base instead of having to build a whole Colony Ship.

Not that this is necessarily a problem. I figured the feeling had been that the Antarans had been too much "kid gloves" in classic MoO II and needed to be beefed up a little. They weren't like that in 150 Improved, though there they did tend to send TWO fleets after me at the same time (to different systems), and sometimes sent an attack fleet against me simultaneous with someone else's attack fleet in a different system. That's incredibly annoying, but might have been intentional in a "Well, they're supposed to be a thorn in people's side" kind of way.

Anyhow, my comment about the Antarans wasn't meant as a complaint but more of an observation.

 

[Rocco.40]

antarans have a much steeper strength growth in ice.
in 1.50 improved this is not changed compared to classic for average games, but in pre-warp games the Ants will show up 50 turns earlier.
Also, in 150i ships designs have been 'fixed' and the attacking force is now of Elite level instead of Veterans, and it surely matters.
(defending Ants were already Elites in classic.)

 

[Bladrov]

Fair enough. It does make sense that the Antarans would attack strategically...though the timing seems suspicious, almost like the computer is coordinating their attacks with your computer opponent's, though the two wouldn't be in communication. But I might have hit a couple of bad coincidences.

So - I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I'm not sure where save games are stored and I'm having trouble finding it (before this I've always used the Windows version of MoO).