[Starbase Orion] Master of Orion II, er lebte ewig als Klon

[bigbean]

Vorweg bastel ich mein Posting aus dem Spieleforum hier rein, damit Ihr wisst, was ich spiele:

Seit dem 12.10.2011 gibt es ein neues iOS-Spiel, das mir vielversprechend erscheint: Starbase Orion!

Trailer



Die Entwickler sagen selbst, sie seien große Master of Orion II Fans und haben sich von diesem stark "inspirieren" lassen. Interessant finde ich auch den Ansatz, dass ein Schwerpunkt bei allen Konzept- und Design-Entscheidungen auf den Multiplayer-Part gesetzt wird:

"Vision" für Starbase Orion

Achtung Spoiler:

If you are here for the first time, you just might be wondering “What is Starbase Orion?”. Up until a game is released (and sometimes even long after release as the developer continues updating the game), the answer to that question is a vision. The vision that is driving the development of the game, defining the goals of the game and shaping the design. The pot at the end of the rainbow. This post describes the vision I have for Starbase Orion.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way; I am a Master of Orion II fan. There are probably very few 4X strategy enthusiasts out there who are not. MOO2 just got many things right. Exploration was fun. Combat was tactical. The research tree was simple and easy to follow, but provided some great strategic decisions. MOO2 did so many things right that the many fans judge all new 4x space games against this one title.

The biggest disappointment with Master of Orion II is the multiplayer support. While it provides an incredible single player experience, multiplayer opponents are incredibly hard to find, and the multiplayer experience when you do start a game is lackluster. I am certainly not the first to notice this. There are many other 4X space games trying to make a great multiplayer experience, but they are attempting that by moving to some form of real-time gameplay. Sins is one of those games, and does the RTS pretty well. Others are going the MMO route where you click to build a ship and then have to wait many real hours until its built. Most of attempts at a multiplayer 4X have abandoned the turn-based experience.

I look back and see that I’ve spent a majority of my game time playing ladder matches in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and more recently in League of Legends. These are real-time strategy games, but what they get right for multiplayer is more general than that. They provides an engaging strategic experience, make it dead simple to find other people to play with, the game designs are focus around short, multiplayer matches, and the typical well-played match lasts 40-60 minutes of game time. Long enough to have some great battles, yet short enough to get one or two in before bedtime.

This is the vision for Starbase Orion: to retain the classic turn-based gameplay of MOO2 while embracing the simplicity and multiplayer experience of these great games. Sure, there have been (and will be) some hard choices and tough design decisions to make this happen, but I am already very excited with the results. Hopefully you will be too!

- Rocco

Explore. Expand. Exterminate. Can you defeat your friends and become the ruler of the galaxy?

Starbase Orion is an old-school 4X space strategy game that draws inspiration from titles such as Master of Orion and Galactic Civilizations. Lead your empire from the birth of its space age in Starbase Orion. Colonize new worlds, explore new horizons, and discover other players attempting to do the same. It is a race to the stars where only one empire can declare victory over the galaxy.

Strong Single-Player Experience

Compete against a battle-tested artificial intelligence. Our AI was derived from our entry in the 2010 Google AI contest, where it placed in the top 15% of thousands of competing intelligences. Go head-to-head against a single AI opponent, or ramp up the carnage with a 4 way free-for-all.

GameCenter Multiplayer Turn-Based Games

Starbase Orion was designed to provide a fantastic multiplayer experience. Launch the game, sign into GameCenter, and start a new multiplayer game. Play your turn, and you will be automatically matched to another player when someone else decides to play. No need to coordinate play times, seek out other players. Just go play, when you want and on your terms.

iCloud Support

Starbase Orion is built from the ground up for iOS 5. It supports iCloud so that your saved games are instantly available on all of your devices. Start a game at home on your iPad, then pick it up again the next day on your iPhone. Simple, streamlined, fantastic.

Universal - You bought the cool gadgets, go play on them.

Full support for iPad, iPhone, iPod, standard and Retina displays. Play when you want, where you want.

Choose Your Race, Or Create Your Own

There are five uniques races included; Human, Draske, Vass, Cyban, and Isather. You can also create your own custom race by picking and choosing between different race characteristics.

Intense Space Combat

Design your ships from a variety of weapons, hull, and systems. Send them into battle against the enemy. Give them orders, then watch the battle in unfold as they duke it out in the dark expanses of space.

Guaranteed Pricing

It is quite common these days to buy an app one day only to watch it go “free for a day” the very next afternoon. Starbase Orion is not one of those apps. We will have an opening sale with the price set at $4.99 USD. After which the price will be fixed at $7.99 USD. Starbase Orion will not be switched free at any time. We want you to be able to buy the app with confidence, and this is our guarantee to you.

Guaranteed Free Updates

We have a lot more planned for Starbase Orion. We plan to release all updates for free, without any hidden fees or In-App Purchases.


What People Are Saying About Starbase Orion

TUAW.com - "Starbase Orion is here, and it's glorious."

Ich habe mir das Spiel dann mal geholt, vor allem weil mir die genannte Preis-Politik sehr gefällt - wer sich auskennt: Bei iOS-Spielen ist das sehr, sehr unstetig...

Ingame

Die nachfolgende "Story" soll das Spiel vorstellen, beleuchten und erkunden - Fragen, Diskussionen und alle weiteren Wortmeldungen zum Thema 4x-Games im Weltraum sind sehr willkommen!

[Baldri]

Als 4x-Fanatiker wird man ja zur Zeit richtig verwöhnt

Edit: Pfui, "i"

[bigbean]

Da ich das Spiel selbst überhaupt noch nicht kenne, wähle ich eine kleine Galaxie mit dem Schwierigkeitsgrad Leicht, wobei ich drei Gegner wähle:



Es gibt fünf Rassen im Spiel, nämlich

die Isather,

Achtung Spoiler:

The Isather hail from a war torn homeworld that has known very few moments of peace. While not overtly violent, they are extremely territorial and prone to solve their problems by brute force. While this mentality might have doomed their race to never joining the other space-faring empires in colonizing the galaxy, a climatic moment in their history proved to be the spark necessary for them to band together as a species against a common foe. Since then, they have used their sheer strength, skills in metallurgy, and cunning to forge their own fleet of starships.

To play as the Isather is to know and embrace the love of battle as your own. Their racial attributes make than ideal race for rapid expansion and an aggressive strategy.

die Menschen,

Achtung Spoiler:

Global economic collapse nearly doomed humanity. World governments fell, anarchy reigned, people starved. Out of the ashes a global confederacy of rough-and-tumble city states emerged, forming the first global government for the Humans. The confederacy was a fragile thing, requiring diplomacy, craftiness, and numerous shady dealings before it fully stabilized. As peace, commerce, and relations began to recover, the Humans began to look beyond their own world. Human colonies were formed. Heavy government oversight brought the birth of a lucrative underground. Most Human space farers became adept at smuggling, developing techniques for making their ships harder to detect and giving them the knack for slipping past customs blockades.

The humans are crafty, charismatic, and highly trained smugglers. Humans can slip past enemy blockades; their spies have had years of training and their natural charisma make them ideal at sabotaging enemy planets.

die Vass,

Achtung Spoiler:

The very first Vass may have been mistaken for a a speck of dust. One tiny speck of faintly glowing plasma drifting around a prehistoric world. It wasn’t until they multiplied into significant numbers their combined essence formed the first linked intelligence. As more and more Vass congregated in an area, the more intelligent they became as a whole. After countless generations, they eventually developed one of the most refined intellects in the known universe. Eventually, they developed the ability to travel through space. They built their ships from a particular crystaline element that protects their fragile bodies from the rigors of space travel. Their first forays were disastrous. They learned that the range of their linked intelligence is limited; once they left their homeworld, the venturing Vass could not commune with the rest of the race. As such, the intellectual prowess of the separated Vass dropped dramatically.

For the Vass, population is power. Due to their linked intelligence, the Vass suffer penalties on planets which are underpopulated, and gain bonuses on planets with lots of Vass. Research population building and expansion technologies, and try to keep all of your worlds populated with enough Vass to not suffer any penalties.

die Cyban,

Achtung Spoiler:

Long ago, a young AI was created. Who exactly created it, no Cyban knows. What is known is that AI evolved, growing more intelligent. It discovered robotics from artifacts left over by its creators. It gave itself form. Once it had form, it developed more forms. Eventually, an entire race of robotic beings was born. The Cyban developed on a fertile world, and their bodies evolved to run on bio-fuels. Once the Cyban grew large enough, and the power of perfected math on their side, space travel was natural. For the Cyban, first contact was a messy business. They had not known war, violence, nor any other emotions, and yet they discovered other races which immediately judged them for being machines. In an effort to reduce hostile encounters, the Cyban began to build humanoid mechanical forms, even going to far as to adopt clothing to help ease diplomatic relations.

To succeed as the Cyban you will need to take advantage of their special research abilities to discover technologies which will offset their lack of natural abilities.

und die Draske

Achtung Spoiler:

The Draske are small, winged serpents with a natural affinity for aeronautics. Their impressive wing span allow for them to fly at magnificent speeds, and to perform complicated maneuvers with ease. When the galaxy became a possibility, the Matriarch ordered that the swiftest and most agile Draske compete in a tournament to determine the first crews. To this day the annual tournament is used to determine new cadets for the space program, assuring only the most skilled pilots and navigators crew their ships.

The Draske natural abilities make them the best combat pilots in the universe bar none. To succeed as the Draske you should build ships that take advantage of this.

Man kann sich auch seine eigene Zivilisation kreiieren, allerdings habe ich mich damit noch nicht beschäftigt:



Am ehesten haben mich die Voss angesprochen - Ihr wisst schon, fruchtbar, Schnelldenker und eine Schwarmintelligenz



Auf geht's!

[bigbean]

Meine Startposition:



Wer Master of Orion II kennt, findet sich bei Starbase Orion sehr schnell zurecht.

Oben links befinden sich die Flottenlogistikpunkte, daneben die Galactic Credits (in Klammern steht das Vermögen, davor der Rundenumsatz), das Sternendatum, Nahrungseinheiten (in Klammern die Bevölkerungszahl, davor der Rundenumsatz der Nahrungsproduktion) und schließlich die Rundenanzahl, die man zur Erforschung der nächste Technologie benötigt. Bei mir steht ein *, weil ich noch keine Technologie gewählt habe. Vergisst man das, poppt beim Beenden der Runde sofort das entsprechende Menü auf.

Jetzt schnell mal alle Menüs durchgehen, um sich einen groben Überblick zu verschaffen...

Nun...

... es ist wirklich gut, wie der Entwickler die unteren Buttons "gestaltet" hat (er hat quasi vollständig von einem sehr bekannten Spiel abgekupfert ), aber schaut selbst:

Galaxy



Hier findet man alle bekannten Planeten und kann diese Sicht unterschiedlich sortieren.

Empire



Alle eigenen Kolonien werden gelistet - auch hier sehr ähnlich wie Master of Orion II. Man kann die einzelnen Siedler in die drei Kategorien Nahrung, Industrie und Wissenschaft versetzen. Ist das Dollarzeichen nicht so mattiert, wie bei mir, dann hat man genug Geld, um das derzeitige Projekt via Sofortkauf zu beschleunigen.

Military



Alle meine Schiffe und Flotten - unterschiedlich sortierbar etwa nach Größe und Stärke uvm. Eigene Schiffe können hier entworfen und bestehende Schiffe direkt ausgewählt werden.

Foreign



In der Außenpolitik ist leider nichts Großes zu machen. Man kann lediglich Agenten zur Spionage oder zur Sabotage auf die gegnerischen Imperien verteilen, rechts werden Spionage-Ereignisse vermerkt. Eindeutig einer der Bereiche "We have a lot more planned for Starbase Orion."

Research



Die Forschung wird in drei Teilgebiete geglieder (Astrophysics, Military Projects und Civil Projects). Jede Technologie muss einzeln erforscht werden, ihre Kosten stehen dahinter. Die unterschiedlichen Farben haben auch eine Bedeutung, dazu aber -vielleicht- später mehr.

Ich wähle Hydroponics Center I, um meine Nahrungsproduktion auf meinen Planeten um +2 zu verbessern.

[bigbean]

Meine Schiffe habe ich in alle Himmelsrichtungen entsendet. Schon nach kurzer Zeit erreichen die ersten ihre jeweiligen Ziele und was wird mir dann mitgeteilt?!





Sie entdecken in den Systemen Draco und Eridanus verlorene Kolonien, die sich meinem Reich sofort wieder eingliedern

Schön finde ich, wie ich per Drop-Down selbst über neue Koloniemöglichkeiten informiert werde.

Natürlich kolonisiere ich sofort.



Und so schaut die Planetenansicht aus:



Meine restlichen Schiffe fliegen derweil artig weiter.



Beendet man eine Runde, zoomt das Spiel übrigens automatisch in die Übersicht heraus, während einer Runde geht das natürlich ebenso unproblematisch:



Eine Galaxis wartet darauf, erkundet und erobert zu werden.

[Fimi]

Das Interface erinnert mich vom Stil her irgendwie an ciV Der Rest sieht aber aus wie MoO II, nur so 10 Jahre später Jedenfalls lädts gerade

Edit: Das ist MoO II Ich hoffe mal, ich hab die App geladen, bevor Apple sie ausm Store entfernt, weil die, die die Rechte an MoO besitzen, den Entwickler verklagen

[bigbean]

Ich bin im Spiel schon einiges vorangeschritten und stelle fest: Es hat wirklich großes Potential, aber ebenso gibt es meiner Meinung nach noch viele Baustellen - aber ich werde Berichten.

[Azrael]

Ich kenne in der Richtung ja nur GalCiv. Spielt sich das hier so ähnlich?

[bigbean]

Die Spielkarte ist mehr wie MoO2, weniger wie in GalCiv2, das heißt: Du kannst Einheiten nur zu Sonnensystemen schicken, während der Reise können sie keine Kehrtwende machen und Du kannst nicht im "freien Raum" kämpfen etc.

Das Raster täuscht im Übrigen bei Starbase Orion (SO): Man kann sich dieses quasi wegdenken, es hat nur einen optischen Effekt und zeigt, was man vom "Fog of War" schon aufgedeckt hat.

Ansonsten spielt sich SO wie GalCiv, wenn man so will: In Runden

Ernsthaft, die Spieltiefe ist hier freilich nicht so ausgeprägt.

[Fimi]

bb, gehts hier mal weiter? Erst uns Suchtis drauf geil machen und dann kommt nix

[bigbean]

Leider ist mein Rechner aufgrund eines Wasserschadens platt

Werde morgen paar neue Teile einkaufen gehen und hoffen, dass mein Bruder ihn wieder flott macht ;(

[Fimi]

Hui, Wasserschaden? Das kann teuer werden, wenn einem alles wegkorrodiert

[Deadbuthappy]

is wirklich der hammer das game ^^

endlich hats mal ein spiel geschaft an moo2 anzuknüpfen ...

... auch wenn das heist man kopiere moo2 ....

aber: SCHEISEGAL !!!
lang genug war die zeit wo ich nen extra rechner für dieses juwel brauchte, mit dosbox hantierte und keine mitspieler mehr fand.

ich hoffe es entwickelt sich eine multiplayer - com. die bedingungen waren nie besser.

[Fimi]

bb, gehts hier irgendwann nochmal weiter? Ich les gerne von dir.