MOO1 upgrade idea collection

[mikeva1]

Here is a nice screenshot from the pc game Horizon. It would make a great screen for the research screen in any MOO remake.

[Ray F]

It's a wall of text

[Tiltowait]

Yes, next time, please resize your screen shots to something more readable, they exceed my browser's viewable area by a lot.

[Waterd]

I think one of the flaws of MOO is that the combat is too complicated, is very hard for intermediate players, to understand the effects of different weapons and the result of combat.
The computer system is specially complicated, is very hard for even expert players to predict the result of a space encounter.
Honestly , I would completely remake the combat system, though that is a lot of work.
As a consecuence, game design, is for most players just a gamble, just choose the best weapon, mass them, and hope for the best.
everythign related to combat is not very clear and intuitive.

Also I hate how complicated the planet growth formula is, and how it leads to a lot of micromanagment of transports.

I generally support anything that helps reduce micromanagment..

[Jeff Graw]

I actually don't like that user interface very much. It's a bit garish in how busy and physical it is, and some of the elements are downright weird - what is that thing beside the return button? I think I prefer something more modern and minimalistic.

[Tiltowait]

Colony micromanagement isn't a problem unless you're an aspie or something. Just populate your new worlds with people once or twice and be done with it. If you're sliding around bits of population to and fro then you're playing the game wrong. Just play the parts that are fun and let it slide, your colonies will be fine even if they aren't perfectly optimized. Much less discounting the level of experience and study at the game you have to get to before you even know to do stuff like this.

[Waterd]

I will not focus on AI improvements, which of course there is a lot of space (I wish AI made more sense in its fleet attacks, instead of just randomly throw ships everywhere , for example) or bugs or clear exploit (like all the Reserve crash exploits). Also I will not focus on very minimal details (like for example i Find scouting early game is too cheap and easy with those super cheap small scouts)

Micromanagement

Planet sliders:
while I think The current sliders are the best implementation of a 4x of colony management, I think there is room for improvement. I think players should just pick which option to spend in a turn, and not be able to divide up the investment of a planet. The reason for that is that the % sliders do not actually create interesting decisions but it adds a lot of micromanagement.

Transports:
Optimally you should send a lot of small transports every turn to populate planets, to maximize population growth. Again this is a very micromanagement annoyance, and it would be better if optimal play would be to send transports once or twice to a planet.
Possible solutions to this is to create minimums to the size of the transport or add a base cost to sending a transport.

Technology investments:
Ive not made my mind if its better for players to be able to crash all their technology resources into the technology they want (creating an interesting decision) or force players to spend tech resources in all branches, and test the ability of players to react to whatever technology they are getting. I think I prefer the first part.
But in either case, the current research formula is a pain, to maximize research it involves a lot of micromanagement and mathematical
calculation that is not fun. Even if the best system is not one that makes players to focus all their resources in one tech until its complete, there has to be one which is more simple and streamlined than the over-complicated current system.

Diplomacy:
Council vote:
Something that always annoyed me of the council vote is that when it doesnt end the game, its just an opportunity for the player to choose an AI to improve relationships with.
I think the vote should be blind, and getting votes should have SOME benefit. It feels bad that even if you are nominated, the optimal play is to vote the opposition


Balance and gameflow:

I feel mid game, planetary shields are just too strong in general but overall bases are just too strong, even if you design ships that arededicated to fight planets with high planetary shields, is just way too expensive to fight bases.
I think focusing on destroying bases, should have a little better return investment.

Sabotage: Enough said? too weak, except maybe to explore, lol

Endgame: I feel is somewhat annoying to end a won game. In that sense I like the council vote, but is not strong enough. For that reason I like other 4x multiple ways of winnings. Not because i want cameback systems, (which i dont mind, but i know others hate) but because if you reach superiority in one area that will lead to winning the game, the game ends. I know some people enjoying blowing weak ai planets so much that go into final war when they win the council vote. But I find the long game frustrating, to the point sometimes when I DECIDE i won the game, i just close the game and consider it a win, instead of going the full 2 hours process of glassing my opponent.

Scoring: For comparison and competition, I like scoring systems, they have to be simple, but I appreciate them, something similar to whats run by many Mostly Year-+ something.

UI:

Improved scanner:
I really dislike you need improved scanner to be able to press f9 to see incoming ships. Scanners should extend how far they can detect ships. Not help you micromanagement, you should always be able to press f9 and see all the incomming ships.

Espionage:
it´s very annoying that you get thrown into the espionage decision, without being able to check your current technologies and what technologies the opponent has (which you know if you check the report screen.

Map information: It should be easier to see information on a map. When I click on a planet I should be able to see all ships going towards it. And there should be a button that I press and see how many parsecs away they are from my range.

Combat:

PLay combat:I left this for last because I think its the weakest part of MOO.
I really wish space combat one could just click auto, and it would play out the SAME script for you and the AI. I cant do that, because your AUTO, is different for you than the AI. Your troops will not reatreat, even if they run out of weapons, for example, I dont know if there are other differences. Maybe there should be a few GENERAL strategy options, or something, but having to micromanage the battles, is really annoying and outside of the scope of the game.

Combat numbers:
Crunching hte numbers to have an idea of whats going on, is a tedious process, the math should be more simple, in a way that a player should have an idea how things going to play out, for an example of how simple it should be one should take a look at a game like battle for wesnoth.
But I really don´t have a solution to this, or idea. Though, like in heroes of might and magic, hovering over the enemy units, should give a good idea about the amount of damage the attack will do.

Ship design:
Again ship design is a spreadsheet fest, I think it should be waaaay more restricted and streamlined