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Master of Orion (MOO) is an intergalatic turn-based computer strategy game that was released in 1993. It was published by Microprose and developed by SimTex. Its sequels are Master of Orion II and Master of Orion III.
Master of Orion was one of the first "4X" games in space (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate), coming hot on the heels of the groundbreaking Civilization computer game. Despite its simplistic graphics, it is still considered by many to be among the best the genre has to offer. The goal of the game is to take over the galaxy through space battles by races who have various special abilities. Economic, diplomatic and martial interests have to be managed and customized in steady competition with up to five computer players (who can show uncanny brains at times). Players get to design their own space fleet from the ground up, which accounts for most of the fun. There are many random events like rebellion, piracy, humonguous space amoeba and diplomatic blunders. The conquest of the most powerful system "Orion" usually means victory.
Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares was the first expansion to the original game. Like the original, it was developed by SimTex and published by Microprose in 1996. Among other changes, it added multiplayer gameplay and updated the graphics.
The long anticipated sequel to MOO2, Master of Orion III further expands the background story and adds some new features. MOO3 was developed by Quicksilver Software and published by Infogrames in 2003.
While highly anticipated by fans of the series, and much lauded by the usual gaming rags, the game was not as big a hit among loyal fans as the previous versions. This is primarily due to the unwieldy interface and lack of micro-mangement. While aspects of the previous games are present, this version removes much of the detailed ship design and economic structure building that made previous version fun. While the game may be simpler to play, it no longer contains the features that spawned numerous articles and papers on optimizing growth curves and economic output, some of which required considerable mathmatical knowledge to develop.Master of Orion II
Master of Orion III
