Just claimed victory over the galaxy, took about two full days of off and on playing, GreT game, Look forward to hopefully more in the updates!
Well my love of the old Master of Orion games got to me and I gave in and picked this up. Can't wait to start terrorizing the galaxy!
This reminds me so much of games I loved in the past... totally didn't expect anything like this on my iPad. Mostly because I had forgotton tbh, but still. A shame that Spaceward Ho! for iPhone never happened as far as I can tell (announced two years ago or so) but this will do...
I couldn't figure out how to retreat either. I also tried scrapping my ship to at least make something out of the situation but that wasn't allowed either. It looks like once your ship enters combat, it's committed until the battle is over. I ended up letting my ship die since the ongoing battle prevents turn compression from occurring. Another possible solution is to restore from a previous save point but rewinding the clock seems a bit too much like cheating for my tastes. It's also completely unnecessary since the AI is easy to beat. I've played a total of three times so far. My first game was on easy mode to learn how to play the game. My second game was on average mode in a huge galaxy with 3 opponents. That turned out to be way too easy for me so I finally tried impossible mode in a huge galaxy with 3 opponents but that also turned out to be easy. The opponents put up a better fight in impossible mode but they were still no match for my zerg force heh heh
Everyone here seems to be a fan of the space x4 genre ! Will this game be too intimidating/hard for a newbie of this genre?
No, in spite of the lack of a pedagogic tutorial, it is surprisingly easy to pick up, partly thanks to the help buttons (which do an at least basic job of explaining most concepts), but also to the fact that the game is rather transparent, and displays most results of your actions in numbers and figures. Move population from the food industry to research, and you'll see the overall food growth of your empire drop, possible effects on your economy, the turns to the next scienticic breakthrough decrease, all in the statistics bar at the top of the screen, and any resulting decreases in population growth for each planet clearly displayed in the screen where you move population, etc. There is a visible result for almost any action, and while it might take a few tries to understand where to look, once you do, the majority of the game's mechanics become very transparent. There's also this post from bailknight that does a nice job of easing you in to the role of a galactic would-be conqueror. A new in-game help/reference guide is coming already this or next week, and is being improved for the patch after that, so take the leap into space, start playing around, and if it all seems too much to grasp, just wait for a few days, and you'll hopefully have all the info you need.
The gameplay is similar to Civilization, albeit simplified in many respects. But if what you are saying is that you have never played *any* type of 4x game, not just one set in space, then some caution is warranted before this purchase. Back in the day, 4x games were quite popular, but I can easily understand why someone a bit younger wouldnt have played one - they never seem to make the best seller lists anymore, and havent for years. I'm honestly not sure if this game will appeal to a 4x newbie, and it might be preferable to try one on your PC first, where you would get a manual, a visible tech tree and things like that.
In-game reference/help system and tech tree will be in the next two updates I'd say that Starbase Orion is a much more viable starting point for someone new to the 4X genre than a desktop 4X (if she or he wants to start 4X-ing at all). Starbase Orion might be one (if not the) most advanced strategic simulations for iOS, but it is still a bit more simplistic than Civ, Master of Orion, etc, and thus more easily approachable.
That tutorial linked to in this thread is a must read. Once I realised I could move workers around in the empire screen it started making much more sense
After purchasing orion and trying it out...I must say I am quite stumped by the amount of micro management required in a 4x game. I guess it will take me some time to learn the ropes.
Actually, most of the micromanagement goes away once you learn how to queue up what you want to produce and also set a default focus for automated production afterwards. In fact, I let the computer manage the growth of all my new colonies so I don't even bother setting their production queues. That allows me to focus on expansion plans and military conquest.
I figured you might have that reaction. It will seem like less once you get used to it, if you decide to put the time in. This is sort of a classical formula -- once you learn the ropes, the Civ games, for example, will not be as hard to learn. Pitty the genre more or less collapsed, but I guess that is another story.
I've had two games today and seen some very odd behaviour from the AI. I first played a game on easy with a huge galaxy and one opponent. The AI never built new colonies and never attacked for the entire game. The second was the same but played on average difficulty. By comparison my first ever game on easy with a regular sized galaxy the AI never left me alone
I've noticed this also. The AI is random from game to game on purpose. If it is a glitch/bug then hopefully it will be fixed in the upcoming version. http://www.chimerasw.com/starbaseorion/forums/showthread.php?tid=46
My assumption is that in order to get the hardest AI you have to set the game like this: Galaxy Size Large Opponents Three Impossible
Starbase Orion quickstart guide Hi All, Created a more in-depth guide to Starbase Orion just to easy in anyone who's new to 4x type games. I go through the empire screen and how to generate funds if you find your self short all the time. I also cover a very short part on mid-game tactics and how to survive your first encounters. The playing style in this video is my own and is in no way the perfect tactic or solution to playing the game. All I want to achieve is to lower the learning curve of the game to new players. Also though I'd add my overview video for anyone that missed it the first time around. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbQ7WLaVk7I
I had a question about the game. Because i cant find a explanation of the cost that youre empire makes. You can see how much each planet earns but not how much money i needed for maintenance buildings etc. So at some point you will lose money but i cant figure out what the costs are?
