Game Help/GameHelpVolume1_1994/GAMEHELP.ISO/loes/morion.bgd

Text File | 1994-05-28 | 21.9 KB | 630 lines

                          MASTER OF ORION TIPS & TRICKS

The Aggressive Player's Strategy Guide
Tips and tricks for the Aggressive Master of Orion Player
Uploaded By Morgan Wesley and John Mueller.

  This guide will include some of the most effective
techniques for completely
obliterating your computer opponents.  It will list some of
the best and most
destructive technology and how to put them to their most
effective use against
planets and starships.  I hope you find this guide useful
and if you have any
additional information on Master of Orion please e-mail me
at Dan Wesley
73363,430. If this guide generates enough response I will
put out a guide for
defensive players and an all purpose compendium containing
both guides and
much new material.

General Tactics

  The Yo-yo techniques is one of the most effective
techniques possible against
all computer opponents if you have a high enough level of
technology
(Hyperspace communications, etc...).  It involves using
ships armed with
missiles (possibly any other weapon but the effects will not
be as good).  Send
your ships to an enemy planet when you arrive fire off your
missiles and once
they have all made contact retreat immediately (for those of
you who don't like to retreat, this tactic is not a true
retreat). Once your ships are out of orbit (headed back to
your own planet) use Hyperspace communications to send them
immediately back to the planet in the next movement phase,
repeat as
necessary.  You don't have to have hyperspace communications
when using vesions 1.2 and 1.3.  You  just need to click on
the ship and redirect it back to the planet immediately
after the attack.  This means that you can use this tactic
in the early game as well.


  In my past games I have found that small ships with a form
of bomb(preferably
at least fusion) attacking in huge fleets is one of the best
ways to reduce enemy
planets to stardust.  When using this strategy remember to
always overestimate
your opponents defenses(ships, missile bases, etc...) it
very upsetting to build a
fleet of tiny ships and have them demolished by the
defenders before they can
reach their targets.  If you are a player who hates to see
his ships rapidly
destroyed in space combat then you should either not use
this tactic or get over
it, this tactic is not what one would call successful in the
numbers category of
the game, when you use it expect to take incredibly large
losses.

  When fighting large groups of small ships use a
combination of Stream
Projectors, and Pulsars, and if you really want to wipe them
out rapidly just arm
a ship with a blackhole generator and a true beam weapon
such as the graviton
or tachyon beam.  If at all possible when fighting large
groups of any type of ship
stay out of their weapon range at all costs, I have seen a
fleet of almost 700 huge
size battlecruisers with Neutronium 2 armor wiped out by a
fleet of 32k small
ships armed with 1 laser each and Tritanium armor!  Always
arm
your large/huge ships with a repulsar beam when they use a
small ship strategy.

  When fighting large ships with powerful weapons always
either use your
largest ships in the greatest numbers possible or your
smallest ships in fleets of
32k armed with at least a neutron pellet gun.  When fighting
large ships always
remember they may be big but the aren't always maneuverable
and if they are
armed with missiles you can usually duck behind a patch of
asteroids and take
out most opposing fire and all the opposing forces.

  When using missile launchers use the two shot variety in
mass numbers it
allows you to get all your missiles to your target faster
and sooner.  This tactic
works extremely well with the Yo-yo technique.  When using
this  technique I
suggest using small to medium sized ships armed with two
launchers and a
beam weapon (just in case).

  When fighting huge multi-size and multi-number fleets just
counter with your
own multi-fleet.  If at all possible take out the small and
huge ships first and
temporarily ignore the medium and large ships (unless there
are more of them)
and always try to put the enemy at some sort of disadvantage
if at all possible.
If you are attacking their planet they will always try to
protect it before they
protect themselves so send a group of your most resilient
ships to attack the
planet as a distraction while your main forces blasts them
into space atoms
from behind. If they are attacking your planet the same is
true they will always
concentrate on it first so use that against them, build
dummy planets near the
border that have no value at all other than to lure the
attacking force into an
ambush (put as many missile bases on these planets as
possible). Never keep
ships in orbit because that will usually keep the computer
away, instead put
your forces into orbit about one turn away and as soon as
you see an enemy
force headed towards the planet send your fleet out as a
welcoming party.  If
you are wondering why near the end of the game (I measure
this in total tech
levels, around 50 is the beginning of the end) the enemy
doesn't use
Hyperspace communications to recall their ships once your
fleet gets to your
planet I can only say "I don't know!" but rest assured
unless you're playing an
impossible level game they will not in my experience ever
recall their fleets.

Always match the technology that you try to achieve to the
race that you're
playing.  You can find the technology levels on page 63 of
the manual.  There is
a quick and easy way to optimize your technology levels for
the Alkari, Bulrathi,
Klackon, Mecklar, and Mrrshan races.  Go to the Technology
screen and press the "=" key.  This will set all the
technology levels to equal amounts.  Now, check for all the
standard cost "-" categories and click on them to make them
red.  This usually leaves two or three categories blue. Set
the poor categories to 0 and add that amount to your good or
excellent categories.  For example, the Alkari would have
double the technology amount for propulsion and none for
force fields.  Now, concentrate on stealing technology from
your poor category from other races (taking their planets
with factories intact achieves the same goal).  This
strategy tends to maximize your technology as quickly as
possible.
Use the technology you gain as the basis for building ships
and other activities.
For example, if your race builds great weapons but is
terrible in the construction area, you might want to
concentrate on building a lot of small fast ships with
advanced weaponry.  Fighting your technology edge areas
tends to reduce any gains you make to almost nothing.  Don't
worry too much if it looks like the CPs are getting way
ahead in one area or another.  You will start to catch up as
the game progresses.

Diplomacy is a major weapon in this game.  Use it help you
keep each race at bay until you are ready to deal with them.
Deal with one race at a time if possible and reduce them to
one planet.  Now, make a deal with one of the other races to
make war on the other race together.  Let the other race
take the other planet so you don't have to take the hit on
your relationship with other races.  The overall benefit of
this strategy is that you can design one specific class of
ship (or even two) to deal with that race's weaknesses.
This allows you to maintain four generic warships and a
colony ship.

If you go on the offensive, remember to always attack more
than one CP planet (of the same race) at a time.  A CP can
deal very effectively with one planet under fire, they
cannot deal with a multiple planet scenario very well.
Always try to capture the CP's factories intact.  This will
net you some free technology.  Always use your race's best
features to your advantage.  For example, scout for
unprotected planets when playing the Bulrathis.  Use their
superior ground force capability to attack more than one
planet at once.  Keep the enemy ships at bay by attacking
one of their planets with your fleet.  Don't fight to win on
that planet; fight to survive instead and you'll preserve
most of your fleet.  Leave the battle scene as soon as you
conquer the planets you were really after.


Specific Tactics: Vs Humans

  When fighting Humans always remember they will usually
have very powerful
force fields and they will also have fairly advanced
propulsion systems.  When
fighting humans always do two things equip your ships with
shield effectiveness
reducing weapons such as Mass Drivers, the Gauss Autocannon,
and the
Particle Beam.  Also remember that because of their
diplomatic skills they can
also coerce other races into attacking you so if you are at
war with the humans
expect it to get really chaotic very quickly.


Specific Tactics: Vs Alkari

  When fighting the Alkari remember they will always have
extremely
sophisticated propulsion technology making them harder to
hit (a good
comparison would be trying to hit a fly from 50 feet with a
slingshot!).
When fighting Alkari do your self a favor and DON'T USE
MISSILES!.  The only
truly effective weapon against them is the Megabolt Cannon
because of it +30%
chance to hit bonus.  Remember to fight the Alkari with your
smallest fastest
ships.

Specific Tactics: Vs Silicoids

  Remember this the Silicoids are not technologists.  When
fighting them you
will usually have the upper hand in speed and weapon systems
so I would
suggest just using Ye Old Smash and Bash approach to
fighting them.  Always
remember that the Silicoids expand fast because of their
immunity to so many
environments and if left unattended they will simply take
the galaxy out from
under your nose and then if they win the council election,
instead of having a
pin cushion to poke at you will have to deal with a
porcupine that always has
just that one extra quill that will stab you over and over
again.

Specific Tactics: Vs Sakkras

  The Sakkras can present a problem very quickly because
their numbers lets
them build many more ships then most races.  When fighting
Sakkras use heavy
weapons and lots and lots of bombs on their planets.  If you
want to you can
always just bomb their planets just enough to keep them on
their knees before
your empire.

Specific Tactics: Vs Mrrshans

  Like the Alkari the Mrrshans have ships that will make
your fastest look like a
snail.  They also use superior weapons on their ships so you
should either keep
close track of their current  level of weapon tech.  In
combat they will usually
get the initiative and stomp on you the first round of
combat.  In the second
round you can play their maneuverability against them.  When
they attack you
simply just sit there and shoot at them.  They will fidget
and move around just to
show of there speed and will sometimes give up a
strategically superior position
when that happens just move in and take it, then proceed to
demolish their
ships (they will miss more often because they are moving).
Once again because
of their difficulty to hit Megabolt Cannons are the most
effective weapon against
Mrrshan ships.





Specific Tactics: Vs Psilons

When fighting Psilons remember they are the ones with the
high technology.
They are mainly pacifists but even a cornered mouse will
fight as bravely and as
savagely as a lion.  The Psilons prefer heavily armored
ships with a good deal of
missiles on them.  About the only way to beat the Psilons is
by always using a
large number of ships with superior long range weapons and
the Yo-yo
technique.  There is no better weapon to use against Psilons
but High Energy
focus works well as a modifier for heavy lasers to increase
there range
substantially so they can be used almost like artillery.


Specific Tactics: Vs Meklars

  They are going to always have a much larger fleet than you
because of their
increased number of factories and computer technology.  When
fighting
Meklars try to beat them in raw weapon strength and shield
protection.
Remember to keep their population in check or they will
simply produce a
huge starfleet and wipe your fleet out completely and then
proceed to demolish
your colonies.  Use the Yo-yo technique against the Meklars
as often as possible
this will keep their fleets down to a manageable levels also
use continual
bombing to keep them continually re-building factories and
forcing them to
divert resources from more necessary areas.  This same
tactics works to some
extent on the Psilons and Klackons but not as well as it
works on the Meklars.
The best weapons to use against the Meklars are the same as
those you would
use against any large group of ships.

Specific Tactics: Vs Klackons

  When fighting Klackons use hit and run tactics and use the
Yo-yo technique to
keep them from concentrating a huge fleet also attack on as
many fronts as
possible using lightning raids to keep them guessing and to
keep them from
offering any form of coordinated resistance.  If they manage
to build their
maximum factories their racial benefits will make them out
produce even a
race with Improved Robotics Controls 3-7.  Like the Meklars,
Klackon ships will
attack in large numbers and will have advanced armor on
them.  The most
effective weapons against them are stream projectors or
other weapons which
decrease the effectiveness of armor.





Specific Tactics: Vs Bulrathi

  The Bulrathi are ground fighters not pilots generally the
best thing to do is to
simply out fly them and out gun them.  If you want the
highest success rate fight
against their weak point which is their computers if they
can't block your
missiles what can they do, and if they can't hit you because
of their bad
targeting computers well that's their tough luck!  When
fighting them attack
from a distance and use shield reducing weapons against
them.  They may
have superior weapons but an Oracle Interface or a High
Energy Focus makes
all the difference in combat with them.

Specific Tactics: Vs Darloks

  The Darloks are a spy race so chances are they will "find"
new technology at
just about the same time you do.  If you really hate the
fact that you are always
equal to them in shield and weapon  tech. Then simply build
more weapons on
to your ships.  The one problem about fighting Darloks is
they have no real
combat weaknesses.  They do how ever have social weaknesses
and also none
of the other races really like spies so why not get the
other races fighting your
battle for you and then just doing the last bit of mopping
up.  There is no better
weapon for fighting the Darloks just use fleet size and Yo-
yo attacks to keep
them weakened.

Specific Tactics: Using Humans

  When using the Humans use their diplomactic advantage to
keep everyone liking you and hating each other.  The humansÆ
shield, and propulsion advantage can be a great benefit if
you are a person who likes to use run and gun strategy when
fighting in space.  Their speed also allows them to reach
other planets and block the other races, colonization
attempts.

Specific Tactics: Using Alkaris

  When using the Alkari keep your fleets small and your
ships fast.  The AlkarisÆ biggest advantage comes from their
ability to use small ships so well.  It would be foolish to
usea large number of big ships while using the Alkaris.
Also try to use a large number of bumbers when fighting over
enemy planets because the Alkaris can dodge the missiles and
turn the planets bases into space ruble.

Specific Tactics: Using Silicoids

  When using the Silicoids there is only one thing to
remeber; BUILD COLONIES!
That is the only advantage the Silicoids have and also try
to avoid planetology research because other then coloning
they do not need much else.

Specific Tactics: Using Sakkras

  The Sakkras are a good race to use if you are someone who
likes rapid uncontrolled expansionism.  Their planetology
advantage will let you get ahead in council votes.  This is
not a military race, it is a growing race that will wither
and die if thrown into un-needed battles and long wars.

Specific Tactics: Using Mrrshans

  The same strategy that works for the Alkari works for the
Mrrshans.  Try to concentrate on getting fast smalls each
armed with a megabolt or mass driver cannon.  In higher
level games try to develop smalls with Maulers.  These are a
fighting race so destroy enemy planets with bombers and then
have a wave of colony ships behind them.

Specific Tactics: Using Psilons

  Use their technology advantage to buy your enemies trust
and then strike from behind using technoogically superior
ships.

Specific Tactics: Using Meklars

  Use their computer advantage to build tons of factories
and missle base and then slowly expand over the rest of the
Galaxy.  The Meks can usually out research most races near
the middle of the game because of their resource rates.

Specific Tactics: Using Klackons

  Research construction technology completly until you have
level fifty.  Steal whatever else you need from your
opponants.  You can then use your superior armor to
methodically take everyone of your enemiesÆ planets.  Your
low polution levels will let you concentrate on technology
and ship building while your enemies try to keep their
planets clean.

Specific Tactics:  Using Bulrathi

  Use your weapons and hand to hand combat advantage to take
planets and technology away from the CPU.  If you are losing
and are desperate always remeber that a large number of
small ships armed with bombs can take out one heck of a lot
of missle bases and planets before it is destroyed.  Always
try to keep your combat on the ground.

Specfic Tactics: Using Darloks

  Always remember to steal and sabotage.  Research Computers
until you have a huge lead over the CP then just steal all
their technology.  At some point their will be a war, use
your spies to destroy missle bases on one planet then take
it over.  Keep doing this until your opponent offers peace
then accept.

Some of the Best General All Purpose Ships ever Designed

  Phantasms-  A group of small ships all equipped with
Cloaking Devices and
Sub-space Teleporters.  These ships can be armed with just
about any weapon
you want.  I personally like to use what I call the Spectre,
a phantasm armed
with an Energy Pulsar and a Mauler Cannon.  My other design
is called the
Wight because of the effects of its Neutron Stream Projector
and Hellfire
Torpedoes.  Spectres and Wights usually work together
because of their
complimentary forms of weaponry.

  Demons-  A group of medium ships with Sub-space
Teleporters and Lightning
Shields.  Once again these ships can be armed with what you
feel you would
need against your opponent(s).  I use a form of Demon called
the Tempter its
primary role is for use in ambushes around my decoy worlds.
It is equipped
with Hyperdrives and stellar converters as well as an Ion
Stream Projector,
making it both a fast and deadly ship.







Warriors-  A group of large ships outfitted with Sub-Space
Teleporters and
always a Ionic Pulsar.  As all my ships the Warrior can be
equipped with any
weapon necessary.  One version I use for an all purpose
fighter is called the
Archer it carries 5 Scatter Pack X two shot missile racks
(arrows) and for good
measure it carries a Mauler Cannon and Neutron Stream
Projectors.


  Demigod-  A single ship, my Demigod class War Cruiser is
the most
destructive ship ever designed by a mortal man (or so I
hope).  It carries a
Subspace Teleporter,  an Ionic Pulsar, and a Blackhole
Generator.  Its carries 5
Plasma Torpedo launchers, 15 Death Rays, 20 Scatter Pack X
five shot missile
racks, and for good measure 20 Mauler Cannons.  It has a
Maneuverability of IX
and use Hyper drives.  It is made out of Neutronium 2 armor
and has a Shield
Strength of 15, and it carries a Battle Computer and EM both
level X.  This ship
works alone or with an Archer and some Spectres and Wights
for good
measure.


Best Technology

  Everyone argues that one technology is better than another
but is it really?
In my personal opinion no technology is better than another
because it all
depends on a person's playing style.  But in my point of
view these are the best
and if you use the strategies given in this guide they will
serve you very well
indeed.

Weapons

1st Place           Mauler Cannon
2nd Place                Scatter Pack X Missiles/ Neutron
Stream Projector
3rd Place           Hellfire Torpedoes

Computers

1st Place           High Energy Focus
2nd Place           Oracle Interface
3rd Place           Improved Robotic ControlsVII/Hyperspace
Comm.

Planetology

1st Place           Complete Eco. Restoration/Terraforming
+120m
2nd Place           Advanced Soil Enrichment/Atmospheric
Terra.
3rd Place                Advanced Cloning
Propulsion

1st Place           Sub-space Teleporters
2nd Place           Ionic Pulsars
3rd Place                Thorium Cells

Construction

1st Place           Neutronium Armor
2nd Place           Powered Armor
3rd Place                Industrial Waste Ilimination

Force Field

1st Place           Lightning Shield
2nd Place           Blackhole Generator
3rd Place           Cloaking Device

  All these pieces of equipment are vital to beating Master
of Orion with as little
hassle as possible.  When equipping ships remember to make
their weapons,
shields, and engines compatible (its not to bright to equip
ships with Maulers
and give them Retros and a Class I shield) also always make
your new ships to
counter your enemies strengths (if they have superior
missiles use Zyro shields ,
etc...).

  I hope you enjoyed this strategy guide and fell free to
send E-mail if you need
any help in this game, I can usually answer within 24 hours.

Credits

John Mueller                            Tips and
Tactics/Editor/Author
Thomas M. Holsinger                Tips and Tactics
Morgan Wesley                      Tips and
Tactics/Author/Editor