Editorials Reviews Previews Essays Worth Playing

Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars Game preview

Game preview 23 March 2016, 15:22

author: Przemyslaw Zamecki

Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars Hands-on – an interstellar journey into the past

Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars takes us on a nostalgic journey through the '90s in an almost perfect homage to the spirit of the MicroProse's original installments.

This article was written prior to the game's release.

This text was based on the PC version.

In 1993, more than twenty years ago, one of the most important representatives of what is currently described as the 4X strategy game genre saw the light of day. It was in fact the progenitor of the whole genre; the first one to introduce the four Xs to the gaming community's language. The letter stands for the four main in-game activities: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. Master of Orion was, in a way, Sid Meier's Civilization in space, many years before the author of the latter became involved in the creation of Alpha Centauri.

MASTER OF ORION IN A NUTSHELL:
  • Six races to choose from. Seven, if you buy the Collector's Edition;
  • Features a solo campaign, though it is not yet known how many additional attractions will be included in the full version;
  • Featuring science-fiction all-star voice cast;
  • Victory can be achieved through conquest, diplomacy, trade, or scientific research;
  • You can try out multiplayer;
  • Star Trek-inspired soundtrack;
  • Manages to perfectly capture the essence of the original games.

Three years later, Master of Orion saw the release of a great continuation, entitled Battle of Antares, and after several more years a not-so-well-received third part, which had more in common with a spreadsheet than a video game. It’s no wonder then that Wargaming, the current holder of the rights to the brand, decided to rely mainly on the first two classic parts of the cycle when investing in a new entry in the franchise. Still, it would be reasonable to wonder whether the publisher, associated so far mainly with free-to-play titles sporting a good amount of microtransactions, intends to launch the franchise as just another money-maker brand, earning profits for its creator just as World of Tanks does. Luckily for everyone, not only the diehard fans, Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars will provide a more traditional form of entertainment, devoid of any modern marketing solutions. The idea of ??restoring life to this series has been accompanied by certain assurances; the devs claim to have successfully extracted the essence of this noble classic and presented it in a manner worthy of the second decade of the 21st century. After having played hundreds of turns in the Early Access version, which was made available a few weeks ago on Steam, I can only confirm that they followed through on their promises. Not only did the creators at NGD manage to capture the spirit of the original, but also made me await the release date announcement with mad anticipation.

At the beginning of the game you can choose the type of the galaxy, its size and age. Here you can see a typical medium-sized, middle-aged spiral galaxy. - 2016-03-24
At the beginning of the game you can choose the type of the galaxy, its size and age. Here you can see a typical medium-sized, middle-aged spiral galaxy.

At present, the Early Access version offers six different factions. If we decided to purchase the Collector's Edition, we will additionally gain access to a faction representing the Terran Khanate. Eventually, the game will feature ten races and an editor that will allow us to create new ones. Some representatives of the space nations we are already acquainted with, having seen them in the game's predecessors, but the production will also feature new ones, designed exclusively for this installment. The race selection panel allows us to familiarize ourselves with the history of a particular faction, as well as get to know its unique traits: the characteristics that speed up our development on worlds suitable for colonization, and subsequently the pace at which our race can expand.

Each planet is characterized by several factors that make it an attractive place to colonize. Or not. - 2016-03-24
Each planet is characterized by several factors that make it an attractive place to colonize. Or not.

Let's take a moment to look at the cast that has been employed to provide voicec for the leaders of the various factions as well as the robotic news anchor reporting important events taking place in the galaxy through a stylized news channel. The actors involved are not only perfectly known to the fans of science-fiction, but they are also in large part people who have years of experience in voice acting in general, such as Mark Hamill or Dwight Schultz, the latter being remembered for his performance as "Howling Mad" Murdock in the TV series The A-Team, who later lent his voice to characters in such titles as Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. Furthermore, we will be given the chance to hear lines delivered by Michael Dorn (Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation), John de Lancie (Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation), Alan Tudyk (Hoban "Wash" Washburne from Firefly), Robert Englund (Freddy Kruger from the Nightmare on Elm Street), and Nolan North (voice of Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series).

The planetary command center. Here, we can manage the schedule of the planet’s residents and queue the production – structures, planetary defense systems, etc. - 2016-03-24
The planetary command center. Here, we can manage the schedule of the planet’s residents and queue the production – structures, planetary defense systems, etc.

At the beginning of each game, we can determine the size of the galaxy, its type (may be elliptical or spiral), and its age, determining the frequency of occurrence of certain astronomical events and objects. We begin the game with one planet and a small fleet, comprising of just two scout vessels and a colony ship. The first step is to quickly find an appropriate habitable planet, offering the best conditions for reproduction and research for our chosen faction. And you should choose carefully, because ideal worlds are rather hard to get by; often the planet's advantages are balanced by significant negatives. For example, a planet rich in natural resources may also provide difficult living conditions, thus limiting the population it can support. Difficult conditions may also negatively affect industrial production. There are no easy choices in this game, which is even more problematic if you wish to lead your race while employing the policy of sustainable economy.

The technology tree is the same for all factions. - 2016-03-24
The technology tree is the same for all factions.

At the expansion stage the player must pay attention to a number of factors critical for their species. When populating a world, we can determine the taxes for its residents, distribute, manually or relying on the AI, the population across the three available branches of development (research, agriculture, or industry). Those are the choices that determine how quickly the faction will make further discoveries and create development-boosting inventions. Conquer the Stars has prepared nearly a hundred technologies waiting to be studied, among them those that will allow you to build improved weapons of destruction for your a fleet or perform terraforming, or make use of highly specialized phenomena such as matter manipulation on molecular level or neutrino physics.

Spaceship design panel. - 2016-03-24
Spaceship design panel.

When it comes to the development of the fleet, we can accept the designs proposed by the AI or, using a dedicated editor, design and build unique types of vessels, including the powerful warships, by ourselves. Various kinds of planetary defense systems are of no less importance; they can be placed on the planetary surface, on the orbits, as well as in the slots that represent jump points for spacecraft on the galaxy map. Keeping reasonable defenses up at all time is the prudent thing to do as the galaxy certainly does not lack random events, and while we are busy conducting military operations in one area of the map, our undefended sectors may fall prey to pirates or some other militant faction. Space battles can be settled in two ways: either we rely on a computer simulation or take the matters into our own hands and move to the tactical screen where we can try to wipe out the enemy fleet in real-time in an RTS manner.

One way to achieve victory is through diplomacy. Sadly, humans and the feline-like Mrrshan don’t seem to get along well, seeing how their empress just refused to grant an audience to my emissaries. (And I even brought a ball of yarn!) - 2016-03-24
One way to achieve victory is through diplomacy. Sadly, humans and the feline-like Mrrshan don’t seem to get along well, seeing how their empress just refused to grant an audience to my emissaries. (And I even brought a ball of yarn!)

Much of the text so far was devoted to war, but military conquest is not the only way to win; victory can be achieved in several other ways as well. Skillful diplomacy will allow the representative of our faction to move into the chairman's seat of the galactic council. We have five hundred turns to dominate the galaxy either by trade or technology. It is good to have a strategy formed already at the beginning of the game, as the race we choose determines the course of the game to a large degree. The brutal Bulrathi will lean towards war, while the almost stereotypically alien Psilons will shine when it comes to scientific progress.

As the game progresses, excessive planetary conquests may cause a headache. This list, however, may prevent it from happening. - 2016-03-24
As the game progresses, excessive planetary conquests may cause a headache. This list, however, may prevent it from happening.

Even during Early Access the game allows us to try out the multiplayer mode, intended for up to six players. So far the campaign mode is what the game is about, appearing as a well-known, though somewhat forgotten friend to most of the veterans of the series. When testing Master of Orion it is impossible not to get swept away by the wave of nostalgia – the developers did a brilliant job restoring the old climate, at the same time making their new work interesting to the new generation of gamers. The key word that, in my opinion at least, perfectly defines what I saw on the screen is accessibility. Even when the game becomes more and more complex with successive turns and a plethora of decisions await us during each of them. To be honest, this project has got me completely enthralled.

Songs of Conquest Preview: Singing Hymns of High Praise
Songs of Conquest Preview: Singing Hymns of High Praise

game preview

Is Songs of Conquest the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 worthy successor? Do we have a winner? Here's our preview of the Early Access version.

My Love-Hate Relationship With Age of Darkness
My Love-Hate Relationship With Age of Darkness

game preview

The Dark Souls of RTS debuted in Early Access – it's called Age of Darkness: Final Stand. This production made me fall into an abyss of madness and despair. Here's why.

Great Expectations and Great Turmoil - Star Citizen, and Its $95 Million
Great Expectations and Great Turmoil - Star Citizen, and Its $95 Million

game preview

Star Citizen is a very promising project – after all, it raised $95 million in crowdfunding. What's the progress after so many years? Will the turbulence around the title affect the quality of the final product?

See/Add Comments