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Welcome to the Master of Orion (MoO) FAQ. This is version
2.8 of that guide. Thanks to all those who contributed.

--pat traynor--
pat@ssih.com

Table of Contents:

1 What is MOO?

2 Frequently asked questions
2.A Is there any speech?
2.B How do you move the center of the map?
2.C What differences are there between the difficulty levels?
2.D When does the council meet?
2.E How do I change which ship icons I use?
2.F What affect does power have in designing ships?
2.G How powerful a machine do I need to run it?
2.H What good is the planet button in the combat display?
2.I When bombing enemies, does it make a difference how long the film runs?
2.J How do you transport troops?
2.K Is there a good way to split half of a huge fleet?
2.L How do I turn ships around in midflight?
2.M Could someone please make the combat algorithm more understandable?
2.N Why is the Internal Security percentage changed under 1.2?
2.O Is there a version to play via modem? (no)
2.P Can I build missile bases instead of shields?
2.Q What does "UPGR" mean on the defense slider?
2.P How do I stop my planet from going nova (or survive the plague)?
2.R What determines which new technologies I can research?
2.S What is MOOCE?

3 What bugs are known to exist?
3.A Bugs in 1.0
3.B Bugs in 1.2
3.C Bugs in 1.3

3.A.1 BACKGRND.LBX bug
3.A.2 Diplomat bug
3.A.3 Slow mouse response bug
3.A.4 The Gaia bug
3.A.5 The too many ships bug
3.A.6 The Doc check bug
3.A.7 The colony ship bug
3.A.8 The Orion Terra-forming bug
3.A.9 The base maintenance bug
3.A.10 The 1999 limit on Factories bug

3.B.1 The Maximum Planet Terra-forming bug
3.B.2 The Divide By Zero bug
3.B.3 The Espionage Report bug
3.B.4 The Lockup bug

3.C.1 The Biological Weapon Bug
3.C.2 The Missile Fire Bug
3.C.3 The Combat Transporter Bug
3.C.4 The Star Gate Bug
3.C.5 The Environ Bug
3.C.6 The Sixth Ship Bug
3.C.7 The Treaty Breaking Penalty Bug
3.C.8 The Empty Bribe Bug
3.C.9 The Bogus Nebula ETAs Bug
3.C.10 The Bogus Spy Rate Bug

4 Clever Tricks
4.A Ship turnaround cheat
4.B Intelligence trick
4.C Research Allocation trick
4.D Excess Trade trick
4.E Future ship building trick
4.F Combat Tricks
4.F.1 Park a repulsor today!
4.F.2 Diversionary tactics.
4.F.3 Ship Teleporting trick
4.G Ship Design tricks
4.G.1 No empty slots!
4.G.2 Always have six active designs of ships!
4.G.3 Weapons and specials with different ranges on the same ship.
4.G.4 Save a weapon slot for bombs
4.G.5 Antidote to repulsors: cloaking!
4.H Extended range colonizing
4.I Trading Upward
4.J The Best Defense is a Good Offense
4.K The Best Offense is a Good Defense
4.L Cheats
4.L.1 Cheats by design
4.L.2 Cheats due to bugs
4.M "Filibuster" to evade the Council vote
4.N Kamakazi (rather than scrap) those old ships
4.P The warp dissipator trick.


5 Strategies
5.A Introduction and caveat
5.B Beginner Tips
5.C Strategies for different stages of game
5.C.1 Opening Game
5.C.2 Middle Game
5.C.3 End Game
5.D Strategies for specific races
5.E Strategies against specific races
5.F Strategies for different size galaxies
5.G Warfare
5.G.1 Ship Design
5.G.2 Weapon Choices
5.H Technologies
5.I Diplomacy

6.0 Tables and Formulas
6.1 Technology
6.2 Weapons Comparison Charts
6.3 Ground Combat Odds
6.4 Guardian Stats
6.5 Fleet size necessary to take out Guardian with beam weapons

7 Technology Listing
7.1 Computer
7.2 Construction
7.3 Shields
7.4 Planetology
7.5 Propulsion
7.6 Weapons

8 The Future of Master of Orion
8.1 Upcoming Patches
8.2 Master of Orion Deluxe/Gold/II/Add-on???


================================================================================
1. What is MOO?
================================================================================

MOO is a game of interstellar exploration and conquest. At the start of the
game, you have just 1 planet, some population, and a few starships. From that
meager beginning, you have to explore the galaxy, create industry, colonize
other worlds, research technology, conduct diplomacy (when you run into other
alien races), deal with disasters, design and build your ever changing fleet
of starships, and eventually either get elected Emperor of the galaxy or by
military might subdue the other races. If all of this sounds quite complex,
it is and that is the appeal of this game.

In defining what it is, some words about what it is not are also in order. It
is not an arcade or action type game. All aspects of the game are conducted
at your leisure and reflexes are not an issue. Also, although it does include
ship to ship combat, this aspect of the game is not the primary focus. In
fact, it is possible to push an auto button and the game will automatically
play out the ship to ship combat. You will normally (but not always) use that
button. If a more detailed tactical ship to ship combat game is desired,
something like Rules of Engagement 2 might be a better choice.

MOO has a lot of replay-ability for a number of reasons. First, you can play
any of 10 different races. Each race has its weak and strong points. For
example, the Alkari race is a bird like species. They are excellent pilots
and they are also good at researching propulsion type technology. The Darloks
on the other hand are shape shifters and they are excellent spies good at
inciting rebellion, conducting sabotage, and stealing other races technology.
Second, each time you start a new game, the map is randomly generated. What
fate hands you can make a large difference in your approach. For example, the
presence of a nearby artifact world can help in researching technology.
Third, you have control over the # of stars in the game and the number of
alien races you are playing against. Finally, there is a difficulty setting
which affects how rapidly new technology is discovered.

You should be aware that games can take a fair amount of time; as an extreme
example, my first game took about 16 hours to complete. From my own
experience, the average game takes about 4-6 hours. Because the game is so
complex (and thus provides such a rich experience) it can be rather
frustrating to learn at first. This guide in part is intended to help you
through that learning stage. However, it does not stop there and it is hoped
that even experienced players will find something of use here.

================================================================================
2. Frequently asked questions
================================================================================

2.A Is there any speech? It mentions speech in the installation but I don't
seem to get any.

Answer: There is no speech. The speech part of some soundcards is used for
special effects but not for speech.

2.B How do you move the center of the map?

Answer: Point at a blank part of the screen you want centered and then click
the left mouse button. To move using the keyboard, see pg 4 of the Technical
Supplement and Reference. If using the 1.2 patch, ALT-C will re-center the
map on the currently selected planet.

2.C What differences are there between the different difficulty levels.

The manual mentions that it affects opponents production rates, expansion
rate, technology development, and willingness to ally with you. It is also
supposed to affect the size of your initial fleet.

It definitely affects the cost of developing new technology. New technology
costs Tech_level^2 * Difficulty_Factor * Race_Factor.

The Difficulty factor is:

20 - Simple
25 - Easy
30 - Average
35 - Hard
40 - Impossible

2.D When does the council meet?

It first meets when two thirds of the planets have been colonized. It then
meets every 25 years on the 24th, 49th, 74, and 99th years. (Example 2449).

It also bears mentioning that if you eliminate all races but one, the vote
will no longer take place. You will have to play the game out to the bitter
or not so bitter end. You then get the "Tyrant" ending.

Contributed by: Dave Chaloux


2.E How do I change the ships icons that I get? I change races but the icons
stay the same.

The icons that you get to use depend on the color of the flag you select at
the beginning of the game.

2.F What affect does power have in designing ships?

If you look at the Engine type popup, you will notice a column for number of
engines of the selected type. If you select something new which requires
power, then the number of engines will go up to provide the necessary power
for the new item. Of course if new engines are required, the cost of the
engines and space required for the new engines goes up in addition to the cost
and size of the new item. So the power is integral part of building ships.

Contributed by: P. Michael Haffley


2.G How powerful a machine do I need to run it?

You must have 2 Meg of memory. That said the following report was on the net.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm currently running MoO on a 286-12. The box says that you need at least a
386, but I took the chance and bought it and it runs fine on my 286. (I am
planning on buying a 486 this month, so I figured I could always wait for
the 486 if it wouldn't run at all on the 286)

The only problems I've had are mouse response problems. It would get to the
point that it would take a second or two to respond to mouse button actions
at times. I just downloaded the first patch, and that seems to have fixed
it. It still takes a half second or maybe a bit less to respond, but it's
not to bad. I think the delay is in the sound area, since the button