Rebuild of Orion

Information, How-to's, and discussion about mod'ing Master of Orion II.
Komrad Studios
Posts:3
Joined:Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:26 am
Rebuild of Orion

Postby Komrad Studios » Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:44 am

Hi everybody.
I'm thinking about rebuilding orion core, making an orion clone, in order to make it xp compatible, to improve multiplayer, to make it a modern game.
The idea is: create an exe to place in the orion dir, in order to use all original graphics.
This is the first step.
The second step would be to make the new game open to every modifications.

This is the concepts. But i need to know many things about lbx files.
1) The exactly and well explained structure of lbx container.
2) The well explained structure of sound files, graphic files, movie files, inside lbx.
3) A map of lbx files: where can i find what.

I'm going to study by myself each of these point, but help is very appreciate.

i've found these info, for now:
http://wiki.xentax.com/index.php?title= ... ifications
http://www.karoltomala.com/blog/categor ... f-orion-2/
and this forum.

But i need more info.
Tnks a lot.

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Sogroon
Posts:4
Joined:Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:36 am
Location:Hungary

Postby Sogroon » Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:32 am

BTW how practiced are you in programing? Do you really know what it takes to rewrite the exe, or is it only a "dream" :?

However, good luck! :) :!:
Bla-bla-bla...

Komrad Studios
Posts:3
Joined:Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:26 am

Postby Komrad Studios » Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:37 am

I've got years of programming on the back. But the real problem here, is not programming (the game is 2d, it has got many similar situation, etc...) the problem is the organization betwen programmers, if i am not the only one. And now i need information about lbx.

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Matthew
Posts:186
Joined:Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:06 am

Postby Matthew » Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:59 pm

Sounds ambitious.

LBX is basically just a way to store a collection of data assets.

There are few approaches you might take.

The first would be query other LBX tool developers to see if they'll let you have the info they used to make their tool(s).

The next way would be to solve the riddle of how each data element inside the varoius LBX files is structured. You could try reversing the .exe for the game or the .exe for one of the mod tools or you could just try making an educated guess at it. These things are often solved by a lot of trial and error. Without the source code for the game, it would take a long time.

c'g~
Posts:80
Joined:Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:26 pm
Location:Ukraine

WOW!

Postby c'g~ » Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:38 pm

Hi, Komrad Studios!

I love MoO2, so I’ll be very glad to see MoO2 upgrading to a new MODERN level, cos it’s VERY needed now for this really excellent, but outdated game. It needs so small changes, but at the same time so big effort to do this.

I tried to contact with Grig de Griz (Russian very knowledgeable and accomplish MoO fun) – maybe he will contact you soon or post something here (I’m not so sure about that though).
If you need his recent work (Work Shop for MoO2), you can download it here http://mo3.fatal.ru/moo2_workshop_eng.htm.
By the way, there you can find his e-mail.

As for me – I’m just a creative MODer and about programming languages I know only their names, thus this is as much as I can help you.

But remember, if you CAN do it, your name will be engraved in MoO2 funs hearts forever (just don’t forget about ability to save and watch REPLAYS of battles and normal Map Editor)!

Best wishes!

MikeTn1
Posts:3
Joined:Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:24 am

Postby MikeTn1 » Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:36 am

What I would try (and I am getting everything together I need to do this and learning how to use them) is

1:write a set of rules on how the game play goes. I may try testing it as a boardgame first to see if the rules work. Decide on any changes to make.

2:get screen shots of the game. I need to duplicate the FUNCTIONS of the game but I will create my own graphics using programs like Bryce 5.5

3:decide if I will use Microsofts XNA suite or some other program to create the nuts and bolts of the game. Adventure Maker is great for doing a "slide show" demo of parts of the game as I go along.

I hate what they did with MOO3. I am not totally thrilled with what Free Orion is doing either... it seems too much like a cross between MOO3 and MOO2.

MikeTn1
Posts:3
Joined:Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:24 am

Postby MikeTn1 » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:23 am

some random thoughts on my earlier post:

1: Moo3 went overboard on micromanaging the game. Moo2 has a lot but it can be lived with. I think it might be worthwhile to reduce the micromagement in the game.

2: Free Orion has GREAT GRAPHICS but the whole warp line deal sucks.
Any game made needs really good graphics, BUT not at the expense of playability.

3: dont go overboard with the amount of Tech to be researched. Sword of the Stars does not seem to have as many AND the overall research rate is faster. This means you can concentrate on exploring, exploiting, expand, and extermintae MUCH quicker.

Mikoyan
Posts:1
Joined:Mon May 04, 2009 7:45 pm

Modernizing MOO2

Postby Mikoyan » Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:19 pm

What would it cost to purchase the rights for MOO2? If the Orion Nebula pooled it's resoucres, could it be possible? I'd be happy to own a share or two of the greatest game! Then the Nebula coud do what it wished with the game!

I'd like to play online but don't understand all that needes to be done...is there a MOO2 online instruction guide for dummies?

I'd like to play with the big boys! I'd also like to know who came up with the production race concept and tip my hat to them! My silly little tech race hides in shame!

Some changes I'd make is that only an uncreative race could't go back and get techs that were left behind. Soil enrichment, Cybertronic CPU and Artificial Planets come to mind.

I would allow an uncreative race to research any tech instead of random choices of the CPU. This would then be a viable pick.

I'd also drop Democrcy to 6, possibly 5 points and drop creative back down to 6 because regular races could now go back for techs they passed up. It would give a tech race a more sporting chance!

Also I thought of evolving races, that is you pick up 1 point for every 40-50 turns. I'd make fast evolution a pick. 3 points for +10; 6 FOR +20 and of course, you'd gain corresponding points for negative picks in this field. I think this could be fun in a huge galaxy with 3-4 players.

Last, but not least, I'd raise the pop limits for all races on planets to facilitate more options for all.

I hope my input is valuable for the community. I've played the game for about 10 years. I found the strategy guide a few years ago and fell in love with the game all over again! Thanks to all you veteran and pioneer players!

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Cabman
Posts:235
Joined:Fri Jul 29, 2005 5:58 pm
Location:Zabrze, Poland

Postby Cabman » Wed Dec 09, 2009 1:07 pm

I'd like to play with the big boys!
You can find some joining irc moo2 channel
see this http://masteroforion2.blogspot.com/2006 ... annel.html
I'd like to play online but don't understand all that needes to be done...is there a MOO2 online instruction guide for dummies?
See http://masteroforion2.blogspot.com/2006 ... guide.html
I'd also drop Democrcy to 6, possibly 5 points and drop creative back down to 6 because regular races could now go back for techs they passed up. It would give a tech race a more sporting chance!
search this forum for VDC mod. You might find it interesting.

Morloc
Posts:1
Joined:Sun Dec 13, 2009 1:44 pm
Location:USA/Massachusettes

Postby Morloc » Sun Dec 13, 2009 3:17 pm

A couple suggestions to anyone creating a serious mod or attempting a rebuild of MOO2...

I've just picked up another 4x (Armada 2526) and though I really wish it were otherwise, it's falling flat. I'm starting to understand why these games since MOO2 like Galactic Civilizations or Sins of a Solar Empire aren't satisfying. It seems like they’ve all tried to dumb down a nearly perfect game like MOO2 under the premise of “reducing micromanagement”.

This is recipe for disaster. Don’t remove the ability to micromanage. I want to be able to adjust a frontier or firebase colony’s production differently than a planet sitting in the heart of my empire. I want to be able to rush production. I definitely want to be able to create custom ships.

There’s no reason (aside from extra programming) why you couldn’t implement the ability to micromanage while at the same time providing automated advisors/governors/assistants for those who do not. Having the option to do so is the issue.


My second suggestion is to keep the tech tree large but robust. Games that boast “100+ technologies to research!” and then offer us: Laser, Laser II, Laser III and the super-exciting, game changing, Laser IV miss the mark. Look at MOO2’s tree for a good example of how things should be. Most new technologies offered something new and interesting to the game. More IS better with technologies, but only when they’re there for a reason and their position in the tree is considered carefully. One of the techs I’d definitely have changed in MOO2 was the earlier auto-repair tech. Having ship damage carry over from battle to battle was interesting. The tech came so early that by the time you were building larger ships which you’d consider keeping out of a fight to save the vessel, you no longer needed to make the choice.


-Morloc


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