[Long time lurker, first time poster.]
Just wanted to throw out a question and get some input. Let's suppose that someone was going to develop a MOO2 sequel that was going to stay true to the gameplay of MOO2 rather than going the route that MOO3 did. There are a handful of small and medium sized improvements already posted on these forums (and the older forums) that I'm sure would be welcome in such a sequel, such as customizing the equipment on star bases/battlestations/star fortresses.
I would imagine such a sequel to essentially have four modes:
1) Strict MOO2. This merely replaces MOO2.
2) MOO2 with a relatively open framework for plugin development, something akin to the Space Empires series. Plug-ins should not have to involve breaking out a hex editor.
3) "MOO2 Improved" (MOO2 + small / medium improvements (i.e., customized star bases)). This could possibly be done via the plugin framework proposed in #2, assuming it's powerful enough
4) The next generation of MOO2. This is what I want to talk about below.
A most excellent thread, and I wish I knew of these forums 2+ years ago when this was first posted.
For your #1, I have to agree totally that a redone version of the original game (but that would work on/with current computers/Operating systems) would be the best first step in making a modern MoO2.
For your #2 & #3 I also believe that this would constitute a safe and effective way of building a better game, as you will already know what people are wanting in their game because of all the mods people get.
And last but not least your #4 gives me hope that if enough others want a product, then there is the chance that someone will make a new game. I was going to wait to see what others thought about the idea of a kind of linked mega thread (like some of the best AAR's over in the Hearts of Iron forums), where the first post in a general thread would just be a constantly updated post containing links to all the related threads, so we (the dedicated MoO2 fanatics) could have a one stop shopping experience when looking for a new game ideas thread.
For me, I think that we all know that the reason no new moo game is available is that there isn't enough of a customer base for the strategy games to warrant a company to expend their money on instead of making yet another lame FPS or some other mindless drivel
because that is about all the mindless shoot-em-uppers can handle.
So one idea (and the MoO3 guys tried to do this, but did it badly), is to include something for everyone in the game. My interest in MoO2 is strictly (at least to this time) single player, but that isn't going to get people (software developers) willing to invest their time and money in a new game that is going to have an inherently small fan and customer base. MoO3 tired to make the game have a broader appeal by going 'real time' for the battles, so as to make it more palatable as a multi-player game and they flopped.
So maybe we could bat some ideas around to see if we can come up with some ways to make a
MoO 2000 into an attractive game for a much broader customer base (and thus higher sales) without having to ruin the game for the serious strategy gamers out there (namely, US).
How can such a thing be done?
At the game setup, we are able to (at present) make a rather limited set of choices that determine aspects of the game. What if, we get a software company willing to make a game that has an extremely selectable set of options, for custom gaming to match the interests of many different types of gamers?
To get the zombies (those lost souls that are the FPS addicts) interested in buying a strategy game, perhaps there could be some intense FPS action (as optional features) for ground combat and perhaps espionage missions. To elaborate, what I mean is that at game start-up, a customer that really only wants some mindless 'shooter' game would have a game with extraordinarily limited aspects of strategy but a hugely (to them) interesting series of invasions they could carry out to their hearts content without having to worry all about the other aspects of the MoO2 game as we know and love it.
Think of this as something like a vastly different version of 'turning on-off' tactical combat or one of the other existing options, to the point where depending on the options one selects, the game they end up playing is a completely different experience from what some one else gets with their options. The FPS crowd could carry out the infinite (mindless) ground invasion and espionage missions in the FPS style of gaming, while true strategy gamers could choose 'simple ground combat' (read this as, something---customizable to taste---that ranges from a simple report to something a bit better than MoO2 had to offer), and get a much better strategy game overall.
The strategy gamers (the 'thinking man' gamers), would do well to try to sell this concept to a software company as a next generation computer game. This gets the software company all the sales they want to the zombies, and gets us the strategy game that we want. It all comes down to making their game versatile and customizable to match the tastes of the broadest possible market.
I for one would never play the FPS portion/options of such a game, as these things just plain don't interest me but as long as the options are powerful enough to allow me a completely immersing strategy game without any boring and to detailed parts of the game, then I am a paying customer.
The zombies get their kicks getting in and kicking butt without having to 'waste' time learning how the rest of the game works, and can just select options that have a story board that abstracts all the strategy elements and concentrates on the storyline where the player is a ground warfare troop, and the game begins with the first invasion (whether their side is landing on an enemy planet or the enemy is landing on one of the players worlds) and just proceeds one after another.
The true merit of such a game (if properly written), is when the zombie gamer decides that they want to see what all the other options do...
What do you guys think of this? Let me know.