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{{Header Nav|game=Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares}} | {{Header Nav|game=Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares}} | ||
This page presents a few effective race designs. Most of these designs are for | This page presents a few effective race designs. Try them first, and then start experimenting. Most of these designs, except for "Blitz races", are for the medium to long-term, usually in Medium or larger galaxies with Pre-warp or Average Tech starts. All are for standard ''MOO2'' - we can't predict which mods you will use. The race names generally follow the conventions used in most online discussions. | ||
==Basic principles== | ==Basic principles== | ||
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===Population is power=== | ===Population is power=== | ||
This is a common saying among ''MOO2'' players and it's 99% true. More | This is a common saying among ''MOO2'' players and it's 99% true. More people = more money and some combination of more research and more production. | ||
Farming is not an objective, it's a requirement in order to support your workers and scientists. That's why Lithovore is an alternative to the population boosting picks | More precisely, research + production = power. Farming is not an objective, it's a requirement in order to support your workers and scientists. That's why Lithovore is an alternative to the other population boosting picks, despite not increasing maximum population; no need for farming means you will have more population in production and research and won't have to build freighters and pay transport costs. | ||
===All race designs take a gamble on something=== | ===All race designs take a gamble on something=== | ||
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Collection of classic races used in multiplayer. Unification government completely dominates multiplayer. One exception is DemoLith that has some chance to compete. Other Democracy based races are unplayable unless some picks are banned. Like Unification. And Lithovore. Dictatorships and Feudal governments generally don't stand a chance against Unification in multiplayer. Note also the absence of Creative in this listing. | Collection of classic races used in multiplayer. Unification government completely dominates multiplayer. One exception is DemoLith that has some chance to compete. Other Democracy based races are unplayable unless some picks are banned. Like Unification. And Lithovore. Dictatorships and Feudal governments generally don't stand a chance against Unification in multiplayer. Note also the absence of Creative in this listing. | ||
==== | ====UniTol==== | ||
The classic UniTol build works well in most starting positions (good or bad); its gamble is that a nearby aggressor will not take advantage of UniTol's slow early research by blitzing it. UniTol should expand fast in the beginning to gain population and research and build Soil Enrichment early (1 extra food per farmer), so that it can move some people off farming. | The classic UniTol build works well in most starting positions (good or bad); its gamble is that a nearby aggressor will not take advantage of UniTol's slow early research by blitzing it. UniTol should expand fast in the beginning to gain population and research and build Soil Enrichment early (1 extra food per farmer), so that it can move some people off farming. | ||
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The UniTolCyber variant is slower than UniTolProd1 and requires careful management to keep the populations at even numbers. | The UniTolCyber variant is slower than UniTolProd1 and requires careful management to keep the populations at even numbers. | ||
==== | ====UniAquaProd2==== | ||
A bit of a gambler's race: ''if'' this race finds a few "wet" planets (Tundra, Ocean, Swamp, Terran) early in the game, it quickly becomes a monster in both production and research. In this case it should research and build Cloning Centers early to maximize population growth. | A bit of a gambler's race: ''if'' this race finds a few "wet" planets (Tundra, Ocean, Swamp, Terran) early in the game, it quickly becomes a monster in both production and research. In this case it should research and build Cloning Centers early to maximize population growth. | ||
*Unification [6]: farming and production advantages; no morale penalty at new colonies. | *Unification [6]: farming and production advantages; no morale penalty at new colonies. | ||
*Aquatic [5]: better farming and higher population capacity ''on wet planets'' | *Aquatic [5]: better farming and higher population capacity ''on wet planets'' | ||
*+ | *+2 Industry [6]: this race is production-oriented! | ||
*Rich Homeworld [2]: increasing homeworld production. | *Rich Homeworld [2]: increasing homeworld production. | ||
*Large Homeword [1]: use that last pick. | *Large Homeword [1]: use that last pick. | ||
*Repulsive [-6], -10 Ground combat [-2], -20 Ship Defense [-2]: the standard negative picks, to get the total down to / below 10. | *Repulsive [-6], -10 Ground combat [-2], -20 Ship Defense [-2]: the standard negative picks, to get the total down to / below 10. | ||
A variant of this race | A variant of this race has just +1 Industry but adds +50% Population Growth. | ||
====UniAquaSubProd1==== | ====UniAquaSubProd1==== | ||
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*Unification [6]: farming and production advantages; no morale penalty at new colonies. | *Unification [6]: farming and production advantages; no morale penalty at new colonies. | ||
*Aquatic [5]: better farming and higher population capacity ''on wet planets'' | *Aquatic [5]: better farming and higher population capacity ''on wet planets'' | ||
*Subterranean [6]: can build huge populations, makes colonizing smaller planets viable. | *Subterranean [6]: can build huge populations, makes colonizing smaller planets viable. | ||
*+1 Industry [3]: this race is production-oriented! | *+1 Industry [3]: this race is production-oriented! | ||
*Repulsive [-6], -10 Ground combat [-2], -20 Ship Defense [-2]: the standard negative picks, to get the total down to / below 10. | *Repulsive [-6], -10 Ground combat [-2], -20 Ship Defense [-2]: the standard negative picks, to get the total down to / below 10. | ||
Variants | Variants are possible by substituting +1 Industry for something else, but such races will generally be weaker since production and Unification complement each other so well. | ||
====DemoLithArti==== | ====DemoLithArti==== | ||
The fastest possible early research, and improved cash income to buy items. Its main weakness is having no traits that increase maximum populations. It can offset this weakness by making a beeline for | The fastest possible early research, and improved cash income to buy items. Its main weakness is having no traits that increase maximum populations. It can offset this weakness by making a beeline for Androids (Androids are Tolerant, so you can add Androids to a colony that has reached its maximum biological population). DemoLith does well if it can colonize a Monster guarded planet early in the game; its research advantages will provide the tools to do this. DemoLithArti has no industrial production bonus, but it should be able to research and build Automated Factories and Robo-Miners very quickly, and its cash advantage enables it to buy things when half-built. | ||
*Democratic [7]: extra research and cash; no morale penalty at new colonies. | *Democratic [7]: extra research and cash; no morale penalty at new colonies. | ||
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====DictSubLithGrowth==== | ====DictSubLithGrowth==== | ||
Competitive Dictatorships in multiplayer are rare to non-existent, unless Unification is banned. This race too will have a hard time against Unification races. It can be a pretty fast tech race tho, but requires finesse. | |||
*Dictatorship [0]: the best government this race can afford. no early advantages; suffers morale penalty at new colonies. | *Dictatorship [0]: the best government this race can afford. no early advantages; suffers morale penalty at new colonies. | ||
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A variant of this race has Artifacts instead of +50% Growth. It should research and build Cloning Centers even faster to maximize population growth. | A variant of this race has Artifacts instead of +50% Growth. It should research and build Cloning Centers even faster to maximize population growth. | ||
As a side-note, the listing of this race here together with DemoLith demonstrates one little wisdom: Stay away from food if you are not Unification, and be Lithovore. | |||
==Creative races== | ==Creative races== | ||
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This race is tailor made for executing the fun [[Master_of_Orion_II:_Battle_at_Antares/Strategies#Creative_Android_Gambit|Creative Android Gambit]] strategy. | This race is tailor made for executing the fun [[Master_of_Orion_II:_Battle_at_Antares/Strategies#Creative_Android_Gambit|Creative Android Gambit]] strategy. | ||
===Creative Democracies=== | ===Creative Democracies and other Research-Heavy Creatives (Basically Psilon 2.0 Builds)=== | ||
Without the benefits of additional food production (like Aquatic, Unification, or +1/+2 Farming), or reduced food consumption (like Cybernetic or Lithovore), any kinds of racial builds, including Creative builds (and especially Creative builds) might be hard-pressed with freeing up enough farmers to devote their time and effort towards research or production (again, recall that basic civilizations without any food bonuses or the Cybernetic or Lithovore picks on a standard Terran homeworld would need to dedicate half of their population to food production in order to feed everyone), which would necessitate early-game research-rushing for Soil Enrichment. However, in terms of the amount of farmers freed up to be usable as miners or scientists, Soil Enrichment would likely have a greater impact upon these non-Unification, non-Aquatic builds compared with Aquatic builds, or even with Unification builds, especially when these builds have bonuses in production and/or research. Moreover, these race builds with research bonuses, like Democratic Creatives, and/or Creatives with +1 or +2 research bonuses, and/or Creatives with artifacts on their homeworld, might be able to get the most out of their Creative pick by quickly researching all the techs they'd need in order to not only make up for their early-game disadvantages, but to also dominate their corner of the galaxy with just a small fleet of highly-advanced, well-designed ships. | Without the benefits of additional food production (like Aquatic, Unification, or +1/+2 Farming), or reduced food consumption (like Cybernetic or Lithovore), any kinds of racial builds, including Creative builds (and especially Creative builds) might be hard-pressed with freeing up enough farmers to devote their time and effort towards research or production (again, recall that basic civilizations without any food bonuses or the Cybernetic or Lithovore picks on a standard Terran homeworld would need to dedicate half of their population to food production in order to feed everyone), which would necessitate early-game research-rushing for Soil Enrichment. However, in terms of the amount of farmers freed up to be usable as miners or scientists, Soil Enrichment would likely have a greater impact upon these non-Unification, non-Aquatic builds compared with Aquatic builds, or even with Unification builds, especially when these builds have bonuses in production and/or research. Moreover, these race builds with research bonuses, like Democratic Creatives, and/or Creatives with +1 or +2 research bonuses, and/or Creatives with artifacts on their homeworld, might be able to get the most out of their Creative pick by quickly researching all the techs they'd need in order to not only make up for their early-game disadvantages, but to also dominate their corner of the galaxy with just a small fleet of highly-advanced, well-designed ships. | ||
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*Repulsive [-6], -10 Ground combat [-2], -20 Ship Defense [-2]: the standard negative picks, to get the total down to / below 10. | *Repulsive [-6], -10 Ground combat [-2], -20 Ship Defense [-2]: the standard negative picks, to get the total down to / below 10. | ||
==Non-Creative races== | ==Non-Creative races for the medium to long term== | ||
===Production-oriented races=== | ===Production-oriented races=== | ||
====UniCybProd2Res1==== | ====UniCybProd2Res1==== | ||
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*Rich Homeworld [2]: maximizes homeworld production. | *Rich Homeworld [2]: maximizes homeworld production. | ||
*Repulsive [-6], -10 Ground combat [-2], -20 Ship Defense [-2]: the standard negative picks, to get the total down to / below 10. | *Repulsive [-6], -10 Ground combat [-2], -20 Ship Defense [-2]: the standard negative picks, to get the total down to / below 10. | ||
====DemoAquaCash1==== | |||
This unusual race is sometimes described as a research race but it's really more of a balanced race: it sacrifices part of its potential research advantage to generate very serious money, and makes extreme use of the "buy when half-built" technique to get fast production. It can and should get Automated Factories very quickly to increase the rate at which it can "buy when half-built". Maximizing population growth will maximize both the cash advantage (more taxpayers), and its research; so Cloning Centers are important for this race. If its neighborhood contains high-capacity planets guarded by Space Monsters, it must use its research and cash advantages to produce monster-killing fleets quickly. If there are few "wet" planets nearby, Terraforming is important a little later in the game, and this race can afford to buy rapid completion of Terraforming projects; this may make it less of a gamble than Aquatic usually is. | |||
*Democratic [7]: extra research and cash; no morale penalty at new colonies. | |||
*Aquatic [5]: better farming and higher population capacity on "wet" planets. | |||
*+1 BC [8]: usually a poor choice, but this race is designed to make good use of it. | |||
*Repulsive [-6], -10 Ground combat [-2], -20 Ship Defense [-2] - the standard negative picks, to get the total down to / below 10. | |||
====DemoSubCash0.5Rich==== | ====DemoSubCash0.5Rich==== | ||
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*Low-G [-5]: same as for -ground, you will likely not need to invade when you can mind control. As soon as you assimilate an enemy race, you can use their colonists without the low-grav penalty anyways. | *Low-G [-5]: same as for -ground, you will likely not need to invade when you can mind control. As soon as you assimilate an enemy race, you can use their colonists without the low-grav penalty anyways. | ||
*-10 spying [-3]: This pick is offset by the telepathic +10 spying bonus.<br/><br/> | *-10 spying [-3]: This pick is offset by the telepathic +10 spying bonus.<br/><br/> | ||
====TeleTransUniLrgRich==== | |||
The inclusion of Trans Dimensional in the race makes it travel faster to the next target star system and gives a +20 bonus to the ships beam defense in combat. Rich Home World has a nice synergy with Unification's production bonus, while the Large Home World suffers just a bit less from industrial pollution than a medium size planet. Works well in pre-Warp games. | |||
====TeleTransFeudProd2LrgRich==== | |||
Usage of the Feudal government combined with +2 production bonus let's you produce that first Cruiser with lightning speed. Due to the research penalty this race doesn't work well in pre-Warp games, but it shines in Average tech games, especially on the smaller sized maps. | |||
====TeleUniLrgArtiWar==== | ====TeleUniLrgArtiWar==== | ||
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*Warlord [4]: combat and CP bonuses. | *Warlord [4]: combat and CP bonuses. | ||
*You need to take 10 negative picks with this race. Use the same 3 negative traits recommended for the previous race (for the same reasons).<br/><br/> | *You need to take 10 negative picks with this race. Use the same 3 negative traits recommended for the previous race (for the same reasons).<br/><br/> | ||
====TeleDictLrgTransStealthWar==== | |||
This race allows you to combine mind control with a large fleet of invisible, speedy ships to weave a cunning strategy of stealth and uncertainty. Remember, stealth-ships doesn't work on troop transports, but because of mind-control you don't need them! Where will your ships attack next? Where is your fleet? Which of your planets are undefended? Your opponent will only find out the answers to those questions the hard way. Transdimensional allows you to even wage an aggressive war of conquest during a Hyperspace Flux, while the enemy fleet is stuck in-system! You will need the racial bonuses of your opponent to boost your economy and research, once you have assimilated his planets. | |||
* Telepathic [6]: mind control / diplomacy bonus / spying bonus | |||
* Dictatorship [0]: doesn't gimp our research like Feudal would, otherwise we are taking it for the low cost. | |||
* Stealthy Ships [4]: all military ships are invisible on the galaxy map, until they arrive in an enemy-occupied system. Doesn't work on your colony ships, outpost ships, or troop transports. | |||
* Transdimensional [5]: all ships +2 speed on the galaxy map, +5 speed in battle; ships unaffected by Hyperspace Flux. | |||
* Warlord [4]: combat and CP bonuses. | |||
* Large Homeworld [1]: use the last pick. | |||
* You need to take 10 negative picks with this race. Use the same 3 negative traits already recommended.<br/><br/> | |||
====TeleAquaFeuLrgFoodWar==== | ====TeleAquaFeuLrgFoodWar==== | ||
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A non-Telepathic blitz race ''must'' be able to find a good, warlike way of using the 6 Picks saved from not choosing Telepathic. Otherwise you would be better served either going with a telepathic race, or not blitzing at all. | A non-Telepathic blitz race ''must'' be able to find a good, warlike way of using the 6 Picks saved from not choosing Telepathic. Otherwise you would be better served either going with a telepathic race, or not blitzing at all. | ||
====FeudTolProd2War==== | |||
description | |||
====Starship Troopers==== | ====Starship Troopers==== | ||
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*Rich Homeworld [2]: build warships faster. | *Rich Homeworld [2]: build warships faster. | ||
*Large Homeworld [1]: use the last pick.<br/><br/> | *Large Homeworld [1]: use the last pick.<br/><br/> | ||
====LithFeudWarTol==== | |||
Feudal + Warlord can produce a fleet very fast, and replace destroyed ships very fast; but it needs to win quickly, otherwise Feudal's poor research (50% of normal) will be fatal. | |||
For example: | |||
*Feudal [-4]: ship construction costs 67%; research per scientist 50%. | |||
*Warlord [4]: more skilful warship crews; extra command points (probably only 2 extra, as this race probably only has its homeworld before it attacks). | |||
*Tolerant [10]: can build flat out because no pollution. | |||
*Lithovore: [10]: no farmers needed. Helps in researching the basic warship technologies, which come quickly enough despite Feudal's inefficient research But it will wait a long time for 2nd-level techologies, so it must attack as soon as possible. | |||
'''Note:''' ''Impossible race to create without the 14 race picks command line switch (aka cheating) as it requires 14 negative picks.'' | |||
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