The Let's Play Archive

Master of Orion

by Thotimx

Part 138: Mrrshan Preview

A Question of Size

A dozen games down. I, Thotimx, stand 7-5 with the three worst races to go. Will I finish with a positive record? If so, I will need to break a trend. Here's the game so far, by empire, size, and result:

I(Psilons, Small) -- Victory
II(Klackons, Medium) -- Defeat
III(Klackons, Large) -- Victory
IV(Silicoid, Huge) -- Defeat
V(Silicoid, Medium) -- Victory
VI(Human, Large) -- Victory
VII(Meklar, Medium) -- Defeat
VIII(Meklar, Large) -- Victory
IX(Sakkra, Medium) -- Defeat
X(Sakkra, Large) -- Victory
XI(Alkari, Medium) -- Defeat
XII(Alkari, Large) -- Victory

Record by Galaxy Size:

Small -- 1-0
Medium -- 1-4
Large -- 5-0
Huge -- 0-1

I've lost three straight on Medium, and only won as Silicoids. I also lost, again as Silicoids, in the only Huge game I've played. Two of the medium defeats at least(Klackon, Alkari) I was close to winning only to have the Humans take it in the council. Another, the Meklar one I think, I was on the comeback trail against the Psilons and screwed up, getting beaten in the Council again. I think the Huge one was an outlier -- the Silicoids just had crap planets nearby which is pretty fatal for them. Nonetheless, there are distinct patterns here. That undefeated mark on Large galaxies really sticks out.

So at the end, I will challenge myself to reverse these blemishes. We've seen all the super late-game stuff, so I have no need to show that all off again. The distinctiveness of the military races is best seen on a smaller scale(brush wars, early conflicts, etc). So Mrrshan and Bulrathi will be locked into Medium galaxies. Then I'll go Huge for the last one with the Darloks. That could be rough -- they benefit from early contact, which they are not likely to get in that case. In this way, I will be forced to demonstrate mastery over all galaxy types if I am to lug this thing across the finish line.

So let's have at it!

Mrrshan Preview

Medium Galaxy, Homeworld 'Box' as requested. And I have a special Emperor Name to try out. Casting against type here, we are going with 'Nermal' of Garfield fame. The galaxy will come to be dominated by my/our cuteness.

Economy: Bog-standard. We're done with economic bonii.

Military: The polar opposites of the Alkari, they get a +3 bonus to attack in fleet combat.

Diplomacy: Blood feud with the Sakkra, bad relations with Alkari, and they aren't fans of the Klackons or Bulrathi either. Throw in the Darloks and they don't get on well with over half the galaxy. Guaranteed to have at least a couple races we don't like. The Mrrshan are among the worst when it comes to this -- getting along just isn't really their bag.

Research: Roughly average. Galactic experts in Weapons(Excellent), but a Poor rating in the important Construction field. Default everywhere else.