Master of Orion E3 Preview

This was a bit of a surprise when it was announced just before E3 - Master of Orion. What’s more, it was coming from renowned F2P studio Wargaming.net! The original “4X” (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) strategy game, Master of Orion came out back when DOS was still used in conjunction with Windows, rather than not at all. Conquer the galaxy up against several alien races, whilst trying to gain control of the hidden world of Orion. It spawned a very successful sequel, then a decade later a not-so-successful one.

So what of this remake coming out of Wargaming.net? Well, apart from World of Tanks and the currently-in-beta World of Warships, they used to make Massive Assault, which were a series of turn-based strategy games. So it’s not as if they only have massively multiplayer on the brain. Well, not entirely, they are still working on those titles too…

You start off by picking a race to play as, which gives you an advisor to start off your homeworld. Research technology, build ships and construct buildings whilst managing your population’s growth and moral. Eventually you will have the knowledge to venture into space, and soon the galaxy.

As you cruise around with your scouts, they will find planets both habitable and not, wormholes, anomalies and, of course, aliens. First contact is an important step, as is using the diplomacy system. Much like the previous titles, this is done with the alien on your viewscreen. However now they are in full 3D and voice acted! In the full game you will be able to negotiate such things as treaties, technology sharing, and resource trading.

There are hundreds of items on the tech tree, but whether you focus on researching it all quickly or branching out into the stars to colonise worlds is something you will have to decide for yourself. There is no right way to play, after all.

We didn’t see any combat, and there was no word on whether there will be multiplayer -- but based on what we’ve seen so far, we won’t be disappointed. Wargaming.net appear to be doing everything right, so far.

The best news is, that we have been assured this will not be F2P. It won’t even be buy to play -- there will be one price and no microtransactions. That’s right, something that nobody expected them to say -- no microtransactions.

The price being one-off isn’t the only thing to return from the first title, either. Some of the original team are back working on this reboot, and you will be able to play as any of the ten races from the original game too! And judging by the obvious warmth Wargaming.net have for the series, it looks like it is all coming together for its late-2015/early-2016 release window.