Starbase Orion, a 4X turn-based space strategy game for the iOS family of devices, has been released today and is now available for purchase on the App Store.
The developer, Chimera Software, is an independent publishing software company headquartered in Atlanta GA that specializes on developing and publishing software with a concentration on the Mac and iPhone platforms. Starbase Orion was designed and is available for purchase for the iPad, IPhone and iPod Touch. To know more about Starbase Orion I invite you to read a preview I did some time ago.
As a summary, and according to Chimera’s vision statement, Starbase Orion promises to “retain the classic turn-based gameplay of Master of Orion 2 while embracing the simplicity and multiplayer experience of Warcraft III”.
CS adds that “(their) biggest disappointment with Master of Orion II is the multiplayer support (…) the hassle and time commitment you need to share the game experience with others is substantial“.
CS wants to improve the multiplayer experience of 4X Sci-Fi TBS games by “make it dead simple to find other people to play with, matches lasting 30-60 minutes. Long enough to have some great battles, yet short enough to get one or two in before bedtime“.
If you’re lucky to own an iOS device you can’t miss this one. Boy, I’m so desperately in need to get one of this toys.
More info on Starbase Orion will follow shortly, so stay tuned.
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Related Articles:
- Starbase Orion: Teaser Trailer and Ship Combat First Look
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- Starbase Orion Hits Kickstarter for PC, Android and Mac Ports
- Starbase Orion Gets a Major Update
- Hardware: Shipbreakers Is Now Homeworld: Shipbreakers
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I wish this would make the jump to Android too!
I would gladly pay for something that close to Master of Orion 2 on my android phone
I downloaded it last night.
It reminds me very much of MoO2, streamlined a little for mobile. They are generally true to the spirit of MoO2 both in the things i liked and didn’t like about it. Planet management is very similar down to the swapping of citizens between the three jobs.
I’m playing on an iPod Touch, and it feels a little like an afterthought for that size. Descriptions get cut off and some buttons are hard for my normal-sized fingers. I expect it would be more fun on an iPad. Hopefully they will keep at the updates, and polish off some of the rough edges.
Maybe i’m doing it wrong, but i have a hard time imaging winning a game in 30 to 60 minutes. Haven’t tried MP yet, maybe it is rigged differently.
I believe it should be perfect playing on your iPad or other Tablets. However, I do find it hard to believe how 4X games can look good on such small devices as iPod Touches and iPhones. It would be very interesting to hear more people’s experiences playing in these small devices.
I borrowed an iPad.
Button size is much more reasonable, but still the descriptions of various things get cut off with no way too see the full description of (for instance) ship parts. There are a lot of rough edges. You can’t name your custom species, it will get one of the existing species names and portraits. But in some contexts race is the way that empires are identified, so you can easily end up with more than one “human” empire– and if they both happen to be using red and orange. They can be very hard to tell apart.
I hope they are agressive in pushing out updates.
There no problem with appearance on the iPhone/iPod. If anything it looks better. It has approximately the same number of pixels as the iPad, but the are very much smaller, so everything is super sharp.
@Eleazar You are right about a 30 min MP game even if your opponent is sitting next to you, because no one is going to constantly submit their turn.
Also as far as the customization issues, the devs mentioned that once the bugs are ironed they’re going to include more customization.
I downloaded the app and played for a few hours
There are a few quirks in the interface, but overall the game has potential.
It doesn’t auto-save. I lots about an hour of gaming when it crashed to “desktop” (or whatever the iPad term is). I deleted the game, I’ll try again in a few months to see if it improved.