Version 1.3 Changes
===================
New Features
————
The last customized race created will be saved. It can be loaded by
clicking on the “Last Race” button instead of selecting a picture
for your custom race to use.
Customized races can now be named by their creator. Just click on
the race name in the top middle of the Race Customization screen to
edit the name.
Individual ships can be renamed using the detailed ship display.
This display is reached by right-clicking on a ship in the Fleet
Movement pop-up list, the Fleet Operations screen or the Leaders
screen. In the detailed ship display, left-click on the ship’s name
to enter a new ship name.
When refitting a ship, you will be prompted to select a current
ship design if there are any of the same size class as the ship to
be refitted. The refitted ship will have its design updated to the
chosen design’s specifications. The design screen will still be
available as an option as in earlier versions.
In tactical combat, pressing “T” will end the current player’s turn.
Tutor level should be a little easier.
Left-click on the marines displayed at the bottom of the Colony
screen to display your current ground combat statistics.
Rules Changes
————-
The attacker will now always move first in tactical battles, except
for the Antarans who will always move first regardless.
The Damper Field will block any marine casualties caused by Neutron
Blasters and Death Rays.
Ion Pulse Cannons now take 30 space, do 2-10 points of damage and
cannot be modified to be Heavy Mount.
Gyro-Destabilizers now take 75 space and cost 50BC. Their damage
has also been decreased to 1-4 per size class of target ship.
Plasma Cannons have been increased to 25 space.
The Creative racial ability now costs 8 picks. As a result, the base
Psilon race loses Artifact home world and gains Large home world.
Fighters have a 50% chance to avoid the effects of any ship
self-destruct or warp core breach explosions.
The Custom Race option is available on all difficulty levels.
Extra combat turns given by the Time Warp Facilitator will be given
after the opponent has taken a turn.
1st player: normal turn
2nd player: normal turn
1st player: extra turn
2nd player: extra turn
Assault shuttles are now one-shot weapons. They land their marines,
but do not return to the launching ship.
Bug Fixes
———
Modem problems with head-to-head play have been addressed.
An option for the fast refit of ships has been added.
The lockup when all the ships on one side are in stasis is corrected.
Ships will now be able to reach Elite crew status.
Ships in stasis will not take damage from ship explosions.
Human players may now give Antaran technology to each other.
If your income is negative and you are giving tribute to another
player, you give them zero BCs instead of a negative amount of BCs.
Leaders give their special technology when hired, even if hired on
a later turn.
The player will now benefit from Loknar’s Galactic Lore skill.
It used to be possible to circumvent the 5-turn ETA by sending the
leader to the pool and then back to the same star system. This has
been fixed.
Scrapping (captured) ships now gives you the opportunity to learn
improved fuel cell technology.
You can now able to hire “special” leaders.
Asteroids were added to the Colony system display.
The Tiny planetary shield crash bug is fixed.
Graphical problems with planetary shields have been fixed.
The Colony Building Queue screen is changed to list the planet name.
If you press the “<” and “>” keys on the Colony screen and the
Colony Building Queue screen, you will automaticaly skip the
outposts in the lists.
Captured ships with officers can no longer be refitted on the refit
pop-up menu.
On the Fleets screen, the relocation hot-key has been changed to F5.
The hot-key for cancelling all relocations has been changed to Alt-F5.
===================
New Features
————
The last customized race created will be saved. It can be loaded by
clicking on the “Last Race” button instead of selecting a picture
for your custom race to use.
Customized races can now be named by their creator. Just click on
the race name in the top middle of the Race Customization screen to
edit the name.
Individual ships can be renamed using the detailed ship display.
This display is reached by right-clicking on a ship in the Fleet
Movement pop-up list, the Fleet Operations screen or the Leaders
screen. In the detailed ship display, left-click on the ship’s name
to enter a new ship name.
When refitting a ship, you will be prompted to select a current
ship design if there are any of the same size class as the ship to
be refitted. The refitted ship will have its design updated to the
chosen design’s specifications. The design screen will still be
available as an option as in earlier versions.
In tactical combat, pressing “T” will end the current player’s turn.
Tutor level should be a little easier.
Left-click on the marines displayed at the bottom of the Colony
screen to display your current ground combat statistics.
Rules Changes
————-
The attacker will now always move first in tactical battles, except
for the Antarans who will always move first regardless.
The Damper Field will block any marine casualties caused by Neutron
Blasters and Death Rays.
Ion Pulse Cannons now take 30 space, do 2-10 points of damage and
cannot be modified to be Heavy Mount.
Gyro-Destabilizers now take 75 space and cost 50BC. Their damage
has also been decreased to 1-4 per size class of target ship.
Plasma Cannons have been increased to 25 space.
The Creative racial ability now costs 8 picks. As a result, the base
Psilon race loses Artifact home world and gains Large home world.
Fighters have a 50% chance to avoid the effects of any ship
self-destruct or warp core breach explosions.
The Custom Race option is available on all difficulty levels.
Extra combat turns given by the Time Warp Facilitator will be given
after the opponent has taken a turn.
1st player: normal turn
2nd player: normal turn
1st player: extra turn
2nd player: extra turn
Assault shuttles are now one-shot weapons. They land their marines,
but do not return to the launching ship.
Bug Fixes
———
Modem problems with head-to-head play have been addressed.
An option for the fast refit of ships has been added.
The lockup when all the ships on one side are in stasis is corrected.
Ships will now be able to reach Elite crew status.
Ships in stasis will not take damage from ship explosions.
Human players may now give Antaran technology to each other.
If your income is negative and you are giving tribute to another
player, you give them zero BCs instead of a negative amount of BCs.
Leaders give their special technology when hired, even if hired on
a later turn.
The player will now benefit from Loknar’s Galactic Lore skill.
It used to be possible to circumvent the 5-turn ETA by sending the
leader to the pool and then back to the same star system. This has
been fixed.
Scrapping (captured) ships now gives you the opportunity to learn
improved fuel cell technology.
You can now able to hire “special” leaders.
Asteroids were added to the Colony system display.
The Tiny planetary shield crash bug is fixed.
Graphical problems with planetary shields have been fixed.
The Colony Building Queue screen is changed to list the planet name.
If you press the “<” and “>” keys on the Colony screen and the
Colony Building Queue screen, you will automaticaly skip the
outposts in the lists.
Captured ships with officers can no longer be refitted on the refit
pop-up menu.
On the Fleets screen, the relocation hot-key has been changed to F5.
The hot-key for cancelling all relocations has been changed to Alt-F5.
Another thing that really makes Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares v1.3 Patch enjoyable for me is how it manages to stay interesting even after playing it multiple times. Many games feel repetitive after a while, but here, the experience still feels fresh because of the small details and different ways you can approach the gameplay. As you continue playing, you naturally start improving and understanding the mechanics better, which makes everything feel more rewarding. I also appreciate the balance the game maintains—it’s not too difficult, but it’s not too easy either. You can play it casually for a short break or spend longer sessions without getting bored. That flexibility is one of the biggest reasons why I keep coming back to Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares v1.3 Patch. Overall, it’s the kind of game that doesn’t just entertain you for a moment, but actually gives you a consistently enjoyable experience every time you play.
