MoonBase Commander

⣿⣿⡻⠿⣳⠸⢿⡇⢇⣿⡧⢹⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⡐⣯⠁ ⠄⠄ ⠟⣛⣽⡳⠼⠄⠈⣷⡾⣥⣱⠃⠣⣿⣿⣿⣯⣭⠽⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⢢⠏⠄ ⠄ ⢠⡿⠶⣮⣝⣿⠄⠄⠈⡥⢭⣥⠅⢌⣽⣿⣻⢶⣭⡿⠿⠜⢿⣿⣿⡿⠁⠄⠄ ⠄⣼⣧⠤⢌⣭⡇⠄⠄⠄⠭⠭⠭⠯⠴⣚⣉⣛⡢⠭⠵⢶⣾⣦⡍⠁⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⣿⣷⣯⣭⡷⠄⠄⢀⣀⠩⠍⢉⣛⣛⠫⢏⣈⣭⣥⣶⣶⣦⣭⣛⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⢀⣿⣿⣿⡿⠃⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣎⢩⠌⣡⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣆⠄⠄⠄ ⢸⡿⢟⣽⠎⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⠄⠄ ⣰⠯⣾⢅⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠄ ⢰⣄⡉⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠄ ⢯⣌⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⢸⣇⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⢸⣟⣧⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⠈⢹⡧⣿⣸⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠗⣈⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠄ ⠄⠘⢷⡳⣾⣷⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⢀⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠄ ⠄⠄⠈⣵⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠄⠄

[quote][b]Warning: Broken Game![/b] This game has design/implementation defects that will render this unplayable for many gamers. The game requires versions of DirectX and DirectPlay that are deprecated and unsupported on the latest Windows 11 builds. The game crashes immediately with an error related to being unable to "load moonbase".[/quote] MoonBase Commander is an ancient game from 2002. It's a whopping 22 years old at the time of this review. The game lacks support for any modern gaming display resolutions (or widescreen monitors), hasn't been modernised or updated to run smoothly on modern gaming PCs. Despite this lack of modernisation, it carries a pretty high price tag for such an ancient game. This seems to have been put on Steam as a nostalgia gouge, or just a cash grab to try profit from abandonware. The game was an old precursor to modern day tower defense games where you would build out a base to defend against creeping enemies, not unlike the way you could build expansive defenses in the classic Dune 2000 from Westwood (before EA bought them and ruined a great company). Except this was a B grade attempt that went straight into bargain bins that you would walk past when going into the video game shop. Yes, kids, once there were video game shops, at shopping malls. Yes, kids, once there were shopping malls. From a technical perspective, even if you can get this to work (it's abandoned by the developers) the game doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard. There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks. There's no way to ensure this is running at the native resolution of your display. There's no guarantee this game will look right on any PC as a result of this hamfisted design decision. The game only displays in 4:3 pillarboxed aspect ratio, due to the age of the game, it predates the 16:9 widescreen gaming standard established back in 2006. It's possible they're marketing this towards people using an old CRT they found in a dumpster, or this game is being specifically marketed towards people gaming on PC's from 1995... either way, this isn't really acceptable in the modern era of PC gaming. It's obviously not going to look right on a modern 16:9 gaming display. These technical defects push this game below acceptable standards for any modern PC game. Unethically, the developers have left this on the Steam store in an unplayable and broken state. This is harmful to Steam and to gamers, not just because it's a direct and intentional attempt to scam people, but because it takes a share of the marketing space and visibility away from other games. It's polluting Steam and making it harder for gamers to find genuine games and for genuine indie developers who put months or years into making proper games find an audience. So, should you buy this game? Is this one of the best of the 100,000+ games on Steam? The developer is deliberately and unethically trying to scam gamers into paying them the laughable, eye-watering price of $6 USD for a game they know is broken. Don't give it to them. This is also competing with over 14,000 free games available on Steam, many of them far better than this paid product. It's the responsibility of the developer to maintain their product, ensure it runs on all modern PCs, or if they determine there's defects and the game doesn't work, they should remove it from sale instead of misleadingly trying to scam gamers into buying knowingly defective products.

I understand someone wanting to play this because of nostalgia, but that's not my case. A tutorial would have been nice also.

[h1]🎮 Reseña de MoonBase Commander[/h1] [h2]Resumen del Juego[/h2] MoonBase Commander es estrategia por turnos con ciencia ficción y construcción de bases, pero con el tipo de vibra “clásico de PC” que te mira a los ojos y te dice: “sí, aquí vienes a pensar… no a posar”. La idea es simple y adictiva: expandes tu base en terreno lunar/alienígena, administras recursos, posicionas estructuras y unidades, y tratas de no quedar como el comandante que perdió una colonia por “calcularle al tanteo”. La primera impresión es la de un juego que sabe exactamente lo que quiere: partidas tácticas, decisiones por turno y ese placer culpable de optimizar como si fueras un contador espacial. El problema es que también se siente como un museo interactivo… y el guía turístico se fue a comer porque, al momento de esta reseña, hay [b]0 jugadores[/b] activos. [h2]Lo Bueno / Lo No Tan Bueno[/h2] Lo Bueno: ✅ 🧠 Estrategia por turnos sólida: aquí gana el que piensa, no el que espamea clicks. ✅ 🏗️ Construcción de bases con sabor a “una más y me duermo” (mentira: no te duermes). ✅ 👽 Ambientación sci‑fi clásica: minimalista, funcional y con personalidad de época. ✅ 🎮 Tiene un jugador y multijugador: opciones hay, aunque la sala esté vacía. ✅ 🃏 Cromos de Steam: al menos el juego te deja coleccionar algo mientras buscas rivales. Lo No Tan Bueno: ❌ 🧟 Multijugador fantasma: 0 jugadores actuales… literalmente podrías jugar contra tu eco. ❌ 🏆 Cero logros: tu cerebro hace malabares y Steam te responde: “ok, ¿y?” 🙃 ❌ 📦 Sensación de “clásico” en el sentido más controversial: encantador para algunos, anticuado para otros. ❌ 🔁 Comunidad pequeña: 155 recomendaciones suena decente, pero no garantiza vida online. [h2]Tabla de Evaluación[/h2] [table] [tr][th]Aspecto[/th][th]Puntuación (0-10)[/th][th]Comentario[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Jugabilidad[/td][td]7[/td][td]Turnos bien pensados y decisiones con peso real.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Dificultad / IA[/td][td]6[/td][td]Cumple, pero no esperes un rival “ajedrecista” todo el tiempo.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Contenido[/td][td]6[/td][td]Suficiente para estrategia clásica, sin sentirse infinito.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Gráficos / Video[/td][td]5[/td][td]Funcionales y de época: encanto para nostálgicos, choque para nuevos.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Historia[/td][td]4[/td][td]No es el punto; esto va de táctica, no de novela espacial.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Ambientación[/td][td]7[/td][td]Sci‑fi con identidad; se siente “juego de estrategia de antes”.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Efectos (VFX)[/td][td]5[/td][td]Cumplen sin deslumbrar; sobrios, a veces demasiado.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Música[/td][td]5[/td][td]Acompaña, no estorba… tampoco se queda contigo.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Voces[/td][td]4[/td][td]Prácticamente inexistentes o irrelevantes para la experiencia.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Diversidad[/td][td]4[/td][td]No es un foco del diseño; es estrategia “pura y dura”.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rendimiento[/td][td]7[/td][td]Ligero y estable: corre sin drama en casi cualquier cosa.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rejugabilidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Buena por su naturaleza táctica, limitada por la vida online.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][b]Total Puntuaciones ([Bueno])[/b][/td][td][b]5.5[/b][/td][td]Estrategia competente, pero envejecida y con multijugador en coma.[/td][/tr] [/table] [h2]Conclusión ([Bueno])[/h2] MoonBase Commander es de esos juegos que te recuerdan cuando la estrategia no te llevaba de la mano: te soltaba en el tablero y te decía “resuélvelo”. En un jugador se deja disfrutar si vienes buscando táctica por turnos y construcción con sabor clásico, sin necesidad de fuegos artificiales narrativos. Pero seamos controversiales y honestos: el multijugador “existe” en la misma forma en que existen los dinosaurios: en teoría y en museos. Con [b]0 jugadores activos[/b], esa categoría se siente más como decoración que como promesa. Aun así, sus [b]155 recomendaciones[/b] dicen que hay un núcleo que lo valora… solo que probablemente están ocupados viviendo, durmiendo o instalando otro clásico. [h3]Recomendación de Compra ([RECOMENDACIÓN])[/h3] Puntuación Total: 5.5/10 Número de jugadores activos al momento de hacer esta review: 0 Descuento máximo registrado: N/A Veredicto: [i]Recomendado solo para fans de la estrategia clásica y el juego en solitario[/i] Si te gusta la estrategia por turnos de la vieja escuela y puedes vivir sin logros ni una escena online activa, aquí hay un juego competente y con personalidad. Si lo tuyo es competir en línea, presumir trofeos y sentir comunidad… este comandante está dirigiendo una base con puro silencio espacial.

I came across this game in around 2002 or 2003 when I was a game tester. This one seemed very simple, but I thought it was great as compared to so many other more complex games at the time. Its a a fun strategic as well as tactical game, which also involves a bit of physical skill controlling how you place your 'units'. I'm so glad this game is still available. I have had no issues playing it on either win10 or win11.

eski bir yaım age of tadında strateji oyunu günümüzde oynanmaz ama belki nostalji yapmak isteyenlere hitap edebilir

this was one of my absolute favorite games when i was young. i'm glad it isn't lost to time

This game is one of my all-time favorites, even though my playtime doesn't really reflect that. See, back in the ancient year of 2003 when I was but a wee lad of 5 years, I talked my Mom into buying Dad this game as a Christmas gift. He didn't particularly care for it, but when he let my brother and I play it, I played the HELL out of it. Not to brag too much, but I was the first person in my family to clear all 16 of the Challenge Mode scenarios with a Gold Medal. And I did it at the age of 6. As a corollary to that, the game is NOT hard to learn, though there is a good mix of skill and strategy needed to make it work. That being said, if a 6-year old can do it, there is nothing stopping you. You don't need lightning reflexes, just a good head for aiming and timing. And if you're not good at either of those, missiles and mines will see you through (at a much higher cost than basic bombs, mind you). That being said, this game is quite old. Multiplayer requires LAN (or LAN emulation, which is beyond my skill level). It also has to be run through a compatibility layer (usually sets itself up no problem, but requires you to accept a popup each time you run it), and breaks completely if you try to alt-tab. It is a 24-year old game at this point, so some concessions need to be made. If you're really smart, you could probably find a way to run this through an XP emulator (or just run it natively on an XP Virtual Machine), but that's far more effort than I would be willing to put in. It works well enough on Windows 10 and 11. For $7, there are many worse games you could get. Give this a try. At worst, you're out $7. At the other worst, you discover a game so good you'll be mad the studio behind it closed its doors 20 years ago. At best, you find a game you'll enjoy, and can continue to enjoy [i]ad infinitem[/i].

the sad fate of the MoonBase of the Human https://youtu.be/bfThiqDd9FA?si=fZKDRJla8KAKHYEg still the moon is a food from heaven

Well It brings so many good memories, but It has its splinters still: The good: 1. The game kinda works on modern HW ( later see why ) and looks the same like in my cheldhood. Windows 11 is still OK to this port which is great! 2. Has all the campain for Niceco, Dewolf, System7 and TeamAlpha 3. All the weapons work correcly ( anti-air defence can hit crawler that is placed on the ground ) not like the other ports 4. The sound has no problems whatsoever, sill as good as I remember it 5. Skirmish is still precent which is very very nice 6. The map edior works 7. Multiplayer too The bad. This sill needs more work, but nonetheless I think it will be updated: 1. When Viber ( or other messinger that may requite temporary desktop asscess ) is working along with MB, SB can write you and you will accidently click the notification instead of launching a rocket. This will minimize the game in the tasbar to open viber. When you click the came on the taskbat to return where you let off will result in the game going all violet and the screen is scaled to the half of the regular resolution it is firsly started on. The weapon and menu burrons location are not affected, so the weapon control activation coordinates are located at the black part of the screen. When you hover the mouse on the violet buttons ( where they are actually drawn ) the button animation will not be rendered. When you hover your mouse on the black part of the screen however and you accidently trigger an actual button region location, the button animation will be rendered 2. Douring the game launch, there is already screen tearing in the intro, which contunes in the main menu and during gameplay. However the one during gameplay is less noticable due to the screen changes usually being so soft/interpolated like in the original version. 3. There is no option to change the refresh rate nad the resolution. I would really like that to have a menu control 4. Every game launch requires user consent for "moonbase.exe" to make changes to this computer. Clickung No will result in "Cancellation by the user error" 5. Requires of additioanl windows features to be installed. Passed so fast that I was not able to see it I noticed the tearing stops when you open the AMD drivers then set all optimization quality option to the highest and enable "Radeon Chill" min 30 fps, max 60 fps and "Radeon Enhanced Sync". I assume this because the modern HW runs the game at way higher rate than intended. This usually happens for most old games running on way faster PC than intended. For example Supaplex is unplayable without dosbox. I would still recomment this game from nostalgia because I beleve the developer can fix these issues and meke it perfect as I remember it !