Overview

The recommended way to install the game is:

  1. Obtain and install the game from any source, Steam, GoG, original CD, etc.

  2. Update to the 1.31 official patch if needed.

  3. Install the 1.50 fan patch.

The 1.50 patch is highly recommended because:

  • It is much more stable than other versions, especially in multiplayer.

  • Greatly simplifies multiplayer setup.

  • Indludes mod to play by classic rules as well as rebalancing mods.

  • Allows to switch mods easily via launcher.

  • Has a number of interface improvements.

In short, there’s no practical reason not to use it unless you’re doing bug hunting or reverse engineering the original. See Versions for historical overview of the known releases.

Installing prerequisites

Some platforms or distributions need extra steps when installing.

Steam

Simply install the game, no update to 1.31 is necessary.

GoG

On Windows avoid installing the game to Program Files, use C:\GAMES or any other user writable directory. Otherwise 1.50 Launcher will need to be run in Administrative mode each time.

No update to 1.31 is necessary.

Original CD on Windows

This is the trickies one:

  • Run the installer.

  • Do not install to Program Files, see above.

  • Choose a full installation and then copy all files from CD to the game directory (skip conflicting), then remove read-only attribute from all game files (Ctrl-a, right click, properties, uncheck read-only, apply).

  • Download the 1.31 official patch and unzip it to the game directory.

  • Install DOSBox separately from https://www.dosbox.com. It’s okay to install to Program Files.

Original CD / other sources on Linux or Mac OS

Similar to windows, but without installation:

  • Create game directory anywhere, say /home/user/moo2, copy all CD files there.

  • Remove read-only attribute from all files. This depends on your OS, but running chmod +w /home/user/moo2/* command in a terminal would likely do it.

  • Install DOSBox in whatever way appropriate for your OS. For example in Ubuntu it would be sudo apt install dosbox. Note the location of dosbox executable. Usually you can find out by running type dosbox after installation, but it also depends on OS. You’ll need dosbox location for setting up 1.50 later.

Installing 1.50 patch via Launcher (recommended)

  1. Unzip the installation package anywhere OUTSIDE of your MOO2 game directory.

    1. Windows: run install-win32.exe.

    2. Linux: run ./install-linux in terminal inside unzipped directory. [1]

    3. Mac OS X: right click install-macosx and choose open. [2]

  1. You will be presented with a patch installation prompt, which should auto-detect GOG and Steam distros. If there was no auto-detection, then specify path to MOO2 game directory and path to emulator:

    1. Windows: DOSBox.exe

    2. Linux: dosbox

    3. Mac OS X: Boxer Standalone or dosbox

  2. Press Install.

  3. After reporting success MOO2 Launcher will switch to normal mode, from where you can run the game. Choose a mod & map, then press Launch! to play.

  4. On subsequent runs the MOO2 Launcher won’t prompt installation, and allows the game to start right away. To start MOO2 1.50, use the desktop shortcut created during installation.

Installing 1.50 patch manually

MOO2 Launcher runs on recent Windows, Linux and Mac OS X systems. Still it may happen that on your system it doesn’t work. In that case you can install the patch manually.

  1. Find in the 1.50 package the directory named "patch". Copy all its contents into your MOO2 directory. (So not "patch" itself, but what’s inside.) The MOO2 directory is the one that contains ORION2.EXE, it’s location may vary depending on OS and distribution. If you already have a version of 1.50 installed then choose to overwrite files.

  2. Update your DOSBox config files to run ORION150.EXE instead of ORION2.EXE.

  3. Run the game and confirm that the version number in the bottom right corner of MOO2’s Title screen is 1.50.x.

  4. Edit file 150/ENABLE.CFG manually to change enabled mods.

1. Some distros (like Ubuntu) require installation of Tcl/Tk before step 2, run: $ sudo apt-get install tcl tk
2. Tested on Mac OS X Snow Leopard. MOO2 Launcher might not work properly on newer Mac OS versions. In such case, manual install without MOO2 Launcher is still possible.