moo2-mcp

An experiment to let an AI (via Claude) play Master of Orion 2, the 1996 DOS-era 4X strategy game, while it runs inside the DOSBox-X emulator.

Because the emulator isn't modified, the project works in two directions:

Reading game state

The game's state is read by peeking directly into the emulator's memory. Locations of interest (such as the player's treasury and other empire data) are reverse-engineered by changing one thing in-game and observing which memory bytes move. Those values are then exposed through an MCP server, so an AI can ask things like "what turn is it?" or "how much money do I have?"

Related MCP server: mcp-bizhawk

Controlling the game

The game is driven by simulating mouse clicks and keystrokes through a virtual screen (Xephyr + xdotool), since the host desktop blocks normal automation. A harness can launch the game and start a new match.

In short, this is the plumbing that lets an AI observe and eventually drive an old strategy game it otherwise can't talk to.