Comparison

Starbase Orion vs AD3000 Premium

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Starbase Orion

Engage in a deep 4X space strategy experience. Explore, expand, and conquer the galaxy by colonizing worlds, designing ships, and outmaneuvering opponents in turn-based combat. Features a robust AI and multiplayer options for galactic domination.

Highlights
  • Explore new worlds
  • Expand your empire
  • Exterminate rivals
  • Design custom ships
  • Engage in turn-based combat
  • Diplomacy and espionage
  • Multiplayer via GameCenter
Features
Read full description

"The best 4X game currently available for mobile" - PocketTactics.com "This one is geek heaven" - AppAdvice.com "Master of Orion in Your Pocket” - GamePro.com "Starbase Orion has an epic-feeling" - TouchArcade.com "Starbase Orion is here, and it's glorious." - TUAW.com Explore. Expand. Exterminate. Can you defeat your friends and become the ruler of the galaxy? Starbase Orion is an old-school 4X space strategy game that draws inspiration from titles such as Master of Orion and Galactic Civilizations. Lead your empire from the birth of its space age; colonize new worlds, explore new horizons, and discover other players attempting to do the same. It is a race to the stars where only one empire can declare victory over the galaxy. New to 4X Strategy Games? No Problem Starbase Orion includes a hand tailored tutorial mission perfect for those new to the genre. It features high-quality voice acting provided by the very talented Maurice Thomas. Aged like a Fine Wine With nearly a five year life span the dedicated community of Starbase Orion players and the developer have produced twenty-four fantastic updates. Each update has introduced new features and player suggested functionality to make the game better, more strategic, and more immersive. Strong Single-Player Experience Compete against a battle-tested artificial intelligence. Our AI was derived from our entry into to 2010 Google AI contest, where it placed in the top 15% of thousands of competing intelligences. Go head-to-head against a single AI opponent, or ramp up the carnage with a 4 way free-for-all. GameCenter Multiplayer Turn-Based Games Starbase Orion was designed to provide a fantastic multiplayer experience. Launch the game, sign into GameCenter, and start a new multiplayer game. No need to coordinate play times or seek out other players. Just go play, when you want and on your terms. Choose Your Race, Or Create Your Own There are five uniques races included; Human, Draske, Vass, Cyban, and Isather. You can also create your own custom race by picking and choosing between different race characteristics. Intense Space Combat Design your ships from a variety of weapons, hull, and systems. Send them into battle against the enemy. Give them orders, then watch the battle in unfold as they duke it out in the dark expanses of space. Diplomacy, Espionage, Free Agents Direct confrontations not your cup of tea? Negotiate your way to victory through diplomatic endeavors. Confound your enemies with an army of spies. Contract one of the many power and unique leaders to help you to victory. iCloud Support Starbase Orion is built from the ground up for iOS 5. It supports iCloud so that your saved games are instantly available on all of your devices. Start a game at home on your iPad, then pick it up again the next day on your iPhone. Simple, streamlined, fantastic. Universal - You Bought the Cool Gadgets, Go Play on Them Full support for iPad, iPhone, iPod, standard and Retina displays. Play when you want, where you want. Guaranteed Pricing While it is quite common for apps to become “free for a day”, Starbase Orion is not one of those apps. The standard price for Starbase Orion is $7.99 USD; it will never run a “free for a day” campaign. Tens of thousands of players have placed their confidence in us by purchasing Starbase Orion, and this is our guarantee to you. Guaranteed Free Updates We have a lot more planned for Starbase Orion. We plan to release all updates for free, without any hidden fees or In-App Purchases.

About

AD3000 Premium

Experience uninterrupted gameplay with this premium version of an exploration game. Enjoy full access to all features and play offline without any advertisements.

Highlights
  • Ad-free experience
  • Full access
  • Offline play
  • Premium version
Features
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Premium version of AD3000 with full access, no ads, and offline play. Build a galactic empire in Empire Mode, or captain your own starship in Captain Mode. New to AD3000? Try the ad-supported AD3000: Space Odyssey to experience the same core gameplay before choosing Premium.

Screenshots

Starbase Orion4 screens
AD3000 Premium3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Starbase Orion at 329 against AD3000 Premium's 3. Starbase Orion also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 60%) and iOS requirement (11.2 vs 15.0). AD3000 Premium's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and price ($3.99 vs $7.99). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Starbase Orion costs $7.99 and AD3000 Premium $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Starbase Orion against 4.7 for AD3000 Premium. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starbase Orion has 329 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Starbase Orion's written reviews are positive against 60% of AD3000 Premium's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, AD3000 Premium every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Starbase Orion versus AD3000 Premium: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarbase OrionAD3000 Premium
Price$7.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.7 (329 ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.3% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings329 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.2 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size239 MB344 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperChimera Software, LLCJianfeng Wu

Customer experience

Starbase Orion

All ratings329 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral4.9%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews316 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative11.7%

AD3000 Premium

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

Bugs and requests

Starbase Orion

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes and save file corruption
  • UI issues with overlapping text and unresponsive controls
  • Multiplayer matchmaking and connectivity problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • More ship classes and customization options
  • Expanded tech tree and research system
  • Deeper diplomacy and espionage mechanics
  • Manual control of ship combat
  • Improved end-game content and victory conditions

AD3000 Premium

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Starbase Orion

No in-app purchases

None

AD3000 Premium

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Starbase Orion free?
Starbase Orion costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AD3000 Premium free?
AD3000 Premium costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starbase Orion or AD3000 Premium?
AD3000 Premium is rated higher. Starbase Orion averages 4.7 out of 5 from 329 ratings, while AD3000 Premium averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Starbase Orion or AD3000 Premium have ads?
Neither Starbase Orion nor AD3000 Premium shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starbase Orion or AD3000 Premium?
Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, and AD3000 Premium every 3 weeks. Most recently, Starbase Orion was updated on October 22, 2026 and AD3000 Premium on October 17, 2026.

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