Rediscovering SMAC

geniemalin · December 26, 2003, 09:42

After a while of playing C3C I was getting bored and missing my design workshop and social engineering screen, so decided to go back to Alpha Centauri.

I'm having so much fun. Economic victory as the cowardly wealth-grubbing Morganites, mind-worm conquest as a Green Fundamentalist Deirdre, drop-probe warfare as Miriam...

What an opportunity they missed in Civ3 to learn from AC! What a chance for BR to step up to the plate and give us SMAC2 !

Alex · December 26, 2003, 13:35

Indeed.

Capt Dizle · December 28, 2003, 00:31

The current stable of hacks at Firaxis wouldn't recognize a good game if you shoved it up their kazoos.

With Civ3 they tried to make a game wherein the AI would be competitive with the human player and ended up with a game that has as much charisma as 10100101010010010101100101100011000100010010100001 0101101010100100101000001010011110010101
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Enigma_Nova · December 28, 2003, 01:01

Are Firaxis so low, or do they just realise that many people are so gullible?

Jamski · December 28, 2003, 11:20

Both. They go together.

-Jam

Ned · December 28, 2003, 11:57

SMACx is STILL my favorite game. It has its flaws, but it is definitely fun to play.

vee4473 · December 28, 2003, 14:06

smac/x is awesome

Illuminatus · December 28, 2003, 15:07

SMAX 2 would be a great game if the Big Huge Games would do it, without Sid Meir so that stupid culture model or AI on the level of a dead sea sponge would not appear. He proved with Civ 3 that each new good idea was followed by two awfull ones. Even if Brian is talked into it this there is another problem:
Sid Meir`s Alpha Centauri,
not
Brian Reynolds Alpha Centauri,
so copyright would be hurt.
Remember the Civ:CtP trial saga.
I bet that Sid would sue BHG if they started a sequel, even if Sid gave only his name to original SMAC/SMAX.
After all it is a BRIAN REYNOLDS design.

No matter, we can still dream about sequel while playing SMAC/X.

Alex · December 28, 2003, 17:03

did you really typed all those numbers, jt? you were really bored, weren't you?

Impaler[WrG] · December 29, 2003, 05:37

Just call it

"Brian Reynolds Alpha Centuari 2"

Sub title

"A Brian Reynolds Design, like DUUU"

We can then call the game BRAC2 and the inevitable expantions BRAC2X.

Just cut that hack Sid out of the thing entirly, Sid dosen't even own the right if I am correct. They belong to the original publishing company not Firaxis. Who ever owns them it probly wont be hugly dificult to get the rights, these games are quite a nitch market to be honest and who else could they sell it to? Brian could make plenty of sucessfull game without the AC name, if he chosse to persue a sequal it would be as a return to more traditional TBSGs after his work in more experimental game modes like RON.

Jamski · December 29, 2003, 09:49

I'd be proud to own a copy of BRAC2 and BRAX2

-Jam

Lazerus · December 29, 2003, 12:22

Aslong as they don't screw it up, i'd prefer to dream of a golden game then be given a crappy one.

VitalyB · December 29, 2003, 17:45

That reminds me that for a VERY long time (9th - 10th grades) I was sure that "Designed by Bryan Reynolds" means that he designed the main menu of the game or at most the graphics.

I just couldn't figure out what this Bryan's doing on the main screen under the giant "Sid Meyer" letters.

Illuminatus · December 30, 2003, 14:54

Quote:

Originally posted by VitalyB
That reminds me that for a VERY long time (9th - 10th grades) I was sure that "Designed by Bryan Reynolds" means that he designed the main menu of the game or at most the graphics.

I just couldn't figure out what this Bryan's doing on the main screen under the giant "Sid Meyer" letters.

See - power of marketing

And even if virtually all the good stuff in SMAC/X are his work, people think that he designed the menu (no offense VitalyB)
No wonder he started up his own company.

The Mad Monk · December 30, 2003, 17:40

If SMAC2 were the exact same as SMAX, the sole exception being the ability to have sixteen (or more) factions playing at the same time, would you buy it?

I would.

Mr. President · December 30, 2003, 21:46

Possibly.

Depends what sort of new features were going to be added. I would like new diplomatic features.

Jamski · December 30, 2003, 21:49

I would get it, as long as the AI was just SLIGHTLY tweaked to be less agressive. Imagine the sxteen-a-side wars......

-Jam

VitalyB · December 31, 2003, 13:51

The thing I long most in SMAC 2/expansion/hack is, of course, more diplomacy options, especially more counsil resolutions. I would be certain to buy such if it was released

.

Frankychan · December 31, 2003, 15:33

Sounds good. BUT GIVE ME YANG, DAMMIT!!!

More diplomatic options would kick arse.

Enigma_Nova · January 1, 2004, 03:33

Infinite factions would OWN.
We could have a polywide attack frenzy!

Diplomacy would be good, and I'd also like tactical modifiers on some of the units, beyond AAA and artillery.

VetLegion · January 2, 2004, 16:47

I played some SMAC not long ago too, you could call it rediscovering since I never played much of it before. Game has this certain "we sat down and thought about this" feel to it.

Alinestra Covelia · January 6, 2004, 18:25

I think perhaps I'm not asking the best sample of people, but with all the add ons, is Civ3 a decent game in its own right now? I got the original in China (with strangely non-MaoZeDong Chinese leader) but that won't accept patches. If I could be convinced that the later mods made the game worth it, I might buy them some time down the line.

While we're at it, what would be a decent price to pay?

Mr. President · January 6, 2004, 18:48

I've heard good things about Civ3 with add-ons. (It's one of those games that polarizes. You love it or you hate it.)

As for prices . . . I'm really not sure. I think the original might now be under $50 here in Australia, with the price for Conquests etc. slightly higher.

Ogie Oglethorpe · January 6, 2004, 19:58

I was reluctant to go any further with my CIV3 experience. I was just too philosphically opposed to the direction Firaxis was going with the TBS genre and thought too many of the Civ3ers were drinking the punch.

Bella Hella · January 7, 2004, 11:43

no matter how much i get into other games, i always return to SMAX.

i'm on a total binge right now. that is all.

Alinestra Covelia · January 7, 2004, 15:55

Actually, I'm trying to get a game of Civ2 off the ground set in the real world between human players. My brother was the one who first suggested the idea.

The game is going to be turn based but many of the moves will be pen-and-paper type secret commands, a la Diplomacy. One player will have to be the referee and will play the United States (this player will not get to make diplomacy style decisions - these will be randomly generated for him each turn and he then plays the resultant commands to the best of his ability) as well as implementing "cheat" commands using the hex editor to simulate trade agreements, military unit sales, science exchanges, etc.

The other nations involved would include Russia, China, India, the EU, and two neutral nations (Islamic Neutrals and Democratic Neutrals).

Part of the fun would be that the most powerful nation in the game would have an agenda that changes randomly every so often. THere could even be a randomizer that causes this nation to designate a particular city as being part of the "Axis of Barbarians" and then declaring war on it after making it a Barbarian city in the hex editor.

So far this hasn't happened to Canada but who knows.