Despite my login (
), I used to and to some extent still do, have that feeling. The map isn't too bad for me. The units aren't pretty, but ya don't play it for the graphics, after all. And I do agree with a big point you made: the game is slow. Tweaking some of the options does ease the pain though.
Bottom line: Alpha Centauri caters to a different crowd than civ. If you still can't get into it, the game just isn't for you. Personally I love civ2 and smac at the same time, but for most people it's one or the other
.
Watch some babylon 5 in the meantime