New Alpha Centauri

Civmonopolis · August 25, 2003, 23:03

I love the alpha centauri games but I was just wondering if anybody had any info if they are making a new alpha centauri game.

Nubclear · August 25, 2003, 23:11

hi i also love alpha centauri games but no they arent making a new one and i hope they dont because if they do they will butcher it hey do you know where i can see beta screenshots arent you a dl or something?

Alinestra Covelia · August 26, 2003, 01:39

Don't take Tassadar seriously - he's just in a mischievous mood.

No, there aren't any sequels planned. The game was designed by Brian Reynolds, but the copyrights are owned by Firaxis Games. Ever since Reynolds left Firaxis, nobody really knows who owns the rights to Alpha Centauri.

So the game franchise will probably begin and end with SMAC, as we know it.

It's a darn good game, though - the best TBS I've seen so far.

Gufnork · August 26, 2003, 03:07

I believe Civ 3 added some very nice things, but also missed out on a lot that SMAC has. A nifty combo between the two, with some additional changes would make for the perfect TBS in my eyes.

I fear that the strengths of SMAC will be lost forever though.

BustaMike · August 26, 2003, 16:41

Quote:

Originally posted by Comrade Tassadar
hi i also love alpha centauri games but no they arent making a new one and i hope they dont because if they do they will butcher it hey do you know where i can see beta screenshots arent you a dl or something?

I guess that after about the 1000th 'will there be a SMAC 2?' post, there's really just no reason to be civil anymore. Do you know where I can see beta screen shots oh boy oh boy

.

AMD4EVER · August 26, 2003, 18:32

Still gotta admit they are fools if who ever owns the rights to this game doesn't go on to make a SMAC 2 or at least takes all of the concepts of the game and makes another game similar to SMAC out of it. Civ 3 is a far cry from this as it is just so freaking basic. It is a step way in the wrong direction. Maybe Civ 4 will be better?

Asmodean · August 27, 2003, 04:35

If there ever is a civ 4. And don't forget, with MoO3 in mind, what can happen if they try to make games too complex.

Asmodean

AMD4EVER · August 27, 2003, 10:48

All they need to do is bring AC into the 3d realm and improve the AI as well as the multiplayer platform. The game is already about as complex as it needs to be. They just need to get a smarter AI, some new factions/weapons/techs/projects and the like, and they need to make it look nicer.

AMD4EVER · August 27, 2003, 11:14

I had never heard of MoO3 before. I'm reading about it right now and it sounds pretty interesting. What is wrong with the game and is it all that similar to AC?

CEO Aaron · August 27, 2003, 12:07

There appears to be no Alpha Centauri in the works at the moment. I wasn't too excited by Brian Reynolds' last project (Rise of Nations, a rather complicated yet flavorless RTS game), and since he's working at his own company, he's unlikely to wrestle with Firaxis for the Alpha Centauri license.

Personally, I consider every change made in Civ 3 to be a change for the worse, so I'd be very dissappointed to see a SMAC 2 game which included any of Civ 3's 'innovations'.

What I'd like to see in a SMAC 2 game is a rebuild of the game with better graphics (supporting resolutions of up to 1600 x 1200 would be very nice), and some gameplay tweaks to reign in some of the more overused strategies. Choppers should have shorter range, I'm thinking 6 or even 4 squares base instead of 8. The carrier and deep pressure hulls desperately need to be moved down the tech tree, and the reactor improvements should be sprinkled through the tech tree to make a more scaled progression of reactor types

dojoboy · August 28, 2003, 18:48

It appears many of the innovative concepts in SMAC are making it into the new Civ3 expansion, Conquests.

Flubber · August 28, 2003, 19:23

Quote:

Originally posted by CEO Aaron
There appears to be no Alpha Centauri in the works at the moment. I wasn't too excited by Brian Reynolds' last project (Rise of Nations, a rather complicated yet flavorless RTS game), and since he's working at his own company, he's unlikely to wrestle with Firaxis for the Alpha Centauri license.

Personally, I consider every change made in Civ 3 to be a change for the worse, so I'd be very dissappointed to see a SMAC 2 game which included any of Civ 3's 'innovations'.

What I'd like to see in a SMAC 2 game is a rebuild of the game with better graphics (supporting resolutions of up to 1600 x 1200 would be very nice), and some gameplay tweaks to reign in some of the more overused strategies. Choppers should have shorter range, I'm thinking 6 or even 4 squares base instead of 8. The carrier and deep pressure hulls desperately need to be moved down the tech tree, and the reactor improvements should be sprinkled through the tech tree to make a more scaled progression of reactor types

All of these changes would be welcome. Smax is such a wonderful game that I really don't desire radical changes but the following would be nice

- adopt the Civ3 discussion box for trading-- The ability to actually negotiate with the AI was one of the very few things I liked from Civ3

--make it easier to see endangered squares-- a very rough map that you can toggle showing all endangered squares highlighted would be a plus

-- change the terrain raising model to allow terraformers to build dykes to protect lands-- ie maintain no elevation change and /or allow land raising of a specified amount . .. I just want a way to be able to maintain lands

-- perhaps tweak native life to make it stronger in the mid to late game and not so susceptable to artillery fire

-- reduce the power of the self-destruct trick

I particularly like your suggestion to reduce chopper power and move fusion power lower in the tree-- AS it stands, 3 level reactors are almost never used

Civmonopolis · August 28, 2003, 21:29

For whoever has played civ3 and gone to war you know that you can't use roads or railroads in your opponents territory I know that it is a set back and can get annoying sometimes but it makes it more realistic. The Romans used roads within their territory to get there faster they couldn't count on enemy roadways. Another thing that I was disapointed about civ was that the airplanes where immobile now that really sucked. I never use aircrafts in civ. Sorry for getting off topic but I had to prove a point.

Googlie · August 29, 2003, 20:44

Quote:

Originally posted by Flubber

I particularly like your suggestion to reduce chopper power and move fusion power lower in the tree-- AS it stands, 3 level reactors are almost never used

That can be accomplished right now just by editing the alpha.txt and alphax.txt files

G.

Gufnork · August 30, 2003, 07:46

There is a lot of changes I'd make to SMAC that would make it a lot better in my eyes. Some can be edited in, but that's rather pointless since the only way to play SMAC is multiplayer, the AI is simply to appalingly dumb that you can't lose on single player.

Scytale · September 8, 2003, 16:27

the germans used both french and russian infrastructure. it's absolutely normal to use enemy roads and infrastructure. it is also normal to be able to destroy infrastructure.

things I'd like to see in SMAC2 :
1) roughly the same tech tree, although the thing with the reactors bothers me too. More techs, though.

2) 3D graphics, lighting, feeling, sound. Whoever doesn't like this, he can kiss my arse or play SMAC1.

3) A ++ on AI, using latest software.

new stuff, that would make the game worthy of the name SMAC. I woz thinking like monster storyline with 3 CD's of movies, game improvements like playing on 2 planets or interacting more with space, building motherships, etc; officers on units (like in Panzer General) with special abilities, AI for governors, dynamic espionage (not only with probe teams, I mean really intelligence), even more economy and social choices (although the future societies seem kinda crappy), unique units and abilities for each social model, computer-generated splinter cells from each major faction (I never played SMAC-AC because I liked the original story too much) to make each game dynamic; inter-faction organisms (like the CHOAM in Dune) whom you have to negotiate with; the ability to strategically use Planet if you have a really high planet rating; SP's with a more intelligent impact on society (not just a number or two), etc.

The idea behind the game, as science fiction, is very good to brilliant (although common). Based on the experience and feedback from SMAC1, if the game would have all these it would beat an eventual StarCraft 2 easily.