Anyone else really feeling appreciative of this game's political commentary and even-handed ideological discourse nowadays. The treasure trove of quotes from this game was inspiring to say the least.
Anyone had a favorite that they remember? Or a favorite faction?
I enjoyed this game immensely, even reinstalled it on my old desktop last year for a bit. I enjoy games with multiple avenues for winning, even if they aren't equally easy to attain. I usually played as the Spartans, because sooner or later Miriam would flip her wig and attack people. I always enjoyed crushing her one city at a time. Last game, Morgan was my last opponent, as he managed to remain my ally through most of the game and didn't go crazy. The University usually gets offed quickly. The Peackeepers vary; sometimes sane, sometimes not, sometimes a quick demise, other times not so much. Alas that my Crossfire disk won't install correctly. I did enjoy being Gaian sometimes too in the old days.
Favorite game: I beat the University in about 5 turns once. They started that close to my Spartan city, I rolled a Rover in and took them out :)
I enjoyed this game immensely, even reinstalled it on my old desktop last year for a bit. I enjoy games with multiple avenues for winning, even if they aren't equally easy to attain. I usually played as the Spartans, because sooner or later Miriam would flip her wig and attack people. I always enjoyed crushing her one city at a time. Last game, Morgan was my last opponent, as he managed to remain my ally through most of the game and didn't go crazy. The University usually gets offed quickly. The Peackeepers vary; sometimes sane, sometimes not, sometimes a quick demise, other times not so much. Alas that my Crossfire disk won't install correctly. I did enjoy being Gaian sometimes too in the old days.
Favorite game: I beat the University in about 5 turns once. They started that close to my Spartan city, I rolled a Rover in and took them out :)
Got to admit while actual gameplay always felt a bit clunky especially compared to mpre recent Civ games, I did really, really love face stomping Miriam whenever she decided to go aggro. Which was pretty much always.
My favorite victory condition though was playing Morgan (aka awesome African Lex Luthor) and just cornering the global energy market.
“And when at last it is time for the transition from megacorporation to planetary government, from entrepreneur to emperor, it is then that the true genius of our strategy shall become apparent, for energy is the lifeblood of this society and when the chips are down he who controls the energy supply controls Planet. In former times the energy monopoly was called ‘The Power Company’; we intend to give this name an entirely new meaning.”
— CEO Nwabudike Morgan, “The Centauri Monopoly”
Seeing this quote always made be smile. :)
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University all the way to the transcended end!
University all the way to the transcended end!
"Man's unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Universe which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. God has not been proven not to exist, therefore he must exist."
— Academician Prokhor ZakharovOh Prokhor, you delightful cad.
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I enjoyed this game immensely, even reinstalled it on my old desktop last year for a bit. I enjoy games with multiple avenues for winning, even if they aren't equally easy to attain. I usually played as the Spartans, because sooner or later Miriam would flip her wig and attack people. I always enjoyed crushing her one city at a time. Last game, Morgan was my last opponent, as he managed to remain my ally through most of the game and didn't go crazy. The University usually gets offed quickly. The Peackeepers vary; sometimes sane, sometimes not, sometimes a quick demise, other times not so much. Alas that my Crossfire disk won't install correctly. I did enjoy being Gaian sometimes too in the old days.
Favorite game: I beat the University in about 5 turns once. They started that close to my Spartan city, I rolled a Rover in and took them out :)
Got to admit while actual gameplay always felt a bit clunky especially compared to mpre recent Civ games, I did really, really love face stomping Miriam whenever she decided to go aggro. Which was pretty much always.
My favorite victory condition though was playing Morgan (aka awesome African Lex Luthor) and just cornering the global energy market.
“And when at last it is time for the transition from megacorporation to planetary government, from entrepreneur to emperor, it is then that the true genius of our strategy shall become apparent, for energy is the lifeblood of this society and when the chips are down he who controls the energy supply controls Planet. In former times the energy monopoly was called ‘The Power Company’; we intend to give this name an entirely new meaning.”
— CEO Nwabudike Morgan, “The Centauri Monopoly”
Seeing this quote always made be smile. :)
You weren't facing African Lex Luthor; you were facing the future evil Morgan Freeman. That alone made him my favorite of the leaders, because how do you fight Morgan Freeman?
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Such a horrible, horrible game. It is so horrible that I have been playing it on and off again ever since it came out. So horrible that it is installed on my desktop, my laptop, and my Mom's computer (for when I am over there). So horrible that I have clocked over several thousand hours playing it and have several copies of the disks. So horrible that I was happy when Good Old Games started selling it. It is so horrible that I think I need to start up a new game to show you all just how horrible it is.
~grins and fades away as it boots up on the computer~
And now I spent a few hours playing Civilization: Beyond Earth... And dream of the new game that would take pieces of Alpha Centauri, Beyond Earth, and add new things to make a new greater whole.
I know Firaxis is capable of doing this... The question is do they have financial incentive to make another game beyond newest Civilization?
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You weren't facing African Lex Luthor; you were facing the future evil Morgan Freeman. That alone made him my favorite of the leaders, because how do you fight Morgan Freeman?I enjoyed this game immensely, even reinstalled it on my old desktop last year for a bit. I enjoy games with multiple avenues for winning, even if they aren't equally easy to attain. I usually played as the Spartans, because sooner or later Miriam would flip her wig and attack people. I always enjoyed crushing her one city at a time. Last game, Morgan was my last opponent, as he managed to remain my ally through most of the game and didn't go crazy. The University usually gets offed quickly. The Peackeepers vary; sometimes sane, sometimes not, sometimes a quick demise, other times not so much. Alas that my Crossfire disk won't install correctly. I did enjoy being Gaian sometimes too in the old days.
Favorite game: I beat the University in about 5 turns once. They started that close to my Spartan city, I rolled a Rover in and took them out :)
Got to admit while actual gameplay always felt a bit clunky especially compared to mpre recent Civ games, I did really, really love face stomping Miriam whenever she decided to go aggro. Which was pretty much always.
My favorite victory condition though was playing Morgan (aka awesome African Lex Luthor) and just cornering the global energy market.
“And when at last it is time for the transition from megacorporation to planetary government, from entrepreneur to emperor, it is then that the true genius of our strategy shall become apparent, for energy is the lifeblood of this society and when the chips are down he who controls the energy supply controls Planet. In former times the energy monopoly was called ‘The Power Company’; we intend to give this name an entirely new meaning.”
— CEO Nwabudike Morgan, “The Centauri Monopoly”
Seeing this quote always made be smile. :)
You don't. You just submit to his wondrous voice and buy his crappy Morgan products.
Resources exist to be consumed. And consumed they will be, if not by this generation then by some future. By what right does this forgotten future seek to deny us our birthright? None I say! Let us take what is ours, chew and eat our fill.
— CEO Nwabudike Morgan, "The Ethics of Greed"
I mean, come on. How can anyone resist that level of delicious douchebaggery.
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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My usual pick was to play University. MM, love me some science. But I also have a strange fondness for Yang and the Hive.
The tech quotes, the wonder movies - while modern 4x games may have better mechanics, the feel of Alpha Centauri was just so perfect.
Cloning Vats movie still plays vividly in my mind as the hatchery workers are cradling the baby chickens as they emerge from the eggs on the conveyor from their machine based wombs.
We shall take only the greatest minds, the finest soldiers, the most faithful servants. We shall multiply them a thousandfold and release them to usher in a new era of glory.
— Col. Corazon SantiagoSantiago always had a way of creeping me out.
It is every citizen's final duty to go into the tanks and become one with all the people.
Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Ethics for Tomorrow"
It is every citizen's final duty to go into the tanks and become one with all the people.
Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Ethics for Tomorrow"
And I thought Soylent Green was bad. Figures Alpha Centauri was able to one up it.
I love that game. So many wonderful quotes. Quite a few creepy ones as well.
I think the most difficult victory I had was with the naturalist. Starting off with "Very Green" soldiers could really get you stomped.
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Just go worm hunting early.I love that game. So many wonderful quotes. Quite a few creepy ones as well.
I think the most difficult victory I had was with the naturalist. Starting off with "Very Green" soldiers could really get you stomped.
Yeah, that doesn't always end well.
Richard Baxton piloted his Recon Rover into a fungal vortex and held off four waves of mind worms, saving an entire colony. We immediately purchased his identity manifests and repackaged him into the Recon Rover Rick character with a multi-tiered media campaign: televids, touchbooks, holos, psi-tours— the works. People need heroes. They don't need to know how he died clawing his eyes out, screaming for mercy. The real story would just hurt sales, and dampen the spirits of our customers.
— Morgan Stellartots Keynote Speech, "Mythology for Profit"
Poor bastard...
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Because of all that talk of Alpha Centauri I installed it...
Are you happy now?!
Because of all that talk of Alpha Centauri I installed it...
Are you happy now?!
I enjoyed playing as Deidre and "recruiting" my army from the local wildlife.
Military research? Who needs it? I've got psychic worms!
I started a new game of SMAC again. The original seven with me playing the University. Prince, I mean, Librarian setting. I am on an island laying out my bases in the standard BxxBxxB pattern. Miriam drops in to say hello and she "gives" me lasers and synthmetal at the price of two formers. Later on Santiago drops in to "give" me impact weapons at the price of three formers. Probe teams FTW.
I enjoyed playing as Deidre and "recruiting" my army from the local wildlife.
Military research? Who needs it? I've got psychic worms!
I do not...
Oh, wait, it's another extremely handsome red dragon.
So what are your best / worst SMAC moments?
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I always enjoyed nerve-stapling disgruntled workers in the human hive...
I have trouble with Alpha Centauri. The trouble is that crawler spam is too effective AND too tedious.
It's a great game outside of its enormous balance flaws. I wonder if there's a fan patch that fixes those.
So what are your best / worst SMAC moments?
Every time the cinematic for a defeated faction leader pops up.
The screams are beautiful.
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So what are your best / worst SMAC moments?
Every time the cinematic for a defeated faction leader pops up.
The screams were beautiful.
I started to play... Reach the transcendence, though with impression that the game is different than I remember... Random technologies, unimpressive yields from xenofungus.
...
It took me a while to get what I am missing... The installer set Alpha Centauri as a default executable file instead of Crossfire.
One letter added in the shortcut (terranx.exe instead of terran.exe) and everything is fine.
Hello, Cybernetic Consciousness!
It's a fine game, but Alpha Centauri has the sentimental and flavor bonuses to hit and damage.
Beyond Earth has a lot of great features, many of them better than Alpha Centauri (cultural development trees, much less linear tech tree, more terrain types, hexes instead of squares, special resources).
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Boy did I enjoy this game... My favorite moment was as follows:
I was the Spartan faction and was technically "at peace" with all other factions except for one, who was my direct neighbor. I had surpassed everyone technologically and was very isolationist. My borders were VERY defended, and as the world kept asking me for handouts, I was secretly building numerous Planet Busters.
So this war against the neighboring faction was long and tedious. I played an annoying back and forth as I would take their capitol and they would retake it, neither one of us holding onto it for more than a few turns. Eventually I grew tired of this tactic and pulled all of my forces back to my territory.
So, as they start to spread and retake the territory that I had abandoned, I launched a Planet Buster at their capitol. Obliterated it, of course. Now, since this was technically an "atrocity," the rest of the world immediately declared war on me.
So, as they all tried to invade my territory (they couldn't), I send Planet Busters to each of their cities. Yes, I had actually constructed enough of them to take care of every single city in the world. Thus ended the game as I pretty much turned it into Fallout: Alpha Centauri.
If our society seems more nihilistic than that of previous eras, perhaps this is simply a sign of our maturity as a sentient species. As our collective consciousness expands beyond a crucial point, we are at last ready to accept life's fundamental truth: that life's only purpose is life itself.
— Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Looking God in the Eye"
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RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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It's a fine game, but Alpha Centauri has the sentimental and flavor bonuses to hit and damage.
Beyond Earth has a lot of great features, many of them better than Alpha Centauri (cultural development trees, much less linear tech tree, more terrain types, hexes instead of squares, special resources).
My only real issues with Beyond Earth, mechanically, are that you likely won't finish the tech tree even in the easiest difficulty, and that early ships get eaten by sea monsters far too often. I don't even bother building ships before their second upgrade because they won't survive more than five turns.
I am currently playing a game deliberately restricted to domination victory, to avoid enemies finishing the game with the special ending victories before I complete the tech and cultural trees.
Ships I use very rarely, and I haven't used them much in Alpha Centauri either.
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Anyone else really feeling appreciative of this game's political commentary and even-handed ideological discourse nowadays. The treasure trove of quotes from this game was inspiring to say the least.
Anyone had a favorite that they remember? Or a favorite faction?
I still have the game installed, and I play it every now and again.
In a recent Way of the Wicked game the party founded several LE monastic orders by indoctrinating kidnapped peasant children and such, and one of them followed an ascetic-to-a-fault philosophy that borrowed heavily from Yang.
("What do I care for your suffering? Pain, even agony, is no more than information before the senses, data fed to the computer of the mind. The lesson is simple: you have received the information, now act on it. Take control of the input and you shall become master of the output.")
The game itself is good, but the quotes and lore are inspired.