Added: 5 years ago
From: matsku84
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  • As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.

  • Fireaxis have just announced they are making a strategy, turn-based "re-imagined" X-Com Enemy Unknown! Due in the Fall 2012! Check Gameinformers (via Google) for lots of info!

  • please don't go..the drones need you...they look up to you...

  • Some of the videos taken in game come from the documentary film "Baraka" (1992), really awesome, if I can suggest. If you know from where other sources come, please tell us, I'm very curious about from where they came from :3

  • They need to remake this game if only to give it updated graphics. :D

  • I still play this game. I'm 16 too, I didn't have a chance to play it when it was still new, but I still find it amazing when I play it now.

  • This game was near perfect, one of those games that's game play was so solid, and whose atmosphere was so haunting that poor graphics don't tarnish it a bit. This game is really an ageless classic, and any fan of strategy cannot call themselves a fan without playing it.

  • This game is overdue for a remake - I'd grab it up in a nanosecond, played the hell out of the original.

  • If this game was updated with modern graphics, and it was given some other gameplay improvements and balance corrections, please let me know what that game is called BECAUSE I WOULD BUY IT IMMEDIATELY.

  • One of the greatest games ever created.

  • This game was one of the most influential things in my childhood. I honestly have to contribute much of who i am today to this game. Makes me sad no one knows about it.

  • Imagine the entire contents of the planetary datalinks, the sum total of human knowledge, blasted into the Planetmind's fragile neural network with the full power of every reactor on the planet. Thousands of years of civilization compressed into a single searing burst of revelation. That is our last-ditch attempt to win humanity a reprieve from extinction at the hands of an awakening alien god.

  • I hope that EA doesn't remake this classic. If anyone can ruin a game sequel, it's them.

    A sequel is out of the question. All that should be done is a graphics update. An "Alpha Centauri 2013" so to speak.

    Or, if there is a new Sid Meier out there, make this game again, but put the same time, effort, research, and polish into this game that came with the original. The gameplay, backstory, and little details is what truly sold every Alpha Centauri fan. On top of the seamless turn based gameplay.

  • if only Loki Games had not closed down..... I wants my Linux version of this game!!!! D:<

  • Is the flashing behind the ship at 1:39 just the ships engine, or is it a thermonuclear war on the surface of the Earth? Hard to tell...

  • @AspiringPotato I doubt it was a thermonuclear war.... the alpha centuari project was this sort of benign goal to preserve the human race; I think the future of earth was left as far more odious. It is mentioned in the game that they lose contact with earth, and it implies that earth probably did turn to shit finally over war...

  • @AspiringPotato Those would be some massive nukes...

  • in the grim darkness of the future there is only war

  • it has the crapyiest in-game graphics but has the best and sickest storyline and cut scenes :P

  • @SFXKID210 and great gameplay as well. they dont make em like this anymore..

  • Out of curiosity...does this game have a unit called "Brain worms" or something similar?

    I think this might be what my uncle played years ago and I'm really interested in it now :D

  • @Kevooi mindworms

  • @TheSutenkh Shit, that's right! Thanks a bunch, man! Are they some sort of indigenous lifeforms?

  • @Kevooi yeah pretty much, they live in the Xenofungus and attack by stunning you, before burrowing into your brain and planting larva which devour your brain and you die a horrible death from ;) Dangerous when they attack in groups, they also vary in size and danger from incredibly weak hatchling to awesome demon boil (elite status)..You can even capture them, breed them and use them as weapons if you have the knowledge.

  • is this available on steam

    

  • for anyone that doesn't know, the game is available on gog.com for $5.99

  • I like terminator music :D

    

  • please dont go....the drones need you

  • @StartledSloth They look up to you.

  • @StartledSloth Yes, that's an order mister!

  • old game but so much fun. couple of problems but what ya expected for a game so old :P

  • Watching this intro to this game really makes you think about human history and kind of leaves you wondering, what will happen?

  • @GondorSwordman "War. War never changes." - Option 1 ;)

  • I think they should make an updated game, they remake all the other games why not this one

  • @LordEarth69 probably because this game was made at a time when developers didn't assume we all had ADD and liked depth and detail in games..

  • Whoever skipped this game missed the best of Sid Meier's.

  • @greymval except that it was made by Brian Reynolds

  • Alpha centauri made sense ( leaders not aging & dying cause of technology) - unlike the Civs from different eras and perenal. Also it was congruent : you were in a sci-fi war, not ancient/medieval/modern/sci-fi­. Water bases, advanced terraforming, alien lifeforms, all this was awesome!!! But the best stuff were the data links and the smart quotes of the leaders of AC. I wished they could make a new improved graphics AC but with the same backbone and passion.

  • This is composed of clips from the movie Baraka. Did anyone else notice that?

  • @cteague1222 Actually yes, fits the game perfectly.

  • I remember playing this game endlessly in college. It really caught my attention due to how ideology, not nationality or ethnicity, could divide us and show how different we all are. My favorite was Sheng Ji Yang's Hive faction. I sorta agreed with many of the quotes, too, especially how pointless it is to refuse genetic modification or cybernetics, and how we are all chemical processes, and nothing more.

  • game is still ahead of the time

  • @jaybee123100 So F***ing true... Want a sequel...:(

  • @jaybee123100 No crap, it's set in the 22nd Century! ;)

  • will this work with vista

  • @jaybee123100 Yes. I got it working after a few tries. Look for the download by THE FEDERATION. Also remember to get the expansion with it. The expansion is AWESOME! Apparently they stopped producing it and its on ebay for like 150$!!! good thing can just download it.

  • Alpha Centauri is THE perfect game. So much detail into everything. It doesnt need a sequel, i keep finding new stuff with every replay I do!

  • I still play it.

    I love the story of a new start for the mankind and the conflict among the different ideologies. No other strategy game satisfy me more than Alpha Centauri.

  • Dammit why is Firaxis pumping out "Civilization" games with the same fucking tech tree i know for the last 10 years i want AC 2 dammit i want my needlejets nerve gassing those pesky "Believers"

  • @PanterausfG I hate that fundementalist psycho too but nerve gas!!! Thats an Atrocity! *Swears pact of brotherhood with Brother Lal and shares all tech for the sake of humanity.

  • This game was pretty hard to beat at first, but I got used to it. When I use the University, I get all my techs up to speed but then miss Miriam the Bible cruncher beats me up for being too scientific. Time for the Planet buster boys. hahahahahaha!!!!

  • Screw over 9000. This is over 90000

  • does anybody know where i could buy/download this without buying a disk? i wouldent mind paying but if i could get it for free that would be better thanks.

  • @asincourt Torrent it. I doubt your computer would even run a disk of this game anyways.

  • i always played and pwned as the spartans. since i have alien crossfire i find myself playing the pirates.

  • @jbecker8082 a pitty there does not seem to be an online gaming community for this game.... I heard it is possible to set-up multi-player overthe internet ? now... that would be some major fun.

  • You know, when I first played Alpha Centauri as a kid and saw the intro, I though "bah, an environmental catastrophe sucks as 'the end of the world' scenario."

    Now, 11 years later, I have this uneasy feeling there may be something to it. The trouble is, we don't have the Unity spaceship to save at least a few thousand. Well, the game says things really went down the toilet on Earth by about 2040. This gives us 30... uhm, 29 years to do something...

  • @Winner8501 "We" do have the Unity ships you just aren't on the list :P

  • Does anybody else think of Call to Power and Alpha Centauri as kind of parallel stories? Like Call to Power is what's happening on earth while civilization develops on Alpha Centauri.

  • @k28xl

    No, because when you achieve a victory in Alpha Centauri, the ending interlude says that no transmissions from Earth could be heard, which makes you assume everybody died on Earth.

  • @EvilViolencePerson Well yes but if you play Call to Power you're making advances that are basically parallel to Alpha Centauri.

  • why would anyone not join Lady Skye? She was obviously the sexist

  • I think i buy this game, althoug it's from '99, but there probably won't come a alpha centauri 2 :(

    But must feeld really strange to play a game with such old graphics xD

  • @Silentium92

    Can't believe Firaxis never made a sequel to this. Or at least kept the diplomacy / unit designing concept.

  • Sid meier likes Alpha Centauri too much :)

  • Nobody knows about this game anymore... best turn based game ever. I wish they'd stop Civ and make a sequel to this !

  • @iAmDeathSpank Nobody knows about this anymore? There's an Alpha Centauri mod for every Civ game since. People still love it.

  • @iAmDeathSpank Word! after civ V havent we had enough expansions Civ yet? i just hope if they make a new Smac they dont water down the story line for shock value :(

  • @iAmDeathSpank um, they did.

  • @iAmDeathSpank They actually. EA has just registered some Alpha Centauri trademarks, including one for a online service and one for computer game software.

  • @LoerdNoerd Yeah i saw that on IGN, or it may have been GameInformer.... or Gamespot... one of those sites lol

  • @iAmDeathSpank They just trademarked it again so it means they are making a sequel!

  • @CrimsonsDeath12 Holy shit are you serious!? My god, I've been waiting a decade for even the slightest hope of a sequel. This is the most intelligent game ever made.

  • @McSqueaky

    I'd be very careful with such wishes. I wanted one for Evil Genius myself, and got one... on Facebook.

    MONKEY PAAAAAWWWW!!

  • @CrimsonsDeath12

    To you have any links or something where I can read about it?

  • @Illyrien wwwDOTgamespotDOTcom/pc/strate­gy/sidmeiersalphacentauri/news­/6328448/ea-seeking-alpha-cent­auri-trademark

  • @iAmDeathSpank agree civ is just too "normal" i want something more

  • @iAmDeathSpank eventualy they'll run out of ideas cause civ 5 is like civ 4 but with prettier graphics, in the end when they'll have no more ideas they'll look back to this game and maybe say "hey lets make an alpha centauri sequel with 2011 computer graphics".... that would be awesome :)

  • @warbossgrotsmasha23 I agree, I've never played this game before, and I might pick it up but I'd love to see it re-mastered with today's technology.

  • @iAmDeathSpank I had a chance the lead PR guy of Civ 5 about that PAX a while back. He said that they don't actually own the IP to Alpha Centauri so they can't make a new one.

  • It's like the Enterprise intro, but without Rod Stewart.

  • I was just thinking about how much I wanted to play an RTS space game... and I was wishing it was like Sid Meiers Civilization... imagine my surprise!!!! Hells yeah!

  • Back when games assumed you were intelligent not dumb. Shame everything is true in this video about civilization except the leaving Earth part..... God only knows where we are going on this lonely planet.

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  • the real sequel to Civ 2. I didnt like civ 3 or Call to power they just bored me after playing this. never played 4 and wont be playing 5. cant go back to using swords and spears when u got planet busters and all this high tech stuff! and I bet the diplomacy stuff in the new Civs still isnt any match for AC.

  • @dageezerboi

    You're right about the diplomacy. In Civ everyone feels like every other leader but with different graphics. Civ 4 was good. Civ 5 feels like a big step backwards... Civ 5 advisor: "We should make a worker and work the tiles near city x" ...yeah no shit... O_o

    "You! You destroyed our city you... bad person!" - (5 turns later) - "Hello old friend, what can we do for you today?" - (Eh what? Weren't you angry a min ago?)

  • @Ander01SE And of course, the random: "WE HAAAAAAATE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

  • @dageezerboi true regarding inferior diplomacy in the newer civs

  • I know the intro video says the crew splits into 7 factions, but there area actually 8- one of the pods explodes before planetfall if you notice..

  • @StormAngel13 I can't quite remember the details of the storyline, but I believe it was supposed to be Captain Garland's pod. I know that Garland's assassination was meant to be a driving undertone for a subplot of subterfuge and conspiracy: which of the factions was capable of undermining the ideal of the UN mission... There was a lesson in that story, any of them could have. They brought their misgivings with them, and Planet would be their only hope for salvation in transcendence.

  • @rbellev Although I find it quite ironic that they awaken Planet early through ravaging it... I still dont understand though how some people managed to awaken from cryosleep before most of the core crew (Lal's story fragment from the manual would point to that,if i remember correctly). Its also a shame that they havent transferred some of the great ideas they had in Alpha Centauri over to the normal Civ series (like unit modular design or sea bases),or made an expansion yet.

  • wow I want to play this game again so bad, I haven't seen this intro in years.

  • the Indian fakir at 1:11 is praying for the colony ship. I think that's cool that he can focus on that and not the nuclear holocaust/environmental catastrophe etc tearing up Earth!

  • who knew stock footage could look so good!

  • @stonem001 almost all the 'stock footage' used in the cutscenes came from one film from the mid nineties called Baraka. If you like the tone of SMAC, you might want to check it out (it's a film with no plot or dialogue as such, so it won't be to everyne's tastes)

  • @EarthTremor

    I love Baraka! Actually, the footage from this intro doesn't seem to be from Baraka? I know the secret projects use it often...

    Any other suggestions for similar-in-tone-to-SMAC books/movies?

  • @stonem001 ahh, you're right, only about 15 seconds of baraka was used in this clip. As for other films I'm not sure... Fricke is working on a sequel to Baraka, and some of his earlier work like Chronos is good. If i recall correctly the manual for SMAC had some great reading suggestions.

  • Anyone that wants to see a Alpha Centauri 2 show go to the 2k games techincal support page and report a problem and say "MAKE ALPHA CENTAURI 2! DO IT!" If enough people do it they will have to notice.

  • Still my favourite Civ-related game ever, and one of the older games I still play for extended periods of time. I think this game is one of the best there is.

    Werther you can enjoy it or not depends on your tastes I guess. Not everyone enjoys this kind of game. (Incidentally, its also the only Turn Based game I play XD)

  • this game kicks so much ass... I love this intro video

  • God I've played this game so much over the years. I've never liked any strategy or Civ-like game as much as this. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is sooo good.

  • this is the real fucking game not UO pvp mvp and GOD WINS YOU FUCKING BITCHES

  • Man I love getting high and playing this game

  • SID MEIERS PANDORA HAS JUST NOW BEEN RELEASED IT IS THE SHIT

  • the best civ by far

  • I played it a lot years ago, forgot about it for years. Started playing it again about a year ago. Its amazing going back to it, usually i'd play very similar strategies using the factions that best fit my style. It made the game a lot more interesting to try out different strategies from different factions. Though i felt bad the time i decided to just start committing mass genocide.... :p but i died laughing when my actions caused other nations to put sanctions on me, just like real life.

  • This is my favorite game ever. I've played it so many times; definitely got my money's worth for it and the Alien Crossfire expansion. I basically keep an old Mac OS 9 Mac around to play it; it no longer runs under the latest Mac OS X, even with the unofficial Carbon-patch installed (and it was a bit flakey running that way anyways). I like that the starting scenario is basically the spaceship that launches when you win the Civilization games; so it's really "Civilization: Part Two."

  • Take a look a this NASA plans to travel to Alpha centauri

    on Wikipedia

    Project Longshot

  • Excellent! One of the BEST strategy games ever. I haven't found a game as enjoyable since Battle Realms!

    btw, GO SISTER MIRIAM!

  • @JustOneMoreChild Miriam??? Pshhhh!!! No tech research for 10 turns sucks, but if you get your shiz in line fast you pretty effing good. I've won a few games with her. But my overall fav is the University. Wins are almost always by Planet Busters.

  • @DeniseStCroix As I've written elsewhere, it is absolutely cathartic when I transcend with the Lord's Believers. Also stated elsewhere, if I start next to University the game's pretty much mine.

    "You said you wanted proof of God Zakharov, well WE'RE the ones transcending, beat THAT."

    -Sister Miriam Godwinson, Upon Transcendence with Planet: Miriam's Arguement From Miracles (well, it sure is a Miracle)

  • @JustOneMoreChild I've not done Transcendence wins often, but in the game I just "finished" I did. I'm currently Supreme Ruler and no one will talk to me. Trying to get them to turn on me so I can dominate.

  • This game is epic, worth finding and playing. Great story, great gameplay. So many great details that even the modern tbs games lack.

  • EPIC 90s COOLNESS

  • I was trying to think of examples of works of art in video games earlier. Couldn't think of a better one than this.

    I started playing this game expecting absolutely nothing from it, since it was a present from my little sister who knows nothing about games & I had not played civilizations. Needless to say I was fucking shocked.

  • best game from Sid. 3D terrain !!! <3 !!

  • Amazing game, might start playing it again. Is there anywhere I could download X-Fire?

  • Earth 2060: A small group of colonists leaves the ravages of stock footage for distant CGI orbiting Alpha Centauri's primary star...

  • @TheOneUntakenName

    Yeah, kind of - but it was cool at the time :D

  • Even though the intro narration says "divided not by nationality", the faction leaders as well as the names of their assistants and cities do actually follow "national" patterns. Zakharov represents "Russia", Yang "East Asia" and so on.

  • Superb game. And a story up there with the best of sci-fi.

  • i still play this game. I like it better than civ 4.

  • @frablak it is better then civ 4, i played civ 1..4, colanization 1, civ call to power, alpha centaury, so i can tell, the one game witch bring the most to this genre is this game

  • when u hear the name Sid Meier u think that is french guy with a blue cape,captain crunch hat and Napoleon Bonaparte clothes

  • @ruckulf yeh blizzard have been satisfying customers with almost constant new updates with new features and tweaks to make gameplay better. with franchises like nba 2k i found that when i got 2k8 it was awesome with drafts and injuries loaded into the game everytime i went on. but when 2k9 came out it seemed as if they didnt give a shit about 2k8 owners. so now i have 2k10 just for the luxury of having those extra updates but now i wonder if that was a smart choice because of 2k11 long comment!!

  • @will300071

    Publishers don't care about you only your money. Same can be said of developers but they try to make a game you will enjoy too.

  • The future has been shown......

  • YANG FTW

  • is this the real intro?

  • yes it is

  • brilliant and creative emersive and engrossing ,what a great escape this game was.

  • yeh! it because they actually had class and effort put into games back then. now its like "hey ma, im gonna kill myself some japanese"

  • This game would be great if remade =D

  • I'll go with Deirdre Skye.

    Great game. I should reinstall it again some day.

    Read the short story "Journy to Centauri". A must for every SMAC fan.

  • How do you get the movies playing fullscreen?

  • But in the story the Unity was poorly designed and rusted in production. It was more of a PR tool for the UN instead of a real colonization attempt. Most of the ship's designers (other than Zakharov and Morgan) didn't even want to get on board.

    In one of the background novels it was said that it is a miracle the ship even made it to the Alpha Centauri system in one piece.

  • @combatdstar thanks :)

  • does anyone here play online mutliplayer? I'd love a real opponent! pm if you want to

  • Make a sequel already!

    So tied of Civilization xyz sequels.

    This game is so much more fun! It was ahead of its time in predicting many things.

    This is not being made due to some stupid Intellectual Property Dispute.

    Also Brain Reynolds was as much responsible for Alpha Centauri as Cid. Thanks for posting.

  • One of, if not the, best games I've ever played.

  • @RMcDChannel yes, definatley even the intro is badass.

  • Sid Meier was ahead of his time when he made this game

  • @Solenor92 This. When I first played it, I felt it was a terrible game, despite liking his other Turn Based Strategy games. Looking back, I can see its appeal.

  • best game ever . I would choose Morgans because free market economy is just awesome!

  • @Ajax17x

    Me too! I am a hardcore capitalist and I just love quotes from Morgan. In most of my playthoughs I either play as the Morgans or the Peacekeepers because they are the closest to my own political philosophy.

    But I think Sid is bias against capitalism since most of the games he designed shows it in a negative light compared to environmentalism or even socialism.

    I hope someone would makes a capitalist mod! :)

  • It's entirely possible that this was just done for a small dose of realism. A shortsighted economic model based on the free market and immediate profit could almost certainly never enable a civilization to become spacefaring.

  • I haven't played SMAC in years, been playing Civ Revolution on 360 till box died. I've been nearly heart broken for a few days now unable to locate my game disk. Hope to be able to lead my Hive to a victory soon again.

  • I love this game so much T_T

  • it'd take toooo long, the crew would be all dead by the time they got there. also, Alpha Centauri is system of three stars - Proxima, Alpha, and Beta Centauri - it's most unlikely there'll be stable planet orbiting between these stars. but, who knows ;) maybe we'll discover how to use Einstein-Rosen bridges, or some other way to travel faster in space?

  • That's why they were frozen.

  • there is something called cryo-sleep.

  • i always chose university , the game is awesome.

  • @excl0213 university ftw!! research first then global domination >:D

  • This game is perfect, it has so much contained within it, it is said to see it over-looked so much nowadays.

  • yeh I think I learned to deal with people and cjiefs of tribes and of stated XD playing this game XD LOL

  • Playing a game... you know you can't quit until it's done.

  • whats cool is that this takes place right after civillizian revolution

  • It takes place after the space victory of every Civ game.

  • yup :p

  • Is this game like Civ?

  • Yep. Like Civ 3. It was made by the guy who made the Civ franchise.

  • Not exactly, it was only produced by Sid Meier.

  • It says Sid Meier`s Alpha Centauri.

  • Because that is a recognizable brand name that will make people buy the game even though Sid was only the producer. Same thing with Sid Meier's Civilization 4... the main designer wasnt Sid Meier but instead Soren Johnson. Civ 4 would have sold A LOT less if it was called "Soren Johnson's Civilization IV".

  • Isnt that like.... one step away from plagiarism?

  • Not if Sid permitted the use of his name.

  • @matsku84 And Sid did work on the project.

  • Cabbage!

  • For everybody who's seriously into AC: try overlaying this vid with john parr's st. elmo's fire (just play both vids simultaneously)

  • what, why???

  • DUDE!!!!

    how did you realize this?

    It sincs so well