Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Secret Project: The Hunter-Seeker Algorithm

[Uberskull]

A well calculated move... straight out of Sun Tzu's ancient text, 'The Art of War.' Or my own master work, 'Uberskull's Big Book of War.'

[PantsuGirl]

Respect to Sun Tzu, they know of him even on other planets =)

[MarciCow]

By the way, this quote from "Art of Wars" is basically about the way guerrillas/terrorists operate. They are formless, which means no centralized leadership, easy to re-organize, can spread fast and form solid blocks at random wherever a weakness is detected. Unless you have a society completely surveyed by technology, guerrillas/terrorist cells are basically unbeatable once they manage to be popular enough.

[MarciCow]

One of the best things about SMAC is how _erudite_ the game is. Nothing is pulled from a vacuum, and even the wonder movies are references to actual movies --or clips from them. Many (if not most) of the "future projects" are stuff that is not just plausible, but likely.

[donkwich]

Anti-haxor project

[TomeOfBattle]

In Alpha Centauri's late game, you CAN actually achieve formless military deployment, if you have psi-gates in all your bases, or at least, the critical ones. Just teleport over any forces you need close to the front lines. As long as you can achieve overwhelming firepower and numbers wherever you need, I'd call that mission accomplished.

[JohnATallon]

@TomeOfBattle On a continent you can achieve the same for your land-based units with a good mag-lev network. That comes a little sooner than psi-gates, though it takes more time to set up.

[TomeOfBattle]

Military deployment LIKE A BOSS! My favorite all-time project movie.

[7255202]

art of war seemed like common sense tactics when i read it. w/e

[EarthTremor]

@7255202 Yeah, Sun Tzu is often given more credit than he is due. It's not even certain he wrote the Art of War any more than Pythagoras invented the Pythagorean Theorum.

[Alathaea]

@EarthTremor I personally choose to believe we give Sun Tzu so much credit because our butchering of his name in English pronounciation makes it sound awesome.

[gamenode]

This age old wisdom is being used right now in the London Riots 2011.

[akinkhoo]

his name is not Sun Tzu and it is not even pronounce that way. lost in translation.

[mrhnm]

The art of war is good stuff, I wish I could find my copy and read it again.

[Spiritplumber]

YOU GOT TRON IN MY SMAC

YOU GOT SMAC IN MY TRON

[thetyler101]

@Spiritplumber AAwwww!!  That tastes terrible!!

[Rider339]

I refuse point blank to attack Morgan without this SP. HE KEEPS BLOODY MIND CONTROLLLING MY CITIES.

[EarthTremor]

It's questionable if 'Sun Tzu' ever actually existed. If he did, he was a twisted sucker.

[mlarosa25]

@EarthTremor if he existed, he was someone completely tuned into warfare and how to wage it successfully

[EarthTremor]

@mlarosa25 Perhaps, but he also would have been a psychopath. You might not want SunTzu as your general when he starts executing his own troops to improve morale.

[mlarosa25]

@mlarosa25 it wasnt just sun tzu who did that throughout history, and if the stories concerning sun tzu are to be believed the reason it was done, was because the army in question had serious lack of discipline, which would would have led to being defeated on the battlefield which would be even worse for morale, the roman general who successfully defeated spartacus and army of former gladiators, instituted "decimation" on his own troops because they ran, later spartacus was defeated : /

[Ander01SE]

@EarthTremor

Most of his' reasoning holds true even today. If someone even remembers a word you've said 2500 years from now then I guess we can consider your post. Until then I guess we'll just refer to you as an even more "twisted sucker". O_o

[Dooby143]

God damn, I can't go a game without this project lol. It's just so nice having it and not having to look over your shoulder all the god damn time with even ally probe teams >_<

[moksheebs]

Sun Tzu - The REAL God of War.

[enantiomer2000]

This game so rocked.

[GuestStar26]

Works fine for me. "Sun-Tzu, The Art of War - Datalinks"

[matsku84]

@GuestStar26 Sweet! Youtube has fixed it! When I originally uploaded this a couple of seconds were cut from the end.

[Seydaschu]

This is how the video ends:

"Sun Tzu said that. And I'd say he knows a little more about fighting than you do, pal, because he invented it!"

[wuzzle22]

@Seydaschu and then he perfected it so that no living man could beat him in the ring of honor

[farnium]

@Seydaschu

ಠ_ಠ

[jpheitman]

@Seydaschu ."...And from that day forward any time a bunch of animals are together in one place, it's called a "Tzu!"

[Richierua]

................... unless its a FAAAARRM!

[jacqueshauer]

@Seydaschu and he perfected it, and he herded one of every animal onto a boat-

[neomegadyn]

alguien que quiera jugar Alpha Centaury un multiplayer ps :D me manda un MP. jejeje yo juego con Provost Zhakarov XD

[chironboy]

I gave you five 'cause this was always my favorite Secret Project to complete. :)

[matsku84]

2 less stars for a meazly 2 seconds missing which can be read from the description? UNBELIEVABLE! And it was 100% youtube's fault btw. For some reason the last 2 seconds got cut... I realized that far too late (after i had uploaded several more secret projectm ovies). There is NO CHANGE IN HELL I would loose all these views and stuff for 2 effin seconds. Not to mention having one secret project video missing from the perfect sequence.

[Nitestride]

Wow - hostile much? I believe I roughly averaged it, and clicked on 4. I've also rated other videos in your set at 5 - so skip the next cup of coffee, and relax a bit, k?

[matsku84]

You lay of making incorrect assumptions all the time. I don't drink coffee or energy drinks either. Just some soda once in a while. Don't assume that caps = hostility. It's simply my amazement towards your ridiculous suggestions. Deducting 2 stars for something so minimal, which even isnt my fault, is ridiculous. Suggesting to re-upload a 2 year old video with 14400 views just to get 2 seconds back is completely insane. Come back when youve been a member for A BIT more than 1 day, pal.

[Gruegirl]

You tell 'em Matsku!

[Nitestride]

The cutscene also credits the quotation, right? "Sun Tzu, "The Art of War", Datalinks"

You should include that in this video.

[neomegadyn]

definitivamente no hay otro juego: Alpha Centaury ! es único ... me encanta, sólo que es mucho vicio XD las nucleares son una furia!

[picardshero]

I always waited to get this one.. those other factions always sending probs to steal my info, I always send them off with a stern warning but if they do it to much I just plain eliminate em. This starts a war or I have to pay a fine but i am ready for war and will crush em all.

[Orion6699]

This is one of the very few old games I keep on my desktop. Masters of Magic is another. For some reason I can always enjoy a game. Wish they would update it instead of making the next incarnation of civilization.

[jamesgravil]

Orion6699

Yeah, Alpha Centauri is arguably a BETTER game than Civ, in the same way that Futurama is better than the Simpsons (its futuristic setting opens lots of possibilities), they've done so many versions of Civilization now and only one 'expansion pack' for AC. Each new iteration of Civ is essentially the same, only with slight additions/changes and upgraded graphics; I got bored of Civ IV quickly, WHY can't they do a remake of AC? It's still classic, though.

[Labtop215]

I have to say, this is probably among one of the most useful projects to get, ranking up there with the space elevator, and in the early game the weather paradigm since it gives a 50% terraforming bonus.

[lyethian]

HUNTER-SEEKER ALGORITHM.

that is all.

[Nachuelas]

Ahhh... Sun Tzu...

I remember the great game "the art of war of sun tzu". He was a great general and his mind very strategical...

[Naminator5]

Very important project if you're playing as Zakharov.

[Zardozthedestroyer]

It's a very important project in general, but as Zhakarov is a must have. It's either that or keeping probe teams in EVERY SINGLE BASE.

Although, TBH, probe teams with plasma armor make good emergency garrisons, in case your sentinels get wiped.

[timthe3rd]

Mind worm garrisons with high morale, ftw

[Zardozthedestroyer]

PD: probe teams with plasma armor do NOT make good energy garrisons. Probe teams with hypnotic trance DO make good last ditch anti mind worm garrisons, but that's when you are truly desperate

[AmericanGihadist]

I prefer to just get Planetbusters and pwn the Gaians every time.

[S1aytactic]

I love this Project, it just about makes you invinsible!

[xiquiripat]

University is futurity! All others must assimilate or be destroyed!

[grrgrr321]

I've tried different players to try to play the .wve movie files but I can't find what works. How did you do it? Is there a way to play them in Windows Media Player?

[matsku84]

The "playuv15.exe" located in the "movies" folder can play the .wve files, but a program called "HCl's Wing Commander Movie Player" can play and also convert them to .avi format.

[grrgrr321]

Thanks!

[BasementKoOk]

i don't get it..

when I launch the WC Movie Player it asks me to choose the file, but it doesnt see anything on the CD's "movies" folder. What do I do wrong?

[matsku84]

You need to write *.* in the file name field and press enter so it will switch to display all file types.

[BrognusBelgen]

All this "Fight fire with fire" stuff is stupid. Why? Because if you fight fire with fire you get  an even bigger fire. (Shocking, I know.)

[matsku84]

That's not entirely true :P. Firefighters trying to control wildfires often start small controlled fires to create a sort of alley that the wildfire will follow, because the small contorlled fires have already used up all flammable material. "Controlled Burn" I believe is the term... google that.

[BrognusBelgen]

Yeah last time I checked the phrase was "Fight fire with fire." Not "Fight forest fires with a controlled burn." =D

[matsku84]

It's fire all the same :P...

[BrognusBelgen]

I HIGHLY doubt the controlled burn would apply equaly fore all situations involving fires like, say a Highrise inferno.

[matsku84]

Of course it won't work on a highrise building or probably on any building for that sort, but it works on some wildfires, and therefore what you said about "if you fight fire with fire you get an even bigger fire" isn't always true. Most of the time yeah, but not always :P.

[BrognusBelgen]

Well if we're getting nitpicky, I guess I can't say we should fight fire with water because there are cases such as grease fires and electrical fires that can make it worse.

[matsku84]

True dat :P...

[rbellev]

"The substructure of the universe regresses infinitely towards

smaller and smaller components. Behind atoms we find electrons,

and behind electrons quarks. Each layer unraveled reveals new

secrets, but also new mysteries."

-- Academician Prokhor Zakharov,

"For I Have Tasted The Fruit"

I play SMAC as Univ aaaallll the time, why?

Because KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

[planetbeing]

TOO BAD ELECTRONS ARE LEPTONS AND NOT MADE UP OF QUARKS. Stupid Zakharov.

[NodOfficer]

Technically, Zakharov is still correct. In the scientific community, a quark is a generic umbrella term that also encompasses the lepton.

I usually associate quarks with protons, though.

[neongecko06]

The rarely mentioned truth. XD

And every time you fight a new war you always have some brand new prototypes in need of field testing... ;)

[neomegadyn]

it's just the truth...

[SerbAtheist]

"I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented" spoken at the same moment the doomed red virus materializes... such a beautiful red herring.

[StWolfie]

fuck this political bullshit mixed in with my videogame :v

[Kizor]

Er... this is basic military theory from more than 2000 years back. For the life of me, I can't figure out how it would relate to politics.

[MetaVita]

then your a noob

[Bowyerma]

LOL TEH FUNNIEST COMMENT EVER

[rushhardroc]

In Alien crossfire, this is no longer the say-all end-all of probe team protection.... the Nethack Terminus lets you get past the Hunter Seeker algorithm, so if you have this project, get the Nethack Terminus for the extra Probe team bonuses and as a denial for everyone else. 'Nuff said.

[dude846]

Damn. You didn't finish the entire video. And it's my favorite video of them all :(

[matsku84]

Sorry, Youtube sometimes takes a few seconds from the end when it converts the video to flash format. The ending is just black background with the narrator voice saying the last few words that can be read from the video description: "Sun Tzu, 'The Art of War', Datalinks."

[dude846]

I know, I have the game... I just don't like popping in the disc, than finding the file and dragging it ontop of the video player :P

The ending kinda wraps up the entire thing

[Enkarashaddam]

I think that the issue here has to do with pure tactical strategy, with which these terrorists appear to have mastered on the battlefield with great success. However, a question: How long will it take to realize your own casualties after you have removed the incentive to attack? If the enemy force has whittled your forces down using the "concentration effect", will it be a stalemate? One cannot blindly accept that battlefield assets are so inexpensive to be over-risked.

[LordAlderaan]

Fighting the extremist of an ideology with guns. Brilliant solution :P

These people pride themselves on no cowardice. Do you think you scare them with violence? I think you'll only make them more determined.

[DethMachineEngage]

My opinion on this war is the only way we can stop them is if we remove from them the incentive to attack. Yes, we have to fight fire with fire. Kill enough of them so that they think twice about attacking us and the nations that foster them must also think twice. We cannot fight fire with water against these guys.

[jamesdean778]

my thoughts on this would be to be trully invisible to the naked eye. now in guerrilla warfare or whats happening in iraq much like in vietnam the enemy is hidden amongst its civillian population,giving it a crude form of stealth. however this is not withought its cons because an enemy with no morals would easily defeat this foe if it includes a civilian population with its millitary force. in that situation the side with the strongest and most advanced force will decimate.

[Enkarashaddam]

That's exactly whats going on in the middle east. Unfortunately, thats what now makes them the perfect enemy.

[neomegadyn]

Yeah very interesting> Sun Tzu...

[DoctorFist]

sounds like terrorism in the middle east

[rushhardroc]

Because Sun-Tzu says so...