Remembrances of Games Past, Part #28 - Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999) (PC) (Firaxis Games)

[floatshake]

It's worth mentioning again that this game is on GOG now. It's that good :)

[Ooel3ctrooO]

oh dude. i spent too much time on this game as a kid..... i probably never even fully figured the game out either lol .... straight up strategy game ;D

good old Alpha Centauri :D

[JonnyDude2009]

i dont know why but i cant stand this game as a child i found it so boring

[leon102]

"Turn complete. Turn complete. Turn complete." Wow, that's annoying. Seeing as I have recently gotten into Civilization. I wanted to give this game a try, but I don't know. Doesn't look as fun to me.

[DeftCrowMk3]

@leon102

"Turn Complete" only gets prompted when all your units are automated and have finished their turn. If you move them by yourself(drag, numpad), you don't get that prompt.

The interface can be a bit chunky, but it's not that bad considering the fact that it came out in 1997.

(This video shows SMAX, the expansion pack in 1999.)

Hope you enjoy the game. It circles around reading materials and a (very decent) central storyline, which I still enjoy after playing it for five years.

[dageezerboi]

@leon102 It might not look it, but it is much more fun and has alot of stuff Civ doesn't..

[Demiath]

@OBSysteme The expansion "Alien Crossfire" introduced 7 new factions, including two alien races. The new factions are certainly colorful - space pirates, cyborgs, a hacker collective, a religious cult of Planet etc. - but if you ask me the original Alpha Centauri is all you really need. Both games were released together as the so-called "Planetary Pack", which is probably the easiest version to find if you want to check out Alien Crossfire.

[TheEmperor1999]

I have played civ 4 planetfall mod which is a remake of this game... this game is cool, but too bad it is this old... old games are creepy... don't know why... probly becouse of their dark atmosphere... too bad, Iove teraforming and turning Ciron(i think... not sure) into an terran-like garden world was a ton of fun... death to the mindworms!

[Demiath]

@TheEmperor1999 Old games are "creepy"? Oh, well, I guess Civ 4 is creepy too, then, since it's been out for quite a few years now. ;) Joking aside, it's simply a matter of what you're accustomed to and that can all change with new experiences, so don't dismiss classic games categorically. It might turn out that some of your favorite games were in fact created a long time ago...

[TheEmperor1999]

@Demiath yeah i know... i have played a lot of classics ( AoE, C&C, duken nuken, starcraft) ... i know what old is... but to me they all have the same "dark" feeling to them... except AoE... :P but its just me

[Awgez24]

@TheEmperor1999 I know what you mean by the dark atmosphere, they just seemed empty and lonely o.o

[Karakta]

Now that is a game I'd like to see on GOG

[Demiath]

@Karakta I couldn't agree more. The game has some minor but nonetheless annoying compatibility problems with some newer Windows versions, so SMAC could definitely use the GOG treatment so that everyone can play it without going through the trouble of installing patches and tweaking settings.

Also, my old game CD is probably not going to keep working for that much longer...

[Spitfirebird]

@Karakta Good news! SMAC is now on GOG.com for about six dollars. It doesn't come with SMAX, so there isn't widescreen support, but it is still an absolute bargain.

[Karakta]

@Spitfirebird Yeaaaah I saw that ! It's too bad it doesn't come with the expansion but I'm positive GoG will put it too one day or the other. I guess I'll pass on my weekly burger and fries meal and spend a few hours in space ^^

[nutherefurlong]

Interesting take on philosophical differences. Much more engaging than most of the science fiction games I've seen. What are you fighting with? There are often explosions but I can't really tell what's going on.

[Demiath]

@nutherefurlong Combat units are for the most part fairly conventional infantry, artillery, bombers, spies, tactical nukes etc. but there are some more unusual options; such as "recruiting" indigenous life forms (i.e. giant space worms) to fight on your side. Also worth mentioning is the option to custom build units and equip them with whatever combination of parts (weapons, engines, etc.) you've researched so far.

[nutherefurlong]

@Demiath So you can have ground troops with a new type of rifle or whatever? That's kind of neat, especially if that changes their capabilities substantially.

[DWTerminator]

Here's a game where the demo is a horrendous representation of the full game... namely, it's extremely short and therefore boring (you don't get to do much of anything before the turn limit is over). That said, I have yet to play the full version of Alpha Centauri, but PC Gamer magazine has it tied with Half-Life 2 for "best game ever" on their scores (98%).

I did play Master of Orion 2 though, which is sorta similar, but less Civilization-ey.

[Demiath]

@DWTerminator I actually got the (North American) issue of PC Gamer in which they gave SMAC that 98% score. From a purely objective standpoint that's a bit high, considering that in terms of the core gameplay mechanics.this is "just" another Civilization.

Played MOO2 as well back in the day but it didn't appeal to me for roughly the same reasons as the mainline Civ titles don't grab me. For a game in the notoriously complex "4X" genre, MOO2 is admirably streamlined and accessible, though.

[DWTerminator]

Yeah, I agree that PC Gamer US tends to exaggerate their scores a bit too much. Their reasoning is usually sound though. I didn't see the issue that gave AC a 98% (I saw it when they did an issue spotlighting the greatest games of all time), though, so I dunno what they said about it.

I wouldn't have gotten into Civ had it not been for the fact that I got Civ3 Gold as a gift. Actually, I've never bought a Civ game yet. Just been given them. MOO2 I did buy and find it quite fun.

[Lemonadefizz]

This looks complicated....

[Demiath]

@Lemonadefizz It is and it isn't. Alpha Centauri was the first Civ game to include proper tutorial and help messages, and to me they've always been a lot more useful to beginners than the system of advisors which many of the other Civilization titles have. Once you get a hang of the core gameplay - expanding bases, building military, engage in diplomacy and doing research - it's not too complicated and the amount of challenge depends entirely on the difficulty setting you've chosen.

[0NoName9]

11:27 walk into Mordor.

[Demiath]

@0NoName9 Oh crap, I forgot to research Aragorn's Danish accent. We're all doomed.