Me too.
Of course there is a God, just ask the Cylons!
Hmm, a new SMAC on the Civ4 engine would be nice.
I was very stoked for AC, spent months reading the boards ahead of time, etc.
And when it came out I really enjoyed the science fiction feel and the distinct characters/factions. Also, it had AI options not found any Civ game even after (maybe Civ 4 has some of them, I haven’t played enough to be sure) – like a faction giving you units secretly so you could go to war with someone without them being publically implicated. The sound was interesting.
But, damn, those graphics…each game devolved into a swirling mass of pixels where I was playing “find the pixel” games to figure out what was my unit vs. an enemy unit vs. landscape. It just sucked the fun out.
And the unit building was boring and uninteresting to me. For years I thought that must be because I just wasn’t hardcore enough…but I didn’t mind the unit building in GalCiv 2 at all, so now I blame the implementation.
That said, my issues are exactly the kinds of things that could be addressed in a sequel, so I’d be all for it.
Also, I didn’t have the problem with “impenetrable techs” that some complained about.
Everything about SMAC rocked.
The tech was customizable like crazy. So much fun building your own units, maker newer versions, etc.
The diplomacy was pretty damn good with the AI.
The live planet was a damn cool thing.
The style of the game. OMG. Each new tech brought about a bit more joy.
And the end game had so many good options…
They did so many things right in SMAC I find myself missing them in every other 4x game I play.
Heck, I think I’ll go reinstall tonight. :)
Oh man I love(d) SMAC. Some of the best writing and voicework in computer gaming, right there… along with one of the strongest TBS games in history, of course.
Totally agree. I know there’s room for everyone in gaming, and diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks and all that, but for the life of me I cannot fathom how someone could be all meh about a tech tree with Nanometallurgy, Bioengineering, Singularity, Orbital Space Flight, and Mind/Machine Interface but then get a huge boner over a tech tree with Fire, Horseback Riding, Mapmaking, The Wheel, Adding Chocolate To Milk To Discover Chocolate Milk, and Democracy on it. I’M ALL LIKE “HAY YOU GUYS I DON’T WANT TO PALAYING HISTORY CLASS:TEHGAME! NO THANKS!!!”
Years ago when I was in college I took a creative writing class. Twice we had to submit short stories that the whole class read and discussed. A few of us submitted science fiction stories; mine involved time travel. Listening to the class discussion I realized something for the first time that applies here: a significant percentage of the population doesn’t “get” scifi at all. They can’t grasp the concept of the future and where technology might go. They can’t suspend their disbelief because it seems to them like a joke.
I think that’s why the Civ series did well - a lot of people “get” history. SMAC was too scifi for many of those fans.
That’s a good point. But the whole thing for me is that it’s not just people (in general) - it’s gamers. And aren’t gamers all Just Like Me?
I guess grognards tend to be history buffs, too, though.
I loved SMAC, and the lack of a modern sequel is one of my major gaming sadnesses (along with the lack of a real successor to MOO2).
SMAC has been permanently installed on my Linux workstation (OK, so it’s not
100% work :), and I’ve paid for the Windows version twice. Once for game and
expansion separately, then a really nice-priced combination package.
(The different platforms aren’t network-compatible :/ )
If they removed the dreadful unit upgrading and used an engine like Civ4 has,
they’d have a perfect sequel already. What I’m wondering is if they’d pick up
the story where SMAC ends, or just expand the core gameplay and leave ascension the highest end-goal still.
You seem to have accidentally typed a “2” up there ;)
I liked MOO2 better than MOO. And as far as I’m concerned MOO3 doesn’t exist. :)
Agreed. Despite the truly awful AI (endemic to the entire Civ series really), SMAC was loads of fun, and superior to all the Civ games as far as I’m concerned.
Much of the fun was due to elements which relate in my mind to the fun-ness of MOO and MOO2, and run counter to the “gameplay-beats-all” school. I think SMAC was fun in large part due to fripperies such as the wonder videos and the over-the-top faction leaders and stuff like that. In theory these add nothing to gameplay, but in practice without this stuff the game would be little more than a dull square-based TBS with moronic computer opponents.
What makes this stuff memorable is that the fluff wasn’t just tacked on; I think it was well thought out and carefully conceived, and you could perceive, indirectly, the enthusiasm of the people who put it all together. This secondary content had a wonderful style, and a thematic wholeness or whatever that sold the game to me. I still remember that little top-gun video clip, the whirling dervishes, the silly psychic soldier guy, the way I could trust the Gaeans, but only so far, and the wonderful screams of my captured foes with considerable affection – and I guess it’s been 5 years since I last played.
I don’t know if this kind of secondary game decoration and fluff as a category is ever formally studied, but I think it’s a very important factor in how a game is perceived.
I actually like them both, though I prefer the more streamlined approach that MOO took. MOO2 in some ways was more a different game than a successor.
And what doesn’t exist? I can’t see part of that sentence for some reason ;)
I’m 90% sure I installed the expansion in Windows XP too, so it all runs. I never played it much but I could see why people loved it. The tech trees just confused me too much and for whatever reason I didn’t feel like learning them.
Call it “Sid Meiers’ Aliens!” and get crackin’.
MOO2 was really “Master of Space Magic”.
The best sequel to MOO is Spaceward Ho!, which is amusing since it’s also the best prequel to MOO.
I never did play Spaceward Ho! Wasn’t it multiplayer only or something like that?
I picked up SMAC for the first time in one of those EA bundle paks, I really loved the style of the game, much more then in Civ. I agree about the video movies and quotes from the tech. One of my favorites was the video that played when you destroyed another faction. On the subject of buying it, does anyone know where I could grab the expansion for it cheap?
edit: Just checked amazon. The original is less then 10$. The expansion goes for over $100 now. Now I remember why I never picked it up.
I’ve seen SMAC in a shovelware bundle at Fry’s but I don’t think Alien Crossfire was apart of the package. It’s almost impossible to find in stores, even in a PC friendly place like Fry’s - try Ebay or the warez route.