Name the #1 thing SMAC2 should have!

[Cybergod]

copying my thread... (from last year)



These are the things I'd suggest, in the top list:

1. BETTER AI! I am sick and tired of fighting the 2D personality of the stupid AI!
2. FIX THE DAMN BUGS!
3. Get more realistic and actually INTERESTING and ENJOYABLE factions. SMAC faction were brilliant and spot on, except maybe Firaxis belief in demonising Christianity (Miriam) and glorifying science (Zakharov)
4. Add on to the good storyline
5. Make it available for the player to select any number of faction (for example 5 to 21 or something !?!)

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Better space combat ability. Ability to actually colonize and defend nearby asteroid (forget what it's called).

Ability to better simulate underwater (i.e. sea colonies) inlcuding underwater speeders underwater mag tubes, etc. (is that a cross between Marine Boy and Speed Racer?)

Try to make the game truly 3D. Sky, surface, underground and undersea.

And of course the ever popular answer Better AI.

Ohhhh and lots and lots of bugs, b/c the forums just don't have enuff people saying this game stinks b/c of xyz bug .

Og

[k.k.fly]

enhance...

enhance cruise missiles! they should also kill population and/or base facilities.

and bio-cruise-missiles.

[wgabrie]

* Definitly the 3-D city view.

* I also think the faction leaders should be redone in 3-D and change facial expretions depending on their mood a la Civ 3.

* Time waster, but have more SP and movies.

* Add some new socal enginering choices and/or have social choices that don't disagree with but don't run well with a faction ideology have a differant effect on the tardet faction then normal. (Believers running Democracy for example would be given double penaltys)

That's all I can think of besides the bugs.

[Darsnan]

How about minefields: every known hostile border on Earth has them, so why not be able to have the formers/ military units plant them (i.e. the equivalent of 1 or 2 arty barrages when invading a minefield square, +/- terrain and sensors)!?!
Also, what about submarines? I've been at a point in a number of games where a seacraft with enhanced stealth and attack capabilites would have come in REAL handy (not that I'm admitting I was losing the games, or anything....) destroying enemy blockades, or harassing enemy shipping, etc.
Finally, why does it take so long to get tanks? I would think that with the fungus plagued Planet, a unit capable of moving 3 squares a turn would be much lower on the tech chart (i.e. discovered much more quickly): we are a species that supposedly adapts quickly to its environs, yes?

[TresXF]

why are ppl complaining about the ai of smac?
i think this is futile: it is a fact that the age of true artificial intelligence, the existence of a real opponent for humans, is still years away.
it is also fact that the ai of smac is pretty good. compare it with other games. most tbs/rts/fps/... games are heavy scripted to disguise their stupidity, are using hardcoded lines to match the human. you should be happy with smac's 'free' acting ai.

btw, the original factions of smac/x are somewhat simple designed. try to use some good custom factions to have a challenging match. i hope to get my star trek ds9 mod (english version) done asap - maybe this would be a challenge for you.



@ darsnan: isn't there a submarine enhancement in smac already (manual unit construction)

[Mr. President]

I actually find the game quite challenging and fulfilling, so there's not a lot I'd change.

[RobN]

Improved AI of course.

[knowhow2]

If the AI gets much more improved I would be scared at night when the box starts getting wild by itself

[Blacken]

I have to say that SMAC doesn't really need better AI - at least not for me... I can barely keep pace with it on Transcend, thankyouverymuch.

Submarines: Yes please.
More factions: Yes please.
No fungal towers: YES PLEASE.
Tech tree stuff: Widen it a bit, make tanks weaker but come a little earlier, and weaken gravships a bit.

My $0.02

[Sandman]

My ideas:

Flexible base radii.

A richer environment; for example, why not have deciduous forests at low altitudes and conifers at high altitudes?

Multiple planets in the Alpha Centauri system, and you can choose which one you want to colonise; should you go for Planet with it's rich but dangerous biosphere or that dusty Mars-like planet?

You start the game with a presence in space, a communications satellite perhaps.

Railways should be linked to a low-level tech, after all, we've got them here on Earth.

Factions which are not set in stone; if need be, you can change their bonuses and beliefs.

[BonehoardTaffer]

Each box should come with an action figure of one of the faction leaders.

[bondetamp]

Originally posted by BonehoardTaffer
Each box should come with an action figure of one of the faction leaders.

That would rock!

[wgabrie]

Originally posted by BonehoardTaffer
Each box should come with an action figure of one of the faction leaders.

Why stop there? Add in a Faction Logo sticker as well.

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Sandman
Factions which are not set in stone; if need be, you can change their bonuses and beliefs.

This would go great with the action figures, as then you could cross dress the action figures to represent the changed beliefs/ values: imagine a Green Chairman Yang wearing Lady Deidre's dress!


Hmmm, well, maybe not, now that I picture it....

Seriously though, one other item that I thought of would be for stacked units: when attacked, the selected defender of the stack gets a defensive bonus from all of the other units in the stack (which is more synonymous with real combat, where adjacent units will lend assisting counterfire/ support to the unit under attack). This would also apply for selected stacked attacking units.