Back from Civ3...

[Securion]

After a pretty long time with Civ3 I just couldnt stand it any more.
Im playing SMAX again.
I have REALLY tried to get used to Civ3 and the way the game plays but, come on! Its boring! And im not going back again.

So my question is...

Will there EVER be an Alpha Centauri II or something like it?
(thats "sci-fi civilization" for you morons)

Or is Master of Orion 3 the only hope?

I KNOW this have been asked 5 000 000 times but I have never seen any real answer from anyone making games.

Well well... SMAX is it. And im back for good.

[Maniac]

Three times hurray for the return of the lost son!! I'm glad you made the right decision in the end.

As for SMAC2, I for one am not holding my breath for it.

[RedFred]

Yet another one! Welcome back.

[Sprayber]

I played my first SMAX game in two months just this morning. I never did go to CivIII. I just got burned out on SMAX for a while. I've spent time over in the AC fiction forums but not here. I think a little time away from the game is good for your prespective.

[Neptunus]

Not only I'm back to SMAC/X after a relatively short period of Civ(III)-ing, but I have returned to the SMAC forums after an absence of more than a year.

Although I might have been the first to purchase Civ III in my home country (of course the day of its first release), I don't feel like messing with that again (Civ II was much better).

I just want to sent a simple message to all Firaxis people...

SMAC/X was and still is Firaxis masterpiece. It's a rare jewel in the gaming industry, an inspirational crescendo of unprecedented depth in concept, design and execution.

Unfortunately, given the Firaxis current product (Civ III), I wouldn't wish for a SMAC sequel. I think that this precious game should be left "untouched". I wouldn't bare to feel the same feeling of "alienation", the one I felt during my first Civ III game compared to those magic moments most old Civers felt as their first Civ II game evolved...

I am afraid that no matter how high any such possible investment for a SMAC II may be, Firaxis will only achieve to destroy the image of a successful title (although a small part of my deepest self just wishes to be wrong).

I may sound "romantic" but I want to believe I see thinks realistically. There will be no SMAC II. People at Firaxis know well that no matter how well a game performs in the market (i.e. is selling), it's the game's lifecycle which matters. And in that "battlefield" SMAC (and Civ II as well) is a clear winner. Hopefully Civ III has (?) taught them a bitter lesson : Winning games need much more than high investments to create. Even worse, better sequels need also guts and determination. Because in the long process, guess who's loosing if the "much-promising" sequel can't stand the comparison with a 3-4 years older legendary predecessor.

Keep SMACing...

[Capt Dizle]

It is always worth noting that the people who did Civ2 and SMAC are not at Firaxis anymore.

You wouldn't let some grad school kids take a Rembrandt and "redo" it. God forbid the hacks at Firaxis get to touch SMAC.

I hope BR gets this RTS thing out of his system with RON and goes back to TBS.

[Neptunus]

You got it right ! Strict, to the point and with much fewer words...

[Mongoose]

That's jt. Concise, sometimes even terse?

[InsertNameHere]

I'd just like to see SMAC as polished as CIV3, with more scenarios and a campaign or two. Just imagine the Xenofungus..... They could do a graphics upgrade patch or something if the didn't want to mess around with the mechanics.

[Mongoose]

Originally posted by InsertNameHere
I'd just like to see SMAC as polished as CIV3,

Are you out of your mind? Nobody, not even the biggest Civ3 fans I know, has EVER called that game 'polished'!!

What you're really saying is that you want the fancy-shmancy eyecandy graphics that Civ3 has. The cost of that candy in terms of linear game play is unacceptable, IMNSHO.

You're in grognardville now, Bucco. Don't be bragging up the shiny buttons on your new coat when you haven't faced the dragon!

[Apologies for the mixed metaphor.]

[InsertNameHere]

In comparisson to CTP2, Civ2 and SMAC it is polished, but by no means should better graphics alter how well the game plays. But I'd really look forward to some official campaigns.

BTW, i rarley play Civ3 compared with how often i play SMAC.
(I was even in a game of SMAX when messenger said the apolyton mail "someone has replied to you....." arrived. )

[Capt Dizle]

Well, pardon me. I hadn't noted any official Civ3 campaigns.

I personally don't like the graphics in Civ3 any better than SMAC. The artwork is a matter of taste and it doesn't suit mine. I don't like the interface any better than SMAC.

Polish? Civ3 hasn't even got wonder movies.

Its the mechanics of gameplay that need to be tweaked IMHO.

[Sikander]

IMO Civ 3's graphics and interface are a great leap backwards from SMAC's. The only graphics in SMAC which I don't like are the unit graphics. They are far from clear and look like guys mowing their lawn etc. The aircraft in particular are ugly. The interface is pretty damn good though, with a lot of power to manage your empire from the various screens.

Civ 3 otoh drove me crazy with both it's interface and it's graphics. Those leader graphics looked terrible, like a bunch of cabbage patch kids or dried apples or something. And I was none too impressed with the little cave man dude who beats the other cave man dude with his club either. I felt like I was playing a video game from the 1970s, and it isn't all that impressive to women when one spends hours playing a game which sounds like a professional wrestling match. Civ 3, a bad but thankfully fading memory.

[InsertNameHere]

Ok, ok, no changes to the graphics exept the units, maybe. I'd just like to see some official campaigns for SMAC and SMAX that fit with the story. Thats one of the things I hate about Civ3, no story to 'propell' you along.

[SirVincealot]

It's the funniest thing - I was gaga over Civ3 when I first heard about it.

Then they mentioned all the things they had CUT from the SMAC paradigm and I wondered: "Those are strange decisions..."

Meir's explanation that "cgi movies don't add to the gameplay" seemed especially far-fatched. No, they don't actually PERFORM anything specific. But it's like this: these types of games are working on a clear model of EFFORT and REWARD. It's not like a shooter where you mow down the enemies, feeling the rush of victory every few seconds. Civ3 and SMAC are games where one will spend 30(!) turns building a MASSIVE, faction-altering project, sweating about whether the other civs will get there first, pushing it ever so slightly ahead with the "Hurry" button. A little movie to CELEBRATE my success is not so much to ask! ... And the SP movies in SMAC are astonishingly good; I always reload the game to watch "the hunter-seeker algorithm" or "self-aware colony" (we MUST dissent...)

As a matter of fact, I find the whole rewards system in SMAC far, far superior to Civ3. Every tech gives me a clever quote from a historical or imaginary source, each new improvement pats me on the back, each major achievement I make is proudly presented on my monument (what is with that palace in Civ3? What the heck is THAT?) It is an indiscribable thrill to hear I was THE FIRST with a naval force on Planet, or that my faction bred an alien life form before anyone else. If that is not what an EXPLORE, DISCOVER and BUILD game is, then I don't know what it could possibly be.

Further: all the fictional quotes and CGI movies create an abundantly rich, fascinating backstory for the FICTION of SMAC. It elevates the "what will happen this turn" into "must-see-what-I'll-accomplish-next". In Civ3, my efforts are just that: abstracted victories without a proper framework. In SMAC, I am involved in the most fascinating epoch of human history, and I'm making a difference. Finally, the fiction makes a convenient excuse for a leader that presides over a few millenia of history!

Speaking of leaders: seeing my avatar's face in Civ3 is a TERRIBLE idea. I play as the English and I don't look like the Queen (yet!) The leader is ME - this is important: any physical representation of myself on screen breaks the illusion.

Another thing: getting rid of 3D terrain was a HUGE step backwards, as far as I am concerned. For one thing, the rolling terrain of SMAC is far more "believable" and strategic than the billiards table of Civ. Notice I say "believable" - I'm not talking of realism here. I'm speaking, specifically, of the ILLUSION of being there. When the ground shakes and mountains are created, I feel the environment as a PRESENCE. When I drown my opponent's farms and mines under 500 meters of tidal floods, I cry victory. When I raise a hill into a mountain and trap rainfall there, doubling my farm output, then drill to acquifer to see my energy rating skyrocket, I feel like I made a real difference. Which, of course, is EXACTLY the point of an EXPLORE, DISCOVER and BUILD game. And of a game where the environment itself plays as a faction. There are, really, 8 factions in SMAC.

I was disappointed to return to the units in SMAC; the sprites look and move like inanimate images. The wonderful LIFE on Civ3 is sorely missed. Having said that, the ART is much, much better in SMAC - I am talking design basics, here: color, shape, contrast, ect. The overlaying menu is also much, much better. MANY times in Civ3 I have wished for a hyperlink from the build queue to the Civilopedia. Having to quit the city screen, load the info, quit the info and re-load the city screen is a CHORE.

Speaking of chores: WHERE IS THE WORKSHOP? I am still shaking my head over that one. I used to spend HOURS designing new units in SMAC. That's the "BUILD" part of the game, no? If there is to be a Civ4, there better be a Unit Builder. 'Nuff said.

Finally, and this is 100% subjective (so you may stop reading now!) I found discovering electricity far LESS interesting than stumbling into Superstring Theory or Digital Sentience. Once the WONDERS, the feedback, the pat in the back, the thrill, the unit designing, in short, once the FUN of discovering electricity is gone, what's the point? I mean, ELECTRICITY, man: I got me a wire with LIGHTNING in it, for gawd's sake! Can you imagine how exciting this must have been for Washington, Volta and Tesla? Civ3 made the miracle of harnessing electricity MUNDANE. And that's the worst sin!

Enough!
SirVincealot