Abbreviated Space Race?

[Rommel2D]

Or: Shouldn't this be Noted as a Change in the Manual?

So the Spaceship doesn't need to reach AC to give a Civ a Victory? Success is automatic and ground support irrelevant? Wouldn't this be a nice thing to note in the "What's new" chapter of the Manual? It would take about 5 seconds to figure out you can order units and scroll the map around with the mouse, but I just spent a couple hundred hours to learn that I can no longer capture a Civ's capitol to recall it's spaceship.

Why would they even dumb down the game this way? Are spaceflight tragedies too disturbing of a historical fact?

[pedrojedi]

I think AC is pretty far to the crew to be able to make communications in a good way. Once the ship went out, perhaps the first turn would still have some communications, the second most likely not, and the third... out of question, for monitorization, I think.

[Rommel2D]

Technically it would all depend on what speed the ship could attain, of course. Knowing that no resupplies would be following would prabaly make most captains turn back. However, now that I think about it, the intro to SMAC, with the ship being an escape from a collapsing Earth, would explain the clean cut ending.

From a Civ viewpoint tho, there's alot they could do with the space race and establishing the first colony to make this game more interesting.

[mrmitchell]

Ever played Civilization II: Test of Time?

IIRC it had a game where, once you founded a space colony, you met aliens and continued your work on both planets.

[Dauphin]

I prefered the old space race style. Choosing the ratio of components, modules and the like would effect the flight time and chance of success.


If arranged correctly you could set it up (in Civ4 ) so that more components increase the chance of success but make the journey longer*. You can then decide whether to rush there on a wing and prayer with a small craft or ensure the safety of your astronauts with high tech, high quality components.

The ability to build more than one craft at a time would also be good.


*In Civ2 it was based on ratio of components , but made it too easy to build cheap spacecraft if you weren't worried about your score.

[Mad Bomber]

Originally posted by Big Crunch
I prefered the old space race style. Choosing the ratio of components, modules and the like would effect the flight time and chance of success.


If arranged correctly you could set it up (in Civ4 ) so that more components increase the chance of success but make the journey longer*. You can then decide whether to rush there on a wing and prayer with a small craft or ensure the safety of your astronauts with high tech, high quality components.

The ability to build more than one craft at a time would also be good.


*In Civ2 it was based on ratio of components , but made it too easy to build cheap spacecraft if you weren't worried about your score.

I agree that CIv 2 was better (You also had to build future tech in order for it to have a reasonable chance to make it) I like teh fact that you could risk a minimal SS and still win & why do these people need a freakin party lounge?

Rommel:

Just for your info You can destroy the spaseship by capturing the capital before it launches, but once it launches, game over!

[Rommel2D]

Just for your info You can destroy the spaseship by capturing the capital before it launches, but once it launches, game over!

It seems like the victory condition should be based on establishing a self-sufficient colony. X probability of a successful trip, then an increasing chance per turn of becoming independent or dying off. Sending semi-annual supply ships would extend that period and let the odds build up.

Not a lot more complexity- just a more fitting finish.

[The Templar]

OK - so we're going to AC without:

(1) Building a space station
(2) Building a moon base
(3) Colonizing Mars

And, were launching the colony ship from the ground.
Civ 4 needs a new scientific victory condition ...

[CiverDan]

It is fairly obvious this was done for gameplay purposes. Realistically we aren't even going to visit Mars anytime soon, never mind another star system. Even Fusion Power isn't going to cut it. We dont even know where earth-like planets with acceptable atmospheres are yet. The space race in this game occurs 2-3 eras too soon, minimum. Realistically more like a 4th era after the current time. This is why the "Modern" era in the current game is screwed up also, IMHO. It is focused on building a "ficticious" spaceship.

[johncmcleod]

It is also very weird that they just send a spaceship up to a star and pray that their will be a planet that can support us. The chances of successfully sending a ship to a random star system with finding one to live on are very slim. The planet's size would have to be similar, along with how close it was to the sun, and the amounts of certain gases in the air would have to be just like earth's.