Smac/x's Amazing Ebay Prices

[Kataphraktoi]

That would be logical bint, and thus would never happen...

[vyeh]

Someone in the UK is selling Mac SMAC on eBay. He claims that SMAC is abandonware and that it can be found on the Internet for download.

I suspect it is piracy and the talk of abandonware and available downloads is to keep eBay from yanking the listing.

I'm somewhat surprised that there are new players. I started playing SMAC/X recently, but I've had the game for some time. I originally purchased the Windows version of both. When I switched to a Mac, I purchased the Mac version through eBay (since it was out of print at that point). I did that because I remembered the 99 ranking PC Gamer had given SMAC and that it had hailed the game as the true successor of Civ II.

[iapetus556]

Well, I don't have a Mac, so that won't be much use for me, regardless of the legality.

(And it would certainly be ironic if I ended up getting a pirate copy, not just because I could play as the Pirates, but because it was playing SMAC for the first time that convinced me to give up pirated software and always buy it properly if I thought it was a good game).

[Humphrey]

Originally posted by FullMetalJack
Wow, cool!

Your GF plays too! Best I can get my wife interested in on the PC is Scrabble.

BTW, How do you manage the tech tree charts? I'm scared the damn things are gonna fall apart.

She won't play SMAC, she says it's too much micromanaging. She prefers FPSs, fighting games and RTSs.

I used to have them stuck up on the wall, now I don't use them. I'm not actually sure where they are now. Might print out the one that FullMetalJack linked too, would be nice to have one again.

[Puppeteer]

Yeah, the SMAC / SMACX price and availability difference is amazing. I've had SMAC for ages but never got hold of SMACX. I only play ocassionally, then I'll go at it for a couple of weeks. Last time I looked for SMAC I was about a year too late to get the EA collections with SMACX included. I was going from store to store digging through the EA packs. grrrrr.

It's funny; I have CivIII and CivIV, but I keep going back to play SMAC. Somehow it seems to have more personality, and I get into the faction character differences far more than I do with Civ. Finding Yang, Santiago or Miriam as a neighbor still inspires fear.

[iapetus556]

I finaly managed to get SMAX (actualyl the Planetary Pack) on ebay last week, for the not too unreasonable price of £26.

There does seem to be a slight bug in it - the Cult of Planet killed my first (built) Mind Worm, and I got all the Interludes about my favourite Talent being killed (and avenged when I later captured one of their cities), but the all the Interludes refered to one of the Projenetor factions as being responsible. Has anyone else experienced this?


And doesn't it strike you as odd that if you Mind Control a projenetor base, all their citizens flee, but their troops all desert to your side


Regarding how SMAC compares with the the Civ series, when I only had Civ2 and SMAC, in contrast with what some people have said, I actually found I could emphasise morewith the Civ nations. I suppose because they were all real civilisations, and I have a strong interest in history. Although going back to Civ2, I found the lack of diplomacy options and other SMAC features frustrating. I ended up semi-solving the problem by creating a "Civ2 for SMAC" mod. (If I can still find it I might uploaded it, although it was never fully tested).

When I got a new computer that wouldn't run SMAC I had to go back to playing Civ2, until I got Civ3. While I thought Civ3 introduced some good improvements (especially in diplomacy), I found the Strategic Resources system - while a nice idea - was seriously flawed. Too often I ended up being stuck with horsemen and spearsmen until I could get muskets and cavalry, as I was just unable to find or acquire any iron. Once I even had to miss out on them as well, and wait until I could build riflemen.


PS: " Finding Yang, Santiago or Miriam as a neighbor still inspires fear."

Santiago never worried me that much. She was a dangerous enemy, but also a valuble ally. And as the technology for Values: Knowledge comes relatively late (compared to the technologies for the SE choices that provoke the other faction leaders), I was usually powerfully enough (and with assistance from Karakov) to resist her.

Yang and Miriam, on the other hand...

I expect a Projenetor would be best able to sum up my policy towards them:

Faction sighted: Miriam. Time into game: early. Procedure: Kill.

[bluetemplar]

About Mind Controlling alien troops, I think in the way that you actually capture the equpement, not the troops themselves...

[Humphrey]

oh, actually that would make a lot of sense.

[Dygash]

What's really scary is when you play 256x256 as Karakov and your research is behind the others and then the first two factions that you come into contact with are Miriam and Yang and Yang has Air Power ALREADY!!! Then the proverbial **** hits the fan my friends. Both declared war on me within moments but i must be in a remote map because its been half a centuary and still no major attacks, damn you formers faster faster. Ongoing game btw.

[Drakan]

SMAX at 180 USD !!!. Factory sealed.

http://cgi.ebay.es/Sid-Meiers-ALIEN-CROSSFIRE-NEW-FACTORY-SEALED-PC_W0QQitemZ8282043144QQcategoryZ62053QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem