SMAC Guide

[Leon Trotsky]

http://www.kellymangum.com/resume/smac/SP/projects.html

Looking for a comprehensive guide to SMAC, I found this neat page. One has to recognise Kelly's effort in making all that linking work. However, it is plagued with inaccuracies and misconceptions. So, is there a similar guide up to Apolyton standards? (does that sound pretentious or what?)

[Hydro]

Well, there is Vel's guide. It is very nicely written, well organized, and contains useful information for skill levels from beginners to veterans. I went to Amazon and found it for $14.99 after searching under Christopher Hartpence.

There used to be an on-line version but I'm pretty sure it was pulled once Vel had published his SMAC/X guide. After all the work he (and his contributors) put into it I had no problem at all parting with what amounts to pizza money to purchase the work.

Hydro

[vyeh]

Go to GameFAQ.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/game/96102.html

This version is 6/11/01. The book is copyrighted 2001. Just looking at the first few pages and there are some differences in the order.

I prefer the book, because it is easy to flip through while you're playing the game.

[Leon Trotsky]

I know Vel's guide - it's the Bible of SMAC. However, I was thinking of something similar to the one I mentioned, in the sense that it covers every facility/secret project/tech/module, and includes commentaries.

Perhaps we should think about starting a wiki... X-COM has one, and works just fine with less people.

[Hydro]

Ah. Then you're looking for the Prima SMAC guide. It is a bit (er, very) thin on how to play the game, but it does include all SMAC (but not SMAX) facility, SE, factions, weapons/armor, vehicles - the works.

I'd bet it's long since out of print now. Beside the pretty pictures, the entire Prima Guide can probably be boiled down to a large topic-specific tables, though.

Hydro

[gwillybj]

OOP but FS

Originally posted by Hydro
Ah. Then you're looking for the Prima SMAC guide...
I'd bet it's long since out of print now...
Hydro

The Prima guide is out of print but a few are available "used & new" through Amazon.com. (I didn't check any other online booksellers.)
The ISBN is 0761515844. Type that number in the search box and the listing should come right up. If it doesn't, the title is "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri: Prima's Official Strategy Guide."
My copy is so tattered and with pages falling out that I'm tempted to check out those deals myself.

[Sikander]

There's some stuff on Wikipedia that's better than the sample guide in the O.P.

[Leon Trotsky]

I had forgot of Jamski's facility guide:

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=112078

[FullMetalJack]

WRT Vel's guide in the link above at Gamefaq, is that more or less the v2.0 guide that he wrote?

I saw the v3.0 SMAC guide by Vel which seemed to have benefited from Vel's greater experience by then and which explains how all the factions could be played (successfully) in ALL the basic styles (builder, momentum, hybrid) which differed from his earlier guide that suggested merely to playing to their 'obvious' strengths.

Is the (v4?) guide on Amazon much different to the v3.0 guide?

I mean, did he change from that stance much, or was it a refining of v3.0, or whatever?

TIA

[vyeh]

Originally posted by FullMetalJack
WRT Vel's guide in the link above at Gamefaq, is that more or less the v2.0 guide that he wrote?

The guide at the GameFaQ link is shorter and is also authored by Jim Chamberlin. There is a lot of reference material that is not included in the printed version of Vel's guide.

See http://apolyton.net/news/index.php?C...C&month=200010

Originally stated by Velocyrix
There will be one final update to the guide which will incorporate all the sugesstions and edits from the version 3 feedback, plus all the stuff that's occurred to me since then. Additionally, rather than making the "Black Ops" idea I mentioned long ago into a separate project, I'll just roll it into the final version of the guide.

I've also been talking to a publisher, and have arranged to get this, the final version of the guide published both electronically, and in real, tangible, hold-in-your-hands book format.

Originally posted by FullMetalJack
Is the (v4?) guide on Amazon much different to the v3.0 guide?

I mean, did he change from that stance much, or was it a refining of v3.0, or whatever?

TIA

Can you provide me a link to v 3.0? The only version 3.0 I have is from Alpha Centauri stuff and it looks like it was truncated.

[FullMetalJack]

Hi vyeh,

Thanks for the info, that clears things up nicely.

I can't remember where I got v3.0 from, but I can post it here (hopefully).

It's only 163 kB zipped.