SMAC-X Still Crazy Expensive

[Puppeteer]

Good grief. I hadn't checked in months, and during a conversation about Civ3 vs Civ4 I got to thinking about SMAC again. I never had the SMAC-X expansion, and the last time I looked copies were running upwards of $100. They still are! There is one optimistic seller asking over $130 including shipping for the Laptop Collection (via Buy it Now).

I guess I just came here to gripe. That is all.

[Hydro]

That is quite a profit since as I recall the Laptop Collection went for ~$15.

Maybe some folks at this forum know where SMAX is still available? I seem to recall there was a thread from a while back that had links for likely sources for SMAX.

Hydro

[Hercules]

I have a copy of Smac but just the one Planetary expansion pack. The Laptop edition never made it over here.

I keep looking.

[Dis]

I found the laptop collection on amazon back before supplies became limited. I think I paid around $30 for it. The bad thing being I didn't get the "box" for the game. I don't even think it had a manual. But I got the game.

It was fun, but I must admit to liking the original game better than the expansion.

[Xian]

I feel sorry for anybody who can't obtain SMAX, I can't picture playing the game without it. My advice would be to find a friend who has it.

[Dis]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000CE1L7/ref=nosim/apolytonciviliza

interesting reading the reviews which happen to be from 2004. The game was much cheaper. I think I bought mine in 2005.

Funny how the header at the top of the Apolyton page still lists it as being $20. I think they are need of updating.

[Alinestra Covelia]

The relief I feel now that I bought SMAX when it first came out, is roughly the same as the relief I had in buying the original SMAC instead of Call to Power.

[Puppeteer]

I forgot to mention I was looking at eBay in the first post, but now I'm looking at Amazon's marketplace and Froogle and am seeing similar prices. I found a $30 Linux version on Tux Games via Froogle, but of course they're out of stock.

Originally posted by Dis
I don't even think it had a manual.

LOL, you're in luck! Alien Crossfire manual for $12 plus shipping. 12 bucks for a paper manual to a years-old game. It boggles the mind.

FWIW I didn't get a manual with SMAC, either. It was on the CD in PDF format. Not as nice as a paper version but harder to lose.

[vyeh]

Originally posted by Puppeteer
LOL, you're in luck! Alien Crossfire manual for $12 plus shipping. 12 bucks for a paper manual to a years-old game. It boggles the mind.

FWIW I didn't get a manual with SMAC, either. It was on the CD in PDF format. Not as nice as a paper version but harder to lose.

The manual for Alien Crossfire is also on the CD. I've uploaded the manual. It is a little over 500 kB.

http://apolyton.net/upload/view/75610_AlienCrossfireManual.pdf.zip

It will give you an idea of what you're missing. Unlike other games, the expansion was not needed to complete SMAC.

[dmm1285]

I've been thinking about throwing my copy up on Ebay, I haven't used the actual disk for years, it's all scratched up and the bootleg laptop collection is more convienent anyways.

[Darrell01]

I put a copy of SMAniaC on my 1 GB flash drive. I got the no CD version too after I got curious about the crack I heard about. Makes starting up a lot faster.

[wgabrie]

I searched on Froogle search and you're out of luck if you want the expansion for less than say $90-$132.

If the Laptop collection was $15 than the rights to the games can't be that expensive. But I doubt anyone will carry in because there won't be a Vista patch.

If anyone ever releases the game again make sure to buy all you can afford. You'll make money from resale.

[Puppeteer]

Interesting. A copy on eBay just auctioned for $43.00. Most of the prices I see are fixed prices on other sites or But It Now on eBay. This is the only one I've seen lately that went through an actual auction starting from a low price.

Makes me wonder if the higher price units are actually selling.

The auction was for a used copy of Alien Crossfire Planetary Pack, not SMAC or the Laptop Collection.

$43 is still pretty doggone high for a game this old.

I thought about bidding on it when it was at $31 then realized $31 is still way too freaking much to pay for the game.

Besides, I, uh, think I may be obtaining the pack through alternate means. Completely legal and legit, of course.

[CEO Aaron]

It's official. SMAX is a rare collectable. Put it up next to your Star Trek commemorative plates.

I doubt anyone will carry in because there won't be a Vista patch.

Time for threadjack. Has anyone tried loading SMAX onto Vista? If it won't run the second best strategy game of all time, then I won't be using it.

[Hydro]

I'll follow the good CEO on the thread hijack.

Why bother with Vista? Due to resource requirements it will lobotomize even slightly older computers. Plus, XP works just fine thank-you-very-much.

Eventually PCs that ship with Vista will be the norm. This is a very good reason to keep an old but perfectly functional XP machine running! I have an old and infrequently used 1999-era PC running XP and it is perfectly happy. Heck, I even have an old Win98 laptop moldering in my office somewhere. Parts are dirt cheap, too ('cheap' might mean 'free', too).

Hey, it reminds me of the scrapyard scene in the movie AI, with SMACers grubbing around for spare parts while the Collectors move in!

Hydro