Energy doesn't increase with altitude.

[Verrucosus]

Thank you, but please don't. I am not a lawyer ... er, actually I am a lawyer, but that does not mean that I have enough of an idea of the rules that apply here (or have even read the license agreement) and I would not want you to get into even near any trouble. Your quote appears near the bottom of page 89 of my version.

By the way, SMAX is good, but $175 is simply too much. Its main addition is a new set of seven factions which are in my opinion not as well fleshed out as the original seven. It's nice to have, but I do not believe you are missing something essential if you don't.

Verrucosus

[vyeh]

Don't forget about the Datalinks in the game. These include formulae and more details than contained in the manual.

[Kadrian]

Sounds like my manual might have some stuff at the beginning that the earlier versions didn't include. There are a couple of introductory chapters at the start that give a general overview of the game so you can jump right in and play. "Getting Started" at page 1, "Welcome to Alpha Centauri" at page 15, then "Planet" on page 35.

I'm curious about the seven new factions. I'm told there were five human factions and a couple of alien ones. One of the things that would make the game more more interesting after several plays is to change the factions to something new so you don't know what to expect from them. The question would be, were the factions designed by someone who knew what he was doing and were they fully tested? Stuff like that can be a lot like fan fiction. There's a lot of really bad stuff out there and you never know what's worth the investment of your time.

I've been through the datalinks in the game quite a bit. Lately I've been looking for the files that contain all the information in the large display you get when you discover a technology. That seems to have the most info in it. Other sources include the files you can download from the Acadamy (link given in an earlier post). They include quite a bit more info than the data links do.

Kadrian

[Verrucosus]

The designers of the expansion were involved in the design of the original game and they were very conscious of the problem of upsetting the balance between the original and the new factions. The designer's note in the Alien Crossfire manual has even a paragraph on that topic.

The background story (available at the Firaxis site) introduces the new groups as splinter factions. The Cyborgs are derived from the University, the Free Drones from the Hive, the Datajacks from Morgan Industries and the Pirates from the Peacekeepers (not quite sure here). It would have been great if they could appear as splinter factions late in the game when an empire becomes really large and doesn't get its drones under control. (I think Civ1 had a similar rule.)

Unfortunately, that would have involved a major rewriting of the game, so in terms of gameplay the new factions are not splinter factions. The Cyborgs, Drones and the Cult can be described as exaggerated versions of the University, the Hive and the Gaians respectively. The Datajacks are similar to Morgan Industries because they are extremely good at probe operations. (Morgan isn't extremely good at probing as such, but he usually has enough money to make extensive use of probe operations anyway.) The sea-based Pirates are entirely different from the other factions. During the first few decades (before the others get Flexibility and a navy to speak of) they are playing pretty much their own game. Whether these factions are balanced is a matter for debate, but there is a strong case for regarding the Pirates as overpowered because of their easier access to communications with other factions (tech brokering!) and to sea pods (assuming pod scattering is on). The more serious problem is that you can still have only seven factions in the expansion, so for each new faction you want to use, you have to drop one of the old groups from the game. Given that the game has really been designed with the seven classic factions and the competition between their social agendas in mind, leaving even some of them out takes away a lot of the atmosphere.

The Aliens are an entirely different story. They were meant to be overpowered, so that they could provide a challenge to the player. That would be all well and good if they appeared in the last act as a final hurdle to a faction leader who thinks he's won the game (like the Royal Expeditionary Force in Colonization perhaps). The scary interlude texts for the Borehole Cluster and the Manifold Nexus point to such a role. Instead, they crash into the Planet just a few turns after MY 2100 and play the game more or less by the same rules as the humans, albeit with a lot of extra bonuses ... oh, and they're ugly.

As you might have guessed by now, I am not as fond of the seven Crossfire faction as I am of their counterparts in the original. They do offer a change of pace and I certainly do not regret buying the Planetary Pack at the time, but on balance I now prefer the classic version. The lasting attraction of Alpha Centauri (to me) is that it is - apart from being a fine game - an intriguing story about a struggle of old ideas in a new world. Although this story develops (and ends) differently in every game, it doesn't work for me if the players who represent those ideas are missing.

Oh, this turned into a bit of a ramble. Sorry about that. The printed version of Vel's guide includes 14 pages about the strengths and weaknesses of the new factions. That section is not part of the early SMAC-only version of the guide posted here, but if it is included in the version at Gamefaqs, it should satisfy a large part of your curiosity.

Verrucosus

P.S.: In my edition, "Getting Started" begins on p. 1, "Welcome to Planet" on p. 13 and "Planet" on p. 29. I am beginning to suspect that they just used a larger font for the electronic version.
P.P.S.: All this talk has stirred up my appetite for this game once more. I have a feeling that I will be playing Alpha Centauri this weekend.

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Verrucosus
P.P.S.: All this talk has stirred up my appetite for this game once more. I have a feeling that I will be playing Alpha Centauri this weekend.

QFT. All that talk about manuals on disc got me dig up my planetary pack to check and now it lies there - tempting - will probably cost some lost nightsleep .

[Hydro]

The SMAX factions spice things up a bit, even if they are ideologically weaker than the Original Seven. I think Vel’s early guide (see previous link) provides a nice summary of the SMAX factions. When you get right down to it the SMAX factions are derivatives, but were intended to spice things up. Of the SMAX factions I happen to like the Cyborgs (fun to play, have -1 growth so more difficult to pop boom to victory) and Pirates the least (ahoy mate! Oh, please…).

One advantage of SMAX is that you can play the excellent mod by Maniac: SMAniaC Mod. This has another 7 factions (with no back story and not much play testing, unfortunately), and a completely revised social engineering and tech tree. There are other mods, too. Some great work has been done in the SMAC/SMAX mods.

There is a bit of SMAC fiction, although that forum has been a bit quiet of late. The fiction ranges from short stories to Magnum Opus adventures. Alinestra Covina, Velociryx, Raging Mouse, Googlie, among others have completed great Mega Stories. I’ve written a few stories myself. Illuminatus has put together an index of the fiction in the Chiron Archives by author in the Fiction sub-forum so you don’t have to dig through old posts. Or if you go to the Apolyton Alpha Centauri home page you’ll see the Centaurian Tales tab. Fiction that has been nominated has been posted here, along with ratings by readers.

Hydro

[Kadrian]

Blackcat: How much you want for it?

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Kadrian
Blackcat: How much you want for it?

* BC preparing his Shard silksteel choppers for war !

You’ll take my disc when you pry it from my cold dead fingers!

[Verrucosus]

Human behaviour is economic behaviour. The particulars may vary but competition for limited resources remains a constant. ... the rewards of wealth still await those wise enough to recognise this deep thrumming of our common pulse.
CEO Nwabudike Morgan, "The Centauri Monopoly"

No idea why that quote just crossed my mind. My game isn't for sale either, but CEO Morgan would put a price tag on it that would make that ebay offer look like a garage sale. "Yes, this is a lot of money, but it reflects the projected increase in value over the next 20 years."

[BlackCat]

Verrucosus, you are quite right about that price tag

Guess the truth is something like :

"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave".

[BlackCat]

@Kadrian - just to make it clear, no offense meant

Actually, quite contrary, new players are always welcome (just don's ask for our cd's).

[Hydro]

I bought a bunch of the Planetary Packs and before that I got a few SMAX CDs from an English vendor. But I gave the SMAX CDs away in hopes of sparking interest. Only one seed took hold. Now I wish I had those CDs back!

Hydro

[Kadrian]

Oh, none taken. I expected an answer something like that. Considering you could get well over $100 for it on eBay I doubt that I'd be willing to pay your asking price anway.

[BlackCat]

All depends how high you value your first born child

Well, there was a small hint in my posting - choppers - if there is a flaw in this game, then it's the power of these. Even on transend some six of those is enough to beat any resistance.

[Kadrian]

From what I'm reading it sounds like the expansion pack didn't change much to the game itself, it was more of scenario that anyone could have done by using the various editors and altering the data in the text files (and adding a few new graphics, of course).

Most of the factions don't sound particularly interesting since they are basically re-writes of previously existing factions. The aliens appearing by just suddenly crashing onto the planet sounds like someone groping for new ideas and not coming up with much. One bunch would be incredible enough but TWO??

The "pirates" sound like an interesting idea. I think there would be room in the game for a sea-faring faction but the question would be whom to drop in order to add the pirates and how to balance them against their advantages.

I looked through both copies of Vel's guides for information on the new factions but it doesn't seem to be in either one. Vel said in one paragraph that he would talk about them later in the guide but the information is not to be found. He may have removed it (and some other stuff) in order to promote selling his book. I think you said earlier that the printed book is supposed to be version 4, however the one on GameFAQs is version 5.2.

Well, have fun on your weekend. With my work schedule I had Monday through today off this week and with it being cold and snowy outside I decided to just sit here and play on the computer for the full three days.

I rarely read any fan fiction of any sort. Usually, when I'm into a game or something all I do is play the game and chat with people on forums who are into the same game. I've considered writing fan fiction but I've never been able to come up with an idea. Or been able to tear myself away from a game long enough to write about it. Oh, well...

Feel free to ramble at any time. I do the same thing myself a lot.

Kadrian