Just bought AC - ready to go?

[AC-Rich]

Hi all,

Just got Alpha Centauri + Alien cross Fire. Never played before and I was wondering how i should go about installing? Should I install both + official patch then fix pack?
Anything else to install?

Is widescreen allowed through the .ini?

Many thanks,

[BlackCat]

Taka a look here if you get into trouble :

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184375

and if this doesn't help, don't hesitate to aske further.

[AC-Rich]

Many thanks for reply,

I;ve downloaded the patches from the link in the FAQ but am I right in installing AC the AC then the patch? Does the unofficial patch then come after?

Kind regards,

[bdanv]

@AC-Rich: you can find here the correct order

[AC-Rich]

That's great bdanv! Just what i was looking for
Many thanks,

Just before i install. Would you say the learning curve for AC is higher then Civ games? I have no experience with either. Would you recommend start with Civ and then move onto AC later?

Kind regards,

[vyeh]

SMAC is different from Civ 2. I was a very experienced Civ 2 player before I started SMAC and there was a lot to learn.

Since I think SMAC is the better game (it has a great story line with great characters), I would recommend SMAC. Many people have complained that there doesn't seem to be much difference among Civ nations despite the unique units.

Civ may be more intuitive. Everybody knows what the alphabet or the wheel is. How many people know what Doctrine: Flexibility is?

[bdanv]

That's great bdanv! Just what i was looking for
Many thanks,

no problem. enjoy your new game

Just before i install. Would you say the learning curve for AC is higher then Civ games? I have no experience with either. Would you recommend start with Civ and then move onto AC later?

Kind regards,

just give SMAC a try. you may find yourself emersed in the game atmosphere and for ever hooked

[CEO Aaron]

Would you say the learning curve for AC is higher then Civ games?

In only one minor regard: The tech tree for SMAC/X is entirely conjectural, as opposed to the historically based technologies that appear in the Civ series. So while it's pretty obvious what kind of advances you should get for 'Archery' and 'Gunpowder', it's not quite as easy to figure out what you're getting when you learn 'Centauri Empathy' or 'Polymorphic Software'. That said, IMO, SMAC/X is the last good Civ-type game, before the gameplay was hamstrung by see-saw mechanics designed to compensate for the eternally lackluster AI. It's a far better game.

[AC-Rich]

Many thanks again guys

I'm fully installed now and ready for my first play. Only questions I have remaining is widescreen support. I've checked the wiki and I see that by changing a line in the .ini it's possible to play at desktop res but I then read that the crossfire expansion is not supported by this.

Anyone know of an alternative way or do you know if it's possible to run through a 'windower app'?

Kind regards,

[chuft]

That said, IMO, SMAC/X is the last good Civ-type game, before the gameplay was hamstrung by see-saw mechanics designed to compensate for the eternally lackluster AI. It's a far better game.

That is very interesting, could you elaborate? I have played Civ I and II but not III or IV since I heard in III they introduced some "culture" thing that could result in cities you conquered going back to the enemy and taking your military units with them - sounded irritating. I really like SMAC, it seems to offer a lot more with the customizable units, deep terraforming options, and unique factions and social engineering. But I would like to hear more about these "see-saw mechanics" you are referring to.

[vyeh]

In only one minor regard: The tech tree for SMAC/X is entirely conjectural, as opposed to the historically based technologies that appear in the Civ series. So while it's pretty obvious what kind of advances you should get for 'Archery' and 'Gunpowder', it's not quite as easy to figure out what you're getting when you learn 'Centauri Empathy' or 'Polymorphic Software'. That said, IMO, SMAC/X is the last good Civ-type game, before the gameplay was hamstrung by see-saw mechanics designed to compensate for the eternally lackluster AI. It's a far better game.

I share CEO Aaron's opinion. I bought Civ 4 and went through one game. Too much eye candy (it was slow on my machine due to the eye candy). Part of the problem was trying to stop ICS (I suppose to make it more historically accurate.)

I loved Civ and Civ 2.

That is very interesting, could you elaborate? I have played Civ I and II but not III or IV since I heard in III they introduced some "culture" thing that could result in cities you conquered going back to the enemy and taking your military units with them - sounded irritating. I really like SMAC, it seems to offer a lot more with the customizable units, deep terraforming options, and unique factions and social engineering. But I would like to hear more about these "see-saw mechanics" you are referring to.

I think it is neat how at the beginning your formers are planting forests, farms, mines and solar collectors. Later boreholes and then later (when satellites emerged) condensors.

[Petek]

Many thanks again guys

I'm fully installed now and ready for my first play. Only questions I have remaining is widescreen support. I've checked the wiki and I see that by changing a line in the .ini it's possible to play at desktop res but I then read that the crossfire expansion is not supported by this.

Anyone know of an alternative way or do you know if it's possible to run through a 'windower app'?

Kind regards,

You should be able to use widescreen by adding the line

directdraw=0

to the [Alpha Centauri] section of your Alpha Centauri.ini file (or changing directdraw=1 to directdraw=0 if the command is already present). This works in the Crossfire expansion. It also works in the original game, but only if you're patched to v5.0 (the so-called "Win 2K/XP Update"). Some of the information on the web about this issue is outdated.

Petek

[AC-Rich]

You should be able to use widescreen by adding the line

directdraw=0

to the [Alpha Centauri] section of your Alpha Centauri.ini file (or changing directdraw=1 to directdraw=0 if the command is already present). This works in the Crossfire expansion. It also works in the original game, but only if you're patched to v5.0 (the so-called "Win 2K/XP Update"). Some of the information on the web about this issue is outdated.

Petek

Thanks for help, you method worked great.

I did also try the 'windower app';

http://www.shsforums.net/topic/43616-how-to-deal-with-the-ddraw-problems-of-pst-and-other-ie-games/

I used the same settings as torment did in the example linked above. Seems to work fine and I can custom my window size.

[bdanv]

..I did also try the 'windower app';

http://www.shsforums.net/topic/43616-how-to-deal-with-the-ddraw-problems-of-pst-and-other-ie-games/

I used the same settings as torment did in the example linked above. Seems to work fine and I can custom my window size.

be careful with that software as it may be tricky when using the artillery

[BlackCat]

That is very interesting, could you elaborate? I have played Civ I and II but not III or IV since I heard in III they introduced some "culture" thing that could result in cities you conquered going back to the enemy and taking your military units with them - sounded irritating. I really like SMAC, it seems to offer a lot more with the customizable units, deep terraforming options, and unique factions and social engineering. But I would like to hear more about these "see-saw mechanics" you are referring to.

Uhmn, you can actually loose a city in SMAC/X under drone riots, so in that way it doesn't differ from C3