SMAC Expansion Disk!

[Tim Train FIRAXIS]

Hi all,
I trust everyone is enjoying Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Firaxis is exploring the possibility of a new installment in the world of Alpha Centauri-an expansion disk (SMACX, for lack of a better designation) that adds some new twists and turns to the familiar surface of Planet. I'd love to hear what people want to see in a SMAC expansion disk, so here's your chance to put in your $0.02. A few guidelines:

*We're looking for new faction ideas, base facilities, Secret Projects, unit components, native lifeforms, landmarks, orbital facilities-basically anything.
*Preferably, ideas should fit into the existing parameters of the game. So a base facility that increases nutrient resources collected would be great, but 'add minefields to the game' would be more problematic, since no code currently exists for such a feature.

Feel free to post responses or send them directly to me at ttrain@firaxis.com

Thanks for your input and support!

Tim

[Alexandros]

Chucking in some ideas.

Factions - One primarly terrorist. One that believes in space. Perhaps even an ancient civilization could carry on into the new age, because of some person who admired them. Like the Italian leader during ww2 who admired the Romans and wanted to build a modern Roman empire.
Native Lifeforms - Maybe a primary 'leader' or specific group of lifeforms that forms the elite of the lifeforms.
LandMarks - The site of a former alien empire that provides certain amount of nutrients, energy and minerals.
The story of an alien empire maybe fighting the Native Lifeforms that lives now makes a nice twist to the fiction, especcially if it lost.
Oribtal - Maybe some unit army for space could attack, defend or take over an enemy orbit.
Units - I like more emphasis on terrosim, although that may be too much like CTP. A terroist could halt production or cause riots by making them panic.
Bunkers - It doesn't look realistic. Maybe a different drawing of it? It looks like a wall.
If minefields can't be made, then how about making traps in certain places for enemy units to stumble on? It could be simple, and probably only take a certain amount of strength from the unit or maybe the unit somehow survives.
Well, that's all I can think of so far.

[Pythagoras]

I've been playing around with the idea of "Super Gaians" for lack of a better term, they would start out with the ability to build the Voice of Planet, and ascent to transcendance, but would otherwise be weak. They would be tall frail ancients, good at psioinic combat but very poor industrially, economically and normal military stuff.

[Fugi the Great]

Anti-satellite weapons - either landbased missles or space based "hunter-killer" satellites like the Russians supposedly have. That way you can destroy the enemies planet buster defense, starve him/her if he uses nutrient producing satellites, hit him/her in the pocket book if using energy producing satellites, and cripple his/her manufacturing ability if using mining satellites.

Jungles - be able to plant them ourselves and maybe even have them expand by themselves like forests do now. I don't know if you would have to limit this to certain latitudes or not.

Orbiting laboratories - I realize we do have enough "labs" already but it may or may not come in handy if you are falling behind scientifically.

Some kind of monolith to upgrade/repair air units. You can upgrade ground units with them, if you sink them they can upgrade ships, but as of yet there is no way to upgrade air units. I just hope it doesn't end up near Yang, man could that get nasty.

Minefields could be used if you could create a unit that cannot move but has to be "transported" to where it is deployed. Of coarse this unit would either have no upkeep or very low upkeep. But who gets to see them and how much damage does it do?

[Fugi the Great]

Minefields could also be made by terraformers like they build bunkers and sensors now. Of course as soon as we get minefields, we'll also ask for automated lazer turrets, flamethrowers, fences, walls... It will almost end up like a turn based Command & Conqueor.

[Fugi the Great]

A secret project "The Return to Earth" which at first does nothing, but after a few years (travel time there and back) you would get a bit of an interlude about what is going on back home. Are they all dead? Did they finally find a cure for the common cold? Could possibly lead to a certain technological advancement that can only be obtained with this secret project. But then is this technology shared with all the children of old earth or only the faction that builds the secret project? Maybe even bring back some new artifact that gives you a certain advantage in building, warfare, terraforming, population growth/control ... that every faction would want desperately to get.

[Fugi the Great]

A type of natural lifeform that has a true lifecycle. It would start out very weak (baby) and get stronger as it ages, and of course years later dies when it get old. Certain improvements or technologies could determine how old it can become or how strong it gets. This would a living weapon that would attack on sight, where the attack (psi?) is not considered an act of war - sort of like guarddogs, could be used for border guards to make the other factions think twice before entering your land without permission. This creature would actually be useless in a war right away if you would need units in a hurry, but would probably be produced during peacetime so they have enough time to develop before the next war. Of course for those at a constant state of war will just have to put the creature out to pasture (forests, jungle, fungus?) for a while. Maybe one for land, one for sea, one for air? This may end up being kind of nasty when you think you have a very large fighting force, and all of a sudden a large percentage starts dieing off due to some plague or old age.

[jojo]

Now I know you can't build mines, but why not add a function to a former to make it lay a trap which, once a unit lands on the square, forces a xenofungal bloom?

How about a funky pice of artillery which, when fired, has the same effect as a fungal growth-- i.e., it chucks out mindworms, converts a square to fungus, and destroys the improvements on the tile....

How about a blob-like creature-- if it wins a battle, it absorbs the decaying flesh of its enemies and grows stronger? If it gets strong enough, it decides to undergo meiosis, splitting into two weaker creatures...

How about a medic unit, that when stacked with other infantry units, doubles their recuperative abilities and/or makes them take less damage during battle? Rovers, of course, would need a mechanic type unit.

Would a time warp project be too unbalancing? It might allow you to freeze other players for maybe 10 turns, during which time combat would take place as normal, but your opponents would not be produing (or consuming) anything and would be defenseless against probe teams....

I haven't played enough, but is there a unit which can cross both land and sea like a hovercraft? If not, why not?

How about a solar collector super project that harnesses the suns' energy from orbit, doubling your energy production-- too unbalancing?




------------------
Your mileage may vary.

[Almighty]

I really feel that the graphics should be updated considerably, especially the too colorful military units who are dressed like clowns. Also, at the beginning of the game, when you've conquered a city, make it so that you get a picture of say, rovers storming and when you've got hovertanks, show that. Better still, have cut scenes for the Interludes from the book of planet. Use the original interface design (the brownish metal one) that one looks more original and therefore better. Sub units should be shown submerged and air units should not have to follow the terrain. A field mechanic will be excellent. The copter looks more like a toy (do something!) Try to have bombs as well for air units. Also, if possible, have military readiness like CTP and stacked combat which you can command (perhaps for a SMAC sequel). I'll post more ideas later.

[sdanic]

For the expansion I'd like to see planet expressed as a playable faction. It would be nice to play an entire scenario with interludes and everything strictly from planet's perspective.

I'd also like to see something comparible to the hooded dashers and hylighters from "The Jesus Incident". Hooded dashers would be fast attack units. Hylighters would be flying units similar to the overlords in Starcraft.

[RINCEWIND_HAS_RETURNED]

Surely wouldn`t a planet like Chiron have Polar Ice-caps.
All there is in SMAC is arid terrain with rocky land.

[Milop Sac Lamb]

1, SCENARIOS, about a dozen or more

2, Special units, it was really cool to have
generals and such expressed as special units in civ2

3, the terrain, sometimes 10 m is higher up then 753 m, fix it please.

4, More about the Monolith, Ruins, boreholecluster-building aliens, who where they where did they come from where are they now, also: Add more interludes, maybe fimls, they really add to the game, an customizable interlude editor for scenarios would be nice.

5, More space, building farms and mines and solar panels is kinda boring, why can´t we build the ship from the bulkmatter-transmitter?

I´ll try coming up with more.

"Whatever else, Protect the borders!"
--Lord Deira, last instructions before his death by an assasins knife.

[Aztlan]

1. New directions for technology:

Humans are already trying to improve themselves by combining themselves with machinery and native lifeforms. How about adding plant and animal traits to the mix.

There is current research into the use of plant proteins as switches. Make computers organic.

Superconductor research has gone ceramic. Materials can be switched from metallic to silicate.

With Temporal Mechanics and Singularity Mechanics, they're almost able to control wormholes. Make interstellar spaceflight a possible research victory, because I think Planet is lying. Humans are the fuel for its Transcendence. Would you even find out before it was too late? That's what you get for listening to fungus.

Also:

an amphibious chassis

Be in motion,

Aztlan

[Akron]

2 things.

1) Sound and graphics MUST be improved. The graphics aren't bad once you get in the game, but look bad to outsiders. Also, music and better sound effects would add greatly to the game.

2) Expand space a lot. One idea is too have space transports that can either start new settlements on other planets or that carry units that can be dropped anywhere on planet with advanced spaceflight, the number of units depending upon the space transports reactor. Of course, spaceflight should be very expensive an undertaking, especially traveling to new planets. Also, new space labs, something for direct energy reserves, and even for psych, but these should be limited.

[Akron]

2 more things

Alpha Centauri's gameplay is better than Civ2's, yet there are a few things to be worked out. In most games, the computer, even though it has 300+ units and a transport, will not make an assult on you unless they are in first place on the power graph. This gets very annoying because it makes the game VERY easy for some factions. The AI needs more strategy, not just quicker production. It needs to know how to launch a successful attack on you, collect information and plan out an assult. It also needs better planning out of its own empire. Some factions, such as the Morgans and Believers are unbalenced in the game. Improving this will greatly add to the game.

Secondly, I feel that different factions should have slightly different tech trees. For example, there should be a "Morgan" tech strand that can only be researched by Morgan, but can be stolen by any facrtion. These advances will have one mainstream prerequisite and one "Morgan" prerequisite. Of course, the advances should be faction specific.