Alpha Centauri - the darkest, most disturbing game ever?

[Spectacle]

Ive read the real genius behind Smac was Bryan Reynolds, which had a degree on philosophy and decided to put it to use. Sid only served as a chief suit or something (oh, this is cool/nah, this is not).

It's well known that Sid did fuck all on Alpha Centauri, (IIRC he was making his Gettysburg game at the time), it's Bryan Reynold's baby.

 

[Johannes]

Wtf is baraka ?

Movie

Wtf is Frontierville ?

facebook game

 

[Hellraiser]

Ive read the real genius behind Smac was Bryan Reynolds, which had a degree on philosophy and decided to put it to use. Sid only served as a chief suit or something (oh, this is cool/nah, this is not).

It's well known that Sid did fuck all on Alpha Centauri, (IIRC he was making his Gettysburg game at the time), it's Bryan Reynold's baby.

Yes, Sid is too popamole to have thought of it.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Sid Meier doesn't really do shit these days anymore. He has assumed the role of a supervisor, mentor, manager, father to the children of Firaxis, if you will. They do the brunt of the work, he 'just' gets all the credit. /oldfagworld

 

[codexian reject]

Civ2 and SMAC were dsigned by Reynolds and Sid catched a Molyneux disease. It's only for the better that Firaxis doesn't own rights to SMAC.

Anyone who who bought Civ V and nu xcom, or still has a slightest bit of interest in any future game by this company is a moron and decliner.

 

[Bradylama]

The only other "special ending" I know is losing the ascension run, and seeing this movie here.

Fucking libruls and their treehugging globalwarmthinkery wanna take my eXploitation out of "4x".

According to the plot of the game, humans settled Planet at a point when it was just about to start a massive explosion of the lifecycle. It ultimately wouldn't matter how much control you have of Planet because the Fungus will overrun everything anyways.

 

[tuluse]

Sid Meier doesn't really do shit these days anymore. He has assumed the role of a supervisor, mentor, manager, father to the children of Firaxis, if you will. They do the brunt of the work, he 'just' gets all the credit. /oldfagworld

He was heavily involved in the mobile game they made about airplanes.

 

[Heresiarch]

Civ2 and SMAC were dsigned by Reynolds and Sid catched a Molyneux disease. It's only for the better that Firaxis doesn't own rights to SMAC.

Anyone who who bought Civ V and nu xcom, or still has a slightest bit of interest in any future game by this company is a moron and decliner.

That's pretty harsh for me, the OP who made this awesome thread

Civ 5 post xpacs is really good actually.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Sid Meier doesn't really do shit these days anymore. He has assumed the role of a supervisor, mentor, manager, father to the children of Firaxis, if you will. They do the brunt of the work, he 'just' gets all the credit. /oldfagworld

He was heavily involved in the mobile game they made about airplanes.

 

[Erzherzog]

Wow, Alpha Centari was a game I've always heard about (thanks to Sid Meier's Antietam, ironically) but never really made an effort to try, but now I must.

As for anything on a similar level of disturbing-ness, all I got is the Half-troll 'quest' from Arcanum. That shit was fucking unnerving.

 

[DwarvenFood]

I'm trying to get into it, but compared to Civ4, which feels very naturally to me, this game seems a bit .. having to look up how things work a lot. I guess it's also because the granary, barracks, etc. stuff is what we know from our world, but the future tech of SMAC needs some getting into. Well I am not giving up on the game, the atmosphere is quite awesome.

 

[Surf Solar]

This thread made me reinstall the game. GLorious memories.

to the OP!

 

[Bradylama]

The only other "special ending" I know is losing the ascension run, and seeing this movie here.

Fucking libruls and their treehugging globalwarmthinkery wanna take my eXploitation out of "4x".

According to the plot of the game, humans settled Planet at a point when it was just about to start a massive explosion of the lifecycle. It ultimately wouldn't matter how much control you have of Planet because the Fungus will overrun everything anyways.

You mean in a setting where humans are harnessing synthetic blackholes for energy? Being defeated by fungus? Shocking!

It's not as if they could come up with a terraforming anti-fungal virus or anything, right?

I'm not sure if your civilization is even aware of the impending threat if you ignore the path to transcendence. Your avatar has to actually learn to speak with Planet before the impending fungocalypse.

 

[Heresiarch]

I'm trying to get into it, but compared to Civ4, which feels very naturally to me, this game seems a bit .. having to look up how things work a lot. I guess it's also because the granary, barracks, etc. stuff is what we know from our world, but the future tech of SMAC needs some getting into. Well I am not giving up on the game, the atmosphere is quite awesome.

It takes a bit to think over but all the classsical Civ buildings (granary, library etc.) and tech are still there though with very different names. The way they present the background stories of said objects is absolutely brilliant as not only the tech and building advancement makes sense (they could literally write a textbook out of it) but also the quotes linked together makes a brilliant story. Reading the stories I found that all of the seven leaders are insane or sick in one way or another. Even the supposedly peaceful hippies ala Gaians apparently destroyed several bases with mindworms which made the scientist leader dude full of mindworm genocide hate. And the way she Deidre says "Eternity lies ahead of us" to get people join her in the transcendence sounds exactly like Dead Space or Cthulhu fanatics.

It seems the only "good guy" is the Indian guy who ironically looks like Bin Laden.

 

[mondblut]

The only other "special ending" I know is losing the ascension run, and seeing this movie here.

Fucking libruls and their treehugging globalwarmthinkery wanna take my eXploitation out of "4x".

According to the plot of the game, humans settled Planet at a point when it was just about to start a massive explosion of the lifecycle. It ultimately wouldn't matter how much control you have of Planet because the Fungus will overrun everything anyways.

Nothing a few million tons of napalm nanoblackholes cannot solve. Lifecycle my ass.

 

[Bradylama]

I'm not sure if your civilization is even aware of the impending threat if you ignore the path to transcendence. Your avatar has to actually learn to speak with Planet before the impending fungocalypse.

How does it preclude that the option is impossible?

Because you need to know that you're fighting something before you can even think to develop a weapon for it. Even with an antifungal virus they can just Deus Ex Planet adapting to it. It doesn't matter how advanced human civilization gets on the surface of Planet and near-space, they can never come close to approaching the power of a god, which Planet effectively is.

 

[Silva]

Because you need to know that you're fighting something before you can even think to develop a weapon for it. Even with an antifungal virus they can just Deus Ex Planet adapting to it. It doesn't matter how advanced human civilization gets on the surface of Planet and near-space, they can never come close to approaching the power of a god, which Planet effectively is.

God my ass, you Believer scum. If it has matter it can be nuked from orbit.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

Imagine Alpha Centauri re-done with the Civ 5 engine...




But we can't have nice things. No sir.

look what they did to x-com.
no, i don't want alpha centauri redone.

isnt that new Pandora First contact is aiming ???

only in its dreams.

It seems the only "good guy" is the Indian guy who ironically looks like Bin Laden.

damn youngsters, he looks like yasser arafat.

 

[Bradylama]

Lowut?

The planet is no god. In fact it is completely possible with the Progenitor victory where they basically call their fleet and an destroy the planet. But that is besides the point. The setting is a science fiction with ridiculously high level of advancement (you don't have to trust me; they not only can control the weather but can completely alter the environment which makes no scientific sense in reality). There is no reason why killing the fungus is impossible. It is a blatant plot device, because apparently the best thing that mankind can do is Transcend into super-hive mind. I have no idea why that is considered "god-hood" without some serious political leaning.

From the human and even the Progenitor perspective Planet is certainly god-like. The power and resources of an entire planet controlled by a single consciousness have incredible potential to shape the universe around it. (the epilogue text also demonstrates that not everybody has to join the god-mind) That a Projenitor fleet is collectively capable of killing Planet doesn't make it any less god-like, it just means that the Projenitors acting in unison can kill a god.

 

[Silva]

Lowut?.

Well, godhood looks a valid concept according to Arthur Clarke mythus. Or hyper-evolved organism, or star-children, etc.

Edit: Ninjad by Bradylama.

 

[Whisky]

Alpha Centauri is just unbelievable. Top-notch gameplay and lore so detailed, you can hardly believe it's a Civ clone. Not many games of it kind make you feel uneasy when you progress technologically.

We must dissent.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Anyone here remember the novellas that Firaxis made in regards to SMAC? "Journey" and "Arrival"?

I still have them here on my hard drive, and from what I recall from reading it more than a decade ago, some of the "leaders" don't even survive long enough to see the planet, only their followers do. Santiago, for example.

 

[anus_pounder]

Anyone here remember the novellas that Firaxis made in regards to SMAC? "Journey" and "Arrival"?

I still have them here on my hard drive, and from what I recall from reading it more than a decade ago, some of the "leaders" don't even survive long enough to see the planet, only their followers do. Santiago, for example.

Woah, really? Sounds interesting.

EDIT: I heard they have a 'rocks fall, everyone dies' type ending. Any truth to that?

 

[Heresiarch]

Anyone here remember the novellas that Firaxis made in regards to SMAC? "Journey" and "Arrival"?

I still have them here on my hard drive, and from what I recall from reading it more than a decade ago, some of the "leaders" don't even survive long enough to see the planet, only their followers do. Santiago, for example.

What?? I've downloaded them ages ago but never read them. It's time for moar reading I guess...

 

[Silva]

All leaders survive planetfall in the short fiction.

The only one that dies is Captain Garland, the mission chief officer (and arguably the only sane person in that ship of lunatics). He sacrifices himself fixing some shit so the lifepods could eject.