# Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 19, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384 "2012-05-19T02:12:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/21 "2012-05-21T07:32:16Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > I have no illusions that I was good at it compared to the regulars on Apolyton but I did manage to beat the highest level consistently. I’m sure I wasn’t playing at the highest difficulty-- I think I remember what it was called, though: “Transcendent”. Back then I thought that the highest difficulty level was there for decoration. What bummed me out is that I had come up with strategies that I really thought were clever. The discussions I stumbled upon were things I never considered and factions I never played because I thought they were weak. Some of them were exploits, really. There’s a feedback loop when people get together and share findings. One player finds strategy X, that leads another to find Y, put them together with Z and use exploits I never found because I never thought to look, and of course they won faster than I imagined possible. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/22 "2012-05-21T07:55:55Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > I still have the manual, but not the box. Say what you will about the lack of packaging nowadays, but the clamshell disc boxes (or even the jewel cases) are far better than the cardboard ones of yesterday. I agree the newer boxes are more practical but the old boxes were great for displaying art work. The SMAC box is beautifully done with the planet in the front and the different factions inside the fold. I think it would be nice if publishers brought back the larger boxes for special editions and charged $10-15 extra. You would get a nice box, a quality printed manual (the SMAC manual was great but Baldur’s Gate was even better), posters with maps, tables etc and perhaps a few other goodies. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/23 "2012-05-21T08:24:17Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Alpha Centauri is currently on sale at good old games ([gog.com](http://gog.com)) for $2.99. It’s worth ten times that. > > Sadly, they don’t have the expansion available though. I sent an email to the company asking them to carry the expansion, and the response I got had no indication that they ever intend to. Thanks for the heads up, I’m downloading now. In one window I’ve got my legal download of Alpha Centuari, and in the other, were I to be evil enough to pirate, would be a torrent for Alien Crossfire. It’s a pity there is no easy legal way to procure the expansion. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/24 "2012-05-21T11:43:20Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > I think it would be nice if publishers brought back the larger boxes for special editions and charged $10-15 extra. You would get a nice box, a quality printed manual (the SMAC manual was great but Baldur’s Gate was even better), posters with maps, tables etc and perhaps a few other goodies. Some collector’s editions are pretty huge, to the point that once you have them it’s hard to know where to place them. My CE of Bioshock 2 has a full-size vinyl soundtrack album and three rolled-up posters inside, among various other bits and pieces including a DVD case with the game, so it’s kind of a logistical headache even if it does look nice. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/25 "2012-05-24T17:59:21Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > I’ve never played the expansion, seems like it was only available in retail for a fairly short time, but based on what I’ve read about it I get the impression that it didn’t really add all that much to the game? As others have said below, the expansion added quite a bit even if you didn’t really play with the expansion races. So much so that I saw it on GOG for 2.99 but didn’t bother to get it. I loved that game but without the expansion…nawwww. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/26 "2012-05-24T19:35:57Z")
I played SMAC for the first time in nearly a decade recently, but I have to say, while I do get bit by the “just one more turn” attitude, the graphics aren’t all that nice to look at anymore. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/27 "2012-05-24T20:11:45Z")
I don’t think the graphics were ever anything to look at, and for me, they seriously distracted from the game. Brown, pink, and blue. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/28 "2012-05-25T02:46:34Z")
This thread inspired me to watch the intro on Youtube which inspired me to buy a used copy of the Gurps SMAC source book. Loved this game way back when. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/29 "2012-05-25T04:24:58Z")
Hm, I might have to try it again. I actually bought it, retail, back when it was new. I remember loving the background “pseudo-novel” on all the leaders. But the game just never grabbed me. Probably because there were limited internets back then and I played a few games without stumbling onto a good strat. But I suppose now there are FAQs a-plenty and it might be worth looking into. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/30 "2012-05-25T13:18:33Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > I played SMAC for the first time in nearly a decade recently, but I have to say, while I do get bit by the “just one more turn” attitude, the graphics aren’t all that nice to look at anymore. IMO. Yeah, that’s why i prefer to play the Civ4 mods that are almost identical in gameplay (and even use the exact same same sound files—not adaptations but the same files) but have better graphics. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/31 "2012-05-25T13:22:41Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > Probably because there were limited internets back then and I played a few games without stumbling onto a good strat. But I suppose now there are FAQs a-plenty and it might be worth looking into. Different stroke for different folks, I guess. I prefer my own strategies for TBS games rather than someone else’s. I just think it is better to learn on your own rather than have it fed to you (though I don’t feel that way about other types of games). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/32 "2012-05-25T14:39:15Z")
> [@Dave\_Hartwick](#): > > I’m sure I wasn’t playing at the highest difficulty-- I think I remember what it was called, though: “Transcendent”. Back then I thought that the highest difficulty level was there for decoration. > > What bummed me out is that I had come up with strategies that I really thought were clever. The discussions I stumbled upon were things I never considered and factions I never played because I thought they were weak. Some of them were exploits, really. There’s a feedback loop when people get together and share findings. One player finds strategy X, that leads another to find Y, put them together with Z and use exploits I never found because I never thought to look, and of course they won faster than I imagined possible. I played it quite a bit at a time when I didn’t have home internet (I think I got SM Alpha Centauri in a combo pack with SM Colonization and some other games). I’m pretty sure I managed to win at least once on Transcendent mode without any outside help, presumably using my favourite faction – Gaia’s Stepdaughters. I’d be afraid now to look at strategies on the internet, for fear of giving myself a huge inferiority complex. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/33 "2012-05-25T17:33:30Z")
This is why, in the Civ games, I always competed against the timeline, not against other humans. I’ve got railroads in 1400? Computers in 1600? Sweet! Never mind the fact that someone else could get those in 1000 and 1200. I’m not sure how one would do this in alpha Centauri, though. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/34 "2012-05-25T18:27:37Z")
I really enjoyed this game & ex-pack, why has there never been a squeal or new version? It seems to still be loved by a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/35 "2012-05-26T01:14:20Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > Different stroke for different folks, I guess. I prefer my own strategies for TBS games rather than someone else’s. I just think it is better to learn on your own rather than have it fed to you (though I don’t feel that way about other types of games). Fair enough. I’m the type of gamer that has trouble enjoying a strat game if I feel I don’t have a good handle on the mechanics and an understanding of what works and what doesn’t. As much as I enjoyed the AC manual, it doesn’t really lay out (IIRC, and it’s been nearly 15 years now) how all the mechanics and stats work. ---
**Author:** ![Petek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/petek/32/1590_2.png) [@Petek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petek)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384/36 "2012-05-26T03:49:56Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > I really enjoyed this game & ex-pack, why has there never been a squeal or new version? It seems to still be loved by a lot of people. There were no sequels because SMAC was a commercial letdown, relative to other titles in the Civ series. The Alien Crossfire add-on is available (along with the original game) through [Mastertronic](http://www.mastertronic.com/productSoldOut.asp?pid=756&productLabelID=1), under the _Sold Out Software_ label. Many copies available on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). This version ships with the [SecuROM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SecuROM) DRM. However, it is almost trivial to bypass the installation of SecuROM. I assume that this board doesn’t allow posting of instructions on how to bypass DRM, but anyone who buys this version feel free to PM me about the matter. Just don’t install the game unless you can figure out the “secret.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sid-meiers-alpha-centauri/622384.md?page=1)