Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Alpha Centauri

filfre.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–78 of 78 posts

Re: Alpha Centauri

#71

Post by Quarrelsome »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #63
Quarrelsome wrote: post #15

my favourite game of all time. However without the "plot" and the voice acting I wouldn't rate it anywhere near as highly. The "meat" of the plot was the audio snippets that would pop up whenever you researched a tech, built a facility for the first time or finished a secret project. Most of them were quite fascinating and had a haunting beauty to them [0]. The way that Chairman Yang half-laughs when discussing the g…

I don't personally think that the 4X genre needs to get away from the formula it has now. I keep buying, and enjoying, those games because I like the formula. I don't particularly agree, for example, that the late game is uninteresting in most 4X games. It's not as challenging, certainly, but it's great fun to watch the earlier strategic choices pay off as I come in for a victory landing. I think it's fine if people…

I also like the formula given all these games I keep playing and buying but I also think that its fundamentally broken too. The fact that each game takes hours of investment mean that its been unable to benefit from online play as much taking away the problems of AI because of how hard it is to get other people to commit to that. This means the game is less stress tested for "fair play", which results in it being less balanced along with Immortal/Deity being a hack (+1 free settler, +2 free settler, plus a bunch of flat +% to research/production).

I just think _somewhere_ there's a better receipe.

Re: Alpha Centauri

#72

Post by borosuxks »

nocoiner wrote: post #30
Quarrelsome wrote: post #15

my favourite game of all time. However without the "plot" and the voice acting I wouldn't rate it anywhere near as highly. The "meat" of the plot was the audio snippets that would pop up whenever you researched a tech, built a facility for the first time or finished a secret project. Most of them were quite fascinating and had a haunting beauty to them [0]. The way that Chairman Yang half-laughs when discussing the g…

I have “human behavior is economic behavior” permanently etched into my brain.

I have "what do I care for your suffering? Pain, even agony, is no more than information for the senses. You have received the input, now take control of the output."

Re: Alpha Centauri

#73

Post by NooneAtAll3 »

RedNifre wrote: post #56
NooneAtAll3 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly don't get the love for hexes

It removes the difference between edge neighbors and corner neighbors?

yep, it removes another tactical modifier from already simple positioning

and you no longer can do nice square grid for your buildings or 90 degree positioning

Re: Alpha Centauri

#74

Post by yongjik »

> Other additions are of more dubious value. Brian Reynolds names as one of his biggest regrets his dogged determination to let you design your own units out of the raw materials — chassis, propulsion systems, weapons, armor, and so on — provided by your current state of progression up the tech tree, in the same way that galaxy-spanning 4X games like Master of Orion allowed. It proved a time-consuming nightmare to implement in this uni-planetary context. And, as Reynolds admits, it’s doubtful how much it really adds to the game. All that time and effort could likely have been better spent elsewhere.

Huh, I'd never have guessed. I thought that was the best part! Felt much more "organic" than Civilization's pre-constructed units.

Re: Alpha Centauri

#75

Post by toast0 »

NooneAtAll3 wrote: post #73
RedNifre wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It removes the difference between edge neighbors and corner neighbors?

yep, it removes another tactical modifier from already simple positioning and you no longer can do nice square grid for your buildings or 90 degree positioning

Civ V and earlier have all the buildings in the city square, so I don't see how that applies?

With hexes, I like how you can move in any direction and see the same number of new tiles; with squares, you're compelled to walk in diagonals to see more stuff and it feels icky.

Re: Alpha Centauri

#76

Post by swyx »

b112 wrote: post #13
teddyh wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clickbait rescue: “Millennium 2.2 (1989) — and possibly its 1991 sequel, Deuteros: The Next Millennium.”. Not released for C64, but (among others) for the Commodore Amiga.

Yes! That's it. Thank you.

interesting the details you misremembered... enough that i doubted itw as a match

Re: Alpha Centauri

#77

Post by simonebrunozzi »

SMAC is from 1999. It's now 2025. Would a gen AI be able to build a similar game from scratch? Perhaps improving the few things that need improving? And would it breach copyright if doing so?

Re: Alpha Centauri

#78

Post by colkassad »

Apocryphon wrote: post #65
colkassad wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of those youtubers that goes to old stores (Retail Archaeology or something like that) came across a boxed version of Alpha Centauri at a thrift store or something and bought it because he thought it looked cool. I couldn't believe his luck. I would really like to have that manual again. If I remember correctly, it was more than just a manual...it had a lot of backstory and whatnot.

Here you go: https://archive.org/details/Sid_Meiers_Alpha_Centauri

Nice, thank you!
Post reply on HN