SMAC II Brainstorming - Alpha Centauri Forums

  Alpha Centauri Forums
  The Game
  SMAC II Brainstorming

profile | register | prefs | faq | search

Author Topic:   SMAC II Brainstorming

Audrey Two posted 02-10-99 07:45 PM ET
No rest for the weary-- I remember reading someone (maybe Tim Train) mentioning SMAC II, and I thought this might be a good time for people to start jotting down thoughts on what features they might like to see.
Audrey Two posted 02-10-99 07:56 PM ET
I'll start the ball rolling with a couple of ideas:
==
Second (or third?) planet:
Perhaps their could be another planet around ACA, or a planet around Hercules (ACB), or bothony pods would have landed on Chiron, the most habitable planet-- but with some tech advance, and maybe after some Secret Project gets built, people could set up a first base on one of the other planets. That planet would have its own map, and it would be very expensive to move units from one map to the other (sort of like the two planes in "Master of Magic", but harder to move between). The planet should be harder to live on-- maybe all spaces are arid, or there's low mineral production, or something.
==
Launch interstellar colony ship
Maybe with a high enough tech level, you can launch a colony ship to some other promising star system.. Launching the ship would give you a big boost in prestige (maybe represented by an advantage in Council votes).
The colony ship would take a long time to reach its destination, so the colony founded wouldn't play a part in the game.
You could set this up as a "secret project", but I'd rather see it as some really expensive unit to build, perhaps only buildable after some appropriate Secret Project has been built by someone (like "Apollo Project" in Civ). I could imagine the top two players launching ship after ship to far stars, trying to out-impress the council in a race for Supreme Leader...
Audrey Two posted 02-10-99 07:59 PM ET
Oops-- the first sentence of "multiple planets" got garbled. It should read thus:
==
Perhaps there could be another planet around ACA, or a planet around Hercules (ACB), or both. The Unity's colony pods would have landed on Chiron, the most habitable planet...
Pudz posted 02-10-99 08:52 PM ET
i dunno, after the human race transends, don't think a sequal is two likely. too much like populus probaly. or like Q on ST:TNG
eNo posted 02-10-99 09:33 PM ET
My suggestions are -
1) Spherical map - so that there could be differances in equatorial and polar regions. It also present a challenge in troop movement cause the shortest distance between two points is no longer a straight line.
2) Improved elevation modelling - Oceans with depth and an atmosphere. Differences in submerged and floating objects and ocean floor crawlers are some possibilities for ocean depth and an atmosphere could simulate different vehicals for different elevations.
3) Cities that grow physically - Larger cities should stop taking up only one tile and the city radius should increase.
4) Perhaps a larger variety of native lifeforms?
More will come along once I get the full version!
Audrey Two posted 02-10-99 11:23 PM ET
Pudz -- I assumed SMAC II would bear the same resemblance to SMAC as Civ II did to CIV, or MOOII to MOO. i.e. SMAC II wouldn't take place after SMAC; it would be the same game, done much better.
But the Firaxes (is that the plural?) may move on two new things, and I wouldn't blame'em.
White_Cat posted 02-11-99 07:05 PM ET
I'd like to see a "return to Earth" scenario, in which a faction (transcended or not) sends a ship back to earth to find out for sure what happened. Maybe they'll have to contend with the caveman-like survivors of a nuclear holocaust, or that the monolith-creating aliens have invaded, or some other mysterious occurence during their absence.
Lee Johnson posted 02-11-99 11:43 PM ET
I'd still like to see Firaxis tackle a 4X galactic conquest game someday. I'm sure their design team could come up with some novel approaches to breathe new life into the genre.
eNo posted 02-11-99 11:49 PM ET
"4X galactic conquest game"?
something like MOO?
continued from my last post:
5) Underground cities vs. aboveground cities. maybe underground cities get a defense bonus but since everything has to be dug, they'd lose out on efficiency?
6) This kinda relates to #2 but maybe different slope steepnesses? and more special terrain!! I love the Sunny Mesae and the Uranium Flats!
Lee Johnson posted 02-12-99 08:41 AM ET
>"4X galactic conquest game"?
>something like MOO?
That's the genre, but I'd like to see Firaxis approach it from a fresh angle. I think that the traditional MOO-like approaches have been done to death now.
To close this thread, click here (moderator or admin only).


Hop to:

Contact Us | Alpha Centauri Home

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Version 5.18
© Madrona Park, Inc., 1998.

Author	Topic: SMAC II Brainstorming
Audrey Two	posted 02-10-99 07:45 PM ET No rest for the weary-- I remember reading someone (maybe Tim Train) mentioning SMAC II, and I thought this might be a good time for people to start jotting down thoughts on what features they might like to see.
Audrey Two	posted 02-10-99 07:56 PM ET I'll start the ball rolling with a couple of ideas: == Second (or third?) planet: Perhaps their could be another planet around ACA, or a planet around Hercules (ACB), or bothony pods would have landed on Chiron, the most habitable planet-- but with some tech advance, and maybe after some Secret Project gets built, people could set up a first base on one of the other planets. That planet would have its own map, and it would be very expensive to move units from one map to the other (sort of like the two planes in "Master of Magic", but harder to move between). The planet should be harder to live on-- maybe all spaces are arid, or there's low mineral production, or something. == Launch interstellar colony ship Maybe with a high enough tech level, you can launch a colony ship to some other promising star system.. Launching the ship would give you a big boost in prestige (maybe represented by an advantage in Council votes). The colony ship would take a long time to reach its destination, so the colony founded wouldn't play a part in the game. You could set this up as a "secret project", but I'd rather see it as some really expensive unit to build, perhaps only buildable after some appropriate Secret Project has been built by someone (like "Apollo Project" in Civ). I could imagine the top two players launching ship after ship to far stars, trying to out-impress the council in a race for Supreme Leader...
Audrey Two	posted 02-10-99 07:59 PM ET Oops-- the first sentence of "multiple planets" got garbled. It should read thus: == Perhaps there could be another planet around ACA, or a planet around Hercules (ACB), or both. The Unity's colony pods would have landed on Chiron, the most habitable planet...
Pudz	posted 02-10-99 08:52 PM ET i dunno, after the human race transends, don't think a sequal is two likely. too much like populus probaly. or like Q on ST:TNG
eNo	posted 02-10-99 09:33 PM ET My suggestions are - 1) Spherical map - so that there could be differances in equatorial and polar regions. It also present a challenge in troop movement cause the shortest distance between two points is no longer a straight line. 2) Improved elevation modelling - Oceans with depth and an atmosphere. Differences in submerged and floating objects and ocean floor crawlers are some possibilities for ocean depth and an atmosphere could simulate different vehicals for different elevations. 3) Cities that grow physically - Larger cities should stop taking up only one tile and the city radius should increase. 4) Perhaps a larger variety of native lifeforms? More will come along once I get the full version!
Audrey Two	posted 02-10-99 11:23 PM ET Pudz -- I assumed SMAC II would bear the same resemblance to SMAC as Civ II did to CIV, or MOOII to MOO. i.e. SMAC II wouldn't take place after SMAC; it would be the same game, done much better. But the Firaxes (is that the plural?) may move on two new things, and I wouldn't blame'em.
White_Cat	posted 02-11-99 07:05 PM ET I'd like to see a "return to Earth" scenario, in which a faction (transcended or not) sends a ship back to earth to find out for sure what happened. Maybe they'll have to contend with the caveman-like survivors of a nuclear holocaust, or that the monolith-creating aliens have invaded, or some other mysterious occurence during their absence.
Lee Johnson	posted 02-11-99 11:43 PM ET I'd still like to see Firaxis tackle a 4X galactic conquest game someday. I'm sure their design team could come up with some novel approaches to breathe new life into the genre.
eNo	posted 02-11-99 11:49 PM ET "4X galactic conquest game"? something like MOO? continued from my last post: 5) Underground cities vs. aboveground cities. maybe underground cities get a defense bonus but since everything has to be dug, they'd lose out on efficiency? 6) This kinda relates to #2 but maybe different slope steepnesses? and more special terrain!! I love the Sunny Mesae and the Uranium Flats!
Lee Johnson	posted 02-12-99 08:41 AM ET >"4X galactic conquest game"? >something like MOO? That's the genre, but I'd like to see Firaxis approach it from a fresh angle. I think that the traditional MOO-like approaches have been done to death now.