posted 02-11-99 08:31 AM ET         

This maybe is not a good solution, but you can zoom in and out which should help you better distinguish your units (If you have a 15" or less monitor, I'm sure a lot of game are like this in hi-res mode).

I haven't experienced any slow units, but I am running on a high end machine (PII-300, 128MG ram)

Thanks for the tip on the rebate, I just bought it their also and didn't know about it!

I'm playing Zarkov also, The gains wanted a tribute from me, I didn't give it. they declared war, I crushed them. The spartans wanted protection money, seeing they had 4-2-1 troops and I only had 2-1-2, I gave it to them. They then kept demanding tribute every 20 or so turns until they started a war with Brother Lal (who is kicking everyone's but). Now suddenly, the spartans decide that I'm more of a friend (since they know they can't win a war without me). Now we're pact brothers.

The moral of this story is, if you play like you have before in CIV II with political games. You will lose. In Civ II, people would demand tech and you would thumb your nose at them. Then usually they would do nothing. In this game you realy have to be political and realy think about whether to give something to them if they ask. If you thumb your nose at everyone, they WILL declare Vendetta against you.

posted 02-11-99 09:31 AM ET            

jkm

posted 02-11-99 09:51 AM ET         

Undertaker, I'm guessing you're new to TBS. Because TBS games having good graphics is an oxymoron. They're not supposed to. They, of course, tend to look nice. But Myth and Unreal this be not.

I myself have developed intense natural retina covers through my evolution as a game player, and so playing games for days on end never bothers my eyes.

Well, as for menus, there have always been many of them in TBS games. I for one think Firaxis has done a great job keeping them down to a minimum. And they're not THAT confusing, they tend to have a headline (units, workshop, city, etc.) to tell you where you are.

The workshop is useful for us who like to tinker. I use everything at my disposal, and have already concocted some EEVIL units for my mass armies. Nerve Gas Citizen-Killer Needlejets, Super Police (Clean Reactor + Non Lethal Methods make for free pacifying troops.) Anti-Planet Psi Tanks (Psi Armor+Psi weapon, Empath Song and Hypno Trance) and so on so forth. You yourself, undertaker, can stick with the old workshop ones. There's nothing wrong with that, but I myself always change the defaults of anything.

I can tell quite clearly between a rover and a missle. Missles are the ones with the planet-busters on them, and Rovers are the things that always run around, Rovers have wheels, Missles have engines.

AI, Bad? Ho ho, ha ha, hee hee. Go play MoO2. That AI had to be the worst, I swear.

So, Undertaker, if you're new to TBS and don't like it? Fine. That's alright. But menus, small units, and sub-par graphics are all standard run of the mill here in TBS land. But we, or atleast I, prefer superb gameplay over pretty graphics anyday.

If you're not new to TBS and just don't like SMAC? Fine. I think believing SMAC will swoop and devour the entire TBS market is unrealistic. There will be some people to stick with ToT or CTP. Whether they are great games or total bombs. So have fun.

posted 02-11-99 11:17 AM ET         

Two pieces of advice:

1) DON'T try a harder level at first. It's very tempting, but consider your first couple of games as training sessions. In the easier levels a little appeasement goes a long way.

2) DON'T use the Governers or automated formers. Yes it is more mundane work for you, but it is the best way to learn the underlying mechanics of the game.