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Author Topic:   My review and opinion...

PlanetRuler posted 02-18-99 04:24 PM ET
SMAC is finally here and I have been playing for seven days and several different games at several different levels and with each of the factions. Overall, SMAC is quite a good game as far as game play and playability. The customizable units are nice albeit funny and cartoonish in looks. <shrugs> The AI is better than CIV 2, certainly, but I find that it could have used some tweaks and fixes before the game was released. I also find diplomacy is very linear and and interaction with the other leaders is again limited. The technologies are fascinating and interesting to read (in the help). But I don't find the Secret Project movies interesting at all, I could have done better with an an old 8MM film camera and my old dioramas. Man that makes me chuckle. (In fact The Merchant Exchange Secret Project Movie is a direct rip off from Blade Runner... Check the opening shots of Blade Runner when the hovervehcile descends to the cop building, you'll see what I mean) Anyhow, music, could do without... there is nothing I hate more than synthesized scores and bad ones at that. Beethoven's rolling over as we speak. Extremely limited sound effects... every unit sounds the same when firing or getting destroyed, tsk tsk tsk, could of intro'd a Sound Designer to you guys at Firaxis, what about ambient sound in the game, now that would have been cool. Mindworms are cool(esp. Demon Boils), when those suckers go they go. I don't find any usde in breeding them but capturing the odd few is kinda fun. Graphics, well a lot has been said in these forums about the quality or lack there of, but maybe one day gameplay and visuals will become synonomus. <shrug> But overall I enjoyed this game but I find I am not as excited as I was when I first opened and installed. I really must say Excellent Job Firaxis!!! But next time is even gonna be better....anyone ready for SMAC 2..... <LOL>
Signing off,
PlanetRuler

Jason Beaudoin posted 02-19-99 09:32 AM ET
I agree with most of what you are saying here. Actually, I think you said it better than I could have.
The one thing that I would have liked to see is more special effects. I read in a interview with Mike Ely that they spent 60% of their time on the Secret Projects movies! That was a big mistake. Why spend so much time on something that people are going to be skipping through eventually? I think that more time should have been spent on making the units appear different as new technologies improved, and I think more SFX should have been made like in Starcraft.
One thing that I have to say is that I really like the voices in SMAC. I think that is the best thing that Firaxis did in this game, in terms of game atmosphere. My favorites are Zakarov and Yang. I love how Yang says his name... it makes me want to learn a little Chinese.
The movies, I think, are well done. They should be considering the amount of time that they put into creating them.
Jason Beaudoin posted 02-19-99 09:34 AM ET
Oh.. BTW, just a clarification to what I said about the 60% of the time spent.... actually, the question was, of all the time that was spent on the art, about 60% of that was spent on the movies.
PlanetRuler posted 02-19-99 02:27 PM ET
Cool jason!!!
Don't get me wrong I don't mind the Secret Project movies I just think they could have been better... less animation and more a live action animation blend. Maybe they didn't have the budget <shrugs>, I don't know... But if they need somebody to create some mini movies I'm their man.
The voices are cool definitely... It does make the leaders seem to have personalites... What would of have been cool are talking hologram heads over the game map.... Just popping up (like the Emperor in Star Wars)... then you can see emotion, and slyness, and the whole range of human things that go on in our faces... But once again I understand budget and time constraints...
And I agree more time could have been spent on SFX and the look of the units, but I hold my breath baitedly for SMAC2 after all the thousands of suggestions in the forums....
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Author	Topic: My review and opinion...
PlanetRuler	posted 02-18-99 04:24 PM ET SMAC is finally here and I have been playing for seven days and several different games at several different levels and with each of the factions. Overall, SMAC is quite a good game as far as game play and playability. The customizable units are nice albeit funny and cartoonish in looks. <shrugs> The AI is better than CIV 2, certainly, but I find that it could have used some tweaks and fixes before the game was released. I also find diplomacy is very linear and and interaction with the other leaders is again limited. The technologies are fascinating and interesting to read (in the help). But I don't find the Secret Project movies interesting at all, I could have done better with an an old 8MM film camera and my old dioramas. Man that makes me chuckle. (In fact The Merchant Exchange Secret Project Movie is a direct rip off from Blade Runner... Check the opening shots of Blade Runner when the hovervehcile descends to the cop building, you'll see what I mean) Anyhow, music, could do without... there is nothing I hate more than synthesized scores and bad ones at that. Beethoven's rolling over as we speak. Extremely limited sound effects... every unit sounds the same when firing or getting destroyed, tsk tsk tsk, could of intro'd a Sound Designer to you guys at Firaxis, what about ambient sound in the game, now that would have been cool. Mindworms are cool(esp. Demon Boils), when those suckers go they go. I don't find any usde in breeding them but capturing the odd few is kinda fun. Graphics, well a lot has been said in these forums about the quality or lack there of, but maybe one day gameplay and visuals will become synonomus. <shrug> But overall I enjoyed this game but I find I am not as excited as I was when I first opened and installed. I really must say Excellent Job Firaxis!!! But next time is even gonna be better....anyone ready for SMAC 2..... <LOL> Signing off, PlanetRuler
Jason Beaudoin	posted 02-19-99 09:32 AM ET I agree with most of what you are saying here. Actually, I think you said it better than I could have. The one thing that I would have liked to see is more special effects. I read in a interview with Mike Ely that they spent 60% of their time on the Secret Projects movies! That was a big mistake. Why spend so much time on something that people are going to be skipping through eventually? I think that more time should have been spent on making the units appear different as new technologies improved, and I think more SFX should have been made like in Starcraft. One thing that I have to say is that I really like the voices in SMAC. I think that is the best thing that Firaxis did in this game, in terms of game atmosphere. My favorites are Zakarov and Yang. I love how Yang says his name... it makes me want to learn a little Chinese. The movies, I think, are well done. They should be considering the amount of time that they put into creating them.
Jason Beaudoin	posted 02-19-99 09:34 AM ET Oh.. BTW, just a clarification to what I said about the 60% of the time spent.... actually, the question was, of all the time that was spent on the art, about 60% of that was spent on the movies.
PlanetRuler	posted 02-19-99 02:27 PM ET Cool jason!!! Don't get me wrong I don't mind the Secret Project movies I just think they could have been better... less animation and more a live action animation blend. Maybe they didn't have the budget <shrugs>, I don't know... But if they need somebody to create some mini movies I'm their man. The voices are cool definitely... It does make the leaders seem to have personalites... What would of have been cool are talking hologram heads over the game map.... Just popping up (like the Emperor in Star Wars)... then you can see emotion, and slyness, and the whole range of human things that go on in our faces... But once again I understand budget and time constraints... And I agree more time could have been spent on SFX and the look of the units, but I hold my breath baitedly for SMAC2 after all the thousands of suggestions in the forums....