posted 04-07-99 02:28 PM ET        

Chris Benjamin
State Licensed Real Estate Appraiser

P.S. Since Neither Brian nor Sid seem to give a crap about what anybody
thinks about SMAC (you notice ANY messages from either one of them on the
c.s.i..g.s. newsgroup or the SMAC forum since SMAC was released?). I have
seen 4-5 messages from Brian on the newsgroup, and NONE from Sid in either
place for the past 3-4 months! Due to this, and the insane bugs (as well as
Firaxis' condescending attitude in calling their multiple bug fixes
'enhancements'), SMAC has been uninstalled from my computer for over a week
now (this is really a tragedy, my friends, since I am MAJOR fan of strategy games and
always buy them as soon as they are released).

posted 04-07-99 09:39 PM ET            

Not to mentioned they stole source code from MicroProse, even though Civ2 runs on a totaly different engine, but that dosn't matter because its a TBS game and they are all exacly the same (especial CIV & SMAC)

And the fact that BR had better things to do then to defend his game from such great agruments as "SMAC sux cuz its gay!" is "quite frankly, appalling".

posted 04-07-99 10:23 PM ET            

Really, children, keep the stupid comments to yourself if you don't have anything productive to say.

And BTW, they DID use the Civ2 code for SMAC (even public school 7th graders like you two should be able to see that), the AI missile bug HAS been there for years, Brian and Sid HAVE been almost completely absent from the post-game-release scene (even though I was incredibly impressed with Brian's support for Civ2 when it came out), and this stupid game is about 5,947,828 times less fun to play than:

1) Baldur's Gate
2) Imperialism 2
3) Western Front
4) Falcon 4.0
5) Unreal
6) Quake 2
7) Half-Life
8) Thief
9) Dark Omen
10) Sid Meier's Gettysburg!

and about 10 more games that still reside on my hard drive.

Thanks for your inane comments, kiddies!

posted 04-07-99 10:55 PM ET            

SMACademician CyberSpyder

posted 04-07-99 11:04 PM ET            

Idiot.

posted 04-07-99 11:09 PM ET            

I believe what you are experiencing is known in the trade as "Reverse Idiosmosis"--You leave enough blank slate morons to feed off each other and they can no longer tell a crippling game issue from the feeder tubes sustaining their nearly flat-lined brains.

You are right, good Sir, that the missle issue completely ruins the game. These other fools either never have a game last long enough for it to matter (they keep restarting so they can get that "thrill" of conquering empty land) or they get confused and think that the missles are actually being LAUNCHED from the cities in question.

Either way, lets hope patch 4 FINALLY fixes this issue.

posted 04-07-99 11:46 PM ET            

Another thing that I'm starting to realize is that SMAC isn't actually a strategy game except when played multiplayer. After playing Starcraft I'm used to real choices in what I do, not "well I have to build this and that and I have to put forest here, oh look enemies I guess I'll do the obvious". Heck even the Starcraft AI is way better than this piece of junk, especially since patch 1.04 (yeah they call it a patch even though it only had enhancements!).

I will continue to play SMAC but only when I don't have the energy to play SC or when I get my turn in the mail. Multiplayer SMAC is really good I must admit, probably because they didn't focus on it when they designed the game.

Well I brought Starcraft up because you didn't have it on your list. If you haven't tried it get it, if you have and didn't like it then umm... no need to buy another copy.

posted 04-08-99 01:13 AM ET            

I agree one can get used to it on smaller maps or in a quick game. But it's abolutely crippling on a 200 x 200 map, for example. So, depending on your style of play, it certainly makes the game virtually (if not in principle) unplayable.

posted 04-08-99 01:25 AM ET            

This is not to say I haven't had my problems with the game. Where are the freakin' underwater mag tubes or bridging units? Why can't I airdrop into a seabase with an Aerospace Complex?

Remember the quote "superior training and superior technology have, when taken together, a geometric effect on overall military strength"? The folks at Firaxis didn't pull that one out of thin air. It's one of those silly little principles that often govern the equipping and training of modern military forces, especially those in the West, and has, on occasion, been demonstrated in the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The enemy cannot launch his missiles from cities he (or she) does not control. Think of it as a challenge until Sid and company clear their plate enough to deal with the problem. Do try to remember that real life is unfair, on occasions, and combat occasionally involves the mismatching of conventional forces. In fact, that's generally how you WIN!

I will not go into the complete hypocracy of your statement "keep your comments to yourself if you don't have anything productive to say." Except to say that the large majority of adults I know whould have found it sufficient to simply uninstall the game and use the disk, game manual and accompanying box as either a paperweight or a bookend, (as I have with Outpost). You don't like it, you have your reasons, that's fine. Uninstall, tell us why, then spend your time on more productive, and satisfying, pursuits--perhaps a few rounds of Half-Life? We'll be sure to pass your reasons on to those who do care.

Now, I'll let you in on a little secret. I tried some of the games on your list and guess what, I didn't like them! I tried others, and DID like them! My GOD! We have a difference of opinion. Whoops, I guess I've just pegged myself as a teenybopper!! You will notice, however, that you won't find my handle in any of the Half-Life discussion groups bemoaning the fact that I find it unenjoyable.

However, it is interesting to note that the same advice I gave to a High School Geography class today would apply to this thread:

If you stopped complaining and DID SOMETHING, you'd be done with it by now.

I also find it interesting that, based on my own limited background (as a public school teacher) that the only "childish", "teenybopper" posts in this thread come from some guy named CEO Benjamin. Oh, and yin26, who for some reason, is also unable to uninstall the game and go away.

Bill Kehrman
Licensed Secondary Social Studies Teacher

posted 04-08-99 01:42 AM ET            

But I disagree about Brian and Sid being present on these forums. If the game has problems, this ain't the place they should be spending their time.

posted 04-08-99 01:59 AM ET            

Nice post. You almost sounded like you know what you are talking about. But, tf you have been keeping up with the story, as you claim, you would know why I deleted the game and why I am still here.

If you are content making silly excuses for flaws in the game (try your little theory on a 200 x 200 map and get back to me), then you deserve every piece of garbage game you buy. Bend over. Like it.

Some others here, and I am of the persistent, irritating type--I'll grant you that--are committed to two things: 1) NOT working around game-crippling issues 2) NOT bending down to touch our toes so the next shipment can arrive Firaxis Express.

posted 04-08-99 05:06 AM ET            

Regardless of anyone's opinion, the world of computer gaming revolves around MONEY!!! Firaxis is in business to make money, period. Anyone who doesn't believe this statement isn't trying to get ahead in this world. A company that can't make money either disappears or is purchased by a larger company (anybody remember Windward studios?? Virgin Interactive?? Avalon Hill??). In order to make a profit, Firaxis uses media hype (SMAC 98% - SMAC 5 stars - all cool people have SMAC), quality control, balanced gameplay, customer support, reputation, etc. to generate greater sales. Thus, the only interest Firaxis has in customers is the number of games we buy. Are we helpless? Can we do anything? Yes, we have two choices:

(1) If you want Firaxis to produce quality, balanced, bug-free games, then (if possible) return your copy of SMAC to the store immediately and DON'T purchase future games by Firaxis until the game is shipped with all patches included (I've found this to usually be about 3 to 6 months after initial release).

(2) If you want to be the first kid on your block to play a new Firaxis game and don't mind bugs, undocumented gameplay, or poor quality, then run out and purchase the game "hot off the presses". However, if you choose this method of buying games, don't get mad about the problems that follow.

We the consumers have far more control over the PC gaming industry that we think. We control the sales and ultimately profits of gaming companies. We vote for game quality with every game purchase we make. If we vote (1), then a lack of sales will force gaming companies to respond to our wishes. If we vote (2), then we leave quality issues in the hands of the developers. The bottom line is companies like Firaxis don't care about our opinions, complaints, suggestions, praises, or comments. We can sit here and belly-ache about all the woes in SMAC or argue over each others opinions. Firaxis only cares about the number of games they sell.
So if you are posting your comments on this forum in hopes of making a difference, save your time and energy; Firaxis doesn't care what you think. But if you returned your game to the store, tell others NOT to purchase the game, and wait on future purchases; Firaxis will get the message loud and clear. As for me, my copy of SMAC is sitting very comfortably on the self back at the store. How do you vote?

PhysicsMan

posted 04-08-99 05:33 AM ET            

Here in Switzerland, most places won't take any game back (unless it's still shrink-wrapped), so once you shell out the $$$ and install your new baby, it's too late even if you don't like it.

Not that I would return SMAC anyway... It has some flaws, a few *really* annoying bugs I must agree, but I'm still having a LOT of fun with it.

posted 04-08-99 05:48 AM ET            

People like you make me laugh! I have serious trouble believing that you are who you say you are and you do what you say you do. I cannot see how anyone can possibly be so hypocritical�
� "So, which public Middle School are you attending, CyberSpyder? Idiot."
� "Even public school 7th graders like you two should be able to see that."
� "And this stupid game is about 5,947,828 times less fun to play than:"
� "Thanks for your inane comments, kiddies!"
� "- Well-rounded despiser of teenybopper morons who post to newsgroups and forums"

"5,947,828 times less fun�" And YOU are calling US kiddies. CyberSpyder argued against your comment and all you can say is "So, which public Middle School are you attending, CyberSpyder? Idiot." I'm sorry buy I don't know of any person over the age of 12 who would talk like that, certainly not a "State Licensed Real Estate Appraiser". I assume you must have learnt that from the Quake 2 community.

So your pissed about the unlimited range missile bug� IT'S A GAME! GAMES HAVE BUGS! The bug will get fixed in the next "Patch" "Enhancement" "Bug Fix" what ever you want to call it. Call it a ****ing sequel if you want to! If you posted the problem then FIRAXIS would happily fix it, but you have to go around shouting, "I found a bug! I found a BUG! I found something wrong with the game!" Like you just found buried treasure. Do you crave attention so badly that you need to proclaim to the whole world that your un-instaling the game, and then making fun of people for pointing out the stupidity of your post in the first place.

The other "Great tragedy" that you point out if Sid & Brian's lack of posting, both on the forums and on "comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic". Firstly, can you imagine what would happen if Sid posted here? Hundreds of people like you would run up and say things like "I'm your biggest fan, I love your games you are the greatest!" I don't think that anyone really needs that, plus Sid had little to do with the actual making of SMAC. From what I can tell, there has not been too many important SMAC threads in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic that require BR's attention. The same goes for these forums, the whole FIRAXIS team would be very tried and looking forward to a well deserved holiday after the last patch goes out. They don't want to spend hours here replying to "SMAC sux coz i sayz so!" threads, and they don't want to post in your thread begging you to reinstall the game and promise a fix for the bug.

posted 04-08-99 07:36 AM ET            

Mortis, you said "If you posted the problem then FIRAXIS would happily fix it"

This has been posted and discussed many times before, as you probably know. Firaxis said it was fixed in 3.0 (check the README), but it's not. So I understand that some people can get mad (even if I have to agree with you on one point: who cares if they uninstall the game ?)

posted 04-08-99 07:57 AM ET            

O.K. Let's assume the worse about CEO Benjamin. Let's say he's evil for being in real estate (we all hate those bastards don't we?) and deserves to die. Let's admit he called some people idiots and touched some public school sore spots (I was raised on public school lunches--remember the little square pizzas and jello?--but look how great I turned out: I'm a God damn genius!).

Forget all that for a second. Honestly. Just rewind this for a moment. Please.

CEO Benjamin is obviously a hard core gamer. He loves his games. He loves SMAC. Yes. I said it. He loves SMAC. He wants nothing more than to play it to the blood shot, gotta piss now or I'm gonna die, blissful image of watching that commie bitch Yang roast in his own burning headquarters end.

For some, games are a diversion. For CEO Benjamin, games are a way of life. Now don't pass judgement--some of you wear little plastic gloves on your hands and pick up dog **** so you won't get fined by the city while you're walking your dog. You know who you are. Is being a hard core gamer somehow worse than scooping up warm canine fecal matter with nothing but millimeter thin plastic to keep you from becoming One With Nature?

You see my point. We all have our loves.

In that respect, the respect that should matter to us most here, he is like us. "If you cut him, does he not bleed?"

I beg of you guys to look at how all this started. He simply made the very valid point that the unlimited missle range problem ruined the game he spent hours building. Hell, this might as well have been a system crash. No, a system crash would have been even better! At least in that case he could rationalize that it was his drivers or his BIOS--some lame ass excuse at any rate. But this issue is clearly one of the glaring faults of the Firaxis team. They promised a fix for this in 3.0. They even said in the text file it was fixed. It's not fixed.

Screw Firaxis and whether or not they are listening. That's not the point, believe it or not.

O.K. We've heard the argument a million times, sure. You might be sick of it. Sure. But were you tricked into coming into the thread? Was, "Missile AI range bug is final straw - SMAC has been uninstalled" somehow misleading to you?

But what does he get as the first response?

"Who cares?"

This is supposed to be a place, if not of mutual support, at least of not going out of one's way to ridicule another person's valid point. Maybe you guys didn't like the way he talked about Sid and Brian. O.K. He was pissed off at the time. Give him a break.

I truly admire all you people who don't let things like unlimited enemy missle range turn you off or make you mad. It must be great to live in that mindset. No doubt Firaxis made this game just for you then.

But call us psychotic, call us no-life sonofabitches for wanting the game to work properly, but that's our sad little corner of the world. Let us live there in peace. Let us write infinite sob stories about this and that bug. Don't ethnic cleanse CEO Benjamin and Yin, I beg of you. There is no gamer's NATO to save us--though I'm working on one now, so watch yourselves!

It releases tension--for me, anyway. You think my wife would stand my talking about SMAC even for a second? I tried. She started blaring old Bee Gees albums and scratching her finger nails on the wall.

Don't you see? As gamers, all we have is each other (I actually just gagged--isn't that funny? .

God bless this buggy game.

God bless the public schools and all the idiots who attend them.

O.K.

Let the flames begin.

posted 04-08-99 01:10 PM ET            

*****

Now, I have to say... I think we haven't heard from Brian for one simple reason... embarassment. The kind that gives 13 year old teens heart attacks. To publicly *state* that you have finally fixed that bug that has caused so much moaning, groaning, cussing, and cursing of the next 10 generations in your family, and then have it shown that WASN'T fixed... We might not EVER here from Brian until his NEXT Development Project is nearing Gold.

I do think that CEO Benjamin was a little over the top in his comments about the maturity and career capacity, etc etc etc. But, having had many an enjoyable games of SMAC ruined, I can understand jumping on the board and blowing off steam.

Word to the wise Benj, when you start insulting other people, it tends to make you look like someone who is emotionally and mentally immature as well. You should keep that in mind (I try, but no one is perfect )

Most stores don't refund games because they don't want to give you your money back. It has nothing to do with Piracy, it just makes a good excuse. Its like how women aren't paid the same wages as men (for the same job/work) here in the USofA. It's all about Money, and the fact that they can get away with it. On Piracy, the biggest pirates I have know in the last ten years are invariably store employees.

Now, as long as you buy the buggy games, the Gaming Industry has little reason to treat you like a rational, respectable consumer. This is the main reason that 9 out of 10 games I buy are of the Clearance shelf. Shelling out 5 to 15 dollars, I don't feel bad if the game is a dried up piece of dog doo. For those very rare games that I thought it would be worth the price (SMAC, for example), I tend to get VERY upset about getting ripped.

Tired of being ripped? Stop supporting the Gaming Industry. Read a book. Watch a movie. Go out and have a life of recreation outside the computer. But as long as we, the consumers, pay for the latest and greatest at the greatest of sums, the industry will continue to release products before their time....

Next Game I'm paying Premium for? Dungeon Keeper II. Why? Popoulous 3 (Bullfrog's previous release that I purchased) has played well on my system (no apparent bugs for me) and they have only patched it *once*. (that was a MP issue, I think). Other games I will pay Premium for? Railroad Tycoon II : Second Century - PopTop might have patched it *4* times (and one of those because they rushed a patch out that didn't have the AI in it, talk about embarassing...) but they have been KILLER on their support, and the patches have for the most part been within the first 6 weeks of release. No new ones. Nice stable product that hasn't any game play show stopper bugs that have affect ME.

Will I pay Premium prices for something with Firaxis name on the box? Probably not.

Aside from voicing our opinions (which, contrary to the feel of this thread, they do care about as its legitimate customer feedback, and gives them a feel for WHAT you are telling your friends and associates) on forums and in public, the only other way you can express yourself is spending money on their products. If you aren't in that mad first rush to buy the product, but wait until its at the half price mark, you expressed yourself. If you NEVER buy another of that company's products again, you have TRULY expressed yourself.

So the next time you are contemplating buying that Software Program, remember... you are using your power to guide the industry. Make the choice that will please you the most...

posted 04-08-99 01:57 PM ET            

Also you might encounter a few idiots because people have been advertising the channel in the battle.net forums lately. We try to keep them out and if you don't like someone just use the /squelch command

posted 04-08-99 05:15 PM ET            

Because there IS a tomorrow.

I have never understood this emphasis on such a minor bug.

posted 04-08-99 05:22 PM ET            

I understand your point, and actually, I agree with the implication of your tagline - there are many "bugs" and inconsistencies in SMAC more deserving of an immediate fix.

Anyway ... the reason for the attention paid this "bug" [at least for myself, I dare not speak for all] is sheer annoyance factor. If it were one "mystery missile", I could live with it. But turn after turn, missile after missile ... the time I have to spend micromanaging to build up new scouts to be blown the following turn at a new conquest ... well, it get annoying.

I've found that I now play SMAC to diplomatic victory instead of transcendence victory, to limit exposure to the bug. Which, I guess, is fine, as the end-game can get a bit tedious.

Hope my thoughts were worth at least a penny,

posted 04-08-99 09:59 PM ET            

This bug in an abomination! I was using Windows 98, when suddenly an error poped up saying "Explorer is not responding"! I had to reset my computer! That's right, reset the computer. Now can you imagine the mental pain and agony that has caused me! Not to mention the valuable seconds lost! MS have gone too far, I am uninstalling Windows this second, how can they exepect us to work under these conditions.
This bug is extremely easy to duplicate and it is, quite frankly, appalling that it has not been fixed after all these years since it reared its ugly head in Win 95.
Thanks for your your time, and, I remain, most respectfully, your obedient servant,

Mortis,
14 year old, publicly educated teenybopping moron!

posted 04-08-99 10:33 PM ET            

Firaxis hasn't got a ... wait

alternatives?

posted 04-08-99 10:58 PM ET            

Here's how the missle bug can ruin a game:

First, the game has to be a rather long and involved one; that was my experience at any rate.

Second, Yang has to be left unmolested long enough to amass several dozen missles and have enough production power to keep cranking them out.

Third, the player has to be in such a position that reaching Yang by any reasonable means to stop the missles from coming is out of the question for at least several turns.

Under those conditions--as I have said many times for me it was on a 200 x 200 map--Yang has enough missles to completely empty a half dozen of your cities of ALL units in ONE turn. And no, he doesn't always hit your HQ behind your front lines. In the game that caused me to delete SMAC, he emptied four of my coastal cities in one turn and Santiago--who had a Vendetta on Yang--just cruised up the coast and took three cities in two turns.

I tried to keep going, thinking, "Hey, now this could be a real challenge, albeit not a fair one." But the missles kept coming until I was very close to have not even ONE unit in any of my 20 or so cities.

So, you tell me the difference between a crater in the ground and cities that can't be fortified for at least 1-4 turns and will be bombarded again as soon as even the weakest unit is produced.

One of the sickest aspects of human nature is the blatant inability at times to even TRY to understand another person's situation. All you ignorant bastards who yell "It works on MY machine!" "The bug doesn't bother ME!" should all just get together, link in one big anal daisy chain of love and screw yourselves.

Your kind are sick, weak little f*cks who think "I'm O.K. so you're O.K." is some kind of higher thought process.

posted 04-08-99 11:22 PM ET            

I haven't gotten deeply enough into this game to confront the missile problem, but I am disturbed to hear about it. This could easily be the best strategy game I've ever played, and I don't want something that really should be a trivial matter to fix to be a game-killer.

posted 04-08-99 11:38 PM ET         

Alleluia, there's hope in the public shools. For a 14 year old, I find you quite articulate (at least from your second post on), unless you're lying of course or worse your mother wrote them for you.

But if you truly are 14 then, kudos, go get these self-centered heavyweights, opinions are opinions, and people who feel like venting will always collide with those in a praising mode. Your last post was hilarious, unfortunately, CEO Benjamin seems to be busy appraising estate elsewhere. Yin, who initially wanted to stop the flames, is back in shape though.:-)

posted 04-09-99 12:26 AM ET            

Yes, Benjamin, I am 14 years old. Yes, I do go to public schools. No, I do not go to middle school, I go to high school. Now, how exactly do you fault me for this? Does the fact that I have not yet graduated high school mean that I have no brain, and/or my opinions on this game are worthless? I'm fairly sure I could hold up in a debate with you, especially with you constantly resorting to ad hominem attacks. That has been my reply.

Now for the rest of what I was going to say.

Yin, yin, yin. What happened? You started being a much more civil poster, now you're back to this! Oh well. Apparently, this bug affects different people differently. Since my strategy is "Make friends with everyone and pound everyone who doesn't want to be friends into oblivion early on," I never have a problem with end-game missle attacks. Maybe Benjamin and Yin have long conflicts with approximately equal enemies? I do not deny that this is a bug, but it doesn't seem to me to be a particularly bad one, and frankly I've never encountered it.

posted 04-09-99 12:32 AM ET            

Maybe I just got REALLY unlucky in my last game. To tell the truth, I needed time away from the game anyway--but I hope patch 4 comes soon, because I'm getting withdrawal symptoms.

CEO Benjamin--if you read this thread ever again, I tried to e-mail you but it won't send for some reason. Do you have another one I can try? I need your advice on Baldur's Gate.

posted 04-09-99 01:37 AM ET            

Just out of curiousity, is this occurrence exclusive to Yang? If so, I just realized why I may not have encountered the problem....he's usually one of the first to go! He's the only one I've ever "ethnically cleansed." (Dierdre's the only one I ever "nuked") Since he's one of the "aggressive" factions, I don't like letting him get TOO strong, especially behind those instant perimiter defenses he has. It may, however, not fall into a standard "bug fix" test scenario. (Custom planet, allow some or all factions to grow unchallenged, etc.) I don't know, I admit my test knowledge is lacking.

I did NOT suggest to CEO Ben not to complain and seek improvement. I told him that, after registering his complaint, he ought to move on to something more positive. Goodness knows we all have too much stress in our lives as it is. I believe in petitioning for the redress of grievances, but there IS a point after which it becomes bitching and moaning. You will notice that I accept, tacitly, the claim that the missile range bug DOES exist and needs to be eliminated. I believe I said, "Think of it as a challenge UNTIL [emphasis added] Sid and company clear their plate enough to deal with the problem." To this I would append the word "correctly."

Constructive criticism directed at those who can actually DO something is usually most effective, I've found. Clearly, CEO Ben does not expect to find anyone here who actually REPRESENTS Firaxis, in particular Sid or Brian ("Since Neither Brian nor Sid seem to give a crap about what anybody thinks about SMAC (you notice ANY messages from either one of them on the c.s.i..g.s. newsgroup or the SMAC forum since SMAC was released?)"). The question then remains, why continue to post to the forums?

FYI, a student DID speak up in my class, demanding better, and GOT IT, to the point that I had to back up and apologize for the confusion in two other sections. That lesson plan has red ink all over it. Moreover, it has become the lead experience I describe while job hunting (graduating in the middle of a school year is a bummer). To accuse me of being incompetent ("For every good teacher there are 50 like you telling them "Don't push the system." "Don't dare ask for better."--but some of us have moved on a demand a little better. I could grace you with my C.V., but what's the point.") without adequate evidence is, at best, irresponsible. If you have a C.V., you would already know that. I am glad you have sought the upper limits of your potential in spite of public schooling.

Also, did you know that shifting from the subject of the debate to a personal attack on your opponent also qualifies as "pseudo-logic?" More accurately, it is a logical fallacy known as an ad hominem attack. You can't give good response to the arguement (which I define as "why are you still here?") so you take it out on the person or persons who ask the question. I do recognize, however, that in impassioned discussions, particularly those involving persons of the "persistent, irritating" type, we tend to forget these little details. I have, from time to time, fallen into the trap myself. (Generally with the arguement "does his/her opinion really matter to me?")

Finally, do remember that "Democracy in Education" and "Anarchy in Education" are fundamentally different things; the former is a good idea, the latter is what many people are asking for. There is a point after which the guy/gal responsible for educating the students has to make a decision and run with it.

As to the original problem of why CEO Ben chooses to remain in contact with players of a game he no longer enjoys, I offer this:

Clog the [email protected] e-mail, for crying out loud!!! Do something PROACTIVE! Get after FIRAXIS WHERE THEY ARE!!! If you have, to no avail, use your power as a consumer and refuse to buy Firaxis products! Coming to the forum accomplishes what?

In the mean time, show Yang no mercy, capture and interrogate him. Pronounce Vendetta! Personally, I'd just as soon string him from the yardarm at the Maritime Center. No muss, no fuss, and I can reuse the rope. (on Godwinson, preferably)

posted 04-09-99 01:58 AM ET            

You just pulled a Brother Greg--curse you! Now I have to kiss and make up. Actually, you deserve it.

Of course I have no idea what kind of teacher you are. I am quite aware of the "at the man" argument style. I think I invented it. I try to avoid it--it's kind of like a Planet Buster: Once you launch it, it's gonna take a whole lot of terraforming to get things back to square one.

Believe me, I know. I had to write Brother Greg a 6 page apology e-mail after my Brother Greg Interview parody. (I think it might be WAY WAY down on the posts--set the filter to go back at least a few weeks--I thought it was funny. But boy did it cost me.)

Funny that you should post this, actually, because Brian Reynolds just e-mailed me a fix for the missle problem.

(you might want to use it BEFORE you start that 200 x 200 game )

posted 04-09-99 07:40 AM ET            

You wrote:
So don't respond with insulting comments like "who cares?"-- why further provoke someone who is already clearly upset?

posted 04-09-99 10:32 AM ET            

To tell you the truth, I wasn't referring to you, but I didn't post a name so you rightfully thought I was. Actually, I wrote you off entirely because you said the problem is fixed in your copy. Such a copy doesn't exist--not even at Firaxis, apparently. They SAID it was fixed with the 3.0 patch, but somebody missed something somewhere.

By the way, if I'm STILL wrong, and you DO HAVE the winning copy of SMAC--what's your price?

posted 04-09-99 10:36 AM ET            

How are you I see that you are jibbering on as usual about your life story and when the world is going to end. Like old times hey. Listen, Yin, How would you like a job at FIRAXIS for a year or so. Your contributions on this website along with some other people are quite outstanding.

Other people on my list:

Nell_Smith
Umbra
Bossman
Frank_Moore

posted 04-09-99 10:36 AM ET         

How are you I see that you are jibbering on as usual about your life story and when the world is going to end. Like old times hey. Listen, Yin, How would you like a job at FIRAXIS for a year or so. Your contributions on this website along with some other people are quite outstanding.

Other people on my list:

Nell_Smith
Umbra
Bossman
Frank_Moore

posted 04-09-99 12:54 PM ET         

Up until last night, I'd never had any major problems with it. Oh sure, I'd have the odd city get nailed by a couple of conventional missiles, but it was usually nothing serious. Usually I'd think, "now where did they come from?" and assume some nearby ship had launched them.

So last night I'm working on my first Ironman game, and feeling all very proud of myself, when out of nowhere comes a planet buster and takes out my best city! You know the one I'm talking about: WonderWorld, the production capital of your empire, where you build all your wonders.

Immediately I'm suspicious. It was nailed by the Spartans, who are waaaaay on the other side of the globe - and I've never seen a Spartan naval unit. Suddenly I realize that I'm a victim of the infinite range missile "feature"!

It's then that I remember playing Ironman. My last save game would be quitting time the night before, maybe 40 years ago. Now I'm faced with the dilemma: play on or restore?

Restoring would defeat the purpose of Ironman, not to mention having to replay 40 game turns just to compensate for one grossly unfair (not to mention tactically impossible) event. But wait, I say to myself, just grit your teeth and play on. After all, they had ICBMs in the 60s that could nuke a city from the other side of the world. All right, I say, but then I should be able to nuke their cities from infinite range too! Good point, I concede to myself.

It is at this point that two more options present themselves. Firstly, I can stop playing this &*%#ing game altogether. The appeal of this option is surprising. Secondly, I can run my OWN "Ironman" game. I'll just turn the Ironman feature off in the game and let the autosave proceed. I will then ONLY restore if something grossly unfair like this happens.

Right now I'm stuck between the final two options, leaning towards an uninstall.

Anyhow, to those who have never experienced the infinite range missile "feature", let me give you fair warning: if it happens to you in Ironman mode, you will NOT be happy. Take it from me, run your OWN Ironman game by exercising self-discipline with your saved games, only restoring when presented with a gross travesty of injustice.

posted 04-09-99 06:34 PM ET            

As has been pointed out by the more astute people on the board, perhaps it is ONLY Yang who does this, as I personally haven't had it happen otherwise. If that's true for some odd reason, then it will only affect certain games. Is it just that HE loves missles or was this some strange faction-specific programming oversight?

posted 04-10-99 01:07 AM ET            

Some stuff on missiles and SMAC (no idea if you know any of this or not)

Defense:
Missiles kill a single unit. Stocking your cities with a bunch (2-3 each town) of clean scout infantry (add police or trance ability if you like them to be useful), and setting those units to Designated Defender (ctrl-d, I believe) will soak up the bulk of any unexpected missile or airforce attacks.

This is a reliable method that will save you a lot of heartache, especially if you are seeing expensive AAA probability drop sentinels going down like flies. It's also economically viable, in that you build two or three 10/20 mineral units, while the A.I builds an equivilent number of 40(?) mineral missiles.

The alternative is a hard defense, building AAA units with Aerospace complexes and sensor arrays, which with a command centre and Bioenchancement centre wil give you +250% on a garrision. Silksteel becomes *just* survivable against missiles this level, unless the missile gets a morale upgrade. Hint: Don't do this. It's not cheap, and you will still lose expensive defenders.

Not that I'm not pissed at the bug, but there are viable tactics to counter it, and not merely ones that will be useless when the enhancement comes.