Big Alpha Centauri Preview on Gamespot

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Author Topic:   Big Alpha Centauri Preview on Gamespot

Brian Reynolds FIRAXIS posted 11-14-98 12:17 PM ET
There's a 10-page preview of SMAC up at www.gamespot.com.
I also did a new set of designer diaries that should be up there sometime next week, and also an interview (again for early next week).
Brian Reynolds
Alpha Centauri Designer
FIRAXIS Games

Jay posted 11-14-98 12:20 PM ET
Hey cool everyone must check them out!
Yo_Yo_Yo_Hey posted 11-14-98 12:21 PM ET
A bit late on announcing that Brian. I did already, see thread 'EVERYONE GO HERE ASAP!'. Sorry about that.
The designer diary & stuff sounds cool, I can't wait to read them.
The Gamespot preview was very cool too.
Your faithfu....
YYYH
Ultra SupremePaco posted 11-14-98 07:54 PM ET
Hmmm... "faithfu". Another word to add to my vocabulary. (j/k)
~Paco
Mortis posted 11-14-98 08:14 PM ET
Is it just me or did Brian get that title just now. It's good to see that we have an influence.
Mortis,
Founder of The "I hate Clubs" Club (retired),
Prince of Darkness,
Proprietor of Hell (retired),
Head of the anti-capitalist movement,
Chairman & CEO of Mortis Corporations
dushan posted 11-15-98 01:20 AM ET
Some comments on the review:
-the game looks so COOL
-the 3d-ness of the terrain is sooo tasty
-why did they tell us the captain gets murdered? I feel like they've spoilt the surprise a little bit. (well, at least we can speculate who did it . Actually, who will do it. Or who will have done it? )
-why the hell do reviewers criticise the graphics of civ-like strategy games? That gets on my nerves so much! How can they compare SMAC to TA or starcraft? SMAC has a dynamic terrain which is best done with tiles. Any dumbass can render nice (but static) 3d hills, but its so diffucult to make good looking tiled terrain. And SMAC really beats anything that I've ever seen, or even dreamed of before. This is an official warning to any would-be SMAC reviewer: DON'T CRITICISE THE GRAPHICS, or I'll come and get you
-Is gamespot running out of space on their server or what? The screenshots are barely bigger then thumbnails! Is this so that they don't give away too much? FIREAXIS, how about a couple of high-res screenshots of just the countryside? Please? Please!?!
Oh well, that's about it
Dushan
dushan posted 11-15-98 01:22 AM ET
Oops, overdone it with smilies again... :-)
DJ RRebel posted 11-15-98 05:03 AM ET
Brian Reynolds !!! A Junior Memeber with 1 post ??? LMAO
And they say FIRAXIS doesn't give us much information !!!
Anyways, all will be forgiven when the best game to date is released in 1999Jan .. hmmn .. I'm hoping that's still the timeframe !!!
tOFfGI posted 11-15-98 09:47 AM ET
You know all of the Members have had their Post Count reduced to zero in this new forum. I had over 150 posts in the last one, but look at my score now!
Anyway, I am alarmed at the fact that SMAC will use voxels. What happened to the customisability of CIV II?
dushan posted 11-15-98 10:07 AM ET
From game spot :
"Unlike a voxel, the Caviar 3D sprites..."
So as far as I can see they don't use voxels
jsorense posted 11-16-98 04:19 PM ET
Dear Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Ely,
I found Gamespot's extensive preview very interesting and informative. Unfortunately, the screenshots were too small for me to really understand the features that the previewer was trying to illustrate. Since you are already planning on providing us with additional designer diary entries and a new interview this week I would like to suggest that you also include a new series of screenshots that will help us understand the strengths of the interface and the depth of the game.
Thank you.
jsorense
BigER posted 11-16-98 05:23 PM ET
Yeah, thanks YoYo I saw that but didn't get to it until today. all I can say is WOW
when the author wrote :. "I was lucky enough to play an exclusive beta version of Alpha Centauri, with many of the game's features already implemented, and I was completely addicted to it." I wanted to beat him with a rubber hammer and steal it from him.
Brian, when, when, when? We need a playable demo!
Fluke posted 11-17-98 11:55 AM ET
This thread seem to be slipping to the bottom so I'd just like to second (or third) that Firaxis should twist Gamespot's arm and get some better res-pictures. There's no point in having the shots from the auto-govenor when it's nothing more than blue and white lines same as diplomacy screen. And the terrain thingies are really hard to see.
chrisk posted 12-06-98 05:47 AM ET
Hey Brian,
Have you thought about possibly implementing a battlenet type server with SMAC? Makes it much easier on us gamers.
Love your work......
jsorense posted 11-18-98 07:16 PM ET
Concerning the GameSpot SMAC preview:
Does anyone have a clue what that glowing "deaths head" on the top of the second screen shot on the second page means?
It looks kind of scary to me.
Thanks.
AUH20 posted 11-18-98 07:48 PM ET
I'm gonna die if it does slip its timeframe.
Kryten posted 12-21-98 09:12 AM ET
Annntiiiccipaaation! I'm seriously pumped for a little taste of SMAC.
Shining1 posted 11-19-98 12:30 AM ET
Some interesting answers, and I'm glad to see that the personality side of the game is being done in full (I did get kinda pissed at the CivII Ghandi, who was an evil, aggressive warmonger). Personally, on the Sid/Brian thing, I tend to find it an irritation to have someone's name included in the title. No offense intended, as Brian and Sid have obviously put an incredible amount of work into this game, and that should be recognised (I enjoyed Brian's designer notes in the CivII manual). But ultimately, with the complexity of design that goes into games these days, it's a team that produces the final product.
[On the other hand, Firaxis does have to sell the bloody thing, and Sid's name is a great marketing tool to have on your side.]
The multiplayer aspect is the only detail that causes some concern - with games on the scale of 20+ hours, it could be an expensive habit to become addicted to internet SMAC. (You'd know about that, YYYH.) And I'm still not happy about the Tachyons, but after last week I need a good laugh, so why not.
On the negative (possibly) side, this may be the final nail in the coffin for on-topic dicussion, now that the game looks pretty much set (any new suggestions for faction leaders names? I've always thought Miriam was a poor choice - Marion seems to have a more evangelical quality to it).
P.S
dushan: Theres been a running ompetition on guessing when Garland will buy it, he's not mentioned in any of the factions, and he's commanding a diverse legion of megalomaniacs. You didn't think he was going to retire quietly to Monaco, did you?
Lee Johnson posted 11-19-98 03:13 PM ET
"You didn't think he was going to retire quietly to Monaco, did you?"
Maybe he'll declare himself King of Monaco-in-Exile, and set up an orbital casino. ;-)
Fluke posted 12-17-98 06:23 PM ET
Just wanted y'all to feel the thrill of a thread from Firaxis
Vanilja posted 12-22-98 12:52 AM ET
I'm not surprised Garland was murdered...isn't this what a lot of us suspected months ago?
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Author	Topic: Big Alpha Centauri Preview on Gamespot
Brian Reynolds FIRAXIS	posted 11-14-98 12:17 PM ET There's a 10-page preview of SMAC up at www.gamespot.com. I also did a new set of designer diaries that should be up there sometime next week, and also an interview (again for early next week). Brian Reynolds Alpha Centauri Designer FIRAXIS Games
Jay	posted 11-14-98 12:20 PM ET Hey cool everyone must check them out!
Yo_Yo_Yo_Hey	posted 11-14-98 12:21 PM ET A bit late on announcing that Brian. I did already, see thread 'EVERYONE GO HERE ASAP!'. Sorry about that. The designer diary & stuff sounds cool, I can't wait to read them. The Gamespot preview was very cool too. Your faithfu.... YYYH
Ultra SupremePaco	posted 11-14-98 07:54 PM ET Hmmm... "faithfu". Another word to add to my vocabulary. (j/k) ~Paco
Mortis	posted 11-14-98 08:14 PM ET Is it just me or did Brian get that title just now. It's good to see that we have an influence. Mortis, Founder of The "I hate Clubs" Club (retired), Prince of Darkness, Proprietor of Hell (retired), Head of the anti-capitalist movement, Chairman & CEO of Mortis Corporations
dushan	posted 11-15-98 01:20 AM ET Some comments on the review: -the game looks so COOL -the 3d-ness of the terrain is sooo tasty -why did they tell us the captain gets murdered? I feel like they've spoilt the surprise a little bit. (well, at least we can speculate who did it . Actually, who will do it. Or who will have done it? ) -why the hell do reviewers criticise the graphics of civ-like strategy games? That gets on my nerves so much! How can they compare SMAC to TA or starcraft? SMAC has a dynamic terrain which is best done with tiles. Any dumbass can render nice (but static) 3d hills, but its so diffucult to make good looking tiled terrain. And SMAC really beats anything that I've ever seen, or even dreamed of before. This is an official warning to any would-be SMAC reviewer: DON'T CRITICISE THE GRAPHICS, or I'll come and get you -Is gamespot running out of space on their server or what? The screenshots are barely bigger then thumbnails! Is this so that they don't give away too much? FIREAXIS, how about a couple of high-res screenshots of just the countryside? Please? Please!?! Oh well, that's about it Dushan
dushan	posted 11-15-98 01:22 AM ET Oops, overdone it with smilies again... :-)
DJ RRebel	posted 11-15-98 05:03 AM ET Brian Reynolds !!! A Junior Memeber with 1 post ??? LMAO And they say FIRAXIS doesn't give us much information !!! Anyways, all will be forgiven when the best game to date is released in 1999Jan .. hmmn .. I'm hoping that's still the timeframe !!!
tOFfGI	posted 11-15-98 09:47 AM ET You know all of the Members have had their Post Count reduced to zero in this new forum. I had over 150 posts in the last one, but look at my score now! Anyway, I am alarmed at the fact that SMAC will use voxels. What happened to the customisability of CIV II?
dushan	posted 11-15-98 10:07 AM ET From game spot : "Unlike a voxel, the Caviar 3D sprites..." So as far as I can see they don't use voxels
jsorense	posted 11-16-98 04:19 PM ET Dear Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Ely, I found Gamespot's extensive preview very interesting and informative. Unfortunately, the screenshots were too small for me to really understand the features that the previewer was trying to illustrate. Since you are already planning on providing us with additional designer diary entries and a new interview this week I would like to suggest that you also include a new series of screenshots that will help us understand the strengths of the interface and the depth of the game. Thank you. jsorense
BigER	posted 11-16-98 05:23 PM ET Yeah, thanks YoYo I saw that but didn't get to it until today. all I can say is WOW when the author wrote :. "I was lucky enough to play an exclusive beta version of Alpha Centauri, with many of the game's features already implemented, and I was completely addicted to it." I wanted to beat him with a rubber hammer and steal it from him. Brian, when, when, when? We need a playable demo!
Fluke	posted 11-17-98 11:55 AM ET This thread seem to be slipping to the bottom so I'd just like to second (or third) that Firaxis should twist Gamespot's arm and get some better res-pictures. There's no point in having the shots from the auto-govenor when it's nothing more than blue and white lines same as diplomacy screen. And the terrain thingies are really hard to see.
chrisk	posted 12-06-98 05:47 AM ET Hey Brian, Have you thought about possibly implementing a battlenet type server with SMAC? Makes it much easier on us gamers. Love your work......
jsorense	posted 11-18-98 07:16 PM ET Concerning the GameSpot SMAC preview: Does anyone have a clue what that glowing "deaths head" on the top of the second screen shot on the second page means? It looks kind of scary to me. Thanks.
AUH20	posted 11-18-98 07:48 PM ET I'm gonna die if it does slip its timeframe.
Kryten	posted 12-21-98 09:12 AM ET Annntiiiccipaaation! I'm seriously pumped for a little taste of SMAC.
Shining1	posted 11-19-98 12:30 AM ET Some interesting answers, and I'm glad to see that the personality side of the game is being done in full (I did get kinda pissed at the CivII Ghandi, who was an evil, aggressive warmonger). Personally, on the Sid/Brian thing, I tend to find it an irritation to have someone's name included in the title. No offense intended, as Brian and Sid have obviously put an incredible amount of work into this game, and that should be recognised (I enjoyed Brian's designer notes in the CivII manual). But ultimately, with the complexity of design that goes into games these days, it's a team that produces the final product. [On the other hand, Firaxis does have to sell the bloody thing, and Sid's name is a great marketing tool to have on your side.] The multiplayer aspect is the only detail that causes some concern - with games on the scale of 20+ hours, it could be an expensive habit to become addicted to internet SMAC. (You'd know about that, YYYH.) And I'm still not happy about the Tachyons, but after last week I need a good laugh, so why not. On the negative (possibly) side, this may be the final nail in the coffin for on-topic dicussion, now that the game looks pretty much set (any new suggestions for faction leaders names? I've always thought Miriam was a poor choice - Marion seems to have a more evangelical quality to it). P.S dushan: Theres been a running ompetition on guessing when Garland will buy it, he's not mentioned in any of the factions, and he's commanding a diverse legion of megalomaniacs. You didn't think he was going to retire quietly to Monaco, did you?
Lee Johnson	posted 11-19-98 03:13 PM ET "You didn't think he was going to retire quietly to Monaco, did you?" Maybe he'll declare himself King of Monaco-in-Exile, and set up an orbital casino. ;-)
Fluke	posted 12-17-98 06:23 PM ET Just wanted y'all to feel the thrill of a thread from Firaxis
Vanilja	posted 12-22-98 12:52 AM ET I'm not surprised Garland was murdered...isn't this what a lot of us suspected months ago?