Ceti Alpha Five: Star Trek Mod

[MysticWind]

https://globalcombine.itch.io/ceti-alpha-five

CETI ALPHA FIVE

Star Trek Mod for Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

Lured to Ceti Alpha Five by strange energy emissions, expeditions from the Federation, Klingons, Tholians, Romulans and Gorn have converged on the planet, only to be overcome by the energy distortions and crash land!

Trapped by time distortions, the factions must survive and adapt their technology to function on this strange planet, the home of a Talosian outpost and the marooned crew of the Botany Bay.

Classic Alpha Centauri 4X gameplay blended with Star Trek themes and factions.

MOD FEATURES:

A starting former and extra colony pod for all factions, reduced drone activity, roughly 10% faster tech progress, and only the Federation faction prototypes units.  Social Modification choices can all be used by every faction.

Overall the game is a little faster paced and more militant. There are a few less skipped turns and more to do in the early game.

Requires a copy of SMAC or SMACX to play - mixing Trek factions with SMAC/X factions on one world is not recommended.

https://www.gog.com/game/sid_meiers_alpha_centauri?&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoPL2BRDxARIsAE...

5 Playable Factions and 2 AI Factions

Playable factions:

 Federation:
Starfleet engineers can famously turn rocks into replicators!
The Federation has a computerized society with advanced power generation. They can quickly rediscover their lost technology and develop a comfortable society.
They are the only faction with no combat bonuses at all.

 Romulans:
The Romulan expedition is focused on information gathering. Their two starting probe teams are useful scouts and unequalled spies. They also have a passion for building and production.
Their physical strength yields a morale bonus.
Romulans can use the value Knowledge to trade spy power for research power, without losing their resistance to mind control.

 Klingons:
Quapla!
Klingons work best on the offensive. They start with good weapons, aggressive warriors and an extra base. Their powerful support can field a large army, or they can trade it away to gain Democracy without penalty.

 Khan:
His is the superior intellect.
Very suited to combat, Khans forces also have an edge in espionage and worm harvesting.
A tough all rounder, Khan can take advantage of Fundamentalism to excel at spying or Green to enhance his worm capture.

 Gorn:
The Gorn build giant cities and have a talent for worm harvesting.
Their troops are tough and strong, but a little slow, they are therefore formidable
in ground combat, but only average in the air or at sea.
Green economics can boost Gorn worm harvesting and Police State can increase their armies to epic proportions.



Challenging AI factions:

 Tholian:
Xenophobic and mysterious, the Tholians are known to have advanced production techniques, including armour alloys. 

 Talosian:
Powerful psionic aliens with a deep connection to the planet. Their magnificent cities are thought to be mostly illusion.

     The story of Ceti Alpha Five:
Centuries ago Talosian exiles settled on the wild but scenic planet of Ceti Alpha Five.

Their small colony did not notice the arrival of humans, the crew of the Botany Bay was marooned there by Captain Kirk. Months passed before Ceti Alpha Six exploded and violently disturbed the solar system. Khan, the leader of the Botany bay crew swore revenge on Kirk and struggled to keep his people alive during the planet's upheaval. The living core of the planet began to emit increasingly strange signals, attracting the attention of nearby empires.

The Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Tholians and Gorn all sent expeditions to investigate.

But on arrival they discovered that the strange temporal energy field projecting from the planet, disrupted their technology and forced them into emergency landings.

Now, trapped in a time ripple for a thousand years, they must rediscover how to make even the simplest technology work here. They and their descendants will fight for survival along side or against the six other alien species stranded here, and any native life that may be a threat.

I found this randomly while googling "SMAC-X factions." It doesn't seem to be linked to anywhere outside of itch.io, so I've never come across it before. Hope it's worth playing, looks quite well made!

[Buster's Uncle]

No, I really want to tune up those leaderheads and logos in the council screen.  They make my fingers twitch a little, they do.  Scanlines, fix the Commander's leprosy, replace Kruge with a real Klingon, clean up the logo edges, give everyone unique bases. Fix all the stuff I'd surely find that isn't pictured here.  -Art not well made at all.


I wonder how old this is?

[MysticWind]

I wonder how old this is?

The demo video is only two years old! Looks like Global Combine's YouTube account is here.

[Buster's Uncle]

...I left him an invitation on that video...

[bvanevery]

I find myself intrigued by the idea of playing a Talosian.  But to do the original material justice, they'd have to be quite overpowered.  Visiting their homeworld was the only crime in the Federation for which the death sentence was still on the books!

That's a general problem with 4X games.  You can't exactly roleplay "jerk God / monster of the week" if everyone has to have a more or less balanced start.  I mean look at the Aliens in the Crossfire expansion.  They were bordering on game breakers.  And for what?  Many wish that narrative concept had never entered anyone's mind.

[Buster's Uncle]

You'll have surely noticed, before you filled up AARs with your own -good job, there- that there was an extended burst of enthusiasm about ten years ago for playing v. what we called "monsters" -OP custom factions.  Talosians could fill that role, made as OP as you suggest...

[MysticWind]

It looks like the Talosians and the Tholians are AI-only factions, which is a weird choice. Even SMAX let you play Progenitors, as overpowered as they are. I would bet that there's nothing mechanically-speaking that would prevent you from playing those factions, it's just as per the design video in the OP, they were not designed like the other five factions to be balanced, but rather to provide a challenge for players. I do appreciate that they can still take part in the Planetary Council, which is more than the Progenitors got.