what I really loved about this game was how the very blunt, stereotypical impressions you get of each faction are later contradicted by the rich characterisation afforded by wonder videos, tech quotes etc. The main benefactor imo is Miriam, who goes from being easily typecast as a shrill harridan to "we must dissent". So too is Corazon Santiago more than just a survivalist reactionary, Yang more than a big brother stereotype etc. etc; and this is all established through unnecessary text
Agreed. All that text added to a game that many who've played will never forget. The first game I played as a kid back in '99 which drew me in as if it were a more story driven than the actually game play itself. (Aside from a only a few other titles.) I will say, out of all the faction leaders, I found Miriam and Santiago to be the cruelest. The quotes and various text throughout the game add to the definition of their characters in such a way, the gamer would see just how driven these people are in their ideology. The very thing which caused what Planet referred to as, "planetdeath". However, my favorite and most played, the Gaian's. Lady Deirdre Skye, the one I felt, out of all the factions, the story was most centered upon. As a note, I'm aware that there are some books published which are the events of the "Alpha Centauri" game, but haven't had the pleasure to read.
If you had the pleasure of reading them you would think otherwise. This isn't really reflected in the games quotes, secret project cutscenes or technologies but reflect upon the gaians usage of the indigenous lifeforms. The things they do to a persons mind are horrible, and Secret Project: The Dream Twister reflects this. Yet Lady Deirdre uses this beyond atrocious weapon carelessly and ideologically driven. Does a thing really have to be righteous, just because it is natural and part of the ecosystem?
Killjointica "The first game I played as a kid back in '99 which drew me in as if it were a more story driven than the actually game play itself." Yeah uh...I cheated in SMAC after I played a couple times...so I could see _everything._ All the wonders, all the techs, I wanted to see and read everything they put in the game, and damn the actual gameplay. XD
due to how well versed one of the authors behind this game was both in historical and philosophical sciences, it is not surprising that they were able to build such a coherent and conclusive background for the game mechanics. It is possible to predict future, with enough faith in the knowledge and the knowledge itself that has been collected for millenia, it just takes time to process.
This is one of the most philosophically challenging games I ever played in my life. Nothing makes you think about fundamental nature of mankind like this game did.
I agree and in fact in plays a great role in your behaviour throughout a game. You feel like you really understand the other leaders and it brings weight to your decision to fight them or assist them. More than anything it shows you that there is no one way for a civilisation to grow, but in fact we are only choosing favourites based on our cultural and educational upbringing.
The only games I can remember that had intros this stylish and poinient were Tiberium Dawn and Alpha Centauri. You don't need a fancy CGI cutscene alike to a movie scene, something as simple as imagery and some exposition can set the stage better than anything like that.
“In the great commons at Gaia’s Landing we have a tall and particularly beautiful stand of white pine, planted at the time of the first colonies. It represents our promise to the people, and to Planet itself, never to repeat the tragedy of Earth.” - Lady Deirdre Skye, “Planet Dreams”
This is such a brilliant video, in a mere 2 and a half minutes it lays out the premise, and backstory, of this game. Using only stock footage it perfectly captures humanities situation and plight- that moment at 1:22 says it all.
If you watch closely you can see that there are actually 8 pods connected to the ship that are ejected. And when they approach the planet, you can clearly see one pod that explodes in space. I always imagined what kind of ideology and perspective this 8th faction might've had and actually became a little sad that we never got to see and know them.
This game with it's various cut scenes, quotes, and everything else was pretty awe inspiring. I don't think any PC strategy game before it or after it has come close to what it has done.
So basically 2020 is an intro to Alpha Centauri Fires, epidemics, civil unrest, environmental pollution, constant battles to control spread of information (still missing an actual armed conflict though). All this and SpaceX just finished it's manned launch. Inb4 International Space Station was secretly an interstellar colony ship all along.
This game had a major impact on me during my formative years. It made me really think about human nature and how technology brings out both the best and the worst in us. 20 years later, there's still nothing else like it.
I think Beyond Earth, excluding the multiple parts that were just reskins of Civ5, was honestly good, but _just_ good, like 6/10. It had some more creative concepts, such as preparing one's launch as if making their own "Civ" (of course, it boils down to just choosing what bonuses to get at the start, but at least the concept was creative), and the Affinities (though more possible diversity within each would have been nice). The main problem was that Alpha Centauri was just perfect. And no matter how good an act is, it's hard to beat or even equal the previous act, when said act is perfect.
Right?! I keep flashing back to all these crazy things we're going through. If life imitates art, then most likely it'll be people traveling with Elon Musk to Mars.
The intro for Beyond Earth was basically this, with a smattering of the 2012 movie at the beginning. But it really set me up for a big disappointment. Sure, given how small the filesize was, I didn't expect it to have clip/cinematics for the Secret Projects/Wonders. But come on! I open a portal back to earth, gate in 20 colonists, rush to build them cities before one of the Harmony AI's reaches Transcendence, and try not to piss off the Supremacy people next door. I win. And what do I get? Not even an epic short clip showing how awesome it is that I actually managed to save the guys back on Earth, therefore accomplishing the original mission. Which is like, something that wasn't possible in AC, something that the Unity failed to do. But I don't even get a cinematic for it! Just a splash screen with some narrated text. And then of course all the other leaders are devoid of any personality outside of their biographies and flavor text. So disappointed, Firaxis. How did you go from the epic of SMAC to this sad, sad so-called "spiritual successor" that doesn't suck you in as much? Would it be so hard to make a victory cinematic for each victory? =/
***** So I heard. Now, the question is; will the new title be able to match, if not surpass, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri? Will Sid be able to recapture the essence of the old game, both thematically and gameplay wise, while trying something new and better?
AVoiceOfOpinion93 the ne AC version that they puting out soon In my belief after reading about it and seen screen shots is going to be a civilisation 5 remake. and it will not be better than the old AC. There is something about that game that is special. I don't know if the way it was drawn or the way the ai worked... it just showed respect to the consumer when the new version shows... "lets just make something and cash it out" mentality... As i said it is my opinion based on the screenshots(civ5 remodeling.... new skins for the units and buttons basically, nothing more) and the articles that came out(allot of promises to bring new stuff for the research and for the game play but we see that every time with new games... announcements that their game will revolutionize the industry only to pop a rock on the people's heads with a puzzle of tech's and guide lines to follow through). I am not saying that they will not deliver, just saying that when people work to hard they fuck up by doing something to complex for the people to follow up on it. Look at "sword of the stars" awesome game concept but.... The research on that was their jewel from what they said but in the end it all turned out a huge mess of stuff you had troubles figuring your way through, and when finally you did something awesome you went against a ai that had something infinitely better lol I don't know maybe I should of spent more time figuring that game out lol.
ah yes, i remember this game.. :) this intro was very aesthetically beautiful; all real-life footage is introduced precisely to give a very dynamic view of our civilization as a whole. .. I always played as the russian techno-geeks ^^ Provost Zakharov 4-EVER!!! :D
Who says you need to finish a game to appreciate the art in it? And you don't need to know how to play a game at all to enjoy the art in it. An excellent example is this intro movie. Anyone who knows how to use UA-cam can appreciate the art in the game.
This game was near perfect, one of those games that's game play was so solid, and whose atmosphere was so haunting that poor graphics don't tarnish it a bit. This game is really an ageless classic, and any fan of strategy cannot call themselves a fan without playing it.
It really makes me wish that we had another Alpha Centauri game. Alpha Centauri was an amazing game, and all Firaxis is doing right now is making new Civilization sequels. While they are fun, it really makes you wish they made something that was actually new.
This is the first PC game I ever bought, and, hands-down, my favorite game... period. At first, I played it for thirty minutes, was overwhelmed/confused by it, and didn't play it for four years. I'm glad, really, because it would have destroyed me in High School :) Now, back to Civ IV... But I shall return, SMAC! "...free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny." -- Commissioner Pravin Lal, 'U.N. Declaration of Rights'
You know, when I first played Alpha Centauri as a kid and saw the intro, I though "bah, an environmental catastrophe sucks as 'the end of the world' scenario." Now, 11 years later, I have this uneasy feeling there may be something to it. The trouble is, we don't have the Unity spaceship to save at least a few thousand. Well, the game says things really went down the toilet on Earth by about 2040. This gives us 30... uhm, 29 years to do something...
yeah, the diplomacy and espionage part of AC owns civ... though it got slightly better in civ 4 beyond the sword, the AC leaders have alot more personality :-)
just want to say I really appreciate the fire motif going on: first nukes going off, then buildings burning, then firefighters desperately trying to stop the inferno. and then 1:02 hits - that same fire that's been destroying everything is now _launching_ something, being used for a constructive purpose
This could become a movie. It takes place aboard the unity, just before arrival. The plot revolves around the colonists trying to save the ship after the reactor malfuction. I even thought of the cast as the leaders, who will not be the predominant protagonists, but will play a role in the ensuing crisis. -Brent spiner -Terence Stamp -Morgan Freeman -Angelina Jolie -Jodie Foster -Natalie portman -Dennis Haysbert
Quite possibly my favorite game ever. I play it even now, in fact, just yesterday I played a good 5-hour game as the Gaians (my favorite, next to the University). I didn't like the expansion as much, the additional human factions were interesting, but the usurpers and caretakers seemed unnecessary. Therefore, I prefer playing the original 7 factions. Except The Believers... They pissed me off a lot, especially in the novels.
@Selinja well, the short version is there is a GURPS supplement for Alpha Centauri, so you can play colonists on Alpha Centauri using the GURPS rules, even faction leaders if you like - I gm two groups, (one Peacekeeper Planetfall campaign, one Believer campaign set in 2135) and it's great fun :)
I just downloaded this game after almost a decade of not playing it. I am astonished by how well it has aged. Once you get re-acquainted with the graphics, the gameplay is so strong that you get sucked back in. It was a bad idea to start playing when I had a project due. How about that sound when a mindworm attacks?
"After the ship breaks apart, the eight lead-" *Drop pod fukkin explodes* "... The SEVEN leaders guide their chosen crew" Who was the unlucky bastards in the 8th drop pod that exploded?
@@LOLHAMMER45678 They were corny enough in the sequel with all the other corny factions, think how ridiculous they would have been alongside just the original factions.
God I've played this game so much over the years. I've never liked any strategy or Civ-like game as much as this. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is sooo good.
@k28xl No, because when you achieve a victory in Alpha Centauri, the ending interlude says that no transmissions from Earth could be heard, which makes you assume everybody died on Earth.
@stonem001 almost all the 'stock footage' used in the cutscenes came from one film from the mid nineties called Baraka. If you like the tone of SMAC, you might want to check it out (it's a film with no plot or dialogue as such, so it won't be to everyne's tastes)
This is my favorite game ever. I've played it so many times; definitely got my money's worth for it and the Alien Crossfire expansion. I basically keep an old Mac OS 9 Mac around to play it; it no longer runs under the latest Mac OS X, even with the unofficial Carbon-patch installed (and it was a bit flakey running that way anyways). I like that the starting scenario is basically the spaceship that launches when you win the Civilization games; so it's really "Civilization: Part Two."
You're absolutely right on the second one, because something labeled "Sid Meyer's" is probably a pirated version of one of SID MEIER'S wonderful games :D!
@stonem001 ahh, you're right, only about 15 seconds of baraka was used in this clip. As for other films I'm not sure... Fricke is working on a sequel to Baraka, and some of his earlier work like Chronos is good. If i recall correctly the manual for SMAC had some great reading suggestions.
Works fine for me. It was dead for a while once before, but started working again in less than 48 hours. Just be patient, because I'm not gonna repost unless it stops working for let's say a whole week or so...
1. Yes, games are art. 2. I remember a long time the game was not available first hand, so it sold well enough. 3. It doesn't take more than a couple hours to understand the game, that isn't really a heavy burden. 4. It has a multitude of features that make it a more in depth game. Some of them made it to civ4 greatly improving the game. 5. MGS is a different type of a game.
I'm gonna jump into this with my 2 cents even though I might end up seriously regretting it. 1. A game that includes art in the form of graphics, sounds, music, text etc. or all of the above is definitely art. What makes you say otherwise? 4. You can't serioulsly compare the interfaces of games that are 6 years apart in age. In 6 years programmers may have learned to create 10 times better interfaces with 10 times less effort.
The ship Unity seeds pods before it's blown apart, that's what you can pick up. The ship body itself falls, you can salvage it's core from the Council, and you can find the impact crater in Alien Crossfire.
I hope that EA doesn't remake this classic. If anyone can ruin a game sequel, it's them. A sequel is out of the question. All that should be done is a graphics update. An "Alpha Centauri 2013" so to speak. Or, if there is a new Sid Meier out there, make this game again, but put the same time, effort, research, and polish into this game that came with the original. The gameplay, backstory, and little details is what truly sold every Alpha Centauri fan. On top of the seamless turn based gameplay.
I don't know now. I was never thinking about that. Several month ago was here clean-out and I thought that this is the reason so I was never solving it nor thinking about it. So I don't know which videos it were. Here it was different - here are messages that this video is here and it works. But yes, it is not just this video. There are more. It happened me just several times, but happened.
Even though the intro narration says "divided not by nationality", the faction leaders as well as the names of their assistants and cities do actually follow "national" patterns. Zakharov represents "Russia", Yang "East Asia" and so on.
That was back when they actually made games for adults! Now it seems that if a 5 year old can't play it, then it won't be published. I loved this game. The idea of choosing between faction ideologies, makes it way better than civ's rather generic countries
I went to a store and watched my little brother buy the first halo for 40 bucks... then picked this and 4 other hall of fame strategy games up for... (this is proof there is no justice in the world...) $8. It was truely depressing... and the luckiest day of my life.
Positioned to fire its motors so as to reduce velocity and enter orbit around Planet -- using them as retro-rockets. Without slowing, it would just deviate a little from its course and go out the other side of the solar system. It is going pretty fast at first - certainly faster than Planet's escape velocity.
what I really loved about this game was how the very blunt, stereotypical impressions you get of each faction are later contradicted by the rich characterisation afforded by wonder videos, tech quotes etc. The main benefactor imo is Miriam, who goes from being easily typecast as a shrill harridan to "we must dissent". So too is Corazon Santiago more than just a survivalist reactionary, Yang more than a big brother stereotype etc. etc; and this is all established through unnecessary text
Agreed.
All that text added to a game that many who've played will never forget.
The first game I played as a kid back in '99 which drew me in as if it were a more story driven than the actually game play itself. (Aside from a only a few other titles.)
I will say, out of all the faction leaders, I found Miriam and Santiago to be the cruelest. The quotes and various text throughout the game add to the definition of their characters in such a way, the gamer would see just how driven these people are in their ideology. The very thing which caused what Planet referred to as, "planetdeath".
However, my favorite and most played, the Gaian's. Lady Deirdre Skye, the one I felt, out of all the factions, the story was most centered upon.
As a note, I'm aware that there are some books published which are the events of the "Alpha Centauri" game, but haven't had the pleasure to read.
If you had the pleasure of reading them you would think otherwise.
This isn't really reflected in the games quotes, secret project cutscenes or technologies but reflect upon the gaians usage of the indigenous lifeforms. The things they do to a persons mind are horrible, and Secret Project: The Dream Twister reflects this. Yet Lady Deirdre uses this beyond atrocious weapon carelessly and ideologically driven.
Does a thing really have to be righteous, just because it is natural and part of the ecosystem?
Killjointica "The first game I played as a kid back in '99 which drew me in as if it were a more story driven than the actually game play itself."
Yeah uh...I cheated in SMAC after I played a couple times...so I could see _everything._ All the wonders, all the techs, I wanted to see and read everything they put in the game, and damn the actual gameplay. XD
Yang is waaaaay worse than just Big Brother incarnate
Yang's a traitorous bastard. Every single time
25 years after release, still as relevant and engaging as ever 🤓
The more time goes on the more I see this as a prediction rather than a story for a videogame
Agreed; 'Alpha Centauri' is very prophetic.
just now found it, i didnt even know this was a game thought it was some old videos about "conspiracy theories"
due to how well versed one of the authors behind this game was both in historical and philosophical sciences, it is not surprising that they were able to build such a coherent and conclusive background for the game mechanics. It is possible to predict future, with enough faith in the knowledge and the knowledge itself that has been collected for millenia, it just takes time to process.
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master"
@@marshmallowbudgie This hits specially hard in our present days.
This is one of the most philosophically challenging games I ever played in my life. Nothing makes you think about fundamental nature of mankind like this game did.
If you like philosophically challenging games, I recommend you to try The Talos Principle as well
Try the original EVE trailer ua-cam.com/video/T84nrp08MWo/v-deo.html
I agree and in fact in plays a great role in your behaviour throughout a game. You feel like you really understand the other leaders and it brings weight to your decision to fight them or assist them. More than anything it shows you that there is no one way for a civilisation to grow, but in fact we are only choosing favourites based on our cultural and educational upbringing.
40 years until 2060 folks.
The live action shots in the intro are from the 1992 documentary film Baraka directed by Ron Fricke.
This intro is so powerful. Alpha centauri is the best game ever made.
The only games I can remember that had intros this stylish and poinient were Tiberium Dawn and Alpha Centauri.
You don't need a fancy CGI cutscene alike to a movie scene, something as simple as imagery and some exposition can set the stage better than anything like that.
Another Kummeli fan I see :)
Gonna play this masterpiece during the weekend.
By far!
“In the great commons at Gaia’s Landing we have a tall and particularly beautiful stand of white pine, planted at the time of the first colonies. It represents our promise to the people, and to Planet itself, never to repeat the tragedy of Earth.”
- Lady Deirdre Skye, “Planet Dreams”
This is such a brilliant video, in a mere 2 and a half minutes it lays out the premise, and backstory, of this game. Using only stock footage it perfectly captures humanities situation and plight- that moment at 1:22 says it all.
After 17 years its STILL the undisputed king of strategy games!
*****
Thats why its undisputed, derp. lol
it's not perfect and certainly still isn't free of bugs and issues
Try Yitzis Patch 3.5c from November 2016
I'll do that.
Stesilaus
LOL nah, Orion ain't bad but its kids milk compared to Centauri.
If you watch closely you can see that there are actually 8 pods connected to the ship that are ejected. And when they approach the planet, you can clearly see one pod that explodes in space.
I always imagined what kind of ideology and perspective this 8th faction might've had and actually became a little sad that we never got to see and know them.
This game with it's various cut scenes, quotes, and everything else was pretty awe inspiring. I don't think any PC strategy game before it or after it has come close to what it has done.
So basically 2020 is an intro to Alpha Centauri
Fires, epidemics, civil unrest, environmental pollution, constant battles to control spread of information (still missing an actual armed conflict though). All this and SpaceX just finished it's manned launch.
Inb4 International Space Station was secretly an interstellar colony ship all along.
For years I've been afraid that things would happen this way. And then 2020 started. Um... sorry?
Here in 2022 we now have the Armed Conflict going, so you might be on to something
I guess that makes Musk a Morganite?
@@davidsoutlook3120 Not the African Billionaire we were expecting.
@@emperorofthegreatunknown4394 Musk is South African, FYI
This game had a major impact on me during my formative years. It made me really think about human nature and how technology brings out both the best and the worst in us. 20 years later, there's still nothing else like it.
Does that music remind anyone else of the Terminator 2 theme?
I think Beyond Earth, excluding the multiple parts that were just reskins of Civ5, was honestly good, but _just_ good, like 6/10. It had some more creative concepts, such as preparing one's launch as if making their own "Civ" (of course, it boils down to just choosing what bonuses to get at the start, but at least the concept was creative), and the Affinities (though more possible diversity within each would have been nice).
The main problem was that Alpha Centauri was just perfect. And no matter how good an act is, it's hard to beat or even equal the previous act, when said act is perfect.
40 years from now till spaceship Unity.
I hate when the middle of this old intro feels timely. It's not the 2060s yet dammit.
Right?! I keep flashing back to all these crazy things we're going through.
If life imitates art, then most likely it'll be people traveling with Elon Musk to Mars.
That's why I'm nice to him
The intro for Beyond Earth was basically this, with a smattering of the 2012 movie at the beginning. But it really set me up for a big disappointment. Sure, given how small the filesize was, I didn't expect it to have clip/cinematics for the Secret Projects/Wonders. But come on! I open a portal back to earth, gate in 20 colonists, rush to build them cities before one of the Harmony AI's reaches Transcendence, and try not to piss off the Supremacy people next door.
I win. And what do I get? Not even an epic short clip showing how awesome it is that I actually managed to save the guys back on Earth, therefore accomplishing the original mission. Which is like, something that wasn't possible in AC, something that the Unity failed to do. But I don't even get a cinematic for it! Just a splash screen with some narrated text.
And then of course all the other leaders are devoid of any personality outside of their biographies and flavor text.
So disappointed, Firaxis. How did you go from the epic of SMAC to this sad, sad so-called "spiritual successor" that doesn't suck you in as much? Would it be so hard to make a victory cinematic for each victory? =/
There should be a remake.
You're a goddamn prophet, you know that?
Wish granted. I'm watching an ad for it right now before the video begins
***** So I heard. Now, the question is; will the new title be able to match, if not surpass, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri? Will Sid be able to recapture the essence of the old game, both thematically and gameplay wise, while trying something new and better?
There will be a spiritual sequel, Civilization: Beyond Earth.
Or Civilization V in Space.
AVoiceOfOpinion93 the ne AC version that they puting out soon In my belief after reading about it and seen screen shots is going to be a civilisation 5 remake. and it will not be better than the old AC. There is something about that game that is special. I don't know if the way it was drawn or the way the ai worked... it just showed respect to the consumer when the new version shows... "lets just make something and cash it out" mentality... As i said it is my opinion based on the screenshots(civ5 remodeling.... new skins for the units and buttons basically, nothing more) and the articles that came out(allot of promises to bring new stuff for the research and for the game play but we see that every time with new games... announcements that their game will revolutionize the industry only to pop a rock on the people's heads with a puzzle of tech's and guide lines to follow through). I am not saying that they will not deliver, just saying that when people work to hard they fuck up by doing something to complex for the people to follow up on it. Look at "sword of the stars" awesome game concept but.... The research on that was their jewel from what they said but in the end it all turned out a huge mess of stuff you had troubles figuring your way through, and when finally you did something awesome you went against a ai that had something infinitely better lol I don't know maybe I should of spent more time figuring that game out lol.
This game is epic, worth finding and playing. Great story, great gameplay. So many great details that even the modern tbs games lack.
This game is the best. Immortal!
Clinically Immortal!
I love how before I watched this video a preview for Civilization: Beyond Earth came on.
ah yes, i remember this game.. :) this intro was very aesthetically beautiful; all real-life footage is introduced precisely to give a very dynamic view of our civilization as a whole. .. I always played as the russian techno-geeks ^^ Provost Zakharov 4-EVER!!! :D
Who says you need to finish a game to appreciate the art in it? And you don't need to know how to play a game at all to enjoy the art in it. An excellent example is this intro movie. Anyone who knows how to use UA-cam can appreciate the art in the game.
This game was near perfect, one of those games that's game play was so solid, and whose atmosphere was so haunting that poor graphics don't tarnish it a bit. This game is really an ageless classic, and any fan of strategy cannot call themselves a fan without playing it.
It really makes me wish that we had another Alpha Centauri game. Alpha Centauri was an amazing game, and all Firaxis is doing right now is making new Civilization sequels. While they are fun, it really makes you wish they made something that was actually new.
If I want to give someone an example of how video games can be art, I'll give them this game.
Judging the game from 2020, this game is eerily prophetic in all its glory.
supposedly the one that exploded housed the faction that would become the 'Nautilus Pirates' faction from crossfire
Man, I still get chills.
Fuck it, I'm getting one more game before Beyond Earth.
Trust me, bro. It's worth it! I've been playing this game since I was 13. 17 years later and this is STILL my favorite game.
Someone needs to clip a bunch of footage from the pandemic and current events and redo this intro, it would fit together so chillingly well.
One of my all time favorite videogame intros and one of my all time favorite games at that.
I think 8th pod was with Firaxians :D
This is the first PC game I ever bought, and, hands-down, my favorite game... period. At first, I played it for thirty minutes, was overwhelmed/confused by it, and didn't play it for four years. I'm glad, really, because it would have destroyed me in High School :) Now, back to Civ IV... But I shall return, SMAC!
"...free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny."
-- Commissioner Pravin Lal,
'U.N. Declaration of Rights'
I use that quote as a header on my Twitter page.
These days... it feels extremely poignant. -_-;
You know, when I first played Alpha Centauri as a kid and saw the intro, I though "bah, an environmental catastrophe sucks as 'the end of the world' scenario."
Now, 11 years later, I have this uneasy feeling there may be something to it. The trouble is, we don't have the Unity spaceship to save at least a few thousand. Well, the game says things really went down the toilet on Earth by about 2040. This gives us 30... uhm, 29 years to do something...
I've got goosebumps.
Best Strategy game ever
agreed. i loved this game so much, i miss it *tear*
I loved it! A real great and intelligent game, including beauty in its presentation! Thanks for that one, Sid Meier & team!
yeah, the diplomacy and espionage part of AC owns civ... though it got slightly better in civ 4 beyond the sword, the AC leaders have alot more personality :-)
LOLL
thanks :)
you've been really helpful, i think i might just subscribe.
i love that game.
This game is perfect, it has so much contained within it, it is said to see it over-looked so much nowadays.
brilliant and creative emersive and engrossing ,what a great escape this game was.
It's ready now :), although the aspect ratio got screwed up :/.
best game from Sid. 3D terrain !!!
@RMcDChannel yes, definatley even the intro is badass.
I love this game and I think this is one of the best game intro I had seen!
just want to say I really appreciate the fire motif going on: first nukes going off, then buildings burning, then firefighters desperately trying to stop the inferno. and then 1:02 hits - that same fire that's been destroying everything is now _launching_ something, being used for a constructive purpose
The best game of all time and im so surprised that there is no sequel.
As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't NEED a sequel. Just give it the Starcraft Remastered treatment, and you're good to go!
Excellent! One of the BEST strategy games ever. I haven't found a game as enjoyable since Battle Realms!
btw, GO SISTER MIRIAM!
This could become a movie. It takes place aboard the unity, just before arrival. The plot revolves around the colonists trying to save the ship after the reactor malfuction.
I even thought of the cast as the leaders, who will not be the predominant protagonists, but will play a role in the ensuing crisis.
-Brent spiner
-Terence Stamp
-Morgan Freeman
-Angelina Jolie
-Jodie Foster
-Natalie portman
-Dennis Haysbert
That's a really old cast.
Quite possibly my favorite game ever. I play it even now, in fact, just yesterday I played a good 5-hour game as the Gaians (my favorite, next to the University). I didn't like the expansion as much, the additional human factions were interesting, but the usurpers and caretakers seemed unnecessary. Therefore, I prefer playing the original 7 factions. Except The Believers... They pissed me off a lot, especially in the novels.
Still best Sid Meier's game. And intro.
@Selinja
well, the short version is there is a GURPS supplement for Alpha Centauri, so you can play colonists on Alpha Centauri using the GURPS rules, even faction leaders if you like - I gm two groups, (one Peacekeeper Planetfall campaign, one Believer campaign set in 2135) and it's great fun :)
If you knew how much I LOVED that game...it was incredible.
Superb game. And a story up there with the best of sci-fi.
Someone on the Steam forums said something about this. The title Alpha Centauri instantly grabbed my attention, so I youtubed it.
I just downloaded this game after almost a decade of not playing it. I am astonished by how well it has aged. Once you get re-acquainted with the graphics, the gameplay is so strong that you get sucked back in.
It was a bad idea to start playing when I had a project due.
How about that sound when a mindworm attacks?
"After the ship breaks apart, the eight lead-"
*Drop pod fukkin explodes*
"... The SEVEN leaders guide their chosen crew"
Who was the unlucky bastards in the 8th drop pod that exploded?
The pirates from the expansion if I remember correctly
@@LOLHAMMER45678 They were corny enough in the sequel with all the other corny factions, think how ridiculous they would have been alongside just the original factions.
"Swilling rum and feeding mind worms to his parrot"
This was a great game... and still is too!
I wish I still had this game....
awesome intro for an awesome game
DUDE!!!!
how did you realize this?
It sincs so well
God I've played this game so much over the years. I've never liked any strategy or Civ-like game as much as this. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is sooo good.
first time i became afraid when i was introduced to this game.. also blown away
@k28xl
No, because when you achieve a victory in Alpha Centauri, the ending interlude says that no transmissions from Earth could be heard, which makes you assume everybody died on Earth.
Scientists just found a planetary candidate in the habitable zone of Alpha Centauri A.
Chiron here I come!
@stonem001 almost all the 'stock footage' used in the cutscenes came from one film from the mid nineties called Baraka. If you like the tone of SMAC, you might want to check it out (it's a film with no plot or dialogue as such, so it won't be to everyne's tastes)
This is my favorite game ever. I've played it so many times; definitely got my money's worth for it and the Alien Crossfire expansion. I basically keep an old Mac OS 9 Mac around to play it; it no longer runs under the latest Mac OS X, even with the unofficial Carbon-patch installed (and it was a bit flakey running that way anyways). I like that the starting scenario is basically the spaceship that launches when you win the Civilization games; so it's really "Civilization: Part Two."
wow I want to play this game again so bad, I haven't seen this intro in years.
This game is so good.
You're absolutely right on the second one, because something labeled "Sid Meyer's" is probably a pirated version of one of SID MEIER'S wonderful games :D!
@stonem001 ahh, you're right, only about 15 seconds of baraka was used in this clip. As for other films I'm not sure... Fricke is working on a sequel to Baraka, and some of his earlier work like Chronos is good. If i recall correctly the manual for SMAC had some great reading suggestions.
This is definitely one of the greatest games ever made!
Works fine for me. It was dead for a while once before, but started working again in less than 48 hours. Just be patient, because I'm not gonna repost unless it stops working for let's say a whole week or so...
I love this game so much T_T
1. Yes, games are art.
2. I remember a long time the game was not available first hand, so it sold well enough.
3. It doesn't take more than a couple hours to understand the game, that isn't really a heavy burden.
4. It has a multitude of features that make it a more in depth game. Some of them made it to civ4 greatly improving the game.
5. MGS is a different type of a game.
I'm gonna jump into this with my 2 cents even though I might end up seriously regretting it.
1. A game that includes art in the form of graphics, sounds, music, text etc. or all of the above is definitely art. What makes you say otherwise?
4. You can't serioulsly compare the interfaces of games that are 6 years apart in age. In 6 years programmers may have learned to create 10 times better interfaces with 10 times less effort.
BEYOND EARTH!!!!!!
Just installed the game but had to disable the staring movie because of windows 10 so here we are again. :)
Thanks! Agreed, and it still is.
The ship Unity seeds pods before it's blown apart, that's what you can pick up. The ship body itself falls, you can salvage it's core from the Council, and you can find the impact crater in Alien Crossfire.
I hope that EA doesn't remake this classic. If anyone can ruin a game sequel, it's them.
A sequel is out of the question. All that should be done is a graphics update. An "Alpha Centauri 2013" so to speak.
Or, if there is a new Sid Meier out there, make this game again, but put the same time, effort, research, and polish into this game that came with the original. The gameplay, backstory, and little details is what truly sold every Alpha Centauri fan. On top of the seamless turn based gameplay.
I don't know now. I was never thinking about that. Several month ago was here clean-out and I thought that this is the reason so I was never solving it nor thinking about it. So I don't know which videos it were.
Here it was different - here are messages that this video is here and it works.
But yes, it is not just this video. There are more. It happened me just several times, but happened.
@iAmDeathSpank Nobody knows about this anymore? There's an Alpha Centauri mod for every Civ game since. People still love it.
Even on FileFront it was unfriendly to me, but from there I downloaded it and then watched it. Thanks ;-)
BEST INTRO IN A GAME EVER!
Even though the intro narration says "divided not by nationality", the faction leaders as well as the names of their assistants and cities do actually follow "national" patterns. Zakharov represents "Russia", Yang "East Asia" and so on.
That was back when they actually made games for adults! Now it seems that if a 5 year old can't play it, then it won't be published. I loved this game. The idea of choosing between faction ideologies, makes it way better than civ's rather generic countries
game is awesome! on google vid there ia a alpha centautri movien made of the sequences in game,,,true art
Nobody knows about this game anymore... best turn based game ever. I wish they'd stop Civ and make a sequel to this !
THEY DONT IMMEDIATELY START FIGHTING YOU CAN GO THE WHOLE GAME WITHOUT DECLARING WAR
@SFXKID210 and great gameplay as well. they dont make em like this anymore..
I went to a store and watched my little brother buy the first halo for 40 bucks... then picked this and 4 other hall of fame strategy games up for... (this is proof there is no justice in the world...) $8. It was truely depressing... and the luckiest day of my life.
One of the greatest games ever created.
Actually it was Brian Reynolds who designed Alpha Centuri not Sid Meier.
Positioned to fire its motors so as to reduce velocity and enter orbit around Planet -- using them as retro-rockets. Without slowing, it would just deviate a little from its course and go out the other side of the solar system. It is going pretty fast at first - certainly faster than Planet's escape velocity.
I want a remake or a sequel to this game!
@StartledSloth Yes, that's an order mister!
God this was a great game, still is too. :)