Just picked this up on one of the GOG sales

[sherbz]

And im a bit confused about what to do with Alien Crossfire. Although it has been years and years since i played SMAC (my disk snapped ages ago and i never re bought it), I did play it alot, and thankfully remember many of the mechanics/how to play. I never got alien crossfire though and im wondering whether its better to play purely vanilla or whether to branch out into the expansion. My only vague recollection is that the new factions are broken (at least i seem to remember one of my friends complaining about it).

So, any advice on the new factions?

Any general pointers that act as a bridge between vanilla and crossfire?

Currently im just playing a vanilla game just to ease myself back into it.

 

[Buster's Uncle]

The biggest reason to go Xfire is to be compatible with everyone else - the mods and resources out there on the web for SMAC will work with SMAX, and the reverse isn't true.

I don't think X is much of an upgrade, mind you, and the new factions aren't as good, but they do make for more variety and gaming options.

 

[Petek]

In vanilla, you have to play the original factions. However, in Xfire you don't have to play the new factions exclusively. You can choose to include just the vanilla factions, or mix them up. So, if you play another game, I suggest that you play Xfire but with the vanilla factions. Then try playing with some of the new factions and make up your own mind about their value.

 

[sherbz]

Ill have to get better first though. i played on librarian and suffered terribly at the hands of miriam. Although she only attacked with missile infantry and i was defending with silksteel sentinles, so i thought that would be sufficient. I also kind of lost touch with how you need to watch how many units your cities build due to maintenance. I think a wide approach is certainly the better one.

 

[Danielion]

I play SMAX with the old factions, I might consider playing with the new factions in the future and later mix them all up. What I always found a pity in SMAX is how the quotes of the new leaders are very limited, and how their personalities aren't nearly as interesting as those of the seven old.

Well, I might consider changing my opinion once I actually try the new factions. One thing I can see off the bat is how the Progenitor factions seem really advantaged compared to human ones and how the Cybernetic Conscience (+2 research, +2 efficiency, ability to steal technology when capturing base versus -1 growth) is just OP. Interesting to have them as an AI against you.

 

[Hightower]

I play SMAX with the old factions, I might consider playing with the new factions in the future and later mix them all up. What I always found a pity in SMAX is how the quotes of the new leaders are very limited, and how their personalities aren't nearly as interesting as those of the seven old.

Well, I might consider changing my opinion once I actually try the new factions. One thing I can see off the bat is how the Progenitor factions seem really advantaged compared to human ones and how the Cybernetic Conscience (+2 research, +2 efficiency, ability to steal technology when capturing base versus -1 growth) is just OP. Interesting to have them as an AI against you.

The AI doesn't usually do that well as the Consciousness in my experience. -1 Growth is pretty crippling for them, and Pacifist AIs are at an inherent disadvantage. (The Consciousness is totally broken when led by a human player, of course.) But the Progenitors are obviously OP.

By far the most interesting of the SMAX factions as an AI, in my opinion, are the Free Drones. There really isn't any old faction with a huge productivity bonus, so they're unusual, and despite their weak tech rate, they aren't crazed warmonger expansionists like the Believers. On high difficulties, the Drones are often the biggest threat in the mid-game, at which point their industrial might really shines, and they can overcome tech deficiencies through sheer numbers. They have trouble in the late-game, though, as they fall far behind in tech and also tend to suffer a lot from global warming (that they often cause). If they ally with a fast-tech AI (the University, the Consciousness, the Morganites, the Gaians in the late game due to Efficiency bonuses), they're at their strongest.

The Datatech are boring; Probe Teams aren't that exciting, so they're mostly generic, though they do pretty well. The Pirates are an annoyance but never any real threat because of how bad the AI is at naval invasions. The Cult is crippled by its industry and economy penalties and is very rarely relevant (probably the weakest faction in the game).