Best Discussion of Alpha Centauri Ecosystem

[yeehi]

I would like to understand the ecology of AC better.

Where are the best discussions of the different life forms on Planet?

 

[vyeh]

The ecology of AC is a very broad subject. It covers the following topics:

I. Xenofungus (land and sea) and effects on movement and combat.

II. Native Life.

A. SMAC
1. Mindworms
2. Isles of the Deep
3. Locusts of Chiron
B. SMAX
1. Spore launchers
2. Fungal towers
3. Sealurks
C. Psi Combat

III. Eco-damage (maybe this is what you meant by ecology).

A. Two sources of eco-damage
1. Improvements
2. Mineral production
B. Consequences of eco-damage
1. Fungal pops
a. appearance of fungus and destruction of some improvements
b. spawning of mindworms.
2. Sea level rising
C. How to eliminate eco-damage
1. Eliminating improvement eco-damage through facilities
2. Raising the production limit

I'm sure that there are many people here or at 'poly where you posted an identical thread that would love to help you if you narrow down your inquiry and the search function here and at 'poly doesn't answer your question.

 

[yeehi]

THough it is always good to get game play tips, on this occasion i am more interested in the story behind the game.

For instance, I think it makes no difference to game play whether the different things like Isles of the deep, Sea fungus, mind worms and so on are different creatures or one and the same thing, it is interesting for me to hear about it.

I think that these different creatures are infact just one creature but in different stages of its life cycle- that includes fungal towers and locusts of chiron.

I wonder if there has been discussion of how these life forms are related.

Also, there is some alternative art samples included with the CD of other possible creatures (cant remember their names offhand) and I wonder if people have discussed those.

btw vyeh, your game play tips are great

 

[vyeh]

Well, I don't think anyone can do better than to refer you to the official Firaxis site's page about native life.

Does that answer your question?

 

[Vishniac]

If you've got the printed manual of SMAC, there is some info on ecology on page 179-182. I don't know if it's accessible on the net.
It says effectively that locusts are metamorphosed worms.

The sci-fi novels inspirating Brian Reynolds are also interesting. Mindworms come from "The Jesus Incident" by Frank Herbert. Cool book. I should read the others in the serie.

 

[vyeh]

Well, I don't think anyone can do better than to refer you to the official Firaxis site's page about native life.

Vishniac!

The manual is better than the official Firaxis site.

If you've got the printed manual of SMAC, there is some info on ecology on page 179-182. I don't know if it's accessible on the net.
It says effectively that locusts are metamorphosed worms.

My copy of the manual is paginated differently. It is pp. 222-225. It is Appendix 5, the section entitled "Native Life."

 

[yeehi]

Is this reference available in digital format?
Does it come with the CD?

 

[vyeh]

If you're talking about the manual, it came with the game. As far as I know there is no digital version if you're talking about a doc that can be manipulated by word.

If you've lost your manual, you can buy it at Amazon. There were other listings at Amazon that I think are the manual, but you'd have to ask the seller to be sure it is the manual and not a different insert.

I think there may be a scanned copy available at one of those replacement manual sites, but the legality of those copies are questionable and I would guess that CFC would disapprove of a link to such a site.

 

[Surcal]

You might want to also check out the GURPS sourcebook on SMAC. It's written by Jon F. Zeigler.

Surc

 

[Perfection]

I'd go with Vel's guide, I'm not sure if it's free online anymore though.

 

[vyeh]

Vel's SMAX Guide Version 4.0 (final)

 

[vyeh]

Is this reference available in digital format?
Does it come with the CD?

I think there may be a scanned copy available at one of those replacement manual sites, but the legality of those copies are questionable and I would guess that CFC would disapprove of a link to such a site.

Apolyton does allow a link. Look at this Apolyton thread for a fascinating discussion of why the manuals can't be posted on 'poly but it is OK to post a link to a replacement manual site.

Edit: The manual is available at WePlayCiv in the Downloads section. Since this file had to be approved by an admin and I know an admin has ties to Firaxis and EA, I'm assuming that WePlayCiv has permission.

 

[zsozso]

Is this reference available in digital format?
Does it come with the CD?

It depends on the version. I believe the Windows versions were sold with a printed manual (I had one about 10 years ago but I do not know where is it anymore, could be somewhere deep in my basement...). On the other hand, the Linux version (by Loki) did not come with a printed version, instead it had 2 pdf files on the CD, one for the SMAC manual and one for the SMAX one. I still have those, but I am not allowed to post them for copyright reasons.

 

[vyeh]

Apolyton does not allow them to be posted, but Apolyton does allow a link to a replacement doc site. I'm not sure what the reasoning is.

Could it be that the replacement doc site does get permission from gaming companies to post the manuals?

 

[Petek]

Could it be that the replacement doc site does get permission from gaming companies to post the manuals?

The site's FAQ states right up front that what they do is not legal, although they have secured permission to post some manuals. It's not clear to me whether they have permission to post the SMAC manual, but I doubt that they have. The site will remove manuals from their board if the copyright owner specifically requests so.

Petek

 

[cardgame]

The site's FAQ states right up front that what they do is not legal, although they have secured permission to post some manuals. It's not clear to me whether they have permission to post the SMAC manual, but I doubt that they have. The site will remove manuals from their board if the copyright owner specifically requests so.

Petek

Well.... SMAC has been (no offense) pretty much dead since like 2000, right? So probably nothing is going to happen.

 

[bdanv]

dead?

 

[vyeh]

Well.... SMAC has been (no offense) pretty much dead since like 2000, right? So probably nothing is going to happen.

dead?

Hi, cardgame!

If you're looking for your friend z4ckdabeast, he is here.

Dead? The activity of this forum shows that SMAC is still being played.

And the companies that have the rights to SMAC (Firaxis and EA) are still very much alive. So they might have an interest in protecting their copyrights.

My guess is that game companies care a lot about software, but probably don't have a problem with a site that posts pdf versions of their manuals since that is a service to their customers and is unlikely to detract from their sales.

The important thing is that the OP can follow the links and get an answer to the question about the ecosystem.

 

[Grakelin]

Sorry for my blatant necropost, but the copy of SMAC I got seven or eight years ago (in a Firaxis strategy pack that included Shogun: Total War, and Sid Meier's Gettysburg and Antheim) included the entire manual in .pdf format from the CD. It even had an excerpt from the online prequel novella, though I'm not sure if that's from the physical manual or not. So some people definitely have it on their CD, and it might even be accessible on many people's copies.