What would you like Alpha Centauri 2 to look like?

[IvanPong]

I'm talking an imaginary sequel which captures why you like the game, but improves on it with the latest in game design. So an actual spiritual successor.

I'll start.

I think hexes really make sense. The squares were good, but hexes feel natural for movement.

I'd also like the unstacked cities from Civ 6 as a concept (never played 6 though. Sounds like it didn't turn out super well.) Alpha Centauri was leaning that way with just how much you could do with terraforming. I think it would make sense for that to extend all the way, and it could be cool if done right.

I'd personally make the movement of the planet's minions mindworms/locusts of Chiron/etc more formulaic and predictable. Like they beeline to the most polluting thing first. Like mindworms wouldn't attack clean scouts, but they would beeline toward the massive city that's generating all the pollution.

Also, I think it would be fun if the story was changed up too. If you've ever read Children of Time, that would be super neat. Basically, humanity seeded a planet with a virus to speed up evolution. In AC, instead what would happen is one of the alien life forms would gradually become more intelligent through the course of the game until it started building its own civilization as an actual player near the end when it schisms from the planet's main consciousness and becomes as corrupt as the humans that birthed it.

What would you change/add?

 

[Darsnan]

I'm talking an imaginary sequel which captures why you like the game, but improves on it with the latest in game design. So an actual spiritual successor.

I think hexes really make sense. The squares were good, but hexes feel natural for movement.

I've played sci-fi TBS god games on squares, hexes, and regions (the last was with Deadlock: Planetary Conquest --> https://www.mobygames.com/game/deadlock-planetary-conquest), and enjoyed all, as in each case the associated movement "worked" as a part of the greater game. For the regions in Deadlock you had to pay attention to every nook and cranny of the regions, as there could be land or sea "bridges" that weren't apparent on the larger map that you had to pay attention to else the enemy could sneak up on you thru these - analogous to secret mountain passes or unmapped sea routes thru treacherous straights: fun in their own way! Or to put this slightly differently variety is the spice of life, and if its added in the right context it adds to the overall flavor of the game!

I'd also like the unstacked cities from Civ 6 as a concept (never played 6 though. Sounds like it didn't turn out super well.)

In general I've not heard good things about Civ6 and have simply avoided it.

Alpha Centauri was leaning that way with just how much you could do with terraforming.

Terraforming was so fun, and it had both tactical and strategic implications: tactically you could create (or submerge) land bridges with adjacent players, and this aspect also had strategic impacts as well (I remember playing in a PBEM where someone commented "heah why is my moist squares now desert?" and I was like "yeah I'm not telling him I just raised some land on my border"): it was fun, and it had significant/nuanced game implications, which as you became more proficient with the game you could maximize for your gains.

I'd personally make the movement of the planet's minions mindworms/locusts of Chiron/etc more formulaic and predictable. Like they beeline to the most polluting thing first.

How early in the game were you thinking on this effect happening? I just remember in Beyond Earth that I planted my second city and I'm already in unhealth. Really!?! I can't find the quote (or para-phrasing) right now but it was something along the lines that the first phases of a game should be fun. From there it draws you in and presents you with an interesting series of choices. I like the idea of of a formula/predictable/something that can be gleaned regarding Native Life (NL) movement: I have my own ideas on this I'll add below.

Also, I think it would be fun if the story was changed up too.... humanity seeded a planet with a virus to speed up evolution. In AC, instead what would happen is one of the alien life forms would gradually become more intelligent through the course of the game until it started building its own civilization as an actual player near the end when it schisms from the planet's main consciousness and becomes as corrupt as the humans that birthed it.

Now that's a neat concept I've not encountered in a game before!

My thoughts on changing up the story is to go in a different high tech direction in that somewhere in our galaxy an unknown alien species took the interplanetary colonization approach of sending out von Neuman machines to terraform planets into an idealized state for this unknown alien species, and that these planets then lay fallow until this unknown species reaches the planet with colonization ships where they will then find the already terraformed planets ready for colonization. Once the planet is terraformed and reaches its idealized state in regards to the unknown alien species the von Neuman machines go into hibernation, ready to reactivate as necessary to deal with any deviations in a planet's ecology which fall outside their pre-programmed boundaries of what they consider "ideal". So say if a human colony sets up shop on one of these alien-terraformed worlds and starts re-working the planet to their needs/goals, then the alien von Neuman machines will re-awaken as needed to deal with this delta in the ecology: as the humans become more numerous and their terraforming becomes more aggressive the planet's ecology will become more out of sync with the hard-coded ideals of the von Neuman machines and they will become more aggressive in trying to "correct" what to them are aberrations that need to be expunged by whatever means necessary.

What would you change/add?

From "Beyond Earth" I do like the various ideologies (Supremacy, going Native, or Terran Heritage). I also like the mountains, canyons, and sea ice from BE - really fun aspects which add to the awe of exploring alien planets (and of course all the different biomes you get to explore in BE - those are really fun, too!).

D

 

[IvanPong]

I haven't looked into Beyond Earth. How are the ideologies different than the political systems in AC (Green Fundamentalism, etc)?

 

[Darsnan]

I haven't looked into Beyond Earth. How are the ideologies different than the political systems in AC (Green Fundamentalism, etc)?

Off the top of my head there are two major differences:

1. Visual: in BE the leader views and unit graphics change depending on which affinity the Faction is maximized in. So when you pull up your leader image it will have distinctions associated with that Leader's affinity. Same with the units in that all the units change their appearance based on what affinity their going for.
2. In BE the affinity advancements are tied to tech discoveries and so are more incremental and take committed planning (as opposed to SMACX where you can just pull up the Social Engineering screen and flip everything in one turn from say Police State to Green).

HTH,

D

 

[Arent11]

I'm talking an imaginary sequel which captures why you like the game, but improves on it with the latest in game design. So an actual spiritual successor.

I'll start.

I think hexes really make sense. The squares were good, but hexes feel natural for movement.

I'd also like the unstacked cities from Civ 6 as a concept (never played 6 though. Sounds like it didn't turn out super well.) Alpha Centauri was leaning that way with just how much you could do with terraforming. I think it would make sense for that to extend all the way, and it could be cool if done right.

I'd personally make the movement of the planet's minions mindworms/locusts of Chiron/etc more formulaic and predictable. Like they beeline to the most polluting thing first. Like mindworms wouldn't attack clean scouts, but they would beeline toward the massive city that's generating all the pollution.

Also, I think it would be fun if the story was changed up too. If you've ever read Children of Time, that would be super neat. Basically, humanity seeded a planet with a virus to speed up evolution. In AC, instead what would happen is one of the alien life forms would gradually become more intelligent through the course of the game until it started building its own civilization as an actual player near the end when it schisms from the planet's main consciousness and becomes as corrupt as the humans that birthed it.

What would you change/add?

Simply give me better graphics.

 

[Recon Rover]

Simply give me better graphics.

I was just going to write that...

I was 13 years old when I played Alpha Centauri the first time. The graphics intimidated me. I think the darker themes were meant to. Just like the music. I want that feeling but can I get it with something easier on the eye? I am not sure!

 

[Arent11]

I was just going to write that...

I was 13 years old when I played Alpha Centauri the first time. The graphics intimidated me. I think the darker themes were meant to. Just like the music. I want that feeling but can I get it with something easier on the eye? I am not sure!

I played it just yesterday It's easy to access, much more so than civ 6. I really just want better graphics, even the alien crossfire expansion I'm usually switching off.

It still amazes me how different the factions were and how they were actually treated "fairly". The game doesn't take sides, it shows both the good and bad sides of dictatorships, naive pacifism, money grubbing, fundamentalism etc.

 

[GenyaArikado]

Also, I think it would be fun if the story was changed up too. If you've ever read Children of Time, that would be super neat. Basically, humanity seeded a planet with a virus to speed up evolution. In AC, instead what would happen is one of the alien life forms would gradually become more intelligent through the course of the game until it started building its own civilization as an actual player near the end when it schisms from the planet's main consciousness and becomes as corrupt as the humans that birthed it.

That's basically The Cult of Planet premise
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I'd be happy with better graphics but factions having different texts for their endings would be cool too