Will 2013 bring a Civ 5 - SMAC conversion ?

[lietkynes]

I was playing SMAC yesterday, it's still an awesome game, some of its features are even better then civ4.

In fact some Civ5 features come directly from SMAC (policies, zones of control).

It really deserves a sequel.

 

[Tatran]

Actually I see no reason, except maybe EA wants to have Alpha Centauri carries Sid Meier's name,
why there's still no beginning to develope a new version of Alpha Centauri.

Brian Reynolds was the lead desiger, so I wouldn't mind if Sid wasn't involved.
I also don't care if another studio creates it. More than 10 years have passed and
2 (Briggs and Reynolds) of 3 founders of Firaxis already have left.

EA should cont(r)act Reynolds to create Alpha Centauri 2 and not wait on Sid Meier who is tied to Firaxis, which is owned by 2k.
Firaxis is not an independent studio anymore and only needs to be burried. (Every 3 years a new publisher.)

I simply can't believe Sid is happy with the way 2k is whoring out the civilization franchise.
Every 5 years a new civ version, a clone for the other platforms and
not too complex please, because the game has to be accessible for new members ordered/demanded by 2k.
Maybe, it's time again (Microprose) to leave. It would solve the SMAC problem too.

 

[Krall]

Yep. EA sits firmly on the rights to SMAC, and as long as that's the case, there won't be a sequel.

What we could see someday is a sequel in spirit - similar setting, similar gameplay, but different name and characters. Hard to do, but possible - though unlikely. SMAC simply didn't sell well enough (despite the huge success in reviews) to make the idea appealing to any publisher who wants triple-A games.

The only halfway decent chance I see is that an independent publisher with a decent established fanbase makes a SMAC clone. Stardock might be a candidate, depending on how well "Elemental" fares. Perhaps we should bug Brad Wardell with the suggestion.

What I want to know is how did EA get the rights to SMAC? Last I knew Infogrames had the rights to Microprose games and yet Sid was able to maintain the rights to all other of his titles except SMAC.

 

[Thormodr]

I simply can't believe Sid is happy with the way 2k is whoring out the civilization franchise.
Every 5 years a new civ version, a clone for the other platforms and
not too complex please, because the game has to be accessible for new members ordered/demanded by 2k.
Maybe, it's time again (Microprose) to leave. It would solve the SMAC problem too.

I agree. I am sure Sid Meir is not too happy with 2K Games but what can he do?