4X The Unsurpassed Brian Reynolds' Alpha Centauri thread

[Induktio]

Alright, I took a look at the drone riots/base growth mechanic and was able implement a simple solution that allows us to delay drone riots on bases that have grown on the same turn. I have no idea how Yitzi implemented the details in the mod and I'm not going to spend much time looking for it, but I think the feature also needs an extra constraint. Drone riot free growth for one turn should only be allowed if talent_total >= drone_total before the growth, otherwise this feature could be abused with pop booming to get extra production while the drone control capabilities are significantly exceeded.

Next version should have this new mechanic available, but I'm not going to enable delayed drone riots mechanic by default just yet. Also we will have an ability to reactivate skipped units that have not moved previously on the same turn. Hopefully I can get the version released soon so these features can get some more testing.

Edit: new Thinker version is now available. Decided to make delayed drone riots enabled by default since so far I didn't see any real reason not to.

 

[index.php]

GLSMAC - Open-source OpenGL/SDL2 remaster of SMAC​

A new opensource OpenGL/SDL2 remake project of the brilliant Civ spinoff Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (+ Crossfire) has been announced this week. While it's not the first fan attempt at a SMAC rebuild we've got a good feeling about this one!

"Hi all, I just started an effort to recreate/remaster SMAC (Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri) to let it run on modern systems, and especially to have working, stable, reliable multiplayer. It's still at very early stage, but feel free to subscribe, review, discuss and maybe even participate. I estimate a playable version to come in a month or so."
More information: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/681507/
GLSMAC Github: https://github.com/afwbkbc/glsmac
GLSMAC Discord: https://discord.gg/fWG3xK7cUx

Approximate roadmap:

Versions 0.x: replicating original SMAC gameplay as closely as possible (but without bugs)​

• 0.1: fundamental engine functions, such as: rendering, UI, netcode, sound system
• 0.2: basic map functions, such as: tiles, mapgen, creating/saving/loading games, map rendering
• 0.3: basic multiplayer: ability to host and join games, lobby, save/load games with same players. multiplayer support will be maintained during further steps from now on
• 0.4: game processing, such as: game turns, units, buildings, technologies, building of bases, terraforming, basic combat, victory by conquest
• 0.5: all remaining SMAC units, buildings, terraformings, tech, etc
• 0.6: all remaining victory types
• 0.7: AI (computer opponents, cities automation, units automation, etc) and diplomacy
• 0.8: alien lifeforms, ecology
• 0.9: all remaining in-game UI, including game settings
• 0.10: non-crucial things like movies, interludes
• 0.11: final polishing and bugfixing

Versions 1.x: fixing bugs, adding optional small features that weren't present in original SMAC but won't change it's gameplay drastically. See 'GLSMAC 1.x features' section on discord​

Versions 2.x: adding all kinds of features, as long as they are worth the time. See 'GLSMAC 2.x features' section on discord​

 

[oldbonebrown]

Alright, I took a look at the drone riots/base growth mechanic and was able implement a simple solution that allows us to delay drone riots on bases that have grown on the same turn. I have no idea how Yitzi implemented the details in the mod and I'm not going to spend much time looking for it, but I think the feature also needs an extra constraint. Drone riot free growth for one turn should only be allowed if talent_total >= drone_total before the growth, otherwise this feature could be abused with pop booming to get extra production while the drone control capabilities are significantly exceeded.

Next version should have this new mechanic available, but I'm not going to enable delayed drone riots mechanic by default just yet. Also we will have an ability to reactivate skipped units that have not moved previously on the same turn. Hopefully I can get the version released soon so these features can get some more testing.

Edit: new Thinker version is now available. Decided to make delayed drone riots enabled by default since so far I didn't see any real reason not to.

Have you considered how this might negatively impact the balance of the Free Drones's Revolt ability?

 

[Jason Liang]

... Isn't this just Alpha Centauri? :/

 

[Demo.Graph]

... Isn't this just Alpha Centauri? :/

Beta Soytauri

 

[DesolationStone]

... Isn't this just Alpha Centauri? :/

SMAC has at least some dignity

 

[passerby]

Alright, I took a look at the drone riots/base growth mechanic and was able implement a simple solution that allows us to delay drone riots on bases that have grown on the same turn. I have no idea how Yitzi implemented the details in the mod and I'm not going to spend much time looking for it, but I think the feature also needs an extra constraint. Drone riot free growth for one turn should only be allowed if talent_total >= drone_total before the growth, otherwise this feature could be abused with pop booming to get extra production while the drone control capabilities are significantly exceeded.

Next version should have this new mechanic available, but I'm not going to enable delayed drone riots mechanic by default just yet. Also we will have an ability to reactivate skipped units that have not moved previously on the same turn. Hopefully I can get the version released soon so these features can get some more testing.

Edit: new Thinker version is now available. Decided to make delayed drone riots enabled by default since so far I didn't see any real reason not to.

Have you considered how this might negatively impact the balance of the Free Drones's Revolt ability?

It's an optional feature and Free Drones are overpowered anyway with +2 industry, so I don't mind one of their minor perks being partially neutered.

It really just removes busy work of checking bases each turn to make sure they won't riot after growth, secondly it will improve/simplify work on AI code for managing drones.

 

[Induktio]

It's an optional feature and Free Drones are overpowered anyway with +2 industry, so I don't mind one of their minor perks being partially neutered.

It really just removes busy work of checking bases each turn to make sure they won't riot after growth, secondly it will improve/simplify AI code for managing drones.

To clarify, yes it is already an optional feature in v3.3. You can set delay_drone_riots=0 in the config file and it uses vanilla drone riot rules. By default it uses delayed mechanic. I've also been thinking about adding extra config options for some of the items in "Other patches included" but currently they're not separately listed in the config file since it's already quite long. The mod will display an error message if there's an unrecognized option in thinker.ini though.

 

[laclongquan]

... Isn't this just Alpha Centauri? :/

SMAC has at least some dignity

Before the planet falls~

 

[JBro]

https://vocaroo.com/1euTsu9uIZ5b

 

[JBro]

https://github.com/afwbkbc/glsmac

New sourceport being worked on.

 

[Gromoer]

Just watched some no commentary gameplay and wow, what a great atmospheric game. Found myself drowned in thoughts while listening to the music and FXs. Miss this era’s games so much. Something truly futuristic in them.

Unfortunately our paths haven’t really crossed until now. Otherwise it could have been a one more nostalgia drug for me.

 

[passerby]

It's not just a nostalgia drug, it's still the best civ like 4x game and with thinker mod even AI suck less than in any CIV game.

 

[Induktio]

Recently Thinker's version 3.5 was also released. See the changelog here.

There's still many ideas listed in the discussions that could be implemented but haven't decided on them. Maybe another thing is to port more of Pracx code directly into Thinker for better maintainability but we'll see.

 

[JBro]

https://github.com/afwbkbc/glsmac

New sourceport being worked on.

Hopefully with more success than the previous ones!
This guy seems to have good, interesting plans... wherever they will end in something, we shall see, but I do hope.
We really need a SMAC Sourceport.

The fact that he has a roadmap and actual guidelines for contributing tells me he's taking it seriously, so I'm optimistic.

 

[catfood]

How do you stop the audio popping when you run this with Wine?

This solution worked for me:
https://af.gog.com/forum/sid_meier_s_alpha_centauri_/fix_for_static_sound?as=1649904300

I forgot that I had this issue too. I'm glad I was able to find it in case something happens and I have to reinstall the game again.

I came across this as well
https://alphacentauri2.info/wiki/Installing
I only glanced at it, but it seems like the script is the same as the one on Gog for the most part. If the first one doesn't work maybe this one will?

Thanks. It didn't work for me, but I will experiment with this more.

It didn't work for me either. Have you managed to figure out a solution?

 

[Dadd]

How do you stop the audio popping when you run this with Wine?

This solution worked for me:
https://af.gog.com/forum/sid_meier_s_alpha_centauri_/fix_for_static_sound?as=1649904300

I forgot that I had this issue too. I'm glad I was able to find it in case something happens and I have to reinstall the game again.

I came across this as well
https://alphacentauri2.info/wiki/Installing
I only glanced at it, but it seems like the script is the same as the one on Gog for the most part. If the first one doesn't work maybe this one will?

Thanks. It didn't work for me, but I will experiment with this more.

It didn't work for me either. Have you managed to figure out a solution?

No.

 

[catfood]

This is a common problem with these old Firaxis games. Sid Meier's Gettysburg has a similar issue with the sound.

 

[Induktio]

This is a common problem with these old Firaxis games. Sid Meier's Gettysburg has a similar issue with the sound.

Maybe those other games used some similar sound libraries then? I would be looking at solutions for this from other similar games and try to apply the same fixes. Probably there's some ways around it that have been posted on other message boards.

 

[catfood]

How do you stop the audio popping when you run this with Wine?

This solution worked for me:
https://af.gog.com/forum/sid_meier_s_alpha_centauri_/fix_for_static_sound?as=1649904300

I forgot that I had this issue too. I'm glad I was able to find it in case something happens and I have to reinstall the game again.

I came across this as well
https://alphacentauri2.info/wiki/Installing
I only glanced at it, but it seems like the script is the same as the one on Gog for the most part. If the first one doesn't work maybe this one will?

Thanks. It didn't work for me, but I will experiment with this more.

It didn't work for me either. Have you managed to figure out a solution?

No.

I found the solution in a comment here https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=30811#c9

Worked great for me. For anyone trying this now you may need to change:
--norm=-1 to --norm
in the scripts above.

I also managed to get rid of the bad rendering of the fonts simply by switching the Wine version in Lutris to Lutris-ge. It doesn't fix the aspect ratio like the normal version does, but that's ok since I can just adjust it in my monitor settings.

The game works like a charm now.

 

[index.php]

I'm starting to feel optimistic about the GLSMAC project. It's still far from being playable, but the development is progressing at a good pace and it's already at v0.2:

 

[JBro]

Yeah I've been keeping tabs on it. It's going smoothly.

Check this out:

 

[Absinthe]

Does the Thinker mod have anything to protect against pre-stapling before going Free Market?

https://vocaroo.com/1euTsu9uIZ5b

Dude, you ought to join the RPG Codex PBEM games if you can come up with shit like that. That was dope.

 

[Induktio]

Does the Thinker mod have anything to protect against pre-stapling before going Free Market?

Hmm, this mechanic hasn't been really talked about with regards to the mod. It's the same as in the vanilla game, only the SE settings at the moment of stapling are considered whether it is allowed or not. So the effect still applies after switching to Free Market. Is there any kind of consensus how it should be handled instead?

 

[Silva]

Oh shit, this Thinker Mod is great. Last time I tried it was like 10 years ago and didnt felt much different but now it's awesome. Not only the AI is kicking me ass, but it's doing it "in-character" for their personalities. The mod also has a ton of improvements on vanilla (like the expiration of probe infiltration, for eg). So, questions:

1) what else am I missing? Any other neat improvements?

2) what is the recommended difficulty setting? Tried it on Thinker and was pulverized. Perhaps I should go back to normal (Librarian)?

3) Is there a way to re-insert the game intro? The mod seems to have cut it out.