Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri™ Planetary Pack
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri™ Planetary Pack includes the original Alpha Centauri and the expansion, Alien Crossfire.
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri™ Planetary Pack is a strategy, 4x and multiplayer game
developed by Firaxis Games
and published by Electronic Arts.
Released on March 07th 2024 is available in English only on Windows.
It has received 392 reviews of which 369 were positive and 23 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.7 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 2.49€ on Steam and has a 50% discount.
The Steam community has classified Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri™ Planetary Pack into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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Requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10
- Processor: 1.8 GHz
- Memory: 512 MB RAM
- Graphics: 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 9.0c
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Storage: 600 MB available space
- Additional Notes: Requires a monitor that supports a minimum resolution of 800x600
Reviews
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
DISCLAIMER: For those who are unsure if this version works, download the PRACX mod which fixes the game and adds quality of life improvements. It's just an easy installer where files are installed in the main game directory. It works like a charm, quick install and you're good to go. (The updated resolution, added overlays and zoom function are a godsend!) (here is the link: https://github.com/DrazharLn/pracx/releases - download the file " PRACX.v1.11.exe ") Alpha Centauri takes place on a hostile alien planet where the player needs to establish a colony and survive the harsh natural conditions and against opposing factions . My review is solely based on the base game as I never bothered much with the expansion (base game is excellent). You play as one of the 7 competing factions which differentiate themselves by ideological beliefs and philosophies. You drop on Chiron which is simply named "Planet" and establish a colony, eventually an sprawling empire in a typical 4X fashion. Explore, expand, exploit and exterminate are the key elements of the gameplay progression. In the vein of Civilization, you do this in a turn-based fashion where you build outposts, researching technologies, bolster your military and finally use the resources to bring prosperity to your faction with the ultimate goal of achieving dominance via different victory conditions. Let's be frank here, this does not really sound very unique compared to dozens of other 4X games that have sprung up over the years. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. Till this day, no other game managed to replicate the excellent sci-fi setting and narrative that is cleverly interwoven with the gameplay. The Good [*]The game starts out with an enticing premise, explore and colonize a completely hostile alien planet with creepy indigenous life forms. The planet reacts to your actions and is actually a character itself. [*]The game has unique factions with their own ideologies which are characterized by charismatic leaders with unique personalities. [*]The writing is something else, the game is filled to the brim with memorable quotes and dialogues which are narrated by excellent voice actors. This cannot be understated. [*]Interacting with other factions on a diplomatic level feels more dynamic and memorable due to the fantastic writing and the way that leaders react to your behavior and society. [*]Alpha Centauri has an actual story narrative which can easily be neglected but provides excellent world-building. There are changes to the planet and map when reaching certain milestones which turns the game into a more involved experience. [*]The game oozes atmosphere due the afore-mentioned voice acting and somewhat cold sci-fi setting. The soundtrack is very a bit limited but the existing ambient tracks add a lot to enhance the atmosphere. [*]Factions play very differently due to their strengths and weaknesses, your playstyle actually influences the way other factions treat you. This is also true for the planet itself which will send more indigenous lifeforms to take you out. [*]The game has a social engineering mechanic which allows you to shape your society around different values or fundamental philosophies. These range from absolute police state to eco friendly hippies. It is very customizable and has severe implications on your environment. [*]The technologies and setting is actually based on real scientific advancements and concepts, there is a real hard sci-fi edge to it that isn't simply "space magic". [*]The game has a design workshop for units which allows you to customize your own units for your needs. Want to have glass cannons that vaporize everything but can barely take a hit? No issue! You can pretty much install and modify units as you like. [*]Alpha Centauri has an extensive terraforming system which will really change the look of the map, terrain types can be modified and also elevated. There are some serious infrastructure buildings such as bore holes which will create large mining holes. Also the terraforming affects the planet interacts with you! If you're industrious without any care for the environment, you will have to face increased alien activity and factions which have ecological values. [*]The core "one more turn" civilization addiction is real in this game. Managing and growing an empire is rewarding. The Bad [*]Game has not a very intuitive interface or controls. It can almost feel like a spreadsheet with its menus and functions. It is not beginner friendly and can suffocate you with the sheer amount of menus and hotkeys. [*]The game is not very transparent about its mechanics and how things interact with each other. [*]Due to its age, some quality of life improvements are really missing such as streamlining the movement of units, terraforming the planet or managing multiple cities or units. [*]The AI can feel overly powerful and will spam tons of units.Stacks of doom are a real thing here and somewhat cumbersome to control (but opinions differ on this) [*]The combat is pretty weak and simply not very engaging because it ends up in stacks duking it. [*]Endgame can feel very tedious which is a core issue that pertains to a lot of 4X games. The Ugly [*]Let's be frank here, the game is not very pretty and has very sparse animations (if at all). It all feels very static and there isn't much to look at. Personally, I do not mind that much because it all suits the atmosphere but some more animations would have been nice. However, you really have to get used to it and be engrossed in the gameplay. This game won't charm you with its aesthetics, it is clear that this game is outdated in a lot of ways but even during release, it wasn't a looker. [*]The sound effects are repetitive and also limited. You will hear the same sounds all the time. [*]The interface can feel like a sci-fi version of an perating system (this can be positive depending on your preferences). Conclusion Alpha Centauri is a game that I fire up from time to time because one single screenshot or quote gets me instantly in the mood to play and revel in the atmosphere of this mysterious alien world. Despite lacking a strong graphical fidelity, AC easily draws you in with its voice acting, world-building which borders on being sci-fi horror due to the alien atmosphere, let's not forget some of the actual cutscenes that exist which are extremely unsettling. The interface enhances this even more with its somewhat clinical style. Honestly, I really fail to recall a strategy game which was managed to incorporate such an alien and mysterious setting that borders on being esoteric in terms of delivery. My first few playthroughs were a struggle but every advancement was rewarding due to the excellent writing. This is actually a smart game full that was ahead of its time. The gameplay itself is very solid once you get a grasp on the controls. What I really like is that this game is so engaging even if you don't conduct warfare. A lot of 4X games have a strong focus on military but AC has plenty to offer outside of warfare such as terraforming or the plot. The social engineering mechanic and strong political ideologies which oppose each other are very unique and allows the player to really experiment with the respective playstyles. Overall, I would recommend this game to anyone who really enjoys 4X games and can deal with some clunky interfaces and outdated visuals. There is a lot under the hood in this game, not everything requires intricate knowledge of the gameplay systems but you can really dive into it, thus reading the manual is recommended. It even includes a short story which details how the faction leaders landed on Alpha Centauri due to the mutiny on the colony ship. Watching Let's plays helps a lot as well, there are plenty!
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Simply put...The greatest 4X strategy game ever made. Esoteric, strange, atmospheric and deeply inspiring. It is without a doubt my favourite game in over 40 years of playing computer games. It's finally on Steam, I really can't believe it! Edit: Works great on Steam Deck, a bit of SMAC before bed?...Yes please!!
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True story. Back in 2000, when I was in college, I turned on a game of SMAC around 6pm as my roommate went out for a night on the town. 30 minutes later, he returned, and I told him "you're back early." He looks at me and says "Dude, it's 2:00am! I've been gone 8 hours." I then realized I hadn't stepped away from my PC for 8 hours straight, save for a 2 minute phone call. This is what Alpha Centauri can do to you. Time will disappear like it never existed. You have been warned.
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If you've never played Alpha Centauri (SMAC to fans), and you love grand civ-style strategy games, then you owe it to yourself to pony up the few bucks and pick this up. Set on a hostile, alien planet, lead your faction to befriend, conquer, or utterly destroy your fellow human survivors. Like all civ games, you will research new tech, build structures, and fight with military units. Here, you aren't starting at the dawn of civilization, but rather with some very advanced technology already. The other faction leaders are incredibly well-realized with their own distinct motives, personalities, and superb voice acting at times. There is a healthy dose of philosophy in this game, and Firaxis clearly had fun speculating on the base and higher instincts of humanity. It's all good stuff. Presentation-wise, it is an older game with some jarring primary colors, but the designs for units and menus are top-notch. I've never felt it was ugly or hard to navigate. There's also plenty of help with tutorial popups (that you can turn off), and in-game documentation of the mechanics. It also comes with the expansion pack, which adds new factions to compete against. I like the expansion, but the base game is my favorite. Oh, and despite this being published by EA, there are no extra logins. I also installed SMAC on the Steam Deck, and it works flawlessly: with cloud saves and the touchpad controller setup. It's just plain perfect. [EDIT to add] After some more playtime, I did find that when saving sometimes, the game on Deck defaulted to the Home directory and not the saves directory in Linux. It was not consistent, however, and I could surf to the right directory in the menu. Hopefully, this is something that can be fixed. Love it. Couldn't ask for more.
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Yo Civ VI, I'm really happy for you and Imma let you finish, but Alpha Centauri is the best 4X strategy game of all time. OF ALL TIME.
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Last Updates
| Steam data | 16 November 2024 21:07 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 22 December 2024 10:05 |
| Steam price | 23 December 2024 12:36 |
| Steam reviews | 22 December 2024 08:06 |
Online players
36
Developer
Firaxis Games
Publisher
Electronic Arts
Release
07 Mar 2024
Platforms