Difference between revisions of "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri"
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The most up to date information on improvements and patches tends to be available on the alphacentauri2.info wiki at [http://alphacentauri2.info/wiki/Category:Unofficial_patches Unofficial Patches]. Download links are kept more up to date there as well. | The most up to date information on improvements and patches tends to be available on the alphacentauri2.info wiki at [http://alphacentauri2.info/wiki/Category:Unofficial_patches Unofficial Patches]. Download links are kept more up to date there as well. | ||
− | The following is a copy of the content on that page made | + | The following is a copy of the content on that page made 19 August 2015. |
It is highly recommended that you use a patched .exe, the original is filled with major exploits, and prone to crashing. A fully patched game will very rarely crash and almost all the major bugs are solved. | It is highly recommended that you use a patched .exe, the original is filled with major exploits, and prone to crashing. A fully patched game will very rarely crash and almost all the major bugs are solved. | ||
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− | ===[[Glossary:Save game | + | ===[[Glossary:Save game cloud syncing|Save game cloud syncing]]=== |
− | {{Save game | + | {{Save game cloud syncing |
|origin = unknown | |origin = unknown | ||
|origin notes = | |origin notes = | ||
− | |steam | + | |steam cloud = |
− | |steam | + | |steam cloud notes = |
|uplay = | |uplay = | ||
|uplay notes = | |uplay notes = |
Revision as of 07:30, 9 September 2015
Developers | |
---|---|
Firaxis Games | |
Publishers | |
Electronic Arts | |
Mac OS | Aspyr Media |
Linux | Loki Software |
Release dates | |
Windows | February 12, 1999 |
Mac OS (Classic) | February 2000 |
Linux | August 2000 |
macOS (OS X) | January 24, 2013 |
Warnings
- The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.
General information
- Official Website
- alphacentauri2.info - Active Alpha Centauri modding, patching and multiplayer community. Perhaps the last on the web.
- Civilization Wiki - A detailed wiki for all Civilization games and their spin offs
- Apolyton Civilization Site's Alpha Centauri section - A huge forum dedicated to all Civilization games and their spin offs.
- GOG.com Community Discussions
- GOG.com Support Page
Availability
Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Retail | The game will run without the CD if you have performed a full install. | |||
Amazon.com | ||||
GOG.com | Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack. Windows and OS X. | |||
Origin |
- Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack includes the base game and the Alien Crossfire expansion
DLC and expansion packs
Name | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire | Included with Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack. |
Essential improvements
Patches
Unofficial patches
The most up to date information on improvements and patches tends to be available on the alphacentauri2.info wiki at Unofficial Patches. Download links are kept more up to date there as well.
The following is a copy of the content on that page made 19 August 2015.
It is highly recommended that you use a patched .exe, the original is filled with major exploits, and prone to crashing. A fully patched game will very rarely crash and almost all the major bugs are solved.
Recommendation: You should install Yitzi's patch if you're using SMAX and kyrub's if you're using SMAC. It is safe to install both.
The only caveat is that Yitzi's patch breaks backwards compatibility for alphax.txt and overwrites it. If you use old scenarios that require a custom alphax.txt this means that you may need to manually move the changes over. This will not be a concern for most users. Not using Yitzi's patch means that some newer scenarios and custom alphax.txt will not work for you.
- Yitzi's patch (SMAX only) - Built on scient's patch and including all his fixes, also fixes more bugs and adds many more alphax variables. Replaces the original terranx.exe, alphax,txt and helpx.txt files. Includes PlotinusRedux's PRACX graphical patch and Guv'nor and GooglyBoogly's Datalinks Upgrades from version 3.4.
- kyrub's patch (SMAC, and a very early SMAX version) - Built on scient's patch and including all his fixes, aimed primarily at improving AI performance (still recommended for new players) but also fixing some bugs. SMAX version has only minor AI improvements and is superseded by Yitzi's patch, SMAC has many but is still a work in progress.
- scient's patch (SMAC and SMAX) - Fixes a large number of crashes, bugs, and exploits. No longer actively developed.
Yitzi and kyrub's patches are both in active development and new releases are announced on the Chiron News Network. All published versions of the patches are available in the patches download directory. As of July 2015, the latest versions of all patches are linked from this wiki.
To use any patch, typically download the zip file and extract it into the game directory, overwriting the pre-existing files.
(End copy)
If you use SMAX, you're best served by Yitzi's patch, otherwise you should use kyrub's. The AI improvements won't make the AI too hard for new players, and instead aim for a reasonable level of challenge at "Librarian" difficulty. Tweaks mostly involve teaching the AI how to do not-terribly without cheating.
This page is not updated with the latest releases of these patches. scient no longer works on the patch project, but kyrub and especially yitzi are both still active with a couple of releases a month from Yitzi in 2014 and two releases from kyrub in that year.
Latest patches can be found on the alphacentauri2.info downloads page (scroll down). Patches are developed in the Bug and patch subforum and elsewhere on ac2.
Official patches
Note: these are for the retail version of the game only. The GOG.com version already has the official patches, you should strongly consider installing an unofficial patch, though.
- If you have the original release without the expansion pack install the Alpha Centauri v4.0 update and then the XP Compatibility patch.
- If you have the Planetary pack or Laptop pack only install the Compatibility patch.
- If you have the original Alien Crossfire release install the Alien Crossfire v2.0 update then the XP Compatibility patch.
Now you can install the unofficial patch of your choice.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|
Save game cloud syncing
System | Native | Notes |
---|---|---|
GOG Galaxy | ||
Origin |
Video settings
Widescreen resolution
Try PRACX, a modified renderer for Alpha Centauri with a number of other improvements. Included in versions of Yitzi's Unofficial Patch since version 3.4, also available separately.
Warning PRACX and/or SMAC are incompatible with Windows 10. Not yet clear.
Instructions |
---|
Input settings
Audio settings
Network
Multiplayer types
Type | Native | Players | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
LAN play | 7 | |||
Online play | 7 |
Issues fixed
The game hangs
Try the Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri#Unofficial patches latest copies of Yitzi or kyrub's patches.
Otherwise, might be related to a bug with automated artillery units (though I think Yitzi might have fixed this one sometime). Try turning off automation and see if it helps. More info here.
AMD/ATI compatibility
GOG.com recommends using Catalyst 13.4 or earlier but the game also works with 14.x or earlier.
System requirements
Windows | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 95, 98 | |
Processor (CPU) | Pentium 133 MHz | Pentium 200 MHz |
System memory (RAM) | 16 MB | 32 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 60 MB | |
Video card (GPU) | DirectX-compatible 2 MB of VRAM |
macOS (OS X) | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 10.6.8 | |
Processor (CPU) | 1.8 GHz | |
System memory (RAM) | 512 MB | 1 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 2 GB |
References
- Pages needing cleanup
- Windows
- Mac OS
- Linux
- OS X
- Invalid template usage (Infobox game)
- Games
- Invalid template usage (DRM)
- Invalid template usage (Availability)
- Invalid template usage (Save game cloud syncing)
- Invalid template usage (Fixbox)
- Invalid section order
- Missing section (Video)
- Missing section (Input)
- Missing section (Audio)
- Missing section (Localizations)
- Missing section (API)