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
- alphacentauri2.info - Active Alpha Centauri modding, patching and multiplayer community.
- 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 |
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The game will run without the CD if you have performed a full install. SecuROM DRM otherwise. |
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GOG.com |
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Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack. |
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Origin |
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- A free demo version is available from GameFront: Windows, Mac OS.
Version differences
- Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack includes the base game and the Alien Crossfire expansion.
Monetization
Type |
Notes |
Expansion pack
| The expansion pack includes 7 new factions, 2 of which are alien which bring their own gameplay differences, as well as new units, structures, technologies and a faction editor. |
One-time game purchase
| The game requires an upfront purchase to access. |
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
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Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire |
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Essential improvements
In-game general settings.
In-game advanced settings.
Patches
- The GOG.com version already has the official patches, but you should strongly consider installing an unofficial patch.
Unofficial patches
- The original .exe is filled with exploits and prone to crashing. The patches below will fix the vast majority of crashes and bugs.
- Yitzi's patch (SMAX only) - Built on kyrub's SMAX patch and scient's patch, and contains even more fixes. v3.4 includes PlotinusRedux's PRACX graphical patch, but you need to install PRACX separately as it wasn't packaged properly.
- kyrub's patch (SMAC, SMAX version not recommended) - Aimed primarily at improving AI performance but also fixing some bugs. SMAX version has only minor AI improvements and is superseded by Yitzi's patch.
- scient's patch (SMAC and SMAX) - Fixes bugs, crashes and exploits and includes text file improvements.
Recommendation: You should install Yitzi's patch if you're using SMAX and either kyrub's or scient's if you're using SMAC.
- Yitzi's patch breaks backwards compatibility for alphax.txt. 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.
- To use any patch, extract the zip file into the installation folder and overwrite the existing files.
- The patches' 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.
Patches are primarily developed on the Alpha Centauri 2 forum.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
- It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.
Save game data location
System |
Location |
Windows |
<path-to-game>\saves[Note 3] |
macOS (OS X) |
~/Library/Application Support/GOG.com/Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/saves |
Mac OS (Classic) |
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Linux |
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Video
In-game audio/video settings.
Try PRACX, a modified renderer for Alpha Centauri with a number of other improvements. Its source code is also available.
It does not work with Alien Crossfire by default, so an unofficial patch is requires first. Yitzi's patch has been tested to work.
Edit configuration file[citation needed]
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- Go to the installation folder.
- Open
Alpha Centauri.ini .
- Add
DirectDraw=0 under [Alpha Centauri]
- The game will now run at your desktop-resolution
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Input
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Surround sound |
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Subtitles |
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All voiced dialogue except advisor clips is subtitled in the interface. |
Closed captions |
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Mute on focus lost |
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EAX support |
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EAX support was added with 2.0 update[2] |
Royalty free audio |
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Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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French |
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Retail only. |
German |
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Retail only. German text/audio/video files have to be copied over from the retail version. Due to game values and display texts being in the same file, many unofficial patches will overwrite German retail files. |
Italian |
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Retail only. |
Japanese |
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Retail only. |
Spanish |
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Retail only, download |
Network
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Issues fixed
The game hangs
Try the 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.
Alt-Tab not functioning
- Applies to GOG.com distribution only
Disable compatibility shim[4]
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- Open a command prompt as administrator.
cd <path-to-game>
sdbinst -u goggame.sdb
Notes
- The filename has changed since the fix was discovered.
- If problems occur by removing the shim, it can be restored with
sdbinst goggame.sdb using the similar process.
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Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
DirectDraw |
6 |
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Executable | PPC | 16-bit |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows | | |
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macOS (OS X) | | | |
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Intel support only available in the 2013 GOG release. |
Linux | | | |
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Alpha workstation support is also included. |
Mac OS (Classic) | | | |
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Modifications
Using SMAC/X Mod Manager[citation needed]
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Allows the installations of mods for the game.
- Source code of the mod manager can be found here
- Download the latest non-python version of the program here.
- Extract the content of the archive to another folder (not to the SMAC/X folder)
- Run SMACXLauncher.exe.
- Go to options tab and select location of SMAC/X folder. Allow mod manager to make a backup
- Put mods into mods directory. Make sure to follow the instructions located in the text file in the mods directory
- Enable them with the launcher by moving them to the right and clicking apply.
- If multiple mods are enabled, mods further down the list override any files that are also shared by mods earlier in the list
To remove mods:
- Launch SMACXLauncher.exe
- Move unwanted mods to the left.
- Click apply, then force.
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- Allows the content of the original game to be played in the SMAX engine.
- Source code for the latest version can be found here
- Allows SMAC to take advantage of the bugfixes and unofficial patches for the SMAX engines
- Allows the use of mods that are designed for the SMAX engine.
- An AI improvement mod for Alien Crossfire.
- The developer of the mod recommends the use of PRACX and smac-in-smax with this mod.
- Increases challenges in singleplayer due with AI improvements and many gameplay enhancements.
- Includes the Scient patch v2.0.
- May not be suitable for new players due to increased difficulty
- Network multiplayer is not supported[5]
- Some custom scenario rules in "Edit Scenario Rules" menus are not fully supported.
- Overhauls many game mechanics.
- Includes AI improvements, rebalanced factions, additional map sizes (80x160 and 128x256), and other tweaks.
- Compatible with the Scient unofficial binary patch v2.0 and higher, and expected to work with the PRACX unofficial binary patch.
- Open-source engine recreation for Alpha Centauri/Alien Crossfire.
- Source code can be found here
- Project still in alpha.
System requirements
Windows | Mac OS (Classic) | macOS (OS X) | Linux |
Windows |
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Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95, 98 | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 133 MHz
| Intel Pentium 200 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
16 MB |
32 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
60 MB | |
Video card (GPU) |
2 MB of VRAM | |
Mac OS |
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Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
7.6 |
Processor (CPU) |
PowerPC 603 180MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
32 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
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macOS (OS X) |
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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 | |
Notes
References