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Old July 25, 2002, 19:47   #1
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SMAC Or Love?
Since no-one took up my dare, I'm gonna have to do it myself.

What is better: playing Alpha Centauri, or dating? Try and keep it clean.
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Old July 25, 2002, 19:53   #2
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I was gonna do this, I was, but I haven't come up with anything good yet!

From my limited experiences on both fields of action so far... well, I have won AC on Transcend, but never made it quite *that* far with dating. Sorry.

But I'm still preparing a longish essay on the subject.
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Old July 25, 2002, 19:59   #3
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Cool. Bring it in when you finish.

I gotta go with dating. Even with Alpha Centauri's non-linear gameplay, fantastic voice samples, and soothing ocean sound background music, you just can't beat the heart-thudding anticipation and interaction (and, with any luck, intertwining) of personalities that comes with a date.
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Old July 25, 2002, 22:13   #4
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mr. President
Cool. Bring it in when you finish.

I gotta go with dating. Even with Alpha Centauri's non-linear gameplay, fantastic voice samples, and soothing ocean sound background music, you just can't beat the heart-thudding anticipation and interaction (and, with any luck, intertwining) of personalities that comes with a date.
Hmph.

SMAC all the way. Sci fi, voiceovers, war, peace, building.....
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Old July 25, 2002, 23:00   #5
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Err...
SMAC has better graphics.
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Old July 25, 2002, 23:39   #6
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Come to think of it, do you think that Love needs great graphics? Maybe it's more like Nethack where its the endless playability that counts.
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Old July 25, 2002, 23:48   #7
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Love doesn't need good graphics because it speaks to the soul and not to the internal micromanager. Just think of the difference between Super Mario Brothers and Baldur's Gate.
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Old July 26, 2002, 01:33   #8
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That question wasn't fair for SMAC. Of course dating is more fun. It's the ironman of ironmen. Even if it crashes, you cannot reload.

Seriously, dating is much more fun. Try it
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Old July 26, 2002, 01:48   #9
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If we are comparing SMAC to dating, then I'll have to go with SMAC because it is predictably fun. A good date however beats SMAC hands down, and a great date beats the hell out of almost any other endeavor.
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Old July 26, 2002, 02:39   #10
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I've lost plenty of sleep over each of them.
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Old July 26, 2002, 04:10   #11
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What about playing a multiplayer SMAC with your date ?

Hmm, not really sexy I admit
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Old July 26, 2002, 04:21   #12
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Hmmm, this is a toughie.....

I don't know! Done both, but like Sikander says, if they are good/great dates, nothing beats 'em. But since I hate dating and rather'd just skip it to boyfriend/girlfriend or physicality, I'd pick SMAC.

When you get those dates that are just awkward and there's that "oh-my-gosh-say-something-or-let-something-interesting-happen" moments, Dating really blows. But still, live and learn. I like female companionship just as much as satisfying my megalomania and Chiron-world conquests!
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Old July 26, 2002, 05:16   #13
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Quote:
When you get those dates that are just awkward and there's that "oh-my-gosh-say-something-or-let-something-interesting-happen" moments, Dating really blows.
Yeah, that's true. I think the problem is that people expect dates to be like TV dates, where you basically stare at each other for several hours straight and never run out of things to say.

But you can help avert that by starting off on the right foot, ie. don't go out with someone who you don't like. Although I haven't been the most successful in love (well, I'm not married yet ), I think I can safely say I prefer it to late-game micromanagement or "Give me technology or I kill you!" (Hmm . . . why did I just think of Allison O. of Tasmania? )
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Old July 26, 2002, 08:53   #14
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Quote:
Originally posted by Pandemoniak
What about playing a multiplayer SMAC with your date ?

Hmm, not really sexy I admit
What about playing "HotSeat" multiplayer SMAC with your date???
< wink, wink >< nudge, nudge >

Maybe HotSeat multiplayer STRIP SMAC?????
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Old July 26, 2002, 08:56   #15
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Hey, and what about the documented 3 couples (and I mgiht not know of many more) who got MARRIED having met in SMAC forums?
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Old July 26, 2002, 09:45   #16
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lol, ok...

Any girls in this forum ?
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Old July 26, 2002, 13:55   #17
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Dating, you freaky geeks.
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Old July 26, 2002, 13:58   #18
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On the other hand, I wonder that a hotseat game where both players would be stripping out whenever they'd lost a battle could be something... Oh, well, there goes the "clean" aspect...
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Old July 26, 2002, 15:00   #19
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Comparing SMAC with dating

The title of this thread is "SMAC or Love". Ahem. I will not compare SMAC with love. To avoid spewing excess clichés, I'll just say that I won't do it because I'd rather not try to do the impossible... you can't compare love with anything.

One-liners

Pro-SMAC:

1. One word - headache.
2. If you play with SMAC for an exhaustive session and fall asleep right after, SMAC won't mind.
3. If you play other games (silly you), SMAC won't mind.
4. SMAC doesn't nag, even if you come home after a drinking binge.
5. Women are just expensive. SMAC/X cost me 30 euros; with that money you take her out twice, but you can play SMAC/X for years and years and years.
6. No dates to remember ("Was that 16th or 26th of August?")
7. You can't marry a computer game.
8. A computer game can't;
- go out with other computer games (i.e. have games' nights)
- dump you
- shop
- be(come) mentally ill

Pro-women/girls:

1. Uh. The hole in the middle of the CD-ROM is way too small to be of any use.
2. You can kiss or hug the game, but it won't hug or kiss you back. Then again, in some cases girls might slap you instead of kissing or hugging back, so you have the element of risk involved.
3. Body temperature (unless you're one of those guys, ick)
4. Try sharing the bed with a cardboard box or a CD, and try sharing the bed with a woman.
5. A girl talks back. Well, that can be a bad thing too.
6. You can't marry a computer game (albeit I'm not sure of the legislation in all fifty states of the US).
7. A game can't accidentally reproduce (though that'd be profitable) and won't demand alimony even if you decide not to play anymore.
8. A computer game can't;
- do the dishes
-
-
-

Elaborating on the subject

Let's see.

We have Asking a Girl Out (apologies to any ladies reading - I wont' handle dating men in this post) vs. Buying SMAC.

Finding a girl to ask out is a very difficult task indeed. I have met only one so far, then again, during my course of life there hasn't been much chance to meet any girl's that I'd want to ask out (I have standards you know... yes, I can't afford being picky, but still). And the actual act of asking her out is horrid. Stammering, sweating, the pressure, the feeling of having your feet turn to liquid form and trying to get the hell outta there. Especially if you've been rather attracted to her already.

Finding a copy of SMAC and/or AX is nowadays equally difficult (you can mail order it from the Net, then again so can you mail order a bride, at least in some states). The many, many threads of the subject on this forum serve as evidence. However, taking the case from the shelf and paying the game isn't that nervewrecking - of course, if you have to sit in a bus for an hour and wait to get to play the game, with it right in your pocket, that might be a bit nasty, but nothing compared to the anxiousness brought by a *gasp* girl.

Appearances vs. Graphics

Oh COME ON. There's no game in existence that could be on par with a beautiful girl. No matter how pretty the graphics. Harumph. There just isn't. A CD can't colour it's hair dark red and cut it short. It can't have bright green eyes or a white complexion. The CD case can't wear a white top and...

Erm, let's move on shall we?

Note: more importantly, a game can't wear nothing.

The First Date vs. The First Game

The first date. Well, mine went pretty well actually. Talked, talked and, what do you know, we talked. It was fun, and we agreed on a second one. After a successfull first date, I was ridiculously gleeful, had a boost to my self-confidence and whistled. Gyah.

The first game. Now, I had had forehand experience with the demo version, so my first full length game wasn't such a big deal. But, after churning out the Ascend to Transcendence, I did feel gratified, ridiculously gleeful. I didn't whistle though. And naturally I wanted another game... started a new one right off.

Sounds

SMAC has nice music, the voice of Yang is something that etches itself to your synapses for years to come. And the voices of Aki and Deirdre are just hot.

In this matter, it's pretty much person-related. Someone has a good voice, someone's is moderate, someone's like a squealing squirrel high on helium.

Intelligence

Tough one. The SMAC AI is pretty clever. Again, in regards of girls this is quite personal. In my case, the girl won. In some cases, the AI might win, but then you're getting obviously desperate, dating a virtual retard or something.

Breaking up

I was six months separated from my SMAC. It was awful at first, but I got accustomed to it... until I got it back. Played twelve hours straight. The truth is that you can't break up with SMAC. You will find a way to play it no matter what (WWIII or an asteroid being the exceptions).

Breaking up with a girl (unless you're the one breaking up) - PAIN. Enough said.


The writer is a fifteen year old Finnish male who has played SMAC/X for over 20 months and who has dated a member of the opposite gender for the past four months. His experience in the former field of expertise can be thought of as moderate to good, whereas his experiences in the latter field of expertise is so far a bit... limited. Therefore, it is advisable not to pay and heed to any possible advice he might give in regards of the latter subject.
Oh and he likes to shamelessly plug his website.
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Old July 27, 2002, 01:55   #20
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Oh, no, MariOne - were any of those meetings on Poly?
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Old July 27, 2002, 01:56   #21
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...more to the point, can you show me the threads where they proposed
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Old July 27, 2002, 07:32   #22
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You frighten me, Kassi.

































Nicely dissected. I must say it's very hard to make me yell at a woman (particularly if she's good-looking) but it's quite easy to make me yell at, headbutt, and claw-hammer a monitor showing a Planetary Council where I've just been frozen out of the governor's seat.

Of course, that doesn't have anything to do with which I prefer, but it's a fun piece of trivia.

I suppose SMAC and the company of women are similar in many ways. They can both be very gratifying; they can both be painful and disturbing; they can both make you think too much about things you don't need to be thinking about; and they can both get you alienated from your family and fired from your job.
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Old July 27, 2002, 14:22   #23
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This thread is seriously weird. If you cancel a date to play SMAC you need help.
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Old July 27, 2002, 20:48   #24
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Dove:

Your worry, at least in my case, is futile. Though, I usually borrow my copy to keep from playing it. I've been on a hiatus for six months and can't keep my fingers off it any longer.

Quote:
Originally posted by Mr. President
You frighten me, Kassi.

You're the second person to tell me that in short time. Am I really that frightening?

Quote:
Nicely dissected. I must say it's very hard to make me yell at a woman (particularly if she's good-looking) but it's quite easy to make me yell at, headbutt, and claw-hammer a monitor showing a Planetary Council where I've just been frozen out of the governor's seat.

Of course, that doesn't have anything to do with which I prefer, but it's a fun piece of trivia.

I suppose SMAC and the company of women are similar in many ways. They can both be very gratifying; they can both be painful and disturbing; they can both make you think too much about things you don't need to be thinking about; and they can both get you alienated from your family and fired from your job.
I'd say that striving to use equally both venues of entertainment would produce the best result. Some SMAC, some dating.
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Old July 27, 2002, 21:29   #25
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I'd say that striving to use equally both venues of entertainment would produce the best result. Some SMAC, some dating.
Well said.

"The middle way, neither great nor mean, is by far the better." -- Euripides, Medea
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Old July 28, 2002, 05:13   #26
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I always think of SMAC when I smack a girl
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Old July 28, 2002, 13:29   #27
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mr. President


Yeah, that's true. I think the problem is that people expect dates to be like TV dates, where you basically stare at each other for several hours straight and never run out of things to say.

That would be something wouldn't it. Meet up with your date and hand her a script prepared by a team of writers. I'd be like "how about we skip all the boring conversation part and go to where you say lets get naked. I believe it's on page 5 or 6."


I'm afraid that a real live woman will beat smac everytime. Although I would like to find the woman they based Santiago ord Dee on.

Pandemoniak: That comment has warped my mind. I fear the next time i find myself in that situation smacing will be on my mind.
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Old July 28, 2002, 14:17   #28
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I hope smacking in this case means 'smooching', or 'spanking', rather than beating the $#!+ out of some girl.

I can't believe I read, and then responded to this thread.
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Old July 28, 2002, 16:11   #29
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Dating, sorry SMAC (or any computer game) girls is much much better...
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Old July 28, 2002, 16:14   #30
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sprayber

I'm afraid that a real live woman will beat smac everytime. Although I would like to find the woman they based Santiago ord Dee on.
Actuly that can't be very much of a problem...I mean if you go after the ideas they have. Then I guess Dee will be no problem (not here in Sweden any way...).
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