Help a fan

zwooddoctor · March 24, 2003, 18:22

Now that Firaxis no longer sells Alien Crossfire, I am at a loss, i regret my decision not to buy it, but now its seems that i couldnt if i wanted to. I've tired all the links, but most dont work any more... If they do, they dont sell it anymore either. I guess there is ebay.. but its expensive there, and im not sure i want to trust those people... So i would appreciate any info or help on getting the expansion. Thanks

Darsnan · March 24, 2003, 18:32

Hi zwooddoctor,
If I'm not mistaken, ellie just acquired a copy of SMAX. Perhaps you could PM her and ask where she obtained it, and if there are more copies available.

D

Major Guz · March 25, 2003, 08:53

Did you try the underdogs?

While you are at underdogs, may I suggest to take a look at "Hardwar", one of my favorite SciFi/Flying games.
Again, hard to get (apart from the download at underdogs), but www.saveonsoftware.com still has some copies on sale ($5 + shipping)

EDIT: Deleted link to underdogs and some comments about that

Jamski · March 25, 2003, 09:08

Umm, I would delete those links pretty quick before a mod sees them. There's a difference between abandonware and piracy.

-Jam

Alex · March 25, 2003, 09:13

Oh, yes, walking on a thin line here...

Major Guz · March 25, 2003, 10:10

Oh well, since firaxis/Electronic arts do not offer SMAX for PC anymore (as stated on the firaxis website), i thought it was abandonware?

As for saveonsoftware, that is a discount online shop.

But just to be sure, I'll remove the underdogs link

Jamski · March 25, 2003, 10:13

Posting "Try the underdogs" won't get you banned, but posting a link will. Just one of those things you have to live with.

-Jam

Major Guz · March 25, 2003, 10:16

Well, thanks for warning me guys!
Ill pay better attention from now on

Bkeela · March 27, 2003, 04:11

I found that SMACX didn't add anything to the masterpiece that was the original SMAC. All it adds is some inferior graphics [for some reason they changed the alien artifacts and ocean mining platforms] and some unbalanced factions.

I honestly don't see what the fuss is about.

Rubin · March 27, 2003, 07:09

Well, Bkeela, maybe the bug fixes in SMAX could convince you - - - though you may get a few new bugs along as well, so...

Static Universe · March 28, 2003, 17:14

Quote:

Originally posted by Bkeela
I found that SMACX didn't add anything to the masterpiece that was the original SMAC. All it adds is some inferior graphics [for some reason they changed the alien artifacts and ocean mining platforms] and some unbalanced factions.

I honestly don't see what the fuss is about.

So you find no value in the new techs, facilities and abilities? While mostly not spectacular game enhancers, I find they add minor improvements to the game in areas that could use them.

I also enjoy the addition of more native lifeforms.

Then there's the Cloudbase Academy.

All in all, I would say SMAX was a good investment for an add-on, as opposed to something like Starcraft: Brood War (

).

CEO Aaron · March 28, 2003, 17:47

Yes, just having Golden Ages work properly is worth the expansion, if you ask me, and the Cloudbase Academy and Planetary Energy Grid aren't too shabby either. The alien factions are admittedly grossly overpowered, but the others aren't too bad. Overall, I think the expansion is quite worthwhile, but then I also thought that Brood War was a great expansion too.

Googlie · March 28, 2003, 18:13

I thought that the enhancements to covert ops was a giant step forward too, and if you add cruiser probes to your #UNITS list the AI uses them extensively - requires quite a rethinking of tactics.

(For a different gaming experience add the line:

Foil Probe, Cruiser, Probe Team, Scout, 11, 0, 0, DocInit, -1, 00000000000000000000000000

but make sure that you also increase the actual number of units by 1 as well)

G.

Static Universe · March 28, 2003, 18:22

Quote:

Originally posted by CEO Aaron
Overall, I think the expansion is quite worthwhile, but then I also thought that Brood War was a great expansion too.

Perhaps I'm being harsh on Brood War.

Regarding SMACX:

I think the Marine Detachment ability and all the stuff regarding aquatic factions is a plus too.

And all the attention given to customizable factions has probably added the most to my single player games.

Haon · March 28, 2003, 22:32

I actually liked the Aliens, that made A Dip Victory harder because you woudl have to get rid of them.

Alinestra Covelia · March 29, 2003, 01:51

SMAX also has facilities which help you take the edge off of missile based combat. If you look at the problems addressed in SNAC add-on (done by SMAC fan ShiNing) you can see that Firaxis pretty much had a stab at solving everything that ShiNing identified as problematic.

Of the add on factions, the only one that I thought was interesting was the Pirates. But the new techs that you could get, and the new facilities made it worthwhile.

Cloudbase Academy in my opinion is a vastly powerful SP. So powerful, in fact, that I have removed it from most of the games that I play.

Static Universe · March 29, 2003, 04:20

Quote:

Originally posted by Alinestra Covelia

Cloudbase Academy in my opinion is a vastly powerful SP. So powerful, in fact, that I have removed it from most of the games that I play.

It is a little too powerful, considering how useful Aerospace Complexes are by themselves.

I guess Firaxis felt they needed a "killer" secret project for the SMAX expansion. The other 3 new SPs are good, but certainly you can live without them.

Kaptain Ken · March 29, 2003, 12:31

Customized factions make the game even more replayable, as you can really design your gaming experience. Cloudbase is too powerful, just let an AI build it or remove it as AC has done. IMHO the expansion was well worth the money and really enhanced my fun with the game.

spartak · March 29, 2003, 13:47

Yeah, I pretty much play only SMAX so it was worthwhile, although the opening film on SMAC is better...