Right- I tended to play SMAC instead of SMACX because of the balance issues (or, at least, play it with just the original 7 because it did add new buildings and secret projects) and the new 7 had weird divisions. The Corporation and the University seem like natural divides- but, say, the Angels were just odd (“We’re super hackers!” “Wouldn’t that make sense for a gang inside another civilization, rather than a full civilization?”).
It’s also worth noting that the game allows for creating custom factions… the faction definitions are just parameters in a text file. So one can self-medicate the balance issues if desired.
Yeah, I tend to agree. My favorite mix is playing as University, with the Gaians, Peacekeepers, Cybernetic, Planet Cult, and Believers, with one of the progenitor factions to make things interesting.
Alien crossfire added 7 more civilizations, two of which are even more imbalanced than University. Which I wasn’t sure was possible.
Right- I tended to play SMAC instead of SMACX because of the balance issues (or, at least, play it with just the original 7 because it did add new buildings and secret projects) and the new 7 had weird divisions. The Corporation and the University seem like natural divides- but, say, the Angels were just odd (“We’re super hackers!” “Wouldn’t that make sense for a gang inside another civilization, rather than a full civilization?”).
It’s also worth noting that the game allows for creating custom factions… the faction definitions are just parameters in a text file. So one can self-medicate the balance issues if desired.
Yeah, I tend to agree. My favorite mix is playing as University, with the Gaians, Peacekeepers, Cybernetic, Planet Cult, and Believers, with one of the progenitor factions to make things interesting.