Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Legendary designer Sid Meier presents the next evolution in strategy games, with the most addictive, compelling gameplay yet. Explore the alien planet that is your new home and uncover its myriad mysteries…
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is a simulator developed by Firaxis Games, released 9 February 1999 on Linux, Mac and PC (Microsoft Windows).
What Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is a simulator game developed by Firaxis Games and released in 1999. It was published by Aspyr Media. It is available on Linux, Mac and PC (Microsoft Windows).
The premise, in the publisher's words
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is a 4X video game, considered a spiritual sequel to the Civilization series. Set in a science fiction depiction of the 22nd century, the game begins as seven competing ideological factions land on the planet Chiron ("Planet") in the Alpha Centauri star system. As the game progresses, Planet's growing sentience becomes a formidable obstacle to the human colonists.
How it plays
It is played from a bird view / isometric perspective. Its themes are 4x (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) and science fiction. It supports multiplayer for up to 7 players online. Local play supports 7 players. Available modes: Multiplayer and Single player.
Where it sits in the Sid Meier series
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is the fourth of 41 entries we hold in the Sid Meier series. It arrived a year after Sid Meier's Gettysburg!. The next entry was Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire in 1999. Its critic score of 91 is 9 points above the series average of 82. The highest-rated entry is Sid Meier's Civilization IV at 95.
How it was received
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri holds a critic score of 91 out of 100. That places it above 97% of the 2,881 rated simulator games in our database, which average 71. Games released in 1999 averaged 72, so it scored 19 points above the year average. Player ratings track closely with critics at 92, across 64 votes.
What you need to run it
The minimum specification calls for 1.8 GHz, 512 MB RAM and 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 9.0c. At 1GB of RAM, it will run on essentially any working PC — that is below what a budget laptop ships with today. Install size is roughly 1GB. Both tiers are compared side by side on the requirements page, and you can check your own parts against them without installing anything.
What it launched against
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri launched on 9 February 1999, within three weeks of Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia, Final Fantasy VIII, Silent Hill and Super Smash Bros.. It reviewed better than 3 of the 4.
Released around the same time: Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia, Final Fantasy VIII, Silent Hill, Super Smash Bros..
Cheats and codes
We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.
Official trailer
Sourced from the publisher’s YouTube channel. See all 2 videos →
Screenshots
All media
Dlc
Expansions
Quick answers
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