Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

[Beastro]

Technically speaking Gandhi used non-violent resistance because he believed it was the best way to free India NOT because he was a pacifist.

And that was because he knew his adversary and what the British weakness' were. Had India been under Russia or Germany at the time things wouldn't have been so idealistic.

[TGLS]

According to what I've read, the infamous Gandhi the Warmonger is a common occurrence because the AI is programmed to consider war a good option when it has superiority in numbers, and Indians have a bonus to population growth. Put those two together, and...

Historically, it's because the first Civilization game had a set level of aggression for all NPC leaders, with it maxing out at 256. Gandhi's was at 1. When nuclear weapons are developed in-game, everyone's aggression lowers by one. Gandhi then went from 1 to 256, going around the scale. So, that meant that Gandhi goes from total peacenik to nuclear warhead loving warlord. This bug was so beloved by everyone, that they made sure to include it in every game since then.

Actually, it was adopting democracy that lowered aggression by 2, and Gandhi was programmed to adopt democracy.

[MithrandirOlorin]

What about the Genghis Kahn think Chuck mentioned? How often does that actually happen?

[ORCACommander]

Also in the same game where that bug is, nukes were technically considered civilian units which is why ghandi was not restricted from building them

[Independent George]

What about the Genghis Kahn think Chuck mentioned? How often does that actually happen?

If he survives long enough, then yes, you will have industrial-age Mongols led by Ghengis Khan. It's not a bug or anything unusual like the Ghandi bug - it's just a matter of their Civ lasting long enough to reach an anachronistic age.

[animalia]

Fun Fact: Genghis Khan was a believer in meritocracy.

[Fixer]

And as the game progresses it just keeps getting darker. hell my favorite secret project is The Singularity Inductor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB46XpnwhrA). In Civ the grand projects inspired you, made you feel like you've accomplished something. With this game, some of them just feel like "Just what the hell did I just unleash here".

Here's a couple more that are proper nightmare fuel:

Self-Aware Colony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwqN3Ur-wP0
Dream Twister https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lva8L-J8x04

Makes you think that Miriam had some good points about being careful with technology.

Heck even some of the non-horrifying ones are just as dark though. That scene with the baby chicks that are shown at the beginning. That whole secret project is The Cloning Vats, talking about how by cloning the best people of the colony, they can create more of these best people, leading to more productive society. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGCaACqy1Ro) The darkness comes from the realization that those chicks represent one of two things, 1. Those chicks are how lives are now calculated in the colony, just being mass produced and shipped off to wherever is needed, or 2. those are the rejected clones, who much like male chicks, are sent to be repurposed into a more 'useful material'.

In my playthroughs with the University, there were three "must have" secret projects for me.
University had two main drawbacks. Extra drones. Weakness to probe teams.

Virtual World - free hologram theatres in every base with a network node, as we got a network node for free as University and hologram theatres meant -2 drones. Awesome.

Hunter Killer Algorithm - Immune to probe teams. Wipes out the main faction weakness. Doubleplusawesome.

Self Aware colony. - Halves maintenance costs AND gives you an extra police unit to handle drones. Probably the best secret project in the game.

From the videos 2 out of 3 of those are existentially terrifying components of a dystopian future, but damn are they useful for my Science Empire.

A nostalgia binge on those old videos reminds me as well, there's so many excellent quotes in this game.

As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he deems himself your master.

-- Comissioner Pravin Lal, "U.N. Declaration of Rights"

[Independent George]

In my playthroughs with the University, there were three "must have" secret projects for me.
University had two main drawbacks. Extra drones. Weakness to probe teams.

Virtual World - free hologram theatres in every base with a network node, as we got a network node for free as University and hologram theatres meant -2 drones. Awesome.

Hunter Killer Algorithm - Immune to probe teams. Wipes out the main faction weakness. Doubleplusawesome.

Self Aware colony. - Halves maintenance costs AND gives you an extra police unit to handle drones. Probably the best secret project in the game.

From the videos 2 out of 3 of those are existentially terrifying components of a dystopian future, but damn are they useful for my Science Empire.

The Hunter Killer Algorithm makes me think of the Friend Computer from Paranoia tabeltop RPG, which makes it 3 for 3 in my book.

[Fixer]

Okay, so many my civilisation runs a nightmarish robotic colony that automatically disappears and annihilates any possible dissent and the only escape is a virtual world in which my computer network runs sentient algorithms that detect and destroy any possible outside influence but we're missing what's truly important here.

Hovertanks baby!

[Aotrs Commander]

I watch a fair number of Funny Internet Reviewers (been watching Chunk for a couple of years, since a friend recommended the Voyager reviews - and hearing Linkara name-drop a few times), but it is such a massive refreshing chance to see one looking at one that is actually within my own alley. Most of the other folk I follow computer-game wise tend to be more concentrate on the broader stuff. 4X, city-builders and the older-school RPGs (e.g. Black Isle et al) tend to not come up.

So Chuck's review-slash-let's-play (which is, to be fair, about the only way you can go about doing a game like this) was a delight to watch (and as fascinatingly analysed as always).

I don't think I ever played Alpha Centauri as any of the actual factions; from the get go, I used the tools to replace one with one of my own (usually Santiago).

I found that, in the majority of my playthroughs, Deidre was always my best mate (for some reason, despite often making a civ with negative planet). They'd often just go "here, dude, have some free units!"

Conversely, I hated Miriam, and made it a point to eraciate her annoying arse every single game, and Lal usually was second as I found him annoying.

I usually ended up at the transcendance victory (because - in all these games - my stratagy tends to be "science to victory or until I can tech-murder you with armies"); after making sure I swiped all the secret projects, of course!

I did have stupid fun the one time I played as Orcs, and went about nerv stapling everyone; Deidre has never hated me more, it was HILARIOUS.

I have only played with the expansion once, long after I'd played it (I bought the complete version for nowt on Amazon... actually, I'm not sure how long ago it was; I'd have said a year or two, but last time I said that, it turned out to be 2009!) If I wasn't hip-deep in playing play- throughs of Crusader Kings 2, Europa Universalis IV, Stellaris AND Age of Empires 3 by alternation, I'd be tempted to stick it an and have another play...!