When comparing Alpha Centauri vs Distant Worlds: Universe, the Slant community recommends Distant Worlds: Universe for most people. In the question“What are the best PC 4X games?” Distant Worlds: Universe is ranked 6th while Alpha Centauri is ranked 13th. The most important reason people chose Distant Worlds: Universe is:
With the possibility to simulate thousands of stars and tens of thousands of planets in realtime, the universe in Distant Worlds is truely vast.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Gameplay really differs from faction to faction
Pro Great hard sci-fi storyline and setting
Pro Memorable faction leaders and philosophies
Pro Simultaneous multiplayer
When playing against an opponent in the game the players can make moves simultaneously, which means there is no waiting around for each player to take their move, which saves time as well as makes the game more immediate.
Pro Great multiplayer balance (with exceptions)
Most factions can be successfully played in multiplayer and are great on certain maps with certain strategies e.g. Builder (population or money or tech), fast attacker, hybrid, Each is unique and has it's own advantages. Only few are truly useless.
Pro Custom (modular) units
You create units yourself out of parts
Pro Deformable landscape and weather patterns
Pro The universe is huge
With the possibility to simulate thousands of stars and tens of thousands of planets in realtime, the universe in Distant Worlds is truely vast.
Pro In-depth problem solving
Unlike games like Civ where solving a problem is a few clicks away, Distant Worlds has many layers of abstraction that will make problem solving a lot more difficult and more like a real living world. There may be many elements needed in order to solve a problem that the player will have to figure out on their own, making for a very immersive way to solve issues.
Cons
Con Looks dated
The game was originally released in 1999 and it shows, the graphics are subpar compared to newer games, though the gameplay still holds up.
Con Requires a time commitment
This is not a game that one can jump into with no prior knowledge, there is a high learning curve that will take many trial sessions in order to get the hang of the full aspects of the game.