Hello Folks:

So I just got the Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack, and I can get the program to run... and start a game...
But then the game will crash when I try and take a turn or two. What do I do? /:

I have the exact same problem on Win 10 1903. Won't even try to start up. Lost money on this purchase that won't work.

I just booted up the alien crossfire and it worked fine on Windows 10 64 bit. There has to be something else at play here.

Have there been any changes to your setup? Have you plugged or unplugged any accessories?
I just played a few rounds of both the base game and the alien crossfire expansion and it is working.

I did a factory reset of my desktop PC last month. DirectPlay is installed and enabled. Not sure why it won't run now when it worked last year.

I get a screen that says "Firaxis Games" and then it crashes. I already tried uninstalling and reinstalling Alpha Centauri.

Hello!
Here is the link to the GOG.com techinical assistance page. Try these to see if any fits or can fix the issue of crash at startup.

https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/213517609-Sid-Meier-s-Alpha-Centauri-Planetary-Pack?product=gog
I read some other topics in this forum area and one of the people who was crashing at the same point as you needed to update their graphics drivers. Once they did that the game started up just fine.

I ran the AMD Radeon Software auto-updater but no change. I am using the recommended Microsoft-certified AMD Radeon version, and not the newest optional AMD Radeon version. All other Microsoft and HP updates are up-to-date. I put in a support ticket to GOG, but could be weeks until I get a reply. I am on the HP Pavilion 690-0010 with AMD Ryzen 2200G CPU (32 GB DDR4) and AMD Radeon RX 550 GPU (4 GB GDDR5).

Running as Administrator and running with Windows Program Compatibility Troubleshooter (directly from Windows File Explorer) does not work either. Always the same result: loadscreen says "Firaxis Games" for about one second and then crashes.

If anyone else using AMD graphics on Windows 10 has the same problem, it could be that the newest AMD graphics may no longer be supported, if it used to work, and doesn't work now.

Try to start game as Administrator. I just did it and it helped, although previously game haven't start.

I'm having the same problem, running win 10 pro 64 bit.

I ran into this. It turns out to be something with playing the videos. I tried new codecs etc with no luck. I removed the movies directory and so for it's working. I have not yet built a wonder. If I find that it is a problem in the future I'll reply again.

I just got a new computer and was reinstalling all my games. I ran into this same issue. rcmemmott is correct. After reinstalling, I cut the movies folder and moved it elsewhere and the game started up like it should. I can further say that leaving the movies folder in place and deleting just the "opening.wve" movie allows the game to load, but completing a special project triggers its movie and crashes the game then. Which is a shame, because the special project movies are all great. But at least VLC can play wve files so I can still watch them ad hoc.

I'm on a windows 11 desktop and did not have this problem on my previous windows 10 laptop.

Yes yes, i did this too and it worked.

This sounds like it might be the solution referred to in another thread specifically about Windows 11-specific problems with getting Alpha Centauri and Alien Crossfire to load. I'd hate to do without the in-game movies, though. On my Windows 10 computer, I used to work briefly on a craft project (crocheting) during each of the voiceovers and movies (which was a great way to prevent hand cramping). Besides, I agree that those special project movies are a real treat to watch, even nearly 25 years after their creation. I wish there was a way to get SMAC to load in Windows 11, and still keep the in-game movies!

i have windows 11 and the same problem that the game does not even really start... i tried to delete the movies or rename the movie folder but it did not work