Count me in. I still have my original SMAC and SMAX discs. If the GOG version includes AX I will buy it as a backup but if it does not then forget it.
That Alien Crossfire is expensive even second hand just makes it inclusion more important.

A number of the factions are unbalanced. The aliens are just the most obvious of the bunch. That the two Progenitors are always paired and always at war with each other helps a bit, but probably not enough to bring them in line. There is no problem with that. AC is not balanced for tournament play. Not every game needs to be. Perfect balance is usually achieved by having very few factions, or by making the factions all pretty much the same. AC sacrifices balance for variety.

You can always just set your opponents manually if you don't want a particular faction to appear. Also, don't they give you a very early splash screen about the aliens in games they appear in? You could just set your opponents randomly and restart those games. The loading times aren't exactly brutal.

I realize some people prefer the base game on its own. I don't believe that is even close to being the majority opinion. Most of us enjoy the extra options of the expansion. And honestly, it's not like the base game features Starcraft-esque balance. It's just not that kind of game.

I agree with the OP, I won't buy it without crossfire.

I already own the original game (somewhere... the disk is probably in whatever buried box the MoO2 disk I can't find either is in) and I'm not going to buy it all over (even if it is only $6). But if it came with crossfire? Yeah, I'd shell out for that since then I get something new AND I don't have to find the stupid disk.

GoG versions usually seem to have the expansions so I'm hopeful it will. Unless they are going to try and sell it separate (something unprecedented on gog, but this *IS* EA after all) there's absolutely no reason to not include it. It does not cost them anything extra, after all.

Alien Crossfire allows you to exclude alien factions from your game (retaining other additions and improvements included in the expansion) if you prefer.

I see your point (SMAC is a fantastic game without SMAX), but let me ask this: What's the point of buying a GOG if you have to buy or pirate a complete edition elsewhere in order to experience all of the content released for that game?

There are already too many games on GOG missing content. Alpha Centauri must not become one of them.

Also, in this case, there's no good reason *not* to include the expansion: Both were developed by Firaxis and published by EA (should be no legal issues) and both were released in 1999 (should be no price-related issues).

What's the point of getting EA if we get inferior or incomplete versions of their games? I'm not paying EA for a lesser version than one I can buy or pirate elsewhere. DRM-free is nice and all, but if I'll be playing another version instead of the GOG version, then it doesn't serve much of a purpose, does it?

I have some sympathy for those that don't have the game and welcome the chance to own it with or without the expansion, but we must stand strong! Trust me: You'll want Alien Crossfire if you like Alpha Centauri. AC-or-Bust must prevail!

To be fair, it would likely cost them slightly more to prepare for sale and VERY slightly more in bandwidth. I think most of us have enough faith in GOG not to worry about that. What worries me is that they might actually have a reason not to include it, in the form of some licensing issue. I've not heard of one, but the lack of official word on the subject is somewhat worrying.

I'll buy it with or without Alien Crossfire. If there are issues, I trust GOG to do their best to get it to us when they can.

yeah, selling expansions separately would *not* be cool. Which is odd actually, since it would offer more flexibility, but somehow it grates very much in the context of a service which re-releases old games. One of the reasons to buy here is to get a complete, working version of an old game (which you might or might not have played before), and splitting things up would make games feel less complete. I'm hesitant about DK and WC:P as well, because the expansions are missing.

When I buy a game on GOG, I want it to offer the complete, best experience it had to offer back in the days.