Play Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri and Alien Crossfire on your Mac with your own GOG Planetary Pack.
Downloads · GOG Planetary Pack · Report an issue
- macOS 13 or later. Apple Silicon requires Rosetta, available from the launcher's Help menu.
- Your GOG game: the installed Mac app, a Windows game folder, or the Windows offline installer with its companion
.binfiles. - 4 GB free space and an internet connection for initial setup. Play offline afterward.
With Homebrew, run this in Terminal:
brew install --cask drhelius/centauri/smac-launcherIf Homebrew asks you to trust the third-party tap, run brew trust --tap drhelius/centauri, then retry the install command.
Or download the macOS ZIP, unzip it and move SMAC Launcher.app to Applications.
- Open SMAC Launcher from Applications, choose your GOG game files and click Install. You can import existing saves during setup.
- Select Alpha Centauri or Alien Crossfire and click Play.
Choose fullscreen or a movable window, watch cutscenes, and adjust display, audio and gameplay options in Advanced Settings. Use Saved Games to find your saves. Updating the launcher keeps your installed game and saves.
Select the game, then choose Mods → New Configuration. This makes a separate copy of your installed game and saves. Give it a name, then install the mod using one of these actions:
| Action | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Install from Folder… | The mod is distributed as files, usually inside a ZIP. Extract it first, then select the folder containing the mod files. Its contents are copied into the selected configuration, replacing matching files there. |
| Run Installer (.exe)… | The mod provides a Windows setup program. Select that .exe and choose C:\SMAC as the destination inside its installer. |
These are alternatives; most mods need only one. Neither action downloads mods for you. Follow the mod author's installation instructions.
Open Mods → Edit Configuration, select the executable that starts the mod, and save. Arguments are optional command-line options. Working folder is an optional subfolder; leave it empty for most mods. Then click Play.
This selects which launcher features are used. It does not install, remove or switch mods. Leave Automatic selected unless you need to override detection.
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Automatic | Detects recognized original executables, PRACX and Thinker. Otherwise uses Custom executable behavior. |
| Original game | Enables the launcher's movie and display fixes for recognized original GOG executables. |
| PRACX | Uses PRACX's display controls and the launcher's native movie player. PRACX controls window/fullscreen switching with Alt+Enter. |
| Thinker | Enables Thinker-specific display handling and native movies. If PRACX is also installed and detected, PRACX controls the display. |
| Custom executable | Runs your selected executable and arguments, leaving display, audio and movie settings to the mod. No game compatibility patches are applied. |
- PRACX: create a configuration and use Run Installer (.exe)… with its Windows installer. Select the patched
terran.exeorterranx.exe. If your game already includes separate PRACX executables, selectterran_PRACX.exeorterranx_PRACX.exeinstead. - Thinker: select Alien Crossfire, create a configuration, extract Thinker's ZIP and use Install from Folder… on the folder containing
thinker.exe,thinker.dllandthinker.ini. Selectthinker.exe; keep Compatibility mode on Automatic.
Game Files, Saved Games and settings refer to the selected configuration. Select Original to return to your original installation. Remove Configuration… moves that configuration, including its saves, to Trash.