I never managed to get back into Civ after playing Alpha Centauri (so Civ 3?). Did something change/improve, or is it possible that I just preferred AC and didn

I never managed to get back into Civ after playing Alpha Centauri (so Civ 3?). Did something change/improve, or is it possible that I just preferred AC and didn't like how Civ changed after CivII?