Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Quickstart

In the beginning...

Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire, expansion pack for the best-selling Sid
Meier's Alpha Centauri, introduces seven all-new factions fighting to
control the destiny of Planet, along with a host of new technologies,
native units, Secret Projects, and other enhancements.

This demo highlights two of the seven new factions: the human Nautilus
Pirates and the alien Manifold Caretakers, and takes place on the updated
world of Alien Crossfire. Play these two factions against five of the
originals to see how you fare!

A note on playbalance: the single alien faction provided in the demo will
be much stronger than the other human factions. In the full product, the
second alien faction keeps the game balanced, as the two hate each other
and will seek to destroy one another regardless of human activity. This
also forces the humans to decide whether to band against the aliens or
work for their individual gain.

Enjoy!

Backstory

The early human exploration of Planet finds many mysterious signs pointing
to a long-vanished alien race. The questions raised by these discoveries
are soon answered when the previous inhabitants return, locked in their
own civil war. The human colonists are caught in the crossfire of this
alien civil war when warships high above Planet collide in a ferocious
battle. After the carnage, the stricken ships launch lifepods containing
the survivors towards the surface. These survivors bring new technologies
and weapons with them, but also bring their generations-old hatred and a
blood feud that can only end with the destruction of one side.

The human factions must choose whether to band together to fight the
offworlders, or side with the aliens as a means to ultimate victory. The
picture is further complicated by the rise of new human factions preaching
radical philosophies, from the Drones who seek liberation of the working
masses, to the Nautilus Pirates, who terrorize the seas of Planet. And
lurking in the background is the increasingly intelligent cybernetic
faction unleashed by amoral University researchers...

Either alien faction can win the game by constructing a Resonance
Communicator, an interstellar beacon that will call reinforcements in from
the Core Worlds. This beacon is constructed in six segments, each
requiring the power of a size 10 or greater base. Once the Communicator
has been constructed, humanity is at the mercy of the powerful invaders
who return in force.

Gameplay basics:

Scrolling the map and activating units To scroll around the map, click a
square; this recenters the map on the selected square.  You may activate
units in two ways:

Left-click on a unit

Press the 'v' key to activate the next unit-use this method if you get
lost moving around the map and want to get back to your troops quickly.  
You may have to hit the 'v' key twice to get to the next active unit.

Units

Each unit has four main physical characteristics-its chassis, defensive
shielding, offensive weapon, and reactor type.  The chassis determines the
unit's movement rate.  Units expend movement 'points' whenever a unit
moves into a square; different types of squares require different amounts
of movement points.  The shielding and weapon determine how the unit holds
up in defensive and offensive combat, respectively.  The reactor
determines the amount of damage a unit can take before it is destroyed.

New technologies mean better unit components; your scout crawler, the
weakest military unit available in the game, rates '1' in each of the four
categories.  After you discover technologies which give you new unit
components, press the 'u' key to design units based on your advances.

All units also have a morale rating, indicating the training and
experience of the unit. Morale helps determine the outcome of a battle;
veteran units triumph more often than green troops.

You can move active units around the map using the numeric keypad on the
keyboard or using the mouse.

To move a unit with the keypad, press the key on the numeric keypad
corresponding to the desired direction ('7' for up and left, '8' for up,
'3' for down and right, etc.).

To move a unit with the mouse, click on a unit and drag a line to the
desired destination, then release the mouse button.  This gives a unit
'goto' orders-the unit moves automatically each turn, using the fastest
available route, until it reaches its destination.

Researching new technologies

Soon after landing, your researchers set up their labs and begin work
studying new technologies to help your faction survive and grow.  They
will ask you what kinds of technologies they should study, and the wise
leader picks a good mix of research. Energy fuels your research; your base
workers obtain energy from certain kinds of squares surrounding your
bases.

Terrain and good base locations

Three elements compose the terrain on Planet (as your colonists have
christened Chiron):  rainfall, rockiness, and altitude.  These elements
correspond to the resources gathered by your base workers:

Rainfall=nutrients, which feed your people and grow your population.

Rockiness=minerals, which your citizens use to build units and base
facilities. Build mines with roads in rocky areas to increase your mineral
output.

Altitude=energy, which you allocate towards different support functions
and towards research into new technologies.  Generally, you must build
solar collectors before you can get energy.

Rainy squares produce more nutrients than moist or arid squares.  Rocky
terrain generates more minerals than rough or flat squares, while
high-altitude squares produce more energy than sea-level squares.

Regions producing plentiful nutrients almost always make excellent base
sites.  The Main Map shows rainfall as green areas, so when looking for
new base sites, remember that "green is good".  Once you have moved your
pod into a good, fertile area, press the 'b' key to found a new base.  
You cannot found a base on rocky or Xenofungal squares, squares containing
a monolith, or squares inside the borders of another faction you have made
peace with.  After you name your new base, the Base Screen for your new
base automatically appears.

Base Basics

Bases house your workers, who collect resources from the terrain
surrounding the base.  The bases then use these resources to build units
and facilities, increase energy reserves, grow your population, and other
important tasks.  The base screen displays a lot of information, but let's
start with the most important section for beginners:  the Governor
options.

Governor

Each base has a governor who can direct the activity in a base depending
on the instructions you give.  You can tell a governor to concentrate on
one of four mandates:  Explore, Discover, Build, or Conquer.  To activate
the governor, click one of these mandates. "Explore" tells your governor
to build more bases and grow your population.  "Discover" helps you
advance your knowledge.  "Build" focuses your empire on wealth and
infrastructure, while "Conquer" helps you increase the quantity and
quality of your units and military base facilities.

If you'd rather manage the base yourself, you can toggle the Governor on
or off by clicking the Governor button.  To manage the base yourself, you
need to understand the most important sections of the base screen: the
Resource Collection Readout and the Production Readout.

Resource Collection Readout

Your base workers collect nutrients, minerals, and energy from the terrain
around each base.  Your colony governor automatically assigns each worker
to an individual square; the Resource Collection Readout displays those
assignments by showing a resource indicator where a worker has been
assigned.  The resource indicator displays the nutrients, minerals, and
energy collected in a square.  A square with a resource indicator means a
worker has been assigned to that square.  A worker assigned to a rocky
square primarily collects minerals, while a worker assigned to a flat
square primarily collects nutrients.

If you want to override your colony governor, you can assign workers
yourself.  For example, if you need more minerals to complete an important
base facility quickly, you can assign workers to rocky squares, slowing
that base's growth but increasing the pace of construction.

To assign a worker to a different square, click and drag one of the
resource indicators on the collection readout.  The icon changes to a
worker, indicating that a worker is being moved.  Release the mouse button
over an open square (one without a resource indicator) to which you wish
to assign the worker.  You can also assign workers to new squares by
left-clicking on a resource indicator, which changes them into a
specialist, a type of citizen which does not work in the squares outside
the base.  The resource indicator where you have clicked disappears.  
Left-click on an empty square to change that specialist back into a
worker, who you have now assigned to your designated square.

To restore the colony governor assignments, left-click on the central base
square.  The governor reassigns any specialists as workers, and places
those workers on the best terrain squares.  The governor makes balanced
decisions when assigning workers, so each base collects a good mix of the
three resources.

Production Readout

Your workers build units, facilities, and Secret Projects using the
minerals collected from nearby terrain.  On the Base Screen, the
Production Readout displays the production orders--what the base is
currently building.  To change the current production order, click the
"Change" button in the Production Readout.  A list of possible production
orders appears-the items available for construction in the base-and you
can select your choice or click 'help' for more information on the
selected item.  You can also order the base to build several different
items in a row using the Build Queue to the right of the Production
Readout.  Click on the first slot of the Queue and double-click the item
you want the base to build after it completes the current production
orders.  You may have several items in the build queue at any one time;
the base governor automatically works on each one in order.

The Production Readout also shows how many turns remain until the
completion of the current production orders.  You can hurry production,
using some of your energy reserves, by left-clicking the 'Hurry' button
and following the prompts.

Exiting and accessing the Base Screen

To exit the Base Screen, left-click the 'exit' button in the lower right
corner of the base screen.  You can access any Base Screen from the Main
Map by left-clicking on the desired base.

Terraforming

An important early technology discovery is Centauri Ecology, which gives
you the ability to build Former units.  Formers build terrain improvements
that increase the resources available for collection by your base workers,
and Formers can also connect your bases with roads.  In the early stages
of the game, you'll want your Formers to concentrate on four main kinds of
improvements:

Roads decrease the movement points required to move through a square.  To
build a road, move your Former to the desired square and press the 'r'
key.

Farms increase nutrient production early in the game in squares producing
zero or one unit of nutrients, or squares with a nutrient bonus.  To plant
a farm, move your Former to a flat or rough square, and press the 'f' key.

Mines increase mineral production.  To drill a mine, move your Former to
the desired square and press the 'm' key.  Mines built in rocky squares
also need a road in the same square to produce minerals at full capacity.

Solar Collectors increase energy production in most squares.  To build a
solar collector, move your Former to the desired square and press the 's'
key.

Later on, your researchers discover technologies that increase your
Formers' capabilities.

Fomers cannot construct all improvements in all terrain types; your
Planetary Ecologist warns you if you try to build an improvement on an
inappropriate square.  Your Planetary Ecologist can also control Former
units for you, so you can concentrate on the larger demands of your
empire.  To automate a Former, press 'Shift-A'.  The Terraform menu lists
all possible Former actions and their keyboard equivalents.

Contacting the other faction leaders

After setting up your first two bases, you may want to contact some of the
other faction leaders who escaped with you.  You begin each game knowing
the commlink frequency of one other faction leader.  To contact a faction,
click the "commlink" menu, then select the faction you wish to communicate
with.  You can exchange technology, make peace, declare war, and carry out
other diplomatic functions when talking to leaders.

Combat

Diplomatic negotiations may result in war when one party remains
unsatisfied.  In these cases, you can mobilize your military forces and
attack your enemy!  When sending your units out to attack an enemy, be
sure to leave some good defensive units behind to protect your bases,
while sending your good offensive units with the task force.  To attack an
enemy unit or base, simply move your unit into the enemy.  Combat resolves
automatically, based on the attacker's offensive rating, the defender's
defensive rating, and the morale of each participant.  Some modifiers for
terrain and other factors may also affect the outcome.

Certain kinds of units, such as the native Mind Worms, fight using psionic
combat.  In this case, only the morale of the participants determines the
combat results.

