User Guide

Sid meier’s alpha centauri
Alien Crossfire
5
WELCOME TO ALIEN CROSSFIRE
ALIEN PLANETFALL
The early human exploration of Planet found many mysterious signs pointing
to a long-vanished alien race. The questions raised by these discoveries were
soon answered when two alien factions arrived on Planet a few years after the
crash-landing of the Unity. Their true motives were vague, but it appeared
they had returned to Planet to settle the fate of Manifold Six (their name for
Planet) and the grand experiment in which they were involved. The Usurper
faction has been pushing for the Progenitor race to exploit the powers of the
Manifold, and essentially set themselves up as gods. The Caretakers see Planet
as a sentient being, whose death would result from Usurper policies. Two scout
ships arrived in the space above Manifold Six to settle the issue.
Unfortunately for both sides (but perhaps fortunately for the humans on
Planet), the two ships were evenly matched, and nearly destroyed each other.
Survivors of the two factions managed to jettison in escape pods down to
Planet’s surface, where they prepare for battle, and for the day on which they
can contact their respective factions and send for reinforcements. If that day
ever comes, human existence on Planet will be in grave jeopardy.
The human factions must choose whether to band together to fight the off-
worlders, 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 strange Cybernetic faction unleashed by amoral University researchers.
NEW PROGENITOR CONCEPTS
The following is a summary of rules regarding the two alien factions, the
Caretakers and the Usurpers. Note in some cases, Progenitor names for facilities
or projects (such as “Children’s Creche” or “The Human Genome Project”) and
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Sid Meier’s Alien Crossfire™, FIRAXIS™ Games’ expansion pack
for Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri™. Enjoy the new faces and places in Alien
Crossfire.
Alien Crossfire is a companion game to Alpha Centauri and requires owner-
ship of Alpha Centauri.
Here’s a brief overview of what’s new in Alien Crossfire:
◆ Five new human factions.
◆ Two new alien factions: the Manifold Caretakers and the Manifold Usurpers.
◆ New technologies based on alien concepts of resonance fields.
◆ New facilities, including the Aquafarm, Covert Ops Center, and Subsea
Trunkline.
◆ New secret projects, including the Manifold Harmonics and the Nethack
Terminus.
◆ New alien life forms
◆ New unit special abilities
◆ New victory conditions for the Manifold factions.
◆ Several additional new concepts and strategies.
Sid meier’s alpha centauri
Alien Crossfire
4