User Guide

Sid meier’s alpha centauri
Alien Crossfire
11
The Cybernetic Consciousness (led by Prime Function Aki Zeta-Five)
This faction is led by a mysterious figure from The Unity who has apparently
been part of an experiment in artificial intelligence. It is surmised a research
technician working for Prokhor Zakharov was subjected to an implanted AI algo-
rithm, and is now sharing her consciousness with this intelligence. Aki Zeta-Five
offers her followers a pure intellect less fettered by greed and other distressing
emotions. Her society is advanced and efficient in industry and technology.
However, this society is unfamiliar with human emotions; therefore, concepts
like sex lead the Cyborgs to have a difficult time with population growth. They
are immune to the negative effects of the Cybernetic social choice.
The Nautilus Pirates (led by Captain Ulrik Svensgaard)
The Pirates believe the oceans of Planet are actually far more suitable for
human life than the land masses. They are dedicated to a life at sea, exploiting
the untold riches of the water. Their intimate knowledge of the deep allows
them to construct enhancements even in deep sea areas. Their sea combat units
are especially well trained for shipboard actions (free Marine Detachment abil-
ity for sea units once the appropriate technology is discovered). They also get
a free Naval Yard in every base upon discovery of the appropriate technology,
and pay no prototype costs for sea formers and sea colony pods. They are also
able to extract extra raw materials from shelf sea-squares.
The Free Drones (led by Foreman Domai)
The Drones are led by a former drone who has come to understand the horri-
ble oppression under which his peers labor. He seeks to build a nation with
great industrial might, without exploiting his workers like the other faction
leaders. The Drones believe in an orderly society and gain Police benefits. Their
industrial capacity is, of course, unmatched. Believing in a labor society means
elite scientific research is very slow, however. Bases revolting against their cur-
rent owners, anywhere on Planet, have a significant chance of proclaiming
themselves members of the Drone faction. Finally, Free Drone bases have fewer
discontented workers (“drones”) and are thus easier to manage.
See New Faction Overview, below, for information about the seven new factions.
Play Random Faction
Random Play is available with
any of the above configurations.
Play Selected Faction
Choose your faction and then
select this option. If you are
using a random setup, this but-
ton has the same effect as
“Play Random.”
Change Name
Customize the name of your faction and the other factions in the game.
Info
Shows the help text for the selected faction. Choosing “OK” from this screen
starts the game with you playing the selected faction.
Cancel
Sends you back to the difficulty level screen.
Drop-down boxes
This new feature allows you to load each individual slot with the faction of
your choice. Once the seven slots are loaded, you can play a selected faction
or a random faction from among the seven you have selected. You can mix
and match factions between the original and new games at will.
NEW FACTION OVERVIEW
As before, the factions in Alien Crossfire are divided into spheres of political and
social thought. Two additional factions of aliens are introduced; their primary moti-
vations are more simple: destroy the opposing alien faction in a bitter civil war.
Sid meier’s alpha centauri
Alien Crossfire
10