User Guide

WELCOME TO ALPHA CENTAURI
CHAPTER 2
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run when you see mind worms (you can attack by attempting to move into
their square). Ultimately, you’ll want to make contact with the units or bases
of the other human factions.
RESEARCHING TECHNOLOGY
New technologies drive your survival and expansion on Planet, giving you
access to new weapons, base facilities, and Secret Projects. As soon as your
first base is established, your faction immediately begins scientific research.
You don’t have to do anything to start researching, it just happens. Every few
turns your scientists announce a new breakthrough, and ask you to set prior-
ities to guide your next research effort. For more information on how to max-
imize your technological advances, see Technology, p. 119.
EXPANDING YOUR EMPIRE
Each of your bases is constantly building a new unit or base facility. You can
decide where a base should direct its industrial efforts. To do so, L on a base
to open the Base Control Screen. In the lower left corner of that screen is a
window showing that base’s current build orders. L on the Change button to
get the Production Readout, which shows everything your base can build (at
the start of the game, this might be just two or three objects). At the start of
the game you’ll want to concentrate on units. First, build a military unit to
guard the base. When it’s completed, use H to order that unit to remain in
the base, on guard. If you wish, you may order the base governor to take over
production if you L one of the “Governor” buttons at the top of the Base
Control screen (see Governor, p. 69).
As soon as the “former” (terraforming) unit becomes available (with the discov-
ery of Centauri Ecology), build one and send it out to terraform the landscape.
Move the former out of your base and have it build farms (F), roads (R), and
solar collectors (S). If the terrain is harsh (a brown square with no green), plant
forests (sF). If the terrain is rough (lots of grey blobs in the square) drill
mines (M). You can also automate a former by pressing sA; it immediate-
ly begins building terrain enhancements as the former commander sees fit.