\\Aldebaran 2.0 Public Beta README File (9/8/01)

Note to the first MP Aldebaran players:

The only thing you need to know is that you should play the game as a MP Scenario and load/save games to this folder. Oh yeah, and the help-bug Issue.

A. **Known Issues**

1. I was never able to get rid of this bug: When you are in the in-game help, do not click on 'All Categories' or 'Tech'. They crash the game. You can access the tech tree via the F-2 tech key instead.

2. You might get a folder called 'Xtrastuff.mac'. It's junk, trash that.



B. Rights, Acknowledgements and Other Good Things.

1. 'Aldebaran' is Freeware. It is not available for sale, and it may not be reproduced, repackaged, or distributed in any form, for profit. You may of course freely distribute it, hack it, etc., so long as you never charge any money for it!

2. 'Aldebaran' is a software 'Patch' for the Commercial Game 'Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri' by Firaxis Games, Inc.. All of their copyrights hold true to you and me. Please write to them and tell them how fantastic SMAC (Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri) is and that they ought to go ahead and hire me for SMAC 2. 

3. Aldebaran is a group project of members of the Apolyton online community. Though the original idea and core work were done by me ('Smack' at Apolyton), the project would have gotten nowhere without the great 'Beta' team that volunteered to playtest and help develop the game. I am forever indebted to them! 

The development team includes: Velocyrix, Blake, and Tokamak, who nailed down the AI issues in playtesting, Cybergod, who tackled the graphics with gusto, and Kassiopeia, whose creative energies led to many of the quotes you will see in the game. Kassiopeia is also responsible for the evolving short background story, 'Aldebaran', found here, and posted in segments at Apolyton.

The project is also indebted to the graphical support of the Network Node and its contributing members. There are numerous other people that contributed in discussions of AI development at Apolyton and I'd like to thank them all. I especially owe thanks to Ned's work with developing a more powerful AI. If you are surprised at how much better the 'AI' performs in Aldebaran, thank Ned!

Finally, thanks to Alexander III for the Hydromechanics patch idea, to ShiNing1 for the inspired 'SNAC', and to everyone else who dared to make a difference....in the progragmming.

Happy Landings Chironians,

Smack
