If you hate long readme's, then you are welcome to just dive right into the game.  However, I think that you will enjoy the mod more if you enter into it with an understanding of what's going on. 



			-Synposis-

SMAC Down: 2250 is a single player scenario for Alien Crossfire.  It is intentionaly difficult.  If you are the kind of player who quits the game whenever the computer beats you to a Secret Project, or captures one of your bases, I recommend that you just delete this whole directory right now.

The default player faction is the University. The other factions start much stronger, and are not intended for human play.  

The module features a 100% original map, with carefully named landmarks and everything.  The new world is referred to as "Sagittarius," a constellation that was named after the centaur Chiron. 

Sagittarius is currently involved in a vastly destructive war between two power blocs: the imperialist "Coalition" (Spartans, Beleivers, Hive),  and the nominally peaceful "Alliance" (University, Gaians, Morgans, Peacekeepers).  The Coaltion is considerably more powerful than the Alliance, and starts out much better organized.    

The player's task is to stay alive long enough to organize the Alliance and forge them into a milatary power in their own right.   

My intent was to create a situation in which the AI remains a credible threat to the player throughout the entire game.  Most single player games are essentially over within the first 50 turns.  In theory, the game should still be very much alive in the HabDome era and beyond.  The question of a player victory is "if," not "when."

			-The Set Up-

All AI factions start out in truely excellent terrain.  Moreover, many of their terraforming decisions have been already been made for them, including some sporadic "pre-terraforming" along their frontiers. The entire map has also been liberally pre-seeded with forests, including University territory.

Factions in the same power bloc have all been auto-pacted with each other, although communications have been cut between Alliance members. All Coalition members automatically share their research data with one another, making thier ascent up the tech tree very fast.

All AI factions also receive, at no cost whatsoever, Clean Reactors and Non-Lethal Methods as free abilities for every single one of their units.  These do not occupy design slots, and can be further combined with any other powers the AI sees fit, as restricted by normal SMAC rules.

Allied factions start with a single size three base, complete with Recycling Tanks, Children's Creche, Defensive Perimeter, Recreation Commons, and of course, a Headquarters.  They also receive a former, a scout, and a colony pod.  Additionaly, coastal and sea bases recevie a sea former (Universty Base is an exception to this rule).  

Coalition factions receive the same forces as the Allies, but have an identical base (including the HQ) located on a separate continent from the first.  Moreover, each Coaltion faction receives an additional size one base, complete with Scout Patrol and former.  The Coalition forces nearest the University receive a defensive line made up of custom units (specially named trance and ECM synthmetal/laser infantry).  These are in place to serve as a check agaisnt an early rush.  This is in compensation for the fact that the AI doesn't block its roads and vulnerable approaches with armored Crawlers, like most humans do.  The units' odd names are a tribute to JustinSane and The Commodore, two Apolyton regulars who proved that an early game rush was a very effective strategy.  An early rush should still be possible (I think), but you won't be taking the enemy capital within the first 20 turns. You could, however, drastically slow down the enemy's war preparations.

Morgan counts as "surrendered" to you.  This is to allow a co-operative victory for the Alliance.

The Spartans are given Sven's "Aquatic, 0" power, to assist them in their naval focus.

			-A Crash Course in Geography-

The landmarks on Chiron were named after figures from Greek Mythology, and I continued that tradition, with a few exceptions when appropriate (specifically, the landmarks near factional headquarters are given names fitting to that faction's culture). A fair amount of effort went into making the names and places fit together logically.  People interested in the implied meanings of all the names are encouraged to read the Names.txt file that comes with this document.

Sagittarius features three major continents: Atlantis, Lemuria, and Mu, listed in descending order of size.  University Base is located on the northern coast of Atlantis, in the Amie-Marie River Delta, shielded by Feynman's Peak to the east.  It's a fantastic start, and frankly, you'll need it.

The center of Atlantis is dominated by the Fukai, a vast and deadly valley filled with xenofungus.  The Planetmind is very active in this region, making exploration potentially deadly.  Should you ever manage to tame the Fukai, its central postion on Atlantis will give you an enormous strategic advantage over your foes.  Also, methodical exploration of the Fukai may turn up some pleasant surprises (and several decidedly unpleasant ones). If you probe too deeply too early, you're probably going to die.  You've been warned.

The rest of Sagittarius' geography is up to you to discover.

			-Changes-

All AI's were set to pacifist, and were given interest in Build, Explore, and Discvoery.  This makes them much more interested in investing in infrastructure, but doesn't actually diminish thier long term war making ability (a big thanks to Ned, who discovered this).

All AI units get free clean reactors and police abilites for their units.  This protects the AI from its total lack of comprehension of support and drone issues. 

All AI factions are immune to negative police effects.  Early simulations showed that the AI would insist on running Planned throughout the entire game, crippling their economies.  Without having to worry about police issues, the AI finally uses Free Market, a neccessary condition for them to remain competitive.

Choppers have been reduced to a base move of four.  This is striaght from Shining1's SNAC mad.  Blake provides the best justification for this decision (quoted from the Apolyton forums):
			
^Movement of 4 is about right, this is increased to 6 with a fusion ^reactor (and eventually 10 with singularity), 6 with fusion, compared ^to needlejets 12 is really quite nicely balanced, the chopper can ^still attack at the range of a noodle, and possibly make it home  ^alive. 
^
^However, the best comparison is probably fusion chopper with the ^hovertank. 
^
^Hovertanks moves 3 (4 when elite), which means 4 attacks per turn, ^reduced if damaged. The chopper has movement 6(7), # attacks not ^reduced by damage. Neither is effected by terrain. 
^The chopper gets 1/4 price weapons. 
^The chopper can traverse water, but takes damage from being outside of ^base at end of turn. The hovertank can make use of roads and magtubes, ^and can also use drop pods. 
^The chopper ignores defense bonus from forests. 
^It also ignores ZoC. 

^	I think, when compared to the hovertank the SNAC choppers are ^almost right on.

Well said, Blake! 

The Cloudbase Academy, and the Planetary Datalinks have been set to "destroyed".  Both of these Projects had deleterious effects on game balance.  If you miss either of these, it is trivial to add them back in with the scenario editor.

Steps have been taken to insure that the over-powered Cloning Vats will fall into Spartan hands.  Santaigo had always performed the poorest in my simulations.  This'll put back on track.

A new technology, Advanced Stem Cell Techniques has been added, and the Cloning Vats were moved here.  AdvStem is otherwise a useless tech.  The Spartans start with AdvStem, almost assuring that they will get the Cloning Vats.

Another new technology, Adiabatic Chambers, has been added, and Clean Reactors have been moved here.  AdCham has Bio-Engineering of its prereq, and is a "dead-end" tech (ie it doesn't lead to any other techs).

Probe teams can no longer steal technology.  The AI simply doesn't understand probe defense, and stealing from it is so easy that it's almost like cheating.  I had stopped tech-stealing from the AI a very long time ago, for this very reason.

The AI factions have had about 40 'clean' minerals added to their total. This is actually there to benefit you more than the computer.  It sucks when 50+ polluting cities controlled by the AI sink your entire, carefully terraformed empire.  Furthermore, global warming has been slowed down by a factor of three.

Orbital Defense Pods and Flechette Defenses have been pulled foward on the tech tree.  This is to give the player a reasonable chance to survive when the AI gets nukes.


			-Strategy-

It is vital that you capitalize on your excellent start.  Use the fertile Amie-Marie delta to drive your early expansion.  Planend and Free Market are both just a few turns away.  Pick one and go after it! There is some debate as to whether Planned or Market is the superior starting choice.  I personally prefer Planned, since much of the extra research done under Market will be turn out to be redundant when you finally contact the other Allies.  

You will not be able to receive any of the early game projects unless you make this a major priority and make several sacrifices.  Even so, it will be hard, and you will most likely only get one, so make it a good one!  For many players, this will be the first time that they have ever NOT gotten ALL of the SPs.  This just demonstrates how inept the AI is when given equal footing against a human player.   

The native life is somewhat stronger than some players may be accustomed to.  Don't let colonists and formers explore the fungus without milatary backup.  Don't go trolling through the fungus if you don't think you could handle a mindworm showing up.  Adding Trance as a standard power to your garrisons is an excellent idea.  			
The AI likes probe teams, and actually manages to use them fairly well. If you don't have multiple probe teams guarding your fringe bases, well... "All your base will belong to Miriam!"  

Armored probes make fanstastic defenders.  They are inherently clean, and don't suffer from morale penalties when you are running Wealth.  With a few successful missions, you can get them up to Elite, whereupon you should upgrade them to the best armor available and use them exclusively for defense.

Santaigo likes missiles.  Build Flechette Defenses and use AAA garrisons.

Remember that combat bonuses are multiplicative, not additive.  That is to say that two 50% bonuses are NOT the same as a 100% bonus; they are equal to a 125% bonus.  An elite defender with ECM and Pulse armor on a forest with a bunker, sensor, and within range of a Geo-Sync Pod will have an incredible 889% bonus against rovers, and still have a respectable 427% bonus against infantry.  Even if you get out-teched, a defensive war is still very feasible.

Fortify your front lines, maybe just a few squares in front of your fringe bases.  Double stack your defenders to keep those pesky probes away (if you can't afford a second milatary unit, use a crawler as the back-up, instead.  It can harvest minerals from the forest, and in a pinch, can be retro-fitted with armor!).

If your formers are running out of things to do (and maybe even if they aren't)  build back-up fortifications behind your fringe bases, and connect them to your road networks.  If the AI horde breaks through, you can quickly garrison the secondary bunkers and contain the damage. After the bunkers are manned, remove the roads, just in case one of them falls.  Make them pay for every inch they gain!

It is vital that you make contact with the other Alliance members as soon as possible.  Once your side is co-ordinating their research as well, a major Coalition advantage will be lost.  

Don't let the enemy inflitrate your datalinks!  Their TECHSHARE, 1 power works on you just as well as it works on them.  To that end, you MUST keep the goveronship out of enemy hands.  If you make it a major prioty, it should be just barely possible.  You must build the Empath Guild, and you must have enough votes to get an Ally (probably Lal) elected.


			-Other Suggestions-

See if you can play through this scenario as one of the good guys.  Try to avoid committing atrocities.  You might be surprised at how much fun it is to do things the hard way.

I find Alpha Centauri to be more enjoyable when I refrain from building the Huner-Seeker Algorithm.  Having to tend to your probe defences adds a whole new layer of strategy to the game, and I think play suffers when this is removed.  Having to deal with a HSA-protected AI, on the other hand, is an interesting challenge!

For a very dangerous game, set the scenario year to 2500.  All Alien units will be Demon Boils!  Awesome!  Don't screw with Planet! Even when attacking first, your Scout Patrols will be at disadvantage.  The mindworms go from being a minor nuisance to a major menace.  This option might make a Green Conquest too good, though.


			-Send Me Your Victories!-

If you beat this scenario, let me know!  Tell me the method of victory (conquest, economic, etc), and whether or not you commited any atrocites, and whether or not you built the HSA.  I'll be recording people's best times for each type of victory, and I'll try and find a public place to post them.

This is very much an honor system.  I trust you not to lie about your score, or to report a victory that you attained by cheating.  I can not be held liable for the feelings of shame and intense self-loathing that may result from cheating in my scenario.

Just in case there's some question, "cheating" includes, but is not limited to...

  Using the scenario editor for any reason.  
  Saving and reloading the game to get better results, or to scout ahead.
  Altering the *.txt files.
  Upgrading crawlers to speed up Secret Projects and Prototypes.  This has been long banned from Multi-Player, since it is so abusive.  Upgrading crawlers, in and of itself, is just fine.  Just don't cash those crawlers in!
  Doing "quickie changes" to your social engineering choices to gain diplomatic advantages, or to manipulate the relative cost of Crawlers and Secret Projects/Prototypes.
  Anything else that common sense tells you is cheating.

Lying about your accomplishments in a computer game is as about as pathetic as it gets.  If you can't help yourself, please re-read the legal disclaimer at the end of the second paragraph of this section.

I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with people doing any of the above things for their own personal enjoyment.  Just don't expect to get in the Hall of Fame that way!
	 
As a partial exception to the above conditions, I will accept any games in which the player used the editor to advance the year to 2500, as described in the "Other Suggestions" section.  This is an option tht intrigues me, and I would like to hear how it works.


			-Concerns, Known Issues-

The presence of the Fukai adds some interesting vermilsitude to the game, but may make a Green Conquest too easy.  Only time will tell.

The Kyo-kami-hei is a Believing unit, when logically, it should be an Alien unit.  The problem is, as an Alien unit, it has the annoying tendency to just randomly dissappear, making it much less dangerous.  Also, under Alien control, it was as likely to help you as it was to hurt you. If you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, just keep playing :)

The Morale of Alien units is dependant on the year, and cannot be changed, even with the editor. Some of the denizens of the Fukai should be stronger than they really are.

This is very much a "beta" release.  There are doubtlessly hordes of problems that just haven't been discovered yet.





			-Credits-

Many of the ideas used by this mod were not original.  The following list is not neccessarily a complete list of those who deserve credit.  If you can think of anyone I missed, or especially if you ARE one of these people, please don't hesitate to e-mail me!

Shining1- The author of SNAC, and certified AC genius.  The chopper modifications come from him.

Ned- One of the discoverers of the 'clean' mineral phenomenon, and also the one who came up with the idea of setting the AI priorties to the more 'builder-like'' settings.  Furthermore, he pioneered the concept of using a pre-terraformed map to make the game more challenging.

Fritz- One of the co-contributors to Ned's excellent eco-damage article.

Blake- The last of the contributors to the eco-damge paper, and also the one who convinced my to use SNACs choppers mods, as well as to do something about the Cloning Vats and the Cloudbase Academy.  Also, his "Marr in the Middle" mod provided a situation in which the AI had a terrain advantage, but didn't rely on overkill terraforming 9like my last map did).  His clean, natural-looking map finally convinced me to scrap the first version of Sagittarius that I was working on and create the better, cleaner looking map that I have now.

Cybergod- He's the one who pointed out that a co-operative victory wouldn't be possible for the Alliance, since it has four members.  It is only because of his attention to detail that I thought to have Morgan start out as a submissive.

Smack- He made a non-X version possible, and helped clean the bugs out of it.  He was also extremely helpful in general, and very encouraging! Smack is toiling away on his own mod.  Tell him to hurry up! :)

Velocyrix- The well-known author of the SMAC guide, and a very nice guy, to boot!  I probably wouldn't be playing SMAC anymore if it weren't for his engrossing guide.  Moreover, I certainly would never have created this mod if it weren't for his enthusisastic and over-generous support.  Without his backing, I'm not sure if this thing would've even caught on.  Also, his carefully detailed reports helped shape my design philosphy.  Vel is also working on his own mod.  Check his thread in the Creation forums!

JustinSane- He made several detailed and helpful reports on how the game ran.  He is also the reason why the Coalition has custom built Trance defenders :)

The Commodore- Another rush pioneer, but this time with rovers.  Now, when your rover rush dies horribly, think of The Commodore.

big_canuk- Posted the most detailed game summary yet!  His data lends credence to the assertation that Free Market may be a better starting choice than Planned.

mark13- Posted the progress of an entire game, from start to finish!  He's a fellow supporter of the 'early Planned' theory.  P. S.  He won!

My thanks goes out to everyone who ever posted on the forums or downloaded a copy of the old scenario.  Within one week of being on Apolyton, SMAC Down was played by at least 30 different people.  That may be a modest-sounding number, but considering the age of SMAC, and the fact that the scenario was only available to the tightly knit community of Apolyton, I think of that as an outrageous success! 


					-Changes in 2251-

I made some minor tweaks to the map to make the player's early expansion easier.  Specifically, I cleared a few stratefic tiles of fungus and/or rocky terrain.

The main Spartan base was missing its HQ!  Santaigo's economy should be much stronger, now.	 

Most of the main rivers were missing their names.

The readme now indicates that orbital defense pods and flechette defenses are available earlier than normal.   