Altera Centauri: The SMAC/X Scenario Repository

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: June 2010 GOTM: "Market Forces"
SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX
Author: bdanv and Rymdolov (w/ art by Buster's Uncle & Mylochka)
Date of original posting: 2/12
Original host site: WPC

***

The restaurant was expensive, possibly the most expensive on Planet, but in an extravagant, rather than exclusive, way. The cutlery was heavy with precious metals; the meals were large, even ones made up of genuine, non-vat grown, meat and rare spices. The room was bright with harnessed solar energy, leaving the dark Chiron night to those of lesser means.

In Jeneba's mind, though, the primary source of light seemed to be the smile of the man sitting opposite her, lighting a fine cigar.

"This, in fact", CEO Nwabudike Morgan said, indicating the cigar, "is a good example of what I was talking about. If some other faction leader, Lal for example, was to smoke one of these in public, there would be talk of the leader setting a bad example by smoking unhealthy cigars before the eyes of those poor helpless drones who can't think for themselves. We, however, would think of it as inspirational. 'Look, he is rich enough to smoke expensive cigars'! Then we leave it to the individual drone to pursue his or her happiness in order to be able to smoke one of these one day.

“Or, for that matter, buy a restaurant and turn it into a non-smoking area.

“The point is that we don't demand a certain behavior - all we demand is that you work hard, by hand or by brain, whatever your assets are, to be able to afford the behavior of your choice! And we don't need an army of bureaucrats to make sure you don't put in more than you take out - because you can't! That's the power of the Market!"

Morgan leaned back, obviously pleased with his speech, cheerfully slapping the bottom of the waitress who had just brought him a glass of brandy and laughing loudly at her wide-eyed surprise. He leaned forward and winked at Jeneba.

"That would have been called 'sexual harassment', or perhaps 'adultery', in several other factions; indeed it would have in much of our own. However, in this restaurant, 'brief body contact with serving personnel' is part of the deal we made when having this table reserved for us. We paid good money for it and so it's ours!"

"And does the girl get extra money for providing this - service? ," Jeneba asked. Morgan raised his eyebrows.

"Why, if she was smart enough to negotiate for it! Her body is, of course, protected as her private property under our property laws - the only kind of laws you need - and may be sold or leased as she likes. It's all a matter of supply and demand! It's all in her contract; signed by her out of her own free will!"

"You see", Morgan continued, "the Market is good not only for organizing the distribution of energy, minerals and other limited resources, but also for organizing most human relationships. 'Human behavior is economic behavior', to quote my own greatest role model. And it's not just crude egotism, either. By striving to accomplish wealth for yourself, you inevitably create a better life for everyone around you, from the scientist getting rich from patenting a medical drug which helps ill people all over Planet, to the actor earning sweet credits pursuing his dream while at the same time entertaining his audience."

Jeneba considered her next move. Her boss had asked her to question The Morganite lifestyle, so that he could defend it as a sort of intellectual pastime.

"Well, but what about inherited wealth? Might that not be construed as unjust? Didn't you - "

"Yes, there's a point right there", Morgan interrupted. "We all know that some - not all - who inherit wealth become lazy and passive. However, the urge to provide for your offspring is such a strong driving force that the benefits are greater than the costs. Market forces gain their strength because they are tied to the deepest evolutionary drives imprinted in our very genes. When you mess with the Market, you're messing with a force of nature, which is why the non-market economies are like people thinking they've grown wings when they're really plain-old people in a plane that's about to run out of fuel."

Jeneba spread her hands, "Well, that's plain to see. But the elites of the other factions have invested huge resources and much prestige in their systems. They are not likely to listen to reason and some of them are heavily armed, you know..."

Morgan leaned forward, lowered his voice and put on the let's-get-down-to-business face that Jeneba had come to admire and fear through the years of working for Morgan.

"Ah, this brings us to the reason we're here tonight. You see, I have a plan..."

***

Quote

And when at last it is time for the transition from megacorporation to planetary government, from entrepreneur to emperor, it is then that the true genius of our strategy shall become apparent, for energy is the lifeblood of this society and when the chips are down he who controls the energy supply controls Planet. In former times the energy monopoly was called "The Power Company"; we intend to give this name an entirely new meaning.

CEO Nwabudike Morgan
"The Centauri Monopoly"

Quote

Wars, diplomacy and technology are all vehicles driven by the fuel of money. Economic forces have been hard to control or predict, with many notable failures in human history. In the years to come, we shall harness discoveries in areas such as sociology, psychology and artificial intelligence to finally tame the systems. In the end, it will become possible to gain a monopoly on energy currency, and gain permanent, unassailable control over the world. Not one transaction shall pass between any two people without our approval.

OBJECTIVES
For GotM 1006 you will have to corner the global energy market.

POINTS SYSTEM
The GotM scoring system will be used:
Quote from: bdanv

Scoring
Ingame score (Aplha Centauri score) divided by the number of turns it took for victory divided by 2 equals the GOTM score.

'GOTM score' = S / (.5 * V)
________________
S - Ingame score
V - number of turns it took for victory

It the event of a tie the game's end date is used to determine the winner.

SUBMISSION:
You can send your files (last save before game ends) by submissions [ AT ] alphacentauri2 [ DOT ] info or post them in this thread.
Don't forget to inform us on the moves needed to complete the last turn (if any).


DIRECTIONS
1) Download the zip file (at the top of this post).
2)Place the archive into the scenarios directory. Usually you can find it here: C: program FilesFiraxis GamesSid Meier's Alpha Centauriscenarios
3) Unzip it there.
4) Start up SMAX, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then go to the subdirectory "1006 Market Forces" and choose the scenario.


PLAYERS ABOUT THE SCENARIO:
Quote from: civac

Wanting to play this scenario was the final incentive for me to order the expansion pack.

Quote from: Imagine A Cool Name

I dislike Morgan and this scenario doesn't fit the way I like playing at all, but I am ready to give it a try. I do not think I have ever even tried to win a game by Cornering the energy market before, so this should be interesting.

Good luck!


Alpha Centauri 2 - GotM 2010 06 "Market Forces" Transcend

Alpha Centauri 2 - GotM 2010 06 "Market Forces" Librarian

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: July 2011 GOTM: Drone secession wars - part 1 "First Strikes"
SMAC/ SMAX: SMAC
Author: bdanv and Rymdolov (w/ art by Buster's Uncle)
Date of original posting: 7/2/10
Original host site: WPC

YOUR MISSION
Foreman Domai of the Drones,
In order to qualify for the prizes of the GotM competition you will have to successfully incite drone riots, simultaneously, in at least 2 of the following Hiverian bases:

• Chairman's Burrow
• Social Artery
• People's Endeavor

For a 'Bronze victory' you need to successfully incite drone riots in 2 of the 3 bases simultaneously;
For a 'Silver victory' you need to successfully incite drone riots in all the 3 bases simultaneously;
For a 'Gold victory' you need to successfully incite drone riots in all the 3 bases simultaneously by MY2210;

The respective bases must be rioting at the moment of the save.
You can submit saves with only one city rioting but that will not guarantee any prizes.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Besides the above objectives, your save has to meet the following requirements:
Your base count must be 6 (six).
As per your treaty with Santiago, you are not allowed to settle within Spartan borders, the way they were at the end of MY2160.

RESTRICTIONS
No colony pods can be built. Your people are thinking of their brothers and sisters who are still suffering all over the Hive homeland. You should do something about them first.
No secret projects can be built. You should concentrate on your mission instead.
You are not allowed in the Planetary Council (you are still the leader of a minor faction).
You are not allowed to conquer any bases of the Hive. Your brothers and sisters are working in these bases. You must help them overthrow the Regime not kill them. However you are allowed to fight the Hive's army as well as engage the base's garrison (you have no mercy for those fighting for the Regime).

PRIZES
The standings will be calculated using the following criteria (in this exact order):
- number of bases simultaneously rioting;
- Mission Year;
- Alpha Centauri score.

Meaning:
On the same number of bases simultaneously rioting, the Mission Year will be the tie-breaker. outweigh the others
If we have the same number of bases simultaneously rioting in the same amount of turns, the Alpha Centauri score will decide the winner.

The best submission by the end of August 2011 will bring you a special badge visible in your profile as well as on your post bits.

The best AAR (After Action Report) about the July 2011 GotM, posted at alphacentauri2.info, by the end of August 2011, will receive a special prize consisting of a downloadable game from gog.com.

A 'Bronze victory' will bring you 1 point in the 2011 Game of the Month Competition.
A 'Silver victory' will bring you 2 point in the 2011 Game of the Month Competition.
A 'Bronze victory' will bring you 4 points in the 2011 Game of the Month Competition.
The winners of the 2011 GotM Competition will receive prizes consisting of downloadable games from gog.com, as well as a special badge visible in your profile as well as on your post bits.

DIRECTIONS
1) Download the zip file (at the bottom of this post) and place it into your main game directory. usually this is: Crogram FilesFiraxis GamesSid Meier's Alpha Centauri
2) Unzip it there. Confirm overwrite if asked (ONLY FOR WINDOWS USERS)!
3) Start up SMAC, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then go to the subdirectory "1107 First Strikes" and choose the scenario.
4) The game will automatically load with the Drones and you will see a briefing. You can bring back the briefing at any time during the game by pressing the '=' key.

*Note: the scenario is made for Transcend difficulty level.
---
Note: contest over by now.

Alpha Centauri 2 - GotM July 2011: Drones secession wars - part 1 "First Strikes"

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: Battlefield Earth Scenario
SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX
Author: Googlie
Date of original posting: unknown
Original host site: Rynn's Gallery

1/2/12: There is no description with this scenario: if someone plays it please let me know so I can update it accordingly.

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: Orbital Wars playtest
SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX
Author: Googlie
Date of original posting: unknown
Original host site: Rynn's Gallery

From the text files it comes with, it appears that it is designed to test satellite combat.

There is also a bug in it when I tried playing it. If I pick the Gaians the first unit I am given to move is a Supply Crawler if I push O the game crashes. If I tell the unit to wait or select a different unit then come back to it later in the turn I can use the O command without problem.

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: The Axis Awakens
SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX
Author: Googlie
Date of original posting: unknown
Original host site: Rynn's Gallery

The text files say it is a single player version of a PBEM game where you can play as the Hive, Spartans, or Believers. They are allied against 4 AI's. However I tried starting a game as the Spartans and they were not allied to the Believers only the Hive.

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: Odyssey
SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX
Author: Darsnan
Date of original posting: 8/4/13
Original host site: WePlayCiv

Directions
1) In your Scenarios subdirectory create a folder called "Odyssey", and download and unzip the “Odyssey” files into it.
2) Start up SMAX, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then go to the subdirectory "Odyssey" and choose the scenario. The game will automatically load with the Peace Keepers.


Background
Other than hosting a small scientific outpost, the Morgrath solar system has been an unassuming backwater in the human confederation of planets. But recently a nearby anomaly called the Vemushan Artifact, an immense ice crystal cloud of indeterminate origin, has inexplicably started moving towards the Morgrath solar system and its one inhabited planet, Crete. After analyzing the density of the Vemushan Artifact and calculating its trajectory, the resident University outpost anticipates the planet Crete will be bombarded by enough water condensate from the Artifact to completely engulf all landmasses on the planet.
At the behest of the University, the Peace Keepers have dispatched a spaceship to coordinate the evacuation of Crete.


Premise
Your parents, citizens of the city New Ithika on the planet Crete, decided to honor their ancestors by naming their offspring after the heroes of ancient Greece, and so it came to pass that you were given the name Odysseus. You had never given this unusual naming ritual a second thought until the events of the last few days had unfolded: because of your position in the planetary government you had been tasked with being the liaison between the Crete planetary government and the U.N. Relocation mission headed by the spaceship Argos. After boarding the Argos to coordinate the planetary evacuation effort, the spaceship was attacked by a nannite-based weapon, disabling the spaceship and forcing it to crash-land onto the far side of Crete. During the descent to the planet the escape pods were ejected, haphazardly crashlanding on a remote coast on the farside of the planet.
Now, after taking nominal command of the surviving forces, you turn from your battleship's helm and stare out across the sea to the distant horizon. Somewhere out there is your home, and your family, both in mortal danger from the coming apocalypse. But there is one small, desperate hope at rescue remaining: the con from the Argos is still broadcasting. If that element of the ship survived, then perhaps other pieces of the ship survived re-entry, as well. You must gather the surviving elements of the expedition, locate the Argos and determine if the Stasis Chamber and Booster Rocket can be salvaged from the wreckage. It is a longshot at rescue, but with the remnants of the Argos crew looking to you for rescue you must lead and undertake a journey of epic proportions across the surface of your planet to the one functional spaceport – a journey, which if you survive, will truly be an odyssey rivaling that of yor!
Overwhelmed by the moment you shout out to the sea "I am Odysseus, and I will see my homeland again!".

Your Communications officers have homed in on the location of the Argos con (it is in the lower left hand corner of the map). Now you must gather your forces and salvage whatever artifacts you can from the Argos wreckage.


Rules
The object of the game is to get the Stasis Chamber and Booster Rocket to the DRACa at the spaceport. As such here are the rules for the game:
1. If the spaceport is destroyed, you lose the game.
2. If the DRACa (Drop Re-entry Assault Carrier - armored) is destroyed, you lose the game (Warning: there are no facilities on this planet to repair the DRACa).
3. If your Faction is eliminated, you lose the game.
4. If the Stasis Chamber or Booster Rocket are destroyed, you lose the game.
5. You cannot break your Pact with the University in order to teleport your units home.
6. You cannot build a city on top of the spaceport to protect it.

Other than that, enjoy the game!

Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank wgabrie for providing the textures for the game - I have always loved his texture update!

If anyone would like to re-host this scenario at the other SMACX sites, please feel free to do so. I only ask that credit be given to myself, and wgabrie for the graphics.

D

Changelog
The following are some (but not all) of the changes to the alphax.txt file:

#RULES

- Max Artillery Range is now 4.
- Combat % -> intrinsic base defense now at 40%
- Combat in range of friendly sensor has been increased to 30%

#RESOURCEINFO
- Ocean squares yield 1/1/1.
- Monoliths give 2/3/2
- Boreholes induce -2 nutrients: simulates the horrendous working conditions the laborers have to endure down in the holes.

#CHASSIS
- Needlejet movement has been reduced to 6.
- Copter movement has been reduced to 4.

#WEAPONS
- most weapon values have been reduced by one.

#DEFENSES
- most armor values have been increased by one.

#UNITS
There are 44 units in the alphax.txt for this game. Because this is a themed scenario, I would recommend not viewing these beforehand.

#FACILITIES
To simulate a different environment than that of SMACX I've renamed some of the Centauri-specific facilities.

FACTIONS
There has been heavy modification to the factions involved in this game. One item is that all factions have been given the ability to capture native units.

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: Hammertime
SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX
Author: Darsnan
Date of original posting: 7/20/14
Original host site: WePlayCiv

BACK STORY
Location: Dynesian Low Grav Training facility, Greater Pol Sphere

Background: with a gravity of only 0.623 standard and little atmosphere, the Dynesian Low Grav facility is considered one of the best training facilities for low gravity warfare in human space.


Episode 1: Ambushed!

As they walked across the dusty planetoid surface, Brevit-Commander Antonio Al Mudeh realized the visiting Morganite dignitary had said something and was now awaiting a response. "Yes Councilor", Al Mudeh offered, "it is very typical of our organization that we form our new units with a mixture of old hands and new recruits."
"But how can you guarantee their integrity in battle?", the dignitary, Councilor Leonidas, responded, getting quickly to the point, "You have nothing to back your claim as to how they will perform as a unit under the rigors of an actual combat situation". Leonidas stopped and turned to face Al Mudeh in order to highlight his point, "you understand, we are not in the habit of hiring 'show battalions' . The units we contract with will be expected to go and fight where we tell them to, and under extreme and varied environments. A physical unit with a proven record of working together in such environments would be viewed much more favorably than a group of soldiers just picked up off the streets". Leonidas turned and resumed walking, inviting Al Mudeh to respond.
Al Mudeh had enough experience with civilians to understand that the conversation was now more about the contract, and the price he could get for his brigade of troops, than the surface insult which had been directed at him. He turned and walked with Leonidas, "Oh, I agree Councilor, units with experience should be able command more for their services” Al Mudeh paused to emphasize his point, before continuing, “for instance, The Legion deserves every credit their outfit earns: they’ve drawn some of the worst assignments on record, and have come out with a stellar record.” Al Mudeh’s oblique point as to how much it would cost to hire The Legion’s services made, he redirected the conversation, “However the contract you submitted to my organization specifically stated that it would involve deployment to a low gravity environment, and my unit was assembled specifically with that request in mind”. Al Mudeh motioned to the units displayed before them in parade formation, their combat armor in Garrison mode, “All these troopers have experience in low grav combat”. Al Mudeh continued, pointing to the armored chest on one of the Infantrymen before them, “and one of the methods we use to build cohesion within our units is to allow soldiers to wear citations they’ve earned in previous operations”.
Leonidas studied the citations on the trooper’s chest. One emblem caught his attention, “I’ve seen that before – what is that?”
“That citation was for the defense of New Stalingrad”, Al Mudeh answered, hoping Leonidas would pick up on the fact Al Mudeh had taken the time as commander to know each of his soldiers and their backgrounds.
“Oh really”, Leonidas responded, “I heard at one point in the battle they used dead combat troopers to fortify their foxholes – the frozen corpses were enough to stop railgun rounds”. Leonidas turned his attention to the trooper before him, “Is this true?”
There was a slight pause from the trooper, the eyes lost focus for a second and a far away look passed over her face, as if she relived the ghosts of those moments one more time, before the steel of the combat veteran returned, “Yes sir, that was true”.
Leonidas nodded. His question answered, he resumed walking down the line of soldiers, “and what about you, Commander? You seem a little young to be commanding a Brigade of combat troops”.
Al Mudeh resisted stating that all his officers’ dossiers were provided to Leonidas as part of the contract proposal. “I graduated as an officer candidate out of the Variable G Warfare School on Neumar”.
“Ah, always wanted to lead drop troopers, eh?”
Al Mudeh nodded, “I’ve made fifteen orbital assaults since then, ten at the company level leading combat troops. I was then promoted to battalion HQ”. Al Mudeh paused to let Leonidas consider this, before continuing, “on the last drop my HQ was wiped out and I assumed command of the battalion”.
“Ah yes, the Darneth Affair. You weren’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer there, were you?”
So Leonidas had at least glanced at Al Mudeh’s dossier! “In a low gravity environment speed and mobility are paramount. I took advantage of this more so than my adversaries”.
“If I recall correctly you achieved the objective by leading the survivors of your drop and systematically eliminating the other assault forces”.
Al Mudeh shrugged, “When the other assault forces weren’t trying to secure the objective, they were too busy trying to attack me where I had been, and not where I would be. This made them predictable in their movements”.
“Some might say your adversaries merely underestimated your ragtag group”.
Now it was Al Mudeh’s turn to smile, “Would you underestimate me, Councilor?”
Deciding this was not going to be a profitable approach to the conversation, Leonidas took a different tack, “as you had stated earlier, our contract involves a low gravity environment. It also involves the defense of a specific objective, which your troops would be assigned to protect against any incursions onto the planetoid surface”.
“A garrison assignment?”, Al Mudeh asked skeptically, “and you feel you need an entire brigade to protect this facility?”
“Let’s just say the issue of ownership of this facility may come into question during your assignment”, Leonidas responded, before continuing, “thus we have brought you here to our corporation's training facility”.
Al Mudeh nodded, “you want to assess our capabilities under a similar environment”.
“Yes”, Leonidas agreed, “you say that your soldiers have experience in low gravity environments, and you say that your unit can fight cohesively in this environment, but you have no proof of this" Leonidas paused, before continuing, "what my corporation intends to ascertain is whether your claims are factual or not". Leonidas took a step back and made a flourish with his arm, "and thus today's demonstration".
Al Mudeh studied Leonidas for a second. The man had gone passive, a faint smile tugging at the sides of his mouth. "I'm not following".
"When your brigade arrived we had them armed with simulators".
"Yes - you claimed you wanted a demonstration in marksmanship. We are ready to begin whenever you wish".
A new voice piped in over Al Mudeh's command channel, "Sir, tracking multiple bogeys approaching from the north".
Al Mudeh's eyes narrowed as he continued to scrutinize Leonidas: the man remained passive, however the smile on the corners of his lips seemed slightly more pronounced, as if the man was enjoying a private joke. Understanding swept over Al Mudeh - this was the "demonstration"! He snapped into command mode, "All units attack plan Delta", Al Mudeh took a second to assess the map data his combat suit's HUD was feeding him, then "Infantry, bearing West North West, Armor bearing West!"
The units before him responded: almost as one the combat armor of the individual soldiers went from garrison mode to field deployment, their combat suits' choosing the camouflage patterns best suited for the surrounding barren terrain. Infantry began deploying forward in skirmisher mode, while the turrets of the mobile artillery began slewing towards the danger, their tracked vehicles then beginning to follow the infantry.
The armor, the last to respond, moved slowly out from the surrounding garrison area. "Your not going to have your armor engage the threat?", Leonidas asked?
"Its overkill", Al Mudeh responded, pointing for emphasis to his receding infantry who were already approaching the near horizon of the planetoid, "in the low grav environment infantry can cover significant ground, and with the artillery support they are more than comparable to a battalion of hovertanks".
Al Mudeh's command com squawked to life again, "Commander, we are tracking incoming long range artillery".
Al Mudeh turned a quizzical eye to Leonidas, "how are you simulating an artillery strike?", he demanded.
Leonidas was taken aback, the smile fading from his face to be replaced by a puzzled frown, "I.... I don't know", the Councilor responded, "no one said anything about an artillery simulation".
Again Al Mudeh's eyes narrowed as he assessed things, "come with me" he said to Leonidas, and for emphasis he grabbed the collar of the Councilor's environmental suit and began dragging him towards the nearest bunker. Simultaneously Al Mudeh barked into this command com, "Trajectory?"
"Sir, projectiles just clearing the horizon now". A slight pause, then "Parabolic calculated: they are targeting your position. Repeat: HQ targeted!".
Al Mudeh reached the bunker and pulled Leonidas in behind him, and they hunkered down and waited. The final few seconds ticked off as the incoming rounds, bound by Newtonian physics, descended towards their position, and only at the last did the rounds become audible, screaming in through the thin atmosphere and detonating on their position.
The concussions shook the bunker, knocking Leonidas to the ground. Al Mudeh rode through the reverberations, his attention completely on his command channel, "Report", he demanded as the last of the detonations subsided.
"Minor injuries", the reply came, "they were targeting the parade ground - good call moving the unit out".
Al Mudeh ignored the compliment, "Belay the Infantry orders - tell them to skirmish Zebra. Repeat: Skirmish Zebra"
"Skirmish Zebra - acknowledged", then, more urgently, "Sir, more artillery being tracked. Same trajectory".
Al Mudeh turned to Leonidas. His eyes had narrowed again, but now there was a look of complete rage on the commander's face, "I have my soldiers moving towards what they believe is a simulated engagement", he paused in order to add emphasis, "but this is a trap, isn't it, Councilor?"
Leonidas, still on the ground from the last aftershock, looked up at the enraged commander, "I have no idea what you are talking about", he began, "its true that we wanted to see how you would respond to a surprise attack, but that was all it was intended to be - a simulated attack!". Leonidas cringed as Al Mudeh then took another step towards him in response, looming threateningly over him, "If any of your soldiers are killed, we will of course compensate you accordingly!" , Leonidas said almost pleadingly.
Al Mudeh's contempt reached its limit, "Morganite!" he spat contemptuously at the prostrate man before him. Then, regaining his control, he pulled a data pad from his combat armor, "then you will have no issues signing the contract". Al Mudeh proferred the tablet to Leonidas, "this will allow me to switch my men to live fire mode and protect themselves".
" I don't have the authority to sign this!", Leonidas protested.
"Then we are all going to die, Councilor", Al Mudeh responded. The second volley of incoming artillery rounds reached their target and began detonating on the parade grounds outside, nearer this time. The concussions again rocked the bunker, adding emphasis to Al Mudeh's words. The Councilor, just barely recovering from the first round of explosions, was again tossed around from the reverberations. He noted Al Mudeh rode through the concussions and remained standing - no doubt a product of the man's training in variable gravity warfare.
The command com came to life again, "Incoming rounds clearing the horizon, this time in force", the man responded, before adding, "they've bracketed us".
As the last of the previous round of concussions subsided Leonidas looked up at Al Mudeh. The command com was still open, and in the background the screams and moans of the injured could be heard. Al Mudeh stared back at Leonidas, the tablet still profered. Leonidas locked eyes with Al Mudeh for a second, and knew it was a mistake. Gone were the soft outlines from the face of the diplomat Antonio Al Mudeh, replaced by the barely controlled fury of a combat soldier. Leonidas closed his eyes and looked away, relenting. He sub vocalized a command, sending his acceptance of the contract to Al Mudeh, "its done. I've accepted the contact".
Al Mudeh waited for the electronic receipt, then reviewed Leonidas' acceptance of the contract. Once satisfied, he accessed the command com. "Joaquim".
"Yes Commander?"
"Unleash Hell".

PREMISE
You are Commander Anthony Al Mudeh, newly promoted commander for your mercenary organization, and your unit is currently being evaluated for employment into a low grav environment. However something has gone horribly wrong with the simulation: instead of the AIs using the simulator weapons, they are firing live ammunition! It is now up to you Commander to respond: your job is to knock out the enemy bases!

OBJECTIVES
1. Destroy the initial Peace Keeper attack.
2. Immediately locate and conquer the simulator "Peace Keeper" bases.
3. Destroy all remaining AI units, to include all Hunter-Killer Satellites in near-orbit

Changelog

The alphax.txt file for this game has been set up for a low grav environment, with some of the more notable modifications as follows:

#RULES
- Movement rate along roads is now 4. Rationale: simulation of a low grav environment
- Max Artillery range is 6. Rationale: simulation of a low grav environment
- Max Airdrop is 15 tiles. Rationale: simulation of a low grav environment.
#TERRAIN
- all terraforming has been disabled. Rationale: this is a training simulator, so there are no terraforming tools available. If you lose a terrain enhancement at one of your bases, there is no way to replace it!
#CHASSIS
- Infantry, Speeder, and Hovertank movements have been increased by one. Rationale: simulation of a low grav environment.
- there are no choppers or aircraft. Rationale: there is negligible atmosphere on this planetoid, so aircraft cannot fly.
- there is a missile-based drone available immediately for you to build. Rationale: in a low-grav environment missiles require less lift.
#WEAPONS
- Conventional Warhead changed to 6. Rationale: scenario balancing
- the Tectonic weapon value has been changed to 7. Rationale: aesthetics
#UNITS
- the only unit I am going to go in-depth about here is the E-Drone Mk1. This is a reconnaissance drone designed specifically for low grav/ low atmospheric environments. The unit has a missile chassis, as well as drop pods for extended range. Also, because it is flying high above the ground, it has enhanced visibility of the surrounding terrain. The E-Drone Mk1 has limited offensive and defensive abilities: because it is a military craft, the chassis is hardened (armor value of 3-Pulse), and offensively it has a weapon value of 6, so it can put out a punch, however as with all missiles it is destroyed once it attacks.
#FACILITIES
- Recon Satellites are available with Industrial base.
- Hunter-Killer Satellites are available with Applied Physics.
FACTIONS
- the Spartan Faction has been modified to receive a free Aerospace Complex in every base. Rationale: scenario balancing.
GAME SETUP
- no terraforming. If you lose an enhancement, its gone forever!
- Spoils of War is on.
- No native life
- no colony pods can be built
- no technology advances
- no technology trading
- no planetary council


Directions:

1. In your Alpha Centauri/ Scenarios folder create a new folder called "Hammertime".
2. Download and unzip the attached files into the subdirectory.
3. Start SMAX.
4. Select "Scenario", then "Play Scenario".
5. Navigate to the "Hammertime" subdirectory and load the scenario. It will automatically start up with the Spartans.

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: Sid and Brian (aka the "Easter Eggs game")
SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX
Author: Darsnan
Date of original posting: 11/7/15
Original host site: WePlayCiv

A couple months ago a player named slaughterfish had mentioned that he had been playing around with one of the hidden Firaxian factions that comes with SMACX, and it got me to thinking that no one had ever made a scenario with these hidden factions, so once I got the opportunity I thought I'd whip up a scenario with them in it, and here it is! These two hidden Firaxian Factions are also referred to as "Easter Eggs", which got me to thinking that I'd include some of the other Easter Eggs which come with SMACX. So in this game you will also find the following:
- the original default cvr image of the mindworms
- the original default cvr image of the alien artifact
- the image I believe was designed to represent a skybase
- the natural landmark called "Nessus Canyon"

I've modified the "Sid" and "Brian" factions to make them playable by removing the free "Superstring Theory" technology and replacing it with "Industrial Base". Otherwise these factions are exactly the way they came with the game.

Directions:
1) In your "scenarios" subdirectory create a folder called "S and B", and download and unzip the attached files into it.
2) Start up Alien Crossfire, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then
select the scenario "S and B". The game is set up to allow you to choose your own difficulty level, and then you can choose to play either Sid or Brian.

Hope you enjoy!

D

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: Heah You Kids Get Off My Planet!

SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX

Author: Darsnan

Date of original posting: 4/14/19

Original host site: WePlayCiv



Foreword: Alpha Centauri was never meant to be played as the 8th Faction. As such I've had to make a lot of allowances in this game, as well issue a lot of warnings to the player: these are documented below and should be reviewed before starting the game.


Premise

A planet drifts through the void, endlessly circling its primary. Sometimes a companion star encroaches, adding its light to the circling worlds, only to slowly drift deeper into space once more. Millennia turn to eons, and eons to epochs, and still the planet continues its endless journey. Until one day one of the lesser creatures of this world encounters something that is different. The creature stalks the strange craft, and as its kind had been primordially taught to do, it attacked and captured the strange craft. Having accomplished the task its primeval drive had been programmed to do, the creature wasn’t sure how to proceed, until a voice it had never heard before but instantly recognized spoke, “bring it to Me”.


You are Eywa, all knowing, all seeing, and master of this world. As the lesser creature you had created eons ago escorted the strange craft back to you, you reach out to probe the strange minds within: at first you thought it was the return of the false prophets who had long ago claimed to be your creators, but upon closer examination these beings are different, and if anything even more primitive. As the craft nears you notice a lot of the creatures on the strange craft have succumbed to the fungus your minion used to commandeer their minds with: some you can barely recognize the outlines of their former bodies, the fungus having completely absorbed them. However one of the strange creatures seems less effected by the fungus than the others, so you sift through the creatures memories, and find they are from a world ruined by its kind’s greed and recklessness towards the cradle of their birth. You query the creature, “you would do the same to this world?”.

“Yes”, the creature’s fungus-addled brain answers honestly.

“No”, you reply, “this will not happen on My world”.


Objective: you are Eywa, and your mission is to rid Planet of the blight that is Humanity.

Game Settings

- Small Map.

- Abundant Native Lifeforms selected.

- Difficulty Level: Librarian.

- Planetary Council has been disabled due to a bug causing crashes.

- No Colony Pods or Seabases can be built.

- Intense Rivalry selected.

- Blind Research selected.

- Tech Stagnation is on.

- Game is played in Editor mode due to a graphics bug in regular mode.


Other Observations

- Cities belonging to the 8th Faction can only produce one unit, called a Wraith. Trying to change production in cities belonging to the 8th Faction crashes the game.

- Cities belonging to the 8th Faction do accrue ECs: these cannot be used to rush units, but can be used for probe actions.

- The Headquarters building will need to be disabled in your alphax.txt file, otherwise you cannot kill the defenders within cities containing Headquarters buildings (the game won't allow units to be killed). Directions on how to do this are listed below.

- A player playing as the 8th Faction cannot conquer other player's cities, and once a unit from the 8th Faction enters another player's city all adjacent 8th Faction units disappear. Workaround directions on how to a) kill other players cities, and b) how to replace your vanished units are listed below.

- Sealurks and Isles of the Deep are equipped with the Marine Detachment, meaning they can commandeer units from other Factions.

- Wraith units are amphibious, meaning they can attack from the sea.

- You can negotiate peace with the other players, for what its worth.

- Do not select the F1 - FX buttons, as this will crash the game.



Directions on how to "conquer" a city and replace units which disappeared

1. After destroying the last defender in a city take inventory of the units you have around the city, including morale level of each unit. Then invade the city with one of your units. Immediately all of your adjacent within two tiles will disappear from the map.

2. Right-click on the map and place the cursor next to the city.

3. Press Shift-F1, select "Player", then "Aliens", and choose "OK".

4. Locate the Wraith in the menu and click on that entry: a Wraith unit will appear in the cursor-marked square.

5. Invade the city with it, knocking the population down by one.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 until the city disappears.

7. Using the inventory you did in step 1, right-click on the map to place the cursor where needed to replace the first disappeared units.

8. Press Shift-F1 and place the desired unit onto the selected tile.

9. Referring to the morale of the unit as noted in step 1, right-click on the unit and select "Morale": choose the corresponding morale level from the value noted in step 1.

10. Repeat steps 7-9 for all additional units which had disappeared.


Directions on how to disable the Headquarters building

1. Open a folder window, and go to the Firaxis Games/ Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri subdirectory.

2. Open the alphax.txt file using Notepad.

3. Locate the Headquarters entry, and update as follows:

Headquarters, 5, 0, Disable, Disable, Efficiency

4. Save the update.

5. Once done playing this game, to re-enable the Headquarters building make the following change:

Headquarters, 5, 0, None, Disable, Efficiency

Directions on playing the game
1. Download the attached file, unzip, and place into your .../Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/ saves subdirectory.
2. Start Alien Crossfire, select "Load", and load HYKGOMP.SAV.
3. Game will automatically start up with the 8th Faction, and in Scenario Editor mode.

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: Winter Solstice 2018: The Tenth Manifold

SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX

Author: Darsnan

Date of original posting: 12/21/2018

Original host site: WePlayCiv



In honor of Chaos Theory: RIP my old friend - you are not forgotten! I hope you look down upon this, and that it makes you smile.



In Defense of All that is Holy!
In response to Devine direction from the Protector High Priest, the Progenitor Faithful activated Manifold Ten, and then awaited word from their brethren across the cosmos and how their corresponding Manifolds had fared in their attempt to contact the Devine Creator. However days then dragged into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, and still no contact from their far-flung Progenitor brethren. Finally the Protector ordered the People into stasis, to await the day of the reawakening of the Progenitor people. The Protector himself would assume the throne of the Manifold Ten and stand guard over the people while they slept the eons away.

Protector Jaa'hroooon settled himself into the Prayer Seat located within the Great Communal Hall and sent a command to Manifold Ten to envelope the throne room in a partial stasis field. Within the bubble of slowed time Jaa'hroooon used the powers of the Manifold to project his senses out amongst the stars, searching for any sign of his People's return. Ages swept by in the blink of an eye, and as the slowed time continued to progress Jaa'hroooon watched branch after branch of the galactic arms slowly march across the sky, while individual stars dramatically flared and died, their lives spent . And still Jaa'hroooon sat upon the throne, communing with the Manifold while he patiently waited for word from his People.

And suddenly it was real-time again! Jaa'hroooon had given the Manifold orders to immediately stop the stasis if it detected an imminent threat, and it appeared that threshold had been met. Jaa'hroooon allowed his senses to be directed by the Manifold to several tiny specks of light descending through the planetoids thin atmosphere. The Manifold began correlating data and projecting images directly into Jaa'hroooon's mind, and from their descent Jaa'hroooon could tell the specks were artificial in nature. Using the Manifold's probing abilities Jaa'hroooon reached within each of the vessels to probe the minds of those that would dare intrude upon the holy ground that was Manifold Ten, and as Jaa'hroooon sifted the uncomplex minds of the heathen aliens he sensed simple, barbaric drives of greed and unfettered hatred towards his species. And Jaa'hroooon realized with a start that they knew of other Progenitors! Jaa'hroooon looked forward to extracting knowledge from these creatures regarding the fate of his People amongst the stars, and why these primitive creatures hated Progenitor so deeply! Jaa'hroooon had sensed enough and broke contact. It was time to wake the people and prepare them for battle...



Objectives: destroy all of the alien (read: Human) invaders of Manifold 10! And extra special bonus points if Manifold 10 is still operational at the end of the game. :-)



Many thanx for wgabrie for the artwork!



Directions:

1. In your scenarios subdirectory create a new subdirectory called "X", and download and unzip the attached files into it.

Start Alien Crossfire, then select Scenario, Play Scenario, and load "X". The game will then let you choose the difficulty level you wish to play.

Enjoy!

D



Game Setup:

The way I've organized this is by the sections of the alphax.txt, so if you open the file (I use Word Pad) you can search on the key word and follow along.

#RULES
- Movement rate along roads changed from 3 to 4. Rationale: lower gravity increases movement. Also this assists the AI in that they can more quickly congregate units at threatened points in their empire.

- Max artillery range changed from 2 to 4. Rationale: lower gravity increases artillery distance. The AI will use this on occasion. Forewarned is forearmed in this case! (Note: you will need Scient's patch or better, as this does not work in the base game).

- Max airdrop decreased from 8 to 6. Rationale: flying around a battlefield is exponentially more dangerous than for planet or sea-bound military units, as drop units are exposed to a larger field of enemy units while airborne. In a low grav environment these dangers are compounded even moreso: from battle damage, malfunction, or just plain inexperience while airborne, a drop trooper can literally reach escape velocity much more easily and be lost forever in the depths of space. Thus the decision has been made to lessen the strength and duration of a drop pod's thrusters in low grav environments.

- Intrinsic base defense increased from 25 to 40. Rationale: benefits the AIs as they are typically on the defensive.

#RESOURCE INFO
- Boreholes changed to have a -2 nutrient intake. Rationale: simulates the horrid conditions workers face while slaving away in the boreholes (i.e. this "fits" with the darker theme present throughout Alpha Centauri).

#CHASSIS
- Infantry movement changed from 1 to 2, Speeder changed from 2 to 3, and Hovertanks changed from 3 to 4. Rationale: lower gravity increases movement.
- Hovertank chassis now available at Monopole Magnets. Rationale: with the decreased gravity hovertanks become available more quickly.

- Needlejets and copter chassis disabled. Rationale: the thin atmosphere of a moon or small planetoid is not dense enough to support roto nor winged aircraft.

- Missile chassis movement decreased to 8. Rationale: similar to drop pods, missiles face a greater visibility and threat matrix while flying through the air, especially with continually being confronted with the dangers that lie just over the near-horizon as the missiles transit towards their targets. Thus the decision has been made to decrease their distance, effectively telling commanders "use missiles wisely".
- Missile chassis is now available at Doctrine: Air Power. Rationale: with the decreased gravity rockets become available more quickly.

#WEAPONS
- Conventional Payload available at DocAir. Rationale: with the decreased gravity rockets become available more quickly.

- Planet Buster has been disabled. Rationale: on smaller moons or planetoids the detonation(s) of planet busters are actually significant enough to change the trajectory/ orbits of these bodies, and so are strictly prohibited from use.

#ABILITIES
- Air Superiority disabled. Rationale: not needed since there are no aircraft in this game.

- AAA Tracking: moved to DocAir. Rationale: need to start building units ASAP that can defend against missiles!

#UNITS
- Crawler has been removed from this section – you will have to prototype your first crawler yourself. Rationale: crawlers are overpowered human exploits, so this is in a small way benefiting the AIs.

- There are several new units available to build. I’d suggest reviewing them to get a feel for what you will be facing in this game. Of note are the following:

A) Missile Frigate available at DocAir

B) Drop Trooper Mk1 available at DocAir

C) Chaos Battletank available at Fusion

D) The Battle Ogre Mk3 has been replaced by a "Drop Re-entry Assault Carrier - armored" (or "DRACa Mk3"), which is a missile troop transport. Still haven't figured out where to place this, but right now I'm thinking it is going to replace the Planet Buster.

E) Seawolf Attack Submarine available at Superconductor

F) Missile Mk1 available at DocAir

G) Resonance Probe available at Field Modulation

#FACILITIES

- Virtual World moved to Social Psycholoy. Rationale: watering down the beeline to Industrial Autmation.

- Cloudbase Academy: moved to Monopole Magnets. Rationale: watering down the beeline to MMI.

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: One if by Land, Two if by Sea

SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX

Author: Darsnan

Date of original posting: 8/24/2014

Original host site: WePlayCiv



Welcome to the SMAX Spartans Scenario "One if by Land, 2 if by Sea". History on this one is that I recently CMN'd a PBEM for Kirov and Kataphraktoi, and while playtesting the PBEM I thought to myself that this would make a great scenario. This game is the result.

Highlight of this scenario is that it uses a low grav mod in that movement values for most units have been increased by one. And the only other thing I'm going to say about that is that its a good thing that the Spartans get to use 2 military units for Police purposes!





Directions



1) In your SMACX Scenarios subdirectory create a folder called "1 Land_2 Sea", and download and unzip the “1 Land_2 Sea” files into it.

2) Start up SMAX, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then go to the subdirectory "1 Land_2 Sea" and choose the scenario. The game will automatically load with the Spartans.







Changelog



The alphax.txt file for this game is using a low grav mod, with a majority of the various chassis receiving +1 movement. Infantry now move 2, Speeders 3, Hovertanks 4, etc. Other notable changes are listed below:



#RULES

- Max Artillery Range is 6: the AI rarely uses it, however it is "in theme" for a low grav mod in that ballistics should be able to travel further in a low gravity environment. Have fun with it!



#RESOURCEINFO

- Ocean squares yield 1/1/1.

- Monoliths give 2/3/2



#WORLDBUILDER

- Global Warming has been reduced significantly.



#CHASSIS

- As noted above most chassis have increased movement points.



#DEFENSES

- most defensive armor types have been increased by one.



#UNITS

- There are 41 units in the alphax.txt for this game. It is advised to review these units at game startup, and develop your strategies accordingly.

- Several of the base units (such as Colony Pods, Probes, Scouts) have been aquatized, meaning they have the Amphibious Pods ability.

- The 8th Faction has been replaced by my own set of units called the Sentinels.





#FACILITIES

- The Virtual World has been moved to Social Psychology. Rationale: watering down the beeline to Industrial Automation.

- The Cloudbase Academy has been moved to Monopole Magnets. Rationale: watering down MMI.



FACTIONS

AI factions have been modified to make them more challenging.



D

[Darsnan]

Scenario Name: Sid-n-Me

SMAC/ SMAX: SMAX

Author: Darsnan

Date of original posting: 7/10/2020

Original host site: WePlayCiv





"Hello there, would you like to colonize a world with me?".

You can't believe your eyes -The Sid Meier is asking you to colonize a world with him! You stand there dumbfounded looking at the vidscreen for a second before responding, "yes, yes, absolutely yes!".

Sid smiles, nods, then says "The shuttle leaves docking bay 9 in an hour. Be on it". The line goes dead.

You immediately send out a communique to your underlings outlining the plan, then jump on packing. Twice you trip over half-packed suitcases, but you make it out the door and to the holding pen just in the nick of time. In the few spare seconds you have you check your pockets to ensure you didn't forget anything: yup, the datapad with Sid's comlink is secure in your front pocket, along with an EC chip with enough credits to buy an additional supply unit for your Faction. You start to run down the pre-boarding checklist when the bay's loading lights flash from green to red indicating the gates will open any second now, and suddenly for some reason you get a dark epiphany in the bottom of your stomach: Sid is a consummate gamer, so why in the universe would he invite you of all people? Was it because he'd seen your exceptional schooling marks as well as what you'd accomplished since entering the workforce, or what if the real reason he invited you was because he sees you as an easy mark?

The loading siren blares and immediately the gates swing open. The crush of humanity, eager for a better life on one of the colony worlds, surges forward, and your carried along like a stick in the current. There is no turning back now, the die is cast, and your fate awaits you on some planet you'd never even heard of just an hour before....



Directions:

1. In your scenarios subdirectory create a new subdirectory called "Sid_n_Me", and download and unzip the attached files into it.

2. Start Alien Crossfire, then select Scenario, Play Scenario, and load "Sid_n_Me". The game will load with you as the Peace Keepers (which starts with Sid's commlink! ), and then will let you choose the difficulty level you wish to play.

Enjoy!

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

YOUR MISSION:
Brother-General Tristan, you need to capture New Jerusalem to end the conflict.
However, you should reduce civilian losses as much as possible.
Each population unit in an original Believer base (whether you captured it or not) counts towards the score of this Game of the Month.

STANDINGS FOR THE January 2012 GotM COMPETITION:
The standings will be calculated using the following criteria (in this exact order):
- difficulty level;
- number of turns needed to reach the objective;
- total population of the Believers (the more, the better).

Meaning:
The games played on lesser difficulty level won't be able to beat a superior level.
On the same difficulty level, the scenario completed in less turns will outweigh the others.
If the objective was reached in the same number of turns, the total population of the Believers will be the tie-breaker.

2012 GotM COMPETITION
The three best results will receive points for the 2012 GotM Competition:
The best result will bring you a 'Gold victory' and 4 points in the 2012 Game of the Month Competition as well as a special badge visible in your profile and your post bits.
The second best result will bring you a 'Silver victory' and 2 points in the 2012 Game of the Month Competition.
The third best result will bring you a 'Bronze victory' and 1 point in the 2012 Game of the Month Competition.

PRIZES:
The winners of the 2012 GotM Competition will receive prizes consisting of downloadable games from gog.com.

All gog.com prizes are courtesy of alphacentauri2.info.

DIRECTIONS
1) Download the zip file (at the bottom of this post) and place it into your main game directory. usually this is: C:/Program Files/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/
2) Unzip it there. Confirm overwrite if asked (ONLY FOR WINDOWS USERS)!
3) Start up SMAC, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then go to the subdirectory "LEGotM" and choose the scenario.

GOOD LUCK!

*Note: this scenario is made for Librarian difficulty level.

Download link: http://alphacentauri2.info/downloads/?sa=downfile&id=29

*Important: for everything concerning submissions, AARs, prizes please use this thread: http://alphacentauri2.info/command-nexus/january-2012-lost-eden-gotm-stranger-in-a-strange-world-(smac)/ or use this email address: submissions [ @ ] alphacentauri2 [ . ] info

*Kind of important: please use the [ spoiler ] [ /spoiler ] tags if you want to talk about strategies. some players want to give it a try before reading the others' experiences.

*For the full Lost Eden mod, and discussion of same, see this thread.

*The most important: if seeing an anatomically correct Poke'mon with no britches on will ruin your day, best not to download this - if your curiosity gets the better of you, you were warned.

Alpha Centauri 2 - GotM Jan 2012: Lost Eden - Stranger in a Strange World (SMAC) - Librarian

Alpha Centauri 2 - GotM Jan 2012: Lost Eden - Stranger in a Strange World (SMAC) - Transcend

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

OBJECTIVES
For GotM 1202, any base on the map counts as an objective.
As Governor of the Eastern region of Gaian Territory, you will have to conquer all Spartan bases
at the East of the Freshwater Sea.
You will be eligible for the GotM even if you don't achieve all your objectives. The minimum requirement is 1 (one) conquered/subverted base.

This is a SMAC scenario, you don't need the expansion - Alien Crossfire - to play it.

Estimated time of play: 2-3 hours, but you can double that if you're a fan of micromanagement.


DIRECTIONS
1) Download the zip file (see link on top) and place it into your main game directory. usually this is: C:/Program Files/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/
2) Unzip it there. Confirm overwrite if asked (ONLY FOR WINDOWS USERS)!
3) Start up SMAC, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then go to the subdirectory "1202 Warcrimes Reverse" and choose the scenario.
4) Enjoy!


WARNING!
You cannot build additional bases in this scenario. The Gaian people are afraid to relocate closer to the Spartan border because of the recent warcrimes. You will have to 'clean' the shores of the Freshwater Sea before the colonists will arrive.
You won't be able to direct the research capabilities of the Gaian Territory or trade techs with the other factions. Remember you are 'only' a Governor! (Of course, you can always steal the precious techs available to the Spartan forces).
There's no Planetary Council in this scenario. This stuff is only available for the 'guys in the big league' (faction leaders). However you will be able to contact the Spartans using the commlink.

CHANGELOG
Habitat Complex available from the begining of the scenario.


GOOD LUCK!

STANDINGS FOR THE FEBRUARY 2012 GotM COMPETITION:
The standings will be calculated using the following criteria (in this exact order):
1. number of objectives reached;
2. number of turns needed to reach the objectives;
3. Alpha Centauri score.

meaning:
- on the same number of objectives, the scenario completed in less turns will outweigh the others.
- if there will be more than one submission still tied, the Alpha Centauri score will decide the winner.

*Note: all scenarios downloaded till March 8th are transcend difficulty level (even if the user interface will let you choose the difficulty level - that's because of a scenario editor bug)

Alpha Centauri 2 - GotM Feb 2012: Warcrimes II - Operation Vicissitude - Transcend

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Jack Hannah III, as Head of Security, you will have to restore order to the zoo. This means taking control of the exibit places scattered over the map. There are, of course, disgruntled animals all over the place, ready to transform your mission in a living hell.

Directions:
1) Download the zip file and place it into your main game directory. Usually this is: Crogram FilesFiraxis GamesSid Meier's Alpha Centauri
2) Unzip it there.
3) Start up SMAX, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then go to the subdirectory "1203ZookeeperGotM" and choose the scenario.
4) The game will automatically load with the Zookeepers faction.

Changelog:
Lots of things have been moded including factions, units, tech tree, native life and fungus appearance. You can discover everything using the in-game datalinks.

Important note: The ability named : ) [like the smilie] acts as the artillery ability for units that have non psi weapons and armor. This ability is also used to design units that have both psi armor and psi weapons. It will not function as artillery on psi units, but using psi units is very inexpensive in this scenario and also highly recommended for survival.

Restrictions:
- no additional "bases" can be built (you're starting with 3 such "bases": The Zoo Security HQ, The Tour Boat Start Point and The Outpost);
- no raising/lowering terrain is allowed;
- no tech trading;

Standings:
The standings will be calculated using the following criteria (in this exact order):
- the difficulty level of the scenario;
- number of objectives reached (each 'base' is an objective); you start with 3, minimum required for submission is 4, maximum is 14);
- number of turns needed to reach the objectives;
- the "Zookeeper Alpha Centauri score".

meaning:
On the same difficulty level, the player with most objectives will hold a superior position.
On the same number of objectives, the scenario completed in less turns will outweigh the others.
If there will be more than one submission still tied, the Zookeeper Alpha Centauri score will decide the winner.

*Notes:
You can check at any time the number of objectives reached using the '=' key.
The scenario ends when you get the 'Mission completed' popup. Please save before taking the last base!
Don't forget to inform us on the moves needed to complete the mission (if any).

---
Note: this one did very poorly for getting tried, presumably because of the silly-looking Futurama title art. Well, it's Hell Difficulty, an old hand said the thing gave him nightmares, and it had Angry Birds just before they were briefly cool/popular, and they were a big part of the nightmare..

Alpha Centauri 2 - GotM Mar 2012: Zookeepers - Transcend