Alpha Centauri 2 - New Faction Concepts Inspired by Beyond Earth

[Trenacker]

The announcement of Beyond Earth provided the inspiration for me to take another look at the Alpha Centauri property and think about the possibilities for renewal and improvement. While I know that the development team at Firaxis is going to go in a different direction, I'm thinking about how to build a forum-based geopolitical simulation around a modified story of Planetfall.

Alpha Centauri worked for two reasons, I think. First was the real sense of innovation, as reflected in the introduction of new mechanics including elevation, weather, borders, and unit design. Second was the story, without which the game could not have been half as memorable.

I have tried to take a hard look at the original factions included in both SMAC and SMAX. I have also begun to sketch the outlines for new factions that I think could prove equally compelling.

I begin, like the original SMAC, with a catastrophic accident on U.N.S. Unity, followed by futile attempts to effect repairs. The crisis reaches a fever pitch with the murder of Garland, followed by the fragmentation of the crew along ideological cleavages and their departure from the ship amidst an orgy of looting and violence.

Generally speaking, I don't see any need to make grand revisions to the original seven factions. Probably I would amend Santiago's motivations slightly such that her goal is more the pursuit of self-reliance than power. Each of the original factions would also probably need to score out along spectrums addressing their attitude toward fraternization with neighbors (e.g., open, closed, integrationalist, isolationist), the evolution of their moral precepts (e.g., one imagines that the Morganites, with their largely instrumentalist-relativist conceptions of human relationships, emphasizing zero-sum transactions, would gradually come to acknowledge the value of contract enforcement). Finally, each of the factions would require an Affinity, borrowed from Beyond Earth: Supremacy, Purity, and Harmony. I imagine that the Morganites, University, and Hive would choose Supremacy; that the Gaians and Peacekeepers would choose Harmony; and that the Spartans and Believers would choose Purity.

As for the new factions (and here is where I am most eager to have your feedback)...

The Ascendancy. The Eugenicist. A segment of the crew, mostly scientists, were persuaded to follow the Unity's head of genetic research and bio-ethicist. Their plan is to achieve perfection through mastery of the human genome. Their chosen form of government is geniocracy. In short, they are trying to produce Khan Noonien Singh. This faction is hostile to cybernetic conceptions of man's developmental future.

The Restoration. The Savior. A segment of the crew, mostly soldiers and emergency personnel, dedicated to the restoration of contact with Earth with the intent of eventually resettling a substantial portion of Earth's population on Planet. Obviously, the idea of inviting Earth to stake a claim in Planet's future is a problematic concept from the point of view of all the other factions. Led by a flag officer not introduced in the original fiction.

The Exiled. The Exile. Convicts sentenced to "transportation," The Exiled represent a radical experiment in social engineering: an attempt to provide "fallen" persons with the opportunity to redeem themselves by "volunteering" for some of the most dangerous occupational specializations, including 'former crewman. This cryo-bay was also infiltrated by agents of a conspiracy determined to prevent the restoration of communication with Earth. The conspiracy provides the faction's leadership.

Estado Novo. The Traditionalist. A segment of the crew given over to "traditional" conceptions of social organization reflective of early twentieth century Planet Earth, including chauvinism, social Darwinism, and, not to put too fine a point on it, Fascism. The result is a timocratic dictatorship with expansionist tendencies. In some sense, this faction borrows heavily from the medieval trope of a three-tiered society: the peasant, the priest, and the warrior-nobility. Led by a flag officer not introduced in the original fiction. This faction is distinct from the Spartans by virtue of a greater allowance for paternalism, class distinction, and religiosity. Rather than promote self-reliance and the creation of an essentially "flat" society of which all members are "able," the Estado Novo begins with the idea that for some, it is to obey, and for others, to serve.

Imre-Meinertzhagen Corporation. The Investor. A competitor to Morgan Industries, and one of several contractors responsible for construction of Unity components, Imre-Meinertzhagen also provided hundreds of specialists in mining, logistics, engineering, and agriculture to join the mission to Alpha Centauri. Several Imre-Meinertzhagen managers were awakened to help oversee repairs to critical systems just prior to Garland's murder. Although many personnel chose to cast their lots with Nwabudike Morgan, and several lots of Imre-Meinertzhagen cryo-beds were loaded onto escape pods by factions eager to obtain certain critical skill sets, a certain number of Imre-Meinertzhagen personnel were rumored to have made planetfall under their own banner. Whereas Morgan has attempted to create a holistic society founded on his precepts regarding human behavior, Imre-Meinertzhagen operates as a terraforming and private military services company rather than as a standard colony per se. (Whereas, according to the original concept for SMAC, a faction without organic growth would be doomed to disappearance within a generation, the possibility of renewed contact with Earth, including follow-on expeditions, makes factions like Imre-Meinertzhagen both plausible and functional.)

The Freikorps. The Iconoclasts. A faction that operates a bit like a criminal syndicate. Probably smuggled dozens or even hundreds of acolytes on-board, much like Santiago, Morgan, and The Exiled. Really, I based this faction off House Ordos from Dune 2000: an enigmatic coalition of mercenaries, smugglers, and arms dealers who provide access to outlawed technologies. They need a better name and a coherent purpose. I suppose I imagined that their overall intent might be to provoke chaos on Planet, but the question then becomes, "Why?" rather than merely, "How?"

Sleep now. More tomorrow!

[Buster's Uncle]

Interesting ideas.

You might want to download the Network Node factions http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=102 and look through those for similar idea factions - whether to rip off or avoid duplication.  The file's really too big for our database to handle well, so you may have to be persistent about downloading.

Maniac did a faction like The Ascendancy idea with Genesis, for example, so you might want to have a look at SMAniaC, too.  http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=144

Don't be discouraged - the game's been around for a long time and reimagining is a fan tradition.  Build on older work where it suits you, tweak ideas to be different, or some of both; it's all good.  I'm keen to see your work as it goes.

My expertise is on the creative/visual side, but we've got a lot of guys who are strong with the tech, too.  Give them time to see your post, and there's a lot of help available if you want.

[Trenacker]

I appreciate both the content and the spirit of you reply!

It's to the designers' credit, I think, that seismic changes to core gameplay mechanics aren't necessarily intuitive. I managed to come up with only a few.

New Terrain Types

• Shallowseas - Very large bodies of warm, very shallow water. Inspired by the Purelake found in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive book series. Too shallow for submersibles; ideal for aquaculture and wave-skimming hovercraft.
• Sandy Desert - Arid and semi-arid barrens characterized by shifting dunes that can encroach upon other regions unprotected by shelterbelts.

Tile Improvements

I'm open to new ideas for tile improvements. I thought that there was something especially eloquent about the original game's focus on nutrients, minerals, and energy. Possibly a fourth and fifth resource could be added, namely water and a "harvestable" resource similar to Tiberium, Vespene Gas, or Spice in other science fiction settings. These resources would be obtainable only through the use of specialized "harvester" units. Rather than create a tile improvement within their borders (or a colony without), players would need to dispatch harvesters to occupy the hex in question, then transport the "ore" or "raw" resource back to an outpost or base.

Chasses

'Copter

Crawler

Cruiser

Drone

Foil

Gravship

Hovertank

Infantry

Missile

Needlejet

Speeder

Factions

THE ASCENDANCY

Faction Characteristics

-2 Economy (progress is expensive)
+1 Efficiency (excellence in motion)
+1 Morale (every man a god)

x2 research progress on technologies related to biological applications
+25% in combat (heightened agility, endurance, intelligence, perception, and reflexes)
+10% increase in unit health regeneration (increased metabolism)

Aggression Erratic
Priorities Discover, Conquer
Starting Tech Biogenetics
Choices Power
Aversions Fundamentalist


ESTADO NOVO

Faction Characteristics

-1 Efficiency (caste system breeds waste and corruption)
+1 Police (secret police)

?

Aggression Aggressive
Priorities Conquer
Starting Tech Doctrine: Loyalty
Choices Power
Aversions Democratic

[Yitzi]

I appreciate both the content and the spirit of you reply!

It's to the designers' credit, I think, that seismic changes to core gameplay mechanics aren't necessarily intuitive. I managed to come up with only a few.

New Terrain Types

• Shallowseas - Very large bodies of warm, very shallow water. Inspired by the Purelake found in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive book series. Too shallow for submersibles; ideal for aquaculture and wave-skimming hovercraft.
• Sandy Desert - Arid and semi-arid barrens characterized by shifting dunes that can encroach upon other regions unprotected by shelterbelts.

Tile Improvements

I'm open to new ideas for tile improvements. I thought that there was something especially eloquent about the original game's focus on nutrients, minerals, and energy. Possibly a fourth and fifth resource could be added, namely water and a "harvestable" resource similar to Tiberium, Vespene Gas, or Spice in other science fiction settings. These resources would be obtainable only through the use of specialized "harvester" units. Rather than create a tile improvement within their borders (or a colony without), players would need to dispatch harvesters to occupy the hex in question, then transport the "ore" or "raw" resource back to an outpost or base.

Chasses

'Copter

Crawler

Cruiser

Drone

Foil

Gravship

Hovertank

Infantry

Missile

Needlejet

Speeder

Factions

THE ASCENDANCY

Faction Characteristics

-2 Economy (progress is expensive)
+1 Efficiency (excellence in motion)
+1 Morale (every man a god)

x2 research progress on technologies related to biological applications
+25% in combat (heightened agility, endurance, intelligence, perception, and reflexes)
+10% increase in unit health regeneration (increased metabolism)

Aggression Erratic
Priorities Discover, Conquer
Starting Tech Biogenetics
Choices Power
Aversions Fundamentalist

A lot of what you're suggesting here would require .exe modding, and quite difficult modding at that.

Adding new resources, in particular, would be at least as hard as allowing more than 7 factions, if not harder, and "allow more than 7 factions" is the prime example of "we'd really really really like it, but it's just not feasible with .exe modding."  New tile improvements would probably be even harder than that.  Allowing increased research progress on certain techs, or increased health regeneration, or landmarks that affect movement or can spread, would also be fairly difficult; the landmarks might prove to be as difficult as new tile improvements (read: effectively impossible).

[gwillybj]

For your shallow seas, not impassable to subs, but useful for farming and mining, try adjusting these two values in alphax.txt:

0,   ; Deep water       (Encourages fractal to grow deep water)
10,  ; Shelf            (Encourages fractal to grow shelf)

In both cases, higher means more, so you can see that I don't care for deep water, and am not particularly concerned about shelves. I like to be able to use all the ocean spaces within my coastal bases' radii, but not to have a bunch of shallows out in the middle of nowhere.

Deserts won't grow in-game, but you can always plop a few around in the map editor.

Harvesters and transports: Crawlers outside your base radius.

Just a few ideas. Have fun!

[Trenacker]

Again, thanks for the feedback and suggestions!

Allow me to clarify, however, that my intent is not to create a mod for Alpha Centauri. It is possible that this thread is therefore misplaced.

What I want to do is stimulate a discussion about a new game altogether, whether these ideas are incorporated into the forthcoming Beyond Earth or some future title called Alpha Centauri 2.

I also want to develop concepts that can be used in a forum-based geopolitical and military simulation of the type seen here and here. Folks who remember the heyday of the Apolyton Civilization Forums may remember a similar game. That one combined both fan fiction and a fabulously detailed, high-fidelity "pen-and-paper" calculator that allowed players to experience a multiplayer game of Alpha Centauri using the same calculations at the heart of the computer game itself.

[Buster's Uncle]

Would you like this moved?  It's possible you're getting better feedback in Modding, but as you wish.

[Trenacker]

Not necessarily. Only if there's someplace obviously better-suited. If you're confident that this is a good spot, I'm happy to be here.

[Buster's Uncle]

The Beyond Earth forum might be better; I dunno.  More on-topic for sure, there,but I don't worry about that much as long as everyone is happy.

The last week 1/2 has been a blur, but I think I started a thread with the same idea -talk about Alpha Centauri II anyway- and not much came of it.  Your mod-ish approach is more interesting, and might do a lot better...

[Trenacker]

Sure; let's see how it fares in the Beyond Earth forum.

Really, I'm trying to build a development team. The primary objective is to build and play the simulation. The secondary objective is to put it all together in a package that game designers who own the intellectual property can use if it so pleases them.

[Trenacker]

The big question for me is, "What makes a compelling faction?"

Some of the answers are as follows:

1. The faction must occupy a unique, and probably exclusive, intellectual space. It must make certain claims about (1) why civilization on Earth "failed," (2) how human beings best relate to one another and/or their environment, and/or (3) what is necessary to ensure survival of the species. Thus, Deidre's argument for living in conversation with Planet's ecology. Santiago's beliefs about the benefits of exposure to adversity clearly address the third issue. Likewise, the Ascendancy's claims about genetic engineering. The Estado Novo posits that a caste system produces the greatest socio-political stability by limning discrete roles and responsibilities.

If the faction is sharp-edged, one should be able to capture much of the essence of a faction in a single term: Morgan, the mogul; Zakharov, the scientist; Santiago, the survivalist; Deidre, the ecologist; Miriam, the prophet; Yang, the Despot; and so on.

2. The faction's ideology must be reducible to compelling first principles that provide an implicit answer for every problem. Morgan may like his luxuries, but he's really making an argument that all human interaction can be understood in purely transactional terms. Zakharov's obsession with knowledge speaks to a philosophy of control. For the Cybernetic Consciousness, the real challenge of human survival is taking the humanity -- the fuzziness -- out of the equation. The Estado Novo suggests that every situation involves a certain obligation for which one of the three castes is chiefly accountable.

3. The faction must embody an ideal for which men and women have proven willing to fight and die. Morgan's entrepreneurial spirit evokes images of smugglers risking life and limb to evade the revenue agent. The University's scientists burn on a futuristic stake. Domai's drones are literally Planet's proletariat striking off their chains.

4. The faction should have a distinctive attitude toward interaction with others. Morgan's determination to achieve the Centauri monopoly and build a wealthy society presupposes interaction with other, less wealthy societies, at least until his own faction grows large enough to sustain multiple classes. Santiago must be indifferent to other factions. For the Restoration, there is the question of whether or not to attempt to eliminate factions that might prove inimical to follow-on settlers from Earth. Probably the Exiled have an incompatible philosophy. For Imre-Meinertzhagen, the other factions provide the essential "market" for their specialized services.

5. The faction should have a distinctive morality, though potentially changeable. Morgan's moral relativism will gradually give way to an acknowledgement, one supposes, of the importance of contract-enforcement, for example.

More later.

[Geo]

The big question for me is, "What makes a compelling faction?"

It's opposite faction?

[Trenacker]

I'm not entirely sure that I agree. At least on release of the first title, there weren't perfect conflict dyads: given seven factions, one either "doubled up" on enemies or was aloof.

Personally, I think the most sensible dyads are: University/Believers, Peacekeepers/Hive, and Morganites/Gaians. The Spartans stand apart, inimical to everyone else, but content in their isolation.

Let me for a moment put aside the seven expansion factions of Alien Crossfire and look at other "new" factions that I have figured into Planetfall.

The Ascendancy would presumably align with the Spartans, and, to a lesser extent, the like-minded Zakharov, finding least ground with the Believers and Estado Novo. The problem with the Ascendacy is that they are, like the expansion factions, merely a deeper meditation on one particular philosophy--genetics--already covered by another faction, the University.

The Estado Novo is probably comfortable with Miriam and the Hive; less so with the egalitarian Spartans. Most likely, however, the Free Drones are the other side of their dyad.

The Restoration can't abide the Spartans, who regard Earth as "fallen," but likely have good relations with the Peacekeepers and Morganites both.

Probably The Exiled are most comfortable with the Spartans, but clearly inimical to the Restoration.

Imre-Meinertzhagen (would Consolidated Transport be a better name, more in keeping with the Alpha Centauri flavor?) would be an immediate competitor of Morgan Industries, but probably a welcome source of competition from the perspective of every other faction.

I'd imagine that the Freikorps (perhaps renamed The Hidden?) would be a close affiliate of Miriam and the Hive, both of which would have obvious interest in superweapons and mercenary troops. Expect, too, that The Hidden would become quick enemies of the Peacekeepers, Restoration, and Gaians.

[Dio]

I always felt that both Yang and Zakharov were into genetics. However, the major difference between the two comes from the fact Yang sees Genetics from a philosophical viewpoint while Zakharov looks at it from a scientific viewpoint.

[BlaneckW]

However, the major difference between the two comes from the fact Yang sees Genetics from a philosophical viewpoint while Zakharov looks at it from a scientific viewpoint.

They were just using Yang to quip on a controversial issue.