Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Factions

All factions have distinct advantages and disadvantages. They have different society traits, start with different technologies, and sometimes even have oddities such as smaller maximum base sizes. This means that every faction has a different overall playstyle, although some factions are more suited to some playstyles than others. For instance, the Hive is more likely to ICS than the Peacekeepers, because Yang gets free Perimeter Defenses but little energy income, while Lal can get more population per base and may want to take advantage of it.

The factions

Velociryx wrote so much about the individual factions that we had to split it all up into two subchapters:

• The SMAC Factions
• The Alien Crossfire Factions

A table comparing all the factions follows. Note that a faction's "preference" is preferred by the AI but a human player can (and, under some circumstances, may want to) use something else. However, the faction's aversion, if any, is always enforced: a player may never choose a faction's aversion. It simply will not show up in the Social Engineering table.

Faction	Leader	Preference	Aversion	Society traits	Free tech	Other
Morgan Industries	Nwabudike Morgan	Free Market	Planned	+1 Economy -2 Support	Industrial Base	+1 commerce; begins with 100 extra energy; -3 hab1
The University of Planet	Prokhor Zakharov	Knowledge	Fundamentalist	+2 Research -2 Probe	Information Networks	Free extra starting tech; free Network Node at every base; extra drone every 4 citizens
The Spartan Federation	Corazón Santiago	Power	Wealth	+2 Morale +1 Police -1 Industry	Doctrine: Mobility	Free prototypes; extra Scout Rover at start
Gaia's Stepdaughters	Dierdre Skye	Green	Free Market	-1 Morale -1 Police +2 Efficiency +1 Planet	Centauri Ecology	First Mind Worm captured automatically; +1 nutrient in Xenofungus
The Lord's Believers	Miriam Godwinson	Fundamentalist	Knowledge	-2 Research +1 Probe +2 Support -1 Planet	Social Psych	25% attack bonus; no research first 10 turns
The Human Hive	Sheng-ji Yang	Police State	Democratic	+1 Growth +1 Industry -2 Economy	Doctrine: Loyalty	Perimeter Defense at every base; immune to inefficiency2
The Peacekeeping Forces	Pravin Lal	Democratic	Police State	-1 Efficiency	Biogenetics	Receives double votes in elections for Planetary Governor and Supreme Leader; +2 hab3; extra talent every 4 citizens
The Cybernetic Consciousness	Aki Zeta-5	Cybernetic	Fundamentalist	+2 Efficiency +2 Research -1 Growth	Information Networks, Applied Physics	Steal tech on capturing a base; no penalty for Cybernetic social choice
The Free Drones	Domai	Eudaimonic	Thought Control	+2 Industry -2 Research	Industrial Base	One fewer drone in each city; no research first 10 turns
The Nautilus Pirates	Ulrik Svensgaard	Power	N/A	-1 Efficiency -1 Growth	Doctrine: Mobility, Doctrine: Flexibility	Aquatic4; free Naval Yards with Doctrine: Initiative; free Marine Detachment on all units with Adaptive Doctrine
The Cult of Planet	Cha'Dawn	Green	Wealth	+2 Planet -1 Industry -1 Economy	Centauri Ecology, Social Psych	Free Mind Worm at start; Mind Worms count as having Non-Lethal Methods; free Brood Pits with Centauri Genetics
The Data Angels	Sinder Roze	Democratic	Power	+2 Probe -1 Police	Information Networks, Planetary Networks	-25% cost of probe actions; free Covert Ops Centers with Pre-Sentient Algorithms; free probe team at start; gains any tech known to three other factions
The Planetary Caretakers	Lular H'minee	Planned	N/A	+1 Planet	Progenitor Psych, Field Modulation, Centauri Ecology	Alien faction5; +25% defense bonus
The Planetary Usurpers	Judaa Marr	Planned	Democratic	+1 Growth +1 Morale	Progenitor Psych, Field Modulation, Biogenetics	Alien faction5; +25% attack bonus

[1] Meaning 4 population is the limit before a Hab Complex is built, and 11 population is the limit before Habitation Dome is built.

[2] Negative modifiers to efficiency in Social Engineering are ignored, while positive modifiers still take effect. Yang's bases can still suffer from inefficiency.

[3] Meaning 9 population is the limit before a Hab Complex is built, and 16 is the limit before a Habitation Dome is built.

[4] First base and starting units are in the sea. Ocean shelf tiles produce +1 mineral. Can improve non-shelf ocean tiles with Advanced Ecological Engineering.

[5] Alien factions all have a free recycling tank in every base, energy grid in lieu of commerce (every two facilities adds +1 energy per turn; secret projects add 2.5 energy per turn), Space Survey (all land masses revealed at start) regardless of game settings, non-blind research regardless of game settings.