Editing Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Social Engineering
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{{Header Nav|game=Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri}} | {{Header Nav|game=Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri}} | ||
'''Social Engineering''' is equivalent to what the Civilization games refer to as ''form of government''. However, Alpha Centauri's system is the most flexible of any Civ game (until Civilization IV): you can not only choose the form of government, but fine-tune its economy, values, and how it embraces advanced technology. | '''Social Engineering''' is equivalent to what the Civilization games refer to as ''form of government''. However, Alpha Centauri's system is the most flexible of any Civ game (until Civilization IV): you can not only choose the form of government, but fine-tune its economy, values, and how it embraces advanced technology. | ||
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==Diplomacy== | ==Diplomacy== | ||
Your Social Engineering choices affect the AI factions' attitudes toward you. Each faction has a "preferred" choice and an "aversion" choice. For example, Morgan will begin to like you if your economy is a Free Market (his preferred choice), and will hate you for running Planned (his aversion). Likewise, Deirdre will hate you for running Free Market, and love you if you're Green. Factions will dislike you slightly if you use any other choice in the category of their preferred choice. To use the previous examples, Morgan will be wary of you if you are using Green economics, and Deirdre if you are running Planned. Listed under each socio/economic model are the factions whose attitudes are affected if you are using that model. | Your Social Engineering choices affect the AI factions' attitudes toward you. Each faction has a "preferred" choice and an "aversion" choice. For example, Morgan will begin to like you if your economy is a Free Market (his preferred choice), and will hate you for running Planned (his aversion). Likewise, Deirdre will hate you for running Free Market, and love you if you're Green. Factions will dislike you slightly if you use any other choice in the category of their preferred choice. To use the previous examples, Morgan will be wary of you if you are using Green economics, and Deirdre if you are running Planned. Listed under each socio/economic model are the factions whose attitudes are affected if you are using that model. | ||
A faction may not select its aversion as a current engineering choice, regardless of whether it is AI-controlled or human-controlled. | A faction may not select its aversion as a current engineering choice, regardless of whether it is AI-controlled or human-controlled. | ||
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+2 Support, +2 Police, -2 Efficiency (except Yang) | +2 Support, +2 Police, -2 Efficiency (except Yang) | ||
This is Yang's best option because he incurs no penalty from it, and he starts with the option to boot. | This is Yang's best option because he incurs no penalty from it, and he starts with the option to boot. Everybody else is likely to suffer great inefficiency, so for them, Police State ''must'' either be balanced with other Social Engineering choices with positive Efficiency modifiers (e.g., Green) or with being a faction with bonus efficiency (e.g., Deirdre). | ||
Police State | |||
Seemingly a less preferable choice | Seemingly a less preferable choice, it reveals its merits on higher levels when you need everything to cope with the chronic rioting of your bases. The support rating in addition with the police rating leads to a free recreation common in every base (and you keep in most cases the bonus minerals) and you can build recreation commons on the top. Balancing it with green to cope with inefficency slows down your vertical growth, which has it advantages concerning the amount of drones resulting of growth. | ||
This is the [[ | This is the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The Human Hive|Hive's]] preferred choice, and the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The Peacekeeping Forces|Peacekeepers']] aversion. | ||
===Democratic=== | ===Democratic=== | ||
+2 Efficiency, +2 Growth, -2 Support | +2 Efficiency, +2 Growth, -2 Support | ||
Not a good idea for militaristic players | Not a good idea for militaristic players, but great for pacifists. The extra efficiency will strengthen the economy, while the growth will help the faction expand, both horizontally and vertically. Watch out when sprawling those bases, though - you lose the 10 free minerals for new bases under a Democracy. | ||
This is the preferred choice of the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The Peacekeeping Forces|Peacekeepers']] and the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Data Angels|Data Angels]], and is the aversion of the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The Human Hive|Hive]] and the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Planetary Usurpers|Usurpers]]. | |||
This is the preferred choice of the [[ | |||
===Fundamentalist=== | ===Fundamentalist=== | ||
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When a faction switches to Fundamentalist, they mean business! This choice was designed for one thing: kicking butt. Your research will be crippled, so forget about it unless you can balance it (with Knowledge or your faction's traits), or you wish to start the war to end all wars. | When a faction switches to Fundamentalist, they mean business! This choice was designed for one thing: kicking butt. Your research will be crippled, so forget about it unless you can balance it (with Knowledge or your faction's traits), or you wish to start the war to end all wars. | ||
This is the preferred choice of the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The Lord's Believers|Lord's Believers]], and the aversion of both the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The University of Planet|University of Planet]] and the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Cybernetic Consciousness|Cybernetic Consciousness]]. | |||
This is the preferred choice of the [[ | |||
==Economics== | ==Economics== | ||
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+2 Economy, -3 Planet, -5 Police | +2 Economy, -3 Planet, -5 Police | ||
This is only good for one thing: bringing in lots of money | This is only good for one thing: bringing in lots of money. This is best if your faction already has an economy bonus; it will help the benefits balance against what you lose: control of both your people and Planet. Forget about balancing out the -5 Police; reversing or minimizing the -3 Planet is doable. The penalty isn't too bad if you know what you're doing. It is if you don't. | ||
The | Advanced players may want to switch to Free Market as early as possible by researching Industrial Economics at the first opportunity. The base tile of each base is free from early game restrictions, and not much energy is being produced elsewhere because the focus is on creating Colony Pods, therefore the energy output of each base can often be doubled, or nearly so. This strategy is not universally accepted, however. Especially on transcendent level the lack of police can initially cripple your empire, hence you need the 2-citizen-workforce ... because on transcendent level, every citizen except the first is a drone. Which is fun. | ||
This is the preferred choice of the [[ | This is the preferred choice of the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Morgan Industries|Morganites]], and is the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Gaia's Stepdaughters|Gaians']] aversion. | ||
===Planned=== | ===Planned=== | ||
+2 Growth, +1 Industry, -2 Efficiency (except Yang) | +2 Growth, +1 Industry, -2 Efficiency (except Yang) | ||
Again, Yang will usually want this because he suffers no disadvantages. Otherwise, the efficiency hit can be crippling. The combination of Police State with Planned is signing your faction's death certificate — unless you're Yang, in which case it's your most optimal combination! Otherwise, it is often good for a Democratic faction (in order to give a further boost to Growth), especially because the efficiency of Democratic will balance perfectly against the inefficiency of Planned | Again, Yang will usually want this because he suffers no disadvantages. Otherwise, the efficiency hit can be crippling. The combination of Police State with Planned is signing your faction's death certificate — unless you're Yang, in which case it's your most optimal combination! Otherwise, it is often good for a Democratic faction (in order to give a further boost to Growth), especially because the efficiency of Democratic will balance perfectly against the inefficiency of Planned. | ||
This is the preferred choice of both the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Planetary Caretakers |Caretakers]] and the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Planetary Usurpers|Usurpers]], and is the [[ | This is the preferred choice of both the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Planetary Caretakers |Caretakers]] and the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Planetary Usurpers|Usurpers]], and is the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Morgan Industries|Morganites]]' aversion. | ||
===Green=== | ===Green=== | ||
+2 Efficiency, +2 Planet, -2 Growth | +2 Efficiency, +2 Planet, -2 Growth | ||
Best if you wish to fight with Mind Worms — both in the sense of fighting against them and fighting using them. | Best if you wish to fight with Mind Worms — both in the sense of fighting against them and fighting using them. Otherwise, the +2 Efficiency is often not worth the -2 Growth. However, keep in mind that once you have many many bases, +2 efficiency will benefit your economy as much as FM's +2 economy without all the drawbacks. | ||
This is the preferred choice of the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Gaia's Stepdaughters|Gaians]] and the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Cult of Planet|Planet Cult]], and the aversion of the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Free Drones|Free Drones]]. | |||
This is the preferred choice of the [[ | |||
==Values== | ==Values== | ||
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+2 Support, +2 Morale, -2 Industry | +2 Support, +2 Morale, -2 Industry | ||
Another choice that warmongers will want, although the -2 Industry can also hurt their cause. There is no reason to choose Power unless you wish to use your military might extensively. The Cloning Vats removes the penalty to Industry, making this choice much more | Another choice that warmongers will want, although the -2 Industry can also hurt their cause. There is no reason to choose Power unless you wish to use your military might extensively. The Cloning Vats removes the penalty to Industry, making this choice much more feasible. | ||
This is the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The Spartan Federation|Spartans]]' and the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Nautilus Pirates|Pirates]]' preferred choice, and the aversion of the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Data Angels|Data Angels]]. | |||
This is the [[ | |||
===Knowledge=== | ===Knowledge=== | ||
+2 Research, +1 Efficiency, -2 Probe | +2 Research, +1 Efficiency, -2 Probe | ||
This choice is good for boosting your Research through the roof. While The Hunter-Seeker Algorithm does not improve your Probe teams, it does make you immune to being Probed, so the defensive half of the penalty is removed. | This choice is good either for boosting your Research through the roof or making Fundamentalist more practical. While The Hunter-Seeker Algorithm does not improve your Probe teams, it does make you immune to being Probed, so the defensive half of the penalty is removed. | ||
This is the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The University of Planet|University of Planet]]'s preferred choice, and the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The Lord's Believers|Lord's Believers]]' aversion. | |||
This is the [[ | |||
===Wealth=== | ===Wealth=== | ||
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As the name implies, this is for the money-grubber. Especially useful for Morgan, as he can run Wealth instead of Free Market and get the much-desired +1 energy per square. | As the name implies, this is for the money-grubber. Especially useful for Morgan, as he can run Wealth instead of Free Market and get the much-desired +1 energy per square. | ||
This is the [[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/The Spartan Federation|Spartans]]' and the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Nautilus Pirates|Pirates]]' aversion. | |||
==Future Society== | ==Future Society== | ||
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+2 Efficiency, +2 Planet, +2 Research, -3 Police | +2 Efficiency, +2 Planet, +2 Research, -3 Police | ||
Mind Worm lovers will love this. | |||
This is the preferred choice of the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Cybernetic Consciousness|Cybernetic Consciousness]] (who else?). Additionally, the Consciousness is immune to the Police penalty, as is any faction that has built The Network Backbone. | This is the preferred choice of the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Cybernetic Consciousness|Cybernetic Consciousness]] (who else?). Additionally, the Consciousness is immune to the Police penalty, as is any faction that has built The Network Backbone. | ||
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+2 Economy, +2 Growth, +2 Industry, -2 Morale | +2 Economy, +2 Growth, +2 Industry, -2 Morale | ||
A | A boost to infrastructure, for those who like to make use of newly-conquered empires near the endgame. | ||
This is the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Free Drones|Free Drones]]' preferred choice. | |||
This is the [[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire/The Free Drones|Free Drones]]' preferred choice | |||
===Thought Control=== | ===Thought Control=== | ||
+2 Morale, +2 Probe, +2 Police, -3 Support | +2 Morale, +2 Probe, +2 Police, -3 Support | ||
An all-military option, despite the -3 Support. The Cloning Vats removes the -3 Support penalty. | An all-military option, despite the -3 Support. The Cloning Vats removes the -3 Support penalty. | ||
