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вышла в 1999 г.

FAQ [ENG]

Информация актуальна для

Hints, Tips, and other General Suggestions
Version 1.35 -- FINAL RELEASE! -- (1-21-00)
as found written in the mysterious Crop Circles in England
helped into print by Dan Simpson (manymoose@hotmail.com)
Email Policy: If you are going to email me about this game, please put
Alpha Centauri as the subject. Just Alpha Centauri. Also
please realize that I am not hiding cheats or any other
information, i.e. everything I know about Alpha Centauri is in
this guide.
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.--------------------========= N O T E S =========-------------------------.
| ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ |
| The most recent version of this FAQ can be found at: |
| http://www.gamefaqs.com/ |
| |
| This is not intended as a full-fledged FAQ, but rather as a small tips file |
| to help out in various small ways. Mostly it will help me out, as I will |
| have to actually think about ways to play the game better, and it helps to |
| write these things down. |
| |
| If you are a webmaster and wish to post this on your web page, please email |
| me first. And if you do post this FAQ on your site, please make an attempt |
| to keep it up to date. There is nothing worse than getting emails from |
| people who saw an old version asking about things that are already in the |
| newer versions. Well, maybe there are worse things, but it IS annoying! |
| |
| An HTML version of this FAQ can be found at: |
| http://strategyshrine.future.easyspace.com/index.html |
| |
| This is probably the final release of this FAQ. Since I haven't updated it |
| since June, I don't think anyone will notice or care! Also, this FAQ has no |
| Alien Crossfire content (the Add-On to Alpha Centauri). |
'--------------------=================================-------------------------'
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What's New in 1.35:
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
- Revised the format to be more like my other FAQs
- Added some minor tips here and there (not many!)
For a complete Version History, check out the Final Words Section at the end
of the FAQ.
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Table of Contents:
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1. Before you start...
2. Getting a Game Started
3. Building Bases
a. Exploration
4. What to build and When to build it
5. Secret Projects
6. Diplomacy
7. War
8. Editing your Game
9. Final Words...
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1. Before you start...
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You may want to consider downloading the "enhancement pack", as it adds some
nice new features to the game. A copy of the pack (version 3.0 as of March
23, 1999) can be found at:
US: ftp://ftp.owo.com/pub/alpha/SMACP3US.EXE (1.84 MB)
UK: ftp://ftp.owo.com/pub/alpha/SMACP3UK.EXE (3.37 MB)
French: (ver 2.0) ftp://ftp.owo.com/pub/alpha/smacfv2.exe (2.04 MB)
German: (ver 2.0) ftp://ftp.owo.com/pub/alpha/smacgv2.exe (2.04 MB)
This upgrade adds several new elements to the game, as well as the usual
batch of bug fixes, etc.
If you don't own the game, you can find a playable demo at these sites:
No intro: ftp://ftp.owo.com/pub/alpha/smac_demo1_1.exe
W/Intro: ftp://ftp.owo.com/pub/alpha/smac_demo1_1m.exe
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2. Getting a Game Started
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To make a game easier (or harder) you will probably want to Customize the
Planet. Map Size can be whatever you want it to be as long as it is under
256 x 256, because at that size the game starts getting rummy; the game
itself recommends maps no larger than 64 x 128 (Huge Map). If you are a
Pacifist in nature (don't like fighting the AI, or other players) you will
probably want a large planet, say 120 x 110 or larger. A warlord player
would benefit a lot more from a small planet. If you want to maximize your
score at the end of the game do not choose "Rare" on the native life, as it
will cut your score by 25%.
In the Rules section, the best option to choose is "First Look" which allows
you to build your first colony, rather than starting with one prebuilt. And
don't ever do "accelerated start", since it gives every player a free Project
and that means you lose out on 6 great projects! Also if you are a Pacifist
make sure that there are no spoils of war so that the other more agressive
factions don't steal your hard earned tech. Conversely if you are one of
those agressive factions you probably want that on. Finally the option of
Unity Survey will help out with exploration since you will be able to see the
land mass--not what's there, just the basic shape of the land.
Here are the precise benefits and costs of each faction:
--------------------------------------------------------
Gaians - benefits: costs:
Centauri Ecology (tech) Cannot do Free Market (social Eng.)
+2 Efficiency (social Eng.) -1 Morale
+1 Planet Ecology -1 Police
+1 Fungal Nutrients
The Gaian lack of Morale and Police means that you will have to
build improvements aimed at preventing drone riots, like Holo
Theatres, etc. Overall they make a decent Faction.
Hive - benefits: costs:
Doctrine: Loyalty (tech) Cannot do Democracy
Perimeter Defense in all bases -2 Economy
+1 Growth
+1 Industry
The Hive has a lot going for it, except Economy. Which means that
mid to late in the game, the Hive will have chronic money problems
if not run correctly.
Believers - benefits: costs:
Social Psych (tech) Cannot do Knowledge
+25% attack strength NO Research until 2110 (!!)
+1 Probe -2 Research
+2 Support -1 Planet
The Believers have too many research drawbacks to make them a
contender without serious tech swiping by probe teams. Also they
don't even start research for 10 turns, another serious drawback
making it easy to get behind and get beaten by smarter societies.
Morgan - benefits: costs:
Industrial Base (tech) Hab complexes needed at pop. 4
100 energy Cannot do Planned Economics
+1 Economy -1 Support
Extra Commerce (from pacts,etc)
Morgan, in my opinion, is a case where the costs far exceed the
benefits, especially the Hab complexes at pop. 4, that slows growth.
And those 100 energies won't last for all that long. The Extra
Commerce Benefit is the best one here, however it only is active if
you have Peace Treaties and/or Pacts with other Factions.
Spartan - benefits: costs:
Doctrine: Mobility (tech) Cannot do Wealth
No extra cost for Prototypes -1 Industry
+2 Morale
+1 Police
A fairly well balanced faction is geared for military expansion,
but would do better with extra support. The cost on industry hurts
your expansion as well since it takes extra time to build all of
your crack troops.
Peacekeepers - benefits: costs:
Biogenetics (tech) Cannot do Police State
+1 talent for every 4 people -1 Efficiency
Exceed Pop. limits by 2
Double votes for Gov., etc.
A good choice for the Pacifist out there (hence the name), has only
one serious drawback, the -1 Efficiency, but that can be altered
in Social Engineering. The best thing about this faction is the
double votes, which will allow you to easily become the Planetary
Governor.
University - benefits: costs:
Information Networks (tech) Cannot do Fundamentalist
1 free tech (random) +1 Drone for every 4 people
Network Node in all bases -2 Probe
+2 Research
Starts out with major flaws (+1 Drone, and -2 Probe) but if you can
get a few projects (Hunter Seeker Algorithim and the Virtual World)
then those flaws evaporate leaving (IMHO) the best Faction.
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3. Building Bases
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Where you want to build a good base changes as the game goes on. In the
beginning you want an area with little ocean, lots of rain, and rolling, with
little to no xenofungus or forest. As you gain more technologies you will
be able to harness the resources of the fungus better, and there are very
good improvements for forests and oceans which make almost the entire planet
livable. A "rolling" area is one where there are a few rocks, but not very
many. This gives that square some mineral resources while not compromising
its nutrient resources.
Rocky areas and Rolling areas are placed on the surface using the old Civ2
algorithim: (de-isometric)
r r
r r Whether a square is rolling or rocky depends partly on Erosive
r r r forces, strong has more rolling, weak has more rocky. You want
r r r to build your base on a rolling square, as this will maximize the
r r mineral production in the base (at a max of 12 squares, compared
r r to 9 if you build on a blank square). Also note that rockiness
increases with elevation, therefore mountains have more rocks,
even on areas that normally would be devoid of any rocks.
_____
_|r r|_ So you would build your base on the B there. Of course this is
| r r | a simple model, but the idea here holds true for almost anywhere
|r B r| on the map, all you have to do is account for ocean and various
|r r r| bonuses on the map.
|r r|
------- It should also be noted that this algorithim is not 100%, you
will find a few rocky areas out of place.
Also note that if you build on a flat area with no mineral resources, your
base square will produce 1 mineral anyway.
You cannot build a base on a Rocky square. So to change a "Rocky" area to a
"Rolling" area, use the '_' command to "Terraform Level".
If you see a small amount of black around a resource on the base map (either
a mineral, nutrient, or energy) that means that you lack something to get
the full potential of that square, either a road or a technology. Remember
that the faction with the most bases tends to win, so build as many bases as
fast as possible.
Improving your Base:
--------------------
You will want to Farm and build solar collectors on all "Rolling" squares.
If the area is too dry, you have several options to increase moisture. One,
is to build a Condensor (consider carefully where to put these, I usually put
them on a "flat" square), drill to the Aquifer to create a new river, or
Raise the terrain into a mountain (one side becomes more wet, the other more
dry).
Next I will build forests on all the "flat" squares, or any square that seems
too arid to support a good farm. Also, build sensors on these forests to
increase your defenses. Sensors must be within 2 squares of the defending
unit to help them.
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3a. Exploration
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Exploring is quite obviously very important in SMAC, so much so that it
deserves its own sub-section. First off, rovers are the best exporers, this
seems pretty obvious. Also sending them in duos helps out if you ever run
into resistance, like Mind Worms. It is generally a good idea to save your
game before getting Unity Pods, as the results could be unexpected and bad.
One idea of what to do with exploration units is to find a good site for a
base, then hold them there until you get a unit out there. This gives you
some defense for a new base without having to build extra units (since you
use existing units).
One of my favorite things to do with Exploration Units happens when you find
another Faction, preferably one you don't like. What I would do then is to
"Monkey Wrench" their bases. First find a base with a nearby Monolith, or
Bunker, and use that as your homebase. Then destroy their mines on the rocky
squares (you get the defense bonus on rocky areas), and work your way to
solar collectors and farms. If you are lucky you won't get destroyed for a
few turns giving your army time to mobilize and attack.
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4. What to build and when to build it
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-First, get at least 2 military units in each base. This is more important
than it was in Civ2, because of Psi attacks even your best units can be
destroyed.
Tip: As soon as you get the right technology, you will want to design a
"Non-Lethal" defender unit to increase your policing powers. That way
one unit acts as two police.
-Second, build a Former to work exclusively on this base. You can set the
former to auto, but remember that the AI strategy is not always your best
strategy. (as soon as you get Doctrine: Mobility redesign your formers to
be Rover Formers)
-Third, build a new colony pod (if you are at least 2 populatrion) to expand
your empire! (Again, once you get Doctrine: Mobility start building Rover
Colony Pods, this helps you expand your Faction quicker)
-Fourth, build Recycling Tanks (this is moot for Sea Bases, since they start
with a version of these) to increase the resources on the base square.
-Fifth, build a Children's Creche (ok this comes later in the game, but it
is very useful once you get it!), this increases Growth, and increases
Efficiency.
After that build based on what you need. If you are fighting a war, build
units, if your production is low, build a factory, need new technologies then
build labs, etc.
Hurrying it up: The approximate cost to hurry anything is about 2 energy for
each square left to be built on the improvement. The exception to this is
when you are just starting production on something where it will cost quite
a bit more. A way around that is to do a small hurry one turn (25 energy)
and then the next turn buy the whole thing.
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5. Secret Projects
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I will now rank the Secret Projects based on their usefullness (this is an
arbritrary rating, feel free to disagree with it). Ideally you want to build
every secret project, but you will likely have to prioritize a little. Also
realize that some projects are redundant, such as the Hive and the Citizen's
Defense Force, they don't need it at all!
EXTRAORDINARILY USEFUL PROJECTS:
The Hunter Seeker Algorithim - other factions can no longer use probe teams
against your bases, which means that they can't sabotage you or steal
your technologies, while you are free to do it to them.
Citizens Defense Force - creates a perimeter defense in every base, which
doubles your base defense.
Cloning Vats - puts all of your bases into a permanent state of population
boom (where each base will grow every turn) as long as you have enough
nutrients and hab facilities (and habitation domes). Even better is its
other side effects, the Power and Thought Control social engineering
choices lose their negative effects! There is one serious complication
to this, and that is, since your bases "grow" each turn that they have
food, you may quickly find yourself having perpetual Drone Riots.
Network Backbone - +1 research for every point of commerce this base gets
and another +1 for every network node on the planet. That alone
wouldn't be enough to recommend it but, it also has the effect of
removing the negative effects from Cybernetic!
Planetary Transit Network - triples the size of new bases built (3), and
1 less drone for bases 3 and smaller. Allows your empire to grow a lot
quicker, but can cause those new cities to starve because they start
out with more people than the area can support.
The Self Aware Colony - halves the maintenance cost of facilities, and if
you can have police, adds 1 police to every city. Will give you ever
so much money to cut costs by 50%!
Supercollider - research at this base is doubled.
Telepathic Matrix - Drones never riot. Plus probe teams receive a +2
morale bonus. No drone riots is a very nice thing to have, since you
don't have to do preventative measures to stop drone riots.
Theory of Everything - labs output doubled.
Universal Translator - 2 free techs, plus you can send any number of alien
artifacts here.
USEFUL PROJECTS:
Clinical Immortality - adds 1 talent to every base, which although nice
you can get more through use of Psych, also doubles your vote for
Governor and Supreme Leader, which is a FAR BETTER effect than its
primary one. Why is it only mildly useful? Because you don't get it
until late in the game!
Command Nexus - puts a Command Center in every base, which gives you 2
morale upgrades, as well as fixes units quicker.
Cyborg Factory - puts in a Bioenhancement Center in each base, which gives
you 2 morale upgrades for every unit built there and 1 lifespan bonus
on all creatures (that makes them larger).
The Living Refinery - +2 Support in Social Engineering. This is nice
because it effectively removes the negative effects of Democracy, or if
you want you can get the extra support.
The Longevity Vaccine - this one's effects vary depending on your Social
Engineering. If your economics are Planned then you get 2 less drones
per base, if they are Simple or Green you get 1 less drone. For a free
market you get +50% economy. The less drone things make this one a
winner, especially as you go through the transition of growing into
larger cities (without Psych bonuses).
Maritime Control Center - +2 sea movement, and counts as a naval yard in
all bases. A must have for anyone who wants to build a navy, this will
give you almost instant naval superiority.
Merchant Exchange - +1 energy in every square. If this worked on every
base instead of just the one it is built in it would be Extraordinary.
The Pholus Mutagen - reduces Eco Damage, and gives you a +1 lifespan bonus
to Aliens that you breed, and also gives you the alien benefits of
Xenofungus.
Space Elevator - Doubles Economy in this base, and doubles minerals in
bases building Satellites (effectively halving the time it takes to
build those), also units with Drop Pods can land anywhere on the planet
and Aerospace Restrictions on Satellites is dropped. The best thing
here is the Drop Pods thing, but that is only useful if you are at war
with someone.
The Virtual World - Network Nodes also count as Hologram Theatres, so you
won't have to build those. (and if you are University then you get that
instantly since all of your bases start with Network Nodes)
Weather Paradigm - increases terraform speed by 50% and allows construction
of condensors, boreholes, and echelon mirrors even without the tech to
do so. Very nice for an early Project, this should be the first one
that you build.
AVERAGE PROJECTS:
Bulk Matter Transmitter - adds 2 minerals to every base, nice but when your
bases get large the additional 2 is almost inconsequential.
Dream Twister - adds 50% to Psi attacks. Whee.
Neural Amplifier - adds 50% to Psi defense. Whee. This one is probably
better than the Dream Twister, as you will always get attacked by some
form of Psi attack.
Empath Guild - adds 50% to governor and supreme leader votes, as well as
giving you an infiltrator in all factions and contact to all factions.
Nice but not necessary in the end of the game.
Nano Factory - fixes units completely outside of a base (before they can
only heal up to 20% damaged), and reduces upgrade costs.
The Planetary Datalinks - gives you any tech discovered by 3 other factions
If you need this you are too far behind in tech!
The Singularity Inductor - counts as a Quantum Converter in every base,
and reduces Eco Damage. Not as useful as you might think, but still
a nice thing to have.
Xenoempathy Dome - treats Fungus as road, and removing and planting fungus
is now quicker. The best part of this is the Fungus as a road part,
which can dramatically speed up war parties, and exploration.
ALMOST WORTHLESS PROJECTS:
Human Genome Project - 1 extra talent in each base. Again this isn't
necessary because Psych does more.
Transcendant Projects:
Voice of the Planet leads to Ascent to Transcendance, which ends the game
with the "Best" ending.
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6. Diplomacy
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There are 3 keys to being the good diplomat:
- First don't give anything away that you don't have to. This includes not
only your technology--if better--your money, or anything else of value.
This is especially true towards inferior factions, don't give them
anything.
- Second, if you are in an inferior position--weak military, inferior
tech--then always do what they tell you to do at least half the time. If
they ask for tech, and you don't give it, then they ask for money, you
probably better give them something to keep 'em happy.
- Third, if you want something from them, try to get on their good side
first. For example, if you want someone's vote in a council meeting,
first butter them up with a good bribe. Then either that turn or next
talk to them again and ask for their vote, and give them another good
bribe there. You will have established a small history of good will with
them, and they might just agree to your proposal.
Note: Other factions tend to like/dislike you based on your Social
Engineering choices. Therefore, Deidre won't like you if you are
"Planned", but will like you more if you are "Green". So if you
need to avert disaster with a more powerful Faction, try some
quick Social Engineering!
Treaties and Pacts:
Always get into treaties with everyone, this makes good business sense, as
you get a commerce bonus from treaties (even more for Pacts). Pacts are
like super treaties, they have more benefits (you can move into their
territory, and heal in their bases), but requires more work to maintain.
For example, your ally gets into a war with someone you have a treaty with.
They want you to go to war, you say no, they want some tech to help out,
you say no. They will get mad, but will eventually ask again, and if you
keep doing this (sometimes it doesn't take all that long) they will break
the pact, and often won't even sign a treaty with you.
You HAVE to give your allies SOMETHING, else they see no reason to be
allied with you!
So who do you want to sign a treaty with? That depends on 2 things: Who you
are (which faction), and what have you done in Social Engineering? For
example, the University and the Believers don't like each other from the
start, so don't try to force a relationship between them. I will now list
each faction and list by them which you can easily have diplomacy with (using
a + sign) and those to whom you cannot (with a - sign). Also listed in
parenthesis is which social engineering they are likely to respond positively
towards.
Believers: University- (SUPPORT)
Gaians: Peacekeepers+, Morganites-, Hive- (GREEN, DEMOCRACY)
Hive: Spartans+, Gaians- (POLICE)
Morganites: Hive-, Gaians- (FREE MARKET)
Peacekeepers: Gaians+ (DEMOCRACY)
Spartans: Hive+ (POLICE)
University: Believers- (RESEARCH)
Advanced Diplomacy, made easy:
Never get into too many wars. This is only if you don't plan to win via
military force. The only time you should get into a war is if that faction
is directly interfering with your faction. Don't seek wars out on the
other side of the planet simply because you think you can easily win. And
don't try to get your allies into a war, because they might not end the war
when you do. Finally make treaties with everyone possible, even if you
eventually plan to go to war with someone, simply because you get COMMERCE
out of treaties (even more out of PACTS). And when you do finally go to
war with someone, have them declare war on you by pissing them off. This
keeps your integrity intact but takes theirs down.
Also don't be a Fence Sitter. Take stands, agree with your Pact Brother
to attack that nasty Other Faction. If you try to avoid wars, you usually
end out irritating everyone.
Planetary Council:
If you build the Empath Guild, then immediately try to get yourself elected
to Planetary Governor. This will allow you to veto any council initiative
(say most everyone wants to cause global warming, you could stop it), and
give you some extra commerce. If you are the Peacekeepers this is even
easier since they get 2x votes for governor. If you lose the vote, don't
panic, just find another faction with a lot of votes, and shmooze them.
Wait the 20 years (the allotted time to wait between council meetings) and
get another vote. As technology increases there will be more options in
the Council.
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7. War
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Obviously you can't avoid war forever, even if you want to.
Mindworms:
It is always better to attack a Mindworm than try to fend off its attack.
This is because Psi attacks are always more powerful than defenses (3 to 2)
To improve your base defenses from Mindworms, always have 2 units in each
base, and build Sensor Arrays near bases. Finally remove all fungus that
is right next to your base. If you are attacking with a Mindworm, then do
so at any time regardless of your moves since Mindworms suffer no Attack
penalties.
Note: If you have a Positive Planet score in Social Engineering, then you
have a chance to Capture any mindworm not already controlled by a
Faction. This is only done if YOU attack the MIND WORM.
Offense:
The AI loves to build bunkers, and you should take advantage of this, since
they rarely ever hold units in their own bunkers. Take their bunkers with
2 or more units, one for defense, the other to launch missions. You could
take over an entire faction using no more than 2 units, and their own
bunker.
Defense:
Obviously the best defense is a good offense. Do not build more bunkers
than you can staff with units, since the AI could take those over easily
(which is a good reason to not automate formers, since they like to build
bunkers). Here again Sensor Arrays can be useful since they add 25% to
your defense, and let you see the units coming. If you see a powerful unit
coming, it would probably be better to scramble a unit of your own to beat
him first. ALWAYS have the best units (defensively) in your bases. As
soon as you get a new tech, update your defensive units, and upgrade your
base defenses!
Tip: Sensor arrays are best built on forests near your bases. Why
forests? Because the sensor arrays won't "build over" a forest, as
they will other improvements (like solar collectors or mines).
Ending a War:
The best way to end a war, naturally, is to win it. When you have broken an
opponent--when they have lost more than 50% of their power--they will offer
you a blood truce, don't take it, then they will try to give you money, again
don't take it, and then they will break down and offer you everything they
have of value. This includes all of their money, research, and they will
also swear a pact to you. You can decide for yourself whether this is
desirable or not. I like it because they become a subsidiary of your empire.
You can count on their votes in many elections in the Planetary Council as
well.
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8. Editing your game
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Hopefully I'll fill this section in more as I learn more about the game.
All the stats and info in the game is readily editable in the main directory
of the game.
The Main Rules of the game is contained in the file Alpha.txt.
Faction profiles are kept in these files:
Believe.txt, Gaians.txt, Hive.txt, Morgan.txt, Peace.txt, Spartans.txt,
Univ.txt
You can look at the rest of the text files at your own leisure. These files
are read at the beginning of every game, not just new games.
Editing a faction is fairly easy. First you will definately want to back up
all the text files, usually the best place is a ZIP file. Then open up
whichever faction you happen to want to be. (For the purposes of this tips
file I will always use the University) You should see this: (fragment)
#UNIV
University of Planet, The Scientist, University, M, 1, Zakharov, M, 0, 0
TECH, InfNet, TECH, 1, SOCIAL, ++RESEARCH, SOCIAL, --PROBE, DRONE, 4, FACI
Values, Knowledge, RESEARCH
The faction.txt contains a good description of everything in each faction
file. A small warning before you give yourself every bonus in the game,
don't add too many, as the game can only handle so much! Once I tried to
give myself the ultimate social situation (for research purposes, I swear!),
and the game only accepted the first 2 that I had entered.
In game Scenario editing is activated by use of CTRL-k and by using the menus
and the toolbars. To edit the land, click on a toolbar button, and then
CTRL click on the area you want to put that item on.