Alpha Centauri: The End of Humanity

[The Great Triangle]

I'm interested in doing a group game based on the PC game Alpha Centauri.

The basic plot is that humanity reaches Alpha Centauri, only for the captian of the spaceship to be mysteriously murdered and the crew to split up into ideological factions.  When the factions of the crew go to the surface of the planet in their escape pods, they meet a strange sort of lifeform known as mind worms, who confront victims with their worst nightmares and then lay eggs in their brains.  These creatures cause a great deal of trouble, until it's revealed that the xenofungus which is their habitat actually forms a nueral network.  A neural network which is the mind of a self aware being, growing stronger and smarter due to human intervention.

The game will take place in the last year of the human presence on Alpha Centauri, one way or another.  The power of planet has increased dramatically, and its collective energy output is now quickly reaching that of humanity.  Provost Dr. Zakharov of the University of Planet constructed a machine to download the entire cultural and scientific output of human society into planet, in hopes that doing so would enable planet to understand and control its own processes.  Unfortunately, the plan also has a signifigant chance of causing planet's ecosystem to explode, covering the entire surface of the planet in a several mile thick net of xenofungus before it dies off from lack of nutrients, unable to stop itself.

Foremost among the opponents of this strategy are the Lord's Believers, a group of fundamentalists who want to simply let nature take its course, as God intended.  Thier threats are not idle.  They have gathered a military force on the edge of University territory, on the verge of invading, to protect planet from the sins of man.  There are rumors that the Believers have armed themselves with a bomb capable of creating an artificial singularity, and intend to use it should their attack fail.



Many dangers lurk in the shadows, including the renagade forces of Colonel Santiago, who fight for a spartan ideal of self reliance.  The Cyborg Collective, who intend to technologically enhance all of humanity, and the Data Angels, an unpredictable group of anarchists aiming to gain control of the University by exploiting vulnurabilities in their data networks.


The game will focus on the stories of various individuals in this exceptional time, with a healthy dose of action/adventure and super science.  Players may play as faction leaders or original characters, and I certainly wouldn't mind someone signing up to play as Planet.  No Precursors please, this is supposed to be a game about humanity.



For Inspiration:  Some Alpha Centauri Quotes   More Quotes    


http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sid_Meier's_Alpha_Centauri

[Paradox]

Alpha Centauri = One of the greatest games of all time.


After reading your post, I'm still unsure about one thing: Would the players be acting as faction leaders, or lower-status members of the faction?

[The Great Triangle]

You can choose between faction leaders and general citizens of planet, or play as an alternate faction leader if you like.

[Eren]

Oooh, nice to see this one. I have played this game ever since it came out and still love it.

If I may put dibs on the fair Colonel? I would not be averse to playing other characters as well, from any faction.

Some questions, also. From your text I gather that the game will start when the Voice of Planet is about to be completed. And, do you plan to include anything from Alien Crossfire? The new factions, both human and alien, could also be quite interesting. Of course, the thing is on what kind of stuff you want to concentrate on.

Anyways, this is great. ;D

[The Great Triangle]

You can certainly play Colonel Santiago.  (thruthfully, she was going to be my first choice, but there are so many other awesome leaders.)

As for the expansion, I'm taking everything except the aliens as cannon.  (Since I'm pretty interested in playing either Sinder Roze or Prime Function Aki-Zeta-5.)

And yes, the main situation is that Zakharov is about to complete the voice of planet, and the believers are sitting on his doorstep, about to attack.  The other factions on planet are left pretty open, and you can pursue your own ideas. 

A quick guide to the factions on Planet:

Cult of Planet: A mysterious group of misfits led by their Prophet, Cha Dawn.  They beleive that planet will one day have its vengance on human society for their hubris.

Cybernetic Conciousness: A race of cyborgs who represent themselves by their prime function shell Aki-Zeta-5, formerly of Norway.  The other factions say they are humans "possesed by algorythms"  The cyborgs claim that they have found the most logical path to guide the evolution of humanity.

Data Angels: Led by Datajack Sinder Roze of Trinidad, the Data Angels are an anarchist group of hackers who use covert ops rather than direct action to accomplish their goals. 

Free Drones: The dissatisfied masses of the major factions left their chains and formed their own faction.  Their leader is Foreman Jim Jones Domai, originally from Australia, before he became a laborer in the initial colonization effort.  He was poorly treated and his genes were modified, making him stronger and unable to feel pain.  They said the treatment also lowered his intellegence, but he refused to believe such lies, and rebelled against his masters, ushering in a proletarian revolution.

Gaia's Stepdaughters: Led by the Scottish hydroponics specialist Lady Diedre Skye, the Stepdaughters have been instrumental in determining the true nature of planet.  The publication of Diedre's conversations with the planet mind led to a great deal of controversy, but was gradually believed, leading to the current situation.

The Human Hive: A massive social experiment orchestrated by Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang of Great China.  The human hive consists of a series of underground bunkers filled to spilling with the citizens of the faction.

The Conclave of the Lord's Believers: A Christian fundamentalist group led by Sister Miriam Godwinson of the Christian States of America.

Morgan Industries: A massive corporation founded by C.E.O Nwabudike Morgan

Nautilus Pirates: A bunch of vicious pirates led by Captain Ulrik Svensgaard of Maryland.

U.N. Peacekeeping Forces:

[Paradox]

On a somewhat related note, have you read the novelization of the game's story?