Editing Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (section)

===Inspirations===
In 1996, [[MicroProse]] released the lauded ''Civilization II'', designed by [[Brian Reynolds (game designer)|Brian Reynolds]].<ref name="autogenerated2"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/civilization2?q=civilization |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910104540/http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/civilization2?q=civilization |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |title=Civilization II (pc) reviews at |publisher=Metacritic.com |date=February 29, 1996 |access-date=2010-08-07 }}</ref> [[Spectrum Holobyte]] who owned MicroProse at the time, opted to consolidate their business under the MicroProse name, moving the company from Maryland to California by the time the game shipped,<ref name=Harrison2000>[[#Harrison2000|Harrison (2000)]].</ref> and laying off several MicroProse employees. Disagreements between the new management and its employees prompted Reynolds, [[Jeff Briggs]], and [[Sid Meier]] (designer of the original ''[[Civilization (video game)|Civilization]]'') to leave MicroProse and found [[Firaxis]].<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-history-of-civilization |title=Features – The History of Civilization |website=Gamasutra |access-date=2010-08-07 |archive-date=2014-02-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222210101/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1523/the_history_of_civilization.php?print=1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Harrison2000/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mobygames.com/company/microprose-software-inc/history |title=History for MicroProse Software, Inc. |publisher=Mobygames.com |access-date=2010-08-07 |archive-date=2014-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329124847/http://www.mobygames.com/company/microprose-software-inc/history |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although unable to use the same intellectual property as ''Civilization II'', the new company felt that players wanted "a new sweeping epic of a turn-based game". Having just completed a game of human history up to the present, they wanted a fresh topic and chose science fiction.<ref name=SMACManual1999p237>[[#SMACManual|Reynolds (November 23, 1998)]], p.237.</ref>

With no previous experience in science fiction games, the developers believed [[future history]] was a fitting first foray.<ref name=DD698p1>[[#DD|Reynolds (June 4, 1998)]], p1.</ref> For the elements of exploring and terraforming an alien world, they chose a plausible near future situation of a human mission to colonize the solar system's nearest neighbour and human factions.<ref name=SMACManual1999p238>[[#SMACManual|Reynolds (November 23, 1998)]], pp.238.</ref> Reynolds researched science fiction for the game's writing.<ref name=Harrison2000/> His inspiration included<!-- not sure if this wording is still within what the source says: source says "inspiration"--> "classic works of science fiction", including [[Frank Herbert]]'s ''[[The Jesus Incident]]'' and [[Hellstrom's Hive]], ''[[A Fire Upon the Deep]]'' by [[Vernor Vinge]], and ''[[The Mote in God's Eye]]'' by [[Larry Niven]] and [[Jerry Pournelle]] for alien races; [[Kim Stanley Robinson]]'s ''[[Red Mars]]'', ''Slant'' by [[Greg Bear]], and [[Stephen R. Donaldson]]'s ''[[The Real Story (novel)|The Real Story]]'' for future technology and science; and ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' by Herbert and Bear's ''[[Anvil of Stars]]'' for negative interactions between humans.<ref name=SMACManual1999p228>[[#SMACManual|Reynolds (February 1999)]], p.228.</ref><ref name=SMACManual1999p229>[[#SMACManual|Reynolds (February 1999)]], pp.229.</ref>

''Alpha Centauri'' set out to capture the whole sweep of humanity's future, including technology, futuristic warfare, social and economic development, the future of the human condition, spirituality, and philosophy.<ref name=SMACManual1999p237/> Reynolds also said that "getting philosophy into the game" was one of the attractions of the game.<ref name="Harrison2000"/> Believing good science fiction thrives on constraint, the developers began with near-future technologies. As they proceeded into the future, they tried to present a coherent, logical, and detailed picture of future developments in physics, biology, information technology, economics, society, government, and philosophy.<ref name=DD698p1/> Alien ecologies and mysterious intelligences were incorporated into ''Alpha Centauri'' as external "natural forces" intended to serve as flywheels for the backstory and a catalyst for many player intelligences.<ref name=SMACManual1999p238/> Chris Pine, creator of the in-game map of Planet, strove to make Planet look like a real planet, which resulted in evidence of tectonic action. Another concern was that Planet matched the story, which resulted in the fungus being connected across continents, as it is supposed to be a gigantic neural network.<ref name=Prima70>[[#Prima|Pine (1999)]], p.70.</ref>

[[Terraforming]] is a natural outgrowth of colonizing an alien world.<ref name=DD698p2>[[#DD|Reynolds (June 4, 1998)]], p2.</ref> The first playable prototype was just a map generator that tested climate changes during the game.<ref name=Harrison2000/> This required the designers to create a world builder program and climatic model far more powerful than anything they had done before. Temperature, wind, and rainfall patterns were modeled in ways that allow players to make changes: for example, creating a ridge-line and then watching the effects. In addition to raising terrain, the player can also divert rivers, dig huge boreholes into the planet's mantle, and melt ice caps.<ref name=DD698p2/>

In addition to scientific advances, the designers speculated on the future development of human society.<ref name=DD698p3>[[#DD|Reynolds (June 4, 1998)]], p3.</ref> The designers allow the player to decide on a whole series of value choices and choose a "ruthless", "moderate", or "idealistic" stance. Reynolds said the designers don't promote a single "right" answer, instead giving each value choice positive and negative consequences. This design was intended to force the player to "think" and make the game "addictive".<ref name=DD698p3/> He also commented that ''Alpha Centauri''{{'}}s fictional nature allowed them to draw their characters "a lot more sharply and distinctly than the natural blurring and greyness of history".<ref name=Harrison2000/>
[[Chiron]], the name of the planet, is the name of the only non-barbaric [[centaur]] in Greek mythology and an important loregiver and teacher for humanity. The name also pays homage to [[James P. Hogan (writer)|James P. Hogan's]] 1982 [[space opera]] novel ''[[Voyage from Yesteryear]]'', in which a human colony is artificially planted by an automatic probe on a planet later named by colonists as Chiron. In the game, Chiron has two moons, named after the centaurs [[Nessus (mythology)|Nessus]] and [[Pholus (mythology)|Pholus]], with the combined tidal force of [[Moon|Earth's Moon]], and is the second planet out from Alpha Centauri A, the innermost planet being the [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]-like planet named after the centaur [[Eurytion]]. Alpha Centauri B is also dubbed [[Hercules]], a reference to him killing several centaurs in mythology, and the second star preventing the formation of larger planets. The arrival on Chiron is referred to as "Planetfall", which is a term used in many science fiction novels, including [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''Future History'' series, and [[Infocom]]'s celebrated comic [[interactive fiction]] adventure ''[[Planetfall]]''. [[Vernor Vinge]]'s concept of ''technological singularity'' is the origin of the Transcendence concept. The game's cutscenes use montages of live-action video, CGI, or both; most of the former is from the 1992 experimental documentary ''[[Baraka (film)|Baraka]]''.