Editing Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (section)

===''Alpha Centauri''===
In July 1996, Firaxis began work on ''Alpha Centauri'',<ref name="B">{{cite web|title=Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri|url=http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_detail.php?gameid=7|work=Firaxis Games|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126164929/http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_detail.php?gameid=7|archive-date=2013-01-26}}</ref><ref name=SMACManual1999p236>[[#SMACManual|Reynolds (November 23, 1998)]], p.236.</ref> with Reynolds heading the project.<ref name=Harrison2000/> Meier and Reynolds wrote playable prototype code and Jason Coleman wrote the first lines of the development [[Library (computing)|libraries]].<ref name=Harrison2000/><ref name=SMACManual1999p236/><ref>{{cite web| url = http://pc.ign.com/articles/075/075802p1.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020218032215/http://pc.ign.com/articles/075/075802p1.html| url-status = dead| archive-date = February 18, 2002| title = Brian Reynolds Launches New Development Studio| website = IGN| date = February 28, 2000| access-date = September 5, 2010}}</ref> Because the development of ''Gettysburg'' took up most of Firaxis' time, the designers spent the first year prototyping the basic ideas.<ref name=SMACManual1999p238/> By late 1996, the developers were playing games on the prototype, and by the middle of the next year, they were working on a multiplayer [[Game engine|engine]].<ref name=SMACManual1999p238/> Although Firaxis intended to include multiplayer support in its games, an important goal was to create games with depth and longevity in single-player mode because they believed that the majority of players spend most of their time playing this way. Reynolds felt that smart computer opponents are an integral part of a classic computer game, and considered it a challenge to make them so.<ref name=DD498p1>[[#DD|Reynolds (April 14, 1998)]], p1.</ref> Reynolds' previous games omitted internet support because he believed that complex turn-based games with many player options and opportunities for player input are difficult to facilitate online.<ref name=DD1298p1>[[#DD|Reynolds (December 9, 1998)]], p1.</ref>

Reynolds said that the most important principle of game design is for the designer to play the game as it is developed;<ref name=Harrison2000/> Reynolds claimed that this was how a good [[Game artificial intelligence|artificial intelligence]] (AI) was built. To this end, he would track the decisions he made and why he made them as he played the game.<ref name=DD498p1/> The designer also watched what the computer players did, noting "dumb" actions and trying to discover why the computer made them.<ref name=DD498p1/><ref name=DD498p2>[[#DD|Reynolds (April 14, 1998)]], p2.</ref> Reynolds then taught the computer his reasoning process so the AI could find the right choice when presented several attractive possibilities.<ref name=DD498p1/><ref name=DD498p2/> He said the AI for diplomatic personalities was the best he had done up to that point.<ref name=Harrison2000/>

Doug Kaufman, a co-designer of ''Civilization II'', was invited to join development as a game balancer.<ref name=Harrison2000/><ref name=SMACManual1999p238/> Reynolds cited the ''Alpha Centauri''{{'}}s balance for the greater sense of urgency and the more pressing pacing than in his earlier game, ''[[Sid Meier's Colonization]]''.<ref name=Harrison2000/> According to producer Timothy Train, in designing the strengths and weaknesses of the factions, the goal was to suggest, without requiring, certain strategies and give the player interesting and fun things to do without unbalancing the game.<ref name="DD898p1"/> He didn't want a faction to be dependent on its strength or a faction's power to be dominant over the rest.<ref name=DD898p2/> Train felt that fun meant the factions always have something fun to do with their attributes.<ref name=DD898p3>[[#DD|Train (August 11, 1998)]], p3.</ref>

Around the summer of 1997<!-- what time? a date to anchor this would be good-->, the staff began research on the scientific realities involved in interstellar travel.<ref name=SMACManual1999p238/> In late 1997, [[Bing Gordon]]—then Chief Creative Officer of [[Electronic Arts]]—joined the team, and was responsible for the Planetary Council, extensive diplomacy, and landmarks.<ref name=Harrison2000/><ref name=SMACManual1999p239>[[#SMACManual|Reynolds (November 23, 1998)]], p.239.</ref> A few months before the 1998 [[Electronic Entertainment Expo]] (E3), the team incorporated the Explore/Discover/Build/Conquer marketing campaign into the game.<ref name=SMACManual1999p239/> The game was announced in May 1998 at E3.<!--According to your guidelines, when and where was the game first announced?-->

In the latter half of 1998, the team produced a polished and integrated interface, wrote the game manual and foreign language translations, painted the faction leader portraits and terrain, built the [[3D computer graphics|3D]] vehicles and vehicle parts, and created the music.<ref name=SMACManual1999p240-1>[[#SMACManual|Reynolds (November 23, 1998)]], pp.240–1.</ref> [[Michael Ely]] directed the Secret Project movies and cast the faction leaders.<ref name=SMACManual1999p241>[[#SMACManual|Reynolds (November 23, 1998)]], p.241.</ref> 25 volunteers participated in Firaxis' first public [[Software release life cycle|beta test]].<ref name=SMACManual1999p242>[[#SMACManual|Reynolds (November 23, 1998)]], p.242.</ref> The beta testers suggested the Diplomatic and Economic victories and the Random Events.<!-- How are they responsible? Did they provide input that lead to these things? --><ref name=SMACManual1999p242/>

{{blockquote|There were a lot of "firsts" for our team in the making of ''Alpha Centauri''. We had never done a public beta test before ''Alpha Centauri'', and this was also the first time we released a demo before the game was out. Since we'd not done one before, we didn't know exactly what to expect when we released it, but it turned out to fit right in with Firaxis' iterative design method.|Brian Reynolds on development aspects Firaxis introduced during ''Alpha Centauri''<ref name=DD399p1>[[#DD|Reynolds (1999-03-15)]], p1.</ref>}}

The design team started with a very simple playable game.<ref name=DD399p1/> They strengthened the "fun" aspects and fixed or removed the unenjoyable ones, a process Sid Meier called "surrounding the fun".<ref name=DD399p1/> After the revision, they played it again, repeating the cycle of revision and play.<ref name=DD399p1/> Playing the game repeatedly and in-depth was a rule at Firaxis.<ref name=DD898p3/> In the single-player mode, the team tried extreme strategies to find any sure-fire paths to victory and to see how often a particular computer faction ends up at the bottom.<ref name=DD898p3/> The goal was a product of unprecedented depth, scope, longevity, and addictiveness, where the player is always challenged by the game to come up with new strategies with no all-powerful factions or unstoppable tactics.<ref name=DD898p3/> According to Reynolds, the process has been around since Sid Meier's early days at Microprose.<ref name=DD399p1/> At Firaxis, as iterations continue, they expand the group giving feedback, bringing in outside gamers with fresh perspectives.<ref name=DD399p2>[[#DD|Reynolds (March 15, 1999)]], p2.</ref> ''Alpha Centauri'' was the first Firaxis game with public beta testers.<ref name=DD399p2/>

Finally, Brian Reynolds discussed the use of the demo in the development process.<ref name=DD399p2/> Originally a marketing tool released prior to the game, they started getting feedback.<ref name=DD399p3>[[#DD|Reynolds (March 15, 1999)]], p3.</ref> They were able to incorporate many suggestions into the retail version.<ref name=DD399p3/> According to Brian Reynolds, they made improvement in the game's interface, added a couple of new features and fixed a few glitches.<ref name=DD399p3/> They also improved some rules, fine-tuned the game balance and improved the AI.<ref name=DD399p3/> Finally, he adds that they continued to add patches to enhance the game after the game was released.<ref name=DD399p3/>
<!--Reynolds also said that the diplomatic personality was the best he has ever done up to that point, that the system of boundaries (introduced in ''Alpha Centauri'') worked really well without adding micromanagement, that he would have liked to have expanded the cutscenes, and that the biggest frustration was getting the 3d "Voxel" code to draw units.<ref name=Harrison2000/>-->In the months leading to the release of ''Alpha Centauri'', multimedia producer [[Michael Ely]] wrote the 35 weekly episodes of ''Journey to Centauri'' detailing the splintering of the U.N. mission to Alpha Centauri.<ref name=OfficialSiteStory>[[#OfficialSite|Official Site: The Story]]</ref>