Bases

Bases are the nuclei of factions. Every faction starts the game with one or two colony pods, one of which automatically becomes their first base unless the appropriate option is chosen. Base building is necessary for survival and most Alpha Centauri players typically fall somewhere between the small-pox and big-pox approach: Making dozens of small bases or a handful of well developed ones. In Alpha Centauri your philosophy will greatly depend on the availability of space and your industrial output.

Notably, bases can be constructed in water as well (as long as it's the continental shelf). While sea bases are limited in their terraforming options, they are less vulnerable to attacks and allow for making the most of the space provided by the game.

Base squares
The map in the upper screen shows the region around your base. Any square in this region can be farmed, mined, or otherwise improved by your citizens in order to produce nutrients, minerals, and energy, which are the basic economic units of the game. Squares in use are marked with icons showing the quantity of each resource they are producing.

You can utilize one square on this map for each {Worker} you have at this base (you can also always utilize the base square itself). You can drag Workers from square to square, or drag them into the population bar to elevate them to specialists.

You cannot utilize unexplored squares, squares utilized by other nearby bases, or squares occupied by enemy units.

Citizens
Colonists allow you to work the squares surrounding the base, in a 2 square radius (3 along the north-south and west-east axes), with their performance depending on the technologies unlocked, base facilities built, and most importantly, terraforming improvements placed by formers.


 * Every colonist consumes two units of nutrients per turn. Surplus nutrient production If the nutrient output of the base is below the consumption rate, the base experiences a shortfall and begins consuming the stored food. If food stores are emptied, the base starves, losing a population level.
 * If a colony pod is completed, the base transfers one population level to the pod. The total population cannot fall below one.
 * They can also become specialists, providing additional industrial, research, or psych output.

Base facilities

 * Facilities are a way to flesh out the capabilities of your base and expand or modify their functionality. Big pox approaches emphasize building up the bases' infrastructure.
 * Headquarters represents the heart of your faction, preventing the base from suffering inefficiency penalties or susceptibility to mind control. If your base with headquarters is in danger of being conquered, you can evacuate the headquarters to a random friendly base for 1000 energy. Losing your headquarters gives you a major penalty to efficiency until it is rebuilt.