Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is a
4X Strategy Game by Firaxis Games released on February 12, 1999.
SMAC takes place in a speculative glimpse of the early 22nd Century, when humanity launches a colony ship known as the Unity into deep space towards the Alpha Centauri system. The goal of the Unity was to find a new beginning for humanity after poverty, war and pollution had rendered the Earth an almost unlivable waste, driving them to escape to the stars and aiming not to repeat humanity's past mistakes.
However, disaster strikes just before planetfall - A reactor malfunction awakens the colonists from cryo-sleep and severs the Unity's communications with Earth. The Captain is assassinated in the chaos, and the most powerful leaders onboard form ideological factions with dedicated followers in the ensuing power vacuum. As the ship breaks up, seven escape pods, each containing a faction, are scattered across the planet's surface.
The game is considered to be a spiritual
(if not canonical) sequel to the Civilization series, with a Space Race victory in those games concluding in a journey to Alpha Centauri.
