GameSpot's Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Game Guide

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appendices

Appendix A: Modifying Alpha Centauri Rules

Appendix B: Creating Custom Functions

Appendix C: Creating Maps and Scenarios

Altering Text Quotes
Inside the root Alpha Centauri directory is a file named blurbs.txt. This text file contains all the text for the story background and the character quotations that are shown during the opening and acquisition of new technology advances. You can edit the file with any word processor or text editor. Save the edited version in the directory where you place your scenario and it will be loaded each time the scenario is run.

Let's look at an example quote and how to alter it:

##Biogenetics #TECH0 We hold life to be sacred, but we also know the foundation of life consists in a stream of codes not so different from the successive frames of a watchvid. Why then cannot we cut one code short here, and start another there? Is life so fragile that it can withstand no tampering? Does the sacred brook no improvement? ^ ^ -- Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, ^ "Dynamics of Mind" The headings, here "##Biogenetics" and "#TECH0," shouldn't be changed. This tells the Alpha Centauri program where to place the quote. The text following the heading, however, can be completely different. Try to stay within the word count, though - don't write a novel for each quotation. Below the text is the name of the person who said it. Keep the formatting here identical, leaving the carets (^) right where they are. Test your changes to make sure the quote formats correctly inside your custom game.

Customizing Sound Files
Alpha Centauri's sound files are stored as .WAV and .MP3 files. Fortunately, these are two of the easiest file formats to change. To adjust the sound files, you must do a full installation of the game, which will copy over all the necessary sound files to your hard drive. Because there may come a time when you want to revert back to the initial state, you should also back up any files you change.

WARNING
This section is mainly for advanced users. Be extremely careful when replacing sound files. Back up all the files, so you can restore them at any time. Reinstalling Alpha Centauri will overwrite any changes you've made to the sound effect or voice files.

The sound effect files reside in the FX directory and are stored as .WAV files. There are a number of Windows 95/98 programs that can create and record .WAV files, including the simple program Sound Recorder. You should investigate the files to determine which sound effect is represented by which file. Then, just record your own and replace the file.

NOTE
Don't change sound files just for the sake of changing them. In creating a well-rounded scenario, you should make all the new sound effects complement the scenario's storyline and objectives.

Inside the VOICES directory, you'll find recordings of the various quotes played throughout the game. By purchasing or downloading a shareware .MP3 encoder, you can create your own voices to be played throughout the game. As with the sound effects, you can just replace the existing files with your own creations.