GameSpot's Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Game Guide

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part 1

Chapter 1: Exploration
    First City
    Scout Patrol
    Exploration Insight
Chapter 2: Infrastructure
Chapter 3: Research and Development
Chapter 4: Military Fundamentals

Chapter 1: Exploration

Monoliths
Monoliths appear in random locations throughout the world of Alpha Centauri and can be quite useful to the resourceful player. Unlike alien artifacts and cargo pods, the abilities of a monolith are unwavering constants. A monolith will always:
* Increase a unit's morale by one level (morale levels are covered in detail in Chapter 5)
* Repairs any damaged unit
* Produce two nutrients, two minerals, and two energy units every turn.

WARNING
A particular unit can only use a monolith once to raise its level, though it may repair itself at a monolith an infinite number of times.

Monoliths are important to hold, because they aid your military units.

As you can see, monoliths are very powerful and useful, especially if used properly. It usually takes many successful battles before a military unit increases in level, which makes it more potent and more difficult to destroy. A monolith can do the same thing - without bloodshed - and the effect is immediate.

TIP
Use the monolith to increase the morale level of already advanced units. It's quite simple to go from level 1 to level 2, but when the unit in question is already highly ranked, the next level can be quite challenging to get. The wise player will bump up the level of an advanced unit using a monolith.

Since a monolith can repair a unit instantly, having a monolith near one of your cities can prove invaluable. A great tactic is to place a military unit on top of the monolith and have it sit there for as long as possible. If an enemy happens to come strolling by, let them come to you. By doing this, your unit will be repaired automatically at the beginning of the next round while the enemy is still damaged!

Last, because a monolith tile can also be a valuable resource supplier, you should consider building a city near one and tapping into the resources. Just make sure that the region in question has plenty of other tiles worth harvesting, as a solitary monolith isn't enough to grow a small city into a larger one.

Next: Exploration Insight