Alien Legacy

Alien Legacy places you in command of the UNS Calypso, a seedship carrying around 5,000 colonists to the distant Beta Caeli system. The earlier UNS Tantalus was sent to the same destination but arrived decades ahead of the Calypso—and has disappeared without a trace.

Explore and Research

Before establishing a colony, explore each planet by selecting sectors from a world map and searching them in a 3D view, with an optional 2D perspective. Discover resources such as ore and energy, encounter new life forms, and find clues about a lost civilization and the events that preceded your arrival. Scanning can speed up the search, but consumes fuel.

Exploration produces research points in fields including biology and mathematics. Spend these points on technologies that improve mines, spacecraft range, and other aspects of the growing colony.

Build Colonies and Manage Time

Colonies are managed from a top-down view, where up to 16 buildings can be constructed to produce resources or spacecraft. Buildings require maintenance and can be upgraded or replaced as new technologies become available. Each colony also depends on sufficient people, materials, and robots to operate.

The game runs in real time, with two rounds representing a month. Time continues while the player is active or inactive, though it can be slowed to make management easier. After roughly 2,000 rounds, the focus shifts from peaceful expansion to a war against an unknown enemy.

• Developer: Ybarra Productions
• Publisher: Sierra On-Line
• Release date: May 14, 1994
• Platforms: DOS, MS-DOS
• Genres: Adventure; Construction and Management Simulation; Real-Time Strategy; Strategy