Game Play
Each of the four races has fielded a team comprising six archaeologists; four are field researchers, while two man the control center on the surface. These command researchers coordinate the field researchers in the Siebel Center as they move between the two basement excavation sites.
Retrieving information packets supplied by the Siebel Center is a multi-stage process. First, a packet must be located by one of two field researchers. It must then be tagged for excavation by a third field researcher, and extracted and moved into a virtual transport by the fourth. These steps must be done quickly, as the fragile packets do not survive long outside the protective enclosures provided by the transport and surface base. The transport, which holds a limited number of packets, must be driven remotely by a command researcher to an upload jack. These jacks accommodate one transport at a time, and though there are many scattered throughout the basement, the building mischievously changes which are active. Once uploaded, packet values are determined and added to team scores.
Packets appear in two separate excavation sites. The control center is responsible for coordinating packet retrieval between the two sites, for which they are supplied with real-time, virtual representations of the dig and a line of communication to the field researchers. Further, since the Siebel Center has decided to have some fun, command researchers should pay close attention to packet locations in order to deduce where future packets may appear.
Since each race has a vested interest in retrieving the most valuable information, researchers will sometimes try to move in on another race's retrieval. Also, researchers responsible for locating packets are capable of placing packets of no value. To combat this, and to help researchers prioritize retrievals, researchers responsible for tagging packets are also capable of appraising them, thus displaying their value to the control center.
At the end of thirty minutes, the team with the most valuable information will have won.