you playing alien crossfire expansion?
if you have played the Civilization games hes worked on prior to his split from microprose then
Nutrients = Food = population growth
Production = Self explanatory
Energy = Trade = Money
click on a city to manage it
when you gain a tech that gives you a unit technology you get 1 or more "standard" units that use it but you can develop additional units that use the technology depending our your strategy.
If the Spartans are AI controlled watch for them turning on you they are the most militaristic and aggressive faction in the game.
in the city management you can click around the map to move where you are gathering resources from, you can gather from more squares the bigger your city grows
