In the industry, community or in the game, we've been all over the map (and pardon this poor excuse for a pun). Until we stop to think about it, do we even realize that this is what we are doing to ourselves? Do we even care? When the ride is as thrilling, motivating and challenging as this one has been over the past twelve months in particular, you're damn right we care... and dare you suggest we step off at your peril.

CROSSROADS
Personally, my "real life" is at a crossroads with my post-secondary schooling complete and looking for a full-time job starting in September. I am presently pursuing a teaching position in or around the school board that I was just five years ago a graduating high school senior in. Good luck to me. Markos has already gotten his feet wet and worn in the full-time working world as one man in a two-man computer systems entrepreneur operation. Parallel this with all of the recent discussion about what Civilization IV is and is not shaping up to be depending upon your perspective, the community as a whole that ACS serves can reasonably be viewed at having come to another crossroads in its own life.

It is nearing four years since Civilization III was released, and two years since its second and final expansion pack Conquests was published. The period between the original Civilization and Civilization II's availability was five years with the CivNet add-on coming out roughly in the middle of that time period. Four expansions and the now defunct Call to Power series notwithstanding, the wait between CivII and CivIII was seven years. For those looking to have established a pattern, CivIV could have been nine years coming. Maybe longer. I wish you well in coming up with a formula for its expansion spacing and total numbers.

Thankful prayer upon prayer to you, Take-Two Interactive, for keeping CivIV's coming to fruition alive after fellow publisher Atari (formerly Infogrames) decided to unload it in an ongoing debt reduction effort. To developer Firaxis Games, we in the Civilization community are most grateful for your trying to top some of your best work... again. It's already a venerable and cherished franchise, and as such the bar is set some kind of high. No pressure.

VIBRANCY
If current release schedules come to pass, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords's availability will follow CivIV's a few months later. Stardock Systems, once 'the little developer that could', is no longer so much a little developer. The first GalCiv for the PC was the company's major break in the gaming industry and perhaps its biggest break yet, but by then it was anything but an up-and-coming startup. It has been growing steadily for more than a decade, and is still able to add as well as maintain its ongoing momentum. For GalCivII, a European as well as a North American distributor will see that the game gets pushed in more markets worldwide and placed on more store shelves than its predecessor. Add in Stardock's beta release policies, central electronic distribution channels and free game add-ons, it's no wonder GalCiv fans are increasingly electrified about what they see and hear about this much anticipated sequel.

The Rise of Nations community has not been phased by the recent shift of attention of its developer Big Huge Games and industry as a whole towards the recently announced sequel-in-spirit Rise of Legends. A steady stream of RoN custom creations and varied multiplayer tournaments keep its fans actively playing it with or without its Thrones and Patriots expansion, and BHG' sustained involvement in these efforts only adds fuel to already brightly burning fire of enthusiasm and loyalty.

Lastly, it's not only the 'big boys' that are in full gear. The folks behind the Freeciv cross-platform multiplayer strategy game have maintained and built upon momentum of their own in the past year too. A similar Civ-inspired and fan driven project, The Clash of Civilizations, continues a steady progression as well. The Ages of Man, a Call to Power II-driven and motivated endeavour, came together following thousands of exhaustive testing manhours and was first released on CD directly from its at-home developer and then exclusively online on ACS a month later. Lest we not forget the assorted homegrown and homebound Democracy Games which continue to excite participants and astound observers, yours truly included.

HOMEFRONT
Hello "Settler III", goodbye "Settler II". Nearly seven weeks after the attentive and intensive effort began, the transfer of all Apolyton services to the third server from the second server to host the site since its going independent of community networks in 2002 was completed. The primary reason for this move was neither bandwidth or memory, but rather hard drive space concerns.

In late March, ACS announced a commitment to complete coverage of GalCivII followed by a similar vow for CivIV in early April. The end of March also marked one year since Apolyton's optional "PLUS" subscription service celebrated its own first birthday. As of this writing, 82 individuals continue to subscribe to this service.

Not all ACS activities were confined to the gaming community this past year. In mid-January, the site made its first charitable donation in its history. The receipents were the victims of the tsunami disaster in southern Asia. The organization chosen for delivering this aid was the American Red Cross.

REFLECTION
Will CivIII retain its virbrancy following CivIV's release as CivII did in the wake of CivIII? Will GalCivII outshine and maybe even outlive(!) its predecessor? Will the RoN community remain strong and steadfast as newer and more intense competition in the real-time strategy market crosses its path? Will fan-driven endeavours like FC, Clash and AoM continue to climb the popularity and polished later? Will Apolyton continue to fulfill its mandate of being a (if not the) premier destination for all these and releated titles? All indicators to all of these questions point resoundingly to "yes".

Whew. Crossroads maybe, but stagnancy no way. Here's looking at you, Apolyton!