The Ultimate Civilization II Site (Ultimate CivII Site/UCIVII) is founded on May 3, 1996 by New York State resident and high school senior Mike “The Overlord” DelPrete. While no known evidence survives to substantiate the following claim, it can be said that when this fansite went online it was not the first to cater to the online Civilization II community. CivII itself had been released a few months before that. However, it does not take long for the hobby of one person to galvanize the community it is targeting.

In less than three months, the site amasses an archive totalling more than 40MB¹ worth of scenarios, maps and modification packages (‘MOD Packs’). In the same period it observes a doubling of staff, marked by new management under the same ownership. The growth level in question will progress steadily, with the archive of said and related files surpassing the 160MB² level by April, 1998. In the coming pages, it will be recounted how the Ultimate CivII Site will relocate its World Wide Web presence five times – twice to and from the same server – before its first birthday. With the exception of the first move, it is not the size of its file archive but rather the amount of bandwidth usage³ that nearly leads to the site’s closure. UCIVII is simply becoming too well trafficked too quickly. It is an underlying theme that, either in the act of practice or apprehension of probability, will carry UCIVII through five identifiable stages of its 786-day lifespan.

It is all to end or, perhaps more accurately, change on July 26, 1998⁴ when it becomes one of the two fansites that form the foundation of what is today Apolyton Civilization Site (Apolyton CS/ACS). Most modern ACS visitors likely have little or no first-hand or even shared knowledge of UCIVII beyond its continued namesake in ACS’ official logo, a position it shares with The First Greek Civilization 2 Site (TFGC2S). This volume will inform those new to this part of ACS pre-history, and refresh the memories of those who observed these events unfold. For the Ultimate Civilization II Site, its twenty-six months of digital being can be oversimplified as follows: uncertain, unrelenting and indebted to circumstance.     [Next ...]   |   [Endnotes]