9 Years Celebration - THE YEAR IN HEADLINES - PART 1
THE YEAR IN HEADLINES - PART 3
April 2007
April 12 BTS DESIGNER DIARIES POSTED
"On the Firaxis website two designer diaries for the upcoming Civlization IV expansion Beyond the Sword have been posted: one about a scenario called Afterworld and one about concept art.
In the first article Tim McCracken, QA Manager and scenario designer, explains his reasoning for the Afterworld scenario, which is set in the distant future in an age where robots have transformed into malformed beasts and are eating humans(!).
The second article is authored by Mike Bates, a concept artists and modeler, explains how the process of creating concept art works, using the new Spaceship Victory in BtS as an example."
April 12 REVISION 719 BUILD IS OUT!
"Revision 719 Build for CtP2 is out! It includes: a resized Diplomacy screen (for Lemur), diplomacy flags that match the unit flags, Maq`s capitol star icon, Fixes the disband in neutral territory bug, the BarabarianSpawnBarbarian option works, but SectarianHappiness rules option DOES NOT - it will crash."
April 15 ITALIAN WARS RELEASED!
"You are invited to take command of various warring Italian factions in an epic struggle which spans the years 1494-1544. Can you change history and attempt to derail Charles` march on Naples, or will you seek another path to infamy or glory? The choice is yours!
With a delicious selection of graphics by top CIV2 artist fairline, and with design that can only be produced by a master scenario maker like Exile, what we have here is a real classic. The author has pushed the CIV2 engine to the limit in order to give the player a real challenge!"
April 17 SOREN JOHNSON LEAVES FIRAXIS GAMES
"On April 2nd, the Co-Lead Designer on Civilization III and Lead Designer on Civilization IV began a new chapter in his gaming career. After nearly seven years at game developer Firaxis Games in Maryland, Soren Johnson has returned to the West Coast and (re-)joined California-based game developer/publisher Electronic Arts (EA). Now, Johnson is working on the development of the cross-platform Spore title in what Maxis designer Will Wright has referred to as a Massively Single-Player (MMSP) game."
April 20 FIRST STRIKE II RELEASED!
"This is a geopolitical CIV2 MGE scenario where you can choose between various nations and superpowers to determine the fate of the world, and the threat of nuclear war is ever present. A lovely big world map with interlocking alliances and `tip the balance` regions to conquer all await the daring NATO/WARPAC player...One wrong move can cause WWIII...! If large scale war is your thing, check out this new version of a fine scenario!"
April 21 LINUX OFFERS CIVILIZATION IV!
"Linux now offers Civilization IV when you use a subscription based software from TransGaming Technologies called Cedega 6.0 that allows Linux Gamers to play Windows based titles."
May 2007
May 2 FUTURE OF `AON` TO BE CONDENSED
"The first ever Real-Time Strategy (RTS) machinima series will cease production by the end of the year but will have its story wrapped up in the process. Originally intended to be a three-season, thirteen-episode-per-season plus pilot serial, Age of Nations (AoN) will instead have one fourteen-episode season and three featurettes to its credit along with numerous specials including ongoing promos and commentaries. "
May 11 BTS FACT SHEET CREATED
"Apolyton Baron and technical assistant Solver has created a Beyond the Sword Fact Sheet. The page collects all known information about the new Civilization IV expansion, Beyond the Sword, in one convenient page.
This fact sheet will be updated as additional information is known!"
May 11 RELEASE DATE & BOX ART UPDATE
"Click for high-res imageSeveral sites, including GameSpot, Blue`s News and Joystiq are reporting that Civilization IV publisher Take-Two has released an official press statement saying that the game`s second expansion Beyond the Sword will be released on July 23 in North America and by the end of July in Europe. At the same time Take-Two also released the official box cover art for North America, a small version of which accompanies this news item."
May 17 CIV IV 3RD BEST ALL TIME!
"Games Radar gives Civilization IV third best of all time PC games. The article covers the one more turn impact by stating Civilization was so captivating that bedtime was always pushed into the wee hours."
June 2007
June 3 PLAY TM BTS INTERVIEW
"Civilization IV expansion Beyond The Sword interview over at Play TM by interviewer Sam Gibson, continues to pry Civilization IV Beyond The Sword Lead Designer and Programmer Alex Mantzaris from Firaxis games. This interview covers some older areas as well as other interesting areas."
June 8 POLYCAST `BLOOPERS: VOLUME 3`
"PolyCast, Apolyton Civilization Site`s (ACS) official podcast, is not perfect. The release of the third blooper reel from the audio series readily proves this point."
June 8 DARK AVATAR PATCH 1.6
"Galactiv Civilizations II Dark Avatar gets a new patch, this one, Version 1.6, covers "new" items such as New Graphics Engine for ships which should result in a 10X to 15X performance improvement for most players."
June 17 SID ON CONSOLE GAMING
"Sid Meiers talks about the future of console gaming and why the time is right for him to switch his attention to the next generation of console gaming."
June 20 BTS PODCAST
"Beyond The Sword Podcast is now available! Check out the nearly complete and much anticipated Civilization IV Beyond The Sword details as outlined by programmer/co-designer Alex Mantzaris and producer Jessie Smith. In addition, find out why Tim McCracken`s Afterworld is going to be unlike any Civ Scenario you have ever seen! You can also hear from Liam Collins on what it is like to be an intern at Firaxis."
June 21 IGN REVIEWS BTS: NEW TOYS
"Civilization IV:Beyond The Sword over at IGN gets reviewed. This review covers full details on all the new toys the expansion holds. According to Steve Butts In trying to get all the information organized, it`s become clear that there`s almost as much content in this one expansion as there is in most other full 4x games."
June 23 BTS AT GAMESPOT
"Gamespot reviews Civilization IV Beyond The Sword. Ocampo shares If you`re the kind of Civilization fan who likes playing historical scenarios, then Beyond the Sword will offer plenty of contemporary and near-future conflicts for you.
The scenarios and mods aren’t just historical either. There are a couple of incredibly fanciful mods that transform Civ IV into the most unexpected things."
June 23 GAMESPY REVIEWS BTS
"Gamespy reviews Civilization IV:Beyond The Sword. This article, by Thierry `Scooter` Nguyen, covers areas that Jon Shafer, lead designer of Beyond The Sword shows Gamespy!"
June 30 CIVILIZATION REVOLUTIONS ANNOUNCED
"Civilization:Revolution published by 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software,Inc. is now set for the console world.
According to this article, Some of the key features that will resonate with fans of strategy games and the Civilization franchise include 16 civilizations to master and lead to victory, an array of famous historical leaders to play as or compete against, and accessible maps and streamlined time scale for quicker games, intense combat, and constant action.
Sid Meier`s Civilization Revolution will be released in spring 2008 for next generation consoles and handhelds."
July 2007
July 1 BARRY CAUDILL DISCUSSES GAMING FOR PLAYERS WITH DISABILITIES
"Mark Barlet, owner of AbleGamers.com, a gaming forum for players with disabilities, recently sat down with Firaxis Executive Producer Barry Caudill to discuss the potentials of gaming for players with disabilities, and how Firaxis is considering the needs of disabled gamers."
July 2 `POLYCAST` EPISODE 17 TRANSCRIBED
"The seventeenth episode of PolyCast, the official Apolyton Civilization Site (ACS) podcast, is the first in the series to be transcribed. ACS user AAHZ volunteered his time to compile this written account and has committed to continuing to do so with future episodes.
Transcribing earlier episodes in reverse chronological order is being considered."
July 3 ROAD TO WAR HOMEPAGE LAUNCHED
"Apolyton is proud to announce that it is hosting the newly launched official website for Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword mod Road to War. Designed by Apolyton poster Dale Kent, with graphics by Apolytoner Hexagonian and GarretSidzaka from CFC, the scenario allows the user to play through the years leading up to World War II, and allows the player to select from both European and Pacific fronts, as well as different start dates for the European front."
July 4 EDGE GIVE US TOP 100 LIST
"Guardian Unlimited publishes Top 100, Edge has just published its third list of The 100 Best Games as a £10 special, as mentioned on our Gamesblog yesterday on July 4, 2007.
Civilization IV came in at number 20!"
July 5 BEYOND THE SWORD TRAILER RELEASED
"Firaxis Games, creator of Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, has released the official Beyond the Sword Trailer. Available in Windows Media format, the trailer is 26.7 MB and clocks in at nearly 3 minutes long."
July 6 IGN PREVIEWS SIX BTS SCENARIOS
"Gaming site IGN has posted a preview of six scenarios included in Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, the newest expansion in the Civilization IV series. The preview includes in-game screenshots, and more details as to gameplay than had been previously known about the scenarios."
July 12 A FIRST LOOK AT `CIVREV`
"The upcoming Civilization: Revolution has been given a first look by GameSpot reporting from the first year of the restructured and invitation-only E3. The gaming network`s Brian Ekberg reports that [i]f you`ve never played a Civilization game before, Sid Meier`s next effort might be the game for you."
July 12 A FIRST `CIVREV` PREVIEW FROM `E3`
"A two-page preview of Civilization: Revolution has been published on IGN. Written by the network`s Steve Butts, he reports from the restructured and by invitation-only E3."
July 12 GET `GOLD` BEFORE `BTS`
"Civilization IV: Gold Edition will arrive on July 17th in North America, a full week before the availability of the Beyond the Sword expansion hits store shelves and starts shipping in that continent. It contains CivIV and its manual, the first expansion Warlords, and several bonus items."
July 12 KENT PLANNING NEW SCENARIO ALREADY
"Except for those in the private beta test, Civilization IV players have yet to play any of the scenarios included in the upcoming Beyond the Sword expansion. This isn’t stopping "Road to War" creator Dale "Dale" Kent from asking the community which nations they would like to see on the map in a post-BtS world war scenario set in 1936CE. The map size will be 200x80 and a whopping 36 civilizations, 8 of which are superpowers."
July 14 MEIER TALKS `CIVREV` AT E3 2007
"Sid Meier talks to GameSpot`s Andrew Park about Civilization: Revolution to ship in stages next year for the major console platforms already available.
Meier affirmed his company`s commitment to developing for the PC, but we see no reason to deprive console players of these experiences."
July 15 CIVILIZATION: REVOLUTIONS E3 SCREENSHOTS
"Firaxis Games, developers of the Civilization series of strategy games, has released several pieces of artwork from their new game, Civilization: Revolutions.
They released five pieces of concept artwork, and eleven in-game screenshots, available here for download. The screenshots are in widescreen format, emphasizing the ability to play Civilizations: Revolutions on a next-gen console with an HDTV."
July 15 WELCOME TO SETTLER IV!
"On July 10, 2007, Apolyton Civilization Site moved its main operations over to a new server named "Settler IV". Its predecessor, "Settler III", is currently being retired after over two years of near-flawless service."
July 17 CIV: REVOLUTIONS VIDEO ON GAMESPOT
"Gamespot has released a video interview with Civilization: Revolutions executive producer Barry Caudill.
The video is about 13 minutes long, and primarily consists of Barry showing off the features of the game, including building, researching, and war, as well as several more leaders and advisers."
July 18 THE `HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION`, THE GAME
"A detailed "History of Civilization" -- the game, that is -- is available for reading as of today on Gamasutra. The ten-page write-up by Benj Edwards is part of the effort to provide detailed official histories of each of the first ten games voted into the Digital Game Canon."
July 18 LACK OF `CIVREV` FOR PSP EXPLAINED
"Not enough necessary resources is the reason why there will be no Civilization: Revolution on the PlayStation Portable console platform come next year. Developer Firaxis Games is doing all the work in-house on the Nintendo DS PlayStation 3, Wii and XBox 360 versions. As it is, the Wii version of CivRev will be two seasons later coming following its release on the other platforms."
July 22 AON FEATURETTE 1: `FORKS IN THE ROAD`
"The first of three Age of Nations (AoN) featurettes has arrived. Following-up on the events of the season finale "Loyalties Tested" released in March [see story], "Forks in the Road" condenses what was originally intended to be explored in a would-be sophomore season. Three generals with three different means to the same end. A Councilman is dealt a political equivalent, but it may not be as devastating as those who delivered it believe. Destiny is on the mind of two foreigners in a strange land, while their former allies experience a power shift whose repercussions are poised to impact both themselves and those around them."
July 25 `CIVILIZATION DAYDREAMS` LAUNCH
"Are you dreaming about Civilization tonight? Yes or no, several popular web comic creators in the gaming community have been brought together to create and showcase comics and animated shorts that demonstrate how intently they`re thinking about the strategy game series at any and and every hour of the day. Apolyton Civilization Site (ACS) is proud to partner with CivIV: Beyond the Sword publisher 2K Games to help deliver and display these original works in "Sid Meier`s Civilization Daydreams". Kicking off the "Civilization Daydreams" (CD) promotion on the occasion of CivIV: Beyond the Sword`s release is the launch comic by GUComics` Woody Hearn."
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