Apolyton Civilization Site: Civilization II Section

NEWS ARCHIVE

WHAT WAS NEW ON THE SITE

26.June Column #47; By BlueWaldo
25.June 10 New files in DB
21.June 6 New files in DB, Civ2:TOT page updated.
19.June Column #46; By Starchild

10 VERY NEW FILES
(June 25, 1999) While in the last couple of weeks we posted new files that had been sent to us some time ago, this week we have 10 very new files, released these weeks. They are 1939, Civ Chess, Chess, Exodus 1947, Gwani, Ice Age, More Real, Near Future, Spain and World War I: Medieval
This just proves that there is no end in CivII creations! ToT QUESTIONS? GET THE ANSWERS
(June 25, 1999) Since it's "yes-it's-still-alive" announcement at this year's E3 in Los Angeles last month, we have learned more about what is in and what is out in Civilization II: Test of Time, which is being regarded as the last add-on to the immensely popular Sid Meier's Civilization II title.

John Possidente, a member of the ToT team, has been very active in our forums answering all questions regarding the product from numerous Civ fans. Here are just six responses from the ever-growing number of discussions John has had on various issues regarding ToT in the little over a week our ToT forum has been in existence!

Some of the responses may even surprise you! Read on...

A GAMING GRAMMY
(June 23, 1999) Some things seem to appreciate with value, and CivII seems to be no exception. GameSpot has posted a new feature on their website this week: a listing of the Ten Best Game Soundtracks ever. Guess what? Civilization II made the list! In the introduction provided by GS' writers, they make it clear that sometimes age comes before beauty. "All the games that compose our TenSpot have excellent (some admittedly, more dated than others) music, none are from well-known names in the music industry".

For Sid Meier's follow-up classic of the Civilization original, when it is first booted "you're treated to one of the best intro scores of any game. The heavy drums, seemingly inspired by African beats, are exciting and catchy, totally at odds with the general conception of strategy games as boring and cerebral. This was music that could rope you into the game".

This was one of two sound files including in the profile, which we have mirrored to make available for download here (1.5MB), which requires an MP3 player such as WinAmp to listen to -- but boy is it worth it, even if you have the game! The second clip is from Leonardo Da Vinci's Workshop Wonder (500k).

"The music team for Civilization II, led by Jeff Briggs, who also did the music for Civ I, did an excellent job in crafting music that stayed with you. Even years later, for those of us who played Civilization II, the music is still with us", concludes the write-up.

Our thanks to SidGames for the note.

BETTER AI IN ToT?
(June 21, 1999) In case you didn't notice, we have a new forum for Civ2: Test of Time. And the best thing is members of the development team are posting (you can tell from their status which is "Civilization II: Test Of Time Team" not "Civer"). To the point of this new item, there was a good question of whether this new add-on brings something more in the AI of civ2, beyond the new graphics and the new features we've heard about so far. John Possidente from MicroProse replied:
"Well, we certainly didn't rework the AI from the ground up, but in the process of upgrading it to teach it how to deal with multiple maps, the Midgard and Lalande games, and the other new bits, we couldn't resist the urge to fix (and add) a few things. I'm sure we didn't catch everything (no AI is perfect), but I hope you'll notice some change for the better."
ToT is coming in the first half of August...

6 NEW FILES
(June 21, 1999) Tired of seeing headlines like this? We're not! We think that new civ2 files after three years of it's release deserve a new item(do you know many games that have achieved this kind of thing? The new files are Beer and Pretzels Civ II, Civ Space, Islands in the Sand, Desert Storm, Modern Changes and The Pyramids Pack. Our thanks to Cam Hills who did the file processing. Today we're also celebrating 20,000 downloads from our database, which are actually many more as the count was lost for some of the files some months ago. Anyway, more new files are coming this week, perhaps even tomorrow.

MAC SALES HIGH AGAIN
(June 16, 1999) PC Data released their US sales listings for May. The PC versions were not in the top 20(looks like the bargain offer ended), but the Mac versions continued to sell well. The Gold version was on the 4th place, one higher than it's first month, while the original version(at a lower price) took the 6th. The first place was taken for a second month by Starcraft...

5 NEW FILES
(June 11, 1999) 5 New files in our DB today. These are The Great Clash, Fighters, French Fascist Patch, HiRes and Title. There are plenty more coming. so stay tuned. We also have a new page for those who want to submit a new file. As always we do need your help in making this Database bigger. If interested, mail Sven Muencheberg

9 NEW FILES, 207 TOTAL!
(June 8, 1999) It's a dream come true. Actually, a part of it. As of today, our civ2 file database, has over 200 files. We know it's not our initial goal of having all the files in the database(the UCIVIIS archive only has 900 files!), but we want to believe we're getting there!
Today, our Civ2 Database Manager, Sven Muencheberg(whose work on the DB has been tremendous), added 9 NEW(at least on Apolyton) modpacks: Death Star Attack, Lord of the Rings, Marte, Naval Battle, Alternative WW79, Canada, Soviets, Wu, New World 2.
If you want to help us on the database, or have a file to submit, contact Sven at svenm@apolyton.net.

NOT TO GO OUT QUIETLY
(June 4, 1999) Are you sure this is the Kansas you thought you knew?

While we all await Sid Meier's Civilization III, on a preliminary timeline for release next year, MicroProse "is putting the final chapter into place for the legendary Civilization II line". This from GameCenter, which today release its impressive preview of Civilization II: Test of Time. After numerous add-ons that have been met with little more then a get-on- with-it-or-come-off-of-it attitude from critics and fans abroad, all are looking to gobble up some new goodies to add to CivII's gameplay. It looks like they're getting it in spades.
"[The multiple worlds] add a great deal to the strategic considerations players must make," said Alex De Lucia, lead designer of ToT. "Look out, because the oceans, the sky, and the earth below are all in play, and danger is no longer just on four sides."

The 5-page preview is well-rounded, in that it covers all aspects of this summer-slatted title. To start with, the fantasy game included in Test of Time will certainly keep you on your toes. There are four worlds you play on--the air world, the sea world, the ground world, and the underground world--and attacks may come from any of them. You can choose to play as one of seven fantasy races as you juggle spell research along with the creation of fantastic armies, while attempting to colonize and dominate all four worlds.
Next, take a look at the built-in science fiction game set in the system of Lalande 21185. This variant starts you out on a planet upon which you've crash-landed. Once you civilize the planet, you'll move on to a "world" made up of abandoned space stations. From there you'll colonize a dead planet. Finally, you'll move on to a gas giant and attempt to colonize it, with the ultimate goal of returning home by developing Earthgate technology. Meanwhile, you also have to be careful with the aliens and other humans. Any Diety superstars in the house? =-)
Moving right along in the line-up, the Midgard scenario is another fantasy game, but instead of expanding your civilization and conquering your rivals, you have to meet certain conditions to win. Volsang (evil dude) is awakening after being frozen for thousands of years, and you have to win the game before he awakens.

Mark Asher, who prepared this first-look for GC and all Civ enthusiasts out there, is impressed with what he's seen in the product, currently in a playable beta stage.
"The beta we played with was mostly complete and very stable; all that was missing were some multimedia files and the manual".
Yes, CivII: ToT has the multi-player capabilities that first appeared in Multiplayer Gold Edition last Christmas. Drawbacks? One word: micromanagement.
"There are no building queues in Test of Time, but we do have a city preferences text file that will automate the build sequence. This is probably going to be an unsupported feature, though," De Lucia admitted.

Asher concludes that ToT "looks to be a very solid and engaging game". To make any would-be long conclusions short, it's suffice to say that all your personal relationships are likely to take a beating and morf into long- distance ones all over again: CivII: Tot is set to be released this August.
Now, be sure to check out our massive collection of ToT screenshots. All of those dated today are courtesy GameCenter with the notable exception of from_e3.jpg, which made its first apperance earlier on Strategy Gaming Online.

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