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  • Call to Power 2â„¢ Readme

    Call to Power 2â„¢ Readme

    This Readme file contains last minute information regarding Call to Power 2.

    This document contains useful information for Call to Power 2. Please review it carefully for any questions that you may have about the game. If you are looking for further answers, please look at our website at <http://www.activision.com> and .

    Note for Windows® 95 users: In order to view the full Call to Power 2 Help file system, you must have a web browser installed.

    November 1, 2000

    Table of Contents


    I. Troubleshooting

    Movies Not Appearing

    If, after installing the game, the opening movie fails to appear please try either reinstalling DirectX from the game CD or downloading the latest version of Windows Media Player from the Microsoft web site at http://www.microsoft.com.

    Installing New Hardware

    If you have just installed a new video card, or similar hardware, for your computer and are getting an invalid page fault or similar error in MSVCRT.dll please reinstall DirectX from the Call To Power II CD. Sometimes when you change hardware individual files may be assigned to the wrong Windows function, this should correct the problem.

    Playing Call to Power on a Laptop

    The default resolution that Call to Power 2 plays at may not appear correctly on some laptop monitors. This can often be resolved by changing the resolution to 800x600. This can be done in the main interface or in the ‘userprofile.txt’ file. Activision does not support playing Call to Power 2 on a laptop.

    Note to Windows 95 Users

    In Windows 95, players may experience text glitches if Windows is set to use "Large Fonts."

    Windows 95 does not have a default web browser setup. Although no browser is required to play Call to Power 2, you must have a web browser installed to view the full Call to Power 2 Help file system.


    II. Addendum to Manual and other Last Minute Issues


    A. Understanding CTP2 Formulas

    Call to Power 2 uses a complex series of formulas to compute bonuses.

    Example 1: Improvement claims to improve city production (or happiness, crime rate, commerce, food, overcrowding, etc) by 10%, however the actual increase after building it is often more or less than 10%. Why?

    Answer: There are many other issues that impact your city’s production (or happiness, crime rate, commerce, food, overcrowding, etc), such as preexisting crime, pollution, population, other city improvements, government type, specialists, Wonders, and more. The specified 10% is a typical average before other factors are computed. The given percentage is best when considered as compared to others.

    Example 2: Fortification Bonus, as displayed in the Battle View, doesn’t always seem consistent.

    Answer: The Fortification Bonus shows an average for all defending. For example, one unit has a 50% bonus for being fortified. If you have two units being attacked, one fortified and one unfortified, you will see a fortification of 25% (50% divided over 2 units).

    Example 3: Terrain Bonus, as displayed in the Battle View, shows a big bonus but I still didn’t win. Why?

    Answer: Only the Terrain Bonus for the defender is displayed, however the attacker also gets a bonus computed. Mountains have a greater advantage over plains. If a defender is in the mountains, they will likely survive an attack from units charging from the plains (everything else being equal). Likewise, units storming from the mountains to vanquish a similar army in flatlands will normally win (everything else being equal). Bonus levels for units attacking or defending across identical territory (both armies starting in plains or mountains) are nullified.

    Example 4: Unit upkeep costs as shown in the Unit Manager don’t always add up. For example, adding the upkeep costs of 3 hoplites, 1 spy, and 1 diplomat. The math seems to indicate the costs are 15, but the display says they’re costing me 18.

    Answer: The numbers in the Unit Manager do not reflect any impact of government type. Armies cost more or less for some governments and the displayed number is rounded for simplicity of display.

    B. Keyboard Binding

    Call to Power 2 gives players the opportunity to assign many of the typical commands to the keyboard. For a list of the default keys, please see the manual or the in-game options.

    When assigning keys several things are important to consider:

    1. Keys assigned are case sensitive. In other words, there is a big difference between ‘s’ and ‘S.’
    2. You are able to assign keys to control functions. For example, a valid choice could be ‘ctrl+s.’
    3. You are able to assign keys to special keys such as symbols (#,&,!,@, etc) and function keys (F1, F2, F3, etc).
    4. You CANNOT assign key to alternate keys. For example, you can NOT use ‘alt+s.’
    5. Many language specific keys cannot be bound (accented characters on non-English keyboards, for example).

    C. Multiplayer Options

    In the game, if the host wishes to kick a player, then the host can press ctrl+n to bring up a list of all the players in the game. To kick a player, select the player, that you wish to kick, and then click on the Kick button. Note: you can only kick human players from the game and not the AI. Also, if dynamically join is turned on, the host can choose to close off any Empires from being taken over by new players. To do this, select the empire and then click on either Open (allow human players to take over this Empire) or Close (to disallow human players from taking over this Empire).

    For more information about the creation and play of multiplayer Call to Power II games, please consult the Multiplayer Readme.

    D. Vanishing Armies

    In Call to Power II, players cannot have more than 12 units on a single tile at any one time. If a city builds more than 12 units, every unit built past the maximum are automatically disbanded. If an army of 12 units discovers a mercenary in an ancient ruin - the mercenary will not appear.

    E. Death of Tiny Cities

    It is very important to defend your cities in Call to Power II - especially very young and small villages. When a city with a population of 1 (10,000 people or less) is destroyed, it is completely razed. Nothing is left to retake. The town is wiped out and leveled to the ground.

    F. Upkeep Costs vs. Research

    All expenses of your empire are deducted from commerce before gold and science are calculated. Thus any building will deduct a small amount of money that would have been applied to research and any improvement that increases commerce will positively impact research.

    G. Maximum Players for Small Maps

    Small maps can only have up to 6 players at any time (including the player). If you choose more, only 5 opponents will appear.

    H. Special characters not available in Chat

    Some special characters are not available to use while chatting in multiplayer games. Keys available only on non-US keyboards may not appear. The ‘\’ key will not appear in some instances.

    I. Prerequisites for City Improvements

    Along with researching necessary Advances, some City Improvements require a city to have specific Improvements already available. For example, before a Bank can be built, the city must first have a Bazaar completed. The complete list of Improvement prerequisites is as follows:

    Before this can be built:

    This must be built:

    Academy

    none

    Airport

    Bank, Bazaar

    Anti-ballistic Missiles

    none

    Aqua-Filter

    Aqueduct, Arcologies

    Aqueduct

    none

    Arcologies

    Aqueduct

    Arena

    none

    Ballista Towers

    none

    Bank

    Bazaar

    Basilica

    Shrine

    Battlements

    none

    Bazaar

    none

    Behavioral Mod Center

    Correctional Facility, Courthouse

    Body Exchange

    Drug Store, Hospital, Incubation Center

    Brokerage

    Bank, Bazaar

    Capitol

    none

    City Walls

    none

    Computer Center

    Academy, Publishing House, University

    Cornucopic Vat

    Food Silo, Granary

    Correctional Facility

    Courthouse

    Courthouse

    none

    Drug Store

    none

    E-Bank

    Bank, Bazaar, Brokerage

    Eco-Transit

    Public Transportation

    Factory

    none

    Flak-Towers

    none

    Food Silo

    Granary

    Forcefield

    City Walls

    Fusion Plant

    Nuclear Plant, Oil Refinery

    Gaia Controller Core

    none

    Granary

    none

    Hospital

    Drug Store

    Incubation Center

    Drug Store, Hospital

    Matter Decompiler

    Recycling Plant

    Micro Defense

    none

    Mill

    none

    Movie Palace

    Arena

    Nanite Factory

    Factory, Robotic Plant

    Nuclear Plant

    Oil Refinery

    Oil Refinery

    none

    Orbital Laboratory

    Academy, Computer Center, Publishing House, University

    Gaia Power Satellite

    none

    Public Transportation

    none

    Publishing House

    Academy, University

    Recycling Plant

    none

    Robotic Plant

    Factory

    Security Monitor

    Correctional Facility, Courthouse

    Shrine

    none

    Television

    Bank, Bazaar

    Theater

    none

    University

    Academy

    Vr Amusement Park

    Arena, Movie Palace

    J. Changes For Tech Tree Poster

    After the printing of the poster, several units were tweaked to improve game balance. These changes include:

    Fusion Tank

    Ranged 100 -> 90

    Leviathan

    Attack 100 -> 90

    Ranged 100 -> 90

    Stealth Bomber

    Ranged 100 -> 95

    Stealth Fighter

    Attack 100 -> 90

    Ranged 100 -> 90

    War Walker

    Ranged 100 -> 95

    The poster indicates that the Televangelist has the ability to Bombard. This is incorrect. The Televangelist cannot Bombard.

    K. Changes From the Manual

    In the City Concepts chapter of the manual, it is mentioned that the number of Settler units a player starts with is a function of the difficulty setting. This is true. It fails to mention that it is also dependent on the player’s starting position. If the player starts in a relatively weak position, then the player will be given two Settlers. The higher the difficulty, the weaker the starting position needs to be in order to get two Settlers.

    In the chapter called "Setting Up a Game" some of the difficulty settings were incorrectly named. The Barbarian Threat options in The Difficulty window, accessible from the New Game Screen, is actually called: Ruins Only, Bandits, Raiders, Marauders.

    L. Battling Submarines

    Only PT Boats, Sonar Buoys, and other underwater units can see underwater units. Destroyers and other warships can only attack submarines if they are grouped into armies with units to spot for them. However, surface ships can bombard underwater units if they are in range and have line-of-sight.

    M. Additional Cost for Breaking Trade Route

    Every time you break a trade route, you lose 1 caravan.

    N. Similarities between Keyboard commands: ‘n’ for Next Unit / City Item and 'o' for Select Unit

    The Next Unit (default 'n') and Select Unit (default 'o') commands have very similar functions. However, hitting Select Unit will also take you to any of your cities that have an empty build queue making it more useful in micro-managing your empire.

    O. Scenario Rules

    1. Note about Scenarios
    2. Alexander the Great
    3. Magnificent Samurai
    4. Nuclear Detente

    1. Note about Scenarios

    Call to Power 2 includes 4 different scenarios: Alexander the Great, Magnificent Samurai, Nuclear Detente, and a World Map. Each scenario, except for the World Map, has a unique set of rules. Players should review the Great Library and the text below for more information. The World Map rules are identical to a normal game of Call to Power 2, except that the geography is identical to our real world.

    After playing thru any scenario, players will come across a blank high scores screen identical to the screen at the end of a standard Call to Power 2 game.

    It is highly recommended that new scenario games only be loaded from the main menu. Do not load scenarios from within normal games or from within other scenarios.

    2. ALEXANDER THE GREAT

    Victory Points

    Your performance in this game is rated through a point based objective system. You can earn up to 60 Victory Points in the game. You gain Victory Points for three things:

    1) Raise an heir to be old enough to take on the leadership of the Macedonians after your death. After finding a wife and giving birth to a son, you will earn a Victory Point for each year your son lives, up until the son reaches the age of 12, at which point you will get a 5 point bonus.

    2) Destroy or ally with civilizations. You get a Victory Point for each civilization in the game you've destroyed or allied with. Note that the Persians and Independent civilizations hate you fiercely and will not ally with you under any circumstances. You can also earn two Victory Points if all 13 of the great Barbarian Leaders are found and eliminated.

    3) Conquer and hold key cities, which include Syracuse, Tarentum, Carthage, Rome, Athens, Corinth, Pella, Sparta, Ephesus, Halicarnassus, Cyene, Memphis, Tyre, Salamis, Thapsacus, Tarsus, Sinope, Babylon, Susa, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Baktra, Aornus, Marakanda, Roruka, Pattala, Taksasila, Sakala, Ujjayini, Suvarnagiri, Kausambi, Mathura, Pataliputra, Tamralipti, Marib and Shabwah. You get a Victory Point for each of these cities that you or your Allies hold at the end of the game.

    Veteran Effect

    At the beginning of each turn, every unit who shares the same square as Alexander or Darius will gain Veteran status for the rest of that turn.

    New Units

    A number of new units have been added including the Elephant Warrior, Longbow Archer, Horseman, Catamaran, War Coracle, Trireme, Phalanx, Alexander, Darius, and the Generals. You can see their statistics and description in the Units section of the Great Library. The abilities of certain units familiar from the normal game, such as the Warrior, are slightly boosted.

    Time Index

    Each turn represents one month. Science, Production and Growth have been slowed to accomodate this. Researching a technology is 10 times slower, and tile improvements, units and buildings cost roughly 5 to 10 times more than usual, and cities grow at 1/10th of the usual rate.

    Movement

    Due to the greater detail of the map, unit movement is doubled. No unit can travel across Polar Mountain terrain. Units that cannot travel across Mountain terrain cannot move across Sand Dunes either. Your armies will be able to move after they attack and attack multiple times per round, unless they capture a city, in which case they will not be able to move or attack for the rest of that turn.

    Trade Goods

    Some trade goods are located on different terrain types than usual. Hills have Rubies, Diamonds and Emeralds. Elephants are found in Jungles. Jade can be found on Mountains. And Coffee, Tea and some other goods are not in the scenario because they haven't been commercially used in the time period of the scenario.

    Units And Buildings

    Some units and buildings can only be built in certain cities. For instance, Elephant Warriors can only be built in Indian cities and Hoplites are only available in ethnically Greek cities. The exception to this is if you found a new city. New Cities can build any type of unit. However, you cannot build Settlers and will only receive them through special events.

    3. THE MAGNIFICENT SAMURAI

    Background
      • In this scenario, you play as Akimbo Katana, a solitary, wandering warrior living in Southern Japan during the violent death-throes of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Your objective is to travel across the islands and recruit up to six other samurai to help you defend the village of Shichinen against marauding Bandits.
      • This is a Role Playing Adventure, so there is no city building, resource management or scientific research. And Diplomacy will avail you little, since you are dealing with brutes who only understand the language of steel and blood.
    Victory/Loss
      • The game is won when the Bandit Leader is defeated.
      • The game is lost either when Akimbo dies, or when a year and a half passes and you haven't defeated the Bandit Leader.
    Experience

    Akimbo and the other Samurai will gain experience from combat. More powerful enemies give better experience. When enough experience is earned, samurai will gain a level, increasing in power. Akimbo starts at level 1, but the other samurai you meet will start at higher levels. For this scenario, the maximum level is 9.

    4. NUCLEAR DETENTE


    How To Win
      • Using Spies, Investigate all eight Vendikari cities before Launch Codes reset.
      • Destroy all Vendikari nuclear subs in one turn.
      • Build the Nanite Defuser Wonder.
      • Convince the Vendikari, through diplomacy, to disband all their Nukes.
    Loss Conditions
      • If you remain at war for 12 turns, a M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) attack happens, which will usually destroy all of the Vendikari and Eminiari cities with nuclear missiles.
      • If you destroy a Vendikari nuclear sub or capture a Vendikari city, the next turn a M.A.D. attack happens, which will usually destroy all of the Vendikari and Eminiari cities with nuclear missiles.
      • If you disband all your nuclear missiles, you lose the game.
      • If another race builds the Nanite Defuser Wonder, you lose the game.
    Special Rules
      • Neither you, nor the Vendikari can move your nuclear submarines.
      • Neither you, nor the Vendikari can unload Nukes from Nuclear Submarines.
      • No players can build Nuclear Subs, Nukes, Anti-Ballistic Missiles or any kind of Settlers.
      • Launch Codes reset every 6 turns.

    P. Understanding Regard

    "Regard" is how your neighbors feel about you. It influences their communications and dealings with you. It will serve as a guide to them as they ponder your proposals and consider whether or not to attack you. As in real life, regard is not something that can be gained overnight - although it can be lost that quickly. Giving gifts and being nice will (over time) improve their regard for you. Being honorable and trustworthy in your dealings will impress them and will lead to rewarding friendships. Being two-faced, backstabbing, blood-thirsty, and aggressive while effective on the battlefield, will not foster cooperation at the negotiating table.


    III. Supported Languages

    List of Supported Languages

    The following W98 OS languages have been tested on the UK version of Call to Power 2:

    • English (US)
    • English (UK)
    • German
    • Portuguese (BR and IB)
    • Chinese (Simp)
    • Korean
    • Dutch
    • Swedish
    • Danish
    • Norwegian
    • Finnish
    • Japanese
    • Hebrew
    • Czech
    • Polish
    • Hungarian
    • Turkish
    • Slovian

    Activision is a trademark of Activision, Inc. (c) 1997-2000 Activision Inc. All rights reserved. Licensed by Activision, Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

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