C#159: CIV II VS CTP2, TOT, AC, ETC... (24 March 2001, 20:42 EST) Some good people have taken the big step to give everyone a brake and stop me from writing more articles for the Column.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system; you can left-click on the file to have it stream through your player of choice (28.8K+ Internet connection recommended), or right-click to download the 1.0MB file to listen at your convenience at a later time. -DanQ
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system; you can left-click on the file to have it stream through your player of choice (28.8K+ Internet connection recommended), or right-click to download the 1.2MB file to listen at your convenience at a later time. -DanQ
RECENT EMAIL DIFFICULTIES (24 March 2001, 15:23 EST) About a day or so ago our host's mail server experienced some difficulties and service was only fully restored earlier this afternoon. The nature of these difficulties meant that anyone who emailed "dan@apolyton.net" (not "markg@apolyton.net") in the past ~36hrs. or so may have had their email bounced back to them with any kind of error in response.
If you did email "dan@apolyton.net" in the last ~36hrs. and did have your email bounced back to you, please resend it (or them as the case may be). If you did send an email to the said address during the said time period but did not receive an error, please re-send anyway to ensure proper receipt.
HANNIBAL`S WAR SCENARIO (24 March 2001, 12:12 EST) "Hannibal Ad Portas" released the BETA of his second scenario. Titled "Hannibal's War", it deals with Carthage and their 2nd Punic War with Rome, regarded by most as Hannibal's War. Hannibal with his army arrives north of massilia heading for Italy, Scipio, a roman consul, by chance puts in at massilia for supplies for his army in route to Spain where he expects to find Hannibal, a sharp cavalry action follows and Hannibal force marches to the alpine pass he has selected to lead him into Italy. A second consul is tasked with the complete conquest of sicily. At this point history is now yours to make as the creator describes. The scenario contains new/modified units, and incorporated the diplomod, along with other changes in the AI(more at the related forum thread). If you dont care of of the beta status and have no problem downloading a 6MB file, get it now! -MarkG
DIPLOMOD 3.4 & DINO/JAP&KOR MAPS (20 March 2001, 16:43 EST)The AI Diplomacy mod have reached version 3.4. Try it today if you havent already.
Also, two new maps from Omnigod(who now has 15 in a total of 91 files in the database!) and Eric McIntyre Map of Japan & Korea Dinotopia Map
Btw, show your appreciation to the creators, review some files! -MarkG
TOP CTP2 FILES FOR FEBRUARY 2001 (18 March 2001, 17:21 EST) Since the numbers of reviews has reached a sufficient number, we are posting the first Top 10 chart for CTP2 files, based of course on YOUR reviews and ratings.
ACTP2DB Stats Total Files: 79 Total Reviews: 38 Average Rating: 8.12 Total Downloads: 30271 Average Downloads/File: 340.12
Note: due to delayed time of this posting, the total number of downloads is not accurate. -MarkG
HANGDOG REVIEW, BY PHRED (22 March 2001, 11:57 EST) Hangdog, a start-up gaming network, posted two reviews to launch their site and spark the interest of its visitors -- one of the said reviews is their take on none other than CTPII.
Here's what staff reviewer Phred had to say on various aspects of the game:
Nice intro sequence (once installed!) giving me the flavour of what was to come. [..] Graphics colourful, neat and tidy, interface a bit intrusive. Okay, now we're getting started. [..] The background music was repetitive, as you might expect. After a few hours of playing, the same little ditties keep spinning again and again. However, the music was generic and unobtrusive enough to avoid making a nuisance of itself.
The micromanagement aspect has been toned way back from, say, CivII. I don't have to worry about what unit was produced in what city. I don't have to worry about what citizen is working at what terrain square, as the cities just pull in resources from their radius of influence. [..] ... now increasingly pleased with the lack of micromanagement. The more I play, the more I appreciate the removal of the heavy micromanagement. [..] Build queues, national management tools are really sweet things!
And what do these items equate in terms of a conclusion? The answer is only a scroll away.
Sure it's a CIV clone...but it's more accessible for the new player. The absence of micromanagement means it's not as deep as CIV so experienced players need not apply (although they might enjoy the AI), but if you're looking to try a turn-based strategy game for the first time it's a good launching point - and a lot of fun!
GAME ON-PC REVIEW IN (23 March 2001, 0:05 EST) If you thought all the substantial reviews for CTPII were already in, think again. Game On-PC staffer Alessandro Martini recently gave the game a 74% overall score. -DanQ
The 