February 2001
NO. 30 IN SPM ISSUE 4
(28 February 2001, 19:12 EST/SMAC) A supplement to Strategy Player's fourth issue was entitled "100 All-Time Strategy Games" written by Neil Armstrong. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri was ranked thirteith in the countdown, just behind Diablo 2 and The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall.
Sid Meier appears yet again in this top 100, with the strategically apt Alpha Centauri, Armstrong writes. You get into the action by controlling one of 14 factions, each with unique skills.
At the end of the supplement, the reader is informed that the folks at SPM are compiling their readers' Top 50 strategy games for a feature in an upcoming issue of the publication. Entry form included, SPM is sweetening the deal by holding a draw to give away the top ten strategy games selected by readers to five readers at random! -DanQ
CIV3 SITE TO BE UPDATED TOMORROW
(28 February 2001, 19:10 EST/Civ3) Yeah, we have a "release date"! :) After the 435th post regarding the lack of updates on the official civ3 site, Dan Magaha posted on our forums:
Barring any last-minute objections, there will be a site update sometime tomorrow. I'll try to get to answering questions more often, but dare I say there's a lot going on around here right now. Bear with us.
Thanks,
Dan
Firaxis Games, Inc.
Let's see if anyone objects... ;) -MarkG
NO. 3 IN SPM ISSUE 4
(28 February 2001, 19:05 EST/Civ2) A supplement to Strategy Player's fourth issue was entitled "100 All-Time Strategy Games" written by Neil Armstrong. Civilization II was ranked third in the countdown, just behind Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and Champion Manager 3.
The sequel to the best-selling strategy game Civilization, CivII provides players with an even higher level of addiction and addiction is what it's all about, Armstrong writes. The games are much more advanced than its predecessor, tons more tactical decisions have to be made and a successful outcome takes longer to achieve.
What sets CivII apart is the massive volume of flexible additions that have been added. What's really impressive about these additiosn are that they are just that -- additions. None of the units and options from the original title have been sacrified to make room for innovations.
At the end of the supplement, the reader is informed that the folks at SPM are compiling their readers' Top 50 strategy games for a feature in an upcoming issue of the publication. Entry form included, SPM is sweetening the deal by holding a draw to give away the top ten strategy games selected by readers to five readers at random! -DanQ
BROKEN LOGINS RESTORED
(27 February 2001, 17:43 EST/About) After our recent "server adventures" several logins were "eaten". Unless we are sadly mistaken(feel free to correct us), all of them have been restored in some way
The following logins have all of their data, although not fully updated
Cedronian
Stefu
F_Smith
Victor Galis
Kestrel
FreeChina
Ramo
Rama Kha
The Capo
Lincoln
Natan
Hobbes_One
alamo
The following are functional but dont have any of the personal details or post count/registration data. Please mail us about it(mentioning what your post count was and when you registered) to restore these data.
SOC
ctpub
SlowThinker
Leland
Mihai
Don Quixote
All affected users should recieve a mail with their password. If you dont get such a mail in the next 24 hours please use the "forgot your password?" feature. -MarkG
GENERAL+STRATEGY=GENERAL/STRATEGY
(26 February 2001, 20:05 EST/CtP2) It seems like after we run out of "activision talk" in the ctp2-general forum that there was little "general" discussion left. So, in order to have things more organized and since the traffic dictates it, we've merged the ctp2-general and ctp2-strategy forums to one, the CTP2-General/Strategy Forum
Comments are always welcome. -MarkG
POLL: MGE VS TOT
(26 February 2001, 17:12 EST/Civ2) If you havent noticed, we've been running a "MGE vs TOT" poll in the forums for a couple days now. While MGE got a good start, things have goten more even now. Still we're only at begining. Place your vote now and join the discussion on the forum... -MarkG
CTP1 PBEM CHART 25/2/1
(26 February 2001, 4:58 EST/CtP) This week's chart
RANK NAME................... RATING WIN. LOSS NAT.TR
0001 KLAIR.................. 22.979 0021 0000 FRA...
0002 MOBIUS................. 22.935 0015 0000 GBR.EN
0003 SWISSY................. 21.840 0009 0001 USA.IL
0004 SLAMP.................. 21.334 0019 0005 FRA...
0005 LUNG................... 21.230 0013 0006 AUS.SW
0006 STAVROS................ 21.136 0035 0013 GER...
0007 BLACKICE............... 21.131 0004 0001 CAN.ON
0008 RICK_ELKINS............ 21.127 0008 0007 USA.NY
0009 KRALJ_MATJAZ........... 20.877 0017 0001 SLO...
0010 DARTH_VIPER............ 20.364 0004 0004 NED...
Much more on the forum. -MarkG
`COMMUNITY` MOVES TO `APOLYTON`
(25 February 2001, 11:56 EST/About) Traditionally, the Civ2-General forum was also titled the "Community" forum, being the place where all threads related to the civ community where supposed to be. Well, things have kind of changed, new games have come... Therefore, the right thing to do was to move the Community part to where it probably fits better, the Apolyton forum.
From now on, the Apolyton/Community forum will be the place for threads about the civ community, announcements or any other kind of discussion for sites, general discussion on the civ genre, etc. It will of course remain the place to report problems, discuss forum decisions and policies and all the other fun stuff... :)
You can discuss this change in (where else) the Apolyton/Community Forum -MarkG
C#155 THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF WAR AND ECONOMICS
(24 February 2001, 23:14 EST/Misc) How can a man of peace discuss the necessity of war? Read on, Father Beast's article: The interrelationship of war and economics in the 155th installment of The Column. -DanQ
DOWNTIME RESPONSE
(22 February 2001, 15:16 EST/About) Around 1:40PM EST this afternoon, apolyton.net and apolyton.com went offline as the result of a temporary server hangup. Service was restored around 2:35PM EST. Again around 6:55PM EST, the server experienced more difficulties and again when unresponsive. Service was again restored, this time around 7:50PM EST. A preliminary analysis has determined that the second downtime was of a similar nature to the first.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. -DanQ
TENTATIVE DATE PREMATURE
(20 February 2001, 14:38 EST/Civ3) A few days ago we ran a news item about a report on The Adrenaline Vault's website that Civilization III is scheduled for a fourth quarter, 2001 release. This statement was in a press conference held by Infrogrames, CivIII's publisher, late last week. We contacted Firaxis Games' Kelley Gilmore, the company's Communications Manager, for confirmation.
We have not yet announced a release date for CivIII, Gilmore told us. You guys [Apolyton] will be among the first to know when we announce the date.
Once a date has been set and released by Firaxis, you'll find it listed here first. -DanQ
CIVILOPEDIA FORUMS UP
(19 February 2001, 11:14 EST/Misc) Dustin Bainbridge, the owner/webmaster of the Civilization III Civilopedia, contacted us this morning with word that his site's forums are now operational.
Running on UltraBoard 2000 Standard Edition, available forums for discussion are: CivIII-General, Suggestions; Civilopedia-Feedback/Suggestions, News; Miscellaneous-General, Recreation/Creativity and Web Related. -DanQ
APOLYTON NEWS FEB11-17/2001
(18 February 2001, 19:53 EST/Misc) The latest issue of our newsletter should be arriving in our subscribers' inbox right about.... now. ;)
The main headlines are:
- Civ3: Tentative Release Date?
- Official Civ2 Site Gone?
If you too want to recieve the news of the week in your mail, sign-up now! -MarkG
COLUMN #154; BY JAY BEE
(17 February 2001, 23:30 EST/Misc) Jay Bee doesn't subscribe to the popular opinion that CivII is on its way out the door, and is prepared to back his statement up in his article entitled "Civ2 Dying Out? Not At All". Comments/questions are welcomed in our forums, or you may opt to contact the author directly.
This is the 154th installment of The Column. If you would like to write for this ongoing feature, please see our Article Submission Page. -DanQ
SMAC PBEM CHART 5/2/1
(17 February 2001, 22:11 EST/SMAC) As of today we will start posting the smac/smacx pbem charts from our ac-multiplaying forum. Here's the first!
POS....NAME............ RATING
001....STUNTMAN19...... 21.437
002....BIG_CANUK....... 21.000
003....DILTHIUMDAD..... 21.000
004....GOOGLIE......... 21.000
005....MARK13.......... 21.000
006....MISOTU.......... 21.000
007....REDFRED......... 21.000
008....SOLVER.......... 21.000
009....TAU_CETI........ 21.000
010....BLACK_SUNRISE... 20.215
The full listing -MarkG
CTP1 PBEM CHART 11/2/1
(17 February 2001, 22:07 EST/CtP) Yeah, it's not on time... (insert usual excuse) P.G. P.G. WWW...
RANK NAME................... RATING WIN. LOSS NAT.TR
0001 KLAIR.................. 22.979 0021 0000 FRA...
0002 MOBIUS................. 22.935 0015 0000 GBR.EN
0003 STAVROS................ 22.440 0024 0007 GER...
0004 FRANSES................ 21.612 0005 0000 NED...
0005 SWISSY................. 21.469 0003 0000 USA.IL
0006 SLAMP.................. 21.334 0019 0005 FRA...
0007 BLACKICE............... 21.131 0004 0001 CAN.ON
0008 RICK_ELKINS............ 21.127 0008 0007 USA.NY
0009 KRALJ_MATJAZ........... 20.657 0014 0001 SLO...
0010 ST_JON................. 20.415 0024 0025 GBR.EN
The full thing in the forum... -MarkG
FIRST VERSION OF GALCIV TECH TREE POSTED
(17 February 2001, 21:25 EST/Alt) Brad Wardell was wondering in his last update on whether antone reads his reports. Well, we do :) The last one is about the first version of the tech tree
We have the first version of the tech tree available.
We expect to add a lot of techs to it.
Much more for Galactic Civizations at the official site. -MarkG
GREAT NATIONS: UPDATED DEMO, SITE
(17 February 2001, 19:27 EST/Alt) Updated demo, updated website: that's the week it was at and for Great Nations. In regards to the former, version 6.1.1 was released with various gameplay and internal changes. As pertaining to the latter, a complete overhaul awaits all that visit GN's official website.
Thanks to Yog-Sothoth for the notification in our forums yesterday. -DanQ
TENTATIVE RELEASE DATE?
(17 February 2001, 18:56 EST/Civ3) The Adrenaline Vault is today reporting that Infrogrames, which just recently acquired Hasbro Interactive and its MicroPROSE division amongst others, sent them a updated release date that lists Civilization III set for a tentative release in the fourth quarter of this year.
The promotional machine on this title should be fired up around E3, so watch for the first tangible details and images to start appearing in a few months, Vault newsie David Laparad writes.
No confirmation has yet surfaced from Firaxis Games on this report to date. -DanQ
PCDATA: FEBRUARY 3, 2001
(14 February 2001, 17:49 EST/Misc) For the week ending February 3, 2001, the Top 10 Selling PC Computer Games based on sales data gathered by Reston, Virginia's PCData are listed below.
1) The Sims | Electronic Arts
2) The Sims: Livin' Large | Electronic Arts
3) Roller Coaster Tycoon | Hasbro Interactive
4) Hoyle Casino 2001 | Havas Interactive
5) Age Of Empires II: Age of Kings | Microsoft
6) Diablo 2 | Havas Interactive
7) RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loony Landscapes | Hasbro Interactive
8) Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 | Electronic Arts
9) Oni | Gathering of Developers
10) Sim Theme Park | Electronic Arts
This chart is developed from data provided by 42 retail chains comprising more than 80% of the U.S. market. -DanQ
THRONE ROOM OR PALACE?
(14 February 2001, 16:40 EST/Civ3) Or something else? Here is our 16th civ3 poll -MarkG
UNIQUE CIVS: YES, BUT WITH OPTIONS
(14 February 2001, 16:26 EST/Civ3) The majority of civers are not against the idea of unique civilizations(each having advantages and disadvantages), but only if there are also alternative options. Here are the full results of our 14th poll| Civ3: Unique (Dis/)Advantages for each Civ? | | Option | Votes / Percentage | | 1) Yes, like in SMAC |  57 / 17% | | 2) No, keep it like in Civ2 | 51 / 15% | | 3) Yes, but give choice for play ala civ2 | 40 / 11% | | 4) Yes, but give choice of (dis/)advantages in the start of the game | 38 / 11% | | 5) Yes, but give both 3 and 4 | 148 / 44% | | Total Votes: 334 | View Comments | Forums Discussion |
|
-MarkG
OFFICIAL CIV2 SITE GONE?
(14 February 2001, 16:09 EST/Civ2) The recent sale of Hasbro's Hasbro Interactive(HI) part to Infogrames seem to have some effect on the official civ2 sites.
Civii.com is now a "mirror" of the Hasbro.com site. Meanwhile the Hasbro Interactive site is just two pages now: the front page having a "Undergoing Routine Maintenance" message and a patches page which doesnt contain the civ2 patches though! Finally, the HI Support pages are operational and still have info for Civ2(look for "Civilization II/Gold/Test of Time")
Whether or not the official civ2 site comes back, we dont know yet. Thanks to Kull for the report. -MarkG
PCG-UK: CIVII `DEAD`, CTPII NEW KING
(12 February 2001, 21:15 EST/CtP2) PC Gamer UK has given CTPII a most favourable review. In fact, it goes as far to say that Civilization II is dead and that it's time to say hello to the next generation of Civilization titles.
The original CTP fell just short of Civ II, but its sequel takes the genre to new heights, reviewer Ian Roxburgh writes. Activision have spent the better part of the last year and a half listening to feedback from fans of CTP and putting their suggestions into practice. As a result, CTP2 is the best [Civ] title to date.
To play Call To Power 2 is undeniably a pleasure. Considering that empire-building resource management games are by their very nature 'fiddly', CTP2 does well to maintain its customary depth of involvement in a more user-friendly way. Substance is always more important than form - and CTP2 is as good an example as you're ever likely to see.
If you've no friends or a spare week (or ten) then [CTPII] will make life alone a goal, not a problem. -DanQ
HASBRO FINANCIAL RESULTS
(12 February 2001, 21:02 EST/Misc) Hasbro today reported fourth quarter and full-year 2000 results in line with previously announced guidance in December. Prior to charges, the net loss for the year was $23.0 million compared to earnings of $286.6 million in 1999, and diluted loss per share was $0.13 compared to earnings of $1.42 in 1999. These results include a loss from operations of $0.40 per share attributable to Hasbro Interactive and Games.com and exclude $146.1 million of pre-tax charges ($93.5 million after-tax) related to the previously announced Consolidation Programs and a pre-tax charge of $44.0 million ($28.2 million after-tax) associated with the sale of Hasbro Interactive and Games.com.
For the year, net revenues worldwide were $3.8 billion compared to $4.2 billion in 1999, reflecting a significant decline in Furby and Star Wars. Total fourth quarter net revenues were $1.2 billion compared to $1.6 billion a year ago. The decline in fourth quarter revenues primarily reflects a decline in Pokemon, including trading card games, as well as weakness in the U.S. toy group. [ Source: PC GameWorld ] -DanQ
NEWS IN REALAUDIO©: JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 3, 2001
(11 February 2001, 23:19 EST/Misc) The audio broadcast of the January 28 - February 3, 2001 newsletter is now available for broadcasting live, on demand, in RealAudio© format.
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 2.3MB file to listen at your convenience at a later time. -DanQ
APOLYTON NEWS FEB3-10/2001
(11 February 2001, 20:22 EST/Misc) Another edition of our newsletter is reaching it's subscribers at this very moment.
The main headlines are:
- Conversations with Richard
- CTP1 PBEM Chart
Want to get all the civ news of the week in your mail? Sign-up now! -MarkG
NEW FAN SITE UNVEILED
(11 February 2001, 0:37 EST/SMACX) Whoever says that that nobody is opening SMAC fan sites anymore should see how well it goes over with the owner/webmaster of the newly launched Chironian Guild.
Announced to the Apolyton community in our forums just yesterday, it is already attracting considerable attention. See it for yourself! -DanQ
TG BOOK OF RECORDS
(11 February 2001, 0:34 EST/Misc) The request:
Help us find the best players in the world! If you know of any great video game player who is a champion on any game title or game genre, please nominate them for a biographical listing in our forthcoming special commemorative edition of Twin Galaxies’ Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records.
The originator: you guessed it, Twin Galaxies. With twenty heavyweight gaming sites participating in the search alongside TG, this is shaping up to be quite a publication. Think you can help? You know where to go.
Credits go to Thunderfall over at the Civilization Fanatics Centre for airing this story first. -DanQ
ONE UP ON G100
(11 February 2001, 0:28 EST/CtP2) In the 423rd installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Call To Power II jumps one up to obtain 12th spot this week.
To vote for CTP2 this and every week, click here! -DanQ
RAISING ROOF ON G100
(11 February 2001, 0:27 EST/Civ2ToT) In the 423rd installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization II: Test Of Time raises the roof climbing back into 11th position this week.
To vote for ToT this and every week, click here! -DanQ
THIRTEENTH THUD ON G100
(11 February 2001, 0:26 EST/SMACX) In the 423rd installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire tumbles three spots and lands with a thud into 13th this week.
To vote for SMAC this and every week, click here! -DanQ
FIFTY-FIRST BRANCH ON G100
(11 February 2001, 0:24 EST/CtP) In the 423rd installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization: Call To Power plummets a whopping six spots and grabs onto the chart's 51st branch this week.
To vote for CTP this and every week, click here! -DanQ
COLUMN #153: BY MRFUN
(10 February 2001, 23:52 EST/Misc) MrFun dispenses three reasons as to why military expenses should be absorbed by the empire as a whole and not individual cities in The Column's one-hundred and fifty-third installment entitled "Civilization III and Military Maintenance".
Comments/questiosn welcomed in our forums, or you may opt to contact the author directly via email. If you would like to write for this ongoing feature, please see our Article Submission Page. -DanQ
PCDATA: JANUARY 27, 2001
(8 February 2001, 22:40 EST/Misc) For the week ending January 27, 2001, the Top 10 Selling PC Computer Games based on sales data gathered by Reston, Virginia's PCData are listed below.
1) The Sims | Electronic Arts
2) The Sims: Livin' Large | Electronic Arts
3) Roller Coaster Tycoon | Hasbro Interactive
4) Diablo 2 | Havas Interactive
5) Hoyle Casino 2001 | Havas Interactive
6) Age Of Empires II: Age of Kings | Microsoft
7) Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 | Electronic Arts
8) RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loony Landscapes | Hasbro Interactive
9) Sim Theme Park | Electronic Arts
10) Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, 2nd Edition | Disney
This chart is developed from data provided by 42 retail chains comprising more than 80% of the U.S. market. -DanQ
PCSG: TWO-PAGE GUIDE
(7 February 2001, 18:33 EST/CtP2) Martin Croft of the PC Strategy Games website has had his strategy guide for CTPII posted on PCG's website. The two-page guide runs through some basic pointers for gamers getting into the swing of things.
The nod goes to Strategy Planet for scooping this story first. -DanQ
A `C` FROM NEXT GENERATION
(7 February 2001, 18:21 EST/CtP2) Next Generation magazine has given CTPII a 60% overall rating. However, an online review is not known to be available.
That said, if you know that it is available online, or are able to provide us with an excerpt or two from this, please email us. -DanQ
GG: GOLD NUGGET
(7 February 2001, 18:14 EST/CtP2) An overall rating of 89 from Gone Gold reviewer Matt Sakey has garnered CTPII Gold Nuggest status on the site.
Activision gets a big thumbs-up for the work done in CTP2, Sakey writes. It's still not perfect, but the most annoying aspects of the interface have been fixed, and, had it not been for the interface, the original CTP would have been a pretty solid game. Don't get me wrong, the interface is still far from elegant, but it's certainly better. Aside from the interface and the new diplomacy model, however, we're still pretty much playing the original Call to Power here. There is almost nothing new.
In other words, Stakey says, I went into CTP2 with doubts and came out reassured. It's not perfect, which is why it doesn't get the Pure Gold rating, but it is improved, and that's a start.
In conclusion, here is a rundown of the individual category breakdown scores from Stakey's review: Manual/Interface (87), Sound/Music (89), Graphics (85) and Gameplay (93). -DanQ
NOT A CGM 2000 AWARD NOMINEE
(7 February 2001, 17:58 EST/CtP2) In announcing their Gaming 2000 Awards nominees, Computer Gaming Magazine had a seperate category for Real-Time Strategy Game Of The Year and a "general" Strategy Game of the Year, but not turn-based game of the year category and no CTPII nominee in the latter.
This is the latest in a string of gaming network awards for the year 2000 where CTPII has not made it into the nominee stage of the proceedings. -DanQ
CONVERSATIONS WITH RICHARD
(7 February 2001, 13:48 EST/CtP2) Frequent visitors will remember the nickname Azmel as the one used by Richard Meyers in our forums and chats. Richard worked on the CTP1 and CTP2 AI. A couple of weeks he offered his help to Wes(instead of geting into "consumer action"-type discussions with Yin ;)), as Wes had questions working on the AI for the MedMod.
A few mails later, Wes posted Richard's answers to his first round of questions, which dealt with issues in the strategies.txt.
You can send a question to Richard via Wes. Of course these should be on AI behavious issues, and not on such things as bugs or multi-player problems(or consumer actions :D). -MarkG
TRANSLATION ADDED ON THREAD PAGES
(7 February 2001, 11:42 EST/About) The new or updated (with new posts) forum threads, now feature a translation box at the bottom of the page. Simply selecting the language you want and clicking on "translate" will translate the specific thread that you see(of course you can edit the url from the form and enter anything you like).
You can see it working and comment about it on the forum thread in the Apolyton forum. -MarkG
LAST NIGHT FORUM PROBLEMS
(6 February 2001, 20:16 EST/About) A combination of increased traffic and increased disk space need lead to various problems on our forums. The grand majority of the problems have been solved, what remains are the "eaten" logins of a few users.
So if you have problems posting, and you have not emailed us already, please send a mail to markg@apolyton.net. Be sure to include in your mail the username and the e-mail with which you registered.
As for the future, we will certainly see better days... :) -MarkG
NEWS IN REALAUDIO©: JANUARY 21-27, 2001
(4 February 2001, 17:08 EST/Misc) The audio broadcast of the January 21-27, 2001, newsletter is now available for broadcasting live, on demand, in RealAudio© format.
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 2.1MB file to listen at your convenience at a later time.
Audio versions of our weekly newsletter are posted the Sunday immediately following the corresponding issue's release. -DanQ
G100: LANDING IN AGAIN
(4 February 2001, 16:59 EST/SMACX) In the 422nd installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire lands in 10th spot on the countdown for the second time in three weeks.
To vote for SMAC this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: DIPPING ONE SPOT
(4 February 2001, 16:58 EST/Civ2ToT) In the 422nd installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization II: Test Of Time dips from 12th to 11th spot this week.
To vote for ToT this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: LEAPING BACK
(4 February 2001, 16:55 EST/CtP2) In the 422nd installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Call To Power II leaps back into its previous high performance in 14th position.
To vote for CTP2 this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: LOSES SIGHT
(4 February 2001, 16:54 EST/CtP) In the 422nd installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization: Call To Power loses sight of the Top 40 as it falls two spots from last week into 45th.
To vote for CTP this and every week, click here! -DanQ
APOLYTON NEWS JAN28-FEB3
(4 February 2001, 11:07 EST/Misc) This week's newsletter has been mailed(to our subscribers) and posted(on the web)
The main headlines are:
- No Unit Workshop in Civ3
- CTP2 Files
The Apolyton Newsletter currently reaches 2400 people every week. -MarkG
PBEM CHART 3/2/1
(4 February 2001, 9:15 EST/CtP) This week's PBEM chart is as follows
ABBREV RANK NAME................... RATING WTR.ID NAT.TR
APLCTP 0001 KLAIR.................. 22.979 .11168 FRA...
APLCTP 0002 STAVROS................ 22.484 .11147 GER...
APLCTP 0003 MOBIUS................. 22.442 .11141 GBR.EN
APLCTP 0004 SLAMP.................. 22.076 .11144 FRA...
APLCTP 0005 DARTH_VIPER............ 21.000 .11170 NED...
APLCTP 0006 FRANSES................ 21.000 .11171 NED...
APLCTP 0007 BLACKICE............... 20.950 .11158 CAN.ON
APLCTP 0008 RICK_ELKINS............ 20.836 .11143 USA.NY
APLCTP 0009 KRALJ_MATJAZ........... 20.707 .11139 SLO...
APLCTP 0010 ST_JON................. 20.447 .11146 GBR.EN
Congratulations to Klair for jumping from the 4th to the 1st position! The full list can be found at CtP-Multiplaying forum. -MarkG
MAPPING WORK AND PLAY
(4 February 2001, 0:18 EST/CtP2) When he's not busy uploading files and adding new entries into our CTPII Files Database, OmniGod takes some time out of his day to work on some of his own creations. Yesterday he tantilized visitors to our forums with a spectacular preview of his latest and last World map for the game.
OG says that while the work on this project is time consuming, he wants to be as accurate as possible.
The map is based on the lakes, rivers, geology and topography provided by Cornell, he explains.
Even if you're not a CTPII enthusiast, you'll want to check it out! -DanQ
REVUE FRANÇAISE À LA VUE
(4 February 2001, 0:13 EST/CtP2) A critique of Activion's follow-up title to C:CTP en français comes from Quebec PC. If French is not one of your spoken tounges, then with the assistance of AltaVista's reknowned Babelfish translation service, you should be able to make some headway in understanding the reviewer's standpoint.
With a final rating of 70%, it's clear that while QPC felt the game had potential it disappointed gamers in certain respects. -DanQ
THE MUSHROOM, OP. 2: BETTER, NOT GREAT
(3 February 2001, 23:59 EST/CtP2) Chad Hauser, a staff writer for The Mushroom, gives CTPII 6.5 mushrooms out of a possible 10 in the end. Hauser expresses that it is his opinion that Activision's sequel to Civilization: Call To Power is simply not up to snuff.
Some games are simply evolutions of a genre and not amazing new leaps. this doesn't necessarily make them any worse of a game. Call to Power II, by Activision is just such a game.
Furthermore, Hauser muses, the rulebook for CTP2 is fairly dry and straightforward, but not painfully so, and is devoted mostly to the different menus and controls. In fact it is almost a must read because of the sheer variety of these controls and the benefits you can get from manipulating them. It contains no story and very little humor.
This reviewer is satisfied with the game's graphics, which he lauds in his paragraph about it as well as the cinematics included, and finds that the gameplay is CTPII's shining beacon in its cloud of fog.
Overall CTP2 is a great step in the growth of the historical empire builder, and should give hours of amusement to an experienced player, Hauser pens in his conclusion. I do wish I would have gotten to play a multiplayer game, but the simple amount of time that a game of this nature takes prevented that.
Now, but one question remains: why are there two reviews?
There was an interesting mix up at Activision, the site's editor writes, and we were sent two copies of [CTPII]. [So] I sent them to our two strategy game gurus. -DanQ
THE MUSHROOM, OP. 1: SCRAPING PASS
(3 February 2001, 23:55 EST/CtP2) CTPII has seen bad press since it was released last December, yet one of the most damning to come from the critics corner was just posted in recent days. The Mushroom's Patrick Hargis slams the C:CTP sequel and, for reasons that seem to combine perhaps both genorosity and apathy, slap it with a 5 mushroom passing grade.
Call to Power II is a game trying very hard to be just like that strategy game you saw for the first time ten years ago that looked so confusing and complicated, Hargis writes. Essentially, [CTPII] is trying to be what Civilization and Civilization II were, except with more stuff. Not better stuff, more stuff.
The trick to making a good Civ-game lies in balancing that complication with playability; giving the player just the right amount of control as not to make him/her feel either not in control or simply bored [CivII] found this balance; [CTPII] did not.
Hargis does go on to say in his conclusion that the game has good points, though, really, but only if it's your the first Civilization series title you try. Otherwise, he warns, it comes across as being horribly mediocre.
Just go play [CivII] or Alpha Centauri or something that has Sid Meier in the title, he adds spiteingly.
Now, but one question remains: why are there two reviews?
There was an interesting mix up at Activision, the site's editor writes, and we were sent two copies of [CTPII]. [So] I sent them to our two strategy game gurus. -DanQ
COLUMN #152; BY RAINGOON
(3 February 2001, 23:33 EST/Misc) Raingoon stands by his conviction that since Firaxis is spearheading CivIII's development, it should play as it looks in his latest article entitled "What Civ 3 Should Look Like".
Comments/questions welcomed in our forums, or you may opt to contact the author directly. If you would like to write for this ongoing feature, please see our Article Submission Page. We are in need of columns for the coming weeks, including next. -DanQ
NO MENTION IN SGO 2000 AWARDS
(3 February 2001, 23:10 EST/CtP2) In announcing their "Best And Worst Strategy Games 2000", Strategy Gaming Online looked clear past CTPII and awarded the best turn-based strategy game award for the first year of the twenty-first century to Space Empires IV.
The best strategy title overall last year, according to SGO's editors, was Shogun. -DanQ
ACTIVISION`S FINANCIAL RESULTS
(3 February 2001, 15:26 EST/Misc) Activision today announced financial results for the third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2000.
Net revenues for the third fiscal quarter were $264.5 million as compared to $268.9 million for the third quarter of the last fiscal year. Net income was $20.5 million compared with a net income of $22.3 million for the comparable period last year.
Net revenues for the nine-month period increased to $493.4 million from $468.4 million as reported for the nine-month period last fiscal year and were the highest in the company's history. For the first nine months of fiscal 2001, the company reported net income of $19.6 million compared to a net income of $18.8 million for last fiscal year's comparable period. [Source: The Adrenaline Vault] -DanQ
TOP CIV2 FILES FOR JANUARY 2001
(3 February 2001, 12:06 EST/Civ2) Slower pace over the last month for our Civ2 Database. Less reviews, less downloads compared to December. What's wrong with you guys? :) Anyway, here is the full thing
Top 10 Files
1(2). 9.90(9.90) Lord of the Rings
2(3). 9.80(9.75) Colonies III
3(4). 9.67(9.67) Patch for Civilization II (2.42)
4(5). 9.42(9.56) HiRes
5(6). 9.33(9.33) Australia
6(-). 9.33(-) Australia
7(8). 9.33(9.33) Day of Treason
8(10). 9.25(9.25) The War of Cuba
9(9). 9.25(9.33) Maps of Complexity
10(7). 9.00(-) Middle Earth
Database Stats
Total Files: 463 (463)
Total Reviews: 300 (263)
Total Rated Files: 119 (111)
Average Rating: 7.36 (7.22)
Total Downloads: 170391 (153762)
Average Downloads/File: 369.98 (332.1)
As of this month, the minimum amount of votes needed to get on the top 10 is increased from 3 to 5 votes. -MarkG
TOP AL&PD LINKS FOR JANUARY 2001
(3 February 2001, 12:05 EST/Misc) After a long time of small changes, here is a surprise: Civ3: The Third Time's the Charm jumped to the second position in our AL&PD Top 10 chart! In another big move, our Civ2 section dropped to the 5th position due to a (not so objective imho :)) review. Here's the full listing.
Top 10 Links
1(1). 9.69(9.67) The Spanish Civilization II Site
2(-). 9.56(-) Civ3: The Third Time's the Charm
3(3). 9.40(9.40) Apolyton: CTP2 Section
4(4). 9.38(9.38) Grosse deutsche Civ2-Seite
5(2). 9.37(9.52) Apolyton Civilization Site: Civ2 Section
6(5). 9.25(9.25) Civilization II - One City Challenge Strategy Guide
7(6). 8.92(8.92) Civilization II Scenario League
8(7). 8.90(8.90) Colonization Home Page
9(8). 8.89(8.89) Apolyton Civilization Site: Civ3 Section
10(9). 8.83(8.83) Civilization II Historical Scenarios
AL&PD Stats
Total Links: 230 (221)
Total Reviews: 791 (773)
Total Rated Links: 129 (128)
Average Rating: 6.99 (7.00)
Total Hits: 85181 (73132)
Average Hits/Link: 370.35 (330.91) -MarkG
NO UNIT WORKSHOP IN CIV3
(3 February 2001, 6:39 EST/Civ3) If you thought from the Twin Galaxies feature that Civ3 would have customizable units like smac, you were right to think so. But it's not. Dan Magaha posted on our forums to make the correction
We will *not* be using a design workshop, nor will there be any type of "mix and match" unit designer.
What we said was that there will be significant tools available for mod creators and everyday users alike to create their own units and import them into the game. While the design workshop was an interesting feature of SMAC, its design constraints are wholly inappropriate for a game that covers as much ground as CivIII
Back in July 1999, we had a poll about it:
23% answered "Yes, with access throughout all the game", while 31% "Yes, but it must be limited by technology, difficulty or something else". Another 21% says "Yes, but it should be optional" and another 13% "Yes, but only for scenario design/cheat mode". Finally, 8% says a big "NO" to the whole idea, and 1% doesn't care...
So what do you think about it now that we've got this decision? Vote in our new poll! -MarkG
GILMORE ON TWIN GALAXIES
(1 February 2001, 17:35 EST/Civ3) John Zamarra from the Twin Galaxies website emailed us this afternoon about a recent discussion he had with Firaxis Games' Kelley Gilmore, Communications Manager for the company.
Unsatisfied with the few details available on the site, I spoke to Kelly Gillmore, a representative for Firaxis about the upcoming Civilization III, Zamarra begins.
Items discussed include maps, units, customization, economy and even music.
Overall the news is looking great and only making it harder and harder to wait for the game to come out, Zamarra concludes. -DanQ
