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November 2000
OMNIGOD`S EARTH MAP: BETA
(30 November 2000, 16:21 EST/CtP2) OmniGod, one of our forum dwellers, posted a said "improved" version of the Map of the World created by Activision that was included in the commercial release of CTPII.
Still in the beta stages, OG is looking for user feedback. -DanQ
PCDATA: NOVEMBER 18, 2000
(30 November 2000, 16:14 EST/Misc) For the week ending November 18, 2000, the Top 10 Selling PC Computer Games based on sales data gathered by Reston, Virginia's PCData are listed below.
1) Roller Coaster Tycoon | Hasbro Interactive
2) Barbie Pet Rescue | Mattel Interactive
3) The Sims | Electronic Arts
4) Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 | Electronic Arts
5) The Sims: Livin' Large | Electronic Arts
6) RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loony Landscapes | Hasbro Interactive
7) Delta Force Land Warrior | Nova Logic
8) SimCity 3000 | Electronic Arts
9) Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Second Edition | Disney
10) Half-Life Counter Strike Expansion Pack | Havas Interactive
This chart is developed from data provided by 42 retail chains comprising more than 80% of the U.S. market. -DanQ
DATABASE UPDATE
(30 November 2000, 15:16 EST/Civ2) Today we have two new files in the database ("Athel Loren" and "NoLimits for ToT") and two updates ("More Real 2.0" and new sounds for "Medievalisation").
Check out the new files here: -Sven
FIRAXIS RELEASES `CENTAURI DAWN` NOVELS
(30 November 2000, 13:18 EST/SMAC)  The following is a press release issued by Firaxis Games this afternoon:
FIRAXIS Games today announced that Pocket Books will publish a series of three novels based on the world of the best-selling computer game, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri. The first in the series, Centauri Dawn, hits the shelves of major online and retail book stores today.
Written by Michael Ely, Centauri Dawn takes us into the world of Alpha
Centauri as the Unity survivors struggle to rebuild human civilization on this strange and mysterious alien world. The story details the efforts of one man to hold the forces of violence at bay, while building his dream of lasting peace, a dream threatened by old tensions carried over from a long-dead Earth.
To read the announcement in full, click here. -DanQ
FIREWALL DIFFICULTIES?
(29 November 2000, 18:34 EST/CtP2) If you're having difficulties playing CTPII while behind a firewall, you may find this thread started by 'Lee Johnson', one of our forum users, helpful.
With the assistance of Activision's Joe Rumsey and a Dan Kegel, who apparently had a lot to do with the Activision networking code according to Johnson, he was able to get it up and running. -DanQ
G100 DEBUT: SEVENTY-FIFTH
(29 November 2000, 18:16 EST/CtP2) Call To Power II makes its debut on Global 100's "Top 100 PC Games" listing this week in 75th position. Because of its impressive performance off the bat, it has been given 'Bullet' status. Last week it made its way onto the "Runners-Up" listing by skyrocketing itself into the number one spot and, as such, has quickly moved on.
Want to help keep the momentum going and growing strong? Click here to heat up the competition this and each and every week! -DanQ
G100: UPWARD TREND
(29 November 2000, 18:11 EST/SMACX) In the 413th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire keeps the upward trend alive and well by moving into 7th spot on the countdown.
To vote for SMAC this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: GAINING HEADWAY
(29 November 2000, 18:10 EST/Civ2ToT) In the 413th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization II: Test Of Time continues to gain headway in the midst of heated competition driving itself up into 12th, only one spot away from tying its all-time record.
To vote for ToT this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: DOWN TO THIRTY-FOURTH
(29 November 2000, 18:09 EST/CtP) In the 413th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization: Call To Power falls to 34th position.
To vote for CTP this and every week, click here! -DanQ
MOD PACKS THE RIGHT WAY
(29 November 2000, 18:05 EST/CtP2) In a thread entitled "-- 1st Game Review --" in our CTPII-General forum, Joe "Mr. Ogre" Rumsey tell us the best way to make a MOD Pack for the game.
The first step is to create a new "scenario" using the editor... Fill in the details for the new scenario. At this point, you will have a complete pack and scenario, which if loaded will have no effect at all on gameplay.
So now it's time to change something...
To read the completed suggestion, click the link above. -DanQ
FUTURE SECTION ONLINE
(29 November 2000, 12:39 EST/CtP2) Activision updated the official CTPII website by opening its Future section, the last in a series of four that began with the launch of the site some months back. In addition to screenshots of the Eco Transit improvement and the Smart Materials advance, below is an excerpt of the text that accompanies it:
The last two hundred years has marked a time of peace for Egypt. In eras such as these, a leader is able to turn his attention to the maintenance and improvement of his domain.
The world is in the midst of an industrial revolution, causing an alarming increase in pollution and overpopulation. Natural resources are becoming scarce.
Our scientists recently celebrated the discovery of Smart Materials. These materials will allow our engineers to design and construct undersea domes... -DanQ
PLAYER REVIEW: JDI_FALCON
(28 November 2000, 18:42 EST/CtP2) We've got another pleayer review for you, by JDI_Falcon. Check it out and dont forget to either post your review in AL&PD or (if it's longer than 2000 characters) mail it to us. -MarkG
INFORMATION=INFORMATION/HELP
(28 November 2000, 18:20 EST/CtP2) The Information part of our CTP2 Section, is now titled Information/Help. This practically means two links to the Activision support pages for CTP2 and to our Help Forum. Soon, it will mean more... :) -MarkG
GETING THE MAYORS OFF YOUR PW RESERVE
(27 November 2000, 19:35 EST/CtP2) Do you hate it when your mayors use up all your Public Works reserve? Azmel supplied a solution that will increase the minimum amount of PW that your mayors will leave to you at all times. -MarkG
MICROPROSE.COM HACKED
(27 November 2000, 14:06 EST/Civ2) Computer Games Online reports:
It would seem that someone would prefer to see poetry and not PC games on Microprose's website. As of November 27, if you visit the computer game company's website, you are greeted not by the usual Microprose content, but by poetry. Sometime on Saturday, November 25, an individual known only as nemesystm and representing a hacker's group called the "Delinquent Hacking Corporation," took over the website and replaced its content with a poem entitled "I Lay Down."
No screenshot of the hacked version of the site is availiable... -MarkG
STRATEGY GUIDE COMING
(27 November 2000, 13:12 EST/CtP2) The official CTPII strategy guide will be published by BradyGAMES, the same company that developed the guide for the original CTP.
While blank at the moment, keep your browsers pointed to this page where, as more details about the guide and ordering information become available, it will surely be updated. -DanQ
FIRAXIS LOGO ORIGINS
(27 November 2000, 12:32 EST/Misc) GameSpy Industriesposted the first of a three part series, Developer Origins, where Managing Editor John Keefer looks at the background beyond various gaming companies' logo histories and meanings.
Included in this write is the origin of Firaxis Games' logo.
Our logo features the fire wheel, which symbolizes the fiery axis of creativity from which all great game elements arise, the company writes. -DanQ
MD BUILD NOTES #723
(26 November 2000, 14:53 EST/Alt) Yesterday afternoon Ron Hiler, Lead Programmer on the Manifest Destiny project, posted the game's Build #723 notes in our Alt. Civs forum.
This one is huge, Hiler writes. I have no idea how we managed to get all this done in one week. There are changes both minor and major, with some restored functionality and some new functionality. It may look as though I'm jumping all over the place, and, in fact, I am. I write down notes as each item gets finished.
For more information on the game, check out our MD section. -DanQ
BYE BYE UNITS.GIF!
(26 November 2000, 4:07 EST/Civ3) Yes, it looks like we wont be editing units.gif in Civ3... Dan Magaha posted:
Well, based on what I've said before about the goal of this game to be the absolute best Civ game ever, I think it's pretty safe to assume we're no longer using single-tile images for the units a la Civ II. =)
What I was specifically making mention of in my post earlier was that "sprite editors" that are included with games are usually just flimsy little apps whipped up in a few minutes to satisfy that "OK, now they we can say that sprites are editable" requirement. In most cases, that "sprite editor" is rudimentary at best and horribly awkward to use at worst. I would tend to think that mod developers who are serious about creating new graphics for a game would prefer to use professional-level tools like Photoshop or even shareware apps that are more feature-rich than a simple "draw and erase" type editor.
Only thing Dan, Photoshop or any other application SHOULD be able to read the format of the game file, right? ;) -MarkG
NINE FROM EUROGAMER
(26 November 2000, 0:43 EST/CtP2) The first favourable review of CTPII seems to be coming from EuroGamer's corner where staffer John "Gestalt" Bye gave it a happy-go-lucky 9/10 rating.
It has the same addictive mixture of city management, exploration, diplomacy, research and conquest that made Civilization such a hit, but it's not just more of the same with prettier graphics. [CTPII] builds on the new features of its predecessor... and adds some new tricks of its own.
... the game is little short of a masterpiece, taking classic [Civ] gameplay and adding even more depth and variety to it. Highly recommended for casual gamers and hardened Civilization addicts alike.
Our thanks to Monkey for alerting us to the availability of this review. -DanQ
NOT ON IGN OR AVAULT WISH LIST
(26 November 2000, 0:30 EST/CtP2) Despite being just released in Canada and the United States less than two weeks ago, CTPII is not listed in IGN PC's Strategy Game Holiday Buying Guide, 2000 or The Adrenaline Vault's equivalent for that matter either.
On the former, Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2, Homeworld: Cataclysm, Sacrifice and Zeus: Master of Olympus are while Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord and The Sims/The Sims: Livin' Large have been substituted for Sacrifice in the latter.
If you do discover CTPII on any site's "wish list" for this Christmas season, let us know. -DanQ
COLUMN #142; BY RAINGOON
(25 November 2000, 23:28 EST/Misc) Raingoon is back with a message to Firaxis: what to do and what not to in CivIII in his latest article entitled "Memo To Firaxis: Now That CTPII Is Out". Comments/questions welcomed in our forums, or you may contact the author directly.
If you would like to write for The Column, a weekly feature here on ACS driven by user-submitted papers, please read and fill out our Article Submission Form. -DanQ
ZULU UNITS ON EBWORLD
(25 November 2000, 8:50 EST/CtP2) EBWorld.com offers an exclusive download of two zulu units. After a small installation, the Zulu Warrior replaces the Hoplite, and the Zulu Spearman replaces the Archer.
Thanks to Monkey for the report.
Gamestop.com has had another set of (Native American) units for a couple days now, but the file is corrupt... -MarkG
PLAYER REVIEWS(TILEMACHO & DARTHVEDA)
(24 November 2000, 17:35 EST/CtP2) Our Review sub-section is now called (P)Reviews as it also contains what we call "player reviews"(cause they are made by people who played the game  ), from Tilemacho and DarthVeda, as well as links to the AL&PD entry and the Reviews directory of AL&PD. Our own preview is coming very soon.... -MarkG
MEDIEVAL PACK II ANNOUNCED
(24 November 2000, 15:33 EST/CtP2) WesW announced that he has begun working on the Medieval Pack II, the... sequel of the Medieval Pack for CTP1. The list of changes is, as always, long: addition of Harlan Thompson's city graphics(Pyramid and Castle), changes in the civilizations(Swedes, Austrians, Arabs, --Byzantines, Italians, Celts, Aztecs, Bantu, Slavs added), lots of changes in the terrain values, as well as in the goverments values. Wes also plans to make edits in the strategies.txt, to add new units and to incorporate the slic triggers from the ctp1 version. For all that of course, your feedback is needed to see what needs to be done. Do your duty! :) -MarkG
DO YOU WANT PBEM?
(23 November 2000, 19:41 EST/CtP2) It's never bad to have some poll results, no matter the question, I always say. Here is our 8th CTP2 poll -MarkG
LENGTH OF PBEM GAMES?
(23 November 2000, 19:27 EST/CtP) Our 16th CTP1 poll is about PBEM(if you dont what it stands for, you dont need to vote :)) Here it is -MarkG
RESULTS FOR ANIMATION POLLS
(23 November 2000, 19:12 EST/CtP) After a really long time since the opening our two ctp1 polls, here are the results
What types of animations do you use/want? | None |  191 / 13% | | Unit Only | 317 / 22% | | Goody Only | 13 / 0% | | Trade Only | 35 / 2% | | Combination of Three | 185 / 12% | | All | 616 / 43% | | Don't care/No opinion | 68 / 4% |
1425 total votes
What Unit Animations do you use/want?| None | 111 / 13% | | Movement Only | 115 / 13% | | Full | 596 / 69% | | Don't care/No opinion | 30 / 3% |
852 total votes
Forum Discussion -MarkG
DAILY RADAR REVIEW
(22 November 2000, 23:41 EST/CtP2) Call to Power II is a significantly better strategic military game than Civilization II. This is the opening quote of DailyRadar's review of CTPII. That said:
Among eon-spanning empire-building games, [CTPII] has positioned itself solidly as a part of the status quo. It offers more than [CivII], but not a lot more.
David Simkins gives this game a "hit" rating -- to quote from the site's description of their ratings system, this level is awarded for a solid game that serious gamers should pick up -- particularly fans of the genre. If you only play one game a year, this ain't it. But if you're looking for a good time, this title delivers.
At the same time, he concludes that the single greatest failure for [CTPII] lies in the production details. The graphics are uninspired. The musical score is not impressive. The cutscenes for wonders are nice, but not notable. Furthermore, Alpha Centauri is a year behind us and Civilization III is still a year ahead. For true Civ game addicts, [CTPII] may be the perfect dose of methadone to carry us another year. -DanQ
STRATEGIC THERAPY
(22 November 2000, 23:32 EST/CtP2) Bruce Geryk is offering up his Strategic Therapy, November 2000 on GamePen as of today. One of the titles discussed is none other than Call To Power II.
Geryk lists CTPII as manic, as well as amnesia about CTPI. To find out what he meants by all this, you'll have to read it to follow it. -DanQ
UNIT MANAGER & MORE?
(22 November 2000, 23:24 EST/CtP2) Do you like the unit manager in CTPII like Rainstorm does? If so, you may be interested in the following news tidbit. St. Swithin is Activision's Winnie Lee:
Rainstorm: I really like the F8 Unit Manager... it helps in that annoying process of weeding out the hoplites and archers once you have tanks and machine gunners. Only thing I wish for is a unit upgrade feature, but I can live without that.
St. Swithin: As a matter of fact, unit upgrade might be something we're working on... I'm really, really glad you liked the Unit Manager. I had put in a bunch of stuff I wanted, but didn't know for sure if anyone else would want it. Really, really glad. -DanQ
MANUAL AND README`S POSTED
(22 November 2000, 19:08 EST/CtP2) Our updated Infomation part of the ctp2 section, now contains html and rtf versions of the readme, the multiplayer readme, and the manual(yes, the whole thing). Check them out! -MarkG
AC FORUMS RE-ORGANIZED
(22 November 2000, 18:52 EST/SMAC) Today it was the turn of the SMAC forums to be re-organized
- 270 threads(1126 posts) from the AC-Help Forum archived in the new AC-Help Archive
- 505 threads(6370 posts) from the AC-Strategy Forum archived in the new AC-Strategy Archive
- 167 threads(1401 posts) from the AC-General Forum archived in the AC-General Archive
- Remaining threads from AC-Help(8 threads, 24 posts) and AC-Strategy(100 threads, 1772 posts) moved to the AC-General forum
- AC-General forum renamed to AC-General/Help/Strategy
-MarkG
CTP1 SPRITES STILL THERE!
(22 November 2000, 17:29 EST/CtP2) A sweet mail from Doug Pearson informed us that the sprites for the units that were left are actually still in the sprites file! He also sent us a list of the units with the sprite names, with which they can be called in a mod. With this list we are opening the Modification part of our CTP2 Section. -MarkG
EDITORS IN CIV3?
(22 November 2000, 11:35 EST/Civ3) Our 13th poll is the followingPerhaps the answer is obvious, but it's always to have some poll results handy... And it seems to have created a reaction from Firaxis, as you read yesterday... :) -MarkG
HOW MANY CIVS? BETWEEN 8 AND 64+
(22 November 2000, 11:04 EST/Civ3) Here are the results of our 12th poll.
| Civ3: How many civs in a game? | | Option | Votes / Percentage | | 8 | 22 / 9% | | 16 | 64 / 26% | | 24 | 26 / 10% | | 32 | 47 / 19% | | 64 | 14 / 5% | | More than 64! | 69 / 28% | Total Votes: 242 | View Comments
Forums Discussion |
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-MarkG
BORDERS, FORTS, CITY RADIUS
(22 November 2000, 8:44 EST/CtP2) If you had questions about any of the mentioned in the title, Dave White(CTP2 Lead Designer) provides some answers on be0wulfe's thread. Too long to post here, check the the thread! -MarkG
ACTIVISION RESPONDS TO IGN
(21 November 2000, 23:58 EST/CtP2) In response to IGN's scathing review of Activision's most recent game release, John Heinecke, a member of the company's CTPII team, made this statement in our forums this afternoon:
CTP2 was made to apppeal to Turn-Based gamers, not a mass market. When we play tested the game with non-TBS gamers, we found that the learning curve was pretty steep for them and that they did not grasp the fundamental TBS concepts (why can't I select all my guys at once like in C&C?).
The decision was made to focus the tutorial on explaining concepts to those familiar with TBS games, not to hold the hand of RTS gamers. It seems that the IGN reviewer has a problem with this. -DanQ
YOUR EDITING TOOL SUGGESTIONS
(21 November 2000, 23:13 EST/Civ3) Dan Magaha, Firaxis' talented web-wizard, wants your input as to what you would like see in terms of editing tools in CivIII. He presents six questions that he would like you to answer.
Begun just yesterday, the request has already garnered more than 20 responses. Are you next? All you have to do is sign-up for an account in our forums. What are you waiting for -- it's FREE! -DanQ
YOUR REVIEW OF CTP2?
(21 November 2000, 19:18 EST/CtP2)  Here at Apolyton, instead of less-than-one-game reviews by RTS fans, we prefer reviews from actual TBS players for have spent a certainly larger amount of time with the game. :)
The Apolyton Links&Products Directoy has been a part of our site for some time now, giving the ability to civers to review civ games. CTP2 was added a couple weeks ago, but today an important change was made.
The system now accepts reviews only from registered forum members. This means that the possibility of having someone rating a site or a game twice is even smaller than before(when an e-mail address was requested but there was no e-mail confirmation).
So, click on the image on the right and give us YOUR review of CTP2! Just be sure you spent some time with the game first to avoid the childish mistakes of some "professionals"... -MarkG
OFFICIAL SITE UPDATE
(21 November 2000, 12:27 EST/CtP2) Activision has updated the official CTPII website's modern section with a screenshot of the Cargo Helicopter unit, the Empire State Building wonder and an addition to the write-up about the conflict between the Turks and the Egyptians. An excerpt from the latest additions:
We have been at war with Turkey for several punishing weeks. My forces bravely fought off their intense initial blitz. Then, at a key point, the tides turned in our favor--due mainly to our newly mobilized army, the centerpiece of which is our modern helicopter fleet.
Victory over Turkey has been declared. The war was hard-fought, but our military might soon proved to be indomitable. National pride is at an all-time high. Our military officers have become celebrated heroes.
Our thanks to Jeff Heathcote for the newstip. -DanQ
IGN REVIEW(?)
(21 November 2000, 6:53 EST/CtP2) The question mark in the title cause we're still wondering if this the real IGN review. After the excellent pre-release coverage, IGN posted "something" that seems to be a review of CTP2 by an RTS fan. Read it and discuss about it in the threads by Imran and Triphosphatase.
Note: IGN gives CTP2 a "6". In a poll on the page of the review, about 50% of the people who voted that they have played it (30% from a total of 60%) characterize the game as "Excellent".... -MarkG
GSPOT: NON-FAVOURABLE REVIEW
(20 November 2000, 20:08 EST/CtP2) The first "known" review of CTPII, which just went on sale days ago in Canada and the United States, is from GameSpot and it's not favourable.
To start things off, here's an excerpt of the positive points that GS reviewer Bruce Geryk had to make about the game in the first paragraphs:
The dialog boxes are better organized, buttons can be moved easily between the various summary screens, and everything is much more intuitively laid out. Therefore, unlike in the first game, those players with even a passing acquaintance with the Civilization concept will be able to jump into [CTPII] without much trouble.
The graphics have also been given an overhaul, and while they are almost identical in style to those in Call to Power, they've been cleaned up -- so now, they look very attractive... The diplomacy system has been revamped as well, and at first glance, it's one of the most robust additions to the game.
On the negative side:
One problem stems from the fact that while the macrolevel of control eliminates some micromanagement, it doesn't give you the ability to truly manage the game at the empire level. The mayors feature [designed to eliminate this dilemma] actually works quite well when you use it selectively for cities that aren't in the front line of combat. However, removing the unit support considerations makes it far easier to wage war, and with the 12-unit army system, [CTPII] (like its predecessor) replaces city micromanagement with army micromanagement.
Besides being a put-off for some players who didn't like the deviation from the military-historical theme, [the unique] units ended up unbalancing the endgame because they were so powerful. These game-balance issues were exacerbated by the fact that the original [CTP] lasted until the game-year A.D. 3000. [CTPII] shortens the game to A.D. 2300, which reduces the length of time that these units are in play. Nevertheless, the final stages of a Call to Power II game are still susceptible to the old problems, since the units themselves still exist.
And finally, in solemn and damaging conclusion:
The original design flaws from [C:CTP] haven't been removed from the sequel, and while the sequel is more attractive nd functional than its predecessor, it's still effectively the same game. [CTPII] is an interesting take on a classic concept, but as with many reinterpretations of canonical standards, it isn't better than its source material.
With a final 7.2 score, it is a half-a-mark improvement over what they gave the original CTP. Interestingly enough, the readers' ratings to date give the game a rating of 8+ on average.
Our thanks to Monkey, one of our forum users, who brought our attention to this review in our CTPII-General forum. -DanQ
DISABLING ADVANCES
(20 November 2000, 19:54 EST/CtP2) Want to know how to disable certain advances in the game? Activision's Joe Rumsey, aka Mr. Ogre, has the answer.
The easiest way to disable an advance is to give it a prerequisite of itself, Rumsey says. Ruins check for that too, so there's no way anyone can ever get an advance that is a requirement for itself. So to stop at the modern age, you can edit Advance.txt to remove all the advances you don't want in your game this way. -DanQ
CTP FORUMS RE-ORGANIZED
(20 November 2000, 19:39 EST/CtP) Summary of today's changes:- 675 threads(2838 posts) of the CTP-Help forum archived to the new CTP-Help archive - 208 threads(1743 posts) of the CTP-General forum archived to the CTP-General archive - 265 threads(2288 posts) of the CTP-Strategy forum archived to the CTP-General archive - Remaining threads from CTP-Help(22 threads, 65 posts) and CTP-Strategy(32 threads, 311 posts) moved to the CTP-General forum - CTP-General forum renamed to CtP-General/Help/Strategy
-MarkG
EIGHTEEN SCREENS
(20 November 2000, 18:06 EST/CtP2) EuroGamer's John "Gestalt" Bye posted eighteen in-game screenshots from CTPII.
And, in case you missed the site's preview the first time around, you can still find it here. -DanQ
PCDATA: NOVEMBER 4, 2000
(20 November 2000, 17:42 EST/Misc) For the week ending November 4, 2000, the Top 10 Selling PC Computer Games based on sales data gathered by Reston, Virginia's PCData are listed below.
1) Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 | Electronic Arts
2) Roller Coaster Tycoon | Hasbro Interactive
3) The Sims | Electronic Arts
4) The Sims: Livin' Large | Electronic Arts
5) RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loony Landscapes | Hasbro Interactive
6) Unreal Tournament | Infogrames Entertainment
7) Combat Flight Simulator 2 | Microsoft
8) Age Of Empires II: The Conquerors | Microsoft
9) Diablo II | Blizzard Entertainment
10) Deer Hunter 4 | Infrogames Entertainment
This chart is developed from data provided by 42 retail chains comprising more than 80% of the U.S. market. -DanQ
CTP2 MAP FORMATS COMING SOON!
(20 November 2000, 3:30 EST/CtPMaps) Since Call To Power 2 has officially been released, I am starting the process of converting all existing maps to the new format. If you have any particular Civ2 or CtP1 maps which you would like converted, just let me know. -skorpion59
MD BUILD #704
(20 November 2000, 0:42 EST/Alt) Manifest Destiny's Lead Programmer, Ron Hiler, posted Build #704 notes in our forums this past Saturday.
Only one build this week, Hiler writes. This one was all about getting movement routines out of our stack icons.
Alternatively, you can download them from the official MD website. -DanQ
ON BORDERS AND FORTS
(20 November 2000, 0:30 EST/CtP2) Joe "Mr. Ogre" Rumsey had a couple of things to say on the topic of borders and forts based on questions and comments raised by members of our forum community. Excerpts:
If you find someone's borders extending across the sea into your land, you can still settle inside his borders to reclaim it. You can settle inside another nation's borders, the only restriction is that you can't settle inside another city's influence.
The rules for forts may not be obvious either -- you can build a fort anywhere in your own territory (like any improvement) but also on any unclaimed land anywhere in the world as long as you are able to see that land at the time you start building. So if you can't get a settler out to build a city to claim some outlying parts of your continent, get any unit at all out there and build a fort. -DanQ
WWII SCENARIO SOON
(20 November 2000, 0:16 EST/CtP2) Rainstorm wanted to know what had happened to a World War II scenario in CTPII, and quickly got a response in our forums: it's coming in the near future.
We substituted the Magnificent Samurai scenario for the WW2 scenario. We are still working on the WW2 scenario, and intend to release it soon through our web page. -DanQ
HOLDS OWN ON G100
(19 November 2000, 23:28 EST/SMACX) In the 411th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire holds its own in 8th position on the chart.
To vote for SMAC this and every week, click here! -DanQ
MOVING UP TWO ON G100
(19 November 2000, 23:25 EST/Civ2ToT) In the 411th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization II: Test Of Time regains some footing by moving into 14th over its performance last week, when it resides in 16th.
To vote for ToT this and every week, click here! -DanQ
SHOT UP THREE ON G100
(19 November 2000, 23:22 EST/CtP) In the 411th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization: Call To Power shoots up three spots from last week, into 32nd position.
To vote for CTP this and every week, click here! -DanQ
COLUMN #141; BY LAZARUS & THE GIMP
(18 November 2000, 23:11 EST/Misc) It's no laughing matter -- Lazarus & The Gimp talk about the continuous return to CivII in his debut article entitled "Civilization II Ate My Hamster".
Comments/questions welcomed in our forums, or you may opt to contact the author directly via email. -DanQ
150x300, 28-CIV WORLD MAP!
(18 November 2000, 16:46 EST/CtP2) Palpatine is the first man to create a file for CTP2 :) A conversion of his own 150x300 world map, with 28 civs. It's in "beta" right now, as it has been only tested on Palpatine's system. Get it from this forum thread. Please report back how it went. -MarkG
BACK FROM THE NOT SO DEAD
(17 November 2000, 23:00 EST/Civ3) For those who thought Firaxis might have all but given up on CivIII, web wizard Dan Magaha has arrived to set you straight. Below are some criticisms raised by members of our forum in this thread, which Dan himself started some months ago, and his responses follow.
The seeming discrepancy in numbers on the team, and unjustifiable vaqueness combined with just the right amount of "yeah its coming and it's gonna be great... soon... hype" makes me curious.
Well, the hard reality of the situation is that we are still far away from being 100% geared up to talk about the marketing & promotion of this game. We want to tell you all about the game and what it's going to be like and so on, but we also want ensure that what we say accurately portrays the product as it will eventually ship.
... when it is all said and done, I realize that they are in the buisness of making money and am prepared to live with it. But if that is the case it ticks me off just the same and I am glad to voice that.
Well, this is right and wrong at the same time. Obviously as a company, we exist to make money, not to solve the all the world's ills. However, that doesn't mean that we think that making the best products precludes profitability. Firaxis has done pretty well for itself in the time it's been around, and it's no coincidence that we also make great games. I can tell you that the Civ team's goal for this product since day one has been to make it the absolute *best* Civ game ever. -DanQ
NEW CTP2 FORUMS!
(17 November 2000, 20:09 EST/CtP2) We've added four new forums for CTP2 today, here they are along with the topics they cover
Strategy questions, tactical guides, "war stories", etc --> CtP2-Strategy
Questions on modifying game files, suggestions for mods/scenarios, etc --> CtP2-Creation
Questions on how to do something, Requests for help on anything, etc --> CtP2-Help
Specific bug reports(please be sure it is a real problem not something you're doing wrong or something that actually exists), Suggestions for a patch --> CtP2-Suggestions
Arrangment of Multiplayer games, general MP discussion --> CtP2-Multiplaying
Everything else(always ctp2 related :)) --> CtP2-General
Enjoy! -MarkG
FORUM RE-ORG./TODAY`S CHANGES
(17 November 2000, 8:55 EST/About) 1) Changed order in Civ2, CTP1, SMAC forums
We changed the order so that it is the same in each category: General, Strategy, Creation, Help, Suggestions, Multiplaying, Macintosh
Of course in some categories some forums dont exist or will not exitst soon ;)
2) New forums for CTP2
CtP2-Strategy, CtP2-Creation, CtP2-Help and CtP2-Multiplaying. CtP2-Suggestions will continue to exist as the place for patch suggestions
3) New category: "Alternative Civs / Other Games"
Contains: Alternative Civilizations, Freeciv, "Guns, Germs & Steel", Big Huge Games, Other Games(the Civ Comparison part of the forum's name was cut)
And we're not done yet! -MarkG
NINE NEW MAC SCENS AND MAP TOO!
(16 November 2000, 23:11 EST/Civ2Mac) The good news is that I have posted 9 new Mac scenarios and a map of the Indian subcontinent on the Civ2 Mac Scenarios page. The bad news is that I have not yet added the descriptions and credits. So, for the short term just play them all! ;) -macuser
MODERN PERIOD SECTION
(16 November 2000, 21:43 EST/CtP2) Activision's webteam has updated the official CTPII website with the launch of its Modern section. Excerpt from the write-up:
My defensive espionage actions have enraged the Turks. To relieve political tensions, a contingent of Turkish emissaries recently traveled to Egypt seeking reparations. My representatives countered their diplomatic demands with a request to secede part of Turkish territory to Egypt. Displeased with this proposal, the Turks have begun to amass an army.
Included is a screenshot of the Explosives advance and the Anti-Air Emplacements improvement. -DanQ
CIV2-HELP + CIV2-GENERAL EQUALS...
(16 November 2000, 10:36 EST/Civ2) As the first part of our forums re-organization, the Civ2-Help forum was partially archived in the Civ2-General Archive and partially moved to the Civ2-General Forum
To be more accurate, 375 threads(1590 posts) from Civ2-Help were archived, while the rest 70 thread(338 posts) were moved. Also, 197 threads(1972 posts) from the Civ2-General forum were also archived.
Our re-organization will continue in the following days. -MarkG
GSPOT-UK Q&A
(15 November 2000, 19:09 EST/CtP2) The staff of GameSpot-UK has included a CTPII Q&A in their news update for today.
All of the information contained in it has already been previsouly announced through one venue or another, but does provide a useful general overview of the game if you don't have the time to read in-depth documentation.
Our thanks to Ian Howie for the newstip. -DanQ
GOT IT YET? WHAT DO YOU THINK?
(15 November 2000, 18:46 EST/CtP2) CTP2 is arriving at some stores around the country(US of course!), and some people have already reported finding it(and geting it)! So, if you got the game, take a couple days off, play it and then vote in our new poll.
Which reminds me, I've got a preview to finish... :) -MarkG
RESULTS FOR DELAY & DEMO POLLS
(15 November 2000, 18:30 EST/CtP2) Here are the results for our two ctp2 polls. CTP2 was not delayed and there wont be a demo, but the results are certainly interesting
| CTP2: Delay if buggy? | | Option | Votes / Percentage | | No, release it today, fix the bugs later! | 7 / 4% | | No, keep the schedule | 11 / 7% | | Yes, if it is in the same state CTP1 was on its release | 64 / 41% | | Yes, until there are no bugs! | 71 / 45% | | Dont know/Dont care | 2 / 1% | | Total Votes: 155| View Comments | Forum Discussion |
|
| CTP2: Demo before or after release? | | Option | Votes / Percentage | | Before, even if it's buggy | 27 / 28% | | Before, when it goes gold | 49 / 51% | | After, to be in the same state as the released game | 15 / 15% | | Dont know/Dont care | 5 / 5% | | Total Votes: 96 | View Comments | Forum Discussion |
|
-MarkG
GAMESPY ARCADE RELEASE
(15 November 2000, 10:47 EST/Civ2ToT) GameSpy Industries has made the full v1.0 release of their gaming software, GameSpy Arcade, available for download. Among the package's 150 supported games is CivII: Multiplayer Gold Edition and CivII: Test of Time.
You can obtain either the 161K web-based installation, or the full 4MB executable file. -DanQ
`CTP2 GOLD PARTY` TRANSCRIPT
(14 November 2000, 19:53 EST/CtP2) The transcript of our "CTP2 Gold Party" is now availiable. Plenty of interesting stuff in there!
By the way, yesterday's "impressions" were the last we posted, as we need more time to play the game a bit more and write down "Part 2" of our preview, which should hopefully appear on Sunday. -MarkG
SHIPPING EARLY
(14 November 2000, 15:50 EST/CtP2) CTPII is shipping early, John "Lt. John" Heinecke informed us.
It's shipping in the US today, and should be in some stores as early as tomorrow, he said. Most US stores will receive it by the weekend. -DanQ
PREVIEW, DAYS SIX AND SEVEN
(13 November 2000, 20:09 EST/CtP2) Days 6 and 7 posted today.
Headlines for Day Six: The Impossible Medium Game, Reply to Ralf, Reply to Slingshot
Headlines for Day Seven: Editor Documentation, Editor Experiences, Map Sizes/World Map, Diplomacy: The Friendly Side, Diplomacy: The Ugly Side, Diplomacy: Treaties.
"Part 2", the actual preview is coming up... -MarkG
NO X-BOX PORT FOR NOW
(13 November 2000, 12:37 EST/CtP) In a follow-up to a story we first reported on some days ago, John Heinecke -- more commonly known as Lt. John our forums -- of Activision Inc. has informed us that the company has no plans of porting Call To Power, or its upcoming sequel of Call To Power II for that matter, to Microsoft's "X-Box".
The X-Box is set to be released sometime in the first-quarter of 2001. -DanQ
TECH TREE AVAILABLE
(12 November 2000, 19:48 EST/CtP2) PlayNOW! posted the complete CTPII technology tree on their website some weeks ago. You can now, alternatively, obtain it from our Downloads section.
A modest 2.7MB in size, all you need is Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. -DanQ
VIKING SCRIBES IN FORUMS
(12 November 2000, 13:56 EST/Civ2) With a backlog of Viking Scribes to post, we invite you to post them in this thread in our forums.
Originally started by 'Christantine The Great', one of our forum users, in early October it has quickly become a common place for Civers to share their stories of granduer (or failure) in any number of games of CivII that they have played or are playing whilst waiting for them to appear in our VS section. Speaking of which, watch for some updates to it at long last this week and off and on in the weeks to come. -DanQ
CGO QUICK TAKE
(12 November 2000, 13:46 EST/CtP2) In building momentum towards tackling their full review of CTPII, Computer Games Online (CGO) has written a "quick take" on the game from Activision.
Turn-based strategy games aren't exactly rare, but they aren't clogging the shelves at your local Game-o-Rama, either, author Robert Mayer begins. Hence, the completion of Activision's Call to Power II is of some interest to fans of the genre... At first glance, it seems to be standing pretty firmly, too -- [CTPII] looks better and more polished than the first game.
... for now we can say that if you're interest lies in turn-based empire building games, Call to Power II should certainly be on your list, at least so you can give it a look-see.
Our thanks to John-SJ who alerted us to this in our forums. -DanQ
TWO EXTRA LONG REPLIES
(12 November 2000, 5:48 EST/CtP2) As good as one of the "daily impressions": two big posts replying to Slingshot and Ralf. Check them out! -MarkG
MD BUILD #657
(12 November 2000, 0:41 EST/Alt) Yesterday afternoon Manifest Destiny Lead Programmer Ron Hiler posted Build #657 notes on the game in our forums.
Only one build this week, but it was a big one, Hiler said. Lot's of stuff changed. This is a mix of new technology and restoration of old technology.
Hiler posts Build notes on the game's progress each and every week in the thread linked to above. Be sure to bookmark for future reference! -DanQ
PCD PREVIEW IN ENGLISH
(12 November 2000, 0:17 EST/CtP2) Our heartfelt thanks goes out to Gusztáv Kosztolányi who graciously translated (MS Word, 35KB) the CTPII preview that appeared earlier on PCDome in Hungarian.
Kosztolányi is a close friend of Blade Runner, the author of the aforementioned preview. A career journalist, you can find Gusztáv's website at ce-review.org. -DanQ
G100: BACK UP ONE
(12 November 2000, 0:04 EST/SMACX) In the 410th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every 7 days by Global 100, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire regains some lost ground as it moves back into 8th position after two weeks in 9th.
To vote for SMAC/SMACX this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: DOWN THREEPEAT
(12 November 2000, 0:03 EST/Civ2ToT) In the 410th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every 7 days by Global 100, Civilization II: Test Of Time goes for a threepeat as it slides another slot for the third week in a row -- it's now in 16th.
To vote for ToT this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: TWO SPOTS LOWER
(12 November 2000, 0:02 EST/CtP) In the 410th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every 7 days by Global 100, Civilization: Call To Power finds itself in 35th, two spots lower than it was last week.
To vote for CTP this and every week, click here! -DanQ
`US-CENTRIC` RESPONSE
(11 November 2000, 23:40 EST/CtP2) In response to critcisms from some of our forum users that CTPII is too "US-centric", Activision's Pyaray had this to say:
I can't really say if the game is too "US-centric" or not. But if it is, you have to consider why. The game was made in the US, and for the most part our team is not a bunch of world travellers...
Even if they are trying to be global in nature, odds are they don't know as many "international" major events as local ones. It's not that anyone is trying to "slam" other cultures, it's just that the game was designed by people who know local things better than "foreign" things. I am fairly certain that they tried to make things balanced and global in nature, but when the entire world is your critic, it's impossible to satisfy everyone.. -DanQ
COLUMN #140; BY HEARDIE
(11 November 2000, 23:13 EST/Misc) Heardie familiarizes us to a new "Civ"-inspired game entitled Guns, Germs and Steel: Tools of Conquest in his latest article entitled "A Journey Of 1000 Miles Begins With A Single Step".
Comments/questions welcomed in our forums, or you may contact the author directly. -DanQ
PREVIEW, DAY FIVE
(11 November 2000, 20:41 EST/CtP2) Headlines for Day Five: Map/Scenario Editing, Why He Hates You, Mayors Do Tiles, Control Panel Totally Gone, Threats Work, Advices In Unit Manager, Flanking Units. Read
-MarkG
EVANS ON SCENARIO DESIGN
(11 November 2000, 0:51 EST/CtP2) All I Really Need to Know I Learned Designing Scenarios for Call to Power II proclaims Tony Evans in his IGN PC article posted yesterday on the aforementioned gaming site.
Designing successful scenarios takes a lot more work than you might really think, Evans explains. There's a lot of thought that has to go into them and a whole lot of planning. If you've ever fooled around with a scenario editor, then you've probably realized what a monumental task it can be.
Evans, a Game Designer on Activision's CTPII team, broke his write-up into seven "lessons" as he outlines all of the scenarios included in the game from Alexander The Great through to Nuclear Détente. Lessons range from the humourously titled, such as many cooks in the kitchen can result in flung cutlery..., to the obvious Antarctica is a continent too!.
In general, Evans says that he cannot disclose too much about what CTPII includes except that the scenario editor itself is much more user friendly and has greater functionality and that a few of the new options under SLIC are events instead of triggers, real functions and more built-in variables.
So, where does this leave the team's attention to focus on now that the game has gone gold [see story below]?
Right now the [CTPII] team is working on getting some additional assets ready for consumers who want to make their own scenarios. We’ll be putting additional documentation for this up on the WEB around the same time we launch [the game]. -DanQ
PREVIEW, DAY FOUR
(10 November 2000, 20:39 EST/CtP2) Day 4. Not much today, due to the chat. The headlines: Text files, Trade Routes, Commerce Tile Improvements, Scientific Victory, Screens and LDL Files, Alexander's Way To Victory Read -MarkG
NO CTP2 IN X-BOX
(10 November 2000, 18:37 EST/CtP2) In wake of MicroMania announcing that the original CTP is coming to Microsoft's X-Box gaming platform (see our CTP section), Lt. John just emailed us to say that CTP2 is not being ported to the X-Box. -MarkG
CHAT: IT WAS FUN....
(10 November 2000, 17:50 EST/CtP2) And it was long, so dont expect much from today's "impressions". Do expect a chat transcript during the weekend though.... -MarkG
NEW CHAT SERVER: READY?
(10 November 2000, 10:26 EST/Misc) After all kinds of problems, we now have a new channel on a different set of irc server and a new java applet. This mean that we are ready for today's ctp2 chat. What this means for you?
If you connect via the java applet, you now have a new selection as to the server you connect. There are four choices, in Greece(tiger.irc.gr), USA(phoenix.irc.gr), UK(uk.irc.gr) and Canada(toronto.irc.gr)
If you connect with mirc or any other irc program, you have to change the setting of the server, according to the list post above. The name of the channel still remains #apolyton of course.
That's all, see you tonight on the chat! -MarkG
DOWNLOADS PAGE UPDATED
(9 November 2000, 20:09 EST/CtP2) To reflect the latest multimedia infusion from IGN|PC, we have updated our Downloads page where you can now download all the known CTPII Wonder Movies and MP3 files released to the public directly from Apolyton.
This should help eliviate some of the slow download speeds that have been reported since their availability; in other words, if you're having difficulties in obtaining the files from IGN, try us! -DanQ
BATTLES: BUNDLED UNITS
(9 November 2000, 18:07 EST/CtP2) How many units can you bundle into a battle, John Amram wants to know? Twelve, answered Pyaray. -DanQ
MORE MULTIMEDIA FROM IGN
(9 November 2000, 18:02 EST/CtP2) IGN|PC has posted two new AVI Wonder files, one of The Appian Way and the other of The Solaris Project.
The Appian Way is a massive trade route that connects all of your empire, states IGN. Trade profits increase for the owner of the Appian Way and cities on the outer edges of your empire no longer experience unhappiness as a result of their distance from your capital.
The Solaris Project is the result of the first practical matter to energy conversion experiments. With ME conversion safe and reliable, all civs can attempt the Science Fiction Victory by constructing Gaia Controllers. These space stations collect energy and beam it down to your cities where it is converted into physical resources. The first player to construct a Gaia Controller wins the game.
In addition to this, last night they also added two MP3s from the game, one called "Casus belli" and the other "A'Tugewinu". These, plus for the four total AVI movie files, will be available for download from Apolyton sometime within the next 24hrs. -DanQ
GOOD AS GOLD
(9 November 2000, 17:50 EST/CtP2) Activision informed GamePen today that CTPII has gone gold and should be in stores November 19, 2000.
In addition, The Adrenaline Vault has reported that its suggested retail price will be $45.99US and will carry the "E" rating for mild animated violence.
It should be noted that the aforementioned release date applies to the United States/Canada only. As Lt. John explained in our forums this afternoon:
The international versions should code release within the next week, so I would estimate that the game will release in Europe and Asia about two weeks after it appears in the U.S.
[Furthermore] Australia counts as an international version (as does the UK) since it is our standard overseas English edition and we have to test the different keyboard configurations. This version should release soon, but to answer the question directly, it will not ship on the same day as the US version. -DanQ
PREVIEW, DAY THREE
(9 November 2000, 17:47 EST/CtP2) More impressions, more replies, more screenshots: the third part of our ctp2 impressions is here! These are the headlines: Explanations, Replies, Yes 32 Civs, New Way For Resource Gathering, AIPopCheat, Too Many Screens, Borders and Trespassing, 1280x1024 With "Clear" Map, ICS still there or not, CTRL+S CTRL+L. Read on! -MarkG
COMING TO THE X-BOX...?
(9 November 2000, 16:28 EST/CtP) When Microsoft unveils its X-Box (XB) gaming platform next year, CTP1 may be one of the first half-dozen games Activision will make available for it.
As first reported by MicroMania, Activision will port CTP1 to the XB along with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Quake III Arena (the other three titles were not listed). While MM's document is en français, feel free to use AltaVista's Babelfish service for a rough translation.
Our thanks to Dominique Pary for the news tip; however, we are awaiting confirmation from Activision that this statement is founded. -DanQ
NOV. 24 SAYS MICROMANIA
(9 November 2000, 16:21 EST/CtP2) Micromania, a gaming site based in France, is reporting that CTPII will be released on November 24. The document originally in French, feel free to use AltaVista's Babelfish service for a rough translation.
Our thanks to Dominique Pary for the news tip. -DanQ
PREVIEW, DAY TWO
(8 November 2000, 19:42 EST/CtP2) Here are today's impressions. The headlines: Explanations, Replies, No Crash, No Crash, No Crash, Manual in electronic format, Army Managment, Units stats, Music, Radar Map buttons, Append to Multiple Build Queues, Retreat Button, Comparing Goverments, Not yet 32 civs. 8 New screenshots are included! -MarkG
MISC. FROM LT. JOHN
(8 November 2000, 17:58 EST/CtP2) In the Preview: Day 1 thread, John "Lt. John" Heinecke informed us of some miscellaneous CTPII items.
The castles next to cities indicate a fortified unit in the city, he said. Wonder movies -- some are the same as in [CTP1], others are new. All are CG rendered. -DanQ
WEEKLY OFFICIAL SITE UPDATE
(8 November 2000, 11:03 EST/CtP2) Activision updated their CTPII site once again with two additional write-ups in the Renaissance section, including two new screenshots: one of the Gutenberg Bible wonder and the other of the Infrastructure improvement.
Excerpts from the text:
The revolution has come and gone, wreaking havoc on my once-peaceful land. Yet I have arisen from the ashes like a Phoenix, managing to retain my leadership role. Unfortunately, with democracy comes the influence of the elected Senate...
Money has been called the root of all evil, and yet it motivates like no other incentive save power itself. Since my military might has been curtailed by the Senate, I have found another way to defeat Turkey's plot against my empire.
Our thanks to Jeff Heathcote for the news tip. -DanQ
PREVIEW, DAY ONE
(7 November 2000, 18:53 EST/CtP2) And it has begun. Our preview of CTP2 just started, and here are our first-day impressions. Keep in mind that these are just impressions, and part of the actual preview. Along with this, our screenshots and art have been updated. Looking forward to your comments! -MarkG
COLUMN CLARIFICATIONS
(7 November 2000, 15:27 EST/CtP2) Last Saturday we posted a column written by Activision's Winnie Lee, more commonly known as St. Swithin, about CTPII which has generated a lot of discussion since. Today she clarifies some comments/questions raised by users of our forums. An excerpt:
First, the city's radius is not determined by the number of workers in the field - the number of workers determines how much of the resources the city will collect from the area. Second, you can't affect a city's radius by assigning specialists - the only way to shrink a city is to starve it or to let it get attacked repeatedly, in which case you'd be better off just leaving it undefended for Barbarians.
For more questions and answers, click on the forum thread link above. -DanQ
GAMESPY PREVIEW
(7 November 2000, 15:15 EST/CtP2) GameSpy Industries' writer Tim Culbert was given the opportunity to preview CTPII, and his first impressions have been posted on GSpy.
The two-page, five-screen first look initially had Culbert confused.
Initial impressions had me thinking I'd inserted the wrong CD. On the whole, the graphics of [CTPII] have not been updated for the sequel, although one is able to make out minor tweaks and enhancements that have taken place and these serve to improve the graphical quality of the original.
All in all, the vast amount of improvements that Activision has put into the latest Civilization title look as though they are going to pay off, and from what I've seen we might have the most playable title in the series to date. -DanQ
CTP2 GOLD PARTY!!
(7 November 2000, 14:46 EST/CtP2) That's right! One of these days CTP2 goes gold (e.g. it's done!) and we are organizing an irc party with the development team(we're starting a tradition here, since we did the same with ctp1). The chat is set for this Friday, November 10. Be there!! -MarkG
CTP2 IN OUR HANDS
(7 November 2000, 14:44 EST/CtP2) As of this morning, CTP2 is happily installed on our PCs, waiting to be previewed! :) Expect an overload of CTP2 information starting today! -MarkG
2 WONDER MOVIES ON IGN
(7 November 2000, 14:41 EST/CtP2) IGN posted two wonder movies from CTP2: The Great Wall (2.64 MB (MOV)) and The Eden Project (2.08 MB (MOV)). Check them out and then discuss them in Monkey's thread. -MarkG
INFORMATION DOUBLED!
(6 November 2000, 19:18 EST/CtP2) After over two months of the first appearance of our CTPII information pages, all of the pages have been updated with the the info we have posted about so far. The outcome was that we now have double the amount of "information items" than what we had before! Check them out! -MarkG
TOP CIV2 FILES FOR OCTOBER
(5 November 2000, 20:22 EST/Civ2) Nearly 20,000 downloads for the civ2 files in our database for the last month. This figure says some thinks by itself...
Here is our Top 10 list, thanks to your ratings. Since the listing for the September was the first one based on a small number of votes, the changes are big
Top 10 Files
1(2). 9.83(9.67) Lord of the Rings
2(-). 9.80(-) Gigaworld
3(-). 9.67(-) Patch for Civilization II (2.42)
4(3). 9.60(9.33) HiRes
5(-). 9.50(-) Rip-off units pack
6(-). 9.33(-) Australia
-(-). 9.33(-) Day of Treason
8(5). 8.67(8.50) GIF Xtractor beta 3
9(1). 8.33(10.00) CivConverter
10(4). 8.25(9.00) Star Trek Wars
Database Stats
Total Files: 461 (408)
Total Reviews: 143 (77)
Total Rated Files: 86 (58)
Average Rating: 7.31 (6.94)
Total Downloads: 122085 (105623)
Average Downloads/File: 264.83 (258.88)
-MarkG
TOP AL&PD LINKS FOR OCTOBER
(5 November 2000, 20:21 EST/Misc) Extremely minor changes for the month of October(last month it was just "minor"). It is obvious that more reviews are needed to see bigger changes... Here's the full listing of our charts
Top 10 Links
1(1). 9.60(9.60) The Spanish Civilization II Site
2(2). 9.52(9.54) Apolyton Civilization Site: Civ2 Section
3(3). 9.42(9.39) Grosse deutsche Civ2-Seite
4(4). 9.14(9.14) Civilization II - One City Challenge Strategy Guide
5(5). 8.95(9.00) Colonization Home Page
6(7). 8.92(8.92) Civilization II Scenario League
7(6). 8.89(8.93) Apolyton Civilization Site: Civ3 Section
8(8). 8.83(8.76) Civilization II Historical Scenarios
9(9). 8.50(8.50) Civilization III Civilopedia
10(10). 8.44(8.44) Das Civilization 2 Universum
Top 5 Games
1(1). 10.00(10.00) Civilization II: Fantastic Worlds
2(2). 9.80(9.80) Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack
3(3). 9.33(9.46) Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
4(4). 9.33(9.33) Civilization II Gold(Mac)
5(5). 9.00(9.00) Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri(Mac)
Top 5 Books
1(1). 8.50(8.50) Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri : Power of the Mind Worms
2(2). 5.50(5.50) Civilization II: Test of Time: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
3(3). 4.50(4.50) Civilization: Call to Power Official Strategy Guide
4(4). 1.50(1.50) Civilization II Strategies & Secrets
AL&PD Stats
Total Links: 187 (185)
Total Reviews: 680(645)
Total Rated Links: 118(113)
Average Rating: 7.09(6.99)
Total Hits: 53622(47295)
Average Hits/Link: 286.75(255.65)
-MarkG
MD: BUILD NO. 633
(5 November 2000, 20:19 EST/Alt) Ron Hiler, Lead Programmer on the Manifest Destiny project, posted Build No. 633 notes in our Alternative Civs. forum.
If you would like to contact Hiler about the project directly, you can email him at rhiler@rjcyberware.com. -DanQ
INBOX: SEPTEMBER 5, 2000
(5 November 2000, 20:01 EST/About) Welcome to another installment of InBOX, a weekly feature here on ACS where we select three pieces of email from the past 7 days to comment on in this open venue. Letters are chosen based on their relevance to the community that this site serves, the site itself and the frequency in which the question(s) have been asked.
1. Is there any way to download Civ2Gold [Multiplayer Gold Edition]. I have Civ2 Fantastic Worlds; if so, where and how big is the file?
Negative -- MGE (Gold), like FW, is a seperate add-on to the game. If you purchase Test of Time, you can get all previous add-ons in the game in one plus the new features that ToT itself brings to Civ2's gameplay.
2. Do you know the date of the release of CTP II and CIV III or when do you think it will be release?
See our CTPII and CivIII sections for information on release dates etc. The former is more or less set in stone, while the latter is just a prediction at best at this point.
3. I noticed that your surveys require a username and password to participate, but I can't find how to join the website. Could you help?
You're not joining our "website" -- that is not the proper terminology to describe what it is you want to do! All you need to do is register for an account on our forums @ apolyton.net/forums ... it's free! :)
Log on next week for another mailbag, and another InBOX! -DanQ
EBWORLD SAYS NOV. 16TH
(5 November 2000, 19:42 EST/CtP2) In the latest in a continuous string of CTPII release predictions, EBWorld is saying the 16th of November. The listed price is $49.99US which you can pre-order now. The game's profile also includes one customer preview. The person, who remains nameless, says the game is awesome.
[CTPII] has all the elements of the first game plus tons of new upgrades to classes and more organized military strategies and more diplomatic options... it is a must have for hardcore gamers and if you liked the first one you must have this upgraded version.
Our thanks to RT for the newstip. -DanQ
DISTINGUISHED POSITIONS
(5 November 2000, 15:24 EST/SMACX) Congratulations are in order to Firaxis Games on a further distinguishment for Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri and its expansion pack, Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire.
The former was listed in second on a list of the Top 5 Turn-Based Games in the second issue of Strategy Player Magazine, in its latest "A-Z: Strategy Games Index" installment, just behind Civilization II. The latter was given the nod as SPM's staff choice as the fifth and final Top 5 Expansion Packs choice title.
SPM debuted in September in the United Kingdom; for more information, logon to Paragon Publishing's website, the magazine's publicist. -DanQ
TOP TB & GOD SIM
(5 November 2000, 15:17 EST/Civ2ToT) In the second issue of Strategy Player Magazine, Civilization II is listed atop the Top 5 Turn-Based Games and fourth in a list of the Top 5 God Sims in its latest "A-Z: Strategy Games Index" installment.
SPM debuted in September in the United Kingdom; for more information, logon to Paragon Publishing's website, the magazine's publicist. -DanQ
CT`S TOP 10 SEPT. PC GAMES
(5 November 2000, 15:12 EST/Misc) Below are the Top 5 Selling PC Games in the U.K. for September, 2000, according to Chart-Track.
1) Baldur's Gate 2 | Interplay
2) Age of Empires II: The Conquerors | Microsoft
3) The Sims: Livin' It Up | Electronic Arts
4) Who Wants To Be A Millionaire | Eidos
5) Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force | Activision -DanQ
AUG. 2001 RELEASE: CGW
(5 November 2000, 15:09 EST/Civ3) In Computer Gaming World's latest magazine issue, Joseph1444 informed us that CGW has indicated that Hasbro Interactive has designated August, 2001 as the month of the release of CivIII.
In reality, it is way too early to determine during which quarter of 2001 the game may be released, let alone stating a particular month in the year. In actual fact, Hasbro/Firaxis Games has yet to confirm whether the game is slated for a 2001 release or otherwise. -DanQ
SPM SAYS NOV. 30
(5 November 2000, 15:02 EST/CtP2) According to the editors of Strategy Player Magazine, CTPII is set for a November, 30th release. This information was published in the magazine's October, 2000 issue; given that no exact date in the month of November has been officially stated for the game's release, it's simply a ballpark estimation at the moment.
What does SPM say "the buzz" is surrounding the anticipated Call To Power sequel? Turn-based [strategy gaming] gets a shot in the arm. -DanQ
8 CIVS: THE FINAL EXPLANATION
(4 November 2000, 19:38 EST/CtP2) As you might have noticed, the discussion on the decision to still have 8 civs in a game is nothing but over, so Pyaray decided to give a more thorough explanation. Here is the main part
There is a concern with the AI comparing the other civs, and that is exponential. With 8 civs, each AI has to evaluate 7 other civs, so it's 7^2=49, with 9 civs it's 8^2=64, and 10 civs it's 9^2=81. So you can see, by increasing the number of civs by 2 we have nearly doubled the amount of |
