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December 2000
HP: COZY, NO EYEBROW RAISER
(31 December 2000, 19:02 EST/CtP2) HappyPuppy has final put the finishing touches on their review of CTPII, and staffer Richard Douek makes it clear that it does not sit well with him.
Call to Power II seem[s] like a mediocre upgrade to Civilization rather than a game that is as unique and groundbreaking as its predecessor.
In essence, no matter how many new coats of paint you slap on it, and no matter how many times you rearrange the furniture, it's still the same old house. For fans of the [Civ] series, this will seem comfortable and cozy, but to people looking for something new or different, it won't raise any eyebrows.
Douek duly gives the game a 55% (5.5/10) overall rating. -DanQ
4.5/5 FROM ELECTRIC GAMES
(31 December 2000, 18:51 EST/CtP2) Just because the month of December is wrapping up, doesn't mean that CTPII reviews are as well. Electric Games has posted their favourable review of the game with an overal 4.5/5 star rating.
Much of the game's look will be familiar to fans of this type of game, EG' begins. Units and maps are composed of two-dimensional sprites and look good, especially at high resolutions. Animation is fairly simple but effective. The interface for the game has been streamlined compared to the first title, and gives you more flexible ease of use when building your empire.
EG continues to state, for the most part, all that CTPII has going for it for the remainder of the review.
Compared to the first Call to Power, this game features new types of units and abilities. Unfortunately, some of these, while giving an interesting twist to the game, are a bit unbalancing. Diplomacy works to a cerain extent -- there are many diplomatic options, but the AI has a tendency to go back on its word far too easily. [CTPII] is still fun, especially once you start playing at the higher difficulty levels.
The game is more intense that way, but far more challenging. If you enjoyed [CTP], this should be right up your alley as it expands quite a bit on what was already a good game.
The review is dated December 26th, but no author credit has been given. -DanQ
MEMORY LANE: MINOR CIV MENTION
(31 December 2000, 18:43 EST/Misc) Rich Carlson's article entitled "The History of Computer Games: Worlds in Boxes" appeared on GameSpy Industries' website today, covering the evolution of computer gaming over the past two decades and looking towards the future.
Civilization fans will be undoubtedly confused and saddened to see that only the original in the series was given mention, and bracketed in a setence at that. Nonetheless, it is nostalgic trip down gaming memory lane... -DanQ
QTT REVIEW: SHORTEST KNOWN
(31 December 2000, 13:37 EST/CtP2) One in the series of "60 Second Reviews" on Quarter-To-Three is that of CTPII. Posted on December 17, reviewer Tom Chick is brief and curt.
This cold, lifeless, tedious game plays like it was assembled by robots [or] maybe a focus group, Chick blasts at the game. It hits a bulleted list of features with all the passion of Dick Cheney reading the phone book. It doesn't do much to improve on the original Call to Power and indeed repeats many of that game's mistakes.
If turn-based gaming dies, it will be because this is what people pick off the shelves while games like Shadow Watch, Rising Sun, and Space Empires IV languish unbought and overlooked.
Chick has written and continues to write for Computer Gaming World, Computer Games Magazine, Gamepower, Daily Radar, IGN, and Sharkey's Games. -DanQ
COLUMN #147; BY DANQ
(30 December 2000, 23:02 EST/Misc) DanQ returns to the Column scene in hopes that the tradition of background stories, such as in SMAC, will continue in future incarnations of the Civ series in his latest article entitled "More Background Stories, Please...".
Comments/questions are welcomed in our forums, or you may opt to contact the author directly.
Want to see your name and your article appear here? If you would like information on how to contribute an article to this regular feature here on Apolyton, click here. -DanQ
GSPOT READERS NOMINEE 2000
(29 December 2000, 23:49 EST/CtP2) Call To Power II may have not even made it to the nominees stage, let alone the winners podium, in the GameSpot staff's "Top PC Games Picks, 2000" but it does find itself in the "Reader's Choice" flavour of the site's annual awards. That said, it has its work cut out for it.
CTPII is up against *seventeen* other strategy titles released over the past twelve months, a mixmash of the Turn-Based, Real-Time and what can be best described as Miscellaneous Strategy genres in the 'Strategy Game Of The Year' section. Amongst the other titles vying for the prize are Age of Empires II: The Conquerors, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, The Sims and Zeus: Master of Olympus. Naturally CTPII, like all other titles in all other categories, is also up for the nod of 'Game Of The Year' based on the popular reader vote.
The only thing GSpot requires for you to cast your ballot is that you register for a free account of their service (more details on site). -DanQ
MD BUILD #855
(29 December 2000, 0:03 EST/Alt) Yes, I am aware that we are two days late with this one, begins Ron Hiler in the 855th Build notes surrounding the Manifest Destiny project in our Alternative Civs forum. Some of the new items in this build were quite complex, and took a while to debug. Everything seems to be working now, more or less.
In his concluding paragraph Hiler, MD's Lead Programmer, stated that while there will be no build next week, an Alpha version of the game is just around the corner in the New Year. -DanQ
STRATEGY GUIDE IS HERE
(28 December 2000, 23:03 EST/CtP2) BradyGames has released the official CTPII strategy guide, written by Johnny Lee Wilson and Terry Lee Coleman. Fans may recognize Coleman as being the author of the company's official guide to its predecessor, C:CTP.
There are nine chapters in the guide. The titles of Chapter 1 through to and including Chapter 9 follows -- they all begin "Concering the...": "Building of a civilization", "Face of Battle (Unit Breakdowns", "Use of Force", "Body Politc (Use of Governments", "Institution of Slavery", "Advances of [CTPII]", "Wonders of the World", "Method of Devious Play (Cheats, Hacks, and Tips)" and last but not least "Domination of OTher Human Civilizations (Multiplayer Tips)". This all complemented by an introduction, bibliography and appendix.
The guide costs $19.99US, $28.95CA, or 14.99UK. You can order the guide directly from Macmillan USA, BradyGames' publisher, or any other number of online retailors and brick and mortar stores. -DanQ
PCG REVIEW REPORT
(28 December 2000, 22:52 EST/CtP2) Our thanks to JC Denton who in our forums yesterday reported on the CTPII review in the February, 2000 issue of PC Gamer magazine.
Denton typed out the review's "quick list" which accompained the 74% final score rating:
"Highs: Effective interface; great multiplay; expanded diplomacy; decent enemy AI.
Lows: Still those dumb stealth units; societies lack individuality; stupid diplomacy swaps.
Bottom Line: What the original was intended to be -- but still no Alpha Centauri". -DanQ
G100: OFF THE TOP TEN
(28 December 2000, 22:49 EST/SMACX) In the 417th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire falls of the Top 10 for the first time in recent history, now in 11th position on the countdown.
To vote for SMAC this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: SLIPPING AGAIN
(28 December 2000, 22:49 EST/Civ2ToT) In the 417th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization II: Test Of Time slips again from 13th to 14th spot.
To vote for ToT this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: BACK TO FORTNIGHT STANDING
(28 December 2000, 22:48 EST/CtP2) In the 417th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Call To Power II returns to its position of two weeks ago (19th) after climbing to 18th last week.
To vote for CTP2 this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: SHOWING STRENGTH
(28 December 2000, 22:48 EST/CtP) In the 417th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization: Call To Power regains some strength moving up two spots into 31st position over its showing in 33rd last week.
To vote for CTP this and every week, click here! -DanQ
PC DATA: DECEMBER 16, 2000
(28 December 2000, 22:43 EST/Misc) For the week ending December 16, 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) The Sims | Electronic Arts
3) Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Second Edition | Disney
4) The Sims: Livin' Large | Electronic Arts
5) Frogger 2 | Hasbro Interactive
6) Barbie Pet Rescue | Mattel Interactive
7) RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loony Landscapes | Hasbro Interactive
8) Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 | Electronic Arts
9) Hoyle Casino 2001 | Havas Interactive
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
GAME FILES DOCUMENTATION, PART 3
(28 December 2000, 16:50 EST/CtP2) We continue our journey in the world of ctp2 game files(a couple of hours of html editing make you post things like that :))
* Strategies.txt
* UnitBuildLists.txt
* WonderBuildLists.txt
* Advance.txt
More tomorrow... -MarkG
APOLYTON WELCOMES WESW
(28 December 2000, 5:52 EST/About) Apolyton is happy to announce that the latest in the series of it's hosted sites is Wes Whitacker's CTP1/2 Modification Site. WesW(as he is known on the CTP community) has been modifying CTP for some time now. His Medieval Mod for CTP1 is probably one of the two mods that changed the way we played CTP1 for ever :)
Now Wes is working on the transfer of the Medieval Mod to Call to Power II and what better place to have his "home" than Apolyton? The wait shouldn't be long, but in the meantime you can find the discussions about the MedMod in our CTP2-Creation Forum. -MarkG
GAME FILES DOCUMENTATION, PART 2
(27 December 2000, 19:08 EST/CtP2) A small update, more to come:
* Goals.txt
* ImprovementLists.txt
* Personalities.txt
Want to comment? Check the related forum thread -MarkG
LINUXWORLD: FREECIV TOP CHOICE
(27 December 2000, 16:53 EST/Alt) LinuxWorld's Lee Anderson has given the nod to Freeciv as one of the top ten Linux toys for the eye and imagination.
Freeciv is a civilization clone that combines features from the popular DOS/Windows titles Civilization and Civilization II, Anderson writes in his introduction of the game. Freeciv uses the top-down interface that is characteristic of [Civ], and incorporates rules and wonders very much like [CivII]'s. Freeciv also takes full advantage of a client-server architecture that makes multiplayer games extremely simple to set up.
Our hats off to the Freeciv staff themselves for discovering this write-up first. -DanQ
PATCH NOT FINDING GAME FIX?
(27 December 2000, 16:04 EST/CtP2) First raised in our forums, some users using Windows2000 have been experiencing difficulties in having the CTPII patch recognizing that they indeed had CTPII installed on their systems. An email received today from a Jan Rosseau may have just the solution those desperately searching for one:
I had the same problem, Rosseau begins. I work with Windows2000 and remembered that I had a logical drive mounted. My E: drive has Windows 2000 on it and on my G:drive I install my applications. I did mount my G:drive under E:.
[So], maybe the patch gets confused when checking those mounted drives. After I "unmounted" the logical drive and rebooted my system, the patch installed without problems.
If anyone who plays this suggestion out and is successful in the attempt, either let us know via email or post about it in our CTPII forums. -DanQ
STRATEGY: TBS VS. RTS
(27 December 2000, 16:00 EST/Misc) The staff over at StrategyPlanet wants to know how you like your strategy: turn-based, in real-time, a bit of both or no preference either way.
At the time of the posting of this article, RTS is kicking TBS around the block with a commanding lead (55.1% compared to 16.6%); votes tallied in favour of a bix of the two has even surpassed TBS (23.8%), with the remaining 4.5% say they don't care one way or the other. To date, nearly 650 gamers have cast their ballots in this ongoing poll.
Remember the time before Warcraft, Dune, and Command and Conquer when everyone played Civilization for hours and hours on end? I do, but just barely, writes an uncredited SP staffer. Some folks have said that real-time strategy has ruined the genre while others feel it has given it new energy and is the wave of the future. Let's see how you feel. -DanQ
GAMESTATS WEBSITE OVERHAUL
(25 December 2000, 16:47 EST/Misc) From the desk of the administration of the GameStats News Network:
The GameStats News Network ( http://www.gamestats.com ) proudly unveiled the third incarnation of its website yesterday evening. The first major overhaul to GameStats.com in more than two and a half years, it has been in development for almost five months.
Please visit us at our renovated home today. Merry Christmas! -DanQ
GAME FILES DOCUMENTATION, PART 1
(24 December 2000, 13:52 EST/CtP2) We are (glad to be ;)) far from being done with the reference files from Activision. Today's update:
* Directory Structure
* AdvanceLists.txt
* BuildingBuildLists.txt
* BuildListSequences.txt
* Diplomacy.txt
* DiplomacyProposal.txt
* DiplomacyThreat.txt
If you are not sure what this is all about, well, check the pages! -MarkG
SEVEN/TEN FROM EPG
(24 December 2000, 11:45 EST/CtP2) A solid improvement over Civilization: Call to Power, but this series still remains a pretender to the legacy of Sid Meier’s epic game of the ages, reads Peter Suciu's bottom line in his review of CTPII for the Electric Playground website and by no means the ultimate expansion to the nearly legendary series but it will keep you pleasantly entertained.
This tone plays itself throughout the review, and to Suciu it translates into a 7/10 final score. -DanQ
GAMEPOWER: 3.5/4 BOLTS
(24 December 2000, 11:38 EST/CtP2) The four-page, sixteen-screenhot GamePower review of CTPII gives the game its second highest nod of approval to date in reviews across the Web and ranks just as high in being one of the most thorough.
GP's Jeff Sengstack had this to offer in his conclusion:
Civilization has a cult following. Many cultists viewed the first CTP as an abomination. It wasn't, but it also clearly did not have the Meier touch. CTPII also is missing that magic, but it still kept my rear glued to my chair for hours on end. Sticklers may scoff, but CTPII will satisfy most everyone while they wait for CivIII. -DanQ
MD BUILD #821
(23 December 2000, 22:59 EST/Alt) Ron Hiler, Lead Programmer on the Manifest Destiny project, posted the team's most up-to-date build notes, number 821, in our forums last Sunday.
Lots of new features in our build this week, Hiler writes. The big one is the ability to found your own cities. There are also new functions for the unit workshop and new items in the turn generation sequence. Let's get to it.
What's next on the docket for the team according to Hiler? Exactly what they missed getting to in this one: city production functionality. -DanQ
COLUMN #146; BY ZERO_TOLERANCE
(23 December 2000, 22:53 EST/Misc) Zero_Tolerance is intrigued to ponder how Sid Meier's Dinosaurs and Civilization III will mesh together. ZT makes his Column debut with his article entitled "The Sweep Of Time".
Comments/questions are welcomed in our forums, or you may opt to contact the author directly.
Want to see your name and your article appear here? If you would like information on how to contribute an article to this regular feature here on Apolyton, click here. -DanQ
GP: MORE SEQUEL THEN ANYTHING
(23 December 2000, 10:53 EST/CtP2) GamersPulse's Dave "Werewolf" Montowski, who reviewed the original C:CTP for GP, has also had the opportunity to review its sequel. He gives it a 7.5/10. Here's a summary by using key excerpts from this two-page writeup:
CTP2 brings a few new features to the game. It boasts a new interface which is easier to use, a city manager that lets you set your cities on autopilot while you focus on other things, a comprehensive map/scenario editor, and about 6300 years to run rampant.
[The game] brings the turn based strategy game that we've all come to know and love back to us for one more round of merriment. It brings with it new units, new ways to play, different looks, and even a smarter AI.
Even with all these new bells and whistles added, I don’t see all that much difference from this game’s predecessor. Strategy and combat still have their same basic principles, though combat is changed a little, and the rest of the game consists of striving to keep your people alive and technically advanced enough to compete with the rest of the world.
Despite the lack of serious improvement over previous iterations in the series, for the money you pay it is truly a game worth buying. It doesn’t make any effort to transcend the genre, but still keeps the player interested. [CTP2] should have been an expansion for CTP, not a sequel. There was no reason to fix something that wasn’t broken, and it looks as though Activision tried to do just that.
In the five categories of characteristics that Montowski used to evaluate CTPII, his marks ranged from a sizzling 98/100 on the 'Technical' front (No problems I could see) to an abysmal 37/100 for 'Concept' (This game was already made once and it was made better). -DanQ
WORLD WAR II SCENARIO IS HERE
(22 December 2000, 21:41 EST/CtP2) Apolyton proudly presents yet another "Christmas 2000 Exclusive", the World War II scenario for Call to Power 2, made by the CTP2 Development Team.
Since the Apolyton server has a much better connection that of a certain someone's PC at home ;) the file is now availiable for download. Additionally, obtain the scenario's README file (RTF format, 6K) and read before installing the scenario. We haven't seen it to tell you anything else about it. The size of the compressed file though (11.7MB) gives an idea that this isn't the simplest thing...
Get it, play it, and post your comments in the forums! -MarkG
PATCH 1.11
(22 December 2000, 21:30 EST/CtP2) The version 1.11 patch of Call To Power 2 is now availiable on Apolyton, along with other downloads sites.
Activision's Doug Pearson noted on our forum that:
For users of the current version 1.1 there is no reason to upgrade. It uses the same code of version 1.1 and only contains a more friendly installer, which will now properly detected the regional settings on existing installations.
For everyone who had trouble with installation of the previous version of the patch. Try this newer version 1.11 patch out.
The size of this file (3.6MB) is almost indentical to that of the 1.1 version. -MarkG
FORUM LOGIN BACKUP COMPLETE
(22 December 2000, 11:13 EST/About) Season's Greetings from Apolyton! The backup of our forum members' database is complete.
Thank you for your patience during this period. -DanQ
MODIFICATION REFERENCE BY ACTIVISION
(21 December 2000, 20:45 EST/CtP2) We've received today from Activision the documentation for the map/scenario editor, a help page on how to customise the AI, lots of SLIC reference pages and a bid document with with directory structures and explanations on the data files. All except from the last one(which you should expect tomorrow) are now posted in our Modification pages. Happy reading! -MarkG
ASSERTIVE CONTENDER ON G100
(21 December 2000, 11:31 EST/CtP2) In the 416th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Call To Power II continues to assert itself as a contender as it moves up again for the third week in a row to #18 -- it was 19th last week.
To vote for CTP2 this and every week, click here! -DanQ
SHAKING DOWNWARD ON G100
(21 December 2000, 11:31 EST/SMACX) In the 416th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire continues to shake downwards landing in 10th position this week, a drop of two spots over last week.
To vote for SMAC this and every week, click here! -DanQ
SLIP, STILL COMPETITIVE ON G100
(21 December 2000, 11:30 EST/Civ2ToT) In the 416th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization II: Test Of Time has slipped from 13th to 12th position but is still very much alive on the intensely competitive countdown.
To vote for ToT this and every week, click here! -DanQ
JUMPING TEN ON G100
(21 December 2000, 11:29 EST/CtP) In the 416th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization: Call To Power makes it clear that it's not out of the race yet leaping ten spots from 43rd last to 33rd this week.
To vote for CTP this and every week, click here! -DanQ
FORUM LOGIN BACKUP IN PROGRESS
(21 December 2000, 10:00 EST/About) Moments ago we started a backup of the forum member login accounts. Given that there are over 8,000 such accounts, this process may take a while. During this time you may have difficulties logging into/changing your account setup if you try to do so at the same time that it is being backed up on our end. If this happens, please try again in five to ten minute intervals.
Thank you for your patience in advance. We will post a notice here once this process is complete. -DanQ
WORLD PREMIERE: FIRST UNITS RELEASE
(20 December 2000, 15:06 EST/Civ3) Apolyton is proud to be a carrier of the world premiere of the first Civilization III units to be released to the public. They are the Panzer Tank, Phalanx and the Rifleman. To view, check our our freshly launched Information section on the game.
Firaxis' Communications Manager, Kelley Gilmore, told us that the company plans to launch their CivIII developer's site early in the New Year.
[It] will feature on-going design updates, an art gallery, FAQs about the game and some other fun stuff for Civ hungry fans to enjoy, Gilmore said.
Our deepest thanks to Firaxis for the wonderful Christmas present! -DanQ
*EXCLUSIVE* DESIGNER DIARY
(20 December 2000, 14:37 EST/CtP2) Who better than to dispense advice on CTPII end game strategies than Activision's Dan Hagerty, one of the game's designers. An Apolyton *exclusive*: the "End Game" Designer Diary.
In three page write-up (32K), Hagerty runs through how to achieve a diplomatic victory, achieving world peace, the nature of the Gaia Controller victory, tips for a Sci-Fi resolution and other victories possible during gameplay.
The Call To Power II design team felt strongly about offering the player a multitude of opportunities to complete the game, not all of which were based on military might, Hagerty explains. Although players who derive satisfaction from obliterating their enemies and laying claim to every square inch of the globe will certainly be entertained, those who wish to explore science and diplomacy will find a unique set of challenges as well.
Our heartfelt thanks to Activision for this, the latest in a string of presents under the tree for CTPII fans this Holiday season. -DanQ
ABOUT.COM: TOP TBS HOLIDAY PICK
(20 December 2000, 11:45 EST/CtP2) About.Com's Ned Jordan, the site's guide to Computer Strategy Games, wrote a six-part "Holiday Buying Guide" for 2000. Part 3 is his top picks for turn-based strategy gaming, and atop that list is CTPII.
The latest game in a long line of games descended from the all-time classic, Civilization, Jordan writes. Lead your civilization from its barbaric infancy until it can reach the stars. You decide whether you want to survive and flourish through conquest, trade, or research while keeping your rival civilizations at bay.
Jordan is a self-described avid gamer of more than two decades. -DanQ
PATCH V1.11: NOT FAR AWAY
(19 December 2000, 22:55 EST/CtP2) Activision's Doug "PingEnvy" Pearson says that CTPII Patch v1.11 is not far away from being released.
[The patch] will no longer have the issue with regional settings. It has no other changes, Pearson said.
Pearson made this announcement in our forums yesterday evening. As soon as the updated patch is released, we will mirror it here on Apolyton shortly thereafter. -DanQ
SIMULTANEOUS MULTIPLAYER
(19 December 2000, 20:41 EST/Civ2ToT) With something that may only be definable as revolutionary, Civilization Fanatics' Center's (CFC) Thunderfall posted a most intriguing piece of email he received from a Mr. Tony Toon. Here is an excerpt:
I got Test of Time today at Wal-Mart, and was playing it with a friend, when we quickly got upset that we couldn't play in simultaneous mode like in CivNet. Anyways, I got tinkering about in the .EXE file, and figured out that if you add "Simultaneous=1" to the CIV.INI in your \WINDOWS directory, it allows you to choose the humans move simultaneously option. It seems it was removed from the game officially, but it so far has worked fine. Dunno if it'd work in Civ2MPG or not, but it might, since they look to be based on the same engine.
Stephen Arnott emailed us this evening alerting us that John Possidente, former MicroPROSE staffer and ToT team member, responded to this revelation in our forums yesterday which laid confirmations on the feature's origins.
The simultaneous human movement thing was actually a leftover from the Multiplayer Gold Edition. The team put it in and it seemed to work, but in testing we found that it caused major game play problems, including opportunities for blatant cheating. So, we nixed it in the shipping version, but the code, like a trick knee, remained in place waiting to cause trouble. We developed ToT based on a version of the MGE code-base--thus the legacy simultaneous human turns code.
If you have ToT, go ahead and try it! -DanQ
GALCIV IS RIGHT ON SCHEDULE
(19 December 2000, 20:23 EST/Alt) A quick browse in the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic newsgroup unearthed this thread posted on Sunday by Stardock Systems' Brad Wardell, Project Manager of Galactic Civilizations.
A few months ago I posted a screenshot of where we were on Galactic Civilizations, Wardell began. We are still on track for a Christmas 2001 release. We have to take a bit of a sabatical to finish up The Corporate Machine but with that now done, we are returning to full power on GalCiv.
Wardell posted a link to this screenshot to show everyone where the team is today. And for those not familiar with the game, he offered a brief description of it as outlined below:
Basically, [GalCiv] is a space based strategy game in which you take control the human race and guide it into the future. The game allows players to really balance political, economic and military skills to win. There are lots of different ways to succeed at the game besides the age old "Conquer everyone".
For more on the game, head on over to its official website. A GalCiv area for the Alt. Civs. section is being considered. -DanQ
8000 MEMBERS AND COUNTING
(19 December 2000, 20:14 EST/About) Today saw the creation of the 8000th login in our forums. Whoever that person is, they have joined an incredible collection of electronic message boards. In operation since August, 1998, the forums have become an epicenter for discussion in the Civilization community for "everything Civ", "everything Apolyton"... "and everthing else" (hence Off-Topic).
On behalf of the staff and administration of Apolyton CS, thank you to each and every one of our forum users for making it such a continued success. Cheers! -DanQ
SACRIFICIAL BLOOD 2.0!!!
(19 December 2000, 16:46 EST/Civ2)  Shay Yates Roberts announced to us the release of the Civ2 MGE modpack "Sacrificial Blood 2.0: Rise of the High Native Empires"(8MB).
"SB 2.0 features new unit graphics by the renowned French artist, Erwan Catesson. It also includes a new, solo play scenario called Dark Realm. This scenario is a quest-based game (no city maintenance). Dark Realm is a mythological adventure that introduces unique features such as bridges, shapechanging, and dimensional travel/teleportation.
A new contest is underway with a $250 prize to the first person to achieve a Master's rating playing SB 2.0."
The creator STRONGLY recommends that you carefully examine the revised readme file before installing and playing each of the four scenarios. -MarkG
OFFICIAL CIV3 SITE COMING SOON
(19 December 2000, 6:51 EST/Civ3) Our infiltrators inside Firaxis are reporting that they have reached the office of Dan Magaha, and the official civ3 site looks almost done. Still, a quick look on Dan's office revealed that there are plans for a Firaxis expedition in Africa during Christmas, to study a location where an ancient tribe lived around 4000 B.C.
So, the site might take a little more, but this means that once everyone is gone, the next target for our infiltrators will be Sid's office, from where our special forces will try to steal some civ3 material. For your eyes only... :)
Disclaimer: the above news item is trying to be funny, and is not entirely true... ;) -MarkG
ALEXANDER PLAYTESTERS NEEDED
(18 December 2000, 18:13 EST/CtP2) As you probably know, Harlan Thompson, long time civ2, ctp1 and now ctp2 mod maker, is behind the Alexander scenario in CTP2. Harlan is now working on a better version of the scenario and is looking for playtesters. If you want to help, see his thread in the CTP2-Creation forum
In related(to the forum) news, Darkknight is our new CtP2 Modification Editor. Feel free to mail him if you have any kind of help text for modifying ctp2. -MarkG
PLAYER REVIEW: CHRISTOPH NAHR
(18 December 2000, 17:56 EST/CtP2) If you thought that we were done with our (P)Review pages for CTP2, you're mistaken. Our latest addition is Christoph Nahr's review, which was originally posted on the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic newsgroup.
And yes, something is still missing from this part of our site... ;) -MarkG
PATCH 1.1, LONGER LIST OF FIXES
(18 December 2000, 17:30 EST/CtP2) We recieved a list of fixes from Activision that are included in the 1.1 patch. It's "a bit" more detailed than the one that has been already posted when the patch was released.
Just about 40 things in this list... Check it out! -MarkG
GD REVIEW: ABOVE AVERAGE
(18 December 2000, 17:09 EST/CtP2) Christopher E. Johnson asks will the real Civilization please stand up? in his review for GamesDomain, posted today.
Once you've come to grips with the fact that you're essentially on your own in Call to Power 2, the game loads pretty easily and reveals quite a few game play options, Johnson states from the onset. Here are some selected excerpts from the write-up:
[CTPII]'s visuals and sounds are pretty good for a 4x game. We're not talking about Homeworld graphics here, but they are nice to look at and are an improvement over other titles in this genre. As in most 4x games, [CTPII]'s interface has its good and bad points. [The game]'s AI is sometimes good and at other times... not so good.
Call to Power 2's combat system is very simplistic, but effective. I can see how future editions of the game could really be beefed up with a tactical combat system (one like in Imperialism 2), but I can understand why not too much emphasis is placed on making the combat system more robust.
In conclusion, Johnson puts in black and white that he understands how fans of the Turn Based Strategy (TBS) genre will like this game. He even goes as far to say that even in the latter stages of the game it manages to keep a player engaged all the way through to a resolution be it a positive or negative one.
[The game] allows you to execute some pretty complicated strategies but doesn't bog you down in the minutia of empire building. Some of the subtle ways that [CTPII] eases your ability to do grand strategy are very transparent. This may lead folks to dismiss the game as grand strategy-light. I disagree. The late game in [CTPII] is pretty darn entertaining.
Still, he affirms that there are elements that bog CTPII down at every turn.
The interface can be frustrating at times (especially the multi-windowed managers), there are a few bugs that need to be fixed in a patch, and the documentation is not very good.
The trade system is tedious and seems counter to [CTPII]'s desire to make things as simple as possible. Another complaint that I have is that all of the empire units look the same.
Finally, this GD staffer makes it clear that he believes the game to be better than your average title off the shelf, while missing the lackluster to be considered a classic.
It is a better game than [CivII] in many respects, but it lacks the epic feel found in the older title. Some of the special units seem a bit forced and contrived, but if fun is the ultimate metric of a good game, then [CTPII] passes this test. I'm not too excited about it, but there's enough going on for me to keep it on my hard drive past the time spent reviewing it. -DanQ
GD HOLIDAY GUIDE: CTP2 IS IN
(18 December 2000, 16:55 EST/CtP2) GamesDomain's Tim Chown completed and posted his site's best buys for the strategy genre this holiday season in a GD-wide feature entitled "Holiday Buyers Guide". The word: CTPII is in it.
Activision's new version of their Civilization game may not boast the name in the title, nor does it carry the touch of the gaming genius that is Sid Meier, but it's a big improvement on the first game, Chown writes. With the "real" Civilization 3 still a long way off, if you want to delve into a new game of historic worldwide conquest then Call to Power 2 is a good choice, if your only choice. -DanQ
NOTE FROM CIVILOPEDIA.NET
(17 December 2000, 23:56 EST/Misc) Some community news this evening. Dustin Bainbridge, webmaster and owner of The Civilization III Civilopedia, alerted us to an important announcement about his site posted minutes ago.
It is not my intention to delay the re-launch this long, however I'm trying to do things in the best interest of the site, Bainbridge writes. I hope you all understand where I'm coming from and respect my decision. -DanQ
COLUMN #145; BY RON HILER
(16 December 2000, 22:40 EST/Misc) Ron Hiler wants to convince you that the playing field for TBS games has not been forgotten, but simply had a chance of venue in his two-part expose entitled "Why The Alternative Civilization Section Deserves Your Attention", of which Part 2 of 2 appears this week.
Comments/questions welcomed in our forums, or you may opt to contact the author directly. This is Hiler's first contribution to The Column.
Want to see your name and your article appear here? If you would like information on how to contribute an article to this regular feature here on Apolyton, click here. -DanQ
FORUM BACKUP ENDED
(16 December 2000, 22:33 EST/About) As per an announcement ten days ago regarding the start of the backup of our forums, this procedure has been completed.
Thank you for your patience during this time. -DanQ
MAKING HEADWAY ON G100
(15 December 2000, 13:44 EST/CtP2) In the 415th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Call To Power II continues to make headway by slingshoting itself into 19th spot, an improvement of five positions over last week.
To vote for CTP2 this and every week, click here! -DanQ
FALLING ONE ON G100
(15 December 2000, 13:43 EST/SMACX) In the 415th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire falls one into eighth position on the countdown.
To vote for SMAC this and every week, click here!
-DanQ
BOUNCING BACK ON G100
(15 December 2000, 13:42 EST/Civ2ToT) In the 415th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization II: Test Of Time bounces back into 12th position -- it had been there two weeks prior but had slipped a notch in its performance last week.
To vote for ToT this and every week, click here! -DanQ
REGAIN COMPOSURE ON G100
(15 December 2000, 13:42 EST/CtP) In the 415th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization: Call To Power regains some composure by climbing back up to 43rd position after being hammered last week into 48th -- two weeks ago, it hailed in 34th spot.
To vote for CTP this and every week, click here! -DanQ
PATCH 1.1 ON APOLYTON
(15 December 2000, 2:36 EST/CtP2) Did Dan write "days"? He meant "hours" :) Here is the CTP2 1.1 Patch from our server.
One of these days you should expect our ctp2 files database to appear... -MarkG
PATCH 1.1 HAS ARRIVED
(15 December 2000, 0:34 EST/CtP2) Doug Pearson, now known as "PingEnvy" in our forums, announced the release and availability of Patch v1.1 for CTPII. Included in the announcement is the content of the README file that comes with it.
The patch is multilingual and supports all versions of Call To Power 2 that currently exist, commented Activision's Doug "PingEnvy" Pearson. There does seem to be an issue with New Zealand however, but other then that it should be fine. I'm having them look into the installer scripts to see why New Zealand doesn't detect correctly.
A 3.7MB download, it is currently available at FilePlanet and should be available on the official CTPII website sometime today according to Pearson. Within the next few days it will also be made available for download from Apolyton via our CTPII Downloads section. -DanQ
FIRAXIS+MICROPROSE=BHG
(14 December 2000, 10:14 EST/Misc) Replying to a newsgroup post, I browsed the Big Huge Games(BHG) site. I wanted to see how many ex-Firaxis people joing BHG. Here's the interesting result:
Brian Reynolds, Jason Coleman, Tim Train, David Inscore, Doug Kaufman and Jason Bestimt went to BHG from Firaxis.
Bill Podurgiel, Nathan Wright and Rob Cloutier have a Microprose past.
And only one man in BHG, Paul Stephanouk, does not have anything to do with Firaxis or Microprose!
Surprised or not? Reply in our BHG forum -MarkG
THE POWER OF `LEEMUR`
(14 December 2000, 0:52 EST/CtP2) Winnie "St. Swithin" Lee has an interesting tip for all CTPII players out there:
If you enter the leader name "Leemur", you get a million gold and a million public works.
There's also a 1/100 chance that the very first time you open the Great Library, the words "lemur poo" will appear in the search text line.
She dispensed this wisdom in our forums yesterday.
I just want to point out that St. Swithin is on vacation on a whole other continent, and yet still took the time to provide you all with this valuable information, added Joe "Mr. Ogre" Rumsey in the thread.
No word yet on whether or not this 'loophole' will be fixed in the upcoming patch.  -DanQ
PATCH NEARLY DONE!
(14 December 2000, 0:39 EST/CtP2) Mr Ogre posted the good news: the patch is almost done, and should be expected in the new couple of days!
The patch is done for all practical purposes. I'm not certain when it will get uploaded to our site, but it could be as soon as tomorrow. Just don't quote me on that.
My SLIC documentation is done. Dave Whites adding his own wisdom on modification, and will get it all to [Apolyton] sometime next week. Some of it is not relevant until the patch is out anyway. While we haven't added any real game features, I did sneak a few things into SLIC).
Additionally, the modification guide(which will include documentation for SLIC) should be ready sometime next week.
A list of fixes/changes for the patch is not availiable at the moment. -MarkG
NOW IN DENMARK, HOLAND AND GREECE
(14 December 2000, 0:27 EST/CtP2) The world is being conquered by CTP2 day by day :) Anders Jakobsen reported geting it in Denmark for 359kr, while Crimson Phalanx got the game in Athens, Greece for 14.000 drachmas. Finall, Aemilius posted that he got the game yesterday in Arnhem.
After these news, we have reported CTP2 being avaliable in the following countries: USA, UK, Switzerland, Germany, France, Singapore, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Finland, New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Holand and Greece.
Did CTP2 reach you country and we have not posted about it? Mail us! -MarkG
ARRIVED IN BELGIUM
(13 December 2000, 16:43 EST/CtP2) Jonathan de Ramaix emailed us this afternoon to help spread the word that CTPII arrived in Belgium yesterday and is now available for purchase across the country. Thanks Jon!
If you have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
SHARKYGAMES GIVES 7/10 FINS
(13 December 2000, 12:07 EST/CtP2) SharkyGames has reviewed CTPII and has given it a 7/10 fins as an overall score. According to SG's rating guide, a seven fin rating is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. This means the product/game in question is good enough and worth a buy if its something that you the reader have a fetish for. In most cases it means that your money will be well spent.
Reviewer Andrew S. Bub's 3-page review ends his dissertation by saying that in the end Call to Power II is worlds better than Civilization: Call to Power but ultimately it still fails to completely entrance you and addict you the way the more elegant Meier/Reynolds designs do.
It also fails to completely break free from the Civilization stamp, and in that way it has failed to truly strike out on it's own as a completely new game series. However, Civ3 is a long way off indeed and, as president Clinton said recently when referring to Al Gore: "He's the next best thing." [CTPII] is indeed the next best thing, and may help you bide your time while waiting for the real deal.
Our thanks to Firas A H Al-Abduwani for the news tip. -DanQ
AVAULT: 3.5/5 STARS
(13 December 2000, 12:02 EST/CtP2) Adrenaline Vault staffer Jonathan Houghton has had his review of CTPII posted on AVault's website this morning as their lead feature.
Call to Power II is everything that the original should have been, Houghton writes in conclusion. It has an intuitive interface and eliminates the time-consuming micromanagement within each city that made every other game in the series so drawn out (though some players might not consider this a good thing).
In general, [CTPII] is a solid outing that only suffers from the design philosophy of copying a successful formula. It isn't groundbreaking by any means, instead providing a very solid strategy game that will appeal widely to fans of the series or genre. Until we find that next title that will revolutionize and blow everything else clear out of the ocean, [CTPII] is about the best strategy title currently out on the market. If you enjoyed Civilization 2 or Alpha Centauri, your collection of Sid Meier-style games won't be complete without this one on the shelf.
Houghton gave it a 3.5 out of a possible 5 stars. Our thanks to Firas A H Al-Abduwani for the news tip. -DanQ
IN AUSTRALIA: TWO WEEKS RUNNING
(13 December 2000, 11:52 EST/CtP2) In response to our story yesterday regarding CTPII's availability question in New Zealand, Alexander's Horse -- one of forum users -- sent us a message to let us know that CTPII has been available in the land down under for the past couple of weeks from Electronic Boutique at least.
If you have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
NEW ZEALAND: ONLINE AND OFFLINE
(12 December 2000, 21:30 EST/CtP2) David Murphy emailed us this evening regarding CTPII availability in New Zealand. The bottom line appears to be that without internet activity, one may be out of luck down under.
CTPII became available for internet orders from November 30, 2000 from Dick Smith Electronics here in New Zealand. As yet not available in the retail stores as far as I am aware. I received mine on December 9, 2000.
Later on this evening, we received word from a Stephen Redwood that suggests the contrary to Murphy's claim.
Are you aware that CTPII is available for purchase from the Auckland retail store GameZone (gamezone.co.nz)? They ship nationwide, so if anyone is struggling to find the game in NZ GameZone are an option.
In any event, you can put a checkmark in the box beside CTPII availability in New Zealand.
If you too have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
NOW IN FINLAND
(12 December 2000, 19:36 EST/CtP2) Our thanks to Andemagne for letting us know via our CTPII-General forum that CTPII is now available for purchase in Finland.
If you have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
GET YOUR COPY IN HONG KONG
(12 December 2000, 19:30 EST/CtP2) Spiker22, one of our forum users, let us know in the CTPII-General forum that the game has been available in Hong Kong since December 1st.
If you have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
GSPOT UK: 12 DAYS OF XMAS
(12 December 2000, 17:45 EST/CtP2) Ian Howie, Executive Editor of GameSpot UK, has written his site's "12 PC Games Of Christmas" feature this year. His number eight choice is none other than a title by the name of Call To Power II.
Many people rank Civilization (or one of its sequels) as their all-time favourite classic on the PC, with good reason, Howie writes. Empire building can be a seriously addictive process. This sequel offers a number of new features, although the standard formula of playing through over 6000 years of evolution in turn-based form hasn't changed.
They've [Activision] completely redesigned the interface to make it much snappier to use, plus the micromanagement of cities has been cut down, so you spend less time piddling around making little adjustments and more time looking at the overall strategic picture. In general the gameplay has been honed to an even finer level.
Additionally, there are three in-game screenshots to browse through. This is the first known Holiday 2000 feature in which CTPII has been chosen one of the hottest titles to buy for the die-hard gamer on everyone's list. -DanQ
PCDATA: DECEMBER 2, 2000
(12 December 2000, 17:42 EST/Misc) For the week ending December 2, 2000, 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) Roller Coaster Tycoon | Hasbro Interactive
3) The Sims: Livin' Large | Electronic Arts
4) RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loony Landscapes | Hasbro Interactive
5) Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Second Edition | Disney
6) Barbie Pet Rescue | Mattel Interactive
7) Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 | Electronic Arts
8) Frogger 2 | Hasbro Interactive
9) MechWarrior 4: Vengeance | Microsoft
10) Who Wants To Be A Millionaire | Disney
This chart is developed from data provided by 42 retail chains comprising more than 80% of the U.S. market. -DanQ
MPON REVIEW: 3/5 STARS
(12 December 2000, 11:23 EST/CtP2) Multi-Player Online Gaming has given CTPII its second lowest overall score known to date in its review posted this past Sunday.
Accompanied by five screenshots, this two page review hammers at the core of CTPII's gameplay throughout; reviewer Gus Lane is evidentally as unsatisfied with the sequel as he was with the original CTP. Nonetheless, he does concede that it is perhaps his own personal predispositions that resulted in his low scoring of the game.
CTP2 is one of those games that you can take or leave. If you like this type of game, you'll probably enjoy it. If you buy games just because of their name value, you'll most likely be taking a trip back to the store for a refund. On the other hand, if you're playing this game after playing Civilization 2 or Master of Orion 2, you’ll be disappointed. It's an okay game, but for me it just didn't do enough. That doesn’t necessarily make it a bad game, but just not the game for me. -DanQ
GAMESPOT UK: 8/10 SCORE
(11 December 2000, 17:13 EST/CtP2) Craig Vaughan of GameSpot UK is evidentally satisifed with CTPII. While he lets his grudges against it beknown, he still gives it a 8/10.
This is 10% higher than its American counterpart and only 4% less than it's German neighbour.
Civilization fans are a demanding bunch and they know exactly what they expect from the series, Vaughan concludes. They were quick to castigate Activision when the prequel departed from the winning Civilization formula and, to its credit, Activision listened to what gamers demanded and has delivered it in spades this time round.
Space exploration -- which committed the sin of removing the player from the sprawling world map -- has been abandoned in favour of a return to Earth and a more familiar look and feel. There have been vast improvements in the user interface and the enemy AI, making the game more accessible, but noticeably harder to beat. Clearly battered into submission by thousands of hours of playtesting, Call To Power 2 may well surpass the sales achievements of its rivals -- deservedly so this time. -DanQ
UNEARTHED IN LUXEMBOURG
(11 December 2000, 16:43 EST/CtP2) We received word from Marc B. that CTPII is now available for purchase in another country in Europe: Luxembourg. Thanks Marc!
If you have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
IN SINGAPORE: HOT DEMAND
(11 December 2000, 16:33 EST/CtP2) It's here, it's new and it's in hot demand. Copies of CTPII are flying off the shelves in many countries, including Singapore. Our thanks to Troy for letting us know. Here is what he had to say:
I just bought my copy of CtP2 here in Singapore on Saturday morning (Dec. 9th). In fact, the largest IT store here had run out of stock of it by Saturday morning, so I had to buy it from a small shop that everyone overlooked. They said that it had been in since mid-week.
If you have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
DA GAMEBOYZ: 7.5 JOYSTICKS
(9 December 2000, 21:47 EST/CtP2) Christopher Dowes of Da GameBoyz website says that CTPII is not for everyone and, as such, gives it 7 1/2 out a possible 10 joysticks.
The game is not action packed, there are no fast action gunfights and no exploring creepy dungeons. The whole of the game is empire building, management and diplomatic action. The average game takes a very long time, and even still you are not likely to come out on top. Everything improves slowly, and so those who do not possess patience should find another outlet. Only the most patient and capable of leaders will emerge as the supreme ruler of the planet. Nevertheless the joystick is up.
On an aside, there is at least two things that are immediately obvious in error in this review. First off, the game is not a RTS -- it's a TBS; and secondly, it's produced ~and~ designed by Activision, not Brady Games as this review credits for the latter action.
Our thanks to Thunderfall for informing us of this review's availability. -DanQ
GAMEZONE VERDICT: 7.5/10
(9 December 2000, 21:28 EST/CtP2) Michael Lafferty has GameZone's review of CTPII wrapped up, and the final verdict is in: a 7.5/10 overall rating.
Call To Power II may lack intuitive player controls, but it still manages to be immensely playable. This program is not the best Civ game on the market, but it certainly does rank up near the top. With its solid graphics, and superb options package, this product is very playable – once you learn the control hot keys.
[CTPII] is a solid Civ program. Allowing mayors to manage towns, thus taking the micromanagement function out of your hands, allows for greater attention to the chore of building an empire, not worrying about what is happening in towns (you still do, but not as much). It may not sport the graphical quality of Microsoft’s Age Of Empires II, but still has all the elements of a good program, built to be user-friendly.
Our thanks to Thunderfall for informing us of this review's availability. -DanQ
STRATEGY PLAYER PREVIEW
(9 December 2000, 20:38 EST/CtP2) In the Third (November) Issue of Strategy Player Magazine, Editor Geoff Spick previews the title.
As CivIII slips into the distance, this is the only choice you'll have for big-league turn based gaming [and] fortunately it has bags of the qualities us turnies demand!, Spick begins in his introduction.
The three-page, fifteen-screenshot first look was compiled with the assistance of Activision's Parker Davis, the producer of the game.
[CTPII] is a game that will take many months to explore fully. While [the game] does look and move better, there is little advance in the graphics compared to any other genre, [so] I guess we'll have eto wait until next time for that.
So, the review will be knocking on the door very soon and then we will be able to give you our final verdict. But so far, things are looking very good for [CTPII] and the effort put into it is clearly paying off.
Next month, the magazine's staff are promising a huge review. Once it is released and we get our hands a copy, we'll report back to you on it. Currently only available in stores in the United Kingdom, check out their website for subscription information nationally and elsewhere in the world. -DanQ
C#144: THE GROWTH OF REAL TIME STRATEGY
(9 December 2000, 19:47 EST/Misc) AS looks at evolution of rts games in this week's column
It might seem strange of me to be posting of the growth of real-time strategy games on a Civ forum, if not strange of me to be posting a column period. But I suppose the very fact that I am posting this helps to affirm my stance: that real-time strategy games have far more worth than many of you might believe
Full article
-MarkG
SIGHTED IN FRANCE
(9 December 2000, 14:03 EST/CtP2) You can add France to the list of countries in Europe that have reported sightings of CTPII in local computer realtors.
Dominique Pary emailed us bright and early this morning to say that it became available nationwide there on Friday. Our thanks to Fretil and Ferdi for confirmation of this as made in our forums.
If you have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
MD BUILD #793
(8 December 2000, 22:55 EST/Alt) Ron Hiler, Lead Programmer on the Manifest Destiny project, has posted the team's lastest build notes, number 793.
First, let me apologize for our lack of a release last week, Hiler writes. We did have one ready, but (as some of you noticed) our web site was on the blink for most of that week. We're back now, and the new build is better than ever, with several major changes and additions. -DanQ
NOW FOR SALE IN GERMANY
(8 December 2000, 15:10 EST/CtP2) CTPII is spreading like wildfire across the European continent. Lord Silvi let us know via our CTPII-General forum that the game is now available for pick-up in Germany. While he did not list what store he bought it from, Silvi said he got it for 89DM.
If you have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
SWITZERLAND AVAILABILITY
(8 December 2000, 14:55 EST/CtP2) Hot on the heels of its release in England, Thomas Flury emailed us to let us know that CTPII is now available for purchase in Switzerland.
If you have news on CTPII's availability outside of North America, let us know in our CTPII-General forum or via email. -DanQ
NO PROBLEMS FROM MPS SALE
(8 December 2000, 11:41 EST/Civ3) As you probably saw in the Miscellaneous section two days ago, Hasbro sold it's Hasbo Interactive(HI) division to Infogrames. Since HI owns Microprose and therefore the right to civilization name, the Civ3's publisher is now Infrogrames.
This doesnt changes anything for Firaxis though, as Communications Manager Kelley Gilmore said to us. Firaxis has been aware of the HI sale and have been "prepared to transition to the new owner".
"It doesn't impact the development of the game at
all. We're still focused on making Civ III the best Civ experience ever." Kelley added.
I guess this also means that the civ3 site will be up soon... -MarkG
CTP2 RELEASED IN ENGLAND
(8 December 2000, 10:26 EST/CtP2) The first posts from people who got CTP2 in England were just made in our forums. SeveB reported finding(and geting!) it at the EB store in Hounslow High St.(London). Grumbold also reports that "Game" on Victoria High St. has it, and the same does EC for the Central Nottingham store. If you too see CTP2 in an UK store, please report it in the related forum thread. -MarkG
GOOD `REMAKE`, NOT PERFECT
(7 December 2000, 12:42 EST/CtP2) Activision deliverers a sound remake of Civilization, although a far from perfect one.
And with that so begins Gaming Age's one-page review of CTPII.
Robert Outlaw, the GA staffer who wrote the review, says that this title is fundamentally different from the classic MicroPROSE days of Civ. In short, he states that CTP2 changes the Civ/Civ2 paradigm in a number of ways.
He continaully delights in seeing what the CTP run has brought to the series in terms of extensibility.
There is a very active community for the original CTP, and their efforts after the products' release went a long way into making the game better by adding more refined rules and different ways to play the game. If the scenarios that shipped with the game are any indication, then the community will also have a wonderful time altering and modifying CTP2.
Still, the remainder of the review downplays the positive aspects cited such as this one. In his conclusion, Outlaw laments somewhat about this fact.
I realize I have been pretty hard on CTP2. It is worth noting that I think CTP2 is a far better game pound for pound that any other Civilization game made. But for a gaming paradigm that has been around for almost ten years, there's no reason for the genre to still be stumbling over the same problems over and over, and that's exactly what's happening here. I think if anything it's clear that it's the core framework of Civ that needs work, as I feel that CTP2 has done Civ as well as anything can without making such dramatic changes to the gameplay that it would be difficult to classify it as a "Civilization" game at all.
According to the site's description of their ranking system, "B"-graded games -- of which Outlaw gave CTPII -- -- are quality, playable games that have a few noticable, but ultimately superficial flaws that are worth your money if you are a genre fan, and a definite rental if you are not. -DanQ
GSPY: WORTHY OF GENRE
(7 December 2000, 12:33 EST/CtP2) GameSpy Industries' Will "Rhoam" Lally says that CTPII is worth of the turn-based strategy genre. Lally admits up front that he does not hold previous titles in the series as something to measure against it.
Let me be frank; I have not played a turn-based game since the original Civilization. I did not play the original Call to Power. But I believe that every game should be judged on its merits, not on its history (or baggage), or by its peers. Comparisons are a fact of life and often a fine way to illustrate a point, but they do not define anything besides a perception.
In conclusion, Lally gives the game a final score of 87: 85 for design aspects, 88 for technical considerations.
[CTPII] is a fun game. If you enjoyed the first Call to Power, or any of the Civ titles, you'll feel right at home and appreciate the refinements incorporated into [CTP]. However, if you are a die-hard RTS player you're going to be seriously jonseing for some instant gratification. The game is deep, involved and long. How anyone can consider playing in a multiplayer is beyond me.
Our thanks to GameSpy's Managing Editor, John Keefer, for contacting us about this review this morning. -DanQ
TOP CIV2 FILES FOR NOVEMBER
(7 December 2000, 11:43 EST/Civ2) Only 16,000 downloads this month in database(20,000 in October)... ;) Plenty of reviews though, 60 to be exact, changed the Top 10 totally
Top 10 Files
1(-). 10.00(-) Techtree
2(1). 9.86(9.83) Lord of the Rings
3(3). 9.67(9.67) Patch for Civilization II (2.42)
4(-). 9.67(-) Colonies III
5(4). 9.60(9.60) HiRes
6(5). 9.60(9.50) Rip-off units pack
7(2). 9.40(9.80) Gigaworld
8(6). 9.33(9.33) Australia
9(-). 9.33(-) Africa
10(6). 9.33(9.33) Day of Treason
Database Stats
Total Files: 463 (461)
Total Reviews: 203 (143)
Total Rated Files: 104 (86)
Average Rating: 7.33 (7.31)
Total Downloads: 138366 (122085)
Average Downloads/File: 298.85 (264.83) -MarkG
TOP AL&PD LINKS FOR NOVEMBER
(7 December 2000, 11:30 EST/Misc) Small changes in the charts this month, with the exception of the jump of our CTP2 section to the fourth spot of the Links chart. The number of reviews increased significantly, from 680 to 745. Here's the full listing.
Top 10 Links
1(1). 9.67(9.60) The Spanish Civilization II Site
2(2). 9.52(9.52) Apolyton Civilization Site: Civ2 Section
3(3). 9.44(9.42) Grosse deutsche Civ2-Seite
4(-). 9.33(-) Apolyton: CTP2 Section
5(4). 9.25(9.14) Civilization II - One City Challenge Strategy Guide
6(5). 8.95(8.95) Colonization Home Page
7(6). 8.92(8.92) Civilization II Scenario League
8(7). 8.89(8.89) Apolyton Civilization Site: Civ3 Section
9(8). 8.83(8.83) Civilization II Historical Scenarios
10(9). 8.50(8.50) Civilization III Civilopedia
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). 9.38(9.33) 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). 6.33(4.50) Civilization: Call to Power Official Strategy Guide
4(4). 1.50(1.50) Civilization II Strategies & Secrets
AL&PD Stats
Total Links: 203 (187)
Total Reviews: 745 (680)
Total Rated Links: 124 (118)
Average Rating: 7.01 (7.09)
Total Hits: 61720 (53622)
Average Hits/Link: 304.04 (286.75) -MarkG
G100: HOLDS ONTO SEVENTH
(7 December 2000, 0:27 EST/SMACX) In the 414th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire remains in 7th position.
To vote for SMAC this and every week, click here! -DanQ
LOSES FOOTING ON G100
(7 December 2000, 0:27 EST/Civ2ToT) In the 414th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization II: Test Of Time looses some footing and falls down to 13th (last week it was in 12th).
To vote for ToT this and every week, click here! -DanQ
G100: DOWN FOURTEEN
(7 December 2000, 0:26 EST/CtP) In the 414th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Civilization: Call To Power fumbles to 48th from 34th position over its performance last week.
To vote for CTP this and every week, click here! -DanQ
HOTTEST BULLET: G100
(7 December 2000, 0:25 EST/CtP2) In the 414th installment of the Top 100 PC Games, published every week by Global 100, Call To Power II continues to skyrocket by landing in 24th position this week in only its second week on the chart (it debuted in 75th). In fact, it is the *hottest* bullet title on the chart this week!
To vote for CTP2 this and every week, click here! -DanQ
GAMELEAGUE SUPPORT ADDED
(6 December 2000, 23:50 EST/CtP2) Our affiliate site, GameLeague, has just added support for CTPII to its website.
GameLeague is a free, international organization devoted to fostering a friendly, yet competitive environment for multiplayer games. They offer ladders, tournaments, seasons and tribes (team/clan) for Civ2, CTP, and CTP2. Hook up with them today for all your TBS-multiplayer action! -DanQ
MPS SOLD TO INFOGRAMES
(6 December 2000, 22:49 EST/Misc) A year-and-a-half after MicroPROSE departed from the hands Spectrum Holobyte, MPS and all its holdings are once again on the move. Hasbro Interactive announced today that they are selling the "Hasbro Interactive" division and Games.com to Infogrames which includes the aforementioned company, which produced the classic Civilization and its equally engaging Civilization II.
Infogrames will acquire full rights to Hasbro's Atari and Micropose, including the popular Roller Coaster Tycoon game, while gaining rights for 15 years to develop interactive versions of Hasbro products such as Monopoly, Scrabble and Mr. Potato Head.
Hasbro announced that they will make $100 million out of this deal.
Infogrames is the company behind such games as Test Drive, Deer Hunter and V-Rally. Infogrames also owns Macsoft, which has published the Macintosh versions of CivII, CivII:MGE and C:CTP. -DanQ
PATCH CONFIRMED!
(6 December 2000, 16:21 EST/CtP2) CTP2's Senior Producer Parker Davis, confirmed to us today that the team is working on a patch and is expected to be ready "within the next couple of weeks". A specific release date has not been set, nor is there a set list of bug fixes or changes.
The patch is the top priority for the team right now, which means that the WW2 scenario and the Editor/SLIC documentation will be released after the patch.
The corrupt saved game bug is fixed, Joe "Mr. Ogre" Rumsey further informed us in our forums. It won't fix saves that are already broken - there's no way to reconcile the bad data that got saved with the rest of the file, but it won't create any more bad saves.
The primary focus of the patch is indeed network games. No new functionality for multiplayer has been added, but stability is greatly improved.
As soon as we have any more information about the patch and the improvements that it will contain, we'll post it. In the meantime, talk about it in our CTP2-General forum. -MarkG
DESCRIPTION OF MAP FORMAT
(6 December 2000, 16:11 EST/CtP2) The just-posted bmp-2-ctp2 utility is not enough for you? You feel like programming and want to make a better map utility with the ability of using more formats(civ2 sounds good). Well, we've got for you a description of the map format!
Our thanks to Mr Ogre for sending it to us. -MarkG
BMP TO CPT2 MAP UTILITY IS HERE
(6 December 2000, 16:07 EST/CtP2) That's right, we now have a utilty to convert a BMP file to readable by CTP2 format! Download it, but check this thread first for some crucial information.
Important note: this utility is not supported by Activision. Post in the CTP2-Creation forum is you have problems. -MarkG
NO LINUX PORT PLANNED... YET
(6 December 2000, 15:49 EST/CtP2) If you're like Sebastian, you want to know whether or not CTPII will be released on the Linux platform and, if so, when one might find it hitting the store shelves. Activision's Joe Rumsey, aka "Mr. Ogre" on our forums, answered Sebastian's question this afternoon:
At this time, there are no plans for a Linux version to the best of my knowledge. It's possible Loki is talking to someone here and I haven't heard about it, but not likely.
CTP1 took them about 3 months I think. If they did do a port of CTP2, it would likely go much faster, as virtually none of the OS specific code has changed. But it's not worth worrying about unless they decide to do it and Activision is still open to it. -DanQ
GC: 7/10 FINAL SCORE
(6 December 2000, 15:45 EST/CtP2) GameCenter's two-page review of CTPII, written by staffer Steve Klett, gives the game a passing yet passive grade with a final 7/10 score.
Klett cites the "good" of this title as having lots of unit variety and victory conditions and having more robust diplomacy options accompanied by a tried-and-true Civ gameplay; still, he sees that it must be weighed against the
"bad" elements which he sees as how gameplay can be tedious at times and that the scenario editor could benefit from more premade scenarios.
In conclusion, the aforementioned reviewer states that despite a few minor bugs (unit icons disappear at times and units can get stuck on each other, for example), CTPII is a much more polished--and better--game than the original Call to Power. However, it still feels like a Civilization II knockoff at times, rather than its own game. As such, it should pacify fans until [Civilization III] comes out.
Nine screenshots from in-game play accompany this review. For comparative purposes, GC rated CTPII 10% than its predecessor, C:CTP. Our thanks to JasonL for first reporting on this review's availability in our forums.
If you come across a review for CTPII that we have yet to report through our news department, please let us know via email or our CTPII-General forum. -DanQ
FORUM BACKUPS STARTING
(6 December 2000, 15:32 EST/About) It's that time again -- time for forum backups.
Over the next week or so you may experience a slowdown in accessing certain forums, but if so they should a) be isolated and b) only last for intermittent periods of time. The purpose of process this is simply routine: to ensure that in the unlikely event of forum data loss, we will have a backup available that is relatively recent.
Thank you for your time. A similar notice to this will be posted once the process has been completed for the immediate future. -DanQ
IN CNN HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
(6 December 2000, 13:00 EST/CtP2) While CTPII seems to have its fair share of critics, it may be proven that it has just as many advocates. CNN has listed the game as one of the best four titles to purchase for the PC platform this holiday season for that special someone.
The story, with general information about CTPII and the other three selected titles, was compiled by Dennis Michael, a CNN Showbiz Today Correspondent. In his introduction, Michael had this to say:
One of the more widespread genres that has emerged over the past several years is the "God" or "sim" game. In these types of games, players act as the mayor of a city, a general overseeing their armies in battle or even the manager of a theme park where you have to build the best roller coasters to succeed.
The other three titles chosen alongside CTPII were Deer Hunter 4, Pac-Man: Adventures in Time and Disney's 102 Dalmatians Activity Center.
Our thanks to Bonsei for informing us via the forums. -DanQ
CGO: `GOT IT RIGHT 2ND TIME AROUND`
(6 December 2000, 12:14 EST/CtP2) A rose by any other name -- Activision gets it right the second time around headlines Jason Levine's review of CTPII published for and by Computer Games Online today. From the get-go, Levine is impressed with what he sees before him.
The most immediately obvious improvements in the new game are its interface and graphics. While the first game's interface was an impenetrable mess, Call to Power II's is admirably clean and intuitive.
With all but two of the categories Levine looked at getting a 4 out of a possible 5 star rating, it is clear to see why the review's conclusion is quite receptive.
Call to Power II is an ideal game for the 4X gamer who prefers managing armies over micromanaging cities. It doesn't quite have the panache of Civilization II or the drama of Alpha Centauri, but it's colorful, relatively fast-paced, and it has that "one more turn" addictiveness that will keep you burning the midnight oil. These days it seems that most 4X games are a bit like variations on a classic musical theme. There is nothing wrong with that, and [CTPII] is one of the better variations. Perhaps next time we'll get a whole new tune.
In a thread in our forums that started discussion on CGO's take, Levine -- who happens to be one of more than 7,000 registered users of our forums, wanted to mention one thing to those who may have caught the review when it was first posted.
There was a typo in the overall rating at the end of the review which has been fixed. I did, indeed, rate it 4 of 5 overall.
When you're finished with the textual portion of the review, head on down to the end of the page for fifteen, hi-res in-game screenshots. Our thanks to Robi for alerting us to this review's availability. -DanQ
GAMESPOT.DE: WELL DONE
(5 December 2000, 21:00 EST/CtP2) Unlike its American cousin, GameSpot Germany has given CTPII a 8.4 final rating. Once you have read the five page review, you can take a look at the 44 screenshots that accompany it. While it is in German, you can use AltaVista's Babelfish translation service that will allow you to get the jist of where GSpot Germany is coming from. Robert Bednarek, who let us know of the review this morning, gave us this synopsis:
They give the game an overall rating of 8.4/10, which is surprising given how much praise they give the game throughout the review. The only negative points were the little dated graphics engine(?) and that you never know how many resources your city really produces. But other than that, the new tactical combat screen and the vast amount of features were pointed out to be very good. Also, they call this the best Civ-clone to date, and even Sid Meier would be "in tears hearing of this game" (German slogan that means that even Sid Meier would be very delighted with this game). -DanQ
ACTIONTRIP REVIEW
(5 December 2000, 19:59 EST/CtP2) ActionTrip's Nikola "Bunny" Zakic has reviewed CTPII and gave it a 72% rating. Still, not all was as bleek as this sounds.
[CTPII] is all its predecessor should have been. The authors listened to players' suggestions, enhanced the old engine and introduced some novelties, and hoping their new game will please sim-players, published it.
The graphics are a bit better, and I think the units are much better animated. The interface has been remodeled. The large number of menus may seem a bit complicated at first, but once you get used to it, you'll realize this is for the better. You will be able to do anything you want in many simple ways.
It is shortly thereafter that its seeming positivism starts to wane:
If we come to compare the numbers of technologies, buildings and units, we would reach a conclusion that CTP2 is richer than its predecessor, but not very much so.
Zakic's summary is less than flattering:
If you liked the first part [C:CTP], you'll love Call To Power 2. Some might object that the game suffered only minor changes, and they would be right. This sequel doesn't bring anything revolutionary, but it certainly leaves an impression of a completed project. I believe that the authors meant to make the first part look like this. If [CTPII] had appeared earlier, it might have left some marks on the gaming industry; this way, it's just something to play until the official Civilization 3 appears.
For all of the details, click the direct link to the review above. Our thanks to GameSpy Industries' News Team for scouring the net and finding this review. -DanQ
LETTER FROM UGO: MONKEY AD
(5 December 2000, 16:17 EST/About) The following is a letter received from UGO's Affiliate Manager this afternoon:
The "Shoot the Monkey banner" that was causing so many technical problems has been fixed by the agency. We expect that there will be no more problems with it and hav |
