August 2001
TENTATIVE EUROPEAN RELEASE INFO
(31 August 2001, 17:45 EST/Civ3) There has been a lot of discussion on how soon after the US release Civilization III will be released in Europe, and with this in mind I made a thread in the Infogrames UK forum asking for a bit of general info on their releases in the UK. Friendly Admin Ed_UK vaguely caught my drift and made the following posts:
Due in Europe mid-November I'm told but no word of a Collector's Edition just yet.
Hope that helps!
and a little later
Further details on the Collector's Edition: we're in negotiations with the studio to bring it over but it probably won't be available at launch - more likely it'll be available first quarter next year.
If, and I stress if, the release dates reported on Amazon and Ebay are correct, we should be recieving Civ3 2-3 weeks after the US release. However, as you probably know all release dates this far from Gold are very tentative. I'm also trying other channels, so look out for more info in the near future. -Snapcase
CIV OF THE WEEK: CHINESE
(31 August 2001, 15:24 EST/Civ3) The fourth Civ of the Week at Civ3.com has been revealed to be none other than the Chinese, headed by none other than Chairman Mao.
In Civ3, the Chinese are Scientific and Industrious and therefore start off the game with Bronze Working and Masonry. With the Chinese, you can research and build faster than most other civs.
China's unique unit is the Rider, and this unique units seems to be the most powerful so far (compared to the unit it is based on). It gains an extra point of movement and defense compared to the Knight. Here is a quote on the Rider:
China leads the world in terms of horse population, having nearly 11 million horses within its borders. Once the discovery of the stirrup made its way to China, heavy cavalry soon followed. As the Chinese found out first-hand when the Mongols invaded in the 12th century, it is better to have heavy calvary than to be attacked by them.
The Rider is an upgraded version of the Knight. Like the knight, it requires both iron and horses to build, but it has bonuses to its defense and movement ratings, which makes it an extremely valuable siege unit as well as a defender. Its upgraded movement rate makes quick strikes possible and allows the Chinese to keep a smaller standing defense, since units can quickly move to bolster positions of weakness.
Also added today, CIVTRIVIA! See how you stack up :).
Thanks to fluxcapacitor for the information. -Imran
ACSR NEWS: WEEK OF AUGUST 19TH, 2001
(31 August 2001, 14:19 EST/Misc) The ACSR broadcast for the week of August 19th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 17m:24s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 2.1MB.
To discuss this and another ACSR News broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 30TH, 2001
(31 August 2001, 14:19 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 30th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 2m:36s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 323KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
20% DISCOUNT ON ALL APOLYTON PRODUCTS!!
(31 August 2001, 13:04 EST/About) We've heard rumours that some people think the prices and the shipping costs on our profucts are not the best.... 
Well here is our answer: only for today we are offering our products on 20% lower prices!
That's almost the same as offering free shipping(for the US)
So get permission from your parents or your better half 
and...
http://apolyton.net/store -MarkG
SID MEIER, BRUCE SHELLEY INTERVIEW
(31 August 2001, 12:26 EST/Misc) CG Online has posted an interview Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley on the original Civilization game.
Sid and Bruce talk about the various parts of designing and developing Civ1, sharing lots of interesting information. Check it out!
Thanks to Thunderfall for the news tip. -MarkG
CGM COVER STORY DETAILS
(30 August 2001, 14:24 EST/Civ3) In our Civ3 forums, Falconius has revealed some of the new information contained in the new Computer Games Magazine (CGM). One of the new pieces of information deals with culture:
When culture reaches a certain point, the radius of your borders grows by one. The first increase comes at 10 Culture points, which will probably take 10 turns at the start of the game (your palace starts generating one culture point per turn). The amount you need to grow your borders increase by a factor of 10 each time, so they won't expand again until you accumulate 100 culture points, and then after that 1,000, and then 10,000, then 100,000, at which point you win the game via a Culture Victory.
While another piece of information from the article deals with Minor Wonders:
All the Small wonders become available not from research, but from game states. For example, the Heroic Epic becomes available to build when you've made your first Leader. Ironworks is a Small Wonder, and you can build that in a city that has both Coal and Iron within its radius.
Discuss this new information in the link provided above. -Imran
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 28TH-29TH, 2001
(30 August 2001, 0:07 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 28th-29th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 6m:10s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 758KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums.
-DanQ
TILE EDIT!!
(29 August 2001, 11:54 EST/CtP2) An amazingly big step for the modification of CTP2, Martin the Dane has released the TileEdit utility. TileEdit is capable not only of viewing the contents of .til files, but also of creating and editing them.
Features:
- View all elements of a .til-file.
- Save individual graphical elements as TGA's.
- Edit all elements of a .til file. (replacing graphics, changing properties, etc.)
- Export a tile file to a script file and a set of images.
- Save .til files both in-game and normal graphic versions.
- Add new elements to a .til-file.
TileEdit is currently in beta, and be found on Martin's site. Feedback can be given at the forums. -MarkG
GOODMOD BETA
(29 August 2001, 11:47 EST/CtP2) Martin Gόhmann released the beta of his GoodMod
GoodMod contains 32 new trade goods in addition to the 22 allready existing ones up to a total number of 54 goods. It also provides to each good tile food, production and comerce.
It requires Apolyton Pack or CityMod2.
A full listing of the goods can be found at the forums.
-MarkG
NO CIV3 DEMO!
(29 August 2001, 10:24 EST/Civ3) Initially posted by Darkknight in the forums, Firaxis just now confirmed it to us.
There are no plans to for a Civilization 3 demo, either before or after the release.
This comes as a contradition to Firaxis' history, who had demos for all it's games up to now. Infogrames has had demos for most of the games it has published as well.
Of course there is a minority of people who didnt care for a demo... The only thing that is left now is to discuss this in the forums... -MarkG
NEW TRADEWARS GAME BEGUN
(29 August 2001, 10:00 EST/Alt) "BANG!" said God, and everything in the universe started moving. Ok, so it was only Dan Magaha, but it was enough :) The new Tradewars 2002 game begun with the following settings
Steal/Rob 60%
2500 sectors
Terran colonists: 2500 per day
Alien traders ON
Ferrengi OFF
Photons ON
Max 2 person per corp
400 turns per day
200 minutes per day
Triple elimination: 3 deaths & you're out.
Inactive players booted after 14 days
To play you need to either go to the firaxis tw2002 java page, connect via telnet or a special program to firaxis.com, port 2002. And dont forget, if you have done it put your name on the registration thread -MarkG
CIV3 IN TIME MAGAZINE
(29 August 2001, 9:34 EST/Civ3) 
Civilization III appeared on the latest issue of the Time magazine!
Noted as the "Critic's Pick", the article titled "Imperial Ambition" says:
Unlike movies, PC Games tend to get better with each incarnation. Sid Meier's Civilization III is poised to become the pinnacle of achievment for what is rightly regarded as the greatest strategy title of all time. Players guide a fledgling empire through 4,000 years of expansion and technological change, just as before, but now can also trade luxuries with rival empires and build a culture. The more libraries and temples, the wider a city's influence. History has never been so addictive.
Discuss it in the forums
Many thanks to java4me for the news and Firaxian Kelly Gilmore for the image! -MarkG
GAMESTATS SERVER UPGRADE
(28 August 2001, 21:16 EST/About) To meet the growing needs of its network, GameStats -- our hosts -- upgraded their primary network server on which Apolyton is hosted yesterday.
For more information on the upgrade, see this letter posted by the GameStats administration. -DanQ
DRAGON SUN EXCERPT!
(28 August 2001, 11:30 EST/SMAC) We are glad to present to you an excerpt from Dragon Sun, the just released book by Michael Ely (author of original SMAC Story as well as of the Centauri Dawn book)!
The excerpt is chapter two of the book. In chapter one of the book, Chairman Yang, hidden in underground bases across the sea, wrestles with a growing rebellion among his own people. Chapter two joins Lady Deirdre in the human settlements.
Read on!
(Many thanks to Michael Ely for providing this to us). -MarkG
APOLYTON ANNOUNCES MOO COVERAGE
(28 August 2001, 10:11 EST/About) For immediate release:
August 28th, 2001 -- After much discussion, speculation and anticipation, Apolyton Civilization Site ( http://apolyton.net ) is today announcing its commitment to add the Master of Orion (MoO) computer gaming series series to its lineup. To officially kick off its coverage, the well-known strategy game fan site opened its forum for Master of Orion 3, set to be released in the first quarter of 2002 by Quicksilver Software. A full section devoted to the title, to include all the amenities that its other arenas offer from news to file databases, is currently under development and will be launched at a later date.
"This is an exciting time for Apolyton and our visitor base", said ACS Co-Owner/Administrator Dan Quick when reached for comment on the announcement this afternoon. "The Master of Orion series is one that is closely related to Civilization. We have had an incredible amount of discussion on the game in our forums in recent months as the release of MoO3 draws near. We are pleased to now be offering dedicated coverage of this title effective today with more on the drawing board for rollout in the coming weeks. It's a worthy addition to our lineup and one that we feel we can adequately cover and hopefully excel at".
In addition to its most recent incarnation on the horizon, Apolyton further affirmed its commitment by opening an additional forum to cover both the original Master of Orion and Master of Orion II. Full sections on the first two MoO titles will be considered at a later date. -DanQ
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 27TH, 2001
(28 August 2001, 9:55 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 27th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 2m:50s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 351KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
2ND BANNER - POPUP TRADE-OFF
(28 August 2001, 9:17 EST/About) As of today we are giving you an option regarding the ads that are shown in the forums. The good thing is that you wont see the second ad that appeares under the UGO ad on the top. The bad thing is that when you enter the main forum page for the first time of your visit(and only in the first time) you will be geting one (single) pop-up ad.
This option is enabled from your styles settings. The full details can be found in the forums. -MarkG
CIV-MACINTOSH FORUM
(28 August 2001, 4:16 EST/Misc) The Civ - Macintosh forum opened today, serving as the place for all discussions on civ games on the Mac.
The (now sub-) forums on specific games(Mac-Civilization II, Mac-Alpha Centauri, Mac-Call To Power) will continue to host the discussions on these games, while the... "mother forum" will be the place for more generic discussion
A Mac-Civilization III forum will be created as we get closer to the release of the mac version. -MarkG
EXCLUSIVE: CGM COVER STORY
(27 August 2001, 15:46 EST/Civ3) 
When you pick-up a copy of the October issue of Computer Games next week, remember when you saw the exclusive first look at its cover [at right]. The publication's primary feature not only offers a preview of Civilization III but also a
retrospective of 10 years of Civilization.
Firaxis Games Communications Manager Kelley Gilmore delivered the news and the cover shot to us this afternoon. In doing so, she also mentioned something on the magazine's cover CD that should also be of interest to fans: the windows version of the original Civ is included. Given the title's hard-to-find status, this is your opportunity discover the game that launched the series for the first time or relive the magic all over again.
For more information on CG magazine, logon to its official website. -DanQ
CONTENTS OF LIMITED EDITION
(27 August 2001, 14:42 EST/Civ3) 
EB Games has posted a list with the contents of the Civ3 Limited Edition.
- Exclusive Video Chronicling the Making of Civilization III
- Video Celebrating Sid Meier's Induction into the IDSA Hall of Fame
- Designer's Notes from Sid Meier and Jeff Briggs
- Fold-Out Tech Tree
- Civilization III Game/Manual
Thanks to Mahdimael for the news tip. Give your comments on the forums -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 26TH, 2001
(27 August 2001, 8:41 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 26th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 2m:15s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 280KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
C183# CIV2`S HEGELIAN TECH TREE
(27 August 2001, 7:59 EST/Misc) With delay due to my weekend trip, the 183rd article of the Column is here, delivered to it's 6269 subscribers.
CIV2'S HEGELIAN TECH TREE
Civ2 is not just another game, and LotM shows it's historical side.
Comment on this article in the forums.
-MarkG
NEW GAMESPY PREVIEW
(26 August 2001, 12:23 EST/Civ3) GameSpy staffer Raymond Padilla had his preview of CivIII posted on the network yesterday. While the two-page, seven-screen first look does not contain much new information, it provides a good summarization of many of the game's new features. Padilla concludes:
It's often hard to improve upon a genre-defining game, but Firaxis appears well on its way to doing just that. Civilization III has all the addictive qualities of its predecessor, but with enhancements that make it a deeper game as well as easier to play. -DanQ
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 25TH, 2001
(25 August 2001, 21:52 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 25th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 4m:10s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 513KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
APOLYTON STORE: NEW PRODUCTS
(25 August 2001, 16:13 EST/About) New products have arrived on the Apolyton Store! The first of many special products, a messenger bag in yellow color, will be availiable until September 30.
Beyond the Apolyton logo or our... special messages, these bags feature
* Adjustable shoulder strap with adjustable clasp closure
* Outside panel compartment has zippered closure
* Black binding
* Size: 11" x 13" x 14"
We've also added mugs on the "Get Civilized" and "Nuclear" departments. And as always we would really like your feedback on the forums -MarkG
DRAGON SUN SHIPPING
(25 August 2001, 15:19 EST/SMACX) Pre-orders for Dragon Sun, the second of three books in a mini-series Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri written by Michael Ely, have started to be filled -- it begins to ship nationally and internationally from the United States starting today. Numerous reports have been received by the Apolyton staff that both Amazon and Barnes & Noble sent out their first shipment of the title earlier this morning as have most likely other online and indeed offline realtors.
According to Amazon, the title will be available for full order as of Tuesday. B&N is reporting that the book is in stock in their warehouses and should ship in 2-3 business days. Both outlets are currently offering a 10% discount on this new release. As previously reported, the third and final instalment in the series, Twlight of the Mind, is still on course for availability in February, 2002. -DanQ
ANSWERS FROM SOREN JOHNSON
(25 August 2001, 13:50 EST/Civ3) Firaxian Soren Johnson droped by the forum last night and gave answers to various issues, clearing things up...
On Egyptian vs. Babylonian Units
Babylonians Archers are more expensive than Egyptian War Chariots. The disadvantage of Chariots is that they require Horses to build.
On collateral damage
There is no collateral damage in Civ III, so stacks are not wiped out after a loss.
On Nationalism
I'm not sure where all this started, but Nationalism is NOT a form of government in Civ III. Nationalism is a Tech which allows you to draft citizens and switch to a war-time economy.
Hope this clears things up...
Yes, it did Soren, thanks! Thanks also to korn469 for the news tip -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 24TH, 2001
(25 August 2001, 1:57 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 24th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 2m:55s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 360KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
SIMGOLF 2ND WEBCAST: SCREENS & TRANSCRIPT
(24 August 2001, 20:13 EST/Misc) Well, there they are the trascript(posted by Maxis a couple hours ago) and the screenshots from the second SimGolf webcast with Sid Meier.
The webcast was mostly on the stories part of the game, where you can have your own "scenarios" played out by the golfers. Whether the outcome will be good or bad(both cases are covered in the scenario) depends on how good your course is. You can make stories with just notepad and Firaxis has released the story viewer tool!
Btw, here an interesting quote by Sid
We plan to have a Firaxis Theme Pack available on the SimGolf web site when the game ships in October. The Theme Pack will have members of the game dev. team, and maybe a few... great leaders from Civ III that you can load into your game!
(Theme packs will be something like modpacks) :)
The next webcast will take place in around two weeks. -MarkG
PALACE: JUST LIKE CIV1
(24 August 2001, 17:13 EST/Civ3) Yesterday we saw a screenshot of the palace with "parts" from different cultures.
Ralf sugested
Hmm. Maybe its the players free choice? Perhaps exclusive radio-buttons which determine what cultural style this or that added element should have? I hope so.
and Dan Magaha confirmed
Correct. You can choose which piece of the palace to build next, and you also get to choose between different cultural styles of building for each piece. You can keep it consistent or mix and match.
Which change something that is perfect? Discuss it in the forum. -MarkG
CIV OF THE WEEK: GREEKS
(24 August 2001, 15:37 EST/Civ3) The third in the line of Firaxis's Civ of the Week at civ3.com are the Greeks, headed by Alexander the Great.
The Greeks are Commerical and Scientific and therefore start out with Alphabet and Bronze Working. If you want to trade and research to your heart's content, the Greeks are your civ.
The unique unit is the Hoplite, which is better than the standard spearman in that it has an extra point to defense. Here is a quote on the Hoplite:
The Hoplite was one of the first soldiers of the ancient world to fight in formation. The well-known "phalanx" formation that has become synonymous with the Greek hoplite was actually first used by the Sumerians as early as 2500 B.C, but the Greeks made it famous. Armed with a sword and a 6 foot-long pike, clad in a helmet, breastplate, greaves, and a shield, the Hoplite was the biggest, baddest bully on the playgrounds of the Mediterranean.
The Hoplite is an upgraded version of the standard spearman. Its defense rating of 3 makes it a formidable protector for cities and colonies that will not be outclassed until the Pikeman is available.
Thank to the diplomat for alerting us to the update, and you can comment on this Civ of the Week in the thread he has started in our Civ3: Civilizations forum. -Imran
SIMGOLF TRANSCRIPT, TOOL, INTERVIEW
(24 August 2001, 5:05 EST/Misc) Maxis updated the official SimGolf site with lots of new stuff
- First webcast transcript>: The transcript of the first chat with Sid Meier. You can also see screenshots from the webcast that we had posted.
- Story Viewer Tool: Released during yesterday's webcast, this tool allows you to create and view stories for SimGolf. You can mail the stories you make to GolfStories@Firaxis.com for a chance to be included in the game!
- Interview with Lindsay Riehl: On August 4th, the Sim Network Gaming posted an interview with Firaxian Lindsay Riehl. Various interesting information, check it out!
We'll have the screenshots and transcript of yesterday's webcast posted later today. -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 23RD, 2001
(24 August 2001, 0:56 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 23rd, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 3m:23s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 417KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
NEW SCREENSHOTS ON GAMESPOT
(23 August 2001, 17:21 EST/Civ3) Gamespot has posted three new screenshots of Civ3 with their annoucement about Civ3 going beta. One seems to be the spaceship view screen. Another is a diplomacy screen involving the Egyptians, seemingly in the Renaissance Age. While the last seems to show the Egyptian Palace screen. -Imran
MAGAHA ON MISCELLANEOUS
(23 August 2001, 14:50 EST/Civ3) With each passing day, Firaxis webmaster Dan Magaha is finding more and more questions begging for answers from CivIII fans from around the globe. The most recent installment of "Ask The Civ Team" has stirred up a fair bit of discussion in the past 24hrs.
On elite units:
Elite units are not the same as civ-specific units. Elite units refers to units that have been promoted to elite status (regular [to] veteran [to] elite) by winning battles.
On 'battlefield promotions':
I'm not positive on this, but I'm pretty sure that [these] take into account the opponent you've defeated. That is to say, I doubt you'd make elite just by picking off settlers and workers, and I assume this would be true for the appearance of great leaders as well.
On barbarian defeat/great leader link:
I'm not sure whether defeating barbarians can spawn great leaders, but you can attain elite status if a veteran unit defeats barbarians (I've seen this happen when a horde of barbarians attack a single unit and the unit defeats them all).
On leaders representation:
[T]hey are like transports that can carry units, but have no inherent attack or defense.
On leaders placement as a unit:
I don't *think* leaders replace any of your units, I believe they appear as a completely seperate unit... -DanQ
AFTER-RELEASE CIV3.COM PLANS
(23 August 2001, 14:34 EST/Civ3) Apolyton's very own MarkG asked Dan Magaha, Firaxis webwizard and forum regular, what the company's plans were for Civ3.com -- the official CivIII website -- after the game's release which according to recent developments is on target for an October release.
Well, for one thing we'll be updating the Civ of the Week feature even after the game has shipped, until they're all done, Magaha responded less than an hour later. Depending on how much interest there is and how relevant the questions are, we may also continue the "ask the Civ team" section.
We also have plans to open a section devoted to mod-making and customization, which will probably become one of the focus areas of the site. We will probably also have a section on strategy and gameplay tips that will include stuff both from Firaxians and hopefully from the fan community as well.
This is by no means set in stone, but these are two of the major areas we want to focus on. -DanQ
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 22ND, 2001
(23 August 2001, 14:15 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 22nd, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 3m:07s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 384KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
CIVILIZATION 3 IS NOW IN BETA!
(23 August 2001, 12:25 EST/Civ3) Here is an Apolyton Exclusive (until other sites catch up :))
Civilization 3 is now in beta Firaxis' Communications Manager Kelley Gilmore informed us just now.
Sid Meier's Civilization III hit beta this week.
Firaxis declares a game in beta when all features (big and small) are in the game and working, placeholder art has been replaced by final art, the game is playing well and the code is solid.
The programming team is now dedicated to fixing bugs detected by the beta testers and the art team is playing the game with an eye towards making sure their art assets are displayed correctly.
Civ III is set for release in October 2001 and we're quite sure it will be the ultimate Civilization experience!
We should note that this the first time Firaxis mentions a specific month for the release of Civ3(up to now the most precise date was "fall 2001"). Give your feedback on the forums -MarkG
BRIGGS/MEIER PCGAMER INTERVIEW
(23 August 2001, 7:23 EST/Civ3) PC GAMER posted on it's website the remaining transcript of the Sid Meier / Jeff Briggs interview that was published in the June issue.
Sid and Jeff talk about all kind of things around the development of Civ3. However, since the interview was taken some time ago, there is no real new information on the game.
In the end, an interview with a Firaxis is always interesting :) Give your comments on the forums Thanks to korn469 for the news tip. -MarkG
`ASK THE CIV TEAM`: GOVERNORS, MUSIC, ARMIES
(22 August 2001, 18:45 EST/Civ3) A new Ask the Civ Team feature has been posted! New info:
- City Governors are in
- City build queues that can be saved and reloaded
- Your diplomacy advisor will give you hints on how good or acceptable your proposed deal is
- Windows 2000 compatibility confirmed once again
- Five music "mixes" (European, North American, Middle Eastern, Greco-Roman, and Asian) that cycle and change through the course of the game. All music is in mp3. Special aggressive and passive tracks for each culture during diplomacy talks
- Unit stacks(armies) can be formed if you have a leader(can appear when an elite unit wins a combat) or the Military Academy (Small Wonder). You can only have one army per 4 cities!
- Pentagon confirmed as a wonder. Allows you to have an extra unit in your armies. The normal maximum is 3 units(plus your leader).
- You can do a trade embargo on a civ or ask other civs to do one
How does this all sound? Discuss in the forums. Thanks to fluxcapacitor who first posted about it -MarkG
SECOND SIMGOLF WEBCAST TOMORROW
(22 August 2001, 18:27 EST/Misc) Straight from Firaxis:
Sid Meier is back with another in his series of live webcasts discussing his newest creation, Sid Meier’s SimGolf, this Thursday, August 23rd from 6-7pm EST (3-4pm Pacific Time). This time Sid will be chatting with folks about the intriguing stories around the lives of the SimGolf characters and how your course design and management can impact everything from their moods, relationships and golf game, to their career paths and job security. Sid will also show you how to create your own stories now and will provide a tool for previewing and perfecting them. And... Sid will give out a special email address and invite people to send him their SimGolf stories for
possible inclusion in the final version of the game. To participate in the event go to either:
http://simcity.ea.com/us/register/gotoIChat.phtml
http://thesims.ea.com/us/register/gotoIChat.phtml
You’ll need to be registered on SimCity.com or theSims.com to participate and if you need to register you can do it on the site before the webcast. Once inside the chat system, go to the "auditorium" room, which you can do by typing “/go auditorium”. The auditorium is limited to the first 300 visitors, so get there early!
Well, there's one more piece of evidence that SimGolf is coming much sooner than Civ3 and those October Civ3 release dates you see in stores and sites dont mean much... ;) -MarkG
ACS STORE PHOTO ALBUM GROWS
(22 August 2001, 15:54 EST/About) 
Narck isn't the only civer visitor sporting wares from the Apolyton Store.
Connorkimbro, one of the thousands of members of ACS' forums, submitted his photo wearing the "Get Civilized" brand T-Shirt (Narck has one showing off one of the other slogans [see story below]) for all to see. -DanQ
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 21ST, 2001
(22 August 2001, 11:55 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 21st, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 2m:02s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 253KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
FACES OF APOLYTON #3: TAU CETI
(21 August 2001, 19:39 EST/Misc) Edition number three of the "Faces of Apolyton" interview series is here. This time, our questions are answered by Tau Ceti, administrator of the SMAC PBEM Tournament, which is a very popular choice of the SMAC multiplaying crowd.
Also, you will notice that this time, most questions are asked by Keygen, not Solver. This means that everybody might be asking questions. If you want to be one of them, send Solver a pm or drop him a line at solver@apolyton.net to have the opportunity to ask some questions for one of the future "FoA" interviews. -MarkG
APOLYTON PACK V1.02
(21 August 2001, 3:30 EST/CtP2) Dale released what he calls(or hope it is ;)) the final update of the Apolyton Pack for CTP2
The 210kb update package from v1.01 to v1.02 contains the following changes
- Aqueduct bug where it didn't appear for some people.
- Air unit SLIC error. Slight modification to airunit.slc file.
- Terraforming. Hills now terraformable with Advance: Explosives.
Give your feedback on the forums -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 20TH, 2001
(21 August 2001, 0:45 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 20th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 2m:54s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 358KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
ACSR, SCR: FAN RADIO COMMUNITY
(20 August 2001, 22:06 EST/Misc) Apolyton Civilization Site Radio (ACSR) announces that it is joining with Sim Community Radio (SCR) in launching the "Fan Radio Community", a cross-promotion effort whereby each participate provides a propritary link to the other throughout the pages of their respective websites.
SCR, owned and operated by MaxisGamer.com, was launched earlier this month. It features a live show every Saturday and Sunday with host Brian McMillan with the latest news, information and community events from in and around the Sim community of titles from Maxis. -DanQ
ACSR NEWS: WEEK OF AUGUST 12TH, 2001
(20 August 2001, 21:50 EST/Misc) The ACSR broadcast for the week of August 12th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 16m:13s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 1.9MB.
To discuss this and another ACSR News broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
LIMITED EDITION BOX ART
(20 August 2001, 15:39 EST/Civ3) 
EBgames.com has some quite interesting snippets of new info concerning the Limited Edition of Civilization III, not least the amazing-looking tin box the game will come in, showcased to the right. I hope you will agree with me that it's one of the more gorgeous pieces of game packaging ever seen- almost worth the increased price by itself.
Also note the release date, which has been pushed back to correspond with the normal version one. So, those of you who were hoping to get it a fortnight before the standard edition are unfortunately out of luck.
Thanks to Thunderfall of the Civilization Fanatics Center for the news. -Snapcase
CIVILIZA DEMO
(20 August 2001, 15:05 EST/Alt) In our Alt Civs forums today, dexter4dxm unveiled a demo of his project, tentatively called Civiliza. dexter4dxm stated on the thread:
The first demo for my project, temporarily called "civiliza", is ready. The demo has been stripped down to less than 1 mb, and with compression it is less than 100KB. If you have problems with the ZIP file, PLEASE let me know. Also, if you have any problems/comments with the demo itself, let me know.
The demo is located Here. Download it and comment on our Alt Civs forums. -Imran
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 19TH, 2001
(20 August 2001, 13:38 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 19th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 2m:06s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 266KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
C182# FEAR AND LOATHING IN BACH`S CATHEDRAL
(19 August 2001, 19:53 EST/Misc) Our delayed Column(which will be mailed in a few hours) is here for one more Saturday, eeeer.... weekend :)
FEAR AND LOATHING IN BACH'S CATHEDRAL
Bugs visits a world of wonders
By Bugs ****ing Bunny -MarkG
TRIPPY PREVIEW ACTION
(19 August 2001, 10:39 EST/Civ3) ActionTrip has posted a rather ill-written preview of Civilization III, which, besides minor factual errors, seems to contain a certain amount of new info. However, it is a bit difficult to tell what is real info and what is just conjecture.
For example, is the suggestion that under nationalism you will be able to smoothly rip your people of all their belongings true? It's hard to tell since the next "fact", that nationalism halves the cost of all units, runs contrary to everything else we know about ther game. Or at least seems like a misunderstanding of the mobilization concept.
Still, I guess there is a fair amount to be got out of the preview, including one (old build) screenshot I can't remember having seen before. Thanks to Kyller for the prompt news tip. -Snapcase
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 17TH, 2001
(18 August 2001, 14:44 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 17th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 2m:18s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 284KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
NEW TRADE WARS 2002 GAME SOON
(18 August 2001, 5:23 EST/Alt) According to Dan Magaha we will hopefully have a rebang next week. Pre-registration has started so that we know everyone in the game is also an Apolyton member. The (suggested and more or less accepted) rules are mentioned in the same thread. Sign-up today! :) -MarkG
CIV OF THE WEEK: EGYPTIANS
(17 August 2001, 14:01 EST/Civ3) 
The second of the weekly (well, obviously) Civ of the Week updates has been posted to the official Civilization III Site at Civ3.com. It is, as previously suspected, the Egyptians.
The Egyptians are Industrious and Religious, which will be a great help to those of you who want to keep your population and culture at a maximum. They will also start with the techs of Ceremonail Burial and Masonry, both of which should be handy in the early game.
Although the identity of their leader might have previously been in doubt, it is now quite clearly confirmed: The mulatto woman seen in leader screenshots is indeed Cleopatra. The Unique Unit of the Egyptians is, perhaps surprisingly, the so-dubbed "War Chariot". Here's a quote:
When the Hyksos were booted out of Egypt by Ahmose in the years between 1580 and 1522 BC, they left behind a lot of things: pocket change, household items, and a few nifty little toys they called "chariots". Ahmose made the most of this opportunity. While we don't know what he did with the pocket change, we do know that he made the chariot the centerpiece of his new and improved Egyptian army, which dominated the Middle Eastern theatre of war for hundreds of years, until they were supplanted by horse-mounted soldiers, which were cheaper and more durable.
The War Chariot is a more powerful version of the standard chariot. It has twice the attack strength of a normal chariot, and the same movement rate. This allows the War Chariot to quickly close on an enemy and attack, with much better odds of inflicting damage.
Sounds brilliant, Dan. Keep up the good work. -Snapcase
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 16TH, 2001
(17 August 2001, 1:27 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 16th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 1m:54s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 237KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
CITY IMPROVEMENTS/WONDERS LIST
(16 August 2001, 14:06 EST/Civ3) Tniem has come up with an impressive list of the city improvements from the various city view screenshots.
Check it out and help in guessing the unknown buildings. -MarkG
NO PROBLEMS WITH TWO MONITORS
(16 August 2001, 14:02 EST/Civ3) If you have an OS that supports multiple monitors(that is all Windows versions after Windows 98) you'll be able to use your two monitors while playing Civ3.
Programmer Mike Breitkreutz shared his own experience on the forums:
I'm also using two monitors -- I often use one for the game and one for the debugger (and to browse Apolyton). I haven't had any problems...
Of course this does not mean that Civ3 will use both monitors(althout that would be really neat), just that you will be able to use the other monitor for something else(Apolyton for example!) while keeping Civ3 on it's own monitor. -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 15TH, 2001
(16 August 2001, 2:20 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 15th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 3m:09s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 290KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
11000 LOGINS
(15 August 2001, 16:32 EST/About) We missed that one by a couple of days. We now have over 11000 forum logins!
Given the opportunity here are some stats regarding the use of styles that someone asked for in the Apolyton forum
For a total of 11052 logins
8878 have no setting (havent edited their options or havent visited since the upgrade)
1916 use the Default
58 use the Default-Civ3
40 use the Default-CTP2
132 use the Light
15 use the Light-Civ3 and
13 use the Light-CTP2
Which means that of the people who have edited their profile, only 7.35% are using the light styles.
And if you want more stats, "only" 69.60% of the logins have actually been used to make posts(which is a pretty common number for any forum) and 6214 people are registered on our newsletter through their forum login. -MarkG
CIV3 MAC IN EARLY 2002: POSSIBLE NOT DEFINITE
(15 August 2001, 14:36 EST/Civ3) Suellen Adams of Westlake Interactive answered questions on the Mac Strategy Games newsgroup earlier today regarding the Civ3 Mac port, as reported by CivFanatics. She commented that it may come as soon as early 2002 but that nothing was definite yet.
Provided the PC release is on time, I'd guess the Mac release will be sometime in early 2002. Naturally there are no guarantees...anything can happen at this point.
Still, according to Westlake's Project Status page (which is somewhat dated), the port is in the early development stages and there is no estimation on an release date. What does "early development" mean? As stated in the page's key:
A project that has just started. Early work is being done on getting low level foundation code up and running on the Mac, trying to get data files to load properly, graphics routines to draw something, etc.
Westlake is also working in other titles like The Sims House Party and Age of Empires II. -DanQ
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 14TH, 2001
(15 August 2001, 2:34 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 14th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 1m:53s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 233KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
BIG AND BIGGER NEW SCREENS
(14 August 2001, 16:28 EST/Civ3) For those looking for larger versions of the screenshots GameSpy US posted yesterday [see story below], GameSpyDaily and PC|IGN have answered your prayers -- at least in part.
For GSD's part, its staff has posted six of the eight new screenshots; the primary benefit of these larger versions it that it is easier to read the text on the technology tree screenshots. Morever, PC|IGN has posted 1024x768 versions from the batch of the newest CivIII screens. Again, there are only six of them unfortunately. Nonetheless, these are well worth a wait and a look see. -DanQ
LOKI FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY
(14 August 2001, 7:22 EST/Misc) Linux Game Developer Loki Software, which handled the Linux ports of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri and Civilization: Call to Power, has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. LinuxPorts suggests that the cause for the bankruptcy is the fact that
Loki owes Activision USD 330,000 and Prolix USD 100,000.
A copy of the bankruptcy filing can be found here. Thanks to Blue's News for the info. -Snapcase
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 13TH, 2001
(14 August 2001, 0:40 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 13th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 2m:35s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 321KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
ACSR NEWS: WEEK OF AUGUST 5TH, 2001
(13 August 2001, 21:30 EST/Misc) The ACSR broadcast for the week of August 5th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 21m:09s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 2.6MB.
To discuss this and another ACSR News broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
NEW FORUM PEAK III
(13 August 2001, 17:08 EST/About) The new record lasted only three days. From 210, our new record for simultaneous users on the forums is now 212, occuring today at 14:03est and again at 18:03.
This seems to be our best hour of the day since the previous record was at 14:00est!
As for other... peaks, today we made a new record on new registrations(33) and August 10th was the first day we more than 2000 posts(2008). That's 1 post every 43 seconds :) -MarkG
NEW SCREENSHOTS ON GAMESPOT
(13 August 2001, 16:59 EST/Civ3) Forum poster Adrock25 has drawn our attention to a collection of eight brand-new screenshots at GameSpot. The set consists of a diplomacy screenshot featuring a cute renaissance Ghandi, leader portraits of an ancient Catherine the Great, a renaissance Caesar and a mediaeval Joan of Arc, and perhaps most interestingly a complete tech tree. That's right, relatively clear pictures of every technology that will appear in the game, divided over all four game ages, with all unit, wonder and special event icons present. From Pottery to Integrated Defense. Granted, they're not full-size, but perfectly readable nonetheless. Let the discussion begin! -Snapcase
CIVILIZATIONS FORUM
(13 August 2001, 11:38 EST/Civ3) After the opening of civ3.com we witnessed an outburst in discussion about the civilizations. That was something logical, due to the limit to 16 civs, the official announcement of the civ list as well as their special abilities.
As in the case of SMAC where the official Firaxis site had a forum for discussion on the factions, the Civ3-Civilizations forum will be the place for discussion on the various Civilizations in Civ3 and their leaders, strategies related to each civ, and of course discussion on proposed civs, their abilities, unique units, city names, leaders, etc
Existing threads from the (now named) Civ3-General forum have been moved, placing the start of the new forum not at 0 but at 1300 posts! -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 12TH, 2001
(13 August 2001, 1:16 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 12th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 9m:38s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 1.1MB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
INFOGRAMES CORPORATE THEME
(12 August 2001, 20:46 EST/Misc) Did you miss the unveiling of Infogrames' new mission statement during the E3 Expo held this past May in Atlanta? If so, now is your chance to listen to the theme it hopes its consumers will sing.
Unleashed to the public at large by PC|IGN, the song in the spotlight -- "Rocks My World" -- is a 3m:35s carefully orchestrated ballad about the company's philosophy, history... and product line. IGN's staff blasted the score as what may be the worst thing ever recorded since the invention of plants and dirt.
To judge "Rocks My World" for yourself, click here to listen to it in streaming RealAudio format (encoding courtesy ACSR). -DanQ
THE NEXT 16 CIVS. VOTE NOW!
(12 August 2001, 17:49 EST/Civ3) The posting of the civilization list on Civ3.com has generated a lot of discussion over the last days. The request of more civs seems to be big and the hopes are now targetted on the possible Civ3 expansion pack(worse games had expansion packs, why not civ3? :))
Through the endless threads and the (limited to 10 options) polls, Locutus came to the resque! His... Eurovision-like system gives room for all kinds of suggestions as well as way for each one to balance his favorite civs.
So, after the announced 16 in Civ3, which are your favorite 16 civs??? Vote now and send a message to Firaxis!
After 21 votes and 3339 points the top 5 right now are: Spanish, Mongol, Vikings, Arabs and Inca. -MarkG
ACS ON YEP`S TOP 25 GAMING SITES
(12 August 2001, 14:57 EST/About) Today is one of those really great days: Apolyton reached #25 on Yep.com's Entertainment/Games category. Based on data from Hitbox.com(which tracks visitors with a banner which you see in most of Apolyton's pages), Yep's listing can be characterized as accurate as it can be, noting that only sites using the Hitbox counter are listed.
The achievement is big simply because the Apolyton webmasters easily remember the days that ACS was below the first 100 in the same category... :)
Our next goal is to bring Apolyton into Yep's Top100 where the 100th site has almost 3 times more visitors than us! :) Currently we are at #296. -MarkG
FC V1.12.0 FINAL RELEASED
(12 August 2001, 14:23 EST/Alt) For the second summer in a row, the next non-beta of FreeCiv has arrived. v1.12.0 is now available in both GZip and BZip2 formats with the game weighing in at 5.45MB and 4.1MB respectively.
Note that this is only a source code release, said FC Co-Administrator Thue J. Kristensen in announcing the release last Friday. Binaries for various platforms will be made available soon.
A complete list of the changes from the previous version, v1.11.4, can be accessed in the NEWS file. Speaking of other platforms and new releases, Windows users can obtain FreeCiv v1.12.0 beta 4 from the game's official site which was compiled by Andreas Kemnade. This version contains some various bugfixes over the third beta.
Our thanks to Kristensen for the news tip. -DanQ
THE APOLYTON 100
(12 August 2001, 13:45 EST/About) A message from Darkcloud, the... unofficial Apolyton archivist:
Hello!
And welcome to Apolyton's Forums.
Enter here and meet some colorful personalities.
What's that you say, what type of people reside within the "dark" walls of the forums?
Come read this essay on 100 of the posters who have made the most posts on Apolyton.
These are the people you will frequently see or hear about on the forums.
These are the people who crafted the world of Apolyton from a lowly nation of five to a massive superpower of ten thousand members!
These are the people who spoofed Dan Rather, the TV Newcaster. Debated about Israel, Debated about the Kosovo crisis.
They come from all over, America, Australia, Canada, China, England, Finland, Sweden, Wales.
Some are nationalists, some are communists, some are socialists, some are pragmaticists.
They truly reflect the world.
To truly understand the forums culture, one must know the commonly used terms and the commonly spoken about people on Apolyton.
For a good look at some terms, go to this site, http://home.att.net/~sjcfg/main.html and read the Glossary (More on that site in a later edition of The Column... Hopefully ;))
This list shows how, if you stick around on the Forums long enough, you too will become an Apolyton legend and worthy of rememberence for many years after you depart from the site.
Thus, please, read on and discover the culture of Apolyton as seen through the eyes of DarkCloud, Stefu, Colon and other prominent posters.
Happy Birthday Apolyton,
May you keep on Civing forever! -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 11TH, 2001
(12 August 2001, 1:15 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 11th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 4m:24s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 543KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
COMING SOON TO ACSR...
(11 August 2001, 23:00 EST/Misc) A new show is coming to Apolyton Civilization Site Radio (ACSR) -- and it's not what you would expect.
Apolyton Stands is a weekly review and analysys of everything that's hot new and exciting on the forums produced and hosted by your loyal Israeli USSR modest, genious immigrant Sirotnikov. Catch your in depth analysis, behind the scenes stories, and voice impressions of posters Siro hasn't ever really heard. Be forewarned: according to the host himself, listening to this may seriously damage your civ'in since you'll be preoccupied getting through his Rusko-Israeli accent 
.
This is the first show on ACSR thay puts the spotlight on the Apolyton community, Sirotnikov said when reached for comment on the up-and-coming show. From the good ol' Civ III suggestions to the Off-Topic Forum... can you handle the oomph?
For a taste of what is to come, a 1m:7s promo has been compiled and is available for listening. Comments/questions about the show can be placed in the corresponding thread in our forums. Please note that the opinions expressed on Apolyton Stands do not necessarily reflect those of the Apolyton administration. The content may offend some listeners -- discretion is advised. -DanQ
PHOTOS OF NARCK WEARING ONLY HIS T-SHIRT!
(11 August 2001, 17:05 EST/About) Ok, so I lied.... :)
He is not naked. He's wearing his Apolyton t-shirt though!
Get yours now! -MarkG
C181# CHARACTERS / GRAPHICS
(11 August 2001, 16:10 EST/Misc) Now sent to 6183 people, the Column is double this time.
CHARACTERS / GRAPHICS
2 articles, 1 subject: civ3...
by Argentinot and TINOMan. -MarkG
MAC PORT IN FEBRUARY 2002?
(11 August 2001, 15:48 EST/Civ3) Mac gamers have been waiting anxiously for any news about a release date for the port of Civilization III for their platform. While nothing has been confirmed by either Infogrames or MacSoft, EBGames is listing its availability date as February 5th, 2002. EBG is currently accepting preorders at a price of $54.99US per copy, compared to $49.99US for the PC version.
Our thanks to CivFanatics for the news. -DanQ
CHIPS&BITS TOP 10: AUGUST 4-10, 2001
(11 August 2001, 13:18 EST/Misc) OPERATION FLASHPOINT PC remains in good shape at #1. SPACE EMPIRES IV PC has warped into #2 from some unknown area of the space-time continuum. FINAL FANTASY CHRONICLES PSX is just in and is selling at #3.
1. Operation Flashpoint $39.95
2. Space Empires IV $42.95
3. Final Fantasy Chronicles PS $44.95
4. Max Payne $44.95
5. Diablo II Expansion: Lord of Destruction $32.95
6. MechCommander 2 $44.95
7. Championship Manager '00-'01 $34.95
8. Baldur's Gate II Expansion: Throne of Bhaal $29.95
9. Alone in the Dark 4 PS $39.95
10. Total Annihilation Core Contingency $12.95 -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 10TH, 2001
(11 August 2001, 1:11 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 10th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 4m:53s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 601KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
FIRST APOLYTON T-SHIRT DELIVERED!
(10 August 2001, 18:57 EST/About) 
We are happy to announce that the first Apolyton t-shirt has been manufactured, shipped and delivered!
Narck is the proud owner of a "3 Years Special" t-shirt and has sent us this photo!
This is (hopefully) only the begining of our "Apolyton Store Photo Album"!
-MarkG
NEW FORUM PEAK
(10 August 2001, 18:38 EST/About) The opening of Civ3.com was a grat opportunity for discussion in the forums. The result was a new record of simultaneous users on the forum. Breaking the record of 203 on July 23, the new is 210, occuring at 14:00EST.
We also saw a big amount of posts yesterday with (not a record) almost 1900 messages beeing posted yesterday and almost 1600 being made today until this moment. -MarkG
THE DAN MAGAHA SHOW
(10 August 2001, 2:33 EST/Civ3) It has been some interesting hours at our Civ3 forum, after the opening of Civ3.com, with Firaxian Dan Magaha showing up to answer many questions(with Jeff Morris on a supporting role as a troll 
)
On the lack of a windowed mode
The game is not a "windowed" game like Civ II was. Like most other recent games, it runs in its own full-screen window. However, I can tell you that with my own personal experiences with the game so far , it is very ALT-TAB friendly, and you *can* set other apps to "always be on top", so if you want to keep WinAmp, ICQ or AOLIM on top of your screen while playing, you can. I've tried all of these and they all work
On the... lack of a knowledge on civ3's copy protection
That I have *no* idea on. Copy protection is usually a situation where the publisher has a standard and tells the developer what to use. And generally they don't ask us webmasters what kind of protection we'd recommend... 
On AH's request to bring back the Civ2 foreign advisor
Well, you *can* always replace the Advisor art, I dare not imagine who you'd put up there instead, though...
BTW, Sid just told me to tell you, maybe we'll put out a "Madeline Albright / Janet Reno" patch later just for you.... 
On in-game graphics
Our art team very intentionally went for a classic, "painterly" style with the graphics, because we didn't feel the game should look like some 3D, Quake III-powered shooter. (Wow, that was an odd visual, wasn't it??)
In any case, as I've said in the past, I hope you all wait until the game is finished before passing judgement on the look of it. Things are still being improved, refined, and polished, and the game will look even better by the time it's finished.
On "golden age" strategies
Guess it depends on how you spend the time... you could argue that by having your "golden age" early, you can accelerate your race to a tech or wonder goal, and get the jump on your opponents.
And there's also the totally "legal" (though I think it kind of betrays the whole concept) strategy of holding back all of your civ-specific units until you're ready to enter a golden age, but the downside to that is, by the time you're ready, your special unit might not be that big of a deal to the other civs.
See also the "secret" screenshot that Locutus discovered. It shows a city screen with the build queue open. -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 9TH, 2001
(10 August 2001, 0:43 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 9th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 6m:28s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 795KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
CIV ABILITIES INQUIRIES
(10 August 2001, 0:08 EST/Civ3) Firaxis Games webmaster Dan Magaha has his work cut out for him. Now that the official CivIII website is live [see story below], a plethora of questions burning for answers have surfaced in the forums. One of the discussions is regarding civilization's abilities in the game for which Magaha wrote an article about on and for the official site.
The first question was whether or not these abilities could be randomized. While he wasn't certain, the Firaxis webwizard and forum regular believed that this option did not exist. The second question was whether or not all technologies have an effect.
You get both effects if you're in that slot, and since the default rules give each Civ two categories, you actually get four effects, Magaha answered. This can all be changed with the editor, BTW.
Along the same lines as the second question, he commented on the varying number of combinations a civilization could be given -- or have taken away.
[W]ith the editor, you could give a civ all six categories, none at all, or any combination in between. With the default rules, though, each civ belongs to only two of the six categories. But since each category bestows two distinct bonuses, you really get four different bonuses per civ. -DanQ
EVEN MORE FROM CIV3.COM
(9 August 2001, 20:08 EST/Civ3) From the new screenshots we found several interesting stuff
New game stup screen
- You can select your opponents, or have them random
- There are six ways to win: by Domination(occupy a big percentage of land), Diplomatically(get elected like in SMAC), Culturally(have everyone sing Britney Spears songs i suppose), going to Space(Alpha Centauri) and Militarily(kill everyone)
- The difficulty levels are like the Civ2 ones
A cultural win
- (I assume that you got them by your culture) An enemy city revolts and wants to join you. When this happens you get asked if you want to let them join you or not.
City Screen
- The city screen(which appears as an overlay on the main map) uses the civ2 way of showing things, e.g. with icons rather than numbers
Diplomatic relations screen
- You now have a cool screen showing you the relationship and agreements between all civs!
Choosing a discovery
- Making a choice of what you want to research and planning ahead is done easily from a tech-tree screen
Civ1 Palace!
- The Palace is back! (need to say more?) -MarkG
WHAT`S NEW AT CIV3.COM....
(9 August 2001, 19:35 EST/Civ3) Ok so it has a totally new look. Beyond that, what new information does civ3.com bring?
- Pillaging exists and is considered an act of war
- The city view changes according to the cultural group of the civ and the time era
- A world map will be included, and a "rules.txt" editor is confirmed once again
- Units are supported by your entire civilization(CtP1/2 way), not by your cities(Civ1/2 way)
- The 16th civ are the Aztecs
- The special abilities of each civ are devided in 6 categories: Militaristic, Commercial , Expansionistic, Scientific, Religious, and Industrious
- Each civ has one special unit, but they may come at different times: Zulus have the Impi(early one), the Americans have the F-15(late)
- Golden ages: During a "golden age", all worked tiles in your empire contribute one additional trade and shield per turn. Golden ages only occur once, last twenty game turns, and are triggered when any one of your civ-specific units wins its first combat against another civ
- Special abilities, special units and the golden age feature are optional
Beyond all this insignificant stuff, there are screenshots, videos, screensavers, etc, as well as the "Civ of the Week" feature where one of the civilizations is presented. The babylonians is the first.
After all that... DISCUSS! -MarkG
CIV3.COM IS HERE!
(9 August 2001, 19:09 EST/Civ3) Splangy was the lucky who got to post the news we have been waiting for: civ3.com is up!
More details when we take a better look at it... :) -MarkG
WAR INA BABYLON
(9 August 2001, 9:47 EST/Civ3) Posting briefly in the Scenario Plans thread, developer Jeffrey Morris confirmed two slightly unexpected inclusions among the civilizations available in Civ3. The post simply stated that
Both Persia and Babylonians are in.
This means that the total number of confirmed civilizations has risen to fifteen, namely the Americans, Germans, Chinese, Romans, French, Russians, Zulus, English, Egyptians, Indians, Japanese, Iroquois, Greeks and now Persians and Babylonians. If previous previews are correct, that should leave a single as yet uncomfirmed civilization to look forward to...
Check out the rest of the thread as well, where Jeff reveals some info on the capabilities of the editor (customised resource requirements, for instance) and puts up an example scenario. Thanks to kassiopeia for the heads-up. -Snapcase
END OF THE WEEK...?
(9 August 2001, 7:18 EST/Civ3) Well, now we know "the Beginning of August" was the correct date for the opening of Civ3.com, the new official Civilization III site being developed in conjunction by Infogrames and Firaxis. As the discussion in the related discussion thread became ever more wild, Dan Magaha took the opportunity to make an announcement:
What a perfect moment to quietly sneak in a mention that I expect the site to launch by the end of the week, barring any 11th hour problems... 
Expect more, much more, within the next few days. Thanks to Solver for the tip. -Snapcase
CHIPS&BITS TOP 10: JULY 28-AUGUST 3, 2001
(9 August 2001, 6:59 EST/Misc) OPERATION FLASHPOINT PC has been tactically inserted into the #1 spot. GRAN TURISMO 3 A-SPEC PS2 remains unchanged at #2. MAX PAYNE PC is just in and is selling at #3 (cool playable slow-mo effects).
1. Operation Flashpoint $39.95
2. Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec PS2 $49.95
3. Max Payne $44.95
4. MechCommander 2 $44.95
5. Championship Manager '00-'01 $34.95
6. Alone in the Dark 4 PS $39.95
7. Diablo II Expansion: Lord of Destruction $32.95
8. Space Empires IV $42.95
9. Total Annihilation Core Contingency $12.95
10. Baldur's Gate II Expansion: Throne of Bhaal $29.95 -MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 8TH, 2001
(9 August 2001, 0:01 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 8th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 1m:28s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 184KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
NO MOUNTAIN-TOP CITIES
(8 August 2001, 15:23 EST/Civ3) Jeff Morris kept it short and simple when he clarified what can and cannot be built on mountain tiles in CivIII.
No cities on mountains. Only fortresses and colonies.
To read all the lead-up, follow-up and perhaps even fallout, see the related forum thread. -DanQ
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 7TH, 2001
(7 August 2001, 21:28 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 7th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 3m:27s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 427KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
APOLYTON STORE OPENS ITS DOORS
(7 August 2001, 18:30 EST/About) We are delighted to finally be in the position to offer you a series of Apolyton products. The Apolyton Store opens its doors with hopefully a variety large enough for your... shopping apettite! The initial "departments" are
- "Default" (the... descriptive series)
- "3 Years Special" (celebrating our 3 years, for limited time only)
- "Classic" (just the logo. simple and nice)
- "Get Civilized" (the first of the slogan series)
- "My words are backed with nuclear weapons" (the best way to make friends)
- "Custom" (the place to order customized versions of any product)
We are not stoping here though. The "I civ therefore I am" and the "You have unleashed a horde of barbarians" t-shirts are coming this week. We hope for your feedback on the forums -MarkG
3 YEARS OF APOLYTON!
(7 August 2001, 18:19 EST/About) As promised, our "3 Years" Special Feature is here. Perhaps shorter than the other years, our focus was on the Apolyton Store which also include "3 Years Special" products(for more see the news above)
We are looking forward to your comments and wishes at the forums, and dont forget the "birthday chat", this Friday, August 10th, 4pm EST.
-MarkG
ACSR DAILY: AUGUST 6TH, 2001
(7 August 2001, 8:43 EST/Misc) The ACSR daily update for August 6th, 2001 is now available for broadcasting live on demand in RealAudio© format. Total running time for this week's installment is 3m:34s.
To listen, you will need the RealPlayer G2+ installed on your system and to avoid buffering/connection timeout issues you need to have a 28.8kbps Internet connection or higher. Should you wish to download the file for later listening, note that the total filesize is 441KB.
To discuss this and another ACSR Daily broadcasts, contact the broadcaster directly or publicly in the forums. -DanQ
CULT JOURNALIST FAVOURITE
(7 August 2001, 8:11 EST/Civ2) Matthew Randazzo IV, an online cult journalist, has revealed his favourite game of all time: Civilization II.
[This game] derives its greatness mostly from its game balance, in the way that its creators carefully built the game to be simple yet endlessly alterable, challenging, and unpredictable. The game is [CivII].
Many years after its initial release, [CivII] is still the best strategy game ever to be released and certainly my favorite game of all time. In the years since, strategy games have grown away from the more contemplative style of the turn-based games into the more frantic real time engines, and the Civilization series itself has continued to evolve, but no game has come close to [CivII]. While more creative, more visually pleasing, and more complicated games have been released, none of them have been able to find the magic game balance of the second [CivI] game.
Our thanks to Guess Who for the news tip. -
