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SO YOU WANT, EEER, HMMM, PBEM/HOTSEAT?
(1 December 2000, 17:40 | CtP2) Well, one thing you do is check this thread.... 
- MarkG
TUCOWS: BRIEF BUT POSITIVE
(1 December 2000, 12:02 | CtP2) Amidst several reviews shouting gloom and doom about Activision's sequel to C:CTP, Tucows -- perhaps more known for being if not the oldest as the largest network on the Internet for shareware and freeware file distribution -- is touting CTPII as the most minutly detailed and largest scope strategy game ever. Reviewer kid Icarus Is nothing short of satisifed with it. While it may be difficult to extrapolate just how much this Tucows staffer likes the game, he liked it enough to give it a respectable 4 Cow rating.
Although very short on description and perhaps at best made up of one paragraph of opinion, Icarus suggests that CTPII maybe the modern equivalent of Japanese Bonsai trees.
You can control the growth and shape of it, you have to tend to its health, and you keep it over a long period of time, attempting to make it grow in the direction you want. [CTPII] is infinitely more detailed than gardening, however, with enough options, problems, tasks, and scope to make you stand back in awe. - DanQ
LOW GRADE FROM PCGWEB
(1 December 2000, 11:49 | CtP2) Another primarily negative review of CTPII has surfaced, and this one is from PCGamer Web whose reviewer Mark Tan really doesn't want to sit through another round of Call to Power II right now. That said, Tan starts out on a positive note:
When you first play the game you'll notice that, in contrast to the original, this game is actually playable. The user interface to the original game was one of the most atrocious pieces of UI design I have ever see. The new designs are much more intuitive than the original and any gamer who is ever played any of the earlier Civilization games should immediately feel comfortable with the interface.
From interface, PCGWeb moves onto a commentary on the game's graphics from their perspective.
Just as with the overhaul of the user interface, the graphics engine has also been completely overhauled to make the game more aesthetically pleasing. With its revamped engine, [CTPII] definitely succeeds on this front and is substantially better than the original.
Towards the middle of the review, when Tan starts to examine CTPII's diplomacy element, his general favourtism begins to waver.
However, any game that bases itself on a diplomatic concept begs to be compared to Alpha Centauri. When this comparison is made, [this game] ultimately falls short. He says that despite the flexibility in making proposals, it appears that the evaluation of these proposals is far too simplistic making you sometimes feel cheated by the game.
The conclusion offers a solemn prelude to what Tan ultimately grades the game when he starts off by saying that it seems that [CTPII] is simply too little, too late. While it is substantially better than its predecessor, in comparision with some of the established leaders in strategy games, [CTPII] falls glaringly short and if you're looking to purchase a new strategy game and that your money would probably be better spent elsewhere.
PCGWeb blows the game off with a 6.5 overall rating. On a final note, the screenshots look quite familiar for some reason... - DanQ
MR OGRE`S PW MOD, ZULU UNITS
(1 December 2000, 03:13 | CtP2) A couple days ago we posted a solution from Mr Ogre to always have a minimum of PW reserve not used by Mayors. Mr Ogre also made this a small modpack, named "PW Mod"(16kb). From the scenario.txt:
This Mod will cause mayors to not use any public works when the level is under 5000, but does not affect AI players.
Btw, for those of you who would like to add the zulu units from EBWorld(instead of using the package which replaces the Hoplite and the Archer), we have the spr and tga files(944kb) availiable.
Our ctp2 downloads database will be opening soon... - MarkG
STRATEGIES AND GOALS
(1 December 2000, 03:03 | CtP2) Replying to a mail from us about the ai files, Activision's Azmel explained some things about how the AI makes decisions. Some quotes:
For every goal type record in Goals.txt, there is a corresponding entry in one or more of the strategy records in strategies.txt. Each GoalElement specifies (for that particular strategy) what the priority is for performing a particular goal relative to other goals...
...In general, goals execute from highest to lowest priority. The defense goal type usually has the highest priority so that units will be assigned to defend cities first, and then assigned to seige cities and perform other goals.
Check the related forum thread for the whole thing. - MarkG
GAMEPEN REVIEW: 2 1/2 STARS
(1 December 2000, 00:04 | CtP2) The latest review of CTPII is in: GamePen's.
Reviewer Jonah Falcon says that while the game does have its ups -- pretty graphics, interesting interface, good diplomacy, tile advancement -- it has just as many or perhaps more downs -- buggy, tedious trade system, limited strategy, bottlenecked advances, awful balance. When all is said and done, Falcon is clearly not impressed.
Someday in the future, probably sometime in 2002, Civilization III will come out, and hopefully, it will end this tiresome string of Civilization-type games that have been foisted on the strategy gamer, he writes. Alas, until then, we'll have games like [CTPII] foisted on us.
All in all, Call to Power 2 is a game that will be quickly forgotten. It's cheesy, shortsighted, and only provides a week or two of enjoyment while [CivIII] is anxiously awaited. Granted [CTPII]is its own entity, and comparing it to Civilization isn't fair, really... Playing Call to Power 2, though, only makes much more clear what genius Civilization II and Alpha Centauri truly are.
The three page review is also accompained by several screenshots. Our thanks to the reviewer himself for letting us know of its availability. - DanQ
