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BACK ATOP AVAULT `TOP 10`
(3 February 2003, 17:49 | MoO3) After a one week slide into second place, Master of Orion III has returned to the top of the "Top 10 Most Searched After Products" listing on The Adrenaline Vault for the week of January 26-February 1, 2003. The announcement was made earlier today by AVault`s Brian Clair.
Up to and including two weeks ago, MoO3 was first in the said rankings for six consecutive weeks. Fellow Infogrames title Unreal II`s standing remains unchanged over last week at number two, with Strategy First`s Hearts of Iron in third. Stardock Systems` Galactic Civilizations, which placed one spot behind MoO3 last week, slid to ninth position.
MoO3 is set for commercial availability by February 25th [related story], approximately one month before GalCiv. - DanQ
BROADCAST ABOUT MACSOFT SALE
(3 February 2003, 17:40 | Misc) The weekly Macintosh gaming radio program "The Gamesome Mac" (TGM) will be talking with Al Schilling, the Senior Product Manager of MacSoft, about the label`s acquisition by Destineer Studios announced late last week [see story]. Schilling has been with MacSoft since shortly after its founding a decade ago by Mac gaming magnate Peter Tamte.
The said program can be heard on Mondays from 6-8PM Pacific Time/9-11PM Eastern Time. You can tune in live from TGM`s website where you`ll also find complete archives of past broadcasts. QuickTime 5 or 6 and a 28kbps or faster Internet connection are required for the live stream.
Thanks to InsideMacGames for the news tip. - DanQ
COMMUNITY: CIV.ORG.PL LAUNCH
(3 February 2003, 11:01 | Misc) Civilization fansites CivGuild (CG) and Civilizowana (CZ) have merged into one site, Civ.org.pl (C-O-P), offering both English and Polish versions of its content. C-O-P covers in alphabetcial order: Civilization II, Civilization III, Freeciv, Alpha Centauri and what is being collective refered to as "Other Civ". Plans for additional game coverage include the Call To Power series.
Thanks to LoD, co-founder/administrator of the said newly amalgamated site, for the news tip. Kratylos is the other co-founder/administrator. LoD and Kratylos were the former owners/administrators of CG and CZ respectively. - DanQ
BRAD WARDELL INTERVIEW, PART 2
(3 February 2003, 00:54 | GalCiv | 10 comments) Brad Wardell is the Project Lead on Galactic Civilizations, set for release March 25th of this year. He is also the Founder and President of Stardock Systems, the company that has employed a dozen full-time staff for the past one-and-a-half years developing the follow-up to its original game release of the same name in 1994. This single-player, turn-based strategy game set in outer space is being published by Montreal-based Strategy First.
In the second of a three-part interview with Apolyton CS, Wardell first compares and contrasts GalCiv to Master of Orion III. He then discusses: the bane of both micromanagement and critical mass, the mechanisms through which to encourage the development of Modification (MOD) Packs, Stardock`s unique approach to beta testing and the difficulty in composing his career highlights to date.
A part of this one-on-one dialogue will be published every Monday up until and including February 10th. Comments are welcome in the forums. - DanQ
`RONH`: TURKS THIS WEEK
(2 February 2003, 21:50 | RoN) Rise of Nations Heaven`s One_Dead_Angel took a look at the Turkish civilization this week in the site`s ongoing weekly feature highlighting the history of the various peoples represented in Rise of Nations. The piece also covers the recorded history of the Turkish people. An excerpt:
[T]he primary way to win the game is to capture cities, and this is where the Turks shine. [They look] to be the ideal middle game civ[ilization], having both of their unique units around the Gunpowder and Enlightenment ages, but in fact may just be the optimal offensive civ[ilization]. [..]
[For instance,] they have two ages where they have their unique units which doesn`t depend on beating other people to that age to win. Their Janissary units can stand toe to toe with other units in those ages, and their siege weapons out class anyone else`s in any age. Particularly interesting are their extra long range and powerful siege weapons, and their faster city assimilation ability. [..]
Overall the Turks should try to get to the gunpowder age as quickly as possible. [..] This is in order to be able to attack in force as soon as the Gunpowder age is reached. This is also necessary to prevent being harassed in the early game, so that they can develop a strong economy.
The Turks` light infantry and artillery line make up the complete profile of their unique units in RoN; also included in the end-of-article summary are the nation`s unique powers, including 50% cheaper military technologies researched in Libraries. - DanQ
NEWEST `CGW` PREVIEW ONLINE
(2 February 2003, 21:36 | RoN) Computer Gaming World (CGW) has updated their main website with the Rise of Nations preview that appears in the March, 2003 issue of their magazine. Writes CGM staff writer George Jones.
By upping the decision-making ante, streamlining the tedious, and borrowing heavily from Sid Meier`s Civilization, former Meier cohort Brian Reynolds and his designers at Big Huge Games are on to something, well, huge. Judging by an early beta CGW has been playing for weeks, [the said company`s RoN] appears to be on the verge of absolutely nailing the real-time strategy sweet spot in a way very few games have accomplished.
Moreover, Jones adds in his closing paragraph that when the game ships, it will likely be the most entertainingly complex, multi-dimensional real-time strategy game gamers have ever seen. New screenshots are also included alongside the one-page article. - DanQ
