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PTW INTERSITE GAME APOLYTON TEAM GETS NEW CONSUL
(7 June 2004, 18:04 | Civ3 | 16 comments) After serving as a Consul for the Apolyton team in the PTW Intersite Democracy Game for almost six months, Trip resigned from the position of Consul just two weeks before the end of his second term. He cited commitments and decreased "internet access" in another dimension he called "Real Life". The Apolyton team wishes him good luck in his endeavors.
Initially, it seemed there would be one election to replace him for two weeks, then another for the next 3-month term, as the Constitution dictates. However, Kloreep proposed an amendment to the Constitution to have only one, early election in the case of a Consul resigning so close to the end of his term; it passed. Kloreep was the only one to run for the term, and was approved in a yes/no vote. - MarkG
`ACSR WEEKLY`: JUNE 6TH, 2004
(6 June 2004, 14:44 | Misc) The June 6th, 2004 edition of Apolyton Civilization Site Radio`s "ACSR Weekly" is now available for broadcasting live on-demand.
Encoded in RealAudio format, total length is 14m:39s. - DanQ
ANOTHER POSITIVE PRINT REVIEW OF ADD-ON
(5 June 2004, 22:58 | RoN) According to an index of reviews for Rise of Nations expansion Thrones and Patriots managed by Game Rankings, GMR Magazine (GMR) awarded the said title an 8/10 or 80% equivalent in its July, 2004 issue.
If you can provide an excerpt or two from the article, including the name of the reviewer, please contact the Apolyton News Department. - DanQ
TAKING ON ELLIS: INTERVIEW
(4 June 2004, 22:33 | RoN) The transcript of Rise of Nations Heaven`s (RoNH) sit-down interview with Big Huge Games (BHG) progammer/designer Ike Ellis was published today on the fansite. The title of conversation: Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots, the first expansion pack for RoN. [I] got to Big Huge after I went to school at the University of Kansas, the game industry employee begins. There I got a computer engineering degree, and in the process did an internship at Intel and met a couple people who work here, computer graphics guys. After I got out of school they said, "Hey, we`ve got a new company; come work, let`s make some games!"
Topics include Ellis` work on the `Conquer the World` scenarios, bugs in the marketing beta of the add-on and who is the best RoN player on the BHG staff. It`s not [Community Relations Manager] Graham [Somers], unfortunately. Graham is certainly one of the top players. Six months ago I would have told you it was John Hawkins. Now it`s either John Hawkins or Jhon Restrepo. [..] Hawkins learned to play when we hired him as a balance tester, but he was too good so we made him a scenario designer. Socvazius from HeavenGames (HG), RoNH`s parent network, asks the programmer for his advice on those looking to follow his footsteps.
Think of it this way: there are [fifty] people out there with computer engineering or software engineering degrees. How will BHG know who are the ones who didn`t coast through their programs, who are those who can come in and solve the problem for us. In my case, I made a demo, a pathfinding demo, something in 3[D] with stupid little spheres, goofy terrain and stuff. [..] As a program for designers, really the best thing to do is go through test, internships in playtesting. Very few people hire entry-level designers except as level designers; they might get hired just as good game players. When we did hire our entry-level people, it was as game players in the playtest department.
Small talk rounds out the conversation including Ellis` coffee preference and cola war side taker. Half-a-dozen photos of the BHG worker are intermixed throughout the text, and three of the RoNH/HG interviewers themselves. - DanQ
SECOND EXPANSION GOES GOLD
(3 June 2004, 22:02 | GalCiv) The second Galactic Civilizations expansion pack Altarian Prophecy has officially gone gold on time [see related stories]. Developer Stardock Systems President and AP Project Lead Brad "Frogboy" Wardell published a press release to this effect on the add-on`s official website. He himself is quoted as saying:
Our goal with this expansion pack was not just to add new content to [GalCiv] but add in the kinds of features and tools that would give the game, as a whole, a new lease on replayability. What we wanted to do is ensure that the game had a long term lifespan by enabling the fans of the game themselves to extend the game on their own. That said, we also wanted to add in a host of new features and content that had been asked for by players.
AP, confirmed for a June 15th, 2004 release, can be purchased on CD or via an electronic download from Stardock`s Drengin.net service. A retail version of the game should be available later this summer along with a bundle of the original game and the expansion pack to be titled "Galactic Civilizations Gold", the company document adds. - DanQ
ORIGINAL IN `TOP 20`, BUT NOT ADD-ON
(2 June 2004, 21:40 | RoN) For the month of April, 2004, Rise of Nations placed fourteenth in NPD Group`s "Top 20 Best Selling PC Games" index while expansion pack Thrones and Patriots does not make an appearance. RoN settles in between Drop JC in thirteenth and Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection in fifteenth. City Of Heroes took first.
The full listing can be found on HomeLan Fed amongst other gaming sites. - DanQ
