Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Column: #17 -- Unconventional Reality

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  

  • The Column: #17 -- Unconventional Reality

    By Markos Giannopoulos
    November 28th, 1998

    note: This is The Column, a part of Apolyton where mainly Markos and Dan write whatever we want . Well, not just the two of us. The Column is open to everyone. If you feel like writing submit your article to us.

    INTRO

    The last 5-6 months, since we started hearing about CTP, Activision's version of civ, the most discussed new features were the unconventional units, like the Park Ranger and the Lawyer. Many players found these units to be silly or at least unreal. I will try to answer to these "accusations" for some of the units.

    PREVIOUS ARTICLES
    #15 "THE DEBATE"
    Andrew "Hoek" Hoekzema analyzes whether CivII is on its deathbed or not.
    #16 THE ART OF BEING LATE
    Markos tells the stories of the delays of three games
    COLUMN ARCHIVE

    TEXAS, EEER, PARK RANGER

    To those who don't like the new unit, the silliest unit in CTP. Park Ranger looks like a van painted in a 70's fashion, with happy colors, flowers, etc. What it does is quite serious though. Built only by an Ecotopian goverment(almost all of the unconvetional units are goverment specific), it acts as a non-poluting nuclear missile, a city killer. So, it's "silliness" must be on the name and the looks. And since when do civers care about these things? I thought we were centered on gameplay... As for it is realistic or not, I would say that it is as possible as a nuclear missile. And since it is set in the future, clean nuclear missiles are quite possible, isn't it?

    LAW & ORDER

    Another unit that some civers seem to hate, is the Lawyer. The Lawyer is built by a Multinational Corporate gonverment(most probably a futuristic economy-targetted goverment). When it hits a city(it seems that all unconventional units attack cities-you wont see a lawyer attacking a tank) it stops production for a certain number of turns. What is unreal here? Corporate "wars"? Law disputes that take years and cause factories to stop working? Countries helping their own industries?

    BLESS ME FATHER

    Finally, a way to increase your production is the Cleric unit. Built by Theocracy(=Fundamedalism), it converts enemy cities to your religion. Then, a part of the converted cities' shields go to you, and their population will be unhappy if the enemy attacks you. Is the use of religion in politics and economy unreal? I don't think so...

    STILL HATE THEM?

    Since these units will be goverment specific, you can avoid using them by not using these goverments. Further more, most of these units are set in the future, so you'll see them at the end of the game. However, even if you don't use them, you'll have to face them. I'm now wondering how you can stop the effects of the Infector unit, which pollutes the water suply of cities with some sort of disease. The effects may expand through trade routes....

    The opinions expressed on this page doesnt necessarily express Apolyton CS or GameStats.
    It is just the personal opinions of the writer.

      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    • The Column: #20 -- MGE: Why NOT Bother?
      by reismark
      By Reismark I December 19th, 1998 note: This is The Column, a part of Apolyton where mainly Markos and Dan write whatever we want . Well, not just the two of us. The Column is open to everyone. If you feel like writing submit your article to us. The CivII world recently received an enormous boost with the release of MGE. It has been accompanied by both positive and negative feedback. This column published some negative feedback last week; this week, it's time for the positives. ...
      December 18, 2012, 21:03
    • The Column: #19 -- MGE: Why Bother?
      by dracon
      By Dracon December 12th, 1998 note: This is The Column, a part of Apolyton where mainly Markos and Dan write whatever we want . Well, not just the two of us. The Column is open to everyone. If you feel like writing submit your article to us. When I first heard about CivII: MGE, I thought, why bother? I mean, we're talking about a game that came out in '96, and in the gaming world, that's ancient history. MGE is basically Civ2 with multiplayer, big deal! What they should've done is made it an expansion pack. It's using old gaming technology in today's gaming world. I mean, why get MGE, when you can wait a little longer, and get the latest in civilization gaming, SMAC and CTP. Both come with multiplayer, and up-to-date gaming technology. ...
      December 18, 2012, 20:59
    • The Column: #18 -- All I Want For Christmas Is Gaming Goodness
      by DanQ
      By Daniel Quick December 5th, 1998 note: This is The Column, a part of Apolyton where mainly Markos and Dan write whatever we want . Well, not just the two of us. The Column is open to everyone. If you feel like writing submit your article to us. It's what, 7am Christmas morning and you've already raided your stockings, presents, fridge (opps, how'd that get in there? ) and you're already entrenched in your most favourite new toy (forgive this grammar, I'm Canadian eh?). That's right, a computer game! You're all so excited, knowing all the hype the game had received in the months gone by has been well worth your time... the equivlent of the must-have action figure for a 10-year-old. You begin to remember to that cool, autumn day when you far from vaguely hinted to your relatives of a particular game you have been eyeballing forever. And now, it's finally here! You enthusiastically scream "YES!!" at the top of your lungs, which interrupts your neighbours' slumber and they begin to wonder whether the world's newest millionaire is finally moving far, far way... but I digress. ...
      December 18, 2012, 20:49
    • The Column: #17 -- Unconventional Reality
      by MarkG
      By Markos Giannopoulos November 28th, 1998 note: This is The Column, a part of Apolyton where mainly Markos and Dan write whatever we want . Well, not just the two of us. The Column is open to everyone. If you feel like writing submit your article to us. INTRO The last 5-6 months, since we started hearing about CTP, Activision's version of civ, the most discussed new features were the unconventional units, like the Park Ranger and the Lawyer. Many players found these units to be silly or at least unreal. I will try to answer to these "accusations" for some of the units. ...
      December 18, 2012, 20:45
    • The Column: #16 -- The Art Of Being Late
      by MarkG
      By Markos Giannopoulos November 21th, 1998 note: This is The Column, a part of Apolyton where mainly Markos and Dan write whatever we want . Well, not just the two of us. The Column is open to everyone. If you feel like writing submit your article to us. INTRO Waiting for a flight that I never took due to it's excessive delay, I was thinking about the delays of the three games that we're waiting(civ2:mge, smac and ctp) and how we were informed of them. At the end, I found logical reasons for all of the delays, except of my flight's ...
      December 18, 2012, 20:40
    • The Column: #15 -- The Debate
      by Martin Gühmann
      By Andrew Hoekzema November 14th, 1998 note: This is The Column, a part of Apolyton where mainly Markos and Dan write whatever we want . Well, not just the two of us. The Column is open to everyone. If you feel like writing submit your article to us. CivII is now more than 2 1/2 years old, CiC is about 1 1/2 years old, and FW is 1 year old. Many people have argued that the two add-on packs are a waste of money, but I would disagree. Personally, I find scenarios the most interesting aspect of Civilization 2. Both of these add-ons provided very useful tools for scenario designers. The CivII designers created a semi language in order to vastly expand the capabilities of scenario designs, expanded the amount of units and techs available as well as providing plenty of good graphics and handy editors for scenario designers to use. But I can see why people think that FW and CiC were just wastes. ...
      December 18, 2012, 20:34
    Working...
    X