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C:CTP Release Party; March 30th, 1999

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  • C:CTP Release Party; March 30th, 1999

    Note on the nicknames: in orange are the nicks of the members of the CTP team: William Westwater (Pinkbelly), Richard Myers (Azmel), Jason Feffer (Necro), Joe Rumsey (mrogre), Karl Meissner (tweaker), Jeff Matsu****a (Toki), Cecilia Barajas (CMB), Stephanie O'Malley (Marley) and John Heinecke (LTJohn). In black is the operator, Markos Giannopoulos (MarkG) and the rest of the people who asked questions on the unmoderated part of the chat.

    *** MarkG sets mode: +m
    [Necro] AfterGlow: You cannot "buy/bribe" a city to join you, however, you can spend gold to incite a revolution in a foriegn city.
    [MarkG] The channel is now moderated
    [Necro] It's very difficult and expensive, which avoids the Civ2 cheese
    [tweaker] all the governments can do it
    [MarkG] only operators(me) and people of the development team can talk
    [MarkG] you can send me questions with private messages
    [Necro] Jerms: Any government can complete the Alien Life Project, which is one of 3 ways to win the game.
    [MarkG] lets start with the names
    [tweaker] some gernments are better at build some at war

    [MarkG] Azmel?can you start
    [Azmel] Sure, I'm Richard Myers and I worked on the AI, mostly behavioral stuff
    [Pinkbelly] William Westwater, Lead Designer
    [Necro] Jason Feffer, Game Designer.
    [mrogre] Joe Rumsey, programmer
    [tweaker] karl meissner ai programmer
    [Toki] Jeff Matsu****a, Associate Producer-- Localizations
    [CMB] Cecilia Barajas, director
    [Marley] Stephanie O'Malley, Associte Producer/Asset Manager
    [MarkG] I think everyone answered...
    [MarkG] Lets start with the hot question of the day: what's going with the map and scenario editors, as well as included maps and scenarios
    [Necro] Answer formulating...
    [Pinkbelly] We focused on the single player game -- random map. That's the heart of the game and we felt it deserved all of our attention.
    [Pinkbelly] Now that we've really honed it, we're moving onto scenarios.
    [CMB] However, we are putting up a map editor on line within days.
    [Pinkbelly] The great thing about our design was how extensible it is. We already have the framework for great scenarios, we just need the sleep to create them.
    [MarkG] along with the map editor will there be premade maps?
    [MarkG] an earth map?
    [Pinkbelly] You should see the map editor any time from our web site. For multiplayer games, this will add a lot of fun right away.
    [Pinkbelly] Yes.
    [Pinkbelly] How's it going Necro -- finished America?
    [CMB] We are preparing an earth map which should be available soon.
    [MarkG] how about the scenario editor?
    [MarkG] what kind of scenarios will there be?
    [Necro] America is just part of the world I'm making...it looks something like Earth
    [CMB] We are going to be working soon on scenarios and hope to be able to provide them in the near future.'
    [Pinkbelly] The scenario editor is next after the map editor.
    [Pinkbelly] In house though, we're already working on scenarios. No promise on any dates though, I'm afraid.
    [CMB] People are taking a some vacation days (what a concept!) so it may take a little while for the scenarios.
    [MarkG] well, if we you have the editor ready, we wont you making any
    [Pinkbelly] Huh?
    [Necro] You will be able to make scenarios to share online with others for both single/multiplayer
    [MarkG] the fans will start making scenarios, therefore...
    [Pinkbelly] We you are happy sad.
    [MarkG] Speaking of scenarios...
    [Pinkbelly] The fans are usually the most inspired designers out there. We love em.
    [Pinkbelly] Again?
    [Necro] I know some, like Icedan, will enjoy that
    [MarkG] Is there a scripting language or somthing like that?
    [Pinkbelly] There is a very powerful scripting language.
    [MarkG] can you be more specific?
    [MarkG] what kind of events can you have?
    [MarkG] also something about the map editor
    [MarkG] [AfterGlow] In Civ2 the random map generator was just that - there would be a few squares of swamp or mountain or something but no real mountain ranges or large deserts etc. Has this been addressed in CTPs RMG?
    [Necro] Yes. THere is a concerted effort to allow for homogenous or diverse terrain. That is adjustable in the settings
    [tweaker] there are several parameters that can be set in the map gerator
    [Pinkbelly] The ranodm map generator has a lot of power and gives very earthlike worlds to very strange, permutations of land or water.
    [Pinkbelly] You can play water world or dune for instance.
    [Necro] You just can't play Dune2, that's another game.
    [Pinkbelly] And you can't see the movie waterworld.
    [MarkG] a big question is also modification...
    [MarkG] there's a lot of text files
    [MarkG] and we're happy with it!
    [MarkG] but what about graphics?
    [Pinkbelly] The whole game is defined through text files... you can change just about anything and even make new Wonders.
    [tweaker] a lot of text file - they all get slurped up at run time
    [Necro] There are 6 settings for RMG
    [tweaker] new unit
    [tweaker] flying tank bunnies no problem
    [Pinkbelly] The text files allow you to set different sprites and other art -- but you'd have to make it on your own.
    [MarkG] How can we make our own sprites for units?
    [Necro] You may even make farm animals....
    [MarkG] or cows is fred here?
    [Pinkbelly] Generating answer....
    [Necro] Can't you all just ask the simple questions, eh?
    [Necro]
    [MarkG] hmm no
    [MarkG] here's one
    [MarkG] [TheHobbit] do you think that naming canadian male tribe pierre elliot trudeau is some kind of a disgrace for quebec people ?
    [Necro] Like, is it fun? (Yes!) Is it worth the $$$? (Of course!)
    [tweaker] about the sprites
    [MarkG] Btw, how did you come up with Cuba and Nigeria?
    [tweaker] you need to have the art in our game format
    [Pinkbelly] There's a makesprite tool that we use -- eventually I suspect it will make its way onto the internet ;][/B]
    [mrogre] We're hoping Fidel will send us some cigars for including him.
    [MarkG] An Jamaica?
    [CMB] In terms of representing the civilizations, we picked nations to try and fairly represent the world. But I know that we will offend every nation that we didn't include.
    [Azmel] I like that jamaica can rule the world
    [CMB] You can always make up your own leader's name of course.
    [Pinkbelly] I want world domination -- and sun and maryjane.
    [Azmel] Lets people create alternate realities
    [MarkG] Also, personalities are set randomly, why?
    [tweaker] the rise of the aztecs
    [MarkG] Mongols are not always militaristic...
    [tweaker] might make a fun mission
    [Pinkbelly] Personalities aren't random. They are locked onto the civ leaders.
    [MarkG] I mean that they are set in the begining of the game
    [MarkG] right?
    [tweaker] yes
    [mrogre] The civilizations you're up against are picked randomly, but each civilization has two leaders, one male, one female, and each of those leaders always has the same personality.
    [Pinkbelly] Everytime you play against a specific leader -- i.e. Ceasar -- you'll encounter the same personality -- it is the same guy afterall.
    [Pinkbelly] Or gal.
    [tweaker] some are peaceful
    [tweaker] some are sneaky
    [tweaker] some wil nuke you at the drop of a hat
    [MarkG] strange, I thought they were random....
    [tweaker] the civs are picked at random
    [tweaker] at start game
    [Necro] Nope. Set personalities.
    [MarkG] Anyway, how smarter is the AI?
    [Necro] Very.
    [MarkG] what kind of things does he "in a smart way"?
    [Necro] Better than your grammar.
    [Pinkbelly] Super smart. Very. Quite. Rather.
    [tweaker] they like to use stealth units
    [tweaker] they will sneak into your backfield
    [tweaker] while youare at war
    [tweaker] and enslave and kidnap your workers
    [tweaker] you might think you are safe on you little island
    [tweaker] but your are not
    [MarkG] That kinds of answers it...
    [MarkG] Does it cheat?
    [tweaker] they will send their navy to sink your fisheries
    [MarkG] tell the truth
    [tweaker] formulating answer
    [CMB] The AI has some disadvantages on the lower levels and some advantages on the higher levels.
    [Pinkbelly] The ai plays competitively. Overall, it knows less than you do.
    [MarkG] it knows less than you do?
    [Pinkbelly] For instance, you can see "under" the fog of war once you know how the tiles blend together. The AI can't take advantage of this.
    [CMB] Truthfully the goal of our game is to be fun --so if giving the AI some (very few) benefits on higher levels makes the game more fun, my philosophy is go for it.
    [tweaker] but on the lower lever we hanicap the AI
    [CMB] We may burn in hell but at least we'll have had fun getting there.
    [tweaker] umm levels
    [Pinkbelly] But it isn't fun to play against a player that knows very little. You want a competitive, challanging game. So, we give the AI help whereever it would make the game more fun.
    [Necro] Which of you humans don't cheat and restart after bad battle results?
    [Azmel] the AI sometimes has more information or advantages, but does not exploit this information as a player would to cheat
    [MarkG] ok... how much can a simple fan go into the AI?
    [MarkG] what can someone change easily?
    [Azmel] the "cheats" give it some of the context that humans have anyway
    [tweaker] you change the AI text rules
    [tweaker] the rules shape the strategy of the ai
    [tweaker] what it thinks are important
    [tweaker] they a load from text files at run time
    [tweaker] change them and you chang the ai
    [MarkG] I've seen some files about diplomacy for example...
    [tweaker] yep
    [tweaker] most of the dip system is really in the text files
    [MarkG] hoe mad he gets if is rejected and something like that..
    [tweaker] it weights what the AI will say yes too
    [tweaker] how much does like or dislike you for doing something to it
    [tweaker] also the AI is a COM object
    [Azmel] You can change the files to create an AI with a particular strategy you like (ie. slaver)
    [tweaker] not sure if we will release the headers
    [MarkG] com object?
    [tweaker] yes the build lists
    [tweaker] a COM object is a seperate program
    [tweaker] from the main executable
    [tweaker] so in theory
    [tweaker] somebody could write a whoe new ai with out changing the main game
    [tweaker] but you would need a lot of spare time ;-)
    [MarkG] final question on AI from me : in what language?
    [Pinkbelly] The text files are all civ-lingo.
    [MarkG] and then we go to multiplayer...
    [Pinkbelly] We parse them into the engine when the game begins.
    [MarkG] so, the main choice for multiplayer is internet
    [Pinkbelly] We also built the scenario with a powerful language we call SLIC.
    [Pinkbelly] Ooop. I mean tutorial.
    [MarkG] someone asked about combatibility between windows and linux versions...
    [mrogre] Yes, we support internet, IPX, and TCP LAN. Internet uses our ActivLink servers which have been in use for many other activision games and are quite stable by now.
    [Azmel] btw, to answer markg about languages, the AI (and any COM replacement) would be in C++
    [MarkG] [Atahualpa] Can we use SLIC too?
    [tweaker] yes
    [mrogre] There will be a patch released for the windows version that makes it compatible with the linux version in networking. That should be released before the Linux version actually ships, so that shouldn't be a problem for anyone.
    [MarkG] I think modem to modem is not included. will it?
    [Pinkbelly] No modem to modem. But, modem - to internet - to modem -- is just fine.
    [mrogre] SLIC is usable by all. I'm hoping to put together some documentation on it, but the tutorial is a pretty darn good example of most of the features.
    [MarkG] thanks for the slic answer
    [MarkG] are quick mp games possible?
    [Necro] Yes.
    [Pinkbelly] Yes.
    [MarkG] 30-60 minutes games?
    [Pinkbelly] You can start at different ages to speed the game.
    [MarkG] will you be releaseing special scenarios for mp?
    [mrogre] There are several things that speed up network games. My favorite is the ability to start with 9 settlers. On a small map, that's a pretty quick recipe for mayhem.
    [Necro] We were very intent on allowing for this type of game, and longer games that will last hours. Players can also save MP games to continue them later.
    [Pinkbelly] Also, once the map editor is out, you'll have no problem setting up bloodbath games.
    [tweaker] or go with an all land map
    [Pinkbelly] Try small, land maps for the fastest play.
    [tweaker] and lots of blood
    [mrogre] You can also start out with a lot of gold and buy a bunch of stuff early on
    [MarkG] CIv2 had ddouble pruduction and double speed for units
    [MarkG] have you thought of using something like that?
    [tweaker] i am very curious what people will like the most
    [MarkG] nice question: [Big] are there mp cheats?
    [tweaker] that would change the way the games plays
    [tweaker] i think i prefer changing the start conditions
    [mrogre] Well, we don't have double production, but when you start in later ages, your cities get some buildings (factories for example, depending on what age) when they are first built.
    [mrogre] There are no MP cheats.
    [Necro] Though, players may "team up" and share technology/maps/gold to fight vs AI or other players in MP
    [tweaker] alliances are key
    [tweaker] you can team with ai guys in a MP game through diplomacy
    [mrogre] You can start different players with different amounts of gold and/or settlers at the beginning of the game, but everyone knows who's getting what before the game starts. Generally I think people will start everyone on equal footing though.
    [MarkG] [itoito12] What about cheating with memory editors/lockers in multiplayer?
    [MarkG] [War_] can allies purposely attack each other and remain allies?
    [tweaker] it depends - not if they are ai
    [tweaker] but there several kinds of 'attacks'
    [tweaker] some do not always mean all out war
    [tweaker] being an ally does not prevent you from back stabbing
    [tweaker] you sneaky bastard
    [mrogre] Actually modifying anything in memory will almost certainly throw the game out of synch, causing it to be resynchronized. I obviously can't stop people from editing memory, but I hope I've made it nearly impossible to do any useful editing without being detected.
    [tweaker] of course then he will hate you
    [Necro] Sometimes attacking your ally with special attacks can benefit him, like selling indulgences to keep his people happy.
    [MarkG] someone asked about units in mp
    [tweaker] or throwing parties
    [MarkG] you can turn some of them off, right?
    [MarkG] or wonders?
    [mrogre] Yes, you can selectively turn off units, wonders, and buildings (city improvements) in multiplayer.
    [MarkG] ok, changing topic....
    [MarkG] you seem to have followed another route on what an advance is and what a wonder is...
    [Pinkbelly] How so?
    [MarkG] the best example is contraception and stirrup
    [tweaker] clarify?
    [MarkG] well, some say that contraception as a wonder sounds silly
    [tweaker] it changed all of society
    [tweaker] we live differently because of it
    [MarkG] still, it is not in the "original civ style"
    [MarkG] whatever that means...
    [tweaker] hmmm
    [MarkG] could it be that you changed too much?
    [Pinkbelly] We look at the impact that it has had on society and it is hard to say that it's not important to modern life.
    [tweaker] much of the game is examining and thinking about history
    [MarkG] oh, and the big complaint is that the "real" wondeers of the world are missing, like Pyramids...
    [tweaker] is a statue aka the colusss really affecting history?
    [tweaker] it was more of a symbol
    [tweaker] of a society that
    [MarkG] [Iron_Will] A wonder should be something that a civilization as a whole makes large efforts collectively towards completing.
    [Pinkbelly] We're proud of the new game that we've made. We wanted this to have a distinct feel and yet feel familiar as well.
    [tweaker] could do something that grand and complex
    [tweaker] so it gave you more trade
    [Pinkbelly] That's a good point, MarkG. But some of the Wonders we included cover changes in the way your society thinks.
    [MarkG] [eggman] a wonder is something that one civ makes and the others go...wow...how WONDERful
    [Pinkbelly] For instance, Emancipation is about more than physical freedom -- it is about the belief that no one should be enslaved anywhere, ever.
    [MarkG] [PrecursoR] but wouldn't contraception be classed as an advancement? like gunpowder in civ2?
    [Pinkbelly] So Wonders can be more than a physcial object -- they can be a whole mindset that takes years for your people to adjust to and that profoundly changes the way that they view their lives.
    [MarkG] [Big] how were the future wonders decided?
    [Necro] Gunpowder didn't change many lives....
    [Necro] Bullets did!
    [Pinkbelly] Contraception is an interesting case -- it depends both on technology and on a cultural understanding. Before 1920, contraception was illegal in the US for instance, not because of technological factors though.
    [MarkG] and speaking of future wonders, how did you come up with the future advances and units?
    [Necro] We used a crystal ball.
    [Pinkbelly] We did lots of reading and dreaming.
    [MarkG] examples of reading?
    [Pinkbelly] I won't say where, but I think you can see the influence of some of the greatest sci-fi writers of the last fifty years in the wonders that we created.
    [MarkG] ok, end of topic I think....
    [MarkG] how much should CTP get on PCGamer?
    [MarkG] just saw LtJohn
    [LTJohn] I'm back
    [LTJohn] We sent PC Gamer lots of $$$ so we should get a good score
    [LTJohn] Just kidding
    [Pinkbelly] Our beta in the UK got a 92. What does that say about our final game...
    [MarkG] do these ratings care for you?
    [MarkG] define success
    [Pinkbelly] My wife won't talk to me if I don't get at least a 95.
    [MarkG] that's one!
    [tweaker] if they dont give us a good score my mom will be on the phone the next day
    [MarkG] ok,ok, speaking of beta, what did you change during the last delay?
    [MarkG] what kind of feedback did the last 100 beta testers sent you?
    [Necro] We made it better. Cleaned up a lot of bugs, balanced the game and made the AI smarter.
    [Pinkbelly] We have a saying, "Polish is everything." The last delay gave us the chance to take this game from fun to outstanding.
    [Azmel] I don't care so much about the score as the review; when people know what's in the game I think they'll want to play, and will like what they play
    [MarkG] here goes my only personal complaint...
    [Pinkbelly] Fire away.
    [MarkG] there are negotations during diplomacy
    [tweaker] yes...
    [MarkG] there are not negotations during diplomacy
    [tweaker] you have the options to ask severl different requests
    [MarkG] you reject a peace treaty and the ai doesnt beg for mercy
    [Necro] Actually, you can negotiate by rejecting their Demand for, say 1000 Gold, but then Offering them 500 Gold. If they accept, that is ngotiations.
    [MarkG] ymm I supppose yes
    [MarkG] but this happens during several turns not instantly...
    [Pinkbelly] We felt there was a tension in the diplomacy between too much back and forth and too little.
    [tweaker] also there is the save load cheat
    [Necro] You can also negotiate with the AI for Goods to trade by setting a price, then AI will ask at a different price. You can then accept of lower your price to a new one.
    [Pinkbelly] For some, we may have too little now -- but we wanted to keep the game clean and easy to play. If you felt that you had to renegotiate every deal, you'd be saving and loading all the time. That's not so fun.
    [MarkG] [Atahualpa] yes, ask them about the power of the reputation or does it not matter whether you are a ruthless emperor or a peaceful one?
    [tweaker] you would just find out what the would agree to and load 1 turn ago
    [Pinkbelly] In fact, in our early tests, the AI was much more active diplomatically -- and people said that they wanted more control and less input from the AI.
    [Necro] It does matter. You have a reputation that you have earned that will affect diplomacy and trade.
    [Pinkbelly] Don't break your word a lot.
    [MarkG] how can you know your reputations?
    [tweaker] be nice to strangers
    [Necro] Killing settlers then asking for gold contributions or advances isn't a good strategy...
    [MarkG]
    [MarkG] [Atahualpa] Can, according to your reputation, the rest of the world unite and go for you?
    [Necro] The Diplomacy system shows Civ's attitudes toward each other.
    [MarkG] what happens if start nuking everyone or if you break a long term alliance?
    [Necro] Yes, Atahualpa. The AI does pay attention to reputation and strength. Very much so if someone is killing all others.
    [Pinkbelly] That all depends on whether you are also a threat. If you're just a weak mean guy, that's not so dangerous.
    [Pinkbelly] If you're the strongest though, and people know that you like to start wars -- watch out!
    [Necro] And if you're the weakest, some will have sympathy for you, while others may be after your blood!
    [MarkG] [Atahualpa] So, the AI can recognize you as a global threat and therefore gather together and beat you up?
    [MarkG] [eggman] are there pacts in this game that the AI sets against you?
    [Necro] yup.
    [Pinkbelly] This is true...
    [tweaker] your friends may send you gifts if you are in trouble
    [Azmel] The AI's do perform diplomacy between themselves and one might be a pact to wipe you a player (or other AI)
    [Necro] Yes, Eggman. All Civs can make Pacts to Attack another Civ.
    [MarkG] [Icedan] Do the the opponents build up massive armies and attack? Or do they attack as CivII did, unit by unit?
    [Pinkbelly] They do both depending on the personality and the circumstances.
    [Azmel] The AI does build up armies before attacking, stacking is very important in this game
    [MarkG] [voracius] what if your reputation is spottless but you are the most powerful nation. Do the AIs gang up on you like in Civ, SMAC?
    [Necro] Massive armies are very important. It is unlikely to win unit-by-unit. THe new combat system uses numbers and stacks, and teh AI pays attention to this.
    [Pinkbelly] It does make a difference.
    [tweaker] of course this may leave another area undefended
    [Necro] Spotless Civs cannot sneak on to victory. Other Civs will see the threat of a runaway Civ and decide to slow it down by forming alliances to attack it.
    [Pinkbelly] But don't think that you're impervious if you keep your word -- they're just a little more respectful. In the end, it is every AI for himself.
    [tweaker] then you can send in the stealth units to create havoc
    [MarkG] [Big] where did the stacking idea come from?
    [MarkG] [War_] if a certain ai civ has bad reputation, will other ai civs distrust it and gang up on it depending on the situation?
    [Pinkbelly] We wanted to speed the game when you started getting big armies.
    [Pinkbelly] Stacking helps by encouraging you to put all your troops together and move them at once.
    [Necro] We saw stacking as an important part of strategy and gameplay. It makes massive fronts more impressive and allows D-Day type invasions.
    [Pinkbelly] Who wants to move 100 separate units anyway.
    [tweaker] the game is pretty long already
    [Azmel] having ranged units in back of infantry style units adds an interesting element to army creation too
    [MarkG] so, trying to finish the chat... what kind of machine do you need for 32 civs?
    [LTJohn] A Cray works well
    [tweaker] lots o' memory
    [tweaker] no it is not that bad
    [tweaker] every ai takes memory
    [MarkG] which is better, cpu or momory in this case?
    [MarkG] memory...
    [tweaker] 8 will work on our target machines
    [tweaker] in an acceptable amount of time
    [MarkG] who cares about target machines
    [tweaker] have 32 civs works just slower then we like
    [MarkG] ok, what's your plans after the map/scenario editors?
    [MarkG] and after vacations?
    [Necro] Play games
    [Pinkbelly] We plan to rule the world.
    [MarkG] expansions packs?
    [tweaker] we have an evil plan
    [tweaker] mwahahahha
    [CMB] we are still working on the plan of whether we'll do expansion packs.
    [MarkG] final question the we will go to unmoderated for a couple minutes before we close
    [MarkG] any news about the mac port?
    [tweaker] you guys will know when we make the annoucement
    [MarkG] the linux one is going out on april 26...
    [CMB] Here's the word -- MacSoft has licensed the rights to publish the game.
    [CMB] That's all we know -- you'll have to ask them about the timing, beta testing, etc...
    [MarkG] request to eveyone during no moderation: dont speak all together
    *** MarkG sets mode: -m
    [MarkG] ok....
    [MarkG] here we are...
    [eggman] ok
    [xenisis] Are there any features that you haven't talked about before? Anything that you're lips were sealed about the game was released?
    [WesternFederation] yay
    [eggman] how u guys doin?
    [Big] was sid meier called for ideas?
    [Icedan] In Civ2, the years jumped by 20, and ended by 1 per turn. Does the whole of the last thousand years go by 1 per turn? Or?
    [PrecursoR] so...for all the programmers...where did you learn to code games?
    [Bilbo] What's the deal with multiplayer, is it going to be a battlenet type setup? How many players can play at once?
    [Necro] xenisis, I can't tell you.
    [WesternFederation] calm down guys
    [tweaker] no great and yes
    [Wagmister] Is the AI good? I mean really good? Better than DEITY mode on Civ 2?
    [haelyn] what about the nukes will their be radiation instead of just cleanable pollution?
    [STING] People, pls wait for previous questions to be answered
    [Necro] Wagmister, AI is really good. Designers have a hard time on Deity level!
    [LTJohn] Bilbo- multiplayer has a free matchmaking service like Bnet. 4 players at once, with up to 4 AI opponents as well
    [The-Hobit] in what kind of format will be the video for, exemple, the wander ?
    [tweaker] yes the ai is good but you are smarter
    [Civilizationist] How much did civ ctp cost in canada???
    [WesternFederation] is there a United States built into the game of can yo usimply name your country the USA
    [Necro] The-Hobit, video plays 320x resolution, me thinks.
    [Domk] what are the chances of a replay mode in a future patch ?
    [Necro] Game plays in 1024 on down.
    [Big] does every civs emmisanary look deifferent
    [STING] replay mode like in civ1
    [LTJohn] Big- yes
    [Domk] yeah
    [WesternFederation] I have a pentium 166 will that be good enough?
    [eggman] how many pounds didja all gain/lose durin the process of ctp
    [The-Hobit] but in mpg or qt
    [Big] k
    [mrogre] Precursor: My dad started to teach me programming when I was about 8, on an Imsai 8080 running CP/M.
    [CMB] yes-- every emissary is different.
    [LTJohn] WF- P166 will be good. How much RAM?
    [tweaker] i gain a lot of weight
    [Necro] Big, we have many Diplomats. I can't remember how many, but more than 8
    [WesternFederation] ummm
    [tweaker] sigh
    [Icedan] You said we could make new wonders, whats the limit?
    [WesternFederation] not sure
    [PrecursoR] thanks mrogre
    [WesternFederation] i have 500 mb free
    [Atahualpa] MrOgre will you make a documentation about the Slic thing and put it on your website?
    [WesternFederation] not sure that ram is
    [Necro] There is now limit to wonders, really. That is editable in files.
    [tweaker] there can be at most 64 wonders in a single game
    [mrogre] Bilbo: Multiplayer allows up to 4 people plus up to 4 AIs. Activision has servers et up that are like battle.net, they are the same servers that are used for many other activision games
    [LTJohn] WF- if you have 32MB or more, you will be able to run on a P166 at higher resolutions
    [oldgamer-] can the game run without the CD
    [Domk] when will the activison fourms open ?
    [itoito12] azmel, did you use "the art of war" from Sun Tzu to get ai behaviors on combat tactics?
    [eggman] id just like to say that u guys made an EXCELLENT game and i look forward to many sleepless niights and multiplayer deathmatches...thanks alot! u guyz rock!
    [WesternFederation] yes i have 32 of RAM
    [Necro] oldgamer, the CD is required to start a game.
    [PrecursoR] i couldn't have said it better eggman!
    [Icedan] Hey, I'm going to get fat playing this game
    [LTJohn] oldgamer- you need the CD to start the game. Once the CD check is done, you can take it out.
    [Necro] Thanks, eggman. Now go buy lots of copies!
    [mrogre] Atahulpa: Yes, I am going to try very hard to get the SLIC documentation out to the public.
    [Azmel] itoito12, nope, but talked alot with our designers and testers who were playing the game
    [STING] Activision: Will there be a map-replay mode like in civ1 ?
    [Atahualpa] thanks
    [oldgamer-] that's good
    [eggman] ill take 2
    [LTJohn] Sting- no
    [tweaker] thanks eggman look for us in the multiplayer
    [Necro] Sting, not yet.
    [WesternFederation] ok I have an Electronic Boutique claiming they will have it tomorrow, can that possibly be true?
    [Necro] Sting, actuall, yes.
    [Big] me too .
    [Icedan] Can the look of the interface be changed?
    [The-Hobit] Necro: how many civilisation going to be able to play in a game ? the maximum number ?
    [Necro] You can play the same map again with the Restart option
    [Azmel] sting, there is a map replay mode
    [eggman] yeah west, they told me that also
    [Pinkbelly] We can replay -- as in start the same map again.
    [LTJohn] WF- yes EB and Babbage's should receive it tomorrow in the US and Canada
    [tweaker] icedan yes with work
    [oldgamer-] When is the game ship to Aisa
    [WesternFederation] ALRIGHT
    [Icedan] Cool
    [War_] hey Cecilia, has Icedan asked you out yet?
    [STING] Activision: I mean that you can see the timeline how history went
    [Necro] The-Hobit, 8 is max in shell, but editable in files to something like 32
    [Big] AWESOME GAME GUYS
    [Azmel] don't ask use marketing or money questions, do don't know anything like that
    [LTJohn] Oldgamer it's already out in Australia
    [Kestrel] Tweaker, how about some more information on creating kill AI's
    [oldgamer-] Aisa= Asia
    [Icedan] FUN-UN-EE
    [War_] hehehe sorry ice
    [The-Hobit] that's is going to be cool to play with
    [Civilizationist] Did civ:CTP avalable in montréal,canada?????????
    [WesternFederation] Will there be a multiplayer site (i.e. Battle Net to play Civ on?
    [tweaker] what do you want to know kestrel?
    [Azmel] creating kill AI's, what do you mean?
    [Necro] Civlizkionsts, oui.
    [Icedan] I noticed the river overlapped some of the tree's. Can this be fixed?
    [LTJohn] Civilizationist- probably tomorrow or Thursday
    [Necro] Icedan, the river runs thrrough it.
    [Kestrel] Tweaker, will the support files be available for us to create our own AI's in COM?
    [mrogre] ActivNet is like battle.net, yes. It's already used for many other games (I'76, Battlezone, etc.)
    [STING] lol
    [Atahualpa] How many CD's did you ship already?
    [CMB] Hey Icedan, we're going to Acapulco's for lunch on Ocean Park. If you come, I'll buy you a drink.
    [Big] haha
    [Necro] icedan, rivers aren't separate tiles, they are part of existing tiles and add values to those tiles.
    [tweaker] it may go onto the web kestral
    [WesternFederation] lowlife this isn't the place to meet girls get out
    [tweaker] you need the COM headers
    [MarkG] CMB LOL!!
    [Kestrel] Thanks Tweaker.
    [War_] can I join? sounds like fun
    [Icedan] I'll be there CMB! lol
    [lowlife] what is it for
    [Big] see ya
    [WesternFederation] Guys is there a United States build into the game?
    [Icedan] Last question for me, What is involved in editing the units?
    [LTJohn] WF There is an American Civ
    [Civilizationist] Did Future Shop will have it soon??
    [tweaker] dibs on the picther of margaritas a acopolco
    [tweaker] westerfed there is the american civ
    [Doo] yeah, i think i read on apolyton that there were not maps included. is there an earth map?
    [PrecursoR] can you take over a city using unconventional warfare units or do you need military units?
    [Necro] WesternFed, America is a Civ/Tribe, not US.
    [Pinkbelly] Earth map is on the way.
    [STING] Doo: Yes
    [MarkG] tweaker, was there a party today at work?
    [xenisis] Is there a map editor included, or will it go out on the site?
    [oldgamer-] when is the game shipping to ASIA ?? Singapore/Malaysia
    [STING] xenisis: coming soon
    [tweaker] precur you need mil units
    [tweaker] to take a city
    [LTJohn] Precursor- unconventional units are used to soften up a city. You'll need military units to occupy it.
    [PrecursoR] thanks tweaker
    [WesternFederation] Once you have space units, don't you already own Earth? Who can you fight in outer space?
    [eggman] wat kinda music u listen to when creatin this masterpiece?
    [PrecursoR] thanks ltjohn
    [STING] heh
    [Necro] PrecuroR, you can incite a revolution, but that will not cause it to become your Civ. You must use Military to capture it, or have certain Wonders that force revolting Civs to join your Civ.
    [LTJohn] WF other civs in space
    [itoito12] Is there a Dutch civilization in ctp this time?
    [Pinkbelly] you can fight other civ's in space. It is like playing king of the hill.
    [STING] itoito12: yes
    [Icedan] I guess I should go to college now, I am late, but I wanted to be here
    [Azmel] taking over space is a good way to get a military advantage if you've been concentrating on science up to that point
    [LTJohn] itoito yes
    [tweaker] space is like a scond map - anyone with the tech can go there
    [Necro] WesterFed, you can make units and Cities to orbit the planet.
    [Pinkbelly] Chat away.
    [Atahualpa] And what about an Austrian civ?
    [Azmel] ya, I think the dutch are one of the civs
    [WesternFederation] But aren't you supposed to have created a global state by then?
    [STING] yep
    [eggman] in space is there resources and stuff?
    [Icedan] Im going to ask the Dutch out
    [STING] Icedan: heh why
    [WesternFederation] EGGMAN---Yes there are mining asteroids
    [Azmel] naw, you can be fractious on land when you get into space
    [tweaker] westfed - it depends if you are a great general or not ;-)
    [Necro] WesternFed, not necessarily. You can escape the planet while another CIV takes it over.
    [Icedan] Oh, I noticed the protraits of the diplomats were almost photo taken images and edited, TRUE!?!
    [Azmel] space is a great place to manufacture and drop bombs on your enemies
    [WesternFederation] oh, ok thanks Necro
    [Necro] Eggman, no resources in space. What would there be?
    [tweaker] eggman you build stuff in space
    [MarkG] what do yout hink about SMAC?
    [Pinkbelly] Only the cute ones.
    [Icedan] lol
    [Azmel] icedan, the pictures sure look like real pictures don't they?
    [Icedan] Hey, I was wondering, are any of the diplomats any of you!?
    [Necro] Icedan --- Yes re: Diplomats. Some are drawn, some are real.
    [CMB] Yes -- the pictures are of real people and then touched up.
    [eggman] who would win in a fistfight....ctp or smac?
    [Icedan] I liked the idea!
    [Necro] "Real" is relative...
    [War_] uh oh, here it comes...
    [tweaker] buy them both ;-)
    [m_m_x] why hebrew instead of israel?who did the research???
    [tweaker] help the econmyu
    [oldgamer-] CTP vs SMAC = 10-0
    [Azmel] icedan, the russian diplomat sure looks alot like my dad...
    [Kumiorava] so quiet suddenly...
    [Icedan] lol
    [The-Hobit] is there gonna be a other language beside english ?
    [Necro] Eggman, CTP and SMAC don't have fists...
    [LTJohn] Depends on what country the judges are from
    [STING] heh
    [eggman] in waht around old gamer?
    [War_] yea ice wanted to go out with the dutch girl too
    [eggman] what round
    [Icedan] yeah
    [oldgamer-] maybe 100-0
    [WesternFederation] What years does the game begin in?
    [LTJohn] In the CTP/SMAC battle, is Don King involved?
    [xenisis] How will space cities survive? How can they grow food?
    [tweaker] -4000 bc
    [STING] 4000B.C
    [Necro] mmx, Hebrew is the tribe. People are Hebrews by ethnicity, not Israel. Though they could be Israelites...
    [Icedan] She'll demand some sort of tribute though, hehe
    [Doo] it'd be cool if in a patch you could get the civs to speak their real language, like in AOK
    [Necro] We wanted to separate the tribe from the country
    [WesternFederation] ok, so who was around then? The Greeks?
    [eggman] umm...by ethnicity they are jewish...
    [tweaker] xenisis you build orbatal farms and factories
    [STING] WesternFederation: assyrians
    [Icedan] Anyway, I'm off to college, laters! And Well done Activision.
    [PrecursoR] did you guys ever toy with the idea that certain civ could only build certain wonders?
    [eggman] cya dan
    [Azmel] icedan, thx
    [tweaker] yes precor
    [War_] later ice
    [kevlar] Some Civ's (Romans & Russians) had advantages at the start eg; 2 settlers, extra advances has this been continued in CTP and if so why?
    [Azmel] precursR, we toyed with lots of ideas, but had to focus on those with the most fun factor
    [PrecursoR] eg. the egyptians only could build the sphinx
    [tweaker] but we also wanted a lot of civs - we have 40
    [m_m_x] ok...and when it will be accessible in israel?
    [tweaker] think of the game balance
    [Pinkbelly] We want to let you replay history.
    [Necro] Judaism is a religion. One can be Jewish by religion but have another ethinicity, like Sephardic or Ashkinaze.
    [Atahualpa] The farms can be upgraded right? Mark complaind in his preview that the other upgrades were still there and you had to scroll down all the time, will this be changed?
    [PrecursoR] ah i see
    [CMB] You have some advantages like 2 settlers when you start on a challenged start location.
    [Pinkbelly] Replay -- as in -- change.
    [The-Hobit] is the game going to be port in other language ?
    [mrogre] kevlar: There are no advantages by civilization. You can still sometimes start with an extra settler, but it's based on where you start the game.
    [Necro] Atahaulpa, yes. There are 3 types of farms on land, 3 in sea and 3 in space.
    [thewriter1981] farmsa in space
    [Atahualpa] What I mean is, perhaps Mark could explain it!
    [tweaker] the game is shipping in 5 lang at least
    [itoito12] When are the packages going to be sent to the people that preordered on your ctp page?
    [CMB] Right now there are deals in the making for ports to many other languages... none have been completed though.
    [STING] space cows
    [Azmel] the-hobit, it is in many different languages already
    [Pinkbelly] Space rats.
    [thewriter1981] moo oh dead cow
    [War_] oh yea the three advances for farms etc. take up more space so you have to scroll
    [The-Hobit] ok thank's
    *** MarkG sets mode: +m
    [Azmel] the-hobbit, ie. there is a german version and others too
    [CMB] I don't know when the pre orders will get their copies. I'm still waiting for mine!
    [MarkG] back to moderated
    [MarkG] in order to answer any questions and say goodbye
    [LTJohn] itoito- if you ordered through the link on our page, you ordered at EBWorld. It's up to them on shipping date- they usually take 3 or 4 days.
    [MarkG] Well, my and I guess everybody's thanks
    [tweaker] bye
    [Necro] Thanks to you all for joining us. We hope you enjoy it.
    [MarkG] to the members of the CTP development team
    [LTJohn] See you on the forums
    [MarkG] see you on the activlink servers!
    [MarkG] are you going to have the same nicks?
    [CMB] Thanks everyone.
    [tweaker] watch for us in netgames
    [Azmel] sure
    [MarkG] allright then!
    [Necro] Necro will be around after some time to allow you all some practice...
    *** MarkG sets mode: -m
    [LTJohn] Aloha
    [eggman] heh
    [Atahualpa] bye
    [eggman] thank alot guyz!
    [Necro] Later!
    [Atahualpa] thanks a lot
    [eggman] u all rock!
    [WesternFederation] thanks
    [joon] thanks
    [Kumiorava] puppiduu
    [STING] Activision: Thanks for the chat and the wonderful game!
    [Pinkbelly] Bye.
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    • CTP1 Chat Transcripts
      by MarkG
      CTP1 Programmers' Chat On Saturday, October 3rd, 1998, we had a chat with three members of the ctp development team. Here is the transcript(in 4 pages!). Our thanks to Activision, and of course the participants: Mark Lamia, Producer, Steve Mariotti, Lead Programmer and Joe Rumsey, Networking and Game Engine Programmer. CTP1 Designers' Chat On Saturday, December 5th, 1998, we chatted with 5 members of the CTP development team. Here is the transcript(in 7 pages this time!). Our thanks to Activision, and of course the participants: William Westwater, James Farley, Jason Feffer, Brad Santos) and Winnie Lee. If this reminds you the paragraph below, you're right! CTP1 Release Chat On Tuesday, March 30th, 1999, nine members of the C:CTP development team and lots of Civers celebrated the release of C:CTP. CTP1 2nd Designers Chat On Thursday, April 8th, 1999, Joe Rumsey and John Heinecke chatted about CTP's design aspects, moderated by Kelvar and Akula....
      March 31, 2012, 19:58
    • C:CTP Designers Chat; April 8th, 1999
      by MarkG
      Note on the nicknames: In orange are the nicks of the members of the CTP team present, Joe Rumsey (mrogre) and John Heinecke (LTJohn). In black are the operators, Daniel Quick (DanQ), Markos Giannopoulos (MarkG), and Derek Lande (akula), and the rest of the people who asked questions on the unmoderated part of the chat.

      [kelvar] Hi everyone, we're ready to start. Before we started I will remind you that we're this chatroom has been brought about thanks to Apolyton
      [lumpkin] is it moderated yet?
      [lumpkin] who do we ask questions to?
      [akula] hey all
      [LTJohn] MrOgre and I are the Activision reps. You can ask us directly.
      [kelvar] Seeing as we're a quite small group discussions will not be moderated but I would ask you all not to flood in with questions at the start
      [Stevejuke] whats up
      [Stevejuke] I bet you guys didn't like the review cnet gave you
      [LTJohn] No, it wasn't what we were hoping for.
      [Tuma] one simple question at the beginning... Is there hotseat gametype in the CTP? ...
      March 31, 2012, 19:33
    • C:CTP Release Party; March 30th, 1999
      by MarkG
      Note on the nicknames: in orange are the nicks of the members of the CTP team: William Westwater (Pinkbelly), Richard Myers (Azmel), Jason Feffer (Necro), Joe Rumsey (mrogre), Karl Meissner (tweaker), Jeff Matsu****a (Toki), Cecilia Barajas (CMB), Stephanie O'Malley (Marley) and John Heinecke (LTJohn). In black is the operator, Markos Giannopoulos (MarkG) and the rest of the people who asked questions on the unmoderated part of the chat.

      *** MarkG sets mode: +m
      [Necro] AfterGlow: You cannot "buy/bribe" a city to join you, however, you can spend gold to incite a revolution in a foriegn city.
      [MarkG] The channel is now moderated
      [Necro] It's very difficult and expensive, which avoids the Civ2 cheese
      [tweaker] all the governments can do it
      [MarkG] only operators(me) and people of the development team can talk
      [MarkG] you can send me questions with private messages
      [Necro] Jerms: Any government can complete the Alien Life Project, which is one of 3 ways to win the game.
      [MarkG] lets start with the names
      [tweaker] some gernments are better at build some at war ...
      March 31, 2012, 19:22
    • Chat With C:CTP Designers; December 5th, 1998
      by MarkG
      Note on the nicknames: in orange are the nicks of the members of the CTP team: William Westwater (Pinkbelly), James Farley (Farside), Jason Feffer (Necro), Brad Santos (Dr_No) and Winnie Lee (Lemur). In black are the operators, who asked the questions: MarkG (Markos Giannopoulos), DanQ (Daniel Quick), and the rest of the people who asked questions on the unmoderated part of the chat.

      *** MarkG sets mode: +m
      [MarkG] The channel is now in moderated mode
      [MarkG] This means that only operators and the people from Activision can talk
      [MarkG] Please send any questions to me or DanQ
      [MarkG] Well, this is the CTP Designers Chat
      [MarkG] The participants are William Westwater(Pinkbelly)
      [MarkG] James Farley (Farside), Jason Feffer (Necro) and Winnie Lee (Lemur)
      [MarkG] Well, welcome...
      [Farside] And Dr_No
      [Farside] Brad Santos (Dr_No)
      [MarkG] Ooops, you're right
      [MarkG] sorry for that
      ...
      March 30, 2012, 17:45
    • Chat With C:CTP Programmers; October 3rd, 1998
      by MarkG
      Note on the nicknames: In orange are the nicks of the members of the CTP team: Patton (Mark Lamia, Producer), MrOwl (Steve Mariotti, Lead Programmer) and MrOgre (Joe Rumsey, Networking, and Game Engine Programmer). In black italics are the operators, who asked the questions: MarkG (Markos Giannopoulos), DanQ (Daniel Quick), and akula (Derek Lande).

      Session Start: Sat Oct 03 21:14:24 1998

      [akula] Ladies and gentlemen, we shall now moderate this channel so that MarkG can say a few words...
      [akula] please direct any suggestions for questions to any of the ops
      [MarkG] Well, it's about 8pm gmt, so we can start....
      [MarkG] First , I would like to thank the guys from Activision for this chat...
      [Patton] Good to be here...thanks
      [MrOgre] Happy to be here!
      [MarkG] We have today Mark Lamia(Patton), Producer
      [MrOwl] My pleasure.
      [MarkG] Joe Rumsy(MrOgre) netowrking and game engine(or state?) programmer...
      March 12, 2012, 19:10
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