CIV2
PBEM DIPLOMACY UTILITY
Program and Spanish
Translation: Javier Muñoz Kirschberg
Introduction:
For those of us that don’t know what Civilization 2 is, I
only can say that Sid Meier’s Civilization 2 (by Microprose)
is, in my humble opinion, the better game ever done! You lead a tribe from the ancients time to the success – or the failure. Civilization
2 has many versions; one of them, Civilization 2 Multiplayer Edition (also know
as Ultimate Civilization 2) allow multiplayer games by Internet (IP games) or
by e-mail.
The problem of e-mail games is that, when a player receives
the mail with his or her turn, he or she can enter into diplomacy agreements
with other humans. Civ2 only support diplomacy chats on IP games. To allow
these agreements is the goal of my utility. In the next sections, I will
explain you how it works.
First of all, a
Civilization Multiplayer Gold Edition game (there are some patch on internet
that morph other versions of Civilization in the multiplayer edition. You can
download them from http://www.civfanatics.com).
PC-Windows
USERS: You need JRE (stand for Java Runtime Environment). You can download
it from
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/jre/index.html
MAC USERS: You
need at least MAC OS X in order to run this application. I hope that in the
future I can bring you a special version that will run on MAC VIII and MAC IX,
but I don’t know. Blame Apple for support Java new software only on MAC OS X.
How I install/run the program?
MAC
users: There is a link to a little utility that transforms JAR files in
double-click applications:
http://homepage.mac.com/townsend/programs/jarappbuilder.html
First of all, the welcome
screen. [NOTE: Screenshot are only to help understanding how the program works.
From computer to computer, the interface will vary. For MAC users, I expect it
to be like any other MAC application, but I haven’t test
it]
After you press next, you can
load a .NET file. NET files store the save games. For this application to work,
the .NET file must be in the same folder that the correspondent
RULES.TXT file:
This is the main diplomatic
window:
If this is the first time you
use the utility with this game, you need to set a password. Without a password,
you can not enter in diplomatic agreements:
As usual, you need to confirm
the password:
If you want to do barters,
then you select ‘Make barter’. PLEASE NOTICE: You must make a
barter after playing yourt turn! After typing your
password, you select who will receive your offer [see below: incorrect and
obsolete barters]:
Then, you set-up your offer:
If you haven’t an embassy with your opponent, you can ask
any amount of gold and any tech. If your opponent has not enough gold or the
techs required, the offer will not work! But you will not notice them (so you
must guess what he/she have), and your opponent will not see your offer (the
utility will block the offer!) [see below: incorrect
and obsolete barters].
And send it by e-mail or
forums (visit http://www.apolyton.net, http://spanish.apolyton.net and http://www.civfanatics.com if you want
to see goods civ-related forums with PBEM sections!)
The offer will appear in your
screen:
Obsolete
Barters:
-
A barter will expire after
a turn. For example: if you are Romans and send a barter
to Germans, the barter will render obsolete after Germans’ move.
-
A barter will expire if
there is any change of the amount of money the civilization that send or
receive the barter. This is the way I find in order to don’t allow cheat…
Incorrect
Barters:
A barter will be incorrect if
you
- Ask for more gold than the other
civilization can give you.
- Ask for technologies than the other
civilization doesn’t know.
- You offer technologies than the other civilization already know!
You can send an incorrect barter, and the program will not
tell you that (in order to unveil what technologies know the others
civilization), but the other civilization will see a
explicit error message (“Incorrect barter!”) when try to open the barter.
If you have a embassy with the
civilization the barter is directed to, you will see exactly how many gold has
and what technologies knows the other civilization, so you can not make a
incorrect barter! Incorrect barters only can appear when you has
not an embassy – so open a embassy is a good idea.
Please notice:
Credits:
-
Markus Kraus von Güntner (aka Galvatron)., for the excellent
translation to German and Italian (Thank you, guy!)
-
Allard H.S. Höfelt, for his excellent
“Hex-edit” document.
-
All my beta-tester: Manolo
Palma (a.k.a Waku in the Apolyton
Forum!), Henrik (sorry, I don’t know your real name),
and José Eduardo Pellón Arana
(a.k.a Kramsib in the Apolyton Forum!)
-
Microprose for this fun game
-
Sun for, Java, the most pretty
language ever, and also for a good environment, “Forte”.
-
All the Spanish gang on Apolyton,
and all other posters, of course
-
My dog! I don’t know how many program-related problems
I had solved while I go out to walk with my god!
-
More options (maps and units interchange, for example)
-
Natural disasters simulation
-
Improve security
History:
1.1 Minor upgrade:
*
Italian Version added
*
German Version added
1.0 First Public release!
* Added
work-around for many bugs!
*
Offers are now correctly obsolete
* You
can not sign a cease fire, peace or alliance if you already have this treaty.
0.2.1 Second Beta Version
– release 1
* Some
typos on manual corrected
* Added
button remove coded
* Added
a link for MAC users
0.2 Second Beta Version.
* New
and improved diplomacy screen
*
Multilingual support
*
Security loop closed: You can’t now view offers that aren’t directed to you