How about a detailed readme on the rules text?

[techumseh]

I was digging through old posts looking for info on how to use/modify the rules text. It would really help if someone from Microprose wrote a detailed explanation on how to modify the rules text to make use of the new features in ToT. Specificly, the units, terrain and multiple maps.

[Michael Daumen]

One of the rules.txt files for the extended scenarios has some detailed info.

[John Possidente]

I did write one, but I put it in the strategy guide.

After a few months have gone by, maybe Prima will let me post the section here. I'll ask.

[ghosh9]

But in the strat guide it says:

"We haven't room to cover all the details of fiddling with the rules. (Trust John on this one; he already wrote that book.)" (p.201)

The rules info is very brief here. What's this 'book' Ellis refers to? The other bits in the chapter? The notes in the game manual? Where is this book you wrote?

[John Possidente]

Well, we covered the new stuff in rules.txt to some extent in the last chapter of the Prima ToT guide (in the section "A Brief Guide to Rules.txt", but I went into more detail in a previous book, published last year by GW Press, with the unwieldy title Civilization II The Complete Guide to Scenario Building. You might still be able to find it or order it direct from them.
[This message has been edited by John Possidente (edited October 21, 1999).]

[William Keenan]

The ToT stratagy guide is not really geared for scenario builders. Although it does have some usefull information that can not be found elsewhere its hefty price of $20 US for a trade paperback is just too steep. I don't recommend it unless you've got cash to burn.

[ghosh9]

Thanks for the news. I found it at Amazon.com called "Ultimate Civilization II Designer's Guide to Building Scenarios" for $16 bucks. I'll give it a peek.

Yeah, the TOT strat guide is more geared to playing the actual games. Its really good though and tells you exactly everything you need to know to win the special games and scenarios. The first part is sort of a rehash of the original Civilization II strategy guide though.

There are a couple of nuggets of information in the last chapter about scenario creation though. For instance, it told me that the first collumn for units that denotes which player can use what is also in Reverse Programmer Notation (which isn't noted in the rules.txt itself although others are pointed out). So, it saved me a couple of experiments figuring that out.

I seem to remember an "advanced" civ II strat guide I saw somewhere, although I couldn't find it again just now at Amazon. Anyone heard about this one?

[SixArmedMan]

Y'know, it's a shame we never got the strategy guide here in Canada........

[John Possidente]

Prima released the "Civilization II Advanced Strategies" in 1996. It was written by Michael Rymaszewski and had strategy tips for all the scenarios in the first pack--Conflicts in Civilization--written by Wm. David Possidente (my brother, who was working for MicroProse at the time).

ISBN 0-7615-0917-8

The ToT guide has a Canadian price on the cover, so it should be available there. If it helps, the IBSN is: 0-7615-2408-8.

[ghosh9]

I got the scenario designing book today in the mail. At first blush, it seems very informative but a bit dated now with the release of TOT. You don't have to go through all that rigamarole (luckily) to give various civs unique techs and units anymore.

It comes with a CD and three brand new scenarios, BTW. I haven't loaded them up yet. Luckily, I haven't deleted Civ II "classic" from my HD!

There's a huge section on the rules file I am yet to read, but all in all, it seems very handy to have if you are a serious scenario designer.