Newbie Q: CTP I or II?

[moomin]

Hi, y'all!

I never played any CTP, being fairly satisfied with the Sid offerings. However, since I find Civ3 a disappointment of monumental proprtions and since I've done SMAC to death I can't help but to look at what's available here. I've heard all kind of things about CTP and was wondering if CTP I or II is the better place to start, if you factor in things like what mods are available. You'd think CTPII was a no-brainer, but then you'd probably think Civ3 was a better game than Civ2 too...

Anyway, is CTP2 fine or should I try to find CTP 1 somewhere to try it out first?

[Pedrunn]

I think you should buy CTP2 as long as you play it modded. First with apolyton pack to see the game as it should be and then with Medmod or Craddle to see how good a game can really be.

I only recommend CTP1 if you want to play with the space feature (really cool stuff) other than that CTP2 is superior and has more support (by the communt of course - S*** Activision).

Obs: I would not play CTP2 unmodded. Still your choice.

[Immortal Wombat]

Unless you are likely to want to play PBEM games, you are probably better off with a modded CtP2. Its been said that CtP2 is the game CtP should have been.

CtP1 has:

• PBEM and Hotseat.
• A better AI, but not so easily modded
• MedMod1 v4.0 (adjusts balance issues, adds all sorts of stuff)
• Hardly anybody playing single player, but a large MP community

CtP2 has:

• A different UI
• Slightly poorer AI, but much potential to change.
• MedMod2 - Crusade
• Cradle of Civilization
• Apolyton Pack
• Larger modding community, and some evidence that people actually play the mods now and again.
• Practically no MPers, no working PBEM or hotseat (fix possible, don't hold your breath though)

In actual fact, you can probably get both for under £20/US$30 now, especially if you check out eBay or a similar site. It may be worth getting both. CtP2 for SP and CtP for PBEM.

[outrageous bias]
CtP2, CtP2, CtP2
[/outrageous bias]

[moomin]

Thank you, guys. I'll start with CTP2 and see if it draws me in enough to upgrade to CTP1 and multiplayer later on, then.

[Dinner]

A game of multiplayer CTP2 against skilled opponents is a truly great. That fact alone should mean CTP2 beats CTP.

[child of Thor]

I agree Oerdin! CTP2 multiplayer has given me the best games yet, with mods(that aren't too hard to figure out) and some decent players i've had great fun! I prefer it over the Civ games - it looks better and has more diplomatic and combat options. I should add i've only ever played it over LAN, so i don't know how well it does over the net.

[Dinner]

Also finding other players for an MP game isn't that hard. Just use ICQ or join a clan; both methods will quickly locate skilled players.

[Jorri]

Wait a minute:
I gave up on CTP1 cause i could not reload a multiplayer game!
You want to tell me you can?
If so how? Or am I stupid or something?

[child of Thor]

Jorri,
CTP1? haven't played it in a long time,but as we were talking about CTP2 it is possible.If you are in a game and want to reload a saved game you need to select 'New Game' from the options tab(Load game does not work) and then 'Quit now' which will take you to the Lobby screen.From here select 'Create Game' - 'Load saved game' and bingo!This might be the same for CTP1.
If you are loading the multiplayer session from scratch just follow the above from the lobby screen onwards.Hope this helps.

[Jorri]

Interesting ... Thanks I'll check it out!

[Dinner]

Yes, it is very easy to restart saved games. Being able to do so is a vital part of any multiplayer game because players often find something comes up right in the middle of the game so being able to save it and finish it later is a must.

[Jorri]

CTP I
Nope As soon as i try to load a saved game , It starts loading but then it bounces back to the lobby... Its as if one of the two pc's setup changed or something!

Activision support helped squat! All the usuall about configuration and network settings etc!

My two pc's see eachother perfectly! We can start a game fine, play, save it, but then can't reload it at all! - Then i gave up!

And no... no mod incompats either, I did'nt know about them then anyways!

CTP II
Is working ok via multiplayer,
but we get a niggly ! ... tileimproovments disapear before thay are completed ... end up having to build lots and loose 60% of em!
Its ok cause i can beat my wife usually but lately she getting guite good at it so I will have to watch out!
Note this problem migrates with the client its as if those messages were ignored by the server or something! now an then its ok then not .... Darn annoying!
Any mod does not fix this either looks like a deeper engine based prob! - Any thing I'm missing here!

And once again Activision helped squat!

[child of Thor]

Jorri,
I'll dig out my CTP1 disk this weekend and run a multiplayer game and get back to you to see if i get the same prob or find a solution, as to the tile improvements in CTP2.....well i haven't noticed this in my multiplayer games,usually the only problem i get is human players 're-sync' every so often(coverd in the FAQ) so i'm not sure i can help except to say i'll look out for it!sorry

[Jorri]

Thanks Bud!
Yeah i got resync problem too , learnt to live with it! lol

[Dinner]

I've never tried to play the game over a LAN before so these problems are entirely new to me. As for the resynchs... I used to have this problem to when I played MP game over the internet. I solved them by always letting the person with the best over all ping rate host the game and use a server that isn't over loaded with other players.

Most of the resynchs happen because the delay between the computers has become so great that they have to renegotiate (resynch) what their doing so they will be in time with each other. If you miniumize the ping delay you will find the resynchs nearly completely stop.