Today (3/25/02) i purchased CTP2... now what?

[thinkingamer]

After experiencing all the horrors of Civ3 i decided to buy CTP2 (specially after reading posts from Immortal Wonbat and Leonidas).
I purchased CTP2 today, with the official strategy guide for $35. After installing it i patched it, then searched for the senario editor, but i found none.
Now, i know that this game is not that great, but it has great mods, thanks to its great ability to edit the game.
But i found that i have to LEARN very seriously (i barely understand how visual basic works) in order to tweak this game.........

I guess my expectations were too high.......(i expected a map editor such as Heroes of Might and Magic 3 and Starcraft, with the ability to change unit stats, ai, overall game mechanics, etc.)

Unless any of u help me help start how to really enjoy this game, i will never convert from Civ2/SMAC to CTP series.

(by the way, i love the stacked units, and non-settler micromanaging economics in CTP2.....but thats about it)

[Locutus]

Re: Today (3/25/02) i purchased CTP2... now what?

Originally posted by thinkingamer
After experiencing all the horrors of Civ3 i decided to buy CTP2 (specially after reading posts from Immortal Wonbat and Leonidas).

That's good to hear. Both that you bought the game and that our advertising campaign is paying off

with the official strategy guide for $35.

Ouch, that was a major waste of money I suppose we might have to add that to the FAQ or something in big bold letters at the very top of the thread...

After installing it i patched it, then searched for the senario editor, but i found none.

It's in the options menu somewhere, I think. I always use the '!' key though.

Now, i know that this game is not that great, but it has great mods, thanks to its great ability to edit the game.
But i found that i have to LEARN very seriously (i barely understand how visual basic works) in order to tweak this game.........

Yes, you will indeed have to learn to edit this game, as with any other game. Don't worry though, it's really not hard. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be pumping out your own modifications just as easily as the rest of us.

I guess my expectations were too high.......(i expected a map editor such as Heroes of Might and Magic 3 and Starcraft, with the ability to change unit stats, ai, overall game mechanics, etc.)

I haven't edited maps in the games you mention (well, StarCraft a little, but that was more playing around than really editing) so I don't know how CtP2 compares to those games but creating maps (placement of terrain, units, cities, buildings, etc) is IMHO really easy to do with the scenario editor, on par or better than in any other game that I *have* modded (Civ2, AoE, couple of others). Changing the game's properties (changing stats, adding new units/terrain/wonders/etc) is done in text files. This might seem more primitive than the approach of Civ3 and other games, but it's also far more flexible and powerful - which is what matters in the end.

The best approach to learning how to mod would be to first play the game a little (even if it s*cks), so you're at least familiar with the basic concepts. Then download one or more of the mods and/or play the (Activision- and/or fan-made) scenarios, so you get an idea of what others have done and what is possible (Cradle and MedMod make the most radical changes in all parts of the game, so those mods would be most suitable for this purpose - even though many other mods and scenarios are worthwhile as well). Next, check out the modification section here on Apolyton, most/all of which was released by Activision (don't be overwhelmed by the sections on SLIC and AI, you might want to skip those at first), and check out some of the fan-made documentation (there's an awful lot out there but the Modder's Guide on the Land of Hexagonia is a good place to start). Finally, if you have any specific questions, ask us!

One last important thing to note: don't be afraid to experiment! Just try stuff out; unless you put your CD in the microwave or anything, there's not much that you can do that will truly cause irreparable damage

Unless any of u help me help start how to really enjoy this game, i will never convert from Civ2/SMAC to CTP series.

Don't worry, most of us learned modding (and playing, in a way) by reading/asking around here on Apolyton, few have learned it by themselves and noone has *not* learned tons of new tips, tricks and methods from these forums.

[thinkingamer]

THX, Locutus, for ur fast and detailed answer.
Yes, i did what u asked me to do (the !), but i still find hard to draw maps............(right now i feel like a huge newbe.......)

[Locutus]

Originally posted by thinkingamer
THX, Locutus, for ur fast and detailed answer.

Np. I was patrolling anyway

Yes, i did what u asked me to do (the !), but i still find hard to draw maps............(right now i feel like a huge newbe.......)

Hmm, might indeed be a little 'newbie fever' then, although I don't really have a talent for map making (or anything else even remotely graphics-oriented) but I never found the tool hard to use. Maybe the documentation of the modification section will help you out? (Why they didn't put this stuff in the manual beats me.)

[Hermann the Lombard]

Re: Re: Today (3/25/02) i purchased CTP2... now what?

Originally posted by Locutus
Ouch, that was a major waste of money I suppose we might have to add that to the FAQ or something in big bold letters at the very top of the thread...

I *hope* he meant that he paid $35 for the game AND the manual, not $35 for the manual.

[SIZE=1] One last important thing to note: don't be afraid to experiment! Just try stuff out; unless you put your CD in the microwave or anything, there's not much that you can do that will truly cause irreparable damage

Damn! So *that's* why I've been having trouble...

[SIZE=1] Don't worry, most of us learned modding (and playing, in a way)

Sometimes I wonder if anyone else is actually *playing* or if everyone is modding...

[Locutus]

Re: Re: Re: Today (3/25/02) i purchased CTP2... now what?

Originally posted by Hermann the Lombard
I *hope* he meant that he paid $35 for the game AND the manual, not $35 for the manual.

Either way, it's a major waste of money. I got the strategy guide for free, I still think it was a waste of money, even if it was Activision's money.

Damn! So *that's* why I've been having trouble...

Sometimes I wonder if anyone else is actually *playing* or if everyone is modding...

Well, Oerdin and Leonidas play...but that's about it, I think

[thinkingamer]

Yes.........the CTO2 not moded really sucks; im in 1000ad. and i control 1/4 of the world 2/3 of wonders, the most advanced, etc. (im playing in medium, but hey its my 1st CTP game) [the 1st game in any CTP series]

So far my major complain is i have to click my unit everyturn in order to activate, and the ai has bunch of units that are fortified evenly each city..........(If they stack it and attack me with those forces im dead) and never attacks.......And while the settler terrain improvement is gone, it has a same new terrain micromanage system that suck a good percentage of time in ur game. Still, i think its better than moving around 30 settlers (or workers) each turn.

So far i think the original CTP2 is worse than Civ3...but at least its much faster if that helps.....

[Locutus]

Originally posted by thinkingamer
So far my major complain is i have to click my unit everyturn in order to activate

Try pressing 'o'.

and the ai has bunch of units that are fortified evenly each city

Yep, that's the biggest problem with the unmodded AI and something all big mods try to fix (in varying degrees of success, but they're all major improvements over the original)

it has a same new terrain micromanage system that suck a good percentage of time in ur game

It shouldn't take all that long, just point&click. Then again, the bigger your empire and the lower the difficulty level, the more work it gives you. You could turn on some majors and let them spend (part of) the PW for you, although they're not brilliant they don't do a bad job either.

So far i think the original CTP2 is worse than Civ3...but at least its much faster if that helps.....

I'd be interested in hearing what you think after trying the mods. Playing on Deity/Impossible also helps a lot, everything below King/Hard (Deity/Impossible on the unmodded game) is a joke...

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by thinkingamer
Still, i think its better than moving around 30 settlers (or workers) each turn.

And if you have 200 settlers to manage each turn than you know that PW is much better and an huge advantage. When you have done all the terrain improvements than you don't have to find a way to get rid of them. I didn't disband them I parked them somewhere as every settler is worth one citizen.

Originally posted by thinkingamer
and the ai has bunch of units that are fortified evenly each city..........

Yes that is a huge problem that the is sitting on the roads, I had limited success to prevent them from fortifying on the road.

-Martin

[thinkingamer]

Originally posted by Martin G?mann


And if you have 200 settlers to manage each turn

im not one of those players who likes to play huge map, because it has a very long end game. I dont either play small map because the attackers have much better chance to win the game. So a fair estimate of the settler throughout the whole game (to me) is 30 settler in a standard sized (map) civ2 game.

By the way, Locutus, u posted somewhere that CTP2 can be bought for $10..... well in Best Buy sells CTP1 for 10 dollars, and a video game store (where i purchased my CTP2 sold CTP2 for 20 dollars....Anyway my question is i still see many people playing CTP1 but since i own CTP2 is it worth buying CPT1?

[child of Thor]

thinkingamer,
If you really don't like CTP2, then you might not like CTP1. I would reccomend sticking with CTP2, download the 1.1patch, download Craddle(i found it a little daunting at first) and when you are happy that you got all the files correctly, play on Hard/Impossible and prepare to be surprised

[Pedrunn]

You bought CTP2 right.

1) Install patch v1.1
2) Install Modswapper
3) Get Apolyton Pack
4) Either play Apolyton Pack to see how the game is not being Hard Modded or i would start with the Scenarios if you like to play them. Specially Alexander the Great.
5) Finishing your Apolyton pack game.
5) I would go to others mods like Craddle and MedMod
6) After have so much fun i would write CTP2 in my interests in the profile.
7) Welcome to the Community

Or just skip from step 2 to 7 dowloading the mods that made CTP2 famous

[Locutus]

thinkingamer,
Out of curiosity, have you tried any of the mods yet?

Originally posted by thinkingamer
By the way, Locutus, u posted somewhere that CTP2 can be bought for $10..... well in Best Buy sells CTP1 for 10 dollars, and a video game store (where i purchased my CTP2 sold CTP2 for 20 dollars....Anyway my question is i still see many people playing CTP1 but since i own CTP2 is it worth buying CPT1?

Many people still playing CtP1? Where? Most of the people who still play CtP1 are MPers, because CtP1's MP is apparently better/more stable than CtP2's MP. Aside from that, there's only a handful of people playing CtP1 AFAIK, people who can't live without the space layer or *really* hate the CtP2 UI or whatever.

Anyway, as far as buying CtP1 is concerned, I guess that's very personal. Although the games are very similar in many respects, I personally think (modded) CtP2 is much better than (modded) CtP1. But CtP1 does have some interesting features that CtP2 doesn't have (space layer, better UI, better MP, more powerful unconvential warfare, etc). I'm a poor student myself - even $10 is a fair amount of money for me - personally I wouldn't buy CtP1 if I didn't already own it, but if you like CtP2 and spend $50 on games every month anyway, it might be interesting to pick it up (if only for 'historical' reasons). Especially with MedMod 4.13 installed, it should at the very least be good for a few hours of fun gaming (and if you're into MP be prepared to be s*cked into the CtP1 MP community and have loads of fun for years to come).

[thinkingamer]

Originally posted by Locutus
thinkingamer,
Out of curiosity, have you tried any of the mods yet?

Well, no.

I just purchased Heroes of Might and Magic 4 (in 4/2/02), and im really busy learning it. Normally like u, i only purchase games 2-3 times a year, but i could not miss this one...... if u have a fast pc and a true end-turn strategy gamer u should get this game.

[Dinner]

I suggest you play the patched game with the apolyton mod until you get a feel for the game and then try your hand at MP or a single player game of cradle. You should defininately easy your way into the more difficult mods or you may get frustrated about losing so much.