Scenario League dying?

[Henrik]

"Such is life in the microsoft universe"

[Captain Nemo]

I am thrilled about the response to this thread... I would say the League is still alive and doing well. I think that Civ3 will be a great game myself (I have not had any trouble with Firaxis games either and response to my E-mails about Civ3 have been encouraging so far).
I intend to build a scenario for Civ3 if they provide the proper tools, but looking at the newer games this will truly require a massive TEAM effort if it is to look professional. Personally, I would not accept "Flat" units in my scenario if the base Civ3 game has 3-D animated ones so there would be some serious graphic work required just to get started.
At that time having a "Scenario League" to call on for help might be the only way to go.

[Fiera]

quote: Originally posted by Captain Nemo on 03-26-2001 09:43 AM Personally, I would not accept "Flat" units in my scenario if the base Civ3 game has 3-D animated ones so there would be some serious graphic work required just to get started.

Why not? I think that TOT scenarios so far have been released without animated units, and I don't see that as a problem... If Civ3 is really good, I think there will be things more important things to appreciate in scns than the animations...

I'd be glad with, say, a Red Front with the units you've already designed, but with more events, more slots for units, a bigger map, probably more civs, more and better diplomatic options, strategic management of resources like oil, and, what's really important, a hard to beat AI.

Same goes for other great Civ2 scenarios, like for instance Jesús Balsinde's Al-Andalus or Alba de América (the ability to have minor civs there would be a God-sent gift).

[This message has been edited by Fiera (edited March 26, 2001).]

[William Keenan]

quote: Originally posted by Captain Nemo on 03-26-2001 12:30 PM Apart from that I would agree that more units, a better AI and a better event structure/language would make a HUGE difference in these scenarios.

ToT has more units and a better event language. What's your take on it Nemo?

[Leonidas]

Even after Civ III is released Civ II and the scenario league will never die.

Exile: Maybe if you could list your computer system specifications, we might be able to solve the problem. Maybe give us your Operating System, video card, sound card, whether its a Pentium, type of CD-ROM, etc. I am sure there is a way to solve this issue. Just think of all the games you will be able to play and enjoy (that are on your shelf collecting dust)!



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Go tell the Spartans, passerby:
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.

[PolarisGL]

Nemo, speaking of which, I don't think you ever sent the files again?

I think Firaxis games are adaptive. If you are willing to adapt to them, then you like them. If not, and you are too into the original Civilization II, then you despise or simply not like the Firaxis games.

I'm the latter, I'd have to say.

[Captain Nemo]

William:
ToT fizzled as a potential scenario platform because not enough people bought it... I also hear it is very buggy. I considered building a scenario for it when Alex made his "Hispanola" but was discouraged by all the negative feedback I got. I would love to have more units and better events though.
Right now with Civ3 lurking out there in the not so distant future I would be reluctant to learn a new system. At best I will hone my skills on another Civ2 scenario.

Polaris: What files? Did I forget to include you on the last E-mail? If I did accept my apologies and let me know so I can correct the situation.

[PolarisGL]

Remember how it messed up? I got that fixed a while ago, and said you could re-send the files since I had to clean my inbox. So if you need more playtesting, send it by. If not, then I can't wait for the scenario to come out.

[Captain Nemo]

I have a tendency towards perfectionism and if I can build 3D animated units for Civ-3 I will! I have already inquired with Firaxis on the format of the units but they responded that it is not 100% set yet so they couldn't make it available at this time.
Apart from that I would agree that more units, a better AI and a better event structure/language would make a HUGE difference in these scenarios.

[Exile]

Leonidas; how kind, an actual offer to help. I'm dumbstruck. But only for a minute or two. I am using a Year-old Gateway machine, 650 Mhz, Athlon something-or-other, the latest Soundblaster card, no idea what video card, just had the thing tuned up last month, High-speed CD rom drive. It's a remarkable machine compared to my last one, a stripped-down 486, but it's difficult to control; sometimes it's unpredictable. Is there a file somewhere that has the information I need?

Your expressed sentiment is heartening; I really would like to play the other Civil War scenarios, and Gettysburg, when it works, is a very good product. Imperialism II looks like a great game. At one point I thought of giving up and just going out and buying a 17" monitor. . .

Thanks,
Exile

[Leonidas]

Exile: It's my pleasure to be able to offer some help. You mention that you can play most older games, but not the new ones. It is definitely your computer and not the computer games.

What Operating System are you using? Win'98? ME 2000?

Also, many computer companies install "generic" computer parts. It would be interesting to find out what make your video card is. If you bought your Gateway a year ago, I would suggest calling them - they should have a toll-free number to call - and get the make of your video card. Some cards like ATI are often incompatible with many new games.

Tell Gateway the problems you are having with some of the games - they may also have a simple work-around solution for the problem. But I'll bet you it's the video card.

Let me know the answers to the above -- hope we find a solution

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Go tell the Spartans, passerby:
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.

[Gothmog]

Leonidas,
As you consider Exile's computer problem, don't forget about DirectX. It might be that the required version of DirectX for these programs never got installed or that the video driver is not certified for DirectX.

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"There is no tiddle-taddle nor pibble-pabble in Pompey's camp."

[Exile]

Leonidas; struggle is the best word you could have chosen for my interaction with this processor. It's a 128 MB RAM, 20 GB HD machine. In my documents, it says that the video card is "8MB AGP Graphics accelerator," whatever that is. Also, I had 128MB 100mhz SDRAM added to the original package; I wanted the machine to be fast. I've heard of the defragmenting process, but am sure that if I try it, disaster will be the inevitable result. You think it'll help? Win98 (2nd edition) is the OS. Yes, DirectX sure is a problem; I have a great-looking game by Talonsoft called Westfront that I can't play because it won't run after installation. When I emailed them, they responded very quickly, but told me that I'd be required to uninstall DirectX and reinstall it after I was done. This sounded difficult and one mistake would invariably end in disaster, so I demurred. The Gettysburg game asks me if I want to install their latest version of DirectX every time I run it, but whether I do or not seems to make no difference when the game runs. It's still screwed up. I finally figured out to run it by switching the 32-bit color to 256 color and it works, sort of. With tremendous pain via trial-and-error, I have taught myself how to manipulate files and the potential of the Civ2 scenario engine was what kept me at it despite mulitple disasters. There were several times that I created entire scenarios then "lost" them because I did something wrong and all my work was obliterated. Even so, I stayed with it and eventually figured out how it was done. But I had some help from some very kind folks at various forums on ACS. The prospect of "defragmenting" has me very worried. I feel like it must be done sometime, but am anxious about screwing it up and losing things.

To date, I have gotten more help from this site than anywhere or anyone else.

Thanks,
Exile

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Lost in America
"a freaking mastermind." --Stefu
"or a very good liar." --Stefu
[This message has been edited by Exile (edited March 27, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Exile (edited March 27, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Exile (edited March 27, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Exile (edited March 27, 2001).]

[Miner]

quote: Originally posted by Exile on 03-27-2001 02:09 PM The prospect of "defragmenting" has me very worried. I feel like it must be done sometime, but am anxious about screwing it up and losing things.

I too have Win98 second edition and I find it quite stable. I also used to be an IT helpdesk person. Defragging is nothing to worry about and it goes like this:

Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter

From the little window choose the drive to defrag (or choose all of them).
Leave for several hours as your is a 20Gb drive and will take a while (the more full your drive, the longer this will take).

Deactivate screen savers, I find they have a habit of making the defrag process restart. Simply turn the screen off.

You cannot do anything with your PC while this is going on. Watch a film.

However, your symptoms sound (well some of them) like a video driver/card problem. DirectX is a good place to start as it can cause no end of problems. I believe the latest version can be downloaded from Microsofts website, but I don't know the url...

HTH

[Leonidas]

Thanks for pointing those things out Gothmog. You are absolutely correct.

I am no computer whiz by a long shot, but as most of you know we tend to learn things as we go, and tend to become somewhat knowledgeable from the sheer struggle we have with the day-to-day existence we share with our computers

Exile: What RAM does your computer have? What version of DirectX? When did you update your computer system with the latest drivers? Do you defragment/scan your computer on a weekly basis?

I realize that a lot of this stuff may sound complicated, etc. But it isn't really. Most of this stuff is pretty easy to do - to tweak your computer - yet it's amazing how the 'ol computer will respond with a little TLC

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Go tell the Spartans, passerby:
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
[This message has been edited by Leonidas (edited March 27, 2001).]