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Call to Power 2™ Readme
This Readme file contains last minute information regarding Call to Power 2.
This document contains useful information for Call to Power 2. Please review it carefully for any questions that you may have about the game. If you are looking for further answers, please look at our website at <http://www.activision.com> and <http://www.activision.com/games/ctp2/>.
Note for Windows® 95 users: In order to view the full Call to Power 2 Help file system, you must have a web browser installed.
November 1, 2000
Table of Contents
I. Troubleshooting
Movies Not Appearing
If, after installing the game, the opening movie fails to appear please try either reinstalling DirectX from the game CD or downloading the latest version of Windows Media Player from the Microsoft web site at http://www.microsoft.com.
Installing New Hardware
If you have just installed a new video card, or similar hardware, for your computer and are getting an invalid page fault or similar error in MSVCRT.dll please reinstall DirectX from the Call To Power II CD. Sometimes when you change hardware individual files may be assigned to the wrong Windows function, this should correct the problem.
Playing Call to Power on a Laptop
The default resolution that Call to Power 2 plays at may not appear correctly on some laptop monitors. This can often be resolved by changing the resolution to 800x600. This can be done in the main interface or in the ‘userprofile.txt’ file. Activision does not support playing Call to Power 2 on a laptop.
Note to Windows 95 Users
In Windows 95, players may experience text glitches if Windows is set to use "Large Fonts."
Windows 95 does not have a default web browser setup. Although no browser is required to play Call to Power 2, you must have a web browser installed to view the full Call to Power 2 Help file system.
II. Addendum to Manual and other Last Minute Issues
- A. Understanding CTP2 Formulas
- B. Keyboard Binding
- C. Kicking unwanted players from Multiplayer Games
- D. Vanishing Armies
- E. Death of Tiny Cities
- F. Upkeep Costs vs. Research
- G. Maximum Players for Small Maps
- H. Special characters not available in Chat
- I. Prerequisites for City Improvements
- J. Changes For Tech Tree Poster
- K. Changes >From the Manual
- L. Battling Submarines
- M. Additional Cost for Breaking Trade Route
- N. Similarities between Keyboard commands: ‘n’ for Next Unit / City Item and 'o' for Select Unit
- O. Scenario Rules
- P. Understanding Regard
A. Understanding CTP2 Formulas
Call to Power 2 uses a complex series of formulas to compute bonuses.
Example 1: Improvement claims to improve city production (or happiness, crime rate, commerce, food, overcrowding, etc) by 10%, however the actual increase after building it is often more or less than 10%. Why?
Answer: There are many other issues that impact your city’s production (or happiness, crime rate, commerce, food, overcrowding, etc), such as preexisting crime, pollution, population, other city improvements, government type, specialists, Wonders, and more. The specified 10% is a typical average before other factors are computed. The given percentage is best when considered as compared to others.
Example 2: Fortification Bonus, as displayed in the Battle View, doesn’t always seem consistent.
Answer: The Fortification Bonus shows an average for all defending. For example, one unit has a 50% bonus for being fortified. If you have two units being attacked, one fortified and one unfortified, you will see a fortification of 25% (50% divided over 2 units).
Example 3: Terrain Bonus, as displayed in the Battle View, shows a big bonus but I still didn’t win. Why?
Answer: Only the Terrain Bonus for the defender is displayed, however the attacker also gets a bonus computed. Mountains have a greater advantage over plains. If a defender is in the mountains, they will likely survive an attack from units charging from the plains (everything else being equal). Likewise, units storming from the mountains to vanquish a similar army in flatlands will normally win (everything else being equal). Bonus levels for units attacking or defending across identical territory (both armies starting in plains or mountains) are nullified.
Example 4: Unit upkeep costs as shown in the Unit Manager don’t always add up. For example, adding the upkeep costs of 3 hoplites, 1 spy, and 1 diplomat. The math seems to indicate the costs are 15, but the display says they’re costing me 18.
Answer: The numbers in the Unit Manager do not reflect any impact of government type. Armies cost more or less for some governments and the displayed number is rounded for simplicity of display.
B. Keyboard Binding
Call to Power 2 gives players the opportunity to assign many of the typical commands to the keyboard. For a list of the default keys, please see the manual or the in-game options.
When assigning keys several things are important to consider:
- Keys assigned are case sensitive. In other words, there is a big difference between ‘s’ and ‘S.’
- You are able to assign keys to control functions. For example, a valid choice could be ‘ctrl+s.’
- You are able to assign keys to special keys such as symbols (#,&,!,@, etc) and function keys (F1, F2, F3, etc).
- You CANNOT assign key to alternate keys. For example, you can NOT use ‘alt+s.’
- Many language specific keys cannot be bound (accented characters on non-English keyboards, for example).
C. Multiplayer Options
In the game, if the host wishes to kick a player, then the host can press ctrl+n to bring up a list of all the players in the game. To kick a player, select the player, that you wish to kick, and then click on the Kick button. Note: you can only kick human players from the game and not the AI. Also, if dynamically join is turned on, the host can choose to close off any Empires from being taken over by new players. To do this, select the empire and then click on either Open (allow human players to take over this Empire) or Close (to disallow human players from taking over this Empire).
For more information about the creation and play of multiplayer Call to Power II games, please consult the Multiplayer Readme.
D. Vanishing Armies
In Call to Power II, players cannot have more than 12 units on a single tile at any one time. If a city builds more than 12 units, every unit built past the maximum are automatically disbanded. If an army of 12 units discovers a mercenary in an ancient ruin - the mercenary will not appear.
E. Death of Tiny Cities
It is very important to defend your cities in Call to Power II - especially very young and small villages. When a city with a population of 1 (10,000 people or less) is destroyed, it is completely razed. Nothing is left to retake. The town is wiped out and leveled to the ground.
F. Upkeep Costs vs. Research
All expenses of your empire are deducted from commerce before gold and science are calculated. Thus any building will deduct a small amount of money that would have been applied to research and any improvement that increases commerce will positively impact research.
G. Maximum Players for Small Maps
Small maps can only have up to 6 players at any time (including the player). If you choose more, only 5 opponents will appear.
H. Special characters not available in Chat
Some special characters are not available to use while chatting in multiplayer games. Keys available only on non-US keyboards may not appear. The ‘\’ key will not appear in some instances.
I. Prerequisites for City Improvements
Along with researching necessary Advances, some City Improvements require a city to have specific Improvements already available. For example, before a Bank can be built, the city must first have a Bazaar completed. The complete list of Improvement prerequisites is as follows:
|
Before this can be built: |
This must be built: |
|
Academy |
none |
|
Airport |
Bank, Bazaar |
|
Anti-ballistic Missiles |
none |
|
Aqua-Filter |
Aqueduct, Arcologies |
|
Aqueduct |
none |
|
Arcologies |
Aqueduct |
|
Arena |
none |
|
Ballista Towers |
none |
|
Bank |
Bazaar |
|
Basilica |
Shrine |
|
Battlements |
none |
|
Bazaar |
none |
|
Behavioral Mod Center |
Correctional Facility, Courthouse |
|
Body Exchange |
Drug Store, Hospital, Incubation Center |
|
Brokerage |
Bank, Bazaar |
|
Capitol |
none |
|
City Walls |
none |
|
Computer Center |
Academy, Publishing House, University |
|
Cornucopic Vat |
Food Silo, Granary |
|
Correctional Facility |
Courthouse |
|
Courthouse |
none |
|
Drug Store |
none |
|
E-Bank |
Bank, Bazaar, Brokerage |
|
Eco-Transit |
Public Transportation |
|
Factory |
none |
|
Flak-Towers |
none |
|
Food Silo |
Granary |
|
Forcefield |
City Walls |
|
Fusion Plant |
Nuclear Plant, Oil Refinery |
|
Gaia Controller Core |
none |
|
Granary |
none |
|
Hospital |
Drug Store |
|
Incubation Center |
Drug Store, Hospital |
|
Matter Decompiler |
Recycling Plant |
|
Micro Defense |
none |
|
Mill |
none |
|
Movie Palace |
Arena |
|
Nanite Factory |
Factory, Robotic Plant |
|
Nuclear Plant |
Oil Refinery |
|
Oil Refinery |
none |
|
Orbital Laboratory |
Academy, Computer Center, Publishing House, University |
|
Gaia Power Satellite |
none |
|
Public Transportation |
none |
|
Publishing House |
Academy, University |
|
Recycling Plant |
none |
|
Robotic Plant |
Factory |
|
Security Monitor |
Correctional Facility, Courthouse |
|
Shrine |
none |
|
Television |
Bank, Bazaar |
|
Theater |
none |
|
University |
Academy |
|
Vr Amusement Park |
Arena, Movie Palace |
J. Changes For Tech Tree Poster
After the printing of the poster, several units were tweaked to improve game balance. These changes include:
Fusion Tank
Ranged 100 -> 90
Leviathan
Attack 100 -> 90
Ranged 100 -> 90
Stealth Bomber
Ranged 100 -> 95
Stealth Fighter
Attack 100 -> 90
Ranged 100 -> 90
War Walker
Ranged 100 -> 95
The poster indicates that the Televangelist has the ability to Bombard. This is incorrect. The Televangelist cannot Bombard.
K. Changes From the Manual
In the City Concepts chapter of the manual, it is mentioned that the number of Settler units a player starts with is a function of the difficulty setting. This is true. It fails to mention that it is also dependent on the player’s starting position. If the player starts in a relatively weak position, then the player will be given two Settlers. The higher the difficulty, the weaker the starting position needs to be in order to get two Settlers.
In the chapter called "Setting Up a Game" some of the difficulty settings were incorrectly named. The Barbarian Threat options in The Difficulty window, accessible from the New Game Screen, is actually called: Ruins Only, Bandits, Raiders, Marauders.
L. Battling Submarines
Only PT Boats, Sonar Buoys, and other underwater units can see underwater units. Destroyers and other warships can only attack submarines if they are grouped into armies with units to spot for them. However, surface ships can bombard underwater units if they are in range and have line-of-sight.
M. Additional Cost for Breaking Trade Route
Every time you break a trade route, you lose 1 caravan.
N. Similarities between Keyboard commands: ‘n’ for Next Unit / City Item and 'o' for Select Unit
The Next Unit (default 'n') and Select Unit (default 'o') commands have very similar functions. However, hitting Select Unit will also take you to any of your cities that have an empty build queue making it more useful in micro-managing your empire.
O. Scenario Rules
1. Note about Scenarios
Call to Power 2 includes 4 different scenarios: Alexander the Great, Magnificent Samurai, Nuclear Detente, and a World Map. Each scenario, except for the World Map, has a unique set of rules. Players should review the Great Library and the text below for more information. The World Map rules are identical to a normal game of Call to Power 2, except that the geography is identical to our real world.
After playing thru any scenario, players will come across a blank high scores screen identical to the screen at the end of a standard Call to Power 2 game.
It is highly recommended that new scenario games only be loaded from the main menu. Do not load scenarios from within normal games or from within other scenarios.
2. ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Victory Points
Your performance in this game is rated through a point based objective system. You can earn up to 60 Victory Points in the game. You gain Victory Points for three things:
1) Raise an heir to be old enough to take on the leadership of the Macedonians after your death. After finding a wife and giving birth to a son, you will earn a Victory Point for each year your son lives, up until the son reaches the age of 12, at which point you will get a 5 point bonus.
2) Destroy or ally with civilizations. You get a Victory Point for each civilization in the game you've destroyed or allied with. Note that the Persians and Independent civilizations hate you fiercely and will not ally with you under any circumstances. You can also earn two Victory Points if all 13 of the great Barbarian Leaders are found and eliminated.
3) Conquer and hold key cities, which include Syracuse, Tarentum, Carthage, Rome, Athens, Corinth, Pella, Sparta, Ephesus, Halicarnassus, Cyene, Memphis, Tyre, Salamis, Thapsacus, Tarsus, Sinope, Babylon, Susa, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Baktra, Aornus, Marakanda, Roruka, Pattala, Taksasila, Sakala, Ujjayini, Suvarnagiri, Kausambi, Mathura, Pataliputra, Tamralipti, Marib and Shabwah. You get a Victory Point for each of these cities that you or your Allies hold at the end of the game.
Veteran Effect
At the beginning of each turn, every unit who shares the same square as Alexander or Darius will gain Veteran status for the rest of that turn.
New Units
A number of new units have been added including the Elephant Warrior, Longbow Archer, Horseman, Catamaran, War Coracle, Trireme, Phalanx, Alexander, Darius, and the Generals. You can see their statistics and description in the Units section of the Great Library. The abilities of certain units familiar from the normal game, such as the Warrior, are slightly boosted.
Time Index
Each turn represents one month. Science, Production and Growth have been slowed to accomodate this. Researching a technology is 10 times slower, and tile improvements, units and buildings cost roughly 5 to 10 times more than usual, and cities grow at 1/10th of the usual rate.
Movement
Due to the greater detail of the map, unit movement is doubled. No unit can travel across Polar Mountain terrain. Units that cannot travel across Mountain terrain cannot move across Sand Dunes either. Your armies will be able to move after they attack and attack multiple times per round, unless they capture a city, in which case they will not be able to move or attack for the rest of that turn.
Trade Goods
Some trade goods are located on different terrain types than usual. Hills have Rubies, Diamonds and Emeralds. Elephants are found in Jungles. Jade can be found on Mountains. And Coffee, Tea and some other goods are not in the scenario because they haven't been commercially used in the time period of the scenario.
Units And Buildings
Some units and buildings can only be built in certain cities. For instance, Elephant Warriors can only be built in Indian cities and Hoplites are only available in ethnically Greek cities. The exception to this is if you found a new city. New Cities can build any type of unit. However, you cannot build Settlers and will only receive them through special events.
3. THE MAGNIFICENT SAMURAI
Background
- In this scenario, you play as Akimbo Katana, a solitary, wandering warrior living in Southern Japan during the violent death-throes of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Your objective is to travel across the islands and recruit up to six other samurai to help you defend the village of Shichinen against marauding Bandits.
- This is a Role Playing Adventure, so there is no city building, resource management or scientific research. And Diplomacy will avail you little, since you are dealing with brutes who only understand the language of steel and blood.
Victory/Loss
- The game is won when the Bandit Leader is defeated.
- The game is lost either when Akimbo dies, or when a year and a half passes and you haven't defeated the Bandit Leader.
Experience
Akimbo and the other Samurai will gain experience from combat. More powerful enemies give better experience. When enough experience is earned, samurai will gain a level, increasing in power. Akimbo starts at level 1, but the other samurai you meet will start at higher levels. For this scenario, the maximum level is 9.
4. NUCLEAR DETENTE
How To Win
- Using Spies, Investigate all eight Vendikari cities before Launch Codes reset.
- Destroy all Vendikari nuclear subs in one turn.
- Build the Nanite Defuser Wonder.
- Convince the Vendikari, through diplomacy, to disband all their Nukes.
Loss Conditions
- If you remain at war for 12 turns, a M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) attack happens, which will usually destroy all of the Vendikari and Eminiari cities with nuclear missiles.
- If you destroy a Vendikari nuclear sub or capture a Vendikari city, the next turn a M.A.D. attack happens, which will usually destroy all of the Vendikari and Eminiari cities with nuclear missiles.
- If you disband all your nuclear missiles, you lose the game.
- If another race builds the Nanite Defuser Wonder, you lose the game.
Special Rules
- Neither you, nor the Vendikari can move your nuclear submarines.
- Neither you, nor the Vendikari can unload Nukes from Nuclear Submarines.
- No players can build Nuclear Subs, Nukes, Anti-Ballistic Missiles or any kind of Settlers.
- Launch Codes reset every 6 turns.
P. Understanding Regard
"Regard" is how your neighbors feel about you. It influences their communications and dealings with you. It will serve as a guide to them as they ponder your proposals and consider whether or not to attack you. As in real life, regard is not something that can be gained overnight - although it can be lost that quickly. Giving gifts and being nice will (over time) improve their regard for you. Being honorable and trustworthy in your dealings will impress them and will lead to rewarding friendships. Being two-faced, backstabbing, blood-thirsty, and aggressive while effective on the battlefield, will not foster cooperation at the negotiating table.
III. Supported Languages
List of Supported Languages
The following W98 OS languages have been tested on the UK version of Call to Power 2:
- English (US)
- English (UK)
- German
- Portuguese (BR and IB)
- Chinese (Simp)
- Korean
- Dutch
- Swedish
- Danish
- Norwegian
- Finnish
- Japanese
- Hebrew
- Czech
- Polish
- Hungarian
- Turkish
- Slovian
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