CtP2 FAQ

[Martin Gühmann]

Q33 Is it possible if a city revolts that it becomes a new civilization instead of a Barbarian city?

A33 Yes, all what you have to do is open your userprofile.txt in your ..\ctp2_program\ctp\ folder with any texteditor (e.g. notepad) and search for this line:

MaxPlayers=0

Replace the 0 by a number above the number at NumPlayers, and evrey city from revolts will become a new civilization until you have reached the numbers of players in your game set at MaxPayers.

But not this feature is not bug free, at first you will get a repetive global warming warning at the start of the game, although nothing like floods or ozone damage will happen. After some turns it usually does not appear in my games again.
In the late game this feature can cause crashes usually this does happen if an already wiped off civilization is replaced by a new one. When this happen it is no problem to set back MaxPlayers to 0 and start a savegame from before the crash and the replacement civ occured.

Q34 Is it a bug that my cities stop growing when they reached size 60. From the score there should be cities possible of size 500.

A34 No, that is indentional that the cities stop at size 60 to grow, the bug lies rather in the score system.

So it is a rhule and it kept me from terraforming anything around the city to grassland. But as it is a rhule, CTP2 wouldn't be CTP2 if you couldn't change it. Check out

this thread. But note more population causes more pollution and more pollution causes more unhappiness.

[Dinner]

Q35: How do I minimize resychs in MP games?

A35: There are several things you can do to minimize resynchs:
1) both you and the other players should close all other applications.
2) make sure the person with the best ping, most memmory, & fastest CPU hosts.
3) make sure you;re playing on a patched version of the game.
4) make sure you play on a server that has a good ping rate for all of the players.
5) make sure the server isn't over loaded with other games.

If your computer is unstable and continues to crash then reboot the system as this will most often fix the problem. If the resynching STILL continues then there is either a lack of resources on someones machine or the other player is using the inifinite builds cheat. The cheat will cause the game to continually resynch because every time the cheater suddenly gets something new the other computers will think it is missing part of the game and will try to resynch.

[Dinner]

Q36: What is the "Infinite Builds Cheat"?

A36: The Infinite builds cheat (IBC) allows unscupulous players to build anything they want in just one turn be it wonders, units, or city improvements. Members of the Apolyton community are currently working on a fix for this cheat so it should be fixed shortly. You can tell that someone is using the cheat because the game will begin to resynch constently and your opponents graph will begin to grow at an unbelievably fast rate.

[PDA-CIV]

Q37 I have set game-difficulty to BEGINNER/EASY and though I have chosen the MARAUDERS-level at BARBARIAN THREAT ,
there are no barbarians nor any GOODY HUTS/RUINS ???? I have installed Activisions patch 1.1 , but it does not help .

A37 No , but you will get tutorial messages to help you learn some basics of the game at these levels
(there might be a bug at the EASY level as it shows up in the Editor as BEGINNER) . At the easiest level
you dont have ruins since the AI has a higher chance of getting good things out of ruins ...

You can disable tutorial messages , though you might have to restart the game (saved or not) in the beginning .

(Thanx to PEDRUNN for some of the explanation !)

[Locutus]

Q38 I'm completely addicted to these forums but sometimes I can't reach them - the server is down or whatever - what should I do to fill the enormous gap in my life when this happens?
A38 Well, first of all, you could play some more CtP2 Aside from that, some of the regulars here hang out at another forum at CivFanatics. It's not nearly as good as Apolyton of course, but a good substitute when you can't get here.

Q39 I want to play on bigger/smaller/different maps, the Gigantic map isn't gigantic enough for me, how do I do this?
A39 It's very easy to do, just go into ctp2_data\default\gamedata\const.txt (or XXX_const.txt if you use a certain mod, where XXX represents the prefix of the mod) and look for this section:

MAP_SIZE_SMALL		26	52	2
MAP_SIZE_MEDIUM		48	96	2
MAP_SIZE_LARGE		64	128	2
MAP_SIZE_GIGANTIC	70	140	2

The first two numbers represent the size of each map. Simply replace these numbers by whatever size you prefer and start the game to see the results.

Q40 I've been playing around with the files and accidently made some changes to the original gamefiles without making backups. Now I'd like the original files back, how do I do this?
A40 All the files of the game are in a ZIP file on your CD. However, this file doesn't have a *.zip extention, so it's probably not recognized by your unzip utility. What you need to do is open your unzip utility and then select 'open archive' or a similar option from the file menu. Then (assuming your CD-drive is drive D:) browse to D:\Setup\data and open either civmain.ctp or civlang.ctp. Files from the default folder can be found in civmain.ctp, files from the language folders (english/german/spanish/etc gamefolder) in civlang.ctp. Once the archive is opened you can extract the files like you ordinarily would.

Q41 In CtP1/Civ2/Civ3 I always managed which part of the city radius was worked in the city screen, but I can't find where to do this CtP2. Can I still do this?
Q41 No, in CtP2 all workers work all tiles within a certain ring, but each worker collects only a small portion of all the resources in this tile. The best way to control a city's production is with specialists (in the City Screen, F3-key) or with sliders (in the Empire Manager, F1-key). See Q27 (and especially the links mentioned there) for more info.

Q42 What is the relationship between CtP1/2 on the one hand and Civ1/2/3 on the other hand.
A42 Short answer: there is no relationship, except that they are similar types of games and share a name (CtP1's full name is Civilization: Call to Power). Long answer: here is a thread that discusses the exact relationship and history between these game in somewhat more detail.

Q43 I find it really annoying that I can't see when my cities are not producing anything, is there a fix for this?
A43 There are a number of ways to see which cities have empty build queues.

• Press the 'o' key to cycle through your units with movement points left. Once all units have moved, this key will cycle through all cities with an empty build queue.
  
• Scan your empire for cities who's name is yellow, their build queues are empty.
  
• Check the message tab in the control panel, messages are displayed here when something is built and a queue is empty.
  
• Scroll through the list of cities in the city tab (on the control panel) or City Screen (F3).
  
• Open the City Manager (F2) and click the Build tab.
  
• Open the file ctp2_data\default\gamedata\script.slc. Now search for '38UnitCompletedQueueEmpty', '38BuildingBuiltQueueEmpty', '38WonderBuiltQueueEmpty' and '38EndgameBuiltQueueEmpty'. Insert the following line after these texts:
  

  	Show();

  Now you will get a pop-up message whenever there is an empty queue somewhere.
  
  Additional by Mirimunchkin
  Select the National Manager, then select the Status tab.
  All cities with an empty Build Queue will have a Turns to Complete value of "N/A".
  If you sort by Turns all the empty queues will appear at the top of the list.

[Bluevoss]

Q44 : How should I NOT disband units?

A44 : If a unit is disbanded in a city, it should be done while the map is visible. This includes right clicking on the unit and selecting the "disband" option, or selecting the unit and hitting the "disband" button in the unit orders.


If this is done, the production time for whatever is on the build queue should be shortened (men & materials from the old unit are used in construction of the new unit).

The player should NEVER disband units from the "Unit" screen within the city display. Yes, there is a button marked "DISBAND", but no points from the old unit are applied to the new one.

[azalae]

Q30 Help! ModSwapper won't install.
A30
Symptoms[list=1][*]You use Windows XP/NT[*]Using a non-administrator level user-account[*]While trying to install modswapper, generated error: file not found (e.g. ctp2_data\default\gamedata\gamefile.txt).[/list=1]
Remedy
NOTE: You need to log on with an administrator level user-account (XP: not power-user) to perform the following...[list=1][*]Uninstall CTP2.[*]Reinstall CTP2.[*]Install patch.[*]Install modswapper.[/list=1]

Reason: During installation, CTP2 creates "sensitive" registry keys that require administration level clearance. Both the patch and modswapper use those keys.

TIPS

• You do not require administrator level account to install mods, only modswapper.
• To "completely" uninstall CTP after this, log-on as administrator, otherwise those "sensitive" keys will stay there.

Edit: step-by-step answer

[Martin Gühmann]

Q45 Is it possible to place tile improvements in territory owned by other players?
A45 In general it is not possible to do this (at least in the original game and in all the mods that are until now released. (25-07-2002)) To do this you need an alliance with the civ that owns the land on which you whish to place the tile improvement.

[Locutus]

Q46 After a few thousand hours worth of play, the music of the game is getting old. Can I get different music for the game?
A46 Yes, you can. Once the game has started (or immideately, if you're using a no-CD hack), replace your CtP2 CD with your own music CD. If necessary, use the Esc button to turn the music on again and the game will play the music on that other CD. You can also disable the music in the game and play your own MP3s or other music files with MediaPlayer, RealPlayer, WinAmp or some other audio player.

Q47 When playing with my own CD, Call to Power II skips the first track. Can I fix this?
A47 Yes, you can fix this. Edit playlist.txt (in the folder ctp2_data/default/gamedata) to include track '0'. Don't do this if your CD has both data AND music on it though (as is the case with the regular CtP2 CD), as the data is stored on the first track; if it's played, this could result in damage to your boxes, especially if you're using an older sound system (my own system seems to be able to handle it, but that's no guarantee for other systems).
Note that with this change, the track titles in the track selection screen of the game won't be much use: track 1 in that list will be track 2 of the CD. But the 'random order' option *will* certainly work (thanks to Maquiladora for noting this).
If you're having other sound problems (same track being repeated all the time, certain tracks being skipped), editing this file might also help solve them.

[SMIFFGIG]

Questions 48 to 52

Q48 I want to download Maps,Scenarios, Mods, new Units, new Tile Improvements (TI's) and maybe even have ago at modding myself. But I cant find them anywhere? Are there any?

A48 Yes there is all that and more at http://apolyton.net/~ctp2files/


Q49 I cant find the MM2 (Medieval Mod 2) that I have heard so much about. Its not in the CtP2 Files section WHERE IS IT!!!

A49 WesW the creator of the mod has his own site where u can download it from here

http://wes.apolyton.net/

Or you can get to it through the main http://apolyton.net/ site under hosted sites

Edit by Locutus: update: the file is now available in the Apolyton Directory as well, get it here (make sure you download both files).

Q50I want to see the news on CtP2 from last month and way back to 2000 is there anyway i can do this?

A50 Yes, go to http://apolyton.net/news/index.php?Category=CtP2 to view the news archive for Call to Power 2


Q51 I would buy CtP2 if it had Resources like in Civ3 and Colonies

A51 Well have a look in the modding community for more info
here: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=55580 for Civ3 style Resources
here: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=25902 for Colonies

There is also a thread on Cultural Boarders as in Civ3 somewhere in the CtP2/Creation/AI/Mods/Scenarios forum
here: http://apolyton.net/forums/forumdisp...s=&forumid=118

update
As of Revision469 of the Source Code Project there has been the initial implementation of resources in Ctp2. The NeedsCityGood and NeedsCityGoodAll flags can be added to unit.txt, wonder.txt, and building.txt files. These flags need to be populated with the same resource value you can find in terrain.txt.

If you just want to add one good as a pre-requisite than you can use either the NeedsCityGood or the NeedsCityGoodAll flag. NeedsCityGood is an either/or flag meaning if you have two flags each with a different good than if the city has either good in its radius or is buying it from trade than the unit, building, wonder can be built.

NeedsCityGoodAll is an AND flag meaning if you have two flags each with a different good then the city has to have all goods in its radius or is buying them from trade for the unit, building, wonder to be built.


Q52 Is there any official cheats for CtP2

A52 Yes!
If you enter the leader name "Leemur", you get a million gold and a million public works. There's also a 1/100 chance that the very first time you open the Great Library, the words "lemur poo" will appear in the search text line.

Just had to include that last one

[mapfi]

Q53 I've installed Ctp2, Modswapper and a mod - Now I'm looking for userprofile.txt to change DebugSlic into No. It's not there!
A53 You have to run Ctp2 and start one game at least once in order for the file to be created. Then you end Ctp2 and change the file like advised and you're all set.

Edit/note: the same is valid for the broken servers.dat

[SMIFFGIG]

Now this is a good one and I thank Maquiladora for telling cheers

Q54
On single player im ALWAYS blue and its boring is there anyway i can change my colour

A54
Thank goodness there is

go to :\Call To Power 2\ctp2_data\default\gamedata\
and open "Colors00.txt"

and here you have it you are Player1 and your colour is by default "0 0 255" or in english BLUE

so look at the side to see what the other colours are like "0 0 0 " for black or "255 179 69" for orange. Anyway youl see in there so go to the file now and change your colour .

[Maquiladora]

Patch

Q55 Help! When i try to install the offical patch it cant find my installation of CTP2 even though its in the right place, and it wont install, what can i do?
A55 There is sometimes a problem with the patch installer and it cant find the installation, most notably on WinXP machines. You can download the patch in zip format and extract the files in the patch manually with winzip or another zip program. The patch for each language can be found in the directory here.

[hexagonian]

And for anyone thinking about giving Cradle a try, I'm posting the most FAQ that I get...

Q56: The game will seem to freeze up within a few turns of starting - either I entered a goody hut, or for no particular reason at all.

A56: The game is not actually freezing up, but it is processing what the civ is getting from a goody hut. This is caused by some unknown element in the militia SLIC coding - unfortunately, we haven't been able to fix this problem. The game will take anywhere from 1-2 minutes to process the info

And once the goody huts are cleared out, this is no longer an issue.

If you want to eliminate the problem, go into CRA_risks.txt and look for the following lines of text.

ADVANCE_HUT_CHANCE 0.15
UNIT_HUT_CHANCE 0.20

and change the numbers to

ADVANCE_HUT_CHANCE 0.0
UNIT_HUT_CHANCE 0.0

If you do this, you will not get free units/advances from the goody huts though.

[mapfi]

Q57 I want to play on the Internet but there are no servers... And I have enough time and resources to set up my own multiplayer server for evryone else. How do I do it?

A57 You find some answers here http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...52#post1321952
The source code of the hosting program has actually been released by activision.