WHAT WAS NEW ON THE SITE

29.Apr 13 New Viking Scribes 24.Apr Column #38; By MarkG 18.Apr Civ2 Story finished! 17.Apr Column #37; By DanQ 10.Apr Column #36; By A. Livings 3.Apr Column #35; By Dracon 2.Apr Links updated

NUMERO UNO
(April 27, 1999) For the week of April 11-17, 1999, Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition was the number 1 selling PC game according to PCData. It bumped Activision's Civilization: Call To Power down to second spot during the same period. Searching for reason why perhaps? Hasbro is offering a $20US rebate off the purchase price, effectively cutting the cost in half.

SUMMER MAY SIZZLE WITH ToT
(April 26, 1999) We discovered a PC-IGN preview of MicroProse's Civilization II: Test of Time. We were pleasantly surprised with all the detail it has to date! To start off with, the most burning question on all our minds is whether or not it is a new game. Previewer Trend Ward had the following to say on that issue:
"At its core, Test of Time is basically Civilization 2 with upgraded graphics, sound and controls. All of the art in the game has been upgraded from 8-bit to 16-bit, each unit has had animation added to make its movements smooth and convincing and nearly everything, from city boxes to pull down menus have been redesigned to make things as easy on the player as humanly possible. In short, Civilization has been brought into the nineties".

We have heard a lot about the "Fantasy" style world which is reportedly available in ToT; Ward confirms it from playing his beta copy. "First the fantasy world. In this mode you become the commander of one of seven (at least right now it's seven) different Tolkeinesque tribes... you can choose from four different city styles". However, he points out that "this isn't just Civ 2 with pointy ears -- this mode has its own research tree in addition to other major game changes".

Next comes some discussion on the "Sci-Fi" mode. "... operates exactly like Civilization 2, with the basic twist being that this time you're trying to evolve your culture enough so that you can return to your home planet.
... the sci-fi battle takes place on several different planes, each of which has its own particular strengths. Once you have access to spaceship technology, you'll be able to carry on your fight in space while in orbit...

Now, here's something definitely new: ultra-dimensional attacks! "Like Masters of Magic before it, Test of Time will force you not only to command the land, but other layers as well. In fact, the game will ask you to keep up with what's going on four different layers at once - On a standard land map, underground, under the oceans and in the air".

Finally before we get to the abundance of new screens, we feel it worthwhile to mention yet another mode of gameplay: Ultimate Civ (name is likely to be changed before release, according to sources). "... plays just like a game of Civ 2 but opens up an entirely new game (based on the sci-fi tile set) if and when you win the Race for Space. One nice little twist here is that, if you play with seven civilizations, one race will begin the game on the far away planet and will begin colonizing that world as a native from the get go". *Whew*! And you thought 'ordinary' CivII games were long...

The following screens accompanied that review: Description of "Genetically Engineered Integrated Environment" advance (137k); building a new improvement (186k); building options (197k); description of the Psi-brator (54k); city view (183k); a close up (164k); another close up (165k); fantasy map (181k); the first flying machine (178k); moving units (330k); pursuing science research (124k); pre-game race selection (117k); city shields (166k); trade advisor (134k; courtesy CGO); underground view (207k) and last but not least, viewing a unit (108k). We highly recommend these as the article (and subsequently the screens) are dated this month.

INTERVIEW WITH DanQ
(April 17, 1999) More than two months have passed since Apolyton's very own DanQ agreed to an interview conducted by a Russian gaming magazine. Believed to have not been used and never before been published otherwise, his answers are reproduced this week as the 37th Column.

MAC VERSION SELLING WELL
(April 16, 1999) PC Data announced the top sales listings for all categories of software for the month of March. In the Macintosh Games listing, Civilization 2 isn't just in the top 10, but went up from the 6th to 5th position. For more on Civ2 Mac, see (what else?) our Civilization II for Macintosh section.

MULTIPLAYER VERSION 1.3
(April 28, 1999) MicroProse updated MGE/UCC patch v1.3 on April 22nd. You can download the updated file here, or by clicking on the link in the menu to your right. Again, be sure to read the notes from the MPS ReadMe File -- they were not, however, updated from the previous v1.3 release.
(April 15, 1999) MicroProse Technical Support department released MGE and UCC v1.3 on Monday. To make the process easier, MPS has incorporated this update into one file for users of both products; it's 2MB, and you can download it from us here, or by clicking on the link in the menu to your right. Here are the Notes for this version, from the MPS ReadMe File: