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Harry Tuttle
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of the Hoople Heads
Mar 2003
time: 00:16
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The Letter Version 3:
Dear Infogrames,
This petition seeks to gain permission from you, the Civilization II/Sid Meier's Civilizaton II holders, for the release of the Civilization II source code. We present this petition to you in all good faith, as Civilization II fans, as loyal Civilization game franchise followers, and ultimately Civilization game purchasers.
For the past 8 years the computer game Civilization II has been on the market throughout the world. Also, derivatives of the original game, Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition and Civilization II: Test of Time, have been on the market for over 5 years.
During this time Civilization II has enthralled millions with its addicting game play, its ease of use, and ultimately its adaptability to modifications. Since its release it has gained a following like no other game ever released. Even today, many years past the release of Civilization, there are 6 websites around the world devoted to the game and its predecessors. No one can deny Civilization 2 is a game that will forever be revered as a classic.
As with any game that has brought so much pleasure to its fans we, the members of Apolyton.net, Civfanatics.com, The Creative Design Group Civ 2 Forums, Civ.Org.pl, Civilization Center, and the German Civilization 2 Site seek to learn more about the game which has enthralled us for nearly a decades worth of time. We, in full knowledge and consent, ask you to release the source code of Civilization II to us, the public, for use in modification for non-financial means. We only seek to better and modify the game that has been enjoyed for so long so that we can continue enjoying it, and all the Civilization genre games, including the upcoming the fourth so named Civilization game.
Again, we do not seek to gain financially from this petition nor will we tolerate those who seek to gain from any such release. We are committed to making the source code open to all, at no cost, so that others can continue to enjoy a game that has opened the world of gaming to so many.
As Civilization fans we realize that the source code to Civilization II may still be viewed as commercially viable to any such producer and distributor of the game. To those that seek to gain from the further commercial release of Civilization II we present the following arguments. Please realize that these arguments are presented in good faith, as we do not wish to prod anyone to give up the source code against their will or the will of the ultimate decision makers in the process. We only seek to present an argument and, hopefully, receive a viable argument as to the opposite of our goal.
The arguments for the release of the Civilization II source code.
1) Due to the recent release of Windows XP and the Operating System's penchant for not working well with old games, Civilization II has been increasingly troublesome to play. Major modifications to the root directory are required to run the game, causing problems for any Civ2/Windows XP user. As is evident, Windows XP has become the dominant Operating System for all new computers. Thus, Civilization II has become an obsolete game.
2) In a market dominated by 3 dimensional polygon games, graphic heavy "shooters", and game console like games, the idea of playing a game like Civilization II has been lost to many consumers. Very few people want to pay for a game that was originally released in 1997. Thus, Civilization II has become uninteresting to the vast majority of computer game consumers.
3) With the release of Civilization 3, Civilization 3 "add-ons", and the future release of Civilization 4, Civilization II has been passed by as the leading game in the genre of strategy/empire building. Only a few adamant players across the world have chosen to play Civilization II, not enough to be any sort of viable consumer base.
4) An avenue sometimes overlooked is the ability for "gamers" to improve a game. Many people talk about what they want in a game like Civilization II but few actually bother to bring their thoughts to fruition. With the release of the source code the small Civilization II gaming community could improve upon the game, outlining what they, the hardcore gamers, want in a strategy/empire building game. Needless to say, this opens up an opportunity for any future producers of games in the strategy/empire building genre to learn what gamers really want. The signers of this petition are the types of gamers that know what they want and tend to set a precedent for other like-minded gamers. Through the exploration of the internal workings of the Civilization II source code future designers can discover what exactly consumers desire from their strategy/empire building game. The opportunity for designers to learn, improve, and ultimately produce a better selling game is now.
5) Goodwill is an important part of retaining customers. In any industry it is important to reinforce the idea that producers want to satisfy their customers. Any business owner knows that a happy customer is a return customer and that a happy customer will spread the word of a well-meaning company. We, the signers of this petition, believe that releasing the source code to Civilization II is the perfect opportunity to build brand loyalty among Civilization fans. A great many game consumers like the idea that a game producer is out to not only create and sell a game, but to also entertain and satisfy their customers. Remember, a happy customer, is a return customer.
6) Building a following among fans creates an aura of infallibility. Fans of any game will ultimately be apt to continue purchasing any following games in a series. The "group think" among fans of any product, is that any future releases can only improve. With the release of the Civilization II source code many fans will view with affection later releases of the series, facilitating higher sales for the future game. Marketing does not only entail reinforcing the image of the latest game, but reinforcing the image of the entire series. The release of the source code will ignite a new interest in strategy/empire building games, creating a clamor for games of the same ilk.
We seek a source code released under the GNU General Public License guidelines or a lesser derivative that would allow modification of only the source code. We do not seek to make public graphics or video media from Civ2 as media would be copyrighted either under the license or by the original graphic designers. All we hope to receive is the source code so as to modify the main Civ2 executable, thereby allowing us, the modifiers and fans of Civ2, to compile the program, and to create a better, more bug free, game.
We understand the legal implications of what we are asking. Releasing the source code to any game requires full transparency as to the aims of the party wishing for the code to be released. We assure you, as loyal Civ2 fans, that we are sincere in our plea and do not wish to gain financially from the release of the code. The only gain we hope to make is in the fulfillment of making a great game even better.
Please take this letter with the names and email addresses of the petition signers to heart. We, the fans of Civ2 await your reply.
Letter ends here, open to additions
Ok folks, here's the deal. Yaroslav seems to be AWOL with his job. I don't fault him at all, I hope it's a great experience for him. Unfortunately, and hopefully Pablostuka can help remedy the situation by contacting Yaro, we need the emails of those who have sent their email addresses to Yaro exclusively.
If it is ok with everyone else (and PLEASE tell me if it's not) I would like to set up an email account to gather those addresses yet again. I can gather what I can from the various threads at all the forums, but I would like to have everyone included.
I apologize if I am overstepping my bounds, but it seems that someone needs to become the point person. ANY help is welcome.
If this is acceptable, I will begin contacting those who have posted in the threads, without a posted email, by PM.
EDIT: Spelling, grammar, additional info.
Last edited by Harry Tuttle on 28-11-2004 at 00:13
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Mercator
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Sorekara no Nanimo
Jan 1970
time: 06:16
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Excellent letter. 
One mistake I could spot, though. Civ2 was originally released in 1996, not 1997 (second argument).
And you could also include "Civilization II: Test of Time" in your second paragraph, it's been available for 5 years.
Oh, and since Civ2 was released in 1996, it's been available 8 years (not 9), and MGE was released in 1998, so it's been available 6 years (not 7).
I think it would be best to get the e-mail addresses from yaroslav. People agreed to give their e-mail for the petition, not specifically just for yaroslav, IMHO... Unless you plan to sell them. 
But as CapTVK has said earlier, the next step should be trying to contact the right people. We can't send a petition unless we know where to send it...
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CapTVK
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Voorburg, the Netherlands, Europe
Jan 1970
time: 05:16
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Not if you're a turkey!
Gobble Gobble Gobble!!! 
Newsflash!: Atari/Infogrames still owns the older Civ titles!
From
http://pc.ign.com/articles/568/568768p1.html?fromint=1
quote:
Civilization Sold
Infogrames unloads the franchise -- but to whom?
November 24, 2004 - European developer and publisher Infogrames mentioned in its first-half 2004/2005 financial report that the company sold the Civilization franchise. The sale resulted in a capital gain of 15.5 million euros (in excess of 20 million USD) for Infogrames.
The Civilization series of turn-based strategy games, created by Sid Meier, is one of the most recognized and acclaimed PC gaming franchises. The next title in the series, Civilization IV, is under development at Firaxis Games, Sid Meier's development company.
Though the identity of the franchise's new owner has not yet been disclosed, our sources were able to clarify the situation somewhat:
"Infogrames (parent company for Atari) has sold the rights to Civ IV. Atari however will continue to hold the publishing and distribution rights to all previously released Civilization games and expansion packs through October 2005."
No release date for Civilization IV has been announced, and it is unclear how the sale may affect the sequel's release. As more information emerges, rest assured we'll be back to let you know.
-- David Adams
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Harry Tuttle
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of the Hoople Heads
Mar 2003
time: 00:16
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Ok, I've been looking on the Atari and Infogrames website.
Officially Infogrames is a holding company that exists as the parent company to all the Atari subsidiaries. Atari is broken up into mainly American and European divisions consisting of Production, Publishing, and Distribution segments.
As I see it, Atari, Inc (the United States division) controls all three segements for the United States. Now, this might be a good place to start, as it seems that this might be where the majority of the work of the company is done. Though, Infogrames is a French company, but their market might be slanted toward the United States more than Europe meaning that the decision makers might be located in the U.S.
Now, I went looking for contacts on Atari, Inc.'s site: http://corporate.infogrames.com/cor...hp#northamerica
I think these contacts might be the ones to go to:
Corporate Communication
Nancy Bushkin
Tel: +1 212-726-6500
Financial Communication
us.ir@atari.com
Tel: +1 212-726-6500
Product PR
us.pr@atari.com
Tel: +1 978-921-3700
Here are the offices in the U.S.:
Other Offices
Atari Interactive, Inc.
50 Dunham Road
Beverly, MA 01915
978-921-3700
Atari, Inc. (Humongous Entertainment)
3855 Monte Villa Parkway
Bothell, WA 98021
425-486-9258
Atari, Inc.
2230 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Main Phone: 310-595-2100
Atari, Inc.
613 Tasman Drive
Suite B
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Main Phone: 408-212-7800
I think these are good prospects to start with. A word of caution. I think that we need to have everything together before we go to them and start asking to speak to someone. If we go in unprepared we'll look disorganized and be dismissed. People who work in corporate settings, or in any business settings, do not like to have their chain yanked and their time wasted.
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Harry Tuttle
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of the Hoople Heads
Mar 2003
time: 00:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Kobra
As it looks now it looks as you're doing this pretty much on your own. I just want you to know that I'm here if you need help with anything. Be it source gathering, tracking down persons etc. |
Just continue to post. I may ask you to do some people gathering later, depending on how things go. Thanks for your help!
quote:
@All:
I think that curt has a good point with the lead admin thing. I don't know who that is here at apolyton, but I'm sure Thunderfall (CFC) and Elucidus (CDG) would sign up when it's a question regarding the great benefit of the civ(2) community. Pablostuka, admin of the Civ2 section at CDG and jasev from the spanish site, we have already. Who else do we have? The German web ring and the polish civ site?.
With a grand world alliance in the search of the civ2 holy grail like this, we can't fail! |
Thunderfall said he could contact someone at (I think he said) Firaxis on our behalf. Other than that I don't think he'd sign though, not wanting to become involved with any problems with the developers.
I don't know about Elucidus, haven't talked to him, but Pablo is obviously on board.
Sezon, who runs Civ.Org.pl is already on board and is reporting over 200 signed from his site.
MarkG *might* sign and help out, but I think he is in almost the same boat as Thunderfall as far as keeping relations steady. We could just ask him flat out of course, he is a personable guy.
The Civ Gaming site, the one that hosts Mercator's site, does not have a Civ2 section specifically, but I did just post the petition in its Other Games forum. We could ask one of the Admins there.
As for the German site, which I have had trouble finding any specific one, I do need someone to go out and post something. Eivind, how about it?
quote:
And, any word from yaro? |
Nope, not yet. I didn't specifically ask Pablo to find him again, but I bet he's seen the posts on CDG and here. I'll send him a PM.
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01-11-2004 10:01
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