14-03-2002 02:40									#1
	Problem with multiplayer...help! Got spare money?

I've played this game for awhile, but can't seem to connect with a server for multiplayer. I'll see a server, but it will sit at "joining lobby" for awhile, then tells me I can't join. I have dsl. Please help, this is my favorite strategy game of all-time and I would very much like to join the community.

	14-03-2002 20:29									#2
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Just to be sure, you are playing CtP1 and not CtP2? I'd recognize the problem if it was a CtP2 problem but I'm not aware of anything like this happening in CtP1...

	14-03-2002 22:33									#3
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Sorry, I'm referring to the first CTP.

	14-03-2002 23:39									#4
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No need to apologize, you were entirely clear by posting in this forum. However, there have been people in the past who were not so clear and who *did* post in the wrong forum, so I wanted to be sure. In this case, since you have CtP1, I'm afraid can't help you. I think that's a rather weird bug. Hopefully one of the MP people can help you...

	15-03-2002 00:02									#5
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The strange thing is I'm trying to play this with a friend of mine, he is using a dial-up as opposed to my dsl, different ISP, different state, yet he is having the same problem.

Locutus, do you play CTP 1 or 2?

	15-03-2002 01:35									#6
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Hmm...odd. Do you both have the patch installed?

I currently only play CtP2 (well, I mod more than I play but occassionally find time for playing too ), but I used to play (and mod) CtP1 a lot. I still read all the forums out of nostalgia and, because the games are so similar and I have a good memory, I can still answer some questions and join discussions here occassionally... and I'm always on the look-out for news

	15-03-2002 01:40									#7
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The first CTP has always been my fav strategy game, so I was really excited when CTP2 came out. However, I never even finished a game because it seemed to suck so bad. I play much of CTP1 in the city manager screen, and it bothers me that there isn't a corresponding screen in the sequel, if I remember correctly you have to utilize 2 screens to do what you could do in one in the first game. To top it off, activision decided not to patch the many obvious bugs in the game, didn't they? Maybe I judged it too quickly, what do you think?

Oh, an yes, we both have the 1.2 patch installed.

	15-03-2002 02:06									#8
	Put an end to popups!

I think you should try again with the mods sometime Hexagonian's Cradle of Civilizations mod has an AI that will blow your brains out and the MedMod is simply brilliant too (I wrote a nice comparison review, if you're interested).
Unfortunately these mods don't change the UI, this is indeed the weakest point of CtP2. Activision got a lot of complaints about CtP1's UI, a lot of Civ2 players were simply too stuck in their old Civ2 patterns to get used to something new, so they changed it to make it look more like the inferior Civ2 UI

But CtP2's UI is really not all that bad either, if you ask me. The CtP2 City Manager for example does exist but it has 2 tabs: one for data (food, growth, crime, etc) and one for build queue and mayor control. Although the 2-tab thing is somewhat of a step down from CtP1, the City Manager as a whole (especially combined with the new Build Manager - comparable with the Production Tab from CtP1 but far more advanced) lets you view and do much more than the CtP1 City Manager. The only thing it can't do with them with is view and manage specialists, but other than that these two screens can show and do almost everything that can be done with a city. So it's not all bad, just like with CtP1 it's just a matter of getting used to.

The original CtP2 did have some bugs, but Activision did release a patch which solved some of them and the mods solved almost all remaining bugs (and we're still working on improving the game even further). So all things considered, yes do I suspect you might just have jugded it a little too quickly. But it's a game that gets better with age, many people disappointed with Civ3 have given CtP2 another shot and were very pleasantly surprised, especially by the mods. So if you're curious and still have it on a shelf somewhere, it might be a good idea to dust off the CtP2 CD once more and give it another try. After all, you've got nothing to loose...

Sorry for the long post

I'd almost forget: if you both have the patch, I don't have a clue about what is causing the problem, sorry...

	01-04-2002 15:16									#9
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David,

Perhaps you use the wrong servers.dat file. Happens a lot.

Unzip the attached servers.dat file and overwrite the one in ctp_programs/ctp. It might help. Good luck.

Attachment: servers.zip
This has been downloaded 34 time(s).

	01-04-2002 21:45									#10
	Got spare money?

Franses,
Thanks for posting, I resolved this weeks ago in the MP forum. You're correct about the problem, though.

	01-04-2002 23:31									#11
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The server file for CTP1 and CTP2 are interchangable. If one fails, which it with the other if you have both games.