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Date: May 06 1999 08:06:53 EDT
From: Apolyton Announcements (Apolyton Civilization Site)
Subject: Apolyton&Friends News 30/April-5/May/99


Grettings everyone

As promised last week, this week we will include news from other sites as
well, beyond Apolyton and it's hosted sites. For this week we also have
news from: Mr Temba's Site, Frank's Star Gate, Mike's Civ2 Scenarios site,
The Historical Civilization II Site, The European Civilization II Site,
Alex The Magnificent's War Gallery, Fantastic Worlds: Jorrit's
Civilization II Page and The Spanish Civilization II Site.
If you want to have your news included on this newsletter, contact Dustin
Dunn at dustind@concentric.net.
The "Apolyton&Friends" just came up to me, I don't know if we're going to
keep it... :)

For the bigest news of the weekm check out the ctp section: the mac
version is coming on Christmas, we opened our files database and the
"Callings" section, and we posted the first article on the "Developer's
Corner", the place where you will be finding artciles from the C:CTP
development team!

Let's start from Apolyton

----------------------------
**Civilization II Section

TT&C DATABASE
(May 3, 1999) We don't know if it is actually going to be called that way,
but Sven Milo has started a project to "develop a database containing all
possible tips, tricks & cheats", as he wrote to us. Also, another part of
the database will constitute of game utilities (by example a utility to
calculate required NR of caravans to build in a city 10 squares away in
order to build one of the wonders, including estimated building time
etc...). If you want to help out in the development of this very helpfull,
when finished, database, contact Sven.
Sven_Milo@Village.uunet.be

*Site Updates
4.May New format for Short Tips. Old tips archived
1.May Column #39; By MarkG


----------------------------
**Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Section

SMACX Poll Results/Who do you hate?
--(5 May) 513 Votes on our SMACX poll, and here are the final results on
the question "What do you want more in SMAC's Expansion Disk?": New game
features 28%, New factions 23%, New base facilities, special projects, etc
19%, More editing possiblities 10%, New maps, scenarios 9% and finally, No
bugs 7%. If only Firaxis could make all of that true :)
We now have a new poll, on which faction you hate the most. Vote!

Clarifications From Jeff
--(1 May) Talk about listening to fan concerns; Firaxis has done it again.
Last evening, a thread was started in the official AC forums wanting to
know whether or not Jeff Morris was serious in his response regarding the
delay of Patch 4. It was specifically regarding Morris' comments yesterday
about terran.exe crashes, and that "most (if not all)" of them were caused
by "system configuration problems" (see article below). Today, Jeff
clarified his position and we thank him for contacting us about it.
"Let me clarify. Perhaps I should say "many" terran.exe fatals are system
configurations. Don't get me wrong. We're very interested in fixing all
game related fatals, so if you've got a crash that is repeatable, and not
a system configuration problem, by all means send all the info you can
(saves/system specs/methods) to jmorris@firaxis.com.
About patch 4.0, let me again clarify. If I had to guess, I'd say all code
work for patch 4.0 could be complete in about a month. What will most
likely delay it's release however is a simultaneous language release
(which for smac means English/French/German/Spanish/Italian). As our
European customers can attest, these additional patches can date some time
to get signed off.
If there is anything else I can clarify, please let me know. Firaxis takes
great pride in it's customer support, as do I. This forum is one such
element of that pride, as is the ease with which you can contact me.
Please take advantage of these methods and let your voice be heard"!
More power to the voice of the people, and those who listen. :-)

Patch 4 On The Rocks
--( 30 April Been waiting by your computer for Patch 4? Better grab an a
Coke out of the fridge while you wait. This issue was raised on Firaxis'
official forums, and Jeffrey Morris delivered the punch.
"Not anytime soon".
The originator of the thread was cited his main anxiety over waiting for
the next fix was a result of the number of times SMAC is crashing on him.
Morris too responded to that.
"Most (if not all) of the terran.exe fatals are system configuration
problems so expecting the patch to solve them is unrealistic".
Anyone want to order a pizza?

German v3 Patch
--(30 April) Firaxis has released Patch 3 for the German version(3.4MB).
If this means an update to your copy of SMAC, we highly recommend you
install it -- it is zipped to save you on d'loading time. Only users of
the French version are now on the "waiting list" for their Patch 3
equivalent.
German v3 Patch
French v3 Patch

Got The Hang Of It Yet?
--(30 April) You want to conquer Planet: regardless of how many times(or
lack thereof) you have done so for. GameCenter just might have the ticket
for you! Their "Conquer Alpha Centauri" Gaming Guide is a current feature,
and worth looking into. It promises that " with our [ACGG], you'll be the
master... in no time". How could one argue with that?

Zilla Fantastic
--(30 April) 88% ain't bad. In GameZilla's review, it has given us
something to talk about. Knowing you'll want to read the whole thing for
yourself, here's reviewer Tim Miser's bottom line (abbreviated):
"Make no mistake about it, this is the game most Civilization lovers have
been longing for. If you enjoyed Civilization I or II and are ready for a
sequel, this is it".

THE JOY OF COMBAT
(May 4) Starting from today, the members of the c:ctp development team
have a place where they can give their opinions on ctp-related issues.
It's called the "Developer's Corner" and it will be right here on
Apolyton!
This week, William Westwater, ctp's lead designer, in his article titled
"The Joy of Combat", explains the choices that had to be made between
gamebalance and realism. He also announces that an alternate, more
realistic, units text, will be included in the first patch! I guess we
don't need the current poll anymore...

PATCH AND OTHER NEWS
(May 4) The final list of changes contained in the first ctp patch where
announced yesterday. According to John Heinecke, the patch, which will
contain the final version of the map editor, will be released "by the end
of the week, if all goes as planned", in his own words. The size of the
patch will be around 3MB, and will also be available through the cd's of
various magazines. For the near future, Activision is working on a demo,
planned for the end of the month, and a second patch, soon after the demo.
The things we can most definetely wait to see are pbem, hotseat and flat
world ability for the map editor, as well as a long list of features
collected from our forums, e-mails and newsgroups. We suggest that you use
the first... #4
civilization@activision.com

#3 THIS WEEK
(May 4) PC Data released their top selling list for the week April 18-24.
CTP(with a listed price of $39) is on the third place, surpassed by two
widely known $20 games: MP Top Gun: Hornet's Nest(Hasbro) and Luffwaffe
Commander(Learning Company). Following on the 4th place is SimCity 3000.
As always, the list is "based on units sold by thirteen retail chains,
representing more than 57% of the U.S. market" as PC Data notes.

MAC CTP IN XMAS!
(May 3) Our Civ2 for Mac section had it first. Westlake Interactive will
develop the Mac port of C:CTP. As it was announced earlier this year, the
game will be published by MacSoft. According to WI's announcement, the mac
port of C:CTP will ship this Christmas. If you can't wait, Loki will be
soon releasing the PPC binaries for the linux port. :) #PPC

PROGRESS REPORT
(May 1) Lt. John (John Heinecke) posted the following note in our CTP
General forum regarding the CTP team's current status:
"The patch is in Quality Assurance, undergoing testing on various machine
configurations. We have addressed all of the issues mentioned in the FAQ
on the Activision CTP page, and will release an updated list on Monday
with a few other fixes added in.
We are planning on releasing the art file format or some sort of graphics
editor soon after the patch so that players can modify or import their own
graphics into the game. More details will be released as this plan firms
up.
Will Westwater will be providing an essay to Apolyton about play balance
early next week. He will answer the forum favorite "why does a tank lose
to a phalanx?"
The demo has started production, and we expect to release it at the end of
May.
After the demo, we intend on another upgrade to add more things into the
game (hotseat, play by email, more scenario editing tools)".

LINUX CTP OUTLETS
(May 1) As stated on Loki Entertainment's website, "the following brick
and mortar stores" :) "will be carrying Civilization: Call to Power for
Linux: Fry's, Micro Center, Best Buy, and Comp USA. More to
come"!
The release date is only two days away -- the wait is almost over!

CIVILIZATION TO BOOT
(Apr. 30) Yesterday, CBS News correspondence Fred Fishkin of bootcamp.com
broadcasted a 1 1/2 minute interview with CTP Game Director Cecilia
Barajas. Fishkin states in his introduction:
"The evolution of Civilization? Don't turn your radio off, we're talking
about the popular computer simulation game. The latest edition is called
Civilization Call to Power".
Ever wonder how Barajas got into working on this project? She tells all.
"Well, I used to be a deputy D.A. here in Los Angeles and I enjoyed very
much doing that job, it was very interesting. But at the same time that
job, which in some ways is the biggest of strategy games really, I was
playing a lot of computer games and I started designing computer games on
the side."
From there, CTP soon emerged from the drawing board.
"The fantasy of Civilization is a simple one but one that is very, very
compelling. It basically allows you to create the world in any way that
you would like to create it. And you start with a band of very primitive
settlers in 4000 BC and you take this little group and from there you
cultivate a vast and expansive civilization." Not only is it fun, Barajas
contends, but also educational!
"I would maintain there is more educational value in this game than in
most games that purport to be educational."
Well said! If you would like to hear the entire interview yourself, you
can by clicking here (streaming RealAudio -- you'll need the RealPlayer).

*Site Updates
5.May New Callings section. New mods: Cow Mod, L Gov. Also, stats excell
sheet in Modification
4.May First article in "Developer's Corner". New mod: 4000AD, updated
mods: Leaders, CD's Text mod. All files moved into a database
2.May Links updated


----------------------------
**Alternative Civs Section

COMING UP: CLASH, FREECIV
(May. 2) This is to let you know that we are not forgeting this section.
In the near future we will be covering Clash of Civilizations, as well as
the FreeCiv

CLASH FORUM ON APOLYTON
(May. 2) We are happy to announce that from today Apolyton is hosting the
official forum for The Clash of Civilizations. Clash is a very interesting
project in the civ genre. So, go to the Forums or see the official site


----------------------------
**CivLeague(hosted site)

Tribes Updated
--(5 May 05) Two new tribes have been added to the triibe standings page.
Additionally the first challenge has been made and accepted. Let's get
playing!


----------------------------
**Allard's&Andrew's Site(hosted site)

5/5/99: Heh heh, finally another update to ze page! Today's uploads are 3
scenarios by Techumseh: 1812, Russian Civil War and Congo. More updates
will follow soon.
Meanwhile you can send your scenarios you wish to upload to
A.Hofelt@exeter.ac.uk


================================
Here are the updates of small Civ sites this week:

--------------------------
Mr Temba's

05/05/99
- New scenario in Best on Net, Congo by Techumseh. The results are piling
up for my CTP and Civ 2 surveys. Oh and Enemy of God part 3 is being made.
Backgrounds galore all over the place! I would finish all of my
backgrounds but the sky is rumbling and there's a tornado warning so.....

03/05/99
- Bookstore is up and running for those who have enjoyed my scenarios and
would like to know the inspiration behind them. Soon I might have civ and
ctp books there as well.


--------------------------
Frank's Star Gate

5/4/99
- new info and images from upcoming scenarios from my Earth 3000 scenario
and Kosovo Trigger.
- Prior Materials include Global WW2 Tournament Edition, Space! The Civ2
Space scenario, and the Latest version of the Final Fantasy II modpack.


--------------------------
Mike's Civ2 Scenarios

5/2/99 A lot of new stuff!
- New Background.
- A GuestBook! Please go and sign it.
- A poll on for my best scenario is in the Scenarios section. Soon I'll
get one for the rest of the scenarios on my website.
- John Petroski's Ansteig scenario preview has been updated with more
information. An Updated version of the WW2 scenario that comes with Civ2
is added, by David Ireland
- WWIII (the best WWIII scenario I've seen) by Sean Kelley is added.
- A link to David Ireland's website.
- Shannara Progress: Chapter 3 is now being playtested, and I will began
to work on Chapter 4 very shortly. I would like to thank the people who
are devoting their time into playting this game; Brad Fino, Mr. Temba,
Stefan Hartel, and John Petroski.
- I have started drawing artwork for a WW1 scenario I'll be making. That
is why there is an Austrian-Hungarian soldier at the top. There is also a
strong possibility of John Petroski and I teaming up for making a Secret
of Mana scenario.

5/4/99
- Techumseh's new scenario, Vietcong, is now ready for play. In my opinion
it is his bestscenario, and is much better than my Vietnam scenario.
- The High Resolution Modpack is up for downloading in the graphics
section. It was made by Tim Smith and talked about on the Apolyton forums.
Now everyone can use it. The sounds for it will also be added.
- Problem: It seems my scenario poll isn't working :-(. I hope it will be
fixed soon. The poll was an original idea by Mr.Temba, and the one on his
page seems to be having a similar problem. Please, come back and vote
another time.


--------------------------
The Historical Civilization II Site

03/05/99
- I've been investigating using a hex-editor to convert Fantastic Worlds
saved games to work with a previous version. I've published my results in
a guide in the Help section.

02/05/99
- Released version 2.0 of my Global WW2 scenario. Okay, so its a day later
than anticipated. Big deal. I updated the preview page as well for ideas
for version 3.0. I had some trouble uploading this earlier today, but it's
there now. Honestly.


--------------------------
The Civ2 Scenario Center
- More scenarios:
Up the Deadly Boot by John Petroski
WW1: To hell and back also by John Petroski
- I will try to finish my scenario about the Imperialism asap.
-I am running a poll about the best Civ2 government. The democracy seems
to be the clear winner.


--------------------------
The European Civilization II Site

4/5/99
- The Link Page was updated.
- A scenario was added to the Scenario Page.


--------------------------
Alex The Magnificent's War Gallery

29/4/99
- WW2 Global Conflict Scenario ready for download
- First group of uniformed units was added to "Elite" section

--------------------------
Fantastic Worlds: Jorrit's Civilization II Page

(3/5/99) I uploaded a new scenario called 'Slash and Burn'. I also added a
new tutorial about map making. Because of that, I made a new section
called 'Guides' and moved the 'Hacking' part. In the new guides part you
can find the new tutorial about map making, as well as the older hacking
documents.


--------------------------
The Spanish Civilization II Site

(4/5/99) New Scenario in Bestonet: The Teutonic Knights by Stephan Otto

================================

That was all for this week, ladies and gentlemen

Until next time
Markos Giannopoulos - markg@apolyton.net
Apoylton Civilization Site - apolyton.net