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Date: Aug 06 1999 19:34:41 EDT
From: "Apolyton Announcements (Apolyton Civilization Site)"
Subject: Apolyton&Friends News 30/July-5/August/99


Greetings everyone,
these are the news of the week(30/July-5/August).

On Apolyton, the big news is the release of Civilization 2:Test of Time.
It has appeared in some stores, at least in the US, look out for it!!
Other than that, we had our Birthday Chat on Monday, it went great, as it
lasted quite long, and we had some CTP celebrities stoping by and having
an interesting discussion...
Finally, this week, the Spanish Civ2 Site is celebrating it's one year
too, and Jesus Balsinde is offering some "goodies" :) Check them out!

In the "Friends" part of the newsletter, news from History of
Civilization, Frank's Star Gate, Mike's Civ2 Scenarios, MJ's Civilization
Empire and Mr Temba's Civilization.If you have a civ2, ctp or smac site
and want your news included here, mail Dustin Dunn at dustind@home.com


And now, in detail
=========The news from Apolyton=========
----------------------------
**Civilization II Section

REVIEW WITH SCREENS GALORE
(August 5, 1999) Robert Plomp, aka CyberShy, got in touch with us recently
to let us know of his ToT review; it's quite comprehensive, and contains
some excellent, never-before-documented screenshots. In total, 39 new
screenshots were added to our archive today, thanks to the work by and
permission from Plomp.
We invite you to click on the link above to read the entire review. To get
the ball rolling, here are some interesting excerpts from it:
"The biggest change in my eyes is the appearance of new worlds. Where
Civilization II was played on only one world, ToT can be played up to 4
different worlds at the same time. In the extended game there are 2
worlds, Earth and Alpha Centauri.
... though where usual the Mongols, the Indians and the Sioux were, are
the 3 new alien civilizations. In the edit rules section, you can't
exclude the space race, since this one does have to happen in the extended
game.
You don't just build an improvement in your city, but now you can see what
you build. When you build a new city, you don't only hear some people
work, but you hear the people applause and scream of joy. This all
together gave me a very good feeling about the game.
This view [view] has totally [been] upgraded in ToT. One of the best
things is that you don't only see the city radius in the city view, but
you can see all the terrain near to it. That makes you get a better
overview of the city surroundings, while in the city view.
Another new feature in the game-environment is that you can chose between
a small map in the upper right corner, or.... *new*.... a globe. This
globe gives a very good overview of the world, and is spinning all the
time.
The diplomacy screen did not change, though the graphics are upgraded as
well here, up to 16 bits. The animated heralds have been removed from the
game.
All the pop-up boxes, from the minister reports up to the retire screens
have new backgrounds. In fact the total graphical structure of the game
has been upgraded. These new graphics give a new environment as well to
the game.
All in all I refuse it to name ToT just an add on. It is the old game and
the old engine, but then in a total new coat. It's not more of the same,
but rather an expansion, with the new worlds, and an improvement of the
game environment with the graphics and sounds".

CAN YOUR SYSTEM MUSCLE IT?
(August 3, 1999) As ToT starts hitting store shelves, a key issue on
everyone's mind is this: can my present system handle it?
Enter the system requirements:
MINIMUM: 166 MHz Pentium or faster; Windows 95 or Windows 98 with DirectX;
16 MB RAM; High Color graphics (640 x 480 16- bit color - 2 MB video RAM
minimum); quad-speed CD-ROM drive; hard drive (60 MB free); DirectX
compatible sound card.
RECOMMENDED: 200 MHz Pentium or faster; 32 MB RAM; High Color graphics
(1024 x 768 x 16-bit color); hard drive (235 MB free).
FOR MULTIPLAYER: 28.8 kps Windows-compatible modem (2 players); local area
network with TCP/IP or IPX protocol (2-7 Players); Internet play requires
a 28.8 kps or faster connection (2-7 players).
Last but not least, the issue of compatibility under Windows NT 4 came up
recently in our ToT forum. John Possidente has responded that he is unsure
and will look into it further, while Alex D. had the following to offer:
"Well was it tested on NT - I don't know but again as John says further
investigation is required. Will it work on NT? Most likely since it is all
Windows-based and the only thing we use DirectX for is multiplayer - so
that part of the game will not work on NT. More info to follow once I hunt
down our QA guy and ask what happened when they tried NT".

NAME THAT PRICE
(August 3, 1999) There is, as of yet, not a common consensus as to what a
copy of Civilization II: Test of Time is going to run the gamer in terms
of a bill. For example, it is listed the Chips & Bits and EBWorld websites
as $39.99US, but is reportedly being offered for less elsewhere, and even
in considerable excess of $40 before taxes elsewhere still.
As ToT shows up in stores in the coming days, it would be helpful to a lot
of others if you could pass along any info you have on price and
availability of the game in the place where you live. If you have such
information, please send a) the price, b) the store, and c) your locale to
DanQ and it'll be posted here for all to read shortly thereafter.
On the subject, John Possidente offered the following reminder to Civer's
just today: "The folks who make the pricing decisions are in the retail
end of things, not at MicroProse/Hasbro Interactive. We on the development
team lobbied for a $20-40 price point. How successful we were, I don't yet
know".

EXCLUSIVE, YOU SAY?
(August 3, 1999) EBWorld has scored an exclusive offer in conjunction with
the public release of ToT. The bottom line? To quote from the official
website, "order Civilization 2: Test of Time from EBWorld, and get a free
Scenario CD by mail". Want to get a piece of this action? Click the link
above to read on.

TIME IS ON OUR SIDE
(August 2, 1999) In recent weeks, our ToT forum has had the privledge of
two members from its team posting on a regular basis; in addition to John
Possidente, there is also Alex D., ToT's Lead Producer fielding questions
from Civer's across the globe about MicroProse's latest (and anticipated
to be last) add-on for Sid Meier's Civilization II, originally released in
1996. This will be the first add-on for the game released since MPS was
acquired by Hasbro Interactive last summer. If the current state of our
ToT forum is any indication, you can expect of wide base of support and
enthusiasm from Civ fans to continue after ToT is released. Registration
is free, so if you have not already done so, why not sign-up today! If you
previously registered but have not been frequenting our forums these past
several weeks, what are you waiting for?
To give you an idea of what has been and continues to be discussed on our
forums, here are some highlights:
Release Date
Of course this is the primary thought on everybody's mind. The answer
comes from Alex: "EB and Babbages might have TOT as early as the 4th and
should be in stores there by the 5th. All other retailers should have TOT
on shelf by the 6th".
Demo
A resounding "no"; this also comes from Alex. "It would have taken more
time for us to go in and disable things so you could not have the full
game. We thought that time would be better spent fixing bugs and polishing
gameplay items".
New Multimedia
Confirmed! As stated by Possidente on July 28th: "Roland and the guys made
some good new music. We also co-opted some of the music we liked from
previous games. I wasn't too involved in that side of things, though, so I
don't know much more than that. As for video, we made a new intro and a
good number of new cut scenes (winning and losing animations, stuff like
that). For scenario builders, we added an event action to call AVI files,
too. Our focus was on gameplay and features, however, so we didn't add any
new "multimedia" bits--no new Wonder movies. We also lopped out those
foolish councilors".
Limits
Yes, there are some to note. Again from John: "All the limits we know from
Civilization II are still in place and not expanded--255 cities, etc. (255
cities overall -- not 255 per map). The good news is that the roll-over
bugs have been found and corrected. Now, when your treasury or population
hits max, you just don't get any more; they stop at the top".
Strategy Guide
There must be a lot of Civer's out there who will scream for joy when they
read this from Possidente: "I'm happy to say that I think the new book
will be on time with the game. Hasbro Interactive's legal dept. approved
it Friday, and it went to the printer today. Dave Ellis, who wrote the
original Civ II guide, is co-authoring with me, and I think we've got a
good book. There's also a mini guide that E.B. or Babbage's (I forget
which) is giving away as a pre-order gift. That should already be
available".
We should also note that localized versions of ToT will not be made
available under after the North American release.

FIRST EUROPEAN REVIEW OF ToT
(August 2, 1999) ToT got a 84% grade in the European PC Zone magazine (not
available online to date).
If anyone who has a copy of this review, and would be willing to take the
time to type out an excerpt or two from it, it would be greatly
appreciated to add to this article. If so, please mail it to DanQ; the
sender will be credited for their co-operation.

STILL A SHINING APPLE
(August 2, 1999) PC Data reports that GT Interactive's port of
Civilization II was the seventh top-selling game for the MacIntosh
platform for the first half of the 1999 fiscal year. Will its good
standing continue as we wind down closer and closen to 2000, and the start
of a new millenium? We should have that answer by sometime next February.

THE COLUMN: GAMING: PLOT OR NOT?
David Emery searches for the plot in strategy games, which he alleges may
be in vain.


----------------------------
**Civilization: Call to Power Section

THE REMAINS OF A CHAT
(August 4) If you missed our Birthday Chat(trancript now available), you
also missed Owlboy(Steve Mariotti, Lead Programmer) and Azmel(Richard
Myers, AI Programmer) from the CTP Team. They stayed for some time, and
the outcome was an interesting discussion and some news.
On the international patches: the English(US/UK) patch is in testing as we
already know, and the others will follow later as the "QA department can
only work on one localization of CTP at a time". The German patch will be
second and the rest will follow, as in the case of the first patch.
On Activision-made scenarios: "Yes, we're going to do a few scenarios. Our
designer, Winnie, has a scenario with heavy SLIC code that plays like a
Zelda game... She's done some amazing things with SLIC. We've only
scratched the surface of the capabilities". While Owlboy mentioned that
this scenario was done to show SLIC's power, we expect to see it sooner or
later
Other than that, there was discussion on CTP's diplomacy model, the trade
system, fixed or random AI personalities, and generally feedback on what
works and what not on CTP. References to "future versions of CTP" were not
unsual :)
Check out the full thing on the trancript!

SWEET SIXTEEN
(August 2) For the first half of 1999, can you guess what title holds the
#16 spot for top-selling software for the PC? If you guessed Activision's
C:CTP, than you would be right! This is what PC Data is reporting today.
As for how CTP has faired recently in sales, that information should be
released shortly.

MINDJACK SAYS
(August 2) Just when you thought the word was out from all corners of the
gaming community with their take on C:CTP, it's time to think again.
Mindjack Magazine's Editor Donald Melanson has given CTP a 7/10 overall
rating. Here are some excerpts from his review:
"Graphics and sound have obviously been improved significantly since CivII
(1996). The music is especially deserving of mention, incorporating a wide
range of world music that is perfectly suited for a game of this type. My
only complaint here is that there isn't more of it, only [after] about 30
minutes so you're likely to hear a fair bit of repetition.
If you haven't played a Civilization game before this probably isn't the
best place to start. Although it has a training mode, it doesn't ease
players into the game as well as others in the series. It also comes with
a comprehensive manual that even experienced Civ players will want to read
through.
Despite these small faults gamers looking for a complex and substantial
strategy game will find a lot to like in Civilization: Call to Power".

LOOKS GOOD
(August 2) One of the more supportive reviews to date, PC Zone Magazine
out of the UK has given C:CTP a 89% grade of approval!
"Call To Power takes the same concept [tile improvements] a step further
and does the upkeep accounting centrally, too. Most improvements and
buildings cost a certain amount of gold each turn, and this is calculated
not on a city-by-city basis, but from the whole civilisation's coffers.
Another novel idea that Call To Power introduces is three levels of
military readiness...
Civilization: Call To Power will please a lot of Civ fans yelling for
more, but it still has the mass appeal to attract a whole new generation
of would-be strategy gamers. Despite the apparent complexity, it's not too
daunting...
With the possibilities opened up by its space and undersea exploitation,
coupled with the fascinating creative units, Call To Power is an addictive
addition to the rehabilitated turn-based genre. Perhaps not quite a
bullseye, but not far off".
To read the entire review, you must subscribe to their free service by
providing your full name and email address; this is the reason why the
review cannot be linked to directly from here.


----------------------------
**Alpha Centauri Section

The JKM Article
--(August 4 1999) Yes, the one almost everyone has been talking about the
last two days. What it is? Well, Jeff Morris wrote an article on
Avault.com titled "The Myth of the Bugless Game". Jeff discussed the issue
of the non-existing bugless game. While Jeff had valid points on the
causes of bugs(user error or lack of computer knowledge, thousands of
possible system configuration, companies' deadlines, specific financial
resources), lots of people on the official and ACOL's forums were from
disapointed to angry, as Jeff did not also specifically mention that bugs
can come from programmers' errors and typos, as well as designing
faults(someone correct me if I'm wrong, I couldn't read all the posts :)).
Anyway, read the article and make your own conclusions...

Ten On The Dot
--(August 2 1999) According to sales statistics gathered by PCData, SMAC
was the tenth most popular gaming title for the PC platform for the first
half of 1999. Especially when considering the other heavy hitters in this
field, this is a very respectable showing indeed!

The Praise Continues
--(August 2 1999) "It's Civilization, but not as we know it" begins the PC
Zone review of SMAC. You need to subscribe, for free, to their service in
order to be able to view the full article which is the reason it is not
linked directly from here. Some highlights:
"... excellent innovation is that the game works out the borders between
each faction and shows them on the map. Trespass over one and you find
yourself on the receiving end of a diplomatic note, the contents of which
match the faction's profile.
... superb AI, which really sets Alpha Centauri apart from the crowd. At
the highest level, the AI-controlled factions take on real personalities
and play an excellent game. Unlike with Civ, you don't get bothered by
pointless messages that end up in slanging matches.
For Civ fans, Alpha offers more of the same terrific gameplay, but this
time there are so many bells, whistles and completely new ways of thinking
that you'll wonder what hit you"
With the positive spin carried throughout the entire review, it is no
wonder the final verdict came in at a 92% rating -- sweet!


----------------------------
**Spanish Civ II Site(hosted site)

Aug 3 Happy Birthday SpaCiv!!!

Aug 2
Links page updated


----------------------------
**Civilization Scenario Collection(hosted site)

Aug 3
New scenario in Ancient: Artaxerxes by Stefan Härtel is now uploaded.
Allard Höfelt is back from holidays now! And he's creating a new scenario..

Aug 1
Scenario Update: Cold War X, by Jason Molthan Version 2.0 (the Final
Upgrade) is now up


----------------------------
**Scenario League(hosted site)

August 3, 1999
Sleague needs you!
As some of you veterans know the Sceanrio has looked the same since it was
created a while ago by El Khan. To make a start at creating a new look for
sleague we are asking for your help.
Every page has the same Sleague picture on it. What we want to do is to
have some variation on the different pages. A different picture for every
page. The front page will maintain it's original picture but for all the
other pages we would like new ones. It doesn't matter if the pictures are
photographs or works of art, as long as they have something to do with the
page it is supposed to be on.
The reviews will have screenshots instead of the current picture. If
someone can send me screenshots I'll put them on the page and I'll credit
your name.
So Sleague needs your help! Send all screenshots, photographs, artworks,
etc to laanen@xs4all.nl and I'll put them on the site (if I like them)
along with your name.
Note: If there are a lot of entries we'll have a contest to determen who
will be the "winner".

July 31, 1999
New round of scenarios.


=========Apolyton's Friends News=========
--------------------------
History of Civilization

8/3/99
- A new program is available now for downloading - come to Downloads
section of my site. It help everyone who likes to play scenarios or uses
any modpacks. The program creates "Illustrated Manual" in which you can
look at all units - at their images and parameters - fast and easy.
Today's one is beta version so I welcome your reports about bugs,
suggestions etc.


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

7/26/99
- Eurodip scenario added via zip. I fixed a few broken links too.
Additionally, I am making my HUGE midi stash available on the net for the
first time ever! Over 1,200 great MIDI files.


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

8/3/99
- Stefan's Ataxerxes scenario is finished, now ready for downloading. And
a preview of Fabian's Der Todesritt is now up. I've been making steady
progress on my Second Reich, and it is almost ready for playtesting
(sorry, playtesters have already been chosen).


--------------------------
MJ's Civilization Empire

7/28/99
SMAC Section:
- Check out the new Counter!!
- Scenarios on my page finally! We have Aquarium Version 2
- Other scenarios from throughout the net will soon be posted here.


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

8/4/99
- A new version of Prince of Darkness has arrived in the Best on Net. Also
some Star Trek icons by Cam Hills have found their way into the Scenario
Supplies Section. Surveys Updated, more than a dozen new results.
- Check out the Prince of Darkness Challenge!

8/3/99
- New Version of Vampire, Host of the Undead is up for playtesting. Send
comments to the author! A units collection by Stefan Hartel is up in the
Scenario Supplies Section, also some units borrowed by St. Leo. Links
Updated.

8/1/99
- Paul van den Belts OCC game for a Medium Map is up in the challenges
section. I need more challenges saved games! Where The Stars Meet - Star
Saga Part II by Giant Squid has been added to the Best on Net. BowTieGuys
Ancient Mod has been added to the Hosted Scenarios.

7/31/99
- The One City Challenge page has been expanded, see it in the Civ 2
Challenges section.

7/29/99
- A new version of Artaxerxes that has a new events.txt and reamde is up.
Version 2.4 of The Fall of Rome is also up. Both of those are in the Best
on Net. Also there is a new scenario in the best on net....The Sword of
Shanara by Michael Jeszenka, my site is now the only site that has
permission to host that scenario! yeeha! Also I got a new counter, this
one is starting at 5000 because I had AT LEAST that many on the old site.
I could start it at up to 7500, but I am estimating conservatively. The
Civ 2 Challenges center will be updated after I get back tonight.



That was all for this week ladies and gentlemen,

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