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Date: Jul 23 1999 17:12:58 EDT
From: "Apolyton Announcements (Apolyton Civilization Site)"
Subject: Apolyton&Friends News 16-22/July/99


Greetings everyone,
these are the news of the week(15-22/July).

On Apolyton, we don't have something extremely big, just an empty(with the
exception of the Warrior unit) units.bmp from Civ2:ToT, for creators to
start working. Other than that, we opened our Centaurian Tales smac
sub-section, which will contain the evolution the Civ2 "Viking Scribes",
SMAC Fiction.
Finally, we're always running our Survey()
and we are looking for Helpers on specific
positions(). Not to forget, from
this Monday the 26th, we are celebrating one year of Apolyton and we are
working on something nice...

In the "Friends" part of the newsletter, news from History of
Civilization, Dan 717's Civ2 Page, Fantastic Worlds: Jorrit's Civilization
II Site, Mike's Civ2 Scenarios 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

AND THE SALES CONTINUE
(July 22, 1999) According to PC Data, the Mac versions of Civ2 continued
to sell well during June. Specifically, the original(and cheaper) version
was up one spot from 6th to 5th, while the Gold(MGE) version dropped from
the 4th place to the 6th. Either way, it's a hit!

GIFT FOR THE PATIENT
(July 21, 1999) John Possidente has awarded ACS another exclusive! To your
right, you're probably wondering who that macho man is -- why, it's your
Warrior unit in the upcoming Civilization II: Test of Time!
"The format is a bit different from the old one, in that the units are
taller and the shield has been replaced with an overhead key", Possidente
noted.
So if you scenario builders out there want to get a head start, you
needn't wait any longer! Click here to download away (only 18k) and let
the creative juices flow!

FIRST TOT MODPACK??
(July 21, 1999) John says that he's been in contact with Kestrel, and that
the mod work fine. Kestrel is continuing to work on his mod.

THE COLUMN: SMALL FISH, BIG FISH, APOLYTON FISH
Take a look at the pond of inhabitants in our neck of the Net, MarkG
observes.

----------------------------
**Civilization III Section

TO HAVE OR NOT TO HAVE?
(July 22, 1999) It's time for a new poll. In the second one, opinions
varied on whether Civ3 should have a unit workshop like SMAC or not: 23%
answered "Yes, with access throughout all the game", while 31% "Yes, but
it must be limited by technology, difficulty or something else". Another
21% says "Yes, but it should be optional" and another 13% "Yes, but only
for scenario design/cheat mode". Finally, 8% says a big "NO" to the whole
idea, and 1% doesn't care...
In our new poll, we ask for your support to Mac and Linux ports of civ3.
Thanks to Bill Kalb for the idea. For suggestions about future polls, mail
MarkG


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

MAC USERS GET READY!
(July 22) After Loki's annoucement that it will work with Terra Soft to
make PowerPc version of it's Linux games, we asked Scott Draeker, Loki's
President, for more information. He responded:
"We've gone ahead and packaged up the source for the guys at Terrasoft.
They are at MacWorld this week and will dive in once they return. I don't
imagine it will be more than 2 or 3 weeks, but can't promise anything
until they have a better look at the code." With that said, mac users
shouldn't wait long!

13TH FOR JUNE
(July 22) PC Data released their US Sales Listings for June. CTP(in it's
third month on the market) dropped from the 6th place in May to the 13th.
Let's see if the release of the demo on several magazines soon(??) has an
effect next month. The 1st spot was taken by a newcomer, Mechwarrior III.

CD WE LOVE YOU! :)
(July 22) Our 10th poll on your "mod habits" is over, and here are the
results: 45% hasn't used a mod so far, while a 6% has, but continued to
play with the original files. 33% Uses Celstial Dawn's Mod(what more could
a creator want?), and the rest goes to other mods or the voter's own
modifications(13%)
In our new poll, we ask about your multiplaying habits. One might easily
that a poll is not necessary, but we would like what exactly goes on...

DOWNPLAY REVIEW
(July 20) There are those that feel C:CTP is a worthy addition to the
long-running and critically acclaimed Civilization series.
Then there are those that don't.
Add to this list the owner and operator of ARG-Net, who best put his
feelings in the last paragraph of his review of the game: "a travesty --
by far the worst game I have paid good money for since the days of the
Spectrum". Then, as to add insult to injury, snipes "It only gets above
50%" --- 58% to be exact --- because it's based on Civ, one of the
greatest game designs of all time".
Multiplayer was not tested, admitted by reviewer Andrew R. Gillett up
front, but Gillett addressed his thoughts on CTP's Sound, Graphics,
GamePlay, Learning Curve, Long-Term Interest and Interface/Presentation;
the latter two of which he gave a failing grade.

FOR AND BY CREATORS
(July 20) Two more new files, Harlan Thompson's "Graphic Mod 1.0" which
replaces the Leader Mod and also Harlan's "New Units 1.1", which contains
new graphics for mod creators.
(July 18) A new and old at the same time file today, Harlan Thompson's
Real Leaders Mod was updated today(version 2.1). His latest works will
soon be here too.
(July 17) I know we are a little late, but real life and updates in other
sections have have delayed it. The 4.2 version of CD's mod is here, as
well as 5 more new mods(a total of 40 files). Also, 2 new additions in the
Modification (a total of 26 guides/help files/units) page, one being a new
catapult sprite by Jérôme Lux. There is now nothing in my "ctp files
list", give me something to do(as if I didn't have other things around the
site to do)! :)


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

Centaurian Tales are here!
--(July 21 1999) Our Centaurian Tales subsection is finally here. We open
it with only one Tale though, Hydro's "Bright Beginings"(nice choice isn't
it?). Dan Quick will be updating the section, so mail him everything
you've got!

Hall of Fame Updated
--(July 21 1999) The SMAC Hall of Fame was updated with 4 new entries, and
re-organization in order to have smaller pages. Also, we decided that we
wont have monthly challenges anymore, but rather "on-going" challenges.
This means that someone will always have the chance to sent an entry for a
challenge. New challenges will be added as well... we come up with them.
Or you come up with them! Feel free to sned your ideas to me and suggest
the on the forums

Score With a Ninety-Four
--(July 20 1999) ARG-Net likes what they see! In a review dated June 25th,
Andrew R. Gillett gives SMAC and overall 94% rating, just 2% of what he
awarded CivII so long ago.
With the notable exception of Graphics, "many people have complained that
the graphics are inferior to Civ II - -- and this is true, at least in
terms of what effect they have on your mood. Civ II's landscapes were
pleasing to the eye, AC's are depressing", all other elements of the game
Gillett examined he gave at least an A-letter grade in. Read all about it!

--(16/July) Important SDC Rules Changes

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

--(19/July) New scenario in Fictional: Conquest of the Far North, by Alex
Mor (Scenario #8 in this section, #85 in the site)


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

07/19/99
- Yesterday I've returned from ten-days rest and found that Quizlet
service works unstably and I even didn't see last results. So I deleted it
temporarily and have one question to you visitors - whether you seen
onetime these results? Could you tell me about this :) ?
- New - #3 - item appears at Historian`s Workshop section (see link on the
site entry). Look at it - maybe you need for this?


--------------------------
Dan 717's Civ2 Page

- We've moved!! The new location of Dan-717's Civ2 Site is at

07/15/99- 2 more maps were added to the Map Database.


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

7/17/99
- Techumseh's Tournament is being hosted by this site. See the contest
section for more info.
7/16/99
- Stefan's Ataxerxes preview has been updated with more graphics and
information.
7/14/99
- There is yet another World War 2 scenario on my site. This one is called
Blitzkrieg and it is the similar style as John's recent Anstieg scenario.
A scenario called Vortix, by Giant Squid, is also up. Giant Squid was been
making many scenarios recently and they keep getting better and better. I
thought this one was a good scenario to have on my site. The links page
was updated, and I fixed the downloading link for AfrikaKorps, 2194 Days
of War, and Canaan. Please, if anyone else notices broken links, report
them to me.


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

07/21/99
- 2194 Days of War, Dawn of the Dead, Darklord, Aftergun and Brown Mans
Burden uploaded to Hosted scenarios. Lord of the Rings uploaded to the
Best on Net.
07/20/99
- Zairan Uprising, Riftwar, The Persian Empire, and Galactic Guardians all
uploaded to hosted scenarios.
07/18/99
- Five graphics collections by Gothmog have been uploaded to Scenario
Supplies as well as a units collection by John Petroski. A Civ 1 ModPack
for Civ 2 by Zulu Elephant has been uploaded to the hosted scenarios. Also
somebody complained about there being no note telling how big the download
files are, I apologize, I am putting them on right now. Surveys updated.
New Backgrounds for the Pope Patrick, Winter King, and Swampland sections!
Check it out!
- Playtesting News -- Comments section of Tecumseh updated, one new
comment.

07/17/99
- I am finished making my first Unit Collection, Mr. Tembas units, it
includes units from Pope Patrick, Underdark, and Enemy of God. Download it
Here July 17 Part 2
- I am rearranging the navigation sidebar, there are now some links that
open new folders, My Scenarios, and Archives. Also "Homeless" scenarios
have been renamed "Hosted" Scenarios. If you would like a scenario of
yours hosted here please send it to mrtemba@yahoo.com
- Sounds for Australian Civil War 1999 Version 2 have arrived! Surveys
updated!

07/16/99
- The Playtesting Section Has started off! A comment has arrived for the
Enemy of God scenario and strangely enough the author has already replied
:), Also, MANY comments for the Scenario, Tecumseh. The Surveys have been
updated, many results! Keep em coming! I now believe that the Civ 2 Survey
is the largest Civ 2 Survey on the net! Links have been updated! A new
link to the The Civilization Scenario Collection has been added.
- ANNOUNCEMENT -- Thanks for being so patient, I am back online now!
Unfortunately I lost all the files that were sent to me in the past couple
days. The email is there, I just can't get the files. Therefore please
resend all files that you don't see appearing. Thanks a lot, I am sorry
for this it has never happened before and I don't know what caused it.
- Uploaded Today --
Name By.... Uploaded to
19th Century Units Allard HS Scenario Supplies
All Flags Mike McCart Scenario Supplies



That was all for this week ladies and gentlemen,

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