NOTE: This is The Column, a regular feature on Apolyton where anyone can write about anything to do with Civilization or the gaming industry as a whole. If you feel like writing, please visit the article submission page.

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191# THE ALLURE OF CIV What's so cool about civ? 190# THIS WONDERFULL CONCEPT OF FAITH Response to #189 189# HAVE A LITTLE FAITH Do you trust Firaxis to have done a good job or are there to many signs? 188# A CIV3 PREVIEW Solver summarizes our knowledge of civ3 187# THE ESOTERIC ALLURE OF CIVILIZATION Will civ3 be as flexible as civ2? COLUMN ARCHIVE

Only few weeks left to the release of Civ III in USA. We can say that the next epic in the Civilization history is about to begin. But what is going to stay and what to disappear in the darkness? In 5 years time (1996-2001) we have been living in the era of Civilization II and its add-ons. During this period the Civilization community has started to flourish, thanks to the Internet (especially WWW), where many civ fanatics has found numerous communities like Apolyton CS and Civilization Fanatics' Center. During the era of Civ and CivNet, the communities weren't many, but the when the Internet revolution began, the situation changed rapidly. Today we get the latest Civ news from many different sources very smoothly and fast, without having to wait long. The countdown for Civ III has already begun in 1998 (if I remember right), when the first rumors started to move around. Since that the message has spread widely.

While everyone (presumably) is waiting for the 28th October, no-one else seems to have started to summarize the era of Civ II. So I thought it would be time for that. Hey, there's not many days left!

During this period of 5 years, Civ II has developed and achieved more players all the time, even if it's 5 five years old (okay, Tetris is older and new players still find it). In these days Civ II includes multiplayer support, more customized scenarios and simple editing tools. And that's already a huge achievement for the grand old man (=Civ II). There's not so many games out there, that still is developed after 5 years. Partly because of the company behind the game has left the game or the fans have found better ones. This constant development work has kept the grand old man alive; not to mention the effort made by the everyday players that have spread the word of mouth.

Has Civ II achieved its goals? I'm not the right person to answer this question, because I have played Civ II from only since 1997-98. But I'll try. If I have understood Sid right, Civ II's task was to fill the gaps of Civ and bring new elements of civing. Not to forget the simplicity and reality of the grand old man. By comparing Civ and Civ II, I can make up my opinion. Civ II has succeeded well in being the follower of Civ. The changes made in Civ II were working. The diplomacy was better, the economy more flexible, better AI and a more working military management. There's many features that I simply can't mention, but were certainly better in Civ II. As I have earlier said on Ape's forums, pros never come without cons. The bad sides of Civ II are the still repetitive AI and the not-so-good-MP-that-at-least-works (I don't say it's worst of all, but it's made in haste; you'll probably understand). So my final conclusion about the achievements is that Civ II is the best strategy game ever seen and one of the highest ranked PC games ever (IMO). But, hey? What about the achievements? Yes, Civ II has fulfilled the goals and aims of it.

Even if the grand old man would have reached all the expectations, have the last 5 years of civing been enjoying? The answer can be of course been found easily, but I dig a bit deeper inside. Already during the era of Civ and CivNet, playing Civ was very largely enjoyed and many hours was spent on watching militias exploring continents. In 1995 we had the CivNet flop, but let's forget that sad memory and get back to Civ. Simplicity was certainly the main attractor of Civ, and that was used vice in Civ II too. AFAICS (=as far as I can see) it also worked well in Civ II, but the civ fanatics were attracted to the game for other reasons too. Perhaps the simplicity didn't guarantee the fun, but it made it possible get into the game easily (at least that worked with me ). When the player got inside the game, he suddenly found himself exploring new and astonishing (sounds more like crap, but give it a go) worlds. He saw how the different parts of the puzzle fit together and how they could be combined logically (this gave birth to individual and more complicated strategies). Because the worked good, the player could concentrate on the fun. So in the end the whole complex (not to forget the sarcastic jokes like "consequences, scmonsequences" and the High Council's humorous advisers) entertained the player.

My last question is about the future of Civ II. Is there going to be one and how is it going to look like? My personal vision is that Civ II is going to live like before at least 6 months after the release of Civ III. After that the popularity will or is likely to fall down gradually, until it reaches a certain level from where it will finally slowly get to the bottom. Like Civ (and CivNet?), Civ II won't disappear completely from the civ community, but it will certainly loose many dedicated civers. The good thing is that Civ II will survive for many reasons, and not just because of one. AFAIK Civ III can't be played with all the PC's still used, so that will cause many players to stick to CivII.

The nostalgia of Civ II is also one of the factors that favors Civ II. The list could be implemented more, but those are the key reasons. After next 5 years, Civ II will be still be powerful, but it has loosed it's throne to Civ III (and perhaps even Civ IV!). So the future for Civ II is bright, and if we try to preserve it, the grand old man will/shall survive the next 5 years to come. So my concern is more about Civ, but that's OT, so let's leave it this time.

Civ II has certainly earned its position after all these 5 years!

Finally I want to thank the Apolyton team for keeping up this site. Hurray, Ape! And let's not forget Sid and Brian, who mainly developed Civ II. Not to mention all the civ fanatics (including me) who have kept the grand old man alive and strong.