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#33 UNCONVENTIONAL EXPERIENCES A first-hand report from MarkG on the CTP front. #34 MY FIRST TIME DanQ confides his initial experiences with an instant classic. COLUMN ARCHIVE

April 1st; last day of school for term one, and boy was I eager to make tracks for the software store, even though I hadn't expected CTP to be in stores till the 2nd. But hey, it was there! Cool! I bought it, took it home, ripped off the plastic wrapping, and installed.
The first thing I noticed was the absence of a map/scenario editor, so I went to Apolyton to see if they had any news on the issue. Fortunately, they did, and, relieved by the fact that the Map/Scenario editor would be downloadable in couple of days, I settled in to the game.

The Game
In my opinion, CTP's a lot harder than Civ2, don't ask me why, it may just be me, getting used to it. The first thing I noticed was the movement system was different, and it seemed pretty cool, although if you're clumsy (like me, sometimes), your units can accidentally move places you don't want them to go.
The interface was totally different, and the way it's set up makes it a lot easier to manage your cities and your civilization. Comparing it to Civ2, I'd say that it totally kicks a$$!! The graphics are beautiful! The inclusion of voice acknowledgments mightn't have been necessary, because it makes the game sound too much like an RTS (e.g. Warcraft II), but they're a lot better than that of Civ2. The wonders are interesting alternatives to the originals, my favourite so far is the Egalitarian Act. The improvements seem somewhat like Civ2's, but they are practical. The units have had a lot of effort put into them, both unconventional, conventional, and futuristic, and they totally stomp over Civ2. Terrain is much the same, but tile improvements.......oh those tile improvements, are far more diverse, as is there placement. The public works system is probably one of the greatest improvements from Civ2, now you no longer have to constantly move settlers around. Unit stacking gets a "Big Thumbs Up", you may now move nine units all at once, instead of moving each little individual guy. Diplomacy could have been better, but it still passes. AI is fairly good as well. Another "Big Thumbs Up" goes to the new trade system, no more moving those stupid little caravans over the terrain, just build one, and you can then set up a trade route instantly!!

Edibility
While not as easy to edit as Civ2, it can be done. Check out some of the .txt files, and fiddle around with those. While the unit and terrain files are in .spr and .til format, I'm sure that there'll be some utilities out there in time, and most of the other graphics are in .tga format, which is rather common and easy to edit! There should be a lot of working space for scenario editors (I look forward to some good'uns from Harlan). And even I'll be taking my piece of the pie, making a few scenarios that didn't quite work out in Civ2. Everything looks good on the edibility front.

The final question: Is CTP cut out to be a classic?
I say Yes!
There's been a lot of flak aimed at CTP the past couple of days, but most of the problems should be fixed in patches somewhere down the line. The point I'd like to emphasize is that the good outweighs the bad. Also, I've seen a lot of people compare CTP with SMAC, which I don't think should happen, WHY? Well, it's kinda like comparing Warcraft II with, say, C&C. They may be from the same general kind of genre, but they are incomparably different. CTP is a worthy 'sequel' to the original Meier classics, and is destined itself to become a classic. So, what are you waiting for? Stop reading and go out and buy it!!

The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of Apolyton CS or GameStats. They are just the personal opinions of the writer.