new!
Apolyton All News RSS Feed
6TH TOURNAMENT RESULTS
(8 October 2004, 16:53 | CtP2 | 79 comments) Here are the results of the 6th CtP2 SP Tournament:
Games sorted by Score
| User | Victory Type | Score | Date |
| ETB |
Gaia Controller |
26600 |
1961 AD |
| EPW |
Bloodlust |
21830 |
1110 AD |
| Shadow |
End Year |
13510 |
2300 AD |
| Maquiladora |
Diplomacy |
12470 |
270 AD |
Games sorted by Date
| User | Victory Type | Score | Date |
| Maquiladora |
Diplomacy |
12470 |
270 AD |
| EPW |
Bloodlust |
21830 |
1110 AD |
| ETB |
Gaia Controller |
26600 |
1961 AD |
| Shadow |
End Year |
13510 |
2300 AD |
The top score of 26,600 was achieved by ETB, while the price for earliest win goes to Maquiladora who won a Diplomacy Victory as early as 270 AD. As all the participants submitted games of different victory types, the unprecedented situation occured where every participant won the game in at least two categories (by both date and score for each of the various victory types)!
- Locutus
FIRST LOWDOWN ON SEQUEL
(6 October 2004, 22:20 | GalCiv2) The first known interview on Galactic Civilizations II was secured by Homelan FED`s John "[JCal]" Callaham and the result of that discussion is now available on the network`s website. Stardock Systems (SS) President and Founder Brad Wardell details his company`s plan behind the upcoming title for which he also serves as Project Lead. At the outset he answers Callaham`s inquiries into the original GalCiv for the PC, the expansion packs and SS` TotalGaming.net service.
My single biggest goal was to ensure that the game has a very very long lifespan, the gaming industry veteran writes on the GalCiv sequel. [This] will be our flagship game for a very long time I suspect. To that end, we wanted to do things like make sure it has a 3D engine so that its graphics can be even better and be resolution independent... That way, even 3 years from now, the game will feel fresh and new. I also wanted us to address what I considered to be some of the limitations in the first game.
Wardell also briefly outlines how the two titles will be lkined together in terms of storyline and timline. On that point, he notes that GalCiv II will not be strictly linear as it missions will be incorporated as an alternate gaming mode. Ten races will be included in the game, [e]ach one will have its own unique traits which he acknowledges is unlike in the first [game] where they were all the same other than graphics. Ship design is again confirmed, a feature lacking from GalCiv, as well as a new conception for fleet usage but [t]he biggest game mechanic change though is the way we`re doing the planets. Callaham then asks about GalCiv II`s intended multiplayer capability.
The Metaverse will be greatly enhanced... It`ll be much more integrated so that players will be able see their scores and such from within the game and how they rank globally (or their empire for that matter). We also hope to allow players of the Metaverse to be able to unlock special items that will be in use in the game.
As far as development progression and release date anticipation, Wardell hopes he and his team will have a beta available for play this winter with commercial availability in late 2005 or even early 2006. Since we self-fund our games, we will be able to take the path of having a very long public (NO [Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs)]) beta so that our players can tell us what needs to be changed, he explains. In closing, it is noted that after GalCiv II Stardock will focus its attention on building a fantasy strategy title. The company is in negotations with game publisher Atari to develop a sequel to the now defunct SimTex and MicroPROSE`s Master of Magic. - DanQ
C3SPDG: THE MAP REVEALED
(3 October 2004, 22:47 | Civ3 | 17 comments) The following report is filed by Apolyton Civilization Site News Editor `Octavian X`:
The quest of the great Viking nation to take to take over the world in the 3rd Civ3 Single-Player Democracy Game (`SPDG`) doesn`t look very good -- the Scandivanians are struggling through the Middle Ages while their rivals enter the Modern one. The game lies dormant now: the ferocity of the tenacious Berserker can only do so much against the sheer firepower of the gun...
This doesn`t mean it was the fault of the brave Viking leaders. They were up against the challanging map created by regular Democracy Game participants `BigFurryMonster` and `Togas.` They volunteered to create a custom map for this SPDG that would prove a challenge for the SPDGers, who proved easily they could take on a random map despite an infamous jungle start in the first incarnation of the game.
It can only be concluded they more than met their goal.
Now, though, with the game dead, Togas and BigFurryMonster were kind enough to go through their entire design process, explaining along the while all the little quirks and bonuses they had packaged in. They are quite thorough -- no detail is left unexplained, and your bound to see something that you didn`t notice before.
Of course, simply viewing the all that information isn`t the only option available - the original PTW save is available as well! Do you think you can do better than the original Vikings and conquer the world on this challanging map? - DanQ
`ACSR WEEKLY`: OCTOBER 3RD, 2004
(3 October 2004, 22:29 | Misc | 0 comments) The October 3rd, 2004 edition of Apolyton Civilization Site Radio`s "ACSR Weekly" is now available for broadcasting live on-demand. Please note that this edition does not include 'CivGroup' news.
Encoded in RealAudio format, total length is 6m:11s. - DanQ
TRAIN TALK ON RTS` AND CONSOLES
(2 October 2004, 20:04 | Misc) On October 7, 2004, Big Huge Games` Vice President of Development and Operation Tim Train will be one of the guest speakers at World Cyber Games` (WCG) "2004 Games Conference" in San Francisco, California. The keynote address will be delivered by Grand Theft Auto franchise head David Jones. This year`s theme is "The Next Generation of Multiplatform Gaming".
The World Cyber Games brings 700 champion gamers from more than 60 countries to compete for world titles and prize money. Including prizes from national finals, global winnings for the World Cyber Games are estimated to reach $2.5US million this year. The game developers in attendance who will speak to the gathered crowd will lead a discussion on where the gaming industry is heading; Train, who will be leading the second session of the event, will examine the difficulties being encountered in making real-time strategy (RTS) titles work on console platforms. The talk will review how previous games have tried to solve these issues, and discuss possible solutions, reads Train`s participation page on WCG` website. The final section of the lecture will sketch a blueprint for a successful console RTS.
More than one million gamers are expected to participate in this year`s online and offline events through WCG national preliminaries. Pre-registration has past, but on-site registration can be obtained for $80US. Students can attend for $50US with valid student ID on their person. - DanQ
GERMAN `GOTY` ON MAC, BUT NO ADD-ONS
(2 October 2004, 19:46 | Civ3) A "Game of the Year" edition of Civilization III will soon be coming to Macintosh platform near you. There is another key point to note: it will be in German. CivIII fansite Civ3.de reports this past week that the title will have the latest German patches for the original release applied, but it will not include the expansion packs that rounded out the PC variant.
Atari is again working with publisher MacSoft to bring this about, who has in turn contracted Application Systems Heidelberg to develop the port. - DanQ
