Civilization II -- Frequently Asked Questions
=============================================
Q: Where can I get the latest patch for Civ2?
A: The latest patch is now available
for download. If you're having problems and you
haven't
downloaded the latest patch yet, DO IT! The patch
can be
found on the site (ftp.microprose.com, under "new
versions"), web site (www.microprose.com, under
CivII,
"latest"), or on Compuserve or AOL.
Q: I can't hear music, even though the CD is in the
drive.
A: The music in the game is straight redbook CD audio.
This means that you
can put the Civ2 CD into any CD player, and the
music should play just like
any regular music CD (except for track 1). In
order to hear the CD audio
music, you must have the following:
1) The Civ2 CD in the CD drive.
2) The proper (and up-to-date) Windows MCI CD audio
drivers for your
soundcard loaded.
3) A CD audio cable connecting your CD drive to
your soundcard. This last
is part of the standard system configuration and
is probably present
unless you installed your sound card or CDROM
drive yourself.
If these conditions are satisfied, the music will
play. If you do not have
recent soundcard drivers, you should contact your
soundcard manufacturer for
an update. Also, there have been reports of other
CD programs (e.g.
Microsoft FlexiCD) causing a conflict with the
game. In this case,
disabling these other programs should fix the
problem.
If you're having problems w/ the music, you may
want to check if you can
play a regular audio CD on your CDROM drive. Once
you can do that, you
should be able to hear music with Civ2.
Q: I am getting a lot of GPFs in the game.
A: There are several possible causes of this problem:
1) The initially shipped version of Civilization II
turns out to -require-
a sound card in order to run properly. If you
don't have a sound card,
you'll need to download the patched version.
2) The next most likely problem is a lack of global
memory space. Even
when you have the required amount of physical
memory, it is possible
for other applications, or disk cache programs,
to drain these resources.
a) Usually the best solution is to increase
the amount of virtual
memory swap space you have available: Go to
Control Panel, 386
Enhanced, Virtual Memory and increase your
swap memory to 32+megs.
You'll need to make sure you have enough
disk space to accomodate
the swap file, of course.
b) If you're running Windows 95, it will
usually manage your virtual
memory for you correctly. However, you
must have enough disk space
available for Win95 to create and use a
swap file.
c) The above will usually eliminate the GPF's,
but you may also be
able to improve performance by freeing up
physical memory,
particularly by reducing the size of your
disk cache if you have
a large one.
3) We are aware of problems with certain models of
"Cirrus Logic" and
"Diamond" brand video cards. In most cases,
these problems can be solved
by updating the Windows video drivers. If you
have a Cirrus Logic card,
new drivers can be found at "ftp.cirrus.com". If
you are using any other
brand video card, we recommend checking your
drivers to make sure they
are up-to-date. If you are using older (buggy)
drivers, they can cause
problems. Generally speaking, most GPFs can be
solved by updating your
Windows video, sound, etc drivers!
4) If you're receiving a GPF in "WING.DLL", it
probably means you
are using some kind of "RAM Doubling" software
(e.g. RAM Doubler,
SoftRAM), which seems to cause a conflict. To
fix the problem,
you must disable these programs before starting
the game. We have
also noticed conflicts with some CD-ROM
accelerator programs.
5) If you've tried all of the above and you're
still having GPF's whenever
you discover a new technology, try
renaming/deleting the file
GET_INFO.EXE from your Civ2 directory. You
won't get the fancy
civilopedia, but you will get the beta
civilopedia. In this case,
the problem is some conflict with the Authorware
package we used
to do the hypertext Civilopedia.
Q: The game tells me to run "VFWFIX.BAT" on the CD but
I cannot find it!
A: Actually, the file is "VFWFIX.REG" and you can
still run the file. If you
double-click on the file in the File Manager
(Win3.1) or "My Computer"
(Win95), the information in the file will be added
to the Windows registry
and the problem should be fixed. Sorry for the
confusion.
Q: The "Civilopedia" causes a black screen.
A: This will happen if you have Win95, and did not
install the pedia files to
the hard drive, and are playing with the CD. You'll
simply need to download
the latest patched version.
Q: The text in the game is unreadable, or I receive a
Truetype font error.
A: Make sure that truetype fonts are enabled on the
Control Panel.
Also, Adobe Type Manager has a known
incompatibility with the Authorware
tool we used for the hypertext Civilopedia. You'll
need to disable
ATM, and tell it to use resident fonts.
Q: I am having problems running the videos in the
game.
(Particularly if they always show up as black
squares).
A: Try reinstalling the "WinG" and "Video for Windows"
programs (these
programs can be found in the appropriate
subdirectories on the CD).
When re-installing, make sure that you agree to all
the licensing
questions and you should restart windows so that
the changes take effect.
Q: The heralds appear but they aren't animating (Win
95 machines only).
A: You are probably using the 32-bit Indeo driver. You
can check this by
looking for a file called IR41_32.DLL in your
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.
If this is the case, you can either uninstall the
32-bit version and install
the Video for Windows on the Civ 2 CD, or you can
wait for a patch which we
hope will be ready soon.
Q: I received a "Can't find WinG" error message.
A: Some computers have their Windows System directory
write-protected.
To fix it you need to change this attribute and
reinstall both WinG
and Video for Windows.
Q: The game can't find the CD after I have been
playing for a while.
A: If you open the CD-ROM drive during the course of
gameplay, the game will
stop recognizing the presence of the CD.
Showing posts with label Civilization II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Civilization II. Show all posts
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Civilization II In-Depth Guide
====================
1) Introduction
====================
Sid Meier's Civilization II improves on a beloved classic. Civilization,
its predecessor, cast you as the ruler of an infant civilization,
struggling to survive and prosper in the earliest moments of history.
Eventually, growth and exploration brough you into competition with
ruthless, competent, but sometimes predictable computer opponents.
Civilization II adds depth to the diplomacy and smarts to the AI, as
well as tweaking features that millions of Civ players had come to know
too well. The result is the same compelling quality and fresh challenges
for the expert player - and a wide-open world to explore for the novice.
Both you and your opponents begin with a small band of settlers surrounded
by the hazards and delights of unexplored territory. Each decision you
make can have important ramifications later. Should you build a city on a
coast or inland? Should you concentrate on military production or
agrcultural improvement? Innovative displays make it easy to understand
the shifting situation and implement action. If you prove an able ruler,
your civilization grows larger and even more interesting to manage. The
inevitable contact with naighbouring civilizations opens new doors of
opportunity: treaties, embassies, sabotage, trade, and war.
====================
2) Diplomats & Spies
====================
You basically use spy's/diplomats for interaction with your rivals/allies.
Basically, Spies are upgraded Diplomats that have more functions and are
usually more effective than the poor Diplomat. If a Spy is a Veteran unit,
then it means that they are 50% more efficient at doing their job.
Below is a table which shows what happens to who when you tell them to
do what.
Table 1.1 - Diplomat and Spy Missions Analysis
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
ASSIGNED MISSION | COST | DIPLOMAT FATE | SPY FATE
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Establish Embassy ---- Killed - Removed Killed - Removed
from the game from the game
Investigate City ---- Killed - Removed Possibly survive
from the game and moved to
closest friendly
city
Steal Technology ---- Killed - Removed Possibly survive
from the game and moved to
closest friendly
city
Industrial Sabotage ---- Killed - Removed Possibly survive
from the game and moved to
closest friendly
city
Poison Water Supply ---- N/A Possibly survive
and moved to
closest friendly
city
Plant Nuclear Device ---- N/A Possibly survive
and moved to
closest friendly
city
Incite A Revolt Yes Killed - Removed Possibly survive
from the game and moved to
closest friendly
city
Bribe Unit Yes Mission Success Mission Success
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
As you can see on the table, the Spy is alot more effective than the
Diplomat, meaning that the spy can be put to alot more uses.
The only times that Spy's are sure to be removed from the game are when
they establish embassy's in other cities, and the only times that they
have a 100% success rate is when they are ordered to Bribe Unit.
For Spy's all the other tasks have a probability of surviving or being
removed from the game. If they survive, then they will be moved to the
closest friendly city (be it yours or an ally's) and may gain the
Veteran status.
====================
3) Spy/Diplomat Interaction
====================
This section will describe all of the ways that you can interact with
rivals or allies.
ESTABLISH EMBASSY
This is considered a peaceful function of a Spy/Diplomat. When an embassy
is established in an enemy or rival city, you will be able to see vital
things such as: the amount of money in their treasury, their war or peace
status with other civilizations in the game, a list containing all of
the cities that they have build and captured, and the Advances that they
have researched. If a Spy/Diplomat establishes an embassy with a rival
civilization, then they are immediately removed from the game.
Use this wisely, it can help you plan on attacks and see how advanced a
rival is.
Diplomat Ability: Yes
Spy Ability: Yes
INVESTIGATE CITY
This is another one of these "peaceful" functions of a Spy/Diplomat.
This lets you look at the City Display of a Rivals City. When
a Diplomat does this job, it's instantly killed, if it's a Spy,
then the Spy stays in the game. This function can be pretty useful
sometimes when you are planning an attack on enemy. For example, say
you have two cities to attack, City1 and City2. You "assume" that
City1 has better defenses, since it's closer to you. However, use
the Investigate City and you may find that City2 has 7 fortified units,
while City1 has only 1 (and it's a Warrior). So, had you not used
the Spy to your advantage, you would have wasted a few units attacking
City2. Not the best example, but what the hell..
This function lets you see everything that is built in that particular
city, Diplomats are removed from the game when doing this, but Spys are
doing this job for you for free. Making this a good, decent, *function*.
Diplomat Ability: Yes
Spy Ability: Yes
STEAL TECHNOLOGY
Beware when using this function, it usually leads to war, but if you're on
multiplayer with some *really* nice people, then maybe it won't, the
decision of starting a war rests with the victim of who you stole to
Advance from.
This is one of the first *violent* functions of a Spy/Diplomat (it's not
exactly *violent*, but depending on the victims decisions, it could be)
so you should use this when you have a *very* flakey alliance with someone
who demands alot from you and doesn't bother sending a single troop down
when you're in trouble.
If you are using a Spy, you can select an Advance to choose, although this
may increase the risk of being caught by the rival civilization. If you are
using a Diplomat however, you can't select an Advance to steal. Only one
is stolen (at random) from the list. When a Spy escapes capture by the
rivals, the Spy is returned to the closest friendly city for recuperation
and is instantly promoted to Veteran status. If the Spy is captured,
needless to say, it is removed from the game. Using this function against
an ally can result in the collapse of a peace treaty, government,
reputation and ultimately leads to war. When you attempt to steal a
technology from a rival, you are warned that it might cause an incident,
there's are 95% chance that it does, if you're playing against the AI it
is.
Don't use this function recklessly as it can really be bad for you.
Diplomat Ability: Yes
Spy Ability: Yes
INDUSTRIAL SABOTAGE
Indutrial Sabotage is pretty similar to Steal Technology, except it's
different. If this function proves successful, Industrial Sabotage can
destroy the item that is currently under construction or an existing
building (City Improvement). If a Diplomat attempts this, then the item
destroyed is random. With Spys, you can choose which one recieves your
wrath of destruction, :P
If you choose which item to be destroyed (Spy only), then the chances of
the Spy being caught is much higher, methinks. If a Diplomat or Spy is
caught in the act of an Industrial Sabotage against an ally, then the AI
immediately considers it a treaty violation. This can have the same effects
as if you got caught in the middle of Steal Technology.
Diplomat Ability: Yes
Spy Ability: Yes
POISON WATER SUPPLY
The only purpose for this one is to reduce the target citys population by
1. If your Spy is caught, then it is considered an act of war.If the target
was an ally, then the treaty will be canceled, war could start and
(possibly) your government will collapse. Poisoning the water supply is
not a very effective strategy, my recommendation would be to use it on
small cities so that their production is limited, but, going into full-scale
war usually works better.
Diplomat Ability: No
Spy Ability: Yes
PLANT NUCLEAR DEVICE
Now, I'll warn you, if you get caught doing this in an AI game, it will
cause an international incident and all of the other civilizations will
immediately declare a state of war against you. To get this,
research Nuclear Fission and Rocketry and build the Manhattan Project.
Basically, this function tells your spy to rock up to a city, stick
a nuke in it and bail, the bail part doesn't work however, the Spy gets
killed. The effects of this are the same as a normal Nuclear blast
except that an SDI can't counter it.
Diplomat Ability: No
Spy Ability: Yes
BRIBE UNIT
A useful function from the Spy/Diplomat team is their ability to turn
enemy units over to your side. Below is the equation that determines how
much money you need to pay to successfully bribe a unit.
Cost of Bribe = (targets treasury + 750) / distance + 2
(where / is divide)
distance = if the enemy is a Barbarian, 16
Bribe Cost = Bribe Cost / 2, if the unit is a settler
(where / is divide)
There's no risk of war or anything like that when you turn enemy units,
Diplomats and Spy's are always successful, and if not, they still
survive (unless they get hacked to pieces by an enemy).
INCITE A REVOLT
This can be a useful function when it wants to be, Basically, it's like
paying an enemy city to turn to your side, to find out how much you pay,
look below:
Cost of Revolt = (Enemy Treasury + 900) / distance + 3) x City size
(Where / is divide)
distance = 32, if there is no palace
/ 2, if there is a Courthouse
If you can pay the cash, then this is an excellent function of a
Spy/Diplomat. This will cause an international incident as well, like
the Plnat Nuclear Device thing. You also get to steal ONE Civilization
Advance from the target.
====================
4) Misc. Strategy
====================
* You can prevent expulsion of Spys/Diplomats by having them travel in
pairs. When two Diplomats or Spys are in the same square, they can't
be expelled
1) Introduction
====================
Sid Meier's Civilization II improves on a beloved classic. Civilization,
its predecessor, cast you as the ruler of an infant civilization,
struggling to survive and prosper in the earliest moments of history.
Eventually, growth and exploration brough you into competition with
ruthless, competent, but sometimes predictable computer opponents.
Civilization II adds depth to the diplomacy and smarts to the AI, as
well as tweaking features that millions of Civ players had come to know
too well. The result is the same compelling quality and fresh challenges
for the expert player - and a wide-open world to explore for the novice.
Both you and your opponents begin with a small band of settlers surrounded
by the hazards and delights of unexplored territory. Each decision you
make can have important ramifications later. Should you build a city on a
coast or inland? Should you concentrate on military production or
agrcultural improvement? Innovative displays make it easy to understand
the shifting situation and implement action. If you prove an able ruler,
your civilization grows larger and even more interesting to manage. The
inevitable contact with naighbouring civilizations opens new doors of
opportunity: treaties, embassies, sabotage, trade, and war.
====================
2) Diplomats & Spies
====================
You basically use spy's/diplomats for interaction with your rivals/allies.
Basically, Spies are upgraded Diplomats that have more functions and are
usually more effective than the poor Diplomat. If a Spy is a Veteran unit,
then it means that they are 50% more efficient at doing their job.
Below is a table which shows what happens to who when you tell them to
do what.
Table 1.1 - Diplomat and Spy Missions Analysis
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
ASSIGNED MISSION | COST | DIPLOMAT FATE | SPY FATE
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Establish Embassy ---- Killed - Removed Killed - Removed
from the game from the game
Investigate City ---- Killed - Removed Possibly survive
from the game and moved to
closest friendly
city
Steal Technology ---- Killed - Removed Possibly survive
from the game and moved to
closest friendly
city
Industrial Sabotage ---- Killed - Removed Possibly survive
from the game and moved to
closest friendly
city
Poison Water Supply ---- N/A Possibly survive
and moved to
closest friendly
city
Plant Nuclear Device ---- N/A Possibly survive
and moved to
closest friendly
city
Incite A Revolt Yes Killed - Removed Possibly survive
from the game and moved to
closest friendly
city
Bribe Unit Yes Mission Success Mission Success
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
As you can see on the table, the Spy is alot more effective than the
Diplomat, meaning that the spy can be put to alot more uses.
The only times that Spy's are sure to be removed from the game are when
they establish embassy's in other cities, and the only times that they
have a 100% success rate is when they are ordered to Bribe Unit.
For Spy's all the other tasks have a probability of surviving or being
removed from the game. If they survive, then they will be moved to the
closest friendly city (be it yours or an ally's) and may gain the
Veteran status.
====================
3) Spy/Diplomat Interaction
====================
This section will describe all of the ways that you can interact with
rivals or allies.
ESTABLISH EMBASSY
This is considered a peaceful function of a Spy/Diplomat. When an embassy
is established in an enemy or rival city, you will be able to see vital
things such as: the amount of money in their treasury, their war or peace
status with other civilizations in the game, a list containing all of
the cities that they have build and captured, and the Advances that they
have researched. If a Spy/Diplomat establishes an embassy with a rival
civilization, then they are immediately removed from the game.
Use this wisely, it can help you plan on attacks and see how advanced a
rival is.
Diplomat Ability: Yes
Spy Ability: Yes
INVESTIGATE CITY
This is another one of these "peaceful" functions of a Spy/Diplomat.
This lets you look at the City Display of a Rivals City. When
a Diplomat does this job, it's instantly killed, if it's a Spy,
then the Spy stays in the game. This function can be pretty useful
sometimes when you are planning an attack on enemy. For example, say
you have two cities to attack, City1 and City2. You "assume" that
City1 has better defenses, since it's closer to you. However, use
the Investigate City and you may find that City2 has 7 fortified units,
while City1 has only 1 (and it's a Warrior). So, had you not used
the Spy to your advantage, you would have wasted a few units attacking
City2. Not the best example, but what the hell..
This function lets you see everything that is built in that particular
city, Diplomats are removed from the game when doing this, but Spys are
doing this job for you for free. Making this a good, decent, *function*.
Diplomat Ability: Yes
Spy Ability: Yes
STEAL TECHNOLOGY
Beware when using this function, it usually leads to war, but if you're on
multiplayer with some *really* nice people, then maybe it won't, the
decision of starting a war rests with the victim of who you stole to
Advance from.
This is one of the first *violent* functions of a Spy/Diplomat (it's not
exactly *violent*, but depending on the victims decisions, it could be)
so you should use this when you have a *very* flakey alliance with someone
who demands alot from you and doesn't bother sending a single troop down
when you're in trouble.
If you are using a Spy, you can select an Advance to choose, although this
may increase the risk of being caught by the rival civilization. If you are
using a Diplomat however, you can't select an Advance to steal. Only one
is stolen (at random) from the list. When a Spy escapes capture by the
rivals, the Spy is returned to the closest friendly city for recuperation
and is instantly promoted to Veteran status. If the Spy is captured,
needless to say, it is removed from the game. Using this function against
an ally can result in the collapse of a peace treaty, government,
reputation and ultimately leads to war. When you attempt to steal a
technology from a rival, you are warned that it might cause an incident,
there's are 95% chance that it does, if you're playing against the AI it
is.
Don't use this function recklessly as it can really be bad for you.
Diplomat Ability: Yes
Spy Ability: Yes
INDUSTRIAL SABOTAGE
Indutrial Sabotage is pretty similar to Steal Technology, except it's
different. If this function proves successful, Industrial Sabotage can
destroy the item that is currently under construction or an existing
building (City Improvement). If a Diplomat attempts this, then the item
destroyed is random. With Spys, you can choose which one recieves your
wrath of destruction, :P
If you choose which item to be destroyed (Spy only), then the chances of
the Spy being caught is much higher, methinks. If a Diplomat or Spy is
caught in the act of an Industrial Sabotage against an ally, then the AI
immediately considers it a treaty violation. This can have the same effects
as if you got caught in the middle of Steal Technology.
Diplomat Ability: Yes
Spy Ability: Yes
POISON WATER SUPPLY
The only purpose for this one is to reduce the target citys population by
1. If your Spy is caught, then it is considered an act of war.If the target
was an ally, then the treaty will be canceled, war could start and
(possibly) your government will collapse. Poisoning the water supply is
not a very effective strategy, my recommendation would be to use it on
small cities so that their production is limited, but, going into full-scale
war usually works better.
Diplomat Ability: No
Spy Ability: Yes
PLANT NUCLEAR DEVICE
Now, I'll warn you, if you get caught doing this in an AI game, it will
cause an international incident and all of the other civilizations will
immediately declare a state of war against you. To get this,
research Nuclear Fission and Rocketry and build the Manhattan Project.
Basically, this function tells your spy to rock up to a city, stick
a nuke in it and bail, the bail part doesn't work however, the Spy gets
killed. The effects of this are the same as a normal Nuclear blast
except that an SDI can't counter it.
Diplomat Ability: No
Spy Ability: Yes
BRIBE UNIT
A useful function from the Spy/Diplomat team is their ability to turn
enemy units over to your side. Below is the equation that determines how
much money you need to pay to successfully bribe a unit.
Cost of Bribe = (targets treasury + 750) / distance + 2
(where / is divide)
distance = if the enemy is a Barbarian, 16
Bribe Cost = Bribe Cost / 2, if the unit is a settler
(where / is divide)
There's no risk of war or anything like that when you turn enemy units,
Diplomats and Spy's are always successful, and if not, they still
survive (unless they get hacked to pieces by an enemy).
INCITE A REVOLT
This can be a useful function when it wants to be, Basically, it's like
paying an enemy city to turn to your side, to find out how much you pay,
look below:
Cost of Revolt = (Enemy Treasury + 900) / distance + 3) x City size
(Where / is divide)
distance = 32, if there is no palace
/ 2, if there is a Courthouse
If you can pay the cash, then this is an excellent function of a
Spy/Diplomat. This will cause an international incident as well, like
the Plnat Nuclear Device thing. You also get to steal ONE Civilization
Advance from the target.
====================
4) Misc. Strategy
====================
* You can prevent expulsion of Spys/Diplomats by having them travel in
pairs. When two Diplomats or Spys are in the same square, they can't
be expelled
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