Call to Power II
Encyclopedia
Call to Power II is a PC
turn-based strategy game released by Activision
as a sequel to Civilization: Call to Power
, which was, in turn, a game similar to the Civilization
computer game by Sid Meier
. The game could not have "Civilization" in its title because the word is trademark
ed by the makers of the original Civilization series. In October 2003, Activision released the source code
, enabling the Apolyton
gaming community to debug, improve, and add new features.
(CTP). CTP was criticized for its user interface
, which prompted a redesign of the user interface in CTP2.
CTP2 also included several gameplay differences. Maximum army size was increased, some balance adjustments were made to avoid the balance problems from the original CTP, and the economic system in CTP2 was reworked so that controlling good terrain became more profitable. Another difference in CTP2 is that the player can receive bonuses for certain achievements, if they are the first to perform the action (recapturing a city, sailing around the world, etc).
The diplomacy model in CTP2 was improved, with more agreements available for negotiation. Players could, for example, ask the AI controlled civilizations to stop researching some technology, or to reduce their nuclear weapons arsenal.
Space colonization and the space layer were removed from CTP2, along with the "Alien Life Project" victory condition. CITP introduces a new victory condition which requires the player to cover most of the planet's territory with Gaia
sensors and build the Gaia controller wonder, winning the game.
. A large number of game rules are stored in text files, along with many AI scripts. Even more importantly, CTP2 had a fully documented scripting language called SLIC, with a C
-like syntax, through which many things about the game could be tweaked. The sole released patch for CTP2 enhanced the functionality of SLIC, allowing creation of mods that change the gameplay significantly. The CTP2 community created many mods, with the primary goals of fixing the AI and balance issues that were in the original game. Later, new gameplay features were incorporated through mods as well. These mods allowed the CTP2 community to enjoy the game much more, as they fixed at least some of the worst problems in CTP2.
became the de-facto support center for CTP2, being the only active online community of this game and offering help with technical problems. That site is also largely where the modding efforts for CTP2 occurred.
At one point, the members of the Apolyton site contacted Activision and asked them to release the source code
to CTP2. After several months of negotiation, Activision agreed and the source code was released in October 2003 exclusively to the Apolyton Civilization Site. There were limitations to how the source code might be used; for example, no commercial use of anything created with the source base was allowed.
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
turn-based strategy game released by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
as a sequel to Civilization: Call to Power
Civilization: Call to Power
Civilization: Call to Power is a PC turn-based strategy game developed by Activision as a successor to the extremely successful Civilization computer game by Sid Meier. It was ported to Linux by Loki Software....
, which was, in turn, a game similar to the Civilization
Civilization (computer game)
Sid Meier's Civilization is a turn-based strategy "4X"-type strategy video game created by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley for MicroProse in 1991. The game's objective is to "Build an empire to stand the test of time": it begins in 4000 BC and the players attempt to expand and develop their empires...
computer game by Sid Meier
Sid Meier
Sidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...
. The game could not have "Civilization" in its title because the word is trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ed by the makers of the original Civilization series. In October 2003, Activision released the source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
, enabling the Apolyton
Apolyton Civilization Site
Apolyton Civilization Site is one of the largest web sites on the Internet dedicated to connecting players of the Civilization series of computer games and other games in the 4X game genre...
gaming community to debug, improve, and add new features.
Differences from Civilization: Call to Power
Call to Power II (CTP2) had a number of differences from the previous Civilization: Call to PowerCivilization: Call to Power
Civilization: Call to Power is a PC turn-based strategy game developed by Activision as a successor to the extremely successful Civilization computer game by Sid Meier. It was ported to Linux by Loki Software....
(CTP). CTP was criticized for its user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
, which prompted a redesign of the user interface in CTP2.
CTP2 also included several gameplay differences. Maximum army size was increased, some balance adjustments were made to avoid the balance problems from the original CTP, and the economic system in CTP2 was reworked so that controlling good terrain became more profitable. Another difference in CTP2 is that the player can receive bonuses for certain achievements, if they are the first to perform the action (recapturing a city, sailing around the world, etc).
The diplomacy model in CTP2 was improved, with more agreements available for negotiation. Players could, for example, ask the AI controlled civilizations to stop researching some technology, or to reduce their nuclear weapons arsenal.
Space colonization and the space layer were removed from CTP2, along with the "Alien Life Project" victory condition. CITP introduces a new victory condition which requires the player to cover most of the planet's territory with Gaia
Gaia philosophy
Gaia philosophy is a broadly inclusive term for related concepts that living organisms on a planet will affect the nature of their environment in order to make the environment more suitable for life. This set of theories holds that all organisms on an extraterrestrial life-giving planet regulate...
sensors and build the Gaia controller wonder, winning the game.
Mods
One significant feature of CTP2 is its support for modsMod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
. A large number of game rules are stored in text files, along with many AI scripts. Even more importantly, CTP2 had a fully documented scripting language called SLIC, with a C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
-like syntax, through which many things about the game could be tweaked. The sole released patch for CTP2 enhanced the functionality of SLIC, allowing creation of mods that change the gameplay significantly. The CTP2 community created many mods, with the primary goals of fixing the AI and balance issues that were in the original game. Later, new gameplay features were incorporated through mods as well. These mods allowed the CTP2 community to enjoy the game much more, as they fixed at least some of the worst problems in CTP2.
Source code release
After Activision ceased to support CTP2, the Apolyton Civilization SiteApolyton Civilization Site
Apolyton Civilization Site is one of the largest web sites on the Internet dedicated to connecting players of the Civilization series of computer games and other games in the 4X game genre...
became the de-facto support center for CTP2, being the only active online community of this game and offering help with technical problems. That site is also largely where the modding efforts for CTP2 occurred.
At one point, the members of the Apolyton site contacted Activision and asked them to release the source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
to CTP2. After several months of negotiation, Activision agreed and the source code was released in October 2003 exclusively to the Apolyton Civilization Site. There were limitations to how the source code might be used; for example, no commercial use of anything created with the source base was allowed.