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C:CTP Release Party; March 30th, 1999


[MarkG] [PrecursoR] but wouldn't contraception be classed as an advancement? like gunpowder in civ2?
[Pinkbelly] So Wonders can be more than a physcial object -- they can be a whole mindset that takes years for your people to adjust to and that profoundly changes the way that they view their lives.
[MarkG] [Big] how were the future wonders decided?
[Necro] Gunpowder didn't change many lives.... :)
[Necro] Bullets did!
[Pinkbelly] Contraception is an interesting case -- it depends both on technology and on a cultural understanding. Before 1920, contraception was illegal in the US for instance, not because of technological factors though.
[MarkG] and speaking of future wonders, how did you come up with the future advances and units?
[Necro] We used a crystal ball.
[Pinkbelly] We did lots of reading and dreaming.
[MarkG] examples of reading?
[Pinkbelly] I won't say where, but I think you can see the influence of some of the greatest sci-fi writers of the last fifty years in the wonders that we created.
[MarkG] ok, end of topic I think....
[MarkG] how much should CTP get on PCGamer? :)
[MarkG] just saw LtJohn :)
[LTJohn] I'm back
[LTJohn] We sent PC Gamer lots of $$$ so we should get a good score :)
[LTJohn] Just kidding
[Pinkbelly] Our beta in the UK got a 92. What does that say about our final game...
[MarkG] do these ratings care for you?
[MarkG] define success :)
[Pinkbelly] My wife won't talk to me if I don't get at least a 95.
[MarkG] that's one!
[tweaker] if they dont give us a good score my mom will be on the phone the next day
[MarkG] ok,ok, speaking of beta, what did you change during the last delay?
[MarkG] what kind of feedback did the last 100 beta testers sent you?
[Necro] We made it better. Cleaned up a lot of bugs, balanced the game and made the AI smarter.
[Pinkbelly] We have a saying, "Polish is everything." The last delay gave us the chance to take this game from fun to outstanding.
[Azmel] I don't care so much about the score as the review; when people know what's in the game I think they'll want to play, and will like what they play
[MarkG] here goes my only personal complaint...
[Pinkbelly] Fire away.
[MarkG] there are negotations during diplomacy
[tweaker] yes...
[MarkG] there are not negotations during diplomacy
[tweaker] you have the options to ask severl different requests
[MarkG] you reject a peace treaty and the ai doesnt beg for mercy :)
[Necro] Actually, you can negotiate by rejecting their Demand for, say 1000 Gold, but then Offering them 500 Gold. If they accept, that is ngotiations.
[MarkG] ymm I supppose yes
[MarkG] but this happens during several turns not instantly...
[Pinkbelly] We felt there was a tension in the diplomacy between too much back and forth and too little.
[tweaker] also there is the save load cheat
[Necro] You can also negotiate with the AI for Goods to trade by setting a price, then AI will ask at a different price. You can then accept of lower your price to a new one.
[Pinkbelly] For some, we may have too little now -- but we wanted to keep the game clean and easy to play. If you felt that you had to renegotiate every deal, you'd be saving and loading all the time. That's not so fun.
[MarkG] [Atahualpa] yes, ask them about the power of the reputation or does it not matter whether you are a ruthless emperor or a peaceful one?
[tweaker] you would just find out what the would agree to and load 1 turn ago
[Pinkbelly] In fact, in our early tests, the AI was much more active diplomatically -- and people said that they wanted more control and less input from the AI.
[Necro] It does matter. You have a reputation that you have earned that will affect diplomacy and trade.
[Pinkbelly] Don't break your word a lot.
[MarkG] how can you know your reputations?
[tweaker] be nice to strangers
[Necro] Killing settlers then asking for gold contributions or advances isn't a good strategy...
[MarkG] :)
[MarkG] [Atahualpa] Can, according to your reputation, the rest of the world unite and go for you?
[Necro] The Diplomacy system shows Civ's attitudes toward each other.
[MarkG] what happens if start nuking everyone or if you break a long term alliance?
[Necro] Yes, Atahualpa. The AI does pay attention to reputation and strength. Very much so if someone is killing all others.
[Pinkbelly] That all depends on whether you are also a threat. If you're just a weak mean guy, that's not so dangerous.
[Pinkbelly] If you're the strongest though, and people know that you like to start wars -- watch out!
[Necro] And if you're the weakest, some will have sympathy for you, while others may be after your blood!
[MarkG] [Atahualpa] So, the AI can recognize you as a global threat and therefore gather together and beat you up?
[MarkG] [eggman] are there pacts in this game that the AI sets against you?
[Necro] yup.
[Pinkbelly] This is true...
[tweaker] your friends may send you gifts if you are in trouble
[Azmel] The AI's do perform diplomacy between themselves and one might be a pact to wipe you a player (or other AI)
[Necro] Yes, Eggman. All Civs can make Pacts to Attack another Civ.
[MarkG] [Icedan] Do the the opponents build up massive armies and attack? Or do they attack as CivII did, unit by unit?
[Pinkbelly] They do both depending on the personality and the circumstances.
[Azmel] The AI does build up armies before attacking, stacking is very important in this game
[MarkG] [voracius] what if your reputation is spottless but you are the most powerful nation. Do the AIs gang up on you like in Civ, SMAC?
[Necro] Massive armies are very important. It is unlikely to win unit-by-unit. THe new combat system uses numbers and stacks, and teh AI pays attention to this.
[Pinkbelly] It does make a difference.
[tweaker] of course this may leave another area undefended
[Necro] Spotless Civs cannot sneak on to victory. Other Civs will see the threat of a runaway Civ and decide to slow it down by forming alliances to attack it.
[Pinkbelly] But don't think that you're impervious if you keep your word -- they're just a little more respectful. In the end, it is every AI for himself.
[tweaker] then you can send in the stealth units to create havoc
[MarkG] [Big] where did the stacking idea come from?
[MarkG] [War_] if a certain ai civ has bad reputation, will other ai civs distrust it and gang up on it depending on the situation?
[Pinkbelly] We wanted to speed the game when you started getting big armies.
[Pinkbelly] Stacking helps by encouraging you to put all your troops together and move them at once.
[Necro] We saw stacking as an important part of strategy and gameplay. It makes massive fronts more impressive and allows D-Day type invasions.
[Pinkbelly] Who wants to move 100 separate units anyway.
[tweaker] the game is pretty long already
[Azmel] having ranged units in back of infantry style units adds an interesting element to army creation too
[MarkG] so, trying to finish the chat... what kind of machine do you need for 32 civs? :)
[LTJohn] A Cray works well
[tweaker] lots o' memory
[tweaker] no it is not that bad
[tweaker] every ai takes memory
[MarkG] which is better, cpu or momory in this case?
[MarkG] memory...
[tweaker] 8 will work on our target machines
[tweaker] in an acceptable amount of time
[MarkG] who cares about target machines :)
[tweaker] have 32 civs works just slower then we like
[MarkG] ok, what's your plans after the map/scenario editors?
[MarkG] and after vacations?
[Necro] Play games
[Pinkbelly] We plan to rule the world.
[MarkG] expansions packs?
[tweaker] we have an evil plan
[tweaker] mwahahahha
[CMB] we are still working on the plan of whether we'll do expansion packs.
[MarkG] final question the we will go to unmoderated for a couple minutes before we close
[MarkG] any news about the mac port?
[tweaker] you guys will know when we make the annoucement
[MarkG] the linux one is going out on april 26...
[CMB] Here's the word -- MacSoft has licensed the rights to publish the game.
[CMB] That's all we know -- you'll have to ask them about the timing, beta testing, etc...
[MarkG] request to eveyone during no moderation: dont speak all together :)
*** MarkG sets mode: -m
[MarkG] ok....
[MarkG] here we are...
[eggman] ok
[xenisis] Are there any features that you haven't talked about before? Anything that you're lips were sealed about the game was released?
[WesternFederation] yay
[eggman] how u guys doin?
[Big] was sid meier called for ideas?
[Icedan] In Civ2, the years jumped by 20, and ended by 1 per turn. Does the whole of the last thousand years go by 1 per turn? Or?

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