Call to Power II Prepares to Conquer the PC Landscape

Santa Monica, CA � February 15, 2000 � This fall armies clash, empires crumble and the balance of power shifts -- all with the click of a mouse in Activision, Inc.�s (Nasdaq: ATVI) empire building game, Call to Power II. From the makers of the best-selling Civilization: Call to Power, Call to Power II puts players in total control of a civilization spanning more than six millennia.

Call to Power II gives players control over an empire from primitive beginnings into the sci-fi future of 2300AD. Gamers will command powerful armies and employ 6300 years� worth of weaponry, politics, exploration and cultural evolution to defend their empire and defeat enemies as they strive for supremacy.

Expanding upon the well-established gameplay of Civilization: Call to Power and other games in the genre, Call to Power II offers players several new governing tools, diplomatic options and trade features. The player�s diplomatic strategy will play a large role in the development of their civilization, as enemy states will survey the diplomatic landscape before attacking or forming their own alliances. A robust diplomacy interface will assist players in choosing their political stance, and allow counter proposals when dealing with other civilizations. Players who are inexperienced in managing an entire civilization may consult their ministers and advisors who will offer advice and make recommendations.

Visually, Call to Power II makes use of the same eye-popping engine as its predecessor, but with a number of innovative features and enhancements. Cities� influence over the surrounding landscape increases as their populations grow. Borders between neighboring states are clearly defined to help prevent inadvertent skirmishes or international incidents. A historical timeline gives players a holistic perspective on their civilization�s achievements over the centuries, and many units are presented with new graphics and animations.

Combat in Call to Power II has been refined and rebalanced for more realistic outcomes. Distinct AI personalities take the challenge to new levels and give computer opponents more realism when negotiating treaties or on the field of battle. Elite modern units like marines will have a clear tactical superiority over more primitive units like warriors and hoplites. Unconventional warfare rules have also been revised to give players more options for strategic decisions. Players who prefer a more passive approach to empire building can focus their civilization�s resources on higher goals such as developing the principles of law, technology or science and can attain glory by constructing wonders.

The interfaces and menus in Call to Power II have also been improved to simplify gameplay. The enhanced city management screen features automated mayors that help administrate the day-to-day operations of individual cities, and the game�s improved build queue menus allow players to amass armies or build their cities� infrastructure with ease.

Call to Power II features more ways to win to appeal to different styles of play. Players who choose to develop an aggressive civilization can achieve victory through military conquest. Conversely, gamers who prefer a more subtle approach can achieve dominance through scientific means.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted revenues of $436 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1999.

Activision maintains operations in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, The Netherlands and Belgium. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at http://www.activision.com.

The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements." The company cautions readers of this press release that a number of important factors could cause Activision's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. These important factors, and other factors that could affect Activision, are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1999, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers of this press release are referred to such filings.

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• improved diplomacy
  
• same graphics engine with improvements
  
• borders
  
• "historical timeline" feature
  
• improved(more realistic) combat
  
• city "mayors"(ala civ2/smac advisors I guess)
  

1) Initialize all memory structures at run time, not compile time (no hard coded array limits).
2) Build all indices which link array structures at run time, not compile time. For example, references to phalanxes should not be hard coded to array[2] (or some other hard coded number).
3) Use algorithms which scale by order N whenever possible (i.e. use binary trees or hash tables and not linked lists or bubble sorts).

I mean, you can't help but feel for Activision. Reading the press release made me think about the HUGE fire under their butts (heh heh, hoo hoo!). Nothing screams performance like stiff competition and a hurt ego.

The return of the advisors is appealing as well. In fact, I think that all interaction should be via "talking characters."

BTW, if anyone of Activision is reading this: update your website! It's kind of ridiculous reading on the front-page that

quote: The second patch for Civ:CTP is in production at the moment.

Locutus

quote: Originally posted by MarkG on 02-15-2000 02:00 PM probably the typical $40 it's a new game after all...

Btw, like ghen I also have my doubts about this.. I REALLY did not like the first CTP, I really wonder if they can make this game any better without some monumental improvements...

� And any possibility of backwards compatiablity with CTP1... or have I still no use for it...

The things I requested are technical C++ programming changes. However, if implemented, they will have the following beneficial results:

I can understand that so many were disappointed with the release version of CTP,- it sat on my shelf gathering dust for the first few months after release. But, once you have the patch and mods that are available from this site AND spend some time getting used to the interface, it turns into a damn fine game. In fact, for some time now it has been my favourite multiplayer turn-based strategy game.

The new/improved features indicated for CTP II, suggests that there might be great improvements to the single player game, where good diplomacy (and personalities?) are much more important in adding atmosphere to what, at times, can seem a rather "cold" game.

Markos,-2 other things I would suggest adding to your list of "important stuff"-

1. Improved interfaces and menus (could help more people appreciate the game without having to get used to the mechanics)
2. More ways to win. ( I may be in a minority here, but I prefer to run a peaceful civ. I think strategy in the game could be improved enormously if I had more options to consider that the Alien stuff)

So� I am really looking forward to CTP II.

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stodlum
Secretary-General of The Republic of Ceres

CTP2 sounds like a great start on everything we have been wanting. If they get it right, it should help push CTP back up to the top, where it should be.

It will, of course, wipe out all the work that everybody has been doing. Diplomacy, CD, Med & Mod mod, Borders, probably all gone. Maps, in general and flat-map in particular, don't know yet. But, being the game fixers we are, we will all start over on what needs to be fixed with CTP2. Or modify the existing work to reflect the new needs of CTP2. Why was this work done in the first place? Because it needed addressing and Activision addressed it. How bad can that really be.

Also, seeing the code from CTP1, you have to make sure you see and understand the CTP2 part of the info/release that states:
"While we have all this new, cool stuff planned, what we actually release may be all together different and not have any of this new, cool stuff working." Just got to love those disclaimers.