CivNET (Multi-player Civilization)
                    Full price PC CD-ROM

                 A review by James Jillians

Civilization and its sequel, Civ II, were the sort of games that,
although terrific fun to play single player, continually made me
wish, "if only I could play this against other humans_!"

I was therefore immensely pleased when I heard about CivNET, a
recent production from Microsoft, which allows you to do just
that. The game is a revised version of the original Civilization,
and allows single-player games, although the major improvement is
that multi-player games can be played by linking computers with
null-modem cables, modems or networks, and even on just a single
machine.

The purpose of this short review is not to tell you all about the
game Civilization. You probably know already, and if not can go to
a past edition of SynTax. Instead I will tell you what the new
features are and then try to convince you to buy it because I
think it's so good!

As a reminder, Civilization is that classic game where you manage
a tribe of people from prehistoric times to the spacefaring
future, conquering enemies, building cities and developing
technology as you go.

The new package is more slickly presented with new menus, better
CD music and a map designer. But these are secondary issues_

Two player games can be played "head to head" using a null-modem
link or modem, although I wouldn't like to be the person who pays
the phone bill if you opt for the latter.  The null-modem option
(which is the one I have been using) is very easy to get going and
just requires the purchase of the correct lead for about œ10. The
modem option seems just as easy, with one player simply dialling
the other up through the phone lines using CivNET's dial- up
software.

More players can join in if you have access to a Local Area
Network, or the Internet. I haven't been able to try the former
option as I don't have enough PC owning friends.  Network adapter
cards are also needed as well as the relevant cables and
terminators. There are various facilities for playing over the
Internet with as many as seven people if you can find them,
although you do need to be subscribing to an Internet Access
Provider. The official CivNET site is located at
http:\\www.microprose.com/civnet/ which, as well as having
improvements to download, allows you to put your name on a huge
list of CivNET players with e-mail addresses so you can get in
touch and organise games.

Another option is to play a "Hotseat" game where everybody gathers
around one computer and takes it in turns to move.

In my opinion, the Internet, Hotseat and Modem options are not
worth bothering with. The Modem option simply costs too much to
play a full game. The Hotseat game takes too long as each player
has to wait while the rest of the players take turns, with a lot
of swapping seats involved. An Internet game is very hard to set
up because you have to first find other players, then establish a
connection at the right time - not easy as you cannot phone up to
synchronise because both phone lines will be engaged by the
Internet access. Getting more than two people to play over the
Internet would be nigh on impossible! The best options are
therefore playing by null- modem with a single friend or, for more
players, setting up a network.

Upon starting a game, each player can create a leader portrait for
themselves by changing faces, clothing and hairstyles and also
customise the name of their tribe. Up to seven tribes can play at
once - the computer can control the ones not played by humans if
you like, pitting you against the Romans, Mongols, English and so
on as in Civilization.

There are two movement options - simultaneous and turn based,
which are self explanatory. I highly recommend simultaneous
movement because with turn-based movement you end up waiting a
great deal for other players and getting very, very bored. With
simultaneous movement, all players start each turn at the same
time, waiting until everyone has finished before going onto the
next.

Human players can only communicate by Anonymous Broadcasts heard
by all other players until they meet one another. Then they
communicate with each other at any time using "Chat Mode" (none of
the silly moving a unit next to the person you want to speak to as
in Civilization!) Chat Mode brings up a box on both communicators'
screens with options to type messages to one another, sign peace
treaties, make alliances (which allow you to move through each
other's territory ignoring "zones of control"), grant knowledge
and give each other money. You can also view your own or the other
player's leader and select which facial expression - angry,
furious, bored or happy - you want to wear at any point during the
negotiations. Chatting is good fun, but if playing with more than
two players, those not involved can get very bored while the two
type long messages to each other. Be warned: other human players
can eavesdrop on a "chat" with a diplomat unit!

You will discover that a multi-player game of Civilization takes
longer to play than it did for single-player in Civilization
(about as long as a game of Civ 2, in fact). This is partly
because of all the "chatting" and waiting for other players to
finish their turns. You won't be playing for hours, you'll be
playing for several days.

CivNET is great fun multi-player, especially if you have been
discussing and competing Civ and Civ 2 for years with someone (as
I had with James Judge) because you finally get a chance to find
out who is the more skilled player (me in that particular case!).
It is a great opportunity for friendly competition, as well as
allowing you the satisfaction of completely annihilating overly
smug friends.  It's worth persevering just to see the expression
on your opponent's face when you invent nuclear weapons first and
then proceed to level his entire Civilization, leaving him within
a few turns with just a single mud hut.

You can discover with human players that you are either much
better or much worse than them, resulting in quite a one-sided
tournament. At one point in a game I found myself in a position to
capture all of my friend's cities with superior technology, but
chose to restrain myself so that the game could proceed to later
stages. This is a shame, but as with any multi-player game you
just need to choose the right opponent.

ROUND-UP

If you have a friend or two who like playing Civilisation, then
CivNET is an excellent purchase. Games do take a long time to
play, but every minute is good fun. Also, buying the null-modem
cable or the network equipment gives you access to a variety of
other multi-player games such as Doom, Descent and Z, which are
all great for a quick bash in between rounds of CivNET. Networking
is one of the most fun things I have done for a long time, and I
seriously recommend that you try it.

Note :  Since writing this review I have been able to link up
three computers using a Local Area Network, but, although other
games ran without problems, I was not able to get CivNET working
in this way. I'm currently trying to find out what the problem is
and so hopefully I will be able to let you know the solution in a
future issue of SynTax.
















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