Call to Power II

Call to Power II (CTP2) 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 trademarked 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.

Differences from Civilization: Call to Power
Call to Power II had a number of differences from the previous game, Civilization: Call to Power. Civilization: Call to Power was criticized for its user interface, which prompted a redesign of the user interface in Call To Power II.

CTP2 also included several gameplay differences. Maximum army size was increased, some balance adjustments were made to avoid the balance problems from the original Civilization: Call to Power, and the economic system in CTP2 was reworked so that controlling good terrain became more profitable. Another difference in Call to Power II 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 Call To Power II 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 Call to Power II, along with the "Alien Life Project" victory condition. Call to Power II 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.

Mods
One significant feature of CTP2 is its support for mods. 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.

Source code release
After Activision ceased to support Call to Power II, the Apolyton Civilization Site became the defacto support center for Call to Power II, 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 Call to Power II 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.

Source code access
Currently, the source code project is accessible through a Subversion server. Initially, set up by user 'kaan' another apolyton member 'DarkDust' has provided a home for the code. Through Apolyton, those wishing to view the source code or wish to modify the code can find the SVN server forum at the Apolyton link below for more information.

Critical reception
Call to Power II received mixed reviews. GameSpot awarded 7.2 out of 10, highlighting the improved interface, animations and sound, and the game's replay value. Criticisms included the lack of feedback during diplomacy, lack of tactical control during combat, the shift from city micromanagement to army micromanagement and weak AI.