Civilization: Call to Power

Civilization:Call to Power
Developer(s)	Activision
Publisher(s)	Activision
Released	March 1999
Genre	Turn-based strategy game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer over TCP/IP, IPX, PBEM, hotseat
Ratings	ESRB: E (Everyone)
Platform(s)	BeOS, Linux (Alpha/PowerPC/SPARC/x86), Mac OS, Windows
Media	CD
System requirements	133 MHz CPU, 32 MB RAM, 400 MB HDD, DirectX 7 compliant graphics card (for the Windows version)
Input methods	mouse, keyboard

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. A sequel, Call to Power II, was released 18 months after the original. The game could not have "Civilization" in its title because Activision did not have a license for a second game in the Civilization series.

Timeline and epochs

Apart from the isometric view, one of the most noticeable features compared to the original Civilization is that the timeline of the game does not end in the 21st century, but rather goes to the far future. There are five epochs in this game: Ancient Age, Renaissance, Modern Age, Genetic Age, and Diamond Age. In the game, space colonization and sea colonization become a reality with appropriate technological advances (available in the Genetic Age).

Terrain features

Isometric view of Call to Power.

Similar to Civilization II, the game uses an isometric view, although each tile is actually two separate tiles: the space level on top of a "terrestrial" level (thus, this game has a z-coordinate to represent position). Players can toggle between "Earth view" and "space view". All land and naval units are exclusively terrestrial, although most land units can be launched into space inside a cargo pod by a rail launcher in cities or via a space plane. Space fighters and space planes can freely travel in space and in the atmosphere. While the SWARM warrior can survive in space as well as the earth, it cannot launch itself into space. There are also some units that exist in space exclusively (i.e. cannot make a re-entry into the atmosphere) such as the Star Cruiser and the Space Bomber. Space produces no resources, as it is a vast void. However, once a space colony is built, players can build food pods and assembly bays to produce resources for the colony. "Water tiles" are also divided into several types. After submarines are available, the type of tile in oceans can be seen (e.g. continental shelf, deep sea trench, rift, etc). Once the technology for sea colonies is discovered, undersea tunnels can be built to link to other sea colonies and dry land. Fisheries and undersea mines can also be built to produce resources.

An example of Call to Power technologies, the War Walker.

Pollution

In Civilization pollution is produced after the Industrial Revolution advance. Cities that produce a lot of pollution will start to produce "dead tiles" within their city radius. If pollution is left unchecked, eventually the game will give a warning that global disasters will occur. One of them is global warming. The game informs the player that "ice caps have melted" and sea levels have risen. Tiles affected are turned into either coast or shallow water, and cities on such tiles are destroyed. Another effect is the destruction of the ozone layer. When this occurs, a massive amount of land will turn into "dead tiles", which produce no resources. If well enough into the future, "dead tiles" can be repaired at a huge cost both time and money. The "Gaia Controller" wonder removes all pollution in the game but can be made only in the Diamond Age. Pollution is exacerbated by several city facilities such as factories and oil refineries. On the flip side, some facilities such as recycling plants and nuclear reactors will alleviate pollution. Additionally, certain events such as space launches and use of nuclear weapons will result in one-time spikes in pollution.

Happiness

While playing the game, the happiness level of the citizens must be maintained. If a city is far away from the capital, is overcrowded, polluted, overworked, starved or underpaid, the happiness level will drop. Cities also experience unhappiness during wartime, especially if they have just been conquered by another empire. Many terrorist units can decrease the happiness of an enemy city. For example, if a city is "infected", it will lose both population and happiness. If the happiness' level goes under 75, then the city is in danger of rioting. If a city riots, it does not produce any work during that turn. If happiness in cities continues to decline, revolution becomes a possibility. If that happens, the city's inhabitants become "Barbarians", or change nationality to another country if another country has the Egalitarian Act Wonder. However, if the happiness of a city reaches very high levels, it "celebrates." Some buildings can increase happiness (e.g. temples, cathedrals, body transplants), and wonders can increase happiness (e.g. Immunity Chip, Ramayana).

Wonders

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These can be built by any civilization who has acquired the technology to do so. They typically take a longer time to build than ordinary buildings or units of that age but have a greater effect. The wonders usually affect the civilization as a whole (with exceptions, such as Galileo's Telescope), and can only be built by one civilization. Wonders can go obsolete with technological advances. For example, if someone researches "Age of Reason", the Stonehenge wonder no longer has any benefits. After a wonder is built by the player, a cinematic is shown. Generally, wonders of the future have a greater effect than wonders of the past. If a city containing a wonder is taken by another player, then ownership of the wonder and its benefits would go to the conqueror.

Victory conditions

Apart from conquering all opponents, players can achieve victory by completing the Alien Life Project, which is triggered by the "wormhole sensor" wonder. After a wormhole probe is sent through the wormhole, an alien life lab and a series of upgrades must be built to achieve victory. The third option is to get the highest score by the year 3,000.

External links

• Civilization: Call to Power at MobyGames
• Civfanatics Civilization Site
• Apolyton Civilization Site