h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

One of my Civ II books (I think it's the game guide that comes with the game) says that there are three possible endings to Civ II. I think these should be mentioned:

1. Outright win. You are the first to reach Alpha Centauri or you wipe out all the other civilisations (Bloodlust rule).
2. You lose. Your civilisation gets wiped out by one of the other civilisations.
3. 'Moral' victory. You get to the end of the game with your civilisation intact *but* you are not the first to make it to Alpha Centauri (or you don't make it by 2020), or you haven't wiped all the other civlisations.


I didn't see any mention of diplomacy in the text so far. I suggest something like this:

Diplomacy is a key part of Civ II. A player's diplomatic acts determine how likely other civilisations are to gang up on him (or her). Diplomacy (via diplomats and spies) can also be used to subvert cities (provided you have enough gold), thus preventing expensive wars. It can get you technologies you don't have, by swapping with other civilisations or by stealing them. You can also send diplomats or spies to commit acts of sabotage on the cities of other civilisations.


I think we also need something on scoring. Most people who play games like to see their name on the high score table, so we should tell people about the Civ II high score 'hall of fame'. Again, the following is just a suggestion. I'll need to check out the ratings that are displayed at the end of a game:

At the end of the game, a graph is displayed showing how the player has performed over time compared with the other civilisations. The players performance is then given a score. This is calculated from the number of happy citizens a player has, the number of 'Wonders' their civilisation has built or captured, the number of 'Future Technology' advances they have discovered, the number of explorers that reached Alpha Centauri and the number of turns that have passed without anybody waging war on anybody else. Deductions are made for unhappy citizens, pollution and low levels of barbarian activity. The score is weighted according to the level the player was playing at (Chieftain, Warlord, Prince, King, Emperor or Deity). The player is then given a rating according to the points scored.

Right oh then - Get on with it
Do your diplomacy bit - I'll expand to add in the other endings.

I would have added my stuff by now, but there's no way for me to edit the page. When the page comes up, there's no 'Edit Page' button. Please look into why this is and put it right if you can, 'cos I may come up with other stuff I want to add.

Only one researcher can edit the page and sorry i've already got that job
Just post it on my space and i'll drop it in.
I'm also gonna change the researcher list so it only includes those that have contributed.
I'm suprissed the grand admiral hasn't got involved.

OK, then. Please add my suggested bits and include me as a contributor. I think it might also be a good idea if you let people know that they will have to give you any information they want added. You could use the original thread for this.

Diplomacy bit needs a bit of expanding I think. Scorings going in now.

You've put scoring under the heading 'Diplomacy'. You also haven't mentioned the three possible endings - outright victory, total defeat and 'moral' victory.

I'll have to think about the Diplomacy entry.

umm oops.
and the endings are mentioned, albiet breifly near the beginning.

Diplomacy

In the Civilization games, you interact with other nations via diplomacy as well as war. Diplomatic exchanges take place in one of several ways:

1. Members of your civilisation (settlers, armies, explorers) meet members of another civilisation. This starts a diplomatic exchange where you can exchange knowledge or maps, give gifts, or agree to a cease fire, peace treaty or alliance.
2.You use the 'Foreign Advisor' dialog to send an emissary to a civilisation you know about. (You find out about civilisations by meeting them as in 1. above, or by building the "Marco Polo's Embassy" wonder, which gives you embassies with all civilisations.)
3. You send a diplomat or spy into a city belonging to another civilisation. Diplomats and spies can:
1. Create an embassy with the civilisation
2. Investigate a city - how big it's population is, how many are unhappy, what it has built and what it is building.
3. Steal technology advances (useful if you're lagging behind in the search for knowledge)
4. Incite a revolution - if you have enough gold. This means that the city now belongs to your civilisation. This is a good way of getting more cities if you don't have a strong military force, but do have a lot of gold.
5. Sabotage something in the city. This can reduce the work your armed forces have to do.
6. Poison the city's water supply. This reduces the size of the city's population, which can help make things easier for your armed forces.

Diplomats and spies can be used many times to bribe the forces of other civilisations. However, when it comes to actions against the cities of other civilisations, diplomats are 'one shot' units. They can only perform one task against one city. Spies can create embassies with more than one civilisation and investigate more than one city. They *may* be able to perform more than one covert act (stealing technology, inciting revolution, sabotage or poisoning the water supply).

Your behaviour will affect the attitudes of other civilisations when it comes to diplomatic meetings. For example, if you sign a peace treaty with a civilisation and then attack them, not only will *their* attitude towards you decline, but other civilisations will view you with suspicion. It may even make them form alliances against you so that they can gang up on you later!

Diplomacy

In the Civilization games, you interact with other nations via diplomacy as well as war. Diplomatic exchanges take place in one of several ways:

1. Members of your civilisation (settlers, armies, explorers) meet members of another civilisation. This starts a diplomatic exchange where you can exchange knowledge or maps, give gifts, or agree to a cease fire, peace treaty or alliance.
2.You use the 'Foreign Advisor' dialog to send an emissary to a civilisation you know about. (You find out about civilisations by meeting them as in 1. above, or by building the "Marco Polo's Embassy" wonder, which gives you embassies with all civilisations.)
3. You send a diplomat or spy into a city belonging to another civilisation. Diplomats and spies can:
1. Create an embassy with the civilisation
2. Investigate a city - how big it's population is, how many are unhappy, what it has built and what it is building.
3. Steal technology advances (useful if you're lagging behind in the search for knowledge)
4. Incite a revolution - if you have enough gold. This means that the city now belongs to your civilisation. This is a good way of getting more cities if you don't have a strong military force, but do have a lot of gold.
5. Sabotage something in the city. This can reduce the work your armed forces have to do.
6. Poison the city's water supply. This reduces the size of the city's population, which can help make things easier for your armed forces.

Diplomats and spies can be used many times to bribe the forces of other civilisations. However, when it comes to actions against the cities of other civilisations, diplomats are 'one shot' units. They can only perform one task against one city. Spies can create embassies with more than one civilisation and investigate more than one city. They *may* be able to perform more than one covert act (stealing technology, inciting revolution, sabotage or poisoning the water supply).

Your behaviour will affect the attitudes of other civilisations when it comes to diplomatic meetings. For example, if you sign a peace treaty with a civilisation and then attack them, not only will *their* attitude towards you decline, but other civilisations will view you with suspicion. It may even make them form alliances against you so that they can gang up on you later!

It's a goin in.
Needs more discussion about actual diplomacy - speaking to leaders of other nations though.