[Civ2] I have the old disks, should I upload some things?

[Konig15]

Now I've been going through my old computers and stuff from my childhood and I DO have the original files for Civ 2 and both expansion packs. I probably have the FW CD around somewhere, but I do have all the scenarios, as well as the old videos....I think.

For the purposes of convenience can I load them to the downloads sections considering Civ 2 is abandonware or is there going to be an issue? The Civ 2 emulator I posted works like a charm but no scenarios or sound or videos and I can upload all of those once I got through my old CDs in the back of my car. Am I allowed to do such a thing? And if so, what's the size limit for a ZIP file to be hosted here?

 

[Prof. Garfield]

There would almost certainly be an issue with uploading the game files. I'm sure that the administrators here don't want to risk a lawsuit, regardless of how effective claiming that something is abandonware might be in court (I have my doubts that it would be effective in any case).

 

[Konig15]

There would almost certainly be an issue with uploading the game files. I'm sure that the administrators here don't want to risk a lawsuit, regardless of how effective claiming that something is abandonware might be in court (I have my doubts that it would be effective in any case).

The thing is, these are a ***** to find, and what's more I'm basically "fudge it" t this point and using an ancient Windows XP computer to open these things and then port them via a flash drive. It's cumbersome but far, FAR less annoying. I figure if we ever want to have a chance to draw new players (I do want someone to play my scenarios assuming they get off the ground) then ease of installation and getting all the files is a must. With that in mind, I have all this stuff, what should I do with it?

 

[Prof. Garfield]

I share your frustration with the inability to point people to a clearly legal source for Civ II, but it is what it is. I don't care about 'piracy' for a 20 year old game, but no one wants to take the risk that the rights holder will come along and make a fuss.

 

[Ali Ardavan]

Prof. Garfield is likely right. However, only the owner of the site can answer that for sure. It used to be Thunderfall; I suppose it still is, but I am not sure.

Having said that, I just checked and copies of Civ II are available for sale online. Thus, it is still possible for a determined person to get it.

 

[Gelion]

I share your frustration with the inability to point people to a clearly legal source for Civ II, but it is what it is. I don't care about 'piracy' for a 20 year old game, but no one wants to take the risk that the rights holder will come along and make a fuss.

Speaking of which, is there a possibility to find or talk to the rights holder of the original CIV II game?

 

[Prof. Garfield]

Speaking of which, is there a possibility to find or talk to the rights holder of the original CIV II game?

It seems to be 2K Games. They run civilization.com (but don't have a purchase option for Civ II, although it is in the list) and so seem to own the Franchise. They also released Civilization Chronicles back in 2006, and it seems unlikely that the Civ II intellectual property would have been sold off separately since then.

The trouble is that it doesn't really seem worth their while to do anything with Civ II. Selling it would probably be a nightmare, since it takes a little effort to get running, and so technical support would eat up anything the might earn from the game. I'm also not sure how many people would end up buying. If they were willing to give it away for free (with the understanding that it comes with no support), the status quo of not trying to stop piracy is just as good for them. They're not making money anyway, and they don't have to worry about any legal stuff -- and they can always change their mind later. They also don't need a lawyer to write a new license.

In some sense, Civilization II is a substitute for later games, so in principle they might lose sales by making Civ II easier to get. I don't think this is very likely in this case, but it would be another argument for their 'do nothing' status quo.

I really have no idea how much money it would take to be 'noticed.' If they'd sell me a few hundred licenses for a thousand dollars, I would at least consider buying them and trying to resell them. But I doubt it would be worth their trouble for that amount of money. There's a pretty big list of people asking for Civ II on GOG, but they haven't done anything, despite actually being in that business, but they do offer Civ III. Maybe their reasoning is the same tech support one I cited earlier.

I'd be very happy if the game(s) were sold or given away 100% legally, but it just doesn't seem likely. I'd be very glad to be proven wrong.

 

[Civinator]

I really have no idea how much money it would take to be 'noticed.

Some years ago they didn´t sell the Civ 3 source code for an offer of 100.000 $.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

Some years ago they didn´t sell the Civ 3 source code for an offer of 100.000 $.

That's interesting (especially that someone cares enough about the game to offer that), though I could certainly see why they wouldn't do it even if that was less than their future sales for the game. Selling more licenses (where you don't have to give up anything 'extra') isn't really in the same ballpark, but would probably still require the attention of a relatively high up person, since it wouldn't be a 'routine' transaction.