I remember...

[.:KNAS:.]

.. when i first played Civilization II. It was some 10 years ago, maybe more, maybe less... It wasn't my copy, it belonged to my stepbrother and we did not get along to good at that time and he was older then me so most of the time i was just watching and advising him when he played.
On occasion he would let me play when he got tired of it but alot of times i would sneak in to the computer room and play when he was out and immediately shut down the computer when i heard the keys in the locks.
When i first started playing, the advisors ruled our nation, if they were happy so were we. My first chieftain game, a loss. Advisor said 'Lets build a chariot and dish out some hi-speed whoop-ass' and we build a chariot. Well the enemy crushed out chariot with an elephant and our war was lost. Turns out our 'mighty' warriors could not quite defend our handful of cities, some 20-30 squares apart.
One day some time later (months, years, who knows) Civilization II Scenarios came in to my life and all of a sudden we hade crusades, mongol invasions, world war one and two and even an alien invasion. Eventually that led me to this forum, back in -01, it was very different back then. A lot smaller, a lot more personal and better if you ask me. Not that im not glad this place has grown its just that you find your old neighborhood bar were you used to relax with an afterwork beer turned in to a hip nightclub with loud music.

Why am i writing this? Maybe im just trying to remember that feeling of playing the greatest game ever. Now a days with Civ3, Civ4 and what not its a bit outdated but no other game could ever match that feel id get when playing Civ2. Please share your first impressions and experiences with Civ2, im not really trying to hear a lot of statistics, i want to hear how you got a hold of it, how it got you hooked and how it made you feel.

Semper Fi

 

[agnosticism]

a day when I was about 6 years old, my dad came home from his work, and then he gave me my first Civ2 copy, I remember it was in a cheap looking flat paper case. I started it, and saw the settlers, I didn't understand English at all that time, so instead of following the tutorial, i did just walk around whit my settler. after long time of avoiding the huts, because they look dangerous, I finally tried walking into one of them, and I got a archer. so on went my game, and I found another tribe, I was like panic, maybe he wanted to kill me? should I attack first? should I run? finally I decided to attack him, at that time I had a huge army from the huts, so i captured his city. I were so happy!

for months or so, my game went like this, and i found out that the huts also could give city's, by still, i didn't knew about the settlers function. i did still try to invade the enemy, but it was hard whit outdated units, and only one city to produce, that of course never reached a size more than 8. One day, when I was trying my never successive invading plan, i realized that around every of his city (and i was angry at him for having so much, when i usually only have one by my own, maybe captured an AI capital in the early game, but that's all) was surrounded whit the blue things, and brown lines... I also realized that it have something good to do whit the city, but i could figure out how the f**k he did it. i saw the settlers, but when i was telling my settler to do so, i just stand still on the screen. only did he move when i was pressing the keys, never when i was giving orders!D)

but one day, i noticed that there was small letters at the settlers shield, and then i figured out that those orders was given by keys. so by place some soldiers in the AI's territory I tried to get all the orders, but i still couldn't find the order for city building. I saw that the ai could do that. and one day by chance I pressed the 'b' key, and saw the 'what shall we call the city?" screen. never since that I have felt so happy.
that game was the best in my life, never gonna get those feelings again, or by something else... it was special!

 

[.:KNAS:.]

Beautiful, thats what exactly what i was looking for i remember trying to figure out how to use the settler. We had no idea of how the city collected resources or where its limits were. Our cities used to have on road leading to another city and irrigation everywhere, unless of course the advisors wanted us to do something else like road and mine a mountain without resources when we could just have well build the road around the mountain.
And huts scared us too and after the first few times popping barbarians, we would never pop a hut without atleast 2-3 military units...

 

[elmenhorster]

first time i bought civ2 cd for playstation was around 2000, but i not quite understand that game for a while just clicking things not knowing its' purpose.. after playing for a while chieftain and discovering things decided to switch into warlord and man i remember that game still pictures in my head, my civ was weakest in all aspects my strongest unit peak was crusaders before my 4city civilization stop advancing things flounder and started to collapse attacked by ironclads, (all cities were near ocean), it was a real struggle. i even had a plan to escape with settlers and ships to build city somewhere distantly and start things all over to new civilization and i actually manage to do that! and i was so excited about it, it was so awesome those 4 cities where crushed and i was still living with few cities and new capital, it was something that still pictures in my head, sucked me in totally every time i play discover new things. along with tomb raider 3 playing non stop switching cds one to another, those memories comforts me, those were times of relaxation and no problems in life just dissociate from things and play.