Starlifter is back

Ali Ardavan

Ali Ardavan

Mathematician
Retired Moderator
Joined
May 29, 2002
Messages
2,951
Location
Michigan, USA
I was delighted to see your posts tonight and I am glad to have you back both at the forums and at GOTMs after a 4 year absence. I am sure many others feel the same way, even those who were not around back then since your name kept coming up in discussions and you were such a prolific poster.

I suppose your absence was due to involvement with real war, as I recall you once mentioned you are a member of US air force. I am glad you are back safely. After experiencing real war, does Civ2 have the appeal it used to?
 
Civ 2 never lost its appeal... its a game, one that is easy to start playing, has lots of complexity and depth, and can be run on any PC of the last 14 or 16 years. Its like chess... deceptively simple by recent gaming standards, but classic and complex in practice.

In fact, that's a good analogy. Civ 2 really is the "chess" of strategic gaming. Even today, I teach it to kids and adults in the neighborhood. Its a rare game that is a positive influence, with no gratuitous gore, violence, language, cult/mystic tones, etc. And for kids+adults, it is a great way to learn about many real-life things (kids must learn the Civopedia, for instance), while still "playing" a game and developing logic skills... without all that distracting 'eye-candy' that accompanies strategic games of today, including Civ 4. The downside (#1 real-life parental complaint about the game) to Civ 2 is the real-life time it takes to complete a "good" game. The upside is that you can quit & save anytime, with no real game impact... which is the primary reason some parents I know let their kids play it at all ("turn it off... NOW!").

I went overseas 4 years ago, though not to the war in Iraq and not as a pilot, so no stories to tell from the current war. :sad: I've been in 3 real wars, and let's say playing Civ 2 is more.... uhmmm... civilized. But in the course of human events, war is the way the haves and have-nots sometimes choose to settle things (grist for OT, which I don't have time for in the near future). In game terms, the AI has my cities and territory, and I would like it, along with their gold, advances, terrain improvements, and selected units. If they would simply hand over what I want, there would be no conflict! :D

In short, Civ 2 stands the test of time, and cuts across even social barriers. It is a great game, and that will not change even 5 or 15 years from now. Ergo, even my grandkids are one day going to play this game.

Mel Gibson commented aptly on Civ 2 (if I may quote him), before the battle of Stirling in Braveheart:
Aye, play and you may Civ, run, and you'll live... at least a while. And Civing in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our PCs, but they'll never take... OUR CIV 2!
[Crowd roars]
Click to expand...
 
Wow! Three real wars and you were not in Iraq. That is amazing.
Click to expand...
Sorry, my badly chosen English... I meant that I'd been in 3 wars (Iraq, Central Africa, and Bosnia) prior to leaving in 2002. I did not go to Iraq during the last 4 years, but I did go (and have been) overseas since 2002. In fact, I'm still in Europe, but right now by civilian choice and not at all related to the current Iraq war or the military. Actually, I'm not even active in the USAF Reserves at the moment, though they could "call me up" if the national need arises. They would then probably retrain me to fly another aircraft (likely the C17), as mine (the C141) was officially retired last May. It is unlikely that I'll be needed, unless something makes a new demand on personnel strength, such as a broader conflict, or war with another country. :)
 
I saw that C-141 retirement ceremony and thought of you, starlifter. I was just joining the CFC&Poly communities when you headed out. A lot of what I learned on was your posts in the Strategy forums (and Samson, and La Fayette, and DaveV, etc...). Glad to have you back.

Way I hear it from my brother, the Air Force is in RIF mode right now, but the ATC still gets lots of calls. For some crazy reason they are talking about shutting down the C-17 line, while C-130s are still going strong. Let's just hope we don't have to deal with NK or the Persians!
 
@ElephantU: The C-17 thing is mostly political, both in national politics, and in armed forces politics. The weapons system bickering reminds me of children fighting over daddy's candy allowance. IIRC, the C-17 has defense contracts in like 49 of 50 states. Back in the 80's I was writting unsolicited opinions to those that be about certain things in that airframe design, and combat usage... the memos were (and as far as I know still) classified to this day. Engineering and doctrine must take 2nd place to bickering and politics, and that plane ... while the best we "have" ... was a dissapointment for what the taxpayer should have recieved. But to relate it to Civ 2, one could custom-design a 16-move aircraft that could transport say 4 units, and that would be the C-17 in the Civ 2 world :).

@ST: Glad to see you, I still remember the goings-on in the PBEM section which occurred just when you and I and la fayette and others were trying to help nethog do that reference guide. I looked, and think that whole ugly PBEM thread that sidelined you from our discussions is gone now. BTW, I went to your GL, and tried to log in there, but that board won't let me "do" anything until contacting them by e-mail (since its been 4 years), which I did, and still no reply, LOL.

@Padma: Congratulations on your Modship! Cool name/picture icon association you have. Wow, look at your postcount, you've been busy! ;)
 
starlifter said:
@Padma: Congratulations on your Modship! Cool name/picture icon association you have. Wow, look at your postcount, you've been busy! ;)
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TF asked me to be a mod shortly after you left. I've been a mod longer than I haven't. :crazyeye: Of course, my postcount is largely due to modertaor activities, although I *have* been pushing Linux in the Computer Talk forum, and I am always trying to help the newbies here. :)

My Basset Hound is almost as much a trademark as my name. ;) I never could find a "Padma" avatar that really fit, so I went with one of my other interests. I have rescued four Basset Hounds over the years, so it seemed a pretty natural fit.

And if you notice my sig, you will see that I have been "promoted". The "thirty-year-rule" kicked in, and I can now claim the highest rank I ever held, instead of just the rank I retired at. (Yeah, a MSgt has more respect, but a 1LT gets more pay! ;))
 
(Yeah, a MSgt has more respect, but a 1LT gets more pay!
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Amen to that :).

I *have* been pushing Linux in the Computer Talk forum, and I am always trying to help the newbies here.
Click to expand...
I wonder what Civ versions work in Linux, I recall SMAC has a Linux; probably an emulator can play Civ 2 (?). Next year, I will likely make a switch to dual-boot for me & the dozens of machines I install for people, due to Vista issues which are too OT to mention here. Linux is the way of the future I think, so its good that you and others hopefully will be able to advise! :)
 
I've only run Civ3 and CIv4 in Linux, and to do that you need Cedega, a commercial wine-based tool that lets you run *some* Windows games.

Or you can try running Windows under VMWare, and play Civ there.

But other than SMAC, I don't think any Civ runs directly in Linux.
 
GASP! *faints*

.....

*recovers*

Wow. Just... Wow. I remember that back in the day, I printed out just about every thread you made or posted in concerning the "Power Democracy" strategy. While I no longer play Civ2 quite to the extent that I used to (due to Total War and Paradox games having nearly taken over my life), Civ2 still holds a special place in my heart, and I still fire up the game occasionally.

I arrived on this forum only about a month or so after you left, so I never really got the chance to meet w/ you (to the extent that two people can "meet" on a forum, that is), but I've been a great admirer of the Power Demo strategy.

Great to see you back :)
 
I can't remember you from 4 years ago, but we both have a common love of R:TW! I bet it was weird returning after 4 years, seeing that we have past the 100,000 members barrier and totally different view of the site!
 
I was delighted to see your posts tonight and I am glad to have you back both at the forums and at GOTMs after a 5 year absence. Many players still look up to you.

I suppose your absence was due to involvement with real war, as I recall you once mentioned you are a member of US air force. I am glad you are back safely. And I hope this time around you will be here longer.
 
Glad to be back, it was sort of an accident, I had come to Civ Fanatics to find out some about Civ 4. Some kids wanted to play it, we also briefly tried Civ 5 (about 30 minutes).

I'm now out of the USAF, well they "could" recall me (reserve) if they needed, but I doubt that will happen. But, time really flies. It seems like yesterday when Matrix was doing those first GOTMs! In a few days, it will be "10 years" since I joined CFC, hehe. Well, greetings to all... again :).
 
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