Where did the ancients go? How did they depart?

Sharkbait

Warlord
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Messages
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New Zealand
As a relatively new participator in the Civ Fanatics world (although I've read the site before during my regular resurgences in playing Civ2 every year or so), I've been wondering what happened to some of those names that you hear mentioned as some of the people that solved some of the biggest riddles of the game - or at least their name has somehow become inextricably linked to certain aspects of the game. Names such as Oedo (and his oedo years), Starlifter (Power Democracy), Xin Yu (Xinning) , the early landing & OCC gurus etc etc are some examples.

Did they announce their withdrawal from the Civ2 world, or did they just fade away (having moved on to Civ3 or something else). Was it a sudden halt or a gradual drying up the flow?

I'd be interested to hear some of the "history" of the community, because when you look back at how much has been discovered, its remarkable what has been accomplished and how some of the discoveries that we now almost take for granted were actually made (I don't think I'll ever have an OCC game where I reach AC in 16AD or whatever the record ended at).

I wonder if these legends still play Civ2 but now just watch silently from the sidelines or if they no longer play.


EDIT:
I've been thinking, another interesting thing would be to have a timeline of the history of discovery of certain aspects of the game, to see how some discoveries lead to others. A kind of discovery log similar to a game log. Any volunteers???? :D
 
Starlifter disappeared suddenly. In RL he had some role in the military so there was speculation he was shipped to the Middle East, but I don't think that was anything more than speculation. Once he left he has not come back and I don't know if anyone has heard from him since.
 
A few have died (SG12 and LaFayette), more have drifted away or moved on to Civ3/4. I understand Solo is engaged in developing an OCC Guide for Civ4, and a few other mentioned being diverted to non-Civ games. Check the OT forums here and at Apolyton. If you look up a particular player the site may list their last known post, which sometimes tells you where they went.

My apologies, SG1...
 
... we are gathered here today in remembrance of those of a bygone era... the Ancients!

Where did the ancients go? How did they depart?
... Names such as Oedo (and his oedo years), Starlifter (Power Democracy)...
Me... a 4-year overseas hiatus. No, not to the 2nd war in Iraq. But I'm still in Europe, but will post on a "reduced rate" schedule, and keep up on Civ 2. Many people I know play Civ 2 here in Europe, though most are well under age 13. One is well over 70. None really like "Power Democracy," but mostly enjoy fighting and the youngest ones love nuking everything. :eek:
 
Civdood in Europe, and love da bomb. :nuke: My happy demcratic thanks you and Andu now not like da bomb so much but it make me happy to blow up :nuke: :nuke: .
 
I got my daughter started around age 10 when we were going through Ancient History.
With kids, I only play this game in terms of learning. That is, we talk about and use it as a means of learning world history. In two cases, it was a catalyst for learning to read. Same story for Age of Empires II (which has better, though more difficult to read, text with it). Most games today suffer from being too simple, too hard, too violent, too boring.... too whatever, but Civ 2 and AoE2 seem to be pretty good for replayability as well as learning. Some parents don't like Civ 2 because of its length of playtime, but unlike games like Risk 2, Civ 2 can be saved anytime.
 
Sharkbait said:
I've been thinking, another interesting thing would be to have a timeline of the history of discovery of certain aspects of the game, to see how some discoveries lead to others. A kind of discovery log similar to a game log.
That would indeed be interesting. Unfortunately, members of internet communities tend to come and go, and nobody seems to have much interest in keeping track of who's who, where they go, etc. I actually have attempted to write a "history" of another online group, but eventually abandoned it due to a lack of both interest and motivation.

As for why people leave, there are a variety of reasons. I played Civ2 very regularly for a couple solid years, but gradually got burned out. For much of that time, I came to CivFanatics very regularly, and stuck around even after I'd pretty much stopped playing just because I liked the people. Eventually, however, those I liked moved on and a few I didn't care for moved in, so I left for greener pastures - first, briefly to Zelda Universe, then to my current home at Megatokyo's forums - look for Wavebird_Ocelot if you're ever there. ;)

Of course, I'm back now. Things have changed, but I like most of the new faces, and nostalgia prevents me from abandoning CFC totally. :cool:
 
ElephantU said:
I got my daughter started around age 10 ...
Same with me. Around 8 or 9 she had a school project about different terrain types on earth and I showed here the map editor. She got hooked and started making beautiful elaborate patterns. Then I showed her Civ2 and Civ3 (I own a copy but never finished the first game I started). She picked Civ3 because its box looked much nicer than the Civ2 box. She and I finished one game together where she played Joan of Arc and we won by space ship. For months now we have been playing as Cleopatra and are close to wining. I used to advise her on every move, but now she makes 80-90% of them on her own.
The educational aspect has been great. The game has been the catalyst for many discussions about history, geography, technology, ... and it has expanded her vocabulary significantly.
 
Another name which is on this board itself is Smash. He is old school of yore. Has he faded away, because I see he is a Mod but not active. Would be a shame for Civ 2 to 'lose' him. But its good to see new names coming up who one day be the Ancients, yah!
 
MajorGeneral2 said:
As for why people leave, there are a variety of reasons. I played Civ2 very regularly for a couple solid years, but gradually got burned out. For much of that time, I came to CivFanatics very regularly, and stuck around even after I'd pretty much stopped playing just because I liked the people. Eventually, however,... I left for greener pastures...

My story's pretty much the same--was a Civ2 "junkie" (as evidenced by the zeal with which I posted in the "1000 Reasons" thread back in the day), but gradually moved on to other things. Stayed around for a while because I liked the community, but gradually drifted away from the Civ aspect of the forum, then the forum entirely. I've popped in from time to time, each time saying "this time I'm staying for good," but nothing really stuck. Of course, with starlifter's return, I can't help but break the silence this time...

I still play Civ2 occasionally, but, sadly, I'm all too often seduced by the more "modern" games to play it as much as I used to. Ah, to have the simple pleasures of my youth once more... (Granted, I'm still not yet 20 years old, but nostalgia isn't necessarily reserved for senior citizens ;) )

So, a shout-out to all the Ancients (of whom I still hold great respect for) and the newbies (and the newbies-at-heart, like myself :D )

:cheers:
 
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