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63-520: Sid Meier's Civilization II is a turn-based strategy video game in the Civilization series , developed and published by MicroProse . It was released in 1996 for PCs , and later ported to the PlayStation by Activision . Players build a civilization from a primitive tribe, competing with rival computer- or human (in some editions)-controlled civilizations. They manage cities and units in

126-460: A Winsock package was released for Windows for Workgroups, although it was later replaced by a 32-bit stack add-on package (codenamed Wolverine) that provided TCP/IP support in Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Its connectivity with NetWare networks was increased, while it also introduced support for Open Data-Link Interface cards and Internetwork Packet Exchange drivers. Remote access service

189-442: A "business disappointment" due to its small amount of sold copies. Regarding the marketplace, Windows 3.1 had received an enthusiastic reception; its retail price sat at $ 149, and over three million copies of Windows 3.1 were sold in the first three months. The year of Windows 3.1's release was successful for Microsoft, which was named the "Most Innovative Company Operating in the U.S." by Fortune magazine, while Windows became

252-650: A "ruleset" that is virtually identical to II 's mechanics. In 2011, researchers at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the University College London published the results of a machine learning system playing Civilization II , in its Freeciv implementation, which used the text from its official game manual to guide its strategy. The linguistically informed player outperformed its language-unaware counterpart, winning over 78% of games when playing against

315-531: A civilization may conquer another civilization's cities. When all of a player's cities are conquered, they are permanently removed from the game. To end war, two players may promise peaceful relations. Scientific research is a focal point of the game. Players begin with primitive technology and hence limited possible actions. Grouped by eras from ancient to modern, civilization advances, both scientific and societal, offer numerous advantages. There are three paths to victory: conquering all other civilizations, building

378-610: A free upgrade to anyone who owned Windows 3.1. An updated Simplified Chinese version of Windows 3.1 was released in November 1993, as Windows 3.2. The update was limited to this language version, as it only fixed issues related to the complex input system for the Simplified Chinese language. A font editor is present in Windows 3.2; it is used to add new Chinese characters to the already-existing fonts. Windows for Workgroups served as an update to Windows 3.1, and it

441-619: A lawsuit against Microsoft over the AARD code, which was later settled with Microsoft paying $ 280 million. Windows 3.1 found a niche market as an embedded operating system after becoming obsolete in the PC world. By 2008, both Virgin Atlantic and Qantas employed it for some of the onboard entertainment systems on long-distance jets. It also sees continued use as an embedded OS in retail cash tills. On July 14, 2013, Linux kernel version 3.11

504-413: A new scenario editor that allowed users to edit the statistics and icons used for units, city improvements, terrain, and technologies, as well as creating event triggers and other enhancements to the game. The remake Civilization II: Test of Time was released in 1999, following Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri . Test of Time has a new palette and user interface, and new features such as animated units,

567-533: A period of converting board and historic TBS games to computer games, companies began basing computer turn-based strategy games on completely original properties or concepts. The presence of a computer to calculate and arbitrate allows game complexity which is not feasible in a traditional board game. Some well known turn-based strategy games are Sid Meier 's Civilization series, Heroes of Might and Magic series, Panzer General series, Warlords series, and Age of Wonders series. A further market trend

630-603: A playable Alpha Centauri to settle and new campaign modes. Civilization II placed second on PC Data 's monthly computer game sales chart for April 1996. The game secured position 3 for the next four months, before dropping to No. 5 in September. It exited PC Data's top 10 in December, after remaining there for an additional two months. In the United States, Civilization II was the third-best-selling computer game of

693-493: A pre-made map. Different terrain types, special resources and improvements such as irrigation are present on different tiles. Players begin with one or a few units, including settlers to found their first cities, in 4000 BC. All of the map is unexplored except the starting units' immediate vicinity, and exploration is a top early-game priority. Cities occupy one tile and harvest yields from nearby tiles: food, trade and production. They may build units, city improvements or wonders of

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756-475: A printer or to run Windows on a network, additional 2.5 MB of free space will be needed on the hard drive. The amount of RAM is dependent on software that runs on the PC; if the user is on the network and if the network requires a lot of memory, more RAM will be needed. Windows 3.1 includes more drivers for printers than its predecessor. It is also possible to connect to a network using Windows 3.1 via Hayes , Multi-Tech, or Trail Blazer modems. Windows 3.1

819-504: A protocol used for sharing files and printers over local networks . It introduced support for the NetBEUI protocol. The price sat at $ 69 for Windows 3.1 users. The other version, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, was released on November 8, 1993. It was codenamed Snowball, and it introduced support for 32-bit file access , drive sharing, and group calendaring. It also has built-in fax capabilities. It received network improvements;

882-409: A quest to assure their civilization's dominance—either by conquering all other civilizations or by manufacturing advanced space technology. Civilization II was a commercial hit, with sales of around three million units by 2001, and has won numerous awards and placements on "best games of all time" lists. It was followed by Civilization III . As a turn-based strategy game, Civilization II models

945-677: A spaceship that reaches the Alpha Centauri star system using advanced technology, and otherwise surviving until 2020 AD. A player's score is calculated after finishing the game. Civilization II supports mods that customize game graphics or mechanics. "Scenarios" are preset game files that emulate historical, fictional or other situations. Civilization II is similar to its predecessor Civilization , with some changes to and additions of units, civilizations, world wonders, tile "specials" and technologies. Entirely new concepts include diplomatic reputation and production waste. The world map

1008-444: Is a good example of browser-based games in this genre. Windows 3.1 Windows 3.1 is a major release of Microsoft Windows . It was released to manufacturing on April 6, 1992, as a successor to Windows 3.0 . Like its predecessors, the Windows 3.1 series run as a shell on top of MS-DOS ; it was the last Windows 16-bit operating environment as all future versions of Windows had moved to 32-bit . Windows 3.1 introduced

1071-716: Is a welcome addition on PlayStation. For those who are willing, it's a game of limitless possibilities." In 2007, Civilization II was ranked as third in IGN 's list of the 100 greatest video games of all time, having previously rated it at number 15 in 2003. In 2012, G4tv ranked it as the 62nd top video game of all time. Polish web portal Wirtualna Polska ranked it as the most addictive game "that stole our childhood". The journal article "Theoretical Frameworks for Analysing Turn-Based Computer Strategy Games" deemed it "significant and influential". In Ted Friedman's essay "Civilization and its Discontents: Simulation, Subjectivity, and Space" from

1134-572: Is also the first Windows to be distributed on a CD-ROM . The setup interface was simplified; express mode was introduced to automatically set up Windows. Windows 3.1 also includes an online tutorial applet for users regarding the use of the Windows 3.1 user interface . In addition it supported the Advanced Power Management standard. A special version named "Windows 3.1 for Central and Eastern Europe" introduced eleven languages to Windows 3.1. It also provided support for

1197-621: Is an MDI application that is used for moving, deleting, and managing files on the system. Microsoft also built Microsoft Bob , a utility that would act as a search assistant, on Windows 3.1, only for it to be released on Windows 95 in 1995. The introduction of Windows Registry , a centralized database that could store configuration information and settings for various operating systems components and applications, also occurred in this version. The Control Panel also received changes; its items were now hard-coded , and additional items could be added by placing additional .cpl files. Similarly,

1260-411: Is considered to be an improvement on its predecessors. It was praised for its reinvigoration of the user interface and technical design. Windows 3.1 sold over three million copies during the first three months of its release, although its counterpart Windows for Workgroups was noted as a "business disappointment" due to its small amount of sold copies. It was succeeded by Windows 95 , and Microsoft ended

1323-497: Is considered to be more stable and multimedia-friendly in comparison with its predecessor, while its user interface was reinvigorated. It has been shown as an improvement, and it possesses more features in comparison with its rival IBM OS/2 2.0 , which launched a month earlier than Windows 3.1. InfoWorld rated the operating environment a "very good" value. Windows for Workgroups received lukewarm reception; it has been praised for its technical design, but it has been also noted as

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1386-656: Is the rise of "Indie" TBS games (games produced by small groups, independent or only somewhat affiliated with the major elements in the computer games industry). These games often extend or refine already existing TBS games. Examples include Freeciv or Golden Age of Civilizations . Since turn-based strategy games do not typically require vast amounts of art or modeling, developers willing to volunteer their time can focus on gameplay. Directories like Freecode provide large lists of open-source , turn-based strategy projects. Online browser-based games do not require users to install files and are often free. The Hex Empire set of games

1449-620: The Calendar uses the .cal extension. Printer management tasks were moved over to Control Panel and Print Manager. Several printer drivers were improved in Windows 3.1, making the Print Manager more efficient to use. Windows 3.1 also includes troubleshooting and diagnostic tools such as the Dr. Watson utility which saves information about application errors, and Microsoft Diagnostics . Windows 3.1 also includes add-ons; Video for Windows

1512-522: The Cyrillic script . To use Czech, Hungarian, and Polish terminologies this version was required, while to use Russian terminologies a Russian version of Windows 3.1 was needed. Similarly, Microsoft also released Windows 3.1J with support for Japanese, which shipped 1.46 million copies in its first year on the market (1993) in Japan. Modular Windows was built for real-time consumer electronics, and

1575-699: The TrueType font system as a competitor to Adobe Type Manager . Its multimedia was also expanded, and screensavers were introduced, alongside new software such as Windows Media Player and Sound Recorder . File Manager and Control Panel received tweaks, while Windows 3.1 also saw the introduction of the Windows Registry and add-ons, and it could utilize more memory than its predecessors. Microsoft also released special versions of Windows 3.1 throughout 1992 and 1993; in Europe and Japan, Windows 3.1

1638-609: The Sound Recorder could play, record, and edit sound files that were affiliated with the WAV format. Minesweeper was officially introduced in Windows 3.1 as a replacement for Reversi, alongside Solitaire . MS-DOS programs were previously not able to be controlled with a mouse ; this ended up being introduced in Windows 3.1. Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) was added to allow drag-and-drop embedding of images and formatted text between Windows programs. SVGA color support

1701-661: The United Kingdom alone, the game sold 160,000 units by 1999. It also received a "Gold" award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) in August 1998, for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Civilization II Gold alone sold 171,495 copies in the United States by September 2000, according to PC Data. In August 2001, Jeff Briggs of Firaxis estimated that Civilization II had sold "about 3 million" copies. Meier said that he

1764-623: The application. To improve user interaction, Microsoft initiated warning and event sounds, and introduced computer command shortcuts for copy, cut, and paste. Windows 3.1 is also noted for its improvement of multimedia; screensavers , Windows Media Player , and Sound Recorder were introduced into the operating environment. These features were already present on the Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions version, although they were only available to users with newly bought PCs. The Media Player could play MIDI music files and AVI video files, while

1827-505: The built-in AI, a 27% absolute improvement. The same group also showed that their "non-linear Monte-Carlo search wins 80% of games against the handcrafted, built-in AI". In June 2012, the Reddit user "Lycerius" posted details of his decade-long Civilization II game, since dubbed "The Eternal War". The viral story spread to many blogs and news sites. The game closely mimicked social conditions in

1890-528: The collection Discovering Discs: Transforming Space and Genre on CD-ROM , he argues that the game "simultaneously denies and de-personalizes the violence in the history of 'exploration, colonization, and development". Computer Shopper deemed it a "worthy successor" to Civilization, and "arguably the finest multiplayer game ever created". In anticipation to the launch of Civilization III , New Straits Times described Civilization II as "the best turn-based empire- building strategy game". Baltimore Afro-American

1953-505: The combat forces provided to them, and usually by the provision of a realistic (or at least believable) representation of military tactics and operations. Tactical role-playing games are a part of this genre. Examples include Fire Emblem , The Battle for Wesnoth , Poxnora , Silent Storm , Steel Panthers: World at War! , King's Bounty , Great Big War Game , Nintendo Wars , UniWar , XCOM 2 , The Battle of Polytopia and Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure . After

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2016-400: The dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four , with three superpowers engaged in perpetual multiple-front total warfare. Turn-based strategy Many board games are turn based, such as chess , Reversi , checkers , Hare games , and Go , as well as many modern board games . Turn-based tactical game-play is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks by using

2079-462: The final stage of tweaking and balancing. The game's working title was Civilization 2000 . Asked about Sid Meier 's involvement in the project, Reynolds replied, "We sat down and brainstormed about it and hashed out ideas, that's about it." Emulating the recently released Doom , Reynolds implemented support for modding despite Meier's fear that customers would blame the company for poor-quality mods. Meier commented, " Civilization greatly favored

2142-443: The finest artistic achievements of the last decade". In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game sixth in a list of the top 100 games of all time, writing: " Civ 2 could well be one of the world's most addicting games." Several other games have been heavily inspired by Civilization II . In 2006, an N-Gage version of Civilization was released, based on Civilization II and its successor III . The open-source game Freeciv has

2205-441: The first six months of 1996, and the fifth-highest seller of the year as a whole. Worldwide, its sales surpassed 400,000 copies by August, reached 500,000 in September and topped 600,000 by November. In the United States alone, it sold 482,522 units and earned $ 21.1 million by the end of 1996. By mid-January 1997, global sales of Civilization II had surpassed 720,000 copies. It finished 20th on PC Data's monthly chart for March, and

2268-583: The first time on March 1, 1992. The advertisements, developed by Ogilvy & Mather , were designed to introduce a broader audience to Windows. Windows 3.1 was codenamed Janus. Like its predecessors, the operating environment runs as a shell on top of MS-DOS , although it does not include the MS-DOS Executive shell. After the introduction of Windows 1.0 , Microsoft had worked on gaining support from companies to expand its operating environment on different types of PCs . Tandy Corporation

2331-489: The highlighting of the operating system suggests a software failure. In 2016, the Internet Archive organization released Windows 3.1 as an emulated environment in a web browser . In January 2024, German state-owned national railway company Deutsche Bahn posted a job listing for a system administrator with "knowledge of legacy operating systems". The main responsibilities listed in the post were maintenance of

2394-509: The historical development of human civilization. A player, when creating a game, may pick one of 21 historical civilizations or a custom-named civilization. The computer will intelligently control multiple rival civilizations. Only a single-player mode was available until the release of the Multiplayer Addon . The game takes place on a map made of tiles. A human player may generate a random map based on his specifications, or opt for

2457-471: The magazine's award for the best turn-based strategy game of the year. It also won a Spotlight Award for Best PC/Mac Game. Macworld 's Michael Gowan wrote, "Hard-core strategists will enjoy this game's complexity." Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it five stars out of five, and stated that "Overall, Civ II remains one of strategy gaming's finest hours and

2520-884: The makers of the game, and eight "Best of the Net" by fans. It also added an enhanced macro language for scenario scripting with advanced programming features such as variable typing and network features, which was considered widely unnecessary. Due to a programming bug, the Encarta -style Civilopedia was disabled from the game. The second expansion was Civ II: Fantastic Worlds . It also added new scenarios that had many unique settings such as one scenario dealing with colonization of Mars, and one scenario called Midgard that had Elven, Goblin, Merman, and other civilizations from fantasy. There are also some scenarios based on other MicroProse games such as X-COM , Master of Orion and Master of Magic "Jr." scenarios. Fantastic Worlds also contains

2583-586: The military approach to achieving victory. We've now adjusted the balance to make trade and diplomacy a more integral part of the game". On the PC Civilization II was developed for Windows 3.1 and later using the WinG API. The later released Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition required Windows 95 , and no longer ran on Windows 3.1. The game was re-released on December 9, 1998 as Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition , which bundled

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2646-436: The most widely used GUI -based operating environment. Microsoft ended its support for Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups on December 31, 2001, although the embedded version of Windows for Workgroups 3.11 was retired on November 1, 2008. The operating environment was superseded by Windows NT 3.1 , which was released in 1993, and Windows 95 in 1995. The installer of the beta release used code that checked whether it

2709-416: The support for Windows 3.1 series on December 31, 2001, except for the embedded version, which was retired in 2008. Windows 3.0 , the predecessor of 3.1, was released in 1990, and is considered to be the first version of Windows to receive critical acclaim. Windows 3.0 received around 10 million sales before the release of Windows 3.1 on April 6, 1992. Microsoft began a television advertising campaign for

2772-510: The then-new 32-bit Windows API , by introducing Win32s , an enabling technology. Microsoft also provided WinG , an application program interface, to entice developers to move from DOS to Windows. It also provided a device-independent interface to graphics and printer hardware, and allowed programs to have both read and write capabilities to the WinGDC. Unlike all previous versions, Windows 3.1 could not run in real mode and it insisted on

2835-618: The two prior expansion packs and added options for multi-player games, among other tweaks with the disadvantage that it required Windows 95 and later, while the original Civilization 2 version worked in Windows 3.1. The Multiplayer Gold Edition was included in the Civilization Chronicles box set released in 2006. There were two expansion packs that slowly added more features to the game. The first, Conflicts in Civilization , included 20 new scenarios: 12 created by

2898-401: The use of 80286 processors or above. Because of this, the maximum memory available was increased. While Windows 3.0 was limited to 16 MB maximum memory, Windows 3.1 could access a theoretical 4 GB in the 386 enhanced mode. The actual practical ceiling is 256 MB. Like its predecessors, it runs as a 16-bit system; Windows 3.1 is also the last Windows to run in 16-bit mode. It

2961-470: The world . Typically, each civilization will constantly expand by founding new cities until all of the map is settled. Analogous to chess pieces , the many different units vary in their functions, mirroring historical types of soldiers and occupations. Units occupy one tile at a time and may move every turn. Most of them can attack others in battle; a minority have non-military functions. After civilizations make contact, they begin diplomatic relations. In war,

3024-490: Was "obsessed with the game". Tribune Business News deemed it an "old favorite". The game was the fourth bestseller in October 1996 and the 3rd bestseller in December 1997. PC Games argued that the game "cemented the franchise's place in videogame history." In 1998, PC Gamer declared it the 2nd-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "intelligent, engrossing and entertaining beyond compare, it's one of

3087-425: Was "wrong on all counts" about opposing mod support; "The strength of the modding community is, instead, the very reason the series survived". On release, a reviewer for Next Generation ventured that Civilization II "may be one of the most balanced and playable games ever released." He especially praised the added depth of the combat, diplomatic relations, and trade over the original Civilization , which he said

3150-564: Was also added, while Object Linking and Embedding, which was implemented in Windows 3.1, was also included in the Windows for Workgroups version. The Workgroups version also introduced the Microsoft Mail program, which allowed users to receive and send email , and Microsoft Schedule+ , a time management app. Windows for Workgroups could also be accessed from an OS/2 client that uses the Server Message Block (SMB),

3213-410: Was also introduced in this version. File Manager had also received tweaks; split view-mode was introduced, users were now able to browse files without having to open separate windows, while files were able to be dragged and dropped to other locations on the system. An option for quick formatting was introduced to format floppy disks and copy its files without having to quit Windows. File Manager

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3276-402: Was changed from a top-down view to an isometric representation. The artificial intelligence for the human player's opponents was also improved. Civilization II was designed by Brian Reynolds , Douglas Caspian-Kaufman and Jeff Briggs . Following the success of Civilization , the ongoing development of a sequel was kept secret for years. The game was publicly announced when the team was in

3339-429: Was designed to be controlled via television . It was a special version of Windows 3.1, which was designed to run on Tandy Video Information System ; it allowed users to run multimedia software without having to buy a personal computer. It also contained a software development kit (SDK) for programmers to write applications that would run on devices that have Modular Windows. The SDK was sold for $ 99. Modular Windows

3402-469: Was discontinued in 1994. Released on November 8, 1993, Windows 3.11 was introduced with fixes for network problems which were present on Windows 3.1. As a minor update, new features were not present in this version. It also did not run on IBM's OS/2 for Windows. Windows 3.11 allowed users to connect to each other as peers to share the resources of their computers. Microsoft replaced all retail and OEM versions of Windows 3.1 with Windows 3.11 and provided

3465-418: Was introduced as a product for users to remotely access Windows NT and its Advanced Server networks. It runs in 80386 enhanced mode, and it supports the use of network redirectors . It was sold in two versions; the complete package cost $ 219 while the "Workgroup Add-on for Windows" cost $ 69 . The official system requirements for Windows 3.1 and subsequent versions include the following: To use

3528-419: Was introduced in November 1992 as a reaction to Apple 's QuickTime technology. At the price of $ 200, the software included editing and encoding programs. It was later built into Windows 95 . Microsoft also published Windows for Pen Computing , a pen computing interface which was created in response to PenPoint OS by GO Corporation . The operating environment was also given limited compatibility with

3591-600: Was introduced with more language support, while Tandy Video Information System received a special version, called Modular Windows. In November 1993, Windows 3.11 was released as a minor update, while Windows 3.2 was released as a Simplified Chinese version of Windows 3.1. Microsoft also introduced Windows for Workgroups, the first version of Windows to allow integrated networking . Mostly oriented towards businesses , it received network improvements and it allowed users to share files, use print servers, and chat online, while it also introduced peer-to-peer networking. The series

3654-512: Was officially named "Linux For Workgroups" as a tongue-in-cheek reference to Windows for Workgroups 3.11. In November 2015, the failure of a Windows 3.1 system in Orly Airport in Paris, which was responsible for communicating visual range information in foggy weather to pilots, made operations temporarily cease. Whether the failure was hardware- or software-based is not specified, though

3717-521: Was one of the best games ever released for PC. Computer Gaming World gave it the Strategy Game of the Year award, and PC Gamer US named it the overall game of the year, calling it and its predecessor "perhaps the finest strategy games ever made." Civilization II was nominated as Computer Games Strategy Plus 's 1996 game of the year, although it lost to Tomb Raider . However, it won

3780-573: Was open to shipping Tandy Sensation PCs with the Windows 3.1 operating environment. IBM and its PCs were also provided with Windows 3.1. Further enhancements were introduced in Windows 3.1. The TrueType font system was introduced to provide scalable fonts to Windows applications, without having to resort on using third-party technology such as Adobe Type Manager (ATM). Windows 3.1 introduced Arial , Courier New , and Times New Roman fonts, in regular, bold, italic, and bold-italic versions, which could be scaled to any size and rotated, depending on

3843-602: Was running on Microsoft-licensed DOS or another DOS operating system, such as DR-DOS . It was known as AARD code, and Microsoft disabled it before the final release of Windows 3.1, though without removing it altogether. Digital Research , who owned DR-DOS, released a patch within weeks to allow the installer to continue. Memos that were released during the United States v. Microsoft Corp. antitrust case in 1999 revealed that Microsoft specifically focused it on DR-DOS. When Caldera bought DR-DOS from Novell , they brought

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3906-403: Was the United States' 17th-highest-selling computer game of the year's first half. The game had topped its predecessor's 850,000 sales that August, and continued to sell "over 20,000 units a month" by November, according to Microprose. Civilization II reached 1.2 million units sold by April 1998; Terry Coleman of Computer Gaming World wrote that sales were "still going strong" at that time. In

3969-597: Was the first version of Windows that was suitable for integrated networking . Initially developed as an add-on for Windows 3.0, it was later released in 1992. It introduced drivers and protocols for peer-to-peer networking. Windows for Workgroups was mostly oriented towards businesses . The first version of Windows for Workgroups, 3.1, was released on October 27, 1992. Codenamed Winball and Sparta, it allows users to share files , use print servers , and chat online ; files could be accessed from other machines that run either Windows or DOS. The Microsoft Hearts card game

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