Sid Meier's Civilization II

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The different versions of Civilization II

There are four different versions of Civilization II. The original is simply called Sid Meier's Civilization II and is the most basic version. The Fantastic Worlds version is an expansion to the original. Sid Meier's Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition is the final release of the original with both Fantastic Worlds and Conflicts in Civilization expansions. Civilization II: Test of Time is a stand alone release that improves and expands on Civilization II, adding an extended game mode, fantasy and science fiction game modes, and updated graphics with animated units. This page gives a summary of the differences.

The most complete, up to date version of Civilization II is the Test of Time release.

Patches

There are several different versions of Civilization II, and each has its own separate patch.

If you have the original Sid Meier's Civilization II, download the v2.42 patch

If you have Sid Meier's Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition, download the US v1.3 patch If you have the UK Ultimate Classic Collection, download this UK v1.3 patch instead.

If you have Civilization II: Test of Time, download the Test of Time v1.1 patch. You will need this patch if you want to play any of the fan made scenarios, or you will get the message 'Failed to load game: file is in obsolete format'.

The versions of Civilization II included with Civilization Chronicles are not updated to the latest version, and the official patches have problems working with them. This unofficial patch was made so that the Chronicles versions of Civilization II can be updated to the latest version.

Fixes

If you are running a 64-bit version of Windows, there is an unofficial patch that works with all 32-bit versions of Civilization II. The original release is 16-bit and will not work with the unofficial patch, and will not install or run on 64-bit systems.

When Civilization II came out, computers had a lot less power than the ones today, so the game was programmed to take as much of the CPU as possible. On modern computers this can cause problems, such as the fans constantly being on full while playing the game. There are a couple of unofficial patches to be installed after the other ones. This patch is for the original, Fantastic Worlds and Multiplayer Gold versions, and this patch is for Test of Time. Some anti virus programs may report that these patches are viruses, so you will need to add the .exe or the game folder as an exception.

Civilization II: Test of Time needs an outdated codec for the in-game videos to work. The codec, Indeo 5, is included in the K-Lite Codec Pack, but is disabled by default, and needs to be registered. This codec was disabled as it could be a security risk. To register the codec, open the Start Menu. For 32bit versions of Windows, type in the Run box:

regsvr32 ir50_32.dll

For 64bit versions of Windows, type in the Run box:

regsvr32 C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ir50_32.dll

Modifications

Test of Time Graphics Mod Pack. Almost all the people who played Test of Time didn't like the new graphics, finding them too dark or ugly. This mod pack replaces those graphics with ones that, although without animated units, are much more colourful and detailed, taking advantage of the updated game engine.