A Summary of Civilization 2 Versions
I've read all sorts of derogatory remarks about Test of Time, from it being a substandard version of Civ2: MGE to some kind of failed SMAC-Civ2 hybrid. What it really is, is the latest version of the Civilization 2 game engine. In an attempt to expunge a few myths, I've created a comparison table for the four most popular versions of Civ2. The list is by no means exhaustive, but it should remove some misconceptions.
| Original 2.42 | Fantastic Worlds Expansion 2.78 | Multiplayer Gold Edition 1.3 | Test of Time 1.1 | |
| Computer architecture | 16-bit1 | 16-bit1 | 32-bit2 | 32-bit2 |
| Colour depth | 8-bit indexed palette3 | 8-bit indexed palette3 | 8-bit indexed palette3 | 15-bit Highcolor4 |
| Backwards compatibility | N/A | Yes | Yes5 | No6 |
| Multiplayer capability | No7 | No7 | Yes | Yes |
| City management screen | Standard | Standard | Standard | Standard or ToT version8 |
| Status bar | Vertical (RHS default) | Vertical (RHS default) | Vertical (RHS default) | Vertical or Horizontal (Top default)9 |
| Active unit indicator | Blinking unit | Blinking unit | Blinking unit | Blinking tile marker |
| Health bar and shield | Large shield, position adjustable | Large shield, position adjustable | Large shield, position adjustable | Small shield, position fixed10 |
| AI diplomacy model | Standard | Standard | Aggressive | Aggressive |
| Animated units | No | No | No | Yes |
| Animated terrain | No | No | No | Yes |
| Animated heralds | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Combat animation (icons.gif) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| High council | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Wonder movies | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Throne room | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Map editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | No11 | Game editors | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Expanded Civilopedia for scenarios | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Events space (kB) | None | 2612 | 3412 | 104 |
| Advanced macro language, including civ flags | No | No | No | Yes |
| Number of unit slots | 54 | 62 | 62 | 80 |
| Secondary maps | No | No | No | Up to 3 |
| Supports gigamaps (ie, 10 923 - 32 767 tiles) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced scoring options | No | No | No | Yes |
| Major objective cities (ie, x3) | No | Yes | No | No |
| Advanced unit abilities (unbribable, invisible, etc) | No | No | No | Yes |
| Technology restrictions for specific tribes | No | No | No | Yes13 |
| Impassable terrain | No | No | No | Yes |
| Individual unit sounds | Limited | Limited | Limited | Yes |
| Maximum size for unit icons (in pixels) | 64 x 48 | 64 x 48 | 64 x 48 | 64 x 64 |
| City graphics slots | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Tile graphics per terrain slot | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Customisable wonder/city improvement pictures | No | No | No | Yes |
| Requires CD-ROM to play | No | No | Yes14 | Yes14 |
| CPU usage fix available | No | No | Yes15 | Yes15 |
| Fugly default graphics | Debatable | Debatable | Debatable | Absolutely |
- Can neither install nor run on 64-bit versions of Windows. Requires virtualisation software, eg, Windows Virtual PC/Windows XP Mode, VMware, VirtualBox and DOSBox.
- MastermindX has created a patch which allows 32-bit versions of Civilization 2 to run on 64-bit versions of Windows. Download here.
- A 256-colour palette, although only 192 of them can be used for game graphics.
- The last (16th) bit of the 2 bytes is used for mask layers.
- There are problems with x3 objective cities and the aggressive AI diplomacy model.
- Angelo Scotto's CivConverter utility can convert FW and MGE scenarios to the ToT format.
- With a hex edit of the SAV/SCN file you can play FW in hot seat mode. Carl Fritz's CivHot utility makes this a simple procedure.
- Use the City Layout toggle in the View menu.
- Use the Map Layout toggle in the View menu.
- Mercator has addressed this somewhat with his SpriteGen utility.
- Mercator has addressed this with his version of the Official Map Editor.
- Calculated using ToT's events debugger for equivalence.
- It contains a serious bug which allows spies and diplomats to steal forbidded technologies. See this guide.
- Get a No-CD crack. Simple. (I might as well host the ToT crack myself - it's only 15 kB. Works with versions 1.0 and 1.1.)
- Timbatron has created fixes for MGE (download here) and ToT (download here). Till has created a fix for both versions (download here). These patches prevent the game from using 100% of available CPU resources 100% of the time.