Silly questions about servers.dat...

[Locutus]

I want to (eventually) add servers.dat to the file database but before I can do that some info would be useful:

Who made it? Is the CtP1 version identical to/compatible with the CtP2 version? Can the current version be used until the end of time or will it eventually go corrupt as well? (How long until it goes corrupt?) Does it have a version number of some sort? Is there anything else about it that would be useful/interesting to know?

[Martin Gühmann]

I got this file from a small CTP2 fan page called:

The Call To Power 2 Temple

The describtion from the Apolyton CTP2 link section is:

A Call To Power 2 Site with hints, a good copy of the servers.dat file, and the Call To Power 2 Hall Of Fame.

Actual the only (for us) useful thing was the servers.dat file the link was:

http://hometown.aol.com/Jonny11788/ctp2/index.html

Unfortunatly the page doesn't exist anymore instead of the link above you can use this one and you will find some Civ3 images:

http://hometown.aol.com/Jonny11788/

Jonny11788 is all the info about I know from the page. Jonny11788 might be registrated as just jonny, but we can't be shure.

Fortunatly I downloaded the servers.dat before the page was deleted. Afterwards the deletion of the page I posted it here in order to make it available for everyone else again.

So far I know about this file is that it is created by CTP1 and can be used with CTP2. From my observation it will be modified by CTP2 but this doesn't change the fact that this work, probably it does work without any limitation. But if it would go corrupt then we already knew it, I guess, but in this case you could install it again.

Another interesting note about this file is that I also found it in Activion's German internet forum, same date, same size. So in the end we can't be really shure if the file is created by Jonny or someone else, but of course every CTP1 owner could create his own working servers.dat.

-Martin

[Oerdin]

I'd like to know why the servers.dat file becomes currupted so easily. Does anyone have a clue?

[Locutus]

Thanks for your explanation Martin

Oerdin,
Well, I posted the same thread in the CtP1-MP forum and what it seems to boil down to is that servers.dat just contains some IP addresses for servers that are automatically updated whenever you log on. But when all servers on the list no longer exist, there's no server to log onto and no way to update the list with new servers, hence you will not see any servers. So it's not really a matter of the file itself corrupting, it's more a matter of list of servers getting outdated...

[Solver]

It's a matter of Activision being a group of bullsh*ters, removing support and servers .

[Locutus]

Hey, at least Activision's games *have* MP

[Solver]

That requires efforts of dozens of people to be playable .

[child of Thor]

Originally posted by Solver
That requires efforts of dozens of people to be playable .

before i'd even heard of apolyton i was playing weekly multiplayer(LAN) sessions with a few friends, and that just with plain CTP2 and 1.1patch - it took a while to sort out the resynchs(dynamic join on). O.K we never actually finished a game, mostly due to time constraints and i guess we all liked the begining game best. But we would settle a winner based on score and had a good time most of the time
The Mods now add alot more to this experience, and maybe it's not 100% perfect(stable-save often)but multiplayer CTP2(or1) is a great way to play this game - and i prefer it way over the single player game.

[Solver]

Child, agreed, it can be great, but I can't imagine playing unmodded CtP 2, SP or MP... *shiver*.