here's a collection of decals you can use as alternatives.

First row shows standard flags.

Second and third rows show the decals contained in the pack.

Let's see what's new:

America1: 13 stars pattern, from early flags
America2: an eagle
Arabia: palm tree, shown in saudi coat of arms as symbol of Arabia
Aztecs1: double headed serpent, famous from some sculptures
Aztecs2: eagle with serpent. It's the mexican flag symbol, representing the founding of Tenochtitlan
China1: people's republic logo, featuring Tiananmen square in the centre
China2: Tiananmen palace only
Egypt1: the pschent, symbol of the crown of united high and low Egypt
Egypt2: an ankh, the "egyptian cross"
France1: 3 fleur-de-lys pattern, as it was on French flags for many centuries.
France2: the coq, symbol of Gaul and symbol of modern France in sports
England: 3 lions, used before the cross, since the crusaders times. It can be found in 1000AD scenario as well.
Germany1: Luftwaffe symbol. It was on every ww2 plane
Germany2: an eagle, used since the first reich up to nowadays. This particular shape represents republican Germany
Greece1: the Athenian owl, symbol of democracy. It is on the back of every Greek 1 Euro coin. Also featured in Greek World mod
Greece2: a lambda, symbol of Sparta.
Inca1: symbol of Quechua people
Inca2: the sunmask artifact
Japan1: the land of the rising sun now has its rising sun
Japan2: symbol of Tokugawa
Mali1: a kanaga mask
Mali2: just a kanaga. It used to be in the middle of modern Mali flag
Mongolia: a full Soyombo
Persia: the Derafsh Eagle, used as a flag by Achaemids. Also included in Greek World mod
Rome1: S.P.Q.R. in the middle of laurels
Rome2: a Labarum or Chi-Ro. Can be used for representing late empire. Also included in 1000AD scenario as Byzantine flag
Spain1: the Castillan castle
Spain2: a famous bull shape
Barbarian: a different design

the file.

Consider it's just a collection.
To use them, you should take the ones you want, put them in a mod subfolder (Mods\Flags\Assets\Art\Interface\TeamColor) and put an edited CIV4ArtDefines_Civilization.xml inside Mods\Flags\Assets\XML\Art.

I can't do that myself, because each one of you is free to choose his one combination.

For example, in my games I'd use America, Arabia, Aztecs, France, Greece, Inca, Mali, Rome and Spain from the 2nd row only

First post.

Wow, this looks great Rhye :D!

Excellent collection. You have managed to retain the symbols of each civilization without being tempted to simulate the flags of the modern nations.

Only one complaint: as a Spanish, I do suggest you change or remove the bull. Although it may look funny, it has political and cultural meanings and cannot be representative of the country.

I should give you an alternative, but I find it difficult to find a symbol that represents Spain for itself alone. At least four should be combined, as you can see here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_coat_of_arms

Probably the same thing happens to most countries, so I would leave the castle for Spain, which is the castilian symbol.

lol, i dont like the new barbarian sign, its smiling

I definitely like the Crown of the Two Kingdoms! :goodjob:




:nuke: Cheers Thorgrimm :nuke:

Excellent collection. You have managed to retain the symbols of each civilization without being tempted to simulate the flags of the modern nations.

Only one complaint: as a Spanish, I do suggest you change or remove the bull. Although it may look funny, it has political and cultural meanings and cannot be representative of the country.

I should give you an alternative, but I find it difficult to find a symbol that represents Spain for itself alone. At least four should be combined, as you can see here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_coat_of_arms

Probably the same thing happens to most countries, so I would leave the castle for Spain, which is the castilian symbol.

Why not the 2 Eracle's column?

what's the political and cultural meaning of the bull?

what's the political and cultural meaning of the bull?

With a bull, I think to Mithraism.

I'm not 100% on what to edit. Could you make it a bit clearer, Rhye?

BTW, congrats about being thanked in the manual!

Where do you unzip this?Tell me please,this is the first time I downloaded a flag pack

hmm i think i've seen that bull before on a brandy bottle perhaps...

I don't see any entry in the civinfos to point towards those decal diles...



EDIT: nevermind i found it... not in the Civinfos file btw - but rather in the Artdefine file... Editing this game is like a goose chase.



G.

what's the political and cultural meaning of the bull?

Well, it speaks for itself. We are not all bullfighters. Besides, although many Spaniards are unaware of it, a Spanish flag with a bull is like the modern version of the eagle used by Franco's dictatorship. While some people will like it a lot, others will go:' oh, nooo!...'

And yes, that bull shape was first used by a powerful family of brandy makers to label their bottles. It has become today a symbol, but as I say, it's very controversial and not neutral.

It may sound weird, but bullfighting wouldnt exist nowadays in Spain if politicians didn't still support it with public money, because it doesn't generate enough income.

Why not the 2 Eracle's column?

Not bad idea. But I think they wouldn't look as nice as the castle visually speaking. And they are still a Castilian symbol, representing the expansion of the kingdom beyond the Atlantic ocean.

i've explained installing instructions a little better

i'm afraid the spanish coat of arms is too complex to be used in a bi-color decal.

That's right. That's why I said the castle alone will do fine. And the one you made looks very nice. The firaxis one looks like a LOTR tower.

May I interest you into making flags for WWII Europe: Small, Fast & Beautiful (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=137154)?

nice flags :)
esspecially the arabian, japanese (rising sun) and english ones

Brilliant. Thanx

May I interest you into making flags for WWII Europe: Small, Fast & Beautiful (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=137154)?

Desert War mods already features ww2 flags. Take them from its folder.

the file.

Consider it's just a collection.
To use them, you should take the ones you want, put them in a mod subfolder (Mods\Flags\Assets\Art\Interface\TeamColor) and put an edited CIV4ArtDefines_Civilization.xml inside Mods\Flags\Assets\XML\Art.

Is this in the main game folder, or within my documents?

I tried putting it under C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Mods\Flags and that didn't work.

I tried putting it under C:\Documents and Settings\Eric\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\MODS\Flags and that didin't work either.

I figured it out.

C:\Documents and Settings\Eric\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\CustomAssets\art\Interface\TeamColor\FlagDECAL_1 3Stars.dds

C:\Documents and Settings\Eric\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\CustomAssets\xml\art\CIV4ArtDefines_Civilization .xml

Next request: Could you make the names correspond to the descriptions for future users? I mean, I'm almost curious enough to find a way to open this one file just so I can find out what the heck you put in it. I mean, its called


FlagDECAL_Vergina.dds


...Vergina? ...Naughty Rye! ;p

PS: Guy who posted above, you might want to make sure you didn't leave that space between _Civilization and .xml in your file that you did above...

Next request: Could you make the names correspond to the descriptions for future users? I mean, I'm almost curious enough to find a way to open this one file just so I can find out what the heck you put in it. I mean, its called


FlagDECAL_Vergina.dds


...Vergina? ...Naughty Rye! ;p



lol it already corresponds. It's the Vergina Sun, the star of Macedonia

Is this in the main game folder, or within my documents?


the main game folder! You should create a mod subfolder structure

...Vergina? ...Naughty Rye! ;p



Tu quoque, Aeon, fili mi!

You too now mispell my name :p

fantastic =)
think you could make another one for India, representing the Lion symbol of Ashoka? Here's one version-- http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/2/26/Emblem_of_india.png , and you can google asoka lion for more of em.

Desert War mods already features ww2 flags. Take them from its folder.
It only has GER, FRA, TUR, SPA, ITA, & GBR.
While this is my civ list:
0. Germany
1. Britain
2. France
3. USSR
4. Italy
5. Poland
6. hung
7. Roma
8. bulg
9. turk
10 greece
11 baltic
12 yugos
13 fin
14 nor&den
15 swe
16 spa & port
17 benelux

But if you're not interested, (mainly because you haven't done flags, just symbols. Look good though ;)) that's OK, I've got a hunch that omeone else is ;)

Aie! You got me! ;p

Heh, I was really worried about that one

shivam-> I might try adding something for India. Thanks for the input

paasky -> sorry, the list is too long. Haven't time right now. Anyway, modern multi-coloured flags are easier to make than decals. You could try.
But what's that #7 (Roma) ??

paasky -> sorry, the list is too long. Haven't time right now. Anyway, modern multi-coloured flags are easier to make than decals. You could try.
But what's that #7 (Roma) ??

I think he means Romania. Nice job btw although I am still lost trying to put it into the regular game. Silly me. I just wanted to replace the original flags with some of yours and I don't know how. :confused:

Very nice Rhye! Didnt even notice this thread till now :)

About the bull... if you dont like it-you dont have to use it, but mabey theres someone out there who does- so I say just leave it as it is... Theres so many things that are controversial and may offend certain people, but in that case, they can just choose not to use it.

Very nice collection though, I'm sure several will find their way into my game ;)

could someone clarify what needs to be edited in the xml file?

could someone clarify what needs to be edited in the xml file?

the filenames :)

ah, awesome. thanks =)

ad a swastica to ur palm tree, and it looks like the africa corp

Very nice Rhye. I downloaded and switched in quite a few of them today. :thumbsup:

Rhye:

It is my understanding that all add-ons should go into the "My Documents" folder and not mixed into the game itself. That is why the game came with the folders within "My Documents" such as:

Custom assets, mods, public maps, etc.

That way, the original game files are never changed.

I've created the mod subfolder structure as described and I've also modified the .xml file. However, the only flags that display correctly are "flagdecal_lions_I.dds" and "flagdecal_labarum.dds". All the other ones display as full white, yellow, black and blue.
Please advise me, what am I doing wrong?

i had the same problem, specificially with japan and persia.

The flags work for me, except the barbarians, who appear as white flags. I guess they surrender. :lol:

Any thoughts why this one doesn't work?

My civ's color is Blue. It should show up as a white cross (X shaped) on the blue flag, but it shows up as yellow instead.

thanks.

103837

Do the flags HAVE to be limited to two colors? And, Rhye, mind spillin' how you did what you did when you did what you did to make those spectacular emblems?

Any thoughts why this one doesn't work?

My civ's color is Blue. It should show up as a white cross (X shaped) on the blue flag, but it shows up as yellow instead.

thanks.

103837

you need to set white into assest\xml\interface\CIV4PlayerColorInfos.xml

Do the flags HAVE to be limited to two colors? And, Rhye, mind spillin' how you did what you did when you did what you did to make those spectacular emblems?

these decals are two colours only. There's a way to make it multi-coloured but it's more appropriate in a scenario set in modern times (like desert war)

But, you didnt mention how you went about makin' them? Does it just wrap a standard picture to the wrinkles, or do you have to warp the picture to look wavey?

No warp, it has to be cut, stretched, and made an alpha mask out of it.
it's far too complex to explain.

No warp, it has to be cut, stretched, and made an alpha mask out of it.
it's far too complex to explain.
Too bad... I wanted to add a flag to my Civ, but since I couldn't, it now uses a pitch black flag :p Hell, i'd even settle for a single colour (orange) flag at that. :(

i've created a flag for my civ, but i can't use it, instead, it's a american flag blag (with a white star)
what was wrong?

EDIT: ok, now it's not an black american flag anymore, it's a pure white flag. What is the issue with my flag?
what does <bWhiteFlag> means? set to 0 then 1, but still have the wrong flag
does the size of the flag very important, in term of size (pixel*pixel?)

I want to create my own flag, but need help. Which program do you use? I see that the flags are all same, the only difference being the colors and shapes used.

How could I copy a flag so that it maintains consistancy with the others, but edit the colors to create my own custom flag?

I use Paint Shop Pro, Corel Photo-Paint and DDS Converter 2, to create shapes.
Colours can be edited in assest\xml\interface\CIV4PlayerColorInfos.xml

Great job Rhye. First Class.

(It's about time somebody gave us something that could be used for the Byzantines, let alone everyone else)

Nice job on those flags!

I was too tired (and a bit sick) when I first discovered the whole darn necessity of doing alpha masks and everything. I need to look into it again but I'm sooo lazy when it comes to this (although masking is done in like 3-4 clicks!)

I just create a 128x128 pixel .PNG file in Phtoshop with a transparent background.

Then I add a WHITE pattern to it (say a skull and crossbones)

save it as a .PNG

Use .dds converter to convert it to .dds

When you choose your civ's color scheme. it has TWO colors. a Primary and a secondary. For example. The DARK_BLUE color scheme has a Primary color fo dark blue and a secondary of yellow.

The transparent part of your .dds with appear the PRIMARY color and the white part of your .dds will appear as the Secondary.

Clear as mud?

what does <bWhiteFlag> means? set to 0 then 1, but still have the wrong flag
does the size of the flag very important, in term of size (pixel*pixel?)


Flags have to be 128x128. In other words, create a bigger rectangle (longer in vertical) with the logo in the middle and resize it to 128x128.

if bWhiteFlag=1, flags use solid colours, so more than 2 colours. I posted normal flags instead, so that can be assigned any colour combination.

WaxonWaxov's explaination should help you.

Yeah, i created my flag (which you can see in my thread in completed modacks) for my civilization (the Netherlands) thanks to WaxonWaxov. Thanks dude!

Clear as mud?

Almost! Actually, it gives me a much better idea on how to learn the stuff, and how to go about it. MANY thanks to you for your efforts! :goodjob:

How do you preview them like that ?

could you post a snippet of your xml file as an example, please?

Has anyone done a Greek flag with Medusa's head on it? And if not, would you be interested in making one, Rhye?

While Athena's owl and Sparta's chevron work great for their respective civs, I think Medusa would work best for Greece in general.

thanks for the advice both, i made my flag...

avalaible with the new Breton civ!!!

medusa is a truly charismatic character and would be cool, but does it really represent Greece more than any other mythological creature such as a centar, a minotaur, a hydra or a chimera?

Looks good Rhye, *Sigh* got to get Civ 4.

I'm in the process of making a mod that simply replaces Rome with Italy, so I just copied the Italy flag from desert war and put it in the mod folders like you said in respect to your decals, but nothing changed. Are there any other files/folders I need to create or transfer to make this work?

you should set WhiteFlag = 1

I have my roman flag changed with one of yours in the game , but i dont have a file to change the civolpedia art. Am I going crazy or this isnt included !!!

no i didn't include any civilopedia art, because it would mean setting colour combinations, which instead are supposed to be changeable,as these are decals

Rhye, this is a heartfelt plea for help. I want to change the German civ to Prussian, utilizing Fred the Great to set him in a historically accurate context. Could you create a new mod to include the Prussian eagle as opposed to the Republican (Weimar?) one? If I had your skill I'd try it myself... but I bow to your talent.
In fraternity, Roops

I'm sorry, I'm having a break from civ, for a while.

Rhye, this is a heartfelt plea for help. I want to change the German civ to Prussian, utilizing Fred the Great to set him in a historically accurate context. Could you create a new mod to include the Prussian eagle as opposed to the Republican (Weimar?) one? If I had your skill I'd try it myself... but I bow to your talent.
In fraternity, Roops

Actually, I had read somewhere that Bismarck had been the Prussian Prime Minister at one time, too. Was this a typo, or were Germany and Prussia combined into one empire at that time?

Actually, I had read somewhere that Bismarck had been the Prussian Prime Minister at one time, too. Was this a typo, or were Germany and Prussia combined into one empire at that time?

Bismarck was the Prussian Prime Minister who united all of Germany under Prussian leadership and thus became the first chancellor of Germany.

Hey, can anyone make screenshots for the three other flags in this file?

She Wolf
Vergina
Coq_I

I can't figure out how to do it.

Hey how come there is no Love for Russia? Biggest country in the world should have a unique sign too. or give it a nice Communist red with yellow sickle and a star :)

hehe

If I may suggest one thing: Have the single star in the American Flag as the modern flag, the eagle as the early incarnation.

Great Work!
I am going to add a few of these to my mod :)

@ Winter: I like the 13-star American flag myself, it resembeles the ensign flown on the prow of American warships.

@ anybody: I know this has been said before, but I'm extremely new at modding, and know nothing of doing it in Civ 4, so please bear with me. With this in mind, before I manage to do something to kill my game, I'm wondering, just what is this about editing an XML file? Which one? How? Again, I know that this has been mentioned before, but I didn't really get it. Thanks ahead of time.
Semper Fi.

Like Gunny said, I'd like to replace the default flag maps with some of these. I've already put the ones I want into a folder, but... what now?

awesome pack!

Is it okay for me to post these amazing flags in KuanKuan's Civ IV forum? They are the largest in the Chinese civ community

URL for KuanKuan is
http://bbs.kuankuan.com

thx, once again, great flags!

awesome pack!

Is it okay for me to post these amazing flags in KuanKuan's Civ IV forum? They are the largest in the Chinese civ community

URL for KuanKuan is
http://bbs.kuankuan.com

thx, once again, great flags!

yeah, sure!

Hey can someone plz make a accurate world war 2 flag. red, white centered disk, and swastika.

Here are 2 good examples thought this may help.

Great work, as always, Rhye!

:)

Great ! I wanted to do my own flags, but these are very nice, i will spare time.

Wow, such a shame I am just discovering these now. My days of playing with Rome are over and I LOVE the SPQR flag...

Great Flags, I look forward to seeing your x-pac ones :p

I love the english one, but's maybe too detailed, also the three flower french flag. The Tokugawa crest is beautifull.

Rhye any chance you acn do a US one based on the eagle from this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:US-GreatSeal-Obverse.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seal_of_the_United_States

By the way, can you put a Readme with this. I like to save stuff like this to disk and there may come a time when I uninstall CIV4 and need to reinstall the game again and mod and I`ll have forgotten how to put in the mod.

There should always be an install Readme with every mod.

Rhye, i have a suggestion for a alternative Dutch flag, the lion is correct, but doesn't look beautiful.

http://www.covs-gorinchem.nl/images/Logo%20KNVB.gif
It's the logo of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbal Bond (in english: Royal Dutch Football Association)

It would be nicer then the current Lion.

lol, I know that lion...
The US seal is another good candidate, but looks similar to other eagles.
Anyway I'm afraid I'm not working on this pack anymore.
My effort in the last 2 years went to Rhye's and Fall. In there you will find new flags, including an updated Dutch one (the lion with the sword)

the aztec one on the second row looks almost exactly like the Mayan flag (in bts) excpt. for the color.

Exactly.
Except for the fact that BTS copied my flag, not the opposite ;)

I like the idea of having symbols of animals representing each civ (fantastic or not, i.e. griffin).

France2: the coq, symbol of Gaul and symbol of modern France in sports
Isn't that the official French War Flag too?

I don't know how to qualify what you're doing in english but you have a problem, really. I'm not offended at all by this remark but what is the goal you want to achieve with it ? Now, I don't know if you need to be on my ignore list or not. I sure enjoy your envolvment with modding but I'm tired of your puerile jokes.

I don't know how to qualify what you're doing in english but you have a problem, really. I'm not offended at all by this remark but what is the goal you want to achieve with it ? Now, I don't know if you need to be on my ignore list or not. I sure enjoy your envolvment with modding but I'm tired of your puerile jokes.

:confused: whom are you talking to?

to Wolfshanze, sorry. When I reply to the poster above I ommit the precision. I believe you are a nice italian guy that doesn't loose time with random quote to make comments out of place.

Please... for the love of God Snipper... I beg you to put me on your ignore list... if your fuse is that short, I think you'll sleep more relaxed and less stressed if you do.

Not too sure if anybody is going to check this out, but I've used the SerpentEagle flag as a flag for a custom civ mexico and I want to make a button for it. I don't know what program to use for this though, if somebody could help me find one I can use to create a dds file for this button that would be appreciated.

@Capo
Here you are. Asio's Button Maker (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=220636).

Not too sure if anybody is going to check this out, but I've used the SerpentEagle flag as a flag for a custom civ mexico and I want to make a button for it. I don't know what program to use for this though, if somebody could help me find one I can use to create a dds file for this button that would be appreciated.

Assuming you have the pic and all you need is to convert it to .dds format, use DXTBmp (http://www.mnwright.btinternet.co.uk/programs/dxtbmp.htm)

To use them, you should take the ones you want, put them in a mod subfolder (Mods\Flags\Assets\Art\Interface\TeamColor) and put an edited CIV4ArtDefines_Civilization.xml inside Mods\Flags\Assets\XML\Art.

What is to be changed? Can you be more specific please?

<CivilizationArtInfo>
<Type>ART_DEF_CIVILIZATION_AMERICA</Type>
<Button>,Art/Interface/Buttons/Civilizations/America.dds,Art/Interface/Buttons/Civics_Civilizations_Religions_Atlas.dds,1,5</Button>
<Path>Art/Interface/TeamColor/FlagDECAL_Star.dds</Path>
<bWhiteFlag>0</bWhiteFlag>
</CivilizationArtInfo>

damn site lag... double post <deleted>

You're looking to change the <Path> for the civ you're adding the flag to. Just point that to your new file and it should work without a hitch.

Assuming you have the pic and all you need is to convert it to .dds format, use DXTBmp (http://www.mnwright.btinternet.co.uk/programs/dxtbmp.htm)

Alright, I'll try and figure this out. Thanks for your help.

I've learned so much about modding in just two weeks its ridiculous. I usually post over at Apolyton (which is where all the people I play "hang out"), but there is so much more info here at CF and its a much better site. But that's how it goes I guess.

Anyway thanks everyone, if I have trouble with this I'll be sure to ask again.

Do I have to download photoshop for this?

Do I have to download photoshop for this?

To convert to dds ? no, DXTBMP alone is enough, provided you have the pic in a format it recognizes (BMP or PNG, probably some others, but these are the only two I used).

Where do I get the "border" from for the button then?

Where do I get the "border" from for the button then?
You can use this... just make the black transparent and overlay your image, then make the pink transparent.

I can't seem to edit this right, I pulled up the file using the DXBMP or whatever, and whenver I try to change the color on it it is just plain white in the paint program. How do I get it to show up normally?

Sorry guys, I don't even have a rudementary idea about any this stuff.

Ok, how many buttons are we speaking of here ? If it is just one or two, send me the graphics (size 56x56, the rest will be the border).

Are you talking to me?

Are you talking to me?

Yes.

EDIT : Here (http://files.filefront.com/Buttons+Flagzip/;11414433;/fileinfo.html) are the required files + instructions

Where does one find the *.dds flag files for the vanilla civs? I can save over expansion civ's flags, but the vanilla -- are they hard-coded in?

Where does one find the *.dds flag files for the vanilla civs? I can save over expansion civ's flags, but the vanilla -- are they hard-coded in?
You have to unpack the "Assets" FPK files in the Assets directory of vanilla Civ4. You can use a free utility like PakBuild to unpack those files.