I have a lot of stupid questions and I can't start a thread for each one. Here are just some I remember right now.

1. I want to create my own graphics set, so I'm also taking the graphics from mods, even if I can't play them. I love the title screen from TAM. The problem is that it's not written only "Civilization 3", but also TAM. So I pasted the "CIVILIZATION III" text, and manually deleted the other text by copying some colors from the neibourghing pixels. But if I rename that file to title.pcx, the screen is all black in the game! Why?

2. I love the barbarian camp made by Pounder. I want to have it, but I also love the house mines. So I copyed the barb camp into the terrainbuildings.pcx. But even if I copyed it perfectly, in the game it looks like a square where I can still see the green and pink that surround the camp in the .pcx file. Why?

I'm going to post some screenshots for both. Maybe I'll even attach the title.pcx for the first one.


I'm sure there will be more questions, so I will bump this thread when I need help.

Edited the title, because nobody was viewing it.
IN THIS FORUM!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. It's probably not the right format. Check that it's 256 colours.

2. It's probably changed the green and pink colours in the original into qualitatively identical but numerically different green and pink. The green and pink must be the last two indices in the palette, or they will show up. Basically, anything you don't want to appear when the image is used in the game must be coloured in one of the last two colours in the palette. They don't actually have to be green and pink, but it's conventional to make them these colours.

What program are you using?

Adobe Photoshop CS (it takes ages to open it, so for the moment I don't know any further information). But I'm not good in using it.

@Plotinus: 1. I check out right now!
2. Anything from that file shows up. So the green and pink from the mines and fortresses and any other terrain building from that file. So even the ones that haven't been modified. I can live without that camp, but it would be great to have it.

Try using GIMP, instead. It is what I use, and it is free. www.gimp.org

dl-ing. I need to download 2 zip files for 1 program.

OK, a new question: it is possible to add new terrain or I have to limit to the number of types existant?

Afaik it's not possible to add new terrain to the existing ones. You could just use landmarks but I can't tell you how to do it exactly cause Idon'T know how to do it exactly)

Landmarks are the small differences that occur in the same terrain type (e.g. catcuses in desert)?

no. landmarks can only be placed on scenarios. they dont appear in a random map.

And what are them in fact?

eh, hard to explain..
they are like having new types of terrain. you can have grassland and landmark grassland, but you can make the landmark grassland look like a savannah for example.

So they are terrain graphics that look different and that are named with the name of the other terrain, have the same food, gold and shields? And in scenarios, they appear randomly?

emm. well, you can have them as different names, shields food and stuff. but they must be pre-placed. they dont appear randomly.

And you can make infinite landmarks? (of course, as many that can be stored on the HDD)

nope, only one of each terrain. so one grassland, and one landmark grassland.
one desert, one LM desert. one plains, one LM plains.

So you still can double the number of "terrain"?

pretty much. but there are certain terrains with no landmark.

Ah, Ok.
(10 char).

An example of LM terrain is the "Cedars of Lebanon" terrain in the Mesopotamia Conquest. It's LM Forest terrain, using the same graphics, but with different food/shields/commerce. A more interesting example is in Rhye's of Civilization - he has a new terrain called "Plateau" which is LM Mountain. It has a different graphic. But as has been mentioned, things like this can only be pre-placed on maps. So for anything random map, you are limited to the standard terrain.

I understand now.

LM terrain isn't quite a new terrain. It can have different F/S/C, movement, and defense, but the other stats are the same as the regular terrain. Also, using different graphics for LM grassland, plains, or desert doesn't work right.

Another stupid question: If you put an Art folder into a folder where a Scenario is, the Scenario will use that graphics?

Yuuuup! Sure will.... My Final Fantasy mod has all new leaders, units and even music, but since they are all in the "Final Fantasy" folder (same name as the biq file), only the FF mod uses said graphics, and it uses them instead of the default (basically when any unit graphics or anything else is specified by the pediaicons.txt or the main game, the search order is Scenario folder, then main folders). Of course for custom units and buildings, in addition to adding them in the editor, you also have to edit the Pediaicons.txt and (particularly if you add units instead of just replacing existing units) the Civilopedia.txt files.

Thanks a lot. This will definetely help me very much!

Is there any possibility to copy sections from a map and pasting them somewhere else?

:bump: Any help? (sorry for bumping in less than 24 hours, but I saw a lot of new views on this thread).

Not with the editor. You could take screenshots of the minimaps, arrange them how you want, and use Bmp2Bic or whatever it's called to turn it into a map.

Or you can use Map Tweaker (about the copy/paste part of the map)

Where can I find Bmp2Bic or Map Tweaker? In the Utility programs forum? Hmm, Bmp2Bic, it doesn't make biq files, does it?

make a bic and save it as a biq :)

I can do this?
Is it in the Utility Programs forum?

MapTweaker is probably in the Utility subforum.

What Quinzy was saying is open the bic with the C3C editor, and then save it as a biq.

I didn't know that this is possible.

yes, thats what i meant :)

I didn't know that C3QEdit can open bic files, thanks for the information.

Another question, it doesn't really fit here, but I couldn't start a new thread just for this:
Can anyone show me some good Arab cities? I've seen the ones by varwnos, but they are one era and not exactly what I need. Odintheking made one set, but they are too fantasy-looking.
Are they there or do I have to make my first non-cut'n'paste city-set?

Look in the city-gfx library :) I like aaglo`s. I think its aaglo`s :hmm:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=105229

by Red Alert. Best one I could find.

I looked, there are no cities by aaglo.

Edit: I went to first unread so I didn't see your latest post when I posted this. Thank you!

Edit 2: Yes, I've seen them. But it's not what I need. I need a specifically arab city set, since I'm going to have one Mesopotamian (middle east) group and another one Arab. And these ones would fit rather for the Mesopotamian group than for the Arab one.

Hmm... well did you try GIDustin`s Emporium?

Yes, I think I'll copy some parts of it. Anyway I think I'm going to renounce at the Arab group.

I have a question: what size the tech icons have to be?

I like this thread. Now somebody answer the man, so I don`t have to ask this in my own questions thread :D

I have a question: what size the tech icons have to be?
All pedia icons are the same size; large 128*128, small 32*32 pixels.

:) Thank you.

If you want to know anything about size, format, etc it's generally simplest just to look at some of the standard Firaxis ones.

ya, model almost everything after the Firaxis pics, thats usually the best guess

Is it possible to increase the cultural boundaries (make them more then 3x3 squares) without changing the cultural value of the city?

You can change the border factor (general settings page), but I've heard that is has some adverse effects. For example, if you set it to 5, the borders expand at 5, 25, 125, etc.

Thanks a lot. It will help me. Since I don't want cultural victory in what I'm doing, I will disable all culture giving improvements (or change their effects) and hope that no city will expand.

:confused: I tried to change that value, but (at least in the editor) the city borders didn't change at all :(. They are still 8 tiles + 1 center tile.

The borders still work the same way, they just change at different numbers. Give the city however many culture points it needs to expand (the number you entered) and you will get the "fat X".

Thanks, trying! :D

IT WORKS ! [party]

Is there any resource limit?

i dont think so, but if you have a lot of, strategic resources/luxury then they wont all appear in teh city screen.

Oh, that's not a problem.

Thank you! :D

Edit: Post #3,666. I remember how excited I was when my postcount reached 666! [party]

im almost at 666...only 60 to go!!