EDIT:
Strategyonly has converted this file to warlords compatibility, so thanks to him.

download here plz!! (http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=2308) :)


Hello everyone!

This was my first customization post. This map shows Argyre Basin as a sea unlike the Mars Trilogy.

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads11/globalmars2.jpg

I have made a CIV4 Mars map that is based on contour maps of Mars made by NASA. I have created the map as a fictional version of Mars in that there is a northern ocean and two impact basin seas. These were placed roughly at the -1 km to -2 km datum. There are also rivers to represent aquifer outflows and polar melt channels. I have also used landmark placement (?) to name various mountains and other space-visible features, like Olympus Mons [tallest mountain in solar system].

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads11/marselevation.jpg

Here's the CIV4WBS download in .zip format:
NEW VERSION 1.22b: more landmarks and spelling corrections, added more food, moved Rome, added more forests
version 1.2: updated landmarks, changed Valles Marinaris, added more craters, added more iron, added more grasslands

Don't Download here: use the file database. im only leaving this attachment for sentimental value (my first upload :D and it has a fatal BtS bug )

Here's some screenshots:

Tharsis Vocanoes:
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads11/mscns1XL.jpg
{this is the area known as Tharsis, and pictured are the 4 great volcanoes}


Minimap Updated to v1.2:
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads11/marsmini2.jpg

check it out!! please!

Looks great!

I'm planning a Mars mod after my moon one - can I use this? ;)

Of course!

All i ask is you try out the map and tell me what i need to change to make it more consistant. There is allways room for improvement :)
Enjoy!

should maybe put some more grass (or whatever it would be called on mars hehe) near the lakes/seas/rivers....?

sounds like a good idea. when making the map, i made the decision to add small areas of grass (which is what it is :P) to the water areas because terraforming mars could never be a complete affair. regions of high altitude couldn't support much of a biome in my opinion, so i didnt put much food-bearing land.

although for playability, i will probly add some more. :lol:
thank you nery much for the feedback :goodjob:

I'll download and try this map out once I finish my current game.

You kind of ignore the importance of the ice caps, I think. If they contain water ice, they'd be of the highest importance to colonists.
What would be really cool to have in a Mars scenario would be a tweaked global warming effect, this time intentional, that removes polar ice and changes Mars' lowlands into sea.

i agree on the importance of the ice caps and, unfortunately, its impossible to see in this minimap the flow channel rivers that come off on the icy polar regions. As far as the lowlands, i simply used the elevation map thats in my first post to fill in all the lowlands with ocean and seas, like the hellas impact basin and the borealus planita in the north. :)
download it and you can compare it to a real map of mars in the world builder editor. Try it! ;)


edit: BTW i love you Atlas Map Generator! It Rocks!!!! im gonna update my version right now.

Great that you like my program.

I'm not on a civ4 pc right now, but I'll give this a try later tonight. It looks really good. I was just speculating what the role of the ice caps would be in a full-blown Mars Mod, but I guess it's too early too expect such a thing ;) As far as maps go, this one looks cool.

Thanks! tell me what you think later. i hope this one makes it into downloads for the week blog.

I started a game as the English. I played until 1145 BC and at this point I had gotten bored. My main city has tons of Commerce and Food due to Fish and Clams but no real production to speak of. Two of my other three cities (I kept getting Settler huts) have no food to get the above a population of two. York has Copper and Marble connected to my civ. Hastings has Stone and Gold connected to my civ. My fourth expansion has Stone, Copper, and Horses as well as Silk for when I get Calendar. My cities are populations of 3/1/1/1.

I had encountered six civilizations so far but have yet to find their cultural barriers. My scouts have found tons (and I mean tons) of copper and marble. I have also found significant amounts of stone. I've also found gold and gems in high abudence. I have yet to find any iron and there is so little land that is good for supporting a large city. I simply have no production to speak of because my options consist of building either a low food / high production city or a high food / low production city.

If I hadn't found so many damn settler huts way aways from my colony the game might have gone different. I still would have gone worker/worker/settler. I had only a single location near stone that had decent food production. If I replayed (and I might) I'd send my first settler to the stone/horse area for my first city. I'd use my capital as a GPP Producer and surround the lake I was on for a commerce center. I'd rush for windmills and then start expanding into the hill areas.

This is simply a hard map. Food is extremely scarce. Your best bet for a win on this map is going to be (ironicly) a space race victory.

There was far too much copper by the way. I was really looking at a painful start without iron too. I had explored a good portion of the map and had yet to find any.

thanks for letting me know. i did saturate some area's with no much metal, and very little biological resourses or at least i tried. im going to revise it tonight when my homie leave my house and post and updated one in the top post.


thanks

I played india too

updated to 1.2:

I added iron to every start location that needed it (most :) ). thanks recca
I added more green terrain to help with food. thanks overlag
I added more cool landmarks.
I fixed Valles Marinarus so it looks more like topo map. (see new mini map)

lol recca squirrel space race!! maybe they will send a ship to Ganymede and colonize the Jovian moons...

thanks for feed back. i hope this goes into weekly downloads for civ4. any more advice on map, or on forum post coding, plz let me know.
:)

Though I do need to add, I feel like an idiot. I started a new game on standard size and realized in the process that Iron Working reveals Iron. I felt like an idiot. :)

hey dont feel stupid. i know that some players need iron within a couple plots to win on monarch and higher to get a conquest with mega high score, so you just helped me make sure that i put that important resourse where it needed to be.
i mean, comeon, you'd think there'd be iron on mars, which is stained red by iron oxide across it's entire surface!?!! you could scrape it off the dirt and process it somehow!

i hope you enjoy the map

i hope you enjoy the map

Ah! Something shiny... :goodjob: Will give this one a try.

Mmm, before giving too much feedback... How precise do you want this map to be?

A few small things can I say already: Latin!
It should be "Oceanus Borealis", not the other way around. "Valles Marineris" should be the Marineris Gulf of course. It's an inland sea on the map, not a valley chain. ;) There are some other spelling errors, "Planitia" names being the most noteworthy.

The major missing landmark is Alba Patera, a broad and old crater area north of Tharsis. And Argyre isn't exactly below datum. ;)

Some links that might be usefull, as far as you haven't found them yourself:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fwb/rgb1440.html
http://www-atm.physics.ox.ac.uk/user/lewis/mars/marsmap.html
http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.evildrganymede.net/rpg/ths/ITW/global_mars.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.evildrganymede.net/rpg/ths/ITW/new_mars.htm&h=550&w=1024&sz=294&tbnid=_OB0fBir2-sJ:&tbnh=80&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmars%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D&oi=imagesr&start=2

O yes, the river outflows are really weird now and then. I don't know if that is an issue with the tool you used to create this map, but there are offen rivers starting on all angles of a tile.

Thank you Geomodder!

I wrote those landmarks really quick as you noticed, and I dont know any Latin ;)

But ill tell you what, you may have helped me finish this map once and for all. I hoped you enjoyed it if you played it. ive played it a couple times and it seems egypt's got the best advantage (still no flexible start pos.)

I saw the landmark you mentioned on the maps, north of tharsis, and i cant understand why i didnt put it there. and i will try to be more consistant with latin grammar.

those rivers are tough with either the civ4 stock editor OR the player made! LOL

this was my first civ4 map and i was prototyping, but it turned out alot better than i thought i could ever do.

thank you :)

Thank you Geomodder!
this was my first civ4 map and i was prototyping, but it turned out alot better than i thought i could ever do.

That's for sure! :goodjob:
Once made a (small) Marsmap for SMAC, and I remember how tough it was getting it right.

If I may make a last remark: perhaps more of those dunehills on Tharsis could be switched to icehills. After all, the area is in general 10 km above datum so would catch quite an amount of snow on the fringes from the right wind direction.

ive also noticed the coasts are bereft of production when the trees are gone (not enough hills).

Im having to put off the update till i format my harddrive (Micr0s0ft is the Devil!)

Hope fully tomarow night and it will much more playable

thanks!

hello :)

1.3 to be out later today

thanks!

Actually its 1.22b thats out today. sorry for the inconvienience.

download the one at the top of the thread :)

I would appreciate more feedback.

Now its time to start my new scenario.

Thanks!

It would be great if someone could combine something like this with leaders from Kim Stanley Robinson's epic Mars trilogy (which was a major source for SMAC by the way). Like; Arkady: Philosophical and Aggressive, Nadia: Industrious and Expansive, John: Creative, Financial. I'm sure better traits could be thought up, but for those who know the books I hope you'd agree what an amazing mod it could make, especially with proper terraforming abilities added, so that you started on a 'Red Mars', and to win you had to terraform your area to make it more productive than your opponents.

Mmm, before giving too much feedback... How precise do you want this map to be?

A few small things can I say already: Latin!
It should be "Oceanus Borealis", not the other way around. "Valles Marineris" should be the Marineris Gulf of course. It's an inland sea on the map, not a valley chain. ;) There are some other spelling errors, "Planitia" names being the most noteworthy.

The major missing landmark is Alba Patera, a broad and old crater area north of Tharsis. And Argyre isn't exactly below datum. ;)

Some links that might be usefull, as far as you haven't found them yourself:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fwb/rgb1440.html
http://www-atm.physics.ox.ac.uk/user/lewis/mars/marsmap.html
http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.evildrganymede.net/rpg/ths/ITW/global_mars.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.evildrganymede.net/rpg/ths/ITW/new_mars.htm&h=550&w=1024&sz=294&tbnid=_OB0fBir2-sJ:&tbnh=80&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmars%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D&oi=imagesr&start=2

O yes, the river outflows are really weird now and then. I don't know if that is an issue with the tool you used to create this map, but there are offen rivers starting on all angles of a tile.



those maps are very interesting!!! I wonder if some people have done it for the likes of venus.... hmmm

One thing that seems to be missing on those maps is the ice melting from the south pole, would create large rivers, and alot of green/forests near the south, yet those maps transit from ice, to desert?

One thing that seems to be missing on those maps is the ice melting from the south pole, would create large rivers, and alot of green/forests near the south, yet those maps transit from ice, to desert?

The southcap lays still quite high above datum, and weather patterns there (even if terraformed) would be more pronounced due to the position of Mars in it orbit during southern summer/winter.

One thing that seems to be missing on those maps is the ice melting from the south pole, would create large rivers, and alot of green/forests near the south, yet those maps transit from ice, to desert?

if you load the map in the world builder, look south and north. i represented the meltwater with rivers drawn vertically up to the top of the map. although admit, this is a weak interpretation. if you someone could give me any ideas as to how they think it could be done, i would be happy.

t would be great if someone could combine something like this with leaders from Kim Stanley Robinson's epic Mars trilogy (which was a major source for SMAC by the way). Like; Arkady: Philosophical and Aggressive, Nadia: Industrious and Expansive, John: Creative, Financial. I'm sure better traits could be thought up, but for those who know the books I hope you'd agree what an amazing mod it could make, especially with proper terraforming abilities added, so that you started on a 'Red Mars', and to win you had to terraform your area to make it more productive than your opponents.

Its good to hear that. I myself just finished re-reading the trilogy just about a month ago. I read it first when i was like 14-15. For this map to work i'd have to fill Argyre and make rivers away from the basin!1 :crazyeye:

those maps are very interesting!!! I wonder if some people have done it for the likes of venus.... hmmm

sounds like a fun side project while doing my scenario. i will have a thread up soon. its called the "Second Revolution"

Oh yeah, and make sure you download the newest version from up top! :D

It would be great if someone could combine something like this with leaders from Kim Stanley Robinson's epic Mars trilogy (which was a major source for SMAC by the way). Like; Arkady: Philosophical and Aggressive, Nadia: Industrious and Expansive, John: Creative, Financial. I'm sure better traits could be thought up, but for those who know the books I hope you'd agree what an amazing mod it could make, especially with proper terraforming abilities added, so that you started on a 'Red Mars', and to win you had to terraform your area to make it more productive than your opponents.

I think we'd have to add a new trait to accurately reflect all the characters: Annoying

Maya would be Annoying and Expansive
Ann would be Annoying and Organized (Mars! Mars!)

(I gave up halfway through the second one, when I realized I had 100+ pages of Maya-focus to slog through. I'd consider revisiting the series, but KSR's blatant anti-religionism annoyed me no end--even moreso than Maya!)

EDIT: Sorry for the brief off-topic :crazyeye: ... I'm going to try this out some time this week, is 1.3 due shortly, or is 1.22 the last one for awhile?

Hell lets talk KS robinson! Who cares! it is a mars map! LOL :lol:

I didn't notice too much anti-religionism, but i did notice alot of anti-corporate capitalism, which I cant imagine anyone disagreeing with (unless you are a corporate!)

Im putting down Hiroko as Spiritual/Annoying ;)

Some one oughtta do a mod! i would hella play it! I would even fill the argyre sea for it :crazyeye:

This map looks great! Can't wait to play it!

Enjoy, my friend!

Wow, looks great! I'll give it a try when I get back from classes. BTW, ever been to RedColony.com (http://www.redcolony.com/)?

Can't wait to play it! :goodjob:

SilverKnight

i like that site. got it bookmarked now :D

i like that site. got it bookmarked now :D

dito here.

Hate to :bump:, but actually read through this thread and realized people were talking about a Mars Trilogy mod. GO FOR IT!!! I would totally play it, I'm just too swamped with school to work on one now. :sad:

Why are there X-mas smilies NOW? :xmascheers:
SilverKnight

that would be cool! i am working on one project now, but another one would have to be very community supported like some of the other big mods coming out. i would love to start a thread, but i would need more names of support

Sweet! I can't wait to play this in a multiplayer game this weekend, will be cool.

Also just throwing my support behind a Mars Trilogy Mod, that is still my favourite series (followed by WoT).

thanks roly
make sure to check out my map of venus and my map of titan! i hope we eventually do a mars mod!

Wow! This is unbelieveably cool. Thanks!

thank you bro! this was the first thing i ever done for civ4. there are some other planetary maps out there, some by me too.

Heh, I'd enjoy KSR's books otherwise, but I have trouble following his extremely long-winded characters. Off topic aside, I will definitely try this out... and those other planet maps as well.

Idea for an alternative version for this map would be contemporary treatment of Lowellian Mars seen in some RPGs. That is, take the real topography, mellow it a bit and then add canals (rivers).

Heh, I'd enjoy KSR's books otherwise, but I have trouble following his extremely long-winded characters. Off topic aside, I will definitely try this out... and those other planet maps as well.

Idea for an alternative version for this map would be contemporary treatment of Lowellian Mars seen in some RPGs. That is, take the real topography, mellow it a bit and then add canals (rivers).

i have to agree about his *yawn* characters. but the revolutions on mars were just too cool.

a lowellian mars, smacking of boroughs, would be cool, but the community would need a good map by lowell.

The map won't load in the game. Is there a particular requirement or update I need?

What version of civ4 are you playing?

version 1.61. Is it not compatible? Bascially, what happens is that I enter the map and it already told me I lost, like the starting units aren't even there.

hmm thats not good. maybe i will update this map tonite.

Was fairly interesting.. and seeing maps of other planets that have been terreformed gives me ideas on python events that occur post space race <removing space race from victory condition> with the only advantage to winign the space race is like say 5 turns on new planet before the rest start showing up one civ at a time based on their score...anyway is a good map vey interestign and fun to play

Thank you for the compliment. Good luck on making lots of interesting mods!!

How do I get this to work?

well, lets see, this is a vanilla civ4 map, you will probly have to change the name to Mars.Civ4WarlordsWBS from the .Civ4WorldBuilderSave. this will cause it to work in civ4 warlords. (im assuming thats the problem?)

well, lets see, this is a vanilla civ4 map, you will probly have to change the name to Mars.Civ4WarlordsWBS from the .Civ4WorldBuilderSave. this will cause it to work in civ4 warlords. (im assuming thats the problem?)

But it's name doesn't contain the phrase "WorldBuilderSave." It's just called MARS1.22b

go to tools, folder options (in windows) in the folder you have it in. go to the middle tab, find in it's list (hide extensions for file types) and TURN IT OFF!!!
then hit "apply to all folders" then okay. now you should be able to see it and rename it.

this is the lamest excuse for an operating system BILL MUTHAFUKING GATES!:mad:

go to tools, folder options (in windows) in the folder you have it in. go to the middle tab, find in it's list (hide extensions for file types) and TURN IT OFF!!!
then hit "apply to all folders" then okay. now you should be able to see it and rename it.

this is the lamest excuse for an operating system BILL MUTHAFUKING GATES!:mad:

Do you mean the C folder called Windows? I can't see anything called "tools" there.

no in the menu bar of any folder (at the top)

If you want a truly unique gaming experience, have a go at creating Percival Lowell's Mars -- where the entire planet is a wasteland, but for a network of low-lying, riverine canals, criss-crossing the planet's surface.

I made several such maps for Civ3. Great fun exploring them. Sending my ships up and down the canals searching out other civilizations nestled in the great green valleys.

I dreamed of making a Mod based on Lowell and H.G. Well's, where Victory is achieved not by building a ship to travel to Alpha Centrai, but by building an Invasion Fleet to attack Earth. :-) Unfortunately, I could never have the time to devote to such a project.

sounds like the making of a mod to me! problem is the lack of sci-fi units in civ4

i too have a full plate with now 4 separate projects at once now.

no in the menu bar of any folder (at the top)

Okay, I found the option and turned it off. Now where do I rename the file. Can I do it in "Edit File Type?"

If so, how?

If not, where do I edit it, and how do I do it?

just click the name of the file once, then it will turn to text selection. rename it to "mars.Civ4WarlordsWBS"

Oh my, this one looks great, can't wait to try it out! :)
Good job, creator!

Oh my, this one looks great, can't wait to try it out! :)
Good job, creator!

make sure you download my mod too!

I've looked at your map, it's interesting and I think I'll give it a try this weekend. I tried to load it unsuccessfully earlier today, and I'm getting the same odd crashes with most custom maps under Vista. I think I have the problem fixed (I've since converted the map for use in Warlords). The barren landscape is of particular interest to me because I've been working on a scenario for a desert world that would require food transport to keep cities alive... Need to modify SDK for that, but your Mars map will help me figure out what desert and bare coasts can and cannot support. I'm also thinking about making this map a bit larger and reworking the resources. I'll let you know if I find my improvements merit review.

try it out. this is my first ever civ file :goodjob:

just click the name of the file once, then it will turn to text selection. rename it to "mars.Civ4WarlordsWBS"

Okay, I did what you asked. The first time, I gave it exactly the name you said. Curiously, all other maps for warlords had the letters "AVE" after the "S", so I wonder if you made a flub there. The computer seemed to think so, because it didn't know what icon to display for the map after that.

Still, I resolved to try it out. The map apparently worked to the point that it let me select my character, but it killed me as soon as I started playing (it said, "you have been defeated"). At least, that's what happened when I ran it from, "Play a Scenario." Maybe I was supposed to do something different.

But anyhow, I then tried to change it to be called Civ4WarlordsWBSAVE. THis time, the file indeed displayed the Warlords icon. But when I tried it out, it still killed me at the start.

WHAT THE . .. .. .. . IS WRONG?! Have you actually tried renaming this to be a Warlords file, and gotten it to work? If so, why don't you just send me a copy of your file?

PM me about this tomarow and i will try to convert it.. i might ask strategyonly because he is good at converting.

PM me about this tomarow and i will try to convert it.. i might ask strategyonly because he is good at converting.

OK here is the warlords part.

thanks let me include it in the database. and i will note that you helped us out, homie

thanks let me include it in the database. and i will note that you helped us out, homie

Anything you want, you know that.

You changed your Avator?? Kind of "dark.";)

do you like it? i did it because pretty soon BtS is coming out and production of Second Revolution 3.0 is starting soon. I just don't want weirdos looking at me and my kid during any phase where alot of ppl PM me and email and stuff. Eventually I will switch to something else, but not my real face for awhile :(

btw: check the database link :)

Sweet, thx, and if you need anything in SR 3, let me know, i will be real busy once BtS comes out also, i have a whole lot planed for my MODs also.

this map is lots of fun to play! thanks

thanks! im just so happy that this map has been so popular for so long!

Mars map not working properly. When i start the games as american it comes up and says i have been defeated. Any ideas?

looks like i need to remake this map :)

Let us know if you do. It looks very interesting and I can't wait to give it a try sometime. (by the way, I'm using beyond the sword)

ok bro. im removing the link from the post. that version is not compatible with BtS. go to the downloads database link, and download the warlords version. this version opens up fine with BtS :)

might have to download when i get home i am on vacation

give it a try! make sure you download the database version.

This looks incredible.

This looks incredible.

thank you very much :)

hey everyone, im uploaded a brand new BtS version of the map. the new features are no limit to the number of civs, increased scenario options, and you can now pick any and all leaders and civs :)

check file database link in first post please :)