http://homepages.nyu.edu/~gf15/Foundations.JPG

FOUNDATIONS OF EMPIRE
A Civilization IV Scenario – Designed by Gordon Farrell

The great empires of the West were built on more than just dreams. Systems of control and domination had to be developed before one ruler could sit on his or her throne and exercise what the Romans would come to call “impero” --- the ability to command, without question, every aspect of human life. Through trial and error and bold experimentation, from the warlord monarchies of the Mycenaeans, to the two kings of the Spartans, to the absolute power of the Pharoanic state and the empires of Pericles and Alexander, the road to total power was neither direct nor obvious. Innovation, ingenuity, and imagination all came to bear before human beings could rule over others absolutely and without question.

In “Foundations of Empire,” you will re-live the rise of authority from its earliest roots in oligarchies, citizen assemblies and democracies. You will transform it into the tools of sprawling realms by building senates, imperial courts, legislative councils and dungeons. Guide the great powers of the Eastern Mediterranean as they expand their realms and consolidate power by experimenting in a wide range of ancient forms of government. From 1500 BC to the dawn of the Romans in 200 BC, the Eastern Mediterranean was the cradle of imperial experimentation in the West. You will lead the Mycenaeans, the Aegyptians, the Phoenicians, the Minoans or the Trojans as they lay the foundations of absolute power as it is still practiced today.

FEATURES:
- Five playable civilizations: The Mycenaeans, the Aegyptians, the Phoenicians, the Minoans, and the Trojans.
- Revised tech tree with many new advances to research and implement, such as Imperial Roads, Dual Monarchy, and Maritime Trade.
- Numerous reskinned units including Spartan Hoplites, Indus War Elephants, and Companion Cavalry.
- Seven new religions, including Greek rationalist movements like Platonism and Socratic Method.
- Re-named civics that include Pharonic State, Spartan Agoge and Citizen Assembly.
- A new musical score from other, well-loved historical games, that can be downloaded separately.

IMPORTANT: PATCH 1.61 IS REQUIRED TO RUN THIS MOD.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Download “Foundations of Empire” here and unzip:
http://www.3ddownloads.com/Strategy/Civilization%204/Mods/Foundations%20of%20Empire
2. When you unzip, you'll find a folder labeled "Foundations of Empire PACK." Open this folder to locate the WorldBuilder Save file and the mod folder labeled simply "Foundations of Empire."
3. Place the WorldBuilder Save file into your “Public Maps” folder.
4. Place the “Foundations of Empire” folder into your “Mods” folder
5. As an additional bonus, download the new soundtrack (150 MB) and unzip.
6. Place the “Sounds” folder into Mods/Foundations of Empire/Assets.
7. To play, select “Foundations of Empire” from the Single Player/Scenarios menu.

Here's a sample of the re-skinned units, from left to right:
- Indus War Elephant
- Macedonian Spear
- Penteconter
- Spartan Hoplite

Greetings!

This is my first mod for any of the Civilization games. Basically, it's designed for players who want to spend more time in the ancient world and still have a deep game experience.

I've been working on it for several months and it seems about 98% finished. The main thing I'm aware of lacking is that some of the Civilopedia entries are skimpy (especially the Civics.)

Still, there should be plenty here to enjoy!

In addition to dl'ing the scenario, you may want to get the optional soundtrack as well. It's 15 MB, but it's worth it, since you won't have to listen to inappropriate classical music or medieval religious music during the early period covered by the scenario.

Suggestions, comments, and notes on any bugs you find will be deeply appreciated. Thanks for downloading it and giving it a try. Enjoy!

Just downloaded it, but where is the file that should be placed to the public maps folder?

Sorry for the confusion! All necessary file are now included in the main download package, "Foundations of Empire."

Thanks for checking out my scenario.

:) Well this is surely a nice scenario, beutiful and nice map too.
I´m now playing as the Mycenaeans on Prince level and just discovered the complex mythology tech and founded the Cult of Zeus religion.
I think there are really too many goody huts villages, I´ve profited a lot from them: gold and technologies, and the next time I start a game I know where they are. The barbarian cities are all too easy to qonquer, I took out them with the first unit that encountared them(Phalanx).
Well thats the first thought otherwise this is my first game so we will see what comes up.
Where should the soundtrack file be placed(details please)?
Nice work!

Thanks for the comments, Bosh! I'm glad you're enjoying it! The "Sounds" folder should be placed into my mod folder. Just drop it into "Assets" and it should work fine. Hope you like the selections I made!

Well this scenario is a winner, I really enjoy it. I guess you need those goody huts after all, it didn´t take long for the other civs to catch up when I was ahead some techs. When I started to sail with my main force against Minos of Crete for a supprise attack barbarians started to appear frequently from all directions pillaging and attacking my weakest cities, so I had to turn around with half of my army and the attack against Crete turned out to a disaster(haha).
That music soundtrack, when should it start playing? because I have not heard any new track yet, at least from the beginning nothing that I have noticed.

When I start the mod all goes OK but when I try to start a game the optional civ's are the standard civs (Americans, Spain, etc), and not the modded ones...

Bosh : I'm really glad you're enjoying it! With regard to music, as the basic game is configured music doesn't start until you enter the Classical Age. In FOE, it's called "The Early Helladic" era. You'll get the standard ancient music at that point. When you enter the next age, which I call "High Archaic" or something like that, you'll start getting the new music (instead of medieval religious music).

Connery: It sounds like you put the WB Save file in the right place. Now put the "Foundations of Empire" folder into Civ4/Mods.

Connery: It sounds like you put the WB Save file in the right place. Now put the "Foundations of Empire" folder into Civ4/Mods.

I did it. I just updated to 1.61 (I thought that was the problem) but the difference is that now I have all the default Civ4 civ's but not the custom civs you made. I've tried loading the mod from the Advanced tab and also starting the mod directly by the .wbs file but the same thing happens.

Then I found out the problem ;) :
When the .zip file is decompressed the structure is Foundations of Empire/Foundations of Empire/Assets and Civ4 wasn't able to read the custom files/civ's because of that (the structure can only have one directory before the Assets folder) so I fixed that and it's working :)

Great job by the way. :)

Connery - Yeah, I finally realized that myself. If you unzip it to a folder with the same name as the zip file, you end up with a folder inside a folder that has the same name! Ergh -- I gotta figure out how to fix that ---

Anyway, I'm glad you like what you see, now that you've got it running!! Let me know if you have any suggestions! (PS - What civ are you playing?)

Well, I have a couple suggestions ;) :

- Different Leader Heads (replacing the leader heads wwould make the setting more immersive, perhaps with images of statues or modern day representations like the folks of "The Ancient Mediterranean" mod did)
- A religion specific to the Phoenician League (perhaps the Cult of Baal or the Cult of Astarte.)
- New icons for the different religions
- "Pharoanic State" should be spelled "Pharaonic State"

and that's it, at least for now. :)
I'm currently on 1455 BC, improving my cities and trying/preparing to expand to the far western side.

Cheers

Thanks for the suggestions! I'd been going round and round about the spelling for the adjectival form of Pharaoh, I think in the end you're right. Also, a cult of Baal or Astarte is such a natural I'm appalled I didn't think of it! But I take it you're unhappy with my religion icons?

Not unhappy, I just think they could be better (or look better) along with the leader heads. Perhaps on a coming update? :)

This is an absolutely excellent scenario, it is great, yet simple. I just started a game as Troy and I'm slightly appalled by the fact that they get one city when everyone else gets many but their are like 8 or 9 fish around Troy and the nearby barbarian cities are easy to capture. I found a mistake (I think): Troy starts out with a Chariot, but their unique unit is the War Chariot. Shouldn't that starting unit be the War Chariot? Otherwise it's a great game, and a very nice map.

Head Serf - I'm glad you're finding it fun! That's a good note on the War Chariot. Thanks! It now goes on my official do-list for v1.01!

Connery - I dunno about changing leaderheads. I can do 2D heads. But I don't mind the vanilla ones, either, since they're pretty much appropriate to each of the civs...

Connery - I dunno about changing leaderheads. I can do 2D heads. But I don't mind the vanilla ones, either, since they're pretty much appropriate to each of the civs...

It's just my opinion. ;)

I'm off to more bug hunting, later i'll post some more. :)

Looks good. i think i will download it!

let civ4files.com know about it and they will give you a second download mirror (i cant guarantee it though)

where you build it up, i tear it down
check out my mod too :evil:

Hey G, I just dl'd your mod. Looks awesome, I 'll check it out! Btw, I love your screenshots!! can you give me the code so I can link my screenshots here?

Thanks!!

click on "upload file" at the bottom of forum screen

...
way down at the bottom in the tool bar down there

or just click on manage attachment while creating your post. you have to be on the advanced screen to do that, not the quick reply thing (which i am now using)

oh you know about the manage attachment things.....Duh!

hey, i downloaded the file and it comes up and starts, but i doesn't give me the new civs, it's still the old list...any ideas about what I'm doing wrong?

it'd be great if you could post a picture of the civic screen.

hey, i downloaded the file and it comes up and starts, but i doesn't give me the new civs, it's still the old list...any ideas about what I'm doing wrong?

griff, when you unzip the package, it creates a folder entitled "Foundations of Empire" because that's the name of the zip file. Inside this is ANOTHER file titled "Foundations of Empire." This second file is the one you should drop into the Civilization4/Mods folder.

Let me know if that doesn't work!

Pharonic, not Pharaonic. And "The Mycenaeans, the Aegyptians, the Phoenicians, and the Trojans" only adds up to four, not five.

1+1+1+1 != 5

Other than that, it looks interesting enough :P

The fifth is Crete I believe.

Pharonic, not Pharaonic.

Well there's been some discussion already about what the adjectival form of "Pharaoh" would be. Yours sounds the most convincing so I think I'll try it for awhile :P

And "The Mycenaeans, the Aegyptians, the Phoenicians, and the Trojans" only adds up to four, not five..

Ouch. Wonder how that one slipped by me?! All fixed!

Thanks for picking the nits, Aeon. Hope you play the scenario cuz if anyone'd find more glitches sounds like it'd be you. And I'd love to get them all fixed.

Downloaded the soundtrack. Gotta say I think you did a good job with the new music there hey. Fits very nicely and is good, interesting music in its own right :)

Any chance of posting a list of the tracks you used?

Downloaded the soundtrack. Gotta say I think you did a good job with the new music there hey. Fits very nicely and is good, interesting music in its own right :)

Any chance of posting a list of the tracks you used?


I'm glad the music selections work for you! The tracks are taken from Children of the Nile and Stronghold 2, both of which terrific composers. Hope you continue to enjoy them!

Hi Gordon,

The scenario sounds great, but I too am having the same problem with the standard civs appearing instead of your custom five civs. I have tried to move the inner foundations folder to the mods folder. I AM CERTAIN THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE FOLDER OF FOUNDATIONS THERE. Or at least only one appears to be there. Any other ideas on how I can remedy this problem?



Connery,

I noticed you said that you remedied the problem. Could you post how you did it?

Thanks in advance guys!



CAN"T WAIT TO TRY IT!!!!!!!!!

Hmmm... I'll try to figure out what's wrong...

Rome, when you start the scenario does the game re-boot in order to load it as a mod? Or do you just go straight to my map?

Okay it looks like there are THREE "Foundations of Empires" folders!! Dig down one more, Rome and put THAT into your mods folder!

Thanks for the speedy reply, Gordon.

I only see ONE foundations folder when I look in my civ4 Mods folder. When I open it I see the asets folder and the foundations configuration folder with the ini suffix.

As for your earlier question, when I boot I am asked to load the mod and the game reloads. I just keep getting the default civs rather than your 5.

The world builder file is in the Public maps folder.

Are you using the Custom Mods folder in My Games, or are you going straight to the root directory in Program Files/Sid Meier'sCivilization IV/Mods? (The My Games folders don't work consistently.)

Hi Gordon,

The folder is located here on my computer.

C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Mods

If I click on the foundations file and then the assets file I get to

C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Mods\Foundations of Empire\Assets

In this file are the art, sounds, res and XML files.

In the XML files are the following files: art, audio, buildings, civilizations, Game Info, Misc, technologies, Terrain, text and units.

In the civilizations file are three files. Info, leader traits and info. all with .xml suffixes. Is something missing there?

Is it possible that I need a newer patch of Civ4? I am playing off the original cd?


Thanks again in advance.

Okay, there shouldn't be a second Assets file. It should go like this:

Sid Meiers Civilization4/Mods/Foundations of Empire/Assets/Sound, Res, Art, XML

There is just the one assets file. I don't have two.

Thanks anyway.

I will try to download it again and see if I have better luck.

I appreciate your effort though.

I appreciate you're hanging in there, Rome. I want to solve this too, in case there's a way I can prevent it from happening to others.

You should note that I've ul'd a new zip package at 3D Downloads because the one that was there had duplicate "Foundations of Empires" folders, but it hasn't been approved yet by the staff at 3D.

Thanks Gordon,

I'll keep looking for the new version. Is the 3d addy the same link you had listed where I downloaded the earlier version?

Yup.

Oh, and also, this is in the 1.61 patched version of the game.

Hi Gordon,

I finally figured out the problem. I needed to install the 1.61 patch. Once I did the problem disappeared. Apparently your original Civ4 cd didn't recognize the changes you made to the civilizations and kept loading the default civs.

Thanks again for all your help. Now I am off to try it out. Can't wait.

Yeah, I wish I'd thought to suggest that sooner! I revised it when the 1.61 patch came out so of course the earlier versions won't recognize the new code.

What's interesting is that 1.61 didn't affect the WB file and it loaded just fine.

Anyway, I appreciate the fact that you stuck with it, Rome! I will make a note in the introduction that patch 1.61 is required, thanks to your hard work.

Looks good, I am downloading it now (dont know how I missed this one!)

This is a great scenario. I don't know how I ever missed it!

I like how the map is made to get certain regions within in the rectangle. I'd like to offer a variant of the map with low food. It's meant to have the flavor of an ancient economy in which food is paramount. I made some other tweaks to my taste.

Foundations_of_Empire_-_sparse.zip (http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/87231/Foundations_of_Empire_-_sparse.zip)

This version (Jan 2 2007) I've eyeballed extensively, but I haven't playtested it. I might post another version later. If you try it and have comments, please feel free.

I plan to make another version of this map for the TAM mod. I'll credit Gordon, of course.

Followed your download/installation instructions. Got an invalid directory error message, therefore could not run your scenario at all. I'm sure it's a great scenario, but if the installation process bombs, not many people will be able to figure out what they are supposed to do. I sure couldn't.

Nice try -- but no cigar...

Followed your download/installation instructions. Got an invalid directory error message, therefore could not run your scenario at all. I'm sure it's a great scenario, but if the installation process bombs, not many people will be able to figure out what they are supposed to do. I sure couldn't.

Nice try -- but no cigar...

Actually, you're wrong. The installation instructions work fine. Either you haven't installed the 1.61 patch or the file was corrupted in some way when you dl'd it. In the future, please double check your work before you run around accusing other people of not having done something right.

I'm not the one who gets no cigar, you are. ;)

Actually, you're wrong. The installation instructions work fine. Either you haven't installed the 1.61 patch or the file was corrupted in some way when you dl'd it. In the future, please double check your work before you run around accusing other people of not having done something right.

I'm not the one who gets no cigar, you are. ;)

First off, I did read the other posts, I have v1.61, and yes, I did follow your instructions. Despite that, the installation did not work. I've tried a good number of other scenarios that do install properly without having to do anything further, such as moving files around or having folders inside folders, etc. Why would your setup not install just as simply as all these others? Whatever the issue is, it remains I could not make it work.

Still no cigar. :)

You put the WB file into "Public Maps."
You put "Foundations of Empire" folder into "Mods."

It works fine.

You put the WB file into "Public Maps."
You put "Foundations of Empire" folder into "Mods."

It works fine.

Does it really? In fact, I found what the problem really was -- none of the above. It's much simpler. The folder name after unzipping the download is "Foundations of Empire Pack", which I had not spotted. So in addition to fixing your folder structure and relocating the map file, the folder's name needs to be edited otherwise you end up with a folder invalid error message when launching the game. If you could kindly drop the word "Pack" from the folder label, it would be one less task for the user to remember to do. A little thing, but it helps!

PS: If there's a simpler way to install a mod, let me know and I'll utilize it! I certainly don't want yopu to have to struggle with putting folders into folders! Gasp!

Such a nice guy... :p

There are plenty of scenarios available on this forum. Most of them self install without the need to modify anything at all prior to launching the game. How to do that? Not sure, but there are plenty of people who are "experts" in matter. I'm sure a kind soul will help you with that!

I'm not sure what you mean by "self-install," Ambreville. You just dl them + they install? They install themselves when you unzip them? I haven't seen anything like that here...

I'm not sure what you mean by "self-install," Ambreville. You just dl them + they install? They install themselves when you unzip them? I haven't seen anything like that here...

That's not what I meant. You unzip the download and there are no further adjustments required. At that point, you launch the game either from the WB file or from the game's scenario menu.

" I found what the problem really was -- The folder name after unzipping the download is "Foundations of Empire Pack", which I had not spotted."

Btw, this does make it clear that you didn't actually follow the installation instructions!

;)

That's not what I meant. You unzip the download and there are no further adjustments required. At that point, you launch the game either from the WB file or from the game's scenario menu.

Hmmm... okay, yes I can zip my files that way. The problem is that lots of people don't have the game installed on the default "C" drive, so this method of zipping the files doesn't work for them. In the past when I've used this system, THOSE people post messages complaining that I should just let them manually select and drop the folders by themselves!

Btw, this does make it clear that you didn't actually follow the installation instructions

Your instructions say nothing about editing folders names/structures. It's an easy thing to overlook when a folder is not quite labelled the way it was intended. If your download was a bit more comprehensive it would help prevent simples issues like that.

Hmmm... okay, yes I can zip my files that way. The problem is that lots of people don't have the game installed on the default "C" drive, so this method of zipping the files doesn't work for them. In the past when I've used this system, THOSE people post messages complaining that I should just let them manually select and drop the folders by themselves!

I guess nothing is perfect!. Again, I'm coming from past experience with other scenarios that do not have these issues with installation. It's not a big issue as long as it can be clarified... eventually.

off with more gaming. :D

Hey Ambreville -- I clarified the installation instructions in the first post. Do you think this will this help at minimize the chance of confusion for others who download it?

Yup. Should work.