I remember sometime last fall someone posted a way to "automatically load a MOD without first loading either Civ4 or Warlords via different short cuts in windows. Basically each mod would have a different shortcut/ .ini file or something.

Anyone remember how to do this? Thanks for the help

CB Droege posted it over on Strategamer. Here is the link to the thread:

Short Cuts for Different PTBS Boss Games and Different MODS (http://www.strategamer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1641#post1641)

Contents of the thread for those who are to lazy to go over there:

I mentioned that this was a fairly easy practice in a nother thread, and some of you have requested that I start a thread with instructions on how this works.

The first thing is to know how to add tags to a shortcut:

Many progrsams have certain 'tags' that you can add to the end of an executable name, when launching the program that can perform certain tasks or cause the program to load with different settings. The two tags that you need to know for Civ are 'ini=' and 'mod='. There are others, and they can be found in the help files, but these are the two you need to know.

'ini=' allows you to load a customised INI file (an INI file (stands for 'initialisation file') is a set of modifiable configurations for a program), and is used like this :



ini=filename.ini
Normally, when civ loads, it loads all of the options that are found in the CivilizationIV.ini, which can be found in your 'My Documents\My Games\CivilizationIV' folder. If you change the options in that file, then it will use those changes when Civ4 loads normally, if you want to have several different loads, then you need to have several different INI files. That's when the tag comes in handy.

to make a custom INI file, copy the CivilizationIV.ini file from where it is into your CivilizationIV program folder (usually 'Program Files\CivilizationIV'). It needs to be there because that is the working directory of the program. If you put the copy in the 'My Games\CivilizationIV' directory, it wont work. Only the original INI file will work from there.

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Here's how this helps with PTBS:

Make your copy of the INI file, name it something else (like PTBSgame1.ini), and then open it in Notepad so that you can edit it.

Somewhere in the file should be a line that reads 'DirectIP ='; it will have a description abobe it that reads 'DirectIP Host Address'. (There actually might me more than one. If you find more than one, then delete all but one of them.)

There will already be an address after the '='. you can now change this to whatever you want it to be for that game. if your friend's server is at 78.234.71.3, then you would change the line to 'DirectIP = 78.234.71.3'. If your friend has established a DNS entry for the server, then enter that the same way, 'DirectIP = ptbsserver.no-ip.org'.

Whatever you change the address to in the ini file is what will appear by default in the Direct IP connect box, when you load the game. (note: if you load the game with this default, then change the entry in the box after loading the game, it will change the entry in the ini file as well)

Now, create a new shortcut to Civ4 on your desktop. Right click on that new shortcut, and choose 'properties'. add the 'ini=' tag to the executable, like this:



"C:\Program Files\CivilizationIV\Civilization4.exe" ini=PTBSgame1.ini
You can create as many of these custom INI files and shortcuts as you desire.

When you make the custom INI file, I also recomend you change one other line, at least. There is a line that reads 'NoIntroMovie = 0'. Change that 0 to a 1, and it wont play the intro splashes and movies, which will cut yourt load time per game down signifigantly.

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the other tag to know is 'mod=' this one allows you to load a custom mod right off the bat. it works like this:



mod= mods/modfolder
this way, if your ptbs game is running a specific mod, then it will be loaded up and ready to go. (note that the 'mod=' tag has a space after it, and the 'ini=' tag does not.)

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So, to tie it all together and give an example, I'll show you my shortcut for when I load realpolitik:



"G:\Civilization 4\Civilization4.exe" ini=realpolitik.ini mod= mods/realpolitik

See: the first tag tells civ to load the realpolitik.ini which has the custom IP address. The second tag tells it to load the RP mod, which is required for that particular game.

(Note that my game directory is differnt because I install all of my games onto a seperate harddrive instead of into the 'Program Files' folder. You would want your own shortcut to reflect the location of your copy of Civ4.)

Every PTBS game I play in has a different shortcut associated with it, so that I never have to load mods or remember IP addresses on my own.

I know it's a lot to read, but most of it is a little over-explained in case someone was not familiar with the basics already (I am a professor, after all )

If anyone has any questions, or needs help getting this to work, let me know in this thread, and I'll help you out.