The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/turkey-MosaicJustinianRavenna-small.jpg

Vannila CIV4 only.
First BTS Version is Here!!!
The mod is currently on pause due to a CTD while loading involving the laucher. You can download the mod here http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=259674 and could you please respond back on how to fix the error. I have looked at it extensively and have no clue what is going on.
Hopefully I will have the complete BTS vesion up by end of the week. Since I can't play on it but on the other thread, primordial stew says he can play it just fine I think anyone downloading it will be able to play. Since me being unable to play means I can't test things, when I get it done, I will need help in testing it.

In 300 AD the Roman Emperor Diocletian thought that the empire was to big and unweildly to be ruled by one man. To ammend this, he created a tetrachy, rule by four. The new areas of the Empire were, Roman Gaul, Italy, Illyricum, and The East. After Diocletians abdication and the rise of Maximillian on the Italian throne, tensions between the new powers are increasing. The domestic problems are not the only worry to the new Roman Empire.
The massive waves of barbarian migrations are increasing in both frequency and size, Rome is hard pressed to keep them away. The fearsome Huns from the great Steppes of Asia are pursuing them, or are they fleeing from another tribe?
Only a strong Emperor can survive the coming storm, and be the true continuation of the Roman Empire.

Factions:
The Eastern Roman Empire
Roman Gaul
Illyricum
Italian Rome
Dacia
Maghreb People
Bretons
Franks
Huns

Known Bugs:
When loading the mods map, you get an XML error with FormationsInfo, this has no effect, just click OK.
You have units all the way to the Modern Era, when I tried to remove all non-mod units, I got a major XML error.

To do list:
Give all factions a second UU
Edit the tech tree
Add another barbarian race(Goths?)
Replace any Leaders or cities with PLACEHOLDER, if anyone could help, that would be useful.
Add more barb cities and get raging barbarians. How do I make them not attack the Huns?
Does anyone know how to get barbarian uprisings from BTS into vannilla civ? If it is possible, could you please tell me what to do in Python? Or please post the nescesary changes.

The Mod:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/300-AD.zip

BTS Demo (What BTS version will be like if I can get the CTD fixed and/or get new map)
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/300-AD-BTS_Demo.zip
BTS Version
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/300AD-BTS-Trial.zip

This is just a map, I get a crash when I add a unit.
BTS Information
New Civs Are:
Alemanni
Sassanid Persia
Saxons
Goths
Sarmatians
Vandals
Burgundii
Lombardi
Ostrogoths
Visigoths
Slavs
Berbers
Roxolani
Dacia is gone along with Illyricum, Roman Gaul, and the Maghreb People.

Also, I will try and make my own calender so the speed is not marathon and edit the tech tree, so there are only two other techs.
Screenshots in post below.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/Civ4ScreenShot0003.JPG

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/Civ4ScreenShot0006.JPG

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/Civ4ScreenShot0007.JPG

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/Civ4ScreenShot0008.JPG

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/Civ4ScreenShot0009.JPG

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/Civ4ScreenShot0010.JPG

Looks cool.

looks nice, but does anyone still not have Warlords or BTS?

What name is it? The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire OR 300 Anno Dominae? And what version number? (for my releasdate list)

:) Cool! But you seem, like myself, to have put the file itself instead of the DL page URL in your 1st post...

@ruffriders23: Yeas, I still own Civ4. Quit nagging:mischief:

THe reason it is CIV4 is because I couldnt find any good maps for BTS and it has alot of bugs, and not for Warlords because I hate walords. And everyone has CIV4.

@JLNijholt-How do I put it on the downloads page? Don't I just include the .zip here?

@Zuul-The name is 300-AD. I chose The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire because that is what it is about. This is also version 1. Next verson will hopefully have a soundtrack, 2nd UUs, modified leader diplo attitudes, adjusted techtree, and no more modern units in the pedia.

@All-Have any of you actully played it yet? This is my first mod, and I want to know if it sucks or not.

Make it BTS compatible and you will get me to download it. Warlords was cool, but BTS is better.

BTS is too buggy. If you don't like how it is, don't play it. Until enough people want it converted or until someone tells me how to convert it, it is staying vannilla. Besides, you can't play BTS without vannilla.

Has any one actually played it yet? If not, I won't bother releasing the next update.

I didn't. The idea looked solid, but I don't play vanilla civ anymore. Warlords and BTS offer better gameplay.

Could you try it to see if it is worth upgrading to BTS?

I actually did try the mod, 3 times. As Briton, Western Rome, & Eastern Rome. Build times for units and buildings are very slow, starting gold is very low. Those are the major problems right now. But I think the mod is well designed and has great promise. I think an upgrade to BtS is a must for this mod to acheive it's full potental. With corperations starting at a lower tech level you can the great merchant houses that drove the trade economy during this time peroid. And altering some of the religion names, along with their techs would work well also.

Oh... this is for Vanilla Civ4?

I only play BtS mods!

Oh... this is for Vanilla Civ4?

I only play BtS mods!

TRUE! So true!

@maxbjr: I didnt get around to changing the religion names. They will be changed in the next version, which will be the version that BTS will be based on. Also, the reason it felt so slow was the calender was set to Marathon. I orriginally had it at epic, but then you would be using longbows, macemen, and crossbows. I may evetually get around to changing the tech tree, or make my own calender for the game.

Hopefully, the next version, the one BTS will be based on, will be out by the end of next week. Also, can I just port the map over to BTS without having to make a new one? I put alot of effort into this map and I don't want the work I did to go to waste. Expect the BTS version between Christmas and New Year at latest.

Sorry for not responding. I have been busy with school and Total War. I hope to have the BTS version out before Christmas. It will be nearly identical to the current version, as I don't have the time to do any real changes.

Edit: This will take alot longer than I thought. I can't get the map to transfer over to BTS. If anyone caould help me, I would be most grateful and could get this mod done faster.

it is Anno Domini, Dominae would be female...

Thank you. I'll change that.

Any news on this project?

Not really. I was under the impression no one played it. I can release the 2nd UU version for vannila by tomorrow, I just need to add one more and change Dacia to Goths. Since it appears there is interest, I will start working on the BTS version. This will be with 18 civs and modeled after Rome: Barbarian Invaision. Noteable, there will be the Sassanid Persians, and other barbarian races.
I could get the BTS version released sooner with the current map if someone could help me with converting the existing map to BTS. When I tried to convert it, it wouldn't even show up on the load scenerio menu.

W00t! Must be many more than me that is interested in a new bts update.

Sorry to curb your enthusiasm, I can't get it to work with BTS. I downloaded a new map from the froums, edited the civs start positions, getting rid of unused civs. I did some name changes i notepad, not XML at all. When I went back to reload the scenario, when it was loading, I got a error report with a CTD. It was a microsoft error too. The info said it had to do with the dll and the beyondthesword.exe launcher. It doesn't effect any other scenarios. If you think this is a map problem, I'll start again. If it isn't, and BTS is being cranky, I have no clue because I don't have enough patience to make a map.

Well I know you have to make some more changes to make it work for BtS but don´t remember what. Maybe someone else can tell.

Ill try another map. I am using a map that said it was for BTS.
I found another map that might work. If you see any BTS maps that include Europe, bits of Africa, and the Middle East for Persia, please let me know.

EDIT: I got the original map working, and I hope to have the map done by weekend. All units and other stuff done by end of Febuary.

Here is the map I will be using, with where I think the cities will remain, same with resources. It will open with normal BTS and there are no units yet. Please tell me what you think of it, and any innacuracies you may find.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/300adBTS-v3.zip

EDIT: This is getting really annoying. When I tried to add a unit, everything was correct, but when I loaded the game up, I got an unidentified error involving the launcher and the .dll. Does anyone have a clue what is going on?

When I added a completely new unit, not just a UU, when I loaded the mod up and loaded one of the scenerios, I got an error in the loading involving the launcher. This is the third time I got this error, and is ther anything I can do about it. I have been trying for over an hour to fix it, and it is not working. Can anyone help, or am I stuck with this error.

Perhaps you need to redo the scenarios? (Just an odd thought: why not do a Warlords version first, then a BTS version?)

THe reason it is CIV4 is because I couldnt find any good maps for BTS and it has alot of bugs, and not for Warlords because I hate walords. And everyone has CIV4.

@JLNijholt-How do I put it on the downloads page? Don't I just include the .zip here?

Go to the DL Database (i.e. Downloads), where you can Add a file (also post in Announce your new/updated files thread, if you haven't already).


@All-Have any of you actully played it yet? This is my first mod, and I want to know if it sucks or not.

Haven't played anything much, as I've been busy posting scenarios and updating them.

(BTW: Both my 1000 AD for SevoMod and 1000 AD for Warlords are doing rather well - hence my previous suggestion.):goodjob:

The map was working fine previosly. Then when I added the unit raiders, the scenerio wouldn't load.
The reason I haven't updated it to warlords first, is that if I am going to be updating it, I want to update it to what people would play.

I was plannig on announceing the BTS vedion because the vannilla version is sort of minimal.

Any news on the BtS conversion?

Its done. I was getting critical errors when loading the mod up, with files I never touched. I decided BTS is to buggy and civ can't recreate the situation well. I am now working on a warlords mod called Byzantium: Beyond the Golden Gate. It will go from 660 AD to 1071 at Manzikert. I hope to release the first version soone. It will probably be an XML mod only.

I tried your mod and i found it excellent some things have to be changed but since you are working on a new mod i have suggestions for you its clear that your coming mod will interst me more i can provide you 8 new units for Seljouks Umayyad Byzantine and sassanian but the name of the mod seem to refer to Byzantium maybe it have to be changed so the mod dont focus only on Byzanta but in the era

Wow, this looks like a fun scenario, regardless of whether it's for regular Civ or BtS. :goodjob:

The massive waves of barbarian migrations are increasing in both frequency and size, Rome is hard pressed to keep them away. The fearsome Huns from the great Steppes of Asia are pursuing them, or are they fleeing from another tribe?

Just as an aside, there really weren't that many barbarians involved, despite popular conceptions. They were always vastly outnumbered by the Roman and native populations. (More's the pity.)
Does anyone know how to get barbarian uprisings from BTS into vannilla civ? If it is possible, could you please tell me what to do in Python? Or please post the nescesary changes.

There is a section in Python that deals with the barbarian spawn in Greek World. Basically, it works by turn and by map location: it creates barbarian units in different regions at various dates. I can't tell you how to copy this entirely because I don't know how you want to use it. It is, however, not too hard to implement.

@ Sakhr: The mod centers around Byzantium and its enemiers. Namely the Visigoths, Arabs, Bulgars, Rus, Lobards, and Franks, Saxons, and Anglo-Saxons. Any units would be nice.
@ Gaius Octavius: Thanks for the info. I was trying to give more the feel than history. About the python info. Thank you for it, if I had known that previously, I wouldn't have need to try and convert it to BTS. I might use that to show the apearance of the Seljuks, and to represent the many revolts. Do you know what program I should use to open python files? I don't think notepad because the ending for the python files is .py.

Don't worry about the historical part of it, since there's really no way to represent the barbarian threat in Civ except through massive numbers. :D Besides, the Romans themselves certainly saw it that way.

I would suggest that you download Python itself to edit the files. You can use Notepad to do it, but indentation is important and if you don't do it correctly it will not work. Within the Python editor (IDLE) you can use the "check module" option which notifies you of any obvious errors, such as missing parentheses or colons, and that's very helpful for starting coders.

Here are some relevant code bits:


def makeUnit(self, iUnit, iPlayer, tCoords, iNum): #by LOQ
'Makes iNum units for player iPlayer of the type iUnit at tCoords.'
for i in range(iNum):
player = gc.getPlayer(iPlayer)
player.initUnit(iUnit, tCoords[0], tCoords[1], UnitAITypes.NO_UNITAI)


def checkTurn(self, iGameTurn):
#Barbarian invasions from 0AD (turn 120)
if (iGameTurn >= 120 and iGameTurn <= 175):
if (iGameTurn % 3 == 0):
tTopLeft = (10, 11)
tBottomRight = (51, 30)
dummy, plotList = self.squareSearch( tTopLeft, tBottomRight, self.outerInvasion, [] )
rndNum = gc.getGame().getSorenRandNum(len(plotList), 'Greek World - Barbarians from the South')
result = plotList[rndNum]
if (result):
self.makeUnit(iCamelArcher, 18, result, 5)
if (iGameTurn % 3 == 1):
tTopLeft = (20, 41)
tBottomRight = (71, 61)
dummy, plotList = self.squareSearch( tTopLeft, tBottomRight, self.innerInvasion, [] )
rndNum = gc.getGame().getSorenRandNum(len(plotList), 'Greek World - Barbarians from the East')
result = plotList[rndNum]
if (result):
self.makeUnit(iHorseArcher, 18, result, 7)
if (iGameTurn % 3 == 2):
tTopLeft = (9, 46)
tBottomRight = (43, 72)
dummy, plotList = self.squareSearch( tTopLeft, tBottomRight, self.innerInvasion, [] )
rndNum = gc.getGame().getSorenRandNum(len(plotList), 'Greek World - Barbarians from the North')
result = plotList[rndNum]
if (result):
self.makeUnit(iSwordsman, 18, result, 4)
self.makeUnit(iAxeman, 18, result, 5)


def squareSearch( self, tTopLeft, tBottomRight, function, argsList ): #by LOQ
"""Searches all tile in the square from tTopLeft to tBottomRight and calls function for
every tile, passing argsList. The function called must return a tuple: (1) a result, (2) if
a plot should be painted and (3) if the search should continue."""
tPaintedList = []
result = None
for x in range(tTopLeft[0], tBottomRight[0]):
for y in range(tTopLeft[1], tBottomRight[1]):
result, bPaintPlot, bContinueSearch = function((x, y), result, argsList)
if bPaintPlot: # paint plot
tPaintedList.append((x, y))
if not bContinueSearch: # goal reached, so stop
return result, tPaintedList
return result, tPaintedList


def innerInvasion( self, tCoords, result, argsList ):
"""Checks validity of the plot at the current tCoords, returns plot if valid (which stops the search).
Plot is valid if it's hill or flatlands and it isn't occupied by a unit or city"""
bPaint = True
bContinue = True
pCurrent = gc.getMap().plot( tCoords[0], tCoords[1] )
if ( pCurrent.isHills() or pCurrent.isFlatlands() ):
if ( not pCurrent.isCity() and not pCurrent.isUnit() ):
# this is a good plot, so paint it and continue search
return (None, bPaint, bContinue)
# not a good plot, so don't paint it but continue search
return (None, not bPaint, bContinue)

def outerInvasion( self, tCoords, result, argsList ):
"""Checks validity of the plot at the current tCoords, returns plot if valid (which stops the search).
Plot is valid if it's hill or flatlands, it isn't occupied by a unit or city and if it isn't a civ's territory"""
bPaint = True
bContinue = True
pCurrent = gc.getMap().plot( tCoords[0], tCoords[1] )
if ( pCurrent.isHills() or pCurrent.isFlatlands() ):
if ( not pCurrent.isCity() and not pCurrent.isUnit() ):
if (pCurrent.countTotalCulture() == 0 ):
# this is a good plot, so paint it and continue search
return (None, bPaint, bContinue)
# not a good plot, so don't paint it but continue search
return (None, not bPaint, bContinue)

Thank you for that information. Where do I get the python editor?
Gaius, since you apear to know alot about modding, could you look at this wbs file that I have been having trouble with? Everything loads up fine, but when I go to load the map, only a few of the civs show up on the load screen, and when I go to load the map, the game hangs. I have been through the file many times, but I can't figure out what is wrong, could you please look? Her is the map:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/105551/RomanEmpire.zip

A brief look at that file leads me to conclude that your problem is simply errors in spelling. :) You have LEADER_AUGUSTUS_CEASEAR (it's Caesar, not Ceasear! :D) when the actual name in normal BtS XML is defined as LEADER_AUGUSTUS. Similarly with LEADER_FREDRICK (Frederick). Sounds silly, I know, but little things like this are often the main causes of early modding problems.

Now, I noticed you have custom civic names (e.g. CIVICOPTION_AUTHORITY), and that is fine so long as that's what you've defined in your XML file. I didn't have time to check, so I can't say for sure. :)

Thank you for looking it over, I just assumed it was spelt right. I did define the civics in XML, but I will look over it again. The problem I was having was that there is no error message, the game just hangs. I hope to have the first release, and fully working map done before Valentines Day. The only civs with unique UU's will be Byantium, Arabia, Russians, and possibly the Bulgars. There are 13 different units I have to make UU's for, it is quite time consuming.

You were asking if there was a way to stop the barbs from attacking the Huns . It seems to me that you could use the same arguments that support the Great Wall. That would partially work to at least keep the barbarians out of Hungary ..

Thanks, I forgot about that when making the mod for BTS. The mod is on hold due to a major error I can't fix, I am working on a medieval mod during the high period of Byzantium.

Just as an aside, there really weren't that many barbarians involved, despite popular conceptions. They were always vastly outnumbered by the Roman and native populations. (More's the pity.)


Populations yes, armies no. One of the problems of late Roman emperors was how to deal with too many enemies attacking at once; the empire was on the defensive, whereas previously it was on the offensive. (There were other issues as well, ofcourse.)

On Barbarians not attacking Huns: a simple way would be to place barb units/cities near other civs and away from the Huns. Another way - except from the mentioned Great Wall effect - would be to assign the special ability of a civ like the Aztecs's UU to enslave defeated enemies. (The Hun UU would have to be equal/>average barb.);)