So, following a discussion in the Troll's Cave thread, I decided to work a bit the custom map scripts because some features (Kelp, Haunted Lands and Crystal Plains) weren't spawning.

Here is the list of map scripts I plan to modify:
- PerfectWorld 1
- PerfectWorld 2; I'm holding up on those two because PW starting plots aren't adapted to FFH to my taste and also because I don't want to keep the promise to update them to Orbis;
- Erebus (called Orbis) (http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=224353&stc=1&d=1250110923); version 120809
- ErebusContinent (called OrbisContinent) (http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=224354&d=1250110918); version 120809

Feel free to post requests. I'll feel free to refuse if I want to :p

PROGRESS

12/08/09
I converted ErebusContinent to Orbis features. I renamed Erebus to Orbis and ErebusContinent to OrbisContinent. I changed Erebus so that Crystal Plains are placed last, thus meaning they won't get overwritten by forests. I dedicate this update to [to_xp]Gekko :goodjob:

24/07/09
Creation.py removed because it's just an outdated version of Erebus.py :D

23/05/09
I did the Creation.py and Erebus.py mapscripts and uploaded them. I'm working on PerfectWorld 2... it's a bit difficult to manipulate the rainfall and temperature factors, though.

DEVELOPMENT NOTES

Crystal Plains
I tried a "plains" effect for this feature. What I mean is that I tried to make it so it would spread across large surface of plains when possible. Each snow/tundra/river/crystal plains in the surrounding plots will increase the chance of a snow plot to gain a crystal plain. It won't be found anything but flatlands.
Kelp
For now, Kelp will appear 25% of the time on coast only. It can appear on resources (Fish+Kelp+FishingBoat+Lighthouse+Lanun? 10 food I think!) but it would be easy to not allow it to.
Haunted Lands
I tried something too here. With FlavourMod, there is a chance that City Ruins appear in chokepoints. If there is a City Ruins, there would be a Haunted Land on it and the chance of having some other in the surrounding plots are of 33% (against 2% for normal plot). I like the feeling of "haunted area". In fact, I would like to see Haunted Lands spread...

DOWNLOAD

Just click on the links above, in the script list, or click on the links below, in the attachments panel ;)

INSTALLATION

Extract the content of the zip(s) in your Orbis/PrivateMaps/ folder.

Thanks, Opera, you are the wind beneath my wings.

Thanks Opera. You're the modder of my favorite mapscripts. :D

You're both welcome :) I really like those mapscripts, especially PW (even above PW2 I think). However, I get a more fantasy feeling when playing with Creation...

Anyway, please test. The spawning rates may not be good for now. I did my own tests and saw little Haunted Lands (2% is maybe too small?) and little Crystal Plains (this one is because snow is rare anyway).

By the way, I guess you could want the FlavourFix, so I attached it and added the link to the first post.

Anyway, please test. The spawning rates may not be good for now. I did my own tests and saw little Haunted Lands (2% is maybe too small?) and little Crystal Plains (this one is because snow is rare anyway).

Been playing some Creation.

I wouldn't bump haunted lands much, it seems like something that should be pretty rare. I assume that's what keeps spawning all these frikkin' specters in my current game.

I haven't seen crystal plains but I haven't seen any snow either.

Kelp I've definitely seen. Lots of kelp, and it spreads like forests which is nice. Not sure if I saw any troll caves.

Haunted ruins, which grow from razed cities, spawn spectres. Haunted lands are separate. Some map scripts put ruins from the start.

Been playing a lot more Creation: tons of kelp, some haunted lands. Only occasional crystal plains but snow is quite rare anyway... when I do see snow there is some crystal.

Not sure I've seen troll caves, though. Might be missing...?

How difficult is it to include this in PerfectWorld?

It isn't _that_ difficult. It's just that I'm busy with many things right now... My Ngomele civilization, my Leaders modmod and these mapscripts... not to forget RL :lol:

But don't worry, I'll get my hands on it as soon as possible :)

It isn't _that_ difficult. It's just that I'm busy with many things right now... My Ngomele civilization, my Leaders modmod and these mapscripts... not to forget RL :lol:

But don't worry, I'll get my hands on it as soon as possible :)

What is this RL that you speak of? Can you eat it?

What is this RL that you speak of? Can you eat it?

It's a mod; wastes a lot of time, even more so with the Wife and Child modmods installed. (uninstalling them is difficult too)

My RL is a worse than a mod! But I like her, so it's ok :p

Excellent work. Will these mapscripts work with Orbis .24?

They should work without problem. If they don't, let me know :)

I know some of you are waiting for the others to be updated. I think I won't go for Perfect World as there is more issues I can't deal with (like the Malakim not starting in desert). I asked Cephalo about it and he answered me to check MountainCoast (I think) which is done with PW.

It's a mod; wastes a lot of time, even more so with the Wife and Child modmods installed. (uninstalling them is difficult too)

I thought that you install the Lawyer modmod, and then get the divorce papers modmodmod :crazyeye:
your other option is to get the gun modmod, which automatically downloads the jail modmodmod

I removed the FlavourFix as it is no longer useful, it has been fixed in the main mod :)

Any chance you could post a little explanation of what you did exactly? I'm not a fan of these Erebus/Creation scripts and I would like kelp and haunted lands, but I don't want to dump all of this on your lap.

@Falc:

The mapscripts use a function to place features on the map they generate. Generally, each mapscript use a different way to place them, especially when said mapscript use humidity and/or temperature. Orbis added some features to the game (kelp, crystal plains, haunted lands) and thus they aren't placed when the map is generated. What I did is adding some code in the feature placement function to place the kelp, crystal plains and haunted lands.

Specifically, for Creation.py, I made it so Kelp has 25% chance to appear on a coastal tile (that may be a bit much); Crystal Plains have a chance to appear on any snow & flat plot - the fun thing is that I consider surrounding plots: a plot neighbouring a Crystal Plain would have more chance to get one itself; the Haunted Lands just have 2% chance of spawning, increased to 33% around city ruins (automatically placed, sometimes, by FlavourMod).

My results aren't satisfying for now as I don't get big chunks of crystal plains (but I rarely see snow) and I never see a Haunted Land close to city ruin :lol:

My results aren't satisfying for now as I don't get big chunks of crystal plains (but I rarely see snow) and I never see a Haunted Land close to city ruin :lol:
I think it is possible that flavourmod places city ruins on already existing map, and you add haunted lands at the map creation (so there are no ruins yet).
Flavourmod checks for choke points for ruins/forts placement, so it needs an existing map

Also, the scripts are already added to main orbis download so unless I missed an update there is no reason to add them on your own.

That explains it all. Maybe I could tweak FlavourMod :mischief:
And no, you didn't miss an update. I didn't work on the mapscripts since a long time, now...

Just to warn you, there's a good chance I'll be bugging you about maps soon.... :mischief:

Why would you do that? :p

Needing to add kelp, will probably go ahead and have Haunted Lands spawn too. :lol:

Well, I guess you want it for other mapscripts than Erebus and Creation?

isn't Erebus = Creation? imho the very best mapscript right now is PerfectWorld 2, but Erebus Continent is very good as well. the amount of detail and realism is close, they're just different as one simulates a whole planet while the other simulates a continent. sadly, Perfectworld 2 doesn't behave well with toroidal maps: if most of the land ends up in the northern/southern section of the map, you get virtually no good land, plus I really miss Erebus Continent's excellent portrayal of a "pole" where the ice/snow clumps in the middle of the map and the climate gets slightly hotter as you move to the sides, resulting in a snow->tundra transition - I hate to see a stripe of ice blocking naval passage as in a toroidal maps it kinda takes away the meaning, which is being able to explore north/south and not just east/west. well, if you ever got some time to spare to add these features from Erebus Continent to Perfectworld 2, I'd be the happiest guy ever - and you'd have just created the best mapscript ever ;) ( problem is, of course, that I don't play Orbis: would a mapscript with Orbis-related additional features work nicely with regular FFH or FF or FF+ ? )

Hmm... I wonder. Maybe it will skip the things it doesn't find like the FEATURE_KELP or maybe it'll crash :lol:

Anyway, I'm not really a mapscripter. From what I've seen, it's totally different doing mapscripts than creating python spells :lol:

You know, I just started a game with the vanilla 'Pangaea' mapscript and I ended up with kelp and haunted lands on the map...

I think this is because these vanilla mapscripts use a built-in feature placement code that look into the FeatureInfos.xml file, thus seeing the Haunted Lands and all. The scripts I modified use a custom feature placement code :)
(it still works perfectly with vanilla Civ because it places all the vanilla features... however, it doesn't place new features added by mods)

Personally, I dislike Perfect World for the little things that don't fit with FfH... Like the inability of the Malakim to start in desert. I use Erebus Continent. :lol:

sure, but Flavourmod takes care of that, doesn'it? ;) Erebus Continent is wonderful, I just love having different continents that need astronomy to reach/trade with :D

Unfortunately, no, FlavourMod doesn't take care of that. I don't know why but in Orbis, which has FlavourMod on by default, the Malakim never start in desert in PW...

Does it have any other options on by default? Raging Barbarians³ and Greater Wildlands, perhaps? :o

Perfect World improves starting locations for each civ. It replaces desert with plains or grasslands automatically, so while FlavourMod will place them in desert, PW will remove it. :lol:

I hope Jean Elcard reads this, I'm sure he'll get that sorted out. perfectworld 2 IS one of the mapscripts that ship with flavourmod 2 after all :D

btw, I'm pretty sure Civ4 gets rid of bad terrain and features in starting locations by default, it's not just perfectworld. perfectworld does seem to use a slightly different method though, where it also takes into account the amount of space you can expand into, instead of just yield output, when evaluating starting spots.

Perfect World improves starting locations for each civ. It replaces desert with plains or grasslands automatically, so while FlavourMod will place them in desert, PW will remove it. :lol:

Oh, I wasn't aware of that. Perfect World makes really does make perfect worlds, though -- they seem so detailed and natural.

Erebus and Creation (they're the same, aren't they?) make really weird worlds that seem more like rooms in a house than anything else, with super chokepoints (doors).

ErebusContinents makes very nice... well, continents, with a pleasant, natural design.

MountainCoast does what I thought Erebus (and I guess Creation, too) would do -- make scaled-down landscapes.

--

Does it have any other options on by default? Raging Barbarians³ and Greater Wildlands, perhaps? :o

I was asking about Orbis, not FlavourMod. >.<
I should have spoken typed more clearly.

Erebus and Creation (they're the same, aren't they?) make really weird worlds that seem more like rooms in a house than anything else, with super chokepoints (doors).I'm not sure if they're the same. I did a quick WinMerge check and they seem to have many many lines in common. Anyway, it's the point of them, making "stereotypical fantasy maps". Give or take. I like using them for the chokepoints mainly. And the nice neverending plains, grassland and all. I despite tremendously mapscripts with a lousy desert tile seemingly placed at random.

I was asking about Orbis, not FlavourMod. >.<
I should have spoken typed more clearly.Hm, I don't think so :)

I've tried to get these functions going in Erebus Continent, but I got the impression that all capitals ended up with a ridiculous amount or resources around them...

It's funny, I just begun a game with ErebusContinent and I had the same thought. I got, what... two pigs, two teas, two flax, one marble, two mushrooms, one incense... Basically, no clear plot. This is really ridiculous. I think the script is trying to give everyone a fair start and thus adds things to the starting plots. I know it's great for everyone to start fair but I enjoy not starting fairly. More challenging, more interesting...

that's probably Flavourmod's doing. starting from a few versions back, it features a function that evaluates starting spots and adds resources to the worst ones to bring them up to par. I really like that function cuz I think starting spots should be pretty even in order to enjoy a balanced and interesting game ( I'm actually concerned about the AI, humans can overcome this way more easily ) , maybe even because I'm the one who suggested this function in the first place :D

I have to admit though, that it probably does not take into account a factor that ErebusContinent and Perfectworld2 both evaluate, which is the amount of free territory nearby in which to expand. Jean Elcard would definitely be able to tell us more about this and the other issues that popped up in this thread likely. someone should PM him to make sure he actually reads this thread :p

You might check out Sto's "Full of Resources". It has a terrific front-end with all the options you could possibly want.

Soooo many choices. Somebody make the best one so I don't have to think. I want PerfectWorld2 map but without the incredible resource bonanza where every square has a resource and with Flavourmods starting square thing where the lizards start in jungle, malakim in desert, etc. Somebody make it happen and you will be my new hero :)

'kay, looked into the ErebusContinent code and it does use a balancer, whereby all the starting plots are raised to the level of the best plot, by adding resources. Fair, yes, but gets silly if someone gets a really good plot.

Anyone who wants to take a closer look, the boostCityPlotValue function does the adding of resources. If you'd rather take a look at the plot value calculation, I suggest doing a search for 'totalValue', that should give you all the important places related to that.

Yes, you're right... Also, FlavourMod does have a normalization routine on by default removing forests, jungles and adding food bonuses. I guess you would want to turn it off. I know I do.

@AgentTBC: huge work there :lol:

hey Opera, is there any difference between your versions of Erebus and Creation? they are the same mapscript after all, just with a different name. what about Tectonics btw, does that work fine as it is or needs tweaks for the new features? it's not a factory map, so I'm not sure if it will behave properly with kelp and the like. it's a very good mapscript btw, similar to perfectworld although not nearly as good, but takes a lot less time to generate and has more options.

I thought Erebus and Creation were different. I learned recently that they are the same... :blush:

I'm not sure about Tectonics. You should try it (or I will eventually).

didn't you notice when you read the code? :p

the two files you attached here have a slightly different size though, so I guess there might be some difference between your 2 versions, just not sure what.

Well, I compared them in WinMerge and they seemed a lot different but then many people told me that these two were in fact the same mapscript... But I don't remember having done the same work for the two... :confused:

ok, checked them out right now and I see why they were different. Erebus is version 1.07, Creation is version 1.06, so basically just an outdated version. actually the most up-to-date version is the one in FF 051, which has options for wraps, peak softening and starting plot code that works better with flavourmod. hopefully this is useful information for you, maybe you should take the Creation file down so that no one gets an outdated version of the map ;)

Gekko;8297131']ok, checked them out right now and I see why they were different. Erebus is version 1.07, Creation is version 1.06, so basically just an outdated version. actually the most up-to-date version is the one in FF 051, which has options for wraps, peak softening and starting plot code that works better with flavourmod. hopefully this is useful information for you, maybe you should take the Creation file down so that no one gets an outdated version of the map ;)So you mean the Erebus FF version is more up to date than mine or mine is okay?

ah, just checked it and your version of Erebus has those additional options as well, good. the only thing I would change is to set the starting plot code to use Civ4's default method by default ( there's a dropdown option for that, just change the one that's set by default ) , because Erebus' doesn't work well with flavourmod and flavourmod is on by default in Orbis IIRC. aside from that, yours is perfectly fine.

How come Erebus doesn't work well with FlavourMod? It's the only script that let me start in desert with the Malakim...

I can't remember right now, but I do remember there were some occasional issues and that's why the option got introduced. you should ask Jean Elcard for further details. :D

Erebuscontinent also sets the malakim in desert ;)

Anyway, I removed Creation.py from the first post :)

I really should do the other scripts... :crazyeye:

ah, I found out the history about that starting plot finder code thingie. it turns out that the reason for that change in the first place is due to the lizard races. they like to start in jungle, but Erebus by default will not have you start in jungle ( it has no problems about setting you in desert or ice however... weird script :lol: ) , so the poor lizards were having trouble starting in favourable positions. since the mazatl are in Orbis I think the issue is still present, however you could copy the code for Mazatl from this version ( http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=8762 ) and add it yours, which should solve the issue with the lizzies AND allow you to keep using Erebus' starting plot finder with no fear to have the reptiles start in hazardous places :p

Updated... :)

Oooh OrbisContinent I see. :lol:

cool, thanx. no more Erebus for me, no thanx :D

You forgot a : in your erebus continent update link. Between http and //

ahah, just realized OrbisContinent is dedicated to me ... how flattering :D

not sure about the reason, but gee, thanx :)

You forgot a : in your erebus continent update link. Between http and //Fixed :blush:

Gekko;8358295']ahah, just realized OrbisContinent is dedicated to me ... how flattering :D

not sure about the reason, but gee, thanx :)Because you asked me, saying you couldn't bear playing Erebus... :D

so true. :D well, with 50% peak reduction and Civ4 default starting placement ( to make sure nobody starts in ice or desert which would spell doom on turn 1 ) it's not so bad, but still looks weird. against ErebusContinent it's a no-contest :p

Hmm... Looks like the changes to ErebusContinent were actually very minor. I might have to steal that.... :p