This Civ3 BIQ editor allows additional features that are not possible with other editors, and works on Mac and Linux as well as Windows.
Versions 0.71 and later allow some map editing. If you plan to do map editing, please read the post about version 0.70.
Thread here.
As of version 0.81, the documentation is now included with the editor download, but as always, you can ask questions in the thread.
(the below is copied from the thread. The thread is more likely to be accurate and up-to-date)
After many months of work, the long-rumoured Mac editor is (I believe) ready to be unveiled! Offering the ability to do nearly anything pertaining to Custom Rules or Custom Player Data that you can do with the Windows editor, the hope is that this editor can allow Mac Civ3 fans the ability to at last rely on their native platform for a good part of their Civ3 editing.
Broadening its appeal, the editor also provides some new options for Civ3 modders regardless of platform in the form of configurable Safety Levels. These allow the user to bypass Firaxis's limits on the values any field may have, thus making it possible to, for example, have buildings that produce in excess of 100 culture per turn, or experiment with buildings that cost negative maintenance. While this doubtless will allow many new ways to create invalid BIQs, it should also break down many of these long-unchallenged barriers.
To run the editor, you must be running one of the following operating systems:
Older versions (0.98 and earlier) support OS X 10.4 through 10.7 (PowerPC and Intel), and Windows 98, ME, and 2000.
You must also have Java, version 8. You must also have Civilization III installed (this is possible on Linux through Wine; technically having Conquests installed isn't required, only Vanilla). Finally, it is highly recommended that you have a 1024x768 or higher screen resolution (also the minimum for Civ3), although lower is workable with increased scrolling. There are no plans to port the editor to older operating systems due to the significant amount of work involved.
There are a few things to keep in mind about the BIQs you attempt to use with the editor. They must:
As of version 0.91, it is no longer necessary for the BIQ to have custom rules.
It also is possible to extract BIQ files from SAV files with this editor. The same general restrictions apply. At this point only the rules part of the BIQ (not the map) can be recovered from SAVs.
Although it is hoped that no serious bugs remain, it probably will be possible to find a few bugs if you search hard enough. Post any bugs in the thread (not here - I only see this when I upload a new version), and they will be fixed as time permits.
For those of you who are adventurous and would like to explore the actual (rather that Firaxis-imposed) limits of the Civilization III through the editor, please post your results so that the actual boundary conditions can be added to the editor. Also make note of whether you are using the Windows or Mac version of Conquests - it is possible that the Windows version may allow negative maintenance buildings and the Mac version not, or vice versa.
As always, backing up your files before editing them is recommended. It is not believed that there remains any way that files could be overwritten or corrupted without human error or opening multiple files, but this cannot be guaranteed. Fortunately, the editor does provide an autosave functionality that may save you if something does go wrong. As of 0.89, it also provides an auto-archive function that will (optionally) save the previous version of your BIQ with the date and time as part of the name when you make a new save.
Versions 0.71 and later allow some map editing. If you plan to do map editing, please read the post about version 0.70.
Thread here.
As of version 0.81, the documentation is now included with the editor download, but as always, you can ask questions in the thread.
(the below is copied from the thread. The thread is more likely to be accurate and up-to-date)
After many months of work, the long-rumoured Mac editor is (I believe) ready to be unveiled! Offering the ability to do nearly anything pertaining to Custom Rules or Custom Player Data that you can do with the Windows editor, the hope is that this editor can allow Mac Civ3 fans the ability to at last rely on their native platform for a good part of their Civ3 editing.
Broadening its appeal, the editor also provides some new options for Civ3 modders regardless of platform in the form of configurable Safety Levels. These allow the user to bypass Firaxis's limits on the values any field may have, thus making it possible to, for example, have buildings that produce in excess of 100 culture per turn, or experiment with buildings that cost negative maintenance. While this doubtless will allow many new ways to create invalid BIQs, it should also break down many of these long-unchallenged barriers.
To run the editor, you must be running one of the following operating systems:
- OSX 10.8 or later.
- Windows XP and later (32-bit and 64-bit for all versions)
- Linux, most recent versions (exact requirement unknown)
Older versions (0.98 and earlier) support OS X 10.4 through 10.7 (PowerPC and Intel), and Windows 98, ME, and 2000.
You must also have Java, version 8. You must also have Civilization III installed (this is possible on Linux through Wine; technically having Conquests installed isn't required, only Vanilla). Finally, it is highly recommended that you have a 1024x768 or higher screen resolution (also the minimum for Civ3), although lower is workable with increased scrolling. There are no plans to port the editor to older operating systems due to the significant amount of work involved.
There are a few things to keep in mind about the BIQs you attempt to use with the editor. They must:
- Be version 12.06 or higher
As of version 0.91, it is no longer necessary for the BIQ to have custom rules.
It also is possible to extract BIQ files from SAV files with this editor. The same general restrictions apply. At this point only the rules part of the BIQ (not the map) can be recovered from SAVs.
Although it is hoped that no serious bugs remain, it probably will be possible to find a few bugs if you search hard enough. Post any bugs in the thread (not here - I only see this when I upload a new version), and they will be fixed as time permits.
For those of you who are adventurous and would like to explore the actual (rather that Firaxis-imposed) limits of the Civilization III through the editor, please post your results so that the actual boundary conditions can be added to the editor. Also make note of whether you are using the Windows or Mac version of Conquests - it is possible that the Windows version may allow negative maintenance buildings and the Mac version not, or vice versa.
As always, backing up your files before editing them is recommended. It is not believed that there remains any way that files could be overwritten or corrupted without human error or opening multiple files, but this cannot be guaranteed. Fortunately, the editor does provide an autosave functionality that may save you if something does go wrong. As of 0.89, it also provides an auto-archive function that will (optionally) save the previous version of your BIQ with the date and time as part of the name when you make a new save.
