Civ 4 Editor .

Merebimur

Chieftain
Joined
Dec 27, 2005
Messages
43
Seeing how everyone wants to mod Civ 4 , is anyone working on an Editor , quite amazed Firaxis havent produced one or any 3rd party have . Some of you seem quite capable of doing it , maybe a few of you could work on it together and call it the CFC Editor for the forum .
 
I meant editing all of editing Civ 4 , dont need a map editor as you can use that function already in Civ 4 to make an alternate map , I know theres an SDK coming out but that wont be letting you edit the original Civ Nations files already in the game , only to add more of your own .
 
Notepad. All you need. Open some of the XML files in it and take a look.

The SDK is way out of your league if you need a GUI editor to change the xml files...
 
Im with Merebimur here .. editing with notepad is NOT acceptable , snarko just because it is possible dont mean its a good way...

A good editor that display all options in the XML files ....

*mumbles about Civ3 editor, and lazy Civ4 devs*
 
Traxer2 said:
Im with Merebimur here .. editing with notepad is NOT acceptable , snarko just because it is possible dont mean its a good way...

A good editor that display all options in the XML files ....

*mumbles about Civ3 editor, and lazy Civ4 devs*

The problem with pre-packaged "easy" ways to edit things is that they always end up limiting you in some way. If you have direct access to the code (Python) and the data storage structure (XML) you have more flexability.

I once wrote modifications to a game called Starfleet Command. They gave us the API (C++) and let us go wild. Until the SDK comes out, civ 4 can only claim to be the SECOND most moddable game in history. I'm looking forward to writing my own DLLs to link in to it wieh the SDK comes out.

Roger Bacon
 
I see both sides. Given the option to have only one or the other (program access through XML and Python or an editor) I would take what we have. It requires more knowledge (and time) but it is way more flexible. But ideally both options would be great.

I suspect Firaxis released the program side assuming that the community would develop an interface for simple changes.

Long term though an interface won't work for any but the simpliest mods. XML is extendible. Which means I can add and remove attributes from the object. I can add a RACE attribute to units and use it to determine if that unit is an elf, dwarf, etc.

An interface isn't going to recognize that change (and thats just a very simple example) so it would be nice for mods that don't include any new features, its not of much use to mods that do include new stuff.
 
Traxer2 said:
Im with Merebimur here .. editing with notepad is NOT acceptable , snarko just because it is possible dont mean its a good way...

A good editor that display all options in the XML files ....

*mumbles about Civ3 editor, and lazy Civ4 devs*

A good editor would beat notepad, yes. But making a good editor that makes it easier while also not limiting you in any way isn't easy. Still, I'm sure someone will eventually. The only thing I can imagine would become easier is editing things which require multiple files.

The civ 3 editor is horrible. It has so many limits, weird ones too (why are some things limited at 1000? 100? Those numbers might make sense to us humans but to a computer they're pretty weird).
 
Kael said:
I see both sides. Given the option to have only one or the other (program access through XML and Python or an editor) I would take what we have. It requires more knowledge (and time) but it is way more flexible. But ideally both options would be great.

I suspect Firaxis released the program side assuming that the community would develop an interface for simple changes.

Long term though an interface won't work for any but the simpliest mods. XML is extendible. Which means I can add and remove attributes from the object. I can add a RACE attribute to units and use it to determine if that unit is an elf, dwarf, etc.

An interface isn't going to recognize that change (and thats just a very simple example) so it would be nice for mods that don't include any new features, its not of much use to mods that do include new stuff.


For what's worth, I have been working on an editor that is GUI based, that will allow people to modify the existing XML files, and I have given thought to designing it to allow people to ADD attributes of their own design into the XML files.

I am building it in Python 2.4.2, and the GUI is built with wxPython 2.6.
My first iterations looks to use a GUI based loosely on the Civ III GUI, since people are comfortable with it.

Why Python and wxPython? I need to learn the language to work with scenarios, and indeed there will be parts no editor can get around NOT without writing code.

That being said, it is indeed a nightmare to build.
My best guess is I will have my first iteration out for public critique sometime in the summer.

I am certain there are other people working on their own versions.
I fully expect that someone, or a group of people, far more talented and determined than I, will indeed release a GUI based editor before I do.

Just because I said it is a nightmare to do does not mean a better coder than I could not churn through it and build something.

We are already seeing a number of XML editors out there, but each seems to focus on different XML files. Eventually someone will build something that encompasses all of them.
That is what I am trying, but it is indeed taking a long, long time.
 
*Bump.

Was this editor ever released?
 
I don't know if *this* editor was ever released, but let's do a little math...

1 - The Lopez talked for months about his editor he was working on.
+
1 - The Lopez has been silent for months now, most likely because he's had something to do with BtS.
=
2 - I would not be surprised to see that editor packaged with BtS
 
When you really consider it, its extremely hard to write an editor for Civ 4.

Yes you could release an editor that allows you to add primary components like civs, techs and units....but the best parts remain the hardest to access via an editor such as python events and SDK modding.

My ultimate wish would be to have the ability to compile mini DLL plug-in files (if such thing was ever possible) and then have one parent file that checks these smaller files for additional functions. This way each mod component could have its own little plugin that could be drag/dropped into a special folder, rather than this horrible mess we have now of merging multiple files to use everyone mod components.

Many times have I come across a cool mod only to be discouraged from using it because it requires the merging of DLLs :(
 
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