Tectonics

[LDiCesare]

Hi
This is a very crude first version of my tectonics script from Civ IV. I rewrote everything from scratch, so it's still very crude as all functionalities are not in.

The idea of the script is to get mountain ranges, and maps which are more Earth-like and random in terms of number of continents.

Screenshots:

And one in-game which shows why mountain ranges rock (chokepoints, who said chokepoints):


Spoilered in game screenshot:

Spoiler:

Version 1.0 only has the land/hill/mountain coded. Resources, rivers and climates are as per standard map.
Version 2.0 has been uploaded as a mod in the mod browser. Made it a non advanced map too. Actually it's been v3 and 4 before the mod browser versions worked correctly.
Version 5.0 has been uploaded as a mod in the mod browser and is attached here too as a zip. Continents less likely to span from north to south pole, less small lakes, more continents and islands.
Version 6.0 has been uploaded as a mod in the mod browser and is attached here too as a zip. Prevents players from starting isolated on their continent except for the 90% water setting.
Todo include :
-Bug fixing. There are some very very rare cases where terrain lacks mountain or is all flat. I couldn't reproduce that, but if I understand how to capture the random seed that should become easy.
-exporting some map parameters. I will allow a % of sea/land/hill(mountain being the rest) this time. It will be more accurate than in Civ IV version (should be easy)
-providing a better climate model (should be long)

I think the rivers look nice enough the way they are without needing the code to be rewritten. Congrats Sirian.
-adding more options like Terra, Pangaea and tuning of plate numbers

[Xa4]

I'm VERY interested in this, as the sample generated maps look really cool, but I sure have NO IDEA how to install this thing.

Would you care to provide instructions for simpletons like me?

And congrats on making a mod in a very sparsely populated mod category!

[Trickster7135]

You might want to post some images with resources turned off, so looking for mountains and terrain will be easier.

[LDiCesare]

Put the file in the Maps folder, either where Steam put the game (like C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v\Assets\Maps) or in your My Games directory if you don't want other users of your computer to be able to use it (something like that: C:\Users\Laurent\Mes documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\Maps)
You will have to use the advanced settings interface to see the choice among the possible maps because I haven't yet found how to make it a default map.

[PieceOfMind]

Tectonics was officially my favourite mapscript for civ4 bts.

I look forward to enjoying your mapscripts in civ5, LDiCesare.

[rspeer]

I am told that installing maps into the Steam folder itself is dangerous, because the game doesn't expect you to mess with it and it might break future updates. Using My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\Maps (or a mod) is the way to go.

It's pretty easy to make a map script into a mod, by the way, and then you can put it in the mod browser and get a lot more downloads. Basically, you just make a new mod in ModBuddy, put your Lua file in it, and add the file to the "Content" list as type "MapScript". Or feel free to look at what I did and just copy it.

[omglazers]

Thank god. The current map scripts are disappointing. I'll be giving this one a go now!

[LDiCesare]

Originally Posted by rspeer

It's pretty easy to make a map script into a mod, by the way, and then you can put it in the mod browser and get a lot more downloads. Basically, you just make a new mod in ModBuddy, put your Lua file in it, and add the file to the "Content" list as type "MapScript". Or feel free to look at what I did and just copy it.

I'm just unable to understand what to do to make it generate the mod file. "Build" just doesn't do anything. So I haven't seen anything generated. Will look at that next week-end if I have the time.
I don't know if the modbuddy opens mod files or its own solutions/projects stuff.

[JDexter]

Great to see you working on CiV map scripts, I enjoyed your Civ4 stuff!
Choke points are even more fun now with 1UPT and real ranged combat.

[Nercury]

Originally Posted by LDiCesare

I'm just unable to understand what to do to make it generate the mod file. "Build" just doesn't do anything. So I haven't seen anything generated. Will look at that next week-end if I have the time.
I don't know if the modbuddy opens mod files or its own solutions/projects stuff.

You have to add your lua script in project properties -> Content, with type "MapScript". It is in the modders guide, page 18.

Great things:
- can use other .lua files in the same mod, this helps to split up the code a bit
- much more control over everything, map script parameters such as "water level" or "climate" are optional now.
- all default code is visible, so we can see how everything works!

Bad things:
- Default feature and resource balancer has terrain types, features and resources hard-coded. So if someone makes a mod, he has to change balancer code (AssignStartingPlots.lua).

Observations so far:
- PlotTypes (PLOT_LAND, etc) are just for convenience, they get converted to TerrainTypes in GenerateCoasts() function.

[LDiCesare]

Originally Posted by Nercury

You have to add your lua script in project properties -> Content, with type "MapScript". It is in the modders guide, page 18.

This I found out. But I am still unable to generate the resulting file for uploading.
I also have a huge issue with the whole project/./solution thing.
If I want to expand on someone else's mod, do I have to download the sources and project separately?

[Pazyryk]

Just wanted to share my excitement. This and the PerfectWorld map scripts really added a lot to my civ4 experience.

[Nercury]

Originally Posted by LDiCesare

This I found out. But I am still unable to generate the resulting file for uploading.
I also have a huge issue with the whole project/./solution thing.
If I want to expand on someone else's mod, do I have to download the sources and project separately?

There is "Firaxis ModBuddy" under MyDocuments, and I guess built mods are under "packages". Mod itself is just 7zip archive with civ5mod extension.

[Horem]

Installed this map script, but, it does not show up as an available option (normal or advanced)

[LDiCesare]

***.
I put the version with require "math" in the first line.
Edit that and put include( "math" ) instead.

I uploaded a new version.

[rspeer]

When you install a mod, it gets unpacked into a folder under your My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\MODS\ folder. The result is something you can open in ModBuddy.

Ignore "solutions". They're Microsoft-speak for "a group of projects", and as far as I can tell this grouping has no meaning to Civ5 modding. So the "solution" should have one project in it, which is your mod.

[Niniux]

Is it just me, or do the Oases (that is the plural, right?) seem a bit out of control?

[LDiCesare]

I haven't changed the climate part yet, so I can't say what it's doing yet. I haven't seen many oases. However, there might be some funny looking flood plains. I've seen one case where a river wouldn't show on the 3D map but did show on the strategy map.
I suspect it may be due to the river having been added late in the map generation to accomodate/beautify a player's starting location.

[Baleur]

Ok i LOVED this mapscript in civ4, but for the love of god, post your screenshots as direct links.
It's so annoying to have to click the thumbnail, wait for the page to load, click the zoom button and the image 50 times before it decides to zoom in, THEN get to see the full picture.

[mtabacco]

I downloaded your script on steam,every time I try it I die on the first turn any ideas?