How do you create a Civ 5 mod on a Mac?

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thinkingnut

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Sep 18, 2013
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Hi there,

Would like to ask everyone here: how do you create your own Civ 5 mod if you are running Civ 5 on a Mac? I understand that tools like ModBuddy and the Civilization V SDK are not available to Mac users. So does that mean that Mac users cannot create their own mods?

Thanks to anyone who can answer. :)

Yours sincerely,
Thinkingnut
 
You can create a mod that only requires text changes - .XML files or .lua script files.

But if you want to create your own graphical mods - new units, civs, leader images etc - then you would need to find a graphics file editor for the Civ5 graphics formats. The .dds files will open in Graphics Converter, but I don't know how to deal with the gr2 files.

You can't recompile the CvGameCoreDLL.dll file, and even if you did, the Mac versions of Civ5 will not use the file. So mods that require changes to the C++ code are not possible.
 
AlanH said:
You can create a mod that only requires text changes - .XML files or .lua script files.

But if you want to create your own graphical mods - new units, civs, leader images etc - then you would need to find a graphics file editor for the Civ5 graphics formats. The .dds files will open in Graphics Converter, but I don't know how to deal with the gr2 files.

You can't recompile the CvGameCoreDLL.dll file, and even if you did, the Mac versions of Civ5 will not use the file. So mods that require changes to the C++ code are not possible.
Click to expand...

The information sounds good. However, I did a test run just now and created an empty folder. Named it "test mod" and put it where the other mods are. When I booted the game up, the words "test mod" did not come up among the other mods already installed. Am I doing something wrong here? Does the folder have to contain a .modinfo file in order to be recognised? If so, how do I create such a file from nothing?

Thank you for your reply thus far.
 
Yes, every mod must have a .modinfo file. It's a text/XML file, so the best way to create one is in a good text editor - TextWrangler or BBEdit would be my preferred ones. There's some information on line about the format, but I don't know how accurate it is now, as ModBuddy has make it unnecessary to hand build the files on Windows.

The easiest way to get going is to create a copy of an existing .modinfo file, and edit that to specify the name of your mod, its other characteristics, and the files it contains. The file definitions all require MD5 digests - strings of hex characters defining a checksum for each file. You will have to use Terminal to calculate these for you.
 
AlanH said:
Yes, every mod must have a .modinfo file. It's a text/XML file, so the best way to create one is in a good text editor - TextWrangler or BBEdit would be my preferred ones. There's some information on line about the format, but I don't know how accurate it is now, as ModBuddy has make it unnecessary to hand build the files on Windows.

The easiest way to get going is to create a copy of an existing .modinfo file, and edit that to specify the name of your mod, its other characteristics, and the files it contains. The file definitions all require MD5 digests - strings of hex characters defining a checksum for each file. You will have to use Terminal to calculate these for you.
Click to expand...

Very interesting. Let's say for now the link you posted is still accurate. I guess since ModBuddy is not an option for Macs, Terminal would be the only way then. May I ask how would you go about using it to create those MD5 digits? I have never heard of this method before.

Many thanks.
 
That link is probably OK for the modinfo file format, though there may be newer options now to define DLC compatibility. You would see those in a file from a working modern mod.

To create md5 checksums:

- Open Terminal. It's in /Applications/Utilities/, or you can type Terminal into Spotlight to find it.

- type md5 followed by a space.

- Drag the file you want to create the checksum for from a Finder window into the Terminal window. This pastes the file path into Terminal. You may see some back slashes added to it to tell Terminal to handle spaces or other special characters.

- press Return. Terminal will display 'MD5 <file path> = ' followed by a string of letters and digits such as '67b09380b102c9960df0cfde644949d7'. This displayed string is the md5 digest for the file you selected.

PS. If you don't like using Terminal and prefer an app, there are some utilities for checksum calculation in the App Store. Just type md5 into the search box. Some are free, but I've no idea how good they are.
 
AlanH said:
That link is probably OK for the modinfo file format, though there may be newer options now to define DLC compatibility. You would see those in a file from a working modern mod.

To create md5 checksums:

- Open Terminal. It's in /Applications/Utilities/, or you can type Terminal into Spotlight to find it.

- type md5 followed by a space.

- Drag the file you want to create the checksum for from a Finder window into the Terminal window. This pastes the file path into Terminal. You may see some back slashes added to it to tell Terminal to handle spaces or other special characters.

- press Return. Terminal will display 'MD5 <file path> = ' followed by a string of letters and digits such as '67b09380b102c9960df0cfde644949d7'. This displayed string is the md5 digest for the file you selected.

PS. If you don't like using Terminal and prefer an app, there are some utilities for checksum calculation in the App Store. Just type md5 into the search box. Some are free, but I've no idea how good they are.
Click to expand...

Ah, very clear and concise instructions. Thanks!

As a slightly unrelated topic but also to do with modding, I am trying to change the title screen of a civ 4 mod of the Next War mod that I'm working on. I've read in other forums that a supposedly quick and easy method would be to go to (My Mod Name)/Assets/Art/Interface/Main Menu/Next_War_Main_Menu.dds. Then, open that file with Graphic Converter 9, copy and past your desired static .jpeg image onto the original Next War main menu image, and save the file as a .dds file. I've done that, but when I load the mod, what should have been my custom image becomes a pink screen. If you could tell me how to fix it so that my static custom menu screen works, I would be most grateful.

Thanks again for your help so far.

Edit: Am aware this last bit belongs to the Civ 4 Mac section, but since you seem to know so much about this material I hope I can slip the question in while I have your attention. Thanks a lot!
 
Sorry, I don't do this stuff for real!

Xyth is our local Mac Civ4 modder, and it would probably be best to ask in the Mac Civ4 forum, or PM him.
 
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