Scenario Creation

We've all played them (or at least seen them). The infamous Scenario. From the Vanilla Revolutionary War, to Rhye's and Fall's 600 AD and 3000 BC Scenarios, to the ever so popular Age of Ice for BTS.

But what exactly makes them tick? How do they work?

I've been going over the various scenarios, and the one question that always came to mind was "How do I do that?"

And that's the crux of my question: How DO You make a scenario? Through World Builder? Through XML or Python? Or perhaps through a 3rd Party program?

And most importantly, how do you make sure that its fun?

The Scenario is not a mod. The scenario is just the map and is acomplished via world builder. The part the 'makes it tick' is a mod. It can be very minimalistic (see my scenario/mod Byzantium:Beyond the Golden Gate in the Scenario Forums), to python used in scripting. Primordial Stews Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire is a good example, but it uses alot of Python and has some fairly complex python. The most complex form is the .dll modding like RFC, most spell functions in Fall From Heaven (The full mod, not Age of Ice). Modding the .dll is fairly complex and you need to know how to code C++ (IIRC).

Making sure it is fun is the hard part. You have to know what you want to accomplish or else it will turn into a 'blob mod', where it includes so many features it collapses under its own weight. For example, in Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, it has a relativly simple objective, be a Civ4 version on the RFRC mod for CIV3. It is alot more complex than that because Civ4 can do more things than Civ3. Another example is RFC. The mod is very minimalistic, but it completly accomplishes what it set out to do. It is not just knowing where you want to get to, but know how to get there and such. The cardinal rule is that if the mod isnt fun for you, it wont be fun for anyone else.

Ajidica said:

The Scenario is not a mod. The scenario is just the map and is acomplished via world builder.

Click to expand...

So, the first thing to do is to load up the mod you want to create ethe scenario in and open up the World Builder?

After that, you edit the world how you like, And then you do a world build save?

From there, you can load it up as a scenario, correct?

Yes. The scenario is only the map. The reason you can load a mod from the 'Play a Scenario' menu is that some scenarios have a modpath (a variable line that you can set so the map is openend with a certain mod) so they can load from there. The 'correct' way is to go to Advanced->Load a Mod.If you need any advice or help. Just ask. If you need belp with map stuff, PM JEELEN. He has made alot of maps and scenarios and is more than willing to help.

A question then: Say I want to give the scenario the option to play as one of three civs. How do I enable this?

(In Worldbuilder: ) You can set all the non-elegible civs to PlayableCiv=0. (If you still want those civs in, also set them to MinorCiv=1.)

And, BTW, what makes a scenario/mod fun, is a matter of trial and error I'm afraid; some of 'em work, some of 'em don't.

DOnt you have to do that in the WBS file, though?

I think you would have to. In my experimentation, I havent found anything in the WB itself that lets me set that parameter.