TerraForm -- a map editor for CIV dos

[Dack]

Originally Posted by Grand Dad

I am against cheating in any game in any form, if you chaps feel that modifying a map to suit you...well you are welcome! I still feel it's a form of cheating!

To each his own of course, but the goal of this program is to produce maps of various terrains. One can of course alter terrain during game play to ones own advantage. In my use of this program, I like at the beginning of a game to connect islands to form larger ones or separate the different civilizations so that when I meet them they are fortifiable foes. As I have stated else where my ultimate goal is to produce worlds automatically and randomly with more user control than the limited amount of choices given by the setup currently in the game.

Enjoy the game as you see fit.

[Dack]

Originally Posted by civ_moss

This one the mech inf was changed to a Trp. Trans. (troop transport) with a max carry capacity of 4 troops (Requirements 'Bridge Building').

I sort of looked over that section of the sve file. Saw that it had the list of names and associated data. Never thought about it again. The troop transport trans port idea is very clever. I always thought that a Aeroplane that could carry paratroopers was really missing from the game. The only downside I see to this is that the game itself isn’t programmed to take advantage of these modifications.

This is very innovative modification to the sve file. Everyone should check out civ_moss map & sve file.


Have you ever published your sve file editor?

[civ_moss]

no i have not released my save file editor. i would be more then willing to share the source however with whomever want it. i would also like however some information on civ map files. i believe if we were to put our two heads together with the knowlege we have. we would be able to create a nice game/map editor. the most important part of my save file editor is missing the map files laughs..... perhaps we should work together to develope a program to do it all together.

[civ_moss]

On another note however the plane idea to drop troops is actually doable for the game itself as a bomber or fighter should also be able to have a carrying capacity like all other units themselves. could very easily set a unit with bomber like capabilities (2 turns to move) with 8 moves (more or less) quite possible.


As to cheating (that is all up to the person that does the action). If you do something inwich gives you an unfair advantage (money cheats etc..) then its cheating. to call it cheating because you using a custom scenario though (isn't cheating) the whole point of making custom scenarios is to give players options and levels in the game wich was not done intially. A game as old as civilization i would think people who still play it more then welcome new scenarios and ways to play the game (without neccessarily cheating) editing a map isn't cheating unless you give yourself an advantage (eg add cities etc..) i would like however to see more scenarios developed with result in a move 0 (you pick leader/difficulty etc..).

i will work on another scenario however wich involves troop transports and a form of paratroopers (with the planes to drop them) ideas though for this scenario are quite welcome (i will make this one of the most difficult scenarios possible however) i don't like things that are easy (no point in playing if u know u can win)

[Tenochtitlan]

Greetings Dack,

I have finally fixed my windows installer, and have tried 56, however, it is an exe file rather than an msi file? It doesn't work.

[Tenochtitlan]

Mods please delete this

[Dack]

Originally Posted by Tenochtitlan

Greetings Dack,

I have finally fixed my windows installer, and have tried 56, however, it is an exe file rather than an msi file? It doesn't work.

See the note in the first entry in this thread:

Note: about attached files
TerraFormDownload.txt is the .msi file for TerraForm 2.0.56 26Dec06, it contains all support file.
TerraForm56.zip is just the exe. If you are already running build 55, down load this and copy the exe into the TerraForm Programfile folder. This will save you having to down load all the support files also.

[Tenochtitlan]

But where is the 2.7 megabyte file
I only see 2 attached files, one is ~100 bytes and the other ~254 kb, where is the full one?

edit: I'm an idiot

[GoldBerg]

Dack, i am looking for a terraform version history.
it's not clear for users who can't spend much time
what you did change from 2.0.55 to 2.0.56.

your post to ver.56 'says'
* TerraForm 2.0.56 26Dec06 -- City Walls *
and -yes- i can see citywalls now
but a version history with some details for the TerraForm 2.** versions
would be fine
(or at least a version history for the version changes in future) ...?

[Dack]

Originally Posted by GoldBerg

Dack, i am looking for a terraform version history.

2.0.53 Shorelines
2.0.54 shows huts - notes one two three
2.0.55 fix to the unit edit
2.0.56 City Walls

[GoldBerg]

Terraform Version History

Originally Posted by Dack

2.0.53 Shorelines
2.0.54 shows huts - notes one two three
2.0.55 fix to the unit edit
2.0.56 City Walls

thanks!

[GoldBerg]

Originally Posted by Dack

...
...
I was hoping that this program
would spark more interest in posting to Civ Dos forum,
and perhaps inspire some of you
to post a scenario for others to play.

well...
the problem is

1
(many) people don't like to register.
with a registerfree version we would maybe see more 'wild downloaders'
who just try your great editor
and throw civDOS scenarios out into 'the world' to play...?

2
i remember the administrator thunderfall here at civfanatics
was asking you in his forum in an open post
if he should/can put civDOS TERRAFORM into the download section
at
http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/downloads/

(So) WHY (...the heck) isn't it already there
for everybody to SEE and DOWNLOAD it?
(even if you insist that people must free register it,
it should be at http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/downloads/ !!!)

3
many people even don't like forums
because they are not able to express something in proper english.
but many of those (older?) people in far away countries
still like to play civDOS
and
did wait for something handy
like your great editor for the last 10 years...?

maybe 100s of those people did visit and download something at
http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/downloads/
the last year -
but they never saw a TERRAFORM program download there!!!

.
.

think about it, dack...

[Dack]

Originally Posted by Dack
...
...
I was hoping that this program
would spark more interest in posting to Civ Dos forum,
and perhaps inspire some of you
to post a scenario for others to play.


Quotes from GoldBerg in Green
well...the problem is
1
(many) people don't like to register.
with a registerfree version we would maybe see more 'wild downloaders'
who just try your great editor
and throw civDOS scenarios out into 'the world' to play...?

I have stated the reasons for registration here. I also doubt that anyone who has not posted to this forum would be inclined to post a scenario, map, or GOTM.

2
i remember the administrator thunderfall here at civfanatics
was asking you in his forum in an open post
if he should/can put civDOS TERRAFORM into the download section
at http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/downloads/
(So) WHY (...the heck) isn't it already there
for everybody to SEE and DOWNLOAD it?
(even if you insist that people must free register it,
it should be at http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/downloads/

QUOTE from Thunderfall on Sep 11, 2006 (click for actual text)
“hey Dack, you should add it to the Downloads Database”

The URL that you suggest is not available for updating by forum members., but I have had it in the download section since Nov 15, 2006. Perhaps you should look at the following: http://forums.civfanatics.com/downlo...o=file&id=3633


3
many people even don't like forums
because they are not able to express something in proper english.
but many of those (older?) people in far away countries
still like to play civDOS
and
did wait for something handy
like your great editor for the last 10 years...?
maybe 100s of those people did visit and download something at
http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/downloads/
the last year -
but they never saw a TERRAFORM program download there!!!

Perhaps your download complaint should be directed at someone else. The url that you mention looks like it is a leftover page from the earlier civfanatics download format. If you go to the
home page http://forums.civfanatics.com
Click download http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php
Slide down the page to
Click Civilization I Downloads http://forums.civfanatics.com/downlo...?do=cat&id=105
Then click Civ1 - Utility Programs http://forums.civfanatics.com/downlo...?do=cat&id=107

Not easy to find…but I don’t control that.

This forum is really the last refuge for die hard players of
CIVILIZATION "Build An Empire To Stand The Test Of Time"
Also known as: CIV I or CIV DOS

I would assume that anyone who has an interest in CIV DOS would find this site. My intended audience are people who share a passion for this game. If it’s too much trouble to participate in the CIVILIZATION I forum then how deep is their interest anyway? I like this forum and the discussions on it; for the most part they are subject specific and educational.


think about it, dack...

So to reiterate
1) people don’t like to register – don’t
2) not in download section – It is and has been.
3) many people even don't like forums – Then they are on their own.

[GoldBerg]

you really miss the most important point,
what to do to bring your own work to public.

maybe somebody should update the civilization section at en.wikipedia.org
to a
civilization for windows - civ1 - civDOS
section of it's own
and list the tools
so we can lead to terraform here.

Nearly no-one finds the civ1 section at civfanatics here -
me, myself and i
did all the announcements for this civ1 forum section
the last 3 years
in ALL the other international forum places
using lots of aliases
and
all the (back)links to this forum.
i would love to see any other person
doing this
those other game/civ places on the net
but i never saw somebody else there
who did lead to our place.

...
look at GOOGLE

1.
you have to go to
google.co.uk

to get best results for civfanatics -

2.
if you don't know about civfanatics
you'll have a hard time
to find our civ1 forum place.

maybe they're blocking the google bot here at forums -
i don't know

3.
you have to
string
civ1
( = WELL... this is the 1st problem:
which chinese on his own knows that he had to type 'civ1' ;
if you try civ 1 or civilization for windows
you just will find 2,3,4 not 1....)

sooo...
google string
>>> civ1 map editor
perfect! nobody can do better ( if he/she knows ... )

(remember: this is the best somebody could type in
infact other strings like
civilization for windows or else
are always misleading and may discourage to search further (oh... no results...)
the most civ forums even have no civ1 section)

so,
what will you find first place, first link?

THiS >>>
Civilization I Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/faq/civfaq2.php

and there this >>>
Where is the map editor?
http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/faq/civfaq2.php#gen10
BY Holger Eichmann


but where is your program?
HERE AT CIVFANATiCS

invisible.
not there.
...

why?

NEXT GOOGLE RESULT
for the string
>>>
civ1 map editor

a thread named

CIV1 Map Editor
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=2078
by Garborka

again:
where is your thread?

invisible.
not there.

nobody can find terraform
because people outside this forum don't see it -
because they had to know
that there is
a map editor for civ1 DOS called 'TERRAFORM'

do they?
no.
how should
somebody
40yearsold
still civ1 player
know this
if he / she don't even find this thru'
google.co.uk

( btw. NO results thru
google.de )

.
.

my point:
YOU and civfanatics administration
have to put the information / strings

terraform map editor mapeditor for civ1 DOS civDOS sid meier civilization for windows

on civfanatics mainside
or
it will stay invisible forever on the net...

...

[GoldBerg]

Originally Posted by Dack

Not easy to find
but I don’t control that.

you name it.
i did ask thunderfall for help (finally) ...
he's this control instance.

Originally Posted by Dack

This forum is really the last refuge for die hard players of
CIVILIZATION "Build An Empire To Stand The Test Of Time"
Also known as: CIV I or CIV DOS

that's the other problem: 3 names for the same game
and here's the OFFiCiAL name:
Sid Meier's Civilization - Build An Empire To Stand The Test Of Time
but
if you use
Sid Meier Civilization
as a google string

see >>>
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Sid...l&start=0&sa=N
http://www.google.de/search?q=Sid+Me...l&start=0&sa=N
http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=Sid...l&start=0&sa=N

you will find 100 things
at sites 1, 2 or 3 of results
but not this civ1 forum or the TERRAFORM program (try it!).

just if you know this is a DOS program
you will find us here first place:
string:
Sid Meier Civilization DOS map editor
http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=en...or&btnG=Search

but many people bought this game
as
Sid Meier Civilization
as a Windows 3.** game (like me)
and never did care about "DOS"
installed that later at
Win95 (like me)
and Win98se (like me)
and never did care about f*cking 'DOS' ...
it's Windows (for them)

Originally Posted by Dack

I would assume that anyone who has an interest in CIV DOS would find this site.

let us not assume, let us do something:
THEY WILL FiND it 100%,
for sure!

Originally Posted by Dack

My intended audience are people who share a passion for this game.
If it’s too much trouble to participate in the CIVILIZATION I forum
then how deep is their interest anyway?

i hope you know that this game is released in other languages than english too?

why should somebody
who love to play a game
or like to have a MAP editor for it
DISCUSS it
in a language he is not able to discuss?

why should this person join a forum of english language (under such circumstances)?

.
.
.


anyway
it's from today
here (take a look and suggest an even better descriptive text to thunderfall) >>>
http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/downloads/

[Dack]

Originally Posted by GoldBerg

you really miss the most important point,
what to do to bring your own work to public.

I guess I did. Again I didn’t think beyond this forum. But as I stated, I wrote this for the forum. Until now I never thought of a wider audience. I certainly understand the searching frustration on the Internet. What text does one search for? I can recall being on the fourteenth page of a google search think that somewhere one of these entries will have what I want.

As for the CIV I faq, when was it updated last. Every once in a while I get the idea to review all the utilities available for CIV DOS. Luckily that idea passes quickly. The descriptions of my other program CIV$ are also way out of date and there are competing versions (I think only the latest one runs on all platforms). Sorry, I don’t feel a great need to publicize this.
Edit: (an hour or so later) The more I think about it, the more it seems that you have more interest in publicizing TerraForm than I have. I guess I am more interested in people who will contribute to this forum than I am in how many non civfanitcs find this program.

Originally Posted by GoldBerg

my point:
YOU and civfanatics administration
have to put the information / strings

I don’t know if this forum is run for fun or profit. I assume the later as there is an advertisement on the top of the page. A google search on civilization the fourth hit is www.civfanatics.com I get to the fifth page before I find Apolyton. I assume that the civfanatics people have or will determine what is in their interest. How did you or I find this site? We had an interest in CIV DOS.

I guess I have no interest in TerraForm outside this forum. I wrote it for fun, but it turned into a major project. I need to add some automatic features to it for it to be truly useful.

[Thunderfall]

Dack, I think GoldBerg just wants more people to be able to find and use your program.

As I told him in PM, adding it to the old download page and adding a link to the Civ1 section of the File DB to the nav bar on the main site should make the program more visible for people seeking Civ1 downloads.

PS: GoldBerg, you press Enter a bit too much. The forum has auto-wrapping for texts so you don't need to hit Enter unless you want to start on a new line or start a new paragraph. Having too many breaks could make your post harder to understand.

[GoldBerg]

Originally Posted by Thunderfall

Dack, I think GoldBerg just wants more people to be able to find and use your program.
...

That's right!

Originally Posted by Dack

...
The more I think about I, the more it seems that you have more interest in publicizing TerraForm than I have. I guess I am more interested in people who will contribute to this forum than I am in how many non civfanatics find this program.

well... those people are maybe civfanatics already,
but we never will read a post of them here, because of english.

but they maybe use the english program
and learned to play with it
and they are able to use your editor
just 'playing with' TERRAFORM
(i remember using the 1st Commodore AMIGA version in ~1991 (?)
without a manual and learned the game just by playing it -
many people still do so).

Originally Posted by Dack

...
the fourth hit is www.civfanatics.com I get to the fifth page before I find Apolyton. I assume that the civfanatics people have or will determine what is in their interest. How did you or I find this site? We had an interest in CIV DOS.

i remember in the beginning we both did use the
Location: Civ1 Version 474.05
line...
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpo...7&postcount=26
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpo...4&postcount=27
.
.
i always was kind of crazy about this game,
tried out the follow-up versions and was kind of frustated about them...

So i did start to search for people who still might play it ( i did start around 1997 with no results because i was not in the newsgroups those days)
and
found civfanatics and Apolyton thru' very windy, strange and funny internet ways, maybe in around 2002, but did register much later...

Originally Posted by Dack

...
TerraForm ... it turned into a major project. I need to add some automatic features to it for it to be truly useful.

Version 2.0.56 is fantastic now, everybody who have the interest can use it,
the mayor 'errors' of the older versions are gone now,
it's just the best editor around!

the next breakthrough ('big thing') would be if somebody re-writes the code of civ1 for 64/128 bit machines (linux/windows) in a way nobody can complain (remember all those civ2 follow-ups like FREECIV or EVO ( to name the best ))
i could even imagine that a slightly change of graphics won't hurt if those graphics would be as catchy as our civ DOS ones...

Originally Posted by Dack

...
I can only assume that writing this program was a bad thing.
I don’t know what you want!
...

Your Terraform is able to renew interest into the arch-game of civilization,
but to get this effect, 'we' (= civfanatics in and outside CF forum)
had to go to public with it (at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civiliz...(computer_game) )
and
i am sure you can have that little (free) publishing webspace for the TERRAFORM FAQ / version history at civfanatics, sourceforge, apollyton et cetera...

[civ_moss]

well since none of my post concerning how terraform loads the map files were every answered. None of my questions pertaining towards helping to improve terraform were even addressed. i think its time this ol' civ fanatic moves on to another place.


such a shame all the experiance couldn't have been used together to improve the scenarios and gameplay.


~been fun

[Judge_Deadd]

It doesn't work!When I run it, it says:

Run-Time error '429':
ActiveX component can't create object

and then it runs, but none of the menu options work and I can't exit it (I can close it with the X, but it still runs.)