Leaderhead Patcher

[wervdon]

You can use this program to create scenarios/mods which modify the leaderheads (and probally any other art files in pediaicons.txt) without requiring the end user to do anything more than download your scenario/mod, unzipping it to their scenarios folder, and running a batch file. And it will not interfere with the art in their normal game or in other scenarios.

Here's how you do it:
In the editor when changing a leader (or making a new civ) change the name of the civilopedia entry for that civ to:
#RACE_YOURMOD_CIVNAME (ie, #RACE_YOURMOD_FRENCH)

When entering the filename for the leaderhead flics use:
Scenarios\YourMod\leaderhead.flc (whatever you named the flic)

This will cause the leaderhead for your scenario to be unique from the default settings or from other mods and allow you to put it in the scenarios folder (under a sub folder named for your mod) rather than in the art folder, keeping it seperate from other mods and not rewriting original game files.

Now for the patcher. You also need to modify civilopedia.txt and pediaicons.txt for your new entries. You would do this in a similar way for example in pediaicons.txt you might need to add:
#RACE_YOUR_MOD_FRENCH
scenarios\wervdon\Napolean.pcx
scenarios\wervdon\Napolean_all.pcx

as opposed to the old path name (art\leaderheads and art\advisors)

To make napolean the leader of the french in your mod (there's other entries too for different pictures but they'd all work the same)

In civilopedia.txt you might need to add something like
#RACE_YOUR_MOD_FRENCH
^Whatever you want the civilopedia entry to be for the french.

What the patcher does is take the effort of adding those entries away from the end user. You simply create 2 text files with the new entries to distribute with your scenario/mod, and supply the patcher with a batch file to run it with the text files as arguments.

For example in the above example I might make a file:
mymodicons.txt
#RACE_MYMOD_FRENCH
scenarios\wervdon\Napolean.pcx
scenarios\wervdon\Napolean_all.pcx

and mymodpedia.txt
#RACE_MYMOD_FRENCH
^Whatever you want the civilopedia entry to be for the french.

and a batch file that does
patcher mymodicons.txt mymodpedia.txt

The patcher will then append the new entries to the appropriate text files for the end user, and because they are unique entries which point to art in a unique folder, they won't interfere with the original game or other mods/scenarios (assuming you give it a unique name).


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The program looks for civilopedia.txt and pediaicons.txt in the following locations: the folder its run from, in the default installation folder for civ3 (in the text folder of course), and ..\text as I expected it to be run from \scenarions alot.

The program backs up the original civilopedia.txt and pediaicons.txt to civilopedia.bak and pediaicons.bak in the folder its run from before modifying them.


New entries are always at the end of the file (just before the #EOF for civilopedia.txt)

Its only been tested (by me at least) for leaderheads, but I see no reason it wouldn't work for units/era splashes/wonder splahes/etc if someone wants to try any of those and report if it works that'd be cool

EDIT:
Version 3: Removed the limitation of always skipping entires which were already present. It now replaces any entry already
in the text files unless they were also present in the original text files which came with the game. It simply checks the key name against a table of key names in the original files. It tells you when it does a replace or a skip based on this.

Version 3 also includes an unpatcher.exe which works the same as above, but removes the entries in question, so people can uninstall mods/scenarios made with this.

If you have any questions not answered in all that try checking my thread on apolyton:
http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=56377


Oh and the source code for the patcher is included if someone wants it.

[Arc-Lite]

wervdon,

I am trying to post new leaderheads in a scenario. The pictures I have for the leaders are in Jpeg & Bit map form.

Can you tell me step by step what I must do to get these in the game? REMEMBER, I know nothing more than what I'm telling you here please be specific with evertything. Assume that I know nothing until proven otherwise. (Did I make the point yet!?)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks

[rabid-rottie]

I suck at graphics and I hate all of the leader heads I was wondering if you guys know of a site or anyplace where I can download a few new leader heads Thanks for your help

[Bongo]

I need a monkey leader head . Can someone post one please?

[trumpeteer]

Originally posted by rabid-rottie
I suck at graphics and I hate all of the leader heads I was wondering if you guys know of a site or anyplace where I can download a few new leader heads Thanks for your help

May I recommend CFC? Go to "Graphics" and to "Leaderhead Library."

[CivBub]

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