[C3C] Advice for Mod Makers and Scenario Scribers

[mythusmage]

When somebody plays a mod or scenario he is usually playing something that calls for resources from two PediaIcon text files; the one that comes with Civ III Complete and the one that comes with your mod or scenario. Now, your modification's PediaIcon file will usually be the standard PediaIcon file with extra stuff added. Never tell your biq file to look for PediaIcon stuff in the standard file, but for the stuff in your mod's PediaIcon file. And make sure your amended PediaIcon text file includes everything to be found in the standard file.

I admit this may not be necessary if one is playing the Windows version, but for those of us playing the Mac version it is. Think of your work as being graded by a Scottish schoolteacher and proceed accordingly.

[zo-zo]

Just curious, is that a problem with the way Firaxis wrote the program for the Mac or is that an issue with the Mac.

[tom2050]

The problem here is that for those who can't test a mod on a Mac, it's still very easy to miss something that will cause a Mac to crash the game. I think there was a problem with mods that make use of ..\ to get data in other directories caused problems (can't remember exactly).

I don't think the problem stems from making use of 2 PediaIcons files. If you are missing info from the mod PediaIcons (and that info is in the Civ III Complete PediaIcons) the game won't see it in the C3 Complete PediaIcons, and will crash. I think it was something due to the Mac not being programmed to be able to check for files in other directories as Civ 3 was programmed to do (Or the Mac version of Civ3 omitted the ability of checking in other directories for some reason).

There was a thread around somewhere, but for Windows users that aren't familiar with Mac's at all (like me), it's impossible to know if it will work on a Mac espcially when you can't test it.

Tom

[embryodead]

tom2050 is right, you can't tell your BIQ file where to look for particular things. Mac errors have to do with the usage of relative paths in INI files and PediaIcons (which are different for Win and Mac). The alternative to relative paths is bundling the Conquests art with your mod, which at this point isn't much of a problem, but it was few years back, when Firaxis wouldn't allow people to re-distribute stuff from paid expansion.

[mythusmage]

Originally Posted by zo-zo

Just curious, is that a problem with the way Firaxis wrote the program for the Mac or is that an issue with the Mac.

Yes.

Let's put it this way, apparently somebody at Firaxis decided that since the Mac did it this way, then CivIII for the Mac would do it the same way.

When I had a copy of CivIII Gold from MacSoft (CD later damaged and thus rendered useless) I corresponded with somebody from MacSoft. He told me the biggest problem they had in porting from Windows to the Mac was in the errors. As my sig notes, the Mac is intolerant of errors. So most of the work lay in cleaning up the code. If the Windows OS was as error intolerant the job of porting to the Mac would be a lot easier.

(Keep in mind that the Mac OS was designed the way it was because you weren't supposed to mess with it. The Windows OS was designed the way it was because you were. Far as I'm concerned both would be better if they were designed so you wouldn't have to mess with it, but you could if you wanted to.)

CivIV, from what I've heard, uses the same methodology for both Windows and Mac. A 3rd edition (7th? 8th? 25th?) of CivIII would make life easier on modders if both versions did things the same way. But life has gone on to CivIV, and unless there's a huge surge in interest in CivIII we're not about to see CivIII Rebirth or anything like that.

On the other hand, it's kinda fun capturing Babylon in 2500bc with Israelite archers.