Civ Assistants Utility [ in-Civ combat calculator! ]

[CivLackey]

Hello fellow Civvies,

Tired of Alt-Tabbing out of Civ to use the web-browser combat calculator that Thunderfall, Valant2 and the rest contributed? You can read about it and who created it in this thread .

So was I, so I decided to make a Windows utility program that let me pop up a calculator form from inside Civ. Thunderfall has encouraged me to put it out here for you all to use ( he thinks it's that good ) So, here it is!

In the uploads 2 file area there is a zip containing an installation file for version 1.0.0 of CivLackey's Civ Assistants . Just download, extract and run the exe file it contains. The rest is handled by the installer.


QUICK INSTRUCTIONS:
After installing Civ Assistants program, ( you just downloaded it, right? )
put in your Civ cd - (close the autorun screen if it pops up )
Start CivLackey's Civ Assistants using the [launch Civ] version of the shortcut on your desktop.
From inside Civ, press Alt+C to show/hide the Combat Calculator. Press Alt+M to show/hide the launch menu.
No need to close Civ Assistants program, it will autoclose with Civ ( unless you change that option via the settings menu ).
There are popup hints on nearly everything in the program, so if you want to know what a button does, move the mouse over it for a second or two.

For those modders among you, it is possible to create alternate unit lists. Just click the edit list button from the main Combat Calc screen. The rest should be self-explanatory if you use the pop-up hints when in doubt. NOTE: The data file is just a .csv, so you could create your new unit lists, save them and then include the .csv in your mod-pack. One of the things I'll do next is an import/export function to make it easy to save out and read in a unit list.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS:
As you will see on the launch menu bar, I plan to put in two other utilities ( they are fleshed out, but I'm still working on them ):
Historian's Assistant - will be a simple notecard-type editor for you people that like to write stories about your Civ games. This would work just like the Combat Calc - a keystroke to show/hide it without having to leave Civ. Example:

Title                 NOTE
800 BC           Those pesky Romans marched into London - Aaack!
1200 AD          After a long and bitter war, we retook London from the Romans... whew!

Snapshot Assistant - is a quick way to take / manage your screenshots. You configure where you want the files to be saved,
then with a keystroke you can save a screenshot to that folder, or
you can popup a screenshot utility that lets you select a smaller portion of the screen and then save it to your screenshots folder.

NOTE: - as I mentioned in the installation readme ( you did read it, right? ), the further completion of these two extra utilities depends upon your feedback. Let me know if you want them or not. Since no one will pay me to play Civ ( I've tried ), I have to work for a living, and I don't want to waste time making something that won't be used. So please, drop me a note of encouragement if you want to see one or both of these utilities.
They may eventually get finished anyway, but your encouragement helps make it all seem worthwhile!

That's it. It has been tested most heavily with 2000. Those of you with 9x or other flavors of Windows, please let me know how it's working for you. I'll do my best to fix any problems you may find.

Again, your feedback will be appreciated, so don't hesitate to contact me with a post or a PM here, or
send a message to my Hotmail account .


I'll let you know in this thread when there are further developments... 'Till then,
Happy Civving,
CivLackey

[FionnMcCumhall]

the assistant works great with win xp and id love to see the other sections of the program. i think they will be fine additions to the game, plus it makes it a tad bit easier to take screenshots from what ive read instead of having to use photoshop or paintshop pro

[Thunderfall]

CivLackey,

(Again) Cool program!! I added it to the downloads collection 2 days ago and posted a news post about it.

I have changed the download link in your post to the download page at

This way you can see how many people have downloaded the program. I also edited the download page so it now points to the file you uploaded.

Is there any difference between the version you sent me and the one you uploaded?

[zulu9812]

I'd love to see that Historian's Assisstant!

[CivLackey]

Thanx for fixing the links, Thunderfall! The only difference in the file is that I added a popup on first-run in Civ that tells you what the hotkeys are. Just a little helper since it runs in the tray when Civ is launched...

[ZeroOne]

I'd like to see this to be able to control Winamp without bringing it and the taskbar to top! Although it might be a job for an another mod/plugin.

[flash9286]

can i ask when the whole pack will be released, and could you also include a map stat program in it too, Good work

[CivLackey]

I'm getting close on the other two assistants.
I had hoped to have them in final testing by this past weekend, but ran into some lengthy coding/debugging issues.

About the WinAmp thing, ZeroOne - I don't quite follow the point of your post. Could you be more specific - if you want, send it to my
hotmail account .

[flash9286]

so how about the mapstat thing i asked about

[kring]

I have downloaded and used the Civ Assistant; eagerly awaiting the next two items.

[ZeroOne]

CivLackey: I like to listen to my own mp3's as I play and I use Winamp for that. I set Winamp to "Always on top" mode and it floats there nicely on top of the game. ´However if I then give focus to Winamp (by pressing some of its buttons or adjusting volume) the taskbar shows up in the bottom of the screen, making Civ3 inactive. The plugin should integrate to Civ3 UI as your plugin now does.

But as I said, this might be a gap for some other plugin to fill.
As I said this could be done with some other plugin

[CivLackey]

Thanks for explaining, ZeroOne. Now that I understand what you're asking, I did a little research. It so happens that another developer has released freeware code that I can use to easily control Winamp from within the Civ Assistants interface. Supposedly, one of his features is the ability to hide Winamp, leaving only the Civ Assistant interface - which in theory should prevent the task switch from occuring if you manipulated WinAmp using the Civ Assistants. ( according to his propaganda - I haven't tested it yet )

Let me get the other two assistants into testing and I'll take a look at it. I assume you'd be willing to work with me on the interface, testing, etc @;-)

flash9286 - I'll put the mapstat thing on the chalkboard as well. I assume you mean "mapstat" as defined by a couple of the other utilities in this forum. I haven't played with them much, and I haven't looked into the format of the map / save files. I'm not sure I would want to roll my own. It might be better to get a mapstat guru or two to collaborate with me on integrating their stuff with mine. If you know a mapstat guru personally, you might start dropping hints...

[flash9286]

ok ill see what i can do

[flash9286]

chiefpaco makes mapstat maybe you can get in touch with him/her

[Elden]

Can't wait for the Historian's Assistant.

[FionnMcCumhall]

how is the work coming along? Im still waiting to test it

[ZeroOne]

Sure I can test the Winamp-thingie. You could put the control buttons + song name in the main menu of Civ Assitant, under the Combat Odds/Historian's Assistant/Snapshot Assistant -buttons. Those buttons that Combat Calc uses should do just fine, you'd then have to create only the "shuffle" button (who uses "repeat" anyway, my playlist is around 70 hours).

Btw, the Combat Calc closes for me for some reason if I scroll the wheel when any of its drop-down boxes is down. Would be great if the menus could be browsed with it...

[zagnut]

I use your Combat Calculator all the time and think it is great. I am preparing a strategy article for newbies and have included a link to this thread with a recommendation that everyone download it.

Thanks for developing the calculator and I hope a lot more people use it. I know it has many times solved my question about whether it is wise to attack.

[eugenemcardle]

Brilliant utility. Wainting patiently for the other goodies, tap..tap..tap.....

[CivLackey]

Thanks for all the support ( and patience ), guys. I've been really swamped by real-life ( Civvers should be exempt from RL, IMHO @;-)

It's coming... I plan to do the install for the next release this weekend and I'll have T'fall update the download link as soon as I get it uploaded.

It's to be considered public beta, but it shouldn't eat your machine ( or, at least, not all of it! *grin* )

Thanks again,
CivLackey