MacBUFFY

AlanH

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We plan to include Mac players in future BtS GOTM competitions (BoTMs). In order to do this we need to have a Mac-compatible version of the HoF mod for BtS (BUFFY).

The Hall of Fame team have now released version 3 of BUFFY, their adaptation of the BUG mod for use in HoF competitions. This is based on a Mac-compatible version of the BUG mod (BtS Unaltered Gameplay), and I have therefore created the first MacBUFFY release based on this code.

You can download MacBUFFY HERE

To install it, unzip the downloaded file and put the resulting folder in /Applications/Civilization IV/Beyond the Sword/Mods/. If you have installed Civ4 somewhere other than in /Applications/ then choose the equivalent location on your system.

UPDATED Feb 28 - Please note the above installation location has changed.

To load it, select Advanced->Load A Mod from the main BtS menu, and select MacBUFFY-3.19.003. The software will restart and load MacBUFFY.

You can set up Beyond the Sword to load MacBUFFY automatically when you launch it by editing the ~/Documents/Beyond the Sword/CivilizationIV.ini file using TextEdit or another text editing application. Change the following lines in this file:

; Specify a Mod folder (Mods\Mesopotamia), '0' for none
Mod = 0

to:

; Specify a Mod folder (Mods\Mesopotamia), '0' for none
Mod = MacBUFFY-3.19.003

You can play random games using MacBUFFY, and I encourage you to do so in order to test it before the next BoTM starts in a few days. When you play your own game, you will be warned that it will not be eligible for the HoF competitions, but you can safely ignore the warnings for your private games. The warnings will not appear when you use the mod to play BoTM start files.

[UPDATE] If you get an error message when you try to load a BOTM start file, saying the file has been protected, check that you have installed MacBUFFY correctly according to the above instructions. If you think it's correctly installed, download, unzip and run the MacAssetsCheck application attached to this post. This will compare your Civ4/BtS/MacBUFFY installation against the one used to create the BOTM start file, and list any differences it finds.

[UPDATE June 20, 2010]
MacAssetsCheck should now find a copy of the STEAM BtS installation. It also now supports Drag and Drop, so if it doesn't find your copy of the Civ4 application folder when it launches, or finds the wrong one, you can drag it from the Finder onto the MacAssetsCheck window.
 

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  • MacAssetsCheck.app.zip
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Last edited by a moderator:
Yes!!! Thankyou!!! :love:
 
This is super-awesome, I've been meaning to try the hall of fame games for some time, but I didn't want to go back to warlords to do it. I'll give this a try!
 
me said:
When you play your own game, you will be warned that it will not be eligible for the HoF competitions ...
You can't use MacBUFFY to enter the Hall of Fame competitions. It doesn't support all the security features they require.
 
I am not able to open the new Mac BOTM files. I get a message stating that the file is protected. I have applied the 3.19 patch.
 
Hmm. I'll put together an AssetsChecker so that we can compare your BtS installation with mine, and try to post that shortly.

Meanwhile, please check that your Civ4 and BtS are installed correctly in the Civilization IV application folder, patched to the latest versions, and unmodified. Since you have played GoTMs, I expect your Civ4 is OK. Also, ensure that you have followed the MacBUFFY installation instructions in the first post.

If you have not set MacBUFFY up to install automatically when you launch BtS, you will, of course, need to select Advanced->Load A Mod from the main BtS menu, and load MacBUFFY-3.19.003 manually before you try to load the BoTM start file.

I'd appreciate any feedback from other players to check whether your problem is a one-off. If others also have trouble, then it may be a problem with my BtS installation, not yours!
 
My Civ4/BTS appears to work fine otherwise, even when running MacBuffy. One thing I noticed is that if I start a new random game, the saved file size is approx. 40 kB, while the downloaded BOTM is only 16 kB. I suppose that could be differences in file size due to differences in the scenario, though.
 
Here is a quick and dirty app to check assets. Download the attached file, unzip it, and run it.

It expects to find all three versions of Civ4 (vanilla, Warlords and BtS), and the respective Mac HoF Mods and BUFFY. It will compare these directories with the ones I am using and report differences. If it produces an error list then you can save the list as a text file and post it here and we can take it from there.

PLEASE NOTE: A list of errors could mean that I have screwed up the AssetsChecker. Or it could indicate that your assets are different from mine, but that doesn't mean mine are right and yours are wrong. It could be the other way around, or we could both be wrong :)

[UPDATE] Current version of MacAssetsChecker is attached to post #51
 
Odd, the only things flagged in the asset check are two cursors?

Missing FIle: /Applications/Civilization IV/Assets/res/Cursors/Waiting.ani.bak
Missing FIle: /Applications/Civilization IV/Assets/res/Cursors/Pointer.ani.bak

How in the heck would I get those files back?
 
I actually have Waiting.ani and Pointer.ani in the Cursor folder; perhaps .ani.bak is some error centered around a double-extention name?
 
The .bak extension indicates that those are backup copies that seem to exist on my system. Maybe from an earlier release, or a pre-release copy I may have received. Interestingly, they have 2005 modification dates, much older than the rest of the files.

Since those files are in your vanilla assets, and you have played vanilla and warlords games recently without problems, they should not be significant. They probably don't figure in the fixed assets checks done by the game, which only looks at certain file types. My checker just compares the contents of each entire folder. I have confirmed this by removing them from my copy of Civ4, and the BOTM 27 start file still loads OK. I'll rebuild MacAssetsChecker without those files included.

Soooo. It doesn't look as if the checker has found the problem yet, though given that I threw it together in a few hours, I'm somewhat surprised that it worked at all! I'll have to look at it again, and see if it needs to extend its reach. It currently checks Assets and Shaders folders in each of the three applications, and Assets in the three mods. It looks at all the file and folder names, of course, and checks file sizes. It doesn't compare the file contents, though.
 
The .bak extension indicates that those are backup copies that seem to exist on my system. Maybe from an earlier release, or a pre-release copy I may have received. Interestingly, they have 2005 modification dates, much older than the rest of the files.

Since those files are in your vanilla assets, and you have played vanilla and warlords games recently without problems, they should not be significant. They probably don't figure in the fixed assets checks done by the game, which only looks at certain file types. My checker just compares the contents of each entire folder. I have confirmed this by removing them from my copy of Civ4, and the BOTM 27 start file still loads OK. I'll rebuild MacAssetsChecker without those files included.

Soooo. It doesn't look as if the checker has found the problem yet, though given that I threw it together in a few hours, I'm somewhat surprised that it worked at all! I'll have to look at it again, and see if it needs to extend its reach. It currently checks Assets and Shaders folders in each of the three applications, and Assets in the three mods. It looks at all the file and folder names, of course, and checks file sizes. It doesn't compare the file contents, though.
 
Dojoboy has told me he gets the same error, so there must be some problem with my config.

Here is a version of MacAssetsCheck that compares our entire Civ4 application and user directories. It will no doubt throw up a lot of differences. Please save the result and post it here as a text file. I'll then examine it to see where the problem may lie.

[UPDATE] Current version of MacAssetsChecker is attached to post #51
 
Please save the result and post it here as a text file. I'll then examine it to see where the problem may lie.

Aqui!
 

Attachments

  • dojo_MacAssetsCheck.txt
    7.4 KB · Views: 300
@Dojoboy: The main difference I can see between your config and mine is that you have put MacBUFFY-3.19.003 in the /Applications/Civilization IV/Beyond the Sword/Mods/ folder, not in /Documents/Civilization IV Beyond the Sword/MODS/. In this situation, MacAssetsCheck simply reports the missing and extra folders, but doesn't go any deeper.

the first post said:
To install it, unzip the downloaded file and put the resulting folder in ~/Documents/Civilization IV Beyond the Sword/Mods/
(Admittedly, the reference to the /Mods/ folder should read '/MODS/'. I've edited the post. :blush: )

That difference would be enough to cause the problem. If I move my MacBUFFY-3.19.003 folder so that my system looks like yours, then it fails the locked assets check when I try to load the BOTM start file.

Please can you move MacBUFFY-3.19.003 into your ~/Documents/.../MODS/ folder and see if that fixes the problem?

If the failure still occurs, then please re-run the MacAssetsCheck in the new state. It should then scan your mod folder in depth, and indicate any differences. Post the resulting text file here.
 
@Dojoboy: The main difference I can see between your config and mine is that you have put MacBUFFY-3.19.003 in the /Applications/Civilization IV/Beyond the Sword/Mods/ folder, not in /Documents/Civilization IV Beyond the Sword/MODS/. In this situation, MacAssetsCheck simply reports the missing and extra folders, but doesn't go any deeper.

My Civ4: BtS (and Civ4, Civ4: Warlords) app doesn't point to /Documents/Civilization IV Beyond the Sword/MODS/ from the in-game menu for loading mods. It points to /Applications/Civilization IV/Beyond the Sword/Mods/. If I place it in the first one, it would not appear when I went to load a mod in-game. That's beside the point though, because I changed the BtS .ini file to automatically start-up with MacBuffy.

I did go back and move it like you requested. Then, I changed the BtS .ini file back to Mods = 0. I opened the app and selected the BOTM contender file. The app rightly informed me that the MacBuffy mod was required. The app restarted loading MacBuffy, but then the warning popped up. Same result. Attached it the MacAssetsCheck after I moved MacBuffy to the /Documents/Civilization IV Beyond the Sword/MODS/ .
 

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  • dojo_MacAssetsCheck_v2.txt
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My Civ4: BtS (and Civ4, Civ4: Warlords) app doesn't point to /Documents/Civilization IV Beyond the Sword/MODS/ from the in-game menu for loading mods.
Are you sure? If I set Mod = 0 in CivilizationIV.ini for BtS, and I have MacBUFFY-3.19.0034 in my ~/Documents/Civilization IV Beyond the Sword/MODS/ folder, then MacBUFFY appears in the "LOAD A MOD" menu. I do have to scroll down the list, but it's there!

Same result. Attached it the MacAssetsCheck after I moved MacBuffy to the /Documents/Civilization IV Beyond the Sword/MODS/
Your MacBUFFY mod seems to match mine now.

I have reduced your output file to the following possible suspect entries:

Extra Directory: /Applications/Civilization IV/CustomAssets
Extra Directory: /Applications/Civilization IV/CustomAssets_bts

I don't know where these two came from. As far as I know they should not exist in a standard Civ4 installation. Do they contain anything? Please can you try removing them?
 
Are you sure? If I set Mod = 0 in CivilizationIV.ini for BtS, and I have MacBUFFY-3.19.0034 in my ~/Documents/Civilization IV Beyond the Sword/MODS/ folder, then MacBUFFY appears in the "LOAD A MOD" menu. I do have to scroll down the list, but it's there!

Yeah, it's there for me as well. I just never scrolled. However, I would just go through the 'Beyond the Sword Content.'

Your MacBUFFY mod seems to match mine now.

I have reduced your output file to the following possible suspect entries:

Extra Directory: /Applications/Civilization IV/CustomAssets
Extra Directory: /Applications/Civilization IV/CustomAssets_bts

I don't know where these two came from. As far as I know they should not exist in a standard Civ4 installation. Do they contain anything? Please can you try removing them?

I removed them. IIRC, they were from BlueMarble for the two apps. Don't ask me why.

I still get the error.
 
Here's my check. Nothing obviously jumped out at me.
 

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  • enhanced BTS check EDR.txt
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