[WorldBuilder] Unofficial Updates / Modifications

[Jabarto]

I've updated the zip in my previous post with a new version that fixes a bug involving zooming beyond the smallest bounds and crashing the map viewer. I should note that these are pretty much 'beta' versions and won't be placed on the download page until I get enough feedback to satisfy me that it's stable.

I'd love to try this out, but neither your beta nor your stable version are working for me. When I try the stable one, the program refuses to launch. When I try the beta, I get the Unofficial WorldBuilder splash screen, but then it tries to launch Civ 5 itself and freezes.

 

[JeBuS27]

I had someone tell me that the current version froze when Steam tried to update Civ during the WB launch. Is your Civ up to date already, or is it possible this was occurring for you as well?

As for the previous version, I don't know what could be the problem there.

Also, what sort of system specs do you have? Win XP, Vista, 7? DirectX 9, 10, 11? NVIDIA or ATI GPU?

 

[Jabarto]

I tried starting up Steam, waiting for it to find an update, and it didn't. So I don't think anything like was going on.

I'm using Vista 64-bit, DirectX 11, with an Nvidia GTX 260 GPU.

Oh, and my Steam installation isn't on the main hard drive, if that matters.

 

[JeBuS27]

lemmy101 suggested this to someone for his tool, so, I might as well give it a shot...

Did you try running it as administrator?

 

[=Christian=]

This really is a nice tool and at least for me it runs stable.

I don't want to sound ungrateful here, but what is the use in having these large map sizes if loading a game on the new XXXXL maps instantly crashes CIV5?
Just asking.

Is this fixable or is it hardcoded and we have to wait until an official patch/addon/dlc will address this?

 

[JeBuS27]

Some systems can run larger maps than the default (120x80?). I think folks have reported success up to 180x90 or so. That's a lot more tiles to play with. As for larger maps crashing Civ, I have no control over that, and no idea if Firaxis can optimize their code to squeeze any more tiles out of it.

The reason I let both sliders go to 256 in the latest version is to not limit people so much. For instance, if I wanted to make a 256x64 or 64x256 map, that might work. Of course, a 256x256 map probably never will

 

[=Christian=]

Some systems can run larger maps than the default (120x80?). I think folks have reported success up to 180x90 or so. That's a lot more tiles to play with. As for larger maps crashing Civ, I have no control over that, and no idea if Firaxis can optimize their code to squeeze any more tiles out of it.

The reason I let both sliders go to 256 in the latest version is to not limit people so much. For instance, if I wanted to make a 256x64 or 64x256 map, that might work. Of course, a 256x256 map probably never will

Hm... Maybe it would then be a good idea to drop a note at the download section (or is there one already?). I would assume that many people (including myself) download this tool to try out some of these huge maps only to be disappointed because of the hardcoded limitations and a CTD.
I just hope that there is no one out there who is currently creating a 256x128 map only to realize that hours/days of work were useless once he launches a game.

 

[fozo1655]

May I ask how you are doing this?

 

[JeBuS27]

Let's just call it 'creative software engineering'.

The first few versions were simply hex-edited DLLs / EXE. For the most recent, I basically remade the entire thing by hand using C# in Visual Studio.

v04 worked for most people because it was essentially exactly the same as what Firaxis distributed, except for a few snippets of code here and there. v05 is less universally usable, because I probably haven't set up my project with identical properties to Firaxis'. Plus I don't have a QA department of my own, so...

 

[fozo1655]

So you hacked then re-created?

 

[smellymummy]

only to be disappointed because of the hardcoded limitations and a CTD.

there was a limitation in the worldbuilder, but thats gone now. as far as civ5 goes, it seems like it will try to load the map even if its gigantic without spitting out errors saying 'too big' (hardcoded limitation hint right there). getting it to load is another matter of course

 

[=Christian=]

...getting it to load is another matter of course

Which is quite a shame. I hope the Devs will address this issue in the future.

I was pretty disappointed to have created a huge map with the modded WorldBuilder tool just to discover that my map won't load in CIV5. Just wanted to make sure this doesn't happen to somebody else who has put even more effort into a gigantic 256x128 map.

That's why I would suggest to drop a note at the download section of this tool. Something along the lines of "...keep in mind that up till now huge maps like 256x128 will crash CIV5 upon loading".

 

[Lighthearter]

I don't know if this has been asked before, but could you make it so that cities, units, players, etc. are saved as well as the terrain? I think that would be a wonderful addition.

- Lighthearter

 

[JeBuS27]

I don't know if this has been asked before, but could you make it so that cities, units, players, etc. are saved as well as the terrain? I think that would be a wonderful addition.

That's what "Load Scenario" is for, in game.

 

[alfaastrix]

I've replaced my .exe, but please tell me if I'm missing something. Whenever I go to add or remove something from a map (regardless of size), instant crash report option. I can choose cancel, but click something else and repeat as needed. Any idea what's up?

Note:
Original WB works fine.

 

[Me_Myself_I]

What I'd like is the ability to zoom out more, without having to use the zoom function that erases all the resources I've put down. I would like to be able to zoom out more in edit mode. That's my top want.

WorldBuilder should also not allow people to save maps that don't have the minimum two rows of ice at the top and bottom. I believe only having one row is what caused my map to not load before.

There should be "X" close buttons on each map tab that's open so they can be closed without having to close the program.

The UI could be improved so that people know desert is required for putting in flood plains and that grassland is required for marshes.

There should be a generation routine to create completely symmetrical/balanced maps, with exactly the same geography and resources for each civ -- and exact distance from city states. A variation on this routine would give each civ unique happiness resources, to facilitate trading.

WorldBuilder should prompt users to add a name when closing the program if they've saved a map that doesn't have one, so there are no more "TempMap" entries in-game. Sometimes the game will use the filename. Sometimes it won't. So, it's better to give the map a name, but the name & description panel may be overlooked.

I would like there to be the ability to set specific starting locations for players and AI, instead of it always being random. This could, for instance, make it more fun for players by designing a map so the AI will be tougher (by avoiding design choices that cause the AI to perform poorly) -- yet leave more room for creativity with parts of the map designed to be used by real players.

Additional options for automatic generation would be nice, like "no desert", "all tiles forested", "all land, no water"... things along those lines.

A "no fog of war" option would be nice to have, so people don't have to resort to the debugger trick to see the entire map. I hope custom maps (not LUA) will be able to be used in multiplayer, and having this option would be helpful if someone wants to play-test a map with the AI prior to using it in multi-player.

 

[DigitizedChaos]

JeBuS,

Looks like a great tool but unfortunately I'm not able to run it with any of the versions posted so far in this thread. I hope you can help, I'm anxious to make a larger map!

My setup:
Win7 x64 Professional
latest .net framework
latest patch (Dec. 15 release) for Civ 5

Unzipped and run from:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v sdk\WorldBuilder\x86

ran w/ or w/out compat mode (xp sp3, xp sp2, vista sp1) and w/ or w/out admin. same results in all test.

Results:
1) Unofficial.WorldBuilder.v04.zip (with the signed and unsigned files renamed to WorldBuilder.exe overwriting original file) won't run at all. Just an error stating the program has stopped working.

2) Setup.exe from Unofficial.zip - see splash screen, asks for Civ 5 to launch in DX 9 or 10/11 (choose 10/11) then get multiple errors:

• Unknown argument type in message EnableMod
• The message EnableMod can not be used unit the errors are resolved (that's the error, not my typo)
• Unknown argument type in message ng
• Unkown argument type in message SetMapOption
• The message SetMapOption can not be used unit the errors are resolved

Finally the application just sits at the splash screen and nothing happens.

I went in and removed all mods from Civ 5 and tried again, no luck.

Is there something I'm doing wrong here? What other info can I give you to help find the cause?

 

[JeBuS27]

Something probably changed with one of the newer patches, and I just don't care enough about CivV to try to fix it any longer. The game is a disappointment.

 

[SamBC]

Well, they released a new version of the SDK with the December patch. I imagine much change would require changes to the unofficial fixes.

JeBuS, it's a shame that you don't feel able to carry on with this; I don't use the WorldBuilder myself, as yet, but it seems that the fixes you made were useful. While I can't do it myself, maybe you could pass your code to someone else, who could try to reintegrate it?

 

[Civ3matt]

I get this:

Description:
  Stopped working

Problem signature:
  Problem Event Name:	APPCRASH
  Application Name:	WorldBuilder.exe
  Application Version:	1.0.0.0
  Application Timestamp:	4cbda8cd
  Fault Module Name:	KERNELBASE.dll
  Fault Module Version:	6.1.7600.16385
  Fault Module Timestamp:	4a5bdaae
  Exception Code:	e0434f4d
  Exception Offset:	00009617
  OS Version:	6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
  Locale ID:	4105

Read our privacy statement online:
  http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=104288&clcid=0x0409

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
  C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

I tried everything, even what Jebus was telling to do. Debugging, the new version, unsign version, etc. Nothing works. I am always getting that error.
See this thread too of mine: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=10055873#post10055873