ADDING UNITs TO C3C: Thorough Guide for the Newbie

[Colonel Kraken]

UPDATED 06/10/04

NOTE: I no longer provide support for this tutorial. Sorry.

HOW TO ADD UNITS TO C3C


FROM THE BEGINNING

Even if the only thing you're going to do is add units to the game, you should create a scenario. So if you goof up, you don't have to reinstall the game. The first thing you do is setup a scenario folder; name it whatever you like. In this scenario folder you will mimic the file structure of the main Civ III game. For this tutorial, we'll call it My Mod. Add a new folder to the Conquests\Scenarios folder (Click "File" in the upper left hand corner. Select "New" and click on "Folder". Type in the name of your mod. To change the name, right-click on the folder and select "Rename"). In creating this alternate scenario file structure, Conquests will look in your scenario first to find appropriate files it needs. When it can't find the files it needs, it will default to original files. So, all we have to do is add files that are going to change. All the rest stay the same and don't need to be added to our mod.

File Structure

To add units you will add a folder called "Art" inside you scenario folder. Inside of Art will be "Units". In addition, we'll need to add something to a text file called "PediaIcons.txt". Create a folder "Text" inside My Mod. Go to Conquests\Text and copy the PediaIcons.txt file and paste it inside the Text folder inside My Mod. This file we'll be modifying later.

You may also want new Civilopedia icons for your new units (optional), so create a folder inside Art called "Civilopedia"; inside that "Icons"; inside that "Units". You now have a file structure My Mod\Art\Units\ and My Mod\Art\Civilopedia\Icons\Units\ and My Mod\Text\.

Optionally, you may want to create Civilopedia entries for your new units. Copy the Civilopedia file from Conquests\Text and paste it inside your own Text folder in your mod. This you can modify later (I always wait 'till last because it is the least important).

Downloaded Units

Download the zip file for the unit you want and unzip it to My Mod\Art\Units. Sometimes the extracted files set up a separate file structure (so that you could have just extracted it to My Mod), somtimes they do not; it all depends on what the creator decided to do. Just make sure the final file structure is My Mod\Art\Units\My Cool New Unit.

Most all downloaded units have all the files you'll need to have a good looking unit. The minimum files you need to have are the animation files (file extension ".flc" and called "flic files" or "flics") and the INI configuration settings text file (it can be opened with a text editor).

The rest of the files you see in there will, more than likely, need to be moved to a different folder to be used appropriately which we'll get into that later.

There is one very important thing you'll always want to make sure you do for your downloaded units (or any new units, for that matter): The INI name MUST match the folder name exactly! No spaces, stray marks, etc. Well, caps don't matter, but . . . PLEASE make sure you get this right. This is one of the biggest problems people have when adding units.

The Good Stuff

Ok, let's get started for real. Open up the C3C editor and select "Custom Rules" under "Scenario". It'll give you a warning; say, "Yeah, yeah, ok". Click the "Edit" button (not the file menu option edit). Click the Units tab. Click the "Add" button. It'll ask for the new unit name. We'll use "Musket Infantry" for this example.

Probably the first and most important thing you're going to want to do is enter something in the "Civilopedia Entry" section. For a unit, it must start with "PRTO_" followed by your unit's name. In this case "PRTO_Musket_Infantry". Now, you'll notice that there can be no spaces. The spaces between words are filled with underscores. Now start editing the unit as you see fit.

Make note that in order for you to be able to choose the Offense/Defense AI Strategies, the land unit must have at least 1 attack and 1 defense and the Load and Capture flags checked. This has caused some confusion in the past, that's why I mention it. If the unit has a tech prereq, add that; resource prereq's; shield cost; who the unit is available to (important!). To select multiple entries in a list, hold down the "Ctrl" control key while selecting. When creating a unit, also make sure you choose the proper unit "Class", whether or not it is a Land, Sea, or Air unit. Also, here is where you select the city view icon for the unit (the radial dial next to the icon). (See Unit Icons below.)

If you want the unit to upgrade, check the upgrade box and select what unit it upgrades to. Make sure that, if you're inserting a unit into the middle of an upgrade path (in our case Musketman ---> Musket Infantry ----> Rifleman), you modify the upgrade unit for the unit coming before yours. In this case, Musketman upgrades to Swiss Mercenary upgrades to Musketeer upgrades to Rifleman (this is to take into account unique units). So, for Musketeer, change its upgrade unit to "Musket Infantry". Then, have Musket Infantry upgrade to Rifleman. Now our upgrade path is complete. Most Civs will build Musketman (if they have Saltpeter); the Dutch will build Swiss Mercenary; the French will build Musketeer. Then, all those units will be able to upgrade to Musket Infantry, which will in turn upgrade to Rifleman.

Close the edit screen (not the Editor!) and select "Scenario Properties" under "Scenario". Add an entry "My Mod" under scenario search folders. This will ensure that C3C looks in your mod folders for information before it uses the default information. Open up some of the Conquests scenarios and look at these entries to see the structure you can use. For example, in the Pacific War scenario, there's a reference to the PtW WWII units pack for Japan. This is a really good example of what can be done here. Just remember that every "..\" is like using the "Up" folder icon in the Windows browser. Every entry/reference must be separated by a ";" semicolon.

Now that we have the unit the way we want it, DON'T CLICK SAVE! This will save over top your original C3C biq. Instead, we're creating a scenario (or mod), so select "Save As" from the File menu. Save it as My Mod (or whatever you want) and save it to Conquests\Scenarios. Close the editor; we're done with that!

Non-Editor Stuff: PediaIcons.txt

Open up the PediaIcons.txt file you saved in My Mod\Text. Scroll down until you start seeing entries for units. Look for "Musketman". This isn't necessary, but I like to use units that are similar to my new one in case I don't have unique Civilopedia icons for the unit. The entry should look like this:

#ICON_PRTO_Musketman
art\civilopedia\icons\units\14musketmanlarge.pcx
art\civilopedia\icons\units\14musketmansmall.pcx

Copy it. Paste it to the end of the list (I do this so that I can easily keep track of all the units I've added). Change it to look like this:

#ICON_PRTO_Musket_Infantry
art\civilopedia\icons\units\14musketmanlarge.pcx
art\civilopedia\icons\units\14musketmansmall.pcx

Notice that "PRTO_" blah, blah, blah must match the entry you put under "Civilopedia Entry" in the editor. If you have unique pictures (icons) for the Civilopedia, enter the names here. If you're using the Napoleonic scenario unit, it would look something like this:

art\civilopedia\icons\units\X2_NapoleonicInfantry_lg.pcx
art\civilopedia\icons\units\X2_NapoleonicInfantry_sm.pcx

How did I know that? Open up Conquests\Conquests\Napoleonic Europe\Text\PediaIcons.txt. Scroll down to the units section. Voi la, there lie the secret entries for those cool units. Alternatively, go to the Conquests\Art\Civilopedia\Icons\Units folder and find the name of the picture you want to use.

If you've downloaded a unit, it may have Civilopedia images for you. Cut (or Copy) them from your unit folder (My Cool New Unit) and paste them into My Mod\Art\Civilopedia\Icons\Units. There should be 2 files: one large and one small. Make note of the file names and add them to your PediaIcons entry for civilopedia icons.

If the downloaded unit does not have unique Civilopedia images, you'll have to reference ones that already exist in the game. Just copy and paste an entry as I explained above and be sure to enter the appropriate name after "PRTO_".

THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT!
Ok, now scroll down to almost the bottom of your PediaIcons.txt file until you start seeing unit entries again that begin with "ANIMNAME_". Copy one of 'em and paste it to the end of the entries. It should look something like this:

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Musketeer
Musketeer

Change it to:

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Musket_Infantry
Musket Infantry

You must have an ANIMNAME entry for every unit. The PRTO_Unit_Name is the name of the unit exactly as it appears in the editor under "Civilopdedia Entry". The name below is the name of the unit folder. The name of the unit folder can be different than your PRTO entry, as long as it reflects the name of the unit folder you're using. For example, if you wanted your Musket Infantry to look like a Guards unit, you may choose the "Guard Infantry" animation from the Napoleonic scenario. Your entry would then look like this:

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Musket_Infantry
Guard Infantry

That's because we're using the Guard Infantry animation.

Now, we're not done yet. Close and say yes to save your PediaIcons.txt. Go to Conquests\Conquests\Napoleonic Europe\Art\Units and copy the "Guard Infantry" folder. Paste it into My Mod\Art\Units.* You're done!! When you start a new game, you'll have Musket Infantry that looks like Guard Infantry at the appropriate tech/resource. (See below, Testing My New Unit)

What if we had used the "Musketman" animation from the Napoleonic scenario? In the Napoleonic Scenario it was ok to call it Musketman because the scenario creator wanted it to replace the original Musketman animation (the new one looks like Revolutionary War British Red Coats). But we don't want to replace the original Musketman in our scenario. So, copy the Musketman folder from the Napoleonic scenario. Paste it into your mod (you should know where by now). Rename the folder to "Musket Infantry". Open the folder and rename "Musketman.ini" to "Musket Infantry.ini". This is muy importante!!! The INI name MUST match the folder name exactly! This is the cause of so many problems. Make sure you get it right!

Unit Icons

What about those cool little City Screen icons for units? That's in the Conquests\Art\Units folder. It's called "Units_32". For our example, we don't need to do anything with it. It already has an icon for the unit we added. Simply make sure you select the appropriate icon for your unit in the editor.

What if I wanted to add an icon? Copy the Units_32 file and paste it to your mod (My Mod\Art\Units). Open it with a graphics program that can open pcx files. Grab the unit icon for your new unit (usually comes with all downloaded units and should have been one of the files that was extracted to My Cool New Unit) and paste it into one of the empty squares. Save. Now when you open the editor and load your scenario, you'll be able to select the new icon. Alternatively, you can download Zulu's Units_32 from CFC. Zulu has a great tutorial concerning the Units_32 file here.

The Civilopedia

Last, but perhaps not least, if you want to add a Civilopedia entry, open up the Civilopedia.txt you pasted into your mod. Copy a unit entry (to ensure the proper structure) and paste it to the end of the units entries. Change the name after PRTO to Musket_Infantry (this entry must match what you put in the editor for "Civilopedia Entry", which makes sense!!). Modify the descriptive text to your heart's content. Alternatively, you can download Steph's very nice Civilopedia editor. Link.

Testing My New Unit

So, you've followed this tutorial, but you don't want to wait until the end of the Middle Ages to make sure your new unit works. No problem.

Save you scenario in "debug" mode. In the editor, select Scenario Properties from the Scenario menu at the top. Checkmark "Debug Mode". Save the scenario.

Start a new game with your scenario. The map will be revealed (that's part of the debug mode). Press [Shift][F1] to get a list of all available units. Select your new unit from the list and click on the map. If you've done everything correctly, your new unit will appear on the map! If you've done something wrong, you'll know right away.

If you want the unit to attack, go into the list of units, select a different country (I always choose Barbarians [which may use any unit in debug] so I don't have to declare war), then select a unit. Attack the Barbarian unit with your new unit.

Enjoy!

So, that's it. You've added a new unit. It sounds more complicated than it really is. Once you get the hang of it, it's really quite simple (if not a little time consuming).

*

An alternative method exists to using other scenario units, whether it be from PtW Extras pack or Conquests scenarios. Although most of us veteran modders should have considered this long ago, Embryodead expounded for the rest of us dunces how to more easily (or at least save hard drive space) use these other units.

Create the unit folder in My Mod\Art\Units called "Musket Infantry". Go to the Napoleonic scenario and open the folder for the unit animation you want. Copy the INI file and paste it inside your Musket Infantry folder. Rename the INI to "Musket Infantry.ini". Add before each file reference entry in the INI:

..\..\..\..\..\Conquests\Napoleonic Europe\Art\Units\Guard Infantry\

This tells Civ where to look for the appropriate files. An example of an actual entry would then look like this:

DEFAULT=..\..\..\..\..\Conquests\Middle Ages\Art\Units\Longship\Longship_default.flc

NOTE: This tutorial continues two posts down.

 

[Gogf]

Very, very good! ! If only you had come out with this when I first added units to my scenarios, it would have made life so much easier, and saved me about ten hours of wasted time.

 

[Colonel Kraken]

ADVANCED SECTION


Adding 2 or More Units with the Same Artwork
Let's say you want units called "Grenediers" and "Fussiliers" to share the Guard Infantry artwork. You only need one artwork folder: Guard Infantry. In the editor add units the way you normally would, but each new unit that shares the "Guard Infantry" animation has the same PRTO entry for the Civilopedia Entry in the editor. PRTO_Guard_Infantry

Now, in the PediaIcons.txt, simply add entries like this:

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Grenediers
Guard Infantry
#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Fussiliers
Guard Infantry

You can see that both your new units now reference the same artwork folder. You probably also want both units to share the same civilopedia icons. Add entries like this:

#ICON_PRTO_Grenediers
art\civilopedia\icons\units\X2_NapoleonicInfantry_lg.pcx
art\civilopedia\icons\units\X2_NapoleonicInfantry_sm.pcx
#ICON_PRTO_Fussiliers
art\civilopedia\icons\units\X2_NapoleonicInfantry_lg.pcx
art\civilopedia\icons\units\X2_NapoleonicInfantry_sm.pcx

That should be it!


Changing the Appearance of Units through the Ages
Just as the look of the Worker, Settler, and Leader changes as you progress through the eras, you can make other units do the same. It's really quite simple now that you know how to add units.

You may have noticed at the end of PediaIcons.txt there is a section called "Era-Specific Unit icons". Well, you can begin to utilize this section to create era-specific artwork for your units!

It's very simple, really. Let's say you've added the Musket Infantry, but you think that, once you get to the Industrial Era, it should look like the Napoleonic Guards Infantry instead of British Redcoats. What do we need to do?

Add a folder to your Units folder in your scenario and name it "Musket Infantry INDUSTRIAL AGES" (The latter part does not need to be in caps, but it helps to have it stand out in your scenario folder for future reference). Copy the .ini file from your Musket Infantry folder and paste it inside the "INDUSTRIAL AGES" folder you just made. Rename the ini to "Musket Infantry Industrial Ages".

Now, using the alternate method described in the quote section above (the one with the asterisk), change the references in the ini to reference the "Guard Infantry" unit folder in the Napoleonic Europe scenario.

Now, open your PediaIcons.txt in your scenario and scroll to the "Unit animations" section and add the following lines after your entry for Musket Infantry.

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Musket_Infantry_ERAS_Industrial_Age
Musket Infantry Industrial Ages
#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Musket_Infantry_ERAS_Modern_Era
Musket Infantry Industrial Ages

Scroll down to the "Era-Specific Unit icons" section and add the following lines.

#UNITICON_PRTO_Musket_Infantry_ERAS_Industrial_Age
184
#UNITICON_PRTO_Musket_Infantry_ERAS_Modern_Era
184

Voi la! Your Musket Infantry will look like British Redcoats in the Middle Ages and like a Napoleonic Guards infantry in the Industrial and Modern eras. It was necessary to add the "Modern_Era" entry, lest your unit revert back to looking like British Redcoats once you hit the Modern Era. I did not have separate/new artwork for the Modern Era; I just wanted it to stay looking like the Guards Infantry.

The icon number is obtained by opening the editor and scrolling to the icon you want to use and checking its number. That is the number you use for the era specific icon.

Follow this same format for all units and you can change the look of Warriors all the way through to the Modern Era. Just add a different folder for each era. In each folder, you add different artwork (or reference different artwork in the ini) depending on what you want that unit to look like in that era.

For each different Era, use this format:

For the unit folders, name them:

Unit Middle Ages
Unit Industrial Ages
Unit Modern Times

Where "Unit" is the name of your unit. Make sure to name the ini the exact same as the name of the unit folder.

For the animation name section in PediaIcons, use the following format:

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Unit_ERAS_Middle_Ages
Unit Middle Ages
#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Unit_ERAS_Industrial_Age
Unit Industrial Ages
#ANIMNAME_PRTO_Unit_ERAS_Modern_Era
Unit Modern Times

For the era specific icons section in PediaIcons, use:

#UNITICON_PRTO_Unit_ERAS_Middle_Ages
xxx
#UNITICON_PRTO_Unit_ERAS_Industrial_Age
xxy
#UNITICON_PRTO_Unit_ERAS_Modern_Era
xxz

Where xxx, xxy, and xxz are the icon numbers you want to use for each era.

You don't need a specific Ancient Era animation because, if your unit is available in the Ancient Era, it just uses the default animation. Once you reach the Middle Ages, it'll change animations.

Enjoy adding some spice to your game!

 

[Skydivingcows]

Great! If only I had waited a week! I crashed the game on my computer. I found out later I had messed up the Units_32 file from Civ3 folder, not Conquest. I found it easier to download Zulu's Units_32, find the unit, then estimate the number in the editor.

The other posts were good, but you had to go through so many threads. Thanks for clearing everything up.

 

[locomuchacho]

Thanx Colonel!

 

[Colonel Kraken]

Thanks guys.

I added an update from information given to us by Embryodead concerning adding Conquests scenario units. It's an alternative method to physically copying and moving the unit folder (and taking up more hard drive space).

Thanks,

CK

 

[mad-bax]

Hey Colonel.

Followed the guide, and it worked. I'm a complete first timer and I now have pictish warrior barbs running round.

Thanx.

OT: (There always is )

I want to add some units (squid) to the map. I want them in at the start of the game. If I just make them the barb seafaring unit then I won't see them 'till mapmaking.

Would someone be kind enough to pint me to a helpful link please?

 

[Misfit_travel]

Colonel:

What if I want to mirror units within the scenario I'm working on. For instance, I have art for a multiunit division, but I want to share that art for both sides in a conflict. I need two separate folders because the statistics for these units are slightly different.

How would I describe the path?

Ex.:

Scenario folder path is C:\Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\Civilzation III\Conquests\Scenarios\ACWC3C

The artwork is resident in

..\ACWC3C\Art\Units\CSAEnfieldDiv

but I want to share that artwork with another .ini file

..\ACWC3C\Art\Units\SprinfieldDiv

What path do I need to enter to modify the SpringfieldDiv.ini file to reference the art in the \CSAEnfieldDiv folder?

Thanks
Misfit

 

[mad-bax]

AFAIK the .ini should be identical in both cases except the paths referencing the flics should be

../CSAEnfieldDiv/XXXXAttackA.flc (for example)

I assume you realise that file seperators should be "/" and not "\" as in your original post.

I've done this exact thing BTW and it works. The SpringfieldDiv directory should contain only the .ini obviously.

 

[Misfit_travel]

Thanks for the info. That was exactly what I needed to know.

Misfit

 

[Colonel Kraken]

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I forget to monitor this thread.


If you want several units to share the same artwork, you merely have to ADD units in the Editor (one for each unit) and have them all contain the same Civilopedia entry (PRTO_ . . . ).

You do NOT need a separate unit folder for each unit. However, you must list each separately named unit in the PediaIcons.txt just like I showed in the first post.

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_CSAEnfieldDiv
EnfieldDiv

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_SprinfieldDiv
EnfieldDiv

In this case, both units share the same artwork: EnfieldDiv. The INI in EnfieldDiv unit folder would then make reference to CSAEnfieldDiv or SpringfieldDiv. Whichever artwork you had wanted to use. I think you're also going to need separate ICON_PRTO entries as well, but they can reference the same icons, of course.

 

[Wolflord]

Thanks for the info; it is very nice to have all of this in one place.

I'm wondering if there is a reason that everyone is still using the Scenario folder instead of the Conquest folder, or is that Fraxis only territory?

 

[Warman17]

alright i did what you said to make my unit. but what do i put it to so it plays during a normal game? The "My Mod" foldier is just sitting there under 'scenarios'. I also would like to know if i saved the scenario under the correct foldier. The scenario where i made my unit's stats etc is under My Mod/Art/Units. is that good?

help appriciated, thank you

 

[Colonel Kraken]

Originally posted by Wolflord
Thanks for the info; it is very nice to have all of this in one place.

I'm wondering if there is a reason that everyone is still using the Scenario folder instead of the Conquest folder, or is that Fraxis only territory?

You're welcome.

Hmm. I'm sure you can use that one as well. Is there an added benefit to doing so? Perhaps you are then able to have your score from a modded game entered into the HoF?

 

[Colonel Kraken]

Originally posted by Warman17
alright i did what you said to make my unit. but what do i put it to so it plays during a normal game? The "My Mod" foldier is just sitting there under 'scenarios'. I also would like to know if i saved the scenario under the correct foldier. The scenario where i made my unit's stats etc is under My Mod/Art/Units. is that good?

help appriciated, thank you

If you've added a unit, it's no longer a "normal" game per se. You will load you "mod" as a scenario. It'll play just like the regular Conquests epic game, except now you'll have the added benefits of another unit to play with.

If you have a more specific question, feel free to ask.

--CK

 

[ybbor]

thank you as now i'm not afraid to add units, before when i first discovered the editor i thought all i had to do was create the unit select an icon and play, this should help i'd play it now, but i'm in colorado w/ my grandparents and have to write my science project papaer when i get back, not to mention an english assignment, and math homework...... sorry i'll try this as soon as i can (just got for x-mas and am halfway through mesopotamia scenario, again, thank you !!!

 

[immortals84]

Thanks Colonel, THIS BOARD HAS PRODUCED A GREAT LEADER! COLONEL KRAKEN!

 

[Colonel Kraken]

Originally posted by immortals84
Thanks Colonel, THIS BOARD HAS PRODUCED A GREAT LEADER! COLONEL KRAKEN!

Thanks . . . I think.



--CK

 

[Goldie]

Please help me Kraken

I added everything like you said but I got an error message when I tried to run the game.

It said "Fatal Error" and then something about the "Draw Buffer". Do you know anything about this and if so, how can I fix it?

Thanks in advance

 

[immortals84]

Ive added 42 units on one scenario already, the game is alot better with more of a variety.

P.S.
what does .INI mean? Its in "art\units\(the unit folder)\(the unit folder) .INI