ADDING UNITs TO C3C: Thorough Guide for the Newbie

[Abaddon]

Ok. I want to add graphics, not units.

I.e. I want to improve how the base game looks.. I don't need or desire to change the descriptions/stats etc.


How do i simply alter how the units look?

 

[againsttheflow]

Follow the same tutorial. Just keep in mind that your PRTO_[unit name] entry in the editor needs to match up with the PediaIcons.txt and the Civilopedia.txt. You can either:

1) change the PRTO entry (calling the unit a different name in this box will never show up in game so you could essentially call it anything you want ie you could rename it PRTO_medieval1 and it will still appear as longbowman in game)

or

2) you could go to the PediaIcons.txt and Civilopedia.txt and change where the PRTO_* entry-for-the-unit-you-want-to-update directs.

or

3) delete/backup the unit folder and pediaicons (Large and Small *.pcx's) of the unit you wish to replace and add the new folder and pediaicons with the exact same names as the old ones (remember to change the name of the *.INI file to exactly match the name of the unit folder its contained in!)

 

[Europhile]

Ok. I want to add graphics, not units.

I.e. I want to improve how the base game looks.. I don't need or desire to change the descriptions/stats etc.


How do i simply alter how the units look?

Dude, this is (perhaps accidentally) an oxymoronical statement. Nevertheless, we were all there at some point, so let me see if I can break it down how I understand it. (I am no master, by the way.)

There are three things you raise here. First off, altering unit statistics is the easiest thing to do - you can do all that in the Map Editor. But you don't want to do that.

Second, changing unit descriptions is not so easy. However, you say you are fine with their names and Civilopedia entries (descriptions) already, so I won't go into how one changes those sorts of things.

Thirdly, to your question, if you just want to change unit depictions, then you would have to open up a huge can o' worms, my friend. Let me tell you why, and then you can ask another question as to how, if you are still so interested.

A) Unit depictions are altered by having a full set of .ini, .flc., and .pcx files to replace the ones that you no longer want to replace or want to supplement.

B) The unit folder has to match up with your PediaIcons.txt file, as well as the .ini file within the unit folder with its respective .flc files. (That is, it is rather easy to change the unit depictions in the game menus, but their animations will be based on what you have for their .flc files.)

C) The units_32.pcx file has to have updated graphics for the unit(s), which must match up in the Map Editor.

Long story short, if all you want to do is change how the units look in the game, then you will have to replace or add a number of things first. Luckily for you, there is www.civfanatics.com to help you out - they have this thing broken down into a simple science for guys like you and me. Read everything in the customization forums before asking more questions - very helpful information awaits you!

 

[Zeeba_238]

Thanks everyone--This is amazing, I am finally able to mess with the game!!!!!! Yay!!!!!

 

[myroksoff]

hello,
first, i am new to this, but i am trying. i have loaded many units into my game. i have found that the Zumwalt destroyer and the Ticonderoga cruiser arent acting the way their supposed to. when i use the bombard icon (i am in debug mode) and click on the city, the unit moves into the city fires all its guns and blows up. now, if i had to go, that is how i would do it. with all guns blazing. but i thought they were supposed to stay outside the city to do this (like other naval units). what is the deal-e-o....uhm yo. or however you are supposed to say that. anyway, whats going on?

 

[Micaelus]

hello,
first, i am new to this, but i am trying. i have loaded many units into my game. i have found that the Zumwalt destroyer and the Ticonderoga cruiser arent acting the way their supposed to. when i use the bombard icon (i am in debug mode) and click on the city, the unit moves into the city fires all its guns and blows up. now, if i had to go, that is how i would do it. with all guns blazing. but i thought they were supposed to stay outside the city to do this (like other naval units). what is the deal-e-o....uhm yo. or however you are supposed to say that. anyway, whats going on?

In the 'Unit Abilities' section you should select both 'Ranged Attack Animation' and 'Rotate before Attack' for naval ships (unless of course the ship is firing forward-facing guns, in which case skip the second). If you want a unit to attack from where it is, without playing the run animation and moving into the defender's tile, you must select 'Ranged Attack Animation'

 

[myroksoff]

i checked in the editor and both have ranged attack animation and rotate before attack highlighted. i tried to make sure they had the same highlighted as other naval units. oh there it is. i had inadvertantly clicked on cruise missle for some reason. dont know why, but thatnks for the help.

 

[Bowsling]

I believe one thing that wasn't mentioned in the tutorial is that if you are making a non-king unit, go to the page in the editor of any unit with stealth attack (sub, stealth fighter/bomber, etc.), and add your unit to the list of units that are potential targets to a stealth attack.

 

[Meteor Man]

Oh, yeah! Forgot about that. Thanks, Bowsling! Nice bump, comrade.

 

[Daniel Croix]

OK, so I have been reading thru this forum for two days now and mostly understand this however I have two questions I'm hoping someone can answer me.

1) How come my Vanilla Civ pedialcons.txt doesnt have the ANIMNAME scripts at all? I'm assuming that I have to load all new units into the Conquests folder instead of under the Vanilla Civ and create a scenario to get them to work... I cannot seem to get them to work in Vanilla.

2) How come I cannot select how the AI works a unit, ie attack, defense, etc? Only 'explore' comes as an option. Does that mean if I load a B52 that I the AI will never use it to bomb me?

If I've overlooked something could you please direct me to the thread? I've been playing Civ since the first one came out and am really excited to get some custom units into my games.

Thanks!

 

[Europhile]

1) If you have Conquests installed, then you will be using the pediaicons.txt file from that folder. I put all my mods into my Conquests Scenario folder. Try not to confuse the two (vanilla and Conquests).

2) In the Map Editor, you have to give certain attributes to units in order for certain AI scripts to be enabled. Use the "Help" button on the Map Editor and you will find the "AI Strategy Rules" section through a link. It is all listed right there for you.

Try exploring more before trying to mod your game. Once you get a general idea of how everything goes together, then you can start tweeking little things (and then later bigger things). But exploring is the first step - don't neglect it!

 

[Daniel Croix]

Snootch, that helps tons. Thanks!

I have everything now sorted out and figured out except for my last unit I'm adding, the Spruance Destroyer. I'm calling it a ModernDestroyer with no spaces so I dont have to double check everything, plus to keep it simple as I have done with all the other units I have added. I'm getting an error message that I can't figure out as I have looked over everything a dozen times and cant seem to see what would cause this error:

Cannot find ART\UNITS\MODERNDESTROYER\V

What is 'V'????

 

[Bowsling]

Maybe you accidentally put that in the ANIMNAME section of the Pediaicons.txt?
I can't think of any other reason for civ to behave like this.

 

[Daniel Croix]

I'll check tonight but I'm 99% certain everything is where it should be. I'm tempted to delete it out and reinstall and see if I get the same error. I'll just have to redo all the stealth attack settings on my other units..

 

[Europhile]

Well, there are a couple tihngs you need to update when you add a unit to Civ3 (Conquests).

A) You should put something in for the Civilopedia entry. Usually if I am lazy or just beginning a mod, I will make the Civilopedia entry (in the map editor) something like PRTO_Warrior. However, you might want to create something for your new Modern Destroyer unit. (This is on the Civilopedia.txt file.)

B) Update the PediaIcons.txt file to include this unit. There are a couple places to do that in this file. One thing you can try doing is just going to the last unit in a list, then putting your Modern Destroyer after it. (Follow the format for the entry.) Then [control + f] to Find that last unit again in the file, then add your Modern Destroyer unit after that, as well, using the proper format for the entry.

C) The previous two items are found in the Text folder. The Units folder is the last thing to double-check. Sometimes we don't download or verify the correct things here. It is important that, in your case, the Modern Destroyer unit has its own folder and that the files within it are squared away. I recommend viewing the files of other units to get an idea of this file structure. Note: this unit folder should be on the Conquests side; not the vanilla-version side!

After double-checking all three of those things and making sure that everything is PERFECT (one little poo ball can bring down a whole mountain of waste), then the game should run okay with your new unit in there.


Snootch

 

[Wahsayah]

okay it says you don't give support anymore but I'm in need of help so I'm gonna give it a shot anyways...I took my unit put the icon file where it belongs, put it's name in the pediaicons file located in Conquest\scenarios\My Mod\Text

Now maybe I'm having trouble figuring out how to have the scenario search folder try to locate it because I'm confused on how to type in the file path for the scenario search folder for the map to detect my mod....Help?

 

[Rustwork]

I close the PediaIcons file and it tells me it has changed, would i like to save the changes? then i click yes and it tells me it cannot create the file, adding - make sure the path and file name are correct. help, i'm lost????

 

[Timelord]

I close the PediaIcons file and it tells me it has changed, would i like to save the changes? then i click yes and it tells me it cannot create the file, adding - make sure the path and file name are correct. help, i'm lost????

Make sure the file isn't set to read only, (Right click on it, select properties, look under general/attributes>deselect the read only flag, apply and then you should be able to edit your file.

Or

Save it out to a different location then cut/paste the file back to it's original place.

 

[Rustwork]

Yep, was read only. works now. thanks

 

[Nimitz96]

Never mind i have gotten it thank you for all of you who have helped create this, and whose trial and error helped me along this ordeal. Thank you