Age lines in tech tree are out of tune

[Optimizer]

I have done some modding of the tech tree, and suddenly got a problem.

The ages are divided by vertical lines. However, the ages displayed are out of sync; the Renaissance techs are labeled Medieval, the Industrial techs are labeled Renaissance and so on.

Can this be fixed?

 

[FiresForever]

You will have to change the GridX value of all the technologies that are not under the correct era to fix this problem, or make sure that when you add or change a technology you don't assign it a gridX value that would place it in a different era so that the era panels do not change from their default locations. eg the GridX value for ancient era technologies should not be greater than two

Hope that helps

 

[Morlark]

That's not true in the slightest.

Edit: Opti, it might help if you can tell us what in the techtree you've been modding. The only way I can think of for what you're describing to occur is if something's gone wrong in TechTree.lua, or if your TXT_KEY_ERA_* entries have somehow got mixed up, both of which seem unlikely.

 

[Optimizer]

I added some ancient and classical techs.

 

[FiresForever]

That's not true in the slightest.

Edit: Opti, it might help if you can tell us what in the techtree you've been modding. The only way I can think of for what you're describing to occur is if something's gone wrong in TechTree.lua, or if your TXT_KEY_ERA_* entries have somehow got mixed up, both of which seem unlikely.

Unfortunately this is how the tech tree works, change any ancient era technology to have a GridX value of 3 if you want to see it. The System does not change the GridX value automatically, in this scenario all the classical technologies with a girdx value of 3 will now be under the Ancient Era Panel, even though they are actually classical era technologies.

 

[Morlark]

Perhaps you should take your own advice and try it for yourself. The era panels will automatically expand or contract to encompass all the proper techs. Obviously, if there are techs from two different eras in the same column then there's no way for the system to cope. But what you said in your initial response was pretty explicitly incorrect. The default locations of the era panels have absolutely no bearing on the actual dynamically generated locations, and consequently on the valid positions for techs.

 

[FiresForever]

Perhaps you should take your own advice and try it for yourself. The era panels will automatically expand or contract to encompass all the proper techs. Obviously, if there are techs from two different eras in the same column then there's no way for the system to cope. But what you said in your initial response was pretty explicitly incorrect. The default locations of the era panels have absolutely no bearing on the actual dynamically generated locations, and consequently on the valid positions for techs.

The section in red is so very wrong, yes it will expand and contract, but not to cover the proper technologies. The Code looks for the technology with the highest GridX value in each era and then uses this as the size of the panel, there is no checking or correcting of technologies not in the correct location, the Era panel is dynamic the technology locations are very much static in this regard.

A picture is worth a thousand words i guess, here the ancient tech calendar has been changed to GridX 3, and as we can see now the classical era technologies that have a gridX value 3 are now showing to be under the Ancient Era.

As i said in my first post to avoid this problem and not have to change all the GridX values it is better to stay within the default values. If you want to make an era panel bigger then go ahead but prepare for alot of additional changes.

I hope this helps the original poster with their problem.

 

[Spatzimaus]

The section in red is so very wrong, yes it will expand and contract, but not to cover the proper technologies.

He was right, because if you notice the title of this thread, there's that pesky word "lines". Lines go from point A to point B, and don't curve around to go around obstacles. So if you're trying to get the era separator to look like the International Date "Line", then it's your own fault. The game just doesn't do that.

The key is that it expands BY COLUMNS. The logic the code seems to use is this:
1> Go to the first era (Ancient, in the core game). Find the minimum GridX and maximum GridX for technologies assigned to this era.
2> Draw vertical lines outside these values.
3> Go to the next era, and repeat the process, using the endpoint of the previous era in place of the minimum for the current one.
4> Go to 3.

So as long as you're not trying to mix eras within a single column, there's no problem. If you want to add more techs to the Ancient era, then you'll need to either fit them into the existing holes, or shift all of the later techs' GridX values by 1. Obviously, this is a pain if you're trying to heavily edit the early tech tree, but it makes things really easy if you want to add some more future techs at the end of the tree.

 

[FiresForever]

He was right, because if you notice the title of this thread, there's that pesky word "lines". Lines go from point A to point B, and don't curve around to go around obstacles. So if you're trying to get the era separator to look like the International Date "Line", then it's your own fault.

The ages are divided by vertical lines. However, the ages displayed are out of sync; the Renaissance techs are labeled Medieval, the Industrial techs are labeled Renaissance and so on.

Notice the word "Vertical" if s/he had said curved or something else then we could jump to your conclusion, otherwise there is nothing to indicate that was the issue here.

I agree with the rest of what you said Spatzimaus as it is more or less inline with my own reasoning for why this problem occurs. But to suggest as Morlak did that the system has a level of checking beyond this is not correct and therefore it is this limitation that prevents a more dynamic positioning of technologies, this also implies that the following is not the cause of the limitation in the system:

Lines go from point A to point B, and don't curve around to go around obstacles.

As after all a circle is just a collection of straight lines going from A to B the closer you examine it.

 

[Optimizer]

So as long as you're not trying to mix eras within a single column, there's no problem. If you want to add more techs to the Ancient era, then you'll need to either fit them into the existing holes, or shift all of the later techs' GridX values by 1. Obviously, this is a pain if you're trying to heavily edit the early tech tree, but it makes things really easy if you want to add some more future techs at the end of the tree.

It works, thanks!

Here is a discussion thread about expanding the tech tree, from a gameplay point of view.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=386613

 

[Morlark]

Notice the word "Vertical" if s/he had said curved or something else then we could jump to your conclusion, otherwise there is nothing to indicate that was the issue here.

I agree with the rest of what you said Spatzimaus as it is more or less inline with my own reasoning for why this problem occurs. But to suggest as Morlak did that the system has a level of checking beyond this is not correct

Erm, thanks for your picture which demonstrates that what I said is exactly and precisely true, I guess? But no thanks for your strawman argument. Don't try to put words into other people's mouths, it's just plain dishonest.

 

[FiresForever]

You will have to change the GridX value of all the technologies that are not under the correct era to fix this problem, or make sure that when you add or change a technology you don't assign it a gridX value that would place it in a different era so that the era panels do not change from their default locations. e.g. the GridX value for ancient era technologies should not be greater than two

Morlark you said this was an untrue statement and as according to your first post you state that:

... The only way I can think of for what you're describing to occur is if something's gone wrong in TechTree.lua, or if your TXT_KEY_ERA_* entries have somehow got mixed up...

Yes if you are editing this TechTree.lua file we can create all kinds of unwanted circumstances. Yet this statement implies that only an error here could cause the problems that the original poster is suffering from. As such according to YOU any solution thereafter would derive from the editing/correcting (re downloading) of this TechTree.lua file.

Further to this you suggest an error in the TXT_KEY_ERA_ * entries, these values have no bearing on location and as such how the technologies are distributed under the panels. This at worst would alter the Era Name of the panel or return a TXT_KEY_ERA_* wording where this is called, such as in the civilopedia. There is simply therefore no reason to assume that a language string would result in the mentioned problem as it stands.

So in conclusion at this point according to your own words it is something that has occurred to the TechTree.lua file. What could this be we might ask ourselves?

Nowhere here do you mention any other potential cause or solution, anything therefore relating to information held within the Civ5Technologies.xml file is irrelevant and as you so adamantly proclaimed by dismissing my initial post the answer will have nothing to do with the GridX Value found within this technology.xml file, the tags of which are used when creating new technologies.

Your next post then attempts to add credence to this first post and we see exactly what your understanding of the technology tree is including how and why the Techtree.lua file is to blame:

The era panels will automatically expand or contract to encompass all the proper techs.

This above statement is what your initial statement in the previous post hinges on, which implies the TechTree.lua file is somehow corrupted or in some other way being altered, and it is simply not true, as YOU yourself invalidate it by describing the following scenario within the same post:

Obviously, if there are techs from two different eras in the same column then there's no way for the system to cope.

And here is where the problem occurs and where your entire argument up to this point is mute.

Yes the era panels will expand and contract, but not to cover ALL the proper technologies. The code in the TechTree.lua file simply does not acknowledge and attempt to resolve the technologies location when this occurs. And as such it is not the original posters’ TechTree.lua file that is in some way different to how it should be but rather a limitation of the code held within by default.

Therefore there must be another reason this problem could occur that is not related to the TechTree.lua file or the TXT_KEY_ERA_*. But according to your OWN words this is simply not possible!

If we follow your suggestion then at this point where does this leave us? Hanging on for dear life trying to figure out what we can code into the TechTree.lua file to resolve the problem even though it is as intended by the original developer.

This is where your contribution to this thread ends, with a solution based upon a problem that does not exist that is based upon a seemingly shaky understanding of how the tech tree works and unable to recognise when you invalidate your own statements.

Spatzimaus however is on the right lines here, and as the original poster has confirmed it solved their problem. Spatzimaus understanding of the tech tree is similar to my own and his/her solution is in line with my own original solution to this as follows:

If you want to add more techs to the Ancient era, then you'll need to either fit them into the existing holes.

This relates to this:

or make sure that when you add or change a technology you don't assign it a gridX value that would place it in a different era

…, or shift all of the later techs' GridX values by 1.

This relates to my solution as follows:

You will have to change the GridX value of all the technologies that are not under the correct era to fix this problem.

I guess my fault here was trying to be over complicated with my choice of words and will next time have to tone it down a bit, live and learn

Perhaps you should make less off the cuff remarks and more closely consider all aspects of a problem before dismissing them, it might surprise you.

 

[Paasky]

I like how "my techs are in the wrong eras" which can be fixed by "only include techs from one era per column" turned out to be such serious business.

 

[FiresForever]

I like how "my techs are in the wrong eras" which can be fixed by "only include techs from one era per column" turned out to be such serious business.

lol well i have very little to do today except coding my tech tree

 

[Optimizer]

The problem above showed up when I raw-edited the XML files.

Now I use Modbuddy instead. But so far, I haven't managed to change anything tech-related. No grid location change, no embarkment changes, nothing. What is the problem?