Any way I can see resources before the required tech?

[Hyler]

Hey there,

Sorry if this has been asked before, but—is there a mod or some other way I can see future strategic resources? For example, seeing where oil is (as long as the tiles are discovered) before I have the tech to see it naturally. I think the AI somehow knows that ahead of time, on many maps it'll beeline it for those places. On one map it built a city on a 1-tile island with nothing but ocean around it, turns out there's oil there.

Thank you!

 

[Bartleby]

You can do that in the editor. When you start the editor, choose "custom rules" from the scenario menu. Then you can go to the rules menu and choose "edit rules". On the "natural resources" tab you can set the prerequisite for each resource to "none" (or another tech if you don't want to see them from the very beginning). Save the scenario and then run it from "Civ Content" at the startup screen.

I think that if you name your custom rules scenario as civ3.biq you can just use it as-is without having to load via civ content (make a backup of the original civ3.biq first!).

 

[Hyler]

Interesting! So in other words, since the visibility of the resources will have no prerequisites, I should be able to see them from the get go, as soon as I start uncovering tiles? I'm just making sure I understand the logic reasoning, I know so little about this game.

 

[Bartleby]

Yes, that's right.

 

[templar_x]

there is another way, actually an "in-game" way, but I guess this is not what you meant:
since the AIs see all the resources right from the start, they will regularly have early settlements that make no sense whatsover: far from the core, they´re roading towards it, there seemingly is nothing. BUT: there sure is, but the HI will only see it in a few 1000 years maybe. like that 2nd settler of the Babylonians heading for the uranium tile!
of course, you won´t know which resource it is. but i still found that this hint is worth mentioning...
t_x

 

[Hyler]

You can do that in the editor. When you start the editor, choose "custom rules" from the scenario menu. Then you can go to the rules menu and choose "edit rules". On the "natural resources" tab you can set the prerequisite for each resource to "none" (or another tech if you don't want to see them from the very beginning). Save the scenario and then run it from "Civ Content" at the startup screen.

I think that if you name your custom rules scenario as civ3.biq you can just use it as-is without having to load via civ content (make a backup of the original civ3.biq first!).

I tried, but I didn't generate any terrain and the game wouldn't start. Am I to understand that I need to also generate terrain? In that case, does that mean that every time I want a new game, I have to re-edit that custom scenario?

Edit: considering how long a game lasts, I don't think I'd mind regenerating the terrain every time, I was just curious if I'm missing something.

 

[Hyler]

there is another way, actually an "in-game" way, but I guess this is not what you meant:
since the AIs see all the resources right from the start, they will regularly have early settlements that make no sense whatsover: far from the core, they´re roading towards it, there seemingly is nothing. BUT: there sure is, but the HI will only see it in a few 1000 years maybe. like that 2nd settler of the Babylonians heading for the uranium tile!
of course, you won´t know which resource it is. but i still found that this hint is worth mentioning...
t_x

It is not what I mean, but good to know. Those bastards! When I play, it's not enough for the deck to be stacked in my favor, it needs to be stack in my favor overwhelmingly.

 

[Bartleby]

I thought that so long as you don't select "custom map" in the scenario menu, then it would generate a random map for you, maybe I'm misremembering that part (TBH I don't use the editor much at all)
-- you could try posting in the creation and customization forum maybe.

edit: I just tried it and when I used "civ content" to start the game, it seemed to generate a map OK

 

[timerover51]

I simply create my own map in the editor, and save it. Throughout the game I periodically check my saved map for where resources are. I also have added a lot of new resources to the game, some which appear at the start and some which appear when the correct tech is researched. I also keep an eye on the opposing civilizations to see where they are heading, which typically is to an, as yet, unrevealed resource. The opposition knows where all of the resources are at the start of the game.

 

[Civinator]

The normal way to do this, is to create a biq in the Debug Mode.

This is a kind of cheat mode for C3C, revealing the complete map during the complete game (including all kinds of resources on the map, even resources you would never see otherwise for that civ). You also have access to every AI city on the map and can manipulate those cities in many ways and you can add all kinds of units on that map.

A biq in Debug Mode has some special text addings on the screen as it should be used for creating special scenarios and mods and testing the settings of such a mod/scenario during game play. Of course by using that "Cheat Mode" you kill a lot of fun for you during the game.

In the Scenario Properties of the editor simply enable the box Debug Mode and save the biq with a new name.

The CCM Ingame Help:

 

[Civinator]

Here are a zipped Conquest-Debug biq and a zipped Conquest-Reveal all biq. With the "Conquest-Reveal all" biq you can see the whole map and the location of all resources and can use those resources immediately, but can not do all the manipulations that are possible with the Conquest-Debug biq.

Simply unzip the biqs into the Civilization III\Conquests\Scenarios folder of Civ III Complete (don´t mix it up with the Civ III Complete\Scenarios folder for Civ 3 Vanilla).

Start those biqs with the Civ-Content option like any other C3C scenario or mod.