Beta Testers wanted

[TheOnlyDJCat]

The one that piqued my interest was "Theme".

Yes I noticed that too, when I started the installer. I uninstalled BlueMarble, then reinstalled with the theme-box unchecked.
Now the icons are correctly placed!!
But all fonts are difficult to read. Despite they are very small now (due to the high resolution), but the bigger problem are the serifes. They are much too long compared to the font size (can post a screenshot in a few hours). Do you know, where the font style can be changed?

Anyway, you could give people who are using BlueMarble the advice to disable this box, until a better solution is found.

 

[ruff_hi]

Do you know, where the font style can be changed?

Look in your directory ... 'C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Resource\Themes\Civ4' ... for the file 'Civ4Theme_Common.thm'.

Edit: that is the vanilla civ4 directory ... but you get the idea.

Spoiler :

C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\Resource\Themes\Civ4

 

[Stilgar08]

I noticed that when installing BM you could opt not to install certain things. The one that piqued my interest was "Theme". Perhaps if you uncheck that option, only the pretty map graphics are used and the fonts will be untouched.

You're right, Emperor. And I'm certain BM is coming with its own fonts!
If you hover above the checkboxes BM even shows a good explanation what is meant. AFAIK you can also Uninstall only parts of BM by checking the boxes...

Nevertheless BM looks nicer with the fonts it's coming with..

Great work on BUG, folks! I love the mod! Thanks, guys!
BTW: Any Idea, when BAT will be back? (I know - requests never stop... )

 

[EmperorFool]

Now the icons are correctly placed!! . . .

Anyway, you could give people who are using BlueMarble the advice to disable this box, until a better solution is found.

Good idea. The better solution is fairly easy: add an option "PromoIconHoverOffsetY" that adjusts the location of those icons. But I'm hesitant to do that before the final release as there is precious little time to test. That's the whole point of doing this code freeze. So I think we'll opt for a Known Issue note in the readme.

You're right, Emperor. And I'm certain BM is coming with its own fonts! . . .

Any Idea, when BAT will be back? (I know - requests never stop... )

I should have noticed right away from the screenshot: the font is san serif instead of serif and clearly larger. C'est la vie.

As for BAT, we will be releasing a 3.13 compatible version with the latest BUG shortly after the BUG release (we gotta catch our breath first ). Hopefully, a 3.17 version won't be too far behind.

 

[EmperorFool]

@The Doc - Could you have the German guy with the missing font icons try a couple more things.

First, have him copy the font file from the game to the CustomAssets folder. I know this sounds goofy, but I just want to make sure the game will accept an overridden font file.

Second, can he post or send me the font file from his game that does work? I want to compare it to see what's different. This is very perplexing.

Does he have BlueMarble installed? I notice that it uses its own font, though this shouldn't affect the symbol font. I just want to check. Any other mods installed?

 

[EmperorFool]

I think this release has proved quite stable so far. There were a couple issues that we've taken care of, and the others will need to wait until 3.0.1 or 3.1. Unless something major is discovered, we're planning to release 3.0 tomorrow.

Has anyone else encountered problems with missing symbols gold: etc.)?

 

[The Doc]

@The Doc - Could you have the German guy with the missing font icons try a couple more things.

First, have him copy the font file from the game to the CustomAssets folder. I know this sounds goofy, but I just want to make sure the game will accept an overridden font file.

Second, can he post or send me the font file from his game that does work? I want to compare it to see what's different. This is very perplexing.

Does he have BlueMarble installed? I notice that it uses its own font, though this shouldn't affect the symbol font. I just want to check. Any other mods installed?

Sorry for the delay.
I posted your request into the thread and PM'ed him. Hopefully, he answers in time.
Yes, he has Blue Marble installed but he tested BUG Mod without BM and got the same results (aka missing icons), too. So probably this isn't the cause for the missing icons.

 

[EmperorFool]

Sorry for the delay.

No worries. I should have asked for his file originally.

Yes, he has Blue Marble installed but he tested BUG Mod without BM and got the same results (aka missing icons), too. So probably this isn't the cause for the missing icons.

I agree that it doesn't look like BM's fault. However, I don't see how it could be BUG's font file either. It works for everyone else I know. BM does specify a different font for text, but this is completely different from the font file that is used to draw symbols, AFAIK.

And I'm using BM now too, and . . . OMG where are my icons?!?!

My only other suggestion for him is the dreaded uninstall/reinstall of Civ itself. Can you also double-check my suspicion that he is using Civ Complete?

 

[The Doc]

Sure, I'll ask him about Complete.
Actually, I'm using Complete, BM and BUG Mod. But I never encountered missing icons.

 

[EmperorFool]

Yeah, I suspect his install got borked somehow.

 

[Cammagno]

I think this release has proved quite stable so far. There were a couple issues that we've taken care of, and the others will need to wait until 3.0.1 or 3.1. Unless something major is discovered, we're planning to release 3.0 tomorrow.

Good!

@Alerum

I've packed all the updated ITA help source files and uploaded the final help file, so you can include it as it is
Oh, and sorry if I bad-reacted about the CDApages thing... I'm a bit under pressure at work, and so I'm a bit in over-reacting mode

 

[Psyringe]

I tested a bit more and found no further bugs. Just two suggestions:

- The cycle arrows (above the player's flag) don't have a mouse-over info. It's about the only UI element on the main interface that doesn't, so for the sake of consistence, I'd give them some help text.

- I'm a bit hesitant to say it but I'm not quite sure whether I prefer the new PLE buttons over the old ones. I get the impression that they are too pronounced - for buttons that I use rarely for large parts of the game, they stick out too much from the background, and distract from the map or the icons below or above them. This is especially evident when playing in reduced interface mode. Also, I find the yellow border (that marks the selected button) a bit hard to see on the beige background. However, it's obvious that NikNaks put a lot of work into the new buttons and aesthetically they are definitely on a higher level than the previous ones. It's just that I constantly get the feeling that they are visually "in the way" ...
anyway, that's a nitpick rather than a bug report, so I'll stop now.

 

[ruff_hi]

I'm a bit hesitant to say it but I'm not quite sure whether I prefer the new PLE buttons over the old ones. I get the impression that they are too pronounced - for buttons that I use rarely for large parts of the game, they stick out too much from the background, and distract from the map or the icons below or above them. This is especially evident when playing in reduced interface mode. Also, I find the yellow border (that marks the selected button) a bit hard to see on the beige background. However, it's obvious that NikNaks put a lot of work into the new buttons and aesthetically they are definitely on a higher level than the previous ones. It's just that I constantly get the feeling that they are visually "in the way" ...
anyway, that's a nitpick rather than a bug report, so I'll stop now.

Actually - that is a good point. We should put in a keyboard short cut (Ctrl-Alt-P) to enable / disable those buttons - quicker than doing it through the option screen. Why just those buttons? Because I think they are extremely useful sometimes but they do clutter the place up some.

 

[Gainy III]

Hello. I'd like to help out with testing. I'm registered on sourceforge as Gainy, I use windows xp home edition 2002 servicepack 2, I have standard Civ4 BTS and I guess I will update to the latest version (too big a download so I haven't bothered yet). professional is my middle name so I think we'd do great

 

[Psyringe]

Actually - that is a good point. We should put in a keyboard short cut (Ctrl-Alt-P) to enable / disable those buttons - quicker than doing it through the option screen.

That's a good idea to get the best of worlds.

Another idea in the same vein is to make an (unobtrusive) button that folds or unfolds the PLE buttons. I'm talking about a button because PLE is mainly mouse-driven, so (de)activating it with just one click is probably even sleeker than doing it by keyboard.

 

[Cammagno]

Actually - that is a good point. We should put in a keyboard short cut (Ctrl-Alt-P) to enable / disable those buttons - quicker than doing it through the option screen. Why just those buttons? Because I think they are extremely useful sometimes but they do clutter the place up some.

I agree.
I find them useful and I like their new look, but they can be... "too evident", so I support the idea of a shortcut to hide them.

 

[EmperorFool]

These are all good ideas, but they'll have to wait until after the release.

I think I figured out how to get hovers on the city cycle arrows now. If so, this is a no-brainer.

A shortcut to hide/show the PLE arrows is great. I agree that a button would be convenient, but at 1024x768 there's no room without packing them all really tight.

 

[ruff_hi]

These are all good ideas, but they'll have to wait until after the release.

yeah yeah, we know.

code freeze, code freeze
please let us code something new
I'm half crazy
All for the hate of you
It might be a great install
But, com-n, we are all just in-thrall
It is worth the wait, and a little late
If Bug Mod v3.0 is great!



(sung to the tune of "daisy daisy, give me your answer do")

Spoiler :

This is why I work with numbers

 

[EmperorFool]

I'd like to help out with testing.

Excellent! Just start by grabbing the beta release from the second post in this thread, install it, and play! If you find any problems, post what you found and how we can make it happen on our end.

 

[EmperorFool]

I've made a fix to a show-stopper bug in the BUG Military Advisor.

Bug: If a rival can build ships (e.g. Galley), and you know they have the tech for it (e.g. Sailing), but you haven't actually seen any of their coastal cities, the MA leaks this information. This violates the UG in BUG.

Fix: Under the above conditions, you must know of at least one coastal city of theirs to see that they can build ships.

Can you guys test this out please? Simply replace the file "CustomAssets/Python/Screens/CvBUGMilitaryAdvisor.py" with the file in the attached ZIP.