Blitz and civilopedia issue

[register]

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since I did modding but due to covid19 quiet times, I have more time now and going to fix some issues in my mod and add proper unit descriptions. Maybe will do few more units too.

I keep reading posts on this forum from time to time and see that some off the user are still active and that's surprisingly nice

I read recently a post where Quintillus said that editor v1.03 cause that scientific leaders are not build, I don't remember where was it. As it happens I use this version and scientific leaders are built for me but when I add Blitz ability to any unit, in game it doesn't work. I wonder if editor does that or if someone knows how to fix this?

The other thing is in Civilopedia, GOOD_Horses and GOOD_Iron. I have descriptions as in vanilla, I check all icons, palettes, paths to it in PediaIcons, no difference compare to other resources, I have checked every folder with anything related to it. When I click on it in during the game, only resource link, in Civilopedia>Strategic Resources or Tech Tree or other, it always crash a game. Can't find it what is it?


/edit/ just spotted this with Pyrrhic Elephant unit in city view, do I remember correct that unit preview is taken from default.flc? This unit is not mine, and don't remember how to fix this, or if I can fix it.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Civilopedia text file is extremely tricky to work with, and perhaps the hardest bug to spot is blank spaces. The game engine can't properly handle extra blank spaces at end of lines for example. So a file may look correct but not in fact be correct.

 

[Civinator]

The other thing is in Civilopedia, GOOD_Horses and GOOD_Iron. I have descriptions as in vanilla, I check all icons, palettes, paths to it in PediaIcons, no difference compare to other resources, I have checked every folder with anything related to it. When I click on it in during the game, only resource link, in Civilopedia>Strategic Resources or Tech Tree or other, it always crash a game. Can't find it what is it?

register, the biq of your scenario "Collapse of the Bronze Age" is massively haunted by the Hyper-Link-Bug. That bug is triggered by linking more than (if remembering well) 32 units or buildings to a certain strategic or luxury resource (or a government). Here is an example of your scenario that doesn´t lead directly to a CTD and can be solved by using the Window Task Manager (or by klicking many dozend times to close each single message window).

I had the feeling, that these Hyper-Link-Bug problems had to do with the CTDs in your scenario, but the proof was very time-consuming. Now I can say, that with your hundreds of links to the resources iron and horses, you not only have triggered the Hyper-Link-Bug, but you have managed to start a Hyperlink-Overkill.

Fortunately there is a phenomena of the editor, that the Civ 3 community became aware in Anthony Boscia´s scenario 1989: The links for resources (that contain that bug) are completely disappearing from the unit´s civilopedia entry, when the first of the three possible resources for units in the editor is set to "None". The same is true for buildings, when the first of the two resource slots is set to "None".

I reduced all links of units with the prerequisite iron in your biq to maximal two resources and set the first of the three unit resource slots always to "None". When there are three resources set as a prerequisite of a unit, one resource had to be "cut out" to achieve the described effect (mostly whool or fresh water). Then I clicked the resource iron in your scenario and now there was no more crash and the following image did appear:

I didn´t change the resource slots for the two buildings, that need iron, so you can simply recognize, that now the resource iron in your biq is working when contacting the civilopedia. If needed, you can add the third resource for those units up to a total of 32 (units and buildings together) and in that case these units/buildings will appear in the resource entry of the resource iron. More units/buildings will trigger the Hyper-Link-Bug.

I attache a biq of your scenario with the reworked prerequisite iron at the bottom of this post. You should do the same procedure as I described above, with the units that need the resource "Horses" and whose first slots were not set to "None" during the fix of the resource "Iron" to avoid the Hyperlink-Overkill for the resource "Horses" and I strongly recommend that you should do this procedure with the other resources (like timber), too.

After that fix, the part for needed resources in the civilopedia becomes empty, when the first resource slot of a unit/building is set to "None" and the needed resources should be described in the civilopedia textbox of that unit. In the mods CCM2 and RARR thousands of units were treated in this way. Here is an example, how such a civilopedia entry is looking in CCM:

Here are some other observations I made when having a look into the biq of your wonderful scenario:

1. The download of the scenario should be playable. At present the scenario has a 'folder inside the folder' problem. I think its better when the player receives a separate access to the Bronze & Iron WestMed files. May be the Bronze & Iron WestMed files can be integrated into the main folders.

2. The sign "&" should be replaced by "and" (may be that sign can become another source of problems).

3. The biq is also haunted by the phantom resources bug. A simple way to detect the problematic constellations is to use the Quintillus editor. When starting to save changes in a biq with that editor, the editor automatically shows the first of the constellations that are triggering that bug.

4. The typho in the titel of the scenario "Collapse of the Brozne Age" should be fixed.

Edit:
a) For "Blitz" a unit should have at least a movement of 2 and I saw a legionary with a MV of 1 with that option in the biq.

b) The image in the civilopedia comes from the file in the civilopedia unit icons folder that is assigned to that unit in the pediaIcons text file. The default.flc plays a role for showing a triggered unit during gameplay in the window in the right below interface corner (that can be seen partly covered in the first two screenshots of this post).

 

[register]

@Blue Monkey and Civinator - Spaces between are similar to those from vanilla, I played with that but it did not have any effect. Civinator's advise fixed that, all done now, slots with resources and blitz.
Many thanks

 

[register]

@Civinator I would have one more question to you because you already had a look into my mod files. Would you know where to look to fix an error as per image below? On city view somehow I have 2 pedia descriptions for unique wonder, one is ok and one is not, is invalid. I searched through pedia and I have there doubled descriptions for most of the wonders for each mod version. I deleted one batch to see what happened but error with second description in game stayed.

 

[Civinator]

register, here one doesn´t need a look into your mod files. The first link of a building describes the building and it´s prerequisites, the secondary links some concepts about happiness, culture and so on, that this building is providing.

Here is a screenshot about the building temple, providing happiness and culture and the following secondary links to happiness and culture (don´t be puzzled by the entries in front of these concepts, they are from my mod CCM2.50 that has an in-game help and culture there is chapter eleven).

The harbor of Knossos only provides the secondary value culture. Therefore the auto-drawn link to culture in your scenario is not valid. When running your scenario with the CCM2.50 files, that link is working and the player is receiving the information about culture.

Spoiler :

 

[register]

Thank you very much, will look into that. Just noticed that lots of my city improvements also have that issue what I was not aware of.

 

[Civinator]

I think you should start with checking the civilopedia text file in your C3C text mainfolder. By showing the special entries of the CCM ingame-help, it seems that the game takes those secondary informations from that file and not from the civilopedia text file, that is attached to the text folder of your scenario.

 

[register]

I am looking right now but I can't find links responded for adding maintenance description to buildings.

 

[Civinator]

The links for the secondary descriptions are drawn hardcoded, but there could be something wrong in the adresses (especially in the con_entries) of your C3C civilopedia text file.

Otherwise in future you have to play C3C with the CCM2.50 expansion, as here these entries are working.

 

[register]

I am checking your files By the way, how you are able to test my mod with your expansion? You not copying my folders over yours obviously.

 

[Civinator]

By the way, how you are able to test my mod with your expansion?

As it is an expansion, it holds all normal Civ 3 files (and the files of the official expansions PtW and C3C) if it is installed properly and tons of additions (among them about 4.000 units in the next version and many additional concepts to add playing fun to C3C). Therefore, according to my present knowledge, all normal C3C mods and scenarios with own textfiles can be played with that expansion (with the small restriction that some civilopedia entries have the listing prefixes of the ingame help, especially in secondary entries). Your scenario (as many others) is quite normally located in the C3C scenarios folder (here nothing has changed). Think of the expansion CCM 2.50, as if C3C would have been released with thousands of additional units, 256 buildings and tons of other stuff. In a little more than one year the expansion CCM 2.50 had over 1.700 downloads.

 

[register]

You mod is amazing, if my mod will work better with this expansion I will use it.

I manged to fix almost all problems with pedia , only few buildings, mainly religious (temple, cult site, mortuary, amphitheater and Hadrian's Voyage) have second description added and is still invalid but there is nothing more in pedia to add. I checked in improvement and wonders but there is nothing wrong with it, don't know now where to check. Would you know what it could be or where else I can check it? I checked, civilopedia, pediaicons and in editor.

 

[Civinator]

register, your scenario works better, even without the CCM2.50 expansion, when the bugs in your C3C main text folder are fixed (or the best is to replace them all). My last post was only a reply to the question how I was able to test your scenario with the CCM 2.50 expansion. Even when switching from the CCM 2.50 text mainfolder to the original C3C textfolder (by simply renaming those folders) at my pc, the secondary links (now of course without the ingame prefixes) are working well in the game.

It seems the problem is caused by the textfiles in your C3C installation (not by the text files in the text folder of your scenario), because when I switch to the normal C3C text folder, your secondary links are showing properly in the game. I attache two screenshots, showing the Harbor of Knossos and the explanations with original C3C texts in the mainfolder and to visualize what I mean with 'main textfolder'. May be you made here changes, too - long ago.

 

[register]

Yes, I have done this, that was easy, I had to add more descriptions to pedia and replace one link to Cult Site.
But now I still have this issue as above with doubled link, whit buildings as above. I wish I knew where is it.

 

[Civinator]

Yes, I have done this, that was easy, I had to add more descriptions to pedia and replace one link to Cult Site. But now I still have this issue as above with doubled link, whit buildings as above. I wish I knew where is it.

The doubled links (or better the additional links to happiness, culture and so on) are drawn automatically and hardcoded by the game. If you add in the editor culture to a building, the game will show this secondary information about culture automatically in the city view, when the information about an individual building here is contacted. It is somewhat like the automated upgrade informations about units of the player or the needed resources, even without drawing a special link for it in one of the scenario files. For stopping these automated links about needed resources (that frequently lead into the hyperlink-bug) we have found a procedure to achieve this, but I´m not aware of any procedure to stop this secondary information, too (and I also never set a priority here, as it doesn´t crash your game).

 

[register]

You're right, just checked it and additional links are disappearing when I switch off one of those, culture or happines. In this case I will leave it like that. Thanks again.