BlueMarble for Mac available for testing

[AlanH]

Blue Marble is a terrain graphics mod for Civ4 created by ColdFever/Kai of civilized.de. This thread gives details.

The high and low resolution versions at now at the following links:

UPDATED November 30, 2008: These links point to version 4.50 Gold of BlueMarble. Thanks ColdFever.

UPDATED August 25, 2009: These linked zip files now include the files required for use with Beyond the Sword

UPDATED September 2 2014: Links to the download files have changed.

High resolution for those with high performance systems

Low resolution for the more challenged Macs.

The expanded files and folders are in a top level folder called CustomAssets. They go into your own ~/Documents/Civilization IV[ Warlords][ Beyond the Sword]/CustomAssets/ folder, replacing the empty folders that are there already.

WARNING: If you already have a mod installed there then this will replace it.

If anyone is interested, I have updated my Drag and Drop Mod Installer to work with Blue Marble, and any other mod that comes in a zip file with CustomAssets as its top level folder. This version is here.

- Download it and open the disk image.

- Drag the Mod Installer application to /Applications/ and launch it.

- Select Civilization IV in the popup menu at the top. It should look for Civ4 on your hard drive and show it as an entry in the window.

- If this doesn't happen, drag your /Applications/Civilization IV/ folder into the window.

- When your Civ4 folder is listed in the Mod Installer window, drag the BlueMarbleHighRes.zip or BlueMarbleLowRes.zip file onto its icon. Confirm that you want to proceed, and it should install Blue Marble in your CustomAssets folder.

- Launch Civ4 and marvel at the new terrain graphics.

Mod Installer hasn't had a lot of user testing, and none since I added Civ4 to its repertoire, so any feedback you can provide will be welcome.

 

[Cougarcat]

Wow, thanks Alan! Both your links are for the High-res textures. Might want to fix that.

 

[AlanH]

Wow, thanks Alan! Both your links are for the High-res textures. Might want to fix that.

Thanks! My usual trick - copy/paste instead of copy/paste/EDIT

 

[Zaimejs]

Thanks, I'll give this a try!

 

[ColdFever]

Thanks for your support Alan. As a Windows user I cannot test anything for Mac, so I have to ask: does your tool have an "Uninstall" feature or would it be possible to implement one? The feature just had to delete the installed files from the CustomAssets folder (or delete the entire CustomAssets folder if a specific file uninstallation would not be possible). From many Blue Marble support questions I know that an easy uninstallation is as important as an easy installation, because many people still prefer the original graphics. Here the original BlueMarble homepage:
http://www.civfanatics.net/~bluemarble

 

[AlanH]

I did consider generating a log file for each installation process done by the Mod Installer, and then have a facility to select a roll-back point which would revert the files to the state they were in before that point. As you can appreciate, that's not a trivial development, so I don't want to embark on it unless and until I can see a significant demand for the Mod Installer.

As you say it's simple for users to do - "Delete the ~/Civilization IV/CustomAssets/Art/ folder". But then, so is installing your mod. And most Civ4 mods are easy to install as well. You either copy them into the /Applications/Civilization IV/Mods/ folder or the ~/Civilization IV/CustomAssets/ folder. Neither of these locations has the same mystique as some folders in Windows, and Mac users tend to be more comfortable with moving files and folders around.

So I think the jury's out on whether users will want or need my Mod Installer at all.

 

[ColdFever]

I did consider generating a log file for each installation process done by the Mod Installer, and then have a facility to select a roll-back point which would revert the files to the state they were in before that point. As you can appreciate, that's not a trivial development.

Better (and more easy) than a static log file could be a dynamic approach using the installation zip file, like reading the mod files from the zip storage and deleting them from the target path instead of installing them, or (if reading from zip is difficult) installing the files to a dummy path and then delete all files found in the dummy path from the CustomAssets folder.

 

[Skippy_Kangaroo]

I dropped the hi-res version into my copy of Civ IV and it all seemed to work properly. I haven't used your installer yet. Maybe sometime this evening.

 

[AlanH]

Better (and more easy) than a static log file could be a dynamic approach using the installation zip file, like reading the mod files from the zip storage and deleting them from the target path instead of installing them, or (if reading from zip is difficult) installing the files to a dummy path and then delete all files found in the dummy path from the CustomAssets folder.

That works for a single mod, if the user still has the original zip. If I were to build an uninstaller I would want it to handle regression for a sequence of installations. I also think it's dangerous to assume the original mod file is still available, or that it's the correct file or version.

 

[ainwood]

Thanks! My usual trick - copy/paste instead of copy/paste/EDIT

Maybe it spread from me like a virus?

 

[AlanH]

Now I've told you before, ainwood, Mac users don't get viruses ... Atchhooo!

 

[ColdFever]

That works for a single mod, if the user still has the original zip. If I were to build an uninstaller I would want it to handle regression for a sequence of installations. I also think it's dangerous to assume the original mod file is still available, or that it's the correct file or version.

I see no problem as long as things stay simple. Good Windows mods have an install and an uninstall feature to install/remove the affected files. For Mac you wrote an installer that copies the affected files, so it would be logical to give it a uninstall = "negative install" feature too that is able to remove the files a mod brings. Or to have a 2nd tool you can drag a mod over to do this task. Trying out a mod would become much easier this way, instead of having to handle all installed files manually. If people will have to deinstall manually, they probably will prefer installing files manually, so that they know what to do in case they do not want to keep a mod.

 

[waltham845]

Alan thanks for the blue marble mod. I am using the high res version and your Mod Installer worked perfectly..

 

[AlanH]

Thanks for the feedback, waltham845. You're the first independent tester to report back on the installer. Did it find your Civ4 installation by itself, or did you have to tell it where it is? And do you think it helps?

 

[Cougarcat]

I'm pretty sure I had to tell it where CivIV lives. (In /Games, not in apps.)Can't say it really helped much, since all the files go in one straightforward place.

Wow, this mod is gorgeous. So much better than the original terrain! I'd love to see what the high-res textures are like, but I know that would cause my powerbook to choke and die.

 

[waltham845]

per Cougar cat I had to locate Civ4. It wouldn't locate it for me. Oh yes it definitely helps.

 

[Beamup]

I also had to locate Civ4 for it, but the installer worked just fine. Mod looks very nice - far more vivid than the default (using the high-res version).

 

[AlanH]

Where is the Civilization IV application folder installed on your hard drive? The Mod Installer uses the unix locate utility to look for Civilization IV.app in /Games/, in your default Applications directory, and in your Home directory, searching their subdirectories. I'd be interested to find out which of these is failing.

 

[Beamup]

Mine is in ~/Games.

 

[waltham845]

Mine is in Applications/Games/Civilization4. Hmmm....