Can't get some mods to work C2C and Dune revival plus others

Zombie Horde

ZEDorDEAD
Joined
Sep 16, 2022
Messages
47
HI not sure if this is the correct forum for this problem but can't see any other help forums here, the issue im having is getting a few big mods to work.
I have installed caveman 2 cosmos, final frontier plus, star trek, dune revival and heaven 2 hell.
Only Final frontier is working correctly, i installed them all the same way and with some working im guessing i have done it correctly for each but when i go into the BTS game/advanced/mods i can see the mods that i want to play but when i click on them they start to load up but it goes back to the BTS splash menu screen instead of the mods screen and the unload mod option is there as if its loaded the mod up but when i start a game it's still BTS type menu and regular civ choices.
Ive also removed all the mods apart from the one i want to use but it still does the same thing.

What is happening here and how do i resolve it please? i really want to play the C2C and Dune mods
 
Forgot to add, I'm using a high spec workstation (16gb ram i7 cpu) running win 10 and my civ4 is a steam version
 
I've never played Civ 4 on Steam, but it sounds like you may have to revert to the GameSpy version to play mods that have their own GameCore DLL. Of the mods you've listed, I think Final Frontier is the only non-DLL mod. Edit: But Final Frontier Plus does include DLL changes, so I couldn't really explain why that one would work with the standard Steam version.
 
As f1pro says, you cannot play the mods using DLL on the standard Steam CIV. They have modified it in such a way that it does not allow loading modified DLLs. After receiving enough complaints, they posted an unmodified CIV, which they list as modified or beta, since it is different from their default version. You want to use that "modified" or "beta" version. It does everything that their default version does plus allows the mods. Why they don't just make that the default is unknown to me.
 
I've never played Civ 4 on Steam, but it sounds like you may have to revert to the GameSpy version to play mods that have their own GameCore DLL. Of the mods you've listed, I think Final Frontier is the only non-DLL mod. Edit: But Final Frontier Plus does include DLL changes, so I couldn't really explain why that one would work with the standard Steam version.
Im now wondering if its final frontier vanilla that i loaded up instead of the plus version because i have just checked and there are 2 folders, one for plus one for vanilla but in the mod run menu only one mod shows.

As f1pro says, you cannot play the mods using DLL on the standard Steam CIV. They have modified it in such a way that it does not allow loading modified DLLs. After receiving enough complaints, they posted an unmodified CIV, which they list as modified or beta, since it is different from their default version. You want to use that "modified" or "beta" version. It does everything that their default version does plus allows the mods. Why they don't just make that the default is unknown to me.
Where will i find this "unmodified" version? do you have a link please?
I had a crazy steam key buying session last month and decided to search for a few on my hitlist to see if i could grab a few bargains to beef up my library, sons just getting into steam and i need to show him the golden path, and he's played civ 5/6 before so wanted to complete the civ collection for him and i somehow totally missed civ 4 when it came out, think i was parenting too hard at the time.... i have 3 kids!
I managed to get all civ 4 versions, rise of industry, AOW 3, AOW planetfall, cliff empire, northguard and tropico 6 for the crazy cost of £50 total, think thats the best haul ive had for such a small cost.
 
I did a bit of searching after your comment s.bernbaum and managed to get to the BETA section via properties in steam but now when i select to get the beta it asks for a code!? what is this? and where would i find it please?


EDIT: scratch that steam was being obscure yet again and it's downloaded and installed the beta version, i now have 2 versions in my steam library do i need to remove the other retail version i bought or will it be ok leaving it there?

EDIT2: Steam is weird, i now have the 1 version of BTS the unsupported version, it must have overwritten the original one but had both showing in the library at one point.
I'll try adding the mods again and see if that works... why does gaming have to be so bloody complicated sometimes.

1663542747878.png
 
Last edited:
Sighs in despair, i managed to get the beta version working and removed all mods from where i have it installed with my directory path being ...

D:/program files/steam/steam apps/common/sid meier's civ 4 beyond the sword/beyond the sword/mods
I then installed just 1 mod Dune rev, same result as shown in the image below it does the whole XML loading box as per usual but then i get that screen below with the unload mod and vanilla menus!
I also tried C2C and the same thing, is it possible that the steam version is just not compatible at all with mods?
EDIT: i have just changed compatibility to windows 7 and run as admin and still no luck :(


1663544443417.png
 
Last edited:
😆 welp looks like im thick as pig muck or it was not described correctly (im saying the latter) i've now managed to get it working!!!

I will add what the issue was to this topic so others who find themselves in the same predicament can try the same thing.

So what was happening was when i unzipped the mods to desktop or the mod folder it creates a folder named after the zip file containing all the relevant needed files.

What you need to do is remove the outer mod folder named after the zip file and drop the inner mod folder and the few config files straight into the mods folder as shown in the attached image (the 3 items with the red line pointing at them) , this now means it will work 🍾 , i just now have to do the same with all the other mods downloaded from here.
(the config files for each mod can also be dropped into the corresponding mod folder for neatness but it will work as the image shows)

I should have noticed this straight away being as i use winzip at least 20 times a day through work! in my defense it's 1am here.

So to clarify this is my path to the cosmos.

Install Civ 4 BTS - Right click the game once installed in steam and choose the beta version - wait for the game to overwrite the old files - next go get some civ 4 mods from wherever you get them.

unzip one to desktop into it's own folder (safety) then open said folder and grab everything in that folder (cut) - paste the files into the mods folder for civ 4 BTS (usually c://program files/steam/steam apps/common/sid meier's civ 4 beyond the sword/beyond the sword/mods - might be spelled different i just wrote that for quickness)

you can delete the now empty mod folder on your desktop - repeat this for each mod you want then fire up the game - choose advanced from the splash screen - choose load a mod - choose your mod from the list and click ok.... wait a few seconds....a few seconds more.... and boom! you now have access to some of the coolest parts of BTS.

EDIT: I also went and right clicked the steam .exe icon and added it to run as admin and did the same with the BTS .exe and added it to windows 7 compatibility, the BTS .exe file is located in c://program files/steam/steam apps/common/sid meier's civ 4 beyond the sword and steams .exe is in c://program files/steam/

civ4issue.jpg
 
Last edited:
I am glad that you got the problem fixed. I don't use Steam myself. I get any games that I download from GOG. I find it a more friendly site and usually cheaper than Steam. Besides which, although it offers an online application for using GOG, it does not require it. I just download games that I buy and then play them without an online connection.
 
Yeah it was a struggle but i got there in the end, i've not really tried GOG might have a gander later just listening to the washing machine so it drowns out the god awful queens funeral the missus has playing loud as sin in the next room! playing civ for 20,000+ hours really makes you anti royal :D
Steams not too bad especially when you get steam keys involved which is a weird way to sell games IMO, games that are £39.99 etc end up as £2 sometimes you just gotta drop on lucky, you can also play in offline mode for most games, i tried epic store but damn that thing is horrible and slow takes like 3 mins to load up the store each time and im on 60mb connection, they do give a heck of a lot away though each friday they have 2 games for free download to use forever thats how i originally got civ6 and ark for free so now i just use it for freebies im up to 30 games now which would have cost 100s otherwise.
 
So what was happening was when i unzipped the mods to desktop or the mod folder it creates a folder named after the zip file containing all the relevant needed files.
Oh. I was going to suggest checking the folder structure next because that's a common pitfall. (In fact, the first time I ever uploaded a mod, the first reply I got was from a player who had run into this.) I figured, let's first see if the Steam version is the (only) issue.
rise of industry, AOW 3, AOW planetfall, cliff empire, northguard
Never even heard of these (til: AOW is the "Art of War"), but they sound intriguing. Also a bit like some might promise more than they can deliver. Takes me back to when I used to order budget games from a catalog as a teenager.
i have 3 kids!
I see how you've come up with your user name. :)
 
Oh. I was going to suggest checking the folder structure next because that's a common pitfall. (In fact, the first time I ever uploaded a mod, the first reply I got was from a player who had run into this.) I figured, let's first see if the Steam version is the (only) issue.
Yeah it was a rookie mistake by me not thinking about the structure of the zipped files, i am a graphic, web and print designer and literally use winzip daily and have had this problem before with other software so god only knows how i didn't see that from the start.

Never even heard of these (til: AOW is the "Art of War"), but they sound intriguing. Also a bit like some might promise more than they can deliver. Takes me back to when I used to order budget games from a catalog as a teenager.

AOW is age of wonders it's a turn based game similar to Civ with different factions, cities, colonies, tech tree and animated troops but also very different and the battle screen is amazing you can either auto battle if the opponent is weak or surround a big army with your troops for a mighty battle that you play out on another area, AOW planetfall is similar but set in the future with cyborgs and more, just playing it now and it's a steep but entertaining learning curve.

- AOW3 trailer

- AOW planetfall

The games i listed i have been watching for years till they came down in price so each one is either 70% rating or higher too, i never buy any game unless it's 2+ years old unless i know the developers and know it will be supported for many years.

I see how you've come up with your user name. :)

Yup you nailed it :)
 
Oh, dang. I literally use Google daily, but ... :p And I've heard of Age of Wonders before and seen it abbreviated before. And yet. Thx for the trailers.
To be fair i think art of war game piggy backed on the acronym of age of wonders to gain some of the search results on google etc, i think AOW1 came out a long time ago like pre 2000 but don't quote me on that, no problem also if you search for age of wonders 3 steam key there's one or two that are like £10 if that with all dlc included same for planetfall both games usually retail at £50+
 
@Zombie Horde - Glad you got it runnin'. Sorry I did not see this earlier as I've messed with the Steam version for some years now. (Steam changed its version some years ago when the Gamespy servers closed so the game could use Steam's MP serveres. They muck it all up. Coupla bits of advice:

1) Run game for the exe, not from the Steam library. You have to have Steam running for authentication, but otherwise just treat IV like you are running it outside of Steam
2) Right click exe > Properties > Compatibility > change compatibility mode to "Windows 7". Runs best with that mode.
3) I run mods from shortcuts. Create a shortcut and add the mod to the Target field in properties to something like:

mod="Fall from Heaven 2"

don't overwrite the path in that field but just put that at the end after a space

I keep em all in my BTS folder and add the BTS folder to Quick Access in Explorer, but do whatever works for you
 
@lymond yeah thats kinda what i do now but i just load up the mod from the splash screen seems to work best on my system, only issue now is i cannot find the FF modmod of fall from heaven 2, the original forum topic by it's creator leads to a dead google drive link, don't suppose you have it or know where it can be downloaded.
Also if any mods are reading this the topic has dead download link.

https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/fall-further-modmod-for-ffh2.8500/ - the topic with dead link
 
@lymond yeah thats kinda what i do now but i just load up the mod from the splash screen seems to work best on my system, only issue now is i cannot find the FF modmod of fall from heaven 2, the original forum topic by it's creator leads to a dead google drive link, don't suppose you have it or know where it can be downloaded.
Also if any mods are reading this the topic has dead download link.

https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/fall-further-modmod-for-ffh2.8500/ - the topic with dead link
Yep that site is dead. Just go to the FFH subforum in the C&C forum. Lotsa modmods there. I recommend playing through the scenarios once - it's a good place to start. They are a bit finicky though and you may have to run them from the wb files instead of via the in game menu,
 
For Fall Further, the links in this post still seem good (Dropbox). Not sure why the post says "older versions" – seems that 051 is the latest there is.
 
Top Bottom