Changing leaderheads on 1.29b2 for mac

[emmanuel9699]

Hi all,

I''m very much a newbie here, but I didn't want to bother anyone until I lurked around for a while. I do have a few q's, though. Now that I've installed 1.29b2 (swapping resources files took me a while to figure out), is there any way I can change the leaderheads for the civs that only have flagheads? It's boring staring at those flags! I've been in the creation and customization thread, but I wanted to ask you guys if there were some mac-downloadable mod packs. And if I can use the mod packs without having to use the civ editor, which is something I really don't know if I want to learn how to use ( ). I ask this because R8XFT and others have some really cool leaderheads, but downloading has been a problem (they were .ace files). I apologize if this question is completely dumb, but I'm totally new to all this stuff!! thanks!!

Also, does anyone have a problem with their vanilla Civ III cd-rom not loading properly once they put it in? Mine seems to stall for a minute or two before it loads onto my G4, ans it comes out with scratches, which me thinks is not a good sign. Anyone have a similar problem? Also, it makes playing gotm42 (my first gotm!) hard, since apparently the cd must be in use while I play the game (which is not the case when I play the random gotm scenario or simply 1.29b2 or vanilla), and I have problems with the cd stalling on me if I make any sudden moves on my labtop (I don't think its crashing issues- I know NOT to swap resources for the gotm42 save). I've tried to make a playable disk image of the civ cd (so I wouldn't need to actually use the cd), but to no avail. Should I just invest in a new vanilla cd?

Well, thanks before hand to any replies

 

[AlanH]

Hi all,

Hello

Now that I've installed 1.29b2 (swapping resources files took me a while to figure out),

You shouldn't need to swap any resources files in version 1.29b2.

is there any way I can change the leaderheads for the civs that only have flagheads?

Ahah! You are running the GOTM Mod. That explains the resources swaps. Please let me know where the confusion arises and I'll try to improve the Read Me.

It's boring staring at those flags! I've been in the creation and customization thread, but I wanted to ask you guys if there were some mac-downloadable mod packs.

The leaderheads are .flc files stored in the /Art/Flics/ directory. If you find another leaderhead file that you prefer then put it in that directory and change its name to be the same as the one you want it to replace.

And if I can use the mod packs without having to use the civ editor, which is something I really don't know if I want to learn how to use ( ). I ask this because R8XFT and others have some really cool leaderheads, but downloading has been a problem (they were .ace files). I apologize if this question is completely dumb, but I'm totally new to all this stuff!! thanks!!

I don't know what a .ace file is. Point me at one or upload it here and I'll investigate.

Also, does anyone have a problem with their vanilla Civ III cd-rom not loading properly once they put it in? Mine seems to stall for a minute or two before it loads onto my G4, ans it comes out with scratches, which me thinks is not a good sign. Anyone have a similar problem?

Not here. I'd say your drive is faulty or the CD is bent.

Also, it makes playing gotm42 (my first gotm!) hard, since apparently the cd must be in use while I play the game (which is not the case when I play the random gotm scenario or simply 1.29b2 or vanilla), and I have problems with the cd stalling on me if I make any sudden moves on my labtop (I don't think its crashing issues- I know NOT to swap resources for the gotm42 save). I've tried to make a playable disk image of the civ cd (so I wouldn't need to actually use the cd), but to no avail. Should I just invest in a new vanilla cd?

As far as I know you shouldn't need the CD mounted to play any game with version 1.29b2.

 

[Xyth]

An .ace file is a compression format that R8XFT (among others) uses to compress his leaderhead files. There is a Mac version of the decompression program here. It is command line only. I´ve been using it for a while and it works great, but it was quite a mission to get it installed/running initially. Give it a go and if you have trouble, post here and I´ll see if I can help.

There is a drag n´ drop GUI for unace available here but I´ve not used it and am hesitant to try because of the reviews. I´m now used to the terminal version anyway.

 

[AlanH]

I downloaded unaceX 1.1 and tried it with Jasmine.ace, one of R8XFT's leaderhead files. It decompressed two of the .flc files in the archive OK, but threw a CRC error on the third. His Inegrid leaderhead seems to work fine, so I checked the Jasmine file using the command line unace 2.5 and it failed the same way.

So I think unaceX 1.1 looks OK on a very quick test here.

 

[emmanuel9699]

Thanks, AlanH and Xyth, I really appreciate your help. I replied earlier, but I'm finding out right now that the reply may not have gone through. Anyway, I've been going crazy all day with downloading leaderheads with both unaceX1.1 and unace2.5 with perfect results (well, almost perfect). Because I haven't a clue how to navigate through Terminal coding, I stayed away from decompressing the .ace files manually through unace2.5.

According to the user comments, though, the "decompressor for dummies" GUI that is unaceX1.1 only works once you've already installed unace2.5 (which makes sense if unace2.5 is the actual program and unaceX1.1 simply makes it more user friendly). So I went ahead and did that, expecting the worst, but it worked like a charm. So far I've downloaded about 10 leaderheads, and all the .ace files have decompressed nicely.

The only problem is that the .ace icons that come with the .ace files either dissappear or get all weirdly pixelated and unrecognizable. But, whatever.

Anyway, to prove I'm an idiot, I didn't realize until today that I don't actually need the CD loaded to play the game. Doh!

So, um, thanks again to you guys!

Oh yeah, and Alan, as for whether the Read Me files for 1.29b2/GOTM are understandible, they're great, but I still got very confused (simply because the process is confusing to a newbie like me). I wish there was like a chart that could tell you to swap or not depending on one's configuration. It would be more visual. Oh, and its nice to be here.

 

[emmanuel9699]

So if any one is still reading this thread, I, um, have another question. okay, i noticed that in the gotm scenario mod, which contains a bunch of added civs like the Koreans, etc., most of the .flic and .pcx files are not all there. That is, because most of the leaderheads where simply flags, there is no need for modern, industrial, angry, annoyed, or happy versions of the files. So, how do I add all those extra files to the game if there are none of these files to replace? Will the game recognize the files if they are simply renamed under the civ I'm replacing, even if those original files don 't exist? I guess I can test it.

Also, is there a way to convert a .flic file to a .pcx file for those leaderheads that don't come with .pcx files? I'll move these questions if they don't really belong in this thread, but thanks in advance for your help anyway.

 

[AlanH]

Check again. Many of the simpler leaderhead images have extra symbols to indicate mood and age, so they are in fact separate files. You get A- for Ancient Age/annoyed or Furious, for instance.

I'm not a modding expert, but I think you need to edit the .BIC file to add flics for different ages where they don't exist. The references to the .flcs are embedded in the civ3mod.bic file, and I haven't checked, but I imagine the ones with flags all reference the same .flc file. To add new .pcx files you need to edit the lines in the pediaIcons.txt file to change the image files specified for each mood. These are mostly used at the end of the game for the dart board/victory parade screen. You need to use a text editor that can put DOS line endings on the lines you edit. My sig ha a link to a modded version of Apple TextEdit that does this, or you can use something like BBEdit.

Re. converting a .flc picture to a .pcx, I think you may be able to do it with GraphicConverter. It can read both formats, so there's a good chance it can read a .flc and let you save a frame as a .pcx. Gimp can also read and write both formats.

I'll think about a graphic - maybe a simple flowchart - to show how to use the various installation options. Good point.

Despite what that user comment said, you *don't* need to install unace2.5 in order to use unaceX 1.1. The GUI version worked fine for me before I went looking for unace2.5 to compare results.

 

[emmanuel9699]

Thanks alot, Alan! I really appreciate your response. Editing .bic files seems to scary for me- I think I'll stay content for now with what I've accomplished. Che Guevarra is my Korean leaderhead! Its great!


BTW, are there any particular gaming mods (Double your Pleasure, etc.) that you would recommend?

 

[AlanH]

are there any particular gaming mods (Double your Pleasure, etc.) that you would recommend?

Just between you and me, I'm not really a gamer ​

I play one GOTM game a month, plus SGOTMs, plus the occasional separate Succession game (eg Gator01). I get my kicks from the competitive aspects of the GOTM community competition, and from the technical challenges of developing the community gaming facilities on this site to benefit all Civ players - particularly Mac players. When I do play GOTMs I usually look for the fastest victory I can achieve, to reduce playing time. For that reason GOTM suits me, as it encourages effective play over a minimum of turns.

I certainly have no time available to play DyP, which looks like a looooong game, when I'm interested in short ones. But if you enjoy Civ3 as a solitary pursuit and have time, I'd say it looks like a different kind of challenge. Give it a whirl - what have you got to lose? You have all the time there is

 

[emmanuel9699]

When I do play GOTMs I usually look for the fastest victory I can achieve, to reduce playing time.

I hear that. As a newbie I'm getting my kicks climbing the level hierarchy- Im at Regent right now. Its all about domination victory! Thanks for all your help