city list order

[jdratlif]

I hadn't played Civ II in a long time, but I recently got back into it. Because I now have Windows 7 64-bit, I couldn't install Civ II (2.42) so I started looking for a solution. I ended up getting Civ II MGE with the Civ 2 Unlimited patch and playing it in XP mode (Civ II does not like 64-bit; and yes I tried the 64-bit patch. the text boxes are still annoying - even though they don't crash).

I don't remember this happening in Civ II 2.42, but in MGE, the city list order has changed. Sometimes it's alphabetical, and sometimes it's done by city year of creation. But when ordered by year of creation, sometimes it's wrong. For example, when you examine the city status (F1), East Chicago is listed at the top, but Indianapolis (my capitol) is my oldest city. There are many other examples of newer cities being placed at seemingly random spots on the list.

Have I forgotten this happened in Civ II 2.42? I can't go back cause I love the Civ II unlimited patch.

Is this a side effect of Civ II unlimited, or does it happen normally? Can it be fixed? Could I edit the save game file somehow, or is this list generated internally by the game?

In addition to the Civ II unlimited patch, I edited rules.txt and cities.txt. I changed the Sioux to the "Hoosier" civilization (Indiana) and added every city in Indiana to cities.txt (I have 256 cities under my Civ).

Thanks. This place has been great. I've learned so much more about this game I've loved for so long.

 

[mpescatori]

Often cities are listed in order of overall importance.

So, whereas older cities will often be the largest, it is quite normal for a conquered city to be listed among the first in order.

Consider all cities will be listed by adding seniority + riches + production + population...

 

[Peaster]

I think there is a fairly simple method behind the order, but I've forgotten it. I think you can find it in the Great Library at the Apolyton site, if you don't mind digging a little.

 

[jdratlif]

Peaster: I don't mind digging, I will try there.

mpescatori: Do you think a game would consider a newly founded city "more important" than a old metropolis? I didn't mean capturing AI cities. If they were older, I think they would come earlier in the list. But it just seems random at times.

Here is an example of what I'm talking about. Union City, which was built just last turn, is on the list above cities that are older and I would say more important (atm anywawys). All my cities were built in alphabetical order, save for my capital Indianapolis.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

Each city is given a number by the game. If cities are destroyed, MGE might use those number for new cities, instead of finding the free number at the "end" of the city list. If that is the case, it would explain this phenomenon.

 

[Ace]

Strange. IIRR, in MGE, the cities via the F1 list are listed in order of founding. Oldest city first, the only time this should "change" is when you capture an older AI city, than it will appear on your list in its correct founding position. I think 2.42 works the same way.

 

[jdratlif]

Each city is given a number by the game. If cities are destroyed, MGE might use those number for new cities, instead of finding the free number at the "end" of the city list. If that is the case, it would explain this phenomenon.

A lot of cities have been destroyed. That could explain everything.

I think I will look for that save game file FAQ I saw here once and maybe take a closer look.

Thanks.

edit: Don't know if there's a city number, but there is an order in the list. Destroy Tenoctitlan (city number 4 -- built before my capital), and build a new city on the same turn, and it replaces Tenoctitlan in the save game. So you are correct. The game is simply following the order they are stored. If I read more about the save file, I might be able to fix it.

 

[Ace]

Oops! forgot about that little detail. The Prof. is correct. There are only 255 city numbers available and the AI "recycles" them....

 

[Catfish]

Each city is given a number by the game. If cities are destroyed, MGE might use those number for new cities, instead of finding the free number at the "end" of the city list. If that is the case, it would explain this phenomenon.

Almost. For the purposes of naming cities, the game maintains separate counters for each tribe (1 byte). These are stored in the SAV file. See this post.

 

[jaghith]

I ended up getting Civ II MGE with the Civ 2 Unlimited patch

please jdralif !! i want to dowload the unlimited patch but I can find it anywhere,
could you please post it?

Thank you

 

[Magic_gorter]

in this thread

IIRC it's post #40.