Civilopedia editing

Gojira54

The folly of Man
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What is the best method or editor for large-scale epic mods in terms of Civilopedia editing?

Is there an editor for this people find especially helpful, is it best just to do all the changes by hand in notepad, etc.? Any tips/tricks you use?
 
The most important thing is to make sure that you don't accidentally get any invisible characters in there. The stuff like font changes, formatting, etc. will mess up the ability of the game engine to read the text file. Inserting extra spaces are one of the most common problems. Very difficult to see if there's a space at the end of a line for example. Some word processors insert that stuff even into "plaintext" files. Which is why people use notepad or other similar programs. Any program that doesn't automatically do the changes without you realizing it can be used. When I did a little bit of work for Rob's Anno Domini civilopedia I'd do the sometimes I'd do the initial writing of a content section in Open Office, then transfer it to a plaintext editor for double-checking & saving the file.
 
Something which might be helpful is long forgotten and detailed list of the Civilopedia entries. By "detailed," I mean "complete," as in:


#TECH_Currency
^
^Go to www.civmods.com/content/aos.htm for a complete description of this item in the online Civilopedia. You will also find general instructions for AOS, specific instructions for this scenario, and a useful strategy guide.

#DESC_TECH_Currency
^
^
^As cities grew, their internal economies became more complicated. People became specialists, some primarily producing grain, some pottery,
some bricks, etc. A system of barter developed, so that one individual's wares and services could be exchanged for those of another. Gold
and silver were widely used in such transactions, but the pieces needed to be weighed and tested for purity each time they changed hands. In
600 BC, the Lydians found a way around this problem. They began the practice of shaping electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, into pieces
of predetermined weight and purity, stamped with an official symbol. This idea caught on, and within 50 years all the important trading centers
of the world had adopted similar practices. The widespread use of currency created universal standards of value, allowing people from
various societies to conduct business almost anywhere without being forced to bring along bulky goods for trade and barter.


- Although, please do note that, in this particular case, the site "civmods.com" is very much extinct.
 
Something which might be helpful is long forgotten and detailed list of the Civilopedia entries. By "detailed," I mean "complete," as in:


#TECH_Currency
^
^Go to www.civmods.com/content/aos.htm for a complete description of this item in the online Civilopedia. You will also find general instructions for AOS, specific instructions for this scenario, and a useful strategy guide.

#DESC_TECH_Currency
^
^
^As cities grew, their internal economies became more complicated. People became specialists, some primarily producing grain, some pottery,
some bricks, etc. A system of barter developed, so that one individual's wares and services could be exchanged for those of another. Gold
and silver were widely used in such transactions, but the pieces needed to be weighed and tested for purity each time they changed hands. In
600 BC, the Lydians found a way around this problem. They began the practice of shaping electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, into pieces
of predetermined weight and purity, stamped with an official symbol. This idea caught on, and within 50 years all the important trading centers
of the world had adopted similar practices. The widespread use of currency created universal standards of value, allowing people from
various societies to conduct business almost anywhere without being forced to bring along bulky goods for trade and barter.


- Although, please do note that, in this particular case, the site "civmods.com" is very much extinct.
Bookmarked the first, saw your extinction line after discovering that myself about the second :p
 
I recently restarted modding and was looking for a convenient editor, too. Right now I'm using Notepad++.
 
I've never found a use for a civilopedia editor. The format of the civilopedia.txt is fairly easy to grasp and is conveniently spaced out to see what text is under what entry, so notepad is more than sufficient. The script commands are easy to incorporate and close. The only text file that I've seen an editor use for is diplomacy.txt. However, perhaps for quicker additions, a pediaicons editor might be nice so you dont have to go up and down the file but even that is user-friendly enough.
 
What problems do you run into using notepad?
It's easy and quick... Just keep things organized (put new techs at the end of 'techs' so you can find them back later) and you'll be alright.
Only editing the Space Ship to a Time Machine I remember was a pain in the ass.
 
Once Understood, I agree that notepad is easy to use for text entries... as for "tricks and tips", as Theov posted, "just keep things organized". When you have something you will have to add many times, you can place the entries or any part of the entries and needed Links in notepad then copy and paste where wanted to the PediaIcons and Civilopedia. Faster than trying to remember and type everything.

Not to get off topic but I find it "interesting" (annoying) that when loading a Scenario many text sentences displayed for Game descriptions are indented rather than start at the beginning left margin. In the Civilopedia, this can be corrected with ^ to have the Sentence start at the far left margin. Has anyone found a way to correct this? This is evident in All Scenarios including original Game Scenarios.
 

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Not to get off topic but I find it "interesting" (annoying) that when loading a Scenario many text sentences displayed for Game descriptions are indented rather than start at the beginning left margin. In the Civilopedia, this can be corrected with ^ to have the Sentence start at the far left margin. Has anyone found a way to correct this? This is evident in All Scenarios including original Game Scenarios.

It just centers the text that you type in the Scenario Description box (scenario properties tab) .​
 
Theov... Yes, I know where it is as I use it but It is more than simply centered. Take a look at the Screen Shot... exactly how do the lines center, starting from what? There are different indented areas and they do not start with the beginning of sentences or have anything to do with periods. I have found no way to correct this. Not that it is really important, it just annoys me in all Scenarios :)
 
Theov... Yes, I know where it is as I use it but It is more than simply centered. Take a look at the Screen Shot... exactly how do the lines center, starting from what? There are different indented areas and they do not start with the beginning of sentences or have anything to do with periods. I have found no way to correct this. Not that it is really important, it just annoys me in all Scenarios :)
Never looked into that. My guess would be with every new sentence (After an 'enter') but you say that isnt the case.
How do you want it to look? I can check tmr.
 
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