Cross-Platform Editor for Conquests now available! 1.51

[Quintillus]

As you may have noticed, I haven't been super active with the editor lately. This has been due to a succession of events. Burnout from the pandemic and my job in Q1/Q2, and real life being exciting in Q3 and the start of Q4, being the main ones.

But I decided there wasn't a good reason not to publish the updates I made in February and March. Initially I'd planned to add more and make this a bigger update, but that isn't likely in the short term.

Thus:

Version 1.40

Version 1.40 is a small update that includes:

• Read-only science advisor blurbs on the TECH page
• The editor will no longer complain about being on Java 11+ if it can find all the dependencies it needs
• The tip of the day will now show up on all high contrast themes, not just high contrast white
• Improved logging of rendering errors, particularly for units_32.pcx issues

The science blurbs are intended to help you spot cases where the blurbs are mismatched or missing.

The BellSoft Java version in the first post should satisfy the dependencies the editor searches for, and thus ease the transition to Java 11+, while still fully supporting Java 8 and thus older operating systems. There's no need to switch Java versions if 1.39 is working for you; this is more about making it less likely new users will run into Java 11+ issues.

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As the last of these code changes were made in March, it's worth noting that this project is effectively idle currently. I expect that there will eventually be another update, but when that will be (beyond likely not in 2021), I am not sure.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing with regards to my Civ involvement overall, however. You can expect to learn more about that as time goes on.

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@arikari - See my replies below.

Spoiler :

If you can upload the BIQ that the editor is having intermittent issues opening, that would help in investigating it. Otherwise it's guesswork. My only guess is that if you have Civ III installed in C:\Program Files (x86), that is known to cause issues with modding, and can manifest in the editor (this one or Firaxis's) and game not consistently seeing files.

I should really add a warning for that case if I haven't already. It has come up semi-frequently over the years.

The editor does not have the ability to produce random maps. For random map generation, I recommend using the Firaxis editor to generate the map, and then it can be opened with this editor. You can create a new map from scratch in this editor, or use a satellite image (saved as a 16 or 256 color BMP file) for map generation.

Relocating tiles could be complicated, although to some extent it would be a natural extension of the Relocate City option (click on a tile with a city, and that option appears on the right side). Adding the ability to relocate units, starting locations, and so forth would be fairly straightforward; moving tiles or blocks of tiles, including the base terrain, less so. Are there particular elements of the tile you'd like to relocate?

A minimap is unlikely to be added, unless someone proposes a good way to build one. The zoom functionality (Ctrl+Shift+Z, Cmd+Shift+Z on Mac) is intended as a replacement for getting a map overview, although admittedly it's not as quick for refocusing on another area.

Is there a particular unit that was not working for downloading? I just checked and was able to successfully download and add a couple of Delta_Strife's recent units. However, there are some known limitations - unit packs won't work - and there may be some unknown ones as well.

I am glad to hear you like the download functionality. That was one where if it had been more popular, it likely would have been extended, but alas, I haven't heard a lot of feedback on people using it.

 

[Vuldacon]

Quintillus... Glad you Uploaded this Update to include what you have added to date.

Suffice to say we are All Burned Out and Tired of Life with the Pandemic... Discombobulation and stress to say the least.

Things will get better as time progresses but I hope we can all relax and have some Good Times during the Holiday Season.

 

[SteamCiv]

Im trying to edit one of my maps (with 1.40) and FINALLY got this editor to work
seems there was several of instances of Java installed on my computer (leftover from old Windows reinstalls, backups, who knows).
Anyway I right click on the "Conquests Editor.jar"
and then "open with" and THREE instances of

Java(TM)Platform SE Binary
Java(TM)Platform SE Binary
Java(TM)Platform SE Binary
Right click on each in turn and the 2nd one launches the program.

So maybe if a person cannot get the "Conquests Editor.jar" to run, this may be the answer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st ISSUE graphic of unused Starting points not deleting

I'm editing my map adding start points and if I need to remove a start point, it does NOT delete.
I can set it to 'NONE" and uncheck the box for it being a start point but the graphic for it remains
how do I completely remove the graphic representation of unwanted startpoints on the map?

If I use the Firaxis editor, it removes them, but if i reopen the saved map in this editor, the null starting points reappear.
I searched the forums but did not find posts of anyone else having this issue.
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2nd ISSUE Downloading units adds the unit, but the unit folder is filled with instances of AutoSave1.biq, AutoSave2.biq, AutoSave3.biq etc.

This means i have to go and download the unit manually and transfer the unit's folder contents to the renamed folder of the unit created by the editor and delete the AutoSaveX.biq files found within.
I searched the forums but did not find posts of anyone else having this issue.


---------

There is a lot to like about this editor, ie finding units is definitely a lot easier than before

 

[Quintillus]

Ah, the multiple Java installs challenge. I wish that Java would include the version with the different installs, e.g. Java(TM) Platform 1.8 SE Binary, Java(TM) Platform 13 SE Binary. How I've handled it in the past is by installing a new Java 8 (or compatible Java 11+), which tends to set itself as the default. But what you did works as well, although for other people it may or may not be the second option, as that's likely dependent on the order in which they were installed.

For the starting points, do you have a BIQ you are able to share for reproducing the issue? From what you've said, it sounds like even if you open them in the Firaxis editor and delete them, they re-appear? I just verified that I can remove an SP in my editor in the 1 MP Mesopotamia.biq scenario, and the graphics disappear right away, and it's gone after a save-and-reload. It does sound like a new issue, I haven't heard of that before.

One potentially related question - where is your Civ installed? The "removed in Firaxis, but they reappear when opened with this editor" sounds kind of like a UAC problem, which can happen when Civ is installed to the default C:\Program Files (x86) location.

I have been able to duplicate the unit download issue you described. It's definitely copying the wrong folder. My guess is it has something to do with running outside of my development environment, but I'll have to investigate that more to figure out the cause and how to fix it.

Thanks for the feedback, and glad you were able to find the right Java install!

 

[SteamCiv]

Ah, the multiple Java installs challenge. I wish that Java would include the version with the different installs, e.g. Java(TM) Platform 1.8 SE Binary, Java(TM) Platform 13 SE Binary. How I've handled it in the past is by installing a new Java 8 (or compatible Java 11+), which tends to set itself as the default. But what you did works as well, although for other people it may or may not be the second option, as that's likely dependent on the order in which they were installed.

For the starting points, do you have a BIQ you are able to share for reproducing the issue? From what you've said, it sounds like even if you open them in the Firaxis editor and delete them, they re-appear? I just verified that I can remove an SP in my editor in the 1 MP Mesopotamia.biq scenario, and the graphics disappear right away, and it's gone after a save-and-reload. It does sound like a new issue, I haven't heard of that before.

One potentially related question - where is your Civ installed? The "removed in Firaxis, but they reappear when opened with this editor" sounds kind of like a UAC problem, which can happen when Civ is installed to the default C:\Program Files (x86) location.

I sent PM RAR file to check the unused starting points not deleting. Several are there now

No game EVER goes into C:\Program Files (x86) location or Program Files. Learned that lesson from Windows Vista screwing up profiles for a game controller I was trying to configure, but a common thing that many people do, install into that folder then wonder why their mods do not work.

I moved the editor into the Civ 3 folder, previously in the documents folder but same problem.

Editor works fine otherwise. Have not noticed anything else screwballed.
After editing in Firaxis, had to disable compress .biq else editor.jar may not open them, but that message is right there in the warning when it happened.

Again real easy to scan/ make changes to a long list of of units by hitting the up/down arrow.
Another thing, is there an undo feature? i was painting a map and wanted to undo a change but CTRL +Z does not work. I had to go back to the Firaxis editor for that function

thanks
SteamCiv

---------------------------------------------------------------

I tried the same on that 1 MP Mesopotamia.biq and could not get rid of the unused starting points. FYI the 1 MP Mesopotamia.biq had to be decompressed in Firaxis before I could open it with 1.40 editor .jar

 

[Quintillus]

I replied with the investigation so far. Good to hear it's not in Program Files! But the extra SLOCs are in the BIQ.

Do you mean that there were extra SLOCs in 1 MP Mesopotamia.biq when you opened it? If so, can you note the X, Y coordinates where they were? That sounds quite odd. One of the things I forgot to ask in the PM was whether you knew where/how the extra SLOCs originated (Firaxis editor, my editor, some other way, etc.). I didn't notice any in Mesopotamia the other night, but I wasn't scouring the whole map for them either.

When you moved the editor, did you move everything related to the editor, or just the "Conquests Editor.jar" file? It needs the "bin" folder that comes with the download to be copied along with it for decompression to work. But as long as that is also copied, it should work pretty reliably; I haven't heard any reports of it not working, although as I wasn't the author of the decompression code, I also am not an expert on its inner workings.

There is not an undo function yet. I think I have a proof of concept somewhere, but it hasn't been released yet, and realistically would be rolled out gradually if it is ever added (I think the proof of concept was for the CTZN tab... one of the rule tabs at any rate).

 

[SteamCiv]

Some of this is covered in the PM but relevant content reposted in case someone else has the same problem

At least you are seeing the extra unused starting location points on the map I sent.

What I meant for the 1 MP Mesopotamia.biq, it has to be opened first with Firaxis to decompress it (view>options >uncheck box for decompress BIC files>resave>>quit>reopen with ConquestEditor.jar).
The same happens for the 1 MP Mesopotamia.biq. If I add starting points to it with the editor .jar, they do not disappear either.

Yes, when i move the Conquest editor into my Civ 3 install, I moved the entire editor folder and contents into
X:\MyInstallPath\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete\Conquests

The CIV3 install does rest on an external HD if that makes a difference

Another Q, I was looking around to see if there was any randomization function for adding resources to the map?

When one considers how much the Firaxis editor does and what you are trying to do in making improvements, this is a very large and involved project!

Again, Thanks for looking into this!

 

[Quintillus]

I've figured out why the extra starting points are not removable - there are two places where starting points are stored, the actual Starting Point list, which is what my editor uses to draw them on the map, and is used to determine who the owner is, and a bit that is set on the Tile where they are located, which must be what the Firaxis editor uses to determine whether to draw them, and is what my editor uses for the Starting Location check box. These should be in sync - if there is a starting location for a tile in the list of starting locations, that bit on the corresponding tile should be set. However, in this map, several starting locations exist for which the tile where they are located does not think it has a starting location set for it.

I think I've figured out how to replicate the situation as well. Writing in this draft post about how I couldn't replicate it proved to be important, as that lead to thinking of another potential way of replicating it. Have you been adding starting locations by pressing "O" in my editor for the Overlay menu, and then choosing "Starting Location"? It looks like the bug can be created that way, but if you add it with the "Starting Location" check box on the right side as I'd done the other night, it doesn't occur. These should both behave the same way, but as they don't, I know where to look to prevent this situation from recurring.

It should not make a difference that Civ is installed on an external drive. As long as it has a drive letter, which yours does, it should work fine. Networked drives (e.g. \\SomeOtherComputer\Games\Civ3\Conquests\Scenarios) are an area where I'm more uncertain, but anything locally connected ought to work. It's a little odd to me that decompression isn't working though, particularly as I've been opening compressed 1 MP Mesopotamia.biq without issue. The workaround you've posted is the correct workaround. But I'd be curious to see if the "log.txt" file that the editor creates (which will display as "log" if you have file extensions turned off) contains anything that might explain it - if you could upload it either here or via PM, it might provide a clue to why decompression fails.

There isn't a resource randomization function, though that's an interesting idea. The only randomization function for the map is Map Menu -> Redistribute Bonus Grassland, which works similar to the one in the Firaxis editor but lets you set a desired percentage of bonus grassland. I see the Firaxis editor does allow resource, goody hut, and starting location redistribution; it probably makes sense to add those, and resource probably makes the most sense of the three. I have added this to my list of features to add going forward.

Thanks again for the feedback! It's definitely the largest solo project I've ever worked on, and larger than some of the ones I've done in my career with teams as well. Ignorance of the size of the quest was a blessing early on, and perhaps essential for getting it off the ground!

 

[register]

.........................

 

[SteamCiv]

Redistribute Bonus Grassland yes, LIKE; as much or as little as you want
as you probably know, Firaxis redistribute resources often clumps 5 of the same type of resources together, not sure if that is intended or just janky

>>Have you been adding starting locations by pressing "O" in my editor for the Overlay menu, and then choosing "Starting Location"? I<<
Almost, have been selecting the overlay from the Icon menu on the right then then choosing "Starting Location"--but now I know there is a keyboard command....

Q:Is there a way to close out the current map and open another without closing the editor?

Once again thanks!

 

[tjs282]

as you probably know, Firaxis redistribute resources often clumps 5 of the same type of resources together, not sure if that is intended or just janky

Yes, Lux-resources are intended to cluster; this is not a bug. Strategic resources are more evenly distributed across the map.

 

[arik24]

@
Quintillus I got your editor to to make a better city location but I cant get it to open my saved game. I made it in to a biq file and I clicked open but I don't get the map or any options I'm on windows 10 I tried doing these three thing Reinstall Civ3 somewhere else (such as C:\Civilization III) mine is in Users\Public\Civ 3\Conquests Turn off UAC tried that did nothing Move your BIQs to another folder for editing, and then back to where they came from to load them up in-game I don think that will work I might try that if I get my old Windows Xp computer set up again. I aslo read the troubleshooting guide it did not help.

 

[Quintillus]

I believe I have figured out the Download Units issue. At least, I've fixed one issue, and another one where it didn't show errors properly.

Previously, if you downloaded a unit where the .rar/.7z contained a nested folder (e.g. the structure was CoolNewUnit.rar/CoolNewUnit/CoolNewUnit.ini, as opposed to simply CoolNewUnit.rar/CoolNewUnit.ini), and you went with the default name for the unit, then there would be an AccessDenied error, as the editor tried to copy over the files. In 1.41, this case works as expected.

The Download Units area also didn't properly display errors before. It would technically display them, but right afterwards show the success message. Now, it'll let you know that it ran into a problem more proactively. That might not be enough to fix it yourself, but you'll be more informed that something went wrong at least.

If you still encounter issues with unit downloads, reply to the thread with the unit(s) that were causing the problem. While many units follow a similar format in the Downloads Database, there are exceptions, and not all units have been tested for download-ability. The goal is for the editor to be able to either successfully download, or give a friendly error message about why it couldn't. I am sure there are still some units in the Downloads Database that will throw off the editor, but don't know which those are.

Redistribute Bonus Grassland yes, LIKE; as much or as little as you want
as you probably know, Firaxis redistribute resources often clumps 5 of the same type of resources together, not sure if that is intended or just janky

>>Have you been adding starting locations by pressing "O" in my editor for the Overlay menu, and then choosing "Starting Location"? I<<
Almost, have been selecting the overlay from the Icon menu on the right then then choosing "Starting Location"--but now I know there is a keyboard command....

Q:Is there a way to close out the current map and open another without closing the editor?

Once again thanks!

Not really. Due to some questionable design decisions early in the editor's lifespan, there is not a clean separation of rules and especially UI states when you open multiple files, and there is a high chance of cross-contamination between scenarios. You can safely open two instances of the editor if you want to compare side-by-side. But opening more than one BIQ within one instance of the editor is only recommended for the BIQ Compare (BIQC) functions; for anything other than that, it should be avoided.

This probably won't be changed due to how deeply ingrained these aspects are to the editor's design, and the relative ease of having a warning when the user attempts to open a second map, and opening a second instance.

@
Quintillus I got your editor to to make a better city location but I cant get it to open my saved game. I made it in to a biq file and I clicked open but I don't get the map or any options I'm on windows 10 I tried doing these three thing Reinstall Civ3 somewhere else (such as C:\Civilization III) mine is in Users\Public\Civ 3\Conquests Turn off UAC tried that did nothing Move your BIQs to another folder for editing, and then back to where they came from to load them up in-game I don think that will work I might try that if I get my old Windows Xp computer set up again. I aslo read the troubleshooting guide it did not help.

The SAV functions don't include map editing, due to the editor (and me) not knowing enough about the SAV structure to open the map from a SAV. A BIQ always has the same map, but in a SAV, the map is likely different, due to forest chops, global warming, and so forth, as well as cities being formed by settlers and perhaps razed. I was able to stand on the shoulders of earlier members of the CFC and Apolyton communities to read BIQ data to build the editor, but similar data was not available for the SAV format, at least at the time I was building that part of the editor.

I was also hesitant to add too much along those lines even once I had better resources, due to concerns about how editing a save should invalidate games for the Hall of Fame/Game of the Month competition. I now know how to avoid that problem, but time to work on the editor has been limited in recent years.

So, you can extract a BIQ from a SAV, which is meant for cases where you have a SAV from an old mod, but have since lost the mod (BIQ) file for it, and want to play that scenario again. You can also apply some rule (but not map) changes to a SAV (SAV Actions -> Apply Rule Changes). Fundamentally, however, the editor is a BIQ rather than SAV editor, and is likely to remain that way.

 

[Quintillus]

Version 1.41

Version 1.41 is a minor update that fixes a couple of bugs and adds one minor feature:

• Starting locations built from the "Add Overlay" menu are now removable
• Starting locations previously added in a saved BIQ from that same menu are now removable
• Units downloaded where there is a nested folder in the .rar/.7z file, and where the default unit name are used, are now properly copied over without errors.
• The unit download area is now better about reporting errors rather than acting like everything went well
• You can now click on a large GOOD PCX icon to open it in your system-default PCX editor.

If you run into any additional issues with unit downloading, please respond with the specific unit in the Downloads Database that is causing issues. There are likely still edge cases that are not covered.

You can download version 1.41 here.

 

[Arcangelus]

Version 1.41 does not allow for corruption to be OFF: It returns to a previous value. The same with 1.39-1.40.
Also, it has the same problem I noticed with 1.40: It can corrupt the resulting biq file under some circumstances. Said corruption has little connection with the changes made: For instance, loading AoI and changing the amount of shields given by the civil engineer from 2 to 3 also creates spawning point for the players not displayed on the map (I believe it also happens if I just save it with no modifications). Some other changes (government) make the file unloadable, or change the rules in unexpected ways.

The last version I'm able to use with no side effects is 1.35. I haven't tested versions 1.36-1.38 as I lack the files, but I can replicate the bug on 1.39 simply by saving an otherwise unmodified AoI.

 

[SteamCiv]

Thanks! new version can add / delete starting points and add downloaded units, I have to try as soon as I get a chance!

 

[Quintillus]

Version 1.41 does not allow for corruption to be OFF: It returns to a previous value. The same with 1.39-1.40.
Also, it has the same problem I noticed with 1.40: It can corrupt the resulting biq file under some circumstances. Said corruption has little connection with the changes made: For instance, loading AoI and changing the amount of shields given by the civil engineer from 2 to 3 also creates spawning point for the players not displayed on the map (I believe it also happens if I just save it with no modifications). Some other changes (government) make the file unloadable, or change the rules in unexpected ways.

The last version I'm able to use with no side effects is 1.35. I haven't tested versions 1.36-1.38 as I lack the files, but I can replicate the bug on 1.39 simply by saving an otherwise unmodified AoI.

I have been able to confirm the issue with the "OFF" setting for corruption not sticking, and returning to the previous value. This appears to have been a bug since the earliest release of the editor in 2010, as I can reproduce it in version 0.50. The community must not be creating too many scenarios with corruption disabled. The "OFF" setting does stick if it is set in the Firaxis editor, and the scenario is subsequently edited with this one.

----

After an investigation of a pre-edit and post-edit Age of Imperialism 4.1 (31 civs, full), adding the Civil Engineer change as described, I found a couple minor discrepancies and one more notable one, which is likely causing the spawning points you mentioned.

The more notable one is new as of version 1.39, and causes one unit of each of the first two units in the unit list to be spawned for any civilization, if there are less than two starting units for that civilization. As Age of Imperialism has no spawning points, it appears Civ places these units randomly. Version 1.39 did extensively modify the PLYR tab, fixing several other issues there. Unfortunately, looking at all of the changes for version 1.39, nothing jumps out as being the reason for this bug. Thus it will require more debugging to figure out what is going on here. UPDATE: Found the source of the bug.

Two other more minor issues were found in a hex editor comparison. One is that Age of Imperialism has quite a few units with spaces at the end of their names, which is a work-around to allow different appearances for units with the same name in the same scenario. I recall adding some work-arounds to support this around 2011, but do not recall the details anymore; they are either in my development notes or earlier in this thread, or both. Saving the scenario removes these spaces. This is suspicious, but I would have to check those notes to say if this is really an issue, or if the work-around was only necessary in the Firaxis editor but not in-game. Military and Scientific leaders in Age of Imperialism also often had trailing spaces which were removed. I do not know why those leaders had trailing spaces; they do not appear to be duplicated.

The other one is that two Balcan military leaders had their names corrupted, namely Božidar Jankovic and Živojin Mišic. The diacritics were not handled correctly, and the characters were changed. This should be a purely cosmetic issue.

One other difference that should not cause a problem is that there are two "Required goods must be in city radius" flags in Civ3, one for Improvements and one for Small Wonders. Only the Improvement flag was used in this scenario, and the editor saved it with both flags enabled. Although this shows as a difference, it should not cause any issues.

There were also some differences due to the original scenario being a version 12.06 BIQ, and the editor save being version 12.08. These changes were as expected.

I do not believe any of these differences were related to the Civil Engineer change. The notable issue is a bug from version 1.39, and the two more minor issues/possible issues are both related to aspects of the scenario that are not present for most scenarios. I plan to identify the cause of the 1.39 bug and fix it, and revisit the old notes to see if the spaces difference is in fact an issue. On the Balcan military leader diacritics issue, it appears to be due to differences between two character sets (Windows-1252 and ISO 8859-1), but it looks like the editor should have been using the correct one, Windows-1252, since August of 2013, so that will also require additional investigation.

I will also be adding a more rigorous tests to automatically detect unintended changes when a file is saved, using Age of Imperialism as a test case if feasible. It is a more complex scenario than the existing one used to validate there aren't unintended changes, so adding it will help avoid bugs such as the 1.39 bug going forward.

---

Thanks for both using the editor and reporting the issues. We're still looking for a full-time tester (no pay, no benefits), so if you're interested in kicking the tires and seeing if any other parts come loose, by all means go ahead and report back on what you find.

 

[Civinator]

Quintillus, your observations about AOI are very interesting.

The community must not be creating too many scenarios with corruption disabled. The "OFF" setting does stick if it is set in the Firaxis editor, and the scenario is subsequently edited with this one.

The reason for not using the "OFF" setting in the past was, that this setting in the Firaxis editor is bugged. Instead of eliminating corruption completely, it triggered a very high corruption. Now with the Flintlock patch this can change massively, as Flintlock reported, that he now has fixed that bug. I didn´t have the time to test it yet, but if it is really fixed, I will use it for the future versions of the CCM and RARR mods.

 

[Quintillus]

Interesting. Thinking back to when I set corruption to zero, I did it via the Difficulty settings. I don't think I'd ever tried setting it for a government, so I hadn't realized it did not when set that way.

I believe I have resolved several of the issues noted above.

- The Balcan diacritics issue is resolved.
- The unwanted starting units is resolved.
- I sifted through old notes and found this post from 2011, where I mention that Rhye has a scenario with duplicate unit names, despite them not being possible to set up in Firaxis's editor. I also found code in the editor with a comment noting that I had a work-around for a Java component not working well with duplicate names, which points to them being supported in Civ as I wouldn't have needed that work-around otherwise. So the reason AoI has the extra space is because Firaxis's editor doesn't let you add duplicate names (Rhye must have used another method to work around that limitation), but the removal of them should not cause any issues. I believe the code that removes the spaces is there to remove null characters primarily, but its presence predates written history in terms of being able to determine exactly why I added the code (June 2010 or earlier is when it was added, my guess is some time in 2009).

The OFF button switching back is not yet fixed up.

 

[Quintillus]

Version 1.42

Version 1.42 is now available.

Version 1.42 includes a few fixes:

• Civilizations with fewer than two starting units will no longer have starting units added
• Characters such as Š and Ž will now be properly preserved on a save, improving compatibility with languages such as Czech, Serbian, and Sorbian
• Selecting the Off setting for government corruption will now properly stick

Read the rest of this update entry...