Edit describe.txt, not cheat menu

[Tanaista]

Ok,
http://forums.civfanatics.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=46#
Mad
People may think that this is a dumb question, but I am seriously sick of looking and for some reason just not getting it. Maybe I have been at it to long and am tired, at any rate, help please.

I have Civ 2 MGE and added new techs into the Rules.txt file in the slots provided. I wanted to change the describe.txt file to match. I know that I nead to change the -1 by the listing to the number of the tech.

3 questions.

1> What number, where, how do I find it?

2> if I change the prerequesits for existing techs to include my new tech in the tree, do the numbers on all of the techs or a large number of them change? If yes, how do I figure out the numbers?

I know that there was at one point something answering these, but I just got the game back after quite some time and it seems that many of the sites are down and all of them are up seem to focus on the cheat menu and controlling the details that come up through a scenario.

I do not want to use the cheat menu, and I do not want to tie the changes to a map or a scenario. I just want to change them. I would preffer to no, at the moment have to use Hex, I know that I ended up using it before, but not right now, maybe later >

3> Any other advice would be helpfull. I have changed the unit, people, and cities graphics; the tech, added units in the given slots; and changed the terrain. I think that that is all that I have done, oh, edited rules, pedia, city, game and menu also (some more than others > but describe has got me and I am not sure if I got everything in those files, what am I forgeting?

Help...this is making me really angry.

 

[aaglo]

1. Wellcome to CFC

2. You could get an answer to those questions, if you posted them in the civ2 forum (not in civ3-forum)

 

[Tanaista]

grin,
told you I was tired, meant to click 2 not 3...have been modding 3 for a while and guess I wasn't paying enough attention when I clicked the section to post in.

 

[Catfish]

3 questions...

1. and 2. The indices in the list point to the order of the descriptions below them. The index list is arranged in the same order as the techs in rules.txt, but the order of the descriptions below is different – semi-alphabetical. This is why the numbers aren't in strict ascending order. I don't have MGE, but I figure the list is very similar to ToT (which I do have). In ToT University is the last entry at 88. If you wanted to add a description for User Def Tech A, you'd change its index from -1 to 89 and add a new entry to the end of the description list.

3. The Scenario League's Tips section has good design guides.

 

[Tanaista]

Rules.txt lists them in alphabetical order, as does describe.txt. The numbers are not in alphabetical order, as for instance, amphibious warfare is number 54 in describe.txt.
The fact that everyone says either, read the tips or that they are in order is why I do not understand.

I read the tips, did not answer my question. I read them and tips on a number of other pages, before posting. What am I missing?

 

[Catfish]

Rules.txt lists them in alphabetical order, as does describe.txt. The numbers are not in alphabetical order, as for instance, amphibious warfare is number 54 in describe.txt.

That's why I said semi-alphabetical. Sigh. It's pretty simple really.

The index list is in exactly the same order as the techs in the rules.txt file. The numbers (or indices) correspond to the order of the description entries below them. These are not in the same order. I don't know how to make it much clearer.

I'll attach my ToT describe.txt template below. It may differ slightly from the MGE one, but the numbering I use should make it clearer.