GUIDE: Adding new units

[Halidon55]

Has anyone found a good solution to getting rid of the "!" with your custom unit icon in the city production yet? Because even though it's better than a pink blob, I'd like to see everything working right in the game. Just the way I am.

 

[Officer Reene]

Has anyone found a good solution to getting rid of the "!" with your custom unit icon in the city production yet? Because even though it's better than a pink blob, I'd like to see everything working right in the game. Just the way I am.

try these links:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=4269331

(jenks post #5 gets to the heart of the matter)

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=156760

(yepzers post #3 gets you the info too)

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=151450



each says basically the same thing...

but their definitions are a bit spotty

hence the 3 different links to help better explain the answer


hope this helps

 

[Ultraman]

Hi! This is an excellent post which I've bookmarked! I have added the Mobile Artillery and Mobile SAM to my mod. Seems to work fine. Except that when my cursor is over the unit I get TXT_KEY_UNIT_MOBILE_SAM. And the WorldBuilder icon is for SAM Infantry. What am I doing wrong, is there another XML file I missed to modify? And How can I get the right icons for these units? Thanx!

 

[Officer Reene]

Hi! This is an excellent post which I've bookmarked! I have added the Mobile Artillery and Mobile SAM to my mod. Seems to work fine. Except that when my cursor is over the unit I get TXT_KEY_UNIT_MOBILE_SAM. And the WorldBuilder icon is for SAM Infantry. What am I doing wrong, is there another XML file I missed to modify? And How can I get the right icons for these units? Thanx!

Edit the CIV4GameTextInfos_Objects.xml file and put something like this at the end of the file:

	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_UNIT_MOBILE_ARTILLERY</Tag>
		<English>Mobile Artillery</English>
		<French/>
		<German/>
		<Italian/>
		<Spanish/>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_UNIT_MOBILE_SAM</Tag>
		<English>Mobile SAM</English>
		<French/>
		<German/>
		<Italian/>
		<Spanish/>
	</TEXT>

file can be found in the Text folder
Remember to backup the file first (in case you make a mistake)


As for the pics... there is no custom pic for them... the game uses the sam unit pic...

However you can make custom pics... (I did for those units in my mod )

... and make new button images for them...

Hope that helps!

 

[Ultraman]

Thanx mate, for that fast response! Trying it later when I get off work.

 

[Officer Reene]

Thanx mate, for that fast response! Trying it later when I get off work.

let me know how it turns out...and if you hit any snags

 

[Ultraman]

Thanx dude! Works like a charm, including the civilopedia entry. Now to add more units!

 

[Officer Reene]

Thanx dude! Works like a charm, including the civilopedia entry. Now to add more units!

Happy Modding

 

[ckmcruel]

Hi Im new to this and i got your guide at the beginning but how do you change unit graphics and creat mev units with different graphics like a Trebuchet or somthing?

 

[Officer Reene]

Hi Im new to this and i got your guide at the beginning but how do you change unit graphics and creat mev units with different graphics like a Trebuchet or somthing?

try this link:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=176460

hope this helps

 

[ckmcruel]

ok i figured it out but how do i get it to read the assets folder. whenever i start the game it gets to the loading bar it loads and shuts down

 

[ckmcruel]

is their a trebuchet skin?

 

[Officer Reene]

ok i figured it out but how do i get it to read the assets folder. whenever i start the game it gets to the loading bar it loads and shuts down

check your syntax ...xml is very picky if there is a misplaced/missing comma/bracket/etc

 

[Officer Reene]

is their a trebuchet skin?

yes look in the unit graphic forums or the database

 

[ckmcruel]

ok 2 things what is a syntax and how do i clear my cache
i also want to make my own unit skins but i dont know how the .dds and .nif files open. is their a certain software you need? sorry im piling the questions. now wen i unpack Art0.FPK where do i put it? last thing, the giude at the beginning is kinda confusing in the part where it tells you to make a new folder. if you can explain it in more depth that would help alot. just email it to ckmlego@ownerlisted.com

 

[ckmcruel]

i got an .nif editor but i have no clue how to use it. Any reccomendations for .nif editors?

 

[Officer Reene]

ok 2 things what is a syntax...

syntax is the language or format of the code

if you dont have it EXACTLY right it will not work and give you errors

when I say syntax, I am referring to the format... where there is no missing puncuation (space/comma/period/etc)

...how do i clear my cache

cache is located here:

C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Application Data\My Games\Civ4\cache

Or something similar to that
(Dont ask me why they put the cache folder in a different folder than the game...cause I dont know)

i also want to make my own unit skins but i dont know how the .dds and .nif files open. is their a certain software you need? sorry im piling the questions.

There are tutorial threads in the tutorial forums for that...sorry I dont know how to personally do that...

now wen i unpack Art0.FPK where do i put it? last thing, the giude at the beginning is kinda confusing in the part where it tells you to make a new folder. if you can explain it in more depth that would help alot. just email it to ckmlego@ownerlisted.com

you can put that file any where but I recommend you put it in a different folder than CIV4

you see the game automatically (on each start) unpacks them for reference...

however you can modify those files and either put them in your mod or custom assets and that modified file overrides the default ones (if you put it in your mod folder, you must be running that mod for it to work)

therefore you are only unpacking those files for you to edit or change... (using them as a base or reference to build on) they are not needed in the game folder (since they already are unpacked by the game upon start up)

note: in later patches the art files are call Assets0.fpk, Assets1.fpk, etc


hope that helps

 

[ckmcruel]

Now when I unpack it, I put it in the Civ4/assets folder where the packed version was and the game dos'nt start up. i tried putting it in the mod folder as a mod but when i loaded it the game was the same even though i added 9 new units. what am i doing wrong

 

[Officer Reene]

Now when I unpack it, I put it in the Civ4/assets folder where the packed version was and the game dos'nt start up. i tried putting it in the mod folder as a mod but when i loaded it the game was the same even though i added 9 new units. what am i doing wrong

um yeah... I told you not to put it in civ4 folder


all you have to do is put the modified/new units in the custom assets folder or whatever mod folder you made

you have to follow the path of where you find the file

for example if you found it in the file in the:

C:\civ4\assets\xml\units folder

you have to put it in the :

C:\Documents and Settings\[USER NAME]\My Documents\My Games\Civ4\CustomAssets

or if you put it in the mod then it should look like this:

C:\civ4\Mods\[YOUR MOD NAME]\assets\xml\units folder

you may also have to create new folders to match this folder path


also if you add new units there are many changes to XML files you must make

see this tutorial on that:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=148507



if you edit/change units (for graphics only) you wont have to change anything as long as your art files (.dds/.nif/etc) match the names of the original art files and are in the same place as the art files


NOTE: Please read through the entire tutorial... because alot of questions you have...have been answered already


Hope that helps

 

[ckmcruel]

I know they have been answered but it was very confusing.