HOF Questions & Answers

[amontillado]

So I'm not proficient with programs and am a mac user (I know! hiss hiss), and am having an issue accessing HOF submission logs.

When I click on the link to open up a log file for viewing, no program is selected and when I've tried other pdf or jpeg viewing programs (I assumed it was a screenshot) nothing shows up. Is there a specific program for viewing logs or do I need to make a change to a distinct civilization5 file that will allow me to view it?

This is probably a very simple thing, but as I said I'm a mac user and not the most proficient with programs so excuse my tiny brain.

 

[vadalaz]

Would it be possible to make OCC games have their own tables in HoF, or at least mark them somehow in the current ones?

 

[TyfoonTurk]

Which mods except EUI are allowed?

 

[Denniz]

Which mods except EUI are allowed?

No Mods are allowed.

 

[TyfoonTurk]

EUI and info addict?

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[Denniz]

EUI and info addict?

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I am not familar with those but there is a flag in the save file is supposed to indicate whether a mod has been used. Since any mod can do anything (counterfeiting) we can't accept any mods. Hopefully, people haven't been getting around the flag.

With Civ4, we provided the DLL and modified code. Civ4 automatically provided check sums for verifying that only the correct mod was used. Civ5 doesn't have anything like that and no one really wanted to try to create something like that once the SDK came out.

 

[TyfoonTurk]

Enhanced User Interface is a mod that 90% of this board uses. It provides additional information and control. I've been using it for the last year on all my games. These (that doesn't change the game, only the ui) mods should be allowed.

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[Mesix]

I guess I am in the 10% who doesn't use it.

 

[Emtee]

Enhanced User Interface is a mod that 90% of this board uses. It provides additional information and control. I've been using it for the last year on all my games. These (that doesn't change the game, only the ui) mods should be allowed.

Technically, EUI can be considered to be a 3rd party DLC rather than a mod. It doesn't show up in the mod menu, it doesn't disqualify you from achievements and it doesn't set the "using mods" flag on saved games. This last part makes EUI impossible to automatically detect for the Hall of Fame. On the "disallowed" page it says:

Changing Civ5 in any way from what is provided by Firaxis is not allowed. This includes changing Assets (XML, Lua Scripts, etc.), Database values, Save files, in-Memory values or anything else that might alter the basic game. Everyone should be saving the same game.

EUI clearly doesn't modify any existing assets, so on this part it's ok. However, on the submit game page it says:

My submission was played with an unaltered copy of Civilization 5. I have not used any tools or utilities to alter the game in any way during play or the save game files I am submitting.

Here it's not so clear that you're not violating the HOF's honor code by altering the game with EUI. Even so, it's not exactly a secret that many players are submitting EUI-played games to the HOF and mods are surely aware of this. If it was not allowed they should have said so by now. Still, I would prefer it if the policy on "UI-altering 3rd party DLC" was written in the rules.

Regarding InfoAddict, that's a traditional mod and using it in games automatically disqualifies you, regardless of what it actually does in-game.

 

[Denniz]

Technically, EUI can be considered to be a 3rd party DLC rather than a mod. It doesn't show up in the mod menu, it doesn't disqualify you from achievements and it doesn't set the "using mods" flag on saved games. This last part makes EUI impossible to automatically detect for the Hall of Fame. On the "disallowed" page it says:

Changing Civ5 in any way from what is provided by Firaxis is not allowed. This includes changing Assets (XML, Lua Scripts, etc.), Database values, Save files, in-Memory values or anything else that might alter the basic game. Everyone should be saving the same game.

EUI clearly doesn't modify any existing assets, so on this part it's ok. However, on the submit game page it says:

My submission was played with an unaltered copy of Civilization 5. I have not used any tools or utilities to alter the game in any way during play or the save game files I am submitting.

Here it's not so clear that you're not violating the HOF's honor code by altering the game with EUI. Even so, it's not exactly a secret that many players are submitting EUI-played games to the HOF and mods are surely aware of this. If it was not allowed they should have said so by now. Still, I would prefer it if the policy on "UI-altering 3rd party DLC" was written in the rules.

Regarding InfoAddict, that's a traditional mod and using it in games automatically disqualifies you, regardless of what it actually does in-game.

Thanks for the information on EUI. I don't know if the other guys were aware of its use or not.

Does it reveal information you wouldn't otherwise be able to see on the vanilla interface? As long as it doesn't do that or change game play, I guess it isn't a violation of the rules. Kind of water under the bridge at this point. Question is: can someone inject their own code that way? Like with, mods all you can see is the name in the save. Not what it does.

In hindsight, I probably should have checked for valid DLCs. It never occurred to me you could add one without altering the game or DLLs from Firaxis.

 

[Manpanzee]

I don't think EUI gives you any information that you don't have access to normally. The main benefit is that it shows AI available luxuries and gold on the default screen. Normally, you have access to this information, but you need to click into the diplomacy or trade screens to get it. EUI saves a lot of tedious clicking. E.g., if you're in the early game and waiting for AI to get their gpt up high enough to bother selling a luxury, EUI lets you just see that on the main screen, rather than clicking into trade screens every single turn. It does something similar with City-States by showing your influence and available quests with every CS on a ribbon on the main screen. This is, again, information that's totally available normally but might otherwise require clicking into diplomacy screens. EUI is a click saver, basically.

I do think that the vast majority of people here use EUI.

 

[chuckh89]

Not sure how to proceed with recent submission,...is this situation considered a "crash"? (Does it need to be submitted according to HOF rules crash policy?)

I submitted a game to the recent G-MinorCXVl, a game in which NO turns were replayed,...The game failed (frozen screen) after the completion of processing a turn,...Therefore I just loaded that Autosave, and completed to my victory condition. (But, now I am a little worried after submitting)

The situation is Really no different than performing a manual save, then starting a new session. (Since the previous turn correctly processed, and NO new turns were played)... Right?

Thoughts?

 

[Denniz]

Not sure how to proceed with recent submission,...is this situation considered a "crash"? (Does it need to be submitted according to HOF rules crash policy?)

I submitted a game to the recent G-MinorCXVl, a game in which NO turns were replayed,...The game failed (frozen screen) after the completion of processing a turn,...Therefore I just loaded that Autosave, and completed to my victory condition. (But, now I am a little worried after submitting)

The situation is Really no different than performing a manual save, then starting a new session. (Since the previous turn correctly processed, and NO new turns were played)... Right?

Thoughts?

Better safe than sorry. Send us an e-mail with the save(s) per the crash policy when you submit.

 

[consentient]

I have a question for HoF staff. Is it permitted to seek advice on play? It doesn't say anything about this in the rules, but I want to be sure so that, if it's not allowed, I'm not disqualified.

 

[Denniz]

I have a question for HoF staff. Is it permitted to seek advice on play? It doesn't say anything about this in the rules, but I want to be sure so that, if it's not allowed, I'm not disqualified.

No only is it alright. It is encouraged. That is part of what the community here is for.

 

[consentient]

OK great, I'll keep that in mind in future. I screwed up my current game, I think. Not that I lost, but it would be a pretty ugly slog and not worth of the HoF. If I make moderate mistakes, I think it's better to learn from them and start a new game to give myself another chance of posting a competitive submission. My normal games have tended to be very sloppy and I want to learn to make them more refined.

Is there anywhere I can submit my saves to have them scrutinised post-game? And how many should I submit? Milestone saves so people can see where I went off the boil a bit?

 

[Sun Tzu Wu]

Sharing screen shots and anything you want to share about your game is fine and encouraged as Denniz noted above. Just don't share any saved game files; that would violate HoF rules as I understand them.

After the game is accepted and published, saved game files can then be shared too.

 

[Emtee]

OK great, I'll keep that in mind in future. I screwed up my current game, I think. Not that I lost, but it would be a pretty ugly slog and not worth of the HoF. If I make moderate mistakes, I think it's better to learn from them and start a new game to give myself another chance of posting a competitive submission. My normal games have tended to be very sloppy and I want to learn to make them more refined.

Is there anywhere I can submit my saves to have them scrutinised post-game? And how many should I submit? Milestone saves so people can see where I went off the boil a bit?

If you're reasonably close to the end I would generally recommend finishing the game anyway and submitting it. There are some advantages to doing this:

• Even slow wins count towards the Veni Vidi Vici achievement.
• Practicing the endgame is also important. You would hate to restart 20 times and when you finally get a good early game you screw something up near the end.
• The medal system relies on a minimum number of submitted games of a type, so if you submit slow wins others might appreciate the medals they can get

In the end it's of course up to each player if they want to spend the time playing out the game or not.

Regarding getting help and advice, I think you'll get more answers by posting screenshots. Downloading and loading up someone's save is a bit of a hassle, especially if there are many points. Plus, as have been mentioned, sharing saves will make the game ineligible for the HoF.

I would assume it's fine to ask for advice here in the HoF forum, just create a new thread. Maybe you'll get more answers in the general strategy forum though.

 

[mcshame]

Hi, I'm a late entry into the Civ franchise and started up with Civ V and just loving it. I've done a about a half dozen playthroughs and looking for a bit of structure to progress through the large number of ways to play the game. The Veni Vidi Vici seemed interesting as it provides scenarios that need to be built that would give me lots of exposures to different flavours of the game.

My question is can Veni Vidi Vici be used even though I'm in the early stages of my learning? I'm not interested in being the best but simply ticking off the objectives and naturally improving through the process. And if so, is there a direct link to the rules, guidelines as the threads are lengthy over the years and hard to find the best posts to assist.
Thx

 

[Kung-Fu Kitty]

Hi, I'm a late entry into the Civ franchise and started up with Civ V and just loving it. I've done a about a half dozen playthroughs and looking for a bit of structure to progress through the large number of ways to play the game. The Veni Vidi Vici seemed interesting as it provides scenarios that need to be built that would give me lots of exposures to different flavours of the game.

My question is can Veni Vidi Vici be used even though I'm in the early stages of my learning? I'm not interested in being the best but simply ticking off the objectives and naturally improving through the process. And if so, is there a direct link to the rules, guidelines as the threads are lengthy over the years and hard to find the best posts to assist.
Thx

VVV tracks your normal Hall of Fame submissions it seems, so you just need to follow the HoF submission guidelines here: http://hof.civfanatics.net/civ5/rules.php?show=submit. (Check the other tabs for the full rules/FAQ.)

The gauntlets seem to provide a lot of variety to check VVV boxes.

I'm finding the VVV listings a good challenge as well.