Holiday Unit Replacer 2016-10-05

[Quintillus]

After a burst of inspiration while reading some some of Thunderfall's old Civ3 posts, I've decided that just what we need this time of year is a holiday unit replacer! For those unfamiliar, on certain days (January 8, March 17, October 31, and December 25), the kings in regicide games (and reportedly princesses in Capture the Princess) are replaced with different units than the usual - Elvis, a leprechaun, a zombie, and Santa replace them. Usually, you only see the Elvis unit, as the other ones do not exist by default. They are very well hidden Easter Eggs; for more info on them, see the Civ3 Easter Egg list.

But, what if, in your horror movie archetype, a pikeman is more appropriate than a zombie on Halloween? You could create a zombie unit that looks like a pikeman, but why not just have the pikeman appear on Halloween instead of a zombie? Well, you're in luck! This utility is for you!

If you're already convinced, you can grab the utility here. Unzip the file, and then run the .jar file to start it.

Spoiler System Requirements :

You'll need the following to run the utility:

• Java 1.6 or later
• Windows 2000 or later

You'll also need an improved Conquests executable file. A No Raze one or a 513+ city one should work admirably. The one that ships with Conquests will not work, nor will the Mac version. Steam/Impulse/etc. versions have not been tested, nor has a Complete version, but they may work. A No Raze version is available in the Downloads Database should you not already have one.

Once you start it, it will look somewhat like this:



Click the Open EXE button, and open your Conquests executable. A backup is highly recommended as a precaution, or should you wish to do it again with different units. Then fill in the new unit names (there are strict limits in the name lengths, which cannot be overriden), and click Save EXE. If everything goes well, you'll receive a success message. The most likely problem would be if you tried to run this program while you were already running Conquests.

If you want to run it again, you'll have to run it from a fresh version of the improved Conquests executable; this is another reason to have a backup. Nothing's worse than having your Pikeman called Pieman because you made a typo. On second thought...

In order to test, you'll have to set your computer's clock to one of the aforementioned days. Don't forget to set it back afterwards, or you might start receiving some very odd errors while web-browsing.

Need some units that are seasonally appropriate? There are some!

Christmas
Santa by NavyDawg.
Snowman by utahjazz7

Halloween
Putrid Zombie by Vuldacon
Zombie with a Gun by MoscaTnT
Romero's Zombie by MoscaTnT

Elvis's Birthday
The King Attacks by Vuldacon - an improved Elvis from the one that ships with PTW

In addition, Blue Monkey has a very good list of seasonally-appropriate units here (also in post 6 of this thread).

If you'd like your holiday-appropriate unit to be listed and it isn't, post about it in this thread and I'll add it to the list.

FAQ
Q. What else do I need to do to get the units to work?
A. They must be accessible from whatever scenario you are running (or for the base game, in the Conquests, PTW, or Vanilla art folders), and the unit name must exactly match the name you specify in the utility.

Q. Can I change the dates of the holidays?
A. Unfortunately not. Your best bet is likely asking Mike Breitkreutz of Firaxis how this would be done, as he is Thunderfall's Easter Egg contact.

Q. Wait a second here. My calendar says it's April 1st...
A. Correct! When else could such a pointless utility be released? But it does do what is described here. So if you it does sound like something you'd want to to, you actually can!

Mods, can this be moved to the Utilities subforum a few days after April 1st? Thanks in advance.

 

[Civinator]

This is brilliant! A very special easter egg in the true sense of the word! Per example in 7 days, on April, the 8th, we could have a rabbit (or an egg) replacing the king unit.

 

[Takhisis]

I find it odd that you choose such a day to upload this.

 

[T-mun]

This was absolutely perfect Wish I had noticed it yesterday...

 

[Blue Monkey]

. The one that ships with Conquests will not work, nor will the Mac version.

If understood correctly it just automates a process that can be done manually - copying & renaming unit, etc.

Mods, can this be moved to the Utilities subforum a few days after April 1st? Thanks in advance.

Report the OP to make a formal request.

 

[Blue Monkey]

tom2050's leprechaun

some closer to the "traditional" St. Paddy's look: 1 2

a broader sampling of the fair folk: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
including their navy: 1 2 3 4

Lagomorphs & Ovoids 1 2 3

Spoiler :

I should make an easter bunny unit...

though I don't know how to make bunnies with correct movement and skeletons and stuff

I'll just stick to what I CAN do... like this unit

Modern Era American Leprechaun


---------------------------
Xmas Paratrooper


EDIT: Jan 8 birthday units: Wilkie Collins 1 2 3 James Longstreet 1 2 Gypsy Rose Lee 1 2 3 4 ... Stephen Hawking

 

[Vuldacon]

Quintillus... Yes, it is fun to replace "Easter egg" Units for the game. Adds a personal difference
...Too bad there is no "April Fool" Easter Egg slot. That would be Fun

 

[Takhisis]

Well, clearly it's meant for you to expect the game to show such a unit and you're April Fooled when you realise there's no such unit .

 

[Vuldacon]

No... I do not expect a unit on April Fools Day because I know both the settings for it and the unit do not exist... Merely expressing my desire to also have that "Easter Egg"

 

[Quintillus]

This is brilliant! A very special easter egg in the true sense of the word! Per example in 7 days, on April, the 8th, we could have a rabbit (or an egg) replacing the king unit.

Thanks! (to the others who have commented as well!) Sadly, though, you can't have a replacement on April 8th, as the dates cannot be changed. For that to happen, I'd have to know where the dates were stored in the Conquests executable, while probably would be a very difficult hunt.

If understood correctly it just automates a process that can be done manually - copying & renaming unit, etc.

Report the OP to make a formal request.

Essentially, yes, you could accomplish the same thing by copying and renaming. But what fun would that be when you can go out of your way to get the units named how you like them?

Thanks for the extensive list of seasonally-appropriate units, as well. I'll add a link to it in the opening post.

I find it odd that you choose such a day to upload this.

Why, it just so happened that I got the idea for it on March 30th, started work on the 31st, and finished shortly after midnight on the 1st.

Admittedly, I probably wouldn't have actually gone through with making it if April 1st hadn't been around the corner. It was good luck that I thought of it the week before the 1st instead of the week after.

 

[Civinator]

To be honest, I thought, this is the best 1st April´s joke since "Civjunction".

 

[Blue Monkey]

Essentially, yes, you could accomplish the same thing by copying and renaming. But what fun would that be when you can go out of your way to get the units named how you like them?

This:

The one that ships with Conquests will not work, nor will the Mac version

I'm sure people will find other appropriate units. Hopefully the list will get longer.