How do I change the portrait above a units head?

[Leathaface]

I'd like to change the Scout's portraits in VI from a wolf to the eagle portrait that was in V.

I go into "steamapps > common > Sid Meier's Civilization VI > Base > ArtDefs", I think this is the folder where I modify the settings. However I don't know how to open "ARTDEF" files.

(in case you didn't know what I mean, a warrior has a portrait of a Club above his head, a Swordmen has a portrait of a Iron Sword above his head, a settler has a flag)

 

[LeeS]

You wouldn't be able to do it simply by editing the game's original files.

There isn't so far as I remember off the top of my head an image within Civ6 for the Eagle that the Civ5 Scout used.

You'd have to add that image in all its required icon-sizes via a mod, I would think. You would then need to define an Icon Atlas that tells the game what DDS file to look in for the Eagle image in all those size. And then re-direct the Unit-Flaf for the scout to use that new set of images.

The pertinent parts of the XML code that tells the game what images to use for the various unit flgas:

<GameInfo>
	<IconTextureAtlases>
		<Row Name="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_WHITE" IconSize="22" IconsPerRow="16" IconsPerColumn="8" Filename="Units22.dds"/>
		<Row Name="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_WHITE" IconSize="32" IconsPerRow="16" IconsPerColumn="8" Filename="Units32.dds"/>
		<Row Name="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_BLACK" IconSize="32" IconsPerRow="16" IconsPerColumn="8" Filename="Units32.dds"/>
		<Row Name="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_WHITE" IconSize="80" IconsPerRow="16" IconsPerColumn="8" Filename="Units80.dds"/>
	</IconTextureAtlases>
	<IconDefinitions>
		<Row Name="ICON_UNIT_SCOUT_WHITE" Index="19" Atlas="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_WHITE"/>
		<Row Name="ICON_UNIT_SCOUT_BLACK" Index="19" Atlas="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_BLACK"/>
	</IconDefinitions>
</GameInfo>

XML code excerpted for the Vanilla units from file C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization VI\Base\Assets\UI\Icons/Icons_UnitFlags.xml

An Atlas has up to 64 images numbered 0-63.
The "Index" value in table IconDefinitions tells the game which of these images to use from within that set of images. A set of image files with only one image for each required size would use Index="0"

 

[Leathaface]

OK. Just testing things out and I changed:

<Row Name="ICON_UNIT_SCOUT_WHITE" Index="19" Atlas="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_WHITE"/>
<Row Name="ICON_UNIT_SCOUT_BLACK" Index="19" Atlas="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_BLACK"/>

to

<Row Name="ICON_UNIT_SCOUT_WHITE" Index="29" Atlas="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_WHITE"/>
<Row Name="ICON_UNIT_SCOUT_BLACK" Index="29" Atlas="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_BLACK"/>


This should have changed the Scout icon from a Wolf to an Archer, but it didn't.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

Did you try clearing your cache and starting a new game?

 

[raen]

Never tried to update core game icons before, but maybe you have to delete the original first (with delete clause), if not two or more rows pointing to same.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

if not two or more rows pointing to same.

Wouldn't matter.

 

[Leathaface]

Did you try clearing your cache and starting a new game?

How do I clear the cache?

 

[Laurana Kanan]

Find where on your computer the Cache folder is located, for example here is my folder path:

E:\8.1 User Folders\8.1 User Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization VI\Cache

You'll find three files inside:

• DebugConfiguration.sqlite
• DebugGameplay.sqlite
• DebugLocalization.sqlite

Delete all three. The next time you start a game they will be regenerated. Sometimes things like images get stored there and don't properly update when you make a change to them.
It also wouldn't hurt to delete the "Mods.sqlite" file that's one step up in the Sid Meier's Civilization VI folder. It also gets regenerated.

 

[Leathaface]

I did that but it didn't work.

EDIT: I ended outright deleted:

<Row Name="ICON_UNIT_SCOUT_WHITE" Index="19" Atlas="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_WHITE"/>
<Row Name="ICON_UNIT_SCOUT_BLACK" Index="19" Atlas="ICON_ATLAS_UNIT_FLAG_SYMBOLS_BLACK"/>

from the "Icons_UnitsFlags.xml" document but the scout still appeared in the game, with it's icon still above it's head.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

I did that but it didn't work.

Hmm, Idk then, sorry. I've never changed the base game files or unit flags, only added icons to new units.

 

[Leathaface]

OK I solved the problem. Instead of only going into Icons_UnitFlags.xml, I went into 3 xml documents. Icons_UnitsFlags, then Icons_UnitPortraits, and finally Icons_Units. (all of them are in the same Icons folder)

I then looked for "Scout" in each of the 3 documents and changed the "Index" of scout from 19 to 9. Now the Scouts portrait is a Great Admiral LOL.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

Lol, I guess I should have read better, I thought you had already changed all of them and were just having trouble with the Unit flag displaying.