Wavebird99
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- Jul 13, 2008
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- 25
I bought that $40 pack off steam recently, and I was wondering how I would install patches and mods to it? How does that work with steam?
How do you install mods/patches to the steam version of Civ?
- Thread starter Wavebird99
- Start date
Steam should update the software automatically. Since the Steam Mac versions only appeared after the last patches produced by Aspyr, I imagine you got the latest version when you subscribed. I also doubt if there will be any more patches now.
Mods need to go into a Mods folder, and there are two of those in a normal installation. One is in the actual application's folder. The other is in a folder in your ~/Documents/<application name>/ folder, where '~/' means your Home folder, and <application name> depends on whether you are playing vaniila, Warlords, or BtS. Some graphics-only mods, like Blue Marble, can be installed in ~/Documents/<application name>/CustomAssets/
I don't have the Steam version of the software, but I *think* the application is installed in ~/Library/Application Support/Steam Content/common/ these days. It used to go in ~/Documents/Steam Content/common/.
Mods on the Mac are a hit and miss affair. There are a lot that don't work at all, or only work a bit, because the Mac version doesn't deal with custom DLLs which form the core of most mods. The rest may need fixes to make them compatible with the Mac version's XML parser or Python interpreter. Some of the ones that do work may prefer being installed in the application's Mods folder rather than the ~/Documents/ one. Check out the sticky mods thread in this forum for advice on which you can play.
Mods need to go into a Mods folder, and there are two of those in a normal installation. One is in the actual application's folder. The other is in a folder in your ~/Documents/<application name>/ folder, where '~/' means your Home folder, and <application name> depends on whether you are playing vaniila, Warlords, or BtS. Some graphics-only mods, like Blue Marble, can be installed in ~/Documents/<application name>/CustomAssets/
I don't have the Steam version of the software, but I *think* the application is installed in ~/Library/Application Support/Steam Content/common/ these days. It used to go in ~/Documents/Steam Content/common/.
Mods on the Mac are a hit and miss affair. There are a lot that don't work at all, or only work a bit, because the Mac version doesn't deal with custom DLLs which form the core of most mods. The rest may need fixes to make them compatible with the Mac version's XML parser or Python interpreter. Some of the ones that do work may prefer being installed in the application's Mods folder rather than the ~/Documents/ one. Check out the sticky mods thread in this forum for advice on which you can play.
I installed the BUG mod as described by the docs, and while I can see the extra map/game options, I'm not getting any changes to the in-game UI. Resources aren't highlighted, I'm not told how much gold other leaders have to trade, etc. Is this a known issue, or did I screw up my install somehow?
s.bernbaum
Mostly lurking
If you are using the Steam version, it may work differently. However, in the fully functional BUG mod, you should be able to access trade info of all sorts via the diplomatic advisor. There are several new screens to choose from there by selecting them at the bottom of the diplo window. Besides Steam affecting the UI, there is also the possibility that you need to turn on some of the options. There is an extensive options window with may choices and subwindows. I am forever forgettting the correct key combination to access it and trying several variations before I get there but I think it is command-option-X. Someone else will probably correct me shortly here if I got it wrong again!
jeffperkins
Chieftain
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- Oct 2, 2010
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- 3
AlanH, you seem to know your way around this software. I am trying to install the Fall From Heaven 2 mod into a Bootcamp partition of my Mac OS X computer. The partition has 100Gig of space so that ought not to be a problem. The partition is Windows 7 and it runs Civ IV BTS with patch 3.19 just fine. Looks like the directory is ~/Documents/Beyond the Sword/ but I don't know what the "home" folder is; it might be something like program files (X86)/2kGames/Firaxis Games/ Sid Meier's Civilization 4 Complete. Any suggestion that you have on where to install a ffh2 download would be warmly appreciated.
Mods can be installed in the Windows version of Civ4 in two (or even three) possible places.
1. If the mod comes packaged in an installer (a .exe file) then it's most likely to work if you run the mod-maker's installer and accept its default installation location.
2. If the mod comes as a zip or other archive file that expands to a folder, then you need to put that folder (or its contents) into a Mods folder. Normally the mod-maker should tell you where this is in a read-me.
There are two Mods folders. I don't run Windows 7, so they may have new path names in your system, but here's where they are on Windows XP.
(a) C:\Program Files\2K Games\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4 Complete\Beyond the Sword\Mods\
This is the "Program Files" path, and is the most likely place for the mod to work. C:\Program Files\ is the equivalent of /Applications/ in Mac OS X. However, on Windows 7 there may be issues with User Access Control for running stuff in this path. You may need to go into the Properties for the mod folder or its DLL and set its compatibility mode - but I'm not a Win7 expert so I recommend you read the support forum for the mod - I'm sure other users will have solved any problems.
My copy of Windows BtS came with FfH Age of Ice, and this is where it was installed.
(b) C:\Documents and Settings\[your_account]\My Documents\My Games\Beyond the Sword\MODS\
This is the "Home Folder" path, as C:\Documents and Settings\[your_account] is your Home Folder. It's the equivalent of /Users/[your_account] in Mac OS X. It is the "correct" location for user-installed mods, but unfortunately a lot of mods don't actually cope well with being installed there. I don't know whether FfH is such a mod.
I think "My Documents" was renamed "Documents" in Win7, and I don't know whether "My Games" or "Games| still exists inside that folder.
There is also a CustomAssets folder in the Home Folder path where mods that you always want to install can be placed. BlueMarble is a graphics-only mod and is often stored there so that it always loads along with other compatible mods.
Hope this helps.
1. If the mod comes packaged in an installer (a .exe file) then it's most likely to work if you run the mod-maker's installer and accept its default installation location.
2. If the mod comes as a zip or other archive file that expands to a folder, then you need to put that folder (or its contents) into a Mods folder. Normally the mod-maker should tell you where this is in a read-me.
There are two Mods folders. I don't run Windows 7, so they may have new path names in your system, but here's where they are on Windows XP.
(a) C:\Program Files\2K Games\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4 Complete\Beyond the Sword\Mods\
This is the "Program Files" path, and is the most likely place for the mod to work. C:\Program Files\ is the equivalent of /Applications/ in Mac OS X. However, on Windows 7 there may be issues with User Access Control for running stuff in this path. You may need to go into the Properties for the mod folder or its DLL and set its compatibility mode - but I'm not a Win7 expert so I recommend you read the support forum for the mod - I'm sure other users will have solved any problems.
My copy of Windows BtS came with FfH Age of Ice, and this is where it was installed.
(b) C:\Documents and Settings\[your_account]\My Documents\My Games\Beyond the Sword\MODS\
This is the "Home Folder" path, as C:\Documents and Settings\[your_account] is your Home Folder. It's the equivalent of /Users/[your_account] in Mac OS X. It is the "correct" location for user-installed mods, but unfortunately a lot of mods don't actually cope well with being installed there. I don't know whether FfH is such a mod.
I think "My Documents" was renamed "Documents" in Win7, and I don't know whether "My Games" or "Games| still exists inside that folder.
There is also a CustomAssets folder in the Home Folder path where mods that you always want to install can be placed. BlueMarble is a graphics-only mod and is often stored there so that it always loads along with other compatible mods.
Hope this helps.
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