Keeping Resources in Check (No Phantom Resources)

[Pounder]

I can see getting rid of mines on grassland and plains, and I have compensated by boosting the yield of mines on hills and mountains.

Do you have to use your system if you keep the number of strategic and luxury resources at about the same number as the game?

The number of strat/lux resources isn't the main problem with the resource bug as long as there are 32 or less between them.

The main problem is that once you exceed the 32 total resources, just make sure you have only one strat/lux per row.

 

[Blue Monkey]

... Just make sure you have only one strat/lux per row ...

Editor list? pcx file? your chart? could you clarify what you mean? & also explain the relationship between your chart & how the resources are actually arranged in the pcx (there are functional files of various dimensions iirc) and in the editor / lists /pedia text. The less ambiguity the quicker it will make sense to those early on the learning curve.

 

[Pounder]

Editor list? pcx file? your chart? could you clarify what you mean? & also explain the relationship between your chart & how the resources are actually arranged in the pcx (there are functional files of various dimensions iirc) and in the editor / lists /pedia text. The less ambiguity the quicker it will make sense to those early on the learning curve.

What you have to understand when you add resources to the game.

In the editor: click on the rules tab > click on edit > click on natural resources.

You will now have the screen shown in the pic above.

Notes:

1) The size and order of the resource.pcx file means nothing to the phantom resource bug. I have a resource.pcx file that has 144 icons displayed 0-143 in the editor. The range is dynamic depending on the size of the resource.pcx file. The size of the resource file seems to have no limit, I made a resource file 9600x9600 pixels, that's 36864 icons and the editor displayed a range of 0-36863 when I tried to enter something larger.

2) In the example (picture above) I have 96 resource entries in the game, the container depot is entry #52 and the icon is #44 (45th icon from the resource.pcx file), you can choose any icon on the list and it doesn't matter what order they are in the resource.pcx file.

3) The chart I made is arranged in columns, if the number of resources you have is 32 or less, you have no issues. So if you had 128 resources you would be 4 columns wide and the rules would still apply, you can only have one strategic or luxury resource per row.

4) When making a luxuryicons_small.pcx file, the order that icons have to be placed in the luxuryicons_small.pcx file is the order they appear by row as shown on my chart.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Thanks for the much more detailed explanation. Is there a simple way to know the entry # or are we reduced to counting manually?

 

[Pounder]

Thanks for the much more detailed explanation. Is there a simple way to know the entry # or are we reduced to counting manually?

Manual is the way.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Manual is the way.

Maybe position in the list is something to request the editor makers like Steph & Quintillus to add in.

 

[Ares de Borg]

So when you decide to add past 32 and any multiple of 32, you must add 32 new resources on the editor, they can be dummy reources (no attributes) with a blank resource icon if you don't need 32 new resources.

Can I just add them in the editor (Dummy x - Dummy 64) or do they need to have a Pediaicons entry to work?

 

[Pounder]

Can I just add them in the editor (Dummy x - Dummy 64) or do they need to have a Pediaicons entry to work?

Just the editor is all, no Pediaicons entries required.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Just the editor is all, no Pediaicons entries required.

Sorry if I'm asking obvious questions. Just trying to avoid tangled mistakes at a first attempt.

If I understand correctly, dummies could be used for all the bonus resources in the second column of 32 in your chart. They wouldn't need 'pedia entries. The strategy/luxury ones in the second column would need entries to be usable, but they are the only ones.

 

[Pounder]

Sorry if I'm asking obvious questions. Just trying to avoid tangled mistakes at a first attempt.

If I understand correctly, dummies could be used for all the bonus resources in the second column of 32 in your chart. They wouldn't need 'pedia entries. The strategy/luxury ones in the second column would need entries to be usable, but they are the only ones.

None of the resources in any of the columns have to have a pediaicon entry to work in the game, all the pediaicon entry does is points the civilopedia to the resource splash for the civilopedia page for the resource. If you don't have a splash, it's do big deal.

Since they are dummies, they are not being used, they won't even have a terrain type assigned to them, there doesn't have to be a civilopedia entry either.

 

[Pounder]

I've done some extensive testing this morning and I think that I may have to dispute cornplanters findings.

MeteorPunch, you are right in saying that keeping the strat/lux's to a max of 32 and making them the first 32 allows you to add as many bonuses as you like with out issue.

My finding earlier with the luxuries being counted by row seems to hold true for strategic resources as well.

If you don't have all your strat/lux resources in the first 32 positions then it seems that the only rule is to count columns of 32 resources and have only one strategic resource or luxury resource per row.

I will update the tutorial.

 

[Pounder]

Vuldacon has pointed it out clearly that this works differently for the luxuryicons_small.pcx file when you have less than 33 resources in the game. I have added this to the tutorial in the first post.

The icons in the small luxuries icon file must appear in the order that they are listed/entered in the editor, not the order they appear in the resources.pcx file.

Pounder... It is just the opposite in this case...the Luxuries on the luxuryicons_small.pcx file must be in the Same Order as they are on the resources.pcx file. In this case, the editor order does not matter. The Editor Order is mainly a concern for the Number of Strategic/Luxury Resources as it applies to the so Called "Resource Bug" or Ghosting.

Example: In my EFZI2 Complete Game I have the Luxuries: Booze, Aid Parcel, Cola, Pills and Road Kill on the resources.pcx file in that Order with a couple of Bonus resources between Pills and Road Kill. In the Editor I have these Luxuries listed with other Resources between them starting with Road Kill, Aid Parcel, Booze, Pills and Cola with other Resources between those.

You can see that the Order on the resources.pcx file is Not as they are listed in the Editor...other than Aid Parcel that just happened to be listed in the same position in the Editor.

These Luxury Resources are on the luxuryicons_small.pcx file in the same order as they are on the resource.pcx file to show correctly in the City Screen.
Here is an Image to Show what I am saying:

 

[Gojira54]

I recognize a few of those resources, but the one I simply must get is the Cheers Vuldacon resource.

The dead rat is nice too.

Anyways thanks again for this thread Pounder. I had read several others before reading this one, this is the one that filled the last gaps I had on the topic. This really should be stickied.

 

[Zforce]

Excellent! Thanks, this would explain the phantom resources I have seen. I have a couple questions.
1. Does the total number of resources have to be a multiple of 32?
2. I have noticed the phantom resource appearing not only in the city screen, but also in the trade advisor screen (currently I have 68 total, 24strat/8lux in positions 1-32). Do I need to add an additional 28 bonus resources in order for the phantoms not to show up on the trade advisor screen?

Also, using Steph's new expanded editor, you can just move the resources around to get them in the proper order.

I have now whittled my resources down to 64 (24 strat, 8 lux) with 32 bonus. I have them ordered as: 1-24 strategic, 25-32 lux, and 33-64 bonus. I see no phantom resources on the city screen, but I still do see them on the trade advisor screen... and the phantoms match up per row, as stated above. So strategic resource #1 and (phantom) bonus resource #33 are both shown in the trade advisor screen, but only the strategic resource is in the city screen (note: the bonus #33 is not in the city radius). An easy way to see this is in debug mode, first make sure all techs have been researched (using the "=", otherwise the resource may not show up), then settle on top of a resource (say, strategic resource #1). The city screen will show the resource. Then open the trade advisor and see if (under "unconnected cities"), both strategic resource #1 and bonus resource (#33) show up.

 

[Pounder]

You don't have to have exact multiples of 32, but if you don't have all your strat/lux in the first 32, then make sure you only have 1 strat/lux per row.

 

[timerover51]

Pounder, I am not sure if you have answered this or not, but I do not think so.

If you do not add any new images to the resource.pcx file, and just use the exisiting ones, does the phantom resource bug appear if you have more than 32 combined strategic and luxury resources in the natural resources list? I am thinking of several different types of Iron as a requirement for buildings and units, but all using the same existing Iron graphic.

 

[Pounder]

Pounder, I am not sure if you have answered this or not, but I do not think so.

If you do not add any new images to the resource.pcx file, and just use the exisiting ones, does the phantom resource bug appear if you have more than 32 combined strategic and luxury resources in the natural resources list? I am thinking of several different types of Iron as a requirement for buildings and units, but all using the same existing Iron graphic.

You will have problems if you have more than 32 strat/lux resources assigned in the editor, it's nothing to do with the resource.pcx file.

 

[timerover51]

Thank you, Pounder, both for your response and all of your efforts in this area.

 

[wertingman3]

I followed the steps, but the resources keep coming up with the pink background,and when I start the scenario in the game the hole square turns black

 

[T-mun]

seems like it has nothing to do with what this thread is about (avoiding the ghost bug issue), sounds more like a palette problem to me.