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The path that is set inside the game, under Buffy options? In that case I don't think it worked for me, because I had to set that path manually. No biggie though.
About the rules, they were probably set for a specific map and strategy.
2 things look a bit peculiar :
1. 0 deserts can be logical, but may hinder your saves on group 4, as floodplains usually come next to some deserts, and you would lose some good maps.
2. Don't know why you require 2 hills.
Cheers. About rules, I found another file with some stuff. Couldn't be bothered to look it over too thoroughly, but have run Map Finder for a few hours now, and found some promising maps. It's possible the rules from the image is an outdated file I had, I'm not sure. Been too long. In the other rules file there was a rule with only 1 gold as a requirement and nothing else. Recall setting that up because I got fed up of watching pretty good starts not get saved for one reason or another.
I was thinking of the time it takes me to switch maps :
1. alt+tab to Windows (resolution change takes 2 seconds)
2. delete current save/s from "saves" folder
3. cut and paste the new save (via mouse drag) from repository of saves into the "saves" folder.
4. alt+tab to Civ (resolution change takes 2 seconds again)
5. ctrl+L and double click to start a new game.
I once double clicked games to get started, but with Steam this isn't possible, and loading Civ everytime... doesn't cut time.
So I checked out windows scripting... probably done by someone before (and if not, here it is).
Steps 2 and 3 can be done via a script, making 1 and 4 unneeded
So after a couple of hours, I've done it. My "NextMap.ps1" script works on my computer and looks like this :
Security issues and shortcuts needed :
===============================
I think you must save the script on your desktop to avoid security issues.
Next, I placed a shortcut to the script on my desktop to bypass security for this script :
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Users\user\Desktop\NextMap.ps1"
Lastly, I also placed a keyboard shortcut to activate the last shortcut (via the shortcut properties->"Shortcut key" tab).
I set it to ctrl+shift+z, and it works perfectly, replaceing the saves (although it takes about 2 seconds itself...)
Now I entered Civ and tried it. It didn't work.
This could either be the shortcut is used by civ, or that Windows shortcuts are not being listened to in Civ. Probably the latter..
Any idea how to make it work while I'm in Civ??
EDIT : Also installed latest NVIDIA driver and checked "In-game overlay" is off.
Tried with firefox in focus, no issues. This has to be Civ-related or buffy...
Is there any way to get Map Finder to work with modern installation versions of Civ4? I've tried it with both the gog.com and the Steam version, and in both cases, when I try to start it from the desktop, I get an error message saying "Get Registry Path Error" - "Cannot find Civ4 path".
Is there any way to get Map Finder to work with modern installation versions of Civ4? I've tried it with both the gog.com and the Steam version, and in both cases, when I try to start it from the desktop, I get an error message saying "Get Registry Path Error" - "Cannot find Civ4 path".
Yes, thank you very much, that solved my problem! Ok, it took me a few attempts to figure out what exactly I was supposed to be doing, but then it worked! I still get two error messages every time I start Map Finder that apparently have to do with the Hall-of-Fame-related functionality, but I just have to click ok on these messages, and then it works normally (at least the parts that I need). Again, thank you very much!
Pangaea, I see from some of your previous posts that you're running Map Finder under Linux. Would you mind telling us how you do that? I dual boot myself, and so far I've played Civ under Windows, but I'd be interested in seeing if I can do everything Civ-related under Linux. I've already successfully (as far as I can see so far) installed Civ4 itself under Linux, using the scripts by the thread starter of the thread you linked to above, and I've installed Map Finder, but when I try to run it, I get a message from wine saying that severe errors have happened. I've already installed mono and gecko using the scripts by said thread starter. My Linux version is Ubuntu Mate 20.04, so most solutions to problems should be compatible with Mint. Thank you again for your previous help!
First of all, it's awesome that you are interested in Linux I have run a Linux-only system now for years, and there hasn't been any major problems. And I can't tell how wonderful it is to have an operating system that does just that, instead of mass spying and randomly taking control of my computer for.. reasons. It was so frustrating at work when suddenly Windows 10 that we were burdened with decided to do a massive update or restart the system (with impossible to postpone warnings) just before an important meeting or a looming deadline. No such BS with Linux. But I digress.
Hadn't run MapFinder on my current system for a long time and not while using that install script. Previously I used PlayOnLinux to install the game (probably outdated now, in favour of Lutris). Managed to get it running, however, after installing a few more components. I too got some errors at first, and MapFinder wouldn't start properly. I still get two path error messages, but since they don't impact anything I haven't bothered to look into it.
One thing I like is to have the game in a separate workspace, so I can easily swap back and forth to Firefox and read on the forum or music in VLC and suchlike. Perhaps the script has been changed now to include this (I installed it long ago), but for that I needed an empty file called "desktop" inside the "support" folder. The script then starts the game in its own window, which meant the game didn't get auto-minimised when I tried the workspace-swapping thing I like so much. This isn't needed, but is personal preference.
A nice thing with the script is that it's really professionally done, with a proper menu system for various settings and launch options. Double-click on "start-bts.sh" (Run or Run in Terminal) and you get it up. To install more components, that were needed in my case at least: Advanced Options -> Winetricks -> OK -> Select the default Wine prefix -> Install a font ->
Corefonts (this install a pile of often-used fonts that I seemed to need, or is nice to install in any case)
Loads of "OK" buttons to click from what look like error messages, but it should be fine.
MapFinder requires at least .NET 2.0 to run. I'm not sure about the absolute minimum required here, but looking at the ticked boxes now I did the following: [Advanced Options -> Winetricks -> OK -> Select the default Wine prefix] -> Install a Windows or DLL component ->
dotnet20
dotnet40
The MSXML3 component is also required, otherwise the game will have issues when you build Stonehenge for example, but this is already part of the script. You can see that it is installed by going to the Wine configuration options: Run winecfg ->
Believe there also was some confusion on my end because I had several versions of MapFinder installed, or in backup folders. The script puts the "My Documents" equivalent folders in ".local/.share/civ4complete". This is where you will find your regular Civ4 saves and whatnot later on. However, MapFinder isn't located there on my end right now. It's possible I moved it after it was installed, but I don't remember exactly what I did. Currently I have it located at: [Username]/GOG Games/Civilization IV Complete/gamedir/Civ4_Map_Finder which in reality is under the prefix (a Wine thing). The full path can be seen in the following image (this probably looks more tricky than needed, but I wanted to document it just in case it does matter)
I'm sure there is a much easier way to do this, like making a customised shortcut/launcher for example, but I've not looked into it since this works for me and I don't run MapFinder very often. This is how I start it (found this command somewhere online, it's for setting a default Wine prefix that will be active in the current Terminal 'life', so when launched you see a little hover-up thing with Wine setting it up).
In that previous MapFdiner folder, right-click and "Open in Terminal" (means you don't need to navigate to the path your self)
Since I rarely do stuff in Terminal these days, these commands are easily accessible to me by doing arrow-up (Terminal remembers previous commands). export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/GOG Games/Civilization IV Complete/prefix"
and wine Civ4_Map_Finder.exe
Without the first command, Wine will try to set up MapFinder and run it in the default Wine prefix (something like [Username]/.wine), where you probably don't have the (previously mentioned) components installed. Hence it won't run and you get a bunch of error messages listed in Terminal. I still get a bunch of "noise" error messages in Terminal, and the two path-related error messages, but MapFinder itself launches fine and I can use it. Look through maps you have found, or run it in the game (obviously this requires the correct path set in the game itself).
Spoiler:
As you can see, the icons don't work, which apparently is the newest UI draw method, as @Denniz, the maker (?) of MapFinder said at some point in the MapFinder thread. No biggie. Just expand those slightly too narrow columns.
Hope I managed to remember or reverse-engineer what I did to get it to work. It looks much more complex than it is when you write it all down with detailed steps like this
You can get Buffy to run too btw, if you are interested in that.
Wow, that's a lot of work on your part, Pangaea. Thank you very much! I've folllowed your instructions, and after a few false starts, everything is working properly now. Sorry that it took me a while to reply; I was busy trying out your instructions.
Wow, that's a lot of work on your part, Pangaea. Thank you very much! I've folllowed your instructions, and after a few false starts, everything is working properly now. Sorry that it took me a while to reply; I was busy trying out your instructions.
Someone posted earlier about BtS being greyed out in the menu, but was never answered as far as I can tell. Is this a known issue, and if so, is there a resolution?
Well it has been two years. I also have this exact problem. Reg keys must be correct. INSTALLDIR has:
Code:
C:\\GOG\\Sid Meier's Civilization 4 Complete\\Beyond the Sword
Seems the games do get saved, but there are no jpgs nor am I able to view any of the saves in mapfinder (I am gussing because they are BTS save files but I cannot select bts as the civ version like the previous poster I am quoting).
Just going to include my own screenshot too incase the previous poster's one breaks in the future.
Hi. I've used MapFinder on four or five other computers. Just installed it on my new one and ran into a funny issue. It runs, regenerates ok but never saves. Even with the simplest Default.rul rule like 1-999 Farming resource or 1-999 Mining resource. I'm sure I did something wrong. Just wondering if anyone knows an easy fix. Thanks for any help. Love this game.
Hi. I've used MapFinder on four or five other computers. Just installed it on my new one and ran into a funny issue. It runs, regenerates ok but never saves. Even with the simplest Default.rul rule like 1-999 Farming resource or 1-999 Mining resource. I'm sure I did something wrong. Just wondering if anyone knows an easy fix. Thanks for any help. Love this game.
Offhand I double check the save path in case they are being saved somewhere unexpected. Otherwise it sounds like a potential permission problem. That's not my expertise.
Yes, thank you very much, that solved my problem! Ok, it took me a few attempts to figure out what exactly I was supposed to be doing, but then it worked! I still get two error messages every time I start Map Finder that apparently have to do with the Hall-of-Fame-related functionality, but I just have to click ok on these messages, and then it works normally (at least the parts that I need). Again, thank you very much!
I play Civ via Steam in Windows. I can't get MapFinder to work, get a path error message. Any help would be gratefully received. What Pangaea posted was too complex for me, gonna need a Noble level step by step...
I was able to get MapFinder running on Windows 10 against a Steam installation (just yesterday!). Impressive how good the install and troubleshooting documentation is, after all of these years. One trick I had to use was creating a hard link from the install directory to the default Save folder.
So, I left MapFinder running over night, and was impressed to find about a dozen saves that matched my criteria (taken from WastinTime's excellent BC Space Launch thread) waiting for me this morning. Awesome.
This is my first post on this forum, and I came here because I am (consistently) experiencing the crash-on-reload bug first reported here. Everything works fine until I reload in-game (e.g. quick load). I suspect it is because BUFFY isn't happy with my game options. I am not working on a HOF game, I just wanted to use MapFinder, which requires BUFFY.
So... does anyone know how to get reloads to work with BUFFY?
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