[MAP] The Classic Americas - Colonization 1

Reveilled

Warlord
Joined
Nov 6, 2005
Messages
283
Missing your glory days? Like the Western Hemisphere map, but it's "just not the same"? Annoyed how only Brazil is colonizable because of how remote the high seas are?

Well, friend, I have the cure for all your troubles.

Linked at the bottom is a faithful recreation of the Americas map from the original Colonization.

What's different from the Western Hemisphere map?
The main difference is that in the original game, High Seas spaces on the Atlantic coast were determined by their distance from the coast. This is reproduced, so while in the Western Hemisphere map you have to sail halfway across the map each time you sail to North America, in this map the High seas are never more than a few spaces away if your colonies look onto the Atlantic

Terrain is very different. South America (especially Brazil) has lots of marsh, and there's loads more plains north of Virginia, and terrain north of Upper Canada is almost entirely Tundra. The Rockies and the Andies are now serious barriers, with comparably very few crossings. The thickness of Isthmus prevents you creating the Panama canal hundreds of years early.

Perhaps most importantly, the East coast of the Americas is almost entirely covered in forest, and the Amazon is a proper jungle, not a couple of tiles of jungle snaking their way through the Brazilian interior. There's a lot of woodland on this map.

What's the Same?

As far as I can tell, you still start next to South America. I don't know why, but it seems that no matter what, human players always start in roughly the same spots near the bottom of the map, regardless of whether it's a premade map or a random one. If anyone doesn't experience this, please let us know.

There are no new terrains or resources, so things that were taken out for this game don't return.

What's Different from the actual original map?

Because Savannah, Prairie, Swamp and their respective forests were removed from the game, I've had to merge these into other terrains. Swamp in the old game was just a marshier marsh, so I made that a marsh, while Savannah was the original game's Sugar terrain, so that's marsh now too. That means that Brazil, which was about 50/50 Savannah/Rain Forest is now pretty much entirely Marsh with half of it covered in Jungle. Tropical Forest, which was Savannah's forest, is now Marsh with thick forest, while Marsh's Forest, Wetland, is light forest.

Plains now produce Cotton, so Prairie was merged into that. Prairie's forest didn't produce the huge amount of Lumber that Mixed Forest did, though, so I've made that Light forest.

Prime Timber is gone, so I've used my own judgement on that front, to compensate for other shortages on the map, and some Deer on Prairie Forest has been replaced with Prime Cotton.

Oases are gone, and Bananas have the closest effect, and look a bit like Palm trees too, so that's what's replaced them.

Mountains have been replaced with hills any time a resource or lost city had to be placed on them to make them passable.

Natives are not placed. I'm not sure at this point what would be balanced amounts of braves for them, or even whether it's possible to keep them in fixed places without fixing the positions of the Europeans' starts, or even whether placement is possible at all without a mod.


Anything Else?

I'm not great at supporting things I develop, or keeping tabs on threads, so this map is released entirely into the public domain. There's no need to ask my permission if you want to use this for anything, or modify it. If you can make the map better, I want to play it.

Screenshots?
Soon.


Download:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=10781
 
Update 1.02
-Fixed the terrain error which was causing silver deposits to have no effect.
-Changed banana tiles to other resources, as bananas do not function except on jungle squares.
-Changed fur on plains forests to corn, for similar reasons to those above.
-Changed some tobacco resources to sugar, as above.
-Added a readme file.

Update 1.01
-Fixed a couple of terrain errors, esp in mountains. Silver tiles are no longer hills when they should be mountains.
-Identified a possible AI issue, that the AI doesn't consider large amounts marsh or forest a viable colony site, and so moves to the extremities of the map for sites.

I'm not sure what could be done about the AI issue without changing the map altogether. I think it leaves forested marsh because it has 0 food production, even though a player can easily clear the forest, build farms, and fish, the AI doesn't consider that acceptable, or something.

However, given how gimped the AI is at the moment anyway, never defending itself, declaring independence when not early, I personally see it as an unfortunate, but currently minor issue. The AI is such a nonentity at the moment that I'm not too concerned about whether it's faffing about in Northern Brazil or Argentina.
 
Havn't tried the map yet, will do it in a sec, I take it this is Just a Map and not a Scenario, you may want to look at this thread before ya decide to start editing start locations and the like, there seems to be a Bug with the AI and custom Scenarios.

Nice Map!
You could add New recources to the Map for what you need, but then it becomes a Mod and not a Map :)
 
Havn't tried the map yet, will do it in a sec, I take it this is Just a Map and not a Scenario, you may want to look at this thread before ya decide to start editing start locations and the like, there seems to be a Bug with the AI and custom Scenarios.

Nice Map!
You could add New recources to the Map for what you need, but then it becomes a Mod and not a Map :)

Yep, it's just a map, although I am starting to plan out a mod in my head that brings back all the old terrains and resources.
 
Yep, it's just a map, although I am starting to plan out a mod in my head that brings back all the old terrains and resources.
That would be very great!
I miss the many different terrain types in Col1 : savane, grassland...!

Nice work. Good to see the Col1 Map anyway, because the Col2 has a weak mississipi river and affluents (i always liked to use the many rivers to colonize Louisiana).
 
Yep, it's just a map, although I am starting to plan out a mod in my head that brings back all the old terrains and resources.

That would be awsome, I'm not 100% sure, but, I think you could even take the recources from C4, if you dont want to make them yourself ofc.
 
That would be awsome, I'm not 100% sure, but, I think you could even take the recources from C4, if you dont want to make them yourself ofc.

I think I can. My thinking was that if I used the Blue Marble terrains as a base (with Coldfever's permission, of course), the default Plains could be prairie and the default grassland, savannah. All I would need is a new terrain for Swamp.

That, and the knowledge of how to actually put them into the game. Hopefully I can work that out.


None of it will be much use though, without a mapscripter, though, unless people just want to play this map forever.

EDIT: Ick. Working out how the terrain files operate might as well be Greek to me. I don't think I can add new terrain without an experienced modder to help me.
 
/col2/assets/xml/terrain/CIV4TerrainInfos.xml

There you add new terrains.
Example of the full terrain entry:
Spoiler :

<TerrainInfo>
<Type>TERRAIN_GRASS</Type>
<Description>TXT_KEY_TERRAIN_GRASS</Description>
<Civilopedia>TXT_KEY_TERRAIN_GRASS_PEDIA</Civilopedia>
<ArtDefineTag>ART_DEF_TERRAIN_GRASS</ArtDefineTag>
<Yields>
<YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldType>YIELD_FOOD</YieldType>
<iValue>3</iValue>
</YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldType>YIELD_TOBACCO</YieldType>
<iValue>3</iValue>
</YieldIntegerPair>
</Yields>
<RiverYieldIncreases>
<YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldType>YIELD_FOOD</YieldType>
<iValue>1</iValue>
</YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldType>YIELD_TOBACCO</YieldType>
<iValue>1</iValue>
</YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldType>YIELD_ORE</YieldType>
<iValue>1</iValue>
</YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldIntegerPair>
<YieldType>YIELD_SILVER</YieldType>
<iValue>1</iValue>
</YieldIntegerPair>
</RiverYieldIncreases>
<bWater>0</bWater>
<bImpassable>0</bImpassable>
<bFound>1</bFound>
<bFoundCoast>0</bFoundCoast>
<iMovement>1</iMovement>
<iSeeFrom>1</iSeeFrom>
<iSeeThrough>1</iSeeThrough>
<iBuildModifier>0</iBuildModifier>
<iDefense>0</iDefense>
<Button>Art/Interface\Buttons\WorldBuilder\Terrain_Grass.dds</Button>
<FootstepSounds>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>FOOTSTEP_AUDIO_HUMAN</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_FOOT_UNIT</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>FOOTSTEP_AUDIO_HUMAN_LOW</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_FOOT_UNIT_LOW</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>FOOTSTEP_AUDIO_HORSE</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_HORSE_RUN</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>LOOPSTEP_WHEELS</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_CHARIOT_LOOP</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>ENDSTEP_WHEELS</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_CHARIOT_END</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>LOOPSTEP_WHEELS_2</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_WAR_CHARIOT_LOOP</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>ENDSTEP_WHEELS_2</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_WAR_CHARIOT_END</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>LOOPSTEP_OCEAN1</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_OCEAN_LOOP1</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>ENDSTEP_OCEAN1</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_OCEAN_END1</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>LOOPSTEP_OCEAN2</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_OCEAN_LOOP1</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>ENDSTEP_OCEAN2</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_OCEAN_END2</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>LOOPSTEP_IRONCLAD</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_IRONCLAD_RUN_LOOP</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>ENDSTEP_IRONCLAD</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_IRONCLAD_RUN_END</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>LOOPSTEP_TRANSPORT</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_TRANSPORT_RUN_LOOP</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>ENDSTEP_TRANSPORT</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_TRANSPORT_RUN_END</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>LOOPSTEP_ARTILLERY</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_ARTILLERY_RUN_LOOP</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>ENDSTEP_ARTILLERY</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_ARTILLERY_RUN_END</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>LOOPSTEP_WHEELS_3</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_TREBUCHET_RUN</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
<FootstepSound>
<FootstepAudioType>ENDSTEP_WHEELS_3</FootstepAudioType>
<FootstepAudioScript>AS3D_UN_TREBUCHET_STOP</FootstepAudioScript>
</FootstepSound>
</FootstepSounds>
<WorldSoundscapeAudioScript>ASSS_GRASSLAND_SELECT_AMB</WorldSoundscapeAudioScript>
<bGraphicalOnly>0</bGraphicalOnly>
</TerrainInfo>


Everything is pretty clear because tags' names are named nicely.
 
Cool, thanks. What sort of Art assets do I need to make it show it up? Do I need a base texture, transition texture, textures for different elevations, rivers, etc.?

Also, if you could explain what layerorder and the textureblend01-15 fields in CIV4ArtDefines mean, I'd be really grateful.
 
ART_DEF_TERRAIN_GRASS points at it.
It's described in the /civcol/assets/xml/art/CIV4ArtDefines_Terrain.xml
<TerrainArtInfo>
<Type>ART_DEF_TERRAIN_GRASS</Type>
<Path>Art/Terrain/Textures/GrassBlend.dds</Path>
<Grid>Art/Terrain/Textures/GrassGrids.dds</Grid>
<Detail>Art/Terrain/Textures/GrassDETAIL.dds</Detail>
<Button>,Art/Interface/Buttons/BaseTerrain_TerrainFeatures_Atlas.dds,3,1</Button>
<LayerOrder>5</LayerOrder>
<TerrainGroup>TERRAIN_GROUP_LAND</TerrainGroup>
<TextureBlend01>8,0</TextureBlend01>
<TextureBlend02>1,0</TextureBlend02>
<TextureBlend04>6,0</TextureBlend04>
<TextureBlend08>5,0</TextureBlend08>
<TextureBlend03>2,0</TextureBlend03>
<TextureBlend06>10,0</TextureBlend06>
<TextureBlend12>12,0</TextureBlend12>
<TextureBlend09>9,0</TextureBlend09>
<TextureBlend07>3,0</TextureBlend07>
<TextureBlend14>14,0</TextureBlend14>
<TextureBlend13>11,0</TextureBlend13>
<TextureBlend11>4,0</TextureBlend11>
<TextureBlend10>7,0</TextureBlend10>
<TextureBlend05>13,0</TextureBlend05>
<TextureBlend15>15,0 16,0 18,0 19,0 20,0 21,0 22,0 23,0 24,0 25,0 26,0 27,0 28,0 29,0 30,0 31,0 32,0</TextureBlend15>
</TerrainArtInfo>

Texture blend parameters seem to be the same, you can use existing ones.

Textures are, as defined there, in /civcol/assets/art/terrain/textures/ in dds format (you need some kind of plugin/utility to view it; I use WTV {windows texture viewer} to view it in explorer and Nvidia DDS plugins for photoshop to modify it).
There're 3 textures but you'll need to modify just one.
Let's look into it:
GrassDETAIL.dds - all *DETAIL.dds are clean purple alpha clear textures.
GrassBLEND.dds - actual grass land texture
GrassGRID.dds - the same as above but with grid.

It's quite simple to edit in the Photoshop.
 
Awesome, thanks for your help. :)

I think I've learned enough to have a go at doing what I want to do now. Thanks. :D
 
:D

originsaq9.jpg


I've got the new terrains up and working now, and I'm messing about with yields and such. I'll probably make a new thread when I'm ready to release it.
 
May I ask what Recources you have in mind to add? There are a lot of Natural Recources missing, Gold, Gems, Wood for example.

Terrain looks real nice. Cant wait :)
 
May I ask what Recources you have in mind to add? There are a lot of Natural Recources missing, Gold, Gems, Wood for example.

Terrain looks real nice. Cant wait :)

Only the missing ones from the old game, specifically the Oasis and Prime Timber. Since I can't mod graphically worth a damn, I'll probably take the Banana tree and make that timber.

I might also see about using the Gems graphic to add in Minerals, but that would just be a higher yield version of Iron, so that might be a waste.
 
Ask around, theres a few mods with Timber as a recource (FFH or Warhammer are one), saves ya doign the hard work :)
 
Back
Top Bottom