Modding Q&A

[Brenshar]

So I've been making a lot of graphic content lately for tech icons, some unit icons, I've been wondering if theres anything regarding copyright and free use that I should be careful about? Mostly Ive been downloading a bunch of different images from the internet to that end, I have not been keeping track of from where, just whatever appears in google search as long as it doesnt have some watermarks covering the image.

Likewise with art produced by the civ community here, is there an expectation for giving credit or asking permission to modify creater's content?

 

[q250]

But if you have the patience to do so, you could set the tradeable unit as the base of an upgrade-chain; that way, as more advanced units are unlocked, it's as if you would be trading a different unit each time.

how?

 

[Predator145]

how?

I guess it would be like having workers upgrade into different worker flavor units. That way they too can be traded. I've never tested flavor workers to see if they can be traded though.

 

[Predator145]

Did anyone ever test the "Double city defenses" flag in the editor? The C3C stock game Great Wall no longer has that but a few wonders in the scenarios like War Rage and Hadrian's Wall have it. Does it just boosts things like Walls and Civil Defense or does it boost bonuses set for towns, cities and metros as well?

If the answer is yes then it would be very weird having your below size 7 walled towns receiving a 100% def boost while your size 7 and above cities only receiving 50%. Punishing growth is never a good thing IMO when you have spent a ton of resources into constructing a wonder.

 

[r16]

ı play LotM almost exclusively and ı can't sell my "orc workers" nor buy from other civs . Only standart variety of the worker , that should been set up somewhere in the editor . You know the two or three slaves when you get when capturing a settler and when the AI gets them back , they revert to the standart worker , not the flavour variety they would expected to be .

 

[Brenshar]

ı play LotM almost exclusively and ı can't sell my "orc workers" nor buy from other civs . Only standart variety of the worker , that should been set up somewhere in the editor . You know the two or three slaves when you get when capturing a settler and when the AI gets them back , they revert to the standart worker , not the flavour variety they would expected to be .

Im pretty sure this is hardcoded, there can only ever be a single tradeable unit
Huge shame really

 

[r16]

well , one can only learn to love a thing with its failings ...

 

[Civinator]

I guess it would be like having workers upgrade into different worker flavor units. That way they too can be traded. I've never tested flavor workers to see if they can be traded though.

Yes, they can. In my last CCM 2.6 test game I bought several workers from other civs (and those civs only had civspecific workers upgraded from apprentices). They appeared in my capital as slaves and also had only the reduced terraform power (but still very useful).

 

[Predator145]

Yes, they can. In my last CCM 2.6 test game I bought several workers from other civs (and those civs only had civspecific workers upgraded from apprentices). They appeared in my capital as slaves and also had only the reduced terraform power (but still very useful).

So the "apprentice" unit is set to be at the first unit slot in the editor and upgrades to all the flavor worker units?

 

[Civinator]

So the "apprentice" unit is set to be at the first unit slot in the editor and upgrades to all the flavor worker units?

The "worker" in CCM is staying in its normal unit slot and is still the captured unit in the general settings, but it can only be received one time at the start of the game (so no civspecific starting configurations are needed). The setting for workers in CCM is much more tricky and here nothing was changed from CCM 2.5 to CCM 2.6. Per example the immobile "apprentice" has the AI offensive strategy, but the AI upgrades that unit without problems to the civspecific workers with the AI terraform strategy. The apprentice unit can only be received by autoproduction done by a SW (Worker Houses) in the capital. Later in the game the civspecific workers are upgraded in CCM 2.5 to partisans with another change in the AI strategy back to offensive (in CCM 2.6 to a different type of unit). Interesting is that those units can be traded, so the civ mostly is not able to upgrade to that unit itself. The civspecific workers have the king flag.

For a check in your modded biq simply create that biq in Debug Mod, place one of your civspecific workers into the capital of a civ, that you have contacted, and look if you can receive that unit by trade.

Edit: Added a screenshot with one of the worker deals with different civspecific workers.

 

[ajb]

Is there a solid tutorial on how to make a static leader head (I'm not great with palettes either)?

I've got Civ3MM Toolkit and GIMP

I'm trying to make the attached a leader head --I think I need to get the palette set up too.

Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

I replied to you over at the Star Wars TMA thread but I'll also post the link to Vuldacon's excellent tutorial here as well.

How To Make A Single Frame Leaderhead

This Tutorial has Many Images to show simply, Step by Step, How to make a Single Frame Leaderhead from any Image. Also explains how to make the Palette and Use Animation Shop. I used Paint Shop Pro but one can Extrapolate from this Tutorial how to use a different Graphics Program. Includes...

forums.civfanatics.com

 

[Vuldacon]

ajb... Here is your Image as a Static Leaderhead.

The Zip contains the 200 X 240 Image I made from your uploaded Image.
I made the Palette on the Image. This is the Image you start with and save the Palette from.
This is the Image you open in Animation Shop.

The Leaderhead flc are named "Image_01.flc and Image _02.flc... Simply change the name "Image" to what you want to call them.

Try it for yourself to see how it works.

 

[ajb]

Unreal, thanks so much! I was able to get the new leader head to work, looks amazing in the faction choice screen (scenario start) plus in game diplo screen!

One thing though I found two folders:

• "leaderheads"
• "advisors"

Both folders seem to be related to the leatherhead, any idea what they do? I'm guessing it might be something annoying like the end game ranking or something.

 

[ajb]

I have a couple of units resized, there seems to be a palette issues. Magenta for both off to the lower right of the screen (where you have details of your empire and the unit you have selected); both units have shadow issues of a large squarish field around them when they move (both have a very slight shadow issue when stationary).

I know this is a palettes issue, any tutorial on how to fix this would be appreciated. I'm using the Civ3MM Toolkit and GIMP.

Thanks!

 

[Vuldacon]

ajb... The Leaderhead Files in the Advisor and Leaderheads Folders are used in various areas of the Game. Simply look at the existing Leader Files in each folder to understand what image files you need to have if you are adding a New Leader.

The Backgrounds for your Units are using a color that is Not the Transparent Color on the Palette. Check the Background colors on each storyboard and change it to the Correct background Color = Last Color slot on the Palette.
This also is causing the other Problems you see in Game.
A Light shade of Magenta such as a "Smoke Shade or Light shadow shade is not visible when viewing the Unit outside of the Game but in game you see the subtle difference.
On the Right Game Window Box, you are seeing the upper part of the none Transparent background of your Unit Frame.



Remember it is Not the Color but the Palette Slot that sets the Transparency.
When you load a Palette to nearest color matching, the program you use will select the First color that matches best... and if you have a color range, the selected color can be a color other than the Exact Last Color on the Palette such as a slightly lighter shade of Magenta.

So Check the Color on your Storyboard Backgrounds before generating the Flcs.

One problem you may encounter as you try correcting the color now used for the Backgrounds:
The Color now used is probably also used in other Areas such as the Attack. If you replace the existing Color for the Background and it is also used in the Attack, you will be replacing that Attack Color as well as the Background.

There are several ways to correct this situation but the easiest way is to start with the Original Unit storyboard and change the color used in other areas to something else such as red. you can write down the color used before changing it so you can change it back when you are finished with the Storyboards.

I have not checked but most likely the Attack and possibly the Death have the same color used in other areas as you now have for the Backgrounds.

Example:

 

[Predator145]

Do the "Cities store food" and "More Leaders" functions stack in the editor? And what happens if you tick both +50% and 100% research? Would that improvement give a 150% boost?

 

[Vuldacon]

When you resize a unit, you extract the storyborad, but when you reassemble it again with flicster or flceditor, the last color on the palette 255, is switched with some other random shadow color, that is why gray square appears in game. Why this happens i don't know.

If you load the Palette to the new Storyboard after Resizing, Then check the Background color and correct it if needed, Flicster and Civ3FlicEdit will keep the Storyboard Palette.

When you resize a Unit and load the palette, you are loading that palette to "Nearest Color Matching". That is how the Pure Magenta becomes another close match to it on the palette.
The reason the Pure Magenta is changed to another None Pure shade of Magenta such as the "Smoke Shades" Usually or Shadow shades already on the Palette is Because the programs select the first closest color when applying the palette.

All programs have this problem when loading a palette to nearest color matching.
Always Best to check the Storyboards to make sure the Transparent Color is in the Correct indexed palette slot for Units at the end on the Palette.

 

[ajb]

ajb... The Leaderhead Files in the Advisor and Leaderheads Folders are used in various areas of the Game. Simply look at the existing Leader Files in each folder to understand what image files you need to have if you are adding a New Leader.

The Backgrounds for your Units are using a color that is Not the Transparent Color on the Palette. Check the Background colors on each storyboard and change it to the Correct background Color = Last Color slot on the Palette.
This also is causing the other Problems you see in Game.
A Light shade of Magenta such as a "Smoke Shade or Light shadow shade is not visible when viewing the Unit outside of the Game but in game you see the subtle difference.
On the Right Game Window Box, you are seeing the upper part of the none Transparent background of your Unit Frame.



Remember it is Not the Color but the Palette Slot that sets the Transparency.
When you load a Palette to nearest color matching, the program you use will select the First color that matches best... and if you have a color range, the selected color can be a color other than the Exact Last Color on the Palette such as a slightly lighter shade of Magenta.

So Check the Color on your Storyboard Backgrounds before generating the Flcs.

One problem you may encounter as you try correcting the color now used for the Backgrounds:
The Color now used is probably also used in other Areas such as the Attack. If you replace the existing Color for the Background and it is also used in the Attack, you will be replacing that Attack Color as well as the Background.

There are several ways to correct this situation but the easiest way is to start with the Original Unit storyboard and change the color used in other areas to something else such as red. you can write down the color used before changing it so you can change it back when you are finished with the Storyboards.

I have not checked but most likely the Attack and possibly the Death have the same color used in other areas as you now have for the Backgrounds.

Example:

Thanks a million for these details!

 

[ajb]

Is it possible to make a building like a "barracks" able to upgrade units, but not produce veteran units if built in that city?

If possible, I'd like to have a "West Point" for production of veteran units, but unit upgrades like tanks to be upgraded at tank production facilities. Is any of this possible, or does unit upgrading and veteran units go hand in hand?