Proposal for Mod Experts (don't worry this is not a request for new unit graphics :)

[micmc_atl_ga]

Heya Gang,

This is a request, proposal, mewing pitiful beg:

Can our resident experts on Mod Making begin a thread about known issues which can crash Civ. Basically an all-in-one place where people who have problems can stop by see if what is happening in their own mods has happened before and can borrow on the expierence and wisdom of folks who have gone through the same process and maybe found a way around the difficulty.

Plutarck did a great tutorial back a while ago, I'm hoping those with the expertise will take up where he left off and post little snippets about problems and any known fixes.


Thanks to any and all who take it up.

Mic

 

[Kryten]

I think that this is an excellent idea and I'd like to start the ball rolling with this little contribution:-

I recently tried to give the barbarians a bit more punch by creating a new unit (using the hacked Civ3Edit) which I was going to call a 'Barbarian Warrior'. It was to look like and have all the abilities of the normal Warrior unit, but with a attack and defence of 2, and only Barbarian Chiefdoms could build it. It also used the same Civilopedia entry as the Warrior, i.e. PRTO_Warrior.

However, my mod crashed every time within the first two or three moves. Don't know why. I've now had to settle for making the basic barbarian unit a Spearman instead (which, although a 'defensive' unit, the Barbarian AI likes to attack with untill Horsemen come along).

Anyone else got any good mod crashing tips?

 

[Plutarck]

I have actually planned on redoing the tutorial to be more simple, and also to make a little Troubleshooting section of it to detail problems with modmaking that comes up alot. For instance, changing a unit name (or using Add in the hacked editor) without changing the name of the unit folder and .ini; adding a tech without changing the icon of the tech with the highest numbered icon (for each tech added); adding a wonder but not adding a wonder splash entry in the pediaicons.txt file; changing a civilization color; not having pictures of units show up in the industrial/modern age because you haven't moved units around in the units_32.pcx file, or not having buildings show up because you didn't properly edit the (small, large)-buildings.pcx file; crashing upon changing eras because the bottom of your pediaicons.txt file got chewed up...things like that.

If I wasn't fully working on LWC I'd do it now...well actually I wouldn't, cause I want to rest up for work today


Kryten:

I've changed all the default barbarian units in the LWC Mod, and it works just fine. Assuming you've checked and made sure there is a properly named unit folder (containing a properly named .ini file), try this:

-Set the unit to having no technology prerequisite.
-Set the unit to be available only to A Barbarian Chiefdom.
-In the General Settings tab, change the barbarian unit to being whatever you want it to be.

That's all I believe I did, and no problems.

Alternatively you can change the Barbarian Combat Bonus in the Difficulty tab, which will actually have the same effect in the game, so long as you don't want the barbarians to be harder on levels where the bonus is already 0 (the editor does not allow a negative setting in this field).

In the ERP4 version of LWC I will have done both...barbarians set to Raging will be even more dangerous than I've already made it, as it should be

Also has the extra-pleasant effect of improving the underpowered Expansionist trait.

 

[Kryten]

AHHHHH! You're right! You're right! You're right!

Do you know, I've successfully loaded all Dark Sheer's excellent new unit graphics without any problems. But this time, guess who forgot to change the .ini file.........

Thanks Plutarck. Sorry to have wasted your time.
(I haven't downloaded your latest LWC mod yet. I think I should, so I'll do it now)

 

[s3d]

Originally posted by Plutarck
adding a tech without changing the icon of the tech with the highest numbered icon (for each tech added);

Can you please elaborate on this ? I read your tutorial but didn't grasp that topic (stupid me). I added several tech to my mod, but used existing tech icons for them. I havn't seen any crush yet. Will it happen eventually ?

Another contribution to this thread:

My mod crush if I answer NO to first question in the beggining -
Do you want customise world or get to the game now. If I want get straight to the game civ crush.

 

[Plutarck]

s3d: Open your Civilization III\Art\tech chooser\Icons folder. Note the numbers that prepend each name, such as 82-writing-small.pcx.

If you add 1 technology you have to have no tech use the 82 icon, else when you go to view that tech (the tech using icon 82) in the civilopedia Civ3 will crash.

If you add 2 techs icons 82 and 81 cannot be used, on out through all the icons.

I believe the actual problem is with the "large" .pcx files there. When Civ3 zooms in on a tech it - and this is just a theory I haven't tested - it will try to display icon 83. But as there isn't one, the game will crash. Or, the game will crash whether there is one or not, or this isn't the reason it crashes - but it still does crash, and it does in v1 and v1.16f.

The easy fix is simply to do as mentioned above. Otherwise...I'm not sure, as I haven't really had the urge to play around and see what would happen there.

Regardless, the Editor will not allow you to select an icon number higher than 82, so it's not really worth the effort (thus the other reson I haven't done it).