[Q] How to add Terrains/Features?

[Arne]

Is it currently possible to add (additional) Terrains or Features to Civ4?

For example I want to know, how to add swamps, without HAVING them to place manualy on map. I know, there is some - more or less - working swamp in Rhyes Mod, but this is not, what I'm looking for. It seems, we need an swamp "ressource", to get this working.

Is it possible to add an new forest? I wish to have jungle, forest and rain forest on map - each with different properties and different graphics. Will this work? How?

 

[ollj]

You're mixing up BASE TERRAIN, FEATURES and BONUSSES, the engine handles them differently:
If you add any terrain,feature,bonus you also have to make a scenario map for it or change the map-creation to include your new terrain,feature,bonus.

You start in
assets/xml/terrain/CIV4TerrainInfos.xml
to add new kinds ob BASE terrain; grass, plains , desert, snow, ocean... That terrain gets layd on "flats" "hills" "peaks" or in the "ocean" (or ocean-coast)
You can add anything there BUT NOT hills or peaks .

OR
assets/xml/terrain/CIV4FeatureInfos.xml
to add FEATURES; forest, jungle, ice, oasis, fallout

------the ART_DEF_* there refers to
------assets/xml/art/CIV4ArtDefines_Terrain.xml

OR
assets/xml/terrain/CIV4BonusInfos.xml
to add BONUSES; iron, coal, oil, fish, horses...

--- this refers to
--- assets/xml/art/CIV4ArtDefines_Bonus

its basically a lot set in those 2 folders.

BASETERRAIN sets yields and blends into other baseterrain smootly since its just a texture and some base values for tiles of it.
BONUSES are 1 tile big 3d models and correctly placed the heightmap as a simple model, can be hidden (must be discovered), can be upgraded/harvested.
FEATURES go over multiple tiles (puzzling multiple models that look similar), can appear/grow and dissappear/chop, and get smooth borders (without caring for the heightmap, hills just go trough forests).

Baseterrain and bonuses are limited to certain regions (polar, tropical, desert)
Bonuses and fearutes are limited to certain terrains (fish on water, snowy forest on tundra...)
Upgrades can remove a feature (forest)
...

 

[Arne]

Thank you for this hints, ollj.

You're mixing up BASE TERRAIN, FEATURES and BONUSSES,

Um... I'm not sur if I'm mixing them, but this is the way Rhye does it in his Mod: There is a base terrain, a fetaure and a ressource; all three called "swamp". Idon't know WHY this is, but I guessed it has to be so to get it work.

I allready tried adding swamp feature using a copy of jungle. But I run into some problems. Main problem: My swamp will not be shown on map correctly, no matter how it will be defined in CIV4ArtDefines_Feature.xml). Seems, like I have to play around with that and if I don't get it to work, may be posting the lines from CIV4ArtDefines_Feature.xml or other xml files here will help?