Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Lord Parkin]

Does anybody here know where's a good place to look for help on how to start modding my own games??

You could try searching through the Creation and Customization forums. Beyond that, I'm afraid I can't be more specific, as I don't know much about it myself.

 

[sirgalahad1313]

posted this question elsewhere, but having found this post thought i'd ask here. without getting into the boring details(my game situation details, not boring explanations on how to do this *wink*), how do i disable global warming? what a pita that crap is when playing a custom game so i can just keep playing till i conquer the entire map. i know it's a file called "globaldefines.xml", and i found where it is, but which line do i need to change and how do i go about editing it? i'd like to finish the game as emperor of the world, not king of the dustbowl with all cities reduced to 0 population from starvation(or too many((bad pun alert)) "sand"wiches in their diet). toodles

 

[Roland Johansen]

posted this question elsewhere, but having found this post thought i'd ask here. without getting into the boring details(my game situation details, not boring explanations on how to do this *wink*), how do i disable global warming? what a pita that crap is when playing a custom game so i can just keep playing till i conquer the entire map. i know it's a file called "globaldefines.xml", and i found where it is, but which line do i need to change and how do i go about editing it? i'd like to finish the game as emperor of the world, not king of the dustbowl with all cities reduced to 0 population from starvation(or too many((bad pun alert)) "sand"wiches in their diet). toodles

Ah, so you have already heard which file you need to edit. Note that there is a GlobalDefines.xml file in every version of the game (vanilla, Warlords and Beyond the Sword) and you need to edit the version of the file related to the version of the game you're playing.

You can use an editor like wordpad for the editing. It's available to you when you're using Windows as the operating system.

You need to go down to the lines:

	<Define>
		<DefineName>GLOBAL_WARMING_PROB</DefineName>
		<iDefineIntVal>20</iDefineIntVal>
	</Define>

and change the value of 20 to 0. Make a backup of the file first.

 

[Stevepac]

Can you have more then one permanant alliance in Warlords?

What is the amount a leader would have to be happy with you to get a defensive pact? +10?

I've been trying to get one with louis but I just cant push him over the edge to get it

 

[JujuLautre]

Can you have more then one permanant alliance in Warlords?

No

What is the amount a leader would have to be happy with you to get a defensive pact? +10?

Depends on the leader; but most of all, it depends of the attitude of the leader, not the diplo score. Some leader will accept a DP at pleased, most of them only at friendly.

 

[CCRunner]

You can have more than one permanent alliance if you set it up that way at the beginning of the game.

 

[JujuLautre]

If so, I would be interested to know how. Can you enlighten me ?

 

[galahad1313]

thnx a bunch roland, worked like a charm. no more global warming.

 

[LateGameWarMong]

Newbie here, played the game at a friends place I was housesitting for, and decided to get the game.

At what difficulty does the AI start out with more starting units than you?

How does fighter interception work? if I set a fighter to do an air patrol (flies in circles around base) will it intercept anything within its normal attack range? or just attacking the base itself? can it be damaged by an attacking fighter, or is the attacker strictly on a bombing mission?
Can a ground unit be damaged when it intercepts a fighter/bomber?


What happens when you Burn a city to the ground that had a wonder? is the wonder gone for good? or can others build it now (is it 1 in the game at a time, or built only once per game?)

How does multiplayer work? do you save often and play over several days, or just try and get through it on the fastest setting?

How does the diplomacy screen work in multi, can you still see a human players relations to other players, or is it hidden to allow for more deceipt?
Is there Allied Victory?
I assume there is in game chat, even before your civs contact each other?

How does global warming work? is it a flat # of nukes used that causes it? A certain # of irradiated tiles at once? too many nukes used at once? does it occur at a constant rate, faster with more nukes used? or will it stop if nuke usage stops? its irreversible right?



Mod questions: (I like to mod games I play)

#1) is this game easy to do basic modding (relative to HW 1/2 .big file editing, or starcraft .mpq editing)

Does anyone know of a mod that gets rid of Global Warming caused by nukes, and implements an Ice Age instead?

A mod where the nuke just flat out destroys the city and all surrounding structures (as if you captured with troops and burned it) - unless a bomb shelter was in place- leaving the city as if a settler just founded it (population way lower, no improvements)?

A mod that starts reversible global warming based off the # of coal power plants in use *duration of use (any oil power plants?)?

How about Fusion tech (+future tech?) removing the possibility of a nuclear melt down and uranium req. for nuclear power?

A mod allowing aircraft to gain experience points and promotions (fighters could get it from interception, but bombers - only the starting XP buffs like from barracks or whatever)?

Any mod allowing them to actually destroy units? (allow health to drop to 0, not combat where 1 attack goes until 1 unit dies)

 

[Sisiutil]

Newbie here, played the game at a friends place I was housesitting for, and decided to get the game.

Welcome to CFC and your new obsession. I've answered the questions I could below, I'm sure others will handle the rest. For the modding questions, I'd suggest checking out the Creation and Customization forum.

Can a ground unit be damaged when it intercepts a fighter/bomber?

No.

What happens when you Burn a city to the ground that had a wonder? is the wonder gone for good? or can others build it now (is it 1 in the game at a time, or built only once per game?)

Any wonders, world or national, are destroyed if you raze a city. If you yourself have not built the national wonder, you can still build it. (National wonders are also destroyed if you merely capture the city; in fact, if you yourself lose a city containing a national wonder, you can rebuild it somewhere else.) World wonders, however, are destroyed forever and cannot be rebuilt, so it's usually best to not raze cities containing them.

How does multiplayer work? do you save often and play over several days, or just try and get through it on the fastest setting?

You can play either way. If you go into Gamespy and join a pickup game, chances are it will be a fast speed free-for-all. If you prefer a longer game, you'll be best off finding out about those and making arrangements with others you meet on-line.

How does the diplomacy screen work in multi, can you still see a human players relations to other players, or is it hidden to allow for more deceipt?
I assume there is in game chat, even before your civs contact each other?

There human-to-human diplomacy screen that has a text chat window where the AI leaderhead normally appears. TAB brings up the game chat dialog.

 

[LateGameWarMong]

Q's on projects:
Projects: are they "in" the city, and lost if it is destroyed- specifically the space ship parts.
I know only 1 person can do the Manhatten Project- and it then enables nukes for everyone.(universal unlock, available to only 1 civ)
Everyone can do the Apollo Project, and it only unlocks things for themself (universal availability, one party unlock)

Are there other projects you can only have one of? how are their benefits applied? specifically:
SDI: can both sides have this, I assume a space based system of lasers to shoot down nukes could be used to prevent a rival system from being constructed.
(one party unlock, available to one civ?)

Does the game allow for 2 sides of a nuke exchange to have SDI?

The internet: grants all tech held by 2 or more people: does it grant the tech to everyone (universal unlockable), or only the project completer (one party unlock).

Can everyone complete the project, or is the first one to complete the internet the only one? (thus you could rush to the internet to "steal" others tech, and have a significant tech advantage - provided the others are not all sharing)

 

[CCRunner]

If so, I would be interested to know how. Can you enlighten me ?

In the custom game screen, before you start, you can add as many people to your team as you want. It's the same exact thing as a permanent alliance, it just comes earlier. You probably thought I meant you could gain more than one permanent alliance in-game. Sorry for being unclear.

 

[GLRob79]

Hi everyone! I tried to get into Civ4 a while back but just didn't have the time to devote to it. I have about a month before I finally go back to school (after 7 years in the workforce) and thought I'd give it another run as part of my "summer vacation". I've done a lot of searching here and on Google, but I can't seem to find the specific answers to these two questions:

1) Do I need to build roads from my cottages and mines to my city? Right now I'm telling my worker to build a mine, cottage, etc, and then telling him to build a road from it the very next turn he has available. Is this unnecessary for non-resources?

2) What benefits do tiles in my fat cross get that tiles outside (but still my my city's borders get? (I ask this because read that the fat cross is only 20 tiles large - a 5x5 square with the corners cut out and not including the center where my city is.) Or is my fat cross actually the entire city?

I'm currently playing custom games using the "Always Peace" option so I can try to get a better grip in city building instead of having to worry about building up an army. I think I'm getting the hang of the basic strategy as far as what techs to research and so on, but some of the smaller details (which seem to make a big difference in city growth) still escape me.

If it matters I'm usually playing with Roosevelt or Huayna Capac because I'm having fun building Wonders (can't decide which of their traits is better), and using Greece as my civ. (Mainly because I like the culture since I used to read a lot of Mythology and the unique building.) Opinions on with trait of the two (Organized or Financial) is better would be appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance!

Rob

 

[Roland Johansen]

At what difficulty does the AI start out with more starting units than you?

At prince level, the AI has advantages compared to you, but only at monarch level, the AI gets an extra starting unit (a defender).

How does fighter interception work? if I set a fighter to do an air patrol (flies in circles around base) will it intercept anything within its normal attack range?

Indeed.

can it be damaged by an attacking fighter, or is the attacker strictly on a bombing mission?

Yes, it can be damaged.

Can a ground unit be damaged when it intercepts a fighter/bomber?

No. But if the ground unit does not intercept, then it can get bombing damage if the attacking plane was on a bombing mission.


I believe the rest of your non-modding questions were already answered by Sisiutil.

Mod questions: (I like to mod games I play)

#1) is this game easy to do basic modding (relative to HW 1/2 .big file editing, or starcraft .mpq editing)

Basic modding is just editing some values in a bunch of xml-files. Since the names of the variables are pretty logical, this is not very hard.

Then you can also mod python files which is harder as you need to know Python and then you can even mod the basic formulas that run the game if you install the SDK (Software Developers Kit) and know how C++ works.

So basic modding is fairly easy and somewhat limited, but if you know a lot about programming, then you can create an entirely different game.

Check out the Creation and Customisation forum to learn more about modding. The guys who hang out there know a lot and there are some excellent guides in that forum.

Does anyone know of a mod that gets rid of Global Warming caused by nukes, and implements an Ice Age instead?

A mod where the nuke just flat out destroys the city and all surrounding structures (as if you captured with troops and burned it) - unless a bomb shelter was in place- leaving the city as if a settler just founded it (population way lower, no improvements)?

A mod that starts reversible global warming based off the # of coal power plants in use *duration of use (any oil power plants?)?

How about Fusion tech (+future tech?) removing the possibility of a nuclear melt down and uranium req. for nuclear power?

There are so many mods in there. There are mods that change the global warming mechanics, but I don't know the details.

A mod allowing aircraft to gain experience points and promotions (fighters could get it from interception, but bombers - only the starting XP buffs like from barracks or whatever)?

The expansion pack Beyond the Sword allows fighters and bombers to get experience from buildings (airport) and from surviving interception.

Any mod allowing them to actually destroy units? (allow health to drop to 0, not combat where 1 attack goes until 1 unit dies)

That's pretty easy. It's just an xml-mod. I'd have to search a bit through the files, but it's not too hard (some max damage variable for fighters and such in the units xml-file). It makes them way overpowered though (because most units cannot fire back).

It's a bit harder to make it so that fighters can destroy ships but not land-based units (which is more balanced). That for instance requires Python or SDK modding. Don't ask me for help on that.


Oh and welcome to civfanatics!

 

[Sisiutil]

Hi Rob, welcome to CFC!

1. Technically, no, non-resource tiles do not require roads. However, roads can still be a good idea, as they may save worker turns later if you have to return to the tile (say if it gets pillaged, or the improvement is lost due to a random event). Roads also help your units reach these tiles to defend them from enemies.
2. The fat cross is actually 21 tiles in size; the city tile itself is also worked and yields at least 2 food, 1 hammer, and 1 commerce. While tiles within your borders but outside any city's fat cross may be improved, they are not directly worked by citizens. Resource tiles outside the fat cross, once improved, yield their resources for their benefits or for trading, but non-resource tiles yield little or no benefit (I say little because they can be handy for things like roads, chokepoints, forts, and chain irrigation).
3. Both traits have their advantages. Financial is probably the more powerful of the two. If you get into warmongering, though (and it is a LOT of fun, BTW), then you may find that Organized has many advantages for empire-building (especially the cheap courthouses) and that Financial's reliance on easily-pillaged cottages makes the trait weaker than in a more peaceful game. I would also encourage you to try other leaders and play styles. Philosophical and Spiritual are also fun traits, for example.

 

[Roland Johansen]

Q's on projects:
Projects: are they "in" the city, and lost if it is destroyed- specifically the space ship parts.

No. They're somewhere in cyber space world and indestructible.

SDI: can both sides have this,

Yes.

The internet: grants all tech held by 2 or more people: does it grant the tech to everyone (universal unlockable), or only the project completer (one party unlock).

The advantage is only to the one who builds the project. It gives the builder all of the technologies held or gained by 2 civilisations. So if both France and England have a technology, then Greece who build the project will get the technology immediately.

1) Do I need to build roads from my cottages and mines to my city? Right now I'm telling my worker to build a mine, cottage, etc, and then telling him to build a road from it the very next turn he has available. Is this unnecessary for non-resources?

It's unnecessary for non-resources, but helpful for the movement of all of your units.

2) What benefits do tiles in my fat cross get that tiles outside (but still my my city's borders get? (I ask this because read that the fat cross is only 20 tiles large - a 5x5 square with the corners cut out and not including the center where my city is.) Or is my fat cross actually the entire city?

The fat cross: A 5*5 square with the corners cut out and including the centre. All tiles in this area can be used by the city (once your culture is on these tiles). Tiles outside this area cannot be used by cities.

Resources outside the fat crosses of cities, but inside your culture can still be connected to your cities. You can't work the tiles, but you get the benefits of another connected resource to your empire.

Opinions on with trait of the two (Organized or Financial) is better would be appreciated as well.

In polls about traits, financial is usually valued the highest by most players, but organized is valued very highly too. Still, it depends on your playing style a lot. Both traits are very easy to take advantage of, straightforward economic advantage plus some building cost reduction for the organized trait.

And another welcome to civfanatics!

 

[GLRob79]

Wow, thanks for the quick reply!

Warmongering *is* fun - I started playing with 3-4 opponents and always picked Napoleon for one of them because he always likes to start a fight with me. I quickly realized I had a lot to learn though because my other opponents usually had scores much higher than my own. Once I get city building down better I'll go back to having war as an option.

Thanks for explaining the fat cross. My last game I had put a few cities on peninsulas jutting out into the sea thinking I'd get a lot of uncontested tiles that way. I realize now that these are exactly the ones that didn't grow well - which I'm assuming is because while there are food and commerce on sea tiles, there are no hammers out there.

I see your point about roads, I'll keep the movement benefit in mind.

Back to the game now that I know how to go about building better.

Thanks again!

Rob

 

[CCRunner]

1) Do I need to build roads from my cottages and mines to my city? Right now I'm telling my worker to build a mine, cottage, etc, and then telling him to build a road from it the very next turn he has available. Is this unnecessary for non-resources?

Roads are not needed for non-resource tiles. You can build them though to speed up unit movement. For resources, a road that goes all the way to the city is needed, not just a road on the specific tile.

2) What benefits do tiles in my fat cross get that tiles outside (but still my my city's borders get? (I ask this because read that the fat cross is only 20 tiles large - a 5x5 square with the corners cut out and not including the center where my city is.) Or is my fat cross actually the entire city?

You're right about the dimensions of the BFC with one half exception. You are able to work the tile that your city is on. In fact, you can't not work it. The difference is that your cities are able to use the tiles in your BFC and it isn't able to use tiles in your borders but not in your BFC. Don't bother improving tiles(except resource tiles) outside of your cities fat cross.

Opinions on with trait of the two (Organized or Financial) is better would be appreciated as well.

They're both great traits. Organized helps a lot when you have a large empire typically when you're warmongering. Financial is great when you have a lot of cottages or coastal tiles. For always peace though, Financial is probably better.

 

[Gwynnja]

I often will leave city ruins unimproved in the hopes of getting the free beakers random event. Does anyone know the probability of it's occurrence?

 

[Stevepac]

No


Depends on the leader; but most of all, it depends of the attitude of the leader, not the diplo score. Some leader will accept a DP at pleased, most of them only at friendly.

thanks you r the best