Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Sisiutil]

hey guys, i was wondering how can i take a pic from the whole tech tree, like the ones you see in the mods section. i press "printscreen" but it only captures what is currently shown in the screen so i end up with a portion of the tech tree instead of the whole. is there a key combination, a mod/app or smth else that can capture it whole?

There's an easier way. Here's a JPG of the full BtS tech tree:

http://www.civfanatics.com/gallery/files/1/techtree_original.jpg

 

[damerell]

There's an easier way. Here's a JPG of the full BtS tech tree:

http://www.civfanatics.com/gallery/files/1/techtree_original.jpg

But perhaps the previous poster wants to produce a tech tree for a modified game.

 

[Jarlaxe Baenre]

hey guys, i was wondering how can i take a pic from the whole tech tree, like the ones you see in the mods section. i press "printscreen" but it only captures what is currently shown in the screen so i end up with a portion of the tech tree instead of the whole. is there a key combination, a mod/app or smth else that can capture it whole?

Take pictures of each part of the tech tree. Have some overlap over areas that you will be able to recognize. Open all of them in an image editing program. Copy and paste all of the pictures into one large file and carefully move them so that they overlap perfectly. Then you've got a large scrolling image of a tech tree.

 

[salty mud]

Is there a map script, like Terra or Earth, that allows for Civs to start in the new world as well as the old? A random Terra map with random civs in random places both new world and old.

 

[calibur]

Is there a map script, like Terra or Earth, that allows for Civs to start in the new world as well as the old? A random Terra map with random civs in random places both new world and old.

Not exactly in the game. There are some that can produce vaguely similar effects (continents) also, some scenarios will have both.
As a mod, perfectworld is alright with this.

 

[wazzzuup]

how do you make a MOD!!!!!!!!

 

[duckstab]

There's no quick answer to that, because Civ4 is moddable in a lot of different ways. Depends on what you want to accomplish.

Start with the Creation & Customization forum.

 

[God-Emperor]

how do you make a MOD!!!!!!!!

Step 1: Figure out where the game is installed. Assuming you have the Beyond the Sword expansion and want to make a mod for it, find the BtS program "Civ4BeyondSword.exe".

Step 2: In that location is also a folder called Mods. In the Mods folder you will find all of the mods that come with the game. If you do not see them you are in the wrong place.

Step 3: Create a new folder in the Mods folder with the name of the folder being the name of your mod or some shortened for of it. Like "My Mod", or "Death by Chocolate" which could be abbreviated to "DbC" (presumably a mod that adds the chocolate resource, which is required to build some overpowered unit).

Step 4: There is no step 4.

At this point, you have technically already created a mod. It doesn't actually do anything, but it exists. It is exactly identical to BtS, except that when being loaded there will be text that shows the mod name in the progress bar and at some stages of the process also in the upper right of the screen. To get it to do things that are different from BtS you have to do one or more things as explained in the Creation & Customization forum mentioned by duckstab. This usually involves copying files from BtS/Warlords/vanilla into the correct locations in your new mod (which will often also involve creating the folders to hold them) and modifying them to get the desired changes.

 

[Abegweit]

Nice summary except that the Mods folder is actually located in Documents while the executable is in Program Files.

To find the folder go to Documents\My Games\Beyond the Sword\MODS

As I recall it's called My Documents in older versions of Windows.

 

[God-Emperor]

There is a folder called MODS there. That is not the correct place. The mods that come with the game are not there, and yours really should not be either. Put them where the mods that come with the game are. There have been various issues with the (My) Documents locations (which I don't remember since I never had them since I have never used that location) that do not exist if you put them in the same place as the ones the game comes with, which is the location I gave. The mods that come with the game work, which is a good clue that you should put your mods in the same location.

Of course, if you installed the game into the default location in the Program Files type location and you are running Vista or Windows 7 you will probably have to contend with the UAC issue at some point. There are many threads that mention this.

 

[Abegweit]

On my system I find: C:\Users\my-name\Documents\My Games\Beyond the Sword\MODS\BAT Mod 3.0

This works just fine for me. Perhaps you should take it up with ruff_hi and LemonMerchant. It is normal for things that came with the program to be in Program Files and things which are added to be in Documents.

 

[God-Emperor]

How many other mods have you installed? How many of them are in that location? I have installed several mods. Not one of them is in that location.

Of course, I have not installed BAT. I have installed BUG in "installed as a mod" mode and it is in the location I gave, not the My Documents location.

Also consider the single most popular mod: Fall From Heaven II. It also uses an installer. By default it installs into the location I gave. I expect just about everyone who has installed it, which is a lot of people, has it in that location. (It does also keep some data in My Documents, as do a few other mods, but not in that MODS folder.)

It is also possible that after Patch 3.19 there are no issue with the My Documents\...\MODS location. If so, it doesn't really matter which location you install them to, other than keeping things tidy. I prefer to keep all mods in the same place. (I have been known to examine the contents of a mod, as in "looking through the files", rather than just play them, so keeping them all together is good for that .)

You'd also have a problem if your computer was used by more than one person with each using a different user name (admittedly this is less common than it used to be). The BAT mod would be available to you but it would not be installed for anyone else since it is in your documents folder, but not theirs unless they do a complete addition install. Why install the same thing twice (or more)? In theory the correct setup would be that the BUG settings should be in your documents, but the mod itself should be with the program. That way everyone gets their own settings but shares the code and fixed data. That is the way the game itself is set up, with the user's settings in the user's folder (not all of which is in the documents folder, it keeps some stuff elsewhere) and everything else in the program's location.

 

[Abegweit]

Of course, I have not installed BAT.

Of course.

It is also possible that after Patch 3.19 there are no issue with the My Documents\...\MODS location.

3.19 has nothing to do with it. Civ always looked in both places, as a good Windows program would do. The bottom line is that the proper place for add-ins, especially those which are experimental, is in Documents.

Look. You clearly have some issues about Windows and how it works. A kindly suggestion: you need to join the modern era instead of living in 2004.

 

[calibur]

Did you get civ from steam? I had a problem where I went to Sid Meier's Civ4 bts\Mods, when in actuality it should have been in Sid's Civ4 Bts\Bts\Mods. This might also be true for non-steam versions.

 

[DarkC]

@about my question for the tech tree pic
actually it is for a mod i'm making
thanks for all your replies guys. since it doesn't seem to be an easy way, i'll take several pics and join them together as Jarlaxe Baenre suggested

@about mod making

i would also suggest 2 great tools:
a) an xml editor. this forum has some very helpful xml editors which make things easier. the interface allows for a better view of the entries/values
b) a python/xml editor for more in depth editing. for example, i use notepad++

 

[Luthor_Saxburg]

Can you give me any hints about how the UN works?

Here are some of my specific questions:
- How are the votes defined? Population?
- How does the elegible leader works? 1st in Pop and UN builder? What happens if the UN changes hands during the vote?
- What is the % needed to win the game by Diplo Victory? 75%?

 

[s.bernbaum]

Can you give me any hints about how the UN works?

Here are some of my specific questions:
- How are the votes defined? Population?

Yes. It is by population.

- How does the elegible leader works? 1st in Pop and UN builder? What happens if the UN changes hands during the vote?

Yes, it is the 1st in population and the UN builder. If the UN builder is 1st in population, then it is the 2nd in population as the other candidate. Once the vote is called for, the candidates are set for that vote.

- What is the % needed to win the game by Diplo Victory? 75%?

I believe that it is dependent on the map size and the number of civs in the game. The percentage is shown on the page that shows the UN and AP eligibility and votes. (That may be a BUG added page, since I have played with BUG for many years now, I don't recall whether that page is there in plain BTS or not.)

 

[salty mud]

Is there a mod that changes the mini-map? I love the more stylised style in Civ V and by comparison Civ IV's minimap looks quite ugly. I like how in Civ V the Civilization colours stick to land and blend nicely. Is there something available that can do something like this for Civ IV?

 

[Luthor_Saxburg]

The percentage is shown on the page that shows the UN and AP eligibility and votes. (That may be a BUG added page...)

Yes, it is... not really like that in BtS...

Thanks for the help!

 

[MrKlew]

So if you complete Taj Mahal during a golden age does the full new golden age get stuck on to the end of the current golden age or do you lose some time?