Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Sicilian Hound]

So, I have been playing Civ, for over 5 years, I think I have Civ myself out. I know sounds impossible!... But I have played and beat Civ on all levels of difficulty, maps, scenarios and most mods (civ4, civ bts) So now I am looking for new things to do on Civ like modding. I just have one thing to ask on modding.. How do I add extra civs? I know how to use the world-builder inside out but not quit sure how to do other things that relate to modding. Could someone shed some light please?

 

[Jwitti]

The simplest thing is to play with the XML code in the program files. THe CFC forum has a ton of tutorials by people better at explaining than I am : http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=177

But I learned most of the XML stuff by myself so it can't be that hard

 

[mastrude]

I don't know whether this is the right thread to ask a newb question about a mod, but here it is: In the Rise from Erebus mod, I've been playing the Malakim, the desert dwellers. I've been constructing fire and water mana locations, but roads to them soon blow away and I can't teach my adepts to use fire and water mana in my cities, or even at the node. The road through the node itself seems to last, but I can't use the nodes at all.

At first I wondered whether there was a tech I was missing. I had read that the malakim take any desert tile as a road, but this wasn't working. I found a tech named Dune Speaking, but never saw a way to research it, and it wasn't listed among the pre-discovered techs for the Malakim.

Iron mines seemed to work. I could upgrade military to iron from elsewhere. But mana didn't.

I speculated that maybe Malakim weren't allowed to have water mana, but the problem existed with fire also.

Does anyone with experience of RiFE know the answer? Those with only knowledge of Vanilla or FFH2 won't be able to answer, since it's clear RiFE works differrently.

 

[Jwitti]

This isn't the right thread at all! HOWEVER I know a little about FFH and RifE and I think the mana has to be connected to your capital to be used.

 

[Luthor_Saxburg]

Does anyone know the consequences of defying a UN resolution and what needs to occur to make the negative effects to "go away"?

 

[Michkov]

Unhappiness penalty, at least for defying peace resolutions. IMO they last the same time as wiping unhappiness

 

[Samson]

Unhappiness penalty, at least for defying peace resolutions. IMO they last the same time as wiping unhappiness

I think they last untill the next vote that you do not defy. And I think it is for all resolutions, any time you select "Never! (defy resolution)".

 

[nfw]

I think they last untill the next vote that you do not defy. And I think it is for all resolutions, any time you select "Never! (defy resolution)".

The resolution has to pass and you voted yes for the penalty to go away.

 

[Sisiutil]

The resolution has to pass and you voted yes for the penalty to go away.

To be more accurate, to result in "the world considers you a villain" unhappiness, the resolution had enough votes to pass had you not defied it. By defying it, the resolution doesn't pass.

 

[Lennier]

Yes, but nfw said to have the "world considers you a vilian" anger to go away, you must vote "yes" for a resolution that passes.

 

[Sisiutil]

Yes, but nfw said to have the "world considers you a vilian" anger to go away, you must vote "yes" for a resolution that passes.

Hmm... maybe, I've never seen that, maybe because I've never done it. I think it goes away over time, eventually.

 

[mir092]

Hi, I am wondering how to alter text that is shown when talking to a leader?

For example Washington would say "Hi, I'm washington lalala"
So for my custom leader which file do I have to edit to change this?

 

[Yxklyx]

Do you mean when he first talks to you? That's in GameInfo\Civ4DiplomacyInfos.xml. Search for AI_DIPLOCOMMENT_FIRST_CONTACT - I don't think this can be modularized.

 

[mir092]

Do you mean when he first talks to you? That's in GameInfo\Civ4DiplomacyInfos.xml. Search for AI_DIPLOCOMMENT_FIRST_CONTACT - I don't think this can be modularized.

so it is impossible to edit what a leader will say?

 

[Manco Capac]

so it is impossible to edit what a leader will say?

You certainly can. It's one of the easiest modification because still within the realm of XML files.
The one concerned is: CIV4GameText_DiplomacyText_BTS.xml found in Assets/XML/Text.
A point to add: this file is only for the new leaders coming straight from BTS. For the others, you have to delve into the Vanilla parent folder of BTS where there is its own Assets/XML/Text/CIV4DiplomacyText.xml.

An excerpt from the said file:

<TEXT>
		<Tag>AI_DIPLO_FIRST_CONTACT_LEADER_BOUDICA_1</Tag>
		<English>Welcome, [CT_NAME]! Mighty [OUR_CIV_SHORT] seeks peace with your weak little civilization. For the moment, that is.</English>
		<French>Bienvenue, [CT_NAME] ! Les puissants [OUR_CIV_SHORT:3] veulent la paix avec votre misérable civilisation. Enfin, pour l'instant.</French>
		<German>Willkommen, [CT_NAME]! Das mächtige Volk von [OUR_CIV_SHORT] wünscht friedvolle Beziehungen zu Eurer bedauernswerten Nation. Zumindest für den Augenblick ...</German>
		<Italian>Ti do il benvenuto, [CT_NAME]! [OUR_CIV_SHORT] vuole la pace con la tua piccola e debole civiltà. Per il momento, almeno.</Italian>
		<Spanish>¡Os doy la bienvenida, [CT_NAME]! La poderosa tierra de [OUR_CIV_SHORT] busca la paz con vuestra débil civilización de pacotilla. De momento, claro está.</Spanish>
	</TEXT>

 

[Jwitti]

No, you just have to edit a game file (which is ridiculously easy once you get used to XML) and you shouldn't edit the main game file, so you have to make a mod for that one change. Although, I don't see why it couldn't be modularized (putting just that file in custom_assets) I've just never bothered to try. It's well worth it to play with the XML files, you can find guides all over the place on this forum.

Have fun modding!

 

[Manco Capac]

Oh and btw, this is not the place for modding questions...although surprisingly for simple basic questions, you'll have a faster answer than in the mod subforum.

A trick (which turns out not really be a trick but just a fact for ordering your modding) is to copy/paste the desired file for modding and add at the end as pseudo extension .old. Both files will possess the same name, but will coexist that way and once you want to retrieve the base XML file, you just have to rename the new file with a new invented extension and substract the .old.

 

[mir092]

No, you just have to edit a game file (which is ridiculously easy once you get used to XML) and you shouldn't edit the main game file, so you have to make a mod for that one change. Although, I don't see why it couldn't be modularized (putting just that file in custom_assets) I've just never bothered to try. It's well worth it to play with the XML files, you can find guides all over the place on this forum.

Have fun modding!

I am currently watching a guide on adding a leader and civ, I just wanted to customize what he said.
thanks for the help

 

[Freeven]

I'm rather new to Civ4. I just won my first victory on Monarch, and I'm not sure why.

I started on an island with just me and Frederick. I've never done well with this kind of start. By the time I meet the other civs I'm so far behind that I can't compete. I did my best to avoid wars and to concentrate on my economy, in hopes of being able to stay close enough to make a move through tech trading and diplomacy when the other civs came a-knocking. Is this a reasonable approach to this situation?

In any case, by the time I met the folks on the mainland, I was still too far behind to make a run at them. I took a feeble shot at a space victory, but Brenus launched his own ship just about the time I completed the Apollo project. Oh well, "foiled again," said I.

As I clicked through the final 10 turns to give him his victory, a UN vote came up. Catherine (whom everyone hated) and I were the only ones on the ballot. I was reasonably well liked by the rest of the civs, even though I was a distant fourth in score, way behind in econ and military, etc. But since she was the only other candidate, I was able to win a landslide diplomatic victory and snatch a win from the jaws of defeat.

My question is why? Why were she and I the only ones on the ballot? There had been previous apostolic and, I think, UN votes, and Brenus had won them all handily. Why weren't he, Justinian, and the others on the ballot? I'm happy for the unexpected victory, but I'd like to know how I fell into it.

 

[UnforcedError]

@Freeven:

Congrats on your win, even if it was mostly luck

Only two civs can be eligible UN candidates at a given time. Did you build the UN or was it Catherine? The fact that Brennus had been AP resident throughout the game is a totally different matter. This means he had majority population in the religion the AP was built in and was probably more liked by the other AIs than his opponent. Or maybe he built the AP himself and was the only one to run the AP religion. UN however depends on your total population. And you probably won because you accepted demands from the AIs, maybe you ran the same religion and had also positive hidden modifiers because you were behind in the game.

It's difficult to comment on a game without seeing it. Do you still have some of your saves? In that case I'd recommend to open a separate thread in the Strategy and Tips forum for it, just to get some more specific advice from multiple players. Or, you might want to roll up another random start on Monarch and start a thread with the starting save if you want to get more general advice for your future games. Getting hopelessly behind on techs on Monarch is certainly something that can be improved on quite easily.