REQUESTING HELP: Adding civs to Warlords

[Flamegrape]

UPDATE: THIS PROBLEM IS SOLVED. Read below for my solution.

I'm trying to add one civ to Civ4 Warlords. I had quite a bit of experience modding Civ3 but I'm still learning how to mod Civ4. I followed the tutorial at Civ4Wiki very closely but it still crashes. I've checked and rechecked all the XML files and I don't see anything missing or misspelled.

Are there any other threads about adding civs to Civ4 Warlords? In my searching I haven't found any information addressing this particular issue. I'm suspecting that I'm doing something wrong with the civ-specific Building. Has that been a problem for other people?

Would it help if I posted my mod for download? It's very small because all it does is add one civ. It does not "re-skin" a leaderhead. It just uses a picture for the leaderhead. For a UU, it's just a Warrior with no new artwork. For the Building, it's just a radio tower.

I'm stumped.

(EDIT: I removed the zip file that I attached with the intention of replacing it with a newer version. But it seems this forum won't let me attach zip files anymore.)

 

[Gunner]

How does it crash? Is there any message?

 

[Flamegrape]

How does it crash? Is there any message?

I am able to load the mod and I am able to go through the menu screens to select options for a typical game. I am not using a custom-made map. I can see my civilization tribe in the menu list. The picture of my leaderhead works just fine.

When I launch the game and it starts to generate the map and place the starting units, the game crashes. This is the message that I get:

Sid Meier's Civilization 4 : Warlords has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
If you were in the middle of something, the information you were working on might be lost.

Please tell Microsoft about this problem.
We have created an error report that you can send to us. We will treat this report as confidential and anonymous.

To see what data this error report contains, click here.

When I "click there," I get this message:

Error signature
AppName: civ4warlords.exe AppVer: 2.0.0.0 ModName: cvgamecoredll.dll
ModVer: 0.0.0.0 Offset: 0009b8b0

Reporting details
[Yadda-yadda-yadda... I'm not going to copy down the long disclaimer]

To view technical information about the error report, click here.

Should I copy and paste the machine language code from the technical information about the error report?

 

[HourlyDaily]

Short checklist;
You need to have the correct amount of leaders defined in the DLL file. Do you have a modified .DLL for 19 civs (assuming you haven't taken one out and you want 19) You will need the Civ also defined in your Civdefines.xml (I think it is called.)

You will also need to make sure those civilizations are defined in notepad editing of your scenario map file. You'll need starting location co-ordinates. Follow the advice in Dale's thread and also take a look at Rhye's world map with modifed 24 civs to see how additional civs can be added.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179317

I'm pretty sure that people aren't aware of the nature of your problem because you may not have described the actual elements that are causing the crash.

 

[Flamegrape]

Short checklist;
You need to have the correct amount of leaders defined in the DLL file. Do you have a modified .DLL for 19 civs (assuming you haven't taken one out and you want 19) You will need the Civ also defined in your Civdefines.xml (I think it is called.)

You will also need to make sure those civilizations are defined in notepad editing of your scenario map file. You'll need starting location co-ordinates. Follow the advice in Dale's thread and also take a look at Rhye's world map with modifed 24 civs to see how additional civs can be added.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179317

I'm pretty sure that people aren't aware of the nature of your problem because you may not have described the actual elements that are causing the crash.

I'm not trying to have more than 18 civs in the game. I'm not using a scenario map. I'm merely trying to add an additional civ that can be chosen from the list. Amra's Byzantium v2.0 mod, for example, does not use a modified .dll file.

My problem is not that my civilization does not appear in a scenario map. I am not using a scenario map. (Sorry. I thought I had made that clear.)

I will look for a "Civdefines.xml" file. Are you talking about the CIV4CivilizationInfos.xml file? As I said, I carefully followed the instructions given in the tutorial at Civ4Wiki. But that tutorial has not been updated for Warlords.

I can load my mod. I can see my leaderhead. I can choose my settings for a randomly-generated map. But when I attempt to start the game, I received the error that I described above. I don't know how I can be more precise with the description of my error messages.

(EDIT: I am currently studying Amra's Byzantium v2.0 mod to see if there is something I missed. Perhaps this will provide a solution to my problem.)

 

[Flamegrape]

I do not know what I am doing wrong. I've examined the Byzantine mod and compared XML changes. Everything looks okay.

The only thing that I can think that might be wrong are the unit, building, and flag decal. For the unit, I'm just referencing the existing Warrior unit graphics. Same thing for the building, which uses the Broadcast Tower building graphics. And unless there's something wrong with my flag decal, I can't think of what else might be wrong with my mod.

 

[jojoweb]

hum if i could see your xml files, i would be able to help you ^^

 

[Flamegrape]

hum if i could see your xml files, i would be able to help you ^^

I would love to be able to post them but I can't attach zip files to forum messages anymore.

Following the example of the Byzantine mod, I've put together all my XML changes into one file. That's attached to this post.

My best guess is that it's some sort of problem related to the Unique Unit or the Unique Building.

My civilization is the SubGenius. The Unique Unit is the Yeti which I intend to use as a replacement for the Warrior. Because I don't have a unit that looks like an abominable snowman, I'll just use the Warrior artwork.

Here is my XML code for my CIV4ArtDefines_Unit.xml:

		<UnitArtInfo>
			<Type>ART_DEF_UNIT_YETI</Type>
			<fScale>0.44</fScale>
			<fInterfaceScale>1.0</fInterfaceScale>
			<NIF>Art/Units/Warrior/Warrior.nif</NIF>
			<KFM>Art/Units/Warrior/Warrior.kfm</KFM>
			<SHADERNIF>Art/Units/Warrior/Warrior_FX.nif</SHADERNIF>
			<ShadowDef>
				<ShadowNIF>Art/Units/01_UnitShadows/UnitShadow.nif</ShadowNIF>
				<ShadowAttachNode>BIP Pelvis</ShadowAttachNode>
				<fShadowScale>1.0</fShadowScale>
			</ShadowDef>
			<fBattleDistance>0.35</fBattleDistance>
			<fRangedDeathTime>0.31</fRangedDeathTime>
			<bActAsRanged>0</bActAsRanged>
			<TrainSound>AS2D_UNIT_BUILD_UNIT</TrainSound>
			<AudioRunSounds>
				<AudioRunTypeLoop/>
				<AudioRunTypeEnd/>
			</AudioRunSounds>
		</UnitArtInfo>

It's the exact same graphics reference as the Warrior unit given in the Warlords CIV4ArtDefines_Unit.xml.

 

[jojoweb]

Have modify the terrain, bonuses or features ?

 

[Flamegrape]

Have modify the terrain, bonuses or features ?

Nope.


I figured out what was wrong. It was a reference in the CIV4CivilizationInfos.xml file. I had written TXT_KEY_CIV_SubGenius_PEDIA when it should have been TXT_KEY_CIV_SUBGENIUS_PEDIA. The lesson? Everything is case-sensitive!


Yes, I know. It's a dumb mistake. And it took me an entire day to notice it. But that's how lessons are learned.

I do have some good advice for people having the same problem. Check the Civilopedia in the main menu. See if your new units, buildings, civlizations, etc. are showing up properly. It finally occured to me that I could check the Civilopedia outside the game. It was then that I noticed that the listing for my new civilization was not there! I debugged it and the problem was solved.

Now that the game works, I have to figure out why my flag decal isn't showing up right.

 

[Flamegrape]

I've just about figured out everything I wanted to do in my little mod. I think I'll spend a little time polishing it up. Then I'll submit it to File Database.

I want to thank everyone who helped me. I appreciate it very much.

 

[HourlyDaily]

If your flag decal is white - there are threads on this around the site.