settler and worker icons screwed up in building menu

[MetalChild]

i've got a problem and i'm certainly not the first one, but i just couldn't find a thread addressing this...

i added several units (three) to the game, no problem with that, and accordingly edited the units_32.pcx - adding the appropriate unit icons as the last three ones, that is. i also assigned those icons as the units' icons in the editor, but now in the later game, when settler and worker icons change, in the build menu (city screen) there's the icons of my last two custom units for them instead.

this is weird. since those settler and worker icons for later games are the last two of the original units_32.pcx, i assume it uses the last two icon IDs set in the editor? but where ARE they set, since the icons of the settler and the worker units are 0 and 1, respectively. and how can i avoid this?

anyone help me please. many thanks in advance!

 

[Dark Sheer]

Originally posted by MetalChild
i've got a problem and i'm certainly not the first one, but i just couldn't find a thread addressing this...

i added several units (three) to the game, no problem with that, and accordingly edited the units_32.pcx - adding the appropriate unit icons as the last three ones, that is. i also assigned those icons as the units' icons in the editor, but now in the later game, when settler and worker icons change, in the build menu (city screen) there's the icons of my last two custom units for them instead.

this is weird. since those settler and worker icons for later games are the last two of the original units_32.pcx, i assume it uses the last two icon IDs set in the editor? but where ARE they set, since the icons of the settler and the worker units are 0 and 1, respectively. and how can i avoid this?

anyone help me please. many thanks in advance!

Actually, you cannot change the position of the last 8 icons. They must always remain as the last 8. Any new icon added must be inserted after privateer (which is position 9 counting from the back).

 

[MetalChild]

ah, alright, got it! thank you, dark sheer!

but i still wonder how the game manages to determine which ones are the last 8. i mean, it doesn't check all the "cells" in units_32.pcx backwards to get which one's the last one with something in there, and then counting back 8 - or does it?!

 

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by MetalChild
ah, alright, got it! thank you, dark sheer!

but i still wonder how the game manages to determine which ones are the last 8. i mean, it doesn't check all the "cells" in units_32.pcx backwards to get which one's the last one with something in there, and then counting back 8 - or does it?!

No, it starts ERA specific icons at the icon with the number of units.

 

[egosumcarlo]

Hello!

Sorry if this question sounds stupid.

I can't open my units_32.pcx through Adobe Photoshop so I cant get the answer to my question by doing the checking myself. What happens if I use a modpack that adds a new unit with a totally different icon and I fail to move the last 8 units in the units_32.pcx as prescribed by Dark Sheer and the other CIV3 wizards? Currently am in the Industrial Age in a MOD with a number of new units and the Build/Queue Icons for the settler and the worker does not display at all. It's just blank.

Meanwhile, I also have a game using the Huge World Scenario that ships with the game. I am in the Modern Age in that game and the Build/Queue icons for the settler and worker show up alright.

What happens if I fail to move the last 8 icons in the units_32.pcx when I add a new unit or use a mod that's using a new unit. Does one of the default last eight gets pasted on and replaced or does the new unit icons get pasted after the default last 8 and thus becoming one of the last eight? Is there a way to correct the problem and make the settler and worker icons appear in the Build/Queue menu again or have they been replaced permanently. Would you know if once I get to the modern age, more unit icons wont show up in the Build box? I cant open my units_32.pcx so I cant see for myself. Please help...... Thanks.

 

[Gramphos]

If you add at least eight units, you can create a replacement PCX that will work with both your mod and the original (ny leaving them as is, and adding copies of them at the #units, and adding icons for 8 units after the one you add.)

 

[egosumcarlo]

Can you say that in English? Sorry

 

[egosumcarlo]

Hello!

Sorry if this question sounds stupid.

I can't open my units_32.pcx through Adobe Photoshop so I cant get the answer to my question by doing the checking myself. What happens if I use a modpack that adds a new unit with a totally different icon and I fail to move the last 8 units in the units_32.pcx as prescribed by Dark Sheer and the other CIV3 wizards? Currently am in the Industrial Age in a MOD with a number of new units and the Build/Queue Icons for the settler and the worker does not display at all. It's just blank.

Meanwhile, I also have a game using the Huge World Scenario that ships with the game. I am in the Modern Age in that game and the Build/Queue icons for the settler and worker show up alright.

What happens if I fail to move the last 8 icons in the units_32.pcx when I add a new unit or use a mod that's using a new unit. Does one of the default last eight gets pasted on and replaced or does the new unit icons get pasted after the default last 8 and thus becoming one of the last eight? Is there a way to correct the problem and make the settler and worker icons appear in the Build/Queue menu again or have they been replaced permanently. Would you know if once I get to the modern age, more unit icons wont show up in the Build box? I cant open my units_32.pcx so I cant see for myself. Please help...... Thanks.

 

[Dark Sheer]

Basically the game will assume that the last 8 icons remain unchange. So, if you put the new icons for new units behind the last 8 icons, they will still show up in the game. However, all the build que icons and the city garrison icons for the last 8 units icons will get screwed up.

The last 8 must always be:
Leader Middle Age
Leader Industrial Age
Leader Modern
Army Middle Age
Army Industrial Age
Army Modern
Worker Modern
Settler Modern

So if your last 8 are not those then the game will just grab whatever icons at the last 8 position when it wants to display those 8. Also, if you did not add new icons for new units (meaning you are using back the old ones), the game will still assume that new icons are added and move the last 8 position accordingly. Thats why sometimes your build que icons can become blank.

Hope that helps.

 

[egosumcarlo]

I see what you mean now.

Thanks Gramphos and Dark Sheer!

 

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by Dark Sheer
Basically the game will assume that the last 8 icons remain unchange. So, if you put the new icons for new units behind the last 8 icons, they will still show up in the game. However, all the build que icons and the city garrison icons for the last 8 units icons will get screwed up.

Not true. The game does not know whether you draw something bore in the boxes after those 8 or not. It is the 8 Icons beginning with index = number of units that must stay. And I think that is as long as you don't add oyur own era specific art, but I've not got around to test how the game handles the later more then on the directory level.

 

[egosumcarlo]

So Gramphos, does that mean that if we leave the units_32.pcx untouched we should not have any problems with the settler and worker icons in the build queue?

Secondly, does the units_32.pcx affect anything else aside from the icons in the Build box?

Thirdly, we have to edit the units_32.pcx manually right? We have to move the icons around by cut and paste or do we have a tool that does this updating of the units_32.pcx automatically? Do we have mods that automatically update the file?

 

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by egosumcarlo
So Gramphos, does that mean that if we leave the units_32.pcx untouched we should not have any problems with the settler and worker icons in the build queue?

No, it does not. If you add one unit the number of units increase by one, and so do the first era specific icon. What I try to get out is that if you add more then 8 units you should leave the begining of the file as is, and copy the eraspecific icons to the new end. And add 8 of your new icons (if you have one for each unit) after the era specific ones.

Secondly, does the units_32.pcx affect anything else aside from the icons in the Build box?

AFAIK, no

Thirdly, we have to edit the units_32.pcx manually right? We have to move the icons around by cut and paste or do we have a tool that does this updating of the units_32.pcx automatically? Do we have mods that automatically update the file?

Yes it is manual editing of that file.

 

[Kal-el]

Originally Posted by Gramphos
If you add one unit the number of units increase by one, and so do the first era specific icon. What I try to get out is that if you add more then 8 units you should leave the begining of the file as is, and copy the eraspecific icons to the new end. And add 8 of your new icons (if you have one for each unit) after the era specific ones.

I don't follow. Could you post a pic of what you are talking about? Thanks.:crazyeyes

 

[TedG]

Whenever you add any units to the game, you must edit units_32.pcx to get the settler/worker icons to appear correctly in the industrial and modern eras, even if your new unit re-uses an existing icon in the file. For example, if you add the Spec Ops Team and you use the existing paratrooper icon, you must copy the paratrooper icon and paste it in between the privateer and the last eight icons, then use the editor and adjust the icon so it uses the copied paratrooper icon. Unfortunately, this requires moving all of those last eight icons over to make room for pasting other icons in between. After I did this for all of the units I added, the settler and worker icons displayed correctly.

 

[egosumcarlo]

I did a somewhat similar fix that TedG did after being advised by Dark Sheer.

I moved the last 8 icons,the ones for the era-specific units, by the number of new units used by the mod. However, since those new units used already existing unit icons, I did NOT have to paste anything in the 2 tiles left blank by moving the era-specific icons. And this enabled the build/queue icons to show up for those new units and the settler and worker units.

However, there is another question. Am not sure if I'm just being paranoid in having had to tinker with the units_32.pcx but I just have to ask. In the window that pops up in the main screen (with the Domestic advisor, I think) whenever a city has finished producing a unit or a building, how large is the icon of the just-finished improvement? Is it just as small as the icons in the drop down combo list in choosing what to produce for the city? or should it be larger? If it is supposed to be larger than the icons in the drop down list, then I think I just made mine smaller.

 

[JeffNebraska]

I think an experience I just had verifies Dark Sheer's theories. I added three units to the game (Crossbowman, Perry Frigate and Gunship), but added four icons to my units_32 because I was planning to add the terrorist as well. Even though I added the four after the privateer, because there were only three new units, but four new icons things got screwed up.

Tonight I will remove the terrorist icon from the file and change the numbers around as necessary and I'm betting everything will be perfect from here on out.

Changing this file and the various assignments won't make my old games unloadable right? Of course I won't be adding or removing any units.

 

[TedG]

egosumcarlo: Yeah, you're right--you only have to move those icons over for the amount of units you add. The only time to paste something in between is if you put a custom icon in there rather than re-using an existing one.

As for the building icons, editing units_32.pcx should not have any effect on the icons that appear when you've just built something. Those icons (I think) are 40 X 40 pixels, which is larger than the unit icons--those are 32 X 32 pixels. The building icons are stored in separate files: art\city screen\buildings-large.pcx and art\city screen\buildings-small.pcx, but I'm not sure which file is used in different places in the game. The civilopedia icons may also have something to do with the domestic advisor pop-up, but I don't think so. Perhaps someone else knows more about which icons are used where. Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer better advice.

 

[TedG]

JeffNebraska: The number of icons (or blank spaces) that you add to the file must correspond to the number of units that you add in the game. Removing the terrorist icon should fix things, and also if you leave the icon there everything will be fine once you actually add the terrorist to the game.

No, changing the file or the number assignments will not make your saved games unloadable. It's when you actually add or delete units from the editor (or change other aspects of the game) that your saved games are invalidated.