Who does still care about Civ4Col modding? [SMALLTALK]

Are Civ4Col and its mods still interesting to you?

  • I really do not care about this game and its mods anymore.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    90
Whenever I play a game I tend to either use or make my own mods or tweaks as to fit my liking. I do vary what I play, so I may be very active a few months and then be gone for half a year. I like immersive navies very much, so that's what I'm messing with right now.
 
I grew up in both North America and South America. The entire continent and its history fascinates me beyond anything else in this world. Colonization and its predecessors are the only game in its genre that captures the feelings of this most important time period. I started playing the Civ4 version. Later on I found out about TAC. I was satisfied with Vanilla, so you can imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled upon the amazing work put forth to improve the base game. I had read about Religion and Revolutions, but couldn't find the page. Thankfully I managed to make it here and have been playing We The People every since.

I have visited the forum every now and again to check for updates. I finally buckled in and created an account, so I can contribute in some way or form. Never modified anything official before, but I am no stranger to codes and modifying texts for personal purposes. The best skills I can offer are my writing and Bilingual status. I can Fluently write and speak in English and Spanish. I am quite impressed with the work put forth on the Spanish my favorite faction. !Si puedo apollar de cualquiere forma, me advisan! translation: If I can help in anyway, please let me know! :goodjob:
 
Just popping in to say that I regularly play your We The People mod, but hardly ever visit the forum - this must be my second post in a decade at CivFanatics forums! [Edit - correction: apparently I joined in 2008, so closer to 13 years, and have posted 12 times!]

I think I've started playing Colonization in 2017 and soon after tried a mod (it might have been Religion and Revolution, but I can't recall).
Somewhere down the road I checked the forums and 'upgraded' to We The People. I'm not sure what version I'm currently playing but apparently I should upgrade, as I see threads about implemented features that I don't recognize.

Anyway. I suck at the game. But I do enjoy playing it.

Thanks for the great work - I'll see about upgrading version now :)
 
I am quite impressed with the work put forth on the Spanish my favorite faction. !Si puedo apollar de cualquiere forma, me advisan! translation: If I can help in anyway, please let me know!

On Discord in WTP you can check # translations. Magnus was working on a Spanish translation but I don't know how far that's gotten.

We also have a thread on this forum: Grammar, Style and the Colopedia.

I'm doing a review so that the English text includes German and French additions. For the Colopedia, Game Concepts is done. Achievements is complete. I hope to finish Units today.

The trick is avoiding the situation where I download a text document, work on it for a week and commit it. Now imagine that during that week you take the same document, translate it into Spanish and do your upload. The new entry would erase what I did. It's easy to see that coordination can protect a lot of work. Later it will be a word here and there, but right now each document is a fairly big job.

That said, the more accessible this is, the better. I know a lot of people in the world speak Spanish.
 
@team and supporters:

Since I was "out of business" for a while, I kind of lost overview of active modders and supporters in the community.

I gladly noticed that most of the WTP team is still around. :)
I also noticed that there are a few new modders around. :thumbsup:
There have e.g. been

1. a new WTP mod-mod by @Vaeringjar
2. several commits to internal WTP branches considering translations by @Fürstbischof and @Kendon
3. several commits to internal WTP branches by another GitHub user that I currently can not match to a CivFanatics forum user
4. some programmers that contacted @Nightinggale and offered to support (e.g. with the "MapScript for Large Rivers")

I also however noticed that some old modders and supporters that were active a few months ago have become really silent lately. :(
(Not posting their names here because nobody is obliged to justify himself for taking a break.)

-------

Summary:

It would be nice if every modder and supporter who is still around and generally still interested in Civ4Col modding could post here again. :thumbsup:
It is also completely fine if you are currently taking a break, do not worry.
This is no call to arms, this is just about "saying Hi" again.

Let us simply stay in contact and see what the future brings. :grouphug:
 
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@team and supporters:

Since I was "out of business" for a while, I kind of lost overview of active modders and supporters in the community.

I gladly noticed that most of the WTP team is still around. :)
I also noticed that there are a few new modders around. :thumbsup:
There have e.g. been

1. a new WTP mod-mod by @Vaeringjar
2. several commits to internal WTP branches considering translations by @Fürstbischof and @Kendon
3. several commits to internal WTP branches by another GitHub user that I currently can not match to a CivFanatics forum user
4. some programmers that contacted @Nightinggale and offered to support (e.g. with the "MapScript for Large Rivers")

I also however noticed that some old modders and supporters that were active a few months ago have become really silent lately. :(
(Not posting their names here because nobody is obliged to justify himself for taking a break.)

-------

Summary:

It would be nice if every modder and supporter who is still around and generally still interested in Civ4Col modding could post here again. :thumbsup:
It is also completely fine if you are currently taking a break, do not worry.
This is no call to arms, this is just about "saying Hi" again.

Let us simply stay in contact and see what the future brings. :grouphug:
Hi Ray,

Sorry to hear about your physical ailment.

I'm here making good progress on my LbD submod. It really does get quite addicting once the code becomes more second nature. Not sure how you ever stop. Might need to go to whatever the modder's anonymous meetings you have attended to get off this stuff.

On the other hand, I think you should try it again... just try a little. It's FUN :D
 
Hope I not hijack the topic with it. :confused:

It is about the title:
"Who does still care about Civ4Col modding?"

Became interested again by a coincidence when some weeks ago find out RAR 2.7 was not the end.
Prefer offline by base.
Even come out from the shadow and registered to the forum for the first time.

But to properly do modding - which includes the new possibilities:
Wish to collect all the XML references (what they do) and probably some new modding tutorials - which is up to date AND specialized for the modded version of civ4col.

There are old ones which are either about:
1. Civ4 core game
The problem: there are many differences even between civ4 and civ4col.

2. Directly civ4col -> BUT massively outdated (even in best times there was just a few)
Especially meaning those DO NOT explains new stuff which come with TAC, RAR, WTP.
In best scenario partly usable: where can find the ones which was already present in earlier versions (vanilla mostly) and still scattered around

So for example:
Instead of this:
http://modiki.civfanatics.com/index.php?title=GlobalDefines
A different one which includes only the ones which are actually in civ4col WTP 2.9 - but includes them all (and explains what they exactly do).

The same for all XML files.
Because many different from civ4 or probably all modified/ expanded since civ4col 1.0.

There are much new stuff since 1.0, and most of it not explained in details.

That can be a begining.
More complex things/ de facto modding tutorials/ manuals... later probably.
 
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It is about the title:
"Who does still care about Civ4Col modding?"
That is perfectly fine. :)

The thread should allow all modders to get in contact. :thumbsup:
And also to find people that may have interest in common projects or cooperations.

Simply do not use this thread for discussing feature ideas or new mod-mod ideas in detail. :thumbsup:
(Those should really get their own thread.)

Became interested again by a coincidence when some weeks ago find out RAR 2.7 was not the end.
Yeah a lot of people had not noticed that. :)


It is mostly thanks to @Nightinggale and @devolution that WTP exists and more or less continued RaR. :hug:
(Later old RaR members like me or @Schmiddie and also new modders joined in again.)


Wish to collect all the XML references (what they do) and probably some new modding tutorials - which is up to date AND specialized for the modded version of civ4col.
...
Especially meaning those DO NOT explains new stuff which come with TAC, RAR, WTP.
Sounds good. If there are any issues with understanding a specific XML tag just ask the team. :thumbsup:
(Since I have been with this mod since the first days I should still know almost all XML tags but other team members do as well.)


------

It will need some time to collect and document all the things done in 13 years of TAC, RaR and WTP.
It is possible though and experienced WTP team members - that really understand the impacts of the XMlL attributes - are around to answer the specific questions.

Please however do not expect us - the WTP team - to spend weeks of effort for writing documentation. :undecide:
We will support but if community really wants such a documentation it needs to invest most of the effort itself. :thumbsup:

------

Summary:

Sounds like a good initiative. :thumbsup:
If community is serious about this, we will support it.

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To create or collect this XML documentation please create a new thread though. :thumbsup:
(E.g. "Civ4Col or WTP XML reference" or whatever you want to call it. :))
 
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Not sure how you ever stop. Might need to go to whatever the modder's anonymous meetings you have attended to get off this stuff.
For modders like me, modding is either "Heaven" or "Hell" - very little in between.
And yes, it is similar to a kind of addiction sometimes ...

When things go good and we really achieve progress:
I see this great shiny golden vision for the mod before my eyes and I see that every small improvement and feature brings me closer to it.
I see that team works together and we share the same vision and I feel that we can actually make it come true ...

When things go bad and it gets tedious:
Then it simply becomes extremely frustrating to see all the potential the mod has and so little time to make it come true ...
I can then not really see anymore how great it already is - I just see how "tiny and imperfect" it is compared to my future vision for it ...
 
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I can then not really see anymore how great it already is - I just see how "tiny and imperfect" it is compared to my future vision for it ...

For me this is constant for cc. 20 years at nearly all games. :crazyeye:
Reasons are usually 2 word/ need: programmer or graphic. :lol:
 
(Sorry if it's a double post: connection's wonky, I don't know what the result is on forum posts)
For me, it's a bit of history and nostalgia and just a general personal growth thing.

Civ4: Colonization was one of, if not the, first game I played on pc, and certainly the first strategy game, period (Pokémon doesn't count). We got it from a package deal with a magazine back in the day, I still have the disk. The other two games were a Prince of Persia game (the one where you team up with a princess and have to cleanse the land) and a Tom Clancy Splinter Cell game, which I never even installed.

Anyway, Colonization never really worked for me, because I was kinda bad at it and hardware issues always got in the way. I did manage to play TAC for a time, and I cleared one level of the Werewolves mod before hardware issues again reared its ugly head. This is after I got the game on Steam for dirt cheap. I've since played other games, most of the time they've been deckbuilder roguelites, but my Steam library expanded.

Why return to Colonization, though? Because it scratches an itch, and specifically because in a few respects it's the sort of game I'd want to make. And that sort, very specifically, is a 'Swords to Plowshares' simulator. Colonization is unique in strategy games in the sense that the units you use to fight and the units you use to farm are one in the same. In games like Starcraft, your drones don't join the fight. In Colonization, you have to be able to make the switch from peace to war, and you're using the same units in both cases. That appeals to me. I'm very much a 'numbers go up, brains release feel-good juice' type of guy, but a game centered around that risks becoming stale. In Colonization, you have the risk of war that forces you to pay attention to your surroundings. Hey, the natives are getting restless, better make that Master Weaver a soldier and shore up your defenses. Nice food supply with Fishing Boats you got there, shame you can't defend it from Privateers. I'm still learning how to play the WtP mod properly (died about four times the other day to terminal case of 'not ready for war' and 'too slow to expand') but the Colopedia helps a lot in that regard. You have to make decisions on which units you'll send to war and which ones are more useful in peacetime professions. You have to see a unit, see its value, and then decide whether its intended purpose and its actual purpose will serve you equally. You also have to switch from economy to war machine, and do so in time.

The mods have increased this feel, not so much the interchangeability of units from peace to war but certainly adding depth to otherwise niche units. When I see that my Master Cabinetmaker also has a bonus to making hammers, that opens up different plans early game. The presence of Master Hunters makes the otherwise deadly Tundra tiles viable, and all the different terrain improvements make you think about what you want to produce. Mods give you more of the sensation that your circumstances influence your decisions, and that correct decisions matter. If you start in an arctic forest, you get hunters and build up with that. If you have a desert, you can exploit it economically with salt first and move to tool production later. There's a sense of purpose to things, not just the filler or downright bad plots you might get in the base game. This sense of purpose is all good design, and it's also a good inspiration for worldbuilding, in terms of writing stories. The Colopedia is a nice and accessible way to get information on things that might be generally applicable in storywriting (tanners being on the edge of towns, for example, that's a nice detail to know for, say, a D&D campaign).

There is one other game that does the Swords and Plowshares thing, sort of, and that's Thea: The Awakening. In that one, you have to arm up your gatherers so they can fight alongside warriors on an expedition. However, that game has no city- or nation-building elements to it, and the resource gathering system is a real timesink.
 
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I grew up playing first consoles and old PC games. Through trial and error I even managed to "master" Civ 1 and Col 1 (not a native english speaker and at that time I was only starting to study it). I loved both of those games. Civ III was fantastic and that game stayed with me for years. Then the fourth one came out and it became a habit to play all night. One... more... turn... :mischief:
Even though I gradually stopped playing videogames, (the main reason being not having a proper gaming PC - or so I thought), I still kept playing Civ IV and it`s mods from time to time.
I`m 35 now and last year I finally decided to buy a new decent gaming PC to try out some of those games I haven`t had a chance to play INCLUDING Civ V and VI. And I must say... they suck. They both feel somehow wrong, like the eras just rush past you. Get two knights ready and it`s already time to upgrade your pikemen to musketmen etc. With Civ IV (especially true with mods ofc) you have the time and depth to plan and play every era like a game of it`s own. And the same goes to most other games. Fu*k graphics! Turns out for me, modded Civ IV and We The People are the only games I need!

I have no insight into modding myself but I appreciate the work people put into this. I hope there are enough enthusiasts out there that it never dies, or maybe Civ 7 code would be open enough that it would actually support complex mods. Wouldn´t that be something :scan:
 
So here I am again asking: Who does still care about Civ4Col modding?
Every 6 months or so I try to figure out how many of us (in terms of community and modders) are still around.

---

Silence
Spoiler :

It has become pretty silent actually in this forum and also internally in Slack - there is simply nothing to really discuss about.
Our discord server seems to have a bit more discussions, but it is mostly new players asking for advice on game mechanics.

One reason for this that none of us really want to discuss new ideas of community, since our work queue is overflowing already with our own stuff.
The other reason is that there is basically no public modding happening in Civ4Col community outside what we already consider WTP team.

So there has evolved a strange borderline of "people that contribute but don`t talk" and "people that talk but don`t contribute".
Even internally we kind of just work on our own stuff without really knowing what the others do ... and strangely enough that is also kind of working.

I personally also do not feel the need anymore to discuss with community about my feature concepts - I actually feel it is just wasting my time instead of actually modding.
Thus I much more prefer to invest my time into actual implementation creating results, giving some progress reports in public forums and letting team members test.

Team members or partners sometimes just disappear for several months without any annoucement or any short check in to say "I am still alive.".
So any reliable planning or even status update to adjust the planning is completely futile - most of the time nobody actually really knows that the others do.

I e.g. had started to develop good relationships with some Civ4BTS modders end of last year, creating great graphics together to be used in both Civ4BTS and Civ4Col.
But suddenly ... several of them were just gone ... all tries to contact them stay without reaction since almost half a year ... thus not knowing if they might ever return.


---

Hope and Believe
Spoiler :

A few of us modders are still around and still working on various branches - which we hopefully may merge again and publish at some point.
From time to time one of us pops up and says: "Hey I have implemented something great." and sometimes even people are around to say "Wow, that is awesome."

Reliable signs of the mod being alive is commit messages in our branches from time to time - creating a bit of believe that we may actually have a release again.
Whenever I see such commit messages in our branches I think to myself "Hey, maybe you should also do something again."

To be honest, there are times when I lose the believe that this mod project might still "succeed" - then I usually also stop modding for months.
But when I see people showing up and working again I also feel some wind of hope which fans my small flame of motivation.

Currently there is a bit of that wind of hope again and thus helps myself to believe my work still has a purpose because it may one day be released.
There are still a few names in WTP modding that I feel can still be relied on and that they will eventually show up again and continue modding.

We have developed so much great content and so many great fixes and improvements the last 1,5 years that it would be a crime not to finish and publish it.
One day being able to actually play with that stuff and enjoy the rewards of our hard work is thus a major factor to stay motivated and keep modding.

---

Fun and Chores
Spoiler :

There is of course a bit of fun in terms of e.g. feeling of success from time to time, when we finished one of the new features or a great improvement.
And yes there is also fun from time to time, when we have a nice personal discussion with other team members or work on a feature or fix together.

On the other hand a lot of the time it feels like tedious chores when e.g. working on boring XML balancing or analyzing bugs reports of bugs already fixed internally.
But somebody needs to do these boring tasks for and if nobody else is motivated to do these chores, sometimes it needs to be ourselves to take responsibility.

Modding is of a constant battle with your own laziness and there are lots of tasks that simply are not fun and nobody wants to do.
It is most of the time the same people doing the tedious work actually - and when they are not around the mod seems to come to almost full stop.

I fully understand why people take a break for months or quit completely.
Been at that point myself already several times and might be there again at some point.

All of that is normal though and part of modding reality.
Sometimes it is a bit more fun, sometimes you feel like giving up.

---

Summary:

The mod is still alive and there is progress from time to time - even if there is not much forum activity.
Each commit we get a bit closer to the finish line of a new release - even if not all of it is visible in the forum.

If I would say "The mod is doing great. Everything is perfect." I would be lying though.
Things are not easy currently but there are still people that are able to carry it through.

Some new skilled and motivated modders - taking away some pressure from the current team - would help us a lot.
Of course also old team members returning would be great because that would allow us to better distribute responsibility.

---

Last but not least:

Thanks to the people that have not given up on this project and keep investing their time and effort. :grouphug:
And to those who left ... you have not been forgotten. You have our eternal grattitude for everything you did for this project.
 
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Did some modding on this on R&R but have been busy with "real life" for about 5-7 years. Now that things are more stable and have free time on weekends, plan to start playing WTP. Let's see if I get some mod ideas after playing for a few 100 hours :)
 
Still not playing WeThePeople, because I am waiting for the new release.
Still checking the forum every few days.
Still in good hopes as always.
Nice evening to everyone.
 
Still not playing WeThePeople, because I am waiting for the new release.
Still checking the forum every few days.
Still in good hopes as always.
Nice evening to everyone.
We are absolutly on same boat, my family with 2 older kids playing the game we saw this mod came up,but last few weeks we not able start new game,as when we want,kids ask is there any new update in our favorite mod, when say no,we often play civ boardgame then.. but so I have a couple times in week a "must" work tell the family when big news, = update is out :D, so still actively watching :). Anyway thanks for this amazing mod, I know it s not a easy job,but when I did read this post,I felt it s right to say it..
 
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