Apolyton Archive  |  Preserved copy of the Apolyton Civilization Site and its forums as they stood in September 2005. Read-only; nothing here can be posted to or replied to.  |  Forum index |  About this archive |  The 1998–2001 UBB forums
Today on Apolyton WARDELL INTERVIEW PROMO A.C.S. HISTORY CHAPTER 4 GET CIV4 /w FREE PLUS! A.C.S. PHOTO GALLERY GET A.O.M. V1.1
Apolyton Civilization Forums
main| civ2| civ3| civ4| smac| ctp2| ron| moo3| galciv| galciv2| alt| about|
ApolytonPLUS | register | search | faq | new posts | pm (-/-) | upload | members
hall of fame new! | civgroups | civgroups news | interviews | the column | radio | chat | directory | news | store | PLUS
Apolyton Civilization Forums : Powered by vBulletin version 2.0.3 Apolyton Civilization Forums > Miscellaneous > Archive > Civ3-General-Archive > Firaxis - Editable rules text files: last chance
Show a Printable Version | Email This Page to Someone! | Receive updates to this thread | Report this to Apolyton news!

bottom of page
  
Author
Thread    < Last Thread     Next Thread > Post New Thread     Post A Reply
EnochF is offline EnochF
Prince
Seattle, WA
Jan 1970
time: 21:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 05:47
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#1 Report this post to a moderator
Firaxis - Editable rules text files: last chance Full PM-box? Change here!

Who knows how many more patches will be released before Firaxis and Infogrames finally give up on this product? That's why I think, now, before it's too late, somebody should finally bite the bullet and give us fully modifiable text files that alter the game rules for Civ III. Complete with the ability to add new techs, new units, new improvements and wonders (and governments, which we can already add), and give us the ability to tie them all in with custom user-designed graphics (in standard formats) without crashing the game. Give us the ability to add and edit the Civilopedia entries for everything too.

That's not all I want from Civ III, but it's all I can hope to expect at this point. Either that, or an editor that provides us with these features (but I honestly don't think that's reasonable at this point). And go ahead and throw in as many extra features as you possibly can, things none of us have even thought of yet. I don't know what kind of rabbits you can pull out of your hats, but I know I'll be impressed.

When the final patch comes (and hey, it might be safe to assume every patch you work on is the last patch) I expect these features. If they're implemented, I'll open up Civ III again (which I haven't touched since early November), and I'll work on a very extensive mod. I'll stay up late nights. I'll design and play Civ III extensively. Why? Because I'll have at my disposal all the tools necessary to make the game playable and fun from my point of view. I'll make my dream game piece by piece.

If full customization is never implemented... well, don't expect to sell an expansion pack to me, and I'll just have to try my luck selling my copy of the game on eBay.

EnochF
(who, by the way, gives full credit to the programming team for taking the advice of the Wonders thread I edited for the List and implementing Small Wonders)

Consider this the first draft of an e-mail I'll be sending to Firaxis soon. I'd like to get some reactions, so maybe I can edit it a little before it goes out.

OneInTen is offline OneInTen
Warlord
brisbane.qld.au
Jan 2002
time: 15:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 07:06
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#2 Report this post to a moderator
Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Oh I can just imagine Firaxis receiving this email:

"Oh no, unless we do all these things this poor pooor person won't play Civ anymore. What are we going to do? Quick, lets pull out all stops just for him, because gosh knows we weren't aware that people had asked for these features before. I couldn't live knowing that there's a person out there not playing Civ 3".



It seems when some people heard in primary school that every person is important they took it entirely out of context.

cassembler is offline cassembler
Prince
Loud Cow Productions
Oct 2001
time: 23:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 08:53 Visit cassembler's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#3 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

I think we should give Firaxis a shot. They gave us something that was rushed a bit, and they know that, and I think many guys on that team sincerely like Civ3. They'll work on it.
Have some faith.

I recommend messing with the editor as is. There's still numbers to play with.

[plug] try the Hardcore Strategy Map [/plug]
http://apolyton.net/forums/showthre...&threadid=40135

FrantzX is offline FrantzX
Warlord

May 1999
time: 00:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 09:04
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#4 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

With the editor, you can change a good amount of the game. Considering that you can't add new techs, etc., it has about 50-60% all the features you need. You can downloaded a hacked editor that allows you to add it. * The first patch for Civ III did add new editing capability, although they were not the ones many wanted. It is safe to say the any futures patched will do the same. And frankly, I have had it up to here with editing text files for Civ II and SMAC/X.


*
This point can easily be refuted, because the official editor should have this feature. And you're right. However, I believe that the community making their own apps for a game shows that the community is going to be around for a while. For example, take the Total Annihilation community. Fan have created everything you need the change the game from map editors to unit creation tools. This RTS is about five years old and the fan base is as strong as ever. (With less *******s than Starcraft, too!) For proof, go to http://www.planetannihilation.com/

MarkG is offline MarkG
Grand Lord of Apolyton, Owner of all this land as far as the eye can see

Donate to the Red Cross
Macedonia, Greece
Jan 1970
time: 07:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 13:30 Visit MarkG<br><img src=/forums/images/admin-icon.gif>'s homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#5 Report this post to a moderator
Re: Firaxis - Editable rules text files: last chance Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote:
Originally posted by EnochF
give us fully modifiable text files that alter the game rules for Civ III.
first of all, due to the way things are programmed, i dont see such a thing being possible to be done
second, there has been tons of mods with changed rules, what's stoping you do the same?

The Viceroy is offline The Viceroy
Prince
tu mumbai se, mai Bombay se
Nov 2000
time: 05:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 13:47
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#6 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Well .. it would be nice to make some changes, apart from the minor fact that if you change anything, the game becomes unstable .. I added a single Government extra ... and CIV3 crashed 9 times out of 10 .. had to re-install.

However, don't get me wrong, unlike some, im not crying over this .. Firaxis are no doubt working hard to fix many of the problems, I believe they will in time, but we need a little patience.. Its Ironic, we complain that these companies release stuff too early, and then start screaming for a patch ..

Firaxis, take your time, get it right .. and let those who cry .. wait, cos ultimatly, they will be the same people who praise you when you get it right.

Now I will return to my Diety level games, which are proving to be enough of a challenge to keep me going in the mean time.

Special_Olympic is offline Special_Olympic
Chieftain

Nov 2001
time: 05:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 14:04
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#7 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton

I don't think they can really fix the muddle of code they've gotten into with Civ3.

It'll never happen.

The Viceroy is offline The Viceroy
Prince
tu mumbai se, mai Bombay se
Nov 2000
time: 05:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 14:13
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#8 Report this post to a moderator
Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

quote:

I don't think they can really fix the muddle of code they've gotten into with Civ3.

It'll never happen.


Err have you got the source code ?

It doesn't matter to us if its in a muddle .. as long as it works.. and the code they have written so far does a damn good job .. im confident in there abilities .. its the conceptual errors which concern me, the original ideas that don't work .. there the ones which take a huge amount of effort to implement .. Ie, colonies, stacking units, battle calculations etc.. and thats why I said, let them take there time, and fix it ...

Spatzimaus is offline Spatzimaus
Chieftain

Oct 2001
time: 00:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 14:14
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#9 Report this post to a moderator
Got spare money?

The existing editor lets you do almost everything you want to do. The only things really missing are:

> The ability to add new techs
> The ability to add new units
> The ability to add new buildings

Other than that, it's pretty amazing. In fact, I even came up with a workable interim solution:

Remove the Modern Era!

Really, just toss the thing. Take any units, buildings, and techs, and put them into earlier ages (changing names, stats, etc, into something completely different). That gives you the ability to add 17 new techs, 11 new units, a random assortment of buildings (many of which can be moved into the Industrial as is; rename Mass Transit to be Sewer System, put it at Sanitation, and voila), and so on.

Of course, this removes the Diplomatic and Spaceship victories.

Qilue is offline Qilue
King
Australia
Dec 1999
time: 15:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 18:29
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#10 Report this post to a moderator
Enter the AD-FREE zone

The Viceroy

Perhaps your problem here may be that you failed to apply the 3 basic rules of game modding.

1) Make a backup of any files to be changed.
2) Did you make a backup of those files before you changed them.
3) Check that you made a backup before changing any files.

Then when you f*** something up, you can easily restore the game without having to reinstall.

Text game rules files.

Eww, good riddance. I can only theorize that you have never edited the SMAC rules files and you're basing your desire on the Civ2 rules files.

EnochF is offline EnochF
Prince
Seattle, WA
Jan 1970
time: 21:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 23:00
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#11 Report this post to a moderator
Remove this text

Qilue: You theorize incorrectly.

The rest: Uh... thanks.

EnochF is offline EnochF
Prince
Seattle, WA
Jan 1970
time: 21:17
  Old Post 18-01-2002 23:06
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#12 Report this post to a moderator
Remove this text

quote:
The existing editor lets you do almost everything you want to do. The only things really missing are:
> The ability to add new techs
> The ability to add new units
> The ability to add new buildings
Other than that, it's pretty amazing.


Yes. Well, aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

quote:
first of all, due to the way things are programmed, i dont see such a thing being possible to be done

An editor that gives us all the flexibility of editing a Civ II text file would be acceptable.

quote:
second, there has been tons of mods with changed rules, what's stoping you do the same?

The answer to this one should be obvious: The editor is inadequate. It can't add anything except governments, and it can't link to user-defined graphics. That's what's stopping me.

Plutarck is offline Plutarck
Warlord
Earth
Nov 2001
time: 23:17
  Old Post 19-01-2002 01:06
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#13 Report this post to a moderator
Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

quote:
> The ability to add new techs
> The ability to add new units
> The ability to add new buildings



Um...so, you mean I haven't added 5 technologys, 27 units, and 10 buildings to the LWC Mod, as well as to totally change just about ever other facet of the game? (and in earlier versions I added 3-4 governments, but I haven't overhauled the government system yet and have left them out so far)

Sure, it still crashes in some instances (the Huge maps seem to have the most trouble), but it's now adays just an occassional thing now that I've fixed most (if not all) of the crash bugs I can find.

And comparing the amount of downloads (nearing 1500 on the current version alone) to the amount of complaints (most of those are only occassional crashes, and apparently not enough to not to continue using the mod), apparently the modification options aren't nearly as limited as you think.


Heck, I wrote a whole tutorial on how to do all the additions well over a month ago (I'll be re-writing it one of these days to make it more simple), so the ideas that such things aren't addable is very out-dated.

Not that all things are modifyable to my satisfaction, but seing how as I've spent many, many hours of the last 2-odd months on making Long Winded Changes (LWC), apparently there is plenty of room left to work on the game which so sadly is lacking in lacquer, paint, or polish.

MonsterMan is offline MonsterMan
Warlord
Stockholm, Sweden
May 2001
time: 06:17
  Old Post 19-01-2002 01:50 Visit MonsterMan's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#14 Report this post to a moderator
Civ has the advantage of... Increase Your PM Length

...having only one real competitor; Call to Power. It enjoys the same position as SimCity does. That's one of the reasons Civilization III can have as long shelf-life as Civilization II had. But they do need to implement the features the poster of this thread wanted. Those wishes are nothing extra-ordinary when it comes to customizing games nowadays. Heard of Morrowind? They'll let players create entire 3D worlds, script events, et cetera.

MarkG is offline MarkG
Grand Lord of Apolyton, Owner of all this land as far as the eye can see

Donate to the Red Cross
Macedonia, Greece
Jan 1970
time: 07:17
  Old Post 19-01-2002 01:58 Visit MarkG<br><img src=/forums/images/admin-icon.gif>'s homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#15 Report this post to a moderator
Tired of ads?

quote:
Originally posted by Plutarck
Um...so, you mean I haven't added 5 technologys, 27 units, and 10 buildings to the LWC Mod, as well as to totally change just about ever other facet of the game?
no you havent
you leave in a fantasy world

Special_Olympic is offline Special_Olympic
Chieftain

Nov 2001
time: 05:17
  Old Post 19-01-2002 03:42
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#16 Report this post to a moderator
Got spare money?

quote:
Originally posted by The Viceroy


the conceptual errors which concern me, the original ideas that don't work .. there the ones which take a huge amount of effort to implement .. Ie, colonies, stacking units, battle calculations etc.. and thats why I said, let them take there time, and fix it ...


That's the problem. The conceptual errors are no doubt wrapped up in the code, making it a HUGE job to fix this game. I can tell just from playing the game that some of these things would be very difficult fixes.

I don't think they are up to it.

CapTVK is offline CapTVK
King
Voorburg, the Netherlands, Europe
Jan 1970
time: 05:17
  Old Post 19-01-2002 23:52 Visit CapTVK's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#17 Report this post to a moderator
Get a bigger avatar today!

quote:
Originally posted by The Viceroy

However, don't get me wrong, unlike some, im not crying over this .. Firaxis are no doubt working hard to fix many of the problems, I believe they will in time, but we need a little patience.. Its Ironic, we complain that these companies release stuff too early, and then start screaming for a patch ..

Firaxis, take your time, get it right .. and let those who cry .. wait, cos ultimatly, they will be the same people who praise you when you get it right.



When you no longer can detect if a post was meant as (A)sincere, (B)sarcasm or (C)irony. You know things are NOT okay.


If you really think Firaxis/Infogrames is actually going to release a patch with major updates like proper scenario support and hotseat. Months after the official release. You're only deluding yourself.

Wake up and smell the coffee!

Deathray is offline Deathray
Warlord
High Wycombe
Oct 2001
time: 05:17
  Old Post 20-01-2002 00:27
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#18 Report this post to a moderator
Put an end to popups!

I'm sure we'll get a fully working editor eventually. Hopefully with a minimap so I can see what I'm doing. My only worry is that they might put it in an expansion like with the extended editor features in Conflicts in Civilzation and Fantastic Worlds. Actually, that's not really a worry. If they release an expansion then I'll get it whatever.

Libertarian is offline Libertarian
King

Nov 2001
time: 00:17
  Old Post 20-01-2002 01:12
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#19 Report this post to a moderator
Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

quote:
Yes. Well, aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?


Immortal Wombat is offline Immortal Wombat
Prince
in perpetuity
Dec 2000
time: 05:17
  Old Post 20-01-2002 02:58 Visit Immortal Wombat's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#20 Report this post to a moderator
Full PM-box? Change here!

quote:
Originally posted by Spatzimaus
The existing editor lets you do almost everything you want to do.

Then 'you' are not ambitious enough. See any CtP2 mod to see what can be done.

  < Last Thread     Next Thread > Post New Thread     Post A Reply
All times are GMT. The time now is 05:17.
Apolyton Time is 00:17.
    top of page
Rate This Thread:
archivepost
Forum Jump:
Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is ON
vB code is ON
Smilies are ON
[IMG] code is ON
 




Contact Us - Apolyton Civilization Site - Support Us!

Building a better Apolyton through better information. Click here and take our poll!
Non-US visitors, click here!

Powered by: vBulletin Version 2.0.3
Copyright ©2000, 2001, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.

Page generated in 0.0577 seconds (91.14% PHP - 8.86% MySQL) with 31 queries
Page Loading Time:

Support Apolyton: Amazon USA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR |
Support Apolyton and get FREE PLUS, Buy from Chips&Bits: Galactic Civilizations | Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition | Call to Power 2 | Civilization: The Boardgame | GURPS/ Alpha Centauri | Alpha Centauri | Civilization IV | Civilization III: Complete |


Front Page | Civilization IV | Civilization III | Civilization II | Call to Power II | Alpha Centauri | Master of Orion III
Rise of Nations | Galactic Civilizations | Galactic Civilizations II | Misc
Alt.Civs | Civ I | C:CtP I | About | News | Directory | Apolyton Store | Forums | Chat | Columns | Interviews | Newsletter
Scenario League | CSC | Clash of Civs | Spanish Site | CtP Maps | Cradle of Civ | WesW's Ctp1/2 Site | Civ3 Haven

apolyton.net | apolyton.com | civilization2.net | civilization3.net | civilization4.net | civilizationiv.info | calltopower.net | galciv.net | galciv2.net | moo3.net