CivNet FAQ
Courtesy Ambraīs CivNet Scenario Page
http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~mcsnooky
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Here is a brief explanation of some of the questions you may have about my CivNet Scenarios.
1 - What exactly is a CivNet Scenario?
2 - Are there any special requirements to play?
3 - Can I play a scenario in multiplayer and in singleplayer mode?
4 - What are the advantages and features of scenarios?
5 - What are the main characteristics of the scenarios posted here?
6 - Which strategy shall I go for in a scenario game?
7 - How can I make my own scenario?
***
1 - What exactly is a CivNet Scenario?
Since you have landed on this page you should already know! :) A scenario is a simple savegame file for
CivNet. The only difference to a "normal" savegame file is that nothing in this game has happened by
chance so far. Therefore you will find a start situation that is styled fair for each tribe. All scenarios at
this page have been made by myself and have nothing to do with Microprose or Spectrum Holobyte.
2 - Are there any special requirements to play?
No, all you need is the "CivNet" program by Microprose. The downloadable savegames are zipped files,
use "WinZip" to unzip them. If you wanna play a scenario with others via Internet you should make sure
that all have installed "Patch3" (which is a necessary program requirement for multiplayer netgames
and is not special to scenarios). For further information (especially good for newbies at this field) and for
technical informations look here.
3 - Can I play a scenario in multiplayer and in singleplayer mode?
Yes. I made all scenarios to be capable for multiplayer games. So best would be a multiplayer game in
which all tribes of the game were played by human players! Nevertheless it is of course possible to play
alone in a singleplayer game (the computer makes no difference in the files). But be aware: The computer players
will be hard opponents (at least in scenarios with many tribes) because they will get already well equipped
realms... So: both is possible and both is funny!
4 - What are the advantages and features of scenarios?
Scenario games cannot replace traditional games in which you style your own empires from the origin on.
But if they have been made carefully they can be a really funny alternative and provide you some exiting
features especially for multiplayer games like:
You will start right into the action for sure!
Play in the ancient, mediaeval or modern era with the technologies and weapons belonging to it. Face
game situations which will certainly not occur in a "normal" game!
The game depends more on individual strategy than a traditional game in which often the randomized
landmass and resource distribution means a preliminary decision.
All players exactly know all participating tribes (at least they have the possibility to do so!).
Everyone has got the original scenario-file and is able to practise with any realm at any time! So there is no
determined plot in a scenario game but all players know what they can exspect from it!
5 - What are the main characteristics of the scenarios posted here?
The main intentions and characteristics of my scenarios are:
Each civilisation has got the same number of cities (3-7 depending on scenario) which all have the same
size and same type of buildings (the status of the grain/granary also levels with)
Each civ starts with no advantage over another regarding discoveries, rates, treaties (none), units,
territory, resources, ports or uncancelled wonders (with slight exeptions)
Each civ has to start its production with empty garrets (that means no shields and no bulbs have already
been produced by anyone when the game starts!)
Each civ has got the same resources for disposal (at least concerning golds, coals, diamonds and oils)
Each civ commands the same number and type of military units
Each civ starts with the same govt. and credits
Huts have been discovered up as far as possible to prevent unjust "extra presents".
Especially to make the scenarios run good and quick in multiplayer games I tried to create maps and civs
so that no exessive growth is possibile which would cause lags and long waits in multiplayer games.
Unfortunately experience showed that those problems are caused by increasing number of cities and
untis in games with large and widespread empires.
Therefore I choose only few-city-realms and made further settlement lengthy or even unprofitable
because there is no more expansion territory. Almost any square not within the scope of one of the cities is
"infertile ground". Normally there are no other good (and unused) resources and only very few places
where you can found at all (without getting into your neighbours territory). So peaceful expansion chiefly
means to fit out your main cities for growth in population (which they have been well prepared for).
6 - Which strategy shall I go for in a scenario game?
This of course depends on your preferences and on your opponents behavior! Nevertheless there are some
good advices to prepare for a scenario game:
Do not underestimate the importance of the wonders! Because all realms have got the same conditions it is
even more important who will get the good wonders in a scenario. I suggest you to battle for most of the
wonders with all means as long as your security situation allows you to do so!
You may not found new cities in most of my scenarios. The left space is almost anywhere territory that
already is within one of your cities so that the economic advantage is minimal. In the early versions (small
cities, only few techs discovered) you can of course use the overlap space between your cities to found some
new ones, in the later versions (large cities, many techs) this may only worth the effort for strategical
rather than for economic reasons. From the strategical standpoint it is more wise to use your settlers to
build border fortresses, railroads etc. in the remaining time.
Especially if you play the modern versions of the World or the Europe scenarios you can increase science
& trade by establishing trade routes with foreign cities. Due to the large city sizes trade routes will have
an enormous impact on your rates!
Consider to sell certain buildings to get wonders and units faster depending on their necessity at the
moment.
Do not forget to build Barracks if you decide for a totally military solution! :)
Use diplomats to establish embassies (it is important for you to know what techs your neighbors discover)
and to steal techs if you can risk war with the respective tribe. You can also use diplomats to guard your
borders or to move military units over foreign territory (even while in peace!). Diplomats can eventually
help you to overtake cities in many regards.
7 - How can I make my own scenario?
One thing beforehand: Making a scenario for CivNet is not an easy thing because there is no real editor
available to do that. So if you wanna make your own civnet scenario you should have at least some patience
and eagerness! But there are ways to speed it up:
I have worked out this method to speed up the process of creating a scenario which allows you to finish your
whole project in about 5 to 10 hours of work (depending on number and size of civs and cities). The basic idea of
this method is to style all realms with only one civilization and overtake the "reserved" cities later with the
former comp-players! This allows you the persistent use of the very helpful cheat code tool ( aodbamf) and
you can go on in time as fast as possible. Altogether I think it is the fastest and most comfortable method to
create a scenario. For details see below! P.S.: The mentioned code will not work in multiplayer-mode!
Take the following steps:
1. The MAP - heart of your scenario!
Create a map for the game with the map editor "CivMaps" (you can of course take an existing one also).
Be aware of the fact that the map (and its resources) will decide about size and power of your realms, so it
needs to be done carefully and it is the most important thing to do!
Make a first draft and test it by starting a short one-player game. Take a screenshot of the whole map
using the "All-Seeing-Eye"-option included in the "aodbamf" code (dont hold ). So you can
see all resources and squares and may modify your map then. Itīs helpful to switch (task) between civnet
and civmaps to do this.
Take care for just resource distribution (if wanted). If you change a water square with fishes to a hill there
will be a coal then (if you change it to mountain there will be a gold then and so on...). You can hide
resources if you change them to river or grassland squares.
Clear the locations of the cities you plan already at that time Do not extend a number of about max. 5 or
6 cities per tribe. Unfortunately experience showed: the more cities the slower will be the game...
So do not create too large landmasses for the same reason. You may fill up the landsquares between the
separate civs with "infertile" groundtype squares (like forest, desert or hills) to prevent exessive growth.
You may also take care not to leave other "tempting" resources near your tribes, or vice-versa: leave them
conscious of their effect on the players if you wanna "program" an upcoming crisis...
2. The CREATION-PROCESS
Start a Game (normal mode - NOT Hot-Seat!) on your map. You may choose one more tribe than you
actually want to have at the start. This certain tribe will be the one you take at the beginning and the one
which will be destroyed later after having done its work (see No. 7).
Found ALL cities then with ONE tribe (really all, including the ones planned to belong to the other
civilizations later!).
You can use the cheat codes then very helpfully in all regards: buy whatever you want ("GetRichQuick"),
place units as you like (right-click in cheat mode, you can even make "No home city"-units by placing them
far away from a city!), create hords of settlers to do the irrigations etc. ("SettlersHo!") and so on.
You just have to click through the turns like playing then to finish (but you dont have to do anything more
so that it is really just clicking "End of turn"). So the whole creation process should not take you much
longer than a normal single-player game would last.
3. The OTHER TRIBES - the "uphold-city" concept
You can limit the necessary work to a minimum effort if you place a single and only city on a very tiny
island (best: just one square) for each comp player right in 4000 BC: Save and load with each tribe, use
the cheat code (to create fighters to make territory known and to place the "uphold-city-on-island-settler",
then disband the old one - next turn). So there should be a (best: non-growing) single city for each
comp-player when you continue the game with your single tribe.
These "uphold-cities" will only function as upholders for their civs while you play and style their later
cities with another (your) tribe (which you possibly destroy at last).
So you can stay in single-player-mode and the comp players will not affect the game during its creation
process (they will also have no considerable science research now).
You will remove those island-cities later on (let them sink through food shortage and build settlers if they
are at size 1) after you have overtaken the "reserved" cities.
4. The CITIES - growth and extensions
You can found all planned cities in one turn if you like. Make territory know with cheated fighters and place
a settler (per right-click) on each spot where you want a city to be.
You can bring them to a size of 10 immediately if you click "SettlersHo!" nine times and let all of them
"Add to city" by giving them the b-command (found) while within the city. This only works until the city
has reached size 10, from there on you have to let them grow for theirselves.
You will not loose overview if you set up each city so that they all grow with the same speed (same gran
production surplus).
You can buy the wanted city extensions ("GetRichQuick").
You may also define an Auto-production row.
If you overtake the cities by their respective civilizations some buildings (especially temples & cathedrals)
may be destroyed even if you just marched in an empty city (this is a normal effect). Rebuild those
buildings.
5. TECHNOLOGIES
Set tax-rate to 100% after the first turns (your civ must have at least some bulbs in its science garret to let
the "GetSmartQuick" work).
To achieve new technologies simply use the "GetSmartQuick"-option (repeatedly in one turn!). So you can
give all techs you want to let them have this way in a single turn and there will be no bulbs beeing already
produced after that procedure.
You can give the techs to the other civs the same way or by granting techs as a present using "Meet King"
in Hot-Seat-mode.
There is also a trick to give each player the opportunity to choose his next discovery for himself: When
you grant techs by "GetSmartQuick" finally try to choose a last next tech to discover which another civ
already has (or will have): you can swop those techs later in hot-seat-mode so that you will have clear
science production windows for each tribe at the game-start.
Keep the 100% tax rates (so that no bulb will be produced by any tribe) after the technology distribution
procedure. This will allow each player to choose his desired next discovery right after starting!
6. The FINAL PHASE of creation - overtake of "reserved cities"
If you have nearly reached your appointed start-time interrupt your game and save.
Make sure to leave cities militarily unprotected at this stage.
You have to reload with each comp civ then and overtake the "prepared for them"-cities without losses
(simply create a militia or whatever by right-click in front of the empty city and let it march in).
Always save over the same file to keep the changes.
After you have done this I recommend to load the file in hot-seat-mode for the last few turns so that you
can let the "island-uphold-cities" vanish (see No. 3) and to do the final arrangements (credit status etc.)
for each tribe personally.
You can swop techs now and/or balance the credits among them.
7. Some more HINTS
You can load the comp-players or switch between single and hot-seat-mode from time to time to make
necessary little interventions (like killing barbarians e.g.).
The computer makes no difference between a file saved in single or hot-seat-mode, just remember that the
comp will have overtaken the other civs in single-mode if you hit end of turn. So only hit end of turn in
single-mode until you dont have overtaken the reserved cities. After that point just grant things through
cheat code and save without hitting end of turn!
Save after every turn. I recommend to keep intermediate save-files every 10 turns or so if something goes
wrong...
Donīt care about tribe names which you can define at last.
If you dont want to have military casualties beeing showed at the "Military Advisor" take care not to
loose units and to eliminate barbarians as early as possible, best with cheated battleships which you can
create on land too... :) You can detect barbarians instantly if you let the "AllSeeingEye" turned on. And do
not bribe units, because this leads to faults in the counted number of units showed at the advisor (I dont
know why).
You can determine the final known territory sight for each civ by creating some "impossible" units
(fighters are best e.g.) by right-click in cheat mode, but you can not change once known territory to
unknown territory.... Remember that the tribe you use to found all cities will necessarily see each city later -
so you may destroy it completly after the overtake of the cities (if you have chosen one tribe more than
wanted at the beginning, see No. 2).
8. Save the scenario-file after having moved the last tribe in the starting turn.
Apolyton Civilization Site Copyright Đ Robert Plomp and Jeroen Schweitzer
All trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners