Custom Colors

[Brutus66]

This is a simple question, and if it has been answered already then I apologize in advance.
Is there a way to change the colors of the civs in the game? When Germany and England share a lot of borders, for example, I have a hard time distinguishing the white from the grey.
Also, is there anything that can be done to make goody huts stand out more? When they are in forest or jungle, I can't see them with my color blindness (unless I have a scout or explorer which makes the blue rings appear around them).

[Addled Platypus]

try asking again, but here

http://apolyton.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=257

[snoopy369]

Re: Custom Colors

Originally posted by Brutus66
This is a simple question, and if it has been answered already then I apologize in advance.
Is there a way to change the colors of the civs in the game? When Germany and England share a lot of borders, for example, I have a hard time distinguishing the white from the grey.
Also, is there anything that can be done to make goody huts stand out more? When they are in forest or jungle, I can't see them with my color blindness (unless I have a scout or explorer which makes the blue rings appear around them).

1. Yes, that's fairly easy. You need to make changes in the following XML files:

assets/xml/civilizations/Civ4CivilizationInfos.xml - for each civ you want to change, find the civ (ctrl-F), and you'll see this at the start of it's entry:

		<CivilizationInfo>
			<Type>CIVILIZATION_CHINA</Type>
			<Description>TXT_KEY_CIV_CHINA_DESC</Description>
			<ShortDescription>TXT_KEY_CIV_CHINA_SHORT_DESC</ShortDescription>
			<Adjective>TXT_KEY_CIV_CHINA_ADJECTIVE</Adjective>
			<Civilopedia>TXT_KEY_CIV_CHINA_PEDIA</Civilopedia>
			[b]<DefaultPlayerColor>PLAYERCOLOR_AC</DefaultPlayerColor>[/b]
			<ArtDefineTag>ART_DEF_CIVILIZATION_AC</ArtDefineTag>
			<ArtStyleType>ARTSTYLE_ASIAN</ArtStyleType>

Notice the tag "DefaultPlayerColor". That directs the game to use this color as that civ's color. Also, the ArtDefineTag and ArtStyleTag direct the game to use particular art styles.

To find the list of colors you can choose from, open the file assets/xml/Interface/Civ4PlayerColorInfos.xml and look for the different tags in that file. Also in /assets/xml/interface/Civ4ColorVals.xml you have all of the available color values, and additionally can pretty easily add a new color. For example:

		<ColorVal>
			<Type>COLOR_PLAYER_DARK_PURPLE</Type>
			<fRed>0.45</fRed>
			<fGreen>0.00</fGreen>
			<fBlue>0.49</fBlue>
			<fAlpha>1.00</fAlpha>
		</ColorVal>

That is the Dark Purple color. The RGBA values are 0.00-1.00 in value, alpha being the lack of transparency (an alpha of 0.00 would be entirely transparent, 1.00 would be entirely dark. Alpha in this context should always be 1.00)

You can either add a new one (just copy one of the other ones, like this one, then paste it in at the end, give it a new name, and presto, you have a new color. You then paste THAT color name into the Civ4PlayerColorInfos.xml file:

		<PlayerColorInfo>
			<Type>PLAYERCOLOR_DARK_RED</Type>
			<ColorTypePrimary>COLOR_PLAYER_DARK_RED</ColorTypePrimary>
			<ColorTypeSecondary>COLOR_PLAYER_DARK_YELLOW</ColorTypeSecondary>
			<TextColorType>COLOR_PLAYER_DARK_RED_TEXT</TextColorType>
		</PlayerColorInfo>

You can either just edit the info of the civ you normally play, or add a new entry. Make sure the primary and secondary are fairly complimentary and aren't too similar, as they will need to both appear in some locations (like the fciv's flag) where similar colors look odd. The TextColor should be similar to the 'primary' color.

It is recommended you save these files as a mod rather than editing the original files. To create a mod, create a folder in the mods folder (in the root Civ4 directory) called (mod name, up to you), and put a folder "assets", then in that folder put a folder "xml", then in that folder you need a copy of each folder you're going to change files in; so "Interfaces" and "Civilizations". Then put the changed (or to-be-changed) files in the appropriate folder.

---

Summary:

1. Open assets/xml/civilizations/Civ4CiviliazationInfos.xml . Find the civ you are editing, and look for "DefaultPlayerColor", and note its value.
2. Open assets/xml/interface/Civ4PlayerColorInfos.xml . Find the DefaultPlayerColor in this file, and modify it to represent the colors you prefer, from the list of colors in assets/xml/interface/Civ4ColorVals.xml .
3. Alternately, create a new color in Civ4ColorVals.xml and use that color as one of the colors in Civ4PlayerColorInfos.
4. Make this as a mod, so that you're not changing the default files.
5. Load the mod in the Advanced -> Load Mod menu in-game and you're set

[snoopy369]

Goody huts, by the way, are pretty hard to change, actually. They're dealt with in the following code, from assets\xml\art\Civ4ArtDefines_Improvement:

		<ImprovementArtInfo>
			<Type>ART_DEF_IMPROVEMENT_GOODY_HUT</Type>
			<bExtraAnimations>0</bExtraAnimations>
			<fScale>1.0</fScale>
			<fInterfaceScale>1.0</fInterfaceScale>
			<NIF>Art/Structures/Improvements/TribalVillage/TribalVillage.nif</NIF>
			<KFM>Art/Structures/Improvements/TribalVillage/TribalVillage.kfm</KFM>
			<Button>,Art/Interface/Buttons/Builds/BuildTribalVillage.dds,Art/Interface/Buttons/Actions_Builds_LeaderHeads_Specialists_Atlas.dds,4,10</Button>
		</ImprovementArtInfo>

The only thing I think you could easily change here would be to increase the scale features.

Now, you could go look at the abovementioned art files, also - but those are in the 'pak' files AssetsX.fpk (X=0,1,2,3). Those would have to be UnPaked first, and even then you'd have to have a 3d editing program to edit the files (other than the .dds files, which you can edit with a DDS editor, but i'm not sure that would help you; DDS are for civilopedia usually and the like).

Another option, is to use the BlueMarble color mod. It has better/more realistic/etc. colors, based on NASA's pictures of the earth, and might give you better contrast. Google it, it's also probably linked here somewhere, or on civilized.de which I think is the creator's website.

[Brutus66]

Thanks for your efforts in providing this information, Snoop.
I figured the answer was in the xml files, but thought it would be far easier to ask the experts here rather than try to reinvent the wheel myself.
Also, I just downloaded Bluemarble Terrain 2.0 and will give it a whirl.
Thanks again, I think you may have made my civving experience even better than it was...

[Brutus66]

I installed Bluemarble. Wow, pretty. And yes, the huts are a little easier to see even if the colors seem to be the same.

I experimented with the xml files and made my first mod- just a simple experiment to start with, and changed a civ's colors. It's interesting how the flag colors work. I am assuming that the flag graphics are in the fpk pack files you referred to.

Thanks again for your work in making those step-by-step instructions.