Aeterna Civitas

[fairline]

Originally posted by AGRICOLA
1. Have the picture you want on the screen.
2. Hit the PRINT SCREEN/SYSRQ button, not SHIFT and PRINT SCREEN/SYSRQ. You are actually using SysRq but Print Screen is easier to remember.
3. Open MS Paint or equivalent.
4. New File
5. Paste
6. Trim and make any other alterations.
7. Save as a .gif, .png or .bmp file.
8. Attach the file to your post. .gif and .png files will show up in your post. .bmp files will become attachments which have to be downloaded.
9. There is a difference in the quality of .gif and .png pictures but I can't remember which is better. Take a look at both.

gifs are limited to 8-bit (256 colours) which isn't a problem if you are taking a screenshot of and FW or MGE game. If you want to take a screeny of a ToT game, use a png as it uses a 16-bit colour format.

[Jerec]

I don't have a vast store of knowledge on barbs, but I did get a crash course in my Alien invasion scen.

The barbs that appear depend on the era you're in, of course. For ancient, the units usually keep up with what you've researched and the best units appear (horsemen, then chariots, then legion, etc). In my scen, since half or more of the units were unbuildable and I was in the modern age, only two different types of units appeared: the equivalent of an rifleman and tank (in my game, infantry and cyborg). Although I think it would be very hard to predict without playtesting...

not SHIFT and PRINT SCREEN/SYSRQ.

I'll remember that.

I want the Germans to be hard to conquer and hopefully a strong Celtic player will be able to match the Germanics.

Seeing as I will probably be the Celts , could you possibly change German city production from almost all warrior/falxman to mostly what he can usually build? As in mostly German warbands w 2-3 cities building warriors, not ALL?

I like the fact that they are coming out of the cities but it would be good if they would attack the Romans in the open.

Believe me, they are attacking. In Italy, the number of Latin warriors created a huge, fortified road block straddling the mtns. And if you approached..."charge!"

The Gauls were a very un-unified bunch. Every tribe would be deep in sinister politics, always trying to be dominant over the other tribes. You simulate this well with barbs separating the Celt cities. If you want the Celts to have a huge boost in SP, just unify their cities, at least in central Gaul.

[McMonkey]

Shields

I am a big fan of nation specific shields. This works in many scenarios but in Aeterna there will be many mercenaries (Numidians, Latins, Iberians, Gauls etc...) who will be fighting for different sides.

I have decided to use symbols that will appear on the shields but not obscure completely which side the unit is on.

I found these excellent symbols in Harry Tuttle's new city file and thought I may be able to adapt them for my shields.

The screenshot shows a Latin Warrior as an example with a Roman eagle.

What I need to find out are the symbols for each unit type. I know Carthage used the Crescent and Circle, Celts often used the Boar but I need to find appropriate symbols for all the units in the game. Your suggestions would be appreciated!

I will post a list of units below.

I am also considering adding another very small symbol above the health bar to denote the unit type (Blade, Auxilia, Spear etc...). If anyone has any ideas on how this could be done without cluttering up the screen too much then I am all ears!

[McMonkey]

Current units:

Slaves
Engineer
Equites
Hellenic Cavalry
Gaul Warband
Gaul Warrior
General
German Warrior
Rich Village
Balearic Slinger
Horsemen
Cretan Archer
Dacian Falxman
Celtiberian Warrior
Dacian Warrior
Gaul Cavalry
Skythian Horse
War Elephant
Numidian Horse
Fortress
Campanian
German Warband
Catapult
Bruttian Warrior
Battering Ram
Siege Tower
Ballista
Parthian Cavalry
Armenian Cavalry
Sacred Band
Sarmatian Cavalry
Transport Ship
Bireme
Corvus Trireme
Quinquereme
Galley
Hellenic Hoplite
Hellenic Phalanx
Hellenic Hypaspyst
Auxiliary
African Foot
Cohort
Legion Ensign
Immitation Legion
Hastati
Principes
Envoy
Merchant
Triarii
Citizen Phalanx
Latin Warrior
Samnite Warrior
Skythian Foot
Levantine Archer
Velite
Illyrian Peltast
Iberian Warrior
Hellenic Psiloi
Iberian Scutarii
Thracian Peltast
Parthian Horse
Gaul Chariot

I will research this on the net and in books but if anyone knows of a good online resourse please let me know. Some of the nations may be difficult to find anything accurate but I am willing to improvise something tha looks good!

[McMonkey]

The screenshot below shows what I have in mind using the Celts as an example. At the moment you can see they belong to the Celtic player as they have a brown background. If they had been employed by the Romans the background of the shield would turn white but the golden boar would remain.

Here is my current list:
Celts - Wild Boar
Romans - Eagle
Iberians - Bull
Greek Successors - Eight pointed star
Germanics - Wolf
Skythians - Horse
Dacians - Bear
Carthaginians - Crescent ad Circle
Latins and Italian - Larger Eight pointed star
Parthians - Eagle
Thracians - Lion
Illyrians - Dagger
Naval Units - All seeing Eye
Merchant - Amphora
Envoy - Scroll

and so on...

What I am now looking for is some kind pixel pusher to help me make the set. Any volunteers?

[fairline]

Re: Shields

Originally posted by McMonkey
What I need to find out are the symbols for each unit type. I know Carthage used the Crescent and Circle, Celts often used the Boar but I need to find appropriate symbols for all the units in the game. Your suggestions would be appreciated!

Yes - I drew 'em for Hannibal's War and RCW IIRC. The upright eagle is the symbol of the Ptolemids and the sunburst was Macedon's emblem.

[Jerec]

Bruttian Warrior? Campanian? I don't see a druid..

Would the shield icons obscure what the unit is doing? (G, F, O)

See if this pic works.

[Jerec]

Of course, I have to forget that it has to be in png/jpg format.

[McMonkey]

@Fairline
Eagle for the Ptolemids - check. As the three Greek states share common units I will have to use one symbol to represent all Hellenic troops.

Is there any chance of making me some more to cover the other animals and paterns in the list below?

@Jarec
Yes the shields would obscure what the unit is doing but that does not bother me much. Shields have been used in many scenarios and they have never hindered me personally. If the unit is fortified it will have a load of wooden steaks around its feet anyway. The only exception to the rule is engineers, I will leave them blank so you can see what they are up to.

I see what you mean about the Barbarians fortifying around their cities. Interesting!

Do you play with the grid on? Yuk!!! Each to their own though

BTW The unit list may still be changed around a tad. I still want another Celtic unit in there so your Driud may get included!

[Jerec]

So what is a Bruttian warrior? I'm not familiar with it. Ditto for Campanian.

BTW those Latin warriors in the pic can be very irritating in a sort of way. On a mtn. with +200 D +fortified and an original D of 3, it would take a siege unit or two to kill one up there.

[McMonkey]

Bruttians, Campanians and Samnites were all important tribal groups in ancient Italy and at various times they fought for and against Rome. Early Roman armies made use of many allied contingents. This is my reason for including them in the game. The Greek and Roman players in Italy can either fight them or employ them as mercenaries.

If I had space (ToT version?) I would also include Etruscans, Apulians and Lucanians. In my latest save file I have revised the unit placement and events for Italy to incorporate these new units. In the north I have mainly used Latins and Celts. The Latins are a bit of a generalized grouping and I may revise this more as I read more.

I don't want to get too bogged down in historical accuracy at the cost of gameplay but I think a bit of research adds colour and authenticity to the game.

[McMonkey]

Oh, and regarding the high defence of them hill billies. In the final version the Envoy unit will be available a bit sooner down the tree so you may be able to coax them down with a bit of gold. For the first few turns the sword will be the only way to negotiate!

[Jerec]

McMonkey

Just in case you still needed more info on barbs, I found a list of all barbs created in the different eras.

Piratical Barbs (made on the sea)

Early / Middle / Late / Modern
Archer / Crusaders/Knights / Dragoons / none
Trireme / Caravel / Frigate


Frontier Barbs (on land)

Early / Middle
Legion (villages only) / Elephants (uprising only)
Horsemen (uprising only) / Knights (villages only)

Late* / Modern*
Cannon / Artillery
Musketeers / Partisans
/ Fanatics

*I assume that in the late and modern periods for frontier barbs the units listed are created both in villages and in uprisings.

Sorry about the weird appearance, the reply screen just won't understand orderly line-ups I made. Just line up the slash lines and you should be able to decipher it.

[McMonkey]

Thanks Jerec. I will have to have a good look into the barbs as soon as I get a mo. I have had almost 0 time to work on AC at home with all the family down for Xmas but I have been working on the ADVICE, DESCRIBE, GAME and LABELS files to add some polish to the game and let the player know what I intend units, improvements techs etc, to do!

Hopefully I can get some work done this weekend. Have just made myself a long list of things to do for Apolyton by reading through the posts today, good to be busy!

[McMonkey]

I have been a little quiet recently. There is a reason!

How do I say this

Well I may as well come straight out with it. I have been playing another computer game

I know, shame on me, but I consider this valuable research for Aeterna Civitas. The other game is Rome: Total Realism, the excellent community mod for Rome: Total War. I would highly recomend it to any fans of Ancent era wargames. The mod, created by online fans has turned a fun but flawed game into an excellent historical epic.

Over the years I have played and thoroughly enjoyed Shogun TW (+expansions), Medieval TW, Rome TW and Barbarian Invasion (Medieval TW II was too much for my poor PC!) but have always returned to Civ II once the fad had run its course. I am sure that Rome: Total realism will provide me with as much addictive fun for a short while before I need to get back to the serious fix of Civ II scenario creation!

Lots of new ideas + things to pinch The VERY challenging gameplay has really inspired me to make the eventual (post multiplayer) version of Aeterna Civitas II the most difficult game I have yet created!