Scenario Creation Q&A Thread

[Gelion]

Quite often we have little questions that are not worth a thread on their own, but nontheless need to be answered. I thought we could use a thread to ask and answer small, but important questions about scenario creation.

To start of I have a few questions:

1. What does the number of barbarians appearing through huts or on their own depend on?

2. Koybashi, in his guide, talks about 2 groups of barbarians. How exactly is it possible to use each group of barbarians in scenarios and is it possible to diminish each list by giving technologies to civs?

3. What advances are generally avaliable from huts?

[EZRhino]

Hi Gelion.This Should answer the first two questions. As to the third, IRC its any tech below invention?

[McMonkey]

Good idea Gelion. It might be worth making this thread into a sticky one as it would be a good point of reference for new scenario designers (they keep cropping up!)

Here are some links to useful info:

Scenario League http://sleague.apolyton.net/index.ph...=Category:Tips

The Cradle of Civilization http://coc.apolyton.net/

Civ Fanatics http://www.civfanatics.com/civ2/reference/

[curtsibling]

I'll see how the thread progresses, and then make it sticky if it proves useful!

[Exile]

Ok . . .

Troubleshooting an events file, but the results don't make any sense.

For the last week, the only thing in the events file was a scenarioloaded-play-wavefile event. And it worked perfectly every time.

I put together a large segment of the Events file. Of course, it gave me the error message, so time to start plugging in the events into a new file, one-by-one, until the bad one appears via the error message.

First thing I do is test the first 3 events in the file by themselves in a new events file. Still the error message. I eliminate everything EXCEPT the forementioned event, and NOW it says the thing doesn't work?!

Funny. It's been working for the past week, and I didn't change a thing about that event.

This can't happen, and yet . . .

Anyone got any ideas?

Got no prob with troubleshooting, but how do you deal with this? First, the event works, then, for no reason at all, it doesn't.

arg

Here it is;

@IF
SCENARIOLOADED
@THEN
PLAYWAVEFILE
nazg.WAV
@ENDIF

[techumseh]

Did you load this as a scenario, then save it as a scenario again? If so, the scn. file has data indicating that the scenario has already been loaded. Always load and do your work on a master sav.file, and save to the scn.file as you go.

[Exile]

Good advice, but problem solved, tho I have no idea how or why.

Just wound up creating a new txt file, and cut and pasted each event over, checking each time to see if they threw the error message. Caught a couple of small mistakes, but no idea why the old file was screwing up. I theorize that heavily cutting and pasting within an events file messes it up in some way. The new file works fine. All events copacetic.

It's not quite done yet. Got to run it and see what barbs show where. I've put aside most of the trigger techs for the barbs, so I should be able to exert some kind of control. There are also a good number of spare techs for events.

The way I do it, Brian, is to rename the events file if I ever need to tweak anything and SAVE AS SCENARIO--as a rule, it's whenever you must use the Cheat menu to change something. Otherwise, using the fw editors doesn't alter the events file, it just changes things (but don't EVER use the tribe editor!). The trick is that when you do things this way, you must delete the various ".bak" files as they are created, otherwise, the editor won't work again until you do. You can change things with the editors, but if the ".bak" file is still there, the changes won't be there when you load it to test it again. The eliminaton of those ".bak" files makes editor changes permanent (and harmlessly done) within the scenario, and no saving-as-scenario necessary, and no embedding turn info in the events file.

[techumseh]

I'd forgotten those complexities. In ToT the events file is loaded only when a scenario is started, then saved complete in the save file.

[Elensar]

I'm sure this has been addressed before, but it belongs here to clarify.

What do "x2 vs. horse" and the ability of the AEGIS crusier actually mean?

Also (reposting a question I asked in the scenario design thread I started...should probably delete that post, oh well)

I know that you can edit the units (bitmap) picture and alter how the game displays things in the pedia. How does one make it so that the graphics in the game match that?

Just altering that file (I'm using Paint, which otherwise seems to work fine -yes I know there's better stuff) doesn't seem to be a problem for multiplayer gold, so I'm wondering what changed (or that I'm overlooking).

[techumseh]

What do "x2 vs. horse" and the ability of the AEGIS crusier actually mean?

X2 vs. horse means a unit with this flag defends double against an attacking unit which has an attack factor of 7 or less (I think), has firepower and hit points of 1, and moves 2. So, horsemen, chariots, knights and crusaders (not sure of dragoons).

The AEGIS flag allows the unit to defend at double strength when attacked by any air unit.

Just altering that file (I'm using Paint, which otherwise seems to work fine -yes I know there's better stuff) doesn't seem to be a problem for multiplayer gold, so I'm wondering what changed (or that I'm overlooking).

Only the larger size, and the fact that it's a bmp with 15 bit color, as opposed to a gif with only 255 colors.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Exile]

Two things . . .

1.) I've discovered that, even though a player civ HAS the invention tech, the goody huts STILL give techs. Does this mean that someone has to have Philosophy tech too? Before huts stop giving techs?

2.) If I want fighters to scramble, I've got to give them the attack-air-units ability, but NOT the AEGIS? They won't scramble if you give them the AEGIS? Is this correct?

[curtsibling]

AEGIS only allows them to fend off enemy air units, but indeed, only the fighter flag lets them scramble.

[Gelion]

Looking for a "map creation guide". Could anyone help?

[Arthedain]

McMonkey helped me out here: 83rd post)

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?t=183859

Not a guide, but still some great tips which I used.

[Gelion]

ROFL! I found my own link on that page. Thank you! (and McMonkey)