UTILITY: CIV3BREED - Correct Starting Locations

[gnomos]

What happens if you leave a civ out of the c3b file? Does it leave the starting location alone in the game save file? Can I leave any or all of them out?

[Mortioso]

In short: You cannot leave any line out of the file or things will break. The way it works now is only with complete C3B files that have 17 rows; the header tag and locations for 16 civs.

Check my reply to deathwalker 5 posts before this one.

[gnomos]

Well, I found out that if you leave a line out, it sets that civ to start at 0,0, which is in the water, heh, settlers look funny starting there, and can't move or do anything.

What I'd really like is for it to only patch the locations of civs I want to move. I may not know the starting locs of all the civs, and I may not want to move them, so if it would ignore civs that aren't in the file, leaving them at their default locations, that would be great.

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by gnomos
Well, I found out that if you leave a line out, it sets that civ to start at 0,0, which is in the water, heh, settlers look funny starting there, and can't move or do anything.

What I'd really like is for it to only patch the locations of civs I want to move. I may not know the starting locs of all the civs, and I may not want to move them, so if it would ignore civs that aren't in the file, leaving them at their default locations, that would be great.

And crash into another civ that is moved to there?

[Gramphos]

Mortioso,
how do you handle the Map and FOW for the starting positions?
(Do you handle it? (I've not tested your tool))

[ixnay]

The Phantom Zulu

OK, started a game on a huge world map, 16 civs, with this tool. I must have misentered the zulu coordinates because they just disappeared on the histogram the 1st turn. Weird thing is, midway through the middle ages, the greeks offer me communications with the zulu. i accept, and talk with shaka, who has no techs, money or cities. But, i can still trade maps with him and such. Weird. Next time I'll be a bit more careful entering coordinates.

[Mortioso]

Gramphos, yes I do handle the map. Location + ONE square each direction is uncovered, and no sight is calculated. Did you mean more specific details?

This handling is weak in theory, 'what if' there are more changes that has to be done, not so apparent as changing TILEs and UNITs. Who knows? I can't afford Real Life to be replaced by Hex Workshop for the moment.

Idea:
Why use definition files at all for earth based maps? I was thinking about using a sorting algorithm for placing starting locations, that would be rather easy to implement and that would work in nearly all cases, without the need of definition files.

ixnay
Can you confirm that you misplaced the Zulus, take a look at the C3B file if you still have it. Anyone else had any problems later in game?
Sometimes when I've been playing on unmodified maps, and killed the enemy's first settler but leave their worker untouched they are still not defeated.
Maybe the Zulus spawed next to a barbarian encampment..

Waiting for the patch.
Meanwhile I'm working on a graphical map loader using OpenGL, just for the fun of it.

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by Mortioso
Gramphos, yes I do handle the map. Location + ONE square each direction is uncovered, and no sight is calculated. Did you mean more specific details?

That is good enough. I just wanted to know if you made any sight calculations or not.

This handling is weak in theory, 'what if' there are more changes that has to be done, not so apparent as changing TILEs and UNITs. Who knows? I can't afford Real Life to be replaced by Hex Workshop for the moment.

Yes, I know, but it seems to work quite well just changing the UNIT and TILEs data, so why look into the other stuff?

Waiting for the patch.

So do I

[ixnay]

Went back and looked at the coordinates I have - turns out I placed them directly on top of a barbarian tribe. Whoops.

[golakers]

I'm a computer idiot and can't seem to do this correctly. Sad, I know. Can someone post a large or huge good world map with correct locations for 8-16 civs?

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by golakers
I'm a computer idiot and can't seem to do this correctly. Sad, I know. Can someone post a large or huge good world map with correct locations for 8-16 civs?

Check out Marla's Map. It uses Civ3CopyTool for placing the Civs, and not CIV3BREED, but it has the correct locations

[Dreifels]

Originally posted by Gramphos

Check out Marla's Map. It uses Civ3CopyTool for placing the Civs, and not CIV3BREED, but it has the correct locations

Nothing against Civ3CopyTool, but CIV3BREED is more handy and easy for me if I only like to correct the starting points of the races.

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by Dreifels
Nothing against Civ3CopyTool, but CIV3BREED is more handy and easy for me if I only like to correct the starting points of the races.

Yes, I understand that. The thing is that Marla's map incledes a file for C3CT, and if you don't know how to use CIVBREED it is easier to use, but I think that it is harder to make the files for C3CT, as you have to know how the FOW shall be.

[Vonotar]

Unoffical v1.09 using Mortioso's CivBreed rather than Civ3CopyTool

The Zip attached below contain's Marla's 1.085 Map and Mortioso's CivBreed 0.45 Utility.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Extract files to your Civilization directory
2. Start new scenario game with Marla's Map
3. Save game as "FIX.SAV"
4. Run the file "RUN_THIS.BAT" in your saves directory
5. Load up "FIXED.SAV"
6. Play!

My apologies to Gramphos I crawled all over your Civ3CopyTool thread, installed numerous VB runtimes and OCX files and it still would not work on my XP system so I decided to find a better way

EDIT: Removed... see here - http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...0&pagenumber=1 - for the latest version (Now a self-extractor/installer!!!

[Dreifels]

Re: UTILITY: CIV3BREED - Correct Starting Locations

One problem I have with ti. Until now I always used 16 factions, but now, as I tried to play with 14 only (no American and no French), I get *always* the Zulu in England and the other being inthe line jump one start point forward and there are 12 factions only.
I tried both, take a c3b file with all 16 factions and with 14 only. Both the same result.

If I compare it with the pop down faction list in the settings window, then the failure starts where the 1st in the list (french) is not selected. All before that are placed right, all later are wrong and England isn't set.

How to generate a sav with right positions if not all 16 factions are used?