Question For OCC Scenario/Save File Creators

[Tom DeMille]

The Vatican winning the race to AC. That would be something to see!

[vik]

I may have broken the code!

veteran scenario builders that visit this thread, please try to refrain from laughing at me.

Okay, I found out there is a whole scenario-building section right here on this hallowed section of cyberspace. Based on direction by Sten in SG2's "Events" thread, I visited it.

Twas like my civ2 Holy Grail or something. Sadly, I could not find too many Scenarios designed for my 2.4.2 version, but I did find something.

Apparently, you can edit the cities.txt and all that other junk, and pass it on to someone else, and not have that other person back up their files.

If I downloaded a scenario called "cool.zip" I would just merely have to make a "cool" subdirectory in the civ2 subdirectory, unzip the contents of "cool.zip" into that "cool" subdirectory, and begin the game and load the scenario. It seems the game play will default to the cities.txt file in the "cool" subdirectory instead of the default cities.txt found in the "civ2" directory.

Is this correct? Is it that easy?

You can also, it seems, edit the "units.gif" file to provide unique units for your scenario, and as long as that's in your "cool" subdirectory, then it will access those and no back-ups are necessary for the other users.

I hope this is correct. I'm a little weary about editing any of the ".gif" files, because it seems really precise and touchy, but I'll learn. i'm going to put together a (hopefully) wonderful scenario and I promise to do it by the year 2003!

[Sten Sture]

Food box is almost full, but no baby yet. Since War4ever rush-built little Phoenix, I slowed down the production to match the April 4 due date.

I have DL'ed SacBlood and looked through the gif files and read the readme file, but I haven't started it yet. I have been doing a lot of Happiness improvement rush-building to make sure the new population head in Sten City doesn't throw me into disorder. What civ time I have had (read 'been allowed') has been devoted to playing Michael Dauman's excellent Great Game scenario, I read the book recently and it really brings it alive. I am playing it in MGE and you really have to stay on your toes (or heels) to keep your alliances in line. I also have RedFront ready to go, which will take some time. Enjoying them all quite a bit. Sac blood is actually three different scenarios and I would like to run the third one in Multiplay with you some day - doesn't look like anytime soon. (keeping your brother out of trouble is also taking up a lot of my civ time)

[Steve Clark]

Sten: That was cool!

BTW, which book did you read recently? I just got a flyer from the History Book Club for 'Tournament of Shadows' in which the authors take the Great Game beyond its traditional end point of 1917 up to 1943. I'm only vaguely familiar with this history, definitely not one of my areas of expertise.
[This message has been edited by Steve Clark (edited March 28, 2000).]

[Sten Sture]

The book is by Peter Hopkirk and is called The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia it is excellent and it inspired Dauman to make his scenario. I knew very little of this history prior to this read. I would think it is available through the History Book Club for cheap!

Hopkirk was a reporter for the London Times, and writes amazingly well. He has two other volumes in the trilogy - Like Hidden Fire (German/Turkish plotting around WW1 in the Caucasus) and Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia.

He also wrote Tresspassers on the Roof of the World: The Secret Exploration of Tibet.

Tournament of Shadows sounds like a good subject, and only partly overlaps the 1920s setting for Setting the East Ablaze. Where are we going to get the time to read all of this stuff???

[Sten Sture]

vik - now you can see what I meant by (in lieu of playing) customizing your own .gif files requires learning PaintShopPro and understanding events, etc.

If anyone has yet to check out some scenario files, it is well worth it to get a copy of FW or MGE just to be able to play these works of art. In many cases they put the original game to shame - all new units, all new terrain, detailed story lines... etc. Check them out!

[Steve Clark]

Sten: That reminds me, have you played Sacrificial Blood yet? I have yet to download this massive file.

BTW my friend, has the baby arrived?