Installing Factions

[LtDonny]

Ok, I am having a ton of touble installing the factions, because the Alpha.txt cannot find the file's search key, I have Windows XP, the compatibility patch screws the game (no problem running it, though), and when I open the custom faction files, they have everything scrunched toghether? Help?

[GeoModder]

Your custom factions are mentioned in the alpha(x).txt file as well?

Check under CUSTOM FACTIONS in that file...

[LtDonny]

There is no such thing there, do I need to make one and where? (I hate Encore Software's version!)

[Googlie]

If it's Alpha centauri that you have (and not Alien Crossfire) you need to change one of the seven factions in your alpha.txt file to the name of your custom faction. And in your general Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri folder you need to have, for each custom faction, the .txt file and the 3 graphics files for the game to find and display

If it's Alien crossfire that you have, you'll see in the alphax.txt file the seven orignal factions, then under #NEW FACTIONS you'll see the seven crossfire factions. Then there is an entry #CUSTOM FACTIONS which is blank. It is under here that you need to insert the names of your custom factions. They will then appear on the dropdown menu when you are choosing the factions to be in the game. And likewise in your general Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri folder you need to have, for each custom faction, the .txt file and the 3 graphics files for the game to find and display

[gwillybj]

Originally posted by Googlie
If it's Alpha centauri that you have (and not Alien Crossfire) you need to change one of the seven factions in your alpha.txt file to the name of your custom faction. And in your general Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri folder you need to have, for each custom faction, the .txt file and the 3 graphics files for the game to find and display

In AC (not AX), you do need the four files in the SMAC folder, but you don't always need to change alpha.txt. If you're creating a scenario to include your faction, you do need to change alpha.txt. If you're just playing the game with your faction, start a new game and, when you get to the faction selection screen, highlight the faction you want to replace and use the Load command to select your faction from the SMAC folder. It will play in the replaced faction's position and use the replaced faction's colors.

Originally posted by LtDonny
when I open the custom faction files, they have everything scrunched toghether

This can happen if you use a word processor to edit the text file, even if you save it as a .txt file with unformatted text. Always use Notepad. Wordpad does it correctly if the file is too large for Notepad.

Originally posted by LtDonny
I hate Encore Software's version

Encore Software? Electronic Arts is the only licensed distributor of the PC version.

[LtDonny]

I bought it in a pack of 4 strategy games, Army Men, Axis and Allies, Alpha Centauri, and one that didn't work (can't remember). The auto-run displays a screen that says thhe Encore software stuff. It also has patch 4 on the CD, but I guess it has been updated to work with WinNT systems. Also, even when I DO change the names, since the key is scrunched in with the full faction name, it doesn't work. I have tried seperating that and the faction name. I alway edit game files with notepad, and I downloaded the faction from networknode.org. Grrrrr, why do I always have problems with windows, maybe I'll switch to Mac or Linux!

I don't have SMAC:X too.

Here is the attachment:

[gwillybj]

First thing you want to do is make a shortcut -- either on your desktop or somewhere in the Start menu -- directly to the "terran.exe" that is in your SMAC folder. This starts SMAC without going through that launcher screen. If you did a full install, you don't (aren't supposed to) need the CD in the drive to play, unless Encore stuck a CD lock file on there.

Which faction from networknode? I've downloaded quite a few from there without encountering any problems. But I've also downloaded custom factions from various sites for which the txt file is messed up similar to what you describe -- it takes about half an hour or more to straighten it out. I don't know why some come through fine and others don't I'd be happy to look and see if I have a useable txt -- if not I'll download it and check it out.

[LtDonny]

I did a full install and if I don't have it, it won't have sounds and stuff (what a gyp). I have downloaded a couple, like the Dark Spies, and The Mech Prospect, and also replaced all 7 factions from the Return to Earth one, and one of them I had to change the tech (since I have no Alien XFire), and still didn't work. When I copy and paste it here, it is in the format needed! I am wondering what formatting to use (like ANSI, Unicode, ect.). I hope I can fix my problem.

EDIT:

I found a fix for the text format, just copy and paste it into the reply thing, and then paste it back into notepad.

[gwillybj]

There are several parameters other than new techs that were added in AX. While it is not impossible to "SMAC" a SMAX faction with a little tinkering, it might play a little odd - not that odd is necessarily a bad thing

Glad you can fix the txts, which use ISO-8859-1. I suspect the control characters that tell where each line ends (0D 0A = carriage return + line feed) sometimes get messed up somehow in the upload/download sequence, then get corrected somehow when you take the steps you did.

The wikipedia has detailed information about dozens of character sets, including ASCII, ISO 8859-1 and ISO-8859-1, and UTF-8, three from among the most common.

[Leonidas]

Any more new custom factions being designed?