Map editors

[spacetyrantxenu]

I created a new game and copied the new leader data from there when I added the new leaders, but I should probably just input all the leaders I want on the Europe map in the new game and then wholesale copy/paste from notepad.

That being said, this map looks like a candidate for using the .dll for many civs. it is HUGE. I think I'd have to change the tech rate too. I ran a sim from the console to see what the AIs would do if left to their own devices and it doesn't seem like they got too far. Maybe more civs and tech trading on would be a good idea.

I'll mess with this more when I have time, probably won't be until next week. Oh, and about adding resources/forests. I added happy resources by hand which was kinda lame, but no way I was going to hand edit in forests. I did hand edit the coastline to fix the graphics anomalies from where the land tiles on 90 degree corners bordered ocean instead of coats (just add coast where missing). I didn't see a command in the console's help menu that seemed like it would lay forests down, or happy resources. Is there a script that can be run over an existing map file like this to add those types of map elements? I found it strange that the console had a function to add food and general resources, and rivers, but not happy or forest elements.

[Bobchillingworth]

I am not sure if novice's map utility even works with FFH, but regardless I've got a question-



There has been a particular map concept I've had in my head for a while now, probably for a FFH Adventure. To make the game work, the map would need to expand in size after a certain in-game trigger action is accomplished (in this case, eliminating a particular civ). Preferably it would work something like some of the maps in the old Command & Conquer games, where after you fulfill your initial objectives the map expands to reveal new territory & enemy bases. In an ideal scenario, I could design the entire, full world in WB, and then designate the area of the map which the player is restricted to initially. So no new tiles are being created, just "unlocked".


Would it be possible to implement something like that for a Civ game?

[NobleHelium]

Sounds like the easiest way to do that is to put a band of ice with lots of scary ice monsters, and then create a special event that removes those monsters. Of course then you'd have to mod FFH to add that event.

[Bobchillingworth]

Yeah, I considered something like that in my initial planning, but there are a few issues:



* I don't want an out-of-place, obstructive band on land encircling the world

* I don't know how to have the map run some script to eliminate specific units and/or terrain, and doing so seems about as much work as what I'd like to do anyway

* I don't want the player to be able to use floating eyes or hawks or whatever to explore the to-be-revealed portion of the map before the special conditions are fulfilled

* The expanded area of the map is intended to hold several other civs- I would much rather they be stuck in a sort of total stasis before their area is "unlocked"- I don't want them researching things and founding cities and killing each other before the player is supposed to contact them.

[Selrahc]

It sounds like you're looking for a mod rather than a map. A pretty complicated mod too...

Or in fact, it sounds like you're looking to make a two part adventure. The second part leading from the first part, and based on an expanded version of the same map.

[Serdoa]

Couldn't you make a band of mountains (5 tiles deep or however many are needed) and add an event, triggered when this certain civ is eliminated, that changes mountains to hills (or whatever). Of course it will still take time till there is a passage opened. I think Tatan did something like that in base Civ using the global warming "event".

Of course that won't help to keep those civs on the other side doing nothing. But I am not sure that is even possible. Maybe if you surround them completely by ice - which will be changed to grassland, hills and so on also when that event triggers? If you only surround them 2 tiles wide with that and give them otherwise standard land, their capitals will suck, but the rest should be fine. Depends what they actually should achieve....

Oh, wait... couldn't that elimination of the civ trigger an event that brings another civ into the game? Similar to Hyborem but without tech-requirement? Not sure how to ensure where they land (maybe hell terrain and make them only able to spawn on hell terrain?).

[T-hawk]

It sounds like you're looking for a mod rather than a map. A pretty complicated mod too...

Yup. This sort of thing is pretty much what goes on in Rhye's and Fall, and takes quite a bit of coding and scripting.

Breaking it into two parts with two separate games might be the most straightforward way. You could use worldbuilder to replicate a player's civ from the first part onto the second map, or perhaps save the first game as worldbuilder and paste into the WB file for the second. It wouldn't be perfect but it's doable.

[Bobchillingworth]

Hmm, okay- thanks for the input, guys.



Here's a rather abstract rendering of what I'm envisioning:






The orange rectangle is what the initial map appears to be to the player. The player starts at the black "X" and the beginning map (equivalent to about a small-sized rain-forest map) is populated by a few other civs, represented by triangles. When purple triangle is eliminated, the map then would ideally "expand", revealing all of the yellow rectangle's territory, although just adding a vast swath of new territory to either side of the orange rectangle would work as well. The Red circles are new civs with empires pre-placed in WB, who suddenly become active once the trigger condition is met.



Porting the end-game status of the orange "game one" rectangle to the yellow zone "game two" map for two separate saves is a novel idea, but that seems like a lot of work to have to do that for every save individually for an adventure, plus that encourages people to spend an excessive amount of time building up their empires in preparation for the map switch.



Having a trigger to add other civs to the game would be nice, but having to write in the WB file or whatever every unit, city location, tech, etc. that they spawn with (if I still want their empires pre-placed so they have a fighting chance) probably requires an expenditure of effort too great to be worthwhile.