Default Game Graphics Showcase

Leonidas · November 24, 2003, 23:49

I thought this would be a good thread to post Civ 2 custom default game graphics for units, icons, terrain, etc.

Many people don't have the time or knowledge to customize their game. So I thought if we post the custom units and other graphics we use in our default game, then this will not only save others a great deal of time, but it will also re-kindle a new appreciation for Civ 2.

It is amazing how new graphics can add to the enjoyment of the game.

So here is my current default game units file. I have added 11 additional units for those who wish to take advantage of the extra unit slots in Rules.txt.

I searched for the best units to add to this file. When I couldn't find units I wanted, I modified existing ones. And when this wouldn't do, I created new ones.

I have done my best to ensure the author's signature has been added to the appropriate graphic. If I have failed to add your name please let me know.

To add these graphics to your default game, simply right click and select "save as" to add it to your hard drive. Then add this "Units.gif" file to your Civ2 game directory. As always please back-up your original files.

EDIT: Added up-dated Units file with minor corrections.

All graphics drawn or modified by me will carry my signature (LPM).

Leonidas · November 24, 2003, 23:57

Here are the default icons that I use. I found these from a wide variety of sources related to the Civ2 community.

To add these graphics to your default game, simply right click and select "save as" to add it to your hard drive. Re-name the file to: "Icons.gif". Then add this gif file to the Civ2 game directory. As always please back-up your original files.

Leonidas · November 25, 2003, 13:50

For those who are interested in adding those last 11 units to their game, here are the names of the units and their stats that I am currently using.

Here is how to add them to your Civ 2 game:

In Rules.txt:

At the end of Civilization Advances (and just beneath Future Technology), I added the following advances:

Sub-Orbital Flight, 6, -2, Env, nil, 3, 0 ; U1
Anti-Gravity Technology, 6, -2, Sth, nil, 3, 0 ; U2
Advanced Satellites, 6, -2, U2, nil, 3, 0 ; U3

THEN

at the end of Unit Types

I added the following unit stats (for the last 11 units you see in my Units file (posted above). These will fill in the 3 Custom slots and 8 Extra slots you see just below the word Explorer in Rules.txt. You can alter the cost of these units as you like. I prefer more expensive units:

Modern Armor, nil, 0, 4.,0, 12a,8d, 4h,1f, 15,0, 0, Rob, 000000000000000

Advanced Armor, nil, 0, 4.,0, 14a,10d, 5h,1f, 19,0, 0, Sth, 000000000000000

Mobile Artillery, nil, 0, 3.,0, 13a,5d, 3h,2f, 13,0, 0, Sth, 000000001000000

Mobile SAM, nil, 0, 3.,0, 8a,3d, 3h,2f, 10,0, 3, Cmp, 010000000010001

Jet Fighter-Bomber, nil, 1, 12.,2, 6a,4d, 2h,2f, 15,0, 3, Lab, 000000000010001

Nuclear Submarine, nil, 2, 6.,0, 14a,5d, 4h,2f, 19,1, 2, NP, 000000000001001

Attack Jeep, nil, 0, 3.,0, 7a,3d, 2h,1f, 7,0, 0, Mob, 000000000000001

AA Half-Track, nil, 0, 3.,0, 2a,3d, 2h,1f, 5,0, 3, Fli, 010000000010001

Laser Satellite, nil, 1, 18.,2, 16a,6d, 4h,2f, 19,0, 0, U2, 100000001000011

Battle Hovercraft, nil, 0, 2.,0, 16a,12d, 6h,1f, 19,0, 0, Sth, 000001000000001

Sanger III, nil, 1, 16.,2, 12a,6d, 4h,2f, 19,0, 3, Env, 000000000010001

I have arranged for all these units to be fitted into the existing tech tree. They will all appear within the existing techs and time frame except the last three - they will appear AFTER certain other weapons have been researched.

Hope this helps.

I usually prefer slower tech advances and longer games. So I have altered the Rules.txt to reflect this.

To give you some idea of the cost, the Seti Wonder costs 9,500 shields!

Cheers!

PS: I should add that if you want to add the extra 11 units to your game, you should also create your .wav sound files for them. This is very easy to do. Most sounds can be copied from your Civ2 Sound folder. Just find an appropriate sound, make a copy of it, and then re-name it according to the position of the last 11 units:

The sounds for the new units would be re-named like this:

Custom1.wav, Custom2.wav, Custom3.wav, Extra1.wav, Extra2.wav. . ., Extra8.wav.

11 units; 11 new sounds.

For example:

Custom1.wav would be the sound for the "Modern Tank" unit.

Custom2.wav would be the sound for the "Advanced Armour" unit, and so forth for all 11 units.

Hope this is clear

Justinianum · November 26, 2003, 15:41

Quote:

Originally posted by Leonidas

I searched for the best units to add to this file. When I couldn't find units I wanted, I modified existing ones. And when this wouldn't do, I created new ones.

What is your sign; LPM? Damn, Crusader, Cavalry and Howitzer looks really great

N35t0r · November 27, 2003, 07:40

I've so far added a Man Of War (Replaced the frigate, while the frigate was moved back to caravel age (caravel has no attack) and re-worked attack and move of all ships.

I've also added a FLAK around advanced fligt, and a SAM launcher with a new tech 'guided missiles' which is very late in the tree (requires Stealth and something other)

guided missiles also allows exocets to be built, which have two move but pack a greater punch than cruise missiles (and have the sub flag).

Oh, and a patrol boat, modern small, weak, cheap and highly mobile ship, with the trireme flag (though i don't know how low navigation and astronomy has made the lose chance..) it has 9 moves or so...

i also have a disabled merchantman, my experiment with domain 2 caravans.

As with techs, i've moved trade back to after Navigation, to keep those camels from appearing for a longer while.

Leonidas · November 27, 2003, 13:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Justinianum

What is your sign; LPM? Damn, Crusader, Cavalry and Howitzer looks really great

Hi, yes LPM is my signature.

I did the Crusader and Cavalry.

The original graphic for the howitzer is not mine. I forget who did it. I took the original, shrunk both soldiers, added the shells, lengthened the gun barrel, etc, etc.

I should also add that none of the new icons are mine. They were all done by others over the years. I have merely gathered some of the best ones (in my opinion) in one file for use by others.

My only goal here is to allow others, who do not have the time or knowledge, to add new graphics to their game.

Here, in one package, is everything a player will need to add new graphics to his/her game.

Cheers!

Leonidas · November 27, 2003, 13:10

Quote:

Originally posted by N35t0r
I've so far added a Man Of War (Replaced the frigate, while the frigate was moved back to caravel age (caravel has no attack) and re-worked attack and move of all ships.

I've also added a FLAK around advanced fligt, and a SAM launcher with a new tech 'guided missiles' which is very late in the tree (requires Stealth and something other)

guided missiles also allows exocets to be built, which have two move but pack a greater punch than cruise missiles (and have the sub flag).

Oh, and a patrol boat, modern small, weak, cheap and highly mobile ship, with the trireme flag (though i don't know how low navigation and astronomy has made the lose chance..) it has 9 moves or so...

i also have a disabled merchantman, my experiment with domain 2 caravans.

As with techs, i've moved trade back to after Navigation, to keep those camels from appearing for a longer while.

Interesting choices.

It's great to mess around with the techs and graphics. Adds some spice to the default game.

I usually like long games. So I will set the tech at 60/10, with 10 years per turn.

I increased the cost for everything. For example, Wonders, such as the Seti Wonder, are now 9,500 shields.

I also moved Capitalization (renamed to Taxation) to Currency, and moved caravan to Economics. This way, in a long game, the player and AI can accumulate funds while waiting for advances.

Cheers!

Leonidas · November 27, 2003, 18:51

OK, I think I found the "original" howitzer graphic I modified (there are 3 sigs on it - heh). I'll go through all the units again, and I'll add these appropriate sigs along with any others I may have overlooked. It's been a while

I have been very busy doing new unit graphics for the Afrika Korps scenario, so it may take me a day or two to upload a new units file.

Also, I remembered that I did modify a few icons. But I take absolutely no credit for them, since I think their whole purpose is to add to the game, and they should be made widely available to everyone. Frankly, I just can't be bothered writing out everything that I've done. . .

Just enjoy. . .

Leonidas · November 28, 2003, 22:58

Two items:

1) I uploaded a corrected version of my units.gif.

2) This is the cities.gif I use for my default games. I like using the Classical style, and the cities in the modern era look like they are modern cities.

This cities.gif is from Tim Smith's Hi-Res Mod.

Just add this to your Civ2 game directory. Be sure to backup your original files.

Enjoy

N35t0r · November 29, 2003, 01:23

It'd be interesting if you can paste the @improve section of the rules, as i want to check your changed building (and wonder) cost...

I've just set up a game in a gigamap (131 X by 250 Y, so it's 262*250 squares big) Deity, Raging, one month turns, from Jan 1 to Dec 2000, with a tech paradigm of about 350/10 (techs cost 35 times more) and my rules... (5 road move, 5 monarchy support, 10 commie support, some extra units (see above), trade moved back to navigation).. it's hell... techs are at 40 turns, and i've got 6 size 5 cities xinning, with libraries. (12 techs discovered, 114 beakers/turn...)

Leonidas · November 29, 2003, 01:38

Quote:

Originally posted by N35t0r
It'd be interesting if you can paste the @improve section of the rules, as i want to check your changed building (and wonder) cost...

I've just set up a game in a gigamap (131 X by 250 Y, so it's 262*250 squares big) Deity, Raging, one month turns, from Jan 1 to Dec 2000, with a tech paradigm of about 350/10 (techs cost 35 times more) and my rules... (5 road move, 5 monarchy support, 10 commie support, some extra units (see above), trade moved back to navigation).. it's hell... techs are at 40 turns, and i've got 6 size 5 cities xinning, with libraries. (12 techs discovered, 114 beakers/turn...)

Only a 12 turn game?

Did you mean to write Jan1, 4000 BC to Dec, 2000 AD?

I don't think my building and wonder costs would do much good, as they are priced for a very long game.

For example, the default cost for the Seti Wonder is 600 shields. My new cost is set at 9,500 shields (15x higher). Most great wonders are priced this way (such as the Apollo and Mahatten Wonders).

If you want very high prices, my general rule of thumb is this: the better it is and the more specialized it is, the more expensive it will be).

For example, the SDI improvement should be 50 shields (or more higher).

You can add perhaps 10-30 shields for all improvements, and double the cost of the better wonders such as Leonardo's Workshop and Bach's Cathederal.

But in a 12 turn game, I can't see how you would build much, unless I am missing something

yaroslav · November 29, 2003, 07:13

Maybe the wanted to write June of year 1AD to December of year 2000AD

BTW, I really love the diplomat unit. The hoztwizer is also nice...

A question about the sthealth bomber... what did you did to this unit? It looks very close to the original F117A graphics included with Civ2... Have you though about making a B-1 or B-2 graphic? In fact, they're also in some ways sthealths bombers, IIRC, and looks much more menancing :evilgreen:

Leonidas · November 29, 2003, 11:46

Quote:

Originally posted by yaroslav
Maybe the wanted to write June of year 1AD to December of year 2000AD

BTW, I really love the diplomat unit. The hoztwizer is also nice...

A question about the sthealth bomber... what did you did to this unit? It looks very close to the original F117A graphics included with Civ2... Have you though about making a B-1 or B-2 graphic? In fact, they're also in some ways sthealths bombers, IIRC, and looks much more menancing :evilgreen:

Hi

Yes, I am sure he wanted a longer game.

The stealth bomber is the default one. But if you compare the two, the one I did is much bigger. I have no fancy paint program, so I enlarged the default one all by hand, pixel by pixel. This avoided any distortion in the image.

The difference is quite dramatic in-game. This new default stealth bomber now looks and handles like a stealth bomber. I just couldn't stand the size of the default one, and there weren't any graphics out there I was happy with.

Yes, I agree the B-1and B-2 look quite nice. I will have to give that some thought.

Every few months I do a revision of my default units file, so I may keep this in mind for the future

Cheers!

Panda · November 29, 2003, 18:51

I had tinkered with the unit order slightly so that most transport, zero attack units, use the extra slots to avoid wasting a sound file.

* sigh * I miss my old Ninja unit: 5a,2d,1h,1f, 5 cost, alpine. Great for hunting down rebel leaders

N35t0r · November 30, 2003, 00:14

Sorry for the misunderstanding, it's January of the year 1 A.D. to December of the year 2000 A.D., using one month turns (like, 12*2000 = 24000 turns )

and let me search for my units gif...

N35t0r · November 30, 2003, 00:25

I haven0t changed much of the graphics, and for some reason my PSP doesn't even open

, but the tree extra units are: Frigate (caravel has no attack, and frigate is contemporary to it), Merchantman (disabled, idea was to use it as a sea trader, made it by adding the frigate's rigging to the galleon), torpedo bomber (plane with a sub flag, cheaper than the stealth bomber and a bit stronger, but can only attack ships, drawn by me, it's horrible i know)

then the extra units:

1= pt boat
2= Horse Archer, requires warrior code, 2A,2D,2M, costs the same as a knight, upgrades to it.
3=guided missile. stronger than cruise missile, 2 move.
4=FLAK x2 vs air, fighter flag
5=SAM launcher, same as FLAK but stronger (both are still weaker than alpine and mech. inf. respectively vs. ground units)
8= another attempt at the torpedo bomber image (disabled)

N35t0r · November 30, 2003, 00:30

Here's terrain1:
(on the bottom right, you can admire my beautiful cows

)

N35t0r · November 30, 2003, 00:38

Terrain 2. I've removed the river outlines. And at the other computer i've darkened them a bit, and made them smoother (no 90º bends...)

N35t0r · November 30, 2003, 00:49

And the icons. Only thing worth to mention is the darker pattern for the civ windows.

Panda · November 30, 2003, 01:35

Nice TOT conversions

Leonidas · November 30, 2003, 20:23

Quote:

Originally posted by N35t0r
Sorry for the misunderstanding, it's January of the year 1 A.D. to December of the year 2000 A.D., using one month turns (like, 12*2000 = 24000 turns )

and let me search for my units gif...

24,000 turns

Holy Hemroids, Batman - that will be a game you will be able to pass down from generation to generation - heh.

But one thing I have found is that the longer the game, the more it feels like you are passing through history.

I'm curious, is it possible to slow down tech research in the 300/10 and more range?

Also, Can units be priced higher than 200 shields?

And, can Wonders be priced above the 9,000 shield range, such as 25,000 shields, etc?

To play a 24,000 turn game, you will need to max everything out to its most expensive version.

Leonidas · November 30, 2003, 20:32

Panda:

Why did you have to discard your Ninja unit?

You have some nice units in your file. Sure makes a big difference in the default game, eh?

Cheers!

Leonidas · November 30, 2003, 20:35

N35t0r:

You have some great graphics.

In particular I see several great icons that I've never seen before.

I can see I'll be busy tonight

N35t0r · December 1, 2003, 10:02

What i've been most time working on is the terrain...

As for the tech paradigm, i've set it up to 350/10 using the cheat menu. And i haven't over-priced buildings, as i havn't messed up with the rules yet.

Dr. Nick · December 1, 2003, 11:42

The beautiful units, ripped off all you wonderful unit makers.

Dr. Nick · December 1, 2003, 11:43

Cities...

Dr. Nick · December 1, 2003, 11:44

Terrain 1...

Dr. Nick · December 1, 2003, 11:45

Terrain 2...

Dr. Nick · December 1, 2003, 11:47

Icons...

Leonidas · December 1, 2003, 13:26

Quote:

Originally posted by N35t0r
What i've been most time working on is the terrain...

As for the tech paradigm, i've set it up to 350/10 using the cheat menu. And i haven't over-priced buildings, as i havn't messed up with the rules yet.

N35t0r:

With a game set at 24,000 turns and tech research set at 350/10, you will definitely need to max out all prices on all units and buildings.

I didn't know you could set research so slow. And the longest game I set before was at 1,200 turns.

You will have yourself quite a game.

Here are my costs for city improvements and Wonders. In your case I would set the costs even higher. Also, please note that I moved capitalization to Currency and re-named it taxation. You will need something for your cities to build while you wait for advances.

; City Improvements
;
; cost(x10), upkeep, preq
;
@IMPROVE
Nothing, 1, 0, nil,
Palace, 20, 0, Mas,
Barracks, 6, 1, nil,
Granary, 8, 1, Pot,
Temple, 6, 1, Cer,
MarketPlace, 10, 1, Cur,
Library, 10, 1, Wri,
Courthouse, 10, 1, CoL,
City Walls, 10, 0, Mas,
Aqueduct, 10, 2, Cst,
Bank, 15, 3, Ban,
Cathedral, 15, 3, MT,
University, 18, 3, Uni,
Mass Transit, 16, 4, MP,
Colosseum, 13, 4, PT,
Factory, 25, 4, Ind,
Manufacturing Plant, 35, 6, Rob,
SDI Defense, 40, 4, Las,
Recycling Center, 23, 2, Rec,
Power Plant, 25, 4, Ref,
Hydro Plant, 35, 4, E2,
Nuclear Plant, 45, 2, NP,
Stock Exchange, 25, 4, Eco,
Sewer System, 15, 2, San,
Supermarket, 10, 3, Rfg,
Superhighways, 30, 5, Aut,
Research Lab, 30, 3, Cmp,
SAM Missile Battery, 20, 2, Roc,
Coastal Fortress, 15, 1, Met,
Solar Plant, 35, 4, Env,
Harbor, 10, 1, Sea,
Offshore Platform, 30, 3, Min,
Airport, 22, 3, Rad,
Police Station, 10, 2, Cmn,
Port Facility, 10, 3, Amp,
SS Structural, 30, 0, SFl,
SS Component, 40, 0, Pla,
SS Module, 60, 0, Sup,
(Taxation), 90, 0, Cur,
Pyramids, 30, 0, Mas,
Hanging Gardens, 30, 0, Pot,
Colossus, 25, 0, Bro,
Lighthouse, 25, 0, Map,
Great Library, 55, 0, Lit,
Oracle, 35, 0, Mys,
Great Wall, 40, 0, Mas,
Sun Tzu's War Academy, 60, 0, Feu,
King Richard's Crusade, 35, 0, Eng,
Marco Polo's Embassy, 45, 0, Tra,
Michelangelo's Chapel, 50, 0, MT,
Copernicus' Observatory, 50, 0, Ast,
Magellan's Expedition, 45, 0, Nav,
Shakespeare's Theatre, 35, 0, Med,
Leonardo's Workshop, 60, 0, Inv,
J. S. Bach's Cathedral, 50, 0, The,
Isaac Newton's College, 55, 0, ToG,
Adam Smith's Trading Co., 45, 0, Eco,
Darwin's Voyage, 45, 0, RR,
Statue of Liberty, 50, 0, Dem,
Eiffel Tower, 35, 0, SE,
Women's Suffrage, 70, 0, Ind,
Hoover Dam, 100, 0, E2,
Manhattan Project, 950, 0, NF,
United Nations, 100, 0, Cmn,
Apollo Program, 950, 0, SFl,
SETI Program, 950, 0, Cmp,
Cure for Cancer, 100, 0, Gen,

My units have been priced in a similar manner.

In your case, go into the Rules.txt and double the prices you see for all units. For the better units such as stealth and nukes, etc, max out the prices to 190 shields.