Possible to alter map tiles?

Ravenloff · January 11, 2004, 16:34

..a la Call To Power?

Frankly, that was one of the things about the CTP games I liked. Once you get enough tech, you should be able to alter the landscape. Loved that feature in SMACX as well.

I'm basically looking to see if this is even doable before devoting any time to it and hopefully someone has messed with this before.

For instance, changing plains to grassland or changing a flat tile to a hill then a mountain. Or tundra to plains then grassland. PUT THOSE ENGINEERS TO WORK!!!

vmxa1 · January 11, 2004, 19:27

No can do, no engineers in CivIII, only workers. No terraforming ala Civ2 or Smac.

Ravenloff · January 11, 2004, 20:09

Sorry I was unclear.

I was not asking if it can be done within the current build of the game. I am asking if it would be possible to alter the map tiles DURING a game, such as a map redraw at the beginning or end of each turn. What I'm talking about here is modding Civ3, not playing it as is.

The Mad Monk · January 13, 2004, 03:24

Sadly, no. What you are looking for is a way to add "transformation" (aka mountains into hills, etc) jobs to workers. I was looking for that, too, but it can't be done.

...which is a pity, since the ability to clear forests and jungle shows that the transform mechanism is in there.

Ravenloff · January 13, 2004, 22:38

You make a good point about clearing forests and jungles, but it seems contradictory as well. If you can do those in the code, you should be able to code for other things as well.

I can envision the entire map (minus the ocean/lake/sea squares) being grassland underneath whatever the editor has placed there. Thus, each non-grassland square would have two levels, only one of which would be visible. This may be too complicated, but it would work.

One problem I see is an esthetic one. Civ 3 seems to have made an attempt to harmoniously flow together like terrain features. If you notice, the mountain ranges look like mountain ranges, not a collection of mountain tiles. Yes, there is noticable duplicity in the art used, but the edges flow together far better in Civ 3 than in something like, say CTPII, which is what I'm trying to emulate with this feature. Still, I am betting that it can be done.