Help for new mod

[Steph]

Hello everybody!
I'm new to this forum, and have a few questions. I'm currently making a new mod that change a lot of things in CTP2.
First of all, I think there's not enough fighting at the early age: The units take to long to build, and if you go military, you don't have enough resource to improve your city. Moreover, the units are really to slow, and take forever to attack. Do you find it reallistic for a warrior to need something like 100 years to build? And 100 years to move 5 tiles?
So my first changes are :
- Increase the movement rate of all units (about 50%)
- Reduce the cost of units (about 30%), but the maintenance cost remains the same, and the cost of advance also. This way you can build an army faster, but not a bigger one, or more modern one.

I have also added a lot of units : I have 140 units right now, and plan to add a few more if I can find the graphics.

I'm also working on the tech tree. I want a lot more advances, with more logical links between them (I think the tech tree of Civ2 was more logical). There will be some tech that will not cost a lot, but will give you some new unit or improvment. S
ome tech may be dead end : their only purpose will be to give you a specific item, without being mandotary to discover other advances. The idea is to avoid some "shockpoint" in the tech tree, where a discovery is mandatory.

To complete my mod, I now need some help, as I'm not involved in mod creation as much as some of you.

Fist, I need some graphics. Could someone give me a link to a site where I could find them, or perhaps design them for me (and other mod creator). I must confess that I'm really ba at drawing, and I am completely unable to do them myself.
I would need :
- pictures for CTP1 units / tech. Does someone already have extracted them as tga files, usable easily?
- Sprite and picture for :
- A WW2 bomber (the one from Harlan is nice, but is not animated).
- An early jet fighter (same as above)
- An early plane (with 2 wings, same remark as above)
- An WW2 aircraft carrier (same as above)
- A modern jet fighter different from the interceptor (it will be a fighter bomber, so it would be nice to have some missile launching animation). An A10 whartog could be very nice.
- A chariot (I know some is currently designing one)
- A 18 century musketer (with a tricorn, same looking as the new unit for CIV3)
- An amphibious assault boat (the big one used by the american, that can carry some helicopters, AV8, marines, etc...
- An MLRS,
- A battleship different from the existing one (to make modern battleship with missile).
- Infantry from the napoleonic wars
- Infantry from WWI
- Infantry from WW2
- Modern infantry
- More cavaliers : Dragoon, Hussard, Cuirassier, Ulhan...
- A crusader (with a nice white coat and a red cross).
- A truck
- A Armored Personnal Carrier (a Bradley for instance)

Right now, I have already added the units, but they use non animated graphics, or share other units graphics and are difficult to distinguish.

I would also know what software I could use to modify the sprites and/or pictures : the only think I would be able to change are the colors, to increase differences between units, but I don't have a software that can work with .tga files, and I don't know how to "decompile" .spr files.

Lastly, I have a few questions :
- How can I add a city improvment prerequesite for a unit? Like a stable to build cavalry units? I read something about it in an other topic, but there was only the idea, not the way to do it.
- How can I add the guerilla system of Civ2? Where guerilla units appears after a city is captured?




[This message has been edited by Steph (edited January 01, 2001).]

[Darkknight]

Paintshop-pro can edit the .TGA files for one but the sprites I don't know I'd like to know myself ive asked Wes if he edited any.have you used the sprites from ctp1 there still in the srite folder.

for the unit prerequisite I dont think you'd be able to do it even with slic but try anyway.
for guerilla thing i think you probably can use slic for that go to http://apolyton.net/ctp2/modificatio...ion/slic.shtml
for more info on what slic can do.
It's annoying not being able to edit the units.Do you actually know if there is a still image file used for the GL pics of units.I searched through the .tga files etc. but couldn't find anythinf likely

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" mind over body "

[Darkknight]

check out http://apolyton.net/civ3/info/ for some still images from civ3 could be used

can't wait for more.hang on ive got ctp2 i can wait a
week maybe 2

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" mind over body "

[Steph]

quote: Originally posted by Darkknight on 01-01-2001 10:52 PM have you used the sprites from ctp1 there still in the srite folder.

I did that. But how can I get the pictures for the icones and the GL? It's easy for the sprite, but not for the still. I can make screen print from CTP1, but that would be a lot of job

[Darkknight]

Do you Know what files to change for the Great Library pictures and icons? I couldn't find them anywhere.

[Harlan]

Its to fill needs like this that I just finished making new graphics. Check out the thread "tons of new graphics coming soon". I just did images for around 95 wonders, 130 techs and 60 buildings, plus there's an explanation on how to change the .txt files to use them properly that's included in the thread. Most of the wonder images are already at Wes' website (apolyton.net/wes), and I've given him the rest to put up, hopefully soon.

Making one's own is really easy too, which is how I made so many in a short time. Unfortunately, if you want more unit grapics, they're very hard to make. There is no way to decompile sprite files. Since it takes someone who's really good at 3D graphic programming, currently to my knowledge only Morgoth is making new ones, unfortunately, but I think most people want similar things, so many of your needs should be filled in time, if Morgoth keeps at it. Let's get some more talented artists out there to make units!

There is one sprite file he made that as far as I know isn't in general circulation: a sprite of the Me262. That would fill one of your needs nicely, you should email him about it.

Finally, share and share alike. People will be making code for the partisan effect soon, and probably other things you'll want to use as well.

[Bluevoss]

I dunno if there is really an early-era problem with the game (at least, I don't have a problem with it).

I think that armies were pretty small back then. Civs just couldn't affort to put WW2 sized armies togther. Hannabal only had 60,000 (only 30,000 by the time he got over the alps). Alexander only had 30,000 or so on his march. That really isn't a lot.

Furhter, as the for speed, well, I consider that an abstration. A modern nuclear ship can sail around the world, what, four times in a year? How can you show this (outside of month turns). In five years (roughly), alexander took several population centers, fought three large engagements, and pushed from Greece all the way to India. Since thats 200 BC, you've got one turn to do it. If you speed up the movement rates, then you would have to slow down the passage of years. I figure that would be unacceptable, since there are great gaps in history where nothing really happened (not quickly, anyway). Thats why the time passage speeds up (so you can get more history into a shorter span, to illistrate the speeding up of technology). And units speeds are relative to each other, outside of time, so that impovements make more sense. Otherwise, you are looking at speed/year, and when the time scale speeds up, units would be forced to slow down.

I figure its an acceptable abstraction. Unlike the abstration of calling the AI "Artificial Intellegence"

My two cents.



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Bluevoss-

[Dale]

I find it's easier to click on the date and turn it into the turn indicator. Then there's no worries on the year. Call it however long you want. I just call 1 turn = 1 year.

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Rommell to a sub-commander outside Tobruk: "Those Australians are in there somewhere. But where? Let's advance and wait till they shoot, then shoot back."

[Steph]

Thank you for your answer Harlan.
I've seen you had provide still pictures for some CTP1 units. Do you know if I can find all of them somewhere?