Using unit icon "collections" in the unit editor....

SkeleTony · August 23, 1999, 21:40

Ok...I DL'd that Mideivel/fantasy units collection from the archive.But I can't figure out how to apply the new icons graphics in the unit icon editor.I'm not sure if it's because the 300+ units are arranged differently than the units1-3 files in the library or what...someone pleaser help!

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SkeleTony

August 23, 1999, 22:48

AHHHHHHH!

FW is evil! Do not use the editor! Evil!

Instead, open up a paint program, open up the units.gif you want to add the units to. Then open up the units collection. Cut the one you want to add and then paste it onto the unit.gif. You do have PSP right?

If you use Corel (Like me) you need Microsoft Paint (It comes with windows). Then all you do is cut the image out of Corel and paste it into MS Paint. The reason for this extra step? Well, Corel doesn't automatically remap the colors like PSP does. I can still get around that

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JUST STAY AWAY FROM THE FW EDITOR!!!!!!

SkeleTony · August 24, 1999, 00:41

Thanx !Yes I do own PSP.I'm still fairly new to civ2 (been playing about 7 months) but I was itching to play around with the editors a bit.

Michael Daumen · August 24, 1999, 08:32

The graphic editors are very hard to work with in FW. Also, don't use the events editor - copy and old events file from another scenario and replace everything. Why? Because the events editor won't let you create barbarian units if you want them.

August 24, 1999, 17:45

There's no harm in playing around with the editors, but they can only do so much. To REALLY modify a game you have to dig deep into the realms of Rules.txt and Game.txt.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the class of 1999, DON'T USE THE FW EDITOR!!!"

What a crappy parody of the Baz Luhrman song...

valmont · August 25, 1999, 11:08

Well, what's wrong with using the editor for the things it can do, then editing the file by hand for the things the editor won't do?

August 25, 1999, 18:33

Sit down my son for I must tell you a tale of a hideous monster by the name of FW editor...

No really. The rules editor is full of bugs that will mess up your files making it so you have to redo them. (Bad thing)

The graphics editor doesn't have the tools you need to make new icons for improvements and units. (Bad thing)

The events editor is just trash because you can't make barbarian units with it and it makes all of your events embedded. (Bad thing)

These are just but a few of the things that the evil FW editor can do (Or not do).

Ken Hinds · August 26, 1999, 01:53

Are the problems with the FW editors the reason that for some, not all, scenarios that were created for FW I'm getting these messages that say "Barracks attack at" or "Aquaduct attack at" when I'm attacked by some units? It seems to happen primarily for things that would be the same as a missle. I'm using MGE and thought that it was just some conflict between the two versions that was my problem. Is it possibly the editors that were used to create the scenarios instead?

August 26, 1999, 21:18

Well, that's a new one...I've seen stuff like that where units with the missile (destroyed after attacking) flag is turned on, then the message "missile attack near ____" comes up. Haven't seen anything about improvements before. There are too many bugs in the editors to know for sure.

Ken Hinds · August 27, 1999, 02:06

Sofar it has been improvements, names of specialized units that only my civ has, and names of other civs, including myself, but not the actual attacking civ or unit doing the attacking. Sofar I have not had this problem with scenarios that state that they are designed for MGE.

Ken

ZTA_Vector · August 29, 1999, 05:10

Well what about the tech tree editor? or the unit stats editor? (not the graphics ed. i know thats gay). These make it much more streamlined, you just type in a few numbers, no looking or trying to remember what field was what. The units editor works fine this way, and what about the terrain editor? I've used it to change irrigation settings and what the terrain turns into after its transformed and it works perfectly fine. So I wouldnt say the entire package is bad just because the events editor has a few bugs.

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-Vector

August 29, 1999, 14:42

Actually, I startd out attempting to make my scenarios (not exactly the appropriate word...) in notepad, so after a bit of practice I've been able to memorize what values are what. Now...

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Well what about the tech tree editor?

Easy, if you try to make civ specific units/advances, then you're gonna get burned. There are two tips on it in the SLeague ( Tip 15; Tip 16)

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or the unit stats editor?

Lalalalalalala, I think it's annoying to have to keep flipping between one unit and the other, especially when in Notepad all the units are right there in front of you.

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what about the terrain editor?

Don't know much about that, but nontheless, I still don't like it. What I do know is that it changes the rules.txt, and due to the Laws of FW Editor, in the Book of Fast Eddie, and I quote,

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The editor has a tendency to screw around with the rules.txt and therefore make it incompatible with the game, and thus make you have to redo your rules.txt time and again

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So I wouldnt say the entire package is bad just because the events editor has a few bugs.

Neither would I. The entire package is bugged.

[This message has been edited by Fast_Eddie (edited August 29, 1999).]

ZTA_Vector · August 31, 1999, 09:09

Those are great links, good tips. Thanks for showing them to me.

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-Vector

valmont · August 31, 1999, 13:27

So FastEddie, none of these things was fixed in MGE?

Geronimo · September 7, 1999, 02:43

i have been trying to cut and paste custom units into units.gif using Micrographix Picture publisher that came with my scanner. All seems well but when I try to start the game, even if all i did was change a white pixel to a gray pixel, it doesnt even make it to the intro movie but instead crashes with a page fault error. What do you suppose is the problem?

September 7, 1999, 18:35

Whoops, been gone a few days so...

ZTA_Vector -

Good to know that those helped!

valmont -

Well, the editor wasn't really upgraded for MGE. So they didn't change anything except that you get a few more lines of text for your events. And MGE wasn't an entirely new package, just FW with some scenarios from CIC and a multiplayer capability added. I wish it were better.

Geronimo -

I've heard a lot of that, but the game has never crashed on me just for putting in new units icons. Did you change the rules.txt too?

It's good to see that you're cutting and pasting! If this program isn't working, try using Microsoft Paint, the program that comes with windows. I kinda wrote out an explanation of this in the SLeague forums here: New update in WW1979 ALL NEW ART!!!

I think that the main problem is that program. Many people have had problems with it, and my guess is that it won't remap the colors to the Civ2 palette. I don't know why that would make it crash. Anywaym just try to MS Paint for now, and if that doesn't work, ask Cam. He'll know, he's answered that a lot. I'll work on finding some past threads that may hold the answer....

[This message has been edited by Fast_Eddie (edited September 08, 1999).]

Geronimo · September 8, 1999, 00:28

it just gets stranger and stranger!

I managed to get one of my unit cut and pastes to work by saving it as bmp, opening with ms paint, then resaving while specifying 256 color, then using micrographx picture publisher to resave as .gif . The results were satisfying and it didn't crash. Now I've done a much more thorough job, cutting and pasting in about a dozen units to replace the ugly civ2 originals. But this time its really wierd. when I loaded the game it was still using all the original unit pictures except for my first customized addition that i mentioned earlier! I checked to make sure I had properly saved the changes to the file and they were still there. I used netscape (since like paint it wont do screwy things to a file if it opens it) to view the units.gif file in my civ2 directory and sure enough the changes were all there! I cut out the units.gif file and on a whim tried running civ without it and it was *still* there! This even though civ2 no longer had any units.gif file in its main directory any more! I did a find units.gif search on all my drives and the only ones on my system were in the civ scenario directories! Where else can civ2 grab the unit pictures other than the units.gif file? can it grab it out of saved games or something???

Prince_Pixie · September 8, 1999, 06:50

That's... unusual. I know for sure civ can't grab graphics files from saved games, so unless your accvidentally loading a saved game from a scenario folder, I can only deduce that your computer is haunted by the phantom units.gif you edited. Strange but true.

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"A strong people do not need a strong leader."
-Emiliano Zapata.

September 8, 1999, 19:44

Try just using .bmp instead of the .gif. .bmp's are easier to use because the game will use a .bmp over a .gif anyday. Try it.

Geronimo · September 9, 1999, 01:12

that was it!! i had stored a backed up units.bmp in the civ2 directory for editing purposes thinking that civ only used .gif files. Changing its name to units.bak from units.bmp caused civ2 to load up my new units.gif file.

Stefan Härtel · September 12, 1999, 08:38

Back to the editors: I like using them, because they're the quickest way. I don't like the icons editor, but the events editor is very good (I never had it necessary to create barbarian units, and if, I would do that with notepad, but the editor is the quickest). The units editor is also allright, and so is the tech tree editor. OK, it sometimes messes up the rules.txt/.ger, but then I save the game, quit, go back in again et voila! it works again! Sure, it's anoying, but I'm kinda lazy. But for details, I ALWAYS go into rules.txt