Editing the Rules.txt

The ANZAC · March 29, 2002, 12:36

How do you edit the rules.txt usually? Through a program, the in game editor, or notepad? Also what is a good program out there that is user friendly and edits the rules other than the ingame editor?

techumseh · March 29, 2002, 12:55

Quote:

Originally posted by The ANZAC
How do you edit the rules.txt usually? Through a program, the in game editor, or notepad? Also what is a good program out there that is user friendly and edits the rules other than the ingame editor?

Just Notepad.

Henrik · March 29, 2002, 12:56

I ussually combine the ingame editor and manual editing when doing a scenario...
For example, there is really no limit to how long unit names can be, but the ingame editor thinks 15 is the limit (after 20 they start to look bad though)...

Oh and do make regular copies of your files as the ingame editor tend to screw things up ocasionally (from time to time I've had it insert the word "Dutch" for all tribe entries in my city.txt (and the dutch where not even in that city.txt to start with!))...

klesh · March 29, 2002, 13:50

Strait up notepad all the time for me. The editor seems unwieldly. I just feel more in control with the notepad, though it probably invites more possibility of error because you are free to make as many typos as your fingers will allow.

-FMK

WarVoid · March 29, 2002, 14:01

My three main tools are Notepad, Paintbrush and Winfile.

Hendrik the Great · March 29, 2002, 14:36

To make a good scenario all I need is Notepad and PaintBrush for the grafics....and of course a lot of patience.

Soundwave · March 29, 2002, 15:01

Oh damn, i used the ingame editor..... is that bad?

our_man · March 29, 2002, 17:49

In-game editor for most stuff. Unfortunately it's impossible to create Civ-specific tech trees using this, so I usually use notepad to do the tech tree and some of the other stuff which can't be changed by the in-game editors.

I really think people are too hard on the in-game editor. It does have many faults, but it can be quite handy at times.

Case · March 29, 2002, 18:26

I use the in-game editor for minor changes (eg adjusting units stats, renaming wonders, etc), and notepad for major changes (eg all the inital work on the scenario). As Henrik recomended, I regularly save back ups

winterfritz · March 29, 2002, 18:57

What are the problems with the in-game editor? As a scenario designer rookie, I like how much easier it makes things and I'm using it for most of my scenarios. Are there any major bugs that I should be aware of?

Case · March 29, 2002, 19:11

Quote:

Originally posted by winterfritz
What are the problems with the in-game editor? As a scenario designer rookie, I like how much easier it makes things and I'm using it for most of my scenarios. Are there any major bugs that I should be aware of?

The in-game editor is rather buggy. From my experiances this can result in:
* all the unit names being reset to their original name
* Your tech tree being screwed up (this is probably the main problem IMO)
* Your events being screwed up
* etc

The trick seems to be to only use the editor in brief spurts, and to use notepad when you've got major changes to make.

Anyway, I find notepad easier to use becuase you've got everything laid out in front of you.

winterfritz · March 29, 2002, 19:19

Quote:

* all the unit names being reset to their original name

I think I've met that problem - its when all the names get mixed up, and you get terrain with names like Cure for Cancer and improvements called Unit66, isn't it? I've found if you just reload to your last save, all the weird names go back to normal.

I agree, using it in bursts seems to work - with frequent saves in between. I probably should backup the rules more though. And if the editor screws up events and tech trees, I'll try to use it less. Thanks Case

Case · March 29, 2002, 19:24

Quote:

Originally posted by winterfritz
I think I've met that problem - its when all the names get mixed up, and you get terrain with names like Cure for Cancer and improvements called Unit66, isn't it? I've found if you just reload to your last save, all the weird names go back to normal.

I've had a couple of occurences where the names were permanently changed in rules.txt

Soundwave · March 29, 2002, 20:31

Well i had that problem and its so annoying i cant believe it!!

The ANZAC · March 30, 2002, 00:20

I forget, but doesn't anyone know the name of a program that was user friendly that edited rules.txt? I think Carl Fritz (aka Gothmog or Grothgar, I forget who is who) put it out though I don't know.

Up till now, I was editing with notepad and I probably still will

The ANZAC · March 31, 2002, 21:45

Where can I find a program that edits the rules other than the game?

Jacobite1688 · March 31, 2002, 22:09

I had 2.42 for the longest time and managed to design or (at least dream of doing) a number of things that I later saw in FW scnearios. So, I am a notepad/paintshop pro designer. As of this writing, I have NEVER used the FW editors for anything.

The ANZAC · April 2, 2002, 18:05

So no one has heard of any other programs made especially for editing the rules.txt and isn't the in-game editor?

techumseh · April 2, 2002, 18:38

I'm not sure what you're looking for. It's really just a text file, so any word processing program can probably do it. What's wrong with Notepad?

Case · April 2, 2002, 18:48

Quote:

Originally posted by The ANZAC
So no one has heard of any other programs made especially for editing the rules.txt and isn't the in-game editor?

You can copy the rules.txt file into a spreadsheet and work on it there. Someone with MS Access skills could probably make a nifty little program out of that
(don't look at me - I havn't touched Access since 1997! [when I was rather good at it

])

The ANZAC · April 2, 2002, 18:58

I know I COULD edit it with notepad as I have, but I could have sworn I saw a program that has a list of the units, you click on the unit that you want edit and it has nice boxes for all the attributes and is really user-friendly.

Oh-well, I can always keep on using notepad.