Civ 3 Oddities

Jumping Choya · April 27, 2002, 14:49

No, not all that culture flipping and tank vs. spearman stuff.

I'm not sure if this is old news to everybody else, but there is a lot of interesting stuff in the Text directory of the game. Some of it pertains to multiplayer, and some things are references to Alpha Centauri (or features from Alpha Centauri that never made it in the final game). So, I've gathered these up to show here.

In the file "menu.txt"

Quote:

All things in bold are definitely from Alpha Centauri and are not in Civ 3.

From "play the world.txt":

Quote:

; Play the world
; text strings for the main menu
; Created: D.E.

#PTW
EXIT
MAIN MENU
Get the Game of the Week
Get the Game of the Day
View Scores
Exit
Your Current Score:

#PTWERR_SERVER_NOT_FOUND
Cannot find the Server or communications error.

#PTWERR_BAD_USERNAME
Bad username, please re-enter or create a new account.

#PTWERR_BAD_PASSWORD
Password incorrect, please try again.

#PTWERR_UNDEFINED
Undefined error. Server returned something unexpected.

# ; This line must remain at end of file

Seems to be the remnants of the multiplayer system.

From "script.txt":

Quote:

#comment __________________________________________________ _______________________________________Multi-player Stuff

#DIALOGUEMESS
#x 300
#y 280
#xs 320
#caption Enter You Message

Message:

#DIALOGUE
#caption Select Leader
#text
Who would you like to send the message to?

#INITIATETRADE
#caption Select Leader
#text
Who would you like to trade with?

#TRADECONFIRM
#caption Trade Request
#text
$LEADER0 would like to trade with you, do you accept?

There's quite a bit more. Basically, it's all of the multiplayer text you would need for the game.

From "labels.txt":

Quote:

UNTITLED
Male
Female
Preferences
Adv. Preferences
Warning Preferences
Automation Preferences
Audio/Visual Preferences
30-50% of surface
Strong (Rolling and flat terrain)
Sparse (light rainfall)
Rare
CUSTOM GAME OPTIONS
Max Players
Global Difficulty Level
Planet Size
Ocean Coverage
Erosive Forces
Native Life Forms
Cloud Cover
Toggle
Load Map
Load Scenario
Load Game
Random

Again, there are some more references to Alpha Centauri features in there.

So, these cases beg the question, how much did Firaxis cut back on the game? Or, did they copy-paste from Alpha Centauri for much of their settings? Or is it a subtle joke? And, wouldn't multiplayer be fun?

Alex · April 27, 2002, 16:09

I think that when they started to create Civ3 they borrowed some things from SMAC, to work as a basic engine. Also, remember that Brian Reynolds was leading the team, so it was natural that he decided to use things from his masterpiece.

PhoenixPhlame73 · April 27, 2002, 16:40

more strange SMAC stuff:

;
; Sid Meier's CIVILIZATION III
;
; Copyright (c) 1997, 1998 by Firaxis Games, Inc.
;

#INVERTLIST
6
Garden
Gaia's
The
Morgan
Lab
U.N.

#GENERIC
Rochester
Tenino
Vader
Elma
Mossyrock
Morton
Packwood
Mineral
Lebam
Mabel
Shelton
Aberdeen
Longview
Cosmopolis
Bucoda
Onalaska
#END

# ; This line must remain at end

Apparently leftover MP stuff:

; Play the world
; text strings for the main menu
; Created: D.E.

#PTW
EXIT
MAIN MENU
Get the Game of the Week
Get the Game of the Day
View Scores
Exit
Your Current Score:

#PTWERR_SERVER_NOT_FOUND
Cannot find the Server or communications error.

#PTWERR_BAD_USERNAME
Bad username, please re-enter or create a new account.

#PTWERR_BAD_PASSWORD
Password incorrect, please try again.

#PTWERR_UNDEFINED
Undefined error. Server returned something unexpected.

# ; This line must remain at end of file

;
; Sid Meier's CIVILIZATION III
;
; General JACKAL Errors
;
; Copyright (c) 1997, 1998 by Firaxis Games, Inc.
;

#FILEWIN_LOAD
#xs 320
#caption LOADING ERROR
Unable to find file $FILENAME0.

#FILEWIN_SAVEEXISTS
#xs 320
#caption WARNING
^^$FILENAME0 already exists. Overwrite?

#NET_LOBBY_PASSWORD_QUERY
#xs 320
#caption Set password?

Yes
No

#NET_LOBBY_INPUT_PASSWORD
#xs 320
#caption Enter session password

#NETCONNECT_CREATE
#xs 320
#caption Host Multiplayer Game
#editbox
#itemlist
Enter game name:
Enter your name:
##Optional password:

#NETCONNECT_JOIN
#xs 320
#caption Join Multiplayer Game
#itemlist
Enter your name:

#NETCONNECT_NEED_SESSION
#xs 320
#caption NOTICE
^^Game name required. Please try again.

#NETCONNECT_NEED_PLAYER
#xs 320
#caption NOTICE
^^Player name required. Please try again.

#NETCONNECT_MAX_PLAYERS
#xs 200
#caption Create Multiplayer Game
^^Choose number of players allowed

#NETCONNECT_PASSWORD_SET
#xs 320
#caption NOTICE
^^Password protection has been set.

#NETCONNECT_SESSION_NOT_FOUND
#xs 320
#caption Game Not Found
#button Try Again
No game was found.

#NETCONNECT_SESSIONS
#xs 440
#caption Pick Game to Join
#button Refresh

#FILEFIND_NOCD
#xs 320
#caption Sid Meier's CIVILIZATION III
#button Retry
The CIVILIZATION III CD-ROM was not detected. Some game features
will not function without the CD in the drive unless you have
performed a "Complete Install".

#NETCONNECT_JOIN_OR_CREATE
#xs 320
#caption Host or Join Session
Would you like to host a new game or join an existing one?

Host
Join

#SELECTSERVICE
#xs 320
#caption MultiPlayer Setup
Select a service...

#FILEWIN
FILE NAME

#DDRAWERROR
#xs 320
#caption DirectDraw Error
#button Install DirectX
We have encountered a problem with the DirectDraw configuration
on your machine. The following error was returned: $SOMEERROR0. The game requires
proper installation of DirectX, version 5 or later. If you would like to try
installing or reinstalling DirectX, please be sure the game CD-ROM is in your drive, and
press "Install DirectX" below.

#DPLAYERROR
#xs 320
#caption DirectPlay Error
#button Install DirectX
We have encountered a problem with the DirectPlay configuration
on your machine. The following error was returned: $SOMEERROR0. The game requires
proper installation of DirectX, version 5 or later. If you would like to try
installing or reinstalling DirectX, please be sure the game CD-ROM is in your drive, and
press "Install DirectX" below.

#CDNOTFOUND
#xs 320
#caption Sid Meier's CIVILIZATION III
#button Retry
The Alpha Centauri CD-ROM was not detected. Some game features
will not function without the CD in the drive.

#HOSTOLDERVERSION
#xs 320
#caption Version Incompatibility
A player has attempted to connect with a newer and incompatible version of the game. You may upgrade your
version at $LINK<www.firaxis.com:0>.

#CLIENTOLDERVERSION
#xs 320
#caption Version Incompatibility
Sorry, but the host's version of the game ($HOSTVERSION0) is newer than your version ($CLIENTVERSION1). You may upgrade
your version at $LINK<www.firaxis.com:0>.

#CLIENTNEWERVERSION
#xs 320
#caption Version Incompatibility
Sorry, but the host's version of the game is older than your version and incompatible. In order to connect, this
session's host will need to upgrade the game.

#GUARANTEEDFAILURE
#xs 320
#caption Guaranteed Message Failure
#button Retry
#button Continue Game Solo
#button Quit Game
An attempt to send a message to $PLAYERNAME0 has failed.

#FILEWIN_ILLEGALCHAR
#xs 320
#caption WARNING
The filename you have requested contains illegal characters. Please try again.

#NET_SENDTIMEDOUT
#xs 440
#caption SEND MESSAGE TIME EXPIRED
A message has failed to be transmitted to the following players: $PLAYERNAMES0.
This may be a temporary condition, but it could also indicate that
the network connection has been permanently lost.
How would you like this error to be handled?

Try again for 20 seconds.
Drop from session but continue the game solo.
Exit game.
Skip this message (potentially fatal).

#NET_OKTODROPHOST
#xs 440
#caption PLAYER NOT RESPONDING
Host $PLAYERNAME0 is not responding. This may be a temporary
condition, but it could also indicate the network connection has been
permanently lost. You may (a) attempt to reestablish the connection
(b) drop the host and continue without him, (c) drop him and save the
game to finish in a new session.

Drop host and become host.
Don't drop host.
Don't drop host, and adjust tolerance.

#NET_OKTODROPCLIENT
#xs 440
#caption PLAYER NOT RESPONDING
Player $PLAYERNAME0 is not responding. This may be a temporary
condition, but it could also indicate the network connection has been
permanently lost. You may (a) attempt to reestablish the connection,
(b) drop the player and continue without him, or (c) drop him and
save the game to finish in a new session.

Drop $PLAYERNAME0.
Don't drop $PLAYERNAME0.
Don't drop $PLAYERNAME0, and adjust tolerance.

#NET_OKTODROPHOSTS
#xs 320
#caption PLAYER NOT RESPONDING
Host $PLAYERNAME0 and the potential next host, $PLAYERNAME1, are not responding.
This may be a temporary condition, but it could also indicate the
network connection has been permanently lost.

End net game.
Continue attempting to play.
Continue attempting to play, and adjust tolerance.

#NET_ADJUSTTOLERANCE
#xs 320
#caption ADJUST DROP TOLERANCE
Select desired drop tolerance.

5 seconds
10 seconds (Default)
20 seconds
30 seconds

#CAVIAR_INVALIDCPU
#xs 320
#caption CPU NOT SUPPORTED
#button PLAY ANYWAY
Your cpu is not supported. You may attempt to play the game anyway; however, crashes are possible.

# ; This line must remain at end of file

Just a coul[ple of strange things, but i think that this proves that multiplayer has always been possible.

Wonder if there's enough that a smart guy might be able to figure out how to implement it......

Just a thought.

Jethro83 · April 28, 2002, 00:11

Old news, but since Firaxis announced that Civ III multiplayer is on the way, there won't really be any need for someone outside Firaxis to tinker with the game and implement these things.

The SMAC stuff in there is just plain wierd. Civ III has a different engine to SMAC (AC being 3D, Civ III being 2D) so that kind of thing can't really be implemeted without a huge overhaul of the game engine.

Capt Dizle · April 28, 2002, 01:01

I think its a shame that there isn't a lot more SMAC in Civ3.

PhoenixPhlame73 · April 28, 2002, 11:39

Quote:

Originally posted by jimmytrick
I think its a shame that there isn't a lot more SMAC in Civ3.

Who doesn't?

dawidge · April 28, 2002, 14:14

Quote:

Originally posted by jimmytrick
I think its a shame that there isn't a lot more SMAC in Civ3.

Don't we all. Some concepts such as the "territorial boundaries" in SMAC/X were IMHO improved with the cultural boundaries. A brand new village should not suddenly lay claim to the kind of territorial expansion seen in SMAC/X. It was very easy to claim a huge swath of territory just by sending your colony pods to the edge of your area before building a new colony. In Civ3, your area of influence is marked by how much cultural influence you are exerting and is much more realistic. I'd like to see if fill in a little bit more of the territory when you space your cities out so they won't eventually crowd each other out (instead of the 1-sector junction it may fill in), but I haven't seen the AI sneak cities into those gaps within your territory, just along the edges. I have been known to sneak into those gaps in the AI's territory, but those cities usually fell victim to culture flip so I stopped doing it. I think it would be better if cities had an intrinsic amount of culture without building improvements (just 1 point/turn would do) so that it would grow the border on its own without having to take the time to build a temple, though (change the "cities with no culture are destroyed when conquered" rule to "cities with no cultural structures are destroyed when conquered").

Bombardment was weakened and strengthened in SMAC over CIV2, and made almost useless in CIV3. I would love to see a return of SMAC-style bombardment to CIV3. That was how bombard should work.

Diplomacy in CIV2 was next to useless, consisting primarily of "nice doggie" style diplomacy. In SMAC, when you allied with somebody, you could try to direct their attacks so that you weren't trying to mass against the same space (or perhaps so that you were massing against the same stronghold). You could trade units, you could park in friendly cities, and you couldn't sneak attack against an ally without declaring, which teleported your troops out of his territory. The entire trade concept in CIV3, with all of its luxuries, resources, and tech is a vast improvement over both CIV2 and SMAC, but those kinds overall improvements are few and far between.

I have well over 500 hours of both CIV2 and SMAC under my belt. I'm ready to shelve CIV3 after only 100 or so. I got tired of how ridiculously easy CIV2 was and how easy it was to abuse construction via crawlers and the unit workshop in SMAC.

The Unit workshop was a beautiful thing, but the AI wasn't very good at using it. Instead of improving the AI, they yanked the workshop.

My big disappointment with CIV3 is that instead of being more of an evolution from SMAC set back in the Civ universe, it is more of a re-evaluation of the wishlist left over from CIV2. Perhaps someday we'll see a CIV4 that is evolved out of SMAC instead of CIV3. To be sure, there are things about CIV3 that I like and I'll certainly continue to play it off-and-on, but they aren't enough to utterly destroy my life, which is how the game was advertised.

Captain · April 28, 2002, 14:47

Quote:

Originally posted by dawidge

I'd like to see if fill in a little bit more of the territory when you space your cities out so they won't eventually crowd each other out (instead of the 1-sector junction it may fill in), but I haven't seen the AI sneak cities into those gaps within your territory, just along the edges. I have been known to sneak into those gaps in the AI's territory, but those cities usually fell victim to culture flip so I stopped doing it. I think it would be better if cities had an intrinsic amount of culture without building improvements (just 1 point/turn would do) so that it would grow the border on its own without having to take the time to build a temple, though (change the "cities with no culture are destroyed when conquered" rule to "cities with no cultural structures are destroyed when conquered").

If you're willing to mod your game a bit, there's a solution to what you're looking for and it adds a bit more strategy to the game.

In brief, I added a "shrine" bldg that req's no techs, is culture only, +2 cpt, costs 10 or 20 shield, and costs 3gpt maintenance. This shrine lets you expand to next culture level in 5 turns (10cp), which helps close those gaps to the AI, and expands boundaries to full city radius so you can work all tiles. It's almost like a way of converting gold to culture. Afterwards, I always upgrade to temple b/c while very useful initially, the shrine is too expensive to run for very long (recall that the next border expansion needs 100cp, then 1000cp, then 10000cp) and the temple is a better long-term choice.

See it in more detail here:
http://64.246.32.51/~admin1/forums/s...threadid=48560

Grrr · April 28, 2002, 15:57

You hadn't noticed this stuff before?

Inverse Icarus · April 28, 2002, 21:22

Grrr · April 29, 2002, 00:13