Developing ModPacks

I get a lot of questions about Mod Packs. Mod Pack is a term for a number of modifications that can be made to Civ II, more involved than creating a scenario in the stock game. The main program for Civ II uses files in the main level directory to create the effects you see in the game. These files deal with the graphical representation of units, terrain, icons or cities in the game, the sounds you hear in the game, the text dialogs that appear, etc. A Mod Pack edits one or more of these files. The most common ones to change are :

RULES.TXT - General rule table for Advances, Improvements, Wonders, Units, etc.

UNITS.GIF - The graphic representation of all of the units.

WAF Files - The sound files in the SOUND sub-directory.

TERRAIN1&2.GIF - The Graphic representation of the terrain.

CITIES.GIF - The Graphic representation of the cities.

GAME.TXT - General file containing the dialogs and there options, plus a lot more.

ICON.GIF - Contains the graphic representation of the icons for improvements, wonders, etc.

Care MUST be taken in changing these files. ALWAYS back up the original files.

You'll need a decent word processor that can write out text files for the .TXT files. MSWord, Word Perfect, Windows Write, etc. will all work, just save as text files.

You'll need a good graphics editor for the .GIF files (Most use PaintShop Pro) which must maintain a fairly strict color code to maintain the transparent background for the images you are creating. They must fit into the areas provided, their position in the .GIF file corresponds to their use in RULES.TXT. Also, insure that your .GIF files are saved in the 89A Noninterlaced format, without the control block. When you "SAVE AS" from PaintShop Pro, a control block is inserted that either must be removed (use a program like "The Gif Construction Set" to remove it) before you can use the new .GIF file. If you "SAVE AS" and do not remove this control block, Civ II will crash. Another method is to make a copy of the original .GIF file with the name you want, then simply "SAVE" the file from PaintShop Pro when you're done working on it. This will preserve the original .GIF file's characteristics without a control block.

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If you have any suggestions, comments, or information please email me at civjar@oocities.com

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