Bases in map editor

[lukerduker123 10]

I am trying to make a map for me and my friends but I don't know how to place bases? can anyone help... I already know how to make maps, units, and edit factions but I can't place bases

[bdanv 11]

welcome to WePlayCiv, lukerduker123!

 

what you are trying to do is called a scenario. placing units and basses on a map and then saving with the 'save map' option won't help you much.

now, you can't place bases in the scenario either. you'll have to place the colony pods and then deploy them.

also, building a scenario is somehow more complicated. it's not just placing bases and units on a map.

you should read the following article from the SMAC Academy (the article was revised):

This is Part II of Googlie's article at the SMAC Academy.

 

Part II - Creating a Scenario

 

Basic Scenario Editing

 

If SMAX, I always begin by starting a regular game with the seven factions I want (size of map, diff level etc don’t matter at this stage) then exit just after the colony pod has landed. This way your .ini file now records the seven factions that you want in your scenario. This is not a problem if using SMAC (where only seven factions are present)

 

Activate SMAC or SMAX, and at the game choice, select Scenario then Load Map File (or build a custom map - see part 1 - Creating a map)

 

Click on Menu (bottom left of screen) and Scenario

 

We'll leave the placing of units for the moment, so click on edit technology

 

Click on player (the seven factions showing will be those of the last game you've played - carried forward from your .ini file)

 

Click on the first one in the list - say it is the Hive

 

Then scroll down till you find the usual starting tech for that faction, (Doctrine Loyalty) and toggle it to "discovered"

 

Repeat for all seven factions (If you are creating a scenario where you want a faction to have additional techs, this is where you’d add them)

 

Now click on the done and then bring back up the scenario menu and set difficulty level, and bring back up the scenario editor

 

Set energy reserves (the computer does this automatically, if you click on any faction you'll see all the rest) - just check that they are all 10 except Morgan who should be 110

 

Then jump down to "Reset all factions" and hit “yes” (this inserts the SE choices for the seven factions - omit this step and they are all flat 0's)

 

At this point, I usually study the map a little to see where I'll put the seven factions, and tinker with it somewhat, so let's do that.

 

Identify the seven start positions, making sure that they are relatively balanced as regards nearness to a special landmark or two, a river nearby for energy production, a nutrient or two, maybe a monolith etc. (You might want to use the edit map feature to add some of these if every start position doesn’t have an equal number - or at least equal access to them) - see part 1 - Creating a map - for help in using the edit map features

 

I usually edit out most fungus around the starting square, and make sure there are some exit routes for the colony pods to move away from the start - again, “ctl” and left click places the item, “ctl” and right click removes it

 

Now let's place some troops.

 

Select a land tile, (move the curser over one of your appointed start positions) and hit (together) shift and F1

 

Now, select player. Then morale. All are Green except Sparta who are “disciplined” and Gaians, who are “very green”.

Hit colony pod - it should appear on the tile with the flag of the faction.

 

here you should take your time to check twice the morale level of the units you just placed and take additional measures if the level is not the correct one.

 

Repeat as necessary (3 pods and 3 scouts, for instance). Make sure that you give the faction any unique units it starts with (a probe for the Angels, a rover for Sparta, a mindworm for the Cult, an Ogre MkI for the 2 alien factions)

 

Now move to another start position, and repeat with another faction - say 3 pods and 3 scouts, and repeat for all seven factions.

 

Check again the seven start positions on the map to ensure equality of opportunity - (e.g. if you have a faction starting on an archipelago, I'll often give them a transport foil to start - just make sure you put it in the sea and not on land. And the Pirates need some fungus free ocean shelf nearby for their bases (otherwise they just get 1 nut per tile instead of the mineral as well)

 

Now go back to menu and select Scenario and edit custom rules. This gives the same choice as you would normally have when starting a regular game.

 

Now repeat, but choose Scenario rules. These are specific to that scenario you are creating. You can tinker with pod contents, etc, but the only one you want to definitely flag is “force current difficulty level” (especially if you are creating a multiplayer scenario - if you omit this, only the starting player will be at that difficulty level, all others will default to Librarian)

 

If you are building a time-limited scenario (e.g. 100 years) or an objectives one (e.g. capture the HQ of the Believers, you’ll want to continue on to edit parameters and victory conditions, otherwise you are now ready to roll.

 

Save the scenario.

 

Now go through a final check. Go to menu/scenario/switch sides and select the first faction (assume it’s the Hive). The map should darken until just the tiles around your Hive units can be seen.

 

Hit “ctl” and the “k” key simultaneously to toggle the scenario editor.

 

Select one of the Hive colony pods, and hit build to found the first base.

 

Check that the energy reserves are correct. Now check from the F2 key that you have the requisite techs, and from the menu/HQ/social engineering that you have the right SE choices.

 

Repeat for all factions, and note where there is an incorrect item.

 

Reload the saved scenario (i.e., before you built the Hive’s, and subsequent, bases) and edit the errors as necessary.

 

Overwrite the saved scenario with the edited one (let’s assume you’ve called it “my scenario”).

 

(Note that with SMAX it is important to get the order of play established from the beginning, as the order you have loaded the factions will be the order that prompts for human players. So it is a good idea to set up the factions through starting a game with those factions selected in the order you want, then quitting when the pod lands, thus enshrining the order in your .ini file)

 

here you'll have to build your bases and set the 'fog of war' from radius 1 (by default in the scenario editor) to the 'fat cross' you get on the beginning of every game.

also you should make available some already prototyped units for certain factions (e.g for instance Synthmetal Garrison for the Morganites - just like in a computer generated game).

 

Now when you load it, you select:

multiplayer/hotseat-play be e-mail/multiplayer Scenario/my scenario

 

You will be prompted through the various factions in your scenario whether they are to be human controlled or computer controlled, until you finally click on the “no” to the question “Do you wish to add another human player”

 

It will then send you back to the first human-controlled faction, and prompt for a save or for a password. If you are just setting up a casual multiplayer game where everyone sets their own passwords, and you are not the starting player, save the game at this point, zip it and send it to the starting player.

 

If you are CMN’ing a game, this is where you would set all the passwords for the human players, choosing “turn complete” when you open the turn (without moving any units) and when it comes round to the first player again, usually at 2102, save, zip and send, together with the password for that player to open the game.

 

If the University is one of the factions, you will either need to set the mission year to 2100 (thus the turn you “play” will be 2100, and the send to the first player is actually 2101, thus giving the UoP player his choice of a free tech) or find out in advance what he wants as a free tech and give it through the scenario/edit tech process. Be careful that you don’t end up giving 2 techs plus a free tech as well. Trial and error a couple of times is often needed to get this one right.

 

PBEM troubleshooting:

 

Most common problems are:

 

I didn’t get my unique starting unit - check your allocation of units

 

I didn’t get my free tech - see the notes above

 

My units’ morale is wrong - make sure when you change factions when inserting a unit that you also checked the morale first - it always remembers your last usage, so if you last inserted the Gaians, everyone after that will be “very green” unless changed

 

SE changes are costing me 40 credits and everyone else 32 - you didn’t “force current difficulty level” at the “scenario rules” menu choice

 

My faction graphics are screwed up - not much you can do about this one.

 

Every scenario multiplayer game, when loading, looks for the seven factions resident in the player’s .ini file. So faction # 4, for instance, in the pbem will look for faction # 4 in the .ini file. Thus Aki may have Domai’s face and body (the faction characteristics are correct, just the graphics are screwed) this turn (if Domai is the 4th faction in your .ini file) and might have Marr’s next turn if in the meantime you played a game where the Usurpers were the fourth faction.

 

I can see a few squares elsewhere on the map - this happens when you change your mind where you place a faction, and move it elsewhere. The original tiles can now be seen by that faction as well as its new starting location tiles. It’s worse if you changed your mind as to which faction you placed there, ‘cos if the tiles are now occupied by another faction’s HQ (or whatever) the original faction sees them. You’ll pick this up when conducting your final check (or when setting passwords). A solution if the game has started - and players are unwilling to restart (you’d need to create a new scenario, and reload the map) is to have each one divulge the co-ordinates of their start position.

 

Googlie's article at the SMAC Academy is really comprehensive and it's a big help if you want to make the scenarios all by yourself. You just have to follow it step by step.

If you're running on any troubles you just have to let me know here and i'll try to help you.

Edited October 14, 2010 by bdanv