Resources, Editable?

[Shadowstrike]

Its great news that Civ3 will at least have some means of to representing resources, but I've since been hit with another concern. Will resources be editable? For example, could we change iron into plastics, and change the location from mountains to plains? Because if we aren't scenario editing will lose a big ability to affect scenarios. Imagine a WW2 scenario where the various oilfields ar vital to keep tanks running and the blitzkreig going. Imagine a Crusades scenario where "crusading zeal" is turned into a resource for the production of Crusader units! Now, I must ask the Firaxis team, will resources be editable? Will be able to change their picture, abilities, and so forth?

[hetairoi22]

I dunno...
Try to "ask the civ team"
I think it's this e-mail address: askthecivteam@firaxis.com

Check on the Civ3 site to be sure.

Good luck..

[DarkCloud]

Happy Birthday Shadowstrike!

[Shadowstrike]

Thanks DarkCloud.

Grr, the response to this thread was underawing. Ironically, it is always the smallest things that destroy scenario design, like the non-changable graphics of SMAC, which otherwise would probably have supplanted Civ2 as the main scenario designing tool. Nont changable resources threaten to do a similar thing to Civ3. However, unbound they will probably be able to be used in all sorts of creatrive and unusual ways.

[Harlan]

I think you gotta figure they'll be at least as editable as in Civ2, most likely more. Plus, there are a total of 30 different resources now, and of the ones I've seen, they're a much more intelligent list. So in my scenarios at least I doubt I'll have to be inventing new resources very often.

Another cool thing I've noticed: judging from the sceenshots we've seen, resources have a certain disposition to be on certain terrain types, but they sometimes can be found on others. For instance, Iron might be found on any kind of flat terrain, not just Hills and Mountains. So that should make it easier to edit stuff, instead of being constrained by only 2 types per terrain.

[Shadowstrike]

Well, I was concerned that we'd be stck with the same old resources (since they are a new feature), tied to the same old tech and terrain. That would lead to problems (oil in a Alex the Great scenario, for example). If we could change their, their graphics and what they do, we can let our creative/sick/wasted away minds play with the new abilities. And I like to think about scenarios, but I never get aroud to doing anything because I get bored with the graphics... Grr...

BTW, I hope that we'll soon see a new version of the Mongols scenario..... I'm still hacking and slashing my way through Samarkand with Genghis on goold ole' FW!

[Urban Ranger]

Hey Shadow, you're only 14? I thought you'd be older, say, 17...

[Gramphos]

I hope that we can ADD resources (and edit existing one) that we can set units to require and so on.

[DarkCloud]

I think that in Scenarios the resources should be able to be moved...and we should be able to design custom resources... such as the blank unit spots... except we implement blank resource spots

(Shadowstrike- I thought you were turning 15... Is something wrong with the calendar code- I remember you telling us that you were 14???)

[Edward]

It'll also be important to have the ability to manually place resources on a scenario map. It's hard to set up, for example, a scenario where one civ controlled all the uranium if resources are placed randomly by the computer, forced into a "fair" distribution patterns, or rely on a seed.

[Gramphos]

I hope that you can select exactly where the resources will be in a map you create, and if a player want he can choose to randomize resources before playing on that map.

[Shadowstrike]

Well, I told you guys I turned 13 last year..... dunno about that...

Anyhow, back to the topic at hand. As said before resources hold a great potential in scenarios, should they be allowed a lot of flexibility in their work. Take a look at Nemo's works to see how they can use a game engine to maximum effect, and imagine how much better scenarios could be if he was woring on an even better game engine, with more options, events and the like. We were once limited by few resources. Even with those minimal resources, a lot got achieved. I bet there's a hundred and one good ideas with resources and everyone has a scenario's name on it.

[AzNtoccata]

a

[jsw363]

Didn't Fireaxis say that everything would be very editable? I thought I remember reading this somewhere. Also I think that it would be much easier to redesign a couple of resources in 3D than units and people have been talking about doing that for a while. Also this would make it much easier to create new unit requirements (like birch for canoes)

[Shadowstrike]

Well, we've heard very little about the specifics of the scenario creating capability, other then that its supposed to be better then Civ2...... I hope that it provides tons of extra opertunities for scenario designers to flex their creative muscles.

[dainbramaged13]

well, in that case, we haven't heard much about anything ....

[Gramphos]

We can at least set what resources that can be found in a specific terrain . Now we only need to be able to edit them. 50% done

Ask The Civ Team 9/14/01
You can alter any terrain type to determine which resources can be found in that terrain type, and you can also manually place resources on your maps.

[Shadowstrike]

Additional point: Who send in the email to "Ask the Civ team?" Well, at least placable resources will be a plus. Now to find out if we can edit them, and by that I mean:

1) Edit the graphic
2) Edit the abilities
3) Edit technology activated
4) Add new resources

Abilities refers to the units that need resource x, where its found, rarity, and so forth. The most important are 2, 1, 3, 4 in that order IMHO. How about allowing players to "create" resources with a worker? It wouldn't work in the main game, but there's tons of cases where this would come in handy.... Say, creating "iron mines" in mountains for an industrial revolution scenario, or "heavy water factory" for the production of WMDs.

On a slightly less relevent note, the "raise an army on peanuts" thing had me ROTFLMAO for ten minutes.... Great joke.

[Gramphos]

We can edit where it is found, and I guess that what need a resource is a setting of that unit, and not the resource. And as we can edit units I think we may do that too.

We still need graphics and technology, and that shouldn't be a big problem for Firaxis to make editable (if not already done).

[Shadowstrike]

We'll probably need to know if we can edit teh name of teh resource too..... Well, this would be an excellent time for a representative from heaven.. er Firaxis to enlighten us.

[Gramphos]

We can edit all strings. And I think names are strings

[Alfonsus72]

And what about CUSTOMIZE world with this options:

1: Abundant resources
2: Normal resources
3: Few resources

Has anybody heard something about it?

[Shadowstrike]

Well, let's hope that the successor to rules.txt will just be as legible and simple to follow as the Civ2 wonder itself.....