Converting Civilization II Modification Files for Windows to the MacOS
Document Version 1.0 • 08/15/97
Amandeep Jawa • Worker Bee Software • mookie@best.com
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This document may be distributed freely, provided that it is not modified or charged for.
INTRODUCTION:
Due to the popularity & extendibility of Civilization II for Windows, there have been many third party modification (or "mod" ) sets created for use with the Windows version of the game. These mod sets usually contain some combination of new graphics, rules, and scenario files for the game. With a few slight alterations, these mod sets can be made to work on the MacOS version of Civilization II. This document will describe what alterations are needed to perform this conversion. I recommend reading this entire document before attempting to convert a mod set. Please note that though this document may appear long, the changes described are actually fairly straightforward and easy to accomplish with the right tools.
DISCLAIMER:
Modification sets may cause the game to perform improperly or even crash, so use them at your own risk. Using this document in no way guarantees the modification sets will work or that they will play properly, so use this document at your own risk. This document should not be construed as an official document from any of the software companies involved with Civilization II. It is simply provided for the good of MacOS Civilization fans, so please use it in that spirit.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Modification sets can alter many different parts of the Civilization II game. Some modification sets modify the art only, some the sounds, some the interface, some the Civilopedia, or any combination of these types. Some of these alterations can be used as is. However, if the modifications involve new art files, new sound files, or changes to some of the .TXT files in the Support folder, SOME of the following conversions will be necessary.
Before using any mod set, I STRONGLY recommend making a backup of the files modified or replaced by the mod set you are using.
SUPPORT FILE CHANGES
Much of the user interface and game play of Civilization II is controlled through text files located in the "Civilization II Files:Support" folder. Most of these files are identical to or at least very similar to the ones found in the Windows version of Civilization II. Many modification sets customize the user interface & game play in Civilization II by including replacement support files. These modified Windows support files must be converted before they are used for the MacOS version of Civilization II.
If your modification set does NOT change or replace any of the following files you can skip this section, and go to the section on Art: GAME.TXT, LABELS.TXT, COUNCIL0.TXT, MENU.TXT, TUTORIAL.TXT, or MAPMENU.TXT. If your modification set DOES change any of the above files, find the section below which corresponds to that file & make the changes that are described.
GAME.TXT
The GAME.TXT file contains the descriptions of many of the dialogs that occur in the game. If your modification set replaces GAME.TXT, it is important that you alter the new modified version of GAME.TXT to contain the following changes, so that these dialogs appear correctly. To make the changes described below, simply open the new GAME.TXT file in any text editor (such as SimpleText), find each described dialog, and make the change suggested.
In the rare event that the text of the new GAME.TXT does not match the text this document instructs you to replace, the modification set you are using has changed the dialog in question. In that case, I recommend changing the dialog as per this document, and then figuring out what the modification author intended and trying to replicate that behavior by slightly altering the replacement text described in this document.
Note that some of the following alterations are optional & are strongly recommended but not critical to game function:
1) @REPORTFOREIGN
Replace the lines:
@button=Check Intelligence
@button=Send Emissary
with the lines:
@button=Send Emissary
@button=Check Intelligence
@button=Cancel
2) @UNSAVED
Replace the lines:
%STRING0 has unsaved changes!
Cancel action.
Continue anyway (lose changes).
with
"%STRING0" has unsaved changes!
Continue anyway (lose changes)?
3) @REALLYRETIRE
Remove the lines:
No
Yes
4) @REALLYQUIT
Replace the lines:
@width=320
@title=Confirmation
Do you really want to quit?
No
Yes
with
@width=280
@title=Confirmation
@button=Quit
@button=Cancel
@button=Save Game
Do you really want to quit?
5) @CDROMNOTFOUND
Replace the lines:
@title=Please Note
@button=Repeat Search
We were unable to find the Civilization II CD-ROM. If desired, you may play this
session of Civilization II without the additional multimedia, music, and art
supplied by the CD. You may also check that the Civilization II CD is in a valid
CD-ROM drive and then repeat the search by selecting "Repeat Search" below.
with:
@title=Please Note
We were unable to find the Civilization II CD-ROM. If desired, you may play this
session of Civilization II without the additional multimedia, music, and art
supplied by the CD.
6) Additional dialogs
Add the following text before the last line in the GAME.TXT file (BEFORE the line that reads "@;this line must remain at end of file"):
@HC_MISSING
@title=High Council
The High Council Window could not be displayed because the
required movie files could not be found.
To view the High Council Window you must insert the
Civilization II CD or install the movie files onto
your hard drive.
@CANTOPENSCENARIO
@title=Cannot Load File
To load a Scenario file or Map file you must quit the current game and
restart Civilization II.
OPTIONAL CHANGES to GAME.TXT
1) The widths (@width) of the following dialogs were changed to look better due to differences in the MacOS fonts. We recommend that you change the widths as follows:
@DIFFICULTY (200), @ENEMIES (250) , @BARBARITY (270), @RULES (200), @GENDER (200), @TRIBE (500), @NAME (300), @CUSTOMCITY (200), @FOUNDED (250), @REALLYRETIRE (280), @REALLYQUIT (280) - you should have changed this already in step 4 above.
2) The following dialogs are never used in the MacOS game & can be removed from GAME.TXT to provide a slight performance boost. To remove a dialog, remove the title (including the "@") and all text before the next "@" character. The removable dialogs are as follows: @MOVEPENDING, @LOCKFAILED, @LOCKFAILEDGLOBAL, @MULTIFEATURE, @WAITPICKTECH, @WAITING0, @WAITING1, @WAITING2, @HANGUP, @WAITLOCK, @WAITGLOBAL, @WAITACTION, @WAITPLUNDER, @MULTIDONE, @NETWAITING, @LOSTSERVER, @LOSTIT, @RECONNECTING, @SECONDMESSAGE, @SECONDFAILED, @CODECNOTFOUND, @VFWNOTREGISTERED, @HERALDWARNING.
3) You may also remove @@PRODCHANGE - but note that you SHOULD NOT remove @PRODCHANGE but rather the unused @@PRODCHANGE.
4) In the @GAMEOPTIONS dialog, all the periods after "@options" should be removed; the line "Move units w/ mouse (cursor arrows)." should be replaced with "Move units with mouse (cursor arrows)"; and the "ENTER" in the last line should be changed to "RETURN".
5) In the @GRAPHICOPTIONS dialog, the line "Animated Heralds (Requires 16 megabytes RAM)" should be changed to simply "Animated Heralds".
6) In the @MESSAGEOPTIONS dialog, all the periods after "@options" should be removed.
7) In the @NOTONMAP dialog, the word "mapboard" should be replaced with "map".
8) In the @BUILT dialog, the line "@width=270" should be added after the "title=Domestic Advisor" line.
9) In the following dialogs, the occurrences of "_._._." should be replaced with "...": GREETINGS00, GREETINGS01, GREETINGS02, GREETINGS03, GREETINGS10, GREETINGS11, GREETINGS12, GREETINGS13.
10) In the @EXCHANGEGIFT dialog, add an ending quote at the end of the last line.
11) In the @TAKECIV9 dialog, the word "exchance" should be "exchange".
12) In the @NOTORIOUSSMALL dialog, the word "preceeded" should be "preceded".
13) In the @PATIENCEALLY dialog, the word "tete-a-tete" should be "têtê-à-têtê".
14) In the @NEWXFORM dialog, the word "roadbuilding" should be "road building".
15) In the @PLANRETIRE dialog, the word "Millenial" should be "Millennial".
16) In the @CITYEDIT dialog, remove the extra "&" from "Clear Disorder && We Love King".
17) In the @SCENARIOEND dialog, the last two lines should read as follows:
Ce jeu est maintenant complété.
Diese Spiel ist nun vollständig.
LABELS.TXT
The LABELS.TXT file contains various terms that occur throughout the game. If your modification set replaces LABELS.TXT, it is important that you alter the new modified version of GAME.TXT to contain the following changes, so that these terms appear correctly. To make the changes described below, simply open the new LABELS.TXT file in any text editor (such as SimpleText), find each described line, and make the change suggested.
1) In line 16, "458" should be changed to "459".
2) In line 45, "Press ENTER" should be changed to "Press RETURN".
3) In line 54, "Exit" should be changed to "Done".
4) In line 256, "Select File Name For Saved Game" should be changed to "Save Game As".
5) In line 278, "Select File Name For Saved Map" should be changed to "Save Map As".
6) In line 259, "Govts: Overview" should be changed to "Governments: Overview".
7) Lines 282-285 should read as follows:
Paint: Shift Click
Grab: Option-Shift Click
Add Item: Shift Click
Delete Item: Option-Shift Click
8) In line 433, "Select File Name For Scenario" should be changed to "Save Scenario As".
The COUNCIL0.TXT file that is shipped with the Windows version of the game contains a bug. To fix this bug, simply replace line 289 which reads "s5, s, 3314,3351, Science: I agree." with the line "s5, 3314,3351, Science: I agree.".
The MENU.TXT file contains the descriptions of all the menus that occur in the game. It is unlikely that your modification set replaces MENU.TXT. However, if your modification set does replace MENU.TXT, the changes are likely to be very minor. The easiest way to reconcile these changes with the MacOS version is to find out what is different in the new MENU.TXT file by comparing the files on a line by line basis. Various differencing tools are available to automate this, such as BBEdit. When you have determined what has changed, make those changes by hand to a copy of your original MENU.TXT.
The MAPMENU.TXT file contains the descriptions of all the menus that occur in the Map Editor. Please refer to the MENU.TXT section above for instructions.
The TUTORIAL.TXT file contains dialogs used in Tutorial mode. It is unlikely that your modification set replaces TUTORIAL.TXT. But if it does, we have made two very slight changes which are optional:
In the @IRRIGATE dialog, we have replaced the word "_key" with "key", and in the @DEMOCRATS dialog, we have changed the width from 600 to 500. Again these changes are completely optional.
ART CHANGES
Many modification sets customize the screen art for Civilization II by including replacement art files. These modified Windows art files must be converted before they are used for the MacOS version of Civilization II. The conversion is necessary because the screen art for the MacOS version is stored in PICT files while on the Windows version the art is stored in GIF files.
To convert Windows art files to the MacOS, use a graphic converter program to convert the GIFs to PICTs. Be careful to use a converter program that does not alter the color palette in any way - if yours does you will know because the art in your game will look horrible. One program that I have used sucessfully to do this is clip2gif by Yves Piguet. I used version 0.7.2 of this free utility with good results. It is readily available at all the usual ftp sites.
Once you have converted the art files, make sure they are renamed with the .PICT extension. For example, "CITIES.GIF" & "UNITS.GIF" would be renamed to "CITIES.PICT" & "UNITS.PICT". Note that capitalization is not important (Units.pict is equivalent to UNITS.PICT.) After converting & renaming all the art files, move them to the folder that contains the original file with the same name & replace the original file. Thus, "CITIES.PICT" & "UNITS.PICT" should replace the original ones in "Civilization II Files:Support".
SOUND CHANGES
Many modification sets customize the sound effects for Civilization II by including replacement sound files. These modified Windows sound files must be converted before they are used for the MacOS version of Civilization II. The conversion is necessary because the sounds for the MacOS version are stored in AIFF files while on the Windows version the sounds are stored in WAV files.
To convert Windows sound files to the MacOS, use a sound converter program that can convert WAV files to AIFF files. Modern versions of QuickTime's MoviePlayer application can do this for you by opening the WAV file & then choosing "Export..." in the "File" menu. Make sure you rename all converted WAV files to AIFF files because Civilization II for the MacOS looks for sound files named with the AIFF extension. After converting & renaming all the sound files, move them to the "Civilization II Files:Civ2:Sound" folder & replace the original versions.
MAC MOD FILES TO PC MOD FILES
Though this document concerns itself with altering modification sets created for Windows version of Civilization II so that they work with the MacOS version, it is certainly possible to create modification sets for the MacOS version of the game and then convert them so that they will work with the Windows version. Figuring out how to do this is just a matter of reversing the changes described above and is left as an exercise for the reader. : ) Special care should be taken to add the dialogs that have been removed from the MacOS version's GAME.TXT and to make sure that the PICT art files that are converted to GIFs preserve the color palettes properly. If enough people become interested in doing this and cannot figure out how to do this properly, perhaps I will write another document to address this issue (but I'd rather not).
If you find any problems or errors with this document, please contact me by email.
Enjoy & thanks for purchasing Civilization II for the MacOS.
-'deep
Amandeep Jawa • Worker Bee Software • mookie@best.com
