Tutorial: Modding with BUG

Modding can be rather difficult with the sparse Civ4 documentation, and adding BUG's framework into the mix can make it overwhelming. I created BUG's framework to make it easier for modders to add features to BUG and their own mods, and while we have some fairly comprehensive reference documentation, it's mostly useful in helping experienced modders transition their mods to BUG.

What's needed is a good introduction to the BUG framework. To this end I have started a beginner's tutorial called Modding with BUG. It will work through an example mod called Lucky Charms, introducing a new BUG feature on each section with working code demonstrating how to use it. I have also created a tutorial discussion thread on the BUG forum. I will continue adding sections covering more features and eventually move on to intermediate and advanced topics.

Please give us your feedback and suggestions in the discussion thread, and subscribe to it if you want to be notified when I add significant content to the tutorial.

Subversion Flux

When we started the BUFFY project we created private, parallel SVN repositories for BUG and BULL so the release would be a nice surprise. We are now in the process of folding them back into the main code repositories for BUG and BULL.

I highly recommend that any mergers wait a week or two before merging any changes made since last week so that we have a chance to thoroughly test it out. I will post an update when things have settled down.

Note that these changes shouldn't affect your mods in the end. We are merely cleaning house. :)

Release Bonanza

It is my great pleasure to finally announce the release of BULL 1.0 (features)! It's been a long time in the making, and you've gotten a taste with BUFFY. The ZIP archive contains a Readme.txt with instructions for installing it stand-alone (mod or CustomAssets) or inside BUG.

Speaking of BUG . . . version 4.2 has been released with some fixes for Mac users, hover text for the Great Person Bar, civilizations that start with each technology in the SevoPedia, and a slew of bug fixes. Check out the changelog for more details.

And last but not least, BAT 2.1 has been released as well. Grab this package to get all the latest interface goodness of BUG and BULL along with the visual splendor of community unit and building art from Varietas Delectat.

BTS 3.19 Patch

Firaxis surprised the community yesterday with patch 3.19 for BTS. The discussion is already well underway, but the general consensus seems to be favorable.

Most of the changes are pulled from the Unofficial Patch and Better AI. It also includes the multiplayer cargo unloading OOS fix. The only verified bug so far is in an adjustment to the overflow gold; it's all but completely eliminated.

While there are a few minor Python changes we need to add, BUG 3.5+ is completely compatible with 3.19 as-is. The missing Python fixes are remnants of 3.17's No Espionage option and only visual in nature.

BUG Subversion Renamed

I have been doing some Spring cleaning on the BUG project, and the latest change will affect anyone who uses our Subversion (SVN) repository to access the latest BUG code. To match Subversion naming standards, I have renamed the folder that holds the main line of development from "BUG Mod" to "trunk".

Please update your links or checkout the latest code again. If you are using TortoiseSVN to get the code, you can use its Switch command to do this quickly. Let's assume you had created a "BUG" folder and checked out the code previously.

1. Right-click the "BUG" folder and select TortoiseSVN : Switch...
   
2. Change the To URL field to
   http://civ4bug.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/civ4bug/trunk
   
3. Click OK

I have also committed the BULL changes required for BUG to this trunk. This means that "trunk" contains the latest BUG and BULL changes. If you want to start playing with BULL, feel free to grab it from BULL's Subversion repository. You'll need to manually install it until I create an installer.

1. Copy all the files in the Assets folder to CustomAssets or BUG's Assets folder.
2. If BUG is installed to the CustomAssets folder, move CustomAssets/CvGameCoreDLL.dll to BTS's Assets folder, renaming the one that is there for safe keeping.
3. You can ignore the files in SDK. They are used to create CvGameCoreDLL.dll.
   

BUG 3.6 Released

The latest release for BUG is finally available. It adds many cool features such as

• Dot-mapping tool: plan out future cities by placing colored outlines on the map
  
• BUG Charts: multiple charts in one view
  
• EventSigns: shows effects of random events that affect tiles in signs
  
• BUG Finance Advisor: detailed breakdown of your commerce and gold sources
  
• Min/Max Commerce Rate for assisting binary research
  
• Field of View slider
• Improved Foreign Advisor INFO page

And a whole lot more, including minor improvements, many bug fixes, and a smaller, multi-lingual installer. You can download it here. As usual, this version works with BTS 3.13 and 3.17.

We've also added a FAQ for the most common questions.

See the Download thread for further details and continuing coverage.

City Planning the Better Way

We all know that planning your future city locations--while essential to the game--can be a real pain in the a**. Do you edit screenshots in Photoshop, print them out and use crayons, or wrestle with Civ4's line-drawing tool which only works when zoomed so far out as to make seeing tiles nearly impossible?

Just say no!

Enter the Strategy Layer: an in-game dot-mapping tool by Del69 and myself--based on Eunomiac's original idea. It works very much like the sign tool (ALT + S). You can add and remove colored city outlines with a simple click. As someone who used to use signs to mark future city locations, this is probably my new favorite BUG feature!

See the New Features thread for instructions on using the tool.

BUG 3.5.1 and BAT 1.1 Released

We have two releases for you today.

BUG 3.5.1

This is a minor update to BUG that fixes the loading and interface problems from 3.5. This version works with BTS 3.13 and 3.17.

BAT 1.1

This is a major update to BAT that includes BUG 3.5.1, VD 4.0, and Improved Graphics 2.0. Note that due to the inclusion of VD 4.0, BAT 1.1 requires BTS 3.17.

See the Download thread for further details and continuing coverage.

BUG Brings new Graphs to Civ4 BtS

The latest release of BUG ... v3.5 ... includes many new additions. One of these is the new charts or graphs shown on the Info Screen. The BUG graph discussion thread contains a complete history of their development but if you jump to the end of that thread you can see some illustrative screenshots.

The thumbnail below is a link to a animated gif which flips between the 7-in-1 view and the larger view. We have also added some text below the graphs to highlight the ability to flip between these two views.

Making War Less Painful

I've added a couple new features to make life planning for and executing wars a little easier on your wearied warlord brain.

We Have Enough on Our Hands

The scoreboard now displays an orange fist next to AIs that are mobilizing for war or are involved in too many wars already. In terms of game mechanics, this is normally found by entering diplomacy with an AI and hovering over a red "Declare War on" entry and seeing the reason "We Have Enough on Our Hands."

This same orange fist is displayed next to each leader on the BUG Military Advisor Situation Report tab. As with everything else on the scoreboard, you can turn it on or off and move it to a new location using the BUG Options screen [ALT + CTRL + O].

Military Advisor Deployment Grouping

The original Military Advisor grouped units first by Combat Type (Melee, Archery, Gunpowder, etc) and next by Unit Type (Warrior, Archer, Rifleman). The BUG Military Advisor extends this by adding three new grouping methods and allowing you to pick any two.

• Level: 1, 2, 3, . . ., 50+
  
• Promotion: Combat 1, Drill 2, Ambush, etc.
  
• Location: Domestic/Friendly/Enemy/Neutral Territory/City
• Orders: Fortify, Heal, Sentry, Blockade, Intercept, Go To, etc.
  

Adding new groupings is quite easy, so please don't hesitate to suggest new ones in the Feature Request thread.