How to change faction flag colors?

[Earthmichael]

I am playing a game set up by a moderator.  When I recently installed a different version of SMACX to take care of some bugs I had run into, the faction displayed changed, and the colors changed to match.

However, the lettering the flags did NOT change.  So when my University started displaying Spartan black flags, the lettering inside the flags remained black, making it unreadable.  I need a way to change at least the flag color, or preferable all the faction display properties back to University.

I have played a couple of turns since then, but I cannnot continue.  It takes far too long to scope out my supply crawlers and terraformers to see if any are idle, and what the formers are doing.  What I could do at a glance if the flags were readable, now takes minutes to select each square.  I cannot continue the game under those circumstances.

So if anyone knows how to change at least the flag colors to something where the lettering is visible, I would greatly appreciate the help!

- Earthmichael

[Buster's Uncle]

This is a new one by me, but sounds like a variation on the MP/Scenario faction graphics bug.  You might try starting a new game with exactly the same factions in exactly the same order; save that game without bothering to move anything, and load it before you load the save of your problem game. 

I have no idea if that will work, but it might be worth trying...

[Buster's Uncle]

...On the other hand, I wonder if you've got a corrupted save.  Is there any way you could try a pre-problem save?

[Earthmichael]

I tried your suggestion.  I went to the very first turn of the game, and the faction colors are still the same (black on black).

I think something basic about how faction colors are displayed got changed with my new installation.  I could potentially copy in some files from my previous installation.  But I don't want to do anything that could end up triggering more bugs. 

Sounds like ideally someone who deals with faction modding might be able to help me just to change the display colors, if not the entire faction display.

[Buster's Uncle]

That was one of the first things I thought of, but I don't see how that would do it.  It stands to reason that the only way an alteration of the faction colors would fix it is if your University graphic was corrupted in the first place.

[Earthmichael]

Maybe this new version of SMACX uses a different numbering scheme for the faction graphics.  So when I load a moderator created save, the faction numbers correspond to a different graphic.

However, there a few clues:

1. When I launch a new single player game with University, it displays properly with black characters on white flags.  When I launch a new single player game with Spartans, it displays properly with white characters on black flags.

2. It is not just the flag colors that are wrong on the multiplayer game.  The entire graphics scheme including the base appearances are all Spartan.  I actually don't mind this, except that it still displays black characters, which is correct for University, but which will not show up on the black flags.

3. The multiplayer game faction is truly University.  It shows University on the society screen, along with all of the appropriate bonuses and penalties.  It gives an extra drone with each 4 people in a base.  It behaves just like University.

So it seems that some pointer is off, so that instead of University getting the right color scheme on the multiplayer game, it is somehow pointed to the Spartan color scheme.

So I need to either change this pointer (something I hope a moderator could help with), or I need to adjust the Spartan flag color to something other than black (something that a graphic modder might be able to help with), so that the black characters are visible.

Thanks for your help!

[Buster's Uncle]

This is definitely the faction graphics bug.  Sometimes the easiest thing to do is to start the game over at the beginning and then load the save.  If that doesn't do it, try the the first thing I suggested. 

I'm in a little over my head here, as I don't MP at all and don't play scenarios much, so it's difficult to recall what I used to know about this...

[roninscg]

Solution to this problem is to install the game again in the same way I sent to you in an email it should solve the problem.

 

[Earthmichael]

roninscg,

It was installing the new version exactly how you suggested that led to this issue.  It solved my serious problem with crashing at a terrain square.

But after doing the new installation, for whatever reason, the faction colors were goofed up.  University switched to Spartans, and Drones switched to Believers.  I don't really mind about the color switch, if it had included the text color.  But the University with Spartan display shows black on black, which is unreadable.  Which is why I did the kludge that I did to get past it.

Believe me, that new installation you suggested was well worth the trouble of dealing with the faction color goof up now.

BUncle made a suggestion that led me to my currently kludgy temporary fix.  I backed up the spartan.pcx file, made a duplicate of the univ.pxc file, and copied this file to spartan.pcx.  It works for now, but not an ideal long term solution.

Earthmichael

[Davyboy]

@Earthmichael

This anomaly just happened to me when I used Facedit to modify the Gaians to an aquatic faction in a testbed parallel copy of SMACX.
The Gaian HQ seabase shows ostensibly as 'uni white' - but it's not. It's only coloured if there's a unit in the base to 'colour' the flag. The actual colour is "transparent grey" - easily seen on the unit status flags inside the base.

(Similar thing happened to me with the LEGOTM - but that may well have been down to finger trouble extracting the archive.)

The default proggie for opening .pcx files (Adobe Image Ready ) wouldn't open the gaian pcx files at all.
Looks like Facedit inadvertently shafted them. Perhaps under Win98 it was different - that's all a bit hazy these days.

My workaround was this ;--

1) Copy the affected .pcx files (there will be three) from an unmodified gameroot or SMACX CD into the gameroot that is affected, overwriting the files.
2) Return to Chiron where all is now hunky (c/w modded faction in this case.

I didn't need to reinstall, patch, mod - so that was nice.
Has anyone posted a howto in the modding section about this?

[Buster's Uncle]

I've definitely mentioned not using Facedit, ever...

[Davyboy]

Onk?

I never remember it NOT working. But that said, I don't remember using it under XP. I'm SURE I used it - without problems other than resource usage -- under Win98SE. Pretty sure it 'worked' under Win2kPro and Win2kServer too which is bizarre. It could be differences of NTFS flavours for the NT-like systems, but I doubt it.

I've definitely mentioned not using Facedit, ever...

If so, what would be your preferred choice? Acedit 2.0? (I had troubles with that.)

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, Facedit has a way of screwing up your files - if it works at all, which it rarely has for me.  Acedit, I did pretty well with - until I upgraded to my current machine, on which it won't run. 

I don't really have any answers, outside the graphics end.  The text guys who know what they're doing swear you're better off doing it by hand in Notepad, but good luck getting one to teach you how...

[Davyboy]

Well, Facedit has a way of screwing up your files

That's exactly my experience -- for the graphics files. And the symptoms look just like the MP scenario bug in this thread:--

http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=223.0

Which references this choice workaround :--

http://www.weplayciv.com/forums/showthread.php?874-Tool-for-fixing-the-factions-Icons-on-Scenario-game-and-to-replace-human-players

The Facedit textfiles have worked fine for me in SMAX but I would agree wholeheartedly with you that it's better done in a text editor, especially for tweaking modifier values within the crappy 5% granularity that Facedit allows. Certainly a texteditor for SMAC like factions..

[Rainbow Lizard]

What does it mean by flags? I've never even encountered anything with colour against another colour.