Alpha Centauri 2

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri & Alien Crossfire => Modding => Topic started by: arganthonius on September 07, 2018, 01:54:55 AM

Title: Modding on Mac?
Post by: arganthonius on September 07, 2018, 01:54:55 AM

I'm using the GOG.com Mac Planetary Pack. I've replaced the .txt files in the app itself with the SMACX AI Growth Mod, and I've verified that the .txt files have indeed changed to the AI Growth Mod files. But whenever I start a game, it still uses the old rules. Is it just impossible to mod this game on a mac? And why?

I've already tried reinstalling the game.

Title: Re: Modding on Mac?
Post by: bvanevery on September 07, 2018, 02:29:33 AM

Totally weird.  Multiple installations somehow, that you've lost track of?  Multiple shortcut desk icons?  I don't have a Mac, I'm spitballing here.  Try starting the (presumably) terranx game app from directly inside the folder where you know you've got the modded .txt files.

Does a Mac have some kind of nonsense "time machine" backup thing going on?

Title: Re: Modding on Mac?
Post by: arganthonius on September 07, 2018, 06:25:11 PM

The mac version has a .app file which I can open with Finder to alter the files. The terranx.exe file can't be opened on macs normally, they use wineskin for it. There's no time machine shenanigans; you have to do it manually plus I've looked at the files and noted the AI Growth mod intro thing after I ran the game. I've also double checked to make sure there weren't an extra set of .txt files. Right now I'm trying the gog.com legacy mac version, but it won't run at all.

Title: Re: Modding on Mac?
Post by: bvanevery on September 07, 2018, 08:27:35 PM

Does whatever this "wineskin" thing is, have its own virtual file system space where perhaps all the files are being copied or stored?

Title: Re: Modding on Mac?
Post by: arganthonius on September 07, 2018, 08:34:32 PM

Yes, but those are what I'm replacing with the mod files. There's no central wineskin system that I can access, it recreates a bunch of windows files and plays them like a windows. Inside the .app file, I go to drive_c > Program Files > GOG Games > Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri where all the .txt files are kept and replace them with the AI Growth Mod files. I've looked carefully through every folder and there's no other repository of .txt files. It's really confusing too, since the original .txt files aren't even in the app anymore. If it crashed or glitched out that would be one thing, but it shouldn't be able to access the originals.

Edit:
Added attachment.

Title: Re: Modding on Mac?
Post by: arganthonius on September 08, 2018, 01:28:51 AM

Never mind, I got an alternate version to work. Thank you for the mod!

Title: Re: Modding on Mac?
Post by: bvanevery on September 08, 2018, 01:34:23 AM

What does the alternate version do differently?

Title: Re: Modding on Mac?
Post by: arganthonius on September 08, 2018, 02:54:57 AM

Nothing, as far as I can tell. Same file system, same wineskin system. Seriously, I still don't understand why one version worked but the other didn't. But for anyone trying to mod a gog.com mac Alpha Centauri, you have to use the GOG Galaxy version.