Fog of War - Now YOU can cheat like the AI does!

from Stardock Forums
The AI isn't required to explore uncharted sectors. It knows where every resource, anomaly, and class 15+ planet is located.

This was explained in the Backstory. Well...Backstory Smackstory...Cheating is cheating, and if you can't beat 'em, join em!

Here's how to remove the FOG OF WAR in your games. It WILL NOT show you every enemy ship - it will just remove the dark FOW and let you see the layout of your galaxy.

Basically...You can copy the file FOW.GALAXY between games of the same map size, and the Fog of War template will map onto your new game. Thus, an unexplored galaxy FOW file can be replaced with a fully explored galaxy FOW file of the same map size, allowing you to view the entire galaxy.

Here's how you do it...It's not hard at all.

(If you have a fully explored map of a given size already, skip steps 1-3.)

1. Create a game using any size map.

2. Explore the map completely.

3. Save the game.

4. Go to the "Galactic Civilizations\Data\SaveGames" directory and find the directory containing the game with the fully explored map.

5. Find the file "FOW.GALAXY" in this directory and copy it to a safe directory (like your desktop).

6. Create a new game ***with the same map size as the fully explored map***, and save it.

7. Go back to the "Galactic Civilizations\Data\SaveGames" directory and find the directory containing your new game.

8. Copy the fully-explored FOW.GALAXY into the new game save's directory, overwriting the old FOW.GALAXY.

9. Load up the new game!

- Nobody
4,643 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
thats hilarious. LOL

/cant decide if he would ever use it or not :notsure:
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Interesting cheat. :d

Have you looked inside the FOW file? Tried it on same size, different density? Seems like it ought not work on a different galaxy. Unless it uses reverse logic (i.e. "all the listed items are hidden").



~SDC~
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
AI doesn't know where each resource is located. On many occasions, I have seen him sitting right next to one and not grabing it.

~SDC~
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
I've looked inside the FOW file, and it contained repeating byte patterns. From this, I guessed that the file corrisponded to a map of some sort. I decided to try and see what would happen if I transplanted the file, and when I did, I had remarkable results.

Three things I found...
1. FOW file sizes for a given map remain constant.
2. Using the wrong size of FOW template for the map you're currently playing causes a crash.
3. Removing the FOW lets all races contact you at once.

- Nobody
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
Was the AI constructor flying by the resource, or was it stationary for multiple turns?

The AI frequently flies by resources, but that's because the constructor is enroute to another resource.

- Nobody