Civ4 Useful Programs

This page provides links to programs that are useful and help with modding Civilization IV.

Essential Programs for nearly all aspects of Modding

• A text editor, such as Notepad++, emacs, vim, or even WordPad and Notpad (which come with Windows)
  • Vim and Emacs are good for hardcore programming - Notepad++ is good for just about anything.
• A diff/merge tool, such as WinMerge or Beyond Compare
  • Vim, Emacs, and some other text editors contain merge/diff tools in themselves.

Map/Scenario (WorldBuilder-like) Programs

• MapView 2.0 or official thread
• Civ4 Map Maker
• Civ 4 Map Editor
• Civ4 Save/Scenario/Map Editor

XML Programs

• There are some XML editing tools for civ4, but most modders prefer the directness of a text editor like Notepad++
• Civ4 XML Editor
• Civ4 File Checker
• XML Marker

Python Programs

• Python IDLE
• Civilization4 Python API Reference Guide

Graphics Programs

• Blender
• BMP To WorldBuilderSave Converter
• DXTBmp
• GIMP
• GIMP DDS Plugin
• Gmax
• NifTools

SDK Programs

• Guide to installing the SDK (It is highly recommended you read this before starting SDK work on Civ4)
• Compilers:
  • Visual Studio 2008 Express (recommended method)
  • CodeBlocks (obsolete in many ways; cannot create a debug dll)
• Libraries:
  • Microsoft Platform SDK
  • msvcrt.lib
  • msvcrtd.lib
  • msvcprt.lib
  • VC++ Toolkit 2003

Misc Programs

• PakBuild
• Civchecker
• SadMan Search
• NSIS Installer Program
• 7-zip