Side

The side a country or a musical score belongs to, or the house last chosen for multiplay.

Country side

Specification — Country side

Applies to

HouseType

File

rules.ini

Section

[<ObjectType ID>]

Value

Side

When omitted

InheritedThe side whose [Sides] entry lists this country, or no side at all when none does.

rules.ini

[Nod]
Side=Nod

The [Sides] section is read first and points every country it lists at its side; this key is read afterwards and overrides that pairing for the one country. A country left with no side at all is not an error — that is what the stock civilian and mutant countries would carry if [Sides] did not list them.

The side is a coarser grouping than the country, and only three things ask for it. A musical score restricted with Side= is offered only while the local player’s country belongs to that side. The score screen draws its artwork from it. And whether an object’s survivor is a Crew or a Technician turns on whether its owner’s country has a side at all.

An unrecognized name creates a side rather than being rejected

A value naming no declared side adds a side under that name and puts the country in it. Nothing else joins it, and the country stops matching the sides that the score screen and the music playlist test against — so a typo silently moves a country out of both.

Changing a country’s side leaves the old side’s roster wrong

When this key moves a country off the side [Sides] gave it, the country is added to the new side’s roster and an entry is removed from the old one by position — the position matching the country’s own place in the country list, which is rarely the entry that should go. A later rules file that names a side inside a [Sides] entry then expands the wrong set of countries.

Preferred multiplayer side

Specification — Preferred multiplayer side

Applies to

multiplayer settings

File

SUN.INI

Section

[MultiPlayer]

Value

HouseType

When omitted

UnchangedThe side already chosen this run, which is the first house in the rules when the game starts.

The value is a house identifier, matched without regard to letter case against both the section names and the display names of the loaded houses. What gets stored is that house’s position in the list, and the LAN, skirmish and lobby dialogs use the position to preselect their side box, which offers only the houses marked as multiplayable. A World Domination Tour session skips the read altogether and takes its side from the tour.

An unknown house name is invented rather than rejected

A name that matches no loaded house creates a house under that name and stores its position, which lies past the end of the multiplayable list. The LAN and lobby side boxes then open with nothing selected, while the skirmish dialog clamps the position to its second entry. The invented house stays in the list for the rest of the run.

Score side restriction

Specification — Score side restriction

Applies to

Themes

File

THEME.INI + THEME01.INI

Section

[<Theme ID>]

Value

Side

When omitted

<none>No restriction, which offers the score to every side.

The value is a side identifier. A score that names one is offered only while the local player’s country belongs to that side; the check is against the country’s Side=, not against the country itself, so it covers every country grouped under the same side. Writing <none> leaves the score unrestricted, exactly as omitting the key does.

theme.ini

[DUSKHOUR]
Name=Dusk Hour
Length=4.11
Side=GDI

The restriction applies to the automatic playlist and to the sound options track list alike; a score can still be started outright by name whatever this is set to. Before a player’s house has been settled the test is skipped, so an early score is not withheld for want of a side to compare against.

An unrecognized name creates a side rather than being rejected

A value naming no declared side adds a side under that name and restricts the score to it. Since no country belongs to it, the score is then never offered to anybody.

See also — Multiplay, Crew, Technician, Handle, Color, Normal, Scenario

Page feedback

Report an error or missing detail. The issue includes this page and revision.

Open issueSource revision 59fae722af8c