Save in the game thread¶

On a server that the CivBot site works with, a player of the game drops a Civilization V save file (.Civ5Save) into the thread of their game, and the bot passes it to the site. The site attaches the save to the game, matches the obvious players by itself and, if everything is ready, closes the game. The bot replies with a card and a reaction under the message.

Participants¶

Player of the game — drops the file into the game thread; the site accepts saves only from those who have a seat in this game. No site account is needed for this.
Bot — adds reactions, hands the file to the site and shows the reply as a card.
Site — reads the save, attaches it to the game, matches the players and closes the game when it can.

Steps¶

This works on a server that the CivBot site works with. On other servers, the bot doesn't process files in threads and doesn't reply.

sequenceDiagram
    participant G as Player
    participant B as Bot
    participant S as Site
    G->>B: drops a .Civ5Save file into the game thread
    B-->>G: puts ⏳ on the message
    B->>S: passes the file
    S-->>B: attaches the save, matches the players, closes the game if needed
    B-->>G: shows a reply card and puts ✅ or ❌
    B-->>G: redraws the game card in the thread

Drop the file into the game thread. Send a message with a file in the game thread; the file name must end in .Civ5Save. If there are several files, the bot takes the first such one.
Wait for ⏳. While the site reads the file, your message has the ⏳ reaction.
Read the card. The bot replies to your message with a card, without mentioning you. Under the card there is an “Open the game” button that leads to the game page on the site. The card is in the server's main language.
Check the reaction. ✅ means the save is attached to the game, and ❌ means it isn't.
Look at the game card. After the save is attached, the bot redraws the game card in the thread so that it shows the current state.

Which cards the bot shows¶

Card	Text	Reaction
“Save accepted” (green)	“The save is attached to the game.”	✅
“Turn N accepted” (green)	“The save is attached to the game.” — when the turn is known	✅
“Save already taken” (blue)	“This file was uploaded earlier.”	✅ if the save is attached to the game, otherwise ❌
“Save does not fit this game” (red)	“The players or nations in the file differ from this game.”	❌
“Save taken, not attached” (orange)	an explanation of why the save isn't attached	❌
“Save not accepted” (red)	the reason for the refusal	❌

Under the “Save does not fit this game” card there is one more button, “Save inspector”. It leads to a view of the save that attaches nothing; see Save inspector.

What happens on the site next¶

An accepted save is attached to the game right away; you don't need to press a separate button. On behalf of whoever sent the file, the site itself matches the players it has no doubt about to the game's seats. If the game is already finished and everything is matched, the site closes it by itself. You can see the rest on the game page and settle there what is missing and who still needs to be matched. See Game saves on the site and Game page.

The result is the same as after adding a save on the game page: both ways lead to the same game state.

Rules and exceptions¶

Only a player of this game can submit a save¶

The bot rejects a file from someone without a seat in the game with a “Save not accepted” card that says “Only players of this game can upload a save.” A moderator who doesn't play in this game gets the same reply. If needed, a player of the game can drop the save instead.

A game save is no larger than 15 MB¶

The limit is the same as on the game page. A larger file isn't attached: the bot replies to the message with a red “Save not accepted” card with an explanation. See Game saves on the site.

No more than 10 tries per day¶

For one player in one game, the site accepts up to 10 tries per 24 hours. After that, the bot replies “Too many uploads. Try again a little later.”

A closed or scrapped game doesn't accept saves¶

For a game that is already closed, the reply is: “The ratings of this game are final, new saves are not accepted.” For a scrapped one: “This game is cancelled or closed for saves.”

A save with no players isn't attached¶

If the file has no players yet, which looks like an initial autosave, the bot shows a “Save taken, not attached” card advising you to drop a save from a later point in the game, ideally after it finishes.

Silent cases¶

In these cases, the bot doesn't reply at all:

the file name doesn't end in .Civ5Save;
the message is sent outside a game thread;
the message is sent on a server that the site doesn't work with;
the file was sent by another bot.

The bot suggests dropping a save¶

This works on a server that the CivBot site works with; on other servers, there are no such hints.

At the game start. The first message in the thread has, after the players' mentions, the line “💡 Drop the save file (.Civ5Save) here after the game to keep its charts on the site.”
After the game is finished. If the game is finished and has no save attached yet, the bot sends the thread, once, a “Keep this game's story” card with the text “Drop the save file (.Civ5Save) here: the site will show the game's charts and history.” and an “On site” button. The card appears both when the game is finished with the /game finish command and when it is finished on the site; see Finishing a game and Finishing a game on the site. If such a card is already among the thread's recent messages, the bot doesn't send a new one.

The game card leads to the site¶

On a server that the site works with, the game card's header in the thread leads to the game page on the site. Under the card of a game in progress and of a scrapped game there is an “On site” button, and under the card of a finished game, “Results on site”. The game card is also redrawn when the game is changed on the site: a save is attached, players are matched, a nation is picked or the game is finished. See Game thread.

What can go wrong¶

The bot didn't reply to the file. Check that the name ends in .Civ5Save, that you are in the game thread and that this is a server that the site works with. In other cases, the bot stays silent.
⏳ stays under the message for a long time. The site is still reading the file. Wait for the reply. If the site didn't make it in time, the bot says “The site did not answer. Try again later.”
The bot says “The site could not read this file.” The site couldn't parse the file. Drop the Civilization V save again or look at it in the inspector.
The bot says “The site could not read this file in time.” The file took too long to read. Try again later.
The bot says “The site is busy reading other saves. Try again in a minute.” The site is busy. Try again in a minute.
The bot says “The upload took too long. Try again.” Send the file again.
The save is accepted, but the game didn't close. A game closes by itself only when it is finished, all players are matched and no substitution is left open. You can see what exactly is missing on the game page.

This page was translated with AI and checked against the bot's terms.