Plug-in Manager - Help

[tungston 19]

Originally posted by: Edawt Well after i clicked on my region it say I needed plugin 134322..... It had alot of numbers after and it said most graphics would show but some would be blank.

Thats what I know. sorry if its a little vague to you.quote>

 

That message appears after you have removed a prop, lot, or model file from the plugins folder, after you have had it in the city.

It is not something missing from a recent addition to the plugins that you haven't previously had in the city.

The number needs to be converted to HEX number to track down the item missing.  The problem is if you deleted the item you can't track it down.

Look throught the city to see if you find brown boxes, or empty lots, those are the lots that have the missing item.

[smstevenms 7]

Not sure if this is the right thread for my question. I have recently reintalled my game SC4 Dlx, and reorganixed my plugins folders. There are a few new down-loads that I have placed in my test city and many are having the same issue, no buildings just the base. Some have query info but some dont. I would im the uploader if it was just one, but there all different creators.

I have installed the SC Update, but I don't know I'm missing, if it's on my end. Can anyone help? thanks.

Edit: What I was missing was the files bldgprop_vol1.dat & bldgprop_vol2.dat So if you had or have this same issue this should solve it, if you need these files just copy and paste into google.

  Edited March 28, 2011 by smstevenms  

[kaos78414 23]

Okay I'm having a slight problem, and I actually have no idea where to begin. How do I make a custom farm field and assign it to a farm lot without overwriting one of the default maxis farm fields?

[NetPCDoc 1]

Hello kaos78414,

I don't remember all of the details - but where to start is - when you get to the lot editor - you want to do a save-as and give the new lot a new name (I forget the naming conventions). You have stated that you do NOT want to do a save - thus replacing the ingame lot.

Hope this helps get you started,

-NetPCDoc

No detail is too small to be micromanged.

[smstevenms 7]

Yea, I think that's how you would go about it. I think you would have to keep the name as it is to over write if that's possible.

[kaos78414 23]

Haha no I'm not that computer illiterate. There is no save-as with farm field lots. There is only a save function.

[smstevenms 7]

If you're unsure, just copy your SimCity_1 DAT File (<--I think that's the file) place it somewhere else. If what NetPCDoc doesn't work just replace that file and overwrite it!

[smstevenms 7]

Well I'm not sure, if there isn't a way changing the file name (after coping the original), which I cant see how you couldn't, don't know what you can do.

[Random Stranger 2]

How do you edit lots when they only come with a SC4Lot File and how do you change the pictures for lots that show up in the menu (landmarks etc)

Please PM me the answer

thanx!!!

[Flyboy1212 12]

with PM I place a model but in LE the moidel and the building aren't centered and I want to make some costome parks how do i do it with out a building to show

[FlyingObjects 0]

The PIM always freezes when I open it, and doesn't contain ANY model files(including the default 'little schoolhouse). It seems to be corrupted.

I'm using Windows Vista, if that has anything to do with it.

[tungston 19]

The Plugin Manager works fine with Vista. Try opening the program with the exe in the Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps folder.

[JimBroadbeard 0]

Hi, I'm looking for help finding a tutorial or information on making custom props for the lot editor. 

1. I made my model in BAT and exported it.

2. I dragged the model in the PIM onto props in the tree.

3. Iset a few properties and save.

4. I open LE and open a plaza 1x1.

5. I go to add a prop and My prop is not in the list.

What am I missing?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also I am trying to find any info on how to make lots that "overhang" another square like the excellent pegasus CSK canals that go under ELRail etc.

If my Prop is too big for the lot would that make it not show in the list in LE?

Thanks

[Random Stranger 2]

Try your prop on different lots and it might show up on some of them. That's what happened on my building

If your prop is bigger than the lot it will still show up.

Edited by Sam - please use correct English spelling and punctuation next time, not netspeak.

[Sam 163]

Originally posted by: Random Stranger ...

If your prop is bigger than the lot it will still show up.

quote>

Actually I don't think it will. If the prop is too big for the lot it won't appear in the list to pick from. It is also very easy to make a prop in the BAT that is 10x the size you think it is, so if you have made the prop yourself you should check the size of it. This is the most common reason that props don't appear in the prop list.

[JimBroadbeard 0]

Thanks for the replies Sam and Stranger.

Sam, you are is right. I tried loading a 3x3 plaza instead of the 1x1 one and hey presto it was in the list.

Prop must be <= width and depth of the lot for the prop to show in the list. (height shouldn't matter?)

My sizes were correct but I wanted the prop to "overhang" the side of the lot.

Soloution (for anyone having same trouble)

1 Load 2x2 plaza

2 Change building for 1x1 plaza building

3 Import prop

4 Make the lot 1x1

I now have a basic plaza that goes under elrail

Ok now to sort out a texture, add some props etc.

Thanks again.

Jim

[HunD88 145]

Hi! I'm having trouble with the Plugin-manager. For some reason whenever i add a growable building (R/C/I)

i can't modify their Demand ID. The program dosent let me, whatever i do to it. Can it be modified?

E.g. The "patch's Paint has 212(?) work places, with fitting demand ID. The building I designed has the same size, (3x3)

but the program gave 17500 For demand, and 9800 workplaces, which is too much.

I'm able to change the workplaces tough, but the demand ID, I can't. pls help!

[Sam 163]

Are you sure its the same size? The PIM determines its stats based on the size of the model. If you have accidentally made the model too big, then it will give higher stats.

[HunD88 145]

Hi, sam! Yeah, i'm absolutely sure. In Lot editor, it fitted loosely in a 3x3 field, and the height is even smaller. I linked a screenshot too.

The stats it gave me:

 Demand ID 17,895 !!

Workers   9,000

Building value 296,222     

-And all the others were huge.

And i made everything properly , In BAT i refitted the lod's and everything.

What should i do for lower stats?

[Sam 163]

Ok HunD88, in the PIM can you take a screenshot of both your model file stats and your descriptor file stats and post them here? (for descriptor I need to see both the first page of Required stats, and also the last page of General stats). The length, height and width values are particularly important to know.

Also can you let me know exactly what option in the tree you dragged your model onto to create the descriptor, eg IM, ID etc?

I'm also not sure what you mean by Demand ID. The Capacity Satisfied property is what lists the number of jobs a building has (it does mention demand id in the help though but it explains what this is). It is always paired. The first number is the identifier of the demand type, eg 4200 is Dirty Industrial, 4300 is Manufacturing, 4400 is High Tech. However these values are in hex, so when converted to decimal (as the PIM does in its overview screen), they would appear as 16640, 17152, and 17408 respectively. The second part of the pair is the actual amount. So in my example below, the 4200, 11D means Dirty Industrial jobs, 285 of them. (in decimal in the PIM shots above that would be 16893, 285). Note it is not saying there are 16893 jobs in my building (which I tried to make about the same size as yours)

[HunD88 145]

under "Demand ID", i meant the first  value, of the capacity satisfied- section.

the one, which i can't modify in PIM.

..That 16896 (of yours), and 17152 (mine) - this first value- is causing me the problem,

because it can't be rewritten by simply clicking on it, and writing a new, smaller number.--

-This first number determines, that under what RCI demand should it start to grow.

now if it's too high, my building simply would not appear, only in large cities/ regions.

here are the screenshots too.

And thanks for your help

[Sam 163]

Originally posted by: HunD88 under "Demand ID", i meant the first  value, of the capacity satisfied- section.

the one, which i can't modify in PIM.

quote>

There's a very good reason for that. It doesn't relate in any way to the amount of jobs the building supplies. 17152 simply means Industrial manufacturing. This value is determined by the option in the tree that you drop your model on to. If you don't want a value of 17152 for that number then don't drop your model on the (I-M) Industrial Manufacturing option. What that property is saying is "this building supplies 9700 jobs (the 9700 part) and they are Industrial Manufacturing jobs (the 17152 part). If you dropped your model on the Dirty Industrial option in the tree then it would read 16896 (which means dirty Industry jobs).

..That 16896 (of yours), and 17152 (mine) - this first value- is causing me the problem,

because it can't be rewritten by simply clicking on it, and writing a new, smaller number.--

quote>

If you tried to alter this number yourself, (for example using the Reader) then you would probably break your building, as there are other values in the exemplars that depend on or must match this value. That's why the PIM won't let you change it, it sets all these values correctly automatically when it makes the exemplar. If you just change that one value on its own without changing the others then what you create probably won't work properly.

-This first number determines, that under what RCI demand should it start to grow.

quote>

The first number is the developer type, eg R$, Co$$, ID, I-H. Changing this number would mean the building no longer functions as Industrial Manufacturing. However you can't just pick another number at random. Each number means a specific type of demand and there are many of these, not just building types, (eg R$, I-D, Co-$$). There are many other game functions that could be affected if you just pick another number.

now if it's too high, my building simply would not appear, only in large cities/ regions.

here are the screenshots too.

quote>

Incorrect. When the building appears depends on a number of things, including to a limited extent its developer type (Industrial manufacturing depends largely on education, not city size however). Most important is the stage of the lot (which is not related to developer type). The higher stages will only appear in larger regions (not cities, the region population is what is counted). Lower stage Industrial Manufacturing should appear in quite small cities. The stage is a property of the lot, not the building. The stage depends on the number of occupants (jobs) compared to the number of tiles the lot takes up. The only way you can affect the stage a building grows at using the building exemplar is by reducing the number of jobs it supplies, not by changing the type of jobs. The number of jobs is the second number, which you should indeed be able to change in the PIM.

The PIM determines its values (for things like jobs, amount of pollution, etc)  based on the volume of your model (it assumes the volume is a rectangular prism that encompasses the whole model, even if the model only fills about half or less of that prism). It does often over-estimate these values, for example the garbage stats are always way too high, and you should fix them on every file you create in the PIM.

Don't worry about the first number though, your Plugin Manager is working properly and doing what it is supposed to do. Its perfectly normal. The second number, the amount of jobs, is a bit whacky, but this is how the PIM normally behaves. You can lower the second number if you want to, but don't forget to also check the other stats and set them to reasonable amounts to match your lowered number of jobs.

And thanks for your help

quote>

You're welcome, I hope this helps.

[frdrcklim 139]

I have a question. I was gonna break the Maxis University apart to individual colleges carrying a specific or appropriate amount of students. So I break them apart with the lot editor but I get stuck since Plug-in Manager don't do descriptor files for edited lots (and it's the Maxis University). Is there another way I could do this? How do I edit the descriptor files without the model/ Is it possible (You know, start from the Lot Editor then go to the Plug-in Manager)?

[HunD88 145]

i have another question.   So every industrial i've made, it was high-density. Like the one in the picture below, it does not have any particularly high stats. But in the game, it's zone type is High density.       What should i change to get it grow on Medium-density?

[Sam 163]

HunD88: Make the lot you put it on bigger or reduce the number of jobs it has. The stage is determined by the number of jobs (in turn determined by the volume of the LODs), versus the area the lot occupies (hence, density).

frdrcklim: This is not actually a PIM or Lot Editor question. As you have found, you can't make a descriptor file with PIM for the university. You will have to use the Reader to pull the University building exemplar file from the simcity1.dat file (ie make an external copy), then give it a unique TGI (this is very, very important, or you will end up overriding the in game university and you will not end up with the multiple lots you want), then make the changes you want to that building exemplar and use that on your lot in the Lot Editor. Once you have one building exemplar extracted and modified you can use it as a template for the rest of your lots but you will have to give each one a unique TGI and place it individually on each lot you make.

I can't find the original post on how to use the Reader to pull and create a dat file, but here is the original quote:

Q]Originally posted by: RalphaelNinja

How to pull and create a dat - by Ralphael

1. open simcity_1.dat

2. click on exemplar analyser and click on search to fill the anlyser list

3. press f3 to bring up the find function

4. search for the prop that you wish to copy (pull)

5. right click on the exemplar and click on "add to patch"

6. once all the props has been found using the steps 3-5, click on file (on menu bar) and select "save recorded exemplars" and select create dat

quote>

quote>

[frdrcklim 139]

So that's what the Reader does. I've heard of it but I didn't really know of its purpose since there is no mention of it in simcity.ea.

[Sam 163]

That's because its not a Maxis/EA program. It was created by Ilive who was a member of this site. It is used for modding and is available on the Modds and Downloads page under Ilive's Tools.

[frdrcklim 139]

Ok, I think I getting the hang of this... somewhat. Me n o o b (Is that word censored now? I had to space it since it seemed censored when it's worded together. I don't recall that word being bad.).

Can I ask last two questions? I realized that the building in the university is the distinct admin tower while the other buildings are just props. Is there a way to turn props to buildings or at least have the characteristics of a building? Also, Rewards need that certain requirements before they get unlocked right (like you reach a certain mayor rating, or you reach a certain number of jobs, etc.)? I try to find that property in the PIM or the Ilive Reader but either it's not there or it's there and I'm really lost. Can you show me where it is and if it's not there, are there any other programs that I need to be aware about to be able to accomplish what I'm doing? Thank you

[T Wrecks 10,209]

You can turn a prop into a building if you have the model file, or, to be more precise, if you have the XML file inside the model file. Since the ingame buildings are compiled into the simcity DAT file, this is a difficult job, though.

What you can do is take an invisible box as a dummy, assign the desired properties, and use a prop for the appearance. For ploppable buildings, you can make the prop act like a proper building by setting "Query as main building" to "true" and adding the property "User visible name key", assigning the values "0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000" - three zeroes, in other words. This will cause the prop to highlight properly as soon as it's under the mouse cursor, and it will display the name that's been assigned to the invisible dummy building - either the one in the "User visible name key" property, or, if none exists, in the "Item name" property, or, if neither exists, in the "exemplar name" property of the building.

If you have a model, but no XML file, you can write down its ID, make any building desc from any model, and change its ID to the one of the model you want to turn into a building - or something similar. I'm afraid I'm not too sure about this point. Andreas Roth knows this method. Another person to ask would be wounagaine on SC4D; I've heard he was tinkering with a handy little tool that would facilitate the process. I have no idea whether it's been made yet, though.

[frdrcklim 139]

I actually did think of making a crude model (a box to be precise) and just hide it there, but you know, I just wanted to know my options.

What about the requirements for reward buildings, where to you manipulate that (like you reach a certain mayor rating, or you reach a certain number of jobs, etc.)?