SC4Terraformer Support

[gambit529 0]

never mind that last reply

[Ollo 0]

Hey Guys!

I know this topic is a little outdated but I recently found the Terraformer and thought: Cool! No more long nights to spend on a good region.

So I went ahead and tried it out (so much better then Terragen!!) and I was really satisfied. I made a region that exists somewhere in Africa near the Equator and I had to incorporate a few mountains.

The only problem is that when I start Simcity 4 and load that region first of all it shows up in the Terraformer colours and when I click on it the loading picture shows that city in normal simcity colours.

But then when it has finished loading the mountaineous Region has got snow on the caps.

I checked in my plugin folder if I had any Terrain mod in it, but couldn't find anything.

Do any of you guys know what to do? I also tried opening an existing region and there wasn't any snow there, same in newly created regions (on simcity, not with Teraformer).

Do you have any clue?

Thanks guys,

I appreciate any help given.

Oh and by the way, merry christmas!!

[wouanagaine 83]

Hi ollo

Welcome to ST

I think that you have made your terrain tall enough to have snow. If I recall correctly snow appears above 1000m with no special terran plugin, but don't quote me on that, I have not played with custom terran since age

and if I recall correctly the 12/25 the game put snow everywhere

Take care

[Ollo 0]

Hi wouanagaine

Thanks for the quick reply.

No I checked my terrain and it was around 500-600 m I think in my game (the snowline)  stops at about 300-400m. My terrain used to be at 1000m but then everything was covered in snow. I already lowered it quite a bit. But then it's not really the same to the region I copied.

Is there anyway to change that?

Thank you!

[prince_of_sims 0]

It's the Christmas easter egg :-D

On Christmas day, SimCity will simulate real snow by default. This is not controlled by any plugin, it's something the programmers put in. The snow will gradually increase on the slopes throughout the winter months, and gradually recede during the summer months. It only happens on Christmas day in the real world.

EDIT:

The 12/25 easter egg only put snow if the terrain was high enough. On terrain close to sea level there's little to no snow, but on high terrain there is snow.

[Ollo 0]

Are you joking? haha! That's funny.

But it's already the 26th here.

Wait I'll just check, because it was that way on the 24th already.

Haha cool! Yeah it's working normally now, thanks a lot.

[Grneyes78 0]

The program used to save when I was done terraforming, but now it stops after asking if I'm sure I want to save. I haven't changed anything so I don't know what the problem is.

[wouanagaine 83]

Does it crash ? if so you should have a log file, so can you post the content of it ?

If not, you may have lock your tiles, and the program won't save anything

[socomseal45 0]

File "", line 1, in ?

ImportError: No module named zipextimporter

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "SC4Terraformer.py", line 1, in ?

ImportError: No module named SC4TerraformerApp, this all i get on the readme

[wouanagaine 83]

socomseal45

Seems your installation is weird or corrupted

Go in the development thread in the last page, and download the latest SC4TF version

Remove your previously installed SC4TF ( remove the folder )

unzip the new version ( unzip with keepoing directory structure this is important ). You will have a library.zip -> do not try to unzip it, just leave it that way

make sure you have at least October 2006 version of DirectX ( link provided in the readme ). Download and install it

make sure you have the dlls listed in the readme ( link provided for one, others should be WinXP default, and if you miss one, just google for it )

This should work, if still not, list here your computer/OS specs please

[simonpat 7]

Every time I Start it  I get a Direct X  Cant be loaded and there is no other open apps. What can I doo????

[wouanagaine 83]

Either your Graphic card is too old or your directX is too old.

Check the readme to get links to directX

[socomseal45 0]

sorry i meant it says what simonpat said, but i have directX9. is this graphics card old:nVIDIA GeForce 6100

[wouanagaine 83]

socomseal => No, not old

Make sure you have the correct Directx9 version.

you need to have d3dx9_30.dll on your HD, and it useally is on c:\windows\system32

if you have not this dll or a higher version ( D3DX9_31 etc... ),, SC4TF can't run. You need to download, unzip and install the latest DirectX which I gave a link to into the readme.html

For you interest. There are tons of Direct9.c version, Microsoft release a version of DirectX9.c every two months with bugs corrections. Depending on when an application was made and what the developper used as DirectX you need to be in sync.

[Andro 0]

I've been putting off asking about this until I could use an image editor supposedly capable of saving 16-bit PNG files. I just opened an exported PNG of my region in GIMP 2.2 and saved it with no changes. SC4Terraformer now recognizes and imports it as a terraced 8-bit file.

All I want is an exported 256-level version of the low range encompassed by the game's own bitmap importer. Everything I have turns the PNGs into 8-bit files on loading, which would be fine with me if the program didn't include so much empty (in this case) space resulting in only a very few values for the range I'm dealing with.

[wouanagaine 83]

AFAIK GIMP does not handle 16 bit png

With v1.1 available on previous page, you'll be able to get a RGB from your region

All I want is an exported 256-level version of the low range encompassed by the game's own bitmap importer. Everything I have turns the PNGs into 8-bit files on loading, which would be fine with me if the program didn't include so much empty (in this case) space resulting in only a very few values for the range I'm dealing with.

quote>

Due to my poor english, I do not understand exactly what you want. Can you rephrase this for a 5 years child please

[broken 0]

The only problem is that when I start Simcity 4 and load that region first of all it shows up in the Terraformer colours and when I click on it the loading picture shows that city in normal simcity colours.

quote>

This was back in Ollo's post (pg 10), and I don't think you addressed it. I'm having the same kind of problem. Loading the city and re-saving it fixes the colors, but I've got a huge map with over 300 city tiles of various sizes, so you can see why loading each one is kind of a pain to fix.

Any ideas?

[runaround 1]

I had SC4TF running out of my download directory.  I shutdown SC4TF and moved it to my programs directory.  Explorer fussed that a file was in use and quit, both the downloads\dist v10c and the Program Files\dist v10c directories were empty.

Even though SC4TF was working previously, I double checked to make all the necessary files were installed, they are.  I have the correct DirectX.  I have completely removed SC4TF and tried to reinstall it.  No avail.

 

Printing out the log it shows:

Traceback (most recent call last):

  File "SC4Terraformer.py", line 4, in ?

  File "zipextimporter.pyo", line 78, in load_module

  File "SC4TerraformerApp.pyo", line 3, in ?

  File "zipextimporter.pyo", line 91, in load_module

ImportError: MemoryLoadLibrary failed loading tools3D.pyd quote>

What am I overlooking?  I have had this running, it is great!!!  I would like to get it going again. 

Thanks.

[jay_allen1978 0]

question, i have a rendered map that i created in-game and it's ready to upload, but can't get a greyscale, and when i downloaded terraformer, and tried to run it, it won't open. it tells me to see log. how can this be fixed.

[Vandy 110]

Originally posted by: jay_allen1978 question, i have a rendered map that i created in-game and it's ready to upload, but can't get a greyscale, and when i downloaded terraformer, and tried to run it, it won't open. it tells me to see log. how can this be fixed.quote>

 

Hi, Jay.

I'ld like to see if I can help you with your issues.  I do need more information from you, however.

1)  From your post, I can assume you've created a map in SC4 that you'd like to upload (to the STEX?).  Further, you state you are trying to get a grayscale.  A grayscale what?  Map image?

2)  You've downloaded the SC4Terraformer application (good choice!) and are having problems.  It would be quite useful for you to explain, in detail, exactly what is the problem you are having?

3)  The log that SC4Terraformer is referring to is a file located in the same folder in which the application is located.  The name of the file is SC4Terraformer.exe.log.  This is a text file that contains useful information concerning any problems you might be experiencing.

I look forward to helping you with this problem and do look forward to getting more information from you concerning the problem you're having.

Regards,

Vandy

[Vandy 110]

Hello, Runaround.

I'm just checking to see if you've been able to work through your problem?  If not, please let me know so that I can possible offer you some help.  If you have worked through your problem, then "Bully for you!"  I trust that you'll continue to enjoy the application.

Regards,

Vandy

[wouanagaine 83]

To all of the valued readers of this thread, I can no longer respond to repeated questions concerning issues with DirectX.  It is EXTERMELY IMPORTANT that you completely read through the ReadMe file included with the SC4Terraformer application.  The ReadMe file has detailed instructions as to what DirectX version is required as well as links on where to find it.

It is very possible that by using the below self-help methods, you may be able to get an answer to your question.  Please ensure you have used the below methods for getting self-help: 

1)  Ensure you havedownloaded and installed the latest version of SC4Terraformer.  As of this post, the latest version is 1.1.

2)  Ensure you have the correct version of DirectX.

3)  Ensure you have COMPLETELY read through the ReadMe file that is part of the SC4Terraformer download package.

4)  Search through the posts in this thread for answers to your questions.  There is a wealth of valuable information contained within this support thread and many answers to your questions can be gotten by search through the posts in the thread.

When, and only when, you have completely exhausted all avenues of self-help concerning a problem you are experiencing, post a detailed explanation of the problem.  I, or someone I designate, will attempt to research your reported problem and reply back to you when time permits.

I want it to be very clear that support for the SC4Terraformer application is NOT being abandoned.  Valid problems will continue to be researched and, if possible, solutions will be provided.

In closing, I wish to reiterate the importance of reading the ReadMe file.  It contains valuable information that, in many cases, will answer your questions concerning SC4Terraformer, DirectX and using the application.

Thanks to all NHP members and others various contributors who helped me ( and you ) to maintain quality on SC4TF

[jay_allen1978 0]

dear sirs. i have the correct version of direct x, that's not what the problem is, ok, sorry i wasn't more specific. i downloaded sc4 terraformer from the stex. now if you look at the stex, version 1.0 is there, not 1.1. anyways i unzipped it, then tried to open it. i recieved the error :" See The Log File C:/documents and settings/my name//my documents/dist v 10c/SC4terraformer.exe.log " for more info...sorry no screen shot. xp wont let me. then when i open the log, i get this

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "SC4Terraformer.py", line 1, in ?

File "zipextimporter.pyo", line 78, in load_module

File "SC4TerraformerApp.pyo", line 3, in ?

File "zipextimporter.pyo", line 91, in load_module

ImportError: MemoryLoadLibrary failed loading tools3D.pyd

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "SC4Terraformer.py", line 1, in ?

File "zipextimporter.pyo", line 78, in load_module

File "SC4TerraformerApp.pyo", line 3, in ?

File "zipextimporter.pyo", line 91, in load_module

ImportError: MemoryLoadLibrary failed loading tools3D.pyd

hmmm, anyways i know i have to use sc4m to get a greyscale of the region. hopefully this a little more accurate,

[wouanagaine 83]

the above post was not directed to you, but to everyone

The STEX version is only 1.0 because only Dirk can update the entry

the 1.1 can be found on the SC4 Dev Thread ( link in my sig ) and link in the first post to the 1.1 version

but for the exercice and for everyone to understand that it can save me some times

Page 2 of this thread your problem is mentionned

Page 3 of this thread your problem is mentionned

Page 4 of this thread your problem is mentionned

Page 4 prince of sims definitly find the solution to your problem

Page 9 of this thread your problem is mentionned

Page 10  of this thread your problem is mentionned

In this page of this thread your problem is mentionned, but somehow I do not get the subscribe PM, so this also apply to runaround

Moreover the solution has been writen in the readme since the problem is recurrent.:

This is on the first section of the readme found in v1.0

System Requirements and Useful Links

....

Some users may need the MSCVP71.DLL. It can be found here

.....

his is a list of required dlls that need to be on your system and that I can't include in the installer due to licencing terms:

• OLEAUT32.dll
• USER32.dll
• SHELL32.dll
• ole32.dll
• WINMM.dll
• WSOCK32.dll
• COMCTL32.dll
• ADVAPI32.dll
• msvcrt.dll
• WS2_32.dll
• GDI32.dll
• KERNEL32.dll
• MSVCP71.dll
• comdlg32.dll
• RPCRT4.dll

they should be typically find in your C:\WINDOWS\system32\

quote>

]

If it is not that, and you honestly have read the thread and the readme, I apologize in advance

[jay_allen1978 0]

no apology neede, i will once again go through everything to make sure. and i appreciate your help, thanks

[bushd25 1]

Originally posted by: jay_allen1978

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "SC4Terraformer.py", line 1, in ?

File "zipextimporter.pyo", line 78, in load_module

File "SC4TerraformerApp.pyo", line 3, in ?

File "zipextimporter.pyo", line 91, in load_module

ImportError: MemoryLoadLibrary failed loading tools3D.pydquote>

I've been having this same problem, but SC4Mapper works for me so it's not a DLL problem. When I tried to check the files in library.zip it showed up as corrupted. Tried downloading the SC4TFV11.zip file a second time, but the library file was corrupted again.

As a test, I copied library.zip from the Mapper directory to the TF directory, and it eliminated all but the "File "SC4Terraformer.py", line 4, in ?" error. Which suggests to me that the problem is with the library.zip file within the current version of SC4TFV11.zip being hosted.

Could one of the devs check this out?

[castironpigeon 1]

I'm having some trouble with the terraformer.. here's what happened. I was making a region last night. All was well. I finished terraforming part of it, saved, went to bed. This morning I thought I'd mess with it a bit more, but when I go to load it up it gives me an error message:

Error while loading region.

A problem has occured while reading the region.

Maybe it is too large for your RAM.

But it wasn't too large previously? The region is 16x16 tiles in size, nothing spectacular. My computer is running an AMD 2600+ 2.08 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, and a GeForce FX 5700LE GPU. It's so ancient I forget the rest, but I don't think it really ought to matter right? I've read through the readme, updated my DirectX, checked that I have all the required files, and updated my graphics drivers. Am I missing anything? Please help..

[transcend.the.world 0]

Hello,

I am a long time Sim City player but a newbie around here.  The Terraformer program is absolutely amazing to use.  GREAT JOB!  I have been able to get most of the programs functions, except for importing a region into SC4 itself.  I have followed all the directions that I could find on this topic, and yet I cannot get it to work correctly. 

I followed these instructions from Woun;

1 ) Create a new region, ie go in mydocs\simcity4\regions and create new folder ( MyRegion for example )

2 ) Create or copy a config.bmp in this folder (mydocs\simcity4\regions\MyRegion) that suits your needs ( in term of layout of small/medium/huge cities , and in term of size ), if you don't know how to do this, refer to some pinned threads in the 'Map' forum

3 ) Run SC4Terraformer and select the 'MyRegion' folder

4 ) it should display a flat terran

5 ) Check the 'Show border' to see the layout of the cities to be sure

6 ) Now click on the 'import' button

7 ) You will be prompt for a image file, a scale factor and a minHeight value.

the image file, can be either a 8bit image ( png, bmp or jpg ) or a 16 bit png or a SC4M file

the scale factor and minHeight are only used when 8bit image is entered

the scale factor dictate how much meters represent a variation of 1 grey scale unit

the minHeight represent at which height the pure black value is set.

The default values provided are thoses used by SC4 when you do a CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-R

8 ) click on 'ok'

9 ) if the image does not match the region size, you will be prompted for fitting or aborting the process

10) you should see the map correctly

11 ) save ( CTRL-S ) and you can also export to sc4m ( this will be a kind of backup )

12 ) quit SC4Terraformer

13 ) launch SC4

14 ) open the MyRegion

15 ) you should get your region in SC4 ( with the color of SC4Terraformer )

16 ) you can play any city

Unfortunately, when I do this my region comes out completely messed up.  It seems that the Terraformer is taking it's own color PNG file (that I saved earlier) and reading it as a greyscale image (when I import it into a new region).

I have also tried several other methods including cut and pasting all my terraformed cities into a SC4 region folder.  The region shows up but so do SC4TF Grid Lines.  Also, when I tried this method, my custom config erased all my terraforming.

Does anyone out there have any advice?  Thanks.

[wouanagaine 83]

Unfortunately, when I do this my region comes out completely messed up .... quote>

Can we have a pic ?

I do not understand exactly what is messed up. If it is the color in SC4 showing as in SC4TF it is totally right, you'll have to enter each city and save to get a SC4 color in region view

[Cuahtemoc 0]

yes, that is true...I wonder why that happens...anyways, I have a question: Can you make the cities with a bigger size for each? Or must they always be small size when you use it?