Which mods/plugins should I install?

[yves 0]

Hi everyone!


I used to play Sim City 3000 a lot and when SC4 (and Rush Hour) came out I bought those too, but shortly after that my cousins got me hooked to a well-known online game. I haven't played Sim City 4 in over 1.5 year but this lovely site was still in my "My Favourites" folder.

I remembered some of the mods/plugins which really helped improving gameplay and preventing me from getting frustrated due to slow growth or low demand.

I had a few nice cities and regions made but my laptop crashed about half a year ago resulting in a complete removal of my files. 

Soooo here's my question ... Which plugins/mod packs should I install to enhance gameplay, and do they need to be installed in a particular order?
I've been reading on this site for a few days now but there is just SO much information on it, that I decided to post my very first forum message because it's the players who know best which packages to install before starting up a new region again.

I also remember the amazing achievements from the various players working on new buildings (mostly commercial towers and landmarks that got my attention back then). If you have any suggestions concerning such downloads (BAT files if i remember well ...) please do not hesitate to let me know, either in this thread or in a private message.

Thanks a lot in advance for your tips and suggestions, I really hope to start from scratch the next few days after reading a few help guides and threads from and on this site again!

Sincerely,
Yves.

[dedgren 830]

yves- welcome to Simtropolis (ST)!  Great to have you on board.

Here's my take on mods, as published in my city journal Three Rivers Region.  Click on the linkie to go there; a new window will open which you can resize.

Mods Used in 3RR 

I plan to update this information with links and such, but maybe not for a while.  Feel free to personal message (PM) me here on ST if I could be of further help in connection with any particular mod.

I also use a particular method of organizing my SC4 "plugins" subfolder located in the "My Documents" folder (I'll assume you are a PC user- others will have to help you here if you use a Mac).  It's explained in 3RR at this linkie.

Organization of Plugins Folder and Game Settings

Again, let me know if you need anything more.

Thanks again for joining our community!

David

[cogeo 960]

Oh, this question has been asked a million times, and this matter is so subjective that you may also get a million answers!

Some players want skyscrapers, some others like quiet suburbs, and some others value balanced stats and well-behaving lots.

So it's only a matter of preference.

I would suggest that you get the NAM, also check the Modds and Downloads section. Apart from NAM some more plugins and fixes are regarded as "essentials" like the Opera House Fix, the GraphMod, the Dataview Mod, the Additional God Mode Terraforming tools, and many others. Some of them are a bit "cheaty" (demand etc), but it's a matter of preference if you want them.

Also don't miss the Hole Digger Lots (necessary for sunken highways and underground rail), and pick a nice set of walls as well.

And of course there is a lot of "cosmetic" mods on the STEX (terrain colour, trees, canals, repidss, waterfalls etc), and of course a huge collection of custom buildings, RCI, civic, utilities, transportation etc You only have to search, and search a lot and yourself!

EDIT: If you install NAM you may not install or you should uninstall all other Transit Mods like Transit SuperMod, Traffic Cop, Transit Bug Fix etc etc.

[dedgren 830]

cogeo, heh...

I agree with you, though.  Mods are pretty personal, depending on your style.

yves, a lot of the most popular CJs note the mods the author uses somewhere in the first couple of pages.  I'm sure if you looked at several and found a style of city-building you liked in a particular CJ, you might also find a more or less ready-made list.  If you don't, I'd suggest PMing the author.  Most folks will (trust me on this) be flattered.

Good luck!

[Red1530 1]

Get Network Addon Mod (NAM). It gives you additional traffic features not found SC4 RH.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Here is Greyvei's checklist.  You should make sure you have done all the necessary things to get going properly.

[yves 0]

Just got back home from the lady to check this thread, great to see so many constructive replies already.

Many thanks for your suggestions so far, I'm sure they will prove useful in building a new region soon.

I would like to thank David in particular for his elaborated and well-structured reply. I started reading your City Journal, so far it's looking great to me, very detailed and structured. I've added the link to My Favourites and will continue reading it tomorrow as it is around 1 am over here (Western Europe). The waterfalls, rapids, shorelines and forests look really promising ! 

Oh, and also a lot of thanks for the tips on how to organize my plugin folder. Since I am starting from scratch again it will come in handy to have everything well-organized from the beginning on.

Another general remark, something that drew my attention while I was reading these forums is the friendly way people communicate. Feels good to be around civilized people who don't use the word '$%&^!' or other disrespectful words to judge people they don't even know.

Good night and see you tomorrow!

-Yves

EDIT: also thanks to N_O_Body for providing a very useful link, you posted your reply while I was typing mine (and waiting for my wireless internet to reconnect ... again ... sigh).

[Mystrelia 57]

As so many have said, it depends completely on your playstyle. If you like farming communities you're going to love the (oh shoot, I can't remember what they're called!) farm sets that have their own custom reward buildings. They completely brought my farm communities back to life.

[moganite 4]

one thing missing if you want to ever render maps from here is mallows or my height mod sets mine is based on his but has the ability to control errosion.

[Fred_Ginger 1]

Mystrelia was thinking of the BSC farm set I think... just search for BSC or farms on the STEX. It would really help to know what kind of play style you like. Some of the people here have taken SC to whole new levels. Examples, the mountain theme pack that Peg did (search for Peg) and Mika/Barby's Venetian theme which is currently in Beta testing....