Top 10 most desired info/mods

[Buggi 684]

Okay folks, here it is, the wide announcement of a great opportunity. The entire SimCity 4 source code and all uncompressed content is available to both gain knowledge of and figure out how to change things. The trick is it ALL can't be released, we must be picky.

Say you want to update/add to the UI a bit, if I told you I could get the information required to do so, would you be interested? Even if it meant a non-supported DLL plugin to the game itself?

How about ordinances? New networks? Disasters? Ploppable Res? The list goes on and is quite possibly endless.

Due to legal reasons the entire game source cannot be released. NO chance EA will allow it. I've already tried. But as a community we have the ability to now direct attention at things that have frustrated us and escaped understanding.

So I pose to you, great Simtrop community: All content makers, modders, modelers, animators, and lurkers... what would the top 10 things you'd like to see added/changed/updated to SC4 in order for you to get even more out of your experience when playing?

Don't worry about mentioning something already mentioned, any thing that is asked for by a majority will most likely be focused on. In other words if I have 100 things to look at and they're all different, there's no way to manage that many, but if I see 100 things asked for and 25 are similar in nature, then that is FAR more likely to get fullfilled! So think hard and dig down deep for what you'd like to see. 

It's taken a year of working with Maxis to get THIS far in talks. Do not expect over-night releases of any kind. But know that help and support IS out there! Also, please don't ask for changes so dramatic they would require a complete code-rewrite. SimCity is just that, SimCity, don't ask to change it to an RTS or something.

[dogscarletnyc 0]

maybe new landmarks cough:eiffel tower:cough.

[1973tr6 0]

1 - various kinds\type\sizes of seaports & airports, including naval base

2 - canals with navigable water

3 - single line rail

4 - better commute paths - a Sim should be able to get to a job across the street without having to travel 50 tiles or more

5 - more & better rural stuff - grain elevators of different sizes and with round silo-type struicture - dirt & gravel roads

6 - diagonal roads that can be built up to instead of having to build on the zig-zag

7 - more realistic ways of making legitimate $$ - a lot of cities have things like city cab companies or industrial or commercial parks in which they sell\lease the land to developers or city water

8 - 6 & 8-lane highways - or even 10 or 12-lane

9 - ability to build with solar panels on roofs (ploppable)

10 - more ploppables like retaining walls, embankments landscaping (I really like the redwood trees)

[Buggi 684]

I can sum up those 10 to these:

New types of Ports

New types of Networks/interchanges

Commute and path information

New Civic Options (ordinances)

Everything else is content related, not source related. Look to modelers or moders for that stuff. I'm talking raw features. Opening up what is now closed.

[ilikehotdogsalot 308]

dogscarletnyc: there is already a new beautiful eiffel tower!

https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?id=16664

^^^ go there..

[dogscarletnyc 0]

what else oh yeah Triple rail, quadruple rail, new Bridges, and MORE landmarks cough:Transamerica pyramid:cough. @ ilikehotdogsalot: a Smooshed version with tourists ohing and ahing

instead of gong gong and with land behind it instead of a gray backround.

[Buggi 684]

Maxis is not going to release ANY new content. Period. So please don't ask. All content will come from the community.

Anyone have a step-by-step way to reproduce the crash-to-desktop bug that is present in the game? I need to get that to my contacts to see if we can get a fix for that.

[dadyrghluv 8]

from what i gather, i dont think ordincances can be done. u would have to take an existing ordinace and change it or modify it's values. kinda like the super demand mod uses an existing ordinace. basically u cant add new ones, just modify existing ones.

[dogscarletnyc 0]

why don't you and you group put Landmarks secretly in your SimCity 4 source code just go to the people that own the landmarks to issue it in your SimCity 4 source code? also scenarios should be in the game

[Buggi 684]

Why do I bother?

@dadyrghluv: This is the point, access to source gives the ability to mod the engine itself to allow adding of things that couldn't be added before.

@dogscarletnyc: Please if you don't have something ON TOPIC to say, do not post, I don't need this thread spammed with stuff I've already addressed.

If scenarios are not in the game now, they can't be added magically. There's a difference between adding something NEW and modifying a feature that exists to allow MORE. Now then, anyone with more than 200 posts have anything to add? *sob*

[Fischbob 9]

This is an excellent opportunity, so here's my wishlist:

1. Bugfixes (ex. GLR bug, other annoying Maxis bugs, etc).

2. Transit fixes (referring to regional transportation behavior, pathfinding, that sort of thing).

3. Sandbox mode (elimination of financial aspect altogether).

4. The possibility of creating entirely new transportation networks (including actual underground highways, not just subways in sheep's clothing).

5. Lessen the frequency of fading cars, especially on highways.

6. Ability to build under bridges.

7. Crime rate to lot size ratio fix.

8. More stable game code for support of functional modular airports.

That's actually all I can think of for now. I may add my final two later. These are in no particular order, though the ones closer to the top I thought of first.

[dogscarletnyc 0]

That was ontopic. what about.... new disasters like monster (not like thoose 2 robots), tsunami, hurricane, airplane crash, and Floods.

[charhow 0]

These are all good Ideas. What I would like to see is the abillity for the city's to grow while the are in the world map stage. u now so you can see witch city's are growing while nowing witch city's are stuggling.

[Swamper77 90]

If possible, try to fix the horrible bug that occurs from plopping lots in the water.

-Swamper77

[baertooth 330]

Things I would like to see besides ideas already listed:

-Allow zones to "de-evolve" into lower-wealth buildings when desirability and demand for high-wealth buildings drop off.

-Regional Budgets, I hate playing like my tiles are in a vacuum.

-Garbage can handled by the seaports.

-More lots that are small island/town friendly, including smaller (and less capacity) lots for of services and utilities.

-Make menus customizable and the UI better in general (like putting the dezone tool on a top level instead of buried in the menu).

-Built-in plug-in maker/lot editior/terrain generator tool thats so sorely missing.

-Sims can commute via the airports and modular airports (seaports as well, I hate how both are handled in SC4)

-Finish the networking for sims after they leave their home tile so commuting off tile.

-Add jobs to all lots and add parks departments rewards for so many parks placed that has employment. Especially lots like government buildings and utility buildings which really should have jobs.

There is much more but this is off the top of my head.

[tchaos713 5]

For God's sake, please fix the TE-lot vs. Puzzle piece bug!!!!!

(Okay, I just had to get that off my chest )

• Fix the crime issue with large lots - this is not realistic.
• (as Swamper said) Fix the water bug (and can we fix the automata plowing right through over-hanging props at the same time?)
• Making more ordinances available would be sweet - as would fixing the current broken ones (do I hear carpool ordinance?)
• Fix the rewards that are currently next to impossible to earn (Grand Railroad Station, Space Port)
• Actually fix the Opera House (I love the plugin, but actual code would make me feel a lot better)
• Fixing the ploppable R bug would be nice
• Can we fix the issue with Catalyst 6.0 and later? (this might be an issue that ATI needs to address)
• Also in the catagory of graphics issues: can we fix the problems with saving the region thumbnail at 1600x1200?
• One last (for the moment): the (seemingly random) issue with civic buildings all of the sudden not being able to keep their funding (I've never had this happen to me, but I've heard about it plenty.

Thanks so much for your work, Buggi!

[redfox85 659]

More Disasters is one(hurricanes!), maybe disasters impacting an entire region as well? I wouldnt mind the ability for the ANT to show up in the regional transportation view eithier.

[ACEfanatic 7]

- Draggable GLR would be nice... (or at least the frameworks for new draggable networks.)

- Perhaps new menu stubs?

- Square radi for civic buildings? Or zoneable effect areas, if possible.

- Separate the texture instances for rail and agriculture. (I believe this requires source code to do...)

- Ploppable Res would be really cool...

- Fully implement the unfinished terrain tools (rain modd water that stays)

- Allow building under bridges (may not be possible without signifigant re-writing, depending on the structure of the transit systems)

Erm... can't think of all that much. But I'm sure there's loads you can do.

Now, not to be a party pooper, but...

This is still illegal. Even if all you send is instructions for the decompiling, editing, and recompiling, it's still a violation without explicit consent from Maxis/EA. Do we have that?

If you DO have those permissions, I'd be glad to assist with my (admittedly limited) coding knowledge... Kinda interested in their code structure, actually...

This looks like yet another breakthrough in the game... I love this community...

-ACE

[spiffy 0]

i like that u r trying so hard to help improve the experience for other simtrop fans

and we appreciate ur hard work and many hours figuring this out even if other ppl have a hard time saying it

that being said

if u do have access to source and can do things like never before

it makes me think just how good ur skills r

i mean if u figured it out ur good but i dont know if tinkering with the game engine is a good idea

but like most simtrop fans u prolly wont listen to my warnings so here is my wishlist and i hope it to be added if possible

GLR fix(constant crashes when plopping GLR)

if possible more versitility with elevated rail or monorail(i.e. double decker over streets/roads with out having to plop piece by piece

and ffs diagnal STREETS i cannot stress enuf how i am sick of doing my diagnal streets piece by piece

easier terraforming the current terrforming is difficult to get what u want in god mode the radious is much to large for quick leveling of small isles and small mountains and what not

more themes if its possible to make new 1s.just so modders can make collections of theme buildings and could place them all in a theme u can select in game. it would be nice to have a san fransisco theme and a rural them or a wild west theme to select

and yes better pathfinding would be freakin sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettt!!!!!

realistic commute times.when it takes my sims 8 hours to get across a mid sized town, something is definately wrong

and a bigger variety of seaports seawalls,industrial seawalls,residential seawalls,ships,air ports,ferry ports, would be very nice

if its possible to make garbage disposal a lil more accurate with out like cheating

and more accurate power/water import prices

most cities dont have power plants and water pumps

most cities r fed from diffrent areas usually away from cities

maybe a geo thermo power plant if its possible

more plazas

lemme know if my list is getting to long

and oh ya more civic options

and i mean realistic 1s

like ehh littering fine ordinance(less garbage output but more crime)

or ehmmm.....i cant think of any more

and maybe some emty ordinance slots if its possible for modders to place their own ordiances

thx again for ur efforts and il add more ideas as they come to me

[cogeo 960]

Submenus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hamsterTK 93]

PLOPPABLE RESIDENTIAL...

and functioning frieght exporting ploppable industrial too....

 OMG that would totally change how some of us could play the game. Now we could play speculative investor or developer instead of just city planner!!!!!

just curious, how would it be done...

NEW NETWORKS

. this seems the most feasible for modders. I mean, use the basic framework, modders could just edit the code for its stats and what structures it uses(the roads/rails) and the automata that is used, right?

[black_coat 1]

About the portions of the SC4 source that I think would be most useful to obtain:

* Data View information.  While playing, I often find that a "commute time" data view, shading for government lots (a la SC 3000)  in the "Zones" view, and separate educational views for elementary schools, high schools, and libraries would be very useful.  Any portion of the source that could help us create such things would be appreciated.

* Commute / Path information.  This might give us a chance to further improve pathfinding, fix calculations involving diagonal roadways, adjust the gravity of neighbor connections, and encourage certain modes of transportation (e.g. making walking more attractive in medium/high density areas).

* Network information.  Would enable us to create new networks effectively (e.g. high speed rail, etc.), and implement variations on existing networks (e.g. 6-8 lane highways, HOV lanes, bridges that carry rail car and train traffic, etc.).

* Ploppable information.  Anything that would help eliminate the problems currently experienced with ploppable residential would be a huge benefit to the community.

* Job-related information.  Anything that could help us create mixed-use zoning (CO+CS, R+CS, etc.) would be extremely appreciated.  Also, anything that would enable someone to fix the "pedestrians not counting as customer traffic" bug would be nice.

* Bridge-specific information.  Could enable us to build under bridges, create diagonal bridges, etc.

* Ordinance information.  If we could easily create custom ordinances without overwriting existing ordinances, that would be something.

* Region-wide information.  May enable us to share additional data (funds, rewards, etc.) between cities across the region.

* Zot / Abandonment information.  If those experiencing abandonment problems could finally determine actual causes for abandonment reported as "commute time", that would be helpful.

...That's 9 things.  I can't really decide on the last one, though I have considered asking for source pertaining to:  queries, tunnels, and the menu UI.

[karaku 2]

The most important things have probably been mentioned so I will add emphasis to them (in hopes that they are done).

- The ability to add arbitrary ordinances.

- Submenus submenus submenus!

- Functional R plops.

- Ports that allow neighbor deals.

- Open up more of the internals to LUA so that even more can be done with scripts.

- Add the ability to create new tutorials. It is likely that this can be done already but it seems to require special data in the save game file that we currently dont know how to edit (as far as I can tell).

Thats what I'm thinking for now.

**** As a developer I would LOVE to help you if possible. ****

One thing that would be nice is if you could help Wounagaine get his texturing in sync with the games so that maps created in SC4Terraformer look just like they would in game (or at least close enough so that the difference isnt such a big contrast).

There are thousands of things that we could do given almost any part of the source.

[Super- Timo 0]

Roads under bridges Thats the main thing!

[mjig_dudy 11]

well i would love too see

submenus, new Draggable networks and the TE bug fixed(about fixing the TE bug, if it was possible to make all current Puzzle peice networks draggable this would actually need fixing). those are the main things that i would love to see in the game.

roads under briges and double decker networks would also be nice.

[Mulefisk 15]

Allright, here's my list.


Ploppable Residential This would be fantastic

Mixed-use zoning If this could be realized it would revolutonize the game.

Building under bridges Speaks for itself

New Draggable Networks No more puzzle pieces.

Two transit enabled lots next to each other Imagine sims being able to actually use the cycleways.

Submenus This would be great. No more scrolling for ages to find a certain lot


Thats all I can think of. If these things were put into the game, I think it would be a much better experience to play it for everyone.

[bearmans 0]

1. Diagonal tunnels and bridges

2. The ability to build under bridges

3. More dragable transport network options (underground highways)

4. Curved road/rail/highway peices (I mean a selection of shallow curves)

5. Fixing of the GLR bug and the beach bug.

6. Sub menu menus

7. Water at different heights

8. Bridges over terrain with water

9. Allow transport like elevated highways etc to be built at varying height levels (say in steps of 10 meters).

10. Allow airports/port etc to have a regional effect

[jeronij 13]

Originally posted by: cogeo Submenus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!quote>

 

Ha ha ha , I was thinking....no one asks for more menus.... and I found this !!! Thanks Cogeo for pointing this !!!. 

I would add, not only submenus, but also more menus, like one for commercial plops, one for industrial plops and so on...

I would add from my own: ( mus not be in that order)

1 more airplanes ( only one 707 and one 767 ?¿ )

2 aditional networks (one way streets, pedestrian streets, and so on....) and posibility of better tools to create puzzle pieces and interchanges.

3 textures/overlays "black hole" bug fix

4 extended info on all the available properties ( like the flora related ones), specially the ones related to the "seasonal" trees and to the flora facing control, which would allow to create plopable (no lots) water ponds and rivers and so other many things.

5 working surface water with automatic waterfalls and rapids ( water foam)

6 ability to create compatible ports and airports ( have as many as you want withouts patches and crash danger)

7 of course a solution for plopable residentials

8 a fix for the "jagged edges" problem with the terrain engine.

9 ability to create draggable stuff ( like new power lines )

10 ability to build networks under bridges and connect city tiles with bridges across the water

11 ability to place two plopable TE lots togheter

OK, you said 10, and I wrote 12, so I´ll stop here. I am sure if those things could be fixed/added, the game would revive as in the first days !!!.

 This is a very exciting new, and I hope it will end giving us more options and bugfixes, and will not end in lights and shadows  !!!

From now on I offer myself and my short available time to help in any of the mentioned points if necessary. I am not a programmer and I have a limited knowledgement about all those points though ,

[mjig_dudy 11]

i dont think anyone have mentioned this yet: the possiblity to put water on higher evelvations

[Bongoswimp 14]

Wow! Thats really cool. Thank you Buggi for this opportunity. Lets hope some of these really can be made.

- I would also desperately want to have more menus/submenus

- Tunnels in which we can place single tiles if thats possible, kinda like underground networks

- plop residentials of course

- the crash-to-desktop bugs

- water plop bug

- more types of network like single line rail and 8 or more line highways

EDIT: good point mjig_dudy. Water on higher elevations would be awesome.