Help! I have lost my props...

[soldyne 111]

I recently got a new HD and reinstalled SC4.  I updated my clean install from SC.com and then, using my old drive as a slave drive, I moved all my plugins and what not from my old drive to my new drive.

everything is an exact copy of what it was before.  I load up my latest city and about 1/2 of the props are missing!

Here you can see what I mean.  the prop files and all dependancies are loaded.  the street in the middle of the picture shows that stuff on the left hand of the picture has props but stuff on the right side has none.  it is like a thick line of missing props which goes straight down my entire city.

I tried replacing the lots by reploping them.  that worked at first.  then I saved I reloaded the game, some of the newly ploped lots were ok, but some of them lost their props again.  so, I tried again, this time a whole new section of my city was hit with the prop loss.

has anyone every encountered this before?  if so how can I fix it?  this city is for my CJ.  I put about 3 months work into this city and I can't bear to start it over again.  other cities in the region seem to be unaffected by this strange prop loss effect.   it is as if I have encountered some kind of internal prop limit;  i put some down here and lose some over there.

this is on a large city tile, all graphics settings are on high, I have a fairly decent comp with 2GB of RAM.  I did not have this trouble with the city before I reloaded everything.

I can try to use my old HD as the master drive and see if the problem persists.  if not then I will have to play SC4 on my old HD i guess.  any help will be most appreciated.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

After you installed your updates did you reset your graphics options?  Downloads from Simcity.com for updates reset your graphics to low.

[DOXXP29 5]

Question for you, Soldyne...Are the missing props only on Maxis lots? I ask because I had a problem like that once. It only affected Maxis lots and inconsistently at that. (One would be affected in one city, but ok in another, but that city might've had a different lot without props, etc.) Props and sometimes the buildings just disappeared. Like you, I tried reinstalling the game without luck. Best I could do was bulldoze and re-plop the lots whenever I could. (As I recall, most of the affected lots were ploppables.) I never was able to find out what caused it, but it hasn't recurred since. I wondered at the time if it was being caused by a certain parameter, patch or condition that was common to Maxis lots.

I know this isn't quite as extensive as the problem that you are having and I didn't change drives or anything. I just pass it along in case there is the slight possibility of it helping. Hope maybe it does and hopefully someone will have a definitive answer to your situation. Good Luck, Soldyne! Hope you get it resolved quickly and painlessly.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I once had the same problem you did, and I never figured out how to fix it (I didn't really try very many things to fix it, but still).  So I can't help you, but I feel your pain.

[soldyne 111]

I guess one can't see it in this pic, but, yes even maxis buildings/lots are affected. it even affects props on avenue medians! I wish is was a simple fix to just replop everything. but when I do that an entirly different section of the city will vanish.

I still need to try switching out my HDs and reloading the old stuff. If that does not work then my CJ is done...this is too much of a set back for me to recover from especially with RLS work, getting married in June, Oblivion, Spore on the way.

if the HD does work I may finish the city I am in and still close the CJ. Not sure how much effort I want to put into a CJ if I have to reload a different HD everytime I want to play SC4.

thanks for the replies everyone.

[soldyne 111]

update - I loaded up my old HD and the problem persists there too. it could be a corrupted file or it could be some kind of internal prop limit. I have used a lot more plopped BATs in this city than any other (about 90% plops for a large city tile).

the mechanics of the buildings still seem to function; mayor rating, jobs, traffic, land value, etc all seem to be working as normal. The only problem seems to be a cosmetic one. So, my plan is to start taking pics for my CJ now of areas that are not affected. Then manually repair some of the areas to take select pics. I will then continue building the city as planned (trying not to use too many more plops) and then when I finish the city, i will save, exit, and never reload that city again. hopefully the prop loss will not show up too baddly in the region view for future pics.

if the city is still working on a mechanical level I should be able to continue my CJ. I don't plan on using so many plops in the future either.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

If you have a corrupt file, it may be a game file.  Did you try a reinstall?  This is a big job, but may be worth the effort.  Also, what is the status of your graphics sub-system?  Does this happen if you run in software rendering mode?

[Adnoxaei 0]

I occassionally had a strip of my cities that has no props or buildings displayed at certain zooms, but for me it seemed to solve with exiting and reloading the city. My new computer seems to work fine with the game as far as prop display goes, but i have never figured out what caused the issue on my old computer, but I understand your frusteration. Also, I don't think my display issue was just a plopping or custom content thing or even a limit, because for me It would happen occassionally with small cities that had barely anything in them. I really don't think I helped much, but I hope your issue is resolved quickly and without any drastic measures.

[soldyne 111]

I took the plunge last night and started the city up. I began manaully replacing every propless lot and taking pics as I went. Four hours later I had nearly 150 pics of this one city from all different angles, zooms, day/night shots. I wanted to take as many pics as I could because I did not want to go back in for more pics later.

I should have enough pics for 5-10 more CJ updates now. I just hope the problem is localized to this one city going forward. I loaded up other cities I have finished and they seem fine (large, medium and small tiles).

This is a fresh install of the game. I doubt reinstalling would do much good. the old install of the game on the old HD is experiencing the same issues. I am unsure about my graphics subsystem, but, I have a work around for the issue at the present. I'll just keep chugging on, ignore it, and hope it goes away! lol

thanks for the replies everyone.

[Nardo69 51]

I don't want to bump this thread but I do have a similar if not the same problem:

That big empty space has been Jenx's Paris Gare du Nord. And the railway tracks in front of it had quite some of frogface's gantries. In the whole citiy it is as some someone used a big erase to wipe out any props on a limited area - form avenues, maxies and custom lots without any difference. Replopping only works untill the next time I save and load the town. And the big whole from the terminus can even be seen in the region view.

I did NOT reinstall Windows or format my harddisk nor did I changed something at the game. Until yesterday evening I was working quite some time on this town.

What really disturbs me is that the problem is most propbaby NOT a plugin problem: while the probs from the seasonal woods above the railway bridge have disappeared quite some of them are untouched. The same goes to deadwoods sunken plaza's: I plopped next to both posts from frogface yet only the left one have lost their props while the right ones seem to be untouched ...

A solution of this problem will be REALLY appreciated....

Bernhard

[scba 179]

I've got the same problem now, and changing the settings didn't affect anything. The props are just gone.

[tungston 19]

Originally posted by: scba I've got the same problem now, and changing the settings didn't affect anything. The props are just gone.quote>

 

Why don't you start a new topic, and explain your issues in detail.  It's not enough information just to say "I have the same problem".