SC4 File Organisation

[bearmans 0]

Ok so I know its been asked before. What's the best way to organise the SC4 add on file in my documents? I'm building a new computer currently which I'm very proud of.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz 4MBL2 Cache

2GB Corsair RAM

160GB WD Caviar System Drive

500GB WD Caviar Storage Drive

XFX GeForce 7600GS Graphics Card

19" widescreen monitor

Vista Home Premium

AND a partridge in a pear tree for those of you who are interested!

Now all the RAM should make SC4 loading pretty fast but I always get left with massively long menus and I'm sick of it. A new PC build is the perfect opportunity for a good clean out of the folder and some re-organisation. Now I've seen some other threads about organisation but I kinda wanted to build up a very clear picture of the best way to do this taylored to my needs.

The first thing I want to do is create certain "packages" together. So for instance place groups of files together in one folder, like "military", or "port", or "commercial downtown". I could then place each folder into a larger folder and name it after the city tile i would be using during game play. Then I could swap this file into the SC4 directory dependant on what I wanted to play at the time.

Of course there are going to be key files that need to be kept in place the whole time (NAM, slope mods etc). Just wanted feedback on how people would best organise this kind of system and what essential files they would keep in their SC4 directories all of the time along with which files should load first and how to set these up. Let me know your thoughts guys and girls!

[gml_josea 2]

First of all, instead of moving folders before playing simply get the SC4 Startup Manager (I think there's a topic in the Lot Editor and Plugin Manager forum), it lets you select which plugins to load with certain region and then it'll move the files automatically.

There's no best way to organize the plguins folder (there are certainly bad ways to do it). Personally I organize it into Lots, Mods and Dependencies. Then I make more subfolders for each one, separating Texture dependencies from props and from essentials packages; separating Residential buildings from commercial or civic.

The key is to make your own scheme were you can find quickly the file you want.

[Citymaster13 0]

I hate to say it but Vista was a bad choice. I've heard reports of Sim City behaving awfully on Vista, even with compatibility mode on.

[mrbisonm 1,620]

I changed my Vista back to XP last week. Microsoft firstclass garbage!

[Constantina 5]

Well, I will prefer dual booting. I plan on getting a second hard drive for that purpose.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I removed my Vista dual boot this week.  SC4 runs fine on it, but I just don't like it at this point.  It is not ready for people.  I had Vista Ultimate installed on my 32-bit box and it was unhappy with some of my legacy hardware.  I do not plan to upgrade anytime soon to that i can run Microsoft's new box of bugs.

Organizing plug-ins:  I organize them by author.  Here is a list of my structure, only the last two are files:

A Nonny Moose

Andreas Roth

Arctic Snowcapped terrain mod

BlaM

BSC

Columbus Terrain Mod

CSX

Dark Matter

Frogface

gmt

Goldiva

gshmails

Ill Tonkso

JEC

Jono01

Karybdis

Kwakelaar

legalizeit

NDEX

NetworkAddonMod

PEGPROD

PEGs

Ralphael Ninja

Rybolton

Sim151

SimCity 4 Extra Cheats Plugin.dll <- Buggi's magic cheat file

struct.txt <- File containing this list

The rest are directories.

[Spinmaster 75]

I've actually started using a hybrid of these ideas, and it works wonders.

I sort my downloads by function e.g. bus stop, farm, game-mod (e.g. NAM etc), and so on. The individual files, when I save them I prefix the filename itself with (<creatorname&gt - just in case the filename itself didn't include it. e.g. "(someone)amazing_new_thing.zip". This way, I can quickly find a new "thing" based on what I want, and know instantly who made it, if/when I need to know. And I might....

In the plugins folder itself, I pretty much follow N_O_Body's lead - everything is in subfolders named by creator (except any "only one" mods, which are combined in zzzz_ folders - so I can always be sure there's only one e.g. terrain & water mods, train skins, etc). It also helps to keep "my new thing requires my old thing" things together and make sure I have 'em all.

"I want to add a new kind of farm"... ok, I go to my downloads and look in the farms folder (or download some new ones to it). At this point I'm not thinking "I want something from <this guy>" I just want a new farm. But when I figure out which one I want e.g. (somebodys)awesome_farm.zip, I also know who to thank for it.

"Something is wrong with my new clinic"... I use my downloads folder to quickly figure who made the clinic (it's gotta be in one of those files in my "clinics" folder), and look in the original download file for the readme files that I probably didn't install or deleted. I always read them of course (always, as a rule), but why litter my hard drive with them? They're in the easy-to-find download file if I need them again. And I might, if I overlooked something.

Also, when I install a new plugin, I actually use a separate _Untested subfolder for it first (unless it requires being installed in the same folder with something else). Once I'm sure it's a keeper, then I'll move it to a creator-named folder. Otherwise... I know exactly what to delete. Or possibly even tweak if necessary.

As an aside, I would recommend at least peaking at transit station stats with SC4Tool - another good reason to keep your new plugins separate from the herd until you're sure about them. e.g. I've found many bus stops (mostly older, I'm guessing before certain exemplars had been "discovered") with wild stats - 100 jobs and consuming 61 units of power. One or the other explains why sims walk in, and only 4 leave on buses. Either they're all working in that very crowded bus stop, or ... electric chair? Phooey... I have self-service electric benches (maybe I need a new landfill too...). Anyway, I tend to pepper my city with bus stops, so.. imagine 50+ of them in a low-density suburb - that's 5000+ jobs sucked away from tax-paying C & I zones. Ouch. But ten seconds of peak & tweak, and it's perfect (p.s. I have zero modding skills - but the SC4Tool is that easy to use). Most other items which I use sparingly, I don't worry much about (for most things the stats are obvious in-game anyway), but as a rule I check every bus stop and subway station I download now because I use so many of them - one bad stat can quickly multiply into a serious imbalance.

[mooka520 0]

What is the difference between the two plugins folders? There is a plugins folder in My Documents>SimCity 4>Plugins and there is a plugins folder in My Computer>C:/>Program Files>Maxis>SimCity 4 Deluxe>Plugins What kinds of files go into each plugins folder? I'm a newbie at all of this and would like some help.

Thank you in advance...

-Mooka520

[Spinmaster 75]

Always read the readme files with the downloads. Having said that... as a rule (even in the rare case there is no readme) almost all plugins should go in your My Documents\...\Plugins folder (and possibly subfolders thereof), unless the readme says otherwise. It's very rare anything must go in the main folder. To give you an idea I have over 2000 files in My Documents\...Plugins, but only 7 in the game's main Plugins folder (in-game background pictures, plus 2 files which I know don't actually have to be there).

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Bear in mind that if you reinstall the game, the plug in folder in Program Files will be replaced.  I try to keep this one for Maxis originated material only.

The Program Files plug ins, by the way, load first.