Is There a Glossary Here?

[stormlover 16]

Being a novice player, I was pleased to discover Simtropolis but even after several days of reading, I'm still at a loss regarding some basic concepts.

So far, I've not been able to find a central location with a glossary to explain the terms, definitions, differences between files etc.

For example: What does "LE" stand for? What's the difference (technically and effectively) between bat and lot, plopable and not plopable? Are lots/bats automatically added to the list of randomly generated IRC units the game uses? And so on...

Clearly this site is exceptional but a novice can spend an eternity trying to figure everything out and link it together as a solid knowledge base.

If there's anything resembling a glossary already here, please excuse me, for in all the hours I've spent here, I've yet to find anything like one.

Thank you,

Tim in North Carolina

[stormlover 16]

Perhaps I should have better defined my question (for there is a glossary of terms available in another forum here.) I was referring to a place where fuller, but not excessive, definitions and explanations of usage might be centralized. A sort of "what they are, what they do, and how do they do it" type thing.

It may well be better to just ask simpler (even "stupid" questions) ha-ha! That or do even more lurking before posting (such is often the case with huge sites such as this.)

I know, I know, ya can't learn everything in a day or a week...

Thank you all anyway and congratulations for making such a great web site.

Feel free to remove this thread - I don't think it serves much purpose.

Tim in North Carolina

[spectrumtech 15]

Welcome to Simtropolis, stormlover!

At the moment, I can't think of a glossary here at Simtrop, but there is an Encyclopedia in the works over at the SC4D forums (not sure just where...) try www.sc4devotion.com. They also have a great exchange and stuff, but it is not quite as good as here. In answer to your questions, LE stands for Lot Editor, a program by Maxis that lets you edit sc4lot files (duh). BAT is a program that works with Gmax that lets you make 3D buildings for SC4. A lot is made in LE and you put the BAT on the lot. A ploppable lot is something like a landmark or a police station that you can just place. Non-ploppable, or Growable, is a lot that you have to wait for it to grow on a zone. For a lot/BAT to automatically grow in a city, you have to use the PIM (Plugin Manager) by Maxis and specify it as a growable. Well, that basically solves all the aforementioned questions. If you need any more help, feel free to PM me (the top box on the lefthand menu, just type in spectrumtech on the IM page and you can write me). Also, there is a lot of excellent, expert help available at the Omnibus section here at ST.

ST

[SC4BOY 20]

You might just try a web search.. I'm pretty sure over the years I've seen SC4 definitions and abbreviations.. maybe even wiki versions. I don't recall seeing that here, but there may be..

[Sam 163]

Try this: The Simtropolis Glossary

Its in the New Member Information Forum

[stormlover 16]

I did peruse the glossary in the new members section. It does what it's supposed to do; define terms; but it has little use as a learning tool (one does not master English by studying a dictionary.)

Endless discussions about lots, bats, dependencies, etc. is fine - so long as there is a section for beginners to study what these things are, how they relate to each other, and how they are implemented.

For example, I've downloaded about two dozen objects and discovered a small few work well, some work but have serious functional defects (e.g. a fast food restaurant that has a cost of $500/mo), but the bulk of them don't work at all.

So, I'm now studying dependencies - and finding they are quite a horror. Yes, I know some here have no problem with them, but then some had no problem with steam engines after combustion engines were the rule.

Why did I have to spend so much time reading threads to figure out what dependencies were? Why do I still not know where to find them in bulk? (If that's even possible.) Why do I not know what to do with a dependency once I find one? Does each object folder need its particular dependencies or might one folder loaded with dependencies suffice for all?

The barriers faced by beginners are huge; enough surely to discourage some completely. When one spends more time studying the game than playing the game - interest wanes.

A core area for basics is needed. One can only imagine how many man-hours have been wasted over the years here by people in shoes like mine.

Thank you all for your comments,

Tim in North Carolina

[Jasoncw 11,840]

You're not going to find a tutorial that will explain everything there is to know on this website. Such a tutorial would be immense (you'd then be suggesting that it's unusable to new members and should be streamlined), and would take so long to write that no one would be willing to write it. It's better to look at this site as a community or a club, instead of as a resource that you extract information from. Just like with any group, it will take a little time to learn the lingo.

It's also important to understand that there is no "site" or large system or machine that makes things happen. The site is a large group of independently acting individuals with no more and no less power and capability as you. So the bad uploads are bad because the individuals who made them did a bad job. Certain tutorials don't exist because an individual didn't write them.

But also, I think you'll find that for just about anything you'd like to do, you'll find people in the community who are willing to get you involved.