How Do You Organize Your Plugins Folder?

[Sepen77 157]

Here comes the thread where you can post about how you organize your plugins.

Some of us might be super messy, others favour the tidy side. So, let's blast away.

Keep in mind, this is not a thread to show off how large your plugins folder is, just how tide it is.

Here are some examples of how I classify a certain plugin using folders.

Let's look for a specific train station:

plugins > transportation > track transportation > heavy rail > ground rail > passenger > stations-medium > /*station name*/

how 'bout a nice and tall scyscraper. This one has much less classification:

plugins > rci > commercial > high density-skyscrapers > /*tower name folder*/ > /*tower files*/

Another example, small coal power plant :

plugins > Utilities > power > fossil fuel generators > coal > /*small coal power plant folder*/ > /*files*/

Now post yours!

[Sniper296 83]

I usually use this format:

Plugins > CreatorName > ProductName

That is usually enough too keep it organised.

[antsel 841]

I usually use this format:

Plugins > CreatorName > ProductName

That is usually enough too keep it organised.

That's the structure I use. Except before that structure, I divide it into what needs to be loaded first/last, and everything in between is in numerical order.

Plugins > 001 Mods/Dependencies > CreatorName > ProductName

Plugins > 100 A - BSC > CreatorName > ProductName

Plugins > 200 BSP - D > CreatorName > ProductName

...all the way to...

Plugins > 900 NAM

Plugins > zzz Load Last zzz

I do it this way so that when I download new content, it's relatively easy to update with the DatPacker.

  Edited March 16, 2011 by selles  

[T Wrecks 10,209]

I'm a control freak. However, I believe that in the long run it's worth the trouble. Obviously, there is not The One And Only Way To Do Things Right. If it works for you, then it's ok.

As I keep saying, though, a good test for your system is the following situation:

• You are in game, and you realise that a particular plugin is getting on your nerves. Maybe that stupid house that grows like weed, or that park set that clogs your menu, although you never used it anyway. You decide to get rid of it after all.
• After quitting the game, would you find the plugin in question quickly so you can delete it - and be sure that you deleted the right file?

If you can answer this question with "yes", then whatever system you have does its job just fine.

Personally, I use categories to group similar downloads, preceded by numbers to bring everything into a logical order. Like so:

0a - Essentials (Stuff like BSC or SFBT Essentials that might require updates)

0b - Dependencies (Props & Textures)

0c - Functional mods (mods that affect "game mechanics", e.g. industry quadrupler, bridge height mod, city hall fix...)

0d - Visual mods (terrain, tree and water mods, streetlight mods, automata mods, etc.)

1a - Residential - single-family homes

1b - Residential - W2W houses

1c - Residential - mid-sized apartment blocks

1d - Residential - highrises

.

.

.

and so on.

Inside each folder, I have one sub-folder for each download. All sub-folders are names according to a uniform scheme: [wealth] [name] [(author)], for example "§ Berwick Bungalows (SimGoober)", or "§§ Halifax Boxes (spa)".

In case of teams, I add the team name as well, for example "§ NYBT Two Bridges Shops (Jumpthefence)".

This way, I have many pointers that help me to find something I saw in game. Let's say there's that house I want to get rid of (or modify). When I see it in game, I might not know by heart who made it. But I see that (1) it's a single-family home, (2) it's medium-wealth, and (3) it's called "Example Estate". So I go into my plugins folder, open (1) the folder for single-family homes, find (2) the ones with low wealth conveniently grouped together, and go (3) by alphabet to find "Example Estate".

Did I mention I'm a control freak?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

<previous image superseded by other content>

As you see, I keep most of my plugins by author except in cases where there is a team involved. Each folder may contain as many sub-folders as needed.

Revised Plugin Tree:

SimCity 4/Plugins

├── Andreas Roth

├── A Nonny Moose

├── Asia Corner Shops

├── Brenda_xne

├── BSC

├── Building Architect Dude

├── Cougar2004

├── Cowkilla

├── craig-abcvs

├── EA Plugins

├── Equinox

├── Flatron

├── frolius666

├── Genzeo

├── giomedicci

├── Goldiva

├── gshmails

├── HeinBloed

├── I. Lostalim

├── jasoncw

├── JB

├── Krio

├── LBT

├── Lost+Found

├── madhatter106

├── MattB325

├── Mr.Snoopy

├── nbcv

├── Network Addon Mod

├── nofunk

├── NYBT

├── Pegasus Productions

├── profxyz

├── qbert2

├── RalphaelNinja

├── RFR

├── robinsden

├── RTMTV3

├── rybolton

├── Sgt.Pepper

├── SilentBreaker

├── SimCity 4 Extra Cheats Plugin.dll

├── Simgoober

├── stlassen

├── toroca

├── TwinsFan14

├── TWrecks

├── uroncha

├── VIP

├── xyloxodoria

├── z1

├── Z_Asphalt-Highway-Textures

├── ZZZ-MTP

├── zzz_overrides

├── ZZZ PEG Facelift Mods

├── zzz_terrainmod

└── ZZZZ_PEG_SEAPORTS

56 directories, 1 file

2012+08-19

  Edited August 19, 2012 by A Nonny Moose  

[antsel 841]

I'm a control freak....

...Did I mention I'm a control freak?

Definitely not a bad thing.

I could certainly learn a thing or two from your system. When I started fresh in 2008, I reinstalled SC4, and removed all the old plugins I had from when I first joined this site. I intended to organize my plugins folder as well as you have, but after a few mass downloads I lost patience. I do wish I organized my plugins a little better than I did, but I'm not unhappy with it. However, I would LOVE to have my plugins folder as organized as yours.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Well, to tell the full story: This is my 3rd or 4th plugins folder, and since I've always been poking around in files a lot, I may have been in a good position to find a system that works well for me. My first plugins folder was probably rather messy, because back then I may have had my control freak genes, but not much knowledge and experience to apply them efficiently.

I should also add that I usually spent quite some time on assembling my plugins folder - possibly more than some people would be willing to invest. However, I need a good organisation because I like to keep my plugins folder small by moving parts of it in and out depending on what I currently need (another advantage of a good organisation). For example, when I play small rural villages, my folder with commercial skyscrapers won't be inside my active plugins folder, and when I play maps occupied by suburbs or urban areas, all the farm stuff will be "parked" somewhere else for the sake of loading times and uncluttered menus. Currently, I'm building the outer areas of a city centre (which means bigger buildings, but no farms), and my plugins weigh in at ~750 MB, ~210 MB of which are composed of dependencies, terrain-related stuff and the NAM.

EDIT: Whoa, this post made my rank jump to "Simtropolis Geek". Guess now it's official.

[Exla357 41]

I actually have no folders whatsoever in my plugins, I should probably fix that!

[2557+cards 0]

I organize my Plugins folder with a similar method to Sepen20, but with more subfolders. For example:

Plugins > Civic > Schools > JBSimio School Pack 01

or

Plugins > Retail > Hotels > Surfside Inn

or

Plugins > Transportation > Other > Skywalks

I continually plan to move all my readmes into a similarly organized folder, but I have not been able to allot appropriate time to do so.

[Vern 29]

I have to migrate SC4 to the Win 7 side of my dual boot. This will be an opportunity to organize my plugins folder. I was able to use SC4 Startup Manager by Andreas but its not working properly when I last installed it on the Win 7 (64) side. It would work but when you exited the game it wouldn't let you get back into the Startup Manager GUI. It would just lock up and I would have to kill the task in task manager. I will have to try some of the good examples laid out in this thread.

[zydd 0]

My plugin folder is like this:

-Plugins

---grow

-----com

-----res

-----ind

---landmark

---prop

-----BSC

-----NDEX

-----PEG

---transport

---utility

and so on...

And when there is too much stuff in a folder, a break it up, like bus, subway, rail, etc... in transport.

  Edited March 24, 2011 by zydd  

[AIX 270]

I generally use Plugins > Category > Creator/Team > Item

I also keep separate categories such as "Landscape" (which covers terrain, water, trees, etc) that I can swap in and out. Right now I am working on a Middle Eastern region and a Pacific Northwest region. Comes in handy when I need to switch between climates so to speak.

My only gripe is when an installer is used and I have to click thru that little wizard and specify my own path (and being yelled at by Vista's prompts and UAC in the process). I'm willing to "suffer" thru that for worthy stuff (there has been plenty of worthy stuff haha), but I prefer the neatly organized ZIP folder that I can just drag-n-drop.

[packersfan 666]

My latest organization scheme was PLUGINS > (Category such as COMMERCIAL) > (More specific category if needed such as BIG BOX STORES) > Creator Name/Team Name > Product Name > Files.

But I found in this thread a little better method I think. Instead of grouping everything within categories by creator, I just group all the products by their specific category but on the product folder I name it based on its wealth ($, $$, $$$) then the lot name, then the creator name in parentheses. I think it will make it easier to find the specific product from in-game as opposed to searching by creator (creator only being important when searching STEX or something). Really the only difficult thing is coming up with appropriate folder subdivisions and then determining which folder a specific lot should go in (particularly difficult when it is more filler type stuff like industrial concrete, etc, and not specific Residential, Commercial, etc. easy to categorize buildings.

I am excited to see this in action. I forsee being able to clean up unwanted or malfunctioning lots with more ease now! Yay!

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, as I posted in this thread earlier, I use author mostly. The exceptions are big packages and groups.

[wilmer007 0]

I just create a new folder for that specific mod, that way i can find it quickly if i need to remove or add to it. Something like NAM which has different addons to it i'll make a new folder within NAM for like the Real High Way Mod or something like that. If i have a big type of mod like say a million different police stations i'll create a Police Station Mod Folder and throw all the Police Station folders into it for quickly locating all the Police Station mods. Usually what i do is make a backup plugin folder for every type of mod i download. Then when i want to use that specific mod i copy and paste the folder over to the plugin folder. However i try to keep to playing the game as Maxis intended so i have only a handful of mods (specifically just 4x4 buildings since i zone 4x4 only).

[Morlow 23]

I don't see how people can organize by author since not every query in the game tells you the author of the building, but whatever works!

I organize mine by purpose (commercial service, residential, education, transport, etc), grouping some that don't have many options to download. I then have each separate download in a subfolder, with the EXACT name I downloaded it under so that I can search for it if I need to. I also give every download a quick run-through with Reader since I have found many buildings where the description says, for example, the capacity is 500 but when I open it in Reader it is not 500. Reader is also useful for weeding out landmark and plop files, since some of them are not labeled as such when you download them. Without it I would have a landmark menu that would take 5 hours to scroll through. (Who really needs a landmark 1x2 low-wealth commercial service building??)

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Whatever floats your boat. The point is to be able to maintain the set, and replace/update things as needed.

[reklaw 0]

Sure would like to see some screen shots of plugin folders/sub folders

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

pluglist.txt.zip Here is my nearly latest one as a .zip. If you want to see it, just download it and unpack it. It is a .txt file.

[Kentpumas1980 4]

Does organising the Plugins folder into other folders affect how modds run in the game? At the moment I've just plonked everything into the Plugins folder but now its getting pretty full I'm thinking of organising it into subfolders (providing it doesnt affect how the game runs)

[Cefien 361]

Does organising the Plugins folder into other folders affect how modds run in the game? At the moment I've just plonked everything into the Plugins folder but now its getting pretty full I'm thinking of organising it into subfolders (providing it doesnt affect how the game runs)

Depends on what mod is that...some mods should be put in the right place for them to work properly. You should just simply read the description or the readme file after downloading mods, the creator will give you instruction about where the mods should be put in plugins.

Other than that, there are already lots of comments above you about how should you organize your plugins.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

It really doesn't affect the game except that some mods are needed to be loaded last. It is most certainly good to be organized so that you can easily replace superseded files (NAM for instance). You must have noted that some downloaded mods have installers that create folders if they are not present.

It is also not a bad idea to keep a parallel structure for your downloads, and do any work related to them in those folders. Then you need only put essential stuff in your plugins structure. These are the only files that should be in Plugins:

.sc4lot

.sc4desc

.sc4model

.dat

.dll (which must not be in a sub-folder)

[SimRico 968]

Good discussion. Until now, (yesterday), I thought all plugins goes directly into /maxis/simcity4 deluxe/plugins/ . I have reinstalled last week from my amazon games download (Thank YOU AnonnyMoose) but still wasnt using the recommended folder structure storage as discussed here. W ill do so over the weekend.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The points about keeping your plugins in your user area instead of the system residency are:

A reinstall wipes them out;

Other users on the machine are stuck with your plugins.

The reason for the dichotomy between the system residency and the user area is the idea of multiple users on separate accounts.

[solizr1 0]

I have to say, reading all of this just makes things more frustrating. Some of the addons have so many separate dependencies and downloads, it would make more sense for authors to consolidate all their creations in a wrapper and let the user choose which ones to install, similar to how NAM did it. It is simply a disaster in my plugins folder, and each install, even by the same author, creates its own path, which I then have to adjust. I just wanted some sunken highway walls, and I have to download like ten different things minimum, only for them to not even work in game.

[Duco 546]

4 hours ago, solizr1 said:

I have to say, reading all of this just makes things more frustrating.

Oh please don't. It can be the amount that you (Dutch expression) don't see the woods because all of the trees are in front.

Have you tried: Paste your (disaster) plugin folder to desktop. create a new plugin folder in SC4 ( where the other one was, but of course this new folder is empty.)

Get your highway walls with all the dependencies and put it in the new pluggin folder, so that only the highway walls with the dependencies are there. Look if it works.

I assume it will work. The thing I do at this point is creating two new folders in the pluggin folders. One I will call: 'road' and one I will call 'dependencies'.

I put the dependencies in the folder dependencies and the highway wall in the folder: road. Just for easy searching. The point is to create a system you like.

Maybe this is some work, but when it is done, it is done. Make a back up and continue.

Hope this will help.

 

 

[rsc204 21,804]

6 hours ago, solizr1 said:

I just wanted some sunken highway walls... 
...only for them to not even work in game.

OK, let's say I get you are frustrated, but since you are asking people to give of their time freely, perhaps you might consider how you are asking? I mean, what's wrong with just telling us you are having problems using X download and can someone assist you with it?

So when you say they don't work, well what about them isn't working? That's like asking a mechanic to diagnose your car by saying the same, "it doesn't work", a mechanic is going to need something more specific, before they can give you any useful advise. I'm going to assume you mean to say, you can't find these new items in-game?, but do correct me if I'm wrong.

Next you tell us it's some Sunken Highway walls which are the problem. Well, perhaps you didn't know, but as with most mods for SC4, there is frequently much more than one choice. So again, I would ask you to be more specific, telling us which exact set you mean, ideally with a link to the item for absolute clarity. Once more I can make a reasonable assumption, being the most popular, I suspect you mean this set by Buddybud.

Note: by simply pasting a link to a file on the STEX into a post, you get this:

Assuming I've got both my assumptions correct, I feel I should clarify one point:

Quote

and I have to download like ten different things minimum,

This isn't really correct. OK, yes the linked download does state it recommends the NAM, Rush Hour, a set of hold digger/raisers (now actually part of the NAM) and one dependency. But that's in reality just the NAM and one other file, which is pretty far off ten things.

Yes, there is more than one component to the entire set of such sunken highway walls. But, many such modular sets exist for SC4, often they are not all combined into a single download.

Now back to them not working... I hear this a lot and I do understand sometimes these things can be frustrating. But, have you read either the download description or readme that comes with the download?

Quote

This download comes with an html help document all lots found at the bottom of the power menu.

Because if you simply can't find these lots, I suspect that one snippet would have saved you any trouble. I really can't recommend strongly enough that you do check such information when downloading content. Creators don't spend ages writing this stuff for nothing, often they contain useful or very important details you need to know.

As for the rest of your post, these issues come up all the time, so I'll try to summarise the problem:

6 hours ago, solizr1 said:

it would make more sense for authors to consolidate all their creations in a wrapper and let the user choose which ones to install

For those with an understanding of how different the world of modding was in 2003, when SC4 was released, actually it's not that black and white. Dependencies are a necessary evil, like it or not, the problem with the approach you suggest is ensuring both duplicate files and updates to them, can be automatically handled. Since there has never been a system present to do this for SC4 mods, you might not realise just how much work it would take to adapt 15 years of custom content to work as such. Put simply, it's a near-impossible task, especially given that activity around SC4 has really slowed in recent years, i.e. there is no one to do the work.

NAM is unique, in that we won't allow any content in the NAM that requires dependencies. But moreover, RUL code, the backbone of transit modding, can not have multiple files/versions that work together. Due to the constraints of the game, you can load only 1 such file (or controller in NAM parlance). To prevent conflicting transit mods that will not work together, the NAM has always acted as a sort of central-repository which anyone can contribute to.

Modular sets are common, some people don't want every part of them though. Could all the sets be packaged together, indeed they could, were they... no. Why? Well it could be until recent years, the sheer cost of bandwidth/hosting made creators careful to try and minimise such burdens, not to mention strict file-size limits which were 100% necessary. But I suspect, it's because these pieces were made one after another, and uploaded in parts, from which you could choose which ones you did and didn't want. The creator has long since gone, so they will remain as they are.

6 hours ago, solizr1 said:

It is simply a disaster in my plugins folder, and each install, even by the same author, creates its own path, which I then have to adjust.

Well the best advice I can give you, is to accept that the way things are is out of your control. Having done so, if you want a more organised system, then you're going to have to put in some effort to make that a reality. I don't deny that building such a suite of mods is time-consuming and could theoretically be simpler, but at the same time it is worth the effort. Because if you don't start doing this, at some point you'll be drowning in problems, that are very hard to resolve. Installers are what they are, I personally hate them too, but I understand why they exist. In short, too many people who couldn't handle extracting a .zip file and basic file/folder management, led to an avalanche of support requests for creators. Installers seemed like a good solution in that they just took a few clicks and everything was done for you. From the creators point of view it worked, far less problems to distract them, sadly there are many flaws, including with specific instances and the methodology overall. Again, simply a legacy problem that even if we wanted to fix, would take many years before we'd made a dent in the problem.

So how to go about handling this stuff yourself?, well there is no wrong way if it works for you. Personally I try to use a set of logical subfolders for either types of content or by author. The main thing is to place things such that you can find them simply if you need to. But also to try and help avoid ending up with duplicate or conflicting files. It's also a good idea to only keep .SC4Model, .SC4Lot, .SC4Dec and .DAT files in the Plugins folder. Readmes, Images, .zip/.exe files and other non-SC4 formats should always be moved elsewhere. Otherwise your game will load slower and may eventually become unstable.

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

On 1/15/2013 at 7:21 AM, A Nonny Moose said:

The reason for the dichotomy between the system residency and the user area is the idea of multiple users on separate accounts.

User-space allows even a single user to have multiple areas. Imagine having two different regions and a carefully selected set of plugins for each. Each area would then get a separate game-launching shortcut with a distinct -UserDir switch. Thus you could have radically different terrain mods etc coexist on the same machine.

However, a handful of bug patches deserve to be placed in the system plugins folder to fix problems for all players.

[spiritualfire 138]

Howdy.

I need help. I've confused myself, seen users with different opinions about plugin placement, and I just ran Cleanitol for a prop pack and it pointed to "C:Users/Docs/Plugins".......

Currently I have the digital GOG patched version of SC4 installed in "Local Disk C:" and I have been installing all files into the Plugins folder there.

Somebody please point me in the right direction: do some files go into the Local Disk C:..... or do they go into "C:Users/Docs/Plugins"..... or do some go into Local Disk and some into Users?

[CorinaMarie 29,556]

11 hours ago, spiritualfire said:

Somebody please point me in the right direction: do some files go into the Local Disk C:..... or do they go into "C:Users/Docs/Plugins"..... or do some go into Local Disk and some into Users?

99.973% of the plugins should go in your Documents. Exceptions are DLL files are better in Gog's folder "Local Disk C:" Plugins. The game will find them in either. The main reason for using Documents is that if you uninstall the game and tell it to keep your cities and such those in Documents will stay. The others will get nixed either way. Cleanitol and any mods/bats with installers expect things to be in Documents. (Note: Many modders have a good reason to use the wrong location, but that's for technical reasons.)

And in all of the above when I say Documents I do mean the Plugins folder under SimCity 4 which is in Documents.