Hidden functions

[HyperGaruda 0]

Hi everyone,

What I was wondering is if there are more hidden functions and hotkey combinations except ctrl+alt+shift+god mode and ctrl+alt+shift+c. If so, would you mind to share it with the community?

Thanks

[jdenm8 362]

There's a simple one I kept stumbling across in the transfer from The Sims 2 to SC4, and that's the contour view. You know, like on maps to show different elevations.

It's exactly the same as the combo for the Sims 2 cheat console, Ctrl-Shift-X if I'm not mistaken, though that one might be in the manual.

  Edited March 25, 2011 by jdenm8  

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

There's a simple one I kept stumbling across in the transfer from The Sims 2 to SC4, and that's the contour view. You know, like on maps to show different elevations.

It's exactly the same as the combo for the Sims 2 cheat console, Ctrl-Shift-X if I'm not mistaken, though that one might be in the manual.

I think you'll find that CTRL+XrecorderRETURN will activate the frame recorder to capture some frames for later animation use. I believe all of these commands are documented in the "Extra Cheats .dll" thread.

[z1 566]

If you use the Route Query Tool a lot, you can access it with Alt-/, which I don't think is documented anywhere.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

If you use the Route Query Tool a lot, you can access it with Alt-/, which I don't think is documented anywhere.

I seem to remember this and other keyboard shortcuts being documented in the SC4RH update, but I can't find it. There is a large catalog of keyboard short cuts.

[Jazzmaster 716]

If you use the Route Query Tool a lot, you can access it with Alt-/, which I don't think is documented anywhere.

I seem to remember this and other keyboard shortcuts being documented in the SC4RH update, but I can't find it. There is a large catalog of keyboard short cuts.

I wish I still had that, too. I'd really like to know the shortcut for avenues, one way roads, and monorail (I know all the rest) because it'd be great to not have to keep opening menus for those. Saves so much building time.

[z1 566]

If you use the Route Query Tool a lot, you can access it with Alt-/, which I don't think is documented anywhere.

I seem to remember this and other keyboard shortcuts being documented in the SC4RH update, but I can't find it. There is a large catalog of keyboard short cuts.

I wish I still had that, too. I'd really like to know the shortcut for avenues, one way roads, and monorail (I know all the rest) because it'd be great to not have to keep opening menus for those. Saves so much building time.

Ask and ye shall receive...

And sure enough, there's the shortcut for the Route Query tool in there.

  Edited March 25, 2011 by z1  

[TEG24601 32]

Also, those are the same shortcuts for the Mac Version. They didn't adjust any of them.

TEG

[z1 566]

Then there's the undocumented Control-Alt-Shift-/ command, which turns on detailed queries. After that, whenever you hover the query tool over a building and type Control-Alt-Shift, a detailed query is displayed. This requires installation of the Extra Cheats plugin.

Once you've enabled detailed queries, if you click on a building when a detailed query is shown, the ordinary query just comes up. But if you then exit the game (saving is not necessary), a file called Query.txt containing lots of useful information is written in the user's home directory. If the cheats dll is installed in the global plugins directory, Query.txt is written in the top level SimCity 4 directory in Program Files.

Full information on this can be found in this thread.

  Edited March 26, 2011 by z1  

[Jazzmaster 716]

thanks for the pic! though, I don't see one-way roads or monorail on there....I guess those had to be left out for some reason.

Or maybe they are still out there? hmm

[z1 566]

thanks for the pic! though, I don't see one-way roads or monorail on there....I guess those had to be left out for some reason.

Or maybe they are still out there? hmm

No, they don't exist. All of the key codes can be found in the KEYCFG subfiles in SimCity_1.dat. There are a few that aren't on the card, though:

Control Shift P = 0x2bfe0bea "Build Police Kiosk"

Control / = 0x6aa9fe51 "Toggle expanded tool tips"

Control Shift / = 0x6aa9fe51 "Toggle expanded tool tips"

;

; Easter Egg hot keys (all control-shift-alt combinations)

Control Shift Alt F = 0x6a9391a0 "Full screen refresh"

Control Shift Alt P = 0x6a9753ea "Pause animation (enabled via a cheat code)"

Control Shift Alt Pause = 0x6a9753ea "Pause animation (enabled via a cheat code)"

Control Shift Alt F11 = 0x6a9753ed "Step animation (enabled via a cheat code)"

Control Shift Alt R = 0xcab22c64 "Run Animation Recorder"

[Tysons4 68]

I strictly use keystrokes for playing (unless i need a particular school, reward, landmark, one way road, deluxe police station, and mayor mode trees and terraforming)

kinda a cool thing is holding' shift' before you start to drag a road or other network (other than street)... the road will bend, powerlines can go at some pretty awesome angles, and make it easy to connect 2 different points.didn't know this until i saw it reading the manual in the bathroom, it totally changed the way i played from then on.

try it. plop a single road tile anywhere on the map, and then plop another one any where else. Go back to the first road hold shift and drag a road from the one spot to the other. it will always make it (unless you have water or highlands) best try it on a flat map first... it blew my mind, it was like simcity 2000 all over again (and 3000)

1. click road

2. click road somewhere else

3. hold shift and drag from spot 1 to 2

badda bing, bendy road with only one click... hold shift and drag roads to appear at any angle

and if you want to get fancy, power lines can go through so many different angles its not even funny... here is one that is one tile off from straight

it is my favorite hidden function in the game there is only a short sentence for it in the manual.. the power line is only one off. play with it and you'll find powerlines can go at practically any angle... the secret is to hold shift before you click to drag

  Edited March 26, 2011 by Tysons4  

[z1 566]

The game can only handle angles that are multiples of 45°. If this were not true, there would have been no need to do all the work to create the fractionally angled roads and rails in the NAM. The shifting and dragging works, but you're always limited to multiples of 45°. The road in your picture looks like it has an angle of 135°.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

This needs to be edited into the Omnibus if it is not already there.

[Jazzmaster 716]

Nah I think that's 45 degrees...I've fallen into that trap before, but bear in mind it's not like staring directly down onto a sheet of paper with a 45 degree angle traced on it. For the sake of the isometric view, , the angles are 'tilted' and thus even a straight road can appear on an angle...but that's only because everything else is.

Fixed angle cameras ftw

[HyperGaruda 0]

Ahh, I've always wondered what the hotkeys for the road query tool an the police kiosk are. Less clicking ftw!

And that shift+road dragging thing also seems quite interesting. Gonna test them right away

Thanks everyone!

[Tysons4 68]

yeah, the roads only go at the same angle, but instead of building 2 roads to get to an area it only takes one (with a bend where it needs to be) it can cut your network dragging in half. you can start a road anywhere and have it end anywhere else on the map. give me 2 points and i can connect them by dragging only one road, just like simcity 2000 and 3000. If you do a lot of angles then it can really help to line you up without guessing

  Edited March 27, 2011 by Tysons4  

[Gringamuyloca 47]

The NumLock key toggles God Mode in and out of view.

...and thanks much for the road/shift tip!

[z1 566]

The NumLock key toggles God Mode in and out of view.

Actually, it toggles whatever mode you're in in and out of view.  It's a great way to clear your screen of everything but your city at any point.

  Edited March 27, 2011 by z1