Need Help

[CaptCity 4,672]

I have tried to do two Paris maps.

Also I copied all my plugins to her mac and when we try to use one it's coming up as boxes. I know this means something but how do I fix it?

A little confused... Are these separate issues or are the boxes appearing on a Paris map?

Were the Paris maps from Simtropolis? Are the boxes appearing before you added anything to the cities? If so, it sounds like you might have downloaded a developed region (which are not permitted on the STEX) that was made with plugins that you don't have.

In general, the boxes show up when model files for the buildings are not present in the Plugins folder. This would seem to indicate something is missing in the Macs plugins folder that is in the PC's. Are you sure everything copied over? Another possibility would be that the lots were made with Maxis props, in which case you would need to have the bldgprop files in the Mac's Plugins folder if they're not.

Also, have you placed any plugins in the PC's C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Plugins folder? Perhaps you forgot to copy that one over.

[Helepolis989 0]

Hm they are seperate issues. Sorry if that's confusing. When I asked about paris that was it's own issue. Then we started a new game in london and the mercy hospital and stuff was just covered in boxes.

I'm thinking since mist of them had to be installed maybe copying them didn't really work. I'll try what you said. Thank you.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I have tried to do two Paris maps.

Also I copied all my plugins to her mac and when we try to use one it's coming up as boxes. I know this means something but how do I fix it?

Boxes? Brown paper packages tied up with string? Or something different?

On a MAC, you want to be sure you are fully up to date. Which version of the game do you have over there, Aspyr's or EA's? If the EA version, what are you using to run the game?

[Helepolis989 0]

It's aspyr. And it's brown boxes. I am gonna run it and see If the ones from this site are brown boxes. Cause the only ones I checked was ones that got installed from devotion.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

It's aspyr. And it's brown boxes. I am gonna run it and see If the ones from this site are brown boxes. Cause the only ones I checked was ones that got installed from devotion.

Sounds like missing dependencies.

[Helepolis989 0]

None of them require dependencies that's why I downloaded them.

Ok i guess i need to just redownload all the plugins and that seems to work, i redownloaded one and it works. There is only one problem, most of the ones are from devotion, and those all start as .exe to get them going. Me and her dont know how to run exe's on the mac so we pretty much cant get the two that we want. Mercy Hospital and SimGoober Air purification. Do you guys know how to get around this so we can get these few plugins we want.

  Edited September 8, 2011 by Helepolis989  

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

None of them require dependencies that's why I downloaded them.

Ok i guess i need to just redownload all the plugins and that seems to work, i redownloaded one and it works. There is only one problem, most of the ones are from devotion, and those all start as .exe to get them going. Me and her dont know how to run exe's on the mac so we pretty much cant get the two that we want. Mercy Hospital and SimGoober Air purification. Do you guys know how to get around this so we can get these few plugins we want.

If you police up your plugin folder so that it contains, in any number of sub-folders, only real plugin files:

.dat

.sc4lot

.sc4desc

.sc4model

.dll

you should be able to write your plugins folder on an ISO format disk and just give it to her. She can then copy it to her plugins folder, and Bob's your uncle. With the exception of the .dll (extra cheats), they are all just data.

[Helepolis989 0]

Ok thank you, ill do that then.

[Helepolis989 0]

Ok so let me get this straight before i try this a hundred times. I can just copy my plugins folder, zip it and save it to a disc, then when it gets unzipped by her mac, itll work like it should?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Ok so let me get this straight before i try this a hundred times. I can just copy my plugins folder, zip it and save it to a disc, then when it gets unzipped by her mac, itll work like it should?

Unless it is more than 700 MB, I wouldn't even zip it. If it is very large, you might zip it to your desktop. If it is more than 700 MB zipped, you'll have to use a DVD. Files are files, and data is data. If all you have in your plugins is data (no executables, including the extra cheats) it should be fine. The extra cheats.dll is an executable, and needs a windows decor to be used. (Runs fine on my Linux/wine system).

Bridging between two competing operating systems is always iffy. If you are not a system programmer, you should find a friend who is. Even worse, the EA program and the Aspyr program are not identical. You are charting unknown waters.

And moving files on media is called sneaker net.

  Edited September 10, 2011 by A Nonny Moose  

[Helepolis989 0]

Im confused though, wouldnt me placing all of the files in the dropbox, then moving them to hers be the exact same as putting them on a disc and moving them, if data is data it should of worked after pasting them over, and not having to reinstall one of them and it only being the one working, isnt that correct?

[Unassigned 23]

placing all of the files in the dropbox, then moving them to hers be the exact same as putting them on a disc and moving them

Try it! It's what I'd do (warning: I am not a dropbox user but it's probably easy and quick to try it). And as files get mangled during transfers sometimes, zip the lot as a precaution (if macs can unzip, that is).

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Go ahead. You've nothing to lose and maybe something to gain. The point about sneaker net is that there is no software in between playing with the bit patterns.

[Helepolis989 0]

I have tried the dropbox. It didn't work. Which is why I'm asking is burning them onto a disc will change something

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I have tried the dropbox. It didn't work. Which is why I'm asking is burning them onto a disc will change something

Now this is an experiential question. I gather from all this that you've never done it. What burning software do you have? Can it make an ISO format disk?

[Helepolis989 0]

It can make an ISO but im not sure if her mac can read the ISO? Maybe putting it all onto a flashdrive?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

It can make an ISO but im not sure if her mac can read the ISO? Maybe putting it all onto a flashdrive?

If it will fit, it is probably faster. If a MAC can't read an ISO CD or DVD, which is an International Standards Organization format, I would be most certainly surprised. However, do what works, I take it that neither of you have any taint of geekness.

If I was able to be physically present with you, this would have been done days ago. Maybe you know a friendly geek. Don't be shy to ask.

[Helepolis989 0]

Well, I only go to her house once a week, so the whole trail and error process of this, is very long. Plus i just want to make sure i know 100% of what i need to do. I understand my pc and how to do stuff, but this is my first mac, and im still learning how to do everything on it. I will burn the CD, put it on the flashdrive, and try that, if neither works,then idk, we just may have to go without the plugins when we play, which sucks cause we really want the air purifier.

Ok side question, i started a new city, and nearly all of my houses are black and most of my CO are black, it says they are not getting enough power, even though i have enough powerplants for another 30,000 people. What do i do?

  Edited September 11, 2011 by Helepolis989  

[Helepolis989 0]

Ok gentleman I got it working I zipped all the files onto my flashdrive. And once it unzipped it read everything like it was new so now we can use the plugins we wanted!

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

On the power issue, what does your power display show? If the black lots are in a blue area, then somehow the juice is off.

[Helepolis989 0]

They were all getting power. Even my industry was out of power and that was where my plants were. I had 5 plants for 45,000 people.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

They were all getting power. Even my industry was out of power and that was where my plants were. I had 5 plants for 45,000 people.

Sounds like a ground fault. Maybe you should obliterate that misbehaving city and start it over. After all, what good is having god-like powers if you don't use them?

[Helepolis989 0]

To be honest I have never used those before.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

To be honest I have never used those before.

Open the city and hit CTRL+Shift+O. This city will be destroyed by a neutron bomb, and only the terrain will be left.

[Helepolis989 0]

Ok so i started a new city, and its going better than ever! I have high demand for nearly everything, I have the highest amount of people ever 150k+. I tried to make effecient roads and rails, and i think they worked. I tried to make my city somewhat pretty to look at, through landmarks or layout. That worked. My girlfriend has a farming community to the side of it, and im giving her jobs, everything is going well.

I would like to post some pictures though, see if maybe you guys have some opinions or tips?

Also what happened to the site for the last couple of days? Been trying to post here and it seems like they forgot to pay the bill or something?

[jacksunny 741]

There was a hard drive failure.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Your cities look fine except for the stupid UDI icons. You can get rid of them by pressing F3, then clicking on the bottom icon, then the bottom icon again. F2 to get back.

[GeneralEtrius 78]

Gentlemen, my hat's off to you. Thanks to your support, Simcity 4 has two new fans!

Another reason why I love this community.

Also, taking a look at those landfills, you should do something about them. They project a radius of negative desirability that will kill local medium and high wealth demand. You can get rid of garbage by building a city that has large landfill, set up a neighbor deal at the highest capacity, and never go back to the landfill city, which makes it a trash sink. However, you will need to periodically check trash levels as your city may (and probably will) reach a point where it produces more garbage than it exports. As a result, it piles up, killing desirability, and your utilities adviser usually doesn't alert you to the problem, leaving you to discover it once you notice buildings abandoning.

The second way is waste disposal lots. Recycling centers always help, but some great trash killers and the waste to energy plant (the default one is a huge polluter, so here is a cleaner one. https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/files/file/14358-bsc-waste-to-energy-plant/ Also, here is the "Black Hole" waste management plant. https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/files/file/17907-black-hole-waste-management-v2/

These options will clear out that landfill and open up more areas to development.

  Edited September 19, 2011 by GeneralEtrius