Help?

[ollielovesmcr 0]

Hey all, I want to download loooadss of mods but I really don't know where to start to be honest... I want to make an amazing city with loads of real life land marks, lots of high rise residential houses, commercial building etcetera but I never know what to download... can anyone reccomend anything to download and any tips.. or refer me to a tutorial of some sort... :-)

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Hey all, I want to download loooadss of mods but I really don't know where to start to be honest... I want to make an amazing city with loads of real life land marks, lots of high rise residential houses, commercial building etcetera but I never know what to download... can anyone recommend anything to download and any tips.. or refer me to a tutorial of some sort... :-)

Welcome to the conversation.

Well, don't be in too much of a rush to download a lot of stuff and shot gun it into your plugins. First you must make sure your program is ready for all this. If you downloaded the game from an authorized seller, you are all set. But if not, and you have disks, you need to make sure you have the proper updates.

Game Loaded from Disk Media

If you loaded from disk media, you need to take a look at your program version. Do this by navigating in windows explorer to:

C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps

and hover your mouse over the SimCity4.exe file. It should give you the version. If you are not on windows 7, then you will have to right click this file and open the version tab. If your version is 1,1,210 you have the basic SimCity 4 Deluxe/Rush Hour and it needs two patches available here. You will have to register (free) to use that site, and you want the EA support button on the lower left in the left hand frame near the bottom. Read all the instructions carefully, because the first patch (EP1) depends on where you got your game. Be sure to get both the EP1 patch for bug fixes and the BATupdate patch for custom content night lights.

Game Info Continues

After you are sure your game is up to version 1,1,640 or 1,1,641 (641 is the downloaded version), you now need a sandbox region and a separate from the game residency Downloads folder as part of your user file structure. Everything you download should go to this new folder, and not directly into the game, reasons later.

To get a sandbox region, simply open the game and select the new region button from the region menu. Follow through on a land-based region for the default, unterraformed layout to get a set of all flat city tiles. This is your test bed. I really do call mine Sandbox.

Now, in your user structure, you have a SimCity 4 folder (might be called SimCity 4 Deluxe but everything applies). There is a subfolder here called Plugins, and this is the place you put new custom content. Unless you are an operating system type or a programmer put nothing in the Program Files residency.

As an example, here is my downloads folder structure:

Downloads

├── C++ReferenceCard

├── debian

├── Dynex

├── Microsoft

├── MuseScoreManual

├── Olympus Camera

├── OpenGL

│ └── cube

├── Oracle

├── SC4RelatedDownloads

│ ├── Andreas Roth

│ │ └── cityhall_fix

│ ├── A Nonny Moose

│ │ ├── Anti-Matter Power Plant

│ │ │ └── Anti-Matter Power Plant

│ │ ├── Artesian Water Collector

│ │ │ └── Artesian Water Collector

│ │ ├── CV6x6_Seminary_of_Mota [V05]

│ │ │ └── CV6x6_Seminary_of_Mota [V05]

│ │ ├── Moose Factory

│ │ │ └── Moose Factory

│ │ ├── New Harbour

│ │ ├── Nonnyland

│ │ └── Phantasmagoria

│ ├── Brenda_xne

│ │ └── Xne_ModernMonorail

│ ├── BSC

│ │ ├── Install_BSC_MEGA_PropPack_CP_Vol01

│ │ ├── Install_BSCMegaProps_JES_Vol01

│ │ ├── Install_BSC_MEGA_Props_Misc_Vol02

│ │ ├── Install_BSCMEGAProps_RTWFKN_Vol01

│ │ ├── Install_BSC_Textures_Vol03

│ │ ├── Sawtooth's Region Census V0.8

│ │ │ └── Region Census v0.8-filer

│ │ └── STR Freight Station

│ ├── Buggi

│ │ └── extra_cheats_plugin

│ ├── cowkilla

│ │ └── blam_highCapacity_monoStation

│ │ └── high capacity mono station

│ ├── EA Addons

│ ├── EA Plugins

│ │ └── EA Plugins

│ ├── EA Updates

│ │ └── EA Updates

│ ├── Equinox

│ │ └── SOMY Giant Consolidated Hospital

│ ├── frolius666

│ ├── goldiva

│ │ ├── gdv-hotel1

│ │ ├── GDV Mayor TropSea Set

│ │ │ └── GDV Mayor TropSea Set

│ │ ├── GDV Mayor TropTree Set

│ │ ├── GDVtollbooths

│ │ ├── GDVwatertaxi

│ │ └── GDVyachtclub

│ ├── Greyveil

│ ├── gshmails

│ │ ├── Black Hole Waste Management v2

│ │ │ ├── BHPROPS

│ │ │ └── Photos

│ │ └── The Holy Shmails_0cc3faf2

│ ├── ilive

│ │ ├── files2dat

│ │ │ └── files2dat

│ │ └── ilive_reader093

│ │ └── Template

│ ├── Jasoncw

│ │ └── Jasoncw - Train Station Set

│ │ ├── Jasoncw - 1x2 Small Train Station

│ │ ├── Jasoncw - 1x4 Medium Train Station

│ │ ├── Jasoncw - 2x4 Large Train Station

│ │ └── Screenshots

│ ├── JB

│ │ └── JB Bus Stops- SAM

│ ├── Maxisland

│ ├── Network Addon Modd

│ │ ├── Filler4NAMcurve_v100

│ │ │ ├── Lots

│ │ │ │ ├── curve-45

│ │ │ │ ├── curve-90

│ │ │ │ └── curve-s

│ │ │ ├── Models

│ │ │ └── Read_me

│ │ ├── NAM Traffic Subsystem

│ │ ├── NetworkAddonMod_Setup1

│ │ │ └── Documentation

│ │ │ └── images

│ │ ├── Network_Widening_Mod_Setup1

│ │ │ └── images

│ │ └── SAM

│ │ └── StreetAddonModv3_Setup

│ ├── Pegasus Productions

│ │ ├── CDK3

│ │ ├── CDKM

│ │ ├── OWW2

│ │ └── SPAM

│ │ └── PEGPROD

│ │ └── SPAM

│ │ ├── SPAM_Core_Lots

│ │ ├── SPAM_Documentation

│ │ │ ├── css

│ │ │ └── img

│ │ ├── SPAM_Mod_Main

│ │ └── SPAM_Super_Resource_Pack

│ │ ├── SPAM_Crops_Resource

│ │ ├── SPAM_Resource

│ │ └── SPAM_Textures

│ ├── qbert2

│ ├── RalphaelNinja

│ │ ├── CrimeDoesntPay

│ │ └── Plugin Landmark Props_a

│ ├── rivit

│ ├── robinsden

│ │ └── robinsden bus stop

│ │ └── robinsden.co.cc Bus Station

│ │ ├── All-in-one

│ │ └── props

│ ├── RTMT

│ │ ├── BSC_Install_EssentialFiles

│ │ ├── BSC_Install_texturesVol01

│ │ ├── Install_BSC_MEGA_Props_Misc_Vol02

│ │ ├── Install_BSC_Textures_Vol03

│ │ ├── Install_Roadtop_Mass_Transit_V3.50

│ │ ├── RTMT Add-On Pack V3.602

│ │ ├── SG_Install_BusStops

│ │ └── uroncha

│ ├── Rybolton

│ ├── SilentBreaker

│ │ └── pol_fht

│ ├── SimGoober

│ │ ├── SG_Install_ClockTowerStation1

│ │ ├── SG_INSTALL_MEGAProps01

│ │ ├── SG_Install_PassengerDepot102

│ │ └── SG_Install_SimTropolis Station

│ ├── TheQuiltedLlama

│ │ └── STR Station

│ ├── timotheus4

│ │ └── auckland

│ ├── toroca

│ │ └── OperaHouse

│ ├── Tropod

│ ├── TurboSquid

│ ├── TWrecks

│ ├── uroncha

│ ├── Willard

│ │ └── Central sound1

│ │ ├── Central sound

│ │ └── __MACOSX

│ │ └── Central sound

│ └── Z1

└── SunMicrosystems

152 directories

In this folder tree only the items in blue may wind up in my Plugins. Note that I also download from other places, but keep everything in one place (on a free standing disk drive, but the way). Now here is my corresponding Plugins folder:

SimCity 4/Plugins

├── Andreas Roth

├── A Nonny Moose

│ ├── Moose Factory

│ ├── Temple of Mota

│ └── Water Plant

├── Brenda_xne

├── BSC

│ ├── BSCProps

│ ├── BSCTextures

│ └── Farms

│ └── SimGoober

│ └── Extras

│ └── BlackBeardsDen

├── Cowkilla

├── EA Plugins

├── Equinox

├── frolius666

│ └── F666 - Traffic Control addon

├── Goldiva

│ ├── GDV_TropSeaSet

│ └── GDV_TropTrees

├── gshmails

│ └── BHPROPS

├── jasoncw

│ └── TrainStationSet

│ ├── Jasoncw - 1x2 Small Train Station

│ ├── Jasoncw - 1x4 Medium Train Station

│ └── Jasoncw - 2x4 Large Train Station

├── JB

├── Network Addon Mod

│ ├── Additional Bridges

│ ├── Network Widening Mod

│ ├── Plugins

│ └── Street Addon Mod

│ └── Textures

├── Pegasus Productions

│ ├── CDK3

│ │ ├── Blackies Boat Yard

│ │ ├── Capt Jacks Landing

│ │ ├── CDK3 SUPER PAK

│ │ ├── Coast Guard Station

│ │ ├── Marina

│ │ │ ├── 1x Boat Storage

│ │ │ ├── Boat Ramp

│ │ │ ├── Chandlery

│ │ │ ├── Dock End

│ │ │ ├── Dock Extension

│ │ │ ├── Docks

│ │ │ ├── Guest Services

│ │ │ ├── Parking Lot

│ │ │ ├── Sport Fishing

│ │ │ └── Yacht Club

│ │ ├── OWW2

│ │ │ ├── Annabellelin

│ │ │ ├── Beach

│ │ │ │ ├── Beach Hut

│ │ │ │ └── Restrooms

│ │ │ ├── Blackbeards_Den_OWW2_a

│ │ │ ├── Captain Nemos

│ │ │ ├── Ferry Landing

│ │ │ ├── Fishing Pier

│ │ │ ├── Food Court

│ │ │ ├── Fountain Plaza

│ │ │ ├── Lighthouse Museum

│ │ │ ├── Observation Deck

│ │ │ ├── OWW Transitions

│ │ │ ├── PierSet

│ │ │ │ ├── 1x Boat Dock

│ │ │ │ ├── Arcade

│ │ │ │ └── LifeGuard Tower

│ │ │ ├── Police Station

│ │ │ └── RCI

│ │ │ ├── Corner Lots

│ │ │ └── Pier Fillers

│ │ └── Ship Pack 1

│ ├── Christmas Dev Pack

│ ├── MTP

│ │ └── _MTP SUPER PACK

│ ├── Seasonal Woods

│ ├── SPAM

│ │ ├── SPAM_addon

│ │ │ └── SPAM_abcvs

│ │ │ └── Ploppable Fields

│ │ │ ├── Diagonal_Crops

│ │ │ ├── Diagonal_Trees

│ │ │ ├── Single_Crops

│ │ │ └── Single_Trees

│ │ ├── SPAM_Core_Lots

│ │ ├── SPAM_Mod_Main

│ │ └── SPAM_Super_Resource_Pack

│ │ ├── SPAM_Crops_Resource

│ │ ├── SPAM_Resource

│ │ └── SPAM_Textures

│ └── WaterMods

│ └── Brigantine

├── qbert2

├── RalphaelNinja

├── robinsden

├── RTMTV3

│ ├── El Rail over Road

│ ├── GLR Transitions

│ ├── Models

│ │ └── Signs

│ ├── Props

│ ├── SAM

│ └── z_RTMT

├── rybolton

├── SilentBreaker

├── Simgoober

│ ├── Bus Stops

│ └── Transportation

│ └── Rail

├── toroca

├── TWrecks

├── uroncha

│ ├── MTRT-V1

│ └── SAM_Stopper

│ └── Sidewalk_Texture

├── z1

└── zzz_overrides

120 directories

With a few exceptions for items that are programs and not plugins, note the correspondence between the two. The reasons for this are:

1. Backup. The Downloads stuff can always be re-expanded (I keep the .zip files here) if something happens to the Plugins structure.
2. Ease of Maintenance. Some large items such as the Network Addon Mod get updated occasionally. It is good to be able to replace this easily, so I keep each item in a separate folder for easy working. I've shown only the directory structure here because if I listed the files, this would be many more pages long.

Now, this is only my preference. You can do what you like, but if you have a problem with a plugin, it is good to be able to zero in on it. Not all custom content works together, and since there are many thousands of them, only the end user can test to find out if his choices are OK. This brings us back to the sandbox.

Use the sandbox to test each new add to your Plugins suite. The reason you want to do this is the aforementioned probability of incompatible plugins. You don't want to mess up an existing city with bad stuff, so you test your adds before you decide that the current suite with the new adds is still good. If the test fails, you just unload the latest add. Whether you delete it or investigate further is up to you and what you need. Eventually, you will build a few test cities in the sandbox region, and this will expedite your tests.

Plugin downloads come in two varieties for custom content. Maps are another subject, and that can be seen in the Mapping Community forum. The two varieties of plugin for custom content are manual install and automatic install. Automatic install applies only to windows. Not all plugins contain installers. If you are on a MAC, you should never get one, but use the alternate provided.

Automatic Install

This is the easy one. All plugins come as compressed archives in .zip format. Windows will unpack these for you on request. After you have downloaded a package into your Downloads structure, navigate to the the .zip file, right click and choose the option to decompress your file. This will happen in the same folder the .zip is in, which is good. If you get a .exe file as part of the unpacked material, simply execute it, and the program will place it in the appropriate structure in your Plugins.

Manual Install

This is more work, but fairly easy. You need two windows open in windows explorer. One window at your Downloads/<plugin name> folder and the other in your SimCity 4/Plugins/<plugin name> folder. If the <plugin name> folder doesn't exist, it is up to you to create it.

Now, you unpack your new plugin as above. You should now have a collection of one or more files, some of which go into your plugins structure for the game. If there is a readme file with this, you should read it in either notepad or your browser depending on whether it is a text file or an html file. Having done that and gotten a handle on this plugin, you now can move (not copy) files with any of the following extensions to your game structure: .dat, .sc4lot, .sc4desc, .sc4model. If you find a file with an extension of .dll, it must go at the top of your structure directly subordinate to the SimCity4/Plugins folder with no intervening sub-folder. As far as I know, there is only one of these. The remaining files are documentation. I tend to leave them in Downloads where I can always fine them. Moving all the non-plugins into your game structure will slow down the game's loading when it is called, so don't do that.

What to Get

For openers, you should visit this thread and get any Maxis items you want. You must get BldgProps_Vol1, and _Vol2. These default dependency files are often omitted from dependency lists because everyone expects you to have them.

Those are the essential ones, and what you get after that is strictly up to what you want to do. You should take a look at this thread for the very large (major) modds that really make this game fly. I strongly recommend the Network Addon Modd (NAM).

You have a list of my plugins above, and you could use them as a guide of sorts, but you should find your own way. I've been playing for as long as the game has been available, and have gone through several evolutions, so my list may not be good for a new player.

Good luck.

  Edited September 10, 2011 by A Nonny Moose  

[EyeofMobius 27]

Also I would reccomend not downloading much at the start but I do encourage lots of window shopping through the different exchanges: STEX here at Simtopolis, LEX at SC4Devotion, PLEX at SimPeg. Once you have an idea of what is on the market spend some time in the ``show us your... thread`` in the forums as well as the city journals section. Then as you play through your city you can think to yourself `hey I remember seeing something that would be just the right thing for this spot` and thus you go get it and use it.

This will help you avoid the OMG my plugin file is out of control sensation.

[ollielovesmcr 0]

haha, yeh im doing that now it's so time conuming but hey, good things come to those who wait :-)

Sorry my spelling and grammar is terrible, I'm not used to typing without the added comfort of 'auto correct' on my macintosh, instead I have to use XP. But still, it lets me play SC 4 and I loooove it

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

ha-ha, yes im doing that now it's so time consuming but hey, good things come to those who wait :-)

Sorry my spelling and grammar is terrible, I'm not used to typing without the added comfort of 'auto correct' on my macintosh, instead I have to use XP. But still, it lets me play SC 4 and I loooove it

A bad plugin that is hard to find can take you down for days while you do a binary search for it.

There is a spelling checker on this editor. If it gets a red underline right click the word for choices. Failing that, use a word processor on XP, you can get Open Office free. Type your stuff in with auto-correct on, then paste your posts here.

Note that I used the spelling check/correction to fix your quote.

[jacksunny 741]

It is important not to download lots of stuff at once, as it can be quite overwhelming. Stuff like the NAM for example.