Daeleys Custom Query Stuff

[Daeley 46]

it was a rather small edit, I've posted an update on STEX...

a cookie if can you find where the bug was located

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Excellent! Thanks for the quick fix!

Edit: And there's only so many places the bug can be, so my bet is that it was in the selection ltext.

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

(figured it would be best to move this stuff to a seperate post, just in case you were already notified of the post, but ignored it, as it was just a thanks post)

Either way: Still not workin'.

The apostrophe's in the crop tracking LTEXT wouldn't do it, would it? Or maybe there's still somewhere where the cityname isn't suitably segregated from anywhere where the game can consider it code.... *shrug*

Reckon' I'll experiment a bit, unless you have an idea already.

And, in case you're wondering, I tested it by removing the mod totally, saving my city, exiting, reinstalling with the fixed mod, and loading the city up again. Same result, where I click on a selection and it just closes the menu....

Oh, and feel free to PM me if you'd rather bughunt somewhere where it doesn't clog up your nice, pretty thread.

[Daeley 46]

whoops... and indeed it's in the tracking text...

but if it still doesn't work, don't worry... I still have a liitle trick up my sleeve!

 

the problem is I have to sedn cities trough as strings... which means the function attached to the link looks like this:

 Save(#city#,#region#)

 

As you can see, with the format above, any name with an inside it will fail. The older version had ' there so I thought this would fix it... However... the entire link is somewhat like html, meaning it has to be surrounded by quotes as well...

well since I'll be going to bed in a few minutes I'll ask you to test something for me... can you edit the links to look like this:

 

a href=#link_id#BSCF_RegionalReport([[#city#]],[[#region#]],[[#mayor#]])

 

If this works it should work for all kinds of citynames... except those with really weird caracters in their names . It's also possible this way it will save a city as #city# instead of the real cityname though, so check out the tracking cookie as well.

 

Thanks for your help up til now though! It's really amazing, we at BSC have been using this mod for sveral months now and nobody noticed that problem so far just shows you can never be sure there are no bugs

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

So... Should I edit the tracking text, too? I'll try just the link fix, first.

[Daeley 46]

that's what I meant anyway, I'm up now and I'll test a bit myself now

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Yup. Works now.

Thanks.

Here's my edited file....

I suppose we're tag teaming, as now it's my turn for bed.

[pauld 0]

Date: 5/24/2005 7:36:45 AM
Author: Daeley

It might be possible something else is conflicting though i can't really think of what it could be...

If you do a reinstall, you don't have to lose your cities per se, you can always back them up and put them in the appropriate folder after the reinstall.

quote>

I did a fresh install of SC today. I did opt for save my cities when uninstalling.
Still no regional tracking popup I'm afraid.
Tried removing mod, saving cities and reinstalling mod again...no luck.

Decided to remove every single plugin from plugin folder.
Loaded a new region and created a couple of test cities and then reinstalled the mod again along with the file bsc_Essentials_OG.dat....sadly the same scenario as before.

Perhaps rather than having a conflict I am missing something instead?

Apoplogies for being a pain in the neck but I've run out of ideas.

Regards

[Daeley 46]

do you happen to have a lot of cities with ' in their names? (like Little momma's house, Devil's kitchen, Jean's garden etc.)

guinessmonkey has detected a bug that causes these cities not to be tracked... If this is the case, I'm afraid I made you do a reinstall for nothing... my apologies...

 

but a fixed version will be uploaded in a few minutes

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Date: 5/26/2005 1:59:34 PM
Author: Daeley

but a fixed version will be uploaded in a few minutes

quote>
Actually, as far as I know, a fixed version is uploaded already. *looks up to my last post*


Been workin' like a dream all day long.

[pauld 0]

Date: 5/26/2005 1:59:34 PM
Author: Daeley

do you happen to have a lot of cities with ' in their names? (like 'Little momma's house', 'Devil's kitchen', 'Jean's garden' etc.)

guinessmonkey has detected a bug that causes these cities not to be tracked... If this is the case, I'm afraid I made you do a reinstall for nothing... my apologies...

but a fixed version will be uploaded in a few minutes

quote>

All my cities have regular names...none with apostrophes...
Tried guinessmonkeys file and still have the same problem.

You didn't make me do a reinstal as it was my idea and at least it took SC out of the equation...back to the drawing board!

Obviously it has something to do with my setup but I will try your new file when you upload it.

Regards

[Daeley 46]

the uploaded file is basically the same as guinessmonkey posted... I'm guessing the problem must be somewhere else... as long as you have th BSC_essentials_OG.dat file I don't see where it could be though...

can you check your program files simcity folder (the one with the simcity4.exe file) and look for a folder called Apps. Please tell me if there are two files called BSCfields.dat and popfile.dat. These files should be automatically created but they are required for the mod to function properly. Perhaps if they're not there you have some sort of write-protection mecanism that disables LUA from writing there...

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Date: 5/26/2005 3:48:01 PM
Author: Daeley

the uploaded file is basically the same as guinessmonkey posted... I'm guessing the problem must be somewhere else... as long as you have th BSC_essentials_OG.dat file I don't see where it could be though...

can you check your program files simcity folder (the one with the simcity4.exe file) and look for a folder called Apps. Please tell me if there are two files called 'BSCfields.dat' and 'popfile.dat'. These files should be automatically created but they are required for the mod to function properly. Perhaps if they're not there you have some sort of write-protection mecanism that disables LUA from writing there...

quote>
Yhea. That could be it.

Beyond that I can only assume its something wierd, like some custom mod that has the same instance as your LUA or something (though I wouldn't bet on it).

Oh, and I really wish I had been more careful while I was bughunting. I accidentally deleted my popfile.dat. Before only two cities weren't showin'. Now I have to reload all of 'em. Oh, well.

This, in turn, wouldn't be a huge problem if it wasn't for the fact that my region is HUGE, as well as that I'm a perfectionist. Whenever I load up a city just to track it, I always notice a couple things to fix while it loads. Next thing I know, I've spent half the day tweaking a small rural community.


Edit: And I'm assuming this is either my imagination or else a mistake I made which you won't repeat, but I am having some problems with my version of the file. It tracks every city correctly, but the news item that allows you to check on it again seems to be missing. Similarly, I just loaded up a city that is already being tracked and I got no welcome back message. Wierd.

[Daeley 46]

I've been experiencing some wierdness as well lately... one time the mod didn't show up at all... I restart the game and suddenly I do get the popups... I don't really know what's happening, but my guess is it's probably somewhere something in the internals of the game we don't know much about...

I will look into ways of making the mod more robust... I'm sure there's an additional way or two I can force a popup to appear

 

I'm still a bit amazed we didn't find these bugs earlier just shows software development is a tricky business

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Date: 5/26/2005 5:47:19 PM
Author: Daeley

I've been experiencing some wierdness as well lately... one time the mod didn't show up at all... I restart the game and suddenly I do get the popups... I don't really know what's happening, but my guess is it's probably somewhere something in the internals of the game we don't know much about...

I will look into ways of making the mod more robust... I'm sure there's an additional way or two I can force a popup to appear

I'm still a bit amazed we didn't find these bugs earlier just shows software development is a tricky business

quote>
I'm not surprised. As a longtime betatester for a gaming company, I got used to bugs that creep up long after you thought you were bug free long ago. Nothin' like being a couple days from gold and then realizing you have a CTD bug that noone managed to find before....

Either way, speakin' of CTD's, I just did so (the old NAM + TE lots bug/feature). So I'll be sure to load up one of those already-tracked cities to see if I get the popup this time.

[gwyned 0]

Date: 5/26/2005 3:48:01 PM Author: Daeley

the uploaded file is basically the same as guinessmonkey posted... I'm guessing the problem must be somewhere else... as long as you have th BSC_essentials_OG.dat file I don't see where it could be though...

can you check your program files simcity folder (the one with the simcity4.exe file) and look for a folder called Apps. Please tell me if there are two files called 'BSCfields.dat' and 'popfile.dat'. These files should be automatically created but they are required for the mod to function properly. Perhaps if they're not there you have some sort of write-protection mecanism that disables LUA from writing there...

I am having the same difficulties as Pauld.  Basic, one word city names without apostrophes.  Although I have the latest version of both the BSC Essentials file and your Regional Tracking Mod, but have never seen hide nor hair of the popup.  Interestingly enough, I also do NOT have BSCfields.dat or popfile.dat.  Any ideas?

 

Gwyned 

[pauld 0]

Date: 5/26/2005 3:48:01 PM
Author: Daeley

the uploaded file is basically the same as guinessmonkey posted... I'm guessing the problem must be somewhere else... as long as you have th BSC_essentials_OG.dat file I don't see where it could be though...

can you check your program files simcity folder (the one with the simcity4.exe file) and look for a folder called Apps. Please tell me if there are two files called 'BSCfields.dat' and 'popfile.dat'. These files should be automatically created but they are required for the mod to function properly. Perhaps if they're not there you have some sort of write-protection mecanism that disables LUA from writing there...

quote>

I reinstalled SC Deluxe again and chose not to save my cities this time (have a backup on CD) when uninstalling.

I'm now back to original game.

The only plugins I have installed are the:
bsc_Essentials_OG.dat
BSC_RegionalCounter.dat. No Joy so far.

Have checked for the two files you suggested, BSCfields and popfile.dat in the apps folder and neither one of them exists.

Also checked my backup disc of SC D:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps and the two files aren't there either. Looks as though I've never had them which probably explains why I've had no success.

Are these two files written/installed in apps folder by your regional tracker mod or some other bat/lot/mod?

One last question, LUA? I did mention earlier that my knowledge lies somewhere between zero and nil...lol

Kind regards

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Date: 5/27/2005 1:41:02 AM
Author: pauld
I reinstalled SC Deluxe again and chose not to save my cities this time (have a backup on CD) when uninstalling.



I'm now back to original game.



The only plugins I have installed are the:

bsc_Essentials_OG.dat

BSC_RegionalCounter.dat. No Joy so far.


Have checked for the two files you suggested, BSCfields and popfile.dat in the apps folder and neither one of them exists.


Also checked my backup disc of SC Drogram FilesMaxisSimCity 4 DeluxeApps and the two files aren't there either. Looks as though I've never had them which probably explains why I've had no success.


Are these two files written/installed in apps folder by your regional tracker mod or some other bat/lot/mod?


One last question, LUA? I did mention earlier that my knowledge lies somewhere between zero and nil...lol


Kind regards

quote>
A: Yhea. The two files are indeed written/installed into the apps folder by the tracker (AFAIK).

B: LUA files are the files (within the dat files) that contain actual conditional code (i.e. they determine what the requirements for a reward are, what the text of popups are, etc). I'm sympathetic to your confusion, as only a few weeks ago I was tryin' to figure all this stuff out on my own.

It's a testament to how lame I am (i.e. how much time I was able to spend on SC4) and how helpful the folks on this forum were that I'm already modding nearly every lot I download.

I've got a setup where commercial office buildings show up much later than services, where residentials have realistic populations (3-8 people per house), where all lots have neutral names (no BSC House, just Modern House or whatever), where all rewards have been tweaked to appear at variable and realistic times, and where most maxis lots have names chosen by me (#city# Police Department (Small Station) instead of Small Police Station), and all that after only a few weeks gettin' into the groove.


Man, is this game worse than crack.

[Daeley 46]

well I will not get into technical details... but comes down to this:

The Regional Tracking Mod will write the information it needs to certain files it creates himself (I like to call these simcity cookies). I haven't seen any problems about this with anyone, but if you do not see those files, it may be possible the mod is unable to create them.

If this is the case, the problem probably lies not with the mod (or with simcity for that matter) but is probably a case of restricted access. My guess is somewehre in your settings you are giving programs limited write access over your harddrive.

 

Are you on a computer with multiple users?

If so, is someone else of them very computer-savvy? It's possible he/she fuzzled a bit with the user priorities and controls if so.

 

I will ask a bit around about this... I would like to get to the bottom of it

[gwyned 0]

Date: 5/27/2005 2:39:38 AM Author: Daeley

well I will not get into technical details... but comes down to this:

The Regional Tracking Mod will write the information it needs to certain files it creates himself (I like to call these 'simcity cookies'). I haven't seen any problems about this with anyone, but if you do not see those files, it may be possible the mod is unable to create them.

If this is the case, the problem probably lies not with the mod (or with simcity for that matter) but is probably a case of restricted access. My guess is somewehre in your settings you are giving programs limited write access over your harddrive.

Are you on a computer with multiple users?

If so, is someone else of them very computer-savvy? It's possible he/she fuzzled a bit with the user priorities and controls if so.

I will ask a bit around about this... I would like to get to the bottom of it

AFAIK, this should not be an issue in my case.  I am running under Windows 98 SE, with only one user (myself) who has full, unlimited access.  Other games seem to be able to write files anywhere on the hard drive just fine (save games, etc.).  Especially since I recently reformatted the drive and fully reinstalled, I am almost certain that no special tweaks exist over access granted to programs...

 

Unless, of course, your program tries to write to the registry... Hmm...

 

Gwyned

[pauld 0]

Date: 5/27/2005 2:39:38 AM
Author: Daeley

well I will not get into technical details... but comes down to this:

The Regional Tracking Mod will write the information it needs to certain files it creates himself (I like to call these 'simcity cookies'). I haven't seen any problems about this with anyone, but if you do not see those files, it may be possible the mod is unable to create them.

If this is the case, the problem probably lies not with the mod (or with simcity for that matter) but is probably a case of restricted access. My guess is somewehre in your settings you are giving programs limited write access over your harddrive.

Are you on a computer with multiple users?

If so, is someone else of them very computer-savvy? It's possible he/she fuzzled a bit with the user priorities and controls if so.

I will ask a bit around about this... I would like to get to the bottom of it

quote>


I'm the only user on this computer.

Had a word with my son who is far more computer literate than me. He can't think of anything that would restrict access or writing to my hard drive.

We've reached the conclusion to reformat and reinstall Windows XP to rule out any possible problems with the system. All part of the process of elimination I suppose. Anyway, I'll have a nice clean reinstall if nothing else

In the meantime I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this may be the solution. Will let you know one way or the other.

Regards

[Daeley 46]

no I'm not writing to the registry I'm just writing to a small text file...

and I'm not quite sure what a complete reinstaal could do, if anything. I'd say only do this if you really want to do it yourself, because I personally don't think it will matter much...

 

as a sidenote, where is Simcity installed? just C:\program files\Maxis?

and do you run the .exe from the main directory (or with a link, that's the same) or did you place it somewhere else? It's very important that the .exe is in a path that has \Apps as a subfolder.

[pauld 0]

Date: 5/27/2005 6:50:37 PM
Author: Daeley

no I'm not writing to the registry I'm just writing to a small text file...

and I'm not quite sure what a complete reinstaal could do, if anything. I'd say only do this if you really want to do it yourself, because I personally don't think it will matter much...

as a sidenote, where is Simcity installed? just C:program filesMaxis?

and do you run the .exe from the main directory (or with a link, that's the same) or did you place it somewhere else? It's very important that the .exe is in a path that has Apps as a subfolder.

quote>

Haven't done a reinstall just yet.

Simcity is installed on my D drive:
D:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe

I start it up from a shortcut on the desk top and the find target of the shortcut icon is:
D:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps

I only have one 160Gb hard drive at the moment and the C: partition (8Gb)(is where the OS is installed. Everything else is on the D: drive, including the My Documents folder.

Hope this info is useful.

Regards

[gwyned 0]

Date: 5/27/2005 6:50:37 PM Author: Daeley

no I'm not writing to the registry I'm just writing to a small text file...

and I'm not quite sure what a complete reinstaal could do, if anything. I'd say only do this if you really want to do it yourself, because I personally don't think it will matter much...

as a sidenote, where is Simcity installed? just C:program filesMaxis?

and do you run the .exe from the main directory (or with a link, that's the same) or did you place it somewhere else? It's very important that the .exe is in a path that has Apps as a subfolder.

I am using the default installation directories for Simcity 4.  I also directly access the .exe file from the Apps subfolder.  Good luck, and thanks for all your help!

[Daeley 46]

hmm... might be getting closer... gwyned do you also have Simcity 4 Deluxe? If so, we have a pattern here

just one more question about files... can you tell me where all the simcity_x.dat files are? (x going from 1 to 5) are they also in a subfolder or in the main folder?

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Date: 5/28/2005 3:08:42 AM
Author: Daeley

hmm... might be getting closer... gwyned do you also have Simcity 4 Deluxe? If so, we have a pattern here

quote>
Just in case you care, I am runnin' SC4Deluxe with little to no issues (now).





Though I have noticed one difference from the way my file works and yours. Yours put the dialogue permanently in the news, so I could check on regional population at will. Now that seems to go away. If I pick regional population I get that ONCE, having to exit and reload to get it again. Also, if I pick population I can't get farm data without leaving and reentering as well. Annoying. I'm sure I screwed something up accidentally. I once thought of myself as fairly LUA literate, but the more I work with them the more I realize that I don't know diddly.

[Daeley 46]

actually, that's quite normal... you only get the popup once, when you enter the city.

we're working on a way to attach the mod to a building, so you can view the statistics at will.

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Huh. I must be goin' insane then. I woulda sworn that before it lingered in the news box, so that I could go back and read the stats at will.

*shrug*

Either way, yhea. A simple building would be nice, perferably something that blends in well (i.e. not another enormous civic building), as it will be in nearly every city pretty much by default.

Though, now that I think of it, this would be a perfect feature for a small post office lot.

I always thought it would be awesome to have a chain of post office lots: a tiny one for starting out (maybe two squares (what do you call that in SC4? They're not hexes... Is squares the correct nomenclature?) or so... Either way, something that wouldn't look out of place in a small farm town of 400 folks), a medium sized one for larger cities (40,000 plus), and a central post office for really big ones (100,000 plus or so....). Each could be technically a reward, with actual requirements. They could also all hel with residential or commercial caps or something. I reckon' businesses prefer to locate in a city with an efficient postal system.

Either way, I'm gettin' a bit off topic...

[Daeley 46]

Date: 5/28/2005 4:48:36 AM Author: Guinnessmonkey Huh.  I must be goin' insane then. 

quote>

yes, but only the one you selected (if you selected one). You only get the choice dialog once.

 

and squares is quite correct

[gwyned 0]

Date: 5/28/2005 3:08:42 AM Author: Daeley

hmm... might be getting closer... gwyned do you also have Simcity 4 Deluxe? If so, we have a pattern here

just one more question about files... can you tell me where all the simcity_x.dat files are? (x going from 1 to 5) are they also in a subfolder or in the main folder?

quote>

Sorry to disappoint your theory...but I do not have SC4 Deluxe...I bought the original and the expansion separately.  As far as the simcity_x.dat files, they all reside in the main default Simcity 4 directory.