Can't render region!

[Hybr1d 20]

Ok so i'm trying to this map to render but it just isn't happening. I've looked the region install guide on the omnibus about a dozen times, and I don't know what i'm missing. I've got the config.bmp, the png and the JPEG image for this map. So then I go into the game, go to the region, open the grayscale image file dialog, but I can't find the damn folder that has all of the files in it.

Could somebody help me out here? I really have been working on this for about 2 hours and no success.

[nukeu123 307]

well its recommended to save the file in a location thats easily found in your mind . assuming you have winxp/vista/7.what i do is ,with out opening sc4 got to your docs/simcity 4/ regions/ create a new folder and name it the region you wish to name it, then place place both config.bmp and the jpeg in that folder run sc4 got to that newly created region and press ctrl/alt/shift/r go to (by default) C:\Users\(your user)\Documents\SimCty4\regions\(given region name) and select that jpeg file, now depending on region size,and preformance of computer it will 20 to 1 2/2 hours to render the bitmap file to a playable region good luck and have fun building you metropolis

[Hybr1d 20]

well its recommended to save the file in a location thats easily found in your mind . assuming you have winxp/vista/7.what i do is ,with out opening sc4 got to your docs/simcity 4/ regions/ create a new folder and name it the region you wish to name it, then place place both config.bmp and the jpeg in that folder run sc4 got to that newly created region and press ctrl/alt/shift/r go to (by default) C:\Users\(your user)\Documents\SimCty4\regions\(given region name) and select that jpeg file, now depending on region size,and preformance of computer it will 20 to 1 2/2 hours to render the bitmap file to a playable region good luck and have fun building you metropolis

That's EXACTLY what I did, and it did not start rendering. I select the jpeg file and all it does is bring me back to the empty region.. no rendering at all. BTW, how do you know when it starts to render? Does a message pop up?

[CaptCity 4,684]

If you are finding the correct Region file when you open the render window, then, while rendering, the cursor should change to an hour glass, and if the city tiles are different sizes, you should see them change as the process continues. If the cursor doesn't change, then something is not right. Is the map you're trying one that you downloaded? If so, which one? There might be something wrong with the image files. A couple things to check would be if the config file is actually named "config". It must be for the game to recognize it. Also, is the jpg file a greyscale image. There are different types of maps that require different rendering procedures. Let us know...

[Merlin of Flyote 8]

I pick the new region use Ctrl - Shift - Alt - R (all at the same time) then I get an hourglass and city tiles which change after a short while as each city tile is rendered. Don't touch the computer until rendering is finished (it can take a while) so go do something else (otherwise you will get a part rendered region). You can even set the computer to render when you go to bed and wake up next morning with it done.

[cogeo 960]

I'm afraid you are a little confused. You mention the config, the jpeg and the png. This doesn't quite stand. There are two possibilities:

1. The map is 8-bit. Such maps can be rendered from the game itself, with the Alt+Ctlr+Shift+R key combination. Only two files are required in this case, the config.bmp (it will appear as "config" if your Windows doesn'r display file extensions) - a small bitmap detrining the city tiles' setup - and the grayscale region image, a relatively large file, typically a jpeg (other file types, like .png, are possible too - I use .bmp for my maps to avoid jpegs' "lossy" encoding), containing the elevation data.

2. The map is 16-bit. Such maps cannot be rendered with the game alone, they require SC4 Mapper or SC4 Terraformer (the latter has editing capabilities too). The format can be either .SC4M (a custom format used by SC4 Mapper/Terraformer), or instead a 16-bit png.

What does the author say? Is there some documentation? The STEX "Lot Description" maybe? If the author has actually included both an 8-bit and 16-bit version of the map in the same upload (strange?) you will have to pick either. 16-bit maps are looking better, as you avoid the "steps" effect, but require downloading and installing SC4 Mapper..

If you are sure that the map is 8-bit, remember the following:

- The grayscale image doen't go in the region folder, you can put it to a place where you can find it easily, like on your deskop or at the root level of drive C:\ (it's needed only for the render, you can delete it after you are done).

- The citiy tile setup can be changed before rendering the region (you have to edit the config.bmp).

- A reason why the map may not be rendering is that the region folder contains more files that just config.bmp. More specifically the system may have created an invisible file named thumbs.db (it creates it automatically in folders containg images, and you do visit - and config.bmp IS an image file). Try the following:

a. Go to the Regions folder, and in the Windows Explorer select View->Details.

b. Create the new region folder (give it the region name) but do NOT go in there!

c. Copy config.bmp under this folder, again WITHOUT visiting it (better drag config.bmp over your region's folder with the mouse).

d. Try rendering.

- Many maps require installing a "Height Mod", so read the documentation carefully.

Hope this helps

[Hybr1d 20]

I'm afraid you are a little confused. You mention the config, the jpeg and the png. This doesn't quite stand. There are two possibilities:

1. The map is 8-bit. Such maps can be rendered from the game itself, with the Alt+Ctlr+Shift+R key combination. Only two files are required in this case, the config.bmp (it will appear as "config" if your Windows doesn'r display file extensions) - a small bitmap detrining the city tiles' setup - and the grayscale region image, a relatively large file, typically a jpeg (other file types, like .png, are possible too - I use .bmp for my maps to avoid jpegs' "lossy" encoding), containing the elevation data.

2. The map is 16-bit. Such maps cannot be rendered with the game alone, they require SC4 Mapper or SC4 Terraformer (the latter has editing capabilities too). The format can be either .SC4M (a custom format used by SC4 Mapper/Terraformer), or instead a 16-bit png.

What does the author say? Is there some documentation? The STEX "Lot Description" maybe? If the author has actually included both an 8-bit and 16-bit version of the map in the same upload (strange?) you will have to pick either. 16-bit maps are looking better, as you avoid the "steps" effect, but require downloading and installing SC4 Mapper..

If you are sure that the map is 8-bit, remember the following:

- The grayscale image doen't go in the region folder, you can put it to a place where you can find it easily, like on your deskop or at the root level of drive C:\ (it's needed only for the render, you can delete it after you are done).

- The citiy tile setup can be changed before rendering the region (you have to edit the config.bmp).

- A reason why the map may not be rendering is that the region folder contains more files that just config.bmp. More specifically the system may have created an invisible file named thumbs.db (it creates it automatically in folders containg images, and you do visit - and config.bmp IS an image file). Try the following:

a. Go to the Regions folder, and in the Windows Explorer select View->Details.

b. Create the new region folder (give it the region name) but do NOT go in there!

c. Copy config.bmp under this folder, again WITHOUT visiting it (better drag config.bmp over your region's folder with the mouse).

d. Try rendering.

- Many maps require installing a "Height Mod", so read the documentation carefully.

Hope this helps

The region i'm trying to download is here -

I clicked on the colored image, clicked next to go to the greyscale image and saved that jpg image to the region folder. Then I downloaded the file into the region folder itself. I then go into the game and do exactly as the installation guide says, but it still brings me back to the empty region.

Hopefully you guys can help me here beause I don't know if the map is 8-bit or 16-bit

Also, I named the region " Spira " and not final fantasy x world map. Will that cause a problem?

[cogeo 960]

Well, I checked this map and it has quite a number of problems:

- The config.bmp is named config(2).bmp instead! You can rename it, but this is not enough.

- The config.bmp is 16x16 pixels large which means that you should get a region sized 4x4 large cities (or 16x16 small ones).

- There is no jpeg in the download, instead there is a png, which is neither 8-bit nor 16-bit, instead it's 24-bit (color)! SC4 probably can import this format too, if all three color components are the same, ie it will regard it as a one-channel grayscale (8-bit) rather than a color one.

- What is really weird is that the grayscale is 250x250 pixels large! For a region of the above size (a 16x16 config) it should instead be 1025x1025 pixels exactly! So this map cannot be imported!

Don't quite understand, 777 downloads and you are the first to complain? And the pic does show a working region! Maybe the grayscale was mangled during some STEX "upgrade" (eg automatically resizing the preview images). The contents in the zip shouldn't have been changed though. I would say contact the author (probably he uploaded a wrong grayscale) but he hasn't been active since July 2011. Maybe send him some message, but don't expect a reply. Better report this map to a STEX moderator.

And again, the grayscale DOES NOT go to the region's folder. Download any of my maps on the STEX, they contain detailed detailed documentation on how to import maps correctly (the height mods are specific to these maps, but the rendering instructions are not).

Cheers!

[Hybr1d 20]

Well, I checked this map and it has quite a number of problems:

- The config.bmp is named config(2).bmp instead! You can rename it, but this is not enough.

- The config.bmp is 16x16 pixels large which means that you should get a region sized 4x4 large cities (or 16x16 small ones).

- There is no jpeg in the download, instead there is a png, which is neither 8-bit nor 16-bit, instead it's 24-bit (color)! SC4 probably can import this format too, if all three color components are the same, ie it will regard it as a one-channel grayscale (8-bit) rather than a color one.

- What is really weird is that the grayscale is 250x250 pixels large! For a region of the above size (a 16x16 config) it should instead be 1025x1025 pixels exactly! So this map cannot be imported!

Don't quite understand, 777 downloads and you are the first to complain? And the pic does show a working region! Maybe the grayscale was mangled during some STEX "upgrade" (eg automatically resizing the preview images). The contents in the zip shouldn't have been changed though. I would say contact the author (probably he uploaded a wrong grayscale) but he hasn't been active since July 2011. Maybe send him some message, but don't expect a reply. Better report this map to a STEX moderator.

And again, the grayscale DOES NOT go to the region's folder. Download any of my maps on the STEX, they contain detailed detailed documentation on how to import maps correctly (the height mods are specific to these maps, but the rendering instructions are not).

Cheers!

Wow... I can't believe I spent all that time trying to get that nap to work lol. Well, I found another map and it acdtually worked. Thanks so much for all of you guys for helping me!

[Parkie Moo 2]

Half the maps don't work!

[CorinaMarie 29,566]

1 hour ago, Parkie Moo said:

Half the maps don't work!

It will depend on which map you are wanting to use as to the method for rendering. Some are grayscale and can be done within the game. Others are SC4M format and require a third party program.

Post a linky to one that doesn't work and then we can help you.

[CorinaMarie 29,566]

@Parkie Moo

I'm following up here too since you have indeed found a map on STEX Disc 03 which is borked and cannot be rendered. It's the same as this STEX Entry. I've added a red message banner to that file to let other peeps know.

If you have time to provide linkys to others which are messed up too, feel free to add them to that PM and we can check them out as well.

[Parkie Moo 2]

Glad to have been a help!