Where can I get BAT and/or GMax?

[SpeedyStone 0]

I thought I'd load SimCity 4 Deluxe on to my new PC running Windows 7. No problems. Except... there is no page for dowloading the tools from EA anymore. I was able to find the patch for Sim City Deluxe. So I got that handled. But EA no longer has the website to even get the BAT. And without the BAT, I don't think I can do or use a lot of the custom stuff I'd like to. So, I tried to get BAT. Found it on SimCityCentral. But, no GMax. And apparently, to even install BAT, you have to have GMax. So I found a website that has GMax 1.2. Got it loaded and registered. And when I try to start BAT, I get the following error... GMAXLOT environment variable not found When I try to open the LotEditor, it simply crashes.

So... here are my questions...

How do I get the BAT?

Do I need to download GMax, and if so, how do I get that?

Once I've got those, what other tools would be required, or highly recommended, to be able to play and to perhaps even do some basic modding/tweaking?

Thanks!!!

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

First, unless you plan to make your own BAT lots, you do not need either gmax nor the BAT. You do need the BAT update (patch) for the game to use custom content for night lights.

You get gmax from Turbo Squid.

Download, install, and activate this, then:

You get the BAT from SC4Devotion by scrolling to the EA Support button, accepting the agreement, then picking up the BAT page. From there you can download the patch only, or the whole works. You need the patch, but you really don't need BAT nor gmax to run plugins.

[SpeedyStone 0]

Thanks.... but as I said...

I downloaded GMax 1.2 (from TurboSquid). It works.

I downloaded BAT, installed it, and installed the updater... (SC4BATInstaller) & (SC4Update4BAT)...

But, they don't work. So, perhaps I should have also asked...

Is there something special that needs to be done in Win7 to allow the BAT and/or Lot Editor to work?

Thanks!!

[Magneto 316]

Unless you want to create your own buildings models, as Moose stated you don't need BAT / gmax. However the SC4update4BAT is the 1.1.640 patch you need if you want nightlighting for custom buildings. For the patch to work, check the version you have by hovering your mouse over the .exe of the game (found in this directory: Program Files\Maxis\Sim City 4\Apps). If it reads 1.1.638 you can apply successfully the 1.1.640 patch, if you have a legal copy that is. If it is a prior version to 1.1.638, then apply EP1 update first.

The Lot Editor should work under Win7. Just be aware that it might take some time to load it, because the LE loads your plugins folder while it launches. If you have lot of stuff in your plugins, be expected to wait a bit. I have around 800 Mb in my plugins, the Lot Editor takes about 20 seconds to launch...

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

There is a known (to a lot of us) problem with the lot editor. If your plugin suite is too large it will fail with a buffer overflow trying to read in the plugins. If this happens, create a new Plugins folder that contains only the stuff you need to do your edits then merge the two to get the results into your game. You can rename the old plugins folder as Plugins.old and it will be ignored until you do something about getting things back into Plugins.

If your BAT is not working, how is it not?

[SpeedyStone 0]

There is a known (to a lot of us) problem with the lot editor. If your plugin suite is too large it will fail with a buffer overflow trying to read in the plugins. If this happens, create a new Plugins folder that contains only the stuff you need to do your edits then merge the two to get the results into your game. You can rename the old plugins folder as Plugins.old and it will be ignored until you do something about getting things back into Plugins.

If your BAT is not working, how is it not?

"And when I try to start BAT, I get the following error... GMAXLOT environment variable not found "

Thanks!!

[Mister Giggles 310]

Déjà vu.

You need to add an environment variable to 7 in order for GMAX to properly function. Here's how you do it:

Start Button -> Search for "Environment" -> Edit environment variables for your account -> New -> Add "GMAXLOC" to the top line -> Add location of Gmax to the bottom line -> Click OK