Custom Tunes Doesn't Work

[FoldingSleet8 2]

I put some mp3 files into the C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4\Radio\Stations\Mayor\Music directory but no matter what I do I cannot check the Custom Tunes checkbox in the game because it is grayed out. I made sure that they are mp3s and that they have the same kbps as the default music in the folder. What do I do?

[ArchangelMichael 51]

Welcome to Simtropolis!

I've never actually copied MP3 files into the music folder, so I'm unable to help you with that, specifically. I always thought it would take up too much space to copy all the music I'd like to listen to, and it seems silly to have it in two places on the hard drive. I just use a playlist in *.m3u format and it works perfectly, even with the music stored on an external drive. One thing I can tell you is that SC4 will automatically randomize the playlist no matter how you have it organized, although it will often begin with the first song on the list. I'm not sure how it handles multiple playlists -- I haven't tried that yet. If it starts playing a song you don't feel like listening to, open the audio options (F10 key) and turn off the music, then turn it back on and the game will randomly select another file to play. The sampling rate of the files makes no difference. My music files have many different bitrates and they all play just fine. MediaMonkey, foobar2000, and VLC will save playlists in *.m3u format. Windows media player probably will, too, but I don't use it. I recommend foobar2000 because it is lightweight (can be used as a portable, stand-alone program), easy to customize, easy to use, and allows you to work with multiple playlists at one time.

Double-check the file path to make sure you actually have your music files or playlist in <\Radio\Stations\Mayor\Music> and not <\Radio\Stations\Region\Music> or one of the parent folders. I drag-n-dropped a playlist too quickly once and my Custom Music button was also grayed out. I finally discovered that I had accidentally copied the list into the Mayor folder.

My only questions here would be, Does regular (default) game music play for you? and Are you using a command line argument in the shortcut's target field to disable music or audio?

[FoldingSleet8 2]

Thanks for the response.

To answer your questions first, the regular music does play and Im not sure what a "command line argument in the shortcut's target field" is but I disable the music by using the audio setting button thing in the game.

I put all of the MP3 files into a .m3u playlist and put that into the Mayor/Music folder, but the custom tunes button is still grayed out. Am I supposed to put the .m3u file in the mayor folder along with the default music files, or am I supposed to get rid of those?

Is it possible that the MP3 files just wont work in the first place?

[wardlitell 8]

You need to uncheck all the maxis tunes first. And don't keep your mp3 files in a separate folder, it doesn't work this way if i remember correctly.

It works for me anyway.

Hope this helps and my apologies for my english, but i'm lacking in practice.

[ArchangelMichael 51]

Am I supposed to put the .m3u file in the mayor folder along with the default music files, or am I supposed to get rid of those?

Place your music and/or playlist files in the Mayor\Music folder along with the default .mp3 files from Maxis. Don't delete those. You also don't have to un-check them in the audio options dialog, unless you would prefer to not hear them at all. The first several songs are the surreal, ambient, Hearts of Space type music for region view, so I typically leave those checked.

Don't worry about the command-line thing.

Is it possible that the MP3 files just wont work in the first place?

If they play for you in a regular media player, they should play in-game. The only way to know for sure would be to use some freshly ripped or downloaded music files and test whether they work in-game. You also might try placing some files in the Region\Music folder to see whether they will play in region view (you won't be able to hear them when building your cities, though).

One thing that occurred to me is the possibility that the length of file names could be an issue, or maybe just the length of one or two songs. It's a long shot, but you could rename a couple of your music files that have long names. Shorten them to about ten or twelve characters. Maybe use underscores instead of spaces. Leave only those couple of renamed files in the Music folder along with the Maxis .mp3's and see if that works.

On that note, maybe you have just one bad music file that is ruining the whole bunch, as far as the game sees it. Try removing half the music files. If they still won't play, remove that half and put the first half back in and try again. If you get success, place groups of files back in the Music folder until you find the culprit.

It's possible that some aspect of your game has become corrupted. The files, the registry entries, some custom content, who knows? If I were experiencing this problem myself, the first thing I'd try is to remove all my plugins, start the game with music or playlist files in the proper folder, open a blank city, and try to turn on the custom tunes. If it worked, that would mean that something I downloaded was somehow blocking the custom music. Granted, that doesn't make much sense and is unlikely, but it's quicker and easier to try than the next option: I'd back up my regions and plugins and do a thorough re-installation of the game. Uninstall SC4, run a registry cleaner (or just uninstall with Revo in Advanced Mode -- it will find the registry tracks for you), reboot the computer, then re-install the game and re-apply the necessary patches and updates. The most up-to-date version of the game executable (SimCity 4.exe, found in C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps) is 1.1.640.0 if you installed from a disc and applied the downloadable patches, or 1.1.641.0 if you downloaded the game from Steam (in which case, the patches are already in place).

If you still can't get custom music to play in-game after going through all that... I'm not sure what to tell you next. Maybe someone else will have some ideas or experience to share.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

This old game was built in the era of the 8.3 file naming restriction. I think your music files might have to follow that, which means that file names need to be xxxxxxxx.mp3.

I seem to remember trying a playlist, and it failed.

I did have .mp3 files in the Program Files/Maxis/SimCity 4 Deluxe/Radio/Stations/Mayor/Music folder and it worked. However, make sure you have a file named kmay.id in the Program Files/Maxis/SimCity 4 Deluxe/Radio/Stations/Mayor folder as well. This seems to enable the music even though it is an empty text file.

I agree with Michael on the possibility that at least one of your files is defective. You should make sure they play in your music player, stand alone.

Currently, I have the music turned off. I run a music player instead, and am currently using the muzak feed on my cable system switched to the classical channel. In the past, I have also run the system music player, which runs in the other core, of course. The nice thing about an external music player is that there are no repeats. It also doesn't take any CPU cycles from the simulation.

  Edited August 9, 2012 by A Nonny Moose  

[FoldingSleet8 2]

I did everything that you guys suggested (besides re-installing the game, that seemed like too much work), but the custom tunes button is still grayed out. Oh well, I should stop wasting time trying to solve the music problem and start making cities!

Anyway, thanks for the advise and I hope this will help people in the future that have custom tunes problems.

(New suggestions are always welcome!)

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

One of the reasons I generally use a separate music player is that my stored stuff is pretty much all in FLAC, and the game wants MP3. FLAC wasn't around when this game was made.