Adding mods

[wholloway909 0]

hey guy new to the site and modding Sim City 4... can somone tell me how to add packs like the trains packs? do i need to downlaod anything to do that

[longtimepcgamer 227]

Hello Wholloway909, Welcome to Simtropolis. First find the file/lot/mod you are interested in adding to your game (click on the ST/Exchange link and it will take you to 300+ pages of great downloads). Once you find what you are looking for click the download button and make sure the path is to your plugin folder (the one in My documents). The file you download will typically arrive as a "Zip" file and will have to be opened or "unzipped". Again you want to make sure the file is being unzipped into your plugins folder. From there the change should take effect (or add the item) the next time you open the game.

Also....be sure to check and see if there are any "Dependencies" associated with the item you want to download. These are additional files you will need to download in order for the plugin to work. For example....you might download an industrial lot that has several dependencies that include the trees on the lot or the trucks/cars in the parking lot. This is because the modder that made the building used trees\autos\textures that already exist in other files so instead of including these items they just point you to where you can get them. This way you are not downloading the same items over and over again.

Hope this helps get you started.....one warning however....downloading stuff for the game can get extremely addicting...you might want to say goodbye to your family first...and tell them you love them.

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

You should read

[Cyclone Boom 16,903]

It's a good idea not to not rush into downloading custom content. Always carefully read the description / readme of all uploads. Some mods are very complex, and may have specific installation requirements. Organisation is also key. Try to structure your plugins folder in a logical way, so you can easily find certain files. For example, I group my content in the following format:

[Author] → [Type] → [Category] → [series] → [upload Name]

• Author = Who it's created by.
  

• Type = What sort of content it is.
  

• Category = Expands on the type, by being more specific. E.g. if the type was 'Residential', the category could be 'Apartments'.
  

• Series = If the content is part of a group of uploads by the same author.
  

• Upload Name = The exact name of the content.
  

This allows me to search for any type of content in my plugins folder. Say I wanted to find all educational buildings. By doing a simple search 'Educational', all the folders containing educational content would be displayed. I also have a similar system for my dependencies. But if you don't set up a system early, it becomes near impossible to later organise things. Basically, put in the hard work now, and it will pay off in the long run.

Also, many downloads will contain images and a readme file. It's recommended to store this documentation in a different location, separate from you plugins folder. Otherwise the game will have to process these files, as well as your plugins, potentially increasing loading times.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Uh, take it a little slower. Do not download anything directly to the C:\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins folder. These are zipped archives (some are foolishly created using RAR), and must be expanded. They often contain stuff that is not plugin material as well as plugin files. Create a separate directory for your downloads away from the game's user area.

Unpack your downloaded files there, and move only the plugin material into the game folder above. It is not a bad idea to use subfolders in each main folder to help keep track of where you got a given plugin. The only files that should be in the plugins folder are:

.sc4lot

.sc4desc

.sc4model

.dat

and two exceptions

.dll - must be at the root of the Plugins folder

.txt - but only the one required for the DAMN extra menus system.