The Leaving / Returning Thread

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Life sure takes strange turns sometimes, but I'm glad to hear that this time it was one that made you happy.

[TakemeThere 5,833]

Heyyy long time no see folks! 
Just thought I'd post on here to say that I'm playing SC4 again after what amounted to a year and a half long hiatus from the game. This was due to a combination of factors which left me in little mood to play the game or even venture online(an unrecoverable hard drive crash & the resulting huge loss of game data followed by dealing with a situation where my online privacy was being compromised).

I'll slowly be getting more active on ST again over the next little while and I'm looking forward to engaging with the community again & sharing my creations with you all 

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Hey, weren't you that dude that made those radio towers and had that city journal where you updated all your highway corridors and interchanges?  Those were some pretty great entries.  Welcome back!

[TakemeThere 5,833]

2 hours ago, NMUSpidey said:

Hey, weren't you that dude that made those radio towers and had that city journal where you updated all your highway corridors and interchanges?  Those were some pretty great entries.  Welcome back!

Haha nice to see I'm still remembered, yup that's me thanks!

[blade2k5 1,523]

Latest news on what's been going since my wife passed in Sept is that I no longer have internet service, phone or cable since the money had dried up while still trying to sell the 40 acres and house so I can get down to San Antonio TX where a good friend of mine has offered me his apartment he's not using and a high paying job opportunity driving a delivery truck to Houston, Dallas, Austin plus other areas of the state.  Never been to Texas before, so this should be quite the adventure as I get on with my life.  Everything hinges on selling this house/property.  Once the cash is in my bank account, I'm done with Wisconsin and never coming back except to visit my son.  So it may be awhile before I can start downloading again and get back to playing the game.  

 

Luckily for me I have a son who put me on his cell plan and that's how I'm able to post now. But I really hate these damn so called phones.  Everything is way to darn small.  Oh well, my only contact with the outside world for now.  So that's what's been going on  since my last post.  I'll post again soon when the opportunity strikes again.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

I hear everything's bigger in Texas.  Looking at those cities on a map is deceiving, they're really far apart and take hours to travel between.  Should be a nice, quiet ride if that's your thing.  My dad started driving trucks about 10 years ago and LOVES it.  He was in sales for most of his career and switched after he was let go from a company he gave many good years to.  I hope it works out for you as well.

 

It's great that you have people helping you out.

 

I've gotten used to the whole smart phone thing.  My thumbs are too big for the tiny keyboard but I deal.  It has a Star Trek game my wife and I really like playing, so it does have that going for it with us.

[SpartanBadger 4]

Going to dip my toes back in the water...been six years since I was last here but I recently got a new Alienware PC and downloaded SC4 Deluxe a few days ago. Glad to see that this community is still going so strongly.

[Jackspital 391]

20 hours ago, SpartanBadger said:

Going to dip my toes back in the water...been six years since I was last here but I recently got a new Alienware PC and downloaded SC4 Deluxe a few days ago. Glad to see that this community is still going so strongly.

Welcome back! and Yes, although i dip in and out of the game and the community, I'm not ready to leave yet! Hope you enjoy getting back into the game and modding too, its good fun.

[Pieman6711 211]

Hi everyone. My life has changed in the last couple years and I just rediscovered SimCity hiding on one of my drives... needless to say, after what seems like a few years, I'm back to having the SC bug. Currently redownloading... everything.. I had.. including dependencies.. that's an annoying one! Hopefully this time I'm back for a longer time. No deployments so I have plenty of free time!

[Mary Maurine Mayo 984]

Hi everyone, I have been taking a long break. Happy to say I am back. 

[blade2k5 1,523]

Well, since December 5th 2018 I've been without internet, so I haven't been around a whole lot since I got my cell phone.  The first phone the battery swelled and popped the back panel off and I lost internet, so I now ave a new one-used one and have regular internet for at least until the 27th of June.  So I'll be around for at least a month.

 

I sold the house and forty acres, but have to wait to gain access to the money as my lawyer is busy paying off my late wife's and mother in-laws estates before I get what's left.  Probably between June 17 and July 15.  With the seven feet of snow we got here last February, my garage roof collapse costing me over ten grand on the price for the property, which was a sixth of the price for it all.  And with the near 16 grand that needs to be taken for settling both estates, I'll have just over 30k left.  I'm still living in the house as I await to get my money and the latest catastrophe the sub-pump in the basement stopped working last week and flooded my basement with three feet of water of which we got most of it pumped out (new owner and I) flooding the furnace and water heater so now I have no heat/central air and no hot water.  Another $7500 to 10k I gotta pay out now.  I can't wait to get out of this house for good, this place is a money pit.  

 

I also found myself another woman to spend my life with, the only bright spot since my wife died nearly 9 months ago and I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time with her as soon as I get out of here.  She's a bit younger than I am and will keep me young for a long time to come.  Hopefully she and I will be together permanently by the time my birthday rolls around in about 6 weeks.

 

 

[catty-cb 4,402]

While the situation with the house doesn't sound great I'm please to hear that things are looking up on the personal front 

[blade2k5 1,523]

I've been trapped in this house for nine months now on the 5th.  Just can't wait to get my life re-started again.  It's been a bad nine months with the catastrophes and my wife's death last Sept, my mother in-laws in Feb and my oldest aunt's in mid-Apr.  Also, I've had several bouts with vertigo in that time span, a major attack about every two months with one on the way any day as my dizziness has returned and I think I've figured out what's going.  When I was 3 being cared for (and I use the term 'cared for' very loosely) the person I thought was my daddy cuffed me so hard on the left side of my head he damaged my ear drum and caused my deafness in that ear.  During my last vertigo attack in late March, I got and itch in that ear and instead of sticking my pinky in there to relieve the itch, I pressed on the earlobe and was almost knocked to floor with a massive wave of dizziness, so I think I may have had an infection at one time that never got treated and caused fluid to build up behind the eardrum and causes my equilibrium to out of whack.  I'm going to see  doctor on the 8th for SSI to get a physical and I'll ask the doc about that and have him look and see if he/she sees anything...

 

2-6 more weeks to go until I'm outta Wisconsin for good.  There's a song (can't remember which one) that has a lyric that says you gotta go through hell before you get to heaven.  I've been through hell the past nine months and my heaven is my new girlfriend in Tennessee.  I am so looking forward to that.  Female companionship again after being married for 31 years and with my deceased wife for 32.  Hopefully I can there by my birthday in mid-July, have what little I'm keeping and packing up a  small U-haul and driving to the 863 miles to her house with my dog Solo.  Good times to come and then I'll be back here permanently again after a half year hiatus to begin my 15th year here at SimTrop.

[catty-cb 4,402]

7 hours ago, blade2k5 said:

....I'm going to see  doctor on the 8th for SSI to get a physical and I'll ask the doc about that and have him look and see if he/she sees anything....

Hope it turns out to be something that's easy to sort out

7 hours ago, blade2k5 said:

...There's a song (can't remember which one) that has a lyric that says you gotta go through hell before you get to heaven

Its called the Jet Airliner and is by the Steve Miller Band

Quote

Goodbye to all my friends at home
Goodbye to people I've trusted
I've got to go out and make my way
I might get rich you know I might bet busted
But my heart keeps calling me backwards
As I get on the 707
Ridin' high I got tears in my eyes
You know you got to go through hell
Before you get to heaven

Good luck with the move.

[blade2k5 1,523]

How could I forget Steve Miller Band....One of my favorites during my years as a kid back in the 70s.   That was what? 1976?  Maybe 1977?  So I would have been in 6th or 7th grade and 12 or 13 when that was on the airwaves several times a day.  This is what happens when you get old..er, dates become fuzzy especially when there's thousands of songs to remember when and where they were popular.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

I am glad to see things are starting to look up for you, it is great to read.  Vertigo is a weird and terrible thing to deal with.  My dad had a bout of it and was unable to drive his truck for like 2 months.  My boss just dealt with it (and was told he had an inner ear infection) that has since set me on the road to measure kitchens.

 

I do hope that you'll like your new home in Tennessee, it's a very pretty place.

[Propfam 2,290]

Sorry, I couldn't be in Simtropolis for at least 1 week due to real life tasks. Don't worry, I'll come back soon after that.

[TheMurderousCricket 5,058]

It's awkward for me to write in this thread, because I haven't announced my leave... And I'm not ready to return either.

It's been a while since I last visited and I'm sorry I have been idling around for so long. Especially to those who are curious about my adventures in New Magnasanti.

I guess I'm trying to come to terms with the loathsome reality that COVID has instilled on the world. Spending my time mostly on resting and trying to figure out ways to keep my future bright (or at least unchanged).

I promise to return to this excellent community as soon as I'm ready to. It's really a relaxing and inspiring sanctuary for me and I hope to remain a part of it, even if away for reasons. 

[Leo_the_robot 67]

Hidy ho simtropolites, sorry for my long period of silence but work and life has been keeping me busy.
 

Got a GF, rebuilt my jeep and got it fully working, rebuilt my computer, twice.
and I got my A+ certification in general computer knowledge, currently working on networking certifications because from my perspective college is a bit of waste with no jobs for when you get out.

also got into Geocaching! which is fun.

anyway I'm back, I'll try to drop in from time to time in the technical, general, and linux posts to say hi and share what I can to help!

[GC_Vos 714]

Hey guys, wow, haven't visited since 2017! But I'm still around. How you guys been?

[patfirefghtr 160]

Hey guess who is back??? That's right me little ole me!!! Good to be home on Simtropolis.. I'll be firing up Waterfalls and maybe do some lotting again or just dump some lots I have in the back storage of my plugins folder lol

[superhighway_410 90]

Hello everyone,

I'm guessing no one remembers me, so I'd may aswell re-introduce myself. I've been on this site for years, wound up taking a break from SC4 when I upgraded PCs back in 2019 (must have been much longer than that since I last posted). I'm actually very pleased that this site is still running and that there is still a strong community going. Anyways, I figured that I'd say hello, rather than just lurk and download everything off of STEX & LEX again.

Take care, all!

[PaPa-J 778]

Hello Everyone!!  Been gone for a while (about 3 to 4 years), But I just re-installed SC4 so I thought I would check this place out again.  The Place still looks the same, maybe a little slower than back in the day.  I see some folks are missing or taking a break, hope they come back soon, really miss their work.

[Edvarz 1,984]

Hello! Though I didn't properly "leave" Simtropolis, I have been fairly absent this year and most of the last one because of work and real life stuff but I'm playing the game again and scouring the STEX and LEX as I always do. Also, I'm glad I could come back this year for the 20th aniversary of SC4! (and just in time for the walkable cities challenge!) In honor of this, I'm setting the goal of organising and releasing all the custom content I've made over the years!!

[Fantozzi 4,067]

Nice to hear from you.

Can't make plans these days and please don't take this post wrong I can't return yet nor did I ever really leave  - still holding on to my roadmap of planned releases. Still willin'

So on the contrary - the only promise here, I'll need you, beautiful community, to give me: please keep this game alive another 20 years. And get me some time.

[MisterBlueStar4 1,004]

Hey it's been a while since I paid a visit here. Joined back in 2016 and took a hiatus from here sometime in 2021 or 2022 and just forgot about this place. It's good to be back and regain some memories from here.

[Turnstyled 486]

I didn't know where else to post this. After my father died in May, I once again immersed myself in quite a few hobbies. These included things like retro gaming, sim racing, mechanical keyboards, flight sims, and retro computing. I dropped all of that in a single moment, though, and it was worth it because for leisure and a means to keep my mind occupied, nothing else really does it like city builders.

Before dropping those other hobbies, though, I was behind on some payments. I looked for something in my apartment that I could've sold that was easily replaceable. Given how rare and time-limited many of the things that go into those other hobbies are, the only thing that came to mind was my modern PC's graphics card.

Since dropping those other hobbies, I've sold a good amount of the things that went into those hobbies. Before dropping those hobbies, though, I didn't have it in me to sell those things. So, yeah, I'm adjusting and I'm healing. Sometimes, I take things too far. Right now, though, I can't play SimCity 4 on integrated graphics. Without a DirectX wrapper at any resolution, SimCity 4 won't launch. I take it that this is because the Intel Arc drivers don't support DirectX versions prior to DirectX 9. Using dgVoodoo2, SimCity 4 is so choppy that it is unplayable. I've also tried WineD3D to wrap Direct3D 7 into Vulkan. With WineD3D, SimCity 4 "launched," but the window wasn't visible and my computer lagged incredibly with it running.

The solution is to buy a graphics card. I was in the process of "starting over" with my plugins folder, too. SC4Evermore's downloads encourage plugins folder organization by creator. That's much better than what I was doing.

So...I'll be here. It's just that I'm unable to play SimCity 4 right now. I know that it would probably be better in a Linux environment. I don't want to take my desktop computer there, though.

Edit: So...DirectX 9 support with Intel Arc drivers currently comes from DXVK. It's not native support. I'm going to install Kubuntu on a separate NVMe drive from my Windows boot drive for the sake of SimCity 4. Hopefully, there wasn't much of a point to this post.

[catty-cb 4,402]

3 hours ago, Turnstyled said:

I didn't know where else to post this. After my father died in May,

Really sorry to hear this, I don't think it's something you ever quite get used to, but eventually it does get easier

As for your issue running with Intel arc, I've always used integrated graphics and while I did have to spend some time trying different screen resolutions to get SC4 working properly it's been good ever since then, I did have a rummage thru simtropolis re Intel arc and came across this topic am am wondering if it will help with  your problems playing the game.

 

[Turnstyled 486]

Thank you so much for the resource! On Linux, things go super smoothly running SimCity 4 through Wine-GE using the Heroic Games Launcher. Ultimately, though, Linux doesn't match my quote unquote workflow. It's on Windows that it's a slideshow. 

Yeah...Something hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. I had the Blue UI mod for SimCity 4 in two places in my plugins folder because what I did the day my father went to the emergency room was play SimCity 4. The Blue UI mod had been updated and I had been eager to try it. I walked to the hospital where I had lunch with my mother and I spent some time in the room that my father was in. I had forgotten all about that, and on the day of my father's funeral, I immersed myself in those other hobbies before stopping myself just a few weeks ago.

I decided not to start over with my plugins folder. I have my plugins folder in a non-default location, so I was my own Cleanitol manually removing duplicate things from the new mega dependency set on SC4Evermore. This past night, I added Road Top Mass Transit. I first asked on the SC4Evermore Discord server a question about its viability with "today's SimCity 4." I ran into an issue that I'm going to inquire about in the RTMT support thread, though.

Edit: Scratch that. If you're wondering why the Road Top Mass Transit road textures won't show up, maybe, it's because you omitted a file with "RTMT_Road_Textures" in its name from your plugins directory.

[Turnstyled 486]

Hi, @catty-cb! I'd like to thank you for providing that Intel Arc resource thread. I'm using the Intel Arc drivers on integrated graphics, not an Intel Arc discrete graphics card. Well, the solution to my issue of SimCity 4 being sluggish on Windows was to set dgVoodoo2 to DirectX 12. In dgVoodoo2, DirectX 12 needs to be explicitly set because of issues when using it. I don't have to boot into Linux to play SimCity 4! 

Anyway, socializing online within a community doesn't really "do it" for me. I have two very close friends who I enjoy speaking with and spending time with. That's what works for me. That's why I've only been posting here these past few days when I've had questions.

I still have some thoughts to post in the modern city-builders thread, but really, I don't think I'm going to be posting here much anymore. Of course, that is unless I have questions. I'm sorry if that seems selfish for the sake of a community because it doesn't foster much discussion. That's how things work best for me, though.

Edit: Forcing anti-aliasing in dgVoodoo2 to anything other than "App Driven" resulted in black lines that I mentioned in a graphics API wrappers thread some years ago. I'm looking forward to having a discrete graphics card again. When I get one, I'll probably switch to a continuous integration build of dxwrapper and force anti-aliasing through Nvidia Control Panel. Looking up "anti-aliasing in SimCity 4," I saw that it affects HD BATs.