The Leaving / Returning Thread

[catty-cb 4,381]

5 hours ago, Turnstyled said:

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.

That's great news and never feel guilty about just posting to get answers to questions as the next person to come along with the same issue will benefit as well, I've been a member of this site since .... wow 2007 anyway over the years I've gone from extremely active to not posting at all and back again, these days I follow the topics, occasionally post or "like" something and do the odd picture update in a topic I've got going on one of the boards, and that works for me .... so quite understand your need to do "what works for you" and I hope everything works out for you in the future 

[Turnstyled 485]

@catty-cb Thank you so much! I'm just patiently awaiting a new discrete graphics card, which may not happen until January. I could open SimCity 2013, but I couldn't properly get to the title screen. 

I used the latest dxvk, which as of this writing, is version 2.3, to translate DirectX 9 to Vulkan...and it worked! Unfortunately, the game is a slideshow at 4K with the highest graphics settings and anti-aliasing enabled. It's not that much better at Medium graphics settings with anti-aliasing disabled. Thankfully, WeMod works with SimCity 2013, so if I want unlimited money while playing through the game's progression outside of sandbox mode, I can do that. WeMod is a collection of trainers, so that you can easily "cheat" in single-player games.

So...yeah! I may have thoughts here and there. You probably noticed that I wasn't addressing anyone until I was responded to. I'll leave it at that right now. Thank you again!

[Propfam 2,286]

6 hours ago, Turnstyled said:

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.

Same with myself, honestly. I'm 19 and I decided to remove my YouTube account, after ~3 years of creation, and plans to remove other social media accounts, including Instagram. I literally haven't seen any use of them. Not to mention I don't have like a unique (as in @Evan of Evan Edinger, not some random letters in my ST name) username. So, I don't have anything to lose. The problem is maybe school tasks. But I'll politely say to the teacher that I don't have such accounts, or maybe make an anonymous one. I also do have 2 close friends. What I don't have is a (or possibly, multiple, if I'm brave enough lol) romantic partner. Like, I don't think my friends are enough for me. I'm coping with tons of problems circa 18. So, such partner would be nice to have. Too bad, it's pretty hard to find. (And I don't think dating apps are useful. I haven't used them tho. But based on tons of people on YouTube etc, they're indeed not very useful and even contraproductive. Not to mention the algos and scams. It's like, another social media lmao) And I'm not employed. So yeah, noone's going to me I guess. Hopefully, I'll get whatever I want.

Still, unlike the popular belief, I don't feel any better when removing such accounts. Heck, I even watched YouTube again on another laptop, signed out, tho I reset the browser back to normal again. Maybe, I have something wrong with my mind (my background is pretty much fuzzy). But I'm not a mental health pro. So I won't judge myself.

[Turnstyled 485]

@elfrjz I understand. I've been in college for a long time because school isn't the easiest thing for me to handle. I've had to create social media accounts for school. The good news is that if you have to make those accounts, you'll be able to get rid of them when the assignments are over!

I also tried with social media. It really doesn't work for me. When I was in high school over 15 years ago, I wasn't even able to understand what the other students were talking about with MySpace and Facebook. I've gone through some rough times and tried to follow hobbies through some accounts these past four years since I moved into my own apartment. Right now, it's working for me to use social media to follow city-builder games. I'm not posting, and in some cases, the accounts are not under my name.

I'm not employed, either. I'm working on it. That's why I'm in school. I honestly don't think much of school and I never have, but if it'll get me a better life, I'll live with it. I don't feel a need for a romantic partner and I don't feel that that's going to change. I'm male and my two friends are female. 

I hope everything works out for you!

[Propfam 2,286]

22 minutes ago, Turnstyled said:

@elfrjz I understand. I've been in college for a long time because school isn't the easiest thing for me to handle. I've had to create social media accounts for school. The good news is that if you have to make those accounts, you'll be able to get rid of them when the assignments are over!

I also tried with social media. It really doesn't work for me. When I was in high school over 15 years ago, I wasn't even able to understand what the other students were talking about with MySpace and Facebook. I've gone through some rough times and tried to follow hobbies through some accounts these past four years since I moved into my own apartment. Right now, it's working for me to use social media to follow city-builder games. I'm not posting, and in some cases, the accounts are not under my name.

I'm not employed, either. I'm working on it. That's why I'm in school. I honestly don't think much of school and I never have, but if it'll get me a better life, I'll live with it. I don't feel a need for a romantic partner and I don't feel that that's going to change. I'm male and my two friends are female. 

I hope everything works out for you!

Thanks for the advice and experience! I do feel that I have to work since here in my country, it's customary to help my parent. You know, Asian family stuff. And my parent isn't that high earner either. It's not poor but we're still struggling. After my brother graduated to work as a minister's staff, my parent have to pay my not-so-expensive college but still, a lot of money. I have tons of problems with my current major which is accounting. It's not my passion, period. I wanted to go to urban planning, but I can't. So, I've been thinking to switch, optimally to informatics. My mind has been in decline since I failed the first uni entrance back in 2022 and again with the 2nd one this day. I should've been to the pros, but I don't have enough transport money to do so. Luckily, my country has a universal healthcare. So, I think the consultation cost is covered.

I think I do need a romantic partner tho. My friends are just busy on their lives. I don't mean bad for them. It's just, I feel alone, in a not-so-lonely world. I don't know if it's related to my mental state (after all, worldwide loneliness is a thing and it's spreading like, you know, crazy, unfortunately). But I feel the urge to have one. It's also good for my future as if I can't find any romantic partner, I can't marry. Despite marriage is a far future concept for me, it's still pretty much important. Not to mention, having such partner means that finally, I can share my stories in a more, you know, personal way. I don't feel such luxury with my friends, for obvious reasons (my friends and I are male). Also, having a partner means I can plan for a vacation, something that I waited for a long time. It's just a dream but a possibility, I guess.

[Turnstyled 485]

@elfrjz You're welcome! I understand everything that you told me. I completed a vocational associate degree in information technology in 2021. It was an applied program. I like "applied." The whole university system with research and theory isn't easy for me. I'm now going through school online at Oregon State University. Staff at Oregon State University has been very good toward me. The program is computer science, which I don't feel is a passion for me. I really excelled in information technology. I saw that online schooling worked so much better for me during the state of emergency due to COVID. There is an online Computer Engineering program at the University of Arizona, but when I applied to Arizona State University, I felt that it was too corporate. I'm better off at Oregon State University. Also, I would've had to have done more mathematics and more physics doing Computer Engineering. I really didn't want to do that.

I've had to deal with a lot of mental health professionals. I'm unemployed because I'm on benefits. It's working for me right now. I have my own apartment though those benefits. I don't want to live this way all my life, though.

I've sure dreamed about moving out of the country, but I wish it had to do with healthcare! It's only because I've been through a lot of people trying to run my life. I've dreamed of putting a national boundary between all of that and me. Thus, if I never move out of this country, then I will not have broken dreams.

I hope that you end up getting what you currently want!

[Propfam 2,286]

1 hour ago, Turnstyled said:

I've sure dreamed about moving out of the country, but I wish it had to do with healthcare! It's only because I've been through a lot of people trying to run my life. I've dreamed of putting a national boundary between all of that and me. Thus, if I never move out of this country, then I will not have broken dreams.

Yeah, the US isn't for everyone, if you catch my drift. It's unthinkable for someone in a developed country to defer cares what they really need because everything's expensive and there's almost no such thing as single payer system. Glad I live in Indonesia. I know it doesn't have the same opportunities as the US, of course. But at least, healthcare is cheap, only like $3-$10 a month depending on the class (the US should copy this system tbh), of course the poor is subsidized to zero. And there's a plan to remove all classes and paid by wage instead. This isn't perfect ofc as transit cost is still uncovered for obvious reasons (tho Jakartans, which I'm not, have the luxury of free angkots, you know, Metro Micro-styled microbuses). At least, it's fast (depends on the hospital ofc). So I use it on clinics. I still have my private insurance tho for private hospitals.

Hope you'll get what you want too!

Side note: online school doesn't work for me. I literally had a bad high school experience (9-12) thanks to that. My grades were indeed still high, that's why I could enter to a prestigious polytechnic, at least on the first stages. But, I literally get nothing from that. I struggle at math, biology, chemistry, and physics, which means I can't take the conventional tests, without some luck ofc. I'm afraid I can't take urban planning because of that. The failure of entering such polytechnic also again, takes toll on my mental state. You get the idea.

[Turnstyled 485]

@elfrjz Thank you so much!

[Propfam 2,286]

2 minutes ago, Turnstyled said:

@elfrjz Thank you so much!

You're welcome! Waiting for that dGPU in January. My life might change then. Fingers crossed.

[Turnstyled 485]

Of course! Fingers crossed! I just wanted to say one more thing...and that it's that I've looked deeply into the immigration laws of certain other nations, so I've done a lot of research on what is possible and what is not possible.

[Propfam 2,286]

23 minutes ago, Turnstyled said:

Of course! Fingers crossed! I just wanted to say one more thing...and that it's that I've looked deeply into the immigration laws of certain other nations, so I've done a lot of research on what is possible and what is not possible.

The easiest way is to marry if you really want to give up your American citizenship (ofc you can still marry while retaining yours but you get the idea). For PRs and visas tho, it depends. In my country, tourist visas are only for 3 months and recently, for any country that offers visa-free to Indonesia, the government revokes that. You obviously have to administer the visa according to your needs. An interesting one is a nomad visa. This is pretty much promoted by those in Bali. So, the info isn't that scarce. Note that Indonesian standards of living depends on the region. Jakarta is pretty much world class while living in smaller towns only offer you so much. Not to mention, it's probably better to find cities with lots of American community (which mostly just cities in Bali but they're still others like again, Jakarta). In terms of healthcare, unfortunately, my country's healthcare, BPJS, is only limited to Indonesian nationals afaik. There's BPJS for offshore workers. But again, it's only for Indonesian nationals and it doesn't work overseas iirc. So unless if you have Indonesian citizenship, your options are just private insurances. Fortunately, those are still much cheaper than in America. Directly owning property is now possible, tho there's obviously a certain property size (minimum and maximum) is allowed. Of course, you can always co-own your property with a local, especially if you're married. There are tons of American-class houses, especially in Jakarta. You can always search it if you want.

In the UAE, you can get a PR, if you have 1 million (I guess in AED) and buy a property there. Same goes to Singapore. Heck, they even offer citizenship if you're deemed to have high merit by the government. Democratic societies like Norway also offer similar schemes, with additional benefits being in the EU. The tax is pretty much high but the benefits are tremendous. They're seeking for American talents. So your chance is pretty much high.

[Turnstyled 485]

8 hours ago, elfrjz said:

The easiest way is to marry if you really want to give up your American citizenship (ofc you can still marry while retaining yours but you get the idea). For PRs and visas tho, it depends. In my country, tourist visas are only for 3 months and recently, for any country that offers visa-free to Indonesia, the government revokes that. You obviously have to administer the visa according to your needs. An interesting one is a nomad visa. This is pretty much promoted by those in Bali. So, the info isn't that scarce. Note that Indonesian standards of living depends on the region. Jakarta is pretty much world class while living in smaller towns only offer you so much. Not to mention, it's probably better to find cities with lots of American community (which mostly just cities in Bali but they're still others like again, Jakarta). In terms of healthcare, unfortunately, my country's healthcare, BPJS, is only limited to Indonesian nationals afaik. There's BPJS for offshore workers. But again, it's only for Indonesian nationals and it doesn't work overseas iirc. So unless if you have Indonesian citizenship, your options are just private insurances. Fortunately, those are still much cheaper than in America. Directly owning property is now possible, tho there's obviously a certain property size (minimum and maximum) is allowed. Of course, you can always co-own your property with a local, especially if you're married. There are tons of American-class houses, especially in Jakarta. You can always search it if you want.

In the UAE, you can get a PR, if you have 1 million (I guess in AED) and buy a property there. Same goes to Singapore. Heck, they even offer citizenship if you're deemed to have high merit by the government. Democratic societies like Norway also offer similar schemes, with additional benefits being in the EU. The tax is pretty much high but the benefits are tremendous. They're seeking for American talents. So your chance is pretty much high.

Thank you so much for all of the information! I just wanted to say that I felt kind of bad after I said "Fingers crossed!" because I don't think that you should rush anything. I do hope that you feel better, of course! I slept after submitting my last post. I had already been awake all night.

I'm actually eligible for French citizenship through citizenship by descent. The laws that I looked into were the laws in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. I'm very much not a social person, so I can't say that I'd want to learn a new language. Already, the thought of moving to a new country is overwhelming because of my difficulties with social environments.

Edit: I'm going to leave this discussion at this for myself. Again, thank you for all of the insight and information, as well as all that you shared. I greatly appreciate all of it.

[TheCrybKeeper 278]

Leaving and returning; yep have done that so many times I cannot count. This account is 2005.

I have had many avatars and many names - Been coming to Simtropolis since its inception. SimCity, the Original and all the way through the series.

 

Welcome back everyone!

  Edited October 17, 2023 by TheCrybKeeper  
Adding date

[Turnstyled 485]

I don't feel like returning to post here, but I wanted to pop in after a grueling, grueling school term. I saw in my email that I was mentioned a few months ago. @elfrjz speculated that I was among the youngest here. I doubt it. I'm entering my mid-30s. 

See, in the fall of last year, I was totally unprepared for a computer science class. In January, I didn't attend school for one term after my father fell ill. Then, in May, I couldn't have taken that computer science class when my father died. I took the class this fall from the end of September to last week. I barely passed it.

I'm working to (hopefully) transfer to a computer engineering program in September of next year. I feel as though I'd prefer the hardware-based and more applied nature of computer engineering. I don't care how old a student I become...just as long as I do things right.

I have my associate degree in IT, which I earned in 2021. Well, if you're still around here, @elfrjz, I'll still have to wait for that graphics card because money is tight for me right now. My mental health, though? It's a lot better than it was. I've seen that I can't just focus on one hobby, such as city-builder games. I need multiple hobbies. Also, I've seen that it's okay that my hobbies aren't passions or even true interests. Without my hobbies, my mind goes to a very dark place fast!

Though I'm not around Simtropolis these days, I'm subscribed to the simcity4 subreddit. Thus, I'll know when NAM 48 will drop.

After my father died, I asked the owner of a local arcade if I could volunteer at his business. I was ultimately feeling unable to do the volunteer work, but the owner of that arcade has been so nice to me since then. He even fixed a CRT computer monitor for me for free! It was more important for him to see the process of what he was doing to repair the monitor than for him to be paid for the repair work.

Anyway, I hope that everyone has been having a Merry Banner Light Breaking! I'm about to partake in the merriness right now!

"You can take me out of the city, but you'll never take the city out of me!" - Nobody ever

[TheMurderousCricket 5,044]

I never really left and I neither planned to...

However, I had a serious injury during sports which is why I have been missing from the forums for the past two weeks. I had to go through operating table...

Anyway, I'm back in case anyone keeps wondering.

On 22.12.2023 at 9:43 PM, Turnstyled said:

My mental health, though? It's a lot better than it was. I've seen that I can't just focus on one hobby, such as city-builder games. I need multiple hobbies. Also, I've seen that it's okay that my hobbies aren't passions or even true interests. Without my hobbies, my mind goes to a very dark place fast!

Hey @Turnstyled, this is very true and a smart thing to say. This is exactly how I went about things this year. I got involved in guided tours, architectural tours, volleyball, public debates, snooker school and even speed dating not because I am at all interested in those things but just to meet other people and feel better. I still have even more ideas for the next year.

[Prophet42 1,500]

Glad to have you back @TheMurderousCricket and that you made it through the operation.  Hope you are recovering well.

[Propfam 2,286]

Hello guys,

Sorry if I'm a broken record and sounded like that little boy who faking his death on YouTube just to get views. But this is real, really real. I have an important thing. I'm sorry, but I really have to leave the community. It's not like I don't like Simtropolis or anything. In fact, I still and will do. The problem is, I'm going to restructure my whole life, both real and online life. I'm going to get rid of everything I have (that is except money ofc). My life has too much baggage to carry on. I don't like this state of life. I need a great reset (no, not that conspiring thingy). I need sanity to survive, instead of lots and lots of stresses and unneeded things. I need to clarify my mental state. And no, I'm not following any guru, be it Matt D'Avella, that controversial "sigma" Andrew guy, a monk, or even a psychologist. I think, I can do it alone and if I need help, I will seek pros and people that can I trust, including this community.

From this point now on, it's okay if you don't see me anymore here. I will still log into Simtropolis and yes, I will be working on Cap Lifter 4.0. And I will follow any new breakthrough like the progress of 3D camera mod and whatever @Null 45 and @memo will be bringing to us. Since I won't be here anymore, what I will do next are go outside (I mean, it's not just going outside. I'm going to leave my current residence), find new people, form relationships, find new hobbies, and possibly fall in love with somebody. It's seeking a new resolution, just not doing it every new year. So yeah, thanks for all members and staffs for staying with me for 7 years, despite my hiatus. Thanks for everyone who always amaze me with awesome things. Goodbye!

Final note: if I ever got married, I will invite some of you to my wedding. So, stay tuned for such post. Hopefully soon, possibly really soon!

[shonly 1]

Hey, returning to SimCity, new to online interaction for it though!

[Turnstyled 485]

Hello! SimCity 4 was in my dream today, so I woke up excited to check out the new developments within the SimCity 4 community! I'm so happy that SimCity 4's modding experience is being "modernized," as much as I don't like that word.

Overall, I'm feeling much better. I couldn't pass a programming class after two years. Computer Science just wasn't for me. It was after some more searching that I found a college program that is very much like my IT program at my community college was! I'll be entering with 90 of 120 credits transferred in and I'll be starting this August!

I faced a little bit of a disaster early this year. I was forced to sell so many of my belongings because I wanted to try that programming class again in April, but I dropped my classes before the school term started in January. I had to pay back $2,400 dollars! So, I had to say goodbye to most of my Windows 98 PC build. I can buy most of the parts again, but I'm waiting to see if a final batch of a new sound card called the Orpheus II that is for old computers will be manufactured. I had to sell my DS Lite Rumble Pak, which I will never see again due to its rarity. I found an aftermarket DS Lite Rumble Pak that is probably better than the real thing, though! I had to sell my entire Valve Index virtual reality kit. There are better headsets than the Valve Index now, so I'll see if I can buy the Valve Index's Lighthouse trackers from eBay because some of those better headsets support those Lighthouse trackers. There were other things that I sold to pay this bill. It was heartbreaking!

After struggling through that programming class in April, I considered dropping out of school. That was when I did more searching, and I found this cybersecurity program that I'll be starting soon!

Regardless of all that I mentioned above, I need multiple hobbies. I can't just keep it to SimCity 4 or city builders. I can keep my mind stimulated with multiple hobbies and even though I'm not partaking in all of those hobbies due to a lack of funds and space where I live, I'm keeping up to date with them. I don't like posting on social media, but I use social media to keep my mind stimulated with all these hobbies. While going through my social feeds, I end up taking many screenshots that I send to my best friend! Those hobbies include retro computing, retro gaming, gaming in general, flight sims, gaming handhelds, sim racing, and fight sticks.

I'm sorry if I spread misinformation on this community before or if I acted inappropriately. I'll leave the technical advice to people who know and understand the inner workings of SimCity 4!

Edit: I wanted to edit this already lengthy post to say that I think I'm only going to post here when I have a question. Some of the other hobbies that I've been partaking in have been the arcade and pinball (both virtual and "the real thing") hobbies. For that Windows 98 PC, I was able to purchase the same CPU that I previously had. Also, my best friend gave me some money as a birthday present toward an Orpheus II that was on eBay. I've heard directly from one of the creators of the Orpheus II that the Orpheus II will no longer be manufactured. Thus, I'm well on my way to rebuilding that Windows 98 PC!

Like I just said, though, I think I'm only going to post here when I have a question. Keeping it to personal friends is more my style than keeping up with a community.

[TheMurderousCricket 5,044]

Hello,

I intend to limit my participation to the Simtropolis forums. Some of the users seem to be notoriously off the leash regarding the way they respond to and interact with other people and I do not wish to deal with it.

I do not think that ridicule and mockery of other people's sensibilities, however abstract they may seem to others, is the right way to react to what people say.

My other contributions to the site will remain unchanged. I just no longer see the point of taking part in the forum discussions because one can never know when and what will they be derided for.

[kSlank 146]

pikachu, return!

[Turnstyled 485]

In the words of Peter Griffin, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA!!!!!!" A SimCity 4 content manager....and everything loads so quickly on my solid state drive with the latest version of SC4DBPFLoading.dll!!!!! I'm feeling a LOT better than when I was last here. I think I might've said it, but I found a school that works for me, and I'm graduating by the end of this calendar year!

Also, instructions were unclear. I downloaded everything in SC4PAC! SC4PAC takes so much of the guesswork out! Considering how I was micromanaging my plugins folder, well, my plugins folder was sin despite the micromanagement. Now, it's less sin using SC4PAC and a mix of my own plugins!

I like this game. I can be active here as long as I feel comfortable doing so...and I feel comfortable with it right now!