The Future of the NAM on OS X

[NAM Team 868]

UPDATE - July 28, 2014

The NAM has returned to the Mac.

 

With the release of NAM 31 fast approaching, we'd like to update the Mac community at Simtropolis about the future of the NAM on MacOS.  As many of you may know, the NAM has difficulty running natively on newer versions of OS X, beginning with Lion (10.7), due to the removal of Rosetta support.  This omission prevents PowerPC-era apps like the Mac port of SimCity 4 from running on newer versions of OS X, without the installation of Aspyr's Universal Binary Patch, which has a number of quirks and instabilities, leading to inexplicable crash-to-desktop situations with seemingly unrelated combinations of NAM Plugins installed.  We remain unable to solve this issue.

 

Additionally, as NAM 31 will mark a return to a "Monolithic" release paradigm, in which virtually all of the current separate-download plugins (e.g. RealHighway, Network Widening Mod, etc.) will be rolled into a single package with all of the "core" features, our releases will have much larger filesizes, such that the simple .zip folders in which we've traditionally released OS X versions of the NAM will become especially unwieldy in distribution.

 

To this effect, here is our new policy with respect to the NAM on OS X, with respect to the NAM 31 release, and until further notice:

 

The NAM Team is unable to provide technical support to users attempting to run the game natively on OS X 10.7 (Lion) or later, or otherwise using the Aspyr Universal Binary patch.  As mentioned before, we have no solution, or even a hint of how to solve the related issues, and the Universal Binary patch introduces other quirks and instabilities into the game.  Use the NAM on OS X 10.7 and later, and with the Universal Binary patch, at your own risk.  The NAM Team will continue to offer support to those running OS X 10.6 or earlier without the Universal Binary, or using a dual-boot or emulation/kernel-layer system to run the Windows version of SimCity 4 on their Mac.

 

The NAM for MacOS .zip download will be discontinued for NAM 31, though it will still be possible to run the NAM natively on compatible versions of OS X.  There will be one, single download of the new version--the Windows installer.  The Windows installer can also be run under WINE, and it is possible to extract files from the .exe using Keka, a free extraction utility.  The insides of the executable in Keka will look roughly like the existing manual install .zip, though upon extraction, you will want to rename the $[65] folder to "z___NAM" for the new version.  Because the compression ratio on NSIS installers is even greater than .rar files, you'll have a quicker download than you would have with the old .zip.

 

Further details will be added as they become available.

[AIX 270]

I have always done the Boot Camp option on my Mac. The Aspyre port never performed to my satisfaction.

 

It may be a "hassle" to have to re-boot into Windows for SC4 (and vice-versa), but it is well worth it in terms of speed and stability. The boot sequence takes about 20 seconds for me, and I am running an older 2007 iMac.

[Benedict 3,119]

I am a complete newborn when it comes to downloading extra content, mods etc for SC4RH. I play the aspyr version from its original disc, and have never downloaded a patch for it.

 

I play the game in vanilla only on MAC OS (10.6.x), and I have never downloaded the NAM. I was thinking that at some point I'd like to use NAM, so would I be better off waiting for NAM 31 and trying to make it work, or should I get an older release of NAM?

[Tarkus 6,933]

If you're not running the universal binary, you won't have a problem, regardless of which release you're using.  Given that the new one's out tomorrow, I'd wait for it.

 

-Tarkus

[Hamish 1,370]

Weren't there at one stage the idea of having a java installer?
What happened with that?

[Tarkus 6,933]

That idea was indeed under consideration some time ago.  I recall we didn't end up implementing it because there were some features in the NSIS installer that we couldn't really replicate with the Java installer, but I think it may merit revisiting.

 

What would be really nice would be if Nullsoft made NSIS work on OS X, but that's wishful thinking.  I know Linux users have successfully run our existing installer running WINE, though I don't know how stable the WINE OS X port is at this point.

 

-Tarkus

[Benedict 3,119]

If you're not running the universal binary, you won't have a problem, regardless of which release you're using. Given that the new one's out tomorrow, I'd wait for it.

-Tarkus

Thanks.

My main concern was the statement that the zip for MacOS won't be available for NAM31, and that I have to extract it somehow myself - I'm really inexperienced with that kind of thing - I'm guessing the readme will help?

The NAM for MacOS .zip download will be discontinued for NAM 31, though it will still be possible to run the NAM natively on compatible versions of OS X. There will be one, single download of the new version--the Windows installer. The Windows installer can also be run under WINE, and it is possible to extract files from the .exe using Keka, a free extraction utility. The insides of the executable in Keka will look roughly like the existing manual install .zip, though upon extraction, you will want to rename the $[65] folder to "z___NAM" for the new version. Because the compression ratio on NSIS installers is even greater than .rar files, you'll have a quicker download than you would have with the old .zip.

If I understand this correctly, I would have to use Keka to extract the files from the .exe ? Then install them in my plugin folder after relabeling the $[65] folder?

[Tarkus 6,933]

My main concern was the statement that the zip for MacOS won't be

available for NAM31, and that I have to extract it somehow myself - I'm

really inexperienced with that kind of thing - I'm guessing the readme

will help?

 

The MacOS release has always been a manual install, so yes, you'd have to extract it yourself.  Unfortunately, because our release date hit at a really inopportune time for many of us due to RL, our documentation will probably be a bit sparse.  We will do our best to provide additional information here, to make up for that.

 

If I understand this correctly, I would have to use Keka to extraxt

the files from the .exe ? Then install them in my plugin folder after

relabeling the $[65] folder?

 

Correct--though that's also only if you want the things in the $[65]/z___NAM folder, which would be cosmetic mods and such.

 

-Tarkus

[Benedict 3,119]

The MacOS release has always been a manual install, so yes, you'd have to extract it yourself.  Unfortunately, because our release date hit at a really inopportune time for many of us due to RL, our documentation will probably be a bit sparse.  We will do our best to provide additional information here, to make up for that.

 

Thanks for the quick responses - I have never unzipped .exe files on a Mac before - sorry for being so unexperienced with all this.

[gweed123 33]

Thanks for the new NAM guys! I downloaded NAM 31, and I'm wondering if there are any files I need to remove from the package (one that may conflict with another, etc) in order for the NAM to run?

As a plan B, if I go onto my Windows machine and run the NAM installer, and then copy those files it chose back to my Mac, will it potentially work? Or will it hang in the same way it does now?

[gweed123 33]

Update on my previous post: I tried doing the install on my Windows machine and then copying the files to the Mac, got the same hang as I did with previous versions of NAM. The NAM I was using was one where I went through one-by-one to try and find which file was causing the hang. I'm going to re-trace my steps and see if it's the same file in this new version.

[Tarkus 6,933]

If you're running the Aspyr patch or a post-Rosetta OS X, you'll get the hang.  The specific files that have usually been reported are the Bridge Controller, the High El-Rail and High Monorail Plugins. 

 

-Tarkus

[gweed123 33]

If you're running the Aspyr patch or a post-Rosetta OS X, you'll get the hang.  The specific files that have usually been reported are the Bridge Controller, the High El-Rail and High Monorail Plugins. 

 

-Tarkus

 

Yup that's what I figured. I tried removing those and I still got the hang, so maybe there's another culprit in the new NAM. I guess I'll be sticking with my older version of NAM then, oh well!

[Shortsonfire 67]

Hello! Last night I got the NAM 31 up and running (super easy install, great job guys) and I've been having a couple minor graphical problems.

Snip

Also, thanks for introducing me to Keka.  That was such an easy program to use!  And I love the 6s bridge!!

[Ganaram Inukshuk 906]

Hello! Last night I got the NAM 31 up and running (super easy install, great job guys) and I've been having a couple minor graphical problems.

None of those problems are Mac-specific, and you're actually in the wrong thread, too.

[Shortsonfire 67]

None of those problems are Mac-specific, and you're actually in the wrong thread, too.

Glad to hear that its not just because I'm on a Mac. Where should I be headed with this?

[timmie 988]

This thread:

[TEG24601 32]

I was able to get NAM 31 to work on Mountain Lion, with little issue.  I cheated a bit and use CrossOver (which I got for free thanks to Flock the Vote), to utilize the installer and get exactly what I wanted from the NAM.  The only component I installed that does not function correctly is the Additional Bridges plug in.  It works, but only when the simulation is paused.  If unpaused, the game freezes.  I've solve it by removing the file, which allows me to play, and the bridges continue to function, but no new RHW bridges can be built.  Not really a big deal, except, for some reason, it appears that the bridges plugin is required for the RHW curve/diagonal textures to function, so the RHW works, it just doesn't look pretty, which I can live with.  At least the new NAM allows me to use the high El-Rail and High Monorail, which didn't work in NAM 30.

 

TEG

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Well, as of first thing this morning, wine is up to wine-1.6-rc2.  Someone with the most recent OS/X version should try it.  If we could get rid of the Aspyr version, everyone could run the Windows version.  I am on Linux, and it just fine for me.

 

Reducing the number of different versions of SC4 can only be a benefit.
 

[wraitii 0]

Aspyr recently released an updated, modern, working version of Simcity 4 Deluxe for OSX. Could we expect support for mac users given this new variable?

 

I've downloaded and uncompressed the v32 NAM folder, I'm now trying to install it.

[Indiana Joe 1,751]

Aspyr recently released an updated, modern, working version of Simcity 4 Deluxe for OSX. Could we expect support for mac users given this new variable?

 

I've downloaded and uncompressed the v32 NAM folder, I'm now trying to install it.

 

Long story short, it's definitely being looked at.  Aspyr's re-release has some big flaws that need worked around, and it's slow going because the NAM team is primarily PC-driven.

[wraitii 0]

Ok, thanks for the short answer. I understand that it could be troublesome, of course. In the meantime I've reverted to V30.

[Tarkus 6,933]

Ok, thanks for the short answer. I understand that it could be troublesome, of course. In the meantime I've reverted to V30.

 

NAM 30 is going to have the same problems with the Aspyr re-release.  In fact, the first reports of the CTD issue came with NAM 29.  The makings of the issue go all the way back to about NAM 19 or so (from back in 2005), and it was only with NAM 29 and 30 that it first started getting reported, after OS X Lion was released.

 

-Tarkus

[qazzy1122 2]

So does this mean that certain mods within NAM that currently crash the game on Mac will be patched? 

[Tarkus 6,933]

So does this mean that certain mods within NAM that currently crash the game on Mac will be patched? 

 

We do generally know what is causing the original post-Rosetta issues now.

 

I've made a post over at SimTarkus which describes where we are at with everything.  I hope it clarifies things for the Mac userbase.

 

-Tarkus

[qazzy1122 2]

 

So does this mean that certain mods within NAM that currently crash the game on Mac will be patched? 

 

We do generally know what is causing the original post-Rosetta issues now.

 

I've made a post over at SimTarkus which describes where we are at with everything.  I hope it clarifies things for the Mac userbase.

 

-Tarkus

 

Thank you for the help!