The "SimCity 4 Buddy" project - Version 1.1.0.19 BETA released to the STEX

[Asser 78]

Sorry, but Buddy stops when I run it. Also, it doesn't accept my Game location.

Where is your SimCity 4.exe file located on your harddrive? is it in D:\SC4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe (which it what the app is checking for) or somewhere else?

[feeroz123 461]

I was using a crack file in place of original 'SimCity 4.exe' file in Apps folder. I deleted the crack version of the file and now using the original file. Now the Buddy accepts the game location in Settings. But asks for the play disk to be inserted.

 

How can a person who has a ISO image file run the game using Buddy? I tried by mounting the ISO file as well, didn't help.

[Asser 78]

I was using a crack file in place of original 'SimCity 4.exe' file in Apps folder. I deleted the crack version of the file and now using the original file.

 

Can you launch the game WITHOUT Buddy RUNNING the SimCity 4.exe file?

 

Buddy simply double-clicks this file to start the game. This file is used to start the game both if you have the digital or the physical version of the game (using an ISO image or the disc itself). If Buddy cannot start the game I'm 80 % sure that it is the game that is broken somehow.

 

If you are using a normal ISO then you should be able to launch the game using the SimCity 4.exe file with the iso mounted in a virtual drive. Just like if you had the physical disc in an optical drive.

 

Any other form of cracks, no-cd fixes or stuff like that besides a standard ISO image of the original disc I cannot and will not support (I will not ensure it does not work using these cracks but I will not help and troubleshoot as well).

Note: We cannot discuss cracks here as it is against the forum rules (besides ISO's I assume, if they are made from the users original disc and the user has an original disc in his/her possession).

[Asser 78]

Just a small update to let you know that this project is far from dead. I'm still working on it daily. I'm just saving the gravy for the upcoming BETA release!!! (Nope, no Release Date here, I would probably miss it anyways - Maybe by the end of the month, maybe by the end of the year. It will come... eventually)

 

What I have been working on:

• Found and tested out another installer
• Disabled the database-wipe mechanism (so you can actually start using the program for something useful!)
• Implemented a copy/move plugin feature so you don't have to install the same plugin over and over again in multiple folders.
• Implemented a "file quarantine" system so you can enable/disable features in your plugin
  • (i.e. you want to disable the SPAM traffic mod but keep the rest of the SPAM plugin, or you have the Arctic/Snowcapped terrain mod and want to be able to switch between the various terrains)
• Implemented "reporting" on known plugins (i.e. report errors, missing dependencies, conflicts etc.) Works kind of the same way as when reporting something on the STEX where others can see the report message.
• "Locked" the author console feature - Authors now have to request access (and be approved) to be able to add their information to the central database.
• Rewrote the "search for new files" feature to automatically identify known plugins so you don't have to.
• Lots of work behind the scenes
  • Code cleanup (if my home was that messy my GF would have kicked me out and reported me to the authorities)
  • Various optimizations

[lovesimcity4life 8]

Hello i recently installed this software to test it out but after which i decided it isn't for me so i un-installed the program , now i am experiencing a Technical Issue when i try to Install Gmax a seperate Dialogue Pops up Requesting to Install Sc4 Buddy So for the sake of it i followed the Prompts to Install Sc4 Buddy after which it does not Install Correctly and Displays a Error Message, which then the installation process is cancelled. If You can provide me with any insight on this and how to fix it i would Greatly Appreciate it.

[Asser 78]

Hello i recently installed this software to test it out but after which i decided it isn't for me so i un-installed the program , now i am experiencing a Technical Issue when i try to Install Gmax a seperate Dialogue Pops up Requesting to Install Sc4 Buddy So for the sake of it i followed the Prompts to Install Sc4 Buddy after which it does not Install Correctly and Displays a Error Message, which then the installation process is cancelled. If You can provide me with any insight on this and how to fix it i would Greatly Appreciate it.

 

That really does sound strange. The program does not change the game files in any way, but let's dig in shall we?:

 

• What did you click that prompted the install request after you uninstalled the application? - Since the SC4Buddy installer is simply called "Setup.exe" is it possible you mixed up the gmax installer and the buddy installer (I know it is a dumb question, it's not to mock you in any way, I just want to make sure that this is not the case)
• What error do you get when you try to install it? (screenshot or just text)
• Do you get an error report? (Please post it here, either as text or as a screenshot) Does the log for SC4Buddy show any errors (search for "Exception")? Post it here if you are unsure (logs are located in the C:\users\%username%\AppData\Local\NIHEI_Systems\ folder and should still be there after an uninstall/reinstall)

The more info I get the better I can help you

 

Btw. Did you miss anything in the app since you decided not to use it? What would you like in the app?

[lovesimcity4life 8]

 

Hello i recently installed this software to test it out but after which i decided it isn't for me so i un-installed the program , now i am experiencing a Technical Issue when i try to Install Gmax a seperate Dialogue Pops up Requesting to Install Sc4 Buddy So for the sake of it i followed the Prompts to Install Sc4 Buddy after which it does not Install Correctly and Displays a Error Message, which then the installation process is cancelled. If You can provide me with any insight on this and how to fix it i would Greatly Appreciate it.

 

That really does sound strange. The program does not change the game files in any way, but let's dig in shall we?:

 

• What did you click that prompted the install request after you uninstalled the application? - Since the SC4Buddy installer is simply called "Setup.exe" is it possible you mixed up the gmax installer and the buddy installer (I know it is a dumb question, it's not to mock you in any way, I just want to make sure that this is not the case)
• What error do you get when you try to install it? (screenshot or just text)
• Do you get an error report? (Please post it here, either as text or as a screenshot) Does the log for SC4Buddy show any errors (search for "Exception")? Post it here if you are unsure (logs are located in the C:\users\%username%\AppData\Local\NIHEI_Systems\ folder and should still be there after an uninstall/reinstall)

The more info I get the better I can help you

 

Btw. Did you miss anything in the app since you decided not to use it? What would you like in the app?

 

I cannot provide a screenshot of the Error as it is no Longer conflicting, i simply went through My downloads / files and removed any files that was remaining on my system from Sc4 Buddy , and Gmax installed fine after i did this. 

Also i did not get the "Setup.exe" mixed up at all , the downloads were Completely seperate and i launched the Install directly after downloading the Exe for Sc4 Buddy. this Error occured after i Uninstalled Sc4 Buddy. 

In Regards to the App there wasn't anything that i thought could be added to it. 

[Droric 101]

I am also receiving the same issue when attempting to install gmax.  When running the gmax setup installer the SC 4 Buddy clickonce installer launches.  I think this has something to do with the cached apps for .NET

[Jesus_Wept 0]

Can someone please explain to me how to check for missing dependencies using this tool?

I am tired of brown boxes

[feeroz123 461]

This project is in progress. Old version doesn't support dependency check yet. Waiting for next release.
You may like this till this gets ready:

www.sc4devotion.com/dependencies.html

[Asser 78]

So... Finally I got some time on my hands to work a bit more on this project. Sorry for the 4 month silence. Real life stuff came in the way (and my interest in the project and game dropped as well)

I thought about how I had originally designed the system. In previous versions it used a local mssql database to store information, however I decided to switch to ordinary file storage (json data stored as plain text if you want to know) This makes it easier for you to manually change, backup, move or destroy the data if you so wish but it also makes it easier for me to work with the data. This also eliminates the "feature" that deleted all the data between releases so that's great as well I guess.

I also temporarily disabled the remote server connections as I am going to redesign the server from its current direct SQL (database) connection to an actual REST server. This is primarily to increase security but also to make it easier for me to make changes on either the server or in the application without having to change stuff in both places at the same time.

0.0.0.18 also contains various small bug fixes (I honestly can't remember what I fixed those many months ago)

I do have more time now to work on this project (and I also have the interest to do so) so please test it and provide me with some feedback

[feeroz123 461]

Great to have you back Kalakiota !

Thanks Asser for continuing it. I have forgotten about usage of this tool. I will check soon.

[Asser 78]

Great to have you back Kalakiota !

Thanks Asser for continuing it.

I'm both Kaalakiota and Asser. I just changed my display name yesterday so it matched my username in other games and communities But yeah it's great to be back.

I did some finalizing changes and uploaded the newest version in the train this morning so I didn't really have time to test it properly. The changes shouldn't affect the main functions of the application but let me know if it fails. I'll test it thoroughly whenever I get home (That's the beauty of an Alpha release)

[feeroz123 461]

Launching the installation failed with:

Uncaught Exception: "Could not find a part of the path 'C:\Users\.....\DataStorage\UserFolders.json"

 

Looks like you will have fun ! 

[Asser 78]

And that is why you don't release stuff from the train! xD

 

It is fixed in version 0.0.0.19 which I just released

[Bolduck91 54]

Nice ! I got the notification this morning that you updated the file and I was really happy ! Don't worry about those last month. We all have a life and I understand it very well !  I'm looking forward to see where this nice project will go ! Good work so far ! 

[Asser 78]

Nice ! I got the notification this morning that you updated the file and I was really happy ! Don't worry about those last month. We all have a life and I understand it very well !  I'm looking forward to see where this nice project will go ! Good work so far ! 

Thank you I hope the updates will be more frequent and smaller now as I'll be doing most of the work from the train to and from work and perhaps also a bit in the weekends.

 

Btw. tried to do a somewhat thorough test of the application and made a small fix. 0.0.0.20 is now on the STEX.

Bugfix: Application now actually saves info on newly installed plugins.

[feeroz123 461]

My game runs from a mounted ISO image. And the Buddy is not running from it yet.

[Asser 78]

My game runs from a mounted ISO image. And the Buddy is not running from it yet.

Hmm... I'll try to see if I can find my old discs so I can test this locally as I'm using the downloaded version from the Wannabe Steam client which shall not be named.

[Asser 78]

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

 

This week and the following is going to be a huge milestone for the SimCity 4 Buddy project! I'll be moving it out of alpha testing and into BETA testing! Meaning that you will no longer loose all your stored data between updates and you should in general have a much more smooth experience with the application as a whole.

 

Server:

The past week I've been working on getting the server up and running.

I'm developing a RESTful webservice and you can check it out here: http://sc4buddyserver.azurewebsites.net/ (click API in the top to see the documentation)

 

As of now it only contains dummy data but once I've started adding data to it you can use it for your own applications and/or websites if you so desire.

I'll improve the auto-generated documentation later. I want to connect it with the SC4Buddy application first.

 

Techy stuff:

Using a RESTful webservice is extremely simple. Here is an example on how to get the first 100 plugins from the server

http://sc4buddyserver.azurewebsites.net/api/Plugin - just paste this url in your browser and voila! Data for you to use! You can get it in either XML or JSON format by specifying the appropriate header in your request.

If you only want one specific plugin simply add the id of the plugin to the url like this:

http://sc4buddyserver.azurewebsites.net/api/Plugin/6f9ea50c-0802-46a5-9add-ba579240007d - Tada! Also available in both XML or JSON.

 

You can also create, update and delete info from the database by using POST, PUT or DELETE requests instead of GET. These however require an API key so trolls won't be able to delete everything from the server. (The api key is only available to me as of now but I'm planning on opening it up later)

End of techy stuff.

 

Application:

This week saw the release of 0.0.0.21.

This release contains some cosmetic fixes for the settings panel and it also contains a small but nifty feature.

You can now mark a user folder as the default folder to use when launching the game through sc4buddy. No more constantly selecting it from the drop down list.

 

The following week I'll start connecting the application to the server and HOPEFULLY it should be done next weekend so you can start using it for dependency checks and identifying what you have installed.

 

I'll also create a custom installer for the application so you get more control of where the application should be installed on your machine.

 

 

Techy stuff:

Oh, and I'm going to make the application open source. So now you can build it yourself and come with pull requests for the official release.

Note that I will not be making the server open source, mainly because it is very tightly coupled into Windows Azure, but also since I've moved to a RESTful web service you should be able to make your own server in your own language. Just make it mimic the behaviour described in the documentation.

End of techy stuff.

[feeroz123 461]

How about identifying the game running from ISO image ? Have you got chance to check it?

[Asser 78]

Not yet, I haven't found my discs yet. They're around here... somewhere...

[Asser 78]

I was aiming at releasing SimCity 4 Buddy last weekend but the transformation has taken longer than anticipated, mainly due to real life issues. I did however manage to do some other tasks that I mentioned:

• The source code for buddy is now made open source under the terms of "The Unlicense": https://github.com/IrradiatedGames/SimCity-4-Buddy-Project
  • So feel free to fork it, change it, eat it, whatever you want to.
• I made a C# client git repository for the API (also under "The Unlicense" terms): https://github.com/IrradiatedGames/SimCity-4-Buddy-Api-Client
  • Use the data for whatever you like. Possibility for obtaining a license key is however not available at the moment, so you can only query data and not create, update or delete it.

 

I'll try to make an effort over the weekend to get stuff working as it did with the old server (but damn the code is a mess right now, I've learned a lot over the last year xD) Expect a new version release Sunday evening (in Europe). It might not contain all features but it will contain some.

 

As for the "run from CD issue" no, I haven't had time to look at that yet. I made an issue on Github for it so you can follow the progress for that bug.

[Asser 78]

Expect a new version release Sunday evening (in Europe). It might not contain all features but it will contain some.

Alright. A quick update on this:

Yes, a lot did happen over the weekend. I've completely removed all traces of code for the old server. Which is good. So now I'm at a place where I can compile the program again (make it run without whining about errors in the code).

However I still need to rewrite the module that matches installed plugins against known on the server and also the dependency checker module. I looked through the list of changes I've made this weekend and decided to pull the promised release today. As it would add absolutely ZERO value compared to the already released version. A lot under the hood stuff that isn't turned on yet.

 

Well, back to the code. It'll get done eventually

[Bolduck91 54]

Hello !! 

 

I just updated the program to Alpha 0.20 and I can't autosave anymore. I mean I can click enable and set an interval of time but when I click Ok and come back to the setting, the autosave is back to not enable. The rest of the parameters still ok tho.

 

Any idea ?

 

Kinay

[Asser 78]

Hello !! 

 

I just updated the program to Alpha 0.20 and I can't autosave anymore. I mean I can click enable and set an interval of time but when I click Ok and come back to the setting, the autosave is back to not enable. The rest of the parameters still ok tho.

 

Any idea ?

 

Kinay

The latest version is 1.1.0.5 (Check the version in the help Help -> About menu). Make sure you have that installed

 

If the error persists then please send me the log from the application (Help -> Open log file menu) Just copy paste the content into pastebin.com and link it here, it shouldn't contain any personal information.

• Also which version of SimCity are you running? Vanilla (Base game), Rush Hour or Deluxe?
• Is it installed from a CD/DVD, Steam, Origin or something else?
• Are you using a "no-cd" mod if you installed it from a cd/dvd?

Nevermind, I just reproduced the bug. I'll look into it and make a patch right away  You can check the progress of the patch on this link

https://github.com/IrradiatedGames/SimCity-4-Buddy-Project/issues/131

[Asser 78]

Hello !! 

 

I just updated the program to Alpha 0.20 and I can't autosave anymore. I mean I can click enable and set an interval of time but when I click Ok and come back to the setting, the autosave is back to not enable. The rest of the parameters still ok tho.

 

Any idea ?

 

Kinay

Should be fixed in version 1.1.0.6 which I just released. The program should update itself upon next launch.

[Bolduck91 54]

 

Hello !! 

 

I just updated the program to Alpha 0.20 and I can't autosave anymore. I mean I can click enable and set an interval of time but when I click Ok and come back to the setting, the autosave is back to not enable. The rest of the parameters still ok tho.

 

Any idea ?

 

Kinay

Should be fixed in version 1.1.0.6 which I just released. The program should update itself upon next launch.

 

 

Yeahhh works perfectly now thanks !! 

[Asser 78]

Released version 1.1.0.10 today! Woohoo!

 

Breaking changes:

• The application will sadly forget what plugins you have installed as I had to change the data structure (the plugins themselves will not be lost from the game, SC4Buddy will "just" forget that they have been added to the program in the first place. If you search for new plugins you can add them again (though you have to enter all information on them again yourself. Sorry)

 

Major features:

• You can drag and drop plugins into the main window or into the plugin window (where you can see all plugins installed in a user folder)
• Data is now stored inside the UserFolder directly. This makes it easier to share user folders across PCs. Files are SimCity 4/UserFolder.json and SimCity 4/Plugins/Plugins.json - This is the final design - Future changes will have migration support so you won't lose data again.
• Various user interface improvements.

See the complete changelog here: https://github.com/IrradiatedGames/SimCity-4-Buddy-Project/wiki/Changelog

 

Next up: Getting that damn server to work so it can help us with our dependencies! This will likely take some months to complete. Don't hold your breath.

[ShutUp CryBaby 1]

JSON ... Very good choice for the data structure. CSV would be very portable & extremely fast as well. But that's just me. I still use XP & Firefox 3.5.6 =P

I would humbly suggest utilizing some form of hash check if you haven't already implemented it. MD5 (unlikely but possible collisions); SHA1 is much better hash check (like 1 per gazillion or some such.) Hash against the .DAT files. Whether you do that or not... I'm starting to hash ALL of my Critical files (Genius: Nir Sofer) and I'm starting to hash all of the .DATs that I've collected so that no matter what the filename I'll know the version/volume set/etc...

 

Anyhow, I think that I understand why you want to utilize a 'server' based solution. But one look at some of tutorials on Simtropolis and the missing images linked to who knows where; even the most robust servers/domains fade and vanish like so much Automata on a busy SimCity street, never to return.

 

FYI: 'Servers' will not ever help with dependencies... Computers, and hence, servers, are wholly dependent on US (NON Computers.) =)

 

Why GITHUB and not SourceForge ? Is that part of Visual Studio? (.NET etc...)

 

Healthy, Hearty, Cheers for your efforts!