Changing residential buildings to buildings found in ST/Exchange

[gellio 0]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am new here.  I have played SimCity for years and just discovered Simtropolis.  Needless to say, i am going crazy downloading all the wonderful buildings you all have created.  Thank you.  Many of them are amazing.  Anyway, I have noticed tons of European residential buildings on here.  My question is - can I download residential buildings and make those the buildings that the game builds, rather than the pre-installed buildings?  I hope I am explaining myself correctly, and would appreciate any input.

 

Thanks,

Gellio

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Hi Gellio, and welcome to Simtropolis!

 

Firstly, allow me to say that this forum section here is actually intended to be a project showcase for the BAT artists - the guys who make the building models you love so much. Your question is more a general query related to downloads and their possibilities, so it would have been better placed in the SC4 - Simtropolis Exchange or SC4 - General Discussion sub-forum. Just sayin'.

 

Now to answer your question: Yes, what you have in mind is absolutely possible. Try a STEX search for "Maxis Blocker". There is one out there (made by DuskTrooper, IIRC) that is capable of blocking different Maxis building categories separately, depending on which files you put in your plugins folder and which ones you leave out. Such a mod will disable all Maxis building of the selected category (or categories), meaning that only your downloaded buildings will be able to grow.

 

When using such a mod, however, it is important to have a sufficient amount of downloads in all wealth levels, densities and sizes. For example, if you block all Maxis residential buildings, start a new city, and don't have any low-tier single-family homes that can grow in your fledgling village, then you may have problems getting something going at all. In such a case, you may have to move the blocker out of your plugins folder temporarily, wait until growth has really kicked in and your town is ready to grow some bigger buildings, and then put the blocker back in.

 

Generally, a "sandbox" city is pretty useful for trying out stuff like this. You'll see if it works or not, without any risk of ruining a "serious" city,