Tree Mods and other plugins questions

[mdeni 5]

I started to use Syonara Maxis Trees alongside Cascadia Tree Controller.

 

My question is:

If i have downloaded plugins (for example: family houses that uses trees...) but they haven't any dependency, will they show the new trees on the lots? Or the game will these lots not use?

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

If you ask this question again in the STEX discussions, you'll probably get an answer from the implementers.

 

I also suggest you reread the download pages and any documentation that came with the files.

[Metalpuritan 160]

I started to use Syonara Maxis Trees alongside Cascadia Tree Controller.

 

My question is:

If i have downloaded plugins (for example: family houses that uses trees...) but they haven't any dependency, will they show the new trees on the lots? Or the game will these lots not use?

The game does not refuse to grow something based on whether or not the file is actually in order or not, it grows things based on stats, stats like capacity fulfilled, tileset, and stage.

 

When a lot grows and it is missing the building model(dependency)file, you will see a brown box where the building model should be.

 

When a texture is missing you will see the base texture in its raw form, if both the base texture and the texture overlay are missing you will see through your city tile right through to your background(the blue and grey grid or if you have something else installed, whatever that is instead).

 

When you are missing a prop dependency you are just missing that prop.  Any instance where that prop should be, it just simply will not be there.

 

That said, if the buildings you have in your game do not require any dependencies, than it stands to reason that the lots in question are using the maxis props.  Trees are props too.  In the case of a replacer, if I understand correctly, the prop IDs are shared and since the replacer goes into your plugins folder which loads after the original simcity 4 .dat files, the replacer will actually cancel out any instances of the maxis and just simply replace them one for one.

 

So to answer your question more directly, the lots in question should indeed show the new trees.  

 

Now if you are using an replacer, and you have not downloaded and installed that replacer's dependencies then the trees would remain the same, as when the lot goes to look for its prop IDs it will only find the maxis IDs and draw those instead.  So if your old lots are still growing maxis trees, you are missing a dependency for the replacer.

 

I am using, I think, two different replacers, one is to replace all palm tree instances and the other is to replace all maxis trees, AND I am using a completely separate tree controller on top of all that.  There are only a few concerns to think about when using tree controllers.  One is if you are using a terrain mod, you could potentially have a pine trees growing on desert terrain if the tree controller you are using is made for alpine wintery areas with peaks covered in snow, this would look funny as there are not many if any at all pine forests growing in the desert in high altitudes.  Another thing to be concerned about is rocky terrain, say the side of a mountain, where the terrain goes from grass to rocks, some tree controllers if they conflict with your terrain mod will still draw trees in those rocky areas where trees would ordinarily not be able to grow as their roots would not be able to take hold in highly sloped and rocky terrain.  Last of the not obvious things to be concerned about when using a tree controller is the use of a tree controller that uses seasonal trees, most seasonal tree controllers will require another download of a seasonal controller type of thing or the seasonal trees will not change color at all, also specific to seasonal tree controllers, it is suggested you plant them at the appropriate season according to the date that is displayed on your screen so they change colors that the correct time in the game, I usually ignore this step, I place them when I want to.  The most obvious of the things and the last thing I will mention to be concerned about is that you can only have one tree controller installed at any given time or will crash your game.  Not only that, but you also cannot remove a tree controller without first demolishing every instance of the old trees from the old tree controller or else loading that map with the old trees still grown in your city with the new tree controller will also crash that map upon loading it.  This however is not unique to tree controllers, this happens with any kind of controller you use be it the airport controller and/or the seaport controller as well.

 

Tree controllers control the altitude and terrain formations that trees/plants will grow and if any at all, they also control what trees and plants are drawn at all when using any kind of god mode flora brush.  Tree controllers to my knowledge, have an zero effect on lots.  Many, if not all of the tree controllers also add trees to your mayor mode ploppable menu too

 

I do not understand why you were redirected to another forum entirely by the other poster.  This is something very much concerning general knowledge of the game.  Anyone and everyone interested in modifying their game should know this.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

STEX or custom content stuff with specific questions need to be discussed by the authors and the best place to access them is there.  The OP asked a specific question and did not ask how custom content worked.

[CaptCity 4,900]

General questions regarding game functions can be posted in General Discussion. Questions regarding specific downloads should be asked in the STEX Exchange forum. Here we seem to have a 'general question' that uses 'specific downloads' as examples... thinking... thinking... 

 

I think we'll leave it here since this isn't specific to a single download but could be related to a general situation regarding many.