Simcity 4 Menu Loading Slow Issue..

[simcityplayer15 33]

I'm having an issue with the menu in simcity 4 loading slow. At one point while I'm city planning, I click on a menu icon, like the road menu, and it loads fast, and then when I try to open it again it takes like 2 to 3 mins to load. When I click on the landmark menu, usually it takes about 1 minute, but when I open it again it takes like almost 5 mins...?? Idk if it's my graphics or specs, or if it's a file(s) in my plugin folder. I can give a description on my specs and plugin folder.

 

Processor: AMD A6-5200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics 2.00 GHz

RAM: 8 GB

OS: WIndows 8.1 (64 bit-x64 based processor)

 

Plugins Folder

Size: 8.56 GB

Files: 27,828

Folders: 5,621

 

 

- Now I'm not sure if it's my computer or the fact that it loads slow because of all the files I have, but if it is, idk why the menu loads fast at one point and load slow at another point while I'm city planning or anything like that?? Ik that sense my pc is a multiprocessor, Ik to use one processor for simcity 4 so it wont crash, but I'm not sure that sense simcity 4 is using one processor that it would go slower or something like that, but Idk? And then I really don't know if there's a plugin file that is causing this, but to me it's kind of annoying that when I'm trying to build a city, the menu loads slow but load fast at some points in the game. If anyone know anything about this or how to stop it or anything at all, please tell me and thx. 

 

EDIT: Actually, I meant to say not mins because I was thinking of minutes when I was typing this. But what I meant by it loading slow is that I would click on the road menu, and it loads fast, but sometime in the game I click it again and it takes almost 10 to 12 seconds (I'm assuming) to load. Then the park menu and landmark menu, it would probably take about 15 - 22 seconds (roughly). So my issue was that it the menu's load fast or like 5 secs top at one point, then loads slow at some points in the game. It was annoying to me and I didn't knew how to make it stop, so that's why I was saying minutes because I was annoyed by this issue. But thx for some of the help you guys gave me, even though some didnt work (DatPacker - somehow when I tried to open a city tile, the game crashed). But still if anymore help, please tell me, and thx .

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Have you tried using the DATpacker program?  It reduces the number of files in the Plugins considerably and takes a big load off your file system.  (If you use it, remember to keep a backup of the stuff you pack.)

 

The problem you are encountering may also be caused by the NAM.  If you open the transportation menu at a lot that requires an alternate view (subway or underground), this slows the system down drastically.  Seems to invoke a very slow interpreter at that point.  I've sort of discussed this with some of the NAM team but nobody has come up with a solution to it so far.  I've noticed this and I have less than 1 GB of Plugins.

 

Oh, and have you cleaned out the garbage from your Plugins?  The only things that should be in there are data base files for the game. That is: *.SC4LOT, *.SC4DESC, *.SC4MODEL, *.DAT, and *.DLL.  The loader skips the rest, but if they are there and the game is searching for a view of some lot, it has to pass over them as well.  DATpacker reduces large swaths of these files to *.DAT

[APSMS 1,892]

That's odd behavior. Usually my transit menus open the fastest (quicker for road, longer for rail and misc). Usually takes between 5 and 25 seconds the first time and at most 15 second after that initial opening. Landmarks and parks tend to take between 30s to 90s the first time, but afterwards take about 10; mostly it's due to the fact that I've got so many park and landmark plugins, but it always opens faster the second time (barring trying to open a menu when using a subway related item, or anything that triggers the underground network view), something that I imagine is due to caching. Do you have the 4gb patch installed on SC 4? This might help somewhat, though I'm still confused as to why it takes longer the second time. 

[jmsepe 2,038]

Landmark Menu opens the longest that is why I prefer using buildingplop cheat. Subway will definitely take a lot of time and making mistakes in the RHW is a loading issue too but I think this has nothing to do with he computer specs. Although I agree that faster computer will have a faster game play, looking at the size of your plugin folder, I think it is only natural that the menu will take some time to load. As what Nonny said, you can try datpacking the plugins to have a smoother gameplay but don't datpack the NAM, you can also use the BSC Cleanitol to remove all the non-game files in the plugins folder. 

[CapTon 592]

Windows 8.1.... I would say that THAT could be your problem, but you don't appear to be having any graphics problems... and plus, if you have a SC4 problem and you're using Windows 8, I'll usually give you a solution to run the game in Windows 7 Compatibility Mode .

[Compdude787 916]

Boy, Windows 8.1 does not seem to like SimCity that much! I've had some problems too with 8.1 and SC4, but they're graphical issues.

 

Are you having any sort of graphics issues with running SimCity on 8.1, or are you just having that problem with menus taking forever to load? For example, do you have a messed-up route query and/or do you have other graphics issues like textures/lots disappearing as you pan or zoom? This has happened to me ever since I upgraded my laptop from Windows 8 (which is what it came with) to 8.1, and there could very well be other problems with SimCity 4 and 8.1. I've come to the conclusion that SC4 cannot be made fully functional in Windows 8.1, even if you set its compatibility mode to XP or 7. I don't know what MS did to 8.1 that made it mess up old games like SC4, but I guess it's a good excuse to install a much better OS called Windows 7.

 

EDIT: just looked at the size of your plugins folder--8 1/2 GB?! Do you really need that much stuff? For me, I'm going to set myself a limit of 5 GB (and hopefully, that'll take me a while to reach that point).

  Edited May 10, 2014 by Compdude787  

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

For Windows 8 problems, see if you can load the earlier GPU drivers.  There does seem to be something amiss, which considering all the jerking around MS did to make a PC look like a tablet, isn't surprising.  I suspect a lot of stuff fell through the Q.A. cracks when the deadline caught up to them.  I don't know what the goal was with 8.1 but legacy stuff seems to have received rather short shrift there.

 

I guess the bloatware is starting to get organic.

[simcityplayer15 33]

Boy, Windows 8.1 does not seem to like SimCity that much! I've had some problems too with 8.1 and SC4, but they're graphical issues.

 

Are you having any sort of graphics issues with running SimCity on 8.1, or are you just having that problem with menus taking forever to load? For example, do you have a messed-up route query and/or do you have other graphics issues like textures/lots disappearing as you pan or zoom? This has happened to me ever since I upgraded my laptop from Windows 8 (which is what it came with) to 8.1, and there could very well be other problems with SimCity 4 and 8.1. I've come to the conclusion that SC4 cannot be made fully functional in Windows 8.1, even if you set its compatibility mode to XP or 7. I don't know what MS did to 8.1 that made it mess up old games like SC4, but I guess it's a good excuse to install a much better OS called Windows 7.

 

EDIT: just looked at the size of your plugins folder--8 1/2 GB?! Do you really need that much stuff? For me, I'm going to set myself a limit of 5 GB (and hopefully, that'll take me a while to reach that point).

Well I downloaded alot of stuff because I wanted to add those plugins to sc4, because before i was able to make nice cities. But I can't really focus on it because of school stuff and not having alot of time. But yea I do need all those files x3