Props disappearing when loading up a saved game

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

I have this weird glitch where I save the city of San Widge, and when I load up the saved city there is a thin strip at the border where the props are missing from tiles. The models and lot textures are intact but the props simply vanish.

 

 

To the left of the picture should be a continuation of the river and the tree lined banks. But because the props are gone only the textures on the lots remain. Also notice that some of the buildings have very empty lots because the props have vanished.

 

Now this is not a dependency issue as I have all the dependencies and the buildings, tree tiles and river tiles show up just fine when I plop them down. There is also no issue after I save the game. But when I load up the saved game this issue arises.

 

Strangely there is a thin strip -- which usually stretches across the width of the map -- of missing props, and sometimes the strip can shift location. This is starting to become really annoying and having datpacked my plugins, removed unnecessary files and allowed the game to become fully compatible with my graphics card this problem still occurs. Any suggestions? Has a similar problem of this nature cropped up before?

 

Here are my system specs:

 

Processor: Interl® Core™ i7 CPU , 2.80GHz (4 cores)

Installed memory (RAM): 6.00 GB (4.85 GB usable)

System type: 64-bit Operating System (Windows 7 Home Premium)

Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series

DirectX version: DirectX 10

 

 

 

 

Edit: I have done some looking around and I think this is prop pox. 

 

Edit 2: I have performed repeated saves and that does not cause the prop pox to spread.

[Indiana Joe 1,752]

If it only occurs in part of the tile, unfortunately you might have the infamous Prop Pox.  It's a rare but so far incurable bug that acts like a virus.  Usually more and more props will begin disappearing, and it spreads from city to city.

 

Even though it is so rare, the fact that you are such an active player, with so many cities that are jam packed with lots and props, makes you especially vulnerable.  I hope it's not the case for you; it would be very unfortunate.

[SimCoug 5,976]

Yeah, it sounds like prop pox to me... take a read through that link that Indiana Joe posted - it's quite a long discussion but it has some insights into what prop pox is and how to avoid it.  Do you happen to have a backup of that city file hanging around somewhere?  That may be the only way to save some of the city - even if it would mean losing a good chunk of work.

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

If it only occurs in part of the tile, unfortunately you might have the infamous Prop Pox.  It's a rare but so far incurable bug that acts like a virus.  Usually more and more props will begin disappearing, and it spreads from city to city.

 

Even though it is so rare, the fact that you are such an active player, with so many cities that are jam packed with lots and props, makes you especially vulnerable.  I hope it's not the case for you; it would be very unfortunate.

 

Well I have had this prop pox for several days now and it occurred on the other side of San Widge, however I managed to snuff it out by replopping the items affected and demolishing the buildings. If I can keep the prop pox confined to the East side, which is still suffering from prop pox, then I can complete San Widge and publish entries from it for my CJ. Even more extraordinary is that sometimes I can minimize the prop pox to a one square strip which is at the city border.

 

I have been building up San Widge for several days since the start of the prop pox and so far this glitch has remained confined to the East border. Furthermore the prop pox has not spread to the neighbouring city of Grethor as I have saved the city at least a dozen times with no missing props detected. I personally think the city tile of San Widge is somehow corrupted. Recall three weeks ago that the first city of San Widge was lost due to a corrupted save file and I could never load the city.

 

 

Yeah, it sounds like prop pox to me... take a read through that link that Indiana Joe posted - it's quite a long discussion but it has some insights into what prop pox is and how to avoid it.  Do you happen to have a backup of that city file hanging around somewhere?  That may be the only way to save some of the city - even if it would mean losing a good chunk of work.

 

Alas the only backup of San Widge contains the prop pox. I have also read the article and also Peg's commentary about the prop pox, which allegedly occurs when using a couple of his mods and a few specific props inside the mods, and I have to agree with Peg's take on it. Missing props would show up as brown boxes and corrupted props would cause the game -- as it loads up the city -- to CTD.

 

I should like to point out that my city of Grethor has a save file size nearly as large as San Widge's, and Grethor uses a lot of props and tree filler lots. To date Grethor has not experienced prop pox because there has never been a CTD during saving, while this has happened to San Widge several times. Something about the city tile of San Widge is inherently unstable!

[Sabretooth78 808]

I had experienced the early onset of prop pox in a few of my CJ region's cities as well.  Largely due I think to the massive number of props on some of the custom farming lots throwing me over the threshold.  It tended to fit the diagnosis of the Maxis R$ beach umbrellas and the unmodified PEG BDK file - it only occurred in the few cities I had started laying building R and C zones.  I was having the same behavior you described and wouanagaine's SC4Savegame Explorer confirmed it.  I fixed Peg's file and I haven't had a problem since - I'll check periodically and I've yet to have a number other than zero disabled props.  This is after obliterating the infected tiles and pretty much rebuilding identically (of course the individual farming lots came back different).

 

Long story short, the prescribed fix to the BDK file seems to have worked for me, but not without a little tedium recreating things.  From what I've seen in your CJ, San Widge is much farther along...

 

In my research, I had come across a thread where somebody had presented a temporary solution to prop pox.  It doesn't cure it, but it'll at least for a session clear it up.  Something about switching your city detail to low, saving and then reopening and switching back to high as it forces the rebuild of the prop subfile.  You'll have to do some digging on that as I may not be remembering it fully (nor have I tried it) but if nothing else it might at least allow you to get your CJ updates finished on that tile as you debate a more permanent course of action.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Good luck with this.  I've never been so afflicted.

 

However, pay close attention.  You may be the one who discovers a cure.