Cant launch my digital copy

[Vezage 1]

So I just bought a copy of simcity 4 from steam sale but I cant launch the game. I have windows 10 so not sure if thats causing the problem or what. What can I do to fix the problem?

[rsc204 21,869]

Digital versions shouldn't have any problems running under Windows 10.

From the Steam Library, find SimCity 4, right click and select properties. Click on "Set Launch Options", in the box that appears add the following:

"-d:software"

Now the game should start. If it does, your hardware/drivers for your Graphics Card have an incompatibility with SC4. You may be able to fix that following the steps here:

Ultimately you can play in software rendering, but you'll have a better experience with Direct X (Hardware) rendering if you can make it work.

[Vezage 1]

I added the line  -d:software but the game just won't start. The text running appears for a few seconds next to game title but then it disappears and nothing.

[rsc204 21,869]

Try this instead:

"-d:software -audio:off -intro:off -CPUCount:1 -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32"

Note: the part in blue should match your desktop resolution ideally. SC4 doesn't support every resolution though, so if you've something other than a full HD monitor (example), try a standard resolution like 1024x768 or similar.

Audio off disables audio, newer audio cards may not work with SC4.
Intro Off disables the intro, probably not the issue, but just to be safe.
CPU Count sets the game to run on only a single core of your CPU. SC4 is not multi-core compatible.
Setting a custom resolution may be necessary if your system is unable to display the default resolution. Some modern equipment is using resolutions never envisioned during the games release, which could be causing you trouble.

If this command set doesn't get the game going, it's probably useful to see the log file from SC4, it might point towards the problem. Find the installation directory of SC4 (somewhere within the Steam folder setup). Enter the apps folder, the look for a file named "MYCOMPUTERNAME-config-log.txt". Copy/Paste the first three groups of the log file, "Flags", "Strings" and "Numbers" into your post. The rest is not helpful, so just grab the relevant parts.

[Vezage 1]

That one worked! Thank you so much!

[rsc204 21,869]

Good to hear. You might want to quickly test if dropping the -d:software part is possible without breaking things. As I said before, ideally you don't want to be using it if you can avoid doing so.

[Vezage 1]

Yes I can drop -d:software and it will still work. If I try to add  -d:directx however then the game won't start.

[rsc204 21,869]

Odd, dropping software should revert to DirectX mode, you don't need to specify it usually, it's the default unless SC4 detects a hardware issue.

Still at least it's starting so you can get yourself going now. Software rendering isn't the end of the world, so at this point it's really down to how much effort you are willing to expend. If you want to try and improve the graphical fidelity, then follow the other tutorial I linked before.

[Vezage 1]

Well the game is running quite smoothly so unless anything comes up it is good for now.