Graphics Bug??

[tails2489 350]

Hey guys..

I have this one city where every time I open it like 10% of the buildings and parks and such only partially load. See the pic of the stadium here. There is also suppose to be a plaza in the roundabout and also a tram station along the diagonal tram line there, but they are barely or not even visible.

How to fix??

Thanks!

[Yarahi 1,823]

I assume that you have all in-game graphic settings set to high (only shadows and sims/cars should be set low to improve performance)

 

[rsc204 21,866]

5 hours ago, Yarahi said:

If so you msy suffer from the dreaded Prop Pox bug

Well, seeing how the only things in the screenshot are Maxis content, I'd think Prop Pox is very unlikely. Whilst I understand you are simply trying to help @Yarahi, I'd personally advise getting some further information before brining up Prop Pox. There are a number of other potential causes to what you can see here, but only the Prop Pox is totally catastrophic.

7 hours ago, tails2489 said:

How to fix??

To start, it would be helpful to know a few things about your game:

• Has this problem begun recently or always been there?
• Are you using custom content with your game or just a few mods like the NAM?
• Have you recently updated/modified your graphics drivers?
  Note: Windows may have updated them without telling you via Windows update.

If you could answer these questions, along with posting a copy of the log SC4 generates, it would help to see what might be happening. To get the log file, open the directory where SC4 is installed, by default that's C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps. Find the file YOURCOMPUTERNAME-config-log.txt. Then copy/paste the first 3 sections here, "Flags", "Strings" and "Numbers", the rest is unhelpful clutter.

[metasmurf 705]

Set all graphics settings to low then rotate the screen to activate the settings. After that save. Then set all the graphics settings back to high and rotate again . Exit to region view without saving, and then go back into the city. Hopefully that helps.

[tails2489 350]

Thanks guys, changing the graphics from low to high and rotating and saving didn't do anything.

It just begun recently and is only effecting 1 city in a large region. Only running NAM and have some custom buildings from simtropolis users too. I did have SPAM which I uninstalled and that messed up my farms for awhile but this problem started a while after that.

I am not able to locate the log?? There is no Maxis file in Program Files or Program Files 86. A windows search for config-log finds nothing.

 

[tails2489 350]

Found it.

 

Flags
-----
hardwareDriver = true
DXT = true
fullscreen = true
MMX = true
FPU = true
backingStore = true
forcedFSAA = false

Strings
-------
userName = Sean
appName = SimCity 4
version = 1.1.641.0
osVersion = Windows NT 5.1
computerName = LAPTOP-KJABGGSG
CPU = AuthenticAMD
sglDriverName = DirectX
sglDriverVersion = 2.0
driverName = aticfx32.dll
driverVersion = 8.17.10.1433, GUID: D7B71EE2-DB11-11CF-8C73-F5A1EFC2CD35
cardName = AMD Radeon(TM) R4 Graphics
cardVersion = Vendor: 1002, Device: 9851, Board: 81f5103c, Chipset: 0040
cardIdentity = AMD Radeon(TM) R4 Graphics
soundDriverName = {0.0.0.00000000}.{37aeae99-276c-4c66-a509-10e1bac5f653}
soundCardName = Speaker/HP (Realtek High Definition Audio)
buildType = Release

Numbers
-------
cpuSpeed = 1996
memory = 1024
freeMemory = 1024
screenWidth = 1024
screenHeight = 768
screenBPP = 16
videoMemory = 496
textureMemory = 496
textureStages = 8
bogoFPS = 0
bogoMPPS = 0

[rsc204 21,866]

Well there is nothing obviously amiss in the configuration log. Let's take the stadium as an example, if you plop the same one in one of the other cities (or even the same one), does it then show all the correct props upon it?

If it does, then we know that there is no problem with the props themselves. Since these are all part of the base game, if they were missing that might indicate a problem with the installation. That said, if you have a diagonal GLR (tram) station, those props are from the NAM, so both being affected would typically be indicative of a larger problem.

I think the most likely cause is some kind of corruption of the cities save file. Prop Pox is one form of file corruption, but that's not to say that's behind this instance. If you follow the link @Yarahi posted, that thread contains steps you can take to see if Prop Pox might be a factor. Do you use the BDK (Beach Development Kit - file PEG-OWW2_BDK_RESOURCE.DAT)? I ask, because that one file is the only one linked to the prop pox problem.

One thing that I should point out though, once a save file is corrupted, there is usually nothing you can do to recover it. Due to the way SC4 save files work, if it's not saving props correctly, even if it appears to start working again. Normally the problem will keep coming back. In the case of Prop Pox, it's much worse, because the symptoms of it can remain dormant and invisible, but once triggered, any affected files could suffer a catastrophic issue that will keep removing props. One that spreads and only gets worse with every subsequent save. That's possibly another thing to look at here, if you save the city, exit and re-enter does the save file get smaller? Or do more props go missing?

@Yarahi: I may owe you an apology here, since it seems you might have hit the nail on the head first time. Although if the @tails2489 doesn't have the BDK installed, given so much of the city looks like the vanilla game, I just have this nagging feeling that can't be it.

[Yarahi 1,823]

4 hours ago, rsc204 said:

 

 

@Yarahi: I may owe you an apology here, since it seems you might have hit the nail on the head first time. Although if the @tails2489 doesn't have the BDK installed, given so much of the city looks like the vanilla game, I just have this nagging feeling that can't be it.

 

Hardly a need for any apology. Even though there might have been sights of cc in the picture, I am just as aware as you are that only the BDK-file being the only confirmed source of the pox. And it is impossible to say from the picture if that file is part of the users plugin.

I was simply way tired and overreacted, and you were right on calling me out on it

[tails2489 350]

I don't think I am using the BDK Beach Development Kit. I do not see a file in my plugins with that info. I do have PEG Super Resource Pack and Super Textures Pack. Is the BDK included in that??

The stadium if demo'd and replopped appears fine. But when exiting and reloading it appears the same, only partially there. Large Parks appear as blank green spaces, a few buildings are missing from the University as well. Again, none of these issues are happening in other cities. 

I opened the city, let it play for "1 month" and resaved and the file was larger once resaved. This is the largest city in the region with a file size of 27,212KB (if that matters).

[rsc204 21,866]

1 hour ago, tails2489 said:

The stadium if demo'd and replopped appears fine. But when exiting and reloading it appears the same, only partially there.

I'm assuming in between you saved the changes? I only ask because it would aid my clarity here.

1 hour ago, tails2489 said:

Again, none of these issues are happening in other cities. 

Between the fact that the props themselves will appear if re-plopped and this, we know they exist and function correctly. This really does limit the potential problem as some form of save-file corruption, which is only affecting that city.

1 hour ago, tails2489 said:

I opened the city, let it play for "1 month" and resaved and the file was larger once resaved.

Which is not what I would expect if Prop Pox were the cause of this. Usually those files get smaller, not larger.

1 hour ago, tails2489 said:

I do have PEG Super Resource Pack and Super Textures Pack. Is the BDK included in that??

No the BDK file was only ever released as an individual DAT. Assuming you've not DATPacked anything, then if you had it, you'd have the exact filename I gave you. It should also be noted, if you ever had this file in your plugins folder and saved this city during that time, even if subsequently removed. That is sufficient to trigger the bug that ultimately leads to Prop Pox. It's why Prop Pox is such a bummer, once it's there, it's just a ticking time bomb.

From what we know, when SC4 saves your cities, it doesn't do it in a very ideal way. It takes a dump of all the information in RAM and creates a save file. The reason this is important to understand, is because it's the save file that knows which lots and props should be present and where. What happens with Prop Pox is that the file becomes damaged, such that when saving, the list of these objects gets truncated. Hence when you re-load it, those truncated items are missing from the city. But in that case, the file shrinks with each save because the error with the file causes the truncated part to become larger with every new save.

Except for this truncation, the symptoms all read like Prop Pox, but I'm certain that's not the problem. I've long theorised that file corruption with SC4 save files is not merely down to a faulty mod, but that the way SC4 saves it's data is just a recipe for bad stuff to happen. The bigger the city, the more data the save file needs to write from RAM to your HDD without error. Do you have a way to upload this particular tile to something like Google Drive/OneDrive/Dropbox etc? I could take a look and double check if Prop Pox appears to be present with the save file. Otherwise the Prop Pox thread explains how to check the file yourself.

We already know, using either "Save and Exit to Region" or "Save and Quit" can cause problems. This is because the strain on resources needed to write the save file, makes doing something else (exiting in this case), at the same time a potential hazard. For this reason too, you should never switch focus (use or switch to another application) whilst the game is saving. Are you doing any of these three things at all? If you are, I would advise in future to only use the Save function (CTRL + S - shortcut). Then always Exit or Quit without saving. So far I've never had further save file problems since I started doing this religiously. Although the corruption I encountered didn't affect the props in any way.

Of course none of this really helps you with resolving the problem. The short answer is if your save file has been corrupted, there is simply no way to fix the file. If you have a backup, I'd restore it, it's your best option. If we could edit the save files, SC4 would then reject (ignore) them, due to a system which validates they have not been tampered with (checksum). So other than trying to work out the cause, with a view to avoiding further problems in future, there isn't a lot we can do here, sorry.

[rsc204 21,866]

6 hours ago, Yarahi said:

I was simply way tired and overreacted, and you were right on calling me out on it

Perhaps, but as I say here, it certainly looks and feels like Prop Pox. Yet somehow, I'm sure it isn't.

I worry that some were too quick to finger the problem at the door of PEG and the BDK. Rather than properly look for all potential causes of such corruption, they just assumed they'd found it and moved on. But something isn't right with the whole Prop Pox thing, I'm convinced of it. It never sat well with me, despite clearly understanding the findings. The fact remains, if the BDK or conversion of RTK1 to RTK4 props with the same ID is the problem. Why is it people without the BDK still end up with the problem? That suggests to me the cause is not so simply explained or that possibly there is more too it.

[tails2489 350]

Okay. So I demolished the stadium. Saved. Exited to Region. Reopened city. Replopped. Saved. Exited to Region. Reopened city and the stadium appears fine now. Did this with all other effected buildings which were typically Rewards Buildings (University, State Fair, Country Club etc..) This worked for all of them!

BUT.

 This is not working for parks and tram stations. They disappear with every save-exit-reload process. I am about ready to wave the white flag on this one, but my concern is this will start to happen on other cities in the region as they grow. I do not know what you mean by uploading the tile?

[rsc204 21,866]

22 hours ago, tails2489 said:

Okay. So I demolished the stadium. Saved. Exited to Region. Reopened city. Replopped. Saved. Exited to Region. Reopened city and the stadium appears fine now. Did this with all other effected buildings which were typically Rewards Buildings (University, State Fair, Country Club etc..) This worked for all of them!

Usually when you experiance this problem and can resolve it in this way, that indicates that the content required for these items was removed from your plugins folder and the city was subsequently saved.

22 hours ago, tails2489 said:

 This is not working for parks and tram stations. They disappear with every save-exit-reload process.

However, this behaviour doesn't make any sense. Especially if you can use the same content with another city without problems.

Quote

I am about ready to wave the white flag on this one, but my concern is this will start to happen on other cities in the region as they grow. I do not know what you mean by uploading the tile?

This is one of those tricky problems that's really hard to diagnose remotely. That's why being able to actually take a peek at the actual city would perhaps be helpful. When I say uploadig the tile, I simply mean finding the save files (in the My Documents\Regions folder) and uploading them somewhere. Then providing me with a link where I can download said files. You can't really attach them to a message or e-mail, they are too large for that to work. So you'll need to use a third party service, popular ones include Google Drive, MS OneDrive or DropBox.. If you have a Google or Microsoft account, you can just log on with those to use the first two I mentioned. Otherwise, you may need to sign up for one. Ideally you should upload the entire region (will all be inside one folder, named after your region). It's best to compress or Zip this folder before uploading it too.