Downloaded dependencies, but missing textures or brown boxes

[olegario39 52]

most of my custom content that I downloaded have either missing textures or just brown boxes. but the weird thing is that I downloaded the correct dependency for those custom content. for example, the Marrast Embankment set (as seen in the picture below). I downloaded the dependency as well, but only the tile shows up when I build it, and the seawall texture is totally missing. same goes for the RTMT (Roadtop mass transit) mod. where there's supposed to be a bus stop or subway station, only a brown box shows up. 

 

those aren't the only mod with missing textures or just a brown box. I can't enumerate which is which, but most of my CC are just brown boxes growing and it's not a great view.

 

what is a fix for this?

[CorinaMarie 29,574]

So, I did a test and downloaded the Marrast's Embankment Set from the STEX. This is my first time ever using seawalls of any kind so I'm sure I have not leveled/sloped things exactly right.  (Grid is turned on for reference.) Anyhow, here's what I did plopwise:

1. Plopped right on the level part adjacent to the slope.
2. Same, but I rotated the piece 180^o.
3. Plopped one tile too far away.
4. Plopped like #1, but ground is lower closer to the water.

Then I grabbed the Marrast Embankments BSC from the LEX along with the Marrast MEGA Pack Vol01 and got the same results. (Yes, I removed the STEX version before installing the LEX one.)

The only things which might be different between us is I'm running the game under XP and I installed this into a totally empty Plugins folder so there would be no possible conflict with anything else. (I renamed my current Plugins to xPlugins to get a quick vanilla game then created a new Plugins folder for the install.) There is a thread here with replies to a similar problem.

Unfortunately, I could not not get it to work.

[MeMyself&I 379]

I'm not sure if this is the cause of the problem you're having or not but it seems like it may be worth considering and looking into.  This is copied from the manual in the Marrast Embankment Set download:

Before You will use this set, I'd like to tell you about some limitations.
Yes, this set has some limitations. Rather, one limitation - at the zoom levels 1 and 2 it looks quite ugly.
It's because of custom LODs. The game uses custom LODs at the zoom levels 3, 4 and 5 only.
At the zoom level 1 and 2 all custom LODs become a simple box.

[twalsh102 1,601]

In general, brown boxes appear when you are missing the model for a particular prop or building exemplar.  Very often the model may exist someplace other than the file where the prop or building exemplar exist (in other words, a dependency may have a dependency). 

RTMT:  If your downloaded the Install_Roadtop_Mass_Transit_V3.50.zip package from the LEX, it includes three installers: one for the mod itself, and one each for the Single-prop prop set and the Family-prop prop set.  You must install one of those two prop packages in addition to the mod package.   Using the installers will make sure all your files are located properly.  If you downloaded the RTMTV350.zip package from the STEX, proper functioning is dependent on placement in your Plugins folder.  There are also additional dependencies that need to be downloaded for many of the included props (see the documentation).  If you didn't do this, that would explain the brown boxes for RTMT.

Do you have NAM installed?  Although this is listed as a dependency on the LEX, it isn't listed in either the documentation included with either download, or in the description for the download on the STEX.

If you did the above, and followed all the other directions in the RTMT documentation, and given your comment "most of my CC are just brown boxes growing," there is a larger problem in play here.  My first inclination is to ask how your Plugins folder is organized and/or where all of your custom content is located in relation to your My Documents\SimCity4\Plugins folder?

[CorinaMarie 29,574]

33 minutes ago, MeMyself&I said:

I'm not sure if this is the cause of the problem you're having or not but it seems like it may be worth considering and looking into.  This is copied from the manual in the Marrast Embankment Set download:

Before You will use this set, I'd like to tell you about some limitations.
Yes, this set has some limitations. Rather, one limitation - at the zoom levels 1 and 2 it looks quite ugly.
It's because of custom LODs. The game uses custom LODs at the zoom levels 3, 4 and 5 only.
At the zoom level 1 and 2 all custom LODs become a simple box.

I'm going to suggest "no" this is not the problem since 1 & 2 are the farthest away zooms.

[rsc204 21,806]

11 hours ago, olegario39 said:

I downloaded the correct dependency for those custom content. for example, the Marrast Embankment set (as seen in the picture below). I downloaded the dependency as well, but only the tile shows up when I build it, and the seawall texture is totally missing. same goes for the RTMT (Roadtop mass transit) mod. where there's supposed to be a bus stop or subway station, only a brown box shows up. 

Let's just clear this up, because any other answer is simply wasting your time. Every time you see a brown box, you are missing a dependency. It's as simple as that, brown boxes ONLY appear when you have an exemplar referencing a model that is not installed.

So what does that tell us in relation to your problems, firstly you've probably not configured RTMT correctly, or you have but failed to install the dependency containing the bus stops you wish to use. I'll quickly explain how to setup the RTMT props:

• There will be multiple files (choices) for each given prop. So for example, you might have 10 files with Bus Stop in the name. But you should only keep one of them. They are there so you can have a choice of more than simply one model. So remove all the redundant files for the model's you don't plan to use. Then when you are left with one, check the readme to see if an additional dependency is required. Once installed, your RTMT lots will show the Bus Stop correctly. Note a similar approach applies to other RTMT props, like PhoneBoxes and Timetables etc.

In respect of the seawalls, do you really have the correct dependencies there? The models themselves are in a file "Marrast MEGA Pack Vol01.dat", everything else on the lot displays, so that shouts missing dependencies at me too.

11 hours ago, olegario39 said:

but most of my CC are just brown boxes growing and it's not a great view.

I think it could be wise to take a little more time installing new content. I know if you are starting out this can be arduous, but it's necessary. Once the number of missing files gets out of hand, it's much harder to go back and resolve the problem. Better to install content one at a time, testing each and troubleshooting when you have problems.

[twalsh102 1,601]

Also, I might be stating the obvious here, but the picture you show of the "problem" you are having with the seawall looks amazingly like Corina's scenario 2, where she rotated the seawall 180 degrees from the direction it should be facing.

[CorinaMarie 29,574]

2 minutes ago, twalsh102 said:

Also, I might be stating the obvious here, but the picture you show of the "problem" you are having with the seawall looks amazingly like Corina's scenario 2, where she rotated the seawall 180 degrees from the direction it should be facing.

That occurred to me as well, however, the little white benches in the original "problem" are oriented the proper way.

[twalsh102 1,601]

Good point, totally missed that!

[twalsh102 1,601]

OK, just did some more digging and here's what I came up with.

The seawall portion of the lot that you are missing is a prop that is included in a file called "mrrst_emb_props.dat."  If you downloaded the Marrast Emb Set.zip package from the STEX, this file is included as part of that package.  It is also included in the dependency listed in the ReadMe file (Marrast MEGA Pack Vol01).  If you downloaded the Install_marrast_Embankments_BSC.zip package from the LEX, the file in question is not included in that package (nor is the file "mrrst_emb_texture.dat" which is likewise included in the Marrast MEGA Pack Vol01).

Bottom line is that regardless of which download you used to install the embankment set, if you didn't also download and install the Marrast MEGA Pack Vol01, you are missing a bunch (or all) of the non-Maxis props and textures.  My guess at this point is that the 2nd scenario above ( you used the installer for the base set, but haven't installed the dependency) is what happened.  Or you've got a bunch of files that aren't where they need to be.

Without the dependency (installed in the correct location), you could still plop the lots.  Much of the lot would still appear as many Maxis props and textures are used on these lots.  But you would end up with lots that don't correctly appear (which is what you ended up with).

[olegario39 52]

i already uninstalled the LEX version, and instead, installed the Simtropolis version. I can see the wall parts now. thanks for the solution, guys  

[rsc204 21,806]

9 hours ago, olegario39 said:

i already uninstalled the LEX version, and instead, installed the Simtropolis version. I can see the wall parts now. thanks for the solution, guys  

Not to nitpick here, but your solution to having failed to install a required file, is to remove the download entirely and try to find an alternative that doesn't require it? I'm sorry, but whilst in this scenario that may have worked out, in the long run if you try this approach, you'll be drowning in brown boxes and missing props.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with the modding of these lots, they are very popular, with many satisfied users. The original props were merged into a "megapack", hence the disparity between the newer version on the LEX and the older one on the STEX. One had the documentation updated to reflect the change to the megapack. But, either set would work with either dependency installed.

The point being, if you want to resolve such issues, you need to be more careful, it's obvious to me you had neither dependency installed from the outset. That was your problem, not the LEX version of the mod.