The SC4 Encyclopaedia, AKA the SC4 Devotion Wiki

[CorinaMarie 29,771]

@Tarkus has kindly granted me editing privileges in the SC4 Encyclopaedia, AKA the SC4 Devotion Wiki. I'm starting this topic here in the SC4 Discussion forum cause it's more likely to be seen by more SC4 peeps.

Disclaimer first: I have never edited a Wiki anything so I'll want to get familiar with the how-to-do-it from the help files there before I make any changes or add anything new. Ergo, it may be a little while before I do anything there.

 

My own plan so far is to update what the Water Min and Water Max are for in the Region.ini file and to check if the functions I discovered for the hex values in the filter list of the Zones Data View are in there.Then I have several other ideas, but I'll need to see what's already there before I go messing around.

So, this thread is for peeps who already browse that wonderful reference and who have ideas for things needing updated, better explained, or just general tips for me. For the first two of those you'll need to provide the specific details that I can c & p since I'm just starting to get a wee bit of knowledge about the workings of the game. Basically, I'm offering peeps a chance to make detailed, thoughtful, and thorough replies here for what they'd like to see tweaked over there. Once I've learned what I'm doing, I can then add stuff. So, in essence, you can submit your suggestions here for the SC4D Wiki and I'll do the leg fingerwork of adding it there.

Note: Any reply in this thread may get added so by replying here you agree it can be used under Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported over there.

[matias93 7,535]

IIRC, the fix of the transit-enabled hovering lots CTD hasn't been included in the wiki, that could be a good point to start. When getting more time, I'll sweep over the NAM related articles to include newer functions that could be absent.

Oh, and by the way, if someday spanish translations are needed, count me on that task, that would anyway require some protocol for translating technical terms (p.e. 'lot' can be lote, parcela, sitio, predio, etc.)

[CorinaMarie 29,771]

On 12/27/2016 at 5:02 PM, matias93 said:

IIRC, the fix of the transit-enabled hovering lots CTD hasn't been included in the wiki, that could be a good point to start.

I just checked and it's already mentioned on the Crash To Desktop page:

Quote

It was previously thought to be unfixable due to it's hardcoded nature, until Simmaster07 discovered a solution via DLL modding. The DLL SC4 Fix completely removes the crashing due the TE Lot/Puzzle Piece hovering, and also stabilizes other aspects of the game, making CTDs generally less likely, though still possible (e.g. zooming in/out too fast). You can download it from the STEX here, though please note that, as of May 2016, the NAM RHW Disconnector tool still caused CTDs with all TE Lots, regardless of network type.

I worked on the Tutorial:Shortcut Parameters page cause the formatting was causing it to be 10 times wider than my screen. However, I see I still have to learn more about Wiki style editing cause it could look a lot better.

I did update the INI page with regard to what the Water Min and Water Max does in the region.ini file and I added sample pics to illustrate what they do.

 

So, let me know of any other edits it could use. Please add a linky to the page that needs help. And, ideally, the exact text it should have. It may take me a wee little while, but I'll try to get to the suggestions as soon as I can.

[APSMS 1,893]

On 1/4/2017 at 0:06 AM, CorinaMarie said:

I just checked and it's already mentioned on the Crash To Desktop page:

On 12/27/2016 at 2:02 PM, matias93 said:

IIRC, the fix of the transit-enabled hovering lots CTD hasn't been included in the wiki

I would suggest, after you figure out the Wiki code, that you add your excellent terrain/water/rock/etc. guides to the Wiki as a further reference point and to help direct traffic to the appropriate exchanges so that we can drag introduce more people into the community (I think the wiki shows up a bit on searches, and having the terrain mods in one place seems like a worthy wiki article).

[Prophet42 1,503]

9 hours ago, APSMS said:

I would suggest, after you figure out the Wiki code, that you add your excellent terrain/water/rock/etc. guides to the Wiki as a further reference point and to help direct traffic to the appropriate exchanges so that we can drag introduce more people into the community (I think the wiki shows up a bit on searches, and having the terrain mods in one place seems like a worthy wiki article).

I whole heartedly agree.  The Cori-Guides would make an excellent, informative addition to the Wiki.

[CorinaMarie 29,771]

I learned how to cleanup most of the mess I made in the Tutorial:Shortcut Parameters by correcting the code for the linkys.

 

12 hours ago, APSMS said:

add your excellent terrain/water/rock/etc. guides to the Wiki

2 hours ago, Prophet42 said:

The Cori-Guides would make an excellent, informative addition to the Wiki.

I have managed to create this entry however, it does not show up when I search for it by name nor does it show in the MAP Tutorials section of this page. I have the Wiki Help up on my other screen yet I'm still totally confuzzled on how to get it linked to.

Edit: Woot! I figured it out. I moved it to Tutorial:C.O.R.I.M.A.P.S. instead of it just being C.O.R.I.M.A.P.S. with the [[Category:MAP Tutorials]] at the bottom of its page.

Ok, so where should I put my Shoppes?

Edit Too: The Category:Custom Content page looks like the best place for my Shoppes.

What I believe would be good is to make the page entry for Terrain Mod into a subcategory with the [+] thinger in front of it and then change the current Terrain Mod to be Terrain Mod Definition (or some such). Then have Terrain-Related picture catalogues as separate page entries under the new subcategory.

Is this a good plan? Any idea how I make that happen? I go into edit on those pages to see how they are made and there's no menu list like I'd hoped to see. It appears one gets something into a list indirectly by giving it a specific name like I learned on renaming my map entry.

I kind of feel like a little lost kid in a huge, electronic playground with no mentors to show me around.

[APSMS 1,893]

4 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

I kind of feel like a little lost kid in a huge, electronic playground with no mentors to show me around.

Contact @Tarkus and @woodb3kmaster and maybe also @whatevermind (if he's still around) as they're the most familiar with Wiki formatting. I'm only going off of experience from TV Tropes editing, which is admittedly pretty poor experience (though it might be a good source of wiki tag info, given the extended help page, though I think the SC4 wiki has a pretty good help section as well).

I think Libre Office has a wiki editing plugin that you can use to properly format wiki pages, but I haven't gotten my plugin working yet. I think I broke something trying to get a different plugin to work.

[matias93 7,535]

Supossing the SC4D wiki has not changed significatively the wiki markup, this cheat sheet could be very useful:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Cheatsheet

As this tutorial

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Tutorial/Editing

And this place to test safely

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sandbox

(For the ones of us that have no editing access to the wiki, this sandbox can be useful to write and format articles, and then send their source code to Cori to just copy and paste it)

[Tarkus 6,932]

I was much in the same boat when I started on there--I had a little bit of Wiki editing experience from Wikipedia and elsewhere, which helped, as the SC4 Encyclopaedia does indeed use the same software (MediaWiki).  We have the same cheatsheet here. 

You are off to a great start, Cori.  I don't think we've had anything quite like the shoppes on there as of yet, so it may be something we'll have to find a new way of categorizing, though it could also work as an annotated/illustrated form of list.  The whole thing is a constant work-in-progress, so I wouldn't worry too much about that yet, and we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

-Tarkus

[Naomi57 2,985]

Is this project still happening?  I used to do a bit of Wikipedia editing, so I know how to wiki, and I'm happy to contribute to fleshing out factual information.  I presume the "No Original Research" applies on the SimCity 4 wiki, just as it does to Jimmy's big Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research

I recently noticed there were some errors in one or two of the Landmark pages, but I just ignored it because I assumed the wiki was old and out of date.

[Cyclone Boom 17,016]

12 minutes ago, Naomi57 said:

Is this project still happening?

Not as far as I'm aware, and I know Cori has other irons in the fire right now.

One thing which has changed since the previous post is following the SC4Devotion server move last year, the staff there opened the Wiki up for anyone to register and freely edit articles without special access. Looking at the 30 day recent changes log and there's very little activity nowadays, and so anything would be of value. Whether information about the NAM which I know you're very knowledgeable with learning about, or little things which might be worth fixing along the way.

So it sounds great if you'd like to help contribute with correcting anything you find, or adding new info which is worthwhile.

[Naomi57 2,985]

Sounds good, @Cyclone Boom, I signed up and did my first little page edit, to correct plop size and upload the image.

https://wiki.sc4devotion.com/index.php?title=The_White_House

I have to say, this is more fun than editing Jimmy's big Wikipedia.  

[Naomi57 2,985]

Corrected plop size:
        Alcatraz
        Schloss Neuschwanstein

Corrected monthly cost:
        Chrysler Building 

See, that's why I thought it wasn't being maintained!  Now I know it's an ongoing work in progress, I'll neaten up around the place.  There might be other corrections required to Landmarks ... those are just the four I noticed when I was checking them out the other day.

It's actually a relief to tidy it up.  I'm one of those weird people that feels bothered when I notice a discrepancy.  

BTW, the User Pages don't seem to work at all, not the user page, not the user talk page.  Gives me an error when I try to set them up.

[Naomi57 2,985]

Just wrote up most of this page on Roundabouts.

https://wiki.sc4devotion.com/index.php?title=Namdoc:Roundabouts

It was a very brief page, with no screenshots, before I "tidied up".  Okay, maybe it was a bit more than just a tidy up.  

Some of the original text from @Tarkus is still there, and some of it probably needs some review or a wee little bit more tweaking.

[CorinaMarie 29,771]

6 hours ago, Naomi57 said:

Just wrote up most of this page on Roundabouts.

Looks good.

At some point I might start using more than SAM and STR.

[Naomi57 2,985]

Added an image for Grand Railroad Station, and cross-referenced these two buildings with similar names, which in times past I used to confuse one for the other:    

• Grand Central Station (DLC)
• Grand Railroad Station

[Naomi57 2,985]

Just added our recent discoveries around Seaport and Freight Train Stations:

• https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/758676-what-is-the-best-public-transportation-to-use-in-a-city/?page=3&tab=comments#comment-1725408
• https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/758676-what-is-the-best-public-transportation-to-use-in-a-city/?page=3&tab=comments#comment-1725417

This pushes the No Original Research guideline, but I think it's a fair addition, because it appears to be an indisputable and relatively simple fact.

https://wiki.sc4devotion.com/index.php?title=Freight_Train_Station
In the NAM
In NAM 36, the Freight Train Station transships freight in both directions, from road to rail, and also from rail to road. Thus the NAM Freight Train Station can be used in conjunction with the Maxis Seaport to transfer freight from rail, to road, then to Seaport.

Also added a simple cross-reference to the Freight Train Station on the Seaport page.

 

Also got an error trying to update the related Freight Train Station talk page.  I think it might be a permissions issue, as it's the same error that I get trying to set up or edit my Naomi57 wiki user page and user talk page:

wiki.sc4devotion Error

This page isn’t working
wiki.sc4devotion.com is currently unable to handle this request.
HTTP ERROR 500

https://wiki.sc4devotion.com/index.php?title=Talk:Freight_Train_Station
Editing Talk:Freight Train Station

[~~~~] '''In the NAM''' behaviour confirmed and clarified in these two Simtropolis posts.  This pushes the '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research No Original Research]''' guideline, but the facts appear to be simple and irrefutable.
* https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/758676-what-is-the-best-public-transportation-to-use-in-a-city/?page=3&tab=comments#comment-1725408
* https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/758676-what-is-the-best-public-transportation-to-use-in-a-city/?page=3&tab=comments#comment-1725417

[[[User:Naomi57|Naomi57]] ([[User talk:Naomi57|talk]]) 21:22, 12 February 2020 (PST)] Perhaps "''Maximum Throughput'': 2,000 Freight Items" is Maxis vanilla capacity.  NAM High capacity is 30,000.

 

[Raymond7cn 6,773]

4 hours ago, Naomi57 said:

Just added our recent discoveries around Seaport and Freight Train Stations:

Dear Naomi, This is indeed a splendid discovery, Thank yoy for bringing this to us.

May I ask a question to NAM expert like you, If I connect the freight rail with seaport, What benefits can I get from it, or it's just makes my city more realistic. Hope this's not a stupid question, since I do appreciate your effort into it. Thank you very much.

Yours Sincerely,

-- Raymond

[Naomi57 2,985]

2 hours ago, Raymond7cn said:

If I connect the freight rail with seaport, What benefits can I get from it, or it's just makes my city more realistic.

Not a silly question at all, very worthwhile asking.  I figured it was best to answer the question in that very complicated thread where we explored these mysteries and discoveries ... click on the link to see!  

https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/758676-what-is-the-best-public-transportation-to-use-in-a-city/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-1725554

[Raymond7cn 6,773]

3 hours ago, Naomi57 said:

Not a silly question at all, very worthwhile asking.  I figured it was best to answer the question in that very complicated thread where we explored these mysteries and discoveries ... click on the link to see!  

https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/758676-what-is-the-best-public-transportation-to-use-in-a-city/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-1725554

https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/758676-what-is-the-best-public-transportation-to-use-in-a-city/?do=findComment&comment=1725560

Dear Naomi, Thank you very much, I have reply you in that thread above.

Sincerely,

-- Raymond

[Naomi57 2,985]

I've just completed first draft of what I am hoping will be a really, really useful page covering an overview of the NAM Transit Stations.

Challenging topic to explain!  I'm hoping that by approaching entire groups/classifications of stations from multiple slants, that this broader explanation will help reduce the confusion that I experienced trying to come to grips with one station at a time.  I'll definitely consider any feedback on improving wording or approach, to make this entire area easier for players new to the NAM.

This link takes you to one of the more interesting parts of this wiki page, a table that sorts and compares across sixty NAM stations, using any of 13 characteristics.  

https://wiki.sc4devotion.com/index.php?title=Namdoc:Transit_Stations#Transit_Station_Summary

Click on the arrows in the column headers to sort.

• Looking for the lowest monthly cost for your budget? Click on the Budget header.
• Looking for stations with a similar visual style? Click on the Family header.
• Looking to shortlist stations with built-in car parking for your residential zones? Click twice on the Car Park header.
• Looking for a list of Monorail/HSR enabled stations? Click twice on the Monorail column header.
• Looking for just the station to fit in a 1x3 space between avenue and street, to provide bus and subway access at both ends of the station? Click on the Size column header.

 

 

[Naomi57 2,985]

Good news, I've isolated this  HTTP ERROR 500, and got a workaround.  

On 13/02/2020 at 4:56 PM, Naomi57 said:

Also got an error trying to update the related Freight Train Station talk page.  I think it might be a permissions issue, as it's the same error that I get trying to set up or edit my Naomi57 wiki user page and user talk page:

wiki.sc4devotion Error

This page isn’t working
wiki.sc4devotion.com is currently unable to handle this request.
HTTP ERROR 500

The error was occurring because I was including a URL link to Simtropolis on my User:Naomi57 page and the Talk:Freight Train Station.

The workaround, for now, is to surround the link with <nowiki> and </nowiki> tags, thereby turning the hyperlink into plain text.  i.e.

~~~~ '''In the NAM''' behaviour confirmed and clarified in these two Simtropolis posts:
* <nowiki> https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/758676-what-is-the-best-public-transportation-to-use-in-a-city/?page=3&tab=comments#comment-1725408 </nowiki>
* <nowiki> https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/758676-what-is-the-best-public-transportation-to-use-in-a-city/?page=3&tab=comments#comment-1725417 </nowiki>

 

 

[simmering 2,706]

I know this thread is several years old but seems to be the most fitting for what I have to ask:

I have recently registered as a user with SC4 Encyclopaedia. I wanted to help, adding some new articles and updating existing ones. However, I keep getting error messages for all but the smallest changes.
I understand that the SC4 Wiki had to be recovered and it was offline in April. But now it is back and I wonder, is it going to become more stable/editable in the near future? Perhaps the admins have an update, @jdenm8, @Tarkus? It would be much appreciated.

[Tarkus 6,932]

1 hour ago, simmering said:

I understand that the SC4 Wiki had to be recovered and it was offline in April. But now it is back and I wonder, is it going to become more stable/editable in the near future?

The Wiki is still very much in a fragile transitional phase, unfortunately, and I wouldn't count on it being reliable until we're able to implement a migration and upgrade plan for it--something which is being discussed.  Right now, it is still being hosted (very poorly) on our old webhost at the moment.  It didn't even really get "recovered", as much as our old webhost somehow mysteriously stopped doing whatever unknown stupidity caused it to get knocked out in the first place back in April.

The reason the Wiki has been so fragile since its reopening (following a decade-long lockdown) is because it almost didn't survive the SC4 Devotion ownership transition in 2019, due to the massive technical leap that was required to move to new hosting.  SC4D's original owner ran the whole site on PHP 5.2 (released in 2006, security support ended in 2011) from its inception until just before that time, when he bumped a couple portions of the site to newer versions of PHP 5.x.  The Wiki remained on PHP 5.2 the entire time, and was also still operating on an 11-year-old version of MediaWiki (Version 1.13).

That Wiki's software was so old that it was horrifically unsecure and wouldn't run on the new server (minimum PHP version on there was 7.1, IIRC).  In order to continue operating it (and actually be able to reopen editing to the general public), we had to jump 20 releases ahead, to MediaWiki 1.33.  The difference was drastic enough that portions of the process to import the old database into the new version failed, and I had to spend about a month manually re-importing the Wiki's contents in small batches--the most difficult of the whole server migration by several orders of magnitude (the forums and LEX were a piece of cake comparatively).  The database basically has the consistency of Swiss cheese, and much like the rest of SC4 Devotion as we once knew it, the version of the software it's running doesn't play too nicely with PHP 8.1.

Until we can get a new install up and running, and figure out how to salvage the "Swiss cheese", the Wiki is, for all practical purposes, read-only.

-Tarkus

[simmering 2,706]

Thanks a lot for the update. Now I understand. If I can ever be of assistance, let me know.