guide How to use Wine with SC4D, NAM, Modding Tools

[Handyman 765]

 

How to use Wine with SimCity4Deluxe, NAM, Modding Tools

**ATTENTION:  Recently began having problems with Ubuntu Gnome 16.04 and SimCity4. After an update, the game would only run in software mode. I have done a lot of digging to try to find the exact cause, but so far no luck. I have gone back to Ubuntu Gnome 14.04 until this gets fixed.

    About ten years ago I made Ubuntu my only OS, after dual booting with XP for about a year. I had only one regret, I could not get SC4D to run in Wine. I tried a few times over the next few years but still had no luck. Then a couple of years ago I decided to dig in and get it running.
    My first success came with the help of PlayOnLinux, finally! I used this setup until, recently, I decided to try working directly with Wine without the extra layer of PlayOnLinux. So I dug a little more and eventually I gathered most of the info I was looking for on the interweb. Much of this was, things I didn't know I needed to know, until I knew them.
    Now, I had a lot of info, but some bits seemed to contradict other bits, so I began to develop a repeatable, controllable, procedure that would allow me to test a defined set up, document it, rinse and repeat. The process I settled on, exposed the unreliable information, but gave rise to more questions. I dug around, got some more bits, and started again. This time it all came together.
    Eventually, I settled on a kind of combination set-up method using wine / winetricks / wine tools. I'm more of a nuts and bolts kinda guy,so this satisfies me. There are other ways to achieve the same results, and I may tackle them some time, but for now, I am concentrating on using this method to install SimCity4Deluxe and some of the modding tools.
    As a part of the testing process I developed sets of instructions, so I could repeat a particular set-up, exactly the same, multiple times. After using them for awhile, I decided they were solid and they might be helpful to other people. So I edited them into a more readable format and added some, (I hope), helpful information.

    Currently, I have finished these;

∘Wine How To - Install Current Stable Wine
∘ Wine How To - Install SimCity4Deluxe (plus updates)
∘ Wine How To - Install NAM
∘ Wine How To - Install GoFSH
∘ Wine How To - Install Gmax Extended
∘ Wine How To - Install ILive Reader 1.4
∘ Wine How To - Install SC4-PIM X ***(Currently this will install and load but does not run as it should.)

Credits: Most of the information I gathered was from WineHQ, Winetricks, Ubuntu forums, SC4Devotion forums, Simtropolis forums, many sage postings by 'A Nonny Moose' (found these everywhere), along with bits from numerous Linux editorials.

  Edited November 2, 2018 by Handyman  
Edited Wine shortcut

[Handyman 765]

Install Current Stable Wine

Tested on - Ubuntu/Ubuntu Gnome 14.04
                     - Ubuntu/Ubuntu Gnome 16.04
                     - Ubuntu 18.04
It will likely work on other flavours not listed yet.

If you are familiar with the command line, you can skip the next two paragraph.

    This process involves using the terminal to enter and execute commands. You can carefully type in the commands, verbatim, and hit 'Enter', or, you can carefully copy & paste each command and hit 'Enter'. Did I mention, carefully?! Be particularly mindful of spaces and spelling. Though, if you were to make some small typo you might get some unexpected results, but not likely anything serious. Most likely, the Terminal would print out an error and, possibly, tell you what you did wrong.
Open a Terminal from your Menu or type  Ctrl+Alt+T.
    When you open the terminal, note that, the cursor is resting next to a line of text, usually containing your computer name/user name and ending with a dollar sign($). This is a standard prompt (yours may look different depending on your system). To execute commands you must hit 'Enter'. When you execute a command, the prompt will not be available during the execution process. The prompt will return when the process is completed. When you are asked to enter your password on the command line, there is no visual feedback so, keep track in your head as you type.
Tip: When at the command prompt, the UP Arrow will recall previously entered commands.

There are many ways to install and use Wine. These instructions reflect the way I've chosen. Hopefully it will get you started.

Install Current Wine Stable:
 

Go to WineHQ and follow the latest instructions for your distro.
 

    winecfg
∘ This command will create a  .wine folder (default prefix) within your Home folder and set up a basic windows environment within it.
∘ Be patient, it is running
∘ You will get a dialog indicating wine is installing
∘ You will get a dialog stating you need wine-mono, Click   'Install'
∘ You will get a dialog stating you need wine-gecko, Click   'Install'
∘ When the 'Wine configuration' window comes up, Change the 'Windows Version' dropdown to 'WindowsXP'.
∘ Click 'Apply' then 'OK'

You can now exit from the terminal. (Type exit, hit 'Enter')

    Open Nautilus (Files), making sure you are in the Home folder, now hit  Ctrl+H  to show hidden files. At the bottom of the window you will see a folder  .wine  , as I said earlier, this contains a basic windows environment. You can add capability to this environment by adding various types of 'system files', in fact, many windows programs will require it.
    One way to add these 'system files' is with Winetricks.

You now have Wine installed and the default prefix (.wine) is ready to use. You could stop here, but, I hope you will take just a couple more minutes to finish. I've tried to keep it short, and it could save you a lot of aggravation and time.

    It is important to understand that you can have many wine prefixes on the same computer. Remember I said your .wine folder (prefix) contains a windows environment, that holds true for every prefix you create. Giving you the ability, for example, to install each windows program in it's own prefix, essentially running them as separate processes. This method also makes it possible to delete any one of the prefixes without affecting the others. So if you trash one installed program, simply delete the prefix and start again, all other programs, untouched.
    Now we can move on to creating a new prefix. I like to start all my prefix names with '.wine-' (all names must begin with a  .  ) and then I finish after the dash with a descriptive name. This way they are grouped together, in my Home folder, and I can easily identify them as a prefix rather than another type of '.folder'. Below are a few commands that will create a prefix and also open a particular tool.

Try any, or all, of these commands:

    env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-Test winecfg                      - (creates prefix - opens Configuration window)
    env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-Test wine control              - (creates prefix - opens Control Panel )
    env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-Test wine regedit             - (creates prefix - opens Registry Editor )

    Check out whatever tool you chose. Notice they look similar to a windows counterpart.  If you tried more than one, you may have noticed it skipped, creating a prefix, after the first time. This is because the prefix already existed.
    Whenever you include a prefix designation (ie: env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-Test)  followed by a wine command (ie: wine control), any actions you take apply only to that prefix. If you don't include a prefix name, all actions apply to the default prefix (.wine).

Any prefix, including the default, can be deleted, without concern. This does not remove Wine

Hopefully, this is enough, to get you started with Wine. Have Fun!

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[Handyman 765]

Install SC4Deluxe (CD Version) in Wine

This document describes installing SC4Deluxe into a 32bit wine prefix.
Tested on - Ubuntu/Gnome 14.04 - Does not like windowed mode
                     - Ubuntu/Gnome 16.04 - Currently testing in windowed mode (so far so good)
It will likely work on other flavours not listed yet.

I tried to write this in a way that everyone could be successful, even the novice.

Important Note: If you are using Ubuntu 14.04 or older - When you finish this process and go to launch SC4D, close all other programs first, SC4D will not play nice with other processes running. When it starts up, it will be in the background, wait a minute and then Alt+Tab to bring it to the foreground.

You will need your SC4Deluxe discs and, (optionally), the following updates

• UPDATE_SKU1_TO_P1_B638.EXE

• SC4Update4BAT.exe

• Create a folder (SC4DELUXE1) on your Desktop. Now copy all the files from Disc 1 into your new Desktop folder.
         **( I recently experienced a problem with brown boxes and could not fix it with known solutions. After a lot of investigation, I discovered my                         Desktop copy of Disc 1 was corrupted. I expect this was caused by me copying it to several partitions for testing)

• Do not put Disc 2 into CD drive until the installer requests it

Enter the following command in a Terminal

• • env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-SC4D wine control

    • this will create a newwine prefix.wine-SC4D and open the Wine Control Panel within the .wine-SC4D prefix

  • Open Add/Remove Programs

    • Click Install

    • Navigate to setup.exe in the SC4DELUXE1 folder on your Desktop

    • Select the setup.exe file

  • Click Install when the SC4 window comes up

  • Enter your code from the CD case when prompted

  • Install to the default directory

  • Register later

  • Likely the progress bar will not work but the current action displays as normal

• The first disc will install very quickly because it is installing from your hard drive

• When the dialog comes up Insert Disc 2 put the disc in your drive and wait for one minute so the disc has a chance to register with the system

  • Click OK

  • The disc will take significantly longer to load

  • Be patient - it is working

• When the Install dialog disappears SC4 is installed

Keep Add/Remove Programs open to install UPDATE_SKU1_TO_P1_B638.EXE and
SC4Update4BAT.exe
This part is completely optional if all you want to play is vanilla SC4D.
If you plan on installing the NAM you will need - UPDATE_SKU1_TO_P1_B638.EXE
If you want to install the TELotFix or plan on doing some modding you will need - SC4Update4BAT.exe

• These must be installed in this order

  • Click Install

  • Navigate to the location of UPDATE_SKU1_TO_P1_B638.EXE

  • Select the UPDATE_SKU1_TO_P1_B638.EXE file and follow the prompts

    • this will install UPDATE_SKU1_TO_P1_B638.EXE into your windows environment in .wine-SC4D

  • Click Install

  • Navigate to the location of SC4Update4BAT.exe

  • Select the SC4Update4BAT.exe file and follow the prompts

    • this will install SC4Update4BAT.exe into your windows environment in .wine-SC4D

You can now close Add/Remove Programs and also Wine Control Panel and the Terminal

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[Handyman 765]

Install NAM

This document describes installing the Network Addon Mod (NAM) into a 32bit wine prefix.
Tested on - Ubuntu/Gnome 14.04
                     - Ubuntu/Gnome 16.04
It will likely work on other flavours not listed yet.

I tried to write this in a way that everyone could be successful, even the novice.

You will need the NetworkAddonMod Setup 35.exe

Important Note: If you did not use my instructions for installing SC4D then you will need to change the prefix name in the Wine command below, instead of .wine-SC4D, use the prefix name you created. If you did not create a new prefix then you are using the default prefix (.wine). If you used the default prefix then you can eliminate the prefix designation (ie: env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-SC4D) and just use the command portion (ie: wine control).

NetworkAddonMod Setup 35.exe can be installed with Add/Remove Programs:

• Enter or Copy/Paste the following command in a Terminal

  • env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-SC4D wine control

    • this will open the Wine Control Panel within the .wine-SC4D prefix

  • Open Add/Remove Programs

    • Click Install

    • Navigate to the location of NetworkAddonMod Setup 35.exe

    • Select the NetworkAddonMod Setup 35.exe file

    • Click - Next

    • Click - I Agree

    • Click - Next

  • In the Setup Type dialog, you have a few choices. If you know exactly what you want, select away. If you are not sure, select the Complete Standard Installation. You can rerun the installer and add/remove later.

  • The rest of the instructions assume you selected the Complete Standard Installation.

    • Click - Next

    • Click - Install

    • Select OK to run Cleanitol

    • Select Quit to return to the install

    • When the dialog comes up to tell you the compiler failed Click - OK

      • ( We will fix this at the end)

  • When the Finish dialog comes up, there are two check boxes. The top one will install the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool.

    • Make your choice and Click - Finish

  • If you chose to install the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool

    • Click - Next

    • Select - I Agree

    • Click - Next

    • Click - Next to use the default directory

    • If asked, Click - Yes to create the destination directory

    • Click - Start

    • Click - Next

    • Click Exit

  • A language selection dialog will pop up, and your browser with the read me page displayed.

    • Alt+Tab to the laguage selection dialog

    • Make your language selection and Click - OK

  • Now you should have the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool opened on your desktop and likely a Introduction page on top of it.

    • Have a read and Click - OK to close the Introduction page.

    • Click - OK to accept the Loaded values

  • The use of this tool is beyond the scope of this instruction sheet. There is good documentation by the NAM Team and help on the Simtropolis and SCDevotion forums. (you might even run into a NAM Team member there).

    • Click - Exit to close the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool

• Keep Add/Remove Programs open to run the Compiler (this is the fix referred to earlier)

  • • Click Install

    • Navigate to the folder ' My Documents/SimCity 4/NAM Auxiliary Files/Tools/Controller Compiler/ '

    • Use the Files of type drop down menu (bottom of window) to select All files(*.*)

    • Use the button at the top, right of the window to change to List view

    • Now hover your mouse over the divider between the File and Size columns until you get the double arrow, then click and drag to the right until you expose the complete file names in the File column.

    • Select NamControllerCompiler.bat

    • Click - Open

  • When the NAM Controller Compiler window comes up;

    • Click the Browse button at the end of the Input window

    • Navigate to the folder ' My Documents/SimCity 4/NAM Auxiliary Files/Tools/Controller Compiler/Network Addon Mod/ '

    • Select - Controller

    • Click - Open

    • Click the Browse button at the end of the Output window

    • Navigate to the folder 'My Documents/SimCity 4/Plugins/ '

    • Select - Network Addon Mod

    • Click - Open

    • Select - Right or Left-hand drive

    • Click - Start Compilation

    • Click - OK

• You can now close Add/Remove Programs and also Wine Control Panel and the Terminal

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[Handyman 765]

Install GoFSH

This document describes installing GoFSH and Bender into a 32bit wine prefix on Ubuntu or Ubuntu/Gnome 14.04. It will likely work on other flavours, but I have not tried any, yet.

You will need GoFSH Package_2.9.6.msi and the following dependencies

Dependencies:

• NetFx20SP2_x86.exe - (.Net 2.0 SP2) Download from microsoft

NetFx20SP2_x86.exe can be installed with Add/Remove Programs:

• Enter the following command in a Terminal

  • env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-GoFSH wine control

    • this will create a newwine prefix .wine-GoFSH and it will open the Wine Control Panel within the .wine-GoFSH prefix

  • Open Add/Remove Programs

    • Click Install

    • Navigate to the location of NetFx20SP2_x86.exe

    • Select the NetFx20SP2_x86.exe file and follow the prompts

      • this will install DotNet2.0SP2-x86 into your windows environment in .wine-GoFSH. (To see the new entry in the program list you have to close Add/Remove Programs and then re-open it)

Keep Add/Remove Programs open to install GoFSH Package_2.9.6.msi

• • Click Install

  • Navigate to the location of GoFSH Package_2.9.6.msi

  • Select the GoFSH Package_2.9.6.msi file and follow the prompts

    • this will install GoFSH into your windows environment in .wine-GoFSH (To see the new entry in the program list you have to close Add/Remove Programs and then re-open it)

You can now close Add/Remove Programs and also Wine Control Panel and the Terminal

In my case GoFSH / Bender did not create menu items under Wine so I used alacarte to make them. It did create a Desktop shortcut and a .lnk file (on the Desktop), but I don't want them there so...click....click..gone.

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[Handyman 765]

Install GMAX Extended

This document describes installing Gmax into a 32bit wine prefix on Ubuntu or Ubuntu/Gnome 14.04. It will likely work on other flavours, but I have not tried any, yet.
I tried to write this in a way that everyone could be successful, even the novice.

You will need gmax12.exe and the following dependencies.
(If you goto TurboSquid, and create a free account, you can download gmax and get a registration code.)

Dependencies:

vcrun6 - This will install vcrun6, vcrun6sp6, msvcirt, mfc42

vcrun6 can be installed with Winetricks:

• Enter the following command in a Terminal

  • env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-gmax winetricks

    • this will create a newwine prefix .wine-gmax and it willopen the Winetricks Panel within the .wine-gmax prefix

  • Select - Select the default wineprefix

  • Click - OK

  • Look at the top of the window to make sure you are in the correct prefix

  • Select - Install a windows DLL or component

  • Click - OK

  • Scroll to - vcrun6 - and select it

  • Click - OK

  • Select - nothing

  • Click - OK

  • Click - Cancel

gmax12.exe can be installed with Add/Remove Programs:

• Enter or Copy/Paste the following command in a Terminal

  • env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-gmax wine control

    • this will open the Wine Control Panel within the .wine-gmax prefix

  • Open Add/Remove Programs

    • Click Install

    • Navigate to where you saved gmax12.exe

    • Use the Files of type drop down menu to select All Files (*.*)

    • Select gmax12.exe

    • click Open

    • Click Setup - to extract the files

    • Click Next

    • Click I accept

    • Click Next

    • Click Next - to accept the default folder

    • Click Next - to begin installation

    • Click Finish

• You can now close Add/Remove Programs and also Wine Control Panel and the Terminal

Important Note:
When you run Gmax for the first time, you will be asked to select your geometry renderer, you MUST choose the HEIDI software Z-buffer - Direct3D crashes GMAX, and OpenGL will run GMAX but the viewports are not rendered correctly.

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[Handyman 765]

Install ILives Reader 1.4

This document describes installing ILives Reader 1.4 into a 32bit wine prefix on Ubuntu or Ubuntu/Gnome 14.04. It will likely work on other flavours, but I have not tried any, yet.
I tried to write this in a way that everyone could be successful, even the novice.

You will need ILives Reader.msi and the following dependencies

Dependencies:

• mfc42.dll

• vcredist_x86.exe - Download from microsoft (MicrosoftVisualC++_Redistributibe Package_x86)

mfc42.dll can be installed with Winetricks:

• Enter the following command in a Terminal

env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-ilive winetricks

• • • this will create a newwine prefix.wine-ilive and it willopen the Winetricks Panel within the .wine-ilive prefix

  • Select - Select the default wineprefix

  • Click - OK

  • Look at the top of the window to make sure you are in the correct prefix

  • Select - Install a windows DLL or component

  • Click - OK

  • Scroll to - mfc42.dll - and select it

  • Click - OK

  • Select - nothing

  • Click - OK

  • Click - Cancel

    • this will place a copy of mfc42.dll in your .wine-ilive/drive_c/windows/system32 folder

vcredist_x86.exe can be installed with Add/Remove Programs:

• Enter the following command in a Terminal

  • env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-ilive wine control

    • this will open the Wine Control Panel within the .wine-ilive prefix

  • Open Add/Remove Programs

    • Click Install

    • Navigate to the location of vcredist_x86.exe

    • Use the Files of type drop down menu to select All Files (*.*)

    • Select vcredist_x86.exe

    • click Open

    • Click Next

    • Select I have read .....

    • Click Install

    • Click Finish

      • this will install Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributible-x86 into your windows environment in .wine-ilive. (To see the new entry in the program list you have to close Add/Remove Programs and then re-open it)

Keep Add/Remove Programs open to install ILives Reader.msi

• • Click Install

  • Navigate to the location of ILives Reader.msi

  • Select ILives Reader.msi

  • click Open

  • Click Next

  • Click Next

  • Click Next

  • Click Close

    • this will install ILives Reader into your windows environment in .wine-ilive (To see the new entry in the program list you have to close Add/Remove Programs and then re-open it)

You can now close Add/Remove Programs and also Wine Control Panel and the Terminal

In my case ILives Reader did not create a menu item under Wine so I used alacarte to make one. It did create a Desktop shortcut and a .lnk file (on the Desktop), but I don't want them there so.........gone.

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[Handyman 765]

Install SC4-PIM X  ***(Currently this will install and load but does not run properly)

This document describes installing SC4-PIM X, using 32bit wine on Ubuntu or Ubuntu/Gnome 14.04. It will likely work on other flavours, but I have not tried any, yet.
I tried to write this in a way that everyone could be successful, even the novice.

You will need SC4PIMRC8c.exe and the following dependencies

Dependencies:

• corefonts (microsoft)

• Python26 (Python interpreter, version 2.6.2)

Both dependencies can be installed with Winetricks:

• Enter the following command in a Terminal

env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-Pimx winetricks

• • • this will create a new wine prefix .wine-Pimx and it will open the Winetricks Panel within the .wine-Pimx prefix

  • Select - Select the default wineprefix

  • Click - OK

  • Look at the top of the window to make sure you are in the correct prefix

  • Select - Install a font

  • Click - OK

  • Scroll to - corefonts - and select it

  • Click - OK

  • Wait for it to finish

    • this will install corefonts into the windows environment in your .wine-Pimx prefix and return you to Winetricks

  • Now Select - Install a windows DLL or component

  • Click - OK

  • Scroll to - python26

  • Click - OK

  • Wait while it downloads packages

  • When the install begins, just keep clicking Next, accept all defaults

    • After clicking Finish the first time another sequence will begin

    • Again, just keep clicking Next, accept all defaults

    • Click Finish again

    • this will install the necessary python packages and return you to Winetricks

  • Select - nothing

  • Click - OK

  • Click - Cancel

SC4PIMRC8c.exe can be installed with Add/Remove Programs:

• Enter the following command in a Terminal

env WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-Pimx wine control

• • • this will open the Wine Control Panel within the .wine-Pimx prefix

  • Open Add/Remove Programs

    • Click Install

    • Navigate to the location of SetupSC4PIMRC8c.exe

    • Use the Files of type drop down menu to select All Files (*.*)

    • Select SetupSC4PIMRC8c.exe

    • click Open

    • Click Next

    • Select I agree .....

    • Click Next

    • Click Next

    • Click Yes to create the destination directory

    • Click Start

    • Uncheck Launch SC4 PIM Extended - ( Please Read the Warning Below )

    • Click Next

    • Click Exit

      • this will install SC4-PIM X into your windows environment in .wine-Pimx (To see the new entry in the program list you have to close Add/Remove Programs and then re-open it)

You can now close Add/Remove Programs and also Wine Control Panel and the Terminal

In my case SC4-Pim X did create menu items under Wine. One to execute the program and one to uninstall it. If this is not the case for you then you could use alacarte to create one.

Warning: If you do not have SC4 installed, when you run SC4-PIM X, you must uncheck all the boxes in the first window that comes up, or if you have SC4 installed you must uncheck the boxes that have a blank path entry or you will get the following errors:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 3454, in OnClose
File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 3457, in ShowMain
File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 2883, in __init__
File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 3213, in LoadDatas
pywintypes.error: (2, 'RegOpenKeyEx', 'File not found.')

If you find yourself with this situation you will have to kill the process with Sytem Monitor

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  Edited August 28, 2018 by Handyman  
Edited title line

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

Whoa! This looks extremely thorough. I toyed with Linux a long time ago and got a particular game to limp along in Wine. I'm definitely going to bookmark this so I can try it some day.

 

-Cori Note as Moderator: I waived the no back to back posts rule for @Handyman in this thread because he is creating this special project for our community.

[rsc204 21,808]

I'm sure this will prove a very useful resource, Windows 10 is making a lot of enemies and I think Linux is becoming a serious consideration for some users as a result. Either way, I don't recall anyone making such a detailed explanation of this previously.

I do wonder though, because it all looks rather complex, could these operations be compiled into some sort of Run and Done script of some kind? That may be of help to some who may otherwise feel overwhelmed with all the command line stuff.

[Handyman 765]

3 hours ago, rsc204 said:

I do wonder though, because it all looks rather complex, could these operations be compiled into some sort of Run and Done script of some kind? That may be of help to some who may otherwise feel overwhelmed with all the command line stuff.

I seriously considered this before I posted, and I agree with that concern. However, I would have to dust of my coding skills first, so I decided to get these out there now, and work on the other after.

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

On 1/22/2017 at 0:01 AM, Handyman said:

I seriously considered this before I posted, and I agree with that concern. However, I would have to dust of my coding skills first, so I decided to get these out there now, and work on the other after.

For myself, I'd prefer to go thru all the steps so I might learn some of it.

[alicenychto 41]

Wow ... This could be the best article that I've ever seen over the year ... 

I'm using wineskin for playing SC4 and running the tools, but still there're lots of issues and some tools just don't run at all (CTD immediately or just stay there but nothing could be done or rendering graphics bizarrely).

I have been long time looking for re-comstructing SC4 and all tools with wine since it's more simple than wineskin (in fact with wineskin lots of stuffs are hidden behind the GUI) and I don't want to have a lots of wrappers of 500MBs just for one tool and change the config every time I want to switch from LE to ilive or vice versa. But wine seems to be much more complicated than wineskin..

By the way, for the game version I'd like to recommend GOG version rather than disk version... The first time I wrapped the disk version and upgraded it to 638, 640 and 641 but it was always buggy with quite a lot of graphic issues. Later I bought a GOG copy and used it to wrap ... It just worked perfectly as if it was designed to run on Mac OS X.

For GMax, could it run nicely for the processus of introducing max models and convert to sc4models? And for the iLives Reader, it crashed immediately every time I tended to view a S3D file..

I was somehow sad (or upset?) while searching around for discussions and articles about playing games or using wine/wineskin ... Everyone just talked about bootcamp, parallel desktop (which I'll never use because it's just intolerable to see such kind of mix-up), purchasing a Mac App Store/Steam version or "Mac is not designed for gaming" or something like this ... 

Another questions: Are DAMN Manager, JENX Poseidon MOD, PEG SPAM usable with wine? (As for me none of these works.)

[Handyman 765]

Thank you.

I am still using my the original disk for SimCity4Deluxe Edition that I bought when they first came out. When they finally wear out I will have to go digital, but, not before.

I don't know much about the tools, such as, GMax and iLives. Those instructions came about when I finally got SC4D running properly in Wine I just wanted a little more experience and those tools seemed to be popular. You would probably find better answers for this in the Modding section.

1 hour ago, alicenychto said:

Are DAMN Manager, JENX Poseidon MOD, PEG SPAM usable with wine?

I have tried SPAM, but ran into graphics glitches.

[nirasa 13]

Supr tutorials! Thank you very much.

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

My Win-XP machine recently died 

I have no Windoze installation media (the machine came with XP and all of its cab files already on it back in 2011). Linux may be my only recourse. I have installed Ubuntu 16.10 on another physical disk, but...

When I tried to install Wine (using Synaptic), I got a slew of error messages about i386 files failing. Google searches of the problem say to declare [arch=AMD64] somewhere, but my CPU is Intel, not AMD. My problem is that Wine supports 64-bit AMD but only 32-bit Intel.

Does anyone know how to install Wine on 64-bit Intel, or is it just not possible?

[matias93 7,535]

AMD64 is the standard name that Linux uses for all PC compatible 64 bit processors. Your problems are likely caused by a mismatch between the 64 bit system and the 32 bit Wine repository you are using.

Disable any custom repository sources for wine and try to install the basic metapackage (wine1.8 IIRC), letting the SO to determine the bit version of it.

[Handyman 765]

@jeffryfisher Sorry for the delay, hope you got it running but if not,

you may need to use this command before you try to install wine.     sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

[matias93 7,535]

Though, I'm pretty sure there is an AMD64 package for Wine. I cannot check it right now on my installation, I'm running windows on the same computer :/

[Handyman 765]

10 hours ago, matias93 said:

Though, I'm pretty sure there is an AMD64 package for Wine.

There is indeed. The only reason I didn't mention it in the instructions was to keep things as simple as possible, but you can absolutely install 64bit wine and then create 32 or 64bit prefixes. If you want to use 64bit wine you can create a 32bit prefix with the following command.

WINEARCH=win32 WINEPREFIX=path_to_wineprefix winecfg

                                                                  ex- ~/.wine32prefix winecfg

And to create a 64bit prefix - WINEPREFIX=path_to_wineprefix winecfg

[rsc204 21,808]

On 21/01/2018 at 4:31 AM, matias93 said:

AMD64 is the standard name that Linux uses for all PC compatible 64 bit processors. Your problems are likely caused by a mismatch between the 64 bit system and the 32 bit Wine repository you are using.

Bear in mind that x86 is simply another term for a 32-bit x86 compatible processor. Similarly AMD64 is a generic term for a 64-bit x86 compatible processor. The only reason it's referred to as AMD is because AMD created the standard for 64-bit CPUs. So installing AMD64 is simply for any 64-bit machine, you really want to use a 64-bit OS if you've more than 3GB RAM or you'll have performance nightmares.

As for the XP system, if it came with XP pre-installed, there should be a recovery volume on the HDD, assuming that's not what broke, it will still be there. To use it, usually you need to invoke a special startup key from the BIOS, then you can restore the XP system. You could also buy an XP install disc, I can't imagine that'd set you back much these days, maybe $10.

[genedan 2]

@Handyman, thanks so much for writing this post. I have tested this tutorial out with Ubuntu 20.04 to install SC4 and the latest NAM (version 44). After so many years of being disappointed with not being able to run SC4 since switching to open source, I can finally play it!

Installing vanilla SC4 works just fine. However, I did have trouble installing NAM, as the installation no longer occurs via a .exe file but is a three-step process that first involves installing a Java dependency, applying a 4gb patch, and then launching a Java program which will install NAM. I struggled for a day trying to get it to work, but I've managed to do so. My observations are:

- Installing OpenJDK and running the Java NAM installer works fine using your Wine prefix instructions.

- The 4gb patch is where people will struggle. The .exe file does not execute properly using the Wine prefix control panel and has an obscure error message simply saying that it cannot be executed. However, if you don't apply the patch, your game will crash with the latest NAM.

- I created a Windows virtual machine using VirtualBox and was able to patch the 'SimCity 4.exe' executable there. Then I copied the patched .exe file to my Linux OS and replaced the .exe in the Wine prefix with the patched version. After doing that, I was able to play the game.

- Some users may have trouble with the CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+R shortcut when trying to render a region. This is because Ubuntu uses that shortcut to record the desktop. If you disable or reassign the Ubuntu shortcut, the rendering shortcut will work.

It would be nice if one of us could figure out a way to get that patch working without having to spin up a virtual machine. Another option is to stick with NAM 35 - if you can still get a hold of that version, the tutorial you wrote still works with that version.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,412]

5 hours ago, genedan said:

Another option is to stick with NAM 35 - if you can still get a hold of that version, the tutorial you wrote still works with that version

Unfortunately, the NAM Team does not provide downloads of old versions and does not provide support for old versions. Since NAM 37 the installer has been designed to ensure operability between the various operating systems and it is recommended to always run the latest NAM version available as they contain numerous bugfixes

[rsc204 21,808]

22 hours ago, genedan said:

It would be nice if one of us could figure out a way to get that patch working without having to spin up a virtual machine.

The 4GB patch simply adds a flag to enable the LAA (Large Address Aware) memory space, this is a function that gets read by 64-Bit Windows. In other words you do not need this patch on Mac or Linux systems, the OS wouldn’t process this flag even if you could somehow patch the .exe, it’s essentially useless. Instead you need to find either in WINE or your OS the equivalent function and enable it for SC4.

The option is always there to run NAM with the Low RAM / No RHW controller for systems that don’t meet the expanded requirements of the Full / RHW controller. Of course that does mean you won’t be able to use RHW, but that won’t be a problem for everyone.

That said, assuming you are running a 64-Bit distro and have a minimum of 4GB system RAM, this should be eminently solvable. I found some information here on the subject, but it does seem like it’s part of WINE/Proton where this needs to be set. 

[Handyman 765]

@genedan I am glad these instructions have been helpful. It has been so long since I did my last game install I can't remember how, or if, I installed the 4gb patch. I did a quick search and found this site that may have what you need. I have not used this program but it looks promising as it has SimCity4 in its list.

[memo 1,444]

4GB patch

It is very much necessary to apply the 4GB patch using Wine (except supposedly if you use Proton or maybe Lutris). To do so, make a backup of the "SimCity 4.exe" file, copy the "4gb_patch.exe" from the NAM to e.g. the directory that contains the game files and apply it like this

wine "C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\4gb_patch.exe" "C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\SimCity 4.exe"

The patch also creates a backup file named "SimCity 4.exe.Backup". You can confirm that the file hash has changed e.g. by

sha1sum SimCity\ 4.exe*

Load the game into region view. Then you can confirm that the patch worked by viewing the file "<hostname>-config-log.txt" located in the directory of the .exe file (this might require the extra cheats DLL or SC4fix which must be placed in the top level directory of your plugins):

Numbers
-------
...
memory = 4096    # <--- was 2048 before the patch

Afterwards, you can load a city with the full NAM in your plugins, with some patience.

 

--------------------------------------

A few other observations I made while going through the installation process with Wine 7.13:

• Don't run the NAM installer with sudo, even though the included .sh script does so in NAM 44 (erroneously, in my eyes). Simply run

  java -jar NetworkAddonMod_Setup_Version44.jar

   

• For security reasons, I prefer to run Wine applications under a different user account (see the Arch wiki). It is important to add this user to the `audio` group (on Arch Linux using Alsa at least), since otherwise the game crashes after the EA logo.
• On my machine, hardware rendering only works acceptably with `-d:OpenGL`. Alternatively use `-d:Software` rendering. In both modes, shadows are not rendered properly which looks especially weird on networks like Elevated Lightrail. Hardware rendering on the other hand is very slow and unresponsive, but it might be enough for taking screenshots.
• The windowed mode flag `-w` results in an instant crash.
• I had trouble with unfocusing/refocusing of the application, always crashing the game. This might be a conflict with my tiling window manager (XMonad). To fix this, open `winecfg` and select
  •   Applications > SimCity 4.exe
  •   Graphics > Emulate a virtual desktop  (and deselect the "Allow the window manager…" options)

With that I can open the game in a window up to the size of my primary screen. Anything larger (like my secondary screen) forces the game into a tiny non-fullscreen non-resizable window inside the virtual desktop, which is unusable, so I will stick to the smaller screen for now.

• The Reader sort of works, but some things don't yet (like the 3D view of S3d models) and I am not sure how to solve that. I have tried both 0.9.3 and 1.5.4.
   

[memo 1,444]

With Wine 8.10 and Mesa 23.1.2, there is a bug that can prevent SC4 from launching, resulting in this error: "X Error of failed request:  GLXBadFBConfig".

As a workaround, launch Wine with "MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=4.6".

For details, see the bug reports https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=54994 and https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/issues/8901.

[Somnolence 81]

On 5/6/2017 at 11:17 PM, alicenychto said:

Another questions: Are DAMN Manager, JENX Poseidon MOD, PEG SPAM usable with wine? (As for me none of these works.)

The DAMN manager (EDIT: I assumed you meant this) worked out of the box for me. The DAMN mod itself needed some fine-tuning, though.

  Edited September 19, 2023 by Somnolence  
edited for clarity

[memo 1,444]

With Wine 9.6 and 9.7, there was a bug that prevented proper use of the game. The clickable area was limited to a small rectangle at the top left of the screen, at least when using the "emulate virtual desktop" feature.

Wine 9.5 wasn't affected by this, and the issue is fixed in Wine 9.8. I couldn't pinpoint the relevant patch though.

[Rady 94]

I tried to install iLIVE reader following above instructions. However, when it comes to the part of installing iLIVE, I discovered that there is no iLive.msi-File with the current version, just a "Reader.exe", which I selected. iLive Reader then starts, but where does it install iLives Reader? Or do I need to got trhough the "install software" part every time I use the Reader?

Furthermore, I cannot access the STEAM SC4 directory, as I cannot access the hidden ".steam" directory, so I cannot access the files I want to modify.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Thanks