How Does Cleanitol Exactly Work?

[Moses Zal 46]

How are you guys doing? I hope you're all having a good time. 

 

When a dependency comes with a text file, I usually use the cleanitol to scan for redundant dependencies. I also know that cleanitol moves the files that are jpg, txt, and html that have been placed into the plugins folder by manual installations into another location.

What else does it does? Does it remove redundant dependencies by itself when installing new ones even without inputting a text file?

 

Also, I don't think it's gonna be a problem if I grouped all the dependencies in one folder, is it?

[Fantozzi 4,068]

To my knowledge the Cleanitol can only read and compare file names and it needs a list (a text file for that). But talking about redundant dependencies is another thing. As a dat file is roughly something similar as a compressed archive which can contain different kind of data. So if you bundle and repack dependencies f.e. in a new dat file the Cleanitol can't find duplicate data anymore.

The DatPacker, for example, instead reads the dat files and recognizes duplicate TGI and can exclude them from packing. 

The Cleanitol was just intended to remove older dependencies packs in an easy way when updates or megapacks were released to avoid manually searching and deleting them. It isn't of use to maintain or check integrity of your plugin folder.

If you search a tool that can read and find duplicate or redunant data (not only files by name) by TGIs  - that means, elements where the type ID, the group ID and the instance ID is identical (= a conflict) you would probably go for rivits SC4DataNode:

 

Second question:

Generally no problem. It's recommended to organize the plugin folder. But some mods (files) need to be loaded after other mods (files). And the game reads the subfolders in the plugin folder in an alphabetical order (not exactly the same as windows explorer shows btw.) So you may pay attention to this - what needs to be loaded first and what last, before you put everything in one folder.

[twalsh102 1,601]

Dang it, you beat me by 5 seconds

Cleanitol does two major things:

If a download comes with a Cleanitol list containing required dependencies (i.e. listing specific files), it can be used to determine if you have those dependencies.  Very few downloads include those any more.

If a dependency  comes with a Cleanitol files, that usually means that the dependency is replacing older files in a previous dependency.  It may also mean that a dependency is consolidating several older dependencies into one package.  Thus Cleanitol will get rid of those older files.  Not many newer dependencies come with Cleanitol files.

Cleanitol will not work without some sort of input file.  It won't know what to look for.  At its core, Cleanitol is nothing more than a duplicate checker, looking for existing file names in your Plugins folder that match file names in the input file.

On the where to put dependencies question, the game really doesn't care where you put your dependencies, as long as they are someplace in your Plugins folder (caveat:  some Mods require that they be placed in a specific location within your Plugins folder.  If they don't come with an installer that automatically places them in the correct location, the download description and/or a ReadMe file will specify the correct location. 

Other than that it's just a matter of organization.  Ask 100 people what the best way is to organize your Plugins folder and you will probably get 100 different answers.  If these dependencies were pieces of paper, how would you file them in your file cabinet?  Do you throw everything in one pile in one drawer?  Other than the aforementioned Mods, there is usually no right or wrong way to organize your Plugins.  Given the following three things you will experience: 

1.  Not every content creator will list file names for dependencies.  Many will just list a Dependency Package name
2.  The file name many times will not be anything close to the Dependency Package name listed;
3.  Content creators often get the name of the Dependency Package wrong;
4.  Not every dependency comes in a prop package.  Some will be models or props that are included with other lot downloads

How would your mind lead you in a search of your Plugins folder to find what might not be a specific target, in order to avoid downloading something you might already have?  You should organize your Plugins with that question in mind.

[CorinaMarie 29,898]

For the plugin folder organization they are talking about see the Show us how you manage your plugins folder thread for some good ideas.

[Moses Zal 46]

8 hours ago, Fantozzi said:

To my knowledge the Cleanitol can only read and compare file names and it needs a list (a text file for that). But talking about redundant dependencies is another thing. As a dat file is roughly something similar as a compressed archive which can contain different kind of data. So if you bundle and repack dependencies f.e. in a new dat file the Cleanitol can't find duplicate data anymore.

The DatPacker, for example, instead reads the dat files and recognizes duplicate TGI and can exclude them from packing. 

The Cleanitol was just intended to remove older dependencies packs in an easy way when updates or megapacks were released to avoid manually searching and deleting them. It isn't of use to maintain or check integrity of your plugin folder.

If you search a tool that can read and find duplicate or redunant data (not only files by name) by TGIs  - that means, elements where the type ID, the group ID and the instance ID is identical (= a conflict) you would probably go for rivits SC4DataNode:

 

Second question:

Generally no problem. It's recommended to organize the plugin folder. But some mods (files) need to be loaded after other mods (files). And the game reads the subfolders in the plugin folder in an alphabetical order (not exactly the same as windows explorer shows btw.) So you may pay attention to this - what needs to be loaded first and what last, before you put everything in one folder.

Thanks I'm gonna try Datanode for sure.

[Moses Zal 46]

21 hours ago, Fantozzi said:

To my knowledge the Cleanitol can only read and compare file names and it needs a list (a text file for that). But talking about redundant dependencies is another thing. As a dat file is roughly something similar as a compressed archive which can contain different kind of data. So if you bundle and repack dependencies f.e. in a new dat file the Cleanitol can't find duplicate data anymore.

The DatPacker, for example, instead reads the dat files and recognizes duplicate TGI and can exclude them from packing. 

The Cleanitol was just intended to remove older dependencies packs in an easy way when updates or megapacks were released to avoid manually searching and deleting them. It isn't of use to maintain or check integrity of your plugin folder.

If you search a tool that can read and find duplicate or redunant data (not only files by name) by TGIs  - that means, elements where the type ID, the group ID and the instance ID is identical (= a conflict) you would probably go for rivits SC4DataNode:

 

Second question:

Generally no problem. It's recommended to organize the plugin folder. But some mods (files) need to be loaded after other mods (files). And the game reads the subfolders in the plugin folder in an alphabetical order (not exactly the same as windows explorer shows btw.) So you may pay attention to this - what needs to be loaded first and what last, before you put everything in one folder.

Can you tell me the difference between Datanode and Datpacker? Which one do you recommend more and why?

[Moses Zal 46]

21 hours ago, twalsh102 said:

 

If they don't come with an installer that automatically places them in the correct location, the download description and/or a ReadMe file will specify the correct location. 

Thanks mate for your valuable info. Regarding what I quoted, does that mean that it is not recommended to change the location created by the installer or recommended by the ReadMe file?

What's gonna happen if I did?

[Moses Zal 46]

20 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

For the plugin folder organization they are talking about see the Show us how you manage your plugins folder thread for some good ideas.

Thanks a lot. This is what I need

[Fantozzi 4,068]

1 hour ago, Moses Zal said:

Can you tell me the difference between Datanode and Datpacker? Which one do you recommend more and why?

Uh ... they are totally different and I recommend both. I cover only Datpacker in my answer, DataNode is for screening your plugin folder, Datpacker is for making your own dat files.

So on Datpacker the first question might be: why should I ever do this, repacking my files?

If you look in your plugin folder there are several desc or lot files with 5 or 21 kb size - which are for modern computers very tiny in size. In effect they might occupy each much more space on your disc than what is told as the smallest space on modern HD is roundabout 4kb and every thing that can't be divided by 4kb occupies the whole next 4kb . So if the file is 21 kb in effect it occupies 24 kb.If it is 5kb it occupies 8kb. But modern operating systems do another thing, they hold data, that belongs together, also together on the disc. That speeds up things as the magnetic head hasn't to run up and down the disc for each piece of data. The problem is: as those tiny files are separated files - how should the operating system know they are part of the same 'data'? So it might happen the lot file is at this end of your disc and the desc file that belongs to the lot file is on the other end of the disc and the magnetic head is busy to just collect a single tree for the game.

That's why it is very usefull to collect those tiny files into a single dat file. This can speed up your game, if you have a big plugin folder and even can reduce the amount of crashes (when zooming or scrollng). If you look at the base game, the files in your program folder - you see that Maxis packed all the tiny stuff together in a few big dat files with 100-150 MB size. That's not what your plugin folder looks like, doesn't it? And that's one of the main reasons why it's so much slower to load. It's not a backpack of files, it's a bursted sack of rice the game has to carry without dripping something.

But wait! Don't hurry now and pack everything. Everything has its pro and cons and you have to consider some things on dat packing.

1. There is stuff subject to regulary updates. So very important to do this first of all. Make a new folder on your backup disc. Or use an usb stick. But make a completely separate folder somewhree completely separate. And for every bundle of files you pack together in a new dat - make a folder there the same name of the dat-file you create. And put a security copy of all the files there. This way - after a year or two, when you forgot what is where - in which of the dat-files you made is which original plugin - you can use this backup as a look-up index for your own packed dat-files. And also - if some plugin is updated that makes part of your big dat-file you don't have to go through all the process of collecting again. You simply restore your unpacked dat-files image and replace the part that was updated and repack it. So updates aren't an issue.

2. dat-packing and organzing the plugin-folder work hand in hand. And as you consider what to put in which folder you have the same question in an even more weighty way on dat-packing. For example: load order. If you put some terrain mods together with some buildings and dat-pack them you might get troubles with load order for example. So don't make your dat-packs too big but think of what can be put together in a dat. Give you two examples how I do this - but systematization is your choice, it must fit your needs, not mine. F.e. I dat-packed all police, hospital, school and firestation  stuff into a folder, named this folder 'supplybuildings' and dat-packed it. So the result is a file named 'supplybuildings.dat'. And the original folder, as I said, I put in whole in the backup folder. So if there is a new kind of this buolding I download, it's easy to add it to my 'supplybuildings.dat'. Also I made dat-files that are named 'jasoncw' or 'matt325' or 'madhatter106' - dat-files by heavy-weight contributors.

3. There are things that shouldn't be repacked in biggger dats. There are several reasons. Terrain mods f.e. You might want to change them often for different regions, so packing them only causes complications. Slope mods! Don't dat-pack them, you need them to change too often.  Some things might not work dat-packed as f.e. 'essential files', the NAM etc. Everything that needs a specific load order - mostly it's better not to dat-pack. You will forget about or you have to remember everything. Also - as said erlier - overrides (that have the same TGI as the original) shouldn't be dat-packed.

So far my short introduce in dat-packing.

Datpacker is a very usefull tool for organisation of the plugin-folder, if you use it with thought.

DataNode is different - it's an analysis tool - (and the good news: it will work no matter if you make your own dat-packs or not) - it can show you f.e. what is overwriting what. So if you download a palm tree but in game the plam is a fir - you can fire up DataNode and it will tell you in a few seconds which file is overriding the palm with the fir. This way you can find also unwanted overrides - conflicts, errors, dependencies you have two or three times.   

 

[twalsh102 1,601]

Installers:  All kinds of custom content can come with an installer.  For most of this content (Model Packs, Prop Packs, Texture Packs, Lots/buildings), the installer (once unzipped and run) will place whatever is included in a folder usually with the content creators name.  This can be a means to help organize a Plugins folder, but since not all content comes with an installer, its not a be-all to end-all solution. 

The install locations I was referring to was specifically for content that is commonly referred to as Mods (will usually have mod in the name).  Since almost all mods will override either Maxis game content or other custom content, the installer is used to place its content in folders named such that they will load after all other content (common folder names will be something like zzz__customcontentname).  NAM has some contents that are placed in such folders.  Most terrain controllers are placed in such folders.  What happens if you decide to put these files someplace else?  The simple answer is that they will probably not work correctly, or at all.

Other that this specific category of custom content, you can pretty much organize the content coming from an installer as you wish with no ill effects, no matter where an installer places things.

[Moses Zal 46]

@Fantozzi

I gotta tell you man, this is maybe the first time someone explain something technical that is totally new for me and I understand it without the need for any further questions. So hats off for your effort and explaining skills I got everything. In the mean time, I don't think I'm gonna need the datpacker. I only have 778 MB of plugins and I don't think I'm gonna reach a certain point where I'm gonna hit the 1 GB mark. I'm the kind of gamer who only plays one game at a time and only start playing another when I completely loses interest in the current one. I also don't have a favorite genre. So I am not the kind of SC4 players who have been playing SC4 for 5+ years xD. But I am gonna definitely need the datanode for saving the time for finding out whether I already have the dependency that needs to be downloaded for a certain mod. 

[Fantozzi 4,068]

1 hour ago, Moses Zal said:

I only have 778 MB of plugins and I don't think I'm gonna reach a certain point where I'm gonna hit the 1 GB mark.

It's all there for your entertainment and you decide. No need to make it a science or a profession.

Ha! When I started playing SC4 I couldn't resist. I downloaded everything that sounded interesting. When I launched SC4 I had a terrible mess of roundaoubout 5 or 6 GB in my plugin folder. Had crashes, empty lots growing, stuttering when scrolling.

I was on a high risk to give up the game at all because I was disappointed that nothing did work. Thanks to Simtropolis and the guys that helped me I'm still here.

So you're a wise man. Wiser than me. Me, installing first everything and then complaining in the forums ("I'm fat!" - "How's about a diet?" - "A diet? Me? Why? Never!") - you, first asking in the forums and then deciding what to install. It's the healthy way.

 

[Moses Zal 46]

2 minutes ago, Fantozzi said:

first asking in the forums and then deciding what to install.

 

LooooooL. I am a patient person to the point that after every single lot, modd, etc... I get into the game to test its appearance, stats, cost, functionality, and other staff. Then I either keep it or remove it.

 

I do disagree however with many stats or cost like every other sc4 player I believe. I think I'm gonna learn the editing stats function in ilive reader. I found a tutorial for beginners but I don't think I'm gonna read it. I just need to learn the editing stats section part. Did you came across a tutorial that teaches the stats editing part only? Or maybe it is a must to learn other stuff in order to successfully edit stats for personal use?

I tried doing some tests with the ilive reader on a backup file which is a custom school. I opened the lotfile, clicked fillthelist, went to exemplar file, went to an item in the exemplar file list called School Student Capacity, used google to convert the hexadecimal value to a number, got a weird number which is not the same as the school student capacity of that particular school in-game. Exited the ilivereader and decided to try to learn it later. 

[CorinaMarie 29,898]

8 minutes ago, Moses Zal said:

... went to an item in the exemplar file list called School Student Capacity, used google to convert the hexadecimal value to a number, got a weird number which is not the same as the school student capacity of that particular school in-game.

This seems odd as they ought to work out to the same number in the conversion and the in game display since the in game info has to come from the file. How about a linky to the school you were using for your test? Then we can take a look at it and see if we can provide a specific answer.

[Fantozzi 4,068]

2 hours ago, Moses Zal said:

I do disagree however with many stats or cost like every other sc4 player I believe.

You can change this on buildings you plop into the game via the menu like schools or police. There s a more visual and very easy to use spin-off from the Reader to do this:

But pay attention on growables. Their capacity is linked to the game mechanics in a quite complex way (region development, city development, lot size, demand - and changing their stats may result that they won't grow anymore or you end up it's the only building growing because it subdoes all others. Those need to be balanced and there are algorithms to take care for that and most stuff you download is calculated on base of this algorithms and to change their stats - it's right tthink about first.

 

2 hours ago, Moses Zal said:

Did you came across a tutorial that teaches the stats editing part only?

Well, on those elements you put directly in the game, you are free to make every nonsense you like - to make a lot that gives 100.000 $ income every month or that pollutes the entire city etc. It's a question how challenging you want the game to be.  You can mod everything down until there is no challenge anymore. Or make it a bit harder. That's why stats never will satisfy everyone. And yes - you can change them to your taste. BTW. - with 'LEProp' it's very easy to adjust the radius of police, school, hospitals etc. But then - they have a radius and they have a capacity - so with a short radius and a high capacity they are good for high density city and with a wide radius and less capacity they are good for rural areas. So there is no 'perfect' police station or school or hospital,  Perfect is - to have different ones to match the needs.

So you get in troubles that your civics don't match the needs if the city becomes more dense. But is modding the solution? That's a part of the challenges the game offers for your entertainment. Pay attention not to kill all challenges by making hospitals with 50.000 beds with zero costs etc.You can do this - but where is the fun doing so?

Be aware to make the game too simple by modding it

On growables - I'm still learning what you can do and what better not. The behavior of the game on growables to me is quite challenging. You should use PIM-X (giving the algorithms) to calculate stats for growables but still you have to deal with things as the LOD and the 'filling degree' of this LOD. PIM-X also shows this LOD if you click on the model file in the list (a yellow box around everything). This is some sort of 'reservoir' that defines the capacity of each building - not visible in the game. And the filling degree (as the name says) defines how many 'occupants' can be filled into this reservoir.

 

Now ... on changing stats on growables ... you need knowledge about how lot size, region development and city develoment and grow stage and LOD (occupant size in Reader) and filling degree and 'capacity satisfied' and demand - all those affects the growth of a building:

here  me, asking myself about that:

Or here:

https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=2564.0

Or here:

http://www.wiki.sc4devotion.com/index.php?title=Tutorial:Stage_Limits_and_Threshholds

 

But I must confess - these links mark the limits of my knowledge. And I'm afraid, there's much more to know about the stats of growables.

 

 

[Moses Zal 46]

10 hours ago, Fantozzi said:

Be aware to make the game too simple by modding it

Thanks for the heads up. Frankly all I care about is realism. For instance, I deleted hospitals that came with LBT Hospitals Pack Version Gold (I am not sure I remember the source) because they had no costs. I don't like to feel that there is exageration whether it is for the sake of making the game easier or harder. 

I think I'm gonna use LEProp 1.62 as it has what I need. Gonna check it now

10 hours ago, Fantozzi said:

But pay attention on growables

Right now, I haven't installed any growable lots. But also thanks for letting me know when I need this.

 

[Moses Zal 46]

12 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

This seems odd as they ought to work out to the same number in the conversion and the in game display since the in game info has to come from the file. How about a linky to the school you were using for your test? Then we can take a look at it and see if we can provide a specific answer.

I can't remember actually. But still, I tried working on Hospital_By_SrJeff 

The hospital patient capacity is 3000. In game it is around 7000. I am using http://www.binaryhexconverter.com/hex-to-decimal-converter
Of course I maybe doing a mistake since what I told you about the tests I run are the only knowledge I have about iLive Reader. In the mean time, I'm gonna try LEProp 1.62 because I don't prefer using complex softwares when my need is a lot simpler. 

[twalsh102 1,601]

OK, just checked this download.

Patient capacity is listed as 0x00001644.  This works out to 5700 (as listed in the download description).

Actual capacity at any given time in-game is a function of Local Funding.  You can overfund up to 120%  At 100%, the capacity is 5700, while at 120% it would be @ 6840.

BTW, there is a simpler way to convert hex to decimal.  The calculator built into Windows is actually several different calculators.  Open the calculator; Click on View menu; change to Programmer; click on Hex; enter any digits after the initial zeros; click on Dec.  This same process can be used in reverse to change any decimal number to Hex.

Not sure what you were doing wrong on the web converter you tried to use.  I went there and input both 0x00001644 (as listed in Reader), and just 1644.  Both resulted in 5700.

On the subject of realism, understand that realism is relative when it comes to SC4.  SC4 is not meant to replicate real life.  If that is your intent, you're going to get disappointed. If you don't use buildings just because you don't like the stats, you are going to miss out on a lot of good stuff.  If you don't like the stats, change them using Reader.

[CorinaMarie 29,898]

On 3/15/2017 at 9:21 AM, twalsh102 said:

OK, just checked this download.

You beat me to it. I checked it too.

 

On 3/15/2017 at 9:21 AM, twalsh102 said:

Patient capacity is listed as 0x00001644.  This works out to 5700 (as listed in the download description).

As shown here in Reader:

 

Here it is when I first plopped it in a new game:

 

And setting funding to 100%:

 

On 3/15/2017 at 4:39 AM, Moses Zal said:

In the mean time, I'm gonna try LEProp 1.62 because I don't prefer using complex softwares when my need is a lot simpler.

Good plan. Since LEProp will do what you want, then that is the easiest way to go. If later on you need help with iLive Reader there are lots of peeps here who will be able to help.

[twalsh102 1,601]

OK, just did some more checking and figured out where the problem is.

There are actually two building exemplars included with this download:  a separate file, and one included in the SC4Lot file.  They happen to have different stats.  The exemplar included in the separate file is not used.  This is an issue with almost all PLOP files.  Almost 100% of the time, when you have both a separate SC4Desc file, and a Building Exemplar included in the SC4Lot file, the second is the one the game uses.  To be absolutely sure, you can check the SC4Lot file to determine the IID of the Building Exemplar being used.

In the Lot exemplar, after the basic stats, you will see a series of properties listed as either LotConfigPropertyLotObject, or unknown.  These entries determine where on a lot a particular object is placed.  The first value of each property is usually going to be 0x00000000, 0x00000001, or 0x00000002.  These numbers tell you the type of object that particular property relates to.  0 is the building exemplar; 1 is a prop, 2 is a texture.  Find the property that begins with 0x00000000 and open it up.  The very last value listed is the IID of the Building exemplar being used.  There should never be more than one property relating to a building exemplar.

[Moses Zal 46]

8 minutes ago, twalsh102 said:

OK, just did some more checking and figured out where the problem is.

There are actually two building exemplars included with this download:  a separate file, and one included in the SC4Lot file.  They happen to have different stats.  The exemplar included in the separate file is not used. 

Thanks mate. Now I know what confused me xD

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

2 hours ago, twalsh102 said:

There are actually two building exemplars included with this download:  a separate file, and one included in the SC4Lot file.  They happen to have different stats.  The exemplar included in the separate file is not used.

Wow, does that mean that the separate file can be left out of the installation (removed from one's plugins folder)?

I wonder how many hundreds of redundant exemplars I have... I downloaded that dataNode program, so I guess I can find out.

[twalsh102 1,601]

Since the Building Exemplars almost always have different IIDs, one will not overwrite the other.  So DataNode will not show any overrides.  Having said that, you will be able to look quicker to see if there is a building exemplar included in the lot file, than you could loading each file individually into Reader.

Another way to tell if the separate SC4Desc file is redundant is to look at the Item Icon and Lot Resource Key values.  If both have a value of 0, then it's redundant and can be removed from your Plugins folder.

[Fantozzi 4,068]

8 hours ago, Moses Zal said:

Frankly all I care about is realism.

That's difficult, the game itself puts limits on realism and then often I even don't know what 'realistic' values are for the game. On schools it's easy: 300 students, 400 students - well you know what this means. On police too - one police car, two. Those amounts are clear. But on hospitals - 300 patients, what does this mean exactly? Patients aren't like schoolars,they come every morning to sit down and listen to the teacher. Patients behavior is inordinate. Some may visit the doctor ambulant, somemay  stay, some stay a long time, some only shortly. So 300 patients at a time, a hour, a day? 300 beds? Well those tiny buildigs - it can't be 300 patients at a time or beds - you would even need much more physicians to get this. So it might be 300 patients a day perhaps to match the patient/physician ratio. But then - regarding population vs. utilization - this would mean sims terrible often need a doctor. In germany we have 3,5 doctors on 1000 residents. That's not a top quote but still an acceptable one. But in SC4? Don't really know, might be 15-30 or so on 1000 residents at minimum? That's completely out of any realistic range. In SC4 a contingent of 20% of the population is always ill and turns to the doctor (realistic is an annual average of 3 to 6 percent in RL in western countries). So this would mean Sims are very frail creatures. So you would have to do realistic stats not regarding us, humans, but them - Sims.

But also schools - what would be a realistic monthly salary for a teacher? 100$, 1000$? Now look at the schools in SC4. How much would their monthly costs be to have a realistic salary for the teachers? Would the game be playable if you adjust the monthly cost, let's say to 10 teachers  = 10.000$?

But the best might be freight stations. You know - again - the capacity of passenger stations are passengers and I think 10.000 - it's like schools - means 10.000 at a time. But on freight stations? 1000 ... 1000... what? Tons per minute? Freight cars per hour? Trains per day? The capacity of freight stations - to my knowledge - has no measuring unit at all. And so I have no clue what can be regarded as a 'realistic' stat for them.

So realism is a very relative term on SC4. But not only on SC4. I used to play a fantasy game. And people complained about some mods they weren't realistic too. Hard to tell what 'realism' means on a game where you fight skeletons with swords. It's something about the swords and the skeletons. The swords have to look like real swords and the skeletons have still to look like real skeletons. Hm.

It's a quite interesting word to think about - realism. Two things have to match as real life alone can't create realism. You need fiction to have realism.

[twalsh102 1,601]

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 10:30 AM, jeffryfisher said:

Wow, does that mean that the separate file can be left out of the installation (removed from one's plugins folder)?

I wonder how many hundreds of redundant exemplars I have... I downloaded that dataNode program, so I guess I can find out.

I realized I have one caveat about what I posted:  Sometimes a separate SC4Desc file can be a prop exemplar representing the building.  So it pays to double-check and see what you have before deleting.  This seems to be more prevalent with older downloads than with more current ones.