Lot - Resources / Help

[vw_oklahoma 308]

1 minute ago, SIM-ple Jack said:

This happens to me, from time to time. I'd love to here the reason why, too. I chalked it up to something missing in the dl.

Thanks. This at least confirms that its not just something I'm doing wrong. Hopefully, someone has an answer. 

[sejr99999 8,343]

7 hours ago, vw_oklahoma said:

another question, unrelated to previous question. Sometimes when I open a lot in LE Prop, none of the lots information appears and I am unable to edit anything. Why is this and how do I fix it? (Picture is an example of what I am referring to. Not complaining about this particular lot.)

LeProp doesn't work with growable lots unless they are in a .dat file --   at least that's my experience

[ncamferdam 1,490]

Alright, I'm back for more.

I'm still working with the custom airport lots, and what I'm trying to do is create the illusion of a two-story airport terminal. I think I can do this by creating a single lot-wide 7.5m hill, and then placing large 3x2 concourse pieces on them so that they overhang. Then, I can just plac e addition pieces on ground level abutting the overhang, and there you have it:

The problem is that the end pieces for the large concourse are 3x1, so there's no overhang on each end, and no way to bring the ground level terminal pieces flush against the edge of the elevated concourse. So what I tried doing, was creating a new 3x2 end piece, adding in small 1x1 concourse pieces as props. However, this did not solve my problem. As I probably should have realized, props do not act as a cohesive body, and instead conform to whatever the underlying topography is. Rather than an overhang, I got this:

You can see each of the individual concourse pieces I added in there, falling down the slope and forming a staircase.

My question then, is what is the best way to combine these props into a singular model, one that will overhang in the same way that the existing 3x2 concourse lots do? It seems like SC4 BAT is the best bet, but the learning curve on that seems kind of intimidating for a relatively simple goal. Is this something that can be accomplished in PIM-X or the Lot Editor? Put simply, what is the best way to combine a set of individual props into one single prop/model?

Thanks again.

EDIT: This just occurred to me, but perhaps this is more appropriate for the BAT thread

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

2 hours ago, sejr99999 said:

LeProp doesn't work with growable lots unless they are in a .dat file --   at least that's my experience

Thank you @sejr99999 for your valuable experience! Yes, You're right, I couldn't load growable lots either, It seems it can olny work on Ploppable lots, sorry that I have only used this tool when making Icon.

[vw_oklahoma 308]

20 hours ago, sejr99999 said:

LeProp doesn't work with growable lots unless they are in a .dat file --   at least that's my experience

well, that explains it. is there a similar program that will work with growables?

[sejr99999 8,343]

try using the plugin manager   it comes with the game   just put the desc and lot files in the root plugins folder and you can modify stats and descriptions

also if you put the model file there you can create a new desc file for most functions except rewards and then use the lot editor to create a new lot to fit the new use for the model

[twalsh102 1,601]

After doing a little playing around with LeProp, here's what I've come up with.

1. LeProp allows you to modify some settings in the Building Exemplar.

2. By default, LeProp only lists .dat and .SC4Lot files.

3. So if you open up a .SC4Lot file that doesn't include a Building Exemplar (as occurs with almost all growable lots), there is nothing for it to show.

4. So you must change the File Type it is looking for. In the Open Dat window, you must change the "Files of Type" to All Files (*.*), and then choose the .SC4Desc file.

Quite frankly, for the limited number of settings LeProp can change for a growable, it's almost worthless for that purpose.

 

[SIM-ple Jack 17,444]

On 7/1/2021 at 8:37 PM, sejr99999 said:

LeProp doesn't work with growable lots unless they are in a .dat file --   at least that's my experience

Hey, thanks for clearing that up. I usually just ignore these things and get on with my life. Besides, there is always another problem waiting around the corner, in this game.

[rsc204 21,808]

There are some applications that just don't like things not being in the default locations. The ultimate problem here is that whilst you can re-route the Plugins folder to pretty much any path, there is nowhere where this info is saved in Windows, hence the SC4 modding tools simply may not work properly. You don't have to install SC4 in any particular place, but you really should leave your Plugins folder in Documents\SimCity 4. If that's a problem for you, you should consider moving the system's documents folder so that the system links remain in place.

If you want to freely edit the Properties of pretty much everything, but without having to poke around in Reader, SC4 Tools is the most user-friendly application for that. You are going to have a lot of fun trying to get the Maxis PIM to read a Plugins folder that isn't where it expects it to be, because it absolutely won't read anything not in the root of Plugins. It may be that the -UserDir switch works there too, but even then it's far too restrictive to be a tool worth using. Frankly if you aren't using PIM-X in 2021, I can only assume you either have not heard of it or simply prefer things being harder than they need to be.

[vw_oklahoma 308]

I am not trying to be difficult, I'm just not very technically minded. Le Prop makes it easy to change things, but I will try Plug in Manager. 

 

[Dracoceros 33]

I need to make sc4lot overwrite for large medical center. I want to reduce its size from 4x3 to 3x3.  But the save button is greyed out and PIM-X does not support changing lot sizes. How do I do this?

[BartonThinks 3,416]

42 minutes ago, Dracoceros said:

I need to make sc4lot overwrite for large medical center. I want to reduce its size from 4x3 to 3x3.  But the save button is greyed out and PIM-X does not support changing lot sizes. How do I do this?

Is it essential to overwrite the original building? Or would it be okay just to have the large medical center available on a 3x3 lot?

The reason I ask is that it's generally a bad idea to override features of the original game unless you're 100% sure you know what you're doing. On the other hand, it would be relatively easy to create a new 3x3 lot with the large medical center that you can use as an alternative to the original, and you wouldn't need to worry about any of the glitches (some of which are really bad) that can happen when you're overriding files.

[Dracoceros 33]

12 minutes ago, BartonThinks said:

Is it essential to overwrite the original building? Or would it be okay just to have the large medical center available on a 3x3 lot?

The reason I ask is that it's generally a bad idea to override features of the original game unless you're 100% sure you know what you're doing. On the other hand, it would be relatively easy to create a new 3x3 lot with the large medical center that you can use as an alternative to the original, and you wouldn't need to worry about any of the glitches (some of which are really bad) that can happen when you're overriding files.

I guess I could create a new lot. But I really don't want to see TWO medical centers with exact features on the menu. But I guess I can deal with it.

[BartonThinks 3,416]

Just now, Dracoceros said:

I guess I could create a new lot. But I really don't want to see TWO medical centers with exact features on the menu. But I guess I can deal with it.

If the idea of an extra medical center really bothers you, I could provide you with a 3x3 override so that you don't need to go through the pain of creating it yourself. I've tested it in the game, and it seems to work fine, and I can't think of a reason why it would cause any problems or glitches.

The main issue is that you absolutely, 100% wouldn't be able to use the lot in any city that has an existing 4x3 large medical center lot. You would need to go back and bulldoze all of the existing large medical centers in your city before using the override file.

If that sounds like it could be a problem, I would recommend simply making a new 3x3 lot in PIM-X.

[Dracoceros 33]

1 minute ago, BartonThinks said:

If the idea of an extra medical center really bothers you, I could provide you with a 3x3 override so that you don't need to go through the pain of creating it yourself. I've tested it in the game, and it seems to work fine, and I can't think of a reason why it would cause any problems or glitches.

The main issue is that you absolutely, 100% wouldn't be able to use the lot in any city that has an existing 4x3 large medical center lot. You would need to go back and bulldoze all of the existing large medical centers in your city before using the override file.

If that sounds like it could be a problem, I would recommend simply making a new 3x3 lot in PIM-X.

Oh? I was under the impression that the new lot would override the old medical centers, causing them to shrink a bit.

I would like to know how you did it tho, I think it has something to do with the exemplar data, specifically the references, right?

[BartonThinks 3,416]

40 minutes ago, Dracoceros said:

Oh? I was under the impression that the new lot would override the old medical centers, causing them to shrink a bit.

I would like to know how you did it tho, I think it has something to do with the exemplar data, specifically the references, right?

Unfortunately, no, it won't work that way. When you plop a lot into a city, there are certain elements of that lot that the game saves as part of the city. If you try to override a lot in the manner you've described, there will be a conflict between how the lot is configured in your city and how the lot exemplar is configured. This can cause some seriously buggy behavior, which is one of the reasons I strongly suggested simply creating a new lot. In any case, there's no way to retroactively edit a lot and have the changes appear in-game.

As far as how I went about creating the override, I'd be happy to explain my process. A quick caveat up front: I'm by no means an expert, and I would have had to do some more testing and run it by some more knowledgeable people first before I was 100% sure it was glitch-free.

How I created the override:

• First, I went into PIM-X, selected the Large Medical Center, and created a new 3x3 lot. I then saved the lot. Note that, when I did this, PIM-X automatically generated a new building exemplar for the Large Medical Center and embedded it with the lot file. The reason for this is that a ploppable building can only ever be linked to a single lot. So when you make a new lot using a ploppable Maxis building in PIM-X, the program will always automatically generate a new building file.
• I then opened up the SC4LOT file that PIM-X had generated and I deleted the PNG file, directory file, and building exemplar file, since I no longer needed these files.
• I then made the two following edits to the lot exemplar:
  1. I edited the TGI of the lot exemplar and replaced the instance ID. I got rid of the instance ID that PIM-X had generated and replaced it with the instance ID of the original 3x4 Large Medical Center lot. Using the same TGI is what causes the new lot to override the original one.
  2. I then went into the first "LotConfigPropertyLotObject" property in the lot file. This property determines which building is used by the lot, and how the building is located on the lot. I needed to change the part of the property which tells the game which building to use on this lot. The reason for this is that, when PIM-X generated the lot, it used the new building that the program had automatically generated. I needed it to use the original Large Medical Center. To fix this, I opened up the "LotConfigPropertyLotObject" property and edited the 13th value (which is the value that determines which building to use), and changed the value of the instance ID to the original Large Medical Center. 

That's pretty much it. There's a second way I can think of going about this (duplicating the original lot and making edits in iLive's Reader), but I'm pretty sure the method I outlined above is faster and less error-prone.

[Dracoceros 33]

I would like to know if it's possible at all to change the size or add a different municipal airport? I'm having trouble with the loteditor and PIM-X, as it only allows "Save", no Save As, and the airports are just too big to fit in my city blocks.

[rsc204 21,808]

Airports and Seaports belong to a very special category of modding which is frankly hideously complex and poorly documented. This is because both use a special controller that must define certain properties/IDs etc of all such functioning lots that are in use. Get that wrong and you can very easily irreversibly screw up save files. Honestly, this is an area I'd leave well alone if you are new to modding. You can edit the Maxis lots, as in the Textures/Props and save them, but I believe the airport lot size is part of said controller file, so if you really must change this, you'd have to learn how to correctly modify the Airport Controller and I don't know of any public resource explaining that.

[TheMurderousCricket 5,055]

Hey Guys,

I stumbled upon an obstacle. I can't change the name of lots I made or re-edited from original files.

I use the "Large Park" building as the springboard for my creations. However, my new lots also inherit the "Large Park" name in-game.

Now, when I browse my files in iLives Reader I can't find the "Item name" property! Something I'm pretty sure should do the job.

It gets even worse. When I try to add this property to one of my lot's exemplars, the lot disappeares from the park menu altogether!

Any help will be much appreciated. 

[TheMurderousCricket 5,055]

Solved! I just deleted the "User Visible Name" property and edited the "exemplar name".

Hope this will work for all the other items as well.

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

That is one way, but a better way is to edit them in this program. It will modify the link you deleted to the file with the name. The tool is worth getting.

 

 

  Edited July 10, 2021 by Kloudkicker  

[TheMurderousCricket 5,055]

Thanks for the tip @Kloudkicker. Valuable as always. 

I guess it's indeed better solution. Deleting unwanted properties always seems a little like breaking an open door.

[Ssaidd 1,325]

So i have downloaded Simmer2's Central Station V2 https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3436
With all dependencies.

I also downloaded Telecharger Pack Train from the Toutsimcities site https://www.toutsimcities.com/downloads/view/1573
The description says that i need to use Lot Editor to plop the trains on the rail tracks (just as the photo)

But when i open lot editor i can't find the train names. All trains are placed in the plugins map
Can somebody help me out ? i never used this lot editor, any other options?
It would be cool to have a station with few train cars standing!

Thanks
-candy.
 

[SIM-ple Jack 17,444]

2 hours ago, Ssaidd said:

But when i open lot editor i can't find the train names.

Try listings under the creator's name. LE also has a limited search bar. If all else fails, empty your plug-ins except that file and see what turns up. Sounds like you need to build a lot for those cars, which means you'll have to transit-enable them to join to game tracks. Good luck.

[rsc204 21,808]

A few things to note, first that this station already includes many props (trains), you shouldn't need to add them. These props are timed, which mean the lot will change depending on the in-game time, trains will come and go. Likewise with the rail yard, you should see 'activity' throughout the day. Perhaps you aren't waiting long enough to see the trains?

On 18/08/2021 at 10:09 PM, Ssaidd said:

The description says that i need to use Lot Editor to plop the trains on the rail tracks (just as the photo)

I think the purpose of this is simply because the download by itself, doesn't add anything you can plop in game, it's simply a dependency package. However if I've understood things right, the reason you have the dependency is because it was used by @Simmer2 for this station. Therefore you'd only need to spend time in the Lot Editor if you wanted to change this lot or create new ones.

On 18/08/2021 at 10:09 PM, Ssaidd said:

i never used this lot editor, any other options?

The Lot Editor tool has many limitations, it's not the greatest and I would highly recommend you instead check out SC4 PIM, which was made by modders. The one big advantage in this case is that it gives you a visual preview of all the Props when selecting them. The only downside is that SC4 PIM can not load an entire Plugins suite of content, you must select only those folders in Plugins you really need, to load upon startup. If you've organised things well that shouldn't create a huge problem, likewise you can temporarily move all the files for a given lot you want to work on into one folder.

[Ssaidd 1,325]

@rsc204 ahhh look there, thanks for the information! 

[koumus corporation 715]

Can anyone confirm whether it is possible or not  to have the base game crowd animations moved up the z axis stay in place? When i tried putting them on rooftops higher than 2 floors, they always slide off the building when changing views.

[rsc204 21,808]

19 hours ago, koumus corporation said:

Can anyone confirm whether it is possible or not  to have the base game crowd animations moved up the z axis stay in place? When i tried putting them on rooftops higher than 2 floors, they always slide off the building when changing views.

There is some issue with certain props when they are offset (if the model isn't centred), or it could be parts of the LODs or Models colliding.

It sounds like the sort of problem you can't really do anything about to me. I would attempt moving the prop on the x or y axis to see if altering it's position slightly mitigates the issue.

[twalsh102 1,601]

On 9/3/2021 at 9:29 AM, koumus corporation said:

Can anyone confirm whether it is possible or not  to have the base game crowd animations moved up the z axis stay in place? When i tried putting them on rooftops higher than 2 floors, they always slide off the building when changing views.

I'm assuming the prop in question was originally at ground level. If all you do is change the z axis, then all you're essentially doing is raising the prop vertically in the air over the exact same location it was on the ground. It would make sense that unless you also move the prop horizontally so that it is actually over something other than the ground, it would indeed appear to be sliding off the building. In actuality, it's not sliding off, its just dropping straight down with nothing underneath it but the ground at its original location.

[justforfun 7,802]

Hi, I am transit-enabling a lot with rail; the diagonal path works fine, but I can't find the correct reps for the in-lot transition from diagonal to straight:

       

When I drag the rail through the lot, I cannot go through the bottom-right tile, where the transition is. Do I need custom paths?