Do Custom Lots and CAMeLots replace Maxis Buildings?

[Sim_eon 19]

Hello everyone, this is my first time in everything. From playing SimCity, to posting in a forum.  : )
So i've installed the latest CAM a week ago, (I've been playing SC4 for about two weeks now btw) and right now I'm deciding to download CAMeLots and even Custom ones, to have more variety of buildings for my city, but I'm not quite sure if CAMeLots and Custom lots would only add and not replace the default buildings. So, as the title says, does it replaces Maxis buildings?

Nice meeting you all  

[CorinaMarie 29,917]

Hiya, @NovaSafe2004. Welcome to Simtropolis.

I'm not personally a CAM expert, but here's a good article: The CAM (Colossus Addon Mod) – Separating Fact From Fiction which should help.

And it seems your topic got posted twice (likely due to a site glitch) so I've hidden the duplicate.

[twalsh102 1,601]

I use CAM extensively.  The core lots that CAM installs replace a great many Maxis growable lots, but not all.  The primary changes to these lots is to spread out the larger buildings across the additional growth stages (9 - 15 for R and C, 4 - 10 for I).  Any Custom RCI lot is CAMpatible, i.e. it will work with CAM.  There are specific custom lots that have been labeled as "CAMelots."  These lots are designed to work specifically with the CAM additional stages .  They will not grow if CAM is not installed.

[rsc204 21,868]

You could argue that the base CAM mod replaces the original Maxis lots, but I think it's clearer to say they modify them, in the ways twalsh mentions above. This is because whilst technically they override the originals, the lots/buildings will all appear identical to the originals and the modifications are necessary for CAM to work.

Beyond the base CAM mod, two types of modding are possible:

• Overrides
  Like with the CAM replacements, all such override lots will replace the existing lot. In effect this is most useful when you want to alter the values or appearance of something, without keeping the original as a duplicate. All such mods should clearly state so if they will affect existing content.
• Unique Instances
  Most content you'll find on the exchanges fall into this category. Such items will simply add to the total available buildings that can grow during play. If using CAM, you should ideally only use either CAM-e-Lots or Campatible lots, since others won't fit into the new growth stages of CAM. If you are feeling up to it, you can mod regular lots to work better with CAM, using SC4 PIM (PIM-X / X-Tool).

[Sim_eon 19]

@CorinaMarie Thank you for the link. I've already read the link you gave me, a few days ago but, I read it again. because honestly I'm still having a hard time understanding (not just the CAM) but the whole game too. haha. And yes, sorry for the duplicated post. I got the 'error' page yesterday when I clicked 'submit', then I refreshed the page and still got an error, so I thought my post didn't come through, and was surprised this morning to find out I got notifications. 

@twalsh102 & @rsc204 Ah! Thank you for your answers.  It answered my question.  

On 10/1/2018 at 11:17 PM, rsc204 said:

Unique Instances
Most content you'll find on the exchanges fall into this category. Such items will simply add to the total available buildings that can grow during play.

This especially is what I want to happen haha. I was worried, the lots I will install will override each other. (Also I realized I should have asked the question this way haha)
But thank you to all of your help.  (also sorry if my english is kinda awkward) Thank you again ^^

EDIT: oof. I just realized that a member of NAM team was answering my question haha. Thank you sir for the mod your team made, and for the tutorials on yt. I've watched some of them 

  Edited October 3, 2018 by NovaSafe2004  

[CorinaMarie 29,917]

2 hours ago, NovaSafe2004 said:

I'm still having a hard time understanding (not just the CAM) but the whole game too.

My main advice is to build slowly and let time run so that things even out. Say you zone for industrial and some factories grow. Residential demand will then increase. Next you zone for residential and houses will grow. This will increase demand for industrial (and agricultural in the early years) as well as a wee bit of demand for commercial. Now, depending on how much you've zoned and how much has grown and to what size, it may look like it has become static. However, as the game recalculates things you might notice some of the industrial upgrading to larger buildings which then increases demand for residential which, in time, can also upgrade to higher capacity homes. Basically it's a feedback loop and I find it easier to keep things in balance if giving the game running time to stabilize. The population graph is a handy tool to see how this is going. One thing to watch out for is if you see the residential going up and down a lot. Like /\/\/\/\/ in the graph. That'll mean the Sims want to move in, but once there they can't find jobs and move out. Then later some move in and the cycle repeats. You'd also see the No Job Zot randomly appearing over some of the homes as this occurs.

 

3 hours ago, NovaSafe2004 said:

And yes, sorry for the duplicated post. I got the 'error' page yesterday when I clicked 'submit', then I refreshed the page and still got an error, so I thought my post didn't come through, and was surprised this morning to find out I got notifications. 

No worries at all. With the site being a bit erratic recently I fully suspected it was not deliberate on your part. And it's very easy for any of us staff to tidy those things up.

[twalsh102 1,601]

It's quite difficult to figure out the mechanics of this game by just  playing it and observing.  It is quite easy to make false assumptions about what's going on.  If you don't already have a copy of the Prima Official Strategy Guide for SC4 Deluxe, I highly recommend it.  You can get it for free here:  https://archive.org/details/SimCity_4_Rush_Hour_Prima_Official_eGuide. 

While many of the numbers and stats in the guide are inaccurate, the explanation of many of the mechanics of the game is invaluable.  Because the guide was prepared with the help of some of the game's developers, you can pick up a lot of information that one might not otherwise be able to figure out correctly by just playing the game.  It's my go-to bible when trying to help others understand game mechanics.

[rsc204 21,868]

SimCity has always been quite a complex game and this is both good and bad, depending on what you are looking for. Personally I started with the original game on SNES, yup I'm that old, but when I got SimCity 2000 (SC2K) I couldn't really figure out the mechanics of the game at the time and found it frustrating. I later returned to it and everything clicked, but quickly found once you'd figured out the basics for a successful city, there wasn't much more to do. I only got into SC4 5-6 years ago and it's much more involved than even SC2K, but the options for region play removed the repetition problem. Add custom content into the equation and one could play forever making hugely different cities/regions, it's almost limitless in its potential.

The in-game tutorials really do give you the basics needed to understand the game, go through them slowly and try to soak up the advise. After that, I can highly recommend this tutorial which covers making a successfully functioning region. The Prima guide is ideal for those who want to really understand the more subtle intricacies of the game.

But the #1 tip I'd make is simply to take things slowly, especially with custom content. CAM is one of those mods people often misunderstand, the most common mistake it believing it will help make cities with big skyscrapers more easily. All CAM does is add new growth stages to the base game, which spreads out the growth of cities, but in reality means it will take longer to build high-rises.

If the term growth stages isn't clear to you, perhaps it's a bit soon to be installing CAM. But either way, the link in this post...

On 01/10/2018 at 12:29 PM, CorinaMarie said:

I'm not personally a CAM expert, but here's a good article: The CAM (Colossus Addon Mod) – Separating Fact From Fiction which should help.

...gives a great explanation of what CAM really changes. Pay particular attention to the sections "What the CAM actually is." & "Should I install the CAM?"

The point being, big game-changing mods like CAM, need to be understood and are not ideal for new players. Because you will have to adapt how you play to really get the most out of them. If you've yet to work out the fundamentals, this is just going to make it harder to get to grips with the game.

[Sim_eon 19]

Alright! Thank you all for your kind words and advises, and to the staffs who's working hard on maintaining the site.  I think I jumped too early on installing mods and custom contents but, I will be sure to start reading the tutorial and prima guide so that at least i would make up to it.  Thank you again~ ^^

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

On 10/3/2018 at 10:45 PM, NovaSafe2004 said:

I jumped too early on installing mods and custom contents

On the other hand, there's much to be said for loading up all the mods you want before even starting a region (at least any mods that affect the way the game operates and balances). Adding game-changers midstream can upset the game's internal mechanics.

So experiment now, get what you're going to enjoy, and then try to bar the door and start a region you want to keep.