Need Help To Resolve Base Texture Conflict

[slowerisfaster 0]

I've been away from SC4 for a long time, but have started playing again and have run into a small issue that I could use some help with.

I downloaded dedgren's Ploppable Water Rapids file from the STEX, but it seems I have a base texture conflict with another lot. Instead of showing a stream as the base texture, it looks like it is showing a texture from Voltaire's RMIP 2 airport lots which I downloaded a long time ago. 

There was a time when I could probably fix this, but it's been years since I've tried even a little lot modding and my memory is drawing a blank.

What steps can I take to find and fix this conflict so the correct textures are shown? Thanks.

[rsc204 21,806]

The basic problem of conflicting texture IDs can be fixed by altering the ID of one of the affected texture's IDs. You must then open each lot affected by this change in the Lot Editor and change the texture to the one with the new ID.

I'm guessing the simplest solution if this is a conflict between airport content and these pieces, would be to alter the ID of the PW Rapid textures. Since the number of lots you'd need to edit thereafter is likely to be much smaller.

[slowerisfaster 0]

Still having some troubles. Here is what I've done so far:

1. Opened the DAT file for the rapids (EW_Rapids.dat) in SC4Tool and used the Texture Creator to create a new texture and gave it the unique IID of 0xfc782dd0 (it was previously 0xfc782e2a).

2. Deleted all the other textures in the EW_Rapids.dat file; leaving only the new texture I had created.

3. Opened the Lot Editor. Opened the Rapids lot I wanted to change. Deleted the existing base texture and added the new texture I had created in SC4Tool. Used the "save as" button and gave it a different name. Deleted the old Rapids lot from the Plugins folder.

4. Ran the game and still got the same result. The lot I saved in the Lot Editor was there in the parks menu, but when placed it still shows an airport texture.

5. Through some trial and error I found that if I removed this DAT file for the airports (jzo_RMIP2_Textures.dat) from the Plugins folder, then my Rapids lot would appear with the correct texture in game.

6. I opened jzo_RMIP2_Textures.dat in SC4Tool and none of the texture IDs were the same as the new texture I had created in step 1. The texture that is showing up on the Rapids lot in game has an ID of 0xfc783000.

Did I do something wrong? Remember I haven't edited any lots for years, so maybe I'm missing something. Your help is appreciated.

[rsc204 21,806]

Firstly, apologies for the delay in responding, RL has kept me pretty busy of late...

On 16/01/2019 at 10:40 PM, slowerisfaster said:

and gave it the unique IID of 0xfc782dd0 (it was previously 0xfc782e2a).

How do you know that ID is unique? 

Note you shouldn't just use any old ID, that's how these conflicts occur in the first place. Someone has either used an ID they shouldn't have or accidentally used an ID twice. All game texture IDs should be used from an assigned range.

However, I think I can see that the problem is even more complex than that.

On 16/01/2019 at 10:40 PM, slowerisfaster said:

I opened jzo_RMIP2_Textures.dat in SC4Tool and none of the texture IDs were the same as the new texture I had created in step 1. The texture that is showing up on the Rapids lot in game has an ID of 0xfc783000.

I've marked the 5th digit of each of these texture IDs in red, note also the so-called texture family or first four digits (FC78) are identical. The reason this is relevant is because SC4 textures work such that if you put textures into a family and use 0-3 for the 5th digit, they work as one texture, not unique ones. So if you have such textures, they will show based on the wealth of the lot, even if that's not the exact texture placed upon it. Honestly I can't say if this is a factor here or not, since no other textures with identical IDs for the 6-8th digit exist in the same package. However, if you had such IDs elsewhere in your plugins, then it would be a factor.

Likewise, there are issues because two of the lots, despite being only 1x1 in size, have multiple textures. This is easier to see in Reader, but you need to understand the data you are looking at.

Frankly, at this point the easiest solution is just to fix them and attach that here for you (which I've done). The texture IDs have all been changed:

0xFC782E## --> 0xF83447##

This means they are now using unique IDs from my personal range, so there is no chance of conflicts. I've edited the Lots to account for the change, including removal of the erroneous textures you don't need.

Rapids_FixedIDs.7z

[slowerisfaster 0]

I appreciate the explanation and definitely the extra work you did to fix the lots for me. They work as intended now. Thank you.