Persistent Game Options

[carlosmarcelo 979]

Hi everyone!

I have a little problem that I didn't remember had to read here. 

I changed game options according this image below:

But, always after exit and back at the game, the options are according this image below:

Is it normal behavior? I forgot something? Is there a way to ajust this?

My SimCity version is the 1.1.641.0 (I bought in gog.com) and I'm using NAM.
I used this command line:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -intro:off -CPUcount:1 -audio:on -UserDir:"C:\armario\nuvem\gdrive\cm\celo\SC4\" -CustomResolution:enabled -r1366x768x32 -w

If you need more informations to help me, just ask me.  

[CorinaMarie 29,618]

Those definitely should stay set once you adjust them.

I'll try tweaking mine which have remembered my preferences and see if I can figure out what file they get stored in so you can look for it and see if yours has some permission restriction or something.

[CorinaMarie 29,618]

I checked how I have my settings for normal play and they are like this:

 

Then I toggled one on like so:

 

Then checking which files on the hard drive changed and it was C:\Users\Owner\Documents\SimCity 4\SimCity 4.cfg and the region.ini in its region folder. I'm sure it's the first one as the region.ini is a text file and doesn't store the preferences.

I'm also chatting live with @Cyclone Boom and here's his suggestion (which I concur with) :

Quote

As a possibility and perhaps the settings aren't saving because your SimCity 4.cfg file has become corrupted. This should be located directly inside your "Documents\SimCity 4" folder and if deleting this it'll let SC4 create a brand new file upon starting the game. Maybe give this a go and see if that helps.

And we both know from experience that deleting that file won't hurt the game. (Ofc, just delete it to your recycle bin in case there's some reason your comp chooses not to recreate it.)

-Cori & CB

[CorinaMarie 29,618]

38 minutes ago, carlosmarcelo said:

-UserDir:"C:\armario\nuvem\gdrive\cm\celo\SC4\"

Oh!

It's this which is causing the trouble for you. While the game will load stuff from a custom folder, it doesn't know to update the SimCity 4.cfg file there. Check if it is making one in the normal location in Documents and then copy that to your custom location. If not, cancel the -UserDir temporarily, start the game, set the settings, exit, and then copy the file it makes to your custom location and then put the -UserDir back in your start up parameters.

That might do it.

@jeffryfisher will likely know the true solution as I know he's spent a lot of time setting up a Ram Drive and using a custom location.

[Cyclone Boom 16,937]

1 hour ago, CorinaMarie said:

@jeffryfisher will likely know the true solution as I know he's spent a lot of time setting up a Ram Drive and using a custom location.

Here's the topic Jeffy posted previously about setting up a RAM Disk:
 

(Posted exactly 1 year to this day as it happens.)

 

The relevant part for copying over the config file seems to be:

On 19/07/2018 at 11:04 PM, jeffryfisher said:

What comes after the app-start are xcopies from the RAM drive back to hard drive. Config remembers in-game settings and where you were in your region view; the regions files are your cities. The /Y switch in each tells xcopy to grab only files that are newer than counterparts already at the destination. Then popd changes the working directory back to whatever was pushed at the start of the script.

 

[Prophet42 1,501]

I had the same issue with my new Windows 10 laptop. Since I use a standard account and not an admin account to run SC4 and also use a custom user directly, SC4 never remembered my start up conditions.  The way I solved it is I ran SC4 from my admin account, directly from the executable.  I made my changes to the settings, opened a city, saved it, then closed out of SC4.  Next I ran SC4 from the standard account using the shortcut with the custom user directory, it then remembered all my settings.

Oh, one more thing, I also had to make sure the config file had the right permissions from all the users involved.  You may want to check to the permissions on the config file and make sure that the account you are running SC4 from has full control over the file.

[carlosmarcelo 979]

First: thank you! A lot! You are very helpful. 

Second, I will talk conclusion before how I solved the problem because I did various tests, but worth it explain after.

Conclusion: even when we use custom folder, the game bring the game options (in SimCity 4.cfg) from default user folder (nameUser\documents\SimCity 4). When it file don't exist, the SimCity 4.exe create one with all options checked (maybe it is default). 

I can't solve using admin user because of custom folder: the behavior was the same. 

I believe @jeffryfisher didn't had this problem because he copy all the content to RAMDrive. Thats great solution to speed the game, but I'm satisfied using SSD: my game starts less 1 minute with 1 GB plugins. 

Inspireted by @jeffryfisher, you think can be helpful explain step by step how I use google drive to have a permanent and efficient backup of plugins and cities? Do you think is good theme? 

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

4 hours ago, carlosmarcelo said:

even when we use custom folder, the game bring the game options (in SimCity 4.cfg) from default user folder (nameUser\documents\SimCity 4).

You solved it yourself before I got here. That's exactly the problem (a "weakness", maybe a bug in SC4). Or, more precisely, SC4 reads the CFG from the default but writes to your custom folder, so the two only meet if you manually copy from custom to default (or write a script to always do it for you).

4 hours ago, carlosmarcelo said:

I believe @jeffryfisher didn't had this problem because he copy all the content to RAMDrive.

Oh I still had the problem -- because I was copying to and from a custom folder (and before the RAM drive, I was using the custom folder itself).

4 hours ago, carlosmarcelo said:

explain step by step how I use google drive to have a permanent and efficient backup of plugins and cities?

Sorry, but I don't know enough about Google Drive. If you download my scripts, you can see how I used xcopy between local drives.

 

[carlosmarcelo 979]

17 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

the problem (a "weakness", maybe a bug in SC4)

Yes, at least, is a strange behavior. These was my observartions:

1. When I delete "SimCity 4.cfg" of the both folders (user documents and custom folder), the game regenerated it just custom folder. Result: all options checked always when I re-open the game. It didn't regenerated the "SimCity 4.cfg" of the user documents folder.

2. When I modifyied game options (and click in accept), the game just update SimCity 4.cfg in custom folder: it ignores the config file in user documents folder.

3. When I open the game, always the config file is updated in the custom folder (to default values: all options checked), but not updated in user documents folder.

Resume: some internal procedures of the game maybe use relative paths, and others direct paths to read, update or regenared the config file, creating this confusion.
Fortunatelly, somehow, the game gives preceden to user document folder, what give us possibility of the use custom folder just with this care. 

 

18 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

Sorry, but I don't know enough about Google Drive. If you download my scripts, you can see how I used xcopy between local drives.

I saw your scripts and like it: nothing won't be more speedest that RAM Drive. It is mandatory to people that have a big plugins folder. I don't do because I would like keep small my plugins folder, but to use RAM Drive is very tempting... 

I put my SC4 files in google drive to play in two or more computers differentes, (in differents momments), but I didn't even have time for this.  However, I discovered a powerfull automatic backup to cities and plugins. I will open a topic about this soon... 

 

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

4 hours ago, carlosmarcelo said:

some internal procedures of the game maybe use relative paths, and others direct paths to read,

I think it is simple timing. The program reads the CFG file early before it changes the path to the custom folder. Try putting a different CFG file in each location, and then start the game to see which settings it reads.