Screw Pile Developments - The Loteditorbetamaximizer-TM

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Welcome to the official (cos that makes it sound really important) semi-secret development laboratory,
otherwise known as the Loteditorbetamaximizer^TM,
located in the former keeper's cottage atop the Bean Rock lighthouse,
...somewhere in the South Pacific.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

The "Big Old Jar of Screws" - the fully itemized contents 

*File attached

SPAM Generator and Gas*
Oh For Crying out Loud - It's a Crowd*
MTP-SPAM Growable Commercial
Transit Enabled Driveways - Any one got a working copy of SC4 Tool?
SPAM Commercial CS$ - Now Released
TE Driveways - Expansion Tweakment
TE Driveways - I Release You!
MTP-NOB Space Port

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

SPAM Generator and Gas

Well...  so um...  I kinda made a new lot...  SPAM gas and diesel stop.    Re-lot of the PEG container power generator, so it still functions to produce power.

Ya know... even after all these years you still get a little kick out of whipping something up in LE, and seeing it in your game.

You will get a random couple of pickups, and billboard sign, bulldoze and plop again if you don't like what you get.

Dependencies: Log Town Container Generator, MTP Superpack, SPAM resource.

Edit: Log Town Cross roads.. for the gas pumps.

Here ya go - nothing fancy, stick in with the PEG container generator folder or something:
MTP_SPAM_Generator_Gas_0a6dca59.SC4Lot

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Oh For Crying Out Loud - Its a Crowd!

This falls into one of those - "I can't believe no one (well me that is) ever thought of this before" kind of things.

Ever want some animated Sims away from other lots just kinda standing around, hanging about on undeveloped terrain?   A simple little 1x1 lot without a base texture, so that it doesn't matter what terrain mod is installed - and can then be terrain detailed just how you like?   

Well I dragged the Loteditorbetamaximizer^TM  out of the cupboard again, and this time I had to even crank up the old Reader... (to get rid of those pesky base textures)...  that was a mission, I kinda had forgotten how to do it, but I managed to find an old tutorial by Paeng buried in one of my dropbox folders...  so anyhoo...

These lots will provide 6 different animated 'crowds' that can be placed anywhere on undeveloped terrain.   They have no base textures so will blend in with any terrain mod.  They can be terrain detailed with any Mayor mode flora.

This pack contains six 1x1 lots:

*Three's a Crowd
*Small Crowd
*Medium Crowd
*Large Crowd
*Random Walk Crowd
*Random Kids Crowd

Menu: Park near the top by the grass park.

Stats: Same as grass park

Installation: Documents/SimCity 4/Plugins

No dependencies.  Yay.

Click here for zippy.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

MTP-SPAM Growable Commercial 

Well...  you know how for years we have been doing the 2x5, 3x5, and 5x5 for the MTP-SPAM residential log cabins et al... 

I had an idea.   It'd work for commercial too right...  right?   Wouldn't it?   You know - like a country cafe selling orange juice or lemonade from their own orchard kind of thing.

Just two very alpha variations so far - Organic Oranges and Organic Lemons   (prop families for variation).

Oranges and Lemons, Tomatoes and Hops

Dirk's Organic Dairy

This evening's CS$ offering from the Loteditorbetamaximizer^TM is a 3x5 dairy with small store to sell organic milk direct from the farm gate.   

Look who I found lurking in the Simgoober SG_Vol01 prop pack...!   I mean really...

General Store, Gas & Mechanical

This evening we have for you the local 3x5 general store, with gas and a mechanics workshop.

Make That a Double

I have not used the prop family shop front building model or the rear building prop family this time as I wanted the doubles to have the same front and rear.   I figured that they would have been built at the same time, and the builder would have used the same plans for both buildings.

Next on the list are triples for the 3x5 versions...  do we want all the shop fronts and backs all the same or do we want variation?   Or maybe one of each?   I don't want to go crazy with the set - we are up to twelve lots so far.  I picked lemons and tomatoes for the 2x5 doubles, I will probably do oranges and hops for the 3x5 triples...  probably, maybe.

Just a sec...  Make that a Triple

Well here we go - triples - 3x5.   Decided on an orange orchard and apple orchard at the back.   The gravel road is not functional, and I'm not aware of anyway to TE a growable lot.  Random prop families for the shop fronts and rears.  I am having a little problem with SGs pickups, with that banding showing underneath - any ideas?   Should I try raising the prop up a little bit?   I would like to use SG pickups if I can as it provides a little more variation.

Banding Shadow Fixed

Before - banding shadow under SG pickups:

After - SG pickups raised up 0.5 m:

Well other than the fact that the damn things keep disappearing, cos they are timed props - I do believe I have solved the banding problem.  The SG pickups have a more generic shadow underneath where the SPAM pickups generate the full outline shadow.

I'm Figgering on Biggering!

OK, folks because you asked, well actually no you didn't but hey, I did kinda say at the beginning that I was gonna go 5x5, so here we are - two 5x5 lots done so far, I reckon another two will round this little CS$ set rather nicely.

Groceries and Gas

Steak on the Hoof

Scene detailed - although the road in the middle of the lot is not functional, I have used my TE driveways to connect visually to the game streets:

Clevedon Valley - Revisited

Clevedon Valley was one of my more important tiles, one like many of us, that I had put hours of work into, built a replica of the Raurimu Rail Spiral, and yeah - put - hours - and hours - of work into.   To cut a long story short, a few years ago it got prop pox.  At the time I quietly deleted the tile, and re-imported a non poxed tile from a back up.  However I was then very cautious about developing it further, especially with any prop heavy lots like SPAM - those seasonal crops use a lot of props.   Eventually I stopped developing it further as I did not want to risk going over the 6 mb limit on the save file.   Time passed, and I stopped playing SC4 for a few years, but as you can see the last few weeks I have started playing again, (digital download version of SC4), reloaded by plugins and regions from a external hard drive back up, and wandered back here to ST.    Then I found out that prop pox had been cured.   Wow.   With the fix installed I now feel confident to revisit some of my favourite tiles, and continue developing them without the worry that they will tip over the edge and get the pox.

First things first though you need to open the tile and...

Yeah get over it Fairbanks...  I play rural.  Spread out. Low density.  You can take your medium and high density and...   [insert PG13 appropriate burn].

Anyhoo..  yup, large tile, lots of SPAM farms, with their prop heavy crops.   Note the large areas of pines, yes I like my pines, but they are flora, and apparently the game engine treats flora differently in the prop count thingy whatever - yeah I don't really understand it, but I'm just trying to sound intelligent.    (Rail spiral top right corner, see here for more on that).

Anyway, fast forward a RL few years, a couple of computer deaths, but an external hard drive back up later...    (don't worry I fixed the power problem over on the left)

Yup, I still have a rather nice space left in this tile to develop further.

If you have been reading this thread, you will know that I am currently poking about in the Loteditorbetamaximiser^TM again, and I'm cooking up some new SPAM commercial growable lots.

WELL Houston - We have a problem.

Interlopers!

My cunning plan to make 2x5, 3x5 and 5x5 CS$ growable lots - well apparently - IT IS NOT ORIGINAL!!!

Lolz.

Well OK - reality check it was indeed Pegasus who came up with the custom 2x5, 3x5, and 5x5 growable MTP residential lodges in the first place, which of course the resource file is used for my SPAM re-lots.

A less known MTP mod is the MTP CS$ commerical replacement mod which is available on the STEX, but it appears that the CS$$ and CS$$$ which were still officially in beta on Simpeg, never made it to the PLEX on the STEX, following the demise of Simpeg.   However I do have those mods in my plugins and have played with it extensively.    What I did not realise, was that there were indeed 3x5 lots included in that mod - probably 5x5 but haven't seen any yet.

So when I zone the custom 3x5 lots in a developed tile with demand for higher wealth commercial...

 

Ding!    Well - I never knew those lots were in there.  Amazing.   

Still a rookie eh.

But I'm having fun, and I guess that is what counts.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Cow and Gate Creamery

A larger 5x5 dairy, still selling fresh full cream milk direct from the farm gate.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Transit Enabled Driveways -  Any one got a working copy of SC4 Tool?

A few years ago I made a little set of TE enabled driveways that would help to visually connect growable lots to the road network.   They work great, but I only ever made straights.

As we know we can't TE a growable lot.  Since I started on the SPAM CS$ project, I have decided that I need left and right curves, and while I am at it, a tee and a cross.

Before:  No way to visually connect the network street to the growable lot street. 

Placing the TE driveway:

After:  Visually connected the non-functional lot street to the network street.   It was no problem to make the left and right curves as they only have one connection point and I could use the existing TE straight and just swap the base texture to the curve.  

However, the tee, (and the cross) need to have the pathing fixed so that you can drag the street straight through.   At the moment it will only connect on one side.

My problem is that I have just downloaded SC4 Tool again, which is what I have used in the past, it will install ok on Win10 and I have the .net framework installed, but when I open the program - it opens to the start page, but then I can not get any of the menus to work, it freezes and goes 'not responding'.   I am not sure what the problem is.   I tried re-installing and restarting the computer after installing.   Hmm.  

Does anyone have a working copy of SC4 Tool that could fix the pathing on my driveway lots?   It is not a complex job, but at the moment impossible with SC4 Tool not cooperating.

Anyway if you can help me out please send me a PM. 

[catty-cb 4,412]

3 hours ago, Craig-Abcvs said:

....Does anyone have a working copy of SC4 Tool that could fix the pathing on my driveway lots?.

Sorry I can't help as I've never used SC4 Tool for pathing, instead used a program called CJM Path Tools ... no idea if it would work with Win10 as I now use Linux but am attaching it to this post in case it does

CJM_Path_Tools_011104.zip

[rsc204 21,866]

7 hours ago, Craig-Abcvs said:

As we know we can't TE a growable lot.

Actually you can, but it can cause issues, for example such lots will never upgrade. They could also trigger auto-connect which might mess with various networks.

7 hours ago, Craig-Abcvs said:

Does anyone have a working copy of SC4 Tool that could fix the pathing on my driveway lots?   It is not a complex job, but at the moment impossible with SC4 Tool not cooperating.

Not sure if there are further Win10 compatibility issues. Always a problem when the OS controls updates, which can break things. However when Win10 first arrived, every SC4 utility was confirmed as working, so I think you should be able to get it going. Definitely you'll need to use some compatibility options, Disable desktop composition is a must. You may also want to install the application outside of Program Files or otherwise give ownership rights to the install folder. Windows 10's default permissions might prevent it reading/writing to files otherwise.

4 hours ago, catty-cb said:

Sorry I can't help as I've never used SC4 Tool for pathing, instead used a program called CJM Path Tools ... no idea if it would work with Win10 as I now use Linux but am attaching it to this post in case it does

I think in this case "pathing" doesn't mean custom paths, but simply the necessary transit switches to create the right connections. That's pretty much only going to fly in SC4Tool, since I don't know of anything else that can edit TE lots, unless you fancy messing with Hex in Reader.

Lastly, using the NAM (assuming you have that), there are easy tricks to fake TE connections, to make such lots connect nicely to networks. See here:

The streets will happily override to SAM networks too. I was looking for the same effect but find I prefer this method to actually TEing such lots. Fine provided you don't want/need traffic to pass through the lot.

If you still prefer the TE route, I don't mind knocking up a few lots for you though.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

On 10/09/2019 at 4:50 PM, rsc204 said:

Actually you can, but it can cause issues, for example such lots will never upgrade. They could also trigger auto-connect which might mess with various networks.

First up, thank you @rsc204 for your fast and helpful reply.

TEing - growable:  Interesting, but yeah not looking to do anything fancy like that at this point.   Sounds like it causes more issues anyway.

SC4Tool:  Well the program is installed, and it will open, so yes hopefully I can find a solution - it will just take time.

On 10/09/2019 at 4:50 PM, rsc204 said:

Fine provided you don't want/need traffic to pass through the lot.

For the current set of CS$ growable lots I am working on - no need for traffic to pass through just a very simple 1x1 TE either side of the lot will do the trick very nicely.

On 10/09/2019 at 4:50 PM, rsc204 said:

If you still prefer the TE route, I don't mind knocking up a few lots for you though.

Well I will still work on getting SC4Tool working, but yes if you are willing then I will PM you with details the lots - at this point it is 'only' two 1x1s - Tee and Cross, but of course these things do tend to acquire mission creep and morph into larger things.   My original TE set did have a Peg dirt road driveways as well...   Hm.    I'll think about what I need and let you know.   Cheers.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Craig's Crafty Ales & Distillery

Here we go folks, the last 5x5 in our little set of CS$ growables.   Yes, there is a 5x5 in there, I just kinda decided that you can never have too many hop bines - right?

I even managed to find a beer sign, but then this show is sponsored by Pegasus, so I guess there would be a beer sign in there somewhere!

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

SPAM Commercial - CS$ - Now in Beta

Calling all beta testers!

Here is the finished pack of 18 SPAM Commercial - CS$.

Now released on the STEX!

Please give these a good going over - look out for misplaced props, etc, any thing that needs a fix or a tweak before uploading to the STEX.

It is easy to use the grow and blow method - zone, put game into cheetah, and then just bulldoze until you get the lot you want.

Each lot features a simple small store with a randomly generated facade, and rear building.  The lots use other prop families for variation. 

Contents:
2x5 Lots
Single small store 
 - organic lemons
 - organic oranges
 - organic tomatoes
 - organic hops & distillery
Double small store 
 - organic lemons
 - organic tomatoes

3x5 Lots
Single small store
 - gas and mechanical
 - organic dairy
 - organic hops & distillery
 - organic lemons
 - organic oranges
 - organic tomatoes
Triple small store
 - organic apples
 - organic oranges

5x5 Lots
Small store
 - cattle yard
 - gas and groceries
 - organic dairy
 - organic hops & distillery

Zoning:
These lots require a custom zone to grow.  Select the low density commercial zoning tool (shortcut - A) and then press the ctrl key and drag the zone to the required size, 2x5, 3x5 or 5x5.   The orientation of the lot can be changed by pressing the Alt key.

The lots will query with the original building name that Pegasus gave them, but it can be easily changed in game to whatever you like.  The lot buildings retain their original Pegasus modding values from the resource file which is unchanged.

Installation:
Documents/SimCity 4/Plugins

Any lot can be individually deleted if not required.
Do not delete the RESOURCE folder!

Dependencies:
MTP Super Pack
*SPAM Resource - *Not required if you have full SPAM mod
The Terrain Kit 
SimGoober - SG_Vol1
Log Town USA Cross Roads

Recommended:
TE Driveways
SPAM Single and Diagonal Fields

Credits:
Lotting: Craig-Abcvs - Screwpile Developments
Original Building models, props and resource file: Pegasus
Car shredder props: Prepo
Additional props: SimGoober

Images:

2x5

3x5

5x5

 

SPAM Commercial Growable b100.zip

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Lemon Rows - Oops!

Oops... it is three rows of lemons per square, not two...   - See?  This is why we do beta for a week or two, cos there is always gonna be a mistake somewhere eh.  It is a real pain if you upload to the STEX and then notice you have made a mistake - been there done that a few times.  I realised when I added some SPAM singles either side of the 3x5.    Also had to fix a couple of the tomato lot rows, again it is three not two!

Happy days.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Hard labour of a different kind...

...we shall return you to your usual scheduled program once I have had a lie down.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Released to the wild!

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

TE Driveways - Expansion Tweakment

Currently undergoing tweakment processing in the Loteditorbetamaximizer-SC4Tool-ring-in-adaptatory-module^TM*.

* @rsc204 is fixing the tee and cross for me.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

“Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”

Out-sourced tweakment processing has been completed.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Testing Out of the Sandbox with Retrofitmentation 

Retrofitting a developed tile.   The orange SPOT bars make orientation easy - the long bar goes next to the lot that needs the visual connection.  The short bar points to the TE street connection.

One limitation however is that they can not be placed directly next to each other.   In early testing the tee is one of the most useful for retrofitting, and it would be possible to make a double driveway as many lots do have double driveways, however we are currently at 8 lots...  where do you draw the line and stop?  Hmm.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Going cross eyed making lot icons...

I made twenty.    But.  I did remember how to make them, (eventually), remember which font I used to use, find my way to the LEX to get that nifty little icon making program, tweak everything in reader to have the right names, and ascending costs, so they appear in the right order...  blah blah blah...  that was my evening.

...AND I see they are complaining that there are no houses in the great city of TE Driveways.    Sheesh...  I gave them gazebos and ranger stations...   I even used fightthepower to get rid of the no power zots.   I mean what more do they want?

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Making progress with TE-ing the double driveways...

With a little help from rsc204!  (Still haven't got my SC4Tool to work - yet...)

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

I Release You!

The original TE driveways and Parking download file on the STEX has now been updated and released!

 

 

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

MTP-NOB Spaceport

So here is the thing, never have I ever used the shuttle launch pad in SC4.   Dunno why, I guess I just got immersed in my rural mountain stuff and never needed it.

Well...  I might now need it for my story that I am writing...  Cyanos: Ice, Wind and Fire ... so I decided to put one in...  I was a little disappointed with the original Maxis lotting so I whipped out the trusty Loteditorbetamaximizer^TM  and this is what I came up with.

The changes were pretty simple - PEG security fences, NOB water pipes, MTP grass and a couple of SPAM pickups.

Lot is the same size as original and the attached lot file at bottom of post will replace the Maxis version.   If you can't wait for the reward to unlock the proper way you will need the unlock all rewards mod.   Oh and there is also a Space Port Fix Mod ** that fixes the lack of increased high tech demand that it was supposed to.

Edit:  **  Unfortunately the space port mod fix is not compatible with my re-lotted version - when I installed it, the space port reverted back to the maxis original.

 

Dependencies:
MTP Super Pack
SPAM Resource
PEG security fences
NOB water pipes and the below ground pipes which I have used pretty sure from the power stations.   I just dropped all the NOB files in when I was using LE.

RW5x4_launchpad_4bb1058d.SC4Lot

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Bonus images

The Maxis TV studio makes a good stand in for mission control.