I wanna play SC4 again: what do I need (for best and most modern experience of the game)?

[Simtropolis_2.0 9]

Hi people!  

I want to play SimCity 4 again, after years and years!  My question is: what do you think I need for an optimal play and the best - and most modern - experience of the game?

Actually, I want to install this game on my older laptop (bought in 2013), to play it, casually, when I'm not at home (otherwise, I usually use my more recent and more powerful gamer desktop PC, bought in March 2019)...

Older laptop characteristics:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4200M (dual-core 2.5 GHz, with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz)

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M (2 Go)

RAM: 8 Go DDR3

Maximum screen resolution : 1600 x 900

Operating system: 64-bit Windows 10 Home

 => My desire is to play the game smoothly in 1600 x 900 (with a better use of the RAM), and with a small selection of the best and most needed mods and company, etc. ... Oh, and also I think I saw a pop-up with things (CDs?) to buy, when I signed in? Be aware that I can be prone to buy them, I mean I'm OK with that too.  

What would you suggest me, please, and how to install all these suggested things? Thank you in advance!  

(sorry for posting this thread if it sounds a bit stupid  )

[Barroco Hispano 26,980]

To improve performance I recommend using SC4 DatPacker. Perhaps the most experienced users can help you.

Avaliable here:

https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

1) What is your source for the game? (download or disk? If a download, who from?)

2) There are loads of prior threads on the topic of essential mods. Hunt them down, read them, follow the links. Some of the patches /  fixes are included in downloaded versions of the game from Steam and GoG, so might be able to skip them.

[Simtropolis_2.0 9]

Hi @Goldman Sachs,  

Thank you!

Hi @jeffryfisher,  

I now have my game on GOG.com.

I thought that it was possible to get advice on some 'ready-to-use' elements; I mean that I wanted to play without researching hours and hours and without searching too deeply in the forum for things that potentially couldn't please me.  

[c4bl3fl4m3 405]

55 minutes ago, Simtropolis_2.0 said:

things that potentially couldn't please me

Well, what sort of things please you? I'm not being glib, it's just that different people have different play styles and want different things out of the game. Do you want to push your cities to the max and increase the number of Sims that can live on them? (CAM) Are you interested in accurate small & agricultural towns? (SPAM) Do you want your cities to look like real life as much as possible (with real life businesses, etc?) Are you interested in recreating cities in specific areas of the world and need their architecture? Do you want to play with maps & landforms & that aspect of it? Do you want to create a utopia? Do you want to create a dystopia?

What @jeffryfisher is saying that is that there's so many 'ready-to-use' elements, that it all depends on what you're actually interested before we can make any recommendations.

[Cyclone Boom 17,033]

@Simtropolis_2.0

As you say by desiring a small selection of mods, I do thoroughly recommend initially taking it slow with custom content.

Firstly starting with the basic fixes, and then you may later find it useful to add a few graphical type mods. There are loads and loads (and loads) of buildings and mods available to download. For starters I'd recommend taking a read through Cori's Shoppes which list all known rock, water, beach, terrain, and tree mods. There's so much to choose from even with those, but for a graphical improvement to the realism, they give an excellent starting point to build upon.

A very useful overview of possible content to use is this one which has numerous suggestions. There's a few useful guides worth reading through as posted here too.

Also this article is a good one also.

 

3 hours ago, Simtropolis_2.0 said:

My desire is to play the game smoothly in 1600 x 900 (with a better use of the RAM)

To begin with for helping with stability, it'd be a good idea to set the -CPUcount:1 switch to the game's launch options. This forces the game to only use a single processor core which it was designed to use. I believe the GOG game already comes with this added to the game's shortcut though, so you should be good to go there.

For setting a custom resolution and clarifying about the Target shortcut path, you may find my post here useful.

With more efficient use of RAM, there is the 4 GB patch which can be added. As of NAM 36 this comes bundled inside the installer and is offered to be applied.

Here's a post by @rsc204 which explains why this is beneficial:

On 25/03/2019 at 1:24 PM, rsc204 said:

Windows 32-bit applications (such as SC4) can only access 2GB of system memory. However, due to the way Windows allocates memory, much of that 2GB could be reserved by the operating system itself. Adding this switch tells Windows the app can access up to 4GB of system memory, which still has to include the system-used parts. In real terms it allows for SC4 to have a potential 2GB all to itself.

 

If not using the NAM, it can be downloaded and applied manually from here.

I recall hearing how the NAM Team received permission from the creator allowing the 4 GB patch to be included in the installer, but both do the same thing.

 

3 hours ago, Simtropolis_2.0 said:

(sorry for posting this thread if it sounds a bit stupid  )

Not at all. Rest assured there's no such thing as a stupid question about SC4 and we're here to help.

Do keep asking if unsure of anything.

[rsc204 21,869]

You know, this is like asking us to list all the chocolates you should have in a box of them. The real answer isn't us listing out favourites, it's you deciding which you like. That said, I suspect everyone could benefit from some general ideas, here's a copy/paste of an old post elsewhere:

There are simply too many mods to list and not all of them are for everyone, for example:

• SPAM (SimPeg Agricultural Mod) & CAM (Colossus Addon Mod) simply don't work together.
• CAM requires special lots that are designed to work with it.
• SimFox's Day and Night mod requires that buildings are made/rendered specially to work with that.

In short, listing all the big mods like this doesn't really help, I suspect if you are starting out, you need the basics first:

• SC4Fix.dll, Prevents CTDs
  http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/30883-sc4fix-third-party-patches-for-SC4/
• The I-HT fix, which fixes a bug left in the game, allowing I-HT to provide R$$$ jobs.
  http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/22771-ih-missing-jobs-fix-update/
  A number of other "Maxis Fixes" which resolve bugs left in the game.

After that, the #1 mod is probably the NAM (Network Addon Mod). This fixes the very broken traffic simulator and gives you the option to add a ton of new options for your transit networks.

RTMT (Road Top Mass Transit) is a mod that allows placement of Bus and Subway stops directly on the Roads/Streets in-game. A great space-saver, but also means you can keep gridded blocks from being messed with whilst retaining transport links.

Don't forget the v3.6 and T-RAM Addon packs.

I-RM (Industrial Revolution Mod) is a favourite of mine. Look at the sad Industrial Lots that come with the game, devoid of any real detail and looking very repetitive. I-RM fixes that, breathing a new sense of life into the Industrial side of the game.

Basic addons I'd recommend: [I-D Addon] [I-M Addon] [I-D Fillers] [I-M Fillers] [I-HT Fillers] - There are others too, check under T Wrecks content.

SPAM does for Farms what I-RM does for Industry. But it's not for everyone.

CAM really isn't for everyone. It adds new growth stages to the game, but you need to ensure all your installed content supports it. Long and short, if you don't intend to mod anything and don't want to be limited to the buildings that come with SC4, you may want to give it a miss. Check out this insightful guide to what CAM actually does.

===================================================================================

Frankly I'd take it slow and start with the NAM, maybe RTMT if that grabs you too. For the bigger mods like IRM, SPAM and CAM, I'd do some research into them (Google is your friend) and see if they really fit with your play style.

However, the biggest single change you can make is to install one of each of the following mod types:

• Terrain Mod, alters the look of the ground/grass in-game.
• Water Mod, changes the look of the sea.
• Beach Mod, changes the textures used for beaches.
• Rock Mod, alters the look of rocky areas/hills/mountains.
• Custom Tree Controller, changes the trees used by the God Mode Brush.

These 5 combined will make a dramatic change to the entire look of the landscape in-game. Allowing themes to be mixed/matched in thousands of potential combinations. This can really help to give a region a specific geographical feel. Links to the "Shoppe's" will allow you to browse through all the options for each mod type, with reference pictures and links to download the mods shown.

Note that Terrain Mods and Tree Controllers can be difficult to change with existing regions, it's VERY important you read the instructions that come with them. If you don't mind some very basic modding, there is a great guide to further customising a terrain controller here, which can make all these cosmetic mods appear very differently.

Lastly, I'd highly recommend a Slope Mod if realism is something you value. The trade off is that it makes it harder to draw some networks, but in return you get more realistic slopes in-game.