Renaming buildings

[SS3K 160]

I have downloaded over 1000 buildings, I wonder, is it possible to rename the buildings?

Thanks

[Cyclone Boom 16,845]

One program I recommend for renaming lots as they appear as built or in the game menus is to use the LEProp.

This is a small tool which allows the properties of any given lot to be edited. There's options to adjust the costs and capacities, and all sorts of things in the individual panels. For the actual Name and description (Desc.) and this is conveniently on the main page once opening up a .dat or a .SC4Lot file.

Here's a preview:

 

Once done, just make sure to first click the Apply button first, then Save DAT to write your changes to file.

Hope this helps!

[SIM-ple Jack 17,444]

On 12/23/2019 at 12:51 PM, Cyclone Boom said:

One program I recommend for renaming lots as they appear as built or in the game menus is to use the LEProp.

 

This will rename the lot in the menu, but won't rename it in the game. You have to rename the dat files themselves. For example, I downloaded a football field and renamed it Lambeau Field in LE. It still kept coming up Football Field in menu. I renamed the file manually, and now it always appears that way. I have had to fix a number of custom lots that never got proper names. Just make sure you rename the first part of the file.

[Cyclone Boom 16,845]

8 hours ago, SIM-ple Jack said:

This will rename the lot in the menu, but won't rename it in the game.

Interestingly from my personal experience testing this, I've found the LEProp can rename plopped lots in the game and also in the menu. Perhaps there could be certain files where this doesn't happen however, and possibly those which don't contain internal LTEXT file entries. These are what get modified when altering the Name or description, and so without them present and it might not work reliably. I know some lots don't save custom names in the game either.

Thanks for the advice there though, and there can be different factors involved with these sorts of things.

[SIM-ple Jack 17,444]

20 hours ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Interestingly from my personal experience testing this, I've found the LEProp can rename plopped lots in the game and also in the menu. Perhaps there could be certain files where this doesn't happen however, and possibly those which don't contain internal LTEXT file entries. These are what get modified when altering the Name or description, and so without them present and it might not work reliably. I know some lots don't save custom names in the game either.

Thanks for the advice there though, and there can be different factors involved with these sorts of things.

I should have been more specific. LE doesn't change the name in buildingplop, where I have to hunt for about 1 in every 5 downloads. Many custom lots have the uploaders name attached(which is why I feel like I've known everyone here for years), or (empty brackets) or completely different names. I have a lot named Houston 2 in bp, but the file name is completely different in plugins. Now that I have Files2Dat, at least I can rename it in a compiled file, so I  can track it  down easier in plugins. So, 1500 files to go.

[xxdita 1,097]

That's because you're not changing the Lot's Exemplar Name that way. 

I use PIMX to do this, that way I can rename the buildings & corresponding lots without having to open each file. This also lets me view the models themselves, as long as they're in the chosen folder(s), in case I need to make up a new name. Though I could just call them all George. 

For the building desc, you change the Exemplar Name, Item Name, and Item Description. If the Item Name/Description has been set in LTEXT, that should be updated as well. If there is no LTEXT, then now is a good time to make one, if this is something you expect to release. Save when you're finished.

Once all that's done, right click within the desc and select Open Lot(s) Using This Building/Family. Here you'll need to change the Exemplar Name. Click Save and you're done. 

If you start out with a sc4lot file, then your file will be renamed to match the Lot's new Exemplar Name, and the file will be moved to your primary Plugins folder, as if it were newly created. You'll also see a *.loosedesc file that can be safely discarded. For Plopables, the desc will be included automatically with the lot, for growables lot and desc will be separate and should be merged with Reader, DatPacker, or whatever other program you like to use for that sort of thing. 

If the file(s) you're working on are already part of a larger *.dat, then they won't be moved or renamed (as far as I have seen). 

[SIM-ple Jack 17,444]

1 hour ago, xxdita said:

That's because you're ...

 

You lost me right about there ^. Would that be the PIMX i deleted about 9 o'clock this morning(along with the user manual) because I couldn't figure out how to get it working?

My way seems to be getting it done okay. I needed to go through my plugins anyway and sort the wheat from the chafe. I've already done a few hundred files. Fortunately I keep it fairly well organized so it's not as tedious as I thought it would be.

I pretty much rewrote the entire game of PanzerGeneral, including all the battles(even adding a10 battle campaign to the game), the equipment files and even redid all the graphics, and all I needed was simple text editing, photoshop and Excel. If only there were simple tools for this game.

[CorinaMarie 29,565]

18 minutes ago, SIM-ple Jack said:

Would that be the PIMX i deleted about 9 o'clock this morning(along with the user manual) because I couldn't figure out how to get it working?

I've used PIM-X a wee bit and I confess it's not intuitive right out of the box. I did, however, follow the guide step by step and accomplished exactly what it said I could do.

As it happens, I learned how to use Reader long before ever using any lot editor and for me personally, that's where I'll do most of the tweaks I need to make.

[xxdita 1,097]

I was lucky to be part of the testing phase, so I grew up with PIMX. If anybody can break something, it's me. The only limitation for me is that I don't have a set of Maxis' original data of StageVSDensity in lot creation, so any RCI growables I create is only usable for CAM. So I'm digging around for that still, it may be simpler than I originally thought. I can't get Maxis PIM or LE to work on pc at all. 

I'm still learning the latest Reader, which is much better than the old v.093 I remember, but I really only use it to dig around the SimCity dat files to see what I can play with and customize. PIMX can't do MODs, though it is great for so many things. 

@SIM-ple Jack did you have the required dll's installed? Links can be found in the first post of the PIMX Support Thread on SC4D. I'm on Windows10, and haven't had an issue, even without installing the dll's. 

 

[CorinaMarie 29,565]

4 hours ago, xxdita said:

I'm still learning the latest Reader, which is much better than the old v.093

The latest version I've used is 1.5.4 and it has some very nice enhancements. It's the only one that can find the NKO variable (and several others in the same exemplar). However, be very careful with 1.5.4 as it has a habit of corrupting the files when saving. Most especially LTEXT ones and that's a big deal when one is using LTEXT for function calls.

[xxdita 1,097]

I've learned that too. Have to double check in the version on the STEX or LEX. I also installed v1.4 I think, and I noticed that one names certain properties that 1.54 just calls Unknown. Probably need to check the xml for both and compare them. 

[CorinaMarie 29,565]

37 minutes ago, xxdita said:

I've learned that too.

Here's some good info for other peeps on the topic of Reader 0.9.3 vs 1.5.4.