Mysterious Glitch For SimCity 4 Mac

[rsardachuk 98]

Hello.  I'm running SC4 steam edition on a Macbook air on MacOS Sierra.  I have a lot of mods to my game, and yesterday night the game was working just fine.  However tonight for whatever reason, the game does not work.  I had not added anything to my SimCity files between then and now, and for whatever reason it crashes to desktop every time I attempt to load any city. 

In a potentially related note, between last night and now, I was noticing some weird performance issues with google chrome (my main browser), so I reset its cache, deleted search history, etc.  I also had downloaded a region, but had yet to install it to the game's region files.  

Now it's difficult to explain the crash, because the startup of the game looks just ever so slightly different, but bear with me.

For example, under typical operation, takes a couple seconds for the EA logo to initially appear, and the cursor changes to the SimCity style cursor if that makes sense. 

Ever Since the mystery crash "appeared", the EA logo seems to appear instantly after startup (almost like nothing is loading), and the cursor still looks like the default mac cursor.  you also have to click to skip both the aspyr and SimCity video intros.  after that happens, the game then "windows/minimizes" the SC4 Loading screen briefly before loading the region.  Once the region is loaded, everything seems to look fine, and you can even click to load cities.  However, once you're in the loading screen for a selected city, the game will just crash to desktop part way through loading it.  I tried removing all plugins and mods, and it's still is doing this.   

The strange part is, after each crash, I look at my SimCity 4 file folders and noticed that the following two files appear to be automatically "modified" at the exact date and time that the crash occured:

SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition.cfg,

and Macbook Air-config-log.txt

I know the explanation is confusing at best, but any help is appreciated

 

[Cyclone Boom 16,875]

Hi rsardachuk,

While I'm not a Mac user myself and we'll have to wait for the experts in this field to share their input, I'll just reply to this part...
 

24 minutes ago, rsardachuk said:

The strange part is, after each crash, I look at my SimCity 4 file folders and noticed that the following two files appear to be automatically "modified" at the exact date and time that the crash occured:

SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition.cfg,

and Macbook Air-config-log.txt

Testing here on a Windows system, I can confirm how both these files are updated while the game runs.

That .cfg file stores configuration settings for the game, such as the last loaded region, along with Graphic Options too. This gets created again upon starting the game, and it won't hurt to try deleting this in case it might've become corrupted. If you do attempt this, it's probably a wise idea to create a backup copy beforehand.

This gets updated when closing the game also, and then the config log text file is re-written each time upon starting the game. It's interesting how you've found this to correspond to the crash time, which might suggest it initially happens at the point that SC4 first loads.

Anyway, I'm out of ideas but I hope you can find a solution to the mystery.

[Hubert 53]

Not sure I can help, but out of interest which version of SC4 are you running @rsardachuk? Steam, Mac App Store or an old disk copy?  

On my setup (Catalina, Mac App Store 64-bit SC4) I get the standard macOS cursor from launching the app, and clicking Play in the splash/Login screen,  right up to the point where the second animation (SimCity live action) closes and there's a brief display of the logo.

I can also click at any point during either the Aspyr or live action animations to skip them, so I think that may have always been a feature that you may not have noticed.

(But you say you 'have to click to skip them'. What happens if you don't?)

Just a thought - if you're running the Mac App Store version, do you have Automatic Updates selected in your App Store prefs?

And if you do, I wonder if an older (32-bit) installation of the game has been replaced with the updated 64-bit version, which was released to let the game run on Catalina? The new version should run on High Sierra without issue, but as I understand it some plugins (eg NAM36) will crash the new App Store version.

And if (a lot of ifs...) this is the case, did you know that there's a new location for the Plugins folder?

It's /Users/username/Library/Containers/com.aspyr.simcity4.appstore/Data/Documents/SimCity 4/Plugins/

I just wonder if there may be something lurking in there?

Mac versions of SC4 are also hampered by limitations on the number of files and folders in Plugins, and I think I read somewhere that the limitations are even tighter if the game is run without an internet connection (possible link with your Chrome issue?) But again, you say you've emptied your Plugins folder so maybe not...

If it's of any use (to you or anyone else) I've written a small AppleScript that counts the number of files and folders in the two possible locations of the Mac SC4 Plugins folder and writes a report to the desktop. It doesn't change or modify the folders in any way, just gives an indication of how many you've got.

 

    

Hope some of this will help - and I hope you get it fixed!

[rsardachuk 98]

34 minutes ago, Hubert said:

Not sure I can help, but out of interest which version of SC4 are you running @rsardachuk? Steam, Mac App Store or an old disk copy? 

Yeah, sorry I forgot to mention, I'm on the steam version of the program.  yeah the the aspyr and SimCity logo used to skip as one video, not as two.  so you make two individual clicks to skip them instead of one click to skip both.    I wonder if SimCity somehow updated in the background without my authorization, and if it did if theres a way to check it?

[Hubert 53]

10 minutes ago, rsardachuk said:

if theres a way to check it?

Not sure about the Steam version numbers, but I believe the app was updated on the App Store in February, and the Steam version a little later than that - and I think the version numbers are the same.

This is what I get with a Get Info on the App Store application package in my Applications folder:

I'm pretty sure that 4 February 2020 is the date the Mac Store 64-bit version (1.2.1) was created and that 24 April 2020 was the date I installed it on my MacBook. This was the first time I realised that a new version was available and would run under Catalina - I hadn't been running the game for months before that as the old 32-bit version was obsolete.

[rsardachuk 98]

this is the version i've got when i click the about button.  judging my the copyright logo date, i wonder if it updated in the background and screwed something up?

[Hubert 53]

Snap...

 

You've definitely got an updated version, and I'm 99.999999% certain it's 64-bit. You can double-check from the Apple menu - About This Mac - System Report - Applications:

 But we're no closer to finding out why it's borked. Not using any cheat mods perchance?

[rsardachuk 98]

19 minutes ago, Hubert said:

Snap...

 

You've definitely got an updated version, and I'm 99.999999% certain it's 64-bit. You can double-check from the Apple menu - About This Mac - System Report - Applications:

 But we're no closer to finding out why it's borked. Not using any cheat mods perchance?

oh i see!  mine is the 64 bit, and yes it says it was last modified at 5:28 PM on may 19th (nestled between it working fine the previous day, and not working that night).  ok, so with that said, do you know how to make it work with 64 bit, or how to revert it back?

[rsardachuk 98]

Also, what do you mean by cheat mod?  like I sad, I removed all plugins just to see if anything would change, and it didn't, so I wonder what the issue might be.  is Mac OS Sierra maybe to blame?

[Hubert 53]

1 hour ago, rsardachuk said:

how to revert it back?

Not unless you have a backup.

1 hour ago, rsardachuk said:

do you know how to make it work with 64 bit,

AFAIK the 64-bit version should work with High Sierra, although you might try updating to Mojave or even Catalina as long as (a) your Mac is up to it and (especially b) you don't have any other apps (eg older versions of Adobe CS/MS Office etc) that you want to keep at 32-bit. 32-bit apps will not run under Catalina and are deprecated under Mojave.

You could try temporarily moving or renaming your Regions folder and seeing if the game will start (it should create a new folder with all the the default Maxis regions in it.)

Worst case you could completely uninstall it (including preferences, support files etc) and re-install manually from Steam. I don't know how to do that.

1 hour ago, rsardachuk said:

Also, what do you mean by cheat mod?

Something that modifies the executable (eg Buggi's Extra Cheats) rather than a plugin. But seems unlikely, as you say. 

Beyond that, this post by @atlanticfish seems to show the same symptoms to yours (automatic and unrequested update by Steam, CTD on load...) 

I'm pretty much out of ideas I'm afraid 

 

[rsardachuk 98]

I do have the extra cheat mod installed.  has that been confirmed as problematic to you in the past?

[Hubert 53]

20 minutes ago, rsardachuk said:

has that been confirmed as problematic to you in the past?

No, but I would try removing it if you can. I don't know if that's possible without a re-install.

I briefly tried installing something similar (can't remember if it was Buggi's) over my 64-bit Catalina version and I seem to remember I was getting CTDs. In the end I deleted the SC4 app and re-installed from the App Store. Like I say, I don't know how to do this with the Steam version.

If you've modified the actual program/executable, as opposed to just installing plugins, you may be looking at a re-install, and I honestly don't know if your existing cities would still load afterwards. Before you go that far, why not see if the game runs with a 'clean' Regions folder?

[rsardachuk 98]

yeah i tried the region folder rename, as well as the removal of buggis extra cheats, but still no dice.  

[rsc204 21,808]

If it’s still crashing with an empty Plugins folder, you may need to do a fresh install of the game. You can safely copy your Plugins and Regions folders to somewhere else so they don’t get messed with.

I believe any tricks used to get a Windows DLL file to run may no longer work. Because the DLLs are 32-bit, certainly for Catalina users this is true (since 32-bit support is removed from the OS entirely). But it’s also possible it needs to be 64-bit compiled, in order to work with a 64-bit version of SC4. This is particularly relevant if you’ve extracheats, such a DLL file.

[urbanbabel215 16]

I am so glad someone posted about this... I just started having the E-X-A-C-T same issues with the game CTDing after a subtly different intro sequence (before the region view loads) in the past day on a 2017 MacBook Pro after playing the Steam version without incident the past two years. I'm running on OS Mojave and have long held off updating to Catalina specifically because of the warnings about the 64-bit compatibility issue. Unfortunately, I don't have much to add at this point as I've spent the better part of the day trying specifying launch options with CPU counts, cleaning plugins, editing graphics and video configuration files, and downloading recommended SC4 launchers (before thinking better of it) — all to no avail. I knew it had to be something to do with a system update either from Steam or Apple because I hadn't made any changes to my Plugins since successfully playing last two days ago. So thank you for explaining how to verify this!

To be clear, is the thought that updating to Catalina if it doesn't affect other programs (in my case, it doesn't) is the most ideal fix? Will existing cities still load after, or is there expected to be an issue with anything created in 32-bit instances? Apologies if I'm not understanding this part correctly, but I'm not particularly tech savvy... though enthusiastically pursuing this game and NAM on a Mac is slowly changing that [he admits begrudgingly].

[Hubert 53]

4 hours ago, urbanbabel215 said:

is the thought that updating to Catalina if it doesn't affect other programs (in my case, it doesn't) is the most ideal fix?

TBH I don't think anyone knows for sure - there are too many variables.

There's one review on the Mac App Store of the 64-bit version under Catalina claiming "the program crashes as soon as any city is opened". 

All I can personally say is that on my Catalina setup (details in sig) after a clean install of the 64-bit Mac App Store version, I have had no serious issues with the game itself.

I have had CTD issues with specific plugins, and anyone considering updating to Catalina should be aware that the NAM36 installer will not run - it's 32-bit. You can run the NAM37 release candidate installer but you will need to install a Java runtime first and if you have an App Store copy of the game, NAM37 is not installed in the correct location. (It's pretty easy to move it manually after running the installer.)

I may (real life permitting) try to run a clean install of the 64-bit App Store version of the game on a Mojave system and see what happens.

The only other observation I have is that from one of @rsardachuk's screen shots above, Steam appears to install the game in a really weird place for a macOS application: /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/SimCity 4 Deluxe/. I can see why it would be in the user's own directory rather than the system-level /Applications/ folder (because licensing...) but why not in /Users/username/Applications/ ? 

But without a Steam installation myself, I don't have a lot more useful to add.

[rsardachuk 98]

Ok, so I have a bit of an update.  I moved my plugins to a backup location, uninstalled the game, then re-installed it.  I tested it out in its base game form before adding any of my plugins back.  I was able to successfully load cities in the base timbuktu region (which I wasn't even able to do previously before my reinstallation)  I did notice that as soon as i added my plugins and regions folder back, I was back to the same issues on the city loading screen again though, so it's a little discouraging,  but I feel like I'm barking up the right tree, but not quite there yet.  Also, @Hubert Did you say that NAM 37 was the version that the 64 Bit game didn't agree with?  I'm just trying to trouble shoot if theres some plugin issues.  

[Hubert 53]

Hi @rsardachuk In my limited experience NAM37 works pretty well with the 64-bit game. The installer doesn't put the plugins in the right place for the App Store version (you have to move them over manually), but I believe it should be ok for the Steam version. You also need Java Runtime Environment to run the installer. All the instructions and downloads are here at SC4Devotion.

I would suggest testing your own plugins and regions folders separately. If you add the whole lot back at the same time, there's no way of knowing where the problem is. Maybe try installing just your plugins and see if they work with a 'clean' region? If not, uninstall half the plugins, try again, narrow it down that way. It'll be a bit of a grind but it may be the only way you can isolate the problem.

[urbanbabel215 16]

Hi friends, so I've had some time to do some troubleshooting and thought I'd chime in with this (lengthy) bit of an update. My last paragraph has a partial fix if you don't care about the minutiae. In researching the 64-bit issues, I came across this thread on the forum: 

Some folks on Macs were saying they were getting CTD issues after updating to the 64-bit game on the App Store and were able to trace those issues to a couple HSR (high-speed rail) stations and some lots/buildings by a member here named spa. So after making a backup copy of my current SimCity 4 folder contents and then wiping that folder clean and uninstalling SimCity 4 Deluxe from Steam, rebooting the computer, and installing it anew in Steam, I was able to get into the game and play the Timbuktu starter cities. (Note: the intro still looks different than it did before and I thought for sure it would crash, but amazingly it kept going even after flashing my Dock after the intro sequence. @rsardachuk described the subtle differences in the intro spot on in his original post.) So then I loaded my previous custom regions only into the Regions folder and was able to get into those cities and play them for a short while, albeit with a lot of brown boxes from my missing plugins and empty spaces from NAM networks. I could save, exit, go back into the city, go back into other cities... all good. Only caveat is I noticed it created a Regions 2 folder in my SimCity 4 file with all the standard regions that also exist in the Regions file, but it doesn't seem to matter.

Satisfied that I got the game working again with the 64-bit update, I loaded the Network Addon Mod and z___NAM files I backed up into Plugins and tried removing the few station folders in the z___NAM > Mass Transit Lots >  High Speed Rail Stations they identified in the post I cited above, and did a search of spa's uploaded files on the STEX to confirm that I didn't have any of them in my Plugins (which I didn't, but it's possible they're involved in other plugins or dependencies I have or perhaps he had content on the LEX that I've downloaded and I haven't been able to do an exhaustive search of all my files yet). Right back to the CTD after intro. 

So then I wiped my Plugins clean again and reinstalled NAM 36 fresh using the installer, custom installation setting without any of the High Speed Rail Project checked, and opted for the Bullet Train Mod (BTM) only. Game loaded and allowed me to play and save existing regions again with all the previous NAM content I had placed (except obviously for HSR, which I hadn't previously used in my cities anyway). Building bullet train tracks and stations worked fine as well, as did some new RHW. (Note: after success with the fresh NAM install, glutton for punishment that I am, I deleted those files and tried adding my previous NAM plugins [Network Addon Mod and z___NAM folders] back into my Plugins folder without the entire HSRP folders from both of them instead of just the few HSR station files in z___NAM > Mass Transit Lots > High Speed Rail Stations like I attempted earlier, but that didn't work and the game went back to CTD after intro, so I'm thinking there must be some glitch around the fundamental HSRP in the entire NAM install with the 64-bit update on the Mac Steam, maybe something to do with the re-skinning of the monorail whilst still allowing monorail as an option [which as I understand it is all HSRP is] whereas the BTM replaces the monorail as a re-skin entirely.)

Last, I went back and added all my other backed up plugins to the Plugins folder and the game went back to CTD after intro, so now I have the thankless task of testing all my previous plugins one-by-one to see what other conflicts there are.

But the somewhat good news and ultimate moral of this tale is that you can get back to playing the Steam version on Mac with NAM after the 64-bit update (albeit without HSR) by starting with clean folders, uninstalling and reinstalling the game in Steam, and going through a fresh install of NAM 36 without HSRP. Or at least I can. And I didn't need to update my OS to Catalina — yet. Did all this staying in Mojave. (Take this statement with a big grain of salt, however, as I only played/saved a couple different cities and regions for very short whiles. But exiting in and out of the game as much as I did and loading some rather large cities I was building before is a hopeful sign there's some stamina and stability in this.) Now to start tackling all these plugins I've accumulated over the years and put into my cities... I'll be sure to post an update when I discover where those conflicts lie if it would be helpful.

[rsc204 21,808]

It's important here to note that there are two separate issues, the first is a general problem running the 64-bit version of SC4. It's not entirely clear what's behind this, but if you can run the game and open a blank, new region/city, then this issue no longer applies to you. It's very important you also do this with no Plugins installed, the point is to know at least the game can work. I can only speak based on knowledge of the Windows version, but for example if you previously set things up to use settings other than the defaults, you probably will need to adjust these again after installing a new version. For example, if you were using the software renderer previously, you may need to change this once more to make the game work.

The second issue is more complicated and is the result of using mods which have some incorrectly defined data types. Whilst technically an error, the use of such has never really came to light as a problem, because it never caused problems with the 32-bit Mac and PC versions of the game. With one exception, two Properties that are used specifically for TE Lots (Stations), again the PC version simply works regardless, but it led to problems for 32-bit Mac version players. This is known as the Mac TE bug, but is actually a ridiculously simple problem:

As I explained in this post, see those two Properties Transit Switch Entry Cost and Transit Switch Traffic Capacity, in the third column we see it uses a Float32 Data type and in the fourth column (Reps) both contain the value 1. Simply put, where a Float32 Data type exists and there is only one value or rep, the Rep. field should contain a 0, not a 1.

I have to explain Reps here to prevent misunderstandings, Reps are the number of values or data fields, which contain data. Look at this example:

Here we have multiple Properties using Float32 Data types, some contain a higher number than 1. I've expanded the Occupant Size Property, which has 3 Reps. See how the value 40,33,36 is actually represented as three separate values, separated by commas, hence it has 3 Reps. Note here only 3 other Properties use the Float32 Data type, the next two correctly have 0 for one Rep, whilst the last has 4, but has 4 Reps. I know this seems complex, but it boils down to something very simple:

If any Property in an Exemplar is a Float32 value that contains only 1 Rep, the Rep. value MUST be set to 0 or Mac users see problems.

Fixing this problem requires iLives Reader, a 32-Bit Windows application (a problem for users without access to Windows), we can just update the faulty values, save the affected file and all should be fine (instructions in previously linked post).

Here in Reader is one of the files (by Spa - Since Patched), identified to contain such problem values:

Note how once more the Float32 Property is used for the highlighted values and that again they contain one Rep but not the correct 0 Rep. value. Long and short, we don't yet know how far this problem goes. If it can be caused by both Buildings and LotConfiguations Exemplars, why not Prop, Flora or pretty much any Exemplar Type, which might have the incorrect value. The change seems to be that when compiled as a 64-bit App, it's suddenly essential this value is set correctly.

 

Why is this happening?

We have known about problems with TE Lots for a very long time and subsequently traced them to a modding tool, SC4 Tool, which is pretty much the only tool we have to Transit Enable Lots. When such a Lot is saved with the tool, it erroneously uses the Rep. value 1, not 0. Sadly the tool can not be updated, so it's reliant on modders to know about this issue and remember to subsequently edit all such values in Reader, every time they save a Lot in SC4 Tool.

There may of course be other tools behind this, because until now we were only focused on TE Lots, it's not yet clear if this is limited to SC4 Tool. What has become clear is that suddenly it's very important for Mac users, that these incorrect values are fixed.

 

Is this a NAM problem?

Technically, no, it's a general problem for all modded content, however indications are that some NAM files are affected. They key things to remember are that until the latest Pre Release NAM37, there has never been a native Mac NAM installer. This causes all sorts of complications for many Mac users, all of which can be avoided by using the new Java (multi platform) based version. Any of these errors leading to issues using NAM 37 content, will have been present in previous NAM versions anyway, none of the affected Lots are new content. The NAM 36 installer itself is 32-bit, so you can't run it or use emulation such as WINE, if you have updated to Catalina. When these issues are fixed, we won't be updating old NAM builds. In other words, you'll need to install an updated NAM 37 build or later to get these fixes at some point.

Long and short, NAM 36 is dead, long live NAM 37, i.e. Mac users are better off using the latest NAM, as is everyone really.

@memo, a currently inactive NAM Team member, after the previous update to the Mac game, found some content other than these TE Properties, which was causing problems. But the basic problem is the same in all instances, it's just as the game gets updated, the issue expands to affect more Properties. Most such problems should have been addressed within the NAM already, thanks to memo's efforts previously, but certainly any remaining content in NAM will be fixed.

I can also confirm, having checked the current RTMT 4 build, this issue is not present for RTMT. Just to show how easy it is to screw up, I did find 5 instances of the TE Properties with the wrong Rep. Count in the process. Keeping track of manually reverting this after every save, it's real easy to miss when you're working with many hundreds of stations.

The wider problem though is all the content out there on the exchanges, because seemingly this is no longer limited to Stations.

 

One hypothesis for issues opening existing save files, after updating to the 64-bit game

I can only base this on my knowledge of SC4 save files, but I'm wondering if this problem may be due to the following:

• Affected content was added and saved with the 32-bit version.
• The game was updated to the 64-bit version.
• Unused/New Cities can load and be played (without Plugins), but existing ones not.

We know that certain Properties are embedded into the save file, when content is placed in-game, whilst other data is non-static. In the above scenario, if an affected file's Properties were read, as part of the loading process, could that be triggering the CTD. Just as normally, it only triggers when you try to use an affected Lot, when the game reads all it's Properties.

Even less clear, assuming the above explained what we're seeing, if we correct the affected Plugins, will that correct the issue. There is some possibility, this data may be part of the Save File and fixing that is a lot harder. One things for sure, since these issues are only triggered by the use of Custom Content, no one at Aspyr is likely to offer support or resolution.

Some interesting developments (starting) here, maybe a solution can be found to find and correct these values? Otherwise...Lastly, all of what I've written above comes from feedback from the Mac users within our community. We're in a paradoxical situation, where most of those who can fix the problem, can't trigger it. But those having issues, can't fix them, (because you can't run iLives Reader easily on a Mac). I'm guessing far more files with potential problems are going to come to light as more people get updated to the 64-bit App. But without help identifying specific downloads, these issues won't get resolved. It's unthinkable to go through every file on the STEX for example, to look for and fix these problems. Therefore, I've started a dedicated thread here, if you have found a file/download causing problems, post there and someone will check into it and where possible, provide fixes.

[rsc204 21,808]

On 21/05/2020 at 5:04 AM, urbanbabel215 said:

To be clear, is the thought that updating to Catalina if it doesn't affect other programs (in my case, it doesn't) is the most ideal fix? Will existing cities still load after, or is there expected to be an issue with anything created in 32-bit instances? Apologies if I'm not understanding this part correctly, but I'm not particularly tech savvy... though enthusiastically pursuing this game and NAM on a Mac is slowly changing that [he admits begrudgingly].

On one side, if you do not need to run any legacy 32-bit applications, the 64-bit only Catalina OS problem simply doesn't apply to you. Think of this like Nintendo and Sony, you can't play games made for one system on the other. The good news is that 64-bit is not something new, Apple simply wanted to streamline and modernise the OSX code by junking legacy support most people probably don't need.

Honestly, I think you are better off with the latest OS where practical, so would probably recommend you try Catalina. If you make a full Time Machine system backup before doing this, you can restore your Mac to as it was before the update if you later change your mine. So there really isn't anything to loose in trying it. Will that fix your problems, I seriously doubt it, because there is no problem using a 64-bit App on a 64-bit OS that also runs 32-bit Apps.

Really, right now if you can get your game running playing New Cities, the game itself is working. Don't do anything rash with your old save files, folks round here are seeking for solutions, many of us, myself included, do not play the Mac game. I'm hopeful we can find a way to get those working at some point. If you can help identifying problem files, that would be great too.

15 hours ago, urbanbabel215 said:

Satisfied that I got the game working again with the 64-bit update, I loaded the Network Addon Mod and z___NAM files I backed up into Plugins and tried removing the few station folders in the z___NAM > Mass Transit Lots >  High Speed Rail Stations they identified in the post I cited above, and did a search of spa's uploaded files on the STEX to confirm that I didn't have any of them in my Plugins (which I didn't, but it's possible they're involved in other plugins or dependencies I have or perhaps he had content on the LEX that I've downloaded and I haven't been able to do an exhaustive search of all my files yet). Right back to the CTD after intro. 

Any chance you can tell me the exact files/folders you removed from z___NAM? I can patch them in minutes and see if we're on the right track (no pun, honest), to fix them.

[rsardachuk 98]

16 hours ago, urbanbabel215 said:

But the somewhat good news and ultimate moral of this tale is that you can get back to playing the Steam version on Mac with NAM after the 64-bit update (albeit without HSR) by starting with clean folders, uninstalling and reinstalling the game in Steam, and going through a fresh install of NAM 36 without HSRP. 

Define what you mean by clean folders.

[Hubert 53]

34 minutes ago, rsc204 said:

We're in a paradoxical situation, where most of those who can fix the problem, can't trigger it. But those having issues, can't fix them

 

And thanks to all those who are working towards fixing the problem!

[rsc204 21,808]

Just to add, I've been through my all the High Speed Rail lots in NAM and found two affected Stations. Can anyone help test these patches please, find them here?

[Hubert 53]

I'm on it...

[Hubert 53]

Can I just check @rsc204 :

Is this a patch for this HSR station:

 

On my setup (in my sig) the original unpatched version runs fine - I've got two cities connected by HSR, both using the above station, and the Sims are commuting happily. 

[rsc204 21,808]

13 minutes ago, Hubert said:

Is this a patch for this HSR station:

No, the two stations right above it, one for G-HSR and a similar design for HSR (elevated). Those are the only two affected HSR stations. I'll go through all the NAM stations once I know this resolves any issues.

[Hubert 53]

Ok, the unpatched elevated version does not appear to crash the game:

 

I'm having trouble setting up a G-HSR network (I get monorail pylons on top of a ground-based HSR texture) but that may just be my ineptitude and I'll keep trying.

 

I'll try the patch for the elevated station and report back.

[xxdita 1,097]

2 hours ago, rsc204 said:

Just to add, I've been through my all the High Speed Rail lots in NAM and found two affected Stations. Can anyone help test these patches please, find them here?

These were two of the first lots reported in the main 64bit thread, and have already been corrected for the NAM 37 RC. 

It would probably save us all time if those of us that are working on this issue could get on the same page. 

[Hubert 53]

That was fun...