Looking for advice - SC4 region maker

[agdangel 1]

Hello fellow Mayors. I'm about to start playing with the region maker for the first time, and am looking for some general advice for a rookie. I am a NAM enthusiast and merely a part-time tinkerer, cautious not to end up deep inside a rabbit hole  

I'm just looking to create a somewhat diverse region geographically as well as in size/placement of city tiles. Does the region maker offer control over placement of the tile grid/size? 

 

[Propfam 2,286]

I don't think the Region Maker can do what do you want. So, I recommend SC4Terraformer here: https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=731. Also, SC4TF has some problems with Windows 10. You have to install some DLLs first. Look out at the comments. After that, SC4Mapper (https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2880) is also a nice companion. Another nice thing is SC4M doesn't need DLL tinkering so you can just run it out of the box. 

[rsc204 21,804]

11 hours ago, chfzdn said:

SC4TF has some problems with Windows 10. You have to install some DLLs first.

DLLs are the equivalent of dependencies, this doesn't indicate a problem.

Spoiler

Most software is made using some sort of programming tools and these Library files contain data necessary for them to run on your PC. For example, in order to render graphics, it must utilise some OpenGL libraries, in the same way SC4 uses DirectX. The only difference being, because EA is a large commercial operation making money, they can afford to include such libraries with their software, but it comes with licensing costs. Hobbyists that just make useful tools like this, aren't able to include such libraries, so you must find and download them yourself. But you might find you already have them, these are pretty common .DLLs need by many applications.

 

16 hours ago, agdangel said:

I'm just looking to create a somewhat diverse region geographically as well as in size/placement of city tiles. Does the region maker offer control over placement of the tile grid/size? 

Actually the last part can be done in paint, the Config.BMP file is really quite simple. Each pixel represents the same size as a small tile in-game, a red single pixel makes a small tile, a 2x2 area of green, makes a medium tile and a 4x4 area in blue, denotes a large city tile. The number of tiles from left to right and top to bottom determine the region's overall size.

That said, SC4Mapper's function for this is much more visual and straightforward. If you plan to make a greyscale height-map or use a downloaded map, SC4Mapper is the easiest way of getting it in-game, so would be my recommendation.

However, if you prefer to sculpt your region to your own whims, SC4 Terraformer is the better choice. Whilst it doesn't render a map like in-game (just colours and contour lines), it allows you to terraform in much the same manner. Including global tools for modification and more fine-control settings for when you need them too.

Both these application use something called the SC4M format, that is they can save SC4M (Map data), which is used by the majority of maps you can download. You might want to start with an existing (downloadable) map and optionally customise it. You can easily create "random" maps, which can be interesting or create something from scratch if you prefer.

Some of these links might be useful:

• Tutorial: How to edit the Config.bmp file using SC4Mapper by @Cyclone Boom
• Tutorial: Rendering a Grayscale Map using SC4 Mapper also by CB
• Grayscale Maps as Related to Config.bmp Dimensions also by CB

[agdangel 1]

Cool - thanks all for the advice!