Screen Is Pushed Over To Left

[simcitynate 134]

Never had a problem like this. Right from launch (Steam), my screen is pushed over to the left while about about 25% of the right is black. Everything was fine until I downloaded this along with all the dependencies: 

This building requires 2 coal plant files, and I've tried launching with and without them in plugins, to no avail. Interestingly, I went ahead and built the plant and it seemed to work fine. I'd appreciate any help, thanks.

 

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

I suspect you have been the victim of an unannounced OS update. The timing of its occurrence linking up with you installing a mod power plant is probably coincedental, there really isn't any way I'm aware of that could lead to this happening, a mod should not have any effect of the rendering output of the game on your computer.

You might want to check the graphics settings used for the game under whatever graphics-card-control program you are using (Radeon settings, NVIDIA system tools or whatever), as if there has been an update to the drivers that this program uses, it could effect the game rendering.

[simcitynate 134]

It did seem implausible that some plugin files would cause such a change, but the alternative seemed like a remarkable coincidence considering things were normal just hours earlier. Anyway, I located the Radeon settings, but I'm a bit out of my element here. I changed the scaling mode to center, but no luck. I use the game's default screen resolution, and when I changed it to 800x600, everything was centered again, but looked slightly blurry.

[rsc204 21,808]

1 hour ago, simcitynate said:

I use the game's default screen resolution, and when I changed it to 800x600, everything was centered again, but looked slightly blurry.

Does your monitor only support 800x600?, I ask because modern LCDs don't really like to run any anything below their maxium resolution. Although they may well support it, usually it looks pretty terrible as a result. SC4 is pretty flexible and supports most current resolutions, but you might need to give it a push (set a command) if it's not listed in the Graphics Properties menu. Here's how that looks for a 1920x1080 or FullHD display for example:

-CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32

Replace the orange parts with the resolution Windows is using and things are likely to be a lot better.

[simcitynate 134]

In the graphics properties menu, my options are: 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1600x1200. My display resolution is 1366x768 by default. I'm not sure if this was always the case or if it was changed in a possible update I was unaware of. The other options are: 1360x768, 1280x720, 1024x768, 800x600. 

I opened up the Steam store and entered that command with my display resolution but it didn't work. I also tried 1920x1080 out of curiosity, also didn't work (as a side note, in my search for instructions, I discovered the command -intro:off, and that worked).

[rsc204 21,808]

2 hours ago, simcitynate said:

My display resolution is 1366x768 by default. I'm not sure if this was always the case or if it was changed in a possible update I was unaware of. The other options are: 1360x768, 1280x720, 1024x768, 800x600. 

Am I right in thinking these are the resolutions that are offered in Windows?

If so, 1280x720 should definitely work, 1366x768 or 1360x768 may work, but they would have been a bit weird when the game was made, so they may not. But I would try them all to see how close to your displays capabilities you can get. -intro:off is great, I miss that playing on a Mac, which doesn't allow such commands. If you don't have it, also add -CPUCount:1, this prevents the game being unstable on modern systems. Lastly, you might find in combination with the various resolutions, use of either -f or -w changes what does/doesn't work. -f = Full Screen mode, which SC4 prefers, -w = Windowed mode, i.e. the game runs in a Window like other desktop apps. Together that would give you the following:

-f -CustomResolution:enabled -r1366x768x32 -intro:off -CPUCount:1

Note the spacing used, it's important. Try all combinations of resolution with both -f / -w and see what works for your system.

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

9 hours ago, simcitynate said:

My display resolution is 1366x768 by default

SC4 was made long before such wide monitors were popular, so you could find happiness using windowed mode and an SC4 resolution of 1280x1024. That will again use only part of your monitor width, but you'll be able to move it. You'll also be able to use the rest of your monitor for other windows (like SC4 guides, NAM manual, Simtropolis in browser etc that can be useful during play).

[simcitynate 134]

14 hours ago, rsc204 said:

-f -CustomResolution:enabled -r1366x768x32 -intro:off -CPUCount:1

Yes, this worked! Thanks so much. And yeah, the resolutions I listed were for Windows. 

When you say CPUCount:1 prevents the game from being unstable, do you mean preventing CTD's? Cause that would be just wonderful. I'd be kicking myself for not discovering it years ago.

[simcitynate 134]

7 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

SC4 was made long before such wide monitors were popular, so you could find happiness using windowed mode and an SC4 resolution of 1280x1024. That will again use only part of your monitor width, but you'll be able to move it. You'll also be able to use the rest of your monitor for other windows (like SC4 guides, NAM manual, Simtropolis in browser etc that can be useful during play).

Thanks, but I try to maximize the game speed, so I'm not sure this is the right option for me. I always close down as much as I can before launching. I also set the shadows at low. My system has 8GB of RAM, so would you recommend setting the colour quality at 32? I believe I've always had it set at 16, but I don't know if it's worth it to go higher. 

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

1 hour ago, simcitynate said:

When you say CPUCount:1 prevents the game from being unstable, do you mean preventing CTD's? Cause that would be just wonderful. I'd be kicking myself for not discovering it years ago.

Thats exactly what it means, and if you install @simmaster07's SC4Fix.dll it will stop crashing when you hover a puzzle piece over a transit enabled lot (station).

[rsc204 21,808]

I have a pretty decent system, even if it’s not the latest and I still run in Full Screen mode. You can always Alt+Tab back to Windows to use other apps. I guess I’m just used to playing games this way and find having nothing else in the way whilst building cleaner and easier to work with. The point being, this is more a personal choice than resource thing.

Your 8GB system doesn’t really cause any barriers to multi-tasking where SC4 is concerned either. Since at most it could only ever use 2GB anyway. It is usually true that games hog resources, but SC4 is quite old, so even without the latest hardware, it’s less of an issue. That said it shocks me to see how much memory a few open browser tabs need these days.

If you have the CPU count and SC4Fix installed, SC4 should be rock-solid stable. If it’s not, usually the problem comes from your Plugins folder or a system incompatibility. Since we’re here, are you using Hardware or Software rendering to play? It’s listed in graphics options. If the later, that kills performance and has other negative effects. I note too you’ve an ATI GPU, SC4 often fails to recognise such cards properly and as a consequence borks performance somewhat. You might want to take a look here, simply forcing the ‘fast card’ profile can seriously improve things and your card is more than capable for such an old game to run it at the very best settings. 

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

14 hours ago, simcitynate said:

I always close down as much as I can before launching.

Then your browser could eat memory, but it would probably run on a different CPU (and if you're a power user, you can research how to force that). Text info is trivial, so if somebody posts a list of steps to accomplish something, there's no harm in having a plain text version of that open.

My approach involves multiple computers. I play SC4 on a dedicated legacy-game desktop that uses my best monitor, and I have a separate laptop to the side with its own screen where I can open up the Guide, forum threads, You Tube videos, spreadsheets etc whenever they'd be helpful.

As for colors, if you sort your graphics card, its driver, and SC4's recognition, then you should be able to enjoy nearly all of the advanced features -- shadows being the possible exception.

[simcitynate 134]

9 hours ago, rsc204 said:

Since we’re here, are you using Hardware or Software rendering to play?

I use Hardware. I remember reading something about Software causing problems.

[simcitynate 134]

7 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

The OP stated a priority on game speed and a willingness to shut off everything else, so I was tossing up ideas.

I appreciate your suggestions, thanks. When I say "maximize game speed", I just mean I don't want it slowed down by other programs I've opened, so I make sure to close them all before launching. That's working well enough for me. If at some point I do want more speed and feel it's worth the extra trouble, I'll make sure to revisit this thread.