Load region: Region not found (Linux)

[Shoarmadharma 2]

Hi guys. After a very long time, I decided to get my hands on SimCity 4 again. This time however I am running a version of Linux (mint 20). The game itself and also the NAM installed nicely, and also I activated a terrain mod.

The problem is that my downloaded region does not show up in the Load Region screen. It only shows the default regions, minus the ones I deleted through the game interface.

 

What I did:

- Went through the steps described in multiple places. I saved the region through SC4Mapper. The result is an altered config.bmp file, as well as a bunch of "City - New city(004-004).sc4" type of files.

- Placed these files  in the folder ~.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SimCity 4 Deluxe/Regions/{Region name}

- Searched the filesystem for the occurrence of "Timbuktu" and "San Francisco". Folders with these names are indeed found in the path mentioned above.

- Pressed CTRL-ALT-SHFT-R. The folder structure shown in that dialogue, I cannot find on my machine. It seems like a simulation of a Windows folder structure that is not there. For instance, there is mention of a HTTPCache folder that I cannot find anywhere outside of that SC4 dialogue.

Is there anything I can do to make the custom region folders visible in the Load Region screen?

Thanks in advance!

[CorinaMarie 29,610]

1 hour ago, Shoarmadharma said:

I saved the region through SC4Mapper. The result is an altered config.bmp file, as well as a bunch of "City - New city(004-004).sc4" type of files.

1 hour ago, Shoarmadharma said:

Pressed CTRL-ALT-SHFT-R.

^ These are two different processes. The first it how SC4Mapper completely bypasses the need for the in-game CTRL-ALT-SHFT-R rendering. (That's for 8 bit grayscales only and is different than a 24 bit grayscale Mapper could create.)

 

1 hour ago, Shoarmadharma said:

- Placed these files  in the folder ~.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SimCity 4 Deluxe/Regions/{Region name}

This part I won't know about fully as I use Windoze.

However, if you run the game itself, load any region the game can see, load a tile, save it, then quit the game, you should be able to use Linux's equivalent of File Explorer to find which region folder the city file was save to. The reason I'm mentioning this is that SC4 has two separate Region folders and two separate Plugins folders. The ones in the install location should not be used (except for some particular things with regard to plugins).

So, once you have that "bunch of "City - New city(004-004).sc4" type of files" in a folder in the correct regions folder, the region should show up in the game with each city tile showing in some really awful looking greens, grays, and blue colors.

[Shoarmadharma 2]

10 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

However, if you run the game itself, load any region the game can see, load a tile, save it, then quit the game, you should be able to use Linux's equivalent of File Explorer to find which region folder the city file was save to.

Thanks for your reply!

Yes I thinkered with your suggestion and this was returned:

~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/24780/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My Documents/SimCity 4/Regions

 

After placing the custom region there, it worked.
 

[CorinaMarie 29,610]

3 hours ago, Shoarmadharma said:

Yes I thinkered with your suggestion and this was returned:

~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/24780/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My Documents/SimCity 4/Regions

And this implies you'll also have:

~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/24780/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My Documents/SimCity 4/Plugins

^ That's where it's recommended to place any custom content like terrain mods, or buildings, and such. Basically, all custom items will work when placed in either the Install folder's plugins or in the My Documents one. The exception is DLL files do need to go in the Install folder's Plugins (and not in a sub folder of it).

For Windoze versions of the game (and prolly Linux's too), the Install folder's Regions and Plugins are removed without saving if uninstalling the game whereas there is an option to preserve those in Documents.

Ofc, the key thing is that it all works for you and that you know where files are to maintain a backup of them on a regular basis.