Looking for a region

[Spaceblaze 194]

Hello all,

Since December 2020 I have been working on a region(called Groenland)  given to me by the default regions in SC4 Rush hour. After all these months I am coming to a conclusion and have some areas to build on and this could take me one or two months to complete before the total region is build to the max and done for. 

Having said this, I am starting to look forward to another region which has more challenges because the region I am currently am working on is a land that is as flat as a tire without air, so the are no mountains, or polders (a polder is land that lies below sea level and the water has been pumped out, I am Dutch ) In fact there is nothing special, just flat land, no hills or mountains. Coastal areas? forget it, just like rivers or lakes, there aren't any. Just boring flat lands.

For my next project I want to upload some exciting region into my game(if possible) and I wonder if anyone could recommend me a region that will work with my version of the game and I am looking for a region that doesn't need terra forming any more because I have no clue how to make terra forming work with all the different areas connecting.

[BartonThinks 3,416]

1 hour ago, Spaceblaze said:

Hello all,

Since december 2020 I have been working on a region(called Groenland)  given to me by the default regions in SC4 Rush hour. After all these months I am coming to a conclusion and have some areas to build on and this could take me one or two months to complete before the total region is build to the max and done for. 

Having said this, I am starting to look forward to another region which has more challenges because the region I am currently am working on is a land that is as flat as a tire without air, so the are no mountains, or polders (a polder is land that lies below sea level and the water has been pumped out, I am Dutch ) In fact there is nothing special, just flat land, no hills or mountains. Coastal areas? forget it, just like rivers or lakes, there aren't any. Just boring flat lands.

For my next project I want to upload some exciting region into my game(if possible) and I wonder if anyone could recommend me a region that will work with my version of the game and I am looking for a region that doesn't need terra forming any more because I have no clue how to make terra forming work with all the different areas connecting.

 

 

 

 

The two users' maps that I like the best are blade2k5 and C.P., both of whom are over on SC4Devotion.

blade2k5's maps are mostly real-life maps, with a few fictional maps thrown in. The one thing I really appreciate about blade2k5's maps is that they've taken the time to remove artifacts from satellite data. Most other real-world maps, you end-up finding these long unnatural ridges and valleys from where roadways and highways are built in real life. The same is true of ports, which lead to really strange looking coastlines. blade2k5 went to the trouble of removing these features and touching up the maps so that the map is more reflective of a natural landscape.

Link to blade2k5 maps

C.P. is well known for his props, textures, and early 19th century BATs, but he also made a number of map packs. His maps are often based on real-life locations, but he takes a lot of creative liberties with them. For example, his Nashville map re-imagines Nashville as sitting at the edge of an ocean. If you're looking for a lot of variety, he has a number of maps that contain an interesting mix of flatter areas, mountains, rivers, shores, etc.

Link to C.P. maps

[matias93 7,535]

Don't forget Dobdriver!

link to the LEX

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

7 hours ago, matias93 said:

Don't forget Dobdriver!

...or his work here under the name @drunkapple:

https://community.simtropolis.com/profile/205022-drunkapple/content/?type=downloads_file

[Spaceblaze 194]

Thanks for the links but now I see so many regions it's a system overload

So far I like this one very much

https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2783

Can I simply register and download the file and put it in the Regions folder of the game?

I also notice that it looks like regions on the LEX site have small areas(cities?) with only a grid of 5x5?

Or is the total region just one city?

 

[BartonThinks 3,416]

3 minutes ago, Spaceblaze said:

Thanks for the links but now I see so many regions it's a system overload

So far I like this one very much

https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2783

Can I simply register and download the file and put it in the Regions folder of the game?

I also notice that it looks like regions on the LEX site have small areas(cities?) with only a grid of 5x5?

Or is the total region just one city?

 

You will need to use the SC4Mapper to import this map into the game.

Each of the squares outlined in white is a large city. So this is a very large region made up entirely of large city tiles.

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

The zip file contains readme_Rotterdam.html which has complete instructions for using Mapper (and/or Terraformer) to create the region.

Once created, it will look like this initially:

 

Then after you open and save each city tile, it'll show with whichever Terrain, Water, Rock, and Beach mods you have installed.

[Spaceblaze 194]

Thanks! @BartonThinks and @CorinaMarie

But now I encounter some problems and I hope my version will allow me to install the region into the game

First problem is the SC4Mapper, in which folder do I place this program? I looked at the user guide but that doesn't tell me where to place it

Next problem is, and I think this will be a real challenge because I know how computers work to a certain degree, but installing Mods and stuff, and to open each and every tile and save it... Isn't this just a simple region you load into the game(using the mapper, if I can install this) all at once?

 

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

6 minutes ago, Spaceblaze said:

Next problem is, and I think this will be a real challenge because I know how computers work to a certain degree, but installing Mods and stuff, and to open each and every tile and save it... Isn't this just a simple region you load into the game(using the mapper, if I can install this) all at once?

Yes, Mapper will make the complete region and there's no need to go into every tile initially unless you want the region view to look proper with the colors and textures of the mods you use. Many peeps don't update them all at once. It's just my own preference to fix them before playing.

Should you decide to update all the thumbnail images, there is a quicker method to do so, but I've not personally used it:

 

(CB is typing a reply with regard to the Mapper program installation.)

[Spaceblaze 194]

Thanks, I will look into it later

Now, for me it's almost bedtime

[Cyclone Boom 16,875]

31 minutes ago, Spaceblaze said:

First problem is the SC4Mapper, in which folder do I place this program?

16 minutes ago, CorinaMarie said:

(CB is typing a reply with regard to the Mapper program installation.)

SC4Mapper (at least the recommended 2013 edition as BT posted) requires installing in order to work. (It can't just be copied in like SC4 plugins work.)

Run the SetupSC4Mapper2013Englishv5b.exe file and then proceed through the installation steps.

Like so:

 

And once completed it'll offer the readme document which is worth looking at for an overview of the tool:

 

After this, for the rendering steps, you might find this post useful which has an overview of rendering a grayscale image. It is a similar process for the SC4M maps, and for the Rotterdam map, just make sure to choose the SC4M option instead of Grayscale from the choices.

Hope this helps too, and let us know if it goes smoothly, or if we can be of further assistance.

[Spaceblaze 194]

It works and I managed to upload the region into the game and open it

But, it didn't load completely and I get some empty blue tiles

 

[BartonThinks 3,416]

Just now, Spaceblaze said:

It works and I managed to upload the region into the game and open it

But, it didn't load completely and I get some empty blue tiles

 

I've had that happen before. My guess is that SC4Mapper ran out of RAM when rendering the preview image of that region (possibly because another program was using memory, possible because of the size of the region).

In my experience, the tiles themselves are fine. If you open them, everything should be in order, and if you click save, it will render a new preview image.

If that's not the case, or if the blue tiles really bother you, you can try deleting the region and then creating it again in SC4Mapper. If you do that, try to turn off background programs and when you save the region, just sit back and let the program run (i.e., don't do other stuff on your computer). If you still get blue tiles after that... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

2 hours ago, Spaceblaze said:

I get some empty blue tiles

Change your region view to Satellite instead of Transportation and those blue tiles will show the terrain.

And as @BartonThinks said, once you enter and save the city tile, it'll update both the regular satellite terrain view and the transportation view. There is nothing at all wrong with the city tiles other than a few missing transportation view thumbnails.

[TheEstGuy 720]

I have a rather challengous map to offer you, Im not sure if you're still interested but well, a rather diverse map with quite variational terrain. Also soon I will upload Bananaland V2 which is even bigger and better...

 

[Spaceblaze 194]

@TheEstGuy,

 

I think I will work on your banana republic when I have finished this region.

It really looks nice and it has actually everything I am looking for. Flatland, mountains, rivers, islands and maybe be even(with some imagination) a coastal area

[TheEstGuy 720]

On 9/4/2021 at 11:48 PM, Spaceblaze said:

@TheEstGuy,

 

I think I will work on your banana republic when I have finished this region.

It really looks nice and it has actually everything I am looking for. Flatland, mountains, rivers, islands and maybe be even(with some imagination) a coastal area

Well I just have released BananaLand V2 which is even better and has a nice coast like you mentioned, I think you will like this even more. 

 

[monkeywater 910]

I am currently working on this and it is very challenging with an aggressive slope mod.  I am enjoying it.  If you just want lots of flat areas it is not a good idea. 

[Spaceblaze 194]

I have downloaded Bananaland version 2 and I am going to give it a try, but is there a way I can change the name of the region?

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

@Spaceblaze

Yes. Edit the region.ini file.

Before:
[Regional Settings]
Name = BananaLand V2
Terrain type = 0
Water Min = 60
Water Max = 100

After:
[Regional Settings]
Name = Spaceblaze Environs
Terrain type = 0
Water Min = 60
Water Max = 100

[Spaceblaze 194]

Where can I find this region.ini file?

I have looked in the maxis folder  and in the user/saved games/bananaland , but can find the file you are refering to

Also, when I use search in the maxis folder I can find different ini files, but not the one for bananaland

 

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

2 minutes ago, Spaceblaze said:

Where can I find this region.ini file?

It should be in your Documents\SimCity 4\Regions\Bananaland V2 folder.

[Spaceblaze 194]

I think I found it(have to search in 3 different folders)

But it seems I already changed the name of the file and now I have a new region configuratie (configuration) file

 

 

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

3 hours ago, Spaceblaze said:

I think I found it

Cool. That looks like it, but it would be good to turn on file extensions display via a Windoze setting. The idiots at MS turn that off by default.

 

3 hours ago, Spaceblaze said:

But it seems I already changed the name of the file and now I have a new region configuratie (configuration) file

You'll need to edit the contents of the file, not change its name.

[Cyclone Boom 16,875]

4 minutes ago, CorinaMarie said:

That looks like it, but it would be good to turn on file extensions display via a Windoze setting.

Here's an article on that in case it's helpful to @Spaceblaze or anyone else:

How to Make Windows Show File Extensions

This explains where to find the setting in Win 7 or above.

[RobertLM78 1,597]

Since it looks like plugs are fine , here's one I made a while back: