SimCity 4 doesn't start on Steam

[mdeni 5]

Hello Guys!

I use a Mac, and through Parallels, I use Windows 11.

I started to play again with SC4, but after installed it on Steam, nothing happens.

I clicked on the icon, an the Launcher didn't start. Just for a second, SC4 icon appeared on taskbar, but it disappeared immediately.

I tested it with other games, those worked perfectly through Steam.

Have you got any ide, why it doesn't work?

Thank you for answers.

[rsc204 21,806]

You'll probably need to invoke software rendering, since whilst running under Parallels it's unlikely you will be able to utilise a DirectX compatible GPU, especially if your Mac relies on an Intel iGPU rather than a dedicated one. Find the game in the Steam Library right click on it and select Properties, in the Window that appears (under General), should be a box where you can enter Launch Options. Paste the following into that box:

-d:Software -Intro:off -CPUCount:1

Technically speaking you only need the first of the three commands above, but the additional two will make the game load faster by skipping the Intro videos and prevent instability on systems with more than one CPU core (i.e. almost anything from the last 10-15 years).

[mdeni 5]

Thank you rsc! 

That command into Launch Options works.

[mdeni 5]

On 2022. 01. 18. at 11:16 AM, rsc204 said:

-d:Software -Intro:off -CPUCount:1

Just another questions. For many mods, it’s highly reccomended, to use hardware rendering.

What’s your opinion, can i use that ones? Or have you got any experience with this?

[rsc204 21,806]

Indeed DirextX is going to give you a better experience in-game, the problem is your use of a VM (Parallels) to emulate a Windows environment. You would need to find a driver for Parallels that allowed it to emulate DirectX, but not only that the archaic version 7 used by SC4. Without a dedicated GPU, your system won’t likely be able to handle such either. You might get around the driver issue by using a DXWrapper, this can convert calls from DX10 and newer to work with older games.

The other option, is to install the Mac version and use it natively under MacOS. Although it has a number of problems, it works quite well, playing nice at 2k (2560x1440) on my 2012 Mini with only Intel HD4000 graphics. However installing mods can be a bit more faff and the Mac version has some annoying problems too.

In terms of mods, the only limitation from running Software Rendering is that you can’t display any texture beyond 256x256px in size. So called HD texture mods like Terrain, Water and the like, simply won’t work so you cannot use them. But this doesn’t effect any models, since you can’t use a higher res than 256x256px anyway.