Some lot editor modding questions

[monkeywater 910]

So I have finally gone full addict on this game.

I am not happy with custom content that does not grow, as I don't want to harm the demand or the simulation, and I want the trees in my region to all match, and not be mismatched on lots.

I also am avoiding plopping industry, as I don't want to lose freight.

As such, I am getting more into the lot editor, and encountering issues.

 

1) I am creating a custom CS$ growable.  I have the lot/props look from a plop lot, and I have brought them over to a new growable lot.  I did this by starting with a growable lot, modded the way I desired, and then brought over all the chosen textures and props.  The only problem is the growable lot has a building.  I cannot seem to delete it, and make this growable lot solely based around props.  What am I missing here?  For now I chose one with a tiny building and allowed a larger prop building to hide it.

2) How do I edit the building name as it pops up when clicked in the game?  I know it can be done manually, but how in the reader?  I don't need my 100 year old European style lot to show 'jiffy lube' when clicked.

3)lots over 6x6.  I have a 6x15 TE growable industrial lot that I like.  I am wanting to slightly reduce its size to 5x15 to place new props on it for a different industrial complex.  However when it is opened in lot editor,  it cannot allow a size greater than 6x6, anything other than not touching this leads to reduction in size to 6x6.

thanks!

 

[monkeywater 910]

And to add to this, how do I convert buildings to props?  I have ploppables that I would like to convert to growables.

[rsc204 21,869]

On 26/10/2022 at 5:00 AM, monkeywater said:

The only problem is the growable lot has a building.  I cannot seem to delete it, and make this growable lot solely based around props.

The building on a lot is connected to a Buildings Exemplar that holds all the properties needed for a lot to function. In other words if you managed to remove the building, your lot could never work, they are mandatory.

Invisible props exist which you can use to ensure the functional requirements are met, without having to associate an actual model with the building. Maxis used them for the Open Grass Area and Open Paved Area lots for example.

On 26/10/2022 at 5:00 AM, monkeywater said:

How do I edit the building name as it pops up when clicked in the game?

It depends on which Properties exist in the Buildings Exemplar, there is a hierarchy which is used when multiple options exist. At the top of this is the use of LText files, if you see the property User Visible Name Key, then that is the case and you must edit the LText file linked to the Buildings Exemplar. Next is the Item Name property which can be freely edited in Reader, if neither of those exists, the value in the Exemplar Name will be used.

 

On 26/10/2022 at 5:00 AM, monkeywater said:

However when it is opened in lot editor,  it cannot allow a size greater than 6x6, anything other than not touching this leads to reduction in size to 6x6.

The LE has a limitation of 6x6 for all lots, you'll need to use PIM-X if you want to work with larger lots than this. Frankly it would make life easier for the other tasks you are working on too. Whilst not impossible, getting lots over 6x6 in size to grow is exceedingly difficult, the game will usually try to break the zone into smaller parcels rather than grow such large lots. Frankly most larger lots work better as Ploppables for this reason alone.

10 hours ago, monkeywater said:

how do I convert buildings to props

You need to create new Prop Exemplars that link to the model you want to use as a Prop. In this sense a Building is not a model, it too is just an Exemplar that also links (via the ID) to a model. It is possible to have many Exemplars all linked to just one copy of a model and all doing different things.

Basic workflows to create new lots using the Maxis tools are covered in this tutorial I made, note that you need also to have the Maxis PIM (Plugin-Manager) tool to create new Exemplars.

That said, once more I must state you'd be better off ignoring the Maxis tools altogether and using the superior PIM-X, which combines both the PIM and LE into a single app that can do far more than the Maxis tools, is vastly easier to use and removes many limitations.

[monkeywater 910]

On 10/28/2022 at 8:14 AM, rsc204 said:

a)The building on a lot is connected to a Buildings Exemplar that holds all the properties needed for a lot to function. In other words if you managed to remove the building, your lot could never work, they are mandatory.

b)Invisible props exist which you can use to ensure the functional requirements are met, without having to associate an actual model with the building. Maxis used them for the Open Grass Area and Open Paved Area lots for example.

c)It depends on which Properties exist in the Buildings Exemplar, there is a hierarchy which is used when multiple options exist. At the top of this is the use of LText files, if you see the property User Visible Name Key, then that is the case and you must edit the LText file linked to the Buildings Exemplar. Next is the Item Name property which can be freely edited in Reader, if neither of those exists, the value in the Exemplar Name will be used.

 

d)The LE has a limitation of 6x6 for all lots, you'll need to use PIM-X if you want to work with larger lots than this. Frankly it would make life easier for the other tasks you are working on too. Whilst not impossible, getting lots over 6x6 in size to grow is exceedingly difficult, the game will usually try to break the zone into smaller parcels rather than grow such large lots. Frankly most larger lots work better as Ploppables for this reason alone.

e)You need to create new Prop Exemplars that link to the model you want to use as a Prop. In this sense a Building is not a model, it too is just an Exemplar that also links (via the ID) to a model. It is possible to have many Exemplars all linked to just one copy of a model and all doing different things.

f)Basic workflows to create new lots using the Maxis tools are covered in this tutorial I made, note that you need also to have the Maxis PIM (Plugin-Manager) tool to create new Exemplars.

g)That said, once more I must state you'd be better off ignoring the Maxis tools altogether and using the superior PIM-X, which combines both the PIM and LE into a single app that can do far more than the Maxis tools, is vastly easier to use and removes many limitations.

 

Responding in order:  Thank you BTW for the in depth!

 

a) Thanks!  I have lots to learn I guess, I thought all that info was in the lot, and that swapping buildings was the simple part.

b) does this work for functional things?  Like growable R,C,I?  Or just for things like 1x1 parks?

c)  Thanks!  I'm going to try that next!

d)  I understand it can be hard, but I have a 6x15 lot that grows very well for me regularly, the "gusslov foundry", and it is transit enabled for rail when it grows, so I wanted to use this lot as a base, because its already TE so I don't have to use SC4tool, which I could never get working on my windows 10 laptop. But what about the freight issue for ploppable industry?  I don't have issue plopping C, because it does not have anything come out, but I thought excessive industry plops would cause issues with the simulator?

e) I don't think I understand this part of your response.  I found another guide somewhere that said 'drag the model in PIM to the prop folder'.  Which seems to have worked.  I think my issue in understanding is you are really advanced at this, but what I need is a 'for idiots' instruction.  Unfortunately, dragging a plop landmark lot to the growable industry folder does not seem to work.

 

f) THANK YOU SO MUCH, i think this will make my life easier.

g)  I was having issues with PIMX.  I would download it, but it would never open after installing.  So I have the PIM (but it freezes often) ilive, and the lot editor. 

[rsc204 21,869]

So whilst the general idea is always the same, the method of doing everything varies hugely between the Maxis Tools and PIM-X. So forgive me if I have no desire to throw out both sets of instructions. 

Consider too, if you use the Maxis tools, everything is greatly complicated because they are basic and require a lot of editing in Reader to achieve the same results. PIM-X just handles these things, instead of relying on a template, you are free to create a Building or Prop from any model, including the Invisible or Blank one. Whereas trying to make an industrial growable use an invisible building requires manually altering the RKT ID of the buildings exemplar (in Reader). Long and short the process for the Maxis tools is much more complicated and requires more not less understanding of how things work.

Therefore, I would prioritise getting PIM-X working, honestly it sounds like you are missing one of the .dll files needed for the App to function. They are all listed with links on the Download page, each of those files must be placed in the folder where PIM-X is installed. Otherwise, try to troubleshoot the problem, if an error appears tell us what it says or better still give us a screenshot. If no specific error appears, give us a rundown of what exactly you were doing and what does or does not occur. Honestly, once you've got the .dlls in place and any updates, it's rare for people to have problems running it.