[sc4pac] Let's write our own package manager

[Vierr 1]

Heya! Does anyone know what issue that i am getting now? 
I was downloading the mod from here, then my sc4pac crashed when downloading, when I opened it again, my sc4pac displayed this.

Thanks.

[HollowIRL 2]

Besides NAM does anyone have any recommendations for stuff outside SC4pac that I should install for a smooth modded experience? Thanks for any advice.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,412]

24 minutes ago, HollowIRL said:

Besides NAM does anyone have any recommendations for stuff outside SC4pac that I should install for a smooth modded experience? Thanks for any advice.

CAM

[memo 1,444]

On 5/13/2025 at 1:03 PM, Vierr said:

Heya! Does anyone know what issue that i am getting now? 
I was downloading the mod from here, then my sc4pac crashed when downloading, when I opened it again, my sc4pac displayed this.

Thanks.

@Vierr Hi and welcome to Simtropolis. Thanks for reporting this problem. I've looked into it and can replicate it. It's caused by a file corruption.

As a first step, go to your download cache folder (by default, located at %AppData%\io.github.memo33\sc4pac), go to the subfolder "cache\coursier\https" and delete the folders "sc4pac.simtropolis.com" and "memo33.github.io". Restart the application. This will trigger a redownload of some JSON files, which might resolve the issue.

More likely though, one of the following files is corrupted: "sc4pac-profiles.json" or "sc4pac-plugins.json" inside your profiles folder (by default, located at %AppData%\io.github.memo33\sc4pac\config\profiles). These files store your entire sc4pac configuration. If you send me the files (together with "sc4pac-plugins-lock.json" and any other files in the profiles folder), maybe we can salvage some of the data and repair them. Otherwise, if you want to start over from scratch, simply remove those files.

In the future, the program will provide a better error message. The underlying problem cannot be fully avoided though if the program is closed while saving a file. If this issue keeps occuring more often, I'll consider adding fallback mechanisms, so if anyone else is seeing the issue, please bring it up.

[Allein 329]

Hello,

when clicking on smf-16:everseasonal-flora under the Variants it gives following error:

I also noticed that many of the newly added SC4Evermore dependencies seem to be duplicated in the channel, for example:

• hkbat:paulvmontfort-mega-prop-pack8
• paulvmontfort:mega-props-vol08

Will this install the same dependency twice?

[nos.17 5,120]

1 hour ago, Allein said:

when clicking on smf-16:everseasonal-flora under the Variants it gives following error:

Are you trying to install this package directly, and do you have https://sc4pac.simtropolis.com in your list of channels?

1 hour ago, Allein said:

I also noticed that many of the newly added SC4Evermore dependencies seem to be duplicated in the channel, for example:

• hkbat:paulvmontfort-mega-prop-pack8
• paulvmontfort:mega-props-vol08

Will this install the same dependency twice?

I am unsure the exact answer to this question, but thank you for pointing it out! I forgot to initiate the removal from the SC4E channel. Its been fixed.

[Allein 329]

25 minutes ago, nos.17 said:

Are you trying to install this package directly, and do you have https://sc4pac.simtropolis.com in your list of channels?

I am unsure the exact answer to this question, but thank you for pointing it out! I forgot to initiate the removal from the SC4E channel. Its been fixed.

I have following channels in this order:

• https://memo33.github.io/sc4pac/channel/
• https://sc4evermore.github.io/sc4pac-channel/channel/
• https://sc4pac.simtropolis.com/

Is there a recommendation regarding the channel hierarchy?

I reinstalled smf-16:everseasonal-flora but the bug persists, it's the only variant who does this.

I looked again in the SC4 Devotion LEX Legacy - HKABT Dependencies Pack, the names of the second half of the the package titles have changed but they are still duplicated. I selected the first one for example, the duplicate one seems still to be accounted for a separate item.

 

[nos.17 5,120]

1 hour ago, Allein said:

Is there a recommendation regarding the channel hierarchy?

No, there's no specific order required.

1 hour ago, Allein said:

I reinstalled smf-16:everseasonal-flora but the bug persists, it's the only variant who does this.

Ah ok, I see the issue now - the variant is linking to smf16:everseasonal-flora, while the actual name of the package is smf-16:everseasonal-flora (note the - in smf-16). I'll issue a patch for this package. Luckily there should be no issue affecting the functionality - just the link is not working.

1 hour ago, Allein said:

I looked again in the SC4 Devotion LEX Legacy - HKABT Dependencies Pack, the names of the second half of the the package titles have changed but they are still duplicated. I selected the first one for example, the duplicate one seems still to be accounted for a separate item.

I spoke too soon. The build failed and the changes were not deployed. I'll look into this further.

[nos.17 5,120]

@Allein both issues have been fixed. Thank you again for reporting! 

[Allein 329]

On 01/06/2025 at 6:26 PM, nos.17 said:

@Allein both issues have been fixed. Thank you again for reporting! 

Thanks! As you may have guessed I have been binge-downloading SC4Evermore.

WalkingSnake (Sc4jeeks) Parking Textures Vol 01 may also be duplicated:

SC4D LEX Legacy - BSC Common Dependencies Pack is a bit more tricky. When clicking the Download with SC4Pac button it takes you to the Custom package filter page. As there are currently 180 packages in the filter, people will tend to simply click the Add all button, thus installing 10 to 20 superseded packages. Shouldn't these superseded packages maybe be in a dedicated channel to avoid installing the same thing twice and avoid conflicts between versions or does sc4pac already manage that kind of conflicts?

 

[memo 1,444]

On 6/4/2025 at 8:17 PM, Allein said:

As there are currently 180 packages in the filter, people will tend to simply click the Add all button, thus installing 10 to 20 superseded packages. Shouldn't these superseded packages maybe be in a dedicated channel to avoid installing the same thing twice and avoid conflicts between versions or does sc4pac already manage that kind of conflicts?

Perhaps take a step back and ask why you want to install all 180 dependencies. You don't need them all, not even half of them, not even close. Dependencies are only needed when something depends on them. The tool gives you control to install things easily. It's still your choice though what to install.

In any case, there's no technical problem in installing a superseded package. It's just an empty dummy pointing to the newer dependency.

[nos.17 5,120]

On 6/4/2025 at 2:17 PM, Allein said:

WalkingSnake (Sc4jeeks) Parking Textures Vol 01 may also be duplicated:

Shouldn't these superseded packages maybe be in a dedicated channel to avoid installing the same thing twice and avoid conflicts between versions or does sc4pac already manage that kind of conflicts?

 

Thanks! I'll take care of the duplicate.

As memo mentioned, there's no harm at all in installing a superseded package, as long as we set it up correctly in sc4pac. If you examine the metadata, all it does is install the new version of the package. Demonstrated below:

[Dono 178]

Hi,

I just had the issue of my laptop hd dying, but I had an external backup of my plugins. Now I'm up and running again, is there a way for the new install of Sc4pac to see what's in my plugins so it'll be all working as before, or is that automatically done on install/or not at all. Thanks. 

[memo 1,444]

Version 1.3.0 of the program is now available. Due to changes in the metadata format, every user will be prompted to upgrade to this latest version the next time they use sc4pac.

One of the major changes is how package variants are displayed. You can now see the selected variants of each package and you can easily switch to a different variant:

The other big change is the addition of the Debug Info field shown in case of an error. If you report an error, always include this Debug Info text in your report, as it can be tremendously helpful for finding a solution. Simply press Copy to copy the text to the clipboard and then share it in your report.

 

Moreover, I'm pleased to say that the NAM and, alternatively, NAM Lite are now available for installation with sc4pac:

• NAM:network-addon-mod (the full NAM, including all optional components)
• NAM:network-addon-mod-lite (a single standalone package)

If you don't need all of the optional components of the NAM, simply browse the new category 770-network-addon-mod and install the packages of your choice. At minimum, they will all install the base content (NAM:network-addon-mod-core) as a dependency:

 

On 6/20/2025 at 12:59 AM, Dono said:

Now I'm up and running again, is there a way for the new install of Sc4pac to see what's in my plugins so it'll be all working as before, or is that automatically done on install/or not at all.

The source of truth for what sc4pac considers as installed are the JSON configuration files contained in your "Profiles Configuration Folder" (see Settings). If you back up those JSON files and restore them from the backup, sc4pac will continue to work as usual (as long as you've also restored the Plugins folder from your backup). In particular this means there's no scanning of your Plugins folder to detect what's installed.

[nos.17 5,120]

Thank you for your continued updates @memo - these changes are great - especially the functionality to change variants! 

[carriontrooper 2]

Is there a way to unstar all currently starred mods without clicking every single one of them? I may have been too overzealous and queued up 700+ mods to download (which got blocked eventually even with token).

[memo 1,444]

On 7/3/2025 at 3:10 PM, carriontrooper said:

Is there a way to unstar all currently starred mods without clicking every single one of them?

@carriontrooper Go to Settings, open the Profile Configuration Folder and edit the file "sc4pac-plugins.json" directly in a text editor.

[EvanR 2]

Hello! I deleted my previous version of sc4pac and installed the new one. When I push "update all", it returns with "Extraction completed" but a following notice that says "File access denied. Check that you have permissions to access the file or directory." Nothing is updated. The debug note only cites one file as the offender, but none of the others downloaded/updated.

I did not change the plugin location. I have access to it on the windows account on which this is installed. Not sure what's going on. Any help would be appreciated.

[memo 1,444]

@EvanR It's probably a conflict with OneDrive. See this post for a similar report and a potential workaround (check "Always keep on this device").

As far as I understand, OneDrive prevents sc4pac from deleting folders. Sc4pac then raises this as an error and aborts the operation as soon as it encounters the first folder it cannot remove. Files are fully extracted into a temporary location first, so it's normal that extraction completes before anything in your Plugins folder is touched. Sc4pac needs to be able to remove old folders from your Plugins folder though, so that's where the OneDrive issue is a problem.

[Dono 178]

On 06/07/2025 at 6:21 AM, EvanR said:

................ Not sure what's going on. Any help would be appreciated.

As memo pointed out you can check the "Always keep on this device".....this worked for me for a while (I was the one his link was referring to) but unsure why, maybe a windows or onedrive update, but it failed again, which was all confusing as I had been using onedrive for years, then suddenly got your issue. I recently read on a Microsoft forum it's a Win11 issue, probably why i had no drama before on Win10 . In the end the easiest solution was  to turn off onedrive backing up Documents, as my Desktop was being backed up I just added a folder there where I'd sporadically copy the Documents folder to (it can't be a link, as onedrive wont copy a links linked contents...painful!!!) 

[Taz the Mystic 51]

Thank you so much for all involved in the creation of NAM, CAM and SC4pac.  I started playing SC in the 80's starting with SC1, moved through SC2, 3 and tried 4 when it was released but my computer couldn't handle it.  I started playing SC4 after the pandemic.  It was fun but not a difficult challenge at least the way I play.  I added NAM last summer and that was a giant step forward.  I added CAM this winter.  Really was enjoying the game a lot with them loaded.  Then I added SC4pac two months ago.  FANTASTIC!!!!  The game is now on steroids and I am really enjoying the challenges that SC4 delivers.  Thanks to all of you out there that have the skill sets to make this game what the developers probably dreamed it would be.  I can't thank you enough.

[carriontrooper 2]

On 7/5/2025 at 7:25 PM, memo said:

@carriontrooper Go to Settings, open the Profile Configuration Folder and edit the file "sc4pac-plugins.json" directly in a text editor.

Hey thanks, it works!

[EvanR 2]

On 7/6/2025 at 4:36 AM, memo said:

@EvanR It's probably a conflict with OneDrive. See this post for a similar report and a potential workaround (check "Always keep on this device").

As far as I understand, OneDrive prevents sc4pac from deleting folders. Sc4pac then raises this as an error and aborts the operation as soon as it encounters the first folder it cannot remove. Files are fully extracted into a temporary location first, so it's normal that extraction completes before anything in your Plugins folder is touched. Sc4pac needs to be able to remove old folders from your Plugins folder though, so that's where the OneDrive issue is a problem.

Appreciate the quick response. The workaround didn't work. I started a new plugin folder "C:\Users\evanr\Documents\SimCity 4\plugins" and I can now download and update using the sc4pac.

For Steam users encountering the same problem, you'll also have to modify the game launch to execute from your new plugin folder. See below.

The steam's ".exe" file doesn't allow you to edit the target location in the .exe's properties. To get the game to reference your local plugin's folder:

1. Go to your Steam dashboard -> Library

2. Right click on SC4, choose properties.

3. In General, you'll see a box at the bottom that says "advanced users may choose to enter modifications to their launch options"

4. Type in the following: -UserDir:"(your filepath)\". It requires the quotation marks around your filepath, inclusive of the final slash. In my case, that is                               -UserDir:"C:\Users\evanr\Documents\SimCity 4\"

NOTE: I moved everything that was in my original SC4 one drive folder into the new local document folder, which included folders for plugins, regions, http cache, and a random "SimCity4.cfg" file. 

I only know enough kung fu to get into a barfight, so I defer to the experts on here if there is a better way for steam users to redirect the game to plugin folders.

[Dono 178]

7 hours ago, EvanR said:

I moved everything that was in my original SC4 one drive folder into the new local document folder, which included folders for plugins, regions, http cache, and a random "SimCity4.cfg" file. 

I'm glad you have it working.
Just a heads up, I hope mine was a out of usual case but back in March when I had the original issue that was resolved by making the file local by doing the "Always keep on this device" option. It lasted a few weeks or so then reoccurred, so I did exactly what you did by creating the new directory. That was like 3 months ago, just last week I went to play and the new folder was still there but it was empty, its contents were all moved to the onedrive folder again...no warning, freaked me out as I thought it was all deleted, but I realised the onedrive folder when it migrated the other to it, only kept the most recent files, it deleted the backups as they had the same file name and theoretically the now most recent files are the back ups, hence now why I removed Documents from onedrive altogether. I'm thinking of dumping onedrive if possible in Win11, and using Google Drive for that side of things.
Hope you have a better experience.

[marcio1977 207]

1 hour ago, Dono said:

I'm glad you have it working.
Just a heads up, I hope mine was a out of usual case but back in March when I had the original issue that was resolved by making the file local by doing the "Always keep on this device" option. It lasted a few weeks or so then reoccurred, so I did exactly what you did by creating the new directory. That was like 3 months ago, just last week I went to play and the new folder was still there but it was empty, its contents were all moved to the onedrive folder again...no warning, freaked me out as I thought it was all deleted, but I realised the onedrive folder when it migrated the other to it, only kept the most recent files, it deleted the backups as they had the same file name and theoretically the now most recent files are the back ups, hence now why I removed Documents from onedrive altogether. I'm thinking of dumping onedrive if possible in Win11, and using Google Drive for that side of things.
Hope you have a better experience.

I'm using Onedrive backup for 'My Documents' and I always have this issue with SC4Pac stopping due to not being able to exclude a folder.
Then I just exclude it manually and hit the 'Update All' to continue with the next package...

Of course it would be annoying depending on the amount of updates, but at least it is still backing up.
 

[carriontrooper 2]

Gotta report that Ancient Greek Temple is deleted and throws errors when updating

https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/28404-ancient-greek-temple/

 

  Edited July 10, 2025 by carriontrooper  
show link

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

9 hours ago, carriontrooper said:

Gotta report that Ancient Greek Temple is deleted and throws errors when updating

https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/28404-ancient-greek-temple/

Hmm. I can download it with the regular button. I wonder if this is one getting blocked for some silly reason, but my admin status and whitelisted IP lets me get it?

Anyone else having trouble?

[TogaMasterJohn 705]

3 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

Hmm. I can download it with the regular button. I wonder if this is one getting blocked for some silly reason, but my admin status and whitelisted IP lets me get it?

Anyone else having trouble?

Out of curiosity, I checked it out, and I am also unable to view it.

"The item you've requested to view has been deleted or is unavailable." Error code: 2D161/2

[marcio1977 207]

3 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

Hmm. I can download it with the regular button. I wonder if this is one getting blocked for some silly reason, but my admin status and whitelisted IP lets me get it?

Anyone else having trouble?

I got the same problem: item unavailable:

 

[CaptCity 4,752]

12 hours ago, carriontrooper said:

...Ancient Greek Temple is deleted and throws errors when updating.

 

3 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

...but my admin status and whitelisted IP lets me get it?

Hmmm, maybe staff related? I also am able to download the file. Also, trying to install with sc4pac also worked for me...

Edit: I'm not up to speed on the technical aspects of how sc4pac is integrated into downloading, but I took a look at the upload's details. I did notice it has "subfolder: 660-parks" in the sc4pac Metedata window, but it installed a '360-landmarks' folder in the Plugins. Not at all sure how that might be related, if it even is...