SC4 Full Screen 32-bit Color - DLL Plugin

[Null 45 3,048]

This is an alternative version of my DirectX full screen mode 32-bit color fix for people who are already using an external launcher or a shortcut with command line arguments to configure the game's graphics settings.

If you are using my GraphicsOptions DLL Plugin you do not need to install this mod.
The two mods will conflict, but the worst thing that could happen is that the fix is applied more than once.

Download: https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/36095-sc4-full-screen-32-bit-color/

Source Code: https://github.com/0xC0000054/sc4-full-screen-32-bit

Technical Details

For some reason Maxis made the DirectX full screen mode always use 16-bit color. There were existing fixes for this issue, but those required replacing or modifying SimCity 4.exe. This mod patches the affected code in the game's memory and does not modify the original executable.

System Requirements

• SimCity 4 version 641
• Windows 10 or later

The plugin may work on Windows 7 or later with the Microsoft Visual C++ 2022 x86 Redistribute installed, but I do not have the ability to test that.

Installation

    Close SimCity 4.
    Copy SC4FullScreen32Bit.dll into the Plugins folder in the SimCity 4 installation directory.
    Start SimCity 4.

Troubleshooting

The plugin should write a SC4FullScreen32Bit.log file in the same folder as the plugin.
The log contains status information for the most recent run of the plugin.

[Kel9509 1,421]

I am confused by this and your other mod.  Are you telling me that a command line argument to run the game in full screen with 32 bit color doesn't work?  It'll only run in 16-bit mode?

My shortcut is as follows:

"SimCity 4.exe" -CPUCount:1 -f -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32 -intro:off -CPUPriority:high

[Null 45 3,048]

11 minutes ago, Kel9509 said:

Are you telling me that a command line argument to run the game in full screen with 32 bit color doesn't work?  It'll only run in 16-bit mode?

Correct. Maxis made the game's full screen mode always use 16-bit color.

[Kel9509 1,421]

29 minutes ago, Null 45 said:

Correct. Maxis made the game's full screen mode always use 16-bit color.

I had no idea.  Honestly, as good as this game is, it does seem like it's half-baked sometimes.  I'll bet they did that because they were afraid that in 2003 or whatever they were afraid no one could handle it. 

So I added the DLL and ran the game with my existing command line arguments.  The Log reported: 

SC4FullScreen32Bit v1.0.0
7:00:16 PM Forced the DirectX full screen color depth to 32-bit.

I have no idea if it really worked though, since I'm not sure if there's an add-on that uses 32 bit color and whether I could really see the difference.  I know there are HD BATs out there that I've installed, but I wonder if I could really see the difference.

 

 

[Null 45 3,048]

28 minutes ago, Kel9509 said:

I'll bet they did that because they were afraid that in 2003 or whatever they were afraid no one could handle it. 

The 32-bit mode works fine for windowed mode, so I would not be surprised if it was just a mistake/oversight by the programmer who wrote the full screen code.

28 minutes ago, Kel9509 said:

I have no idea if it really worked though, since I'm not sure if there's an add-on that uses 32 bit color and whether I could really see the difference. 

Based on the following topic, it appears that water and night shots are the main areas that the 16-bit mode would cause banding.