[SOLVED] Visual glitch when rendering played tiles in region map

[MithrilRing 4]

Edit #4 - Steam v. AppStore Version:

Now that I have tested the Steam version on Mac, I can confirm that this problem occurs only in the AppStore version.

Edit #3 - Solution:

For anyone who might be reading this post in the future, here's the problem and the solution:

The problem described below in the original post is, apparently, a well known visual glitch that occurs when you play the game on a monitor with high resolution (regardless of your in-game resolution settings). So, even if you set your in-game resolution to the lowest in the full screen mode, since your built-in monitor has a very high resolution, the game struggles to update your tile's thumbnail properly on the region map.

Here's the solution:

1. Select an in-game resolution lower than 1200px on the vertical axis in the display settings. You'll need to relaunch the game.
2. Next time you launch the game, do it in windowed mode. (This causes the game to think your screen has a low resolution, which is what we want.)
3. Go into your city and save the game normally. After this, your city's thumbnail will be rendered correctly in the region view.

After these steps, you can go back to playing the game with your desired resolution setting in full screen. But every time you save your city while having a vertical resolution higher than 1200px, your city thumbnail will be screwed up in the region map. This is purely cosmetic. You can avoid saving your city with the save buttons and use CTRL+ALT+S (Control+Option+S) instead, which saves your city without updating its thumbnail; and go through the steps above to update the view on the map once in a while.

Original Post:

The tiles that I have built a city on not rendering properly in the region view. (Screenshot provided below.) I'm on MacOS Sonoma. I have the AppStore version of the game.

I tried these, but none of them worked:

• Reducing display density.
• Trying to use Software instead of Hardware. (Doesn't work, reverts back to Hardware when you restart the game.)
• Going into the city and selecting "Save and Exit to the Region"

I searched for fixes but couldn't find a post with this specific problem. (Other people's posts were about different visual glitches.)

Does anyone know how can I fix this?

Edit:

I have the Network Addon Mod, but the issue started before I installed the mod.

Edit #2:

When I connected my Mac to an external monitor with 1920x1080 resolution and then saved the city, the glitch went away. Apparently it's a known cosmetic glitch that occur with screens that have a vertical resolution higher than 1200 px. So, one solution for people looking here for answers might be using a monitor with HD display, instead of 2k or 4k etc.

You can also try saving with CTRL+ALT+S, which does not update the city's screenshot on the region map when saving. If you save your city using the in-game buttons while using a monitor with higher resolution, the glitch will return until you save again while using lower resolution.

I don't know if there is a way to handle this all in the same device, without relying on external monitors, since changing the in-game resolution or the resolution of the device itself in system settings seems to be not working.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,412]

Despite that you put Hardware rendering mode (DirectX) there are these problems then you have to corectly configure SC4. 

Follow this guide to install all the necessary patches for SC4 to work corectly

You will also have to use Hardware rendering mode (DirectX) and force both DgVoodoo and SC4 in using the dedicated video card

[MithrilRing 4]

40 minutes ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

Despite that you put Hardware rendering mode (DirectX) there are these problems then you have to corectly configure SC4. 

Follow this guide to install all the necessary patches for SC4 to work corectly

You will also have to use Hardware rendering mode (DirectX) and force both DgVoodoo and SC4 in using the dedicated video card

Thank you for your answer but installing them didn't work :^(

[rsc204 21,808]

Yeah, none of that will work on a Mac, those instructions are for the Windows version.

The problem with the Mac version is that there is practically no user-configurable options, thus no way to really change something if it’s not as it should be. Everything is pretty much auto-detected and clearly something here isn’t right.

The Mac version uses OpenGL rendering and some kind of compatibility layer to interact with DirectX. If that’s not working properly, then you have two options really:

- file a bug report with Aspyr, best of luck there.

- wait for a system update and hope the problem is fixed with the drivers

Really nothing else you can do. Incidentally it wouldn’t surprise me if this was the Graphics Drivers especially if you are using Apple Silicon, which the current code (SC4) isn’t really designed for. 

[MithrilRing 4]

1 hour ago, rsc204 said:

Yeah, none of that will work on a Mac, those instructions are for the Windows version.

The problem with the Mac version is that there is practically no user-configurable options, thus no way to really change something if it’s not as it should be. Everything is pretty much auto-detected and clearly something here isn’t right.

The Mac version uses OpenGL rendering and some kind of compatibility layer to interact with DirectX. If that’s not working properly, then you have two options really:

- file a bug report with Aspyr, best of luck there.

- wait for a system update and hope the problem is fixed with the drivers

Really nothing else you can do. Incidentally it wouldn’t surprise me if this was the Graphics Drivers especially if you are using Apple Silicon, which the current code (SC4) isn’t really designed for. 

Thank you for your response. I’m really tired of trying to make this game half playable but it has become so tedious that it isn’t worth it anymore. It could’ve been a great game but EA doesn’t care, I guess. They’re charging $20 for a 20-year-old game which is literally broken and can’t run properly without mods. Maybe I can try the Windows version in the future.

[bhmantan 2,045]

Hi, fellow Mac player here.

I doubt these will help, but a few things that you can try:

1. Back up your Regions folder somewhere else and try to re-install the game. If your saved files got deleted when you uninstall, restore them from your backup earlier and see if it fixes the issue.

2. Seeing that you only have 1 city tile here, try to move the save file of this city (inside the Regions > New York folder), and put it in a fresh new New York folder. You can get it from Aspyr support here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_MQMg4i_HFYHylBCiU9dyeCAGlpKrQI-
or you can open the package content of the SimCity 4 inside your Applications.
Make sure to delete the tile inside the fresh New York region that's being used by your city tile.

---

There's actually a beta channel with an Apple Silicon update from Aspyr, but afaik, it's only for Steam.
Not sure if the AppStore version got it by default or not.
https://support.aspyr.com/hc/en-us/articles/12168615035405-How-to-access-the-Apple-Silicon-update-on-Mac-Steam-SimCity-4-Deluxe-Edition

If it's still not working, and you still want to try, then contact Aspyr support.
They're actually pretty responsive, but I doubt they'll have a solution for it tho.

Best of luck to you!

[rsc204 21,808]

15 minutes ago, bhmantan said:

There's actually a beta channel with an Apple Silicon update from Aspyr, but afaik, it's only for Steam.

Yeah I am being quick to diminish Aspyr in one respect, they will do what’s necessary to update the game so they can keep selling it. Because for such an old game it’s still sells well and at $20 a pop, that’s probably working out nicely.

So no surprise to see they will have an Apple Silicon version. Just keep in mind whilst it might resolve specific compatibility issues, it’s very unlikely core issues like the lack of official patches, will ever be resolved. After all when Apple drop Rosetta 2, without such an update SC4 wouldn’t continue working at all. 

[MithrilRing 4]

1 hour ago, bhmantan said:

Hi, fellow Mac player here.

I doubt these will help, but a few things that you can try:

1. Back up your Regions folder somewhere else and try to re-install the game. If your saved files got deleted when you uninstall, restore them from your backup earlier and see if it fixes the issue.

2. Seeing that you only have 1 city tile here, try to move the save file of this city (inside the Regions > New York folder), and put it in a fresh new New York folder. You can get it from Aspyr support here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_MQMg4i_HFYHylBCiU9dyeCAGlpKrQI-
or you can open the package content of the SimCity 4 inside your Applications.
Make sure to delete the tile inside the fresh New York region that's being used by your city tile.

---

There's actually a beta channel with an Apple Silicon update from Aspyr, but afaik, it's only for Steam.
Not sure if the AppStore version got it by default or not.
https://support.aspyr.com/hc/en-us/articles/12168615035405-How-to-access-the-Apple-Silicon-update-on-Mac-Steam-SimCity-4-Deluxe-Edition

If it's still not working, and you still want to try, then contact Aspyr support.
They're actually pretty responsive, but I doubt they'll have a solution for it tho.

Best of luck to you!

Hi, thanks for the tips. I've already tried reinstalling the game and changing the region folders with fresh ones too. But I will get in touch with Aspyr, maybe they'll have a solution. If I can fix this I may be able to play the game, as other issues are relatively manageable for me thanks to NAM. But not being able to properly see my region bothers me.