SimCity 3K Unlimited on Steam

[Ulisse Wolf 4,461]

As you know, as of today SimCity 3000 Unlimited is available on Steam. Although these are positive news, in the sense that one of the most beloved editions of SimCity is finally available on Steam, with a current cost of only $2 Dollars. However, there are some small details we need to disclose for everyone’s awareness.

First, the Steam version is basically the GOG version of SimCity 3000 Unlimited. In fact, among the various files, there are also DLL files related to GOG. This is a dirty thing to do, because this version of the game literally copied all the GOG files, while removing only the GOG application components, leaving their DLL files and inserting the Steam DRM.

In addition, @kingofsimcity confirmed that the EXE version of SC3K Unlimited on Steam is the same as the GOG version, and confirmed that copying the GOG files into the SC3K Unlimited folder on Steam by replacing the files does not cause any problems to the game

This means the Steam version does not contain any improvements compared to its GOG counterpart. You can abandon the hopes of SimCity 3000 Unlimited experiencing the same fate as the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection, in which EA had released the source code.

As a result, we need to inform you about the procedures you need to do to support SimCity 3000 on modern systems and how to enable some hidden features

4GB PATCH

Currently SimCity 3000 is a 32Bit application and therefore means that it will have a maximum RAM usage of 2GB. Therefore, we recommend that you run the 4GB Patch allows you to run SimCity 3000 Unlimited at its maximum performance and capabilities

The 4GB Patch can be found here

https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371

SCREEN RESOLUTION

Although SimCity 3000 Unlimited is reported to use DirectX 9 in reality SimCity 3000 will have as its maximum resolution of 1280x1024

Therefore that in order to enable the maximum resolution of your screen you have two ways. One would be a HEX edit by following this guide

Spoiler

1. Open SC3.EXE or SC3U.exe with a hex editor
2. Search for this byte sequence: 8b 4c 24 04 8b 44 24 08 53
3. Overwrite the first four bytes with c2 08 00 90
4. Search for this byte sequence: 8b 4c 24 04 8b 54 24 08 81 f9
5. Overwrite the first four bytes with c2 08 00 90

A quick alternative method is to use SimCity 3000 Resolution Patcher

https://www.monitortests.com/forum/Thread-SimCity-3000-Resolution-Patcher

Or use this Patched exe

https://community.simtropolis.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=100741

WARNING: The game will crash if the resolution is not divisible by 8. These common resolutions are not usable: 1680x1050, 1600x900, 1440x900, 1366x768

We also recommend that you apply DgVoodoo 2 which allows you to improve the compatibility of the game with modern GPUs

https://github.com/dege-diosg/dgVoodoo2/releases

SECRET MUSIC

As you know SimCity 3000 Unlimited contains some disabled music. In fact SIM Broadway, Concrete Jungle, City of Dreams and SimCity 2000 Theme are disabled but to enable them there are two methods. The first is to follow the following guide

Spoiler

1. Obtain the installation CD for the original game, or download the demo.
2. Go to \Res\Sound\Music in the disc's content.
3. Copy 3KG2.XA to <path-to-game>\Res\Sound\Music.
4. Open AUDIO.ini in <path-to-game>\Res\Sound with a text editor.
5. Search for "SIM Broadway" and remove the ; at the beginning of the line.
6. To enable "Concrete Jungle", remove ; at the beginning of the line.
7. To enable "City of Dreams", change 0x01 to 0x14.
8. To enable "SimCity 2000 Theme", change 0,0,0,1 to 0,1,0,1.
9. Launch the game, then head into the Preferences.
10. Look for a music track in the list, then play one to see if it works.

Or you can download this patch 

https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/2415-SimCity-3000-unlimited-re-composed

 

We hope this report of useful information has served you well on how to configure SimCity 3000 Unlimited on your computers, and we look forward to seeing your creations here.

As a reminder, any discussion of SimCity 3000 Unlimited can be done here

https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/forum/314-SimCity-3000

While if you want to downloads mods you can do it here

https://community.simtropolis.com/files/category/41-SimCity-3000-files/

 

To conclude here is link of the Steam version of SimCity 3000 Unlimited

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2741560/Sim_City_3000_Unlimited/

And GOG Version

https://www.gog.com/en/game/simcity_3000

[Propfam 2,305]

Good news for players in Indonesia! Because, we don't have to use credit cards, which while increasing in number, still a minority, to purchase SC3K like on GOG. We can use buy gift cards on Indomaret (Walmart of Indonesia, basically) and even on digital wallet (which is much widely adopted than even in Europe). As usual, the exchange rate is set lower than it should be (Rp10,000 vs Rp15,000 at the time of the writing). Yeah, less than $2 here. So if you're Indonesians who have enough gift cards left, use it to buy SC3K. You won't regret it.

And even better, the deal is coinciding with Ramadan. For those who didn't know, Indonesia has a system where major, usually religious, holidays are paid. We call it THR. The payment can be large enough to buy stuffs, like clothing or in this case, a game. So, for those of you who get the THR early, spend it as soon as possible.

Side note: there's an oddity with this topic. There's literally no views, at all. And there are only 2 replies.

[Jackspital 391]

This is amazing news! I have always wondered if it would come to Steam. I used to play it way back on disc and a bit on GOG. 

This and the dll. work for SimCity4 feels like a new revival for the series and some hope for new modding opportunities into the future.

[trar 336]

I'm just glad SC3K finally made it to Steam. At the very least it can take advantage of Steam's community features, even if the Steam overlay doesn't appear to function in the game itself (not too surprising for a 25 year old game).

I'd love to see SC2K's special edition come to Steam with patches to get it working on modern systems, but I have no idea if that'll happen.

[kschmidt 6,223]

Thank you for these info ! What a surprise they´re copied from Gog and again DRM´d ? What use except being on Steam, nobody wants to be dependent on Steam ? Special notice for little comfort running it at high resotution the scroll issue when laying  roads, rail, pipes or zoning, on fast computer speed too fast,  a little might help to us a, power plan to reduce clock speed and switch back aftherwardbut that´s l little tedious !

Sincerely yours,

Kschmidt

[TogaMasterJohn 711]

As someone who owns two copies of the Unlimited edition on CD (one original release and one "Scholastic" release) and the GOG DRM-free version, this is cool to hear. For $2, I may just pick it up.

In addition to the above-listed methods for enabling widescreen support, GOG offers a pre-patched (hex-edited) executable for download on their support website. It should work just fine with the Steam version, too. The game was designed for DirectX 6.0, but the game works fine with 9.0 (and from what I can remember as well, DirectX 10, as I played the CD release under Windows Vista for a while).

Also, I do highly recommend the "SimCity 3000 Unlimited: Re-composed" patch that Ulisse Wolf mentioned, as it also includes the audio file for "Sim Broadway," which of course is not present in the Unlimited edition. It saves some time.

[Haljackey 17,398]

My dudes and dudettes, I just found the easiest way to apply additional resolutions including widescreen... don't be scared. Just replace the EXE what I've attached on this post. (Attached in case the link dies one day)

For Steam it will likely be

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SimCity 3000 Unlimited\Apps

I can run it in 1080p with no issues on the Steam version.

Direct link:  https://files.gog.com/support/SC3U.zip

Or download here: SC3U.exe

Original is courtesy of 'Guest' found here.

 

[catty-cb 4,412]

2 hours ago, Haljackey said:

. Just replace the EXE what I've attached on this post. (Attached in case the link dies one day)

It's what I've used for years and can definitely recommend it

[inusan 45]

Nice, I always liked this game. Though I still have the disc, but this is great news still. Hopefully it being on steam will encourage people to mod this game a bit more. 

[fantanoice 19]

I'm glad it's on Steam now, because it wasn't for a long time. If they ever add Achievements or Steam Workshop support, I'll rebuy it. Until then I'll stick with GOG.

[Turnstyled 539]

What a nightmare for me. I have this game from GOG and I'm on the latest Windows 11 25H2 with a 4K monitor. I'm trying dgVoodoo2 and dxwrapper...along with the patched .exe from GOG. I can't get my Windows 98 PC running again soon enough. I ditched my CRT monitor. I'd rather use a modern monitor, preferably a 4K OLED, and a RetroTINK-4K upscaler. Right now, I have an MK1869 XTREME ISA sound card for MS-DOS games in it, but I was able to get in on the latest batch of the Orpheus II. The MK1869 XTREME is great with Theme Hospital because Theme Hospital natively supports ESS ESFM, and I believe The Settlers II does as well. I believe that the Orpheus II with its Crystal controller and original Yamaha OPL3 chip is a better overall choice for a system that tries to cover as much as possible, though.

Also, I was in some pretty dire straits recently, so I sold my Voodoo5 5500. I wish I didn't, of course. Either way, I'm makin' myself sick trying to get SimCity 3000 Unlimited working on my Windows 11 machine here. I'm not selling things anymore,  but I sold a number of Orpheus II and Voodoo5 5500 cards in the past some years in what I was feeling. I sold my latest Voodoo5 5500 card because I had to.

Edit: Now THIS is what I'm talkin' about! I was able to get SimCity 3000 Unlimited running on my offline 1440p Windows 10/Nvidia 3D Vision PC doing EXACTLY what I did on my "up to date" Windows 11 PC! This is why I keep legacy systems around! I'd still like to get my Windows 98 system up and running again!