SC4 Dictionary - Suggestions and Corrections

[simmering 2,607]

The first version of my SC4 Dictionary is ready. But I am sure it needs more work. So I hope, in this topic you will share what you think, what else should go into it and what needs correcting. Your input is very much appreciated.

Here is the link to STEX:

Thank you all very much
simmering

  Edited August 25, 2024 by simmering  
Download link added

[Ulisse Wolf 4,399]

This is a very good dictionary for SC4. I was preparing a similar work when the SC4D wiki will be repaired and updated

[simmering 2,607]

9 hours ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

I was preparing a similar work when the SC4D wiki will be repaired and updated

I started with the SC4D wiki myself only to find out that editing is currently not possible. Also, my format is slightly different and not as in-depth as wiki articles would be. More like the first line or paragraph of a wiki article.

But I agree that such knowledge is best managed by a community. Perhaps we can merge the SC4 Dictionary back into the SC4 Wiki, once it is back up and running?

For now, I am happy to manage this. If you have anything to add to the dictionary, feel free to post it here and I will incorporate it. 

[Ulisse Wolf 4,399]

45 minutes ago, simmering said:

I started with the SC4D wiki myself only to find out that editing is currently not possible. Also, my format is slightly different and not as in-depth as wiki articles would be. More like the first line or paragraph of a wiki article.

But I agree that such knowledge is best managed by a community. Perhaps we can merge the SC4 Dictionary back into the SC4 Wiki, once it is back up and running?

For now, I am happy to manage this. If you have anything to add to the dictionary, feel free to post it here and I will incorporate it. 

I will let you know when the Wiki will be reopened to the public so we can proceed with the SC4 dictionary wiki update. For the time being, this version of the dictionary is fine

[simmering 2,607]

Help with 2 acronyms wanted!

I am in the process of expanding the Dictionary and I have 2 questions:

1. My first question is about the @ABBT team? I could not find any explanation what ABBT stands for. Maybe this is on purpose and the ABBT team wants to keep that information private. Then confirming that fact would be helpful too.
2. The second one is about IR or I-R. I understand that it means "Industry Resource". I see it often used for Agriculture or with "(Farming)" added, but is there a difference?

[CorinaMarie 29,575]

4 hours ago, simmering said:

The second one is about IR or I-R. I understand that it means "Industry Resource". I see it often used for Agriculture or with "(Farming)" added, but is there a difference?

You do have it correct. It stems form SC2000 or 3000 in which the way to get farms was to zone low density industrial without water and far, far away from any air pollution. Then mark them all historic or don't encroach on them even the least little bit or your nice farms would start turning into ugly industrial buildings.

So yes, IR and I-R are the same Industry Resource as you know and are also synonymous with both Agriculture and Farming with the latter being the more colloquial term.

[simmering 2,607]

On 01/09/2024 at 10:19 AM, simmering said:

My first question is about the @ABBT team? I could not find any explanation what ABBT stands for. Maybe this is on purpose and the ABBT team wants to keep that information private. Then confirming that fact would be helpful too.

Maybe, the ABBT members,  @Jasoncw, @Francis90b, can shed some light?

[Jasoncw 11,840]

My recollection is that the name was an inside joke but I don't remember what it was. I think I became involved after it had been named.

[simmering 2,607]

Thanks @Jasoncw, that is all I needed.

[simmering 2,607]

I am about to upload version 1.1.0 of the Dictionary.

This one has over 200 new entries, bringing the total to more than 500. Most come from the Simtropolis Acronym Definition System. That is the website feature which adds tooltip texts to acronyms like NAM and CAM. Thanks to @Cyclone Boom for sharing this with me.

Another change is that I added tags to most entries to give them some context. That might help with those entries that have little text. The tags can also be used for filtering. Go to More/Tags and pick one:

As always, please share anything, that needs correcting, in this thread.

[simmering 2,607]

I will not have much time for the game and community in the coming months. But before I focus more on RL, I will share the latest status,  version 1.2.0 of the Dictionary. I have started adding some of the more specific NAM acronyms and terms but will have to finish at later time.

Please continue to share suggestions and corrections in this thread and I will incorporate them in the next version.

[nos.17 5,112]

Just finding this now. This is very impressive! I'm tickled that I made it in. 

I have a few suggestions.

1. Pointing a link to the Prima Guide to this version by @ebones5, which has been improved with clickable table of contents and heading links.
2. DBPF - .SC4Model is also included. This is another good reference.
3. I'd also be happy to expand on some of the subfiles within DBPF files if you think that's appropriate.

Many years ago I used to be super involved in wiki writing and maintaining, and I can feel that itch coming back again to be scratched.

[Cyclone Boom 16,852]

3 hours ago, nos.17 said:

1. Pointing a link to the Prima Guide to this version by @ebones5, which has been improved with clickable table of contents and heading links.

That's cool there's another version.

I do see on that website, the security certificate expired since June 29 earlier in the year. Maybe that's something the host will fix sometime to prevent the error message. Perhaps an idea for @simmering in future is having both links to the Prima Guide, since often the internet can be fragile. Just a thought.

[simmering 2,607]

On 10/10/2024 at 1:31 AM, nos.17 said:

1. I'd also be happy to expand on some of the subfiles within DBPF files if you think that's appropriate.

Many years ago I used to be super involved in wiki writing and maintaining, and I can feel that itch coming back again to be scratched.

That would be much appreciated. Just PM me the content and I will include it. As mentioned earlier, I am otherwise occupied in the coming months so you have some time.

[simmering 2,607]

I am about to upload version 2.0.0 of the SC4 Dictionary.

This edition has over 140 new entries, bringing the total to over 750.

That many entries make the scroll list navigation a bit tiresome. I added an expandable menu to reduce the pain. The menu is based on tags and that means unfortunately the entire alphabet was added to the tag list. I also had to switch the tags to lowercase.

             

Other changes are of a technical nature such as upgrading the TiddlyWiki version and adding a bulk editing plugin. For that reason the version history has an unpublished version 1.3.0.

I hope the dictionary continues to be useful and I would very much appreciate suggestions and corrections.

[simmering 2,607]

On 10/10/2024 at 1:31 AM, nos.17 said:

I have a few suggestions.

1. Pointing a link to the Prima Guide to this version by @ebones5, which has been improved with clickable table of contents and heading links.

 

On 10/10/2024 at 5:01 AM, Cyclone Boom said:

I do see on that website, the security certificate expired since June 29 earlier in the year. Maybe that's something the host will fix sometime to prevent the error message. Perhaps an idea for @simmering in future is having both links to the Prima Guide, since often the internet can be fragile. Just a thought.

@ebones5 just provided a download link on the Internet Archive. I have added that to my current working document which I plan to publish next month.

[simmering 2,607]

I will shortly upload SC4Dict Version 2.1.0.

This edition has over 1000 entries. Furthermore, there are some significant changes:

References become Footnotes

Longer articles used to have a section called References. These have been replaced by Footnotes to save space and allow for adding links to shorter entries as well. Now most entries have at least one internal or external link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

New entries about Dependencies

Dependencies are sometimes very hard to track down. This is especially the case if they are listed with an outdated or colloquial name. I have started adding entries about such dependencies.

Improved Searches

In previous versions, some entries did not show up in search. This was due to the bold letter formatting I use to explain acronyms. The mark-up format for bold letters disrupted the text flow. E.g. the underlying text for Colossus Addon Mod is actually ''C''olossus ''A''ddon ''M''od. This meant that a search for Addon would not find this as a match. I resolved this by adding invisible texts that the search will recognise.

 I would very much appreciate your feedback.

[nos.17 5,112]

I very much like the new footnotes over references. It's a much cleaner solution and much more "wiki-like". I also agree the searching mechanism is much improved.

The dependencies section will be a huge undertaking. Hats of to you for even trying! 

[simmering 2,607]

I am glad you think it's an improvement, @nos.17.

As for the dependencies, I do not aim to create a complete list. I just want to make it easier to find the ones that had their names changed or have been merged or such. Railyard and Spurs is a good example. That name only shows up on an illustration image and therefore online searches will not find it. So I will keep adding those as I encounter them.

On a different note, I haven't forgotten your offer to contribute to SC4Dict. I appreciate that you might be busy with your other work for the community. But you are very welcome to add entries or expand existing ones any time.

[nos.17 5,112]

16 hours ago, simmering said:

On a different note, I haven't forgotten your offer to contribute to SC4Dict. I appreciate that you might be busy with your other work for the community. But you are very welcome to add entries or expand existing ones any time.

I haven't forgotten either - it's just been cast quite a bit lower on my list of priorities. I appreciate your offer nonetheless. 

[TheMurderousCricket 5,045]

Add "Make hysterical" as a jargon term for immortalizing a building. 

[simmering 2,607]

1 hour ago, TheMurderousCricket said:

Add "Make hysterical" as a jargon term for immortalizing a building. 

I have added it to the working document

[TheMurderousCricket 5,045]

I think that "Park effect" and "Landmark effect" should also be added. These are quite important definitions which are lacking.

If corroborated by other players, you may also consider adding "Toilet bowl bug (effect)" which I describe here.  It seems to be an ugly artifact that somehow affects the terrain form when a large lot is placed near or at hilly and mountainous areas.

[simmering 2,607]

8 hours ago, TheMurderousCricket said:

I think that "Park effect" and "Landmark effect" should also be added.

They were added to the working document.

8 hours ago, TheMurderousCricket said:

If corroborated by other players, you may also consider adding "Toilet bowl bug (effect)"

I will follow your thread on that bug.

[simmering 2,607]

What exactly is Trunite?

This is something that puzzled me for a long time. I read forum posts and tutorials. I know it is used to create DarkNite BATs and that @SimFox has created it. But what exactly is it? Is it a library or an add-on for a tool? Is it a method or a concept? Nothing I read makes that clear. Is it obvious to content creators? Perhaps someone could kindly finish this sentence:

"Trunite is a..."

Your help is much appreciated.

[Null 45 3,020]

59 minutes ago, simmering said:

Is it a method or a concept?

It appears to be a 3D model rendering technique, quoting this post by SimCity4IE:

Quote

Tru-night is a rendering technique for 3ds max. It's when you render both the day and night models separately so that day has one model, and night has a lit up model. This can also be done with gmax by using SwatMedic's technique.

[simmering 2,607]

4 hours ago, Null 45 said:

It appears to be a 3D model rendering technique, quoting this post by SimCity4IE:

That is what I was looking for. Thank you very much!

[simmering 2,607]

I will shortly upload SC4Dict Version 2.2.0.

This edition reflects recent changes e.g. the new structure of CAM and the change of search URLs on SimCity SQUARE. It has a number of new entries including what was discussed in this thread. The total number has grown to over 1100.

[simmering 2,607]

I just uploaded SC4Dict Version 2.3.0.

This edition includes updates of deep link URLs so that they work with new Simtropolis security measures. The total number of entries has grown to over 1200.

[pikachu_SQ 914]

How about adding the SimCityKurier Files List to your dictionary?