Colossus Addon Mod 2.5 - Release Candidate 2

[Ulisse Wolf 4,406]

Colossus Addon Mod 2.5 - Release Candidate 2

Finally I am pleased to announce the release of Colossus Addon Mod (CAM) 2.5 Release Candidate (RC) 2

This release is for testing the introduced features and fixes. Due to new content and patches included and future changes that will be implemented based on your feedback it is highly recommended to play on a new region only to test CAM 2.5 RC 2

If you want to play with an already active region then you have to be careful that the previous CAM 2.1.1 controller is the Extended version.

CAM CORE

• Inserted all corrective patches of CAM 2.1.1a
• Introduced CAM Essential and Locale (SFX Querry Sound currently not working)
• Introduced crime correction (Crime Doesn't Pay)
• Introduced all patches of ModPack Zero
• New CAM installation procedure
• Introduced Memo patch to install I-AG bugfix
• Introduced Fixed Underfunded Notices mod

MAXIS BUILDING

• All Maxis buildings have PIM-X staistics by fixing hidden bugs
• All Maxis buildings have a new IID allowing the Phantom Slider Bug to be fixed
• Extended lifespan of Maxis utilities. They now last twice as long as the vanilla version (Paeng's Age Degradation Mod)
• Coverage radius of civic buildings has been revised 
• New_properties.xml has been made Open Source
• Maxis Building Civics and Utilities Blocked Introduced.

SUBMENU

• CAM is compatible with SubMenus 

EDUCATION SIMULATOR

• Revised the entire education system by making changes based on new findings by xBlaze89x (https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/762537-on-education-in-sc4-a-detailed-deep-dive-with-simulation-data-and-recommended-modification/)
• Fixed bugs from previous versions
• Introduced Private Schools with Sliders

ADVANCED WATER MANAGEMENT

• Introduced AWM support by enabling freshwater and saltwater
• Introduced a range limiter to take advantage of Fresh Water (Within 8 tiles from sea/river/lake) and for Salt Water (Within 10 tiles from sea/river/lake)
• Introduced two new buildings to take advantage of Water production from Fresh Water and Salt Water
• Recalculated Maxis Water building
• Introduced an alert system to indicate the presence of a freshwater and saltwater pump that are far from the limiting range
• Multi-language support (Partially implemented)

ADVANCED ENERGY MANAGEMENT

• Recalculated Maxis Energy building statistics
• Introduced a health malus for fossil power plants (Also includes the Nuclear Healt Bugfixes)
• With the new Maxis building system, CAM is partially compatible with AMPS

DOCUMENTATION

• Introduced a Cleanitol to perform a clean installation of CAM 2.5 (Partially implemented)
• New CAM 2.5 documentation with technical specifications for modders (Only available for the final version)

OPEN SOURCE

From version 2.5 onward Colossus Addon Mod will be in Open Source format allowing anyone to contribute in improving the mod.

Currently there are two main repositories in which you can contribute

• Colossus Addon Mod: https://github.com/UlisseWolf/Colossus_Addon_Mod

• New_Properties.xml: https://github.com/NAMTeam/New_Properties.xml

Anyone can request a pull request to implement changes allowing to improve the mod

DOWNLOAD

Please note that CAM 2.5 is only available only for SC4 version 1.1.641 (Microsoft Windows and Linux).  All other versions of SC4 are no longer supported. If you play the unsupported versions you may have technical problems.

To download CAM 2.5 RC 1 you can do so on this link

https://www.sc4evermore.com/index.php/downloads/download/26-gameplay-mods/276-colossus-addon-mod-2-5-release-candidate-2

Below you can comment giving your feedback, if you identify bugs that are not already known and if you want more general patches for SC4. I am waiting for your feedback so I can release a better CAM for everyone

 

[Kel9509 1,357]

Wow, what an incredible accomplishment!  So far I haven't played using CAM at all but this is making me re-evaluate things simply because of all the new features implemented!

41 minutes ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

Introduced all patches of ModPack Zero

If you don't mind me asking, what are these specifically?

[Ulisse Wolf 4,406]

Just now, Kel9509 said:

Wow, what an incredible accomplishment!  So far I haven't played using CAM at all but this is making me re-evaluate things simply because of all the new features implemented!

If you don't mind me asking, what are these specifically?

The zero modpack was supposed to be a modpack that included all the urgent fixes for SC4 that are developed by CorinaMarie and Cyclone Boom

So in CAM 2.5 there are

• All 3 City Halls Fixes + 1 for ModPacc Zero
• Opera House Fix for ModPacc Zero
• Crime and Police Station Fixes for ModPacc Zero

Which are the only mods available from modpack zero.

Obviously I have introduced other bugfixes that improve the gaming experience but important that they are and with the Re IID of civic buildings and Maxis utilities allowing CAM to become more compatible with other mods

However, the main purpose of RC2 is to find the right algorithms for civic and utility buildings, and it will be a community effort to find the right settings. After we have done that we can proceed with RC3 which will be (I hope) the last Release Candidate.  After this CAM 2.5 will be officially released and there will be a CAM Lite that introduces the necessary patches for those who want to play with SPAM

[Cyclone Boom 16,854]

Great job @Ulisse Wolf with the continued CAM development! This all sounds magnificent.

It does make me curious enough to consider trying CAM sometime, if ever getting back into playing SC4 again. It used to be something which seemed quite intimidating to me, but with the efforts you've put in here to refine it as a gameplay enhancing package, it will be highly useful.

 

1 hour ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

The zero modpack was supposed to be a modpack that included all the urgent fixes for SC4 that are developed by CorinaMarie and Cyclone Boom

1 hour ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

Which are the only mods available from modpack zero.

Indeed, those were the 3 main ones Cori and I had got around to posting for beta testing on the forums.

Just to clarify, here's a sample list of other components planned:

Spoiler

 

Some of these like Cori's "Partial Water Bug Fix" are superseded by superior DLLs, so we ought to revise the list.

Due to RL intervening, we don't have a timescale when we'll accomplish this, even though we plan a STEX release of MZ eventually. The idea is accessibility, so anyone getting into SC4 can download MZ as a "community patch" and get up and running with the basic fixes (and a few optional extras).

For now, that's why Cori and I gave permission for what we'd created to be included in CAM, instead of just scattered around the forums as it is.

The key is the benefit to the overall community.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,406]

18 minutes ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Great job @Ulisse Wolf with the continued CAM development! This all sounds magnificent.

It does make me curious enough to consider trying CAM sometime, if ever getting back into playing SC4 again. It used to be something which seemed quite intimidating to me, but with the efforts you've put in here to refine it as a gameplay enhancing package, it will be highly useful indeed.

 

Indeed, those were the 3 main ones Cori and I had got around to posting for beta testing on the forums.

Just to clarify, here's a sample list of other components planned:

  MZ Tracking Spreadsheet (Reveal hidden contents)

 

Some of these like Cori's "Partial Water Bug Fix" are superseded by superior DLLs, so we ought to revise the list.

Due to RL intervening, we don't have a timescale when we'll accomplish this, even though we plan a STEX release of MZ eventually. The idea is accessibility, so anyone getting into SC4 can download MZ as a "community patch" and get up and running with the basic fixes (and a few optional extras).

For now, that's why Cori and I gave permission for what we'd created to be included in CAM, instead of just scattered around the forums as it is.

The key is the benefit to the overall community.

The list needs to be revised because of DLL mods, and it's no surprise that at least once a month a DLL mod comes out to change everyone's plans.

However. When CAM 2.5 is in a stable stage you can merge my work with that of Modpack as I have found more bugs that @Tyberius06 and I have corrected

[Kel9509 1,357]

3 hours ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Just to clarify, here's a sample list of other components planned:

Why are some of these listed as not completed at 0% when I thought a lot of that list was done already?  Maybe not by you, but by others?  Like for instance the texture fix for Jenkins Consulting, done by Raymond7cn?  Or the Less Abandonment mod, which I use in my game already.  Were you revising those or are they incomplete somehow?  Just curious since your list is very comprehensive.

4 hours ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

However, the main purpose of RC2 is to find the right algorithms for civic and utility buildings, and it will be a community effort to find the right settings.

Is the issue that a standard Maxis building is hard to fit into a city that can be 15 stages?  You might be forced to create different variations of the civic buildings that have different capacities.  As they increase in capacity, the different buildings could cost more to plop and more per month.  Just an idea? 

[Null 45 3,024]

3 hours ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Just to clarify, here's a sample list of other components planned:

I already have DLLs that take care of the network construction sounds and doorbell sound (as an option). My doorbell sound fix disables all occupant query sounds, there are many more than just the doorbell that get repetitive. I have considered making a DLL that disables the network construction animation entirely, but that may be more appropriate for inclusion in the NAM DLL.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,406]

27 minutes ago, Kel9509 said:

Is the issue that a standard Maxis building is hard to fit into a city that can be 15 stages?  You might be forced to create different variations of the civic buildings that have different capacities.  As they increase in capacity, the different buildings could cost more to plop and more per month.  Just an idea? 

The problem that the original PIM-X algorithms have downward statistics compared to Maxis values. So you have to find the right algorithms to find the right average value .

For now, the algorithms have been doubled but most likely can be improved to get the right balance

[Cyclone Boom 16,854]

43 minutes ago, Kel9509 said:

Why are some of these listed as not completed at 0% when I thought a lot of that list was done already?  Maybe not by you, but by others?  Like for instance the texture fix for Jenkins Consulting, done by Raymond7cn?  Or the Less Abandonment mod, which I use in my game already.  Were you revising those or are they incomplete somehow?  Just curious since your list is very comprehensive.

Good question. That list is the spreadsheet from 2021 and so it's quite outdated by now.

You're correct that a fair few components were originally released by others, but our intention was to pick through each and every one with a fine tooth comb, to be certain they did what they were supposed to with no ill effects. We did consider that the easy part, so left if for later while working on major revisions of the core components (namely those we've allowed to be included in this CAM RC2 release). That explains why the Less Abandonment isn't listed as "Created", because we were replicating the original mods from the ground up. As opposed to simply bundling those up into a zip as-is.

 

17 minutes ago, Null 45 said:

I already have DLLs that take care of the network construction sounds and doorbell sound (as an option). My doorbell sound fix disables all occupant query sounds, there are many more than just the doorbell that get repetitive.

Yes, indeed. Those are more powerful and well done.

That's another example what I meant earlier when saying:

3 hours ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Some of these like Cori's "Partial Water Bug Fix" are superseded by superior DLLs, so we ought to revise the list.

So we'd probably want to remove those older .dat file mods from MZ or make them optional, and suggest people use the DLL equivalent instead.

Certainly, there's no point in having conflicting mods doing the same (or similar) thing. That could even cause issues in game otherwise.

 

3 hours ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

When CAM 2.5 is in a stable stage you can merge my work with that of Modpack as I have found more bugs that @Tyberius06 and I have corrected

Thanks. We can discuss something like that when the time comes. Also we'd be happy for a full MZ release to be bundled with CAM. I'm thinking we'd could clarify how if downloading CAM then it's already included for the MZ package, and thus CAM users wouldn't need to download MZ separately.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,406]

5 minutes ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Thanks. We can discuss something like that when the time comes. Also we'd be happy for a full MZ release to be bundled with CAM. I'm thinking we'd could clarify how if downloading CAM then it's already included for the MZ package, and thus CAM users wouldn't need to download MZ separately.

This is one of my ultimate goals but we can have a good discussion when the time comes

 

25 minutes ago, Null 45 said:

I already have DLLs that take care of the network construction sounds and doorbell sound (as an option). My doorbell sound fix disables all occupant query sounds, there are many more than just the doorbell that get repetitive. I have considered making a DLL that disables the network construction animation entirely, but that may be more appropriate for inclusion in the NAM DLL.

Don't forget about Data View Extensions DLL that made Cori Park Aura partially obsolete.

[ItsLabov 6]

Hello! Really enjoying the latest CAM release, the new QoL features are great. I love the new "zoom-to-location" features especially.

I wanted to provide a comment regarding a small graphical bug I've discovered (or more like, just a mis-rotated asset), seeing as how it looks like some other minor graphical issue fixes are going to be included in a future release. Seems this a minor error that shipped with the original game, and I haven't found any other mention of it elsewhere.

The Stone Row House, part of the NY tileset for medium-density R$$ homes, appears to be backwards. The window dressings, stone stoop, and planter bushes face the back yard, while the roof-access ladder faces the street.

[Kel9509 1,357]

8 hours ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

All Maxis buildings have a new IID allowing the Phantom Slider Bug to be fixed

Did this change any of the properties of the Maxis buildings, or did you just give them new IDs in order to fix any existing phantom sliders?  Why bother fixing if you need to try this in a new region/city anyway?

8 hours ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

Revised the entire education system by making changes based on new findings by xBlaze89x

xBlade89x's edits modified the Residential Simulator to change the average age reset value to 25 instead of 40, and the EQ reset to 20% instead of 80%.  But more importantly, he edited the base Maxis buildings to change the EQ boost.  I assume that CAM 2.5 has adopted his edits to the buildings as well as the Residential Simulator.

For those who want to roll-in those changes to custom educational buildings, their values will need to be manually edited - which is fine.  Do you plan on implementing these edits into new_properties.xml for PIM-X to make his edits the so-called "default standard"?  Or will you continue to use Maxis standards?

[Ulisse Wolf 4,406]

8 hours ago, Kel9509 said:

Did this change any of the properties of the Maxis buildings, or did you just give them new IDs in order to fix any existing phantom sliders?  Why bother fixing if you need to try this in a new region/city anyway?

From personal experience I have seen that almost no one respects the warnings that are given by the mods and therefore many people install CAM in already started regions. In the case of CAM 2.5 RC 1 many people installed it in already started regions causing the Phantom Slider Bug and creating false reports.

To avoid this problem I decided to run the re IID of Maxis buildings and locking the original Maxis buildings to avoid any problems. Also because it is always recommended not to modify Original Maxis buildings as they already have their own problems and it is better to avoid tampering with them to generate further problems

9 hours ago, Kel9509 said:

xBlade89x's edits modified the Residential Simulator to change the average age reset value to 25 instead of 40, and the EQ reset to 20% instead of 80%.  But more importantly, he edited the base Maxis buildings to change the EQ boost.  I assume that CAM 2.5 has adopted his edits to the buildings as well as the Residential Simulator.

For those who want to roll-in those changes to custom educational buildings, their values will need to be manually edited - which is fine.  Do you plan on implementing these edits into new_properties.xml for PIM-X to make his edits the so-called "default standard"?  Or will you continue to use Maxis standards?

The modification of the exemplar that handles the residential simulation has already been incoported.

There are many planned changes in the new_properties.xml including EQ boost but since it is an easy change to make it goes in the background since the more complex changes concerns the algorithms of capacity and radius.  I feel that these changes are more important to make based on the feedback I received from the community in RC1 also as I mentioned previously the original algorithms that was developed by BSC Team were very downward from the Maxis values

This problem also extends to Health, Police, and Fire.

 

[Ulisse Wolf 4,406]

11 hours ago, ItsLabov said:

Hello! Really enjoying the latest CAM release, the new QoL features are great. I love the new "zoom-to-location" features especially.

I wanted to provide a comment regarding a small graphical bug I've discovered (or more like, just a mis-rotated asset), seeing as how it looks like some other minor graphical issue fixes are going to be included in a future release. Seems this a minor error that shipped with the original game, and I haven't found any other mention of it elsewhere.

The Stone Row House, part of the NY tileset for medium-density R$$ homes, appears to be backwards. The window dressings, stone stoop, and planter bushes face the back yard, while the roof-access ladder faces the street.

I checked the buildings in question and found the same problem. I can develop a quick patch to rotate the building to the right location but I need to check if it does not trigger ISL (Imortal Syndrome Lot)

[End_of_Eternity 13]

I've been playing with CAM since some of the early release.

Unfortunately, I haven't played SimCity 4 in a few years

Will have to start a new run (although I might wait for the final release).

Does this version still require digging up all the 3rd party model files? I remember getting CAM working on a new install required a lot of searching and download of additional files.

[smf_16 1,835]

I'm by no means a CAM expert, but I know that the CAM actually never required you to download the starter packs. @Tarkus has written a really good article about this on his blog.

To properly enjoy the CAM though, you're probably best of downloading some CAMpatible lots. Have a look at @Jasoncw's content. Super high quality and he has quite a few buildings that come with a separate CAM variant.

[Propfam 2,287]

20 hours ago, End_of_Eternity said:

Does this version still require digging up all the 3rd party model files? I remember getting CAM working on a new install required a lot of searching and download of additional files.

Yup, that's correct. And making things even worse, there are files that are currently missing due to Devotion shutdown. That's one of the reasons why I don't have custom CAM contents, especially packed ones, anymore. I'm trying to recover but with that fact, I simply can't do it for now. I don't know if @Tyberius06 has recovered dependencies for popular CAMeLots. I heard that @Fantozzi's Colossus Farm didn't have enough dependencies available for download until very recently.

That said, if you do really want CAMeLots, look for newer ones since they've been designed with this new reality in mind. So you can grab the deps from Evermore or Simtropolis, or even much better, use @memo's sc4pac. Older lots, especially megapacks, have been in progress of updating. But so far, despite being a really impressive feat (considering it's done by only 3 people afaik), it's not that fast enough to effortlessly download those lots without worrying dependencies.

[Tyberius06 12,184]

6 hours ago, Jidan said:

And making things even worse, there are files that are currently missing due to Devotion shutdown.

In theory it should not be much, because the models that were related to CAM either came from outside (3rd party models from STEX and other sites), or in mega packs on LEX which have already been recovered and re-hosted. The only mega packs which has not been re-hosted yet are the NDEX related ones, but those models can be donwloaded from STEX. It's a bit of extra effort.

The dependnecies for Fantozzi's Colossus Farming have been recovered entirely. The last missing pieces were some SFBT releases, which were uploaded to STEX during the last year.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Also, in general, most content is already CAMpatible. You just have to watch out for ancient content (which commonly have modding mistakes), lots that are Stage 8 (the biggest Maxis buildings) or bigger (they may have done things to these lots to make them inCAMpatible), and lots which in general are poorly modded (if the building's name isn't showing up correctly or they haven't assigned tilesets, there might be other mistakes). I think most content from the early 2010s onward should be safe.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,406]

A warning to all

Modpack Zero patches are finally incorporated into CAM and therefore means that we are close to the final stage i.e. Release To Manufacturing (RTM).

I want to know from those who are using this version of CAM if the algorithms of utilities and civic services need to be improved and if you have suggestions make them now before I publish RC3 which would be the last test version before the official release

[End_of_Eternity 13]

On 2/4/2025 at 10:48 PM, Jidan said:

Yup, that's correct. And making things even worse, there are files that are currently missing due to Devotion shutdown. That's one of the reasons why I don't have custom CAM contents, especially packed ones, anymore. I'm trying to recover but with that fact, I simply can't do it for now. I don't know if @Tyberius06 has recovered dependencies for popular CAMeLots. I heard that @Fantozzi's Colossus Farm didn't have enough dependencies available for download until very recently.That said, if you do really want CAMeLots, look for newer ones since they've been designed with this new reality in mind. So you can grab the deps from Evermore or Simtropolis, or even much better, use @memo's sc4pac. Older lots, especially megapacks, have been in progress of updating. But so far, despite being a really impressive feat (considering it's done by only 3 people afaik), it's not that fast enough to effortlessly download those lots without worrying dependencies.

SC4 devotion got shut down? That's really too bad.

I do have a copy of all the histocial CAM lots in an archive somewhere, but I do not look forward to trawling through all that data.

Might as well wait for the final release of CAM before starting a new run.

[TogaMasterJohn 703]

8 hours ago, End_of_Eternity said:

SC4 devotion got shut down? That's really too bad.

I do have a copy of all the histocial CAM lots in an archive somewhere, but I do not look forward to trawling through all that data.

Might as well wait for the final release of CAM before starting a new run.

You may want to check out its replacement site, SC4Evermore. I'm not sure how many CAMelots are hosted there at the moment, but if I remember correctly, there are some available. All of the SC4D LEX content is safe; if I remember everything correctly, it just takes a fair amount of time to go through all of it and get it prepped for re-releasing.

[Kel9509 1,357]

As far as the CAM 2.1 manual goes, Maxis Blockers are incompatible with CAM.  Will that still be the case with CAM 2.5? (If so, I think that the Allow more Building Styles mod will probably be put to good use for a CAM game if you want to block Maxis lots from growing).

[Ulisse Wolf 4,406]

11 hours ago, Kel9509 said:

As far as the CAM 2.1 manual goes, Maxis Blockers are incompatible with CAM.  Will that still be the case with CAM 2.5? (If so, I think that the Allow more Building Styles mod will probably be put to good use for a CAM game if you want to block Maxis lots from growing).

This is actually false. I use CAM and Maxis Blockers and the system works fine. The problem with Maxis Blockers is that you have to have many building mods that can replace all the Maxis buildings. (Basically you have to be full Modded and not use vanilla buildings).