Removing growable lots from BATs

[djkronik57 0]

Does anyone know how to remove the growable part of a BAT?

I have downloaded the Newman Inc. Chemical BAT by citynut ( https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=13829 ) and it has an annoying habit of trying to grow in zoned areas too small for it to fit. I didn't even know it came with a growable lot! All I know is that whenever I hear the plop sound and I didn't plop anything, I have to go hunt it down and destroy it, otherwise I have an annoying blank lot. This happens with a Japanese Liquid Natural Gas terminal lot I have as well. Both of these are large lots, and they seem to try to fit into smaller (4X6 or so) areas, just showing up as the base textures. I've looked in my plugin folder to see if I can identify the growable lots, but they are not labeled.

How can I prevent this from happening? Why is it happening if these are only ploppable lots?

[T Wrecks 10,209]

I don't have this particular download, but the problem doesn't sound new to me. In those cases I know, it was NOT the growable version that caused the problem but the ploppable. Yes, that's right, a bug in the plop version can cause problems which manifest in the building growing on lots on which it is not meant to grow. It doesn't even need a growable version.

I know several older buildings which used to cause the same problem because the ploppable was created using a technique that turned out to cause problems.

I'll have a look into the file and tell you more once I'm back from work and have killed my flat mate. (the last part was a joke, but I am mad at her...) So stay tuned.

[djkronik57 0]

Thank you so much T Wrecks!

[T Wrecks 10,209]

No problem; I hate this kind of problems, too. Especially since you wouldn't expect something like that from a BSC release... really surprised me.

However, I've had a look at it, and for sure: The main structure is not defined as a building, but as a prop.

[Little background info in case you didn't know: Each lot must have one building and can have numerous props. Both rely on a model file, the only difference is an internal file type that's different between a building and a prop. So you could define one and the same model both as building and as prop. Normally, the main structure on a lot is the building, and the props are additional objects to adorn and complete the lot. Some ploppable lots, however, were assembled using an invisible dummy to provide the functionality of the building, and the actual structure contained in the 3D model of the factory (or whatever it is) was then added as a prop. This can cause several problems:
1) Buildings appear to be visible at all zoom levels by default. For props, you need to define at which zoom levels they are visible. If the creator forgets this, you may find that the building seems to disappear at farther zooms. One famous example: PEG's RTK3 kit.
2) While a building gets highlighted when the mouse hovers over it, this is not necessarily the case with a prop. You may find that you can only highlight and query the building by pointing to its lot base and clicking, while your mouse will appear to click through the structure that rises from the ground. You may find yourself pointing at the upper part of the building and hitting what's behind it, as if the building were a ghost.
3) The problem you found.

Theoretically, the workaround would be to create an actual building (in the game's internal meaning) from the 3D model and reassemble the lot. This will be much work, since the lot is so f***ing huge. I will fool around a bit, and if the basic strategy works, I would like to send you a draft lot to test the functionality. If the error is gone, I know it's worth the trouble to rebuild the lot (or make an entirely new lot) and re-upload the entire thing. It will take quite a while, though, so don't expect the issue to be solved the day after tomorrow... sounds like an interesting project, though. Well, more on this during the weekend.

[Sam 163]

I've let the BSC know about this issue, so someone there who is more familiar with the Newman Inc Chemical lot than I am will probably check it out asap.

[SimGoober 2,351]

This problem will be fixed rather quickly, probably the next time CityNut logs in.  The problem was found and fixed a while ago, but appearantly the fix was being tested, and was then forgotten.  Seeing as the BSC members had the good lot to test.. it slipped through that the lot on the STEX was never updated.

Also, FYI, T Wrecks is correct in his diagnosis, but the cure is actually very simple.  On the plop lot, change the parent cohort of the building exemplar to 0,0,0.  Fixed!  no more growing plops.  That parent cohort assigns the lot to some shared properties, including a building family.

 

This was done in the very early modding days, before Rush Hour and an updated plugin manager.  Appearantly, the earliest release of the PM only assigned necessary properties, so using the parent cohort was needed.  The updated version, which has been out a long time now, removed the need to use parent cohorts on custom lots, but some old habits die hard, and some old threads still say to use them....

[BarbyW 40]

As citynut appears to be having computer problems just at the moment I have asked Vlakhaas - as STEX Moderator - to update the lot on the STEX. As simgoober said this was fixed and the corrected version uploaed to BSC although it seems that citynut has not updated here.

Barby

[djkronik57 0]

Thanks for your help! When you say uploaded to BSC, is there a BSC website?

[Andreas Roth 607]

Date: 2/11/2006 4:25:05 AM Author: djkronik57 Thanks for your help! When you say uploaded to BSC, is there a BSC website?

quote>

Yes, we have an internal development site where we exchange comments and files before releasing them to the public.

[tluckey 0]

I downloaded the updated file and now the lot does not show up in the landmark menu. Any idea why? Also I already had one of these plopped before the update and now in queres with 0 jobs. Is there a problem with the new lot or have I done something wrong?

Thanks

[Andreas Roth 607]

Date: 2/12/2006 2:54:23 AM Author: tluckey

I downloaded the updated file and now the lot does not show up in the landmark menu. Any idea why? Also I already had one of these plopped before the update and now in queres with 0 jobs. Is there a problem with the new lot or have I done something wrong?

quote>

Before installing an updated version of a lot, it's always wise to bulldoze all older lots and delete the old files afterwards. This is especially true for ploppables, since some values of the lots are stored in the city files (i. e. the actual usage of a school etc.).

[tluckey 0]

I understand that but I still don't know why it does not show up in the menu anymore. It was in the landmark menu until I updated the lot file. Any ideas?

Thanks

[citynut 2]

Date: 2/11/2006 2:30:14 AM
Author: BarbyW

As citynut appears to be having computer problems just at the moment I have asked Vlakhaas - as STEX Moderator - to update the lot on the STEX. As simgoober said this was fixed and the corrected version uploaed to BSC although it seems that citynut has not updated here.

Barby

quote>

Sorry Guys I never knew there was a problem with this until I just read about it. Thanks Barby for having Vlakhass Fix this. I'll try to pay more attention to the threads here and at BSC