General BAT & MOD Help

[wa1ker00 0]

Hello all, I'm pretty new to the Simtropolis site and have been trying to download some BATs and MODs to make make my vanilla SC4 a bit more enjoyable and possibly start a CJ. I've downloaded a couple (such as BSC Budget Bank, SC4Tool, SC4 Startup manager although the last two there seem to be working) and their required dependancies. I can't seem to get the correct stuff in the correct folders because nothing I have downloaded will work (and I did download ALL of the dependancies). Again, I'm not sure if this is the correct section for this question but I wasted over an hour of wonderful city building time late last night trying to get any of this stuff to work. Any help, hints, or at least pointing me in the direction of a tutorial would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Andy

[Tolomar 5]

all plugins for the game can be put in your My Documents/simcity4/plugins folder...they should all work there, though i suggest many subfolder for lots and bats...as just throwing them all into 1 plugin folder will work...it be a nightmare trying to find things to delete...or just plain trying to finding them if there is a problem

with any lots...check for a readme file...this will nbe the instruction on how to install your download into the game corrrectly...i suggest for now...any file without a readme you should avoid til you more familiar with the game (most often those whom forget readme files...good chance they might have fogotten things to the lot or bat

the SC4tool is a program outside the game...and yes there are sections to it...best to get them all...as with the SC4Tool program you can scan custom plugins and get a list of dependancies  (even tells ya if they are or aren't in your game already too...

the SC Start up manager...never used it myself...sorry can't help ya with that one

i do suggest the BSC, CSX, and NDEX  mega pack and essential files for starter as they contain most of the dependancies on the STEX in nice neat packages
so you don't have to hunt the dependancies (well most of them anyways) independantly

welcome to ST...

[sim1234 62]

You say you have Vanilla SC4, you can only download a few buildings from the Exchange without Rush Hour or Deluxe otherwise you will see a big brown box. To download a building you extract the download using Winzip,WinRAR etc. into your MyDocuments/SimCity4/Plugins folder OR Program Files/Maxis/SimCity4/Plugins folder and they should appear in game. If this doesn't work, the building you are trying to download must be a growable which means you have to zone some Residential, Commercial or Industrial zones and get to the required stage to make it grow OR it could be a reward which means you have to meet some requirements before you can use it in your city. Some downloads have automatic installers in their zip file and if that's the case double click on it to open it and follow the instructions. If the building you downloaded comes with a ReadMe always read it as it contains useful information on how to get the building into the game. Hope this helps.

[wa1ker00 0]

I finally found a copy of Rush Hour (all the stores in my area shipped them back due to the release of Deluxe Edition) so this should hopefully aleviate some of my issues. Thanks for the awesome feedback!

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

A word of caution about plugins and mods:

There are several thousand things you can add to your game. Do it one at a time and test each one. The people who put things on the STEX are good guys, but they cannot test all possibilities for every configuration and combination of software and hardware.

All items from this site come as .zip archives, usually with a readme file and often with an installer. Always read the readme. This will help you avoid the infamous ID-10-T error that often occurs to people in our information explosion soceity. If there is no readme and no installer, then any SC4Lot files go into your ...\My Documents\Simcity 4\Plugins struture. This should contain subfolders for each author, so you can readily know who to PM when something doesn't seem to work.

Good luck.

Don't forget to patch the game after you install Rush Hour with Update 1 from the home site. It will set your graphics low, so be sure to set it all back to where you want it.

[wa1ker00 0]

what would you (the general ST population) recommend as important downloads?? There are so many I really don't know where to start!!! Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[sim1234 62]

There are many great downloads for Sim City 4. The NAM (Network Add On Mod) adds many transport options to your game and can be found at www.stnam.com.

From the STEX (Simtropolis Excahnge) I'd try lots from Vlakhaas, barbyw and pmiller19574 and BATs from SimGoober, gascooker, Pegasus, Equinox and ill tonkso.

[Tolomar 5]

Greyveil's up and running tutorial...the SC4Tool program...after that...all custom content is sort of by your own tastes...(I say You have to have the NAM, but that a personely opion)

if your going to surf the STEX and your going to use the BSC stuff...get the mega packs and essential files (make sure you keep the essential files updated)

after that...just go slow...scan lots with the Tool and test new lots or mods out in a sandbox region first...before using them in your favorite region(s)...and stay with in the bounds of your computer specs...custom content can add up quickly and make a game lag and sputer