SimCity 3000 and SimCity 3000 Unlimited Help (MAXIS)

Having problems with your game?

Below are all the major issues with SimCity 3000 and SimCity 3000 Unlimited. All problems have been arranged in 4 areas: Technical Problems, Website Problems, Gameplay Problems, and Building Architect Plus Problems. So just click on the problem you have or if your problem is not listed here, then click here

Contact Electronic Arts Support:

• Technical Support Contact Information.
• I lost my CD case and I need my serial number, what can I do?
• Where can I find a Linux version?

Technical Problems:

• Random Lock Ups in SimCity 3000 or SimCity 3000 Unlimited.
• SimCity 3000 restarts spontaneously when exiting.
• Extremely slow performance in SimCity 3000 or SimCity 3000 Unlimited.
• I cannot save my cities in SimCity 3000 or SimCity 3000 Unlimited.
• File "linked to missing export" error message with SimCity 3000.
• SimCity 3000 Unlimited fails to render buildings or my active list is always empty.
• When I open my saved cities there appears to be nothing more than vast oceans.

Website Problems:

• I cannot register on the website, I have SimCity 3000.
• I cannot use the Exchange, Classic, BBS, or Chat.

Gameplay Problems:

• I want cheat codes!
• How do I build a bridge in SimCity 3000 or SimCity 3000 Unlimited?
• My water deals keep failing, how can I make them work?
• How do I import custom made/downloaded Building Architect buildings into my city?
• My population is suddenly dropping, what do I do?
• I have not been offered X building, how come?

Building Architect Plus Problems:

• The Building Architect Plus does not run but SimCity 3000 Unlimited does.
• How do I import custom made/downloaded Building Architect buildings into my city?
• The Active Building List has malfunctioned, I am unable to add buildings to the active buidling list.

Answers:

Random Lock Ups in SimCity 3000 or SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

A common issue with SimCity 3000 and SimCity 3000 Unlimited are random lock ups or freezes. Many times this can be attributed to an sound issue on the user's system. There are several reasons why this may occur, incorrect sound drivers installed, sound drivers being improperly installed, out of date sound drivers, or an out of date sound card. So what's the solution? The first step it to determine what sound card is in the system and what drivers are installed. The best way to do this is through the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. From the run line (Start > Run) type "dxdiag" without quotes and hit enter. It should open up the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, click on the "Sound" tab. Under "Device" next to "Name" is the name of your sound card and on the right under "Driver" next to "Version" is the version number. It's suggested that you contact your system manufacturer with this information and request a location from which to download the latest drivers. These drivers should be installed on your system. Most driver versions are nine digits and start with a 4 (ex. 4.XX.XX.XXXX). You may notice that your driver starts with a 5, if you are running a Windows 9x/ME system than these are not the correct drivers, contact your system manufacturer, this situation will almost always cause random lock ups. On this same tab under "DirectX Features" you may notice a slider bar for "Hardware Sound Acceleration Level", for troubleshooting reasons this should be set one notch from the left on "Basic". If these steps are not successful then turn off sound and music in the game, or remove your sound drivers and reinstall them.

If you have problems with SimCity 3000 Unlimited freezing and you have a Vanta/Vanta LT video card then go to www.visiontek.com and get the 7.58 version driver.

SimCity 3000 restarts spontaneously when exiting.

· SimCity 3000

This is an issue isolated to SimCity 3000 and does not occur with SimCity 3000 Unlimited. It's an issue related to the way newer systems are configured. There is a way around this issue though, while in the game (save it first), hold down "Alt" and hit "Tab" on the keyboard, this will minimize the game. While the game is minimized hold down "Ctrl", "Alt", and hit the "Delete" key, it will open up the "Close Program Dialog Box". Click on "SimCity 3000" and then click on the "End Task" button, SimCity 3000 should now close and not restart. If you are more comfortable with your computer and would like to try some more advanced steps, try turning off "DMA" in the Hard Disk properties (you can access the properties in the Device Manager under "Disk Drives").

I cannot register on the website, I have SimCity 3000.

· SimCity 3000

This is a common oversight, the website asks if you own a copy of SimCity 3000 Unlimited when you register. If you just have SimCity 3000 and don't have SimCity 3000 Unlimited, select no. You will now be able to site register, which means you will not need a serial number, and will have limited access to the website, including all features and downloads for the original SimCity 3000.

Extremely slow performance in SimCity 3000 or SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

Make sure you have the performance updates available for SimCity 3000 Unlimited located below. Also make sure you have the latest drivers for both your sound and video cards, you should contact your system manufacturer for information on updating drivers.

• Click here for the Internet Connection Update
• Click here if you're looking for the Performance Update

I cannot save my cities in SimCity 3000 or SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

In some instances SimCity 3000 will try and save to the CD-ROM, since this is not possible it returns an error. Simply change the save location to a location on the Hard Drive.

File "linked to missing export" error message with SimCity 3000.

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

This often occurs with outdated or beta versions of DirectX, simply go to Microsoft's DirectX website and update DirectX. The website is http://www.microsoft.com/directx.

How do I build a bridge in SimCity 3000 or SimCity 3000 Unlimited?

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to build a bridge, for a few simple reasons. Make sure that both shorelines are parallel and close to sea level, also make sure you drag 5 - 10 tiles before the shoreline and 5 - 10 tiles after the opposite shore line. Following these simple suggestions will usually end up in a newly constructed bridge. If you need more help, please go to the Tips & Tricks section and there is a tutorial for making bridges.

The Building Architect Plus does not run but SimCity 3000 Unlimited does.

· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

Sometimes this can happened and can be caused by several different things. The first thing to do is shut down all running tasks except "Explorer" and "Systray" in the "Close Program Dialog Box", you can access the "Close Program Dialog Box" by holding "Ctrl", "Alt", and hitting the "Delete" key. Once it's open you want to "End Task" on everything except "Explorer" and "Systray", just select any item but those two and click on "End Task". Use "Ctrl", "Alt", and "Delete" again to open the "Close Program Dialog Box" and continue ending task until only "Explorer" and "Systray" are remaining. If that does not allow the BA+ to run correctly, right click on your "My Computer" icon and select "Properties", it should open up the "System Properties". Click on the "Performance" tab and then on the "Graphics" button. Lower this setting to "Basic" (one notch from the left), click on "OK", and then click on "Close". Restart your computer and try running the BA+.

SimCity 3000 Unlimited fails to render buildings or my active list is always empty.

· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

This is often caused by other applications running while SimCity 3000 Unlimited or the Building Architect Plus is running. Follow the steps in "The Building Architect Plus does not run but SimCity 3000 Unlimited does." to end all background tasks. If you have programs such as Norton Anti-Virus be sure to shut those down before ending task on any items in the "Close Program Dialog Box".

The Active Building List has malfunctioned, I am unable to add buildings to the active buidling list.

· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

What has happened is you have a corrupted "bat.dat" file. Look in the \SimCity 3000 Unlimited\Apps\BARender directory for bat.dat - if it is corrupted, it should be 0kb in size. Delete that file and you should be able to start building a new bat.dat - without having to reinstall the game.

When I open my saved cities there appears to be nothing more than vast oceans.

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

This is because the save file has become damaged or corrupted, or was not able to save correctly. Follow the steps in "The Building Architect Plus does not run but SimCity 3000 Unlimited does." to end all background tasks. If you have any anti-virus applications shut them down before ending task, these programs could be the cause. There is not way to restore corrupted cities.

My water deals keep failing, how can I make them work?

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

You need a fairly high percentage of your water resources free for the deal to work. Some have suggested that you build a separate water system for water deals only so your city doesn't take water from it and make your deal get cancelled. If you don't want to do this, you can just build many water pumps, probably many more than you think are necessary. You should also place lots of connections so all the water can get to your neighboring city. These tips should allow you to maintain a steady and long-lasting water deal.

I want cheat codes!

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

All cheat codes are located in the Tips and Tricks section.

How do I import custom made/downloaded Building Architect buildings into my city?

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

When you download a building, it is placed in your buildings folder. You can always look there to see if it downloaded right from the exchange or you placed your custom made building in the correct place. When you want to replace a building, click the query (question mark) button on the building you want to replace while playing and then click on the REPLACE button. The menu will show you what to do from there.

How do I organize my props folder?

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

There are two reasons to put props in folders. To keep the props organized by type. For instance, all cars in one folder, all flowers in another, etc. That way they show up in the prop window the same way. These folders should be kept in the BA Custom 'Props' folder to show up in the game, and you can't have folders within folders. For instance, if you had the 'flower' folder within the 'car' folder, the cars would show up, but the flowers wouldn't. Also, make sure the associated .met files are in the same folders as their props.

 

My population is suddenly dropping, what do I do?

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

Population drops are frequent in SimCity and sometimes you just have to sit tight and wait until demand goes back up. Other times there are certain things that you can do to help encourage sims to move back into your city. First, make sure that taxes are rather low and aren't bothering people enough to make them leave. Also make sure that your city is powered and watered, this is very important. Finally, just keep working at improving your city, eventually if you have a city with nothing wrong, people will start to move back in and fill in zones that were abandoned.

I lost my CD case and I need my serial number, what can I do?

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

This is a very common problem and one that can be easily solved in some situations. The solution would be to just check your registration information at SimCity.com and see the serial number you entered upon first registering your game. To do this Go onto the main of SimCity.com page and see where it says "Welcome Username" where the username is yours. Look under that and click on the link where it says, "(Click here to login with a different User Name.)". Afterwards click the update registration option then on the next screen look on the side and click "Update Product Registration". Finally put your username and password in the Update Registration info section. The next page will display your serial number if you had written it in when you first registered that name. If you haven't registered at SimCity.com then you should try contacting EA Tech Support. You will not get one by asking on the BBS or in the chat so don't bother asking for one.

I have not been offered X building, how come?

· SimCity 3000
· SimCity 3000 Unlimited.

The only time you are offered the casino, toxic waste plant, gigamall, and the maximum security prison is whenever your available funds are below zero (in the red). You can also use the cheat codes located in our Tips & Tricks area.

Where can I find a Linux version?

Go to http://www.lokigames.com/products/sc3k.

 

Technical Support Contact Information:

If you are having a gameplay problem then you might want to check out our Tips & Tricks area. We have posted several guides to help you get the most out of your city (ie - Help getting farms, high-tech, seaports, BAP, etc).

If you are having a technical problem with SimCity3000 Unlimited (ie- crashing, video or sound problems) we recommend you visit the EA.com Support Website at http://techsupport.ea.com.