moaku

ok, ok... you win... Here is a "Ready to unpack in Cities XL\Data" version for "complete freakin idiots"" scrooge_omnicorp.zip

there are even 6... the one for old high-end graph cards, and the "sandbox" for 393 in "Update Moddings"... but since they're already somewhere, no need to post them again

To skip the launcher and the update process, see this: https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=370&threadid=110734 To be able to use mods (except for the few ones that are still working on 393), just stop the update process after 383 is installed (under vista/7, windows always asks you before starting an update, just say "no" when its the "cxl_383_to_xxx" update and also say no to the next ones... @swat-medic: I don't know about the others, but for me, I prefer having an outdated game than an unmoddable game... Even if a few things remains unfixed... The reason is simple, I have more fun actually modding the game than in playing it... So playing it unmodded is not an option for me... especially when I already done a few usefull mods that I'm using...

you probably created a wrong filename / foldername it's "design", not "designs"... anyway you did the right thing, the folder structure to this file does not exists in a "fresh install" data\ directory, that's why you have to create it and be carefull while creating... and also because I was too lazy to pack a "ready to unzip" mod and attach the .zip with my post Once the correct file is created at the correct place, Omnicorp should offer *much* better prices in solo mode... you sell to omnicorp at an higher price you buy from them... so basically this should help on all cash / ressources issues for sandboxing solo mode... So, it''s a kind of "manual virtual sandbox" since you still have to accept contracts to activate it...

https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=370&threadid=111297&startpage=2#1642442

Here is a little thing that SHOULD (not tested under 392/393) work and make everyone happy until mc gets a better solution... And since it only affects OFFLINE game, this file shound never be "restricted" by MC... just have a try... Create the file: Data\design\script\tradingandtokens\offlineomnicorpprices.data and fill it with: TradingHouse.OfflinePrices = TradingHouse.OfflinePrices or {} -- these are the default prices that are used when there is not a specific price specified for this ressource TradingHouse.DefaultOmniBuyUnitPrice = 250 TradingHouse.DefaultOmniBuySellPrice = 100 function TradingHouse:SetOfflineOmnicorp(_Name, _UnitSellPrice, _UnitBuyPrice) local ID = TradingLogic:GetTokenID(_Name) if (ID == -1) then LOG_ERROR("Trying to set Unknown token : "..(_Name or "nil")) return end if (math.floor(_UnitSellPrice) ~= _UnitSellPrice) then LOG_ERROR("Trying to set a non integer sell price for token : "..(_Name or "nil")) return end TradingHouse.OfflinePrices[_Name] = TradingHouse.OfflinePrices[_Name] or {} TradingHouse.OfflinePrices[_Name].SellPrice = _UnitSellPrice TradingHouse.OfflinePrices[_Name].BuyPrice = _UnitBuyPrice end quote> This will "Scrooge" Don Madalf preparing his greedy mind for xmas and makes him want to help people instead of scamming them. Feel free to edit TradingHouse.DefaultOmniBuyUnitPrice and TradingHouse.DefaultOmniBuySellPrice to fit your needs, but don't edit the rest of the file. Hope this helps "honest cheaters" (offline cheaters). Have fun !

I've learned to be carefull with what MC says and I personnally now thinks their actions speak much more than their words... Officially announced things takes an eternity to get it to the game, so imagine about what mathew said here that is "not to consider as an official announcement" ? Do you really want to wait 2 years to mod the game? Do you really think you'll enjoy it that long without modding ? So, until some of what he said "to calm down the angry mobs" become reallity, I will simply not count on it... and stay with my "out of date" but moddable version, at least until we have a better solution... A french proverb would perfectly match my point since this issue... "On n'est jamais mieux servi que par soi-m

Stef: That's the problem... now it's "Mods for nobody"... not even for solo... Even if making a "Solo only" solution would have been easyly possible by many different ways for them...

Definitely not true... I have done a mod that adds a larger bulldozer and terraformer which do not alter existing files, and guess what ? It don't work anymore on 392...

So you want to get a map allowed to paying subscribers only without subscribing ? Isn't that what we call "hacking" ? Also don't forget that MC has added some modding restriction with lastest version... that kind of "mod request" could encourage them to add more restrictions... Anyway, renaming the pak files is not the right way of doing it... basically, pak files are archives... so, if you have map_a.pak and map_b.pak , both will contain their own map, but the archive's filename has no importance at all, it's what it contains that is important... What you want to do would imply more than renaming the archive... you would have "AT LEAST" to rename the archive's CONTENT... and "AT WORST" rename it and edit an xml file (which has become hard to do with patch 392...) Good luck

You have a solution to avoid this "anti mod unfair crash"... Just reinstall your game and do all updates until 383.... Once 383 is installed, quit the launcher, edit Version.cfg and adapt it to match the lastest version to avoid your game being updated... What mc don't get is that the more "evil" they are with restrictions, the more anger they will make to their custommer... and a geek community angered can do miracles sometimes However, there still is at least 1 way to use mods in lastest build, but it's not an easy way... Anyway it's a matter of hours or days... They're fool if they think they can stop the modding scene now It's too late... that's what we get when rushing an unfinished game... The more restrictions they put on, the more "agressive" and "with no scrupules" the modding scene will be... it's sad that it's the path they choosed... but anyway, it's the situation where we're going on...

there's nothing to fix... it's mc's way to deal with this, since it allows to cheat online... it's a voluntary restriction they put on, many mods are not working anymore because of this... It "just" make the game engine consider some files that are loaded from Data\ (not all obviously) as empty files when loading them... So a "restricted" file present in data\ directory will override the data loaded from package files with empty data... Depending on the file's content, effect may vary from making the game crash or simply ignore the mod... or even just make the game don't act properly... There were some easy ways to deal with the "online cheating" issue, however, they choosed to penalize everyone... sad

Most of your list is doable by modding... some would require a bit of testing and tweak but except maybe for the "more intuitive fuel industry" I see nothing very difficult to do... once of course we have a way to convert 3d creations to a format supported by the game... however, it's yet possible to use existing buildings models and edit all their properties without needing for additionnal hd space...

@mirror: Have you seen the others threads on STEX CXL and CXL Custom Content forums ? It has already started to be distribued... but those who did did it by their own ways (well, just like it was done for many older games)... MC will not provide support to users who uses mods done "unofficially" but anyway they can't stop it now that it's started... So you CAN do some mod and publish them already, but there is no warranty they will still work without needing a few modification once they come with a more "definitive" and "official" solution with modding. Modded files can also cause issues when patching and many unexpected issues... so If you do so, delete your mods and try without them before contacting mc for support... Anyway, the longer MC takes to publish documentation, the more "unofficial" mods will be already out when they do... and with no one to telling us "You may do that, that and that", we explore possibilities by ourselves... and may come out with many mods that MC wouldn't have expected to... So, they have choosen to not make it an high priority for now, let's just hope for them that when they do it won't be "too late" and "pointless"... many modders learns new things about the game datas each days... and without it I would probably have already given up with this game... i find it quickly boring without modding...so, MC, please give us an SDK soon, or fear the unofficial modders the machine has already started, and you can't stop it now... do something while you still can !

@ice444: at the moment, the .patch files are pak files simply... and the difference is their loading order, or their priority if you prefer... Paks\* loads before Data\* Paks\X.pak will load before Paks\X_Y.patch, so lastest patch just "overrides" older files when loading... Pak and patch files contains what the Data\ directory contains... So, imagine pak and patch are zip files containing the Data contents... the game firsts unzips the pak files in memory then the patchs files, then finally, it will override this memory with what Data\ folder contains.

Wrong, mods actually work for both solo and planet offer, that's also probably why they keep silent for now, having to deal with that issue... however it's starting to take long, since there are many ways to make everyone happy without allowing "mod-cheat" online. PO is as much modable as solo game for now... any mod you use in solo will work the same online... (and may be considered as cheating by mc and lend you to a warning / ban) so be aware of that, and "delete" (i.e. move in another folder where they are not loaded) your mods when playing online to avoid risking ban.

I already suggested "half-sized" lots to MC... would make the city feel more "gridy" and free zoning would be more usefull... if it was not so "space-wasting", free-zone tool would be great, that's where half sized lots would help. MC simply answered that it does not match their zone placement tool logic, so unfortunately, they will probably not "fix" that... From Day 1 of the beta I kinda disliked this "unique lots size" rule... well, not a deal-killer like other warming requested features like mass trans. but I totally agree that at least half-sized lot sizes woud add a lot to my enjoyement of the game... Haven't experimented it yet, but from what I know yet, via modding it should be possible to reduce lots size, but unfortunately, if that work the way it seems to, this would reduce all zones of this type, so, in the best scenario, modding would eventually allow to add "half-sized-lots zones", but they would be totally independent than "normal sized", just like another zone type. so, free zone tool would never combine 2 sizes of lots this way, and would also require to change the scale of corresponding buildings and deal with the issues it would bring... so since it's the best possible scenario I see for a such mod for now, I won't experiment around it yet, at least until I think the game engine allows to do a such combinaison, which could take long or even never happen... so let's hope MC will at some point redo the whole zoning tools section, and add a such feature to it

please keep in mind that if you use any mod that alters gameplay in ANY way in planet mode, it will be considered as cheating... Do if you get banned because of it, only blame yourself Also no one will answer your question... as Doug stated, you'll have to figure all things by yourself untill some official doc / tools are released...

As Teal'c would say... "Indeed !"

Originally posted by: swat-medic Right now we have no official word from Monte Cristo as to what is/isn't custom content. All we know is it can't bypass the login system. quote> The problem is, the longer they wait to give informations regarding this, the more "unnoficial modders" will make their own tries locally and have some posiive results... So, I wouldn't be surprised if within the 15 minutes after they make informations "public", tons of mods will be published (I already got 3 almost ready and 2 in progress yet and i'm sure i'm not the only one) So i'm not sure that "Stay quiet" is the best strategy for them... the longer they wait, the more "self-educated modders" will start to spread their work and knowledge around... and as they were "self educated", no1 told them (us) to do not modify this or this... so basically, the longer they wait, the more risk they take of having some "bad surprise" mods on "day 1" So my thoughts is that we should get more info within 1 or 2 weeks from now... And let me be clear about 1 thing, if they are still quiet at xmas, I'll go on.. I won't wait eternally

Originally posted by: Psycho_Teddy This can make people angry at first but when you realize that this game is... erm... online... it makes sense. With the ability to visit other cities comes the requirement that all cities come from the same content pack. If I visit a city that has a building I don't, guess what? Brown boxes [or whatever MC chooses to use for missing dependencies]. This made me annoyed at first but you've got to look at the reasoning behind it. quote> That's not the way it works. They already said that you will be able for example to visit a city that has a ski ressort without having to own the GemSki So, it's more subtile than "black boxes" There are many ways to deal with that, especially with something "online" And about "each mod approved", this should apply only to online mods... Solo mods won't have to... It's still unclear on how they will handle the solo/online mods differenciation, but just switch your brain of and think a bit... How do you think they could restrict "Solo mods" to approved content only ? let me remind you that the game only needs online ACTIVATION, after you did, you can play offline... so, if you play offline, how do you think your game could ever contact MC servers to ask them if this mod was approved ? I even think that custom content is the thing that will save the game from a commercial failure in the mid-term... and (at least for now), I can ensure you that there is no "approbation" mecanism running with the custom content interpreters, so if there is one added later, it will probably only affect online play (which would be normal to use an "approbal" policy since it's quite easy to change many things... The "online cheating-custom content" issue is probably the main reason of why they didn't published any official documents for now, but it's only a matter of time now... Some unofficial ways already exist to access customizable datas, so they can't keep the door closed eternally...

@jerem and april: I did a few tests for you... Took the "high details" setting file as a starting base, disabling shadows, and pushing a bit details levels (especially regarding LOD). I tried to make cars visible from any distance but could just not do it, there is a distance where they disapear whatever the settings are... However, i've been able to make them appear as cars or not at all, so, basically, wherever you were seeing cars as boxes, you'll see them correctly appearing as full cars now. These settings are a bit slow on my computer, however, still working Use same as "first release"... just unzip to your Cities XL\Data folder and change your detail levels to "very low" if not already done and enjoy. For others: You may also try this one if you want, but I did for jerem and april, who seems to have a more recent graphic card... Please note that I enabled a few shader effects that were not in previous version, so, this "special version" may not work for you even if the first one worked fine, but feel free to try if you think your card can handle it. EDIT: To MC: Is graphic options customization planned to be added ingame ? (not asking for a delay, just a basic yes/no)

lolllllll Yeah, and I want an animated title video where we can read "SimCity" in big Sorry for this "trolling post", but couldn't resist this time EDIT: To have a bit of "constructiveness" in this post anyway, i'd say that I would enjoy being able to change the square-zones sizes... I mean being able to draw 2 per X blocs instead of 2 per 3... even if that would mean 1 more click in the square-zonning tool... first click = origin point, second = determine bloc orientation, third click: define the numbers of "bat-pairs" in a bloc and fourth click: final confirmation

quick reply, didn't read the whole thread, sorry if already mentionned... #41: both are possible... to do an underground tunnel, go to "bridge mode", hold shift down and move your cursor (slowly) to the bottom, it will lower the "target point" road level and create a tunnel entrance when appropriated... Also works for bridges over building (move to top instead of down to raise the target point), you just have to leave free space where the bridge pillars are, and if your bridge is high enough (higher than the maximum building height), you'll be able to build under it... (and this looks great, especially with fastways) #47: Are you sure about this one? I'm doing a few modding experiences arround roads (nothing revolutionar, don't get excited, lol) and I used a retail lot to force traffic simulation... there was many cars for just 1 lot.. (well, an high dens. slot) Maybe your detail level is a bit low ? #49: good idea... why not adding a "distance tax", adding a % to the deal price proportionnal with distance and depending on transport mode used (airport more expensive for local trades, etc...), would be easy and realistic ! (of course, trades offers would have to show the "tax included" total )#50: City hall has 2 purposes.... for the player, it's just a landmark and a "must have or nothing works"... upgrading it will just enlarge the landmark radius, boosting attractiveness in residences in radius, not sure about how it affects attractiveness, but I guess it's simply by boosting a little the local "environment". Megastructures have a similar "attractiveness boosting landmark radius" but it's generally bigger and more efficient than city hall... still good to take anyway. for the game engine, it's a sort of "beacon"... every pathfinding in the simulation uses it as a reference point, so this is why everything fails so quickly when you demolish your hall in big cities... the "City core" is also treated the same way as GEMs will be, with that point of view, imagine that your city is a "City GEM" and that your town hall is the "HQ" of your GEM's society. That's the reason it's the very first building to build. #54: redundant, already mentionned in previous point... #55: I don't agree, this would makes things much more easier for open cheating. #56: should be added later, according to what MC said... there will at least be disasters, dunno if it will be a po only feature or a feature for both solo and po.. #58: redundant point

@jerem: in the "very low" file, the last section contains 3 parameters that seems to control "living activity" like vehicle and people spawn rate. As far as I noted, you can't push details much higher since I already reduced granularity, texture scaling and mipmapping to a pretty low level, however, you can play with the 3 parameters I mentionned before and with the LODs... LOD basically controls the details/distance ratios, so make your tries around it... try putting LODs in the file to "0", putting them all to 0 should add a little load to your GPU since it should simply show everything (if you set all LODs to 0) from any distance, so your 80 fps shoud reduce a bit... (wow, people wanting lower framerate... what a crazy world we live in ! also want a slower internet connection maybe ? ) @april: Sure, I totally agree with that, but it took months if not years for modding to become "publicly interessting" in EA games you're mentionning... Since the game is yet quite young, I think it worth the try to "give a chance to mc" to provide clear documentation... because YES, with unofficial info, you can mod many things atm, with no doc, we need to "try and see" basically... there is still many things that needs to be clarified and where documentation would be very usefull... (for example, I haven't figured yet how to change the thumbs icons for new buildings... The parameter is here, but seems to work tricky or there seem to be a subtility around this... an official documentation would be very usefull for that kind of issues...) So, for that kind of reasons, I think it worth waiting a bit... of course if in 2 or 3 months we still have no word from mc, i'm sure that someone (maybe even me) will share a bit more of informations... but as you noted, mathew answered this thread quite fast, so they keep a close interest around modding, so because of that and a few other personnal thoughts, I think we'll have more infos before the "eventual 2-3 months" delay mentionned. I will also release a few more "little harmless mods" when things go more clear... I've got an additionnal bigger terraforming brush and a bigger bulldozer that miss only a "construction menu thumbnail" to be "ready for release", but I wait for a "green lite" since there can still be changes to the file specifications that could make my mod not work or need modification... So I prefer to wait and have a "clean" release. (please don't pm me to get it, when i'll be fine with sharing it i'll let it know to everyone, only a matter of time now...) It's also the first time that a game developpers have a so cooperative approach about modding atm (no infos yet but anyway, they're quite open about it), that's also a reason of why I'm fine with giving them a chance they took many bad decisions around that game, so let's encourage one of the few remaining "good decisions"