simrolle

Cool! My hometown is Dortmund.

Oh , sorry the xml format is not supported for posts.... Here it is as text, but sc4Types.xml has more informations: Exemplar TypeID=6534284A LD TypeID=6BE74C60 PNG TypeID=856DDBAC Dir TypeID=E86B1EEF LText TypeID=2026960B FSH TypeID=7AB50E44 UI/INI/AB/AE TypeID=00000000 XML TypeID=88777601 XML TypeID=88777602 JFIF TypeID=74807101 JFIF TypeID=74807102 JFIF TypeID=856DDBAC BMP TypeID=66778001 BMP TypeID=66778002 S3D TypeID=5AD0E817 SC4Path TypeID=296678F7 ATC TypeID=29A5D1EC AVP TypeID=09ADCD75 Effect Dir TypeID=EA5118B0 LUA TypeID=CA63E2A3 CURSOR TypeID=AA5C3144 KEYCFG TypeID=A2E3D533 RUL TypeID=0A5BCF4B Cohort TypeID=05342861

Hi, here's a short describtion. Header: 4 Bytes Identifier > must be "DBPF" 4 Bytes Version Major (1 in SC4/Ts2 Dats) 4 Bytes Version Minor (0 in sc4 dats, 1 in most TS2 packages) 12 Bytes not used 4 Bytes Date Created (in seconds from 1970-1-1) 4 Bytes Date Modified (in seconds from 1970-1-1) 4 Bytes Index Type Version > must be 7 4 Bytes IndexCount 4 Bytes FirstIndexPosition 4 Bytes SizeOfIndex 4 Bytes NumberOfHoleEntries 4 Bytes LocationOfHoleRecord 4 Bytes SizeOfHoleRecord 4 Bytes IndexVersion if 2 then Size Of Index = 24 else Size Of Index = 20 32 Bytes not used Indexes: 4 Bytes Type 4 Bytes Group 4 Bytes Instance If Header.SizeOfIndex = 24 4 Bytes RessourceID 4 Bytes Location 4 Bytes Size Known Type ID's (extract from SC4Tool's "SC4Files.xml", feel free to use it: Hope this helps.

@silentman: Thanks, that is great! @RippleJet: Thanks as well. As Andreas said, it is amazing how the tool is used all over the world.

Originally posted by: geoffhaw Okay, it seems that what we knew could happen has happened. Two people have used the same texture IIDs and uploaded to the STEX. To make matters worse, they both used IIDs allocated to somebody else!We have asked both parties to change their files and re-upload their creations to the STEX with the textures changed to new IIDs. The IID ranges are as follows: sorchin F0800000 to F08FFFFF HONG KONG F1400000 to F17FFFFF Whilst we realise that the Texture Index is voluntary, this episode goes to show that it is in everybody's interest to use it. Thankfully, both parties concerned have now asked for Texture Ranges and the problem should soon be over. Whilst I'm on the subject, can I thank everyone who has requested Ranges in the past. The Index is now over 2 years old, and I think has worked quite well. We will always try to respond to a range request as soon as possible, and I think this is one of the best examples of community co-operation we have. quote>

Hi to all, sorry for not answering your questions for a long time, but as Andreas said, i was in hospital for a few days. Only a small thing, but with complications.... I can't sit very long in front of my pc, so i'm a little bit behind my timetable. To your questions: @lightsaber: You are right, something seems to be wrong with the TransitSwitchPoint in your building exemplar. Could you please mail the corrupted file to me so i can have a quick look to it. @allan_kuan1992: I know about this problem and i'm actually working on this. Till it is done, try to extend the virtual memory of your pc. @Buggi: We are planning a lot of new features, for some of them the main coding is actually done. The main new features: - Growable <> Ploppable changer - UI-Editor - Prop-Viewer and included a Skin-Changer for vehicles - But first of all, a cleanup of the current code is necessary, especially memory usage (see above) needs to be updated. @SUICO: Sorry, but i don't know what you mean if you say TE for eye candy only. Could you please describe it again ? @Andreas,Swamper77,Vester_DK: THX for support @ALL: Developing SC4Tool took a lot of time and it is totally free to use, like Reader and DatGen are. As a recognition for hours and hours of coding,testing,fixing and so on, please donate to ST to allow Dirk keep this amazing site alive. THX simrolle

Regarding the technical aspects of this - maybe possible. But in my opinion there are some reasons what makes it impossible : #1 The copyright aspect - most of the file formats are Maxis' stuff and i don't think that they will give their o.k. for common usage outside SimCity or The Sims. #2 This would be a lot of work for the 15-20 programmers around here who have to do the coding during their free time after work or school - nearly impossible in my opinion. If i look to sc4tool only this thing took most of my time after work and a nearly all weekends from it's first release to now. #3 The coding of such a project needs to be well coordinated and conflated - nearly impossible.

Because i'm asked for the display-style of UInt32 values very often , here's a short and non- scientifical describtion: An UInt32 value has a range between 0 and 2 ^ 32. If a value of this type is between 2 ^ 31 and 2 ^ 32, it's correct value is (value - (2 ^ 32)), because it is unsigned. Therefore, the displayed range in the ExemplarEditor is set to (2 ^ 31)*-1 and 2 ^ 31. This is for the users who don't know anything about Types. If you edit such are Property and you give it a value < 0, the tool will calculate it to the correct value between 2 ^ 31 and 2 ^ 32.

I took the min/max values directly from Maxi's SC4Exemplar.xml and Ingred.ini which came both with SC4/RH but i noticed as well that even Maxis don't take care of their own given ranges. I don't know what will happen in the game if you go beyond this values, that's why i limited sc4tool's edit functions to them. In the Reader, you can edit the values of a Property without limitations, but this increases the probability for non-valid values. As Andreas said, editing the new_properties.xml allows you to go outside the given limitation - but in this case there is no guarantee for valid values anymore. So please be careful. simrolle

@All : Because i've made a lot of internal changes to the tool, it is time for a new release (V2_2_7). The new version will be available hopefully today; please watch this thread for an announcement by Andreas. @artforce1:THX for reporting, the new version should fix this.

@ehatch2279: You can change the Type and the min/max bounds for a Property by editing the new_properties.xml located in the system-subfolder of the tool. But all the values in this file are taken from Ingred.ini (this file is sc4-Standard); so please be carefull if you edit those values.

Best wishes to the new team! I hope this will be another one which name will stand for high quality lots and bats! simrolle

Date: 12/27/2005 1:22:28 PM Author: Equinox Wooo! Thanks for your fix to the template; it worked! And it looks like the crane hints property is all good too! Thanks!! Three small requests for the HTML export function: could the program copy the required images/folders from the Templates folder to whereever the HTML file is saved? For example, I have 12 images in the 'Readme Images' subfolder of the Templates directory, all of which are used by my template HTML file. When I save an HTML file based on that template, the program would automatically take the images and place them in a folder of the same name where the file was saved?&nbsp; And secondly, on the same idea, would it be possible to change the default subfolder for the lot screenshots? For example, I have two screenshots for a lot and I'd like them to be placed in the same directory as the HTML file rather than in the subfolder 'images'. I'd think one way to do this is to make the program parse [image_1] and [image_2] as simply the file name. I know that's easy enough to change with Notepad after the file's saved, but it'd be nice to have automatically done. And lastly, would it be possible to customize the output format of the OccupantGroups property? Right now it outputs as 'Building:CO$$$,Building:NDEX' for example...I'd like to have the program do &lt;BR&gt; in between each OG. Thanks for listening to all my suggestions (I hope they don't sound too greedy...); this is my favorite aspect of the program right now, I love it! I know it's a bit early, but after looking over the custom query tutorial I've written, for your UI editor, it'd be nice if you had somewhere where you displayed some of the LUA constants that Maxis has put in the game; for example, $game.g_city_rci_population$. I extracted the primary LUA script from SimCity_1.dat and it's included in my UI tutorial if you'd like a list of some of the constants...or perhaps a better idea would be to let users add their own strings to a database. As for Bradleybaggins...what are you trying to do? At first I didn't think my copy was working either, but then I figured out that I was just in the wrong section of the program...oops. Maybe that's your problem too?quote> Hi, sorry for not answering soon; i was a little bit busy the last days.... To your suggestions: If you save the HTML-File to a folder different to the Template-subfolder, all needed images will be copied to <your save folder\images> Like Andreas said, it is the best way to save your HTML-File to your Lot-Folder. I'll update the program to let you save the images directly to the HTML-Save-folder. For the OG's : I think the best way is to add a new keyword to the sc4tool-tags in the template. For example [0x27812912*RL] means Repeat line for every value. I think the updates will be ready this weekend. UI: Good idea, noticed! thx simrolle

Please check if the .NET-Framework is installed (see the Readme).

Date: 12/25/2005 11:07:54 AM Author: aldara6166 As for the tool listed in #2...you mean make a ploppable and turn it in to growable?&nbsp; or both growable &lt;----&gt; ploppable? quote> Yes, both growable <> ploppable; nearly ready because SimGoober gave a very well done tutorial to me Date: 12/25/2005 11:07:54 AM Author: aldara6166 The custom UI will be awesom...it will make things much easier.&nbsp; Maybe you can make some way to create a template for a particular style (I.e. all RJM Designs BATs have a similar format&nbsp; UI...can be used for NDEX, BSC, etc.)&nbsp; Just don't forget a way to insert a custom sound file with the custom UI as well. quote> As most of the tool's features this will be customizeable as well.

@aldara6166: I'm actually working on 3 new addons: 1. UIEditor which allows you to create your own UI-Files 2. Tool for creating ploppable Buildings from growables 3. PropBrowser similar to the TextureBrowser and one other big tool, but it's too early to say something about it, because i'm not sure if i can realize it. Because i've got a lot of response from the community, i try to improve the existing tools as well. simrolle

Hi, i took a quick look to your template; and i've made two changes: 1. Make sure that every line which contains a replacement statement (like[dependencies]) is closed by a valid HTML-Tag, like </P>. Because the tool replaces the [] enclosed things with several real values perhaps over several lines this is necessary. I've done this to the attached file. 2. I've putted Crane Hints under Lot Dimensions and it is working for me, even if a building haven't got this property. If you still get the wrong 0x01 result, could you please tell me to which Bat this happens? Your template is working fine for me. There could be two reason for your error: 1. Your Template is currently opened by an other application (e.g. Editor) 2. The filename, to what you will save your HTML, currently exists and/or it is opened by another application. Hope this helps. Again a Merry Christmas simrolle

Hi, a lot of stuff. So let's start to answer: Date: 12/24/2005 1:36:19 AM Author: Equinox EDIT: Would it be possible to make an exemplar editor where you can edit more than one property on the screen at once? I don't really like the whole 'clicking tree view items to get individual properties' thing...still, a great program.quote> Sorry, that isn't possible, because there are a lot of different rules for each property. Choosing one of several, choosing several, choosing one means choosing an other automaticly and so on. Therefore, you have to define an output mask for each type of property (defined in the new_properties.xml). Displaying a list of all properties like the Reader does will take the program away of contolling whether the input is correct or not. If someone uses the Reader it is recommended that he knows what he is doing; messing around with wrong values or wrong amount of values could cause the game to crash. The target of the ExemplarEditor is to avoid this. Date: 12/24/2005 1:36:19 AM Author: Equinox EDIT 2: I am looking at a custom lot and I'm seeing a construction time of '-96' ... is the data value type for this property incorrect?quote> This is an UInt8 value; not one of the most common types. The possible Range is 0 to 255; but all values between 0 and 127 are positive and values between 128 and 255 are negative. Don't know why Maxis used this. Maybe they change negative values internal during game time, i don't know. Date: 12/24/2005 1:36:19 AM Author: Equinox Also, why aren't the BSC OccupantGroups listed in the 'Add OccupantGroup' dialog?...I'm guessing the BSC wants to be a bit more subtle with these?quote> I will answer to this later on. There's still a discussion in the BSC how to display our own OG in the tool. Please appreciate to this. Date: 12/24/2005 1:36:19 AM Author: Equinox A final request. Is it possible to be able to use default Maxis buildings in the comparing section of the program? I want to go through the NDEX lots and check them against default RCIs of their size but it seems to me I can only go up against other BATs.quote> This is one of the new features of the next version. Date: 12/24/2005 1:36:19 AM Author: Equinox Oh...one last thought. This probably isn't gonna happen, but this'd make this program the ultimate...if you merged the database viewer and the exemplar editor, so when I'm looking at my building's properties, I can edit them right there.quote> Several people asked me for that. I think i will add it to the next version as well. Date: 12/24/2005 1:36:19 AM Author: Equinox Edit 3: LOL, I thought of something else. I'm working on an NDEX template for the HTML output and I thought of a neat feature that the readmes created with this tool so far seem to be lacking: defining a URL link for plugin packs so when the readme file is created and it comes upon '[dependancies]' it can link the viewer to each particular file!quote> Also under construction. There will be a database of Texture- and Prop-Files and the according link to the downloads. But we are still thinking about the way how to keep this database up to date. Maybe be a cooperation between BSC,SFBT,NDEX and ST will help us here. THX for your ideas. They are always welcome because this helps me to keep the tool alive. Merry Christmas to all, simrolle

Sounds like a good idea - placing all Prop-Names of a file/directory in a TreeView seems to be quite easy with the existing functions of SC4Tool. The visualisations of the 3ds-files is the problem. But I'm still working on this for another Addon to SC4Tool - if it is done, i think adding this feature would be possible.

If you didn't put anything into the database i suggest to remove 1.0 and install the latest version complete. Otherwise please use the update.

@slincoln: This is fixed with the new version. @lakeyboy: To install the patch, unzip the downloaded files to your sc4tool main folder and overwrite the existing files.

Thanks to all for nomination and congratulations to all winners. And don't forget all the other people which were not nominated but keeping this site alive with their work for the community.

sc4tool is written in c# and vb#. I used c# for the main i/o and scanning operations, vb# for the UI. That's because i hadn't any experiences in vb before and i wanted to check out how it works. Good think, in my opinion now a real language. Sorry- but i don't think that you can speed up the scanning for dependencies. The tool does a real scan - that means, all LotConfigLotData-Reps of all files are expected for texture/prop contents - not the LD-files. After the scan the tool compares the result of the scan with the contents of each file in the PlugIn-Folders and rates which file is the right one with the right texture/prop. A lot of work - remember your PlugIn-Folders contains 1.2 GB.... And - let me say - serious testing and bugfixing of complex software takes the same time as developing it. An application with thousends and thousends lines of code can't be written bug-free or nearly bug-free. Particularly reading/writing sc4-files is not easy, because there are no rules how to put them together and necessary informations are often dispersed around several files. So, don't underrate the time you will need to develop a tool you described. OK, i don't want to frustate you - if you can realize it it will be a great addition. And,of course, you can get any help you want.

THX; smoncrie, i didn't know that 'till now.Perhaps i will add a warning message for the user if he TE's more than 2x2 tiles diagonal. simrolle

Hi, a lot of stuff, let me try to answer to all: I've loaded an elevated rail station which uses diagonal transit enabling into the SC4 tool to see how it's done and this is the pic I got: Does the arrows as shown here make the transit enabled lot a diagonal or curve after curve and is it with only some types of neworks such as roads &amp; streets and not for rail? And also, some requests: - If you can't already, diagonal transit enabling - quote> The way a transit-type uses (going diagonal or straight or curved) depends on the paths defined in the pathfile. The TE only describes from-to of a tile; e.g. enters tile from west and leave it on the north. And -you can only TE a tile for one kind of traffic. (This is for SC4Tool; i don't know what happens if you TE one tile with further kinds of traffic.) Frimi2 from the SFBT is working on a tool which allows you to create pathfiles very easy, but it isn't ready yet. A feature to transit enable the ANT (two kinds maybe. One for the regular ant and one for the rural highway ANT which the paths are one way if it's required quote> What do you mean by this ? The ability to enter your own custom texture range into the options menu (the offical simtrop one which I got of Swamper 77) and that being used for all the textures you create in the program quote> This is already realised. If you get your personal range of IID's from the BSC-Texture-Index, you will get a PM how to enable this feature in the tool. Please understand that i will not explain it to the common because we want to make sure that everybody uses IID's out of the BSC-Pool to avoid double settings. The ability to edit lot properties as well as the BAT properties which is on the lot and uploading a custom picture of the lot and having it made automatically into a icon by using a overlay of the borders of the icons in SC4. As well as titles and descriptions and etc. quote> Sorry, can you explain this again? I don't really understand what you mean by this. The ability to edit and make your own user interface (UI) by using a simple 'create pics in exterior program and paste them into SC4 tool and move them around and add custom values of anything that is happening in your city and etc. quote> Good idea but not easy to do. I'll give it a try. THX simrolle