Madame Mayor

I appreciate your patience! So, I have everything set up like yours now, even the Reader is in Program Files. When I first open I still see that I have to download the XML file. Will that just always be there? Now I just need to learn how to use the program. I'm still lost, but I'll keep reading. Also, I added this to my reply while you were replying, evidently, but if I use LEProp and write a description on a lot, will that description show up in the lot editor or on the menu? Is the LEProp something you would use a lot? Thanks again!

Yes, it's a good starting point, but I still can't seem to get it to work. I'm ready to give up. I think I've got the XML files pointing to the right places, but the first DAT file won't let me stop till I go all the way into the ilive reader folder. I don't know where to stop. My files are in Robin\Documents\SimCity\Plugins\TOOLS\ilive reader. The tutorial says just to point to the file the reader is installed in. It won't let me. Such a nitpicky thing is keeping me from understanding the workings and the guts of these tools. It seems all I'll ever be able to do is plop a few buildings and be happy with it. Can you tell I'm discouraged? I'm not a computer dummy, I just need help starting something new. Something else - one click on the exe and I get a dialog saying No Reader.ini detected. Another click goes ahead and opens it up. Mean anything? Reading your second link. Can I change names in the Plugin Manager? Another question. If I call up the file in LEProp and type in a Description, will that show up in the flyout in the menu? Like with the gasoline billboards I can't read in the menu. If I write Exxon in the Description will that come out in the menu? Thanks for your help.

Thank you, can you walk me through that? I downloaded iLive's reader and when I open it says I need to download Properties.xml file. I don't know what or where that is, but I can't open a file right now. I've never used the Reader before, and I'm reading the tutorials.

It's not just one, and it's not just buildings. I happens to about a fifth of my downloads. Opening the side menus to choose a building or park, that's what flies out as the name. Trolling through the plugin menu outside the game, there's nothing named type your name here, they are all named the way they were when I downloaded them. It's just inside the game they change. The parks say Open Grass area, and the building lots say Type YOur Name Here.

Hello there! I'm sure this has to have been mentioned before but I couldn't find it, so if it's redundant, I apologize. When I download a lot here, it has a name, it has a name in the Plugins file, but in the game menu it says "Type Your Name Here" or Landmark item or some such nondescript info with an empty roof that doesn't help me or some other useless icon. My fences even say "Type Your Name Here". Why would a download change names in the game? Is it something from the lot builder? And is it possible to change those descriptions to what they were originally? It's maddening knowing I downloaded a particular building but can't find it in the menu because all I see is rooftops or grass! As a matter of fact, some things in the Parks menu just say Open Grass Area instead of what I saw when downloading. That includes the gas station billboards and such that you can't read it in the menu until you drop it. And since it costs money to plop and doze just to see what it is, that's a sad option. Plop Roulette is expensive, not to mention frustrating. Anybody else wondering this? Thanks for your help!

I like the way you build your own garden plazas. Download the Urban Beautification package with its plazas and fountains and greenery. It'll blow your mind (if you haven't already)!

I love your interchange, bluemoose, and I like your garden around Mickie D's. It integrates well with the lot's grasswork.  I live on a highway/road in Houston and it's restaurant row here. We never have to go anywhere else, There's everything from Cajun to Thai just down the street! Nice start!

I changed the bridges, but I kept them. I just like bridges and don't have that many, lol! This shows the northwest corner. I lost the lonely Lowe's and the Hotel Nowhere and put some offices there. Here is a niteshot of the city and the new bridges. A feeble attempt at landscaping with wildflowers and trees. Here is a shot of the lower left corner. Lost the hedges around the subdivision, didn't like them. I tried taking shots with Control/Shift/S but I just get some interesting streaks and it doesn't take the picture,, or it takes one with streaks. Let me know if this is an improvement! Thanks for looking!

This is the City...

Thanks, Rusty and Wayne! I tried taking a shot with the keyboard shortcut but it streaks across the screen in geometric patterns and the picture ends up streaky, too, so I have to settle for this.

A high view of the southern half. The northern half. northern neighborhood and some offices. I don't know what to do with those diagonals, I can't seem to plant anything on them. A different angle, look at that beautiful gazebo. A sunset shot of the gazebo (a download from here from Pooty). I built up the ground so I could use the stairs, planted some seasonal trees and crowd lots to balance out the square, and gave it some roadside parking and a bus stop. Some more closeups. Another sunset shot of a neighborhood. Looking down the other way, I filled in the blank side by moving the tracks out to make space. The red church block at sunset. Hope you like this little town. I welcome any suggestions. Thanks for browsing!

Lot Editor question Hello, all! I have a question about the Lot Editor, I don't want to dive in over my head. Is it possible to change the writing on billboards, like the Welcome To sign to the name of my city instead of Las Vegas? The Custom Lot Type Name Here, and the Parks menu Open Grass Area which is really a parking lot or a gas station sign that you can't read until you plop it to Shell sign? If you have to use Save As, do you have to delete the original so it doesn't show up twice in the menu? There are crowd lot plops with beach, plaza, and grass, but is it possible to remove the base texture and plant crowds on already existing beaches, plaza, and grass? Thanks for any help!

Those three offices together belong to one  plop, I believe it's called Suburban Office Complex. You can find it either here or at SC4 Devotion. Thanks for looking!

The northeast shopping district. The southwest corner. There are actually some office bldgs around, lol. I just like this intersection, the way it dips down. The bridges. Hope you like these shots. If you notice a difference in some of the shoreline rocks since yesterday, I downloaded one of PEGs rock mods. This one is Mossy Granite. Thanks for looking!

Djohaal, thank you! Knapp, thank you! Ditro, thank you for your comments. This is the smallest size tile, and it's packed. I knew I wouldn't be able to make a real city with a decent skyline, so I just packed it with people and buildings with a little terraforming here and there. Baaaaaby steps...