CorinaMarie

This topic is for file authors who are updating their STEX file entries by fixing missing files and/or missing file images. There is a separate step needed to restore the Download Button. The file message banner CB added needs to be deleted and that is a staff only option. (Once it's gone, the button will magically reappear.) For now, you can simply post a linky to one or more STEX entries where you've fixed them and I (or other staff) will go delete the banner. I'm thinking we'll also then delete your post in this thread so that way we don't get confuzzled about which ones need our attention. As such, don't start any convo or ask any questions here.

Hmmm. I was under the impression CFI was more like: I saw this in someone's pic or vid and I'd like to have it too. And then peeps point to which exchange has it. Then the Found Custom Contents is for lost files that aren't on any extant exchange and it's being rescued.

All volunteers have been added to the new Recovery Team user group and given permissions based on what y'all said you'd like to be involved with. (Ofc, if we missed anyone or any others would like to pitch in, just let us know.) Here's a fancy spreadsheet CB created showing everyone in the new group: Note: Staff aren't listed since they already have moderator tools and can help out as they wish. All y'all now have this shiny new user group badge:

Firstly, welcome back! As many of y'all know, ST went down on 16 April, 2026 due to a billing error 2 days prior to that. The pathetic host decided to not only suspend the server, but to immediately delete it entirely, including the live site and both daily backups. There was no forewarning or communication about this sent to Dirk. From initial correspondence with the old host, they claimed the server was merely suspended and data was kept for 6 months. It seemed like the billing issue only needed correcting. However, once Dirk heard back from a higher level support, to our complete shock and dismay it was confirmed the server had been wiped. They offered to restore it if we had backups. But what use were those when they were on the server?! Everything was gone. A full offline backup was about 187 GB last time CB downloaded it and he had to do it in pieces (due to a very slow internet connection in his teeny, tiny town) and it took several days. This contains all the objects (which are all the files and pictures anywhere on the site including attachments and within the STEX) as well as the board software and the forums. There was also a separate full account backup from 2020, but we didn't need that in the end. Now, separately, the database is all of the posts in the forums, STEX, omnibus, and so forth. That comes in around 6 GB and is backed up and downloaded more often. However, the offline download was just a fallback which should never be needed since we always had full backups run online every single day. (We never anticipated the host would fucking delete everything on the server!) Ofc, in hindsight we'd've kept separate online daily synced backups too, even if those come at a cost. Without any local backup, Simtropolis as we know it would be lost forever to the infinite voids of cyberspace. Thankfully this isn't the case, so it could've been much, much worse. Anyhow, what this means for us now is we have the forums and text of the STEX restored as it was on 28 February, 2026, but all files and pictures (both as forum attachments and in the STEX) are missing from 17 June, 2024 and after. We can recover! (But, we'll need a lot of help.) CB and Dirk have rebuilt the site on a new host. There are some nice positives as a result: Already an outpouring of support from people on Discord and Reddit. We appreciate the encouragement and support. Thank you! We've moved fully away from our old host. They will get nary a nickel from ST anymore ever again (from now till the end of the universe). The hardware is at least 10x more capable, and is no more expensive than our old host. (Depending on your internet connection, the site should be more responsive.) We've got a much more economical and cleaner home (way less server side clutter). We're in more control over the server to manage all aspects of it from the ground up. CB has separately purchased a 1 TB storage cloud for online, but offsite daily backups going forwards. Future potential to upgrade the IPS board software to a newer version, but we're not in a rush to do this. However, a few bad things will be immediately apparent when y'all start looking around: Any pictures or attached files after 17 June, 2024 are missing. Any STEX files added after 17 June, 2024 are gone. All avatar updates or changes after 17 June, 2024 are lost. --------------- All topics have lost any replies after 28 Feb, 2026. Any STEX entries added or updated after 28 Feb, 2026 are gone. Any STEX downloads history since 28 Feb, 2026 is lost. Any new sc4pac tokens since 28 Feb, 2026 are lost (and will need regenerating). Any PMs after 28 Feb, 2026 are missing. Any members who joined after 28 Feb, 2026 will need to re-join Simtropolis. Initial Recovery Efforts: Topic Divider Messages We've added a Topic Divider message to all forum threads which were active as of the last database backup. That's so when reading along now and in the future it'll explain why any given subject might seem disjointed and incoherent if the same peeps aren't able to re-reply. I know one topic in which I'm now the last to reply and my answer was only partially right. I remember at the time someone replied soon later with the real answer. That's lost, but they might re-state it when they have time. Or it could stay missing. (For that particular topic, I'll reply with what I remember of it.) So the divider message serves to explain why many topics might seem choppy for a little while. An example can be seen here. Original Image and File Names for Attachments Since the database info is way more recent than the objects (files and images), we'll often know the name and size of images and files because of their pointer entries in the database, but we won't have the item that points to. So, CB has worked his magic such that a missing pic will show the ST Logo as a placeholder while also showing the original file name for the image or attachment. This will make it easier for peeps to identify and re-upload them. Note: If your image name originally contained spaces, those will be stripped out in the file name which appears as the Original Pic Name. Sample for an image: ^ Original Pic Name: Cori'sWidget.jpg Sample for a file: Attachment Missing (Cori's Exemplar Viewer Output - 2026.02.17.09.37.zip) Additionally, you can go to your own list of attachments and find anything missing. CB plans to add a feature for clicking and re-uploading files directly from that page. STEX Files and Pics (Needs figured out...) We have a separate method for recovering STEX files. That'll be a new forum (or topic) or something where anyone can post a linky to the STEX entry and then also attach the missing files and/or pics. We want to be careful here to not duplicate each other's efforts so searching in there first is a good idea. Then staff (and other peeps recruited to help) will patch up the STEX entries and then move the topic for that item to a Done forum. Or such. We'll reveal more details once we've figured out a battle plan. Also we'll be opening a topic where anyone interested to assist can register as a volunteer to help. Your Own Files and Pics Ofc, any missing STEX entry that you created can be fixed (re-adding files and pics) or recreated (if totally missing) anytime you get a chance. Same for any missing attachments in your posts or elsewhere on the site. When you repair your own STEX entry there is one additional step needed and that is to delete the message banner. (There's some fancy code in it which hides the download button and displays the File Unavailable message.) See this topic to have staff remove the file message banner after you've restored the missing content. Other Notes: Restoration Priority (From CB in Chat) 1) STEX Files 2) STEX Screenshots 3) Attached Files 4) Attached Images 5) Gallery Images 6) Homepage Feature Images 7) Member Avatars 8) Anything Else This order we believe makes a suitable priority for what we'll look to restore first. STEX Screenshots are likely going to need uploading from in-game pics, but for some we might be able to salvage using the Internet Archive (but that depends on which files have been saved to there). Closing Words (for now) We're very glad to be back. We're also pleased to see y'all back. The past month (and a bit) have seemed like many months, and we've missed ST too. While this has been a setback for the community, the key thing is Simtropolis Has Returned. We're determined to rebuild our city stronger than ever before. Oh! One final thing: We might have to put the site in offline maintenance mode for brief periods as some of the tweaks CB is working on cannot be implemented while the site is live. -Cori & CB & Dirk

@shottejo I did say it was ok to post in that topic (back in 2017), but now I feel your post is better off on its own in the NAM forum so I split it out. -Cori (doing the admin thing)

Hiya! Welcome to Simtropolis.

We can watch and see how it goes. If we get quite a few comments for this specific topic, I can split them out into their own thread later on. (The only trouble is if someone replies to this and something else in the same post.) Our stance has changed over the years from Absolutely Not! to: It kind of depends on the game and the extent of the reverse peeking and poking. For SC4 we draw the line where we believe Maxis and Electronic Arts wants it. They allow creation of DLLs and that takes a significant amount of probing under the the hood. For SimCity 2000 there's a thread here where I believe they've gone a lot further. (I don't really understand what they do, but the results are impressive.) For that we simply gave permission with the caveat that if we get a credible take down notice from EA, we would do so and post a recap of what occurred. That particular thread has been going for over a year iirc. (I seem to recall it's DLL based too so likely pretty safe ground.) I would certainly expect backlash from them. Even if they might eventually turn out to be wrong, they'd have the financial ability to bury us in court costs and drown us right out before we could ever present our side of the case. I believe it would be a very bad idea for Simtropolis to allow any serious implementation discussion of it. (General What If? is ok tho.)

Yay! Now, I'll go ahead and mention a couple or three things for later reference. First, the grayscale image can also be in .bmp format and (I believe, but I'm not 100% sure) .png. As I progressed in my grayscale creation experiments, I decided the .bmp was my fav because it was completely lossless. (Png would be too, but I just didn't experiment with it.) The disadvantage of .jpg for map making is if you want to make minor tweaks (especially along shore lines) they can get averaged right out of the image. Our eyes will never notice, but the computer can tell. Second, the height per grayscale pixel color increment represents 3.0 meters in the game by default. That's part of the Terrain Properties Exemplar and some maps were created and expected to be rendered using a different setting. By using a larger number, you can render taller mountains. The description of the STEX map entry should mention this if they want you to use a different pixel-to-height ratio. Then if you do use an altered ratio during the render, you can set your Terrain Properties back to normal after it's done. Third, if you come across map files with .sc4m, those require a program call Mapper. These are vastly superior to grayscale created maps because they allow 0.1 meter elevation changes whereas the grayscale can only handle 3.0 meters (based on the Terrain Properties Exemplar). This allows significantly smoother transitions between adjacent pixels. They can also have the config.bmp settings built right into their map file.

I see the trouble. The original config1.bmp is mis-named. Exit the game, then: Look in that folder and you might now also have a config.bmp which the game created. Delete that if so and then rename the downloaded one to config.bmp without the 1 in it. The game is really nitpicky about this.

Did you render them in the game? Once you've opened their region by name, do Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R to open the file picker thinger. Assuming Windows, you'll then drill down to: C:\Users\Cori\Documents\SimCity 4\Regions\That Region Name and then double click the .jpg file. Ofc, if your name isn't Cori, then select your own. You'll then see two goofy statements per city tile and a generic image of same as it processes them. Do NOT tab away or you'll get empty or partially borked city tiles. Also note that if you have your terrain, water, sidewater, rock, and beach mods installed in plugins it'll use them to properly color the region thumbnails.

Thanks. I've added back a message banner for it for now.

Cori's Guide to Displaying Fancy Game Variables by CorinaMarie Intro In this tutorial we will learn how to do some quick editing to display internal variables which are now available when using @Null 45's DLLs. At a minimum, you'll want to install: Query Tool UI Extensions DLL for SimCity 4 Lua Extensions DLL (Not needed initially, but we'll prolly dip into it in a Part Two or Part Three.) Also you'll need to insure the file we create here loads after any other override for the Maxis Coal Power Plant and the Power Query UI. (I'm using them for our demo.) See here if you need to learn about load orders: SC4 Folder and File Loading Order The Plugins Directory - How are files loaded? General Load Order Software Archeology - Plugin Load Order Getting Started After installing the aforementioned DLLs, you'll also need Reader 0.9.3. I will assume y'all have a wee bit of familiarity with Reader, but hopefully this'll still be clear enough if not. Our goal is a quick down and dirty bit of editing to allow us to see the newly revealed internal Age Degradation variable. (Second paragraph here and my pic in the next post there.) I'll number these as steps to correspond to the pic numbers and that can help if there are comments or questions. Edit: I just noticed Null released an update to the Query Tool UI Extensions DLL (see version 2.6.3 details) and that simplifies the code in my Steps 25, 31, 36, and 38. Feel free to use his cleaner method, or continue with this tutorial as-is. It will still work exactly as intended. Step 01 In Reader, open simcity_1.dat Single click on any exemplar to activate the Navigator button. Click said Navigator button, expand the Power tree, then the Lots tree, and right click on the Maxis Coal Power Plant: Then click on Group Add to patch. Step 02 That will pop up this dialog box: ^ Click OK. Step 03 Close Navigator, then click on the Patch button. Next control-click the top Exemplar, the TRK file, and the PNG file entries. Then click the Remove button. Step 04 Here we see we still have the Building Exemplar, two LText entries, and the UI file. ^ Click Create DAT. Step 05 Name it whatever you want. I went with: Age Degradation UI Display v0.01 by Cori.dat Like so: ^ Then click the Save button. Step 06 I personally close Reader then reload it. My idea is that clears up the memory that was in use for the big file. Anyhow, we next open the .dat file we just created. On my system there seems to be a weird bug such that the pre-highlighted Exemplar doesn't display the data for its properties. Step 07 So, I click on some other entry: Step 08 Then click back on the Exemplar and it'll populate the fields: Step 09 This is an interim step which will later show us we are referencing the correct exemplar once we get into the game. ^ Double click the Exemplar Name in the right-hand panel. Step 10 That'll pop up this dialog box: Step 11 Rename it to something else which you will later recognize as your own text: ^ Click the bottom Apply button after editing in place or if editing in the "Value as text" box, first click the other Apply (which is like a Set button) and then the final Apply. Preparing for Later LUA Coding Step 12 We'll go ahead and get this ready in case anyone would later like a Part Two of this tutorial which shows how to do data formatting (such as showing a specified number of decimal places). Right-click on the first LText entry, then click Generate new instance. Step 13 Notice how the IID has changed to some other hexadecimal number: Step 14 While that LText entry is highlighted, click the File Info button. Then click Edit: Step 15 Here's what it'll look like with the exception that your "Instance" number will be different. Step 16 Edit both the Type and the Group numbers to be ca63e2a3 and 4a5e8ef6 respectively. ^ And click OK. Step 17 Notice it still says LText and also still shows the old T and G numbers? Step 18 Click a different entry, then click back on the LText we are working with. Notice it now updates both the Type and the Group numbers. It does not, however, recognize the category change. Step 19 So, click to save the file and yes, we are happy to overwrite our existing one. Step 20 Close the file then re-open it and notice how it properly recognizes this as a LUA entry. Step 21 Single-click the LUA file entry. We are going to put some placeholder Lua code in here. ^ Click the Edit button in the right-hand panel, highlight the existing text, and paste the following right on top of it: --#-package:03092f5a# -- package signature -- -- For Lua file entry IID 0xf3092f5a --EOF Step 22 Notice the two hexadecimal numbers. The 2nd one needs to be edited to match the IID you generated in Step 12 (and seen in Step 13). Then the package ID will be the very same number, but replace the first hex digit with a 0. (Note: Any package signature number greater than 0x7FFFFFFF will not be recognized by the game. Only positive integers are allowed when it converts those to decimal.) ^ Click the Apply button when you are finished editing. Back to the Main Part Step 23 Right-click the remaining LText entry and select Generate new group & instance. Step 24 Notice that both the Group and Instance numbers are now different. Step 25 Paste this over the existing text: #null45_query_ui_extensions.get_property_value(hex2dec('00000020'))# Edit: The Query Tool UI Extensions DLL was updated to v2.6.3 at the same time I was gathering pics and writing this tutorial. As such, I've shown the method which was in effect via v2.6.2. Fortunately both code methods will still work. If you have v2.6.3 or later, you can use the following code instead. (I'm not going to update the picture.) #null45_query_ui_extensions.get_property_value('00000020')# Note: The # on each end of the code makes this a Token which means the UI will display the value it produces rather than the code itself. Also Note: It needs pasted from the right-click menu. For some reason Ctrl+V is not allowed. ^ Then click the Apply button. Step 26 This'll be the down and dirty part in which we are just going to steal a spot in the UI to display our data (rather than expanding it nicely like @Kel9509 does). Right-click on the UI file entry and select Text View. Step 27 I have Reader smaller than I typically do for editing so the pics here can be smaller. As such I have to scroll the right-hand panel a wee bit. What we are looking for is the line where the word Efficiency is displayed. We are going to replace ea5524eb,8a5ba2a7 with the values we created in Step 24. Step 28 Mine are 4721f708,820e0172 so that's what I paste in. Be sure to use your own T & G as generated in Step 24. ^ Click the Apply button. Step 29 Now we save the whole file again and yes, we are happy to overwrite. Step 30 Finally the fun part! Load the game and plop a Coal Power Plant then Query it. ^ You should see whatever text you used in Step 11. This was a mini goal which shows we've correctly edited the UI to use our own unique LText and the proper code to access the data provided by Null's DLL. Step 31 Remember the linked post above? We are now ready to use that 0xc910b4cf which Null tracked down to display the Age Degradation of the Queried Power Plant. Re-edit the LText to be: #null45_query_ui_extensions.get_property_value(hex2dec('c910b4cf'))# Edit: The Query Tool UI Extensions DLL was updated to v2.6.3 at the same time I was gathering pics and writing this tutorial. As such, I've shown the method which was in effect via v2.6.2. Fortunately both code methods will still work. If you have v2.6.3 or later, you can use the following code instead. (I'm not going to update the picture.) #null45_query_ui_extensions.get_property_value('c910b4cf')# ^ And then click Apply. Step 32 Let's now do a Save as... Step 33 Increment your version number while leaving all the rest of the file name the same. This will cause the 2nd version to load later than your first one and so we don't need to clean out our folder just yet. Step 34 We go in the game, plop a Coal Plant, query it, and we see the Efficiency word instead of any data. ^ Close the query and run time till the next month. Step 35 Now when we query, we see a zero. This tells us that the value retrieved was nil when we first plopped the power plant, but that it updated to a numeric response after running time. Step 36 Quit the game and let's take care of that nil value borking our code. Paste in: #null45_query_ui_extensions.get_property_value(hex2dec('c910b4cf')) or 0# Edit: The Query Tool UI Extensions DLL was updated to v2.6.3 at the same time I was gathering pics and writing this tutorial. As such, I've shown the method which was in effect via v2.6.2. Fortunately both code methods will still work. If you have v2.6.3 or later, you can use the following code instead. (I'm not going to update the picture.) #null45_query_ui_extensions.get_property_value('c910b4cf') or 0# That or 0 part is handy. If the first part doesn't even exist (the nil value) then it makes the answer be zero. Apply and Save. Step 37 Back in the game and now we have our 0 the moment we plop the power plant. (Quit the game again.) Step 38 The other thing going on is Maxis programmed the UI to automatically truncate any decimal portion of numbers displayed and that's very good for things like population. However, we are wanting exact data to be shown. As such, we can fool the UI's hidden code by making our number into a string. The following code will concatenate the middle dot to the end of the number we want to see and then the UI replaces it with a space. Paste in: #(null45_query_ui_extensions.get_property_value(hex2dec('c910b4cf')) or 0)..string.char(183)# Edit: The Query Tool UI Extensions DLL was updated to v2.6.3 at the same time I was gathering pics and writing this tutorial. As such, I've shown the method which was in effect via v2.6.2. Fortunately both code methods will still work. If you have v2.6.3 or later, you can use the following code instead. (I'm not going to update the picture.) #(null45_query_ui_extensions.get_property_value('c910b4cf') or 0)..string.char(183)# Click Apply, then Save the file. Step 39 Back in the game. We already know we get a zero when first plopping so this pic is after running time to the next month. This shows how a Float32 variable handles the number. Step 40 Run another month and check again... Conclusion That should be enough to get your feet wet. Special thanks to @Cyclone Boom for following this tutorial, providing feedback, and for fancy tweaking of the post to make it presentable.

So in this case my tutorial is good as it stands? Just needing the missing images restored. (Which I have available, but there are bigger fish to fry in RL for now.)

In my post here, I included all the FSH images which would need tweaked. I've now restored the two missing sample images and the Zip File in that post. You do not need to download that Zip as it simply contains the Maxis originals. I provided them in case you were going to try your hand at the editing. Then in early March I stumbled across them in my GoFiSH projects folder, got embarrassed for how long it'd been sitting there, and subsequently worked diligently to create a finished file for you. This DAT contains all my image tweaks: Cori's Deluxe Police Station Cars Removal Override FSH v0.05.dat I seem to recall you said thanks for it and would get back to me on how it looked for your purpose.

I've assigned a new PW and sent it to you via PM.

@Lost At Sea Are these GOG versions of the game or the physical discs?

Yeah, might be Gremlins. We did have a major SNAFU when ST went missing for a few weeks. Please try it again so you can be more specific about how the site is complaining. Whatever it is, CB can fix it. Just it might help to know which dark depths of the database he needs to plunge into.

@IB22 I do indeed see the @Mayor Isaac account. If it had an avatar and/or profile pic, those got lost in the crash, but the posts are still intact. So, when you say it's gone, that confuzzles me. Or do you mean it won't accept your password now? @Cyclone Boom and I can help you recover the account if it's just something glitching. And then we'd combine both accounts so you don't lose any posts from either. Things have been a bit hectic (as you can prolly imagine), but give me a general overview of the trouble here. Then when we get a chance I'll send you a PM (Private Message) from us with a game plan if you'd like to get your old account back. -Cori & CB (doing the admin thing)

I never used a launcher, but when passing the parameters in the Target line of the Icon, it needed the other way set. Like if not using either then it was controlled by what you set within the game. If you had windowed for a while and changed to full screen with -f in the command line it would not go back to windowed by simply removing the -f. You'd have to specifically add -w to get back to windowed.

Introducing a SC4 mod: MySimtropolis @Cyclone Boom and I have decoded the file structure of the MySims.dat file such that we can now create it from scratch with a hex editor. This is used to add additional MySims to the selection window. We have now released the mod which features members of Simtropolis as selectable MySims. (This is an opt-in only creation.) Note: Any member who has an established, non-changing avatar on ST can still post here to request inclusion in our mod. Here's a pic of those who initially agreed (via PM) to be immortalized in the game: ^ Image created by @Cyclone Boom The initial MySims are coded in the game so new, additional ones are available on page two and after. Until a full second page fills up, clicking the number 2 on the selection window scootches the Sims to the left with the newest ones showing on the lower right. Here's how those look so far: Update: After we discovered a way to prevent the 21 default MySims being listed, it now looks like this with the optional "Rulez" installed: In addition to the name, the only two variables which can be set are gender and zodiac sign as follows: Gender: 0x00 = Female 0x01 = Male Zodiac sign: 0x00 = Capricorn 0x01 = Aquarius 0x02 = Pisces 0x03 = Aries 0x04 = Taurus 0x05 = Gemini 0x06 = Cancer 0x07 = Leo 0x08 = Virgo 0x09 = Libra 0x0A = Scorpio 0x0B = Sagittarius Should you agree to be included we will create the 36x41 pixel game image from your avatar. (Or you can supply one for us in 24 bit BMP format which we might tweak for positioning and size to fit within the circle.) To become a MySim, please submit the following: Name (As it'll be in the game. Screen name from ST or a derivative like I do.) Gender (Male/Female) Zodiac Sign (See list above.) Disclaimer: Due to the nature of the file structure you cannot be removed after opting in. Here's hoping you'll agree to be added as a Simtropolis MySim. Sign up in a post below. As a bonus, everyone who does will receive a special badge on their profile. Like so: Just a note to clarify for everyone... In reply to everyone who opts-in, prior to release we'll post images of the MySim Selection Panel and also your Sim moved into a home. These preview pics posted are simply to show what each of you look like in the game using vanilla Maxis residentials. The main idea being to ensure you're happy with the avatar as shown, since some require very slight cropping, stretching, or editing to ensure they're displayed properly in view. Once we release the mod on the STEX, you're welcome to place yourselves in whatever architectural style you prefer, wherever you'd like. This could be in a posh suburban estate, a skyscraper tower, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, on an idyllic remote island, or even on another planet! The choice is completely yours and we'd love to see your own MySimtropolis pics. In fact, coinciding with the unveiling of the mod (which won't be too long away), the plan is we'll open a dedicated " Show Us Your MySimtropolis Sims " topic focussed around sharing scenes. Even if you've never or don't usually play with the MySim Mode, this aims to give the community a way to see one other in SC4. With a bit of imagination, perhaps it could even inspire storylines and a few City Journal type posts, or even actual running CJs following the life of your Sim. We think there's plenty of potential. Additional info in spoiler box: Just published (20 January, 2019): MySims.dat - The Techy, Hexy Details ^ This guide is only for those who might want to add MySims for their own personal use in the game.

Hiya, @Echoes2005 and welcome to Simtropolis. 1: Sounds like maybe you already have a lot of plugins installed and so the first time entering a city tile is slower than subsequent visits in the same play session. To test this after a fresh computer reboot you can time how long it takes from double clicking the icon to start the game until the region screen appears. Make note of that. Then time how long it takes to fully load the city tile. Make note of that too. Now exit back to the region and then time how long to get back into the very same city tile. It should be noticeably faster the 2nd time. If so, then the it's certainly attributable to loading plugins as the delay. You can also quit the game and time how long it takes to the region screen the 2nd time. This is usually also quicker since Windoze can keep a big chunk of the game in quick-fetch memory. 2: Are you using a slope mod? It really should not affect plopping the power station, but I know for certain in the New Transportation Tutorial it will totally prevent laying out the requested Monorail. In general, I find doing the tutorials in vanilla (no plugins installed) is the very best way. And then also, do not later play the Timbuktu Region itself because there are some circumstances where the whole thing can get wiped out and restored with the blank original city tiles. (Not to worry tho. If you do want to play it (and we all have many times) you can grab Timbuktu Too so you can play it safely.

And that one doesn't? I can't imagine why not. The only other simplified grayscale creation tool I recall is Ordio's SimCity 4 Region and Config Creator (Scracc) and since their site went down it's attached to this post in my tutorial thread.

So just a random one that you'll edit? I found this which was from from very early in my exploration. It was to be a river running thru the mountains (hence the name), but you can see it's anything but hilly. Mtn River - Grayscale 1025 x 1025.zip