countermoon
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Everything posted by countermoon
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In A Nutshell Guide to... Mac Issue Troubleshooting, or, Glitches, Bugs, and Crashes on the 32 bit Mac vesion
countermoon replied to c4bl3fl4m3's topic in SC4 Mac Users
I should probably start a thread and describe everything I have had to do, step by step, to get SC4 working properly on my Sierra Mac. Mac users need to know that Catalina (and onward) made substantial changes to the OS. Usually when they do this many things break.- 10 Replies
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- troubleshooting
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Catalina (and onward) made many substantial changes in the OS.
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Datpacking was successful. An hour later I experienced the first crash with my current city. This time at about the 30,000 population mark rather than 40,000. I restarted and have been playing that same city without any other problems.
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"Is NAM the only piece of custom content that you're using?" Yes.
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In regard to the previous question, I am using the 64 bit version, which was updated automatically by Steam. I recommend people use the Steam version. When I returned to games after many years, I didn't know what to make of Steam, but it turns out to be a pretty good service. There are cheap games, semi-reliable reviews, and reliable downloads. I wish it had tabbed browsing. Sometimes the information is limited or incorrect. But generally I recommend people avoid Apple's App store and use Steam or the developer's web site if possible when purchasing or downloading. I agree about the CTDs except mine have occurred at any time for any reason. I stopped using the mouse to scroll and used the arrows because it seemed to cause a crash. After I start getting CTDs, then I have trouble loading the game and it crashes. But that's after it crashes during the game. I really can't predict when it will crash except, as I wrote earlier somewhere, that it seems to be after I have 40,000 population and there's a lot going on on the screen. Possibly datpacking will solve that. I'm still trying to figure it out. I did get the file downloaded after jumping through many unnecessary hoops. When I contributed to this site I received the big STEX download, but I haven't looked much at it. That's down the road a little.
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Absurd process.
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Reading is a lost art. People scan and anticipate and woolgather in the white space
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Sign in to download?
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I downloaded jdatpacker from here. https://github.com/memo33/JDatPacker I downloaded a zip file. After unzipping, there's a file that says click on the .jar file to install. I don't see any .jar files. I see .sbt and .scala I always having trouble at github trying to figure out where and what to download. Every time I go through this.
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Thanks very much for your help. Very much. I'm going to read over your post when I have more time. I did have a crash yesterday. I forgot. It was while was scrolling, but I think I was while the mouse. Usually I use the arrows. In fact, sometimes the mouse doesn't work for scrolling.
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I've uninstalled and reinstalled many times, both the game and NAM, but problems recur. I'm in the middle of a city now, and if it starts crashing again I'll mention it in a thread. Some people think NAM is the problem. But from what I've read, I'm not sure I would play it without NAM. Regardless, I had problems with crashing before I installed NAM. I've tried to do a custom install with NAM but I'm not sure that matters. I read something about DAT packing, which remains a puzzle to me. I certainly don't need all these extras that NAM installs. Where you say "a little effort" should probably say "a lot", based on my reading. One has to jump through a lot of hoops to get the Windows version running correctly. Those didn't work for me in Boot Camp, though I might try again some day. Some readers suggested that what we usually take to be an advantage is with SC4 a disadvantage: a powerful modern computer. They said that SC4 has difficulty with multiple-core computers. So one of the Windows changes is entering a command that limits the game to running on one core. I have an i7 Mac that can run 8 cores. This and other commands in Launch Options don't work on the Mac version. This is all reinforced by your comment that you can get the game to run on XP. Perhaps the weaker system, the better the game runs.
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Upgrade to Catalina or stick with Mojave?
countermoon replied to c4bl3fl4m3's topic in SC4 Mac Users
Apple has centralized power into their oval mothership like the Kremlin in the 1930s. The OS has more and more strings attached. The simple act of using a saved installer is now difficult. I won't go into it, but I have a lot of complaints about Apple's behavior over the past five years, the way it's been destroying the Mac and thumbing its nose at the very people who supported the platform when it was nearly bankrupt. No good deed goes unpunished. But for me it wasn't a good deed. I used the Mac because Windows sucks. It still does. I have a 10 year-old iMac that I bought used. I'm afraid to open it! I would like to put an SSD in it, but I watched a video on how to do it and...are you effing kidding me? I don't know if the program Hackintool would help you or the web site https://www.tonymacx86.com/ That site gets into the nuts and bolts of the Mac in a way that other sites don't. Serious gamers build their own PCs and use sites like PC Picker. Casual gamers...I don't know, I guess they buy cheaper PCs that they can upgrade. Or they buy a Playstation. Anyone with a semi-serious interest in games should probably stick with Windows. I have often kicked around the idea of building a PC or even a hackintosh. You don't save money by building your own, but it gives you much more freedom, something that gets taken away from us every day. As of this writing, AMD is the direction I would go, both CPU and GPU. You can't really build your own laptop, but desktop computers are becoming more portable all the time, so I keep an eye on that market, too. It's difficult to find a system with some longevity for less than $1000. -
SimCity 4 for the Mac 101: In A Nutshell (A.k.a. What I wish I could have found in one place when I first started)
countermoon replied to c4bl3fl4m3's topic in SC4 Mac Users
Is there a thread dedicated to installing plugins and fixes for the Mac? This thread would cover topics such as location of program install, custom installing, installing NAM, installing plugins and fixes, which ones are necessary, STEX, dat packing. -
A couple questions from a Noob with the Mac version
countermoon replied to rsc204's topic in SC4 Mac Users
I had some scrolling problems, too. I use SteerMouse and a Logitech MX500 corded mouse. In the game, I use the arrow keys. I've had no luck with altering Launch Options on the Mac. -
I doubt it's a RAM problem. This is an old game which uses less RAM than modern games. I have 32 GB of RAM. For me, the Mac version works better than the Windows version.
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I've been using NAM (Network Add-on Mod) 37 for a week, and I'm happy to report I've had no crashes or problems of any kind. This is contrary to NAM 36, which worked intermittently but then started to crash. I removed plug ins and tinkered with it. Then I couldn't even get it to load. NAM 37 is the first version to allow me to play SimCity 4 reliably on the Mac. I was never much of a gamer, but I have returned after a long absence because SimCity 4 at Steam for 4.99 was too hard to resist. I have played the game a lot during recent weeks. I'm still learning, but at least the game works now. I have many years of experience with the Mac, so I might be able to answer questions. You must have Java installed before you install NAM 37. After starting, the game takes a couple minutes to load all the plug ins. I highly recommend @rob_mtl's helpful videos at Rob's Guide to SimCity 4 at YouTube. He does an excellent and thorough job, especially on the NAM. I wouldn't know about it if not for him. I'm playing SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition (with Rush Hour Expansion Pack) version 1.2.1, bought from Steam. The following settings worked for me. I might playing around with them. This is on a mid 2011 iMac: i7 at 2.8 Ghz 32 GB RAM AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB macOs Sierra 10.12.6. Game settings: Auto go to disaster - check Edge scrolling - check Auto edge reconciliation - uncheck Urgent advice dialogs - uncheck Expanded tooltips - check Graphic options: Visual effects - medium #Cars/Sims - low Shadows - low Bulding draw speed - medium Texture quality - medium City detail - medium Cloulds/fog - uncheck Waves - uncheck UI transparency - check Color cursor - check Variable speed - check Resolution - 1600x1900 Renderer - hardware Music - off Sound - on
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Can you be more specific?
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What's the problem? NAM is up to 38 now. Rob has a good video about how to install it.
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What is the scan tab in the NAM installer for? If you click "scan", and if you get a list of files afterwards, you get a "delete" option. Is there a way to reduce number of the files NAM installs after you have installed the game and NAM? This might reduce the load time. I don't need all of those options.
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See my posts in https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/forum/20-sc4-mac-users/
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I tried to run SimCity 4 with Boot Camp. This was the Steam version of SimCity 4 using 32-bit Windows 7—but 64-bit Mac OS Sierra. That may have been a problem, I don't know. If you bought the Mac version, you can download the Windows version for free. I tried running it with NAM and without, but it didn't seem matter. The problems must be in the game, maybe how it interacts with the graphics card. Unlike Windows, Mac users usually don't upgrade drivers. I couldn't load my cities, the big ones that were crashing, but I could start over, beginning with the tutorials. I found the biggest annoyance was the resolution. Although the Mac version filled my screen, playing at any resolution, the Windows version was limited to versions which narrowed the screen, with large black boxes on each side. I can run the Mac version until I reach around 40,000 people. That's when the crashing begins. At that point I have to start a new city in a new tile. These comments pertain to NAM 37 and NAM 38, which was recently released and which I installed on both the Mac version and Windows boot camp version. NAM seemed to work better on the Mac. But the Mac version of SimCity 4 still has some quirks, such as 1) Fireman are always unhappy. I keep getting messages about them at the bottom of the screen. I maxed out their pay and created more stations, but still they complain and the message never goes away. 2) At some point you get a helicopter for your large medical center. The audio is loud and annoying, and sometimes it never goes away no matter where you are on the map. I tried flying the helicopter far away from the map but the sound was still there. I had to turn off the audio. 3) Another audio problem: I think it's the train sound or tracks or streets being laid down. A loud grinding sound. Occasionally it will remain on and continue even after the streets and track have been laid down. You can't turn off this sound either. I dislike the birds near the garbage, and I wish I could turn them off, but at least I can move away from them. 4) Indestructible buildings. Well, I thought they were. I discovered if you place a larger item on them, like a passenger station, then bulldoze the station, both objects will disappear. Sometimes. Sometimes stations are the indestructible object, and placing a station onto a station doesn't work. A stranded station still registers visiting passengers. 5) Disable the auto align edge option. Otherwise the game will devastate your city. 6) There seems to be a lag when you place a new water pump. Plenty of pipes, everything blue, pumps say they are powered—except the buildings quickly go dark because they aren't getting water. When things go bad in SimCity, they go bad quickly. Your city will be devastated, and it's almost like starting over. My solution is to create a new water pump and let it run briefly before bulldozing the old one.
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I'll take a look. But I usually have only one large fire station with the pay cranked up all the way. I can build ten fire stations and max the pay, and they still complain. What's wrong with these guys? Something else I noticed. If I boot into MacOS and play my Steam version of SimCity 4, the copyright date is 2014. If I boot into Windows 7 via Boot Camp and play the Steam version of SimCity 4, the copyright is 2003.
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>CorinaMarie On the Mac version (not Boot Camp) one of my cities has the message "Fire Department Morale Law" scrolling at the bottom. Never goes away. There are other messages, but that one never goes away. I haven't seen that bug in any of my other cities.
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When I was reinstalling the game, I had a thought about a possible source of error: the location where the game installed, where NAM is installed, and so on. This is ambiguous and worth considering. First, you have a choice. When installing, Steam offers the option of where to install. So where? Steam probably detected that I bought the Mac version and that I am running a Mac. Steam installs Mac versions of SC4 in your Documents folder in a folder called SimCity 4. This is odd, because most Mac Steam games are not installed here. In fact, this is the only one. Should it be different for Boot Camp? I don't know. Windows versions of SC4 can be installed in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SimCity 4 Deluxe. Within that folder is a Plugin folder, a Regions folder, etc. But I find on starting up the game again, Steam will put SimCity files in my Documents folder even if I have already installed it in the steamapps folder. Thus creating the possibility of confusion, duplicate files on so on. Then when it comes time to install NAM, where does that go? You have to be consistent with your installation, I guess. That's also true of applying the 2GB patch and running the Traffic Simulator tool. NAM has a lot of files, slowing down launch time, so you can do a custom install in NAM or remove files later with the included compiler. So far this hasn't made a difference for me. As soon as my city become sufficiently large, the game crashes and I can no longer load that city. But I can start another city and play it until it gets too big. Mac users rarely mess with drivers. Windows users know all about them, and it can be a real pain. You go to Device Manager, ctrl-click a file, then click update driver. From there you have other things you can try if it fails. You can use a program like the open source Snappy Driver, which will read your computer, then offer a choice of drivers to download. Sometimes they work, sometimes not. I was able to update my ATI 6700 card driver, but whether it helped or hurt I don't know. Probably didn't matter. This makes me reflect on how nutty computers have become. So many permutations and configurations have turned troubleshooting into a complex obstacle course. It's tempting to think that one smart programmer, given the freedom and resources, could solve these problems for us and bring SimCity 4 into a more usable state for more people. But it's hard to say. Programming is hard. Changes occur more frequently than when SimCity was written, so it's harder for programmers to keep up.
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I did some searching and found a possible fix for Windows users. It involved going into Launch Options and adding commands to set the resolution and restrict your computer's core to 1 on the assumption that SimCity was made before computers had multiple cores and has trouble dealing with them. It's a good thought that seems to have worked for a lot of people. Except me. But I have an unusual setup. This isn't a vanilla Win 7 setup. It's boot camp on a custom i7 iMac with an AMD card.
