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TheCraftKid's Guide to Modding | Bi-Weekly Updates!
TheCraftKid posted a topic in SimCity (2013) Modding - Open Discussion
Have you wanted to have a new type of building in the game? Do you want some kind of overhaul or addition in the game? Would you consider D-I-Y modding projects to solve your problems? If you do, take an interest in SimCity (2013) modding! New Information - First lesson of the new year will be released on January 6, 2015! Mark your calendars for education! Guide Information - You will learn the basics of SimCityPak and how to modify objects and properties in the game; in fact, you'll learn how to think like a programmer and learn how you are really one when modifying the game. When you complete a course, a new piece of knowledge will enlighten you about the mechanics of SimCity and why and why not Maxis and/or modders haven't conquered supposedly easy requests. If I haven't answered your modding needs in The Guide, you can always PM me for specific information! I might even tell you things I probably wouldn't have mentioned in The Guide! Guide Format - Each course will have multiple lessons which explain, in-depth, what I will teach you, how it will be taught, and why I am teaching you such things; for example, I would use an opening sentence such as, "By understanding the property types and contents, you will understand the capabilities of SimCityPak." In fact, that might actually be one of the opening sentences... Courses should be divided into different posts, but lessons will just be separated into headed sections with bold labels. Every course will encourage you to explore what I explored, and some will ask for you to create a mini-mod as a challenge! I just know you'll learn a whole new love for the game! Guide Content - Course I - Preliminary Nonsense (Things You Must Do) - The Left Column - The Primary Interface - That Bar on the Top - [Packages] - Objects - Properties - TGIs The Process of Change - This is really easy! - Or maybe not... - Don't crash your buddy! Simtropolopolis - Sharing is Caring - Ignorance isn't strength. - English, Sminglish. Packaging the World - Secret Information - SimCity_Game.package - SimCity_App.package Course II - Existential Quantifiers (Some Things to Learn) Scripts and Such - How do these work? - Overhauls and Reworks Points of Plopping - What's in a snap point? - Click click click click click PLOP - Mystery properties Inside the Package - Dependencies, dependencies. - Naming and the Community Paving a New Path - Mechanical Genius - Father Maxis - Introduction into Xoxideland I Mass Integration - Scripts files - Regular files - Unknown properties - Where most of you will stop Course III - Universal Quantifiers (Everything Else to Know) Xoxideland I - What's in a Path? - UDoNs' Parents - Filetyping Xoxideland II - Behold the MagLev! - Highway Dilemma - Bi-Level Madness Building Buildings - Danny5021's Mastery - Maxis' Resources - A video?! Course IV - Extraterrestrial Modifers (Things Not of This SimCity) DLC World - Master Planning - Master Modding - Master Packaging Expanding with Packs - Cities of Yesterday? - What's the difference? Resources - SimCityPak, which is sort of needed to, um, modify packages in SimCity. (Just click the big, purple "download" button on the right side of your screen.) Answers to Questions - When will each course come out? - When I can. Why are you doing this? - I am fascinated with SimCity, and I know the simulation is a superior one for its time. I became hooked to SimCity 4, and when the reboot came out, I knew this generation would know the fun of design in a modern game set to wow anyone with cities. You're a novice, though. - I don't see anyone else making a documented modding tutorial, except CapTon; besides, I like challenges, and I know I will learn a bit in the process. Acknowledgements - Xoxide101 gave me much, gave SUGC much, and gave the whole community much. Jeff provided everything from moral support to individual mod questions. He started the community, so why not continue it for him? He did mention something about "[wanting] to retire, but [we] didn't let [him]." Oppie, for God's sake, created SimCityPak! Most of us wouldn't have stayed without the starting action of this man! It was a simple experiment which created our reality, and everyone who uses mods should be thankful of the guy which supplied the tool to do so! SUGC, the founding force of modders for SimCity, gave me the inspiration and dedication for giving the gift of knowledge to the community. We all just wanted to push through all of the hate over the launch and -
There are many threads across several sites that discuss this same information. However I've looked around and I can't find a good beginners guide for modding that still has active links to pictures or much depth. So I have created this to help fill the void in 2013. I'm sure that people are still (re)discovering the game all the time. This is my small attempt to help them/you get started customizing their cities and experience. Modding Made Easy by -Docj The process for creating 'certain' game modifying plugins is actually very simple. The steps I am going to illustrate in this guide can be applied to anything contained in the simcity_1.dat. From bus stops to the traffic simulator, after reading this you will be able to customize many things in the game to your liking. You can also use the process to adjust the values of downloaded plugins more to your liking. The only tool(s) required for this is "iLives Reader" v1.4. Getting this program installed and working properly is covered here, and here, among other places. You can also use "iLives Reader" 0.9.3 to do the exact same thing however you have to do manual 'hexadecimal' to 'decimal' conversion for everything (hex - decimal converter). It is always safe and very functional to open and view file properties in v1.4, the automatic unit conversion can save time. Sometimes v0.9.3 is preferred for editing because of potential file corruption upon saving with v1.4. I run both readers; trying v1.4 first, then after checking for problems revert to using v0.9.3. Assuming you have "iLives Reader" installed and configured, then you can continue with this guide.*1 The goal of this example: In my example below I am going to modify a city hospital so that 1 actually serves the same function as having 2 side-by-side. I am going to double some values so that it serves and employs more sims. Accordingly I'll raise power/water consumption, costs to plop, as well as increase the pollution this hospital creates. Without some extreme measures being taken I can't successfully increase monthly operating costs of the hospital. I have found altering those values creates a bug causing all hospitals to reset themselves to MAX funding each new month. I bring this up as a good example of things that can go wrong, and the sort of thing to watch for.*3 I will be modifying 7 properties to achieve my desired effect. I chose to make a basic mod with multiple changes to illustrate a few points that would've be hard to explain by making a simple, single value change. Please keep in mind, this is an example, and may not be practical for your personal use. The results of this hospital mod will cause ALL of your region's hospitals to adopt it's effects, but only if the .dat is in your plugins folder. These hospitals can still be funded with sliders according to demand in game. 100% funded is now 6000 patient capacity + 200 doctors, likewise, 25% funded is now 1500 patient capacity + 50 doctors. Cost per patient in this hospital mod will be cut in half, this is the only attribute where original game balance is somewhat lost. The process for creating a basic game modifying .dat file. 1. Launch "iLives Reader", open simcity_1.dat, 2. Bring up the 'navigator' view window. 3. Within the left side directory tree: navigate to "Civic Buildings" > "Buildings" > "CV44x44_LargeMedicalCenter_0313" 4. Within the right side properties window: recognize those highlighted are the 7 properties I will be adjusting for the hospital. Double-clicking any property opens it for editing. From here I am going to begin with 'demand created'. 5. (This only applies to "Reader v1.4") After opening a property to edit you'll see the editor. In the editor window change the values from 'default' to "Display as" 'Int' (integer). Now you see the property's value in a form that is easily altered. In this example below, the associated property ID is also shown, and this will not be changed. *2 6. In the appropriate field of the editor window you can change the 'value' to any number you want. In this example I am using 'demand created' and multiplying jobs x2. For a building where you find 'demand created' for jobs and amenities together: the values should be increased together equally. What this is doing is creating the extra jobs and ensuring residential demand for the appropriate sims needed to work there. These 3 numbers are the distribution between $, $$, and $$$. Notice most workers are $$. 7. Click "set" then "apply". The property window will close at this point and the changes are temporarily saved. 8. Now, I am going to move right down the list, adjusting the remaining 6 properties one at a time. To keep the balance of the original hospital I am going to double the values. Most properties are straightforward and easy to recognize and modify. However, 'Sint64' 'data type' doesn't convert 'int' correctly for me. If I type 2200 for "plop cost" and hit 'set', the number turns into 8704. I had to enter the number in as 'hexadecimal' aka 'base 16' instead of 'decimal' aka 'base 10'. If I convert 2200 from decimal to hexadecimal I find that 898 entered as 'int' will give my desired 2200 cost to plop in game; double maxis default. *2 9. These last 2 properties are best thought of as a pair that you should increase together equally. The term "catalog capacity" is refering to the number the game uses to properly display the capacity in the menus. The corresponding "hospital patient capacity" is refering to the number the game actually uses and shows you upon building query. Keeping these values the same ensures 'displayed capacity' and 'actual capacity' are the same everywhere. I will change these values to 6000 now. 10. Now that all 7 values have been adjusted I want to make a small .dat file that will override the default values in the game by being in the plugins folder. I don't want to just try and 'save' these changes directly to "simcity_1.dat"; that would be permanent and it doesn't work that way. So on the left side directory tree 'right-click' "CV44x44_LargeMedicalCenter_0313", then click "add to patch", then open the "patch manager" by clicking on it's button up top in the 'tools' panel. 11. In this window you will see "CV44x44_LargeMedicalCenter_0313" as the only entry. Highligh it, Click "Create DAT". A dialog asking for a filename and location will appear. You can name it anything you want as to easily identify it (i.e. My_Hospital_Mod). 12. Navigate to where you saved the .dat file and drag or copy it into your '....username\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins' folder. 13. Next time you enter the game you will see your new capacity at all maxis hospitals, without rebuilding. That's it, that's all there is to it! This mod works applied directly to my game with no problems. "IF" you encounter problems with the 'budget slider' after editing civic buildings, you may need to bulldoze all existing civics of that type before using the mod you created. Bulldozing all civics of a type first also allows for 'budget cost' adjustments to work. I realize I made this explanation rather long. I wanted it to be easily understood by even the most novice of modder. Using the steps I provided you can start using your imagination. For example: maybe you decide your Sims found a way to make burning coal cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient. Now implementing such a change yourself is possible. You can lower pollution amount and radius, lower the plop and operating costs, and increase power capacity... maybe name it "Infamous_Clean_Coal_ Tech". You can now open anything you want to look at and adjust it's values. Start making some .dat files for yourself! A few tips: You can copy and paste properties and values to speed things up. You can open multiple .dat files side by side for comparison or to find properties you may want to copy. You can add multiple adjusted files to a .dat by repeating steps 1 - 10 clicking "add to patch" each time. After you have added multiple files go to step 11 and you can create a .dat that combines those changes into one mod file. You can open any other previously created .dat or lot files to edit and save, or create a .dat of your own from them. Try to avoid creating conflicts by having 2 mods of the same type installed simultaneously. Always test in game for effects, allowing an in-game year or more to pass before you are convinced everything works as you intended. Some properties can be added in places they previously didn't exist, the best way to know what works is testing (i.e. can you add jobs to a water pump? hmm). For 'Float32' "data type" enter your value with "display as" 'default' selected in the editor window. You can open .sc4lot .sc4desc and other files inside of reader. Reading other threads after following this guide should make more sense now. Explore the wealth of information on this site and others. Never use the 'save' option on SimCity_1.dat, always 'create DAT' in patch manager. Sometimes v1.4 will corrupt properties of a file upon saving. If you notice this happen modify the file with v0.9.3 which uses hexadecimal only. You should always test your results of mods in test cities to ensure everything works correctly, in case you create a bug such as the 'phantom slider bug'. Sometimes a bug like 'phantom slider bug' will require you to obliterate city to make it go away! I recommend toying with things yourself as much as possible; discovery is half of the fun! The more you explore and experiment, the more you will learn, have fun with it! I hope this helps someone who has wished to modify their game, or encourages others to do so! And don't forget, removing the file from the plugins folder will undo the changes, so don't be afraid to experiment. *1 Notes: *1: Remember to always make back-up copies of any file you intend to modify, or using to make modifications from. This is just good practice in case you ever have a problem. Especially have a copy of SimCity_1.dat sitting somewhere because if your game ever corrupted; you can usually fix it by just overwriting the bad .dat with the good one. In general make back-ups a part of your life. Never click 'save' on your SimCity_1.dat. *2: My installation of Reader v1.4 doesn't convert integer for 'Sint64' data type properly, this may just be a problem specific to me. Usually integer is the best way to enter the value, but if you click 'set' and see the numbers change from what you just entered, you have the same issue. In this case just use a 'Base-10' to 'Base-16' online calculator to convert the 'decimal' number you want to use into the appropriate 'hex' value. Then use that number and hit 'set'. This is the same process for all value changes made in Reader v0.9.3. *3: The 'budget cost' can be adjusted, but it requires that all hospitals (or w/e adjustable budget building you are working with) are bulldozed before putting the mod in your plugins folder. Once this bug is triggered cities can require obliteration (or restore from back-up) to make it go away. Test budget changes to the default civic buildings in test cities, or leave budget alone. It is safe to adjust budget of all custom buildings in y experience. You can read more about this so-called "phantom slider bug" in the replies below. Thanks for reading! - If you found this helpful or interesting for other reasons please let everyone know by voting this post +1 in the corner below! Please don't quote the whole post for replies, scroll wheels would overheat.
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