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info Why your BAT Models should ALWAYS have the IID 0x00030000
rsc204 posted a topic in SC4 BAT & Lot Workshop
As some of you may know, a lot of BAT models exist that instead of using the standardised system, whereby the Group ID is used to uniquely identify it, they instead use the Instance ID. I have long theorised that where this is not the case, it's simply a result of user error, specifically failing to install or correctly install the Texture ID Fix, an official 'patch' for SC4BAT by Maxis. Well in 2022 and way to late to make a splash, I came across today hard proof of the above, indeed all BATs should use 0x00030000 for the IID, as can be clearly seen from the following code inside the ModelNames.ms script, that is included in the aforementioned fix. Why did I not bother to check this before, well aside from not spending my time sifting through 1,000 lines of code for fun everyday, I didn't need to. Every model I've ever exported is correctly ID'd according to the expected system, so it was quite obvious to me that others clearly didn't install the relevant fix. I just happened to be scanning the file today comparing two revisions of it for changes, when it 'poked me in the face'. Obviously there is little point suggesting that people go back and change their models to the correct ID system now, the legacy of this problem is too deep to correct. But, it just goes to show that every now and again people might be a little more open minded and accept their own limitations and errors. Not to get too personal, but I've been lambasted a few times, because people who clearly don't understand things, couldn't accept that they had messed something up, so instead preferred to blame the messenger and deny facts. Well, there in one line is all the evidence you need (well OK not one line exactly), you need to interpret what's around it, but in essence that sums it up better than any technical explanation I could write here. Some will say, as I've also previously heard, ah, but it's not important, since they work anyway. Well, yes there is an argument there, but it's flawed and ignores that when we blindly do things the wrong way, there are usually consequences, even if they aren't immediately obvious. Case in point, recently a few of us, thanks in particular to @CorinaMarie & @Cyclone Boom, tried to find a solution to the Mac game being unable to show nitelighting, as a result of not having the NiteLight or 1.640 patch. After a decent amount of work and coming up with a technically sound solution, it all fell apart, precisely because of these incorrectly IDd models exist in large numbers. Had people just installed an official patch, usually found in the same location as the SC4BAT app itself and well publicised, we could have done something about this issue. But, as it stands the odds of conflicts were so high in testing a few samples, that it literally would be irresponsible to continue to fix files using the methodology we had worked out. See this post/thread for the full information on that one. So, if you are a BATter and reading this, look at the filename of your next SC4Model, where it clearly denotes the ID, for example: MGB_6HouseRow-0x5ad0e817_0x8898c1f_0x30000.SC4Model The parts in red are the Type and Instance ID, in bold is the Group ID (GID), only the GID should change from the example. The Type and Instance IDs are fixed and if they are not identical to this, you simply have not correctly patched SC4BAT to generate the correct and intended IDs. If that is the case, even if it doesn't seem like a big deal, it's wrong and you really should install the patch, which can be found here on ST. It really is a case of, you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. ================================================================================ Bonus find: This 'comment' from the same file, explains how it's possible for a BAT to have more than 16 textures, despite only using 1 digit (16 options in Hex) to define a unique texture within a model. It's a little humorous to see how the coder knew it was not ideal, but there wasn't much by way of alternatives. Just thought I'd share it here to end this post on a lighter note.-
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