Boggy1's Quick Guide to All Things Custom Content! This is a very simple quickstart guide to custom content downloading. Don't think of it as an ultimate resource; just as something that can answer your basic questions. Make sure to read the whole thing to get the most out of it! Brown Boxes? Nightlights? Dependencies? BATs? Read below to find out how to solve some of the most common problems and question for the game! Before we start; here is a checklist to follow to make custom content work. 1) Make sureyou have Sim City 4 Rush Hour or Sim City 4 Deluxe installed. This is IMPORTANT. For 99% of any downloads to work, you need one of these installed. They will not work on only the original Sim City 4 game. 2) Make sure you have downloaded the EP1 Update (the correct one for your region) and the SC4UpdateBAT, and installed them. Scroll down to the section 'Nightlights and Updates' for links. Note: If you use the Steam version of the game, you will not need the updates. They are already included. 3) Make sure you have downloaded the bldgprop_vol1.dat and bldgprop_vol2.dat files, and that they are placed into "My Documents/Sim City 4/Plugins". Scroll down to the section 'Brown Boxes and Dependencies' for links. 4) Make sure to turn off the game before downloading. When applying new content to the game, it has to be turned off; otherwise things may get corrupted or not work. 5) Make sure your pop-up blocker is disabled or has www.simtropolis.com whitelisted. This is so that when you click the link to download a file it wont be blocked. 6) Make sure to read the online description of the file and the comments so that you know exactly what you are downloading. Both the online description and the comments can give vital information; including stats, dependencies, or problems with the file. 7) Make sure to extract your downloads to the folder My Documents/Sim City 4/Plugins or any folder within that one. DO NOT extract to any other folder, unless it specifically tells you too! Make sure to read the README (if any) and download the dependencies (if any) listed there, and in the online description. Probably one of the most important parts. The README will give you important information, and you need the dependencies for the file to work. Scroll down for some more info. Table of Contents How To Install Buildings How To Install Maps Organization Nightlights and Updates Brown Boxes and Depedencies Terminology and Abbveations Creating Your Own Custom Content Questions Still Not Answered? How To Install Buildings To install custom downloads, except maps, from the Simtropolis Exchange, follow the below instructions. Firstly, you simply download what you want by clicking on the download button. You will most likely be presented with a pop-up, which asks you if you want to save the file, or open/run it. Select save, but remember the directory where you saved it to. Wait for it to download; remember, it may take several minutes to download depending on your connection and the size of the file. Once it has downloaded, browse to where ever you saved the file. I recommend creating a folder in your My Documents, specifically for downloads from simtropolis.com, so that they are all in one place. You will most likely be presented with a .zip file, which looks like a folder with a zipper running across it. We need to extract the file, which is commonly called unzipping or extracting it. To unzip the contents of this file, right click it, select "Extract All", and then unzip the files to the directory: "My Documents/SimCity4/Plugins". If what you downloaded isn't a .zip file, then it could be one of two things: An installer. This is a .exe, which you install by simply double clicking on it and following the instructions. These are more likely for modds and dependency packs. A .rar file. This is another type of compression method, like a .zip file. To extract these, I recommend downloading the free utility 7zip, which can be found here: http://www.7-zip.org/ Remember, that you should always read the README file, and the Online Description on simtropolis.com to check for information and dependancies. Dependancies are extra little downloads, like textures or props, that are required to make the file work properly, that don't come with the main file. They are linked to in the README or Online Description. Make sure you have Sim City 4 Rush Hour or Sim City 4 Deluxe, and make sure you restart the game once you have installed everything; or the file will not work. Where will your new download be located once it has been installed? That entirely depends upon the file itself. If its a police station, it will probably be in the police menu. A new water pump? The water menu. However; the two most common places where generic files will end up is in the Parks or Landmarks menus. How To Install Maps Downloading and installing maps from the Simtropolis Exchange is quite a bit different to downloading and installing a building. Follow this tutorial: http://www.simtropol...ost__p__1135725 Downloading maps can be relatively difficult and time consuming, depending on your technical skills and computer specifications. Make sure to follow the tutorial very closely. Organization It's generally best to organize your Plugins folder so that you can find each thing you download easily, such as sorting files in a directory like this: "My Documents/Sim City 4/Plugins/Name Of Author/Name Of Building/[FILES]". This is so that if anything you download doesn't work or causes a problem, you can simply delete the folder without searching for hours for the correct files. Putting downloades into sub-folders within your Plugins folder will not effect their appearance in the game. Nightlights and Updates Remember: If you use he Steam version, you will not need any of the update patches explained here. Often, you might find that the nightlights on the buildings you downloaded do not show up when you switch to Night Mode in the game. To solve this issue, you need to download the two game updates, so follow the instructions below. If you haven't already, you need to download the EP1 Update for the game. Go here: http://sc4devotion.c...dex.php?page=16 For whatever region you live in, download the specific SKU file. For instance, if you live in North America, only download the file marked "sku 1". Then, you need to download the SC4Update4BAT, which is here: http://www.sc4devoti...4Update4BAT.zip Install the EP1 Update first by double clicking it and following the instructions. Then do the same for the SC4UpdateBAT file. A box will pop-up with "This program will apply changes needed to support the Building Architect Tool. Before you install this update (build 640) please make sure that you have applied SimCity 4 EP1 Update 1 successfully.". You can safely ignore it; just press OK. Then you're done! Remember you need Sim City 4 Rush Hour or Sim City 4 Deluxe for these updates and most downloads to work. To check whether the patches have been correctly applied invloves checking the Properties of the game's executable file usually located in the C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps folder of your computer. This file is named SimCity 4 and should be approximately 8MB in size. If the file Version is 1.1.638.0, then the EP1 patch only has been applied. If the version is 1.1.640.0, then both the EP1 and SC4Update4BAT patches have been applied and the game is fully updated. Note: For the Steam version of the game, the version should read 1.1.641.0. Brown Boxes and Dependencies If brown boxes marked with "simcity.com" appear in your city in place of your download, then you know you are missing certain dependencies. Dependancies are extra little downloads, like textures or props, that are required to make the file work properly, that don't come with the main file. Make sure to always download them, or the custom content you downloaded may not work. Dependencies are usually linked to in the README or Online Description of the thing you downloaded. Install them as you would anything else, by unzipping to My Documents/Sim City 4/Plugins. You will also need to download the Official Maxis Props, bldgprop_vol1.dat and bldgprop_vol2.dat. These can be found here: CityBuilders (registration required) or Screwpile Developments. Look for the two bldgprop files. Save them both to "My Documents/Sim City 4/Plugins" Remember you need Sim City 4 Rush Hour or Sim City 4 Deluxe for most of the downloads to work. Terminology and Abbreviations If you successfully downloaded buildings, but they do not show up in any of the menus, then check to see if the building you downloaded is a GROW or PLOP. A GROW building will grow on it's own; it will not appear in any menus. You need to place down residential/commercial/industrial zoning, and then it will grow itself. A PLOP building is the opposite. It will appear in the menus, and you can plop it down anywhere you like, without waiting for it to grow in a zone. You may also encounter these: A PROP file is just a tiny little element, like a flagpole or pedestrian, which goes onto the lot of a custom building. You only really need to download these if they are linked as a dependency, or if you are a custom content creator. A TEXTURE is a pattern or image, like brick or glass, that is used in custom content creation You only really need to download these if they are linked as a dependency, or if you are a custom content creator. A MESH or a MODEL file is the barebones of a custom creation; before it has been properly imported into the game. You generally don't need to download these unless you are a custom content creator. These are the types of file names you'll probably see when you download custom content. A .zip is a compressed folder, containing your download. You'll need to extract (unzip) it to gain access to the files inside. A .rar is another type of compressed folder. See above. A .exe is a self-installing executable file, containing your download. Double click it to let it install the files by itself. A .txt is a text document, which contains the README or other information. Recommend to keep; but you can delete it safely. A .rtf is another type of text document. See above. A .html is a downloaded webpage, which contains the README or other information. Recommend to keep; but you can delete it safely. A .jpg file is a picture file. Creators generally put it in to show you what you are downloading. You can delete it safely. A .png is another type of picture file. See above. A .dat file is part of the download data. Don't delete it. A .SC4LOT file is part of the download data. Don't delete it. A .SC4MODEL file is part of the download data. Don't delete it. A .SC4DESC file is part of the download data. Don't delete it. The STEX is an abbreviation for the SimTropolis EXchange. The NAM stands for the Network Addon Modification, which is one of the most well known modds in the game. You can get it here: or Mac A BAT file is a custom content, like a building, that is created using the special 3D modelling software gmax or 3ds Max and the Building Architect Tool. They are generally created entirely from scratch by the creator. A LOT file is a custom content that only uses existing elements that are in the game. It uses Maxis' LOT Editor to shuffle around props, textures, and stuff to create new things. A MODD is a programme which changes the game in some way. They are different from other custom content, in that it affects the entire game. Use these carefully; often modds can conflict, and can cause your game to crash. Sometimes you will encounter abbreviations which arn't listed here. Likely these are BAT Groups; a bunch of fans who get together and collaborate to make buildings or modifications. There are literally hundreds of these; some defunct, and others not. Some of commonly seen BAT Team abbreviations are these: NDEX, BSC, BLaM, LBT, BSP, NYBT, HK, SFBT, ATR, SMP, NUTs, NHP, RTMT, SCAG, TD,and TSC. Creating Your Own Custom Content There are two options when it comes to creating custom content. Firstly, you could go the hard route, and use actual 3D modelling software. GMAX and 3ds Max are both 3D modelling software, that allow custom content creators to create buildings and other content from scratch, by individually creating the wireframe body, and applying textures. GMAX is free, and can be found here: http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax 3ds Max on the other hand, costs a lot of money, and can be bought here: http://usa.autodesk....3112&id=5659302 If you do go down this route, you will need to download the Building Architect Tool (BAT for short), which is the Maxis-created tool which allows you to import your models into the game. It can be found here: http://www.sc4devoti..._files_BAT.html Or you could go the easier route, and create custom content using the Lot Editor, which can be found here: http://www.sc4devoti...s_files_LE.html Remember, even if you use GMAX or 3ds Max, you will still need the Lot Editor, as this enables you to place props and other elements on your model. This section only covers the very basics of custom content creation. You can find out more in the Omnibus here: https://www.simtropolis.com/omnibus Questions Still Not Answered? Then you'll want to either... Visit the Chat Room, which will probably have members there ready to help you with an issue (just be nice): (Link) Take a read through the Extensive Forums for a solution: (Link ) Browse the fabled Omnibus Of Knowledge: (Link ) If, after all that, there is still no luck; make a New Topic which clearly defines your issue. Updated links and stuff - 15/07/2012