SC4 Devotion Forum Archives

SimCity 4 General Discussion and Tutorials => Tips, Tricks and Tutorials => Topic started by: Terring7 on December 28, 2020, 02:27:45 AM

Title: Mayor Mode Props in God Mode tiles
Post by: Terring7 on December 28, 2020, 02:27:45 AM
The tutorial you're going to read is based on a discovery I made back in 2013, when I was working on my final entry of My Maxis Project (https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/journal/4144-my-maxis-project/) city journal, and by reading the title of the topic you'll be very close to what we're going to talk about. But first, let me show you a small taste of my terrible landscaping skills ;D

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd088aa8ad9_NewCity-Jan.26001608314622.jpg.91890395cab43610637789512277883a.jpg)

Let's begin from the peak of this mountain. I have a mod that reduces the altitude needed to get snow (https://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=169), so I can have it without the need of rising very tall mountains, and planting those snow capped trees (https://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2305) is a brilliant to make it nice and realistic. Now, some of you might ask why there are pines with no snow on them. This is because the terrain mod I have changes its textures almost every month, including the snow, so sometimes I have more snow and other times I have less of it. Which means that if I'm at the maximum quantity of snow when I'm planting those snow capped trees, odds are at the very next month I'll have those very trees at green landscapes away from snow, which is even more silly and crazy :P

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd086fece5a_NewCity-Feb.9001608314721.jpg.12c5fd5838b72572398b3e6decff5689.jpg)

And here are some deer, looking for something to eat.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd0875904cb_NewCity-Feb.11001608314740.jpg.7954ef5bceee8ef13821590bc474714d.jpg)

Ah, yes. Plenty of details. Until now I used to just cover my landscapes with the Maxis trees. And that's all. Now I'm going for more details and variety, and a more naturalistic result, including flowers, bushes, dead trees, logs etc. I'm actually using the alternating textures of my terrain mod as a guide to paint my happy little trees and flowers.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd087b9c4af_NewCity-Feb.16001608314783.jpg.7ddbca77de48dc7f66c9a82cac93bb82.jpg)

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd089bca92c_NewCity-Mar.4001608314976.jpg.80d5a575663ea83799fe5917db894d55.jpg)

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd08a1c6490_NewCity-Mar.14001608315008.jpg.78d2b270b5f2a5e9007062fe93e05df4.jpg)

I also made a small lake by using PEG PPOND KIT (https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/21661-peg-ppond-kit/). Of course I know it's ugly and it's definitely something I need to improve. But for now, it is what it is.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd08b333e3d_NewCity-Mar.21001608315041.jpg.46c48241c67e9a8f73132651d7487532.jpg)

Some animals have come closer at the shores of the lake, including wild boars and deer. And llamas.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd08b8ac644_NewCity-Mar.28001608315074.jpg.603f286b9c8171dd396bb7a4a996250c.jpg)

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd086b65ac1_NewCity-Apr.21001608315169.jpg.e50617902d0ca57e2b4f59942b41fe0a.jpg)

As well as humans.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd0867342aa_NewCity-Apr.6001608315105.jpg.b71def8ee219766bc2b50bc6cec8bb26.jpg)

And this is where the lake ends, to a larger body of water by a small river. Watch carefully and you'll see turtles, corals and fishes.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd08bd5570d_NewCity-May.1001608315204.jpg.f7773fe06d27975a0ce8b74a7f320384.jpg)

By the way, speaking about humans, I even made a small park, with picnic tables, parking sites for cars, an old donkey engine, and an observation tower to enjoy the view.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd0880e59a2_NewCity-Feb.25001608314883.jpg.b3538597cc59b8192a3c0b32c7b76e15.jpg)

Look closely and you'll see a robot (http://uki-sim.seesaa.net/article/367323064.html) helping at maintaining this site.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd08857e1be_NewCity-Feb.27001608314901.jpg.876c79377697b7fabe441f6740bd4b23.jpg)

And if we'll follow the small path to the woods, we'll find a small lake to swim and have some fun. Don't jump from that big rock, though. You really don't want to dive to such a shallow lake.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd08954e09b_NewCity-Mar.1001608314932.jpg.4835521c5b0842396df9529f25822e77.jpg)

And a last picture. Just for the goodbye.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd08c2a0a55_NewCity-May.27001608315344.jpg.bdd3c377416c11496a1af03f4df1957c.jpg)

So, we have plenty of Mayor Mod props at our city tile, so of course we're at Mayor Mode. But wait a minute. If that's true, what's going on with our UI? Why MySim Mode is deactivated, along other buttons? And why the God Mode has the original tools instead of the Mayor Mode ones? That's because... we haven't been at Mayor Mode at all, all that time!

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd089070294_NewCity-Jun.5001608315387.jpg.f4dc202e342023f2a8d28b33b54bf461.jpg)

Need further proof? Here we are. We have no name in our city, because we have no city at all here. And if you click at this very tile when you're on region, you'll not get the ordinary information, because there is no city here, because this tile is at the God Mode.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fdd08c633cdc_notinmayormode.jpg.d9b9bdf442e407c4e4f00102a2e54a57.jpg)

So, it's possible to have Mayor Mode props at a God Mode tile? Yes, it is. We're going to get down and dirty very soon, as well as exploring some of the possibilities of this. But first, just before this cliffhanging ending, here is a very basic tutorial to give it a try by yourself.

1) Go to any region you want and pick any pristine tile you please. As you can imagine, that tile should be on God Mode and it should not have any city on Mayor Mode.

2) Found a city at this tile to open the Mayor Mode toolbar, and thus having access to your MMPs.

3) Have fun painting your tile with whatever MMPs you have. Make your landscape as awesome as you want it. Make sure however that you only use MMPs and nothing else. No lots, no parks, nothing urban at all. Only MMPs.

4) Happy with the result? Have you finished customizing your tile? Are you sure you're done with it? If yes, obliterate them all! Yes, you read that right. Click at the God Mode button and select Obliterate City. This is the key of this trick. Obliteration removes any trait of civilization, such as roads and buildings, but lets any MMP untouched. And this is exactly what we want, which is also the very reason why you shouldn't add any lot or have any kind of city at this tile.

Now sit back and enjoy. You just have Mayor Mode props at God Mode area. Coming up, in the second part. Why you might want to give it a try? And, what kind of incredible things you can do with this? Stay tuned :popcorn:
Title: Re: Mayor Mode Props in God Mode tiles
Post by: Terring7 on December 28, 2020, 02:45:18 AM
Welcome to the second part of this tutorial, which aim to be more like an example of reasons and possibilities and less like an actual tutorial, since by now you already know the drill. Pick a tile, add MMPs and hit Obliterate City. Simple as ABC, but ABC by itself is a bit boring, unless you get a small example of what you can do with ABC. Alright, let's do this.

For this example , we're going to pick a city tile from Timbuktu Too (https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/33924-timbuktu-too-complete-region/). For this example, we want a tile that have some variety. You know, a little bit of snow, a little bit of water. Something interesting and fun to play and experiment with.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f0be7f145_TimbuktuToo-1608989107.jpg.4a1a6fa4eff595e253c7852314bb01da.jpg)

And I think I found a good enough piece of land. Let's pick this one.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f0b74f695_TimbuktuToo-1608989084.jpg.d1af1cdc5e6be708f257fb54454f3687.jpg)

When you're in God Mode, you have access to some very cool tools to terraform your land, such as raising mountains and digging oceans. But when it comes to plant trees and add some nice details, your choices are very limited. You only have the Maxis-made tree controller, and this one has a very limited pallet of trees. The next best thing is using a custom-made tree controller, which comes with a much greater variety of trees (and also with tons of necessary dependencies), but even the best one can get you this far. What if you want to add rocks, flowers, lakes, rivers, paths and anything else? In God Mode, even with an awesome custom-made tree controller, you just can't.

This is why you need to activate the Mayor Mode, because it's at this mode that you can have access to a much larger variety of props to customize your land, provided you already have some MMPs in your plugin folder. So let's found a city...

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f06e356ef_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Jan.1001608989238.jpg.81e533a33e1e91c6233b94a66137d4fd.jpg)

...check our MMPs...

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f0749924e_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Jan.1001608989332.jpg.9778ca37c26a9fa74172b74e4a595840.jpg)

...and have some fun! ;D

Now it's only up to you to customize your land, and you can do whatever you want, for whatever reason you need to use your MMPs. Maybe you want to add some details that you just can't add in God Mode, like rocks and flowers. Maybe you want to add something more specific and important, such as rivers and lakes. Or maybe you want to use your MMPs to tell a nice story. Or, you might want to just unleash the artist you have inside and become your SimCity's Bob Ross, planting happy little trees and painting beautiful landscapes. You can go to something simple and cozy, or to something detailing and epic. This is up to you. But for the sake of this example, we'll try to archive a balance between variety and simplicity, just to give you an example while making it nice.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f08ea0bf7_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Jun.12001609096533.jpg.922221f0864962eca7231aeecb6c6819.jpg)

See? This is a (even small) level of realism and detailing that you can't get in God Mode. Why limiting ourselves to only a small variety of trees, when we can have more types of trees, as well as flowers and bushes?

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f06334aff_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Apr.25031609099554.jpg.a072db4d7855066d78290f26f28a5546.jpg)

And rocks? Don't forget the rocks. Those guys can... rock your landscape. *ba-dum-tssshhh!* (http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=rimshot)

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f053d9345_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Apr.17031609099418.jpg.b198f8eda4c6dfb5749da0188189586b.jpg)

And maybe some dead trees too. Or some logs. Or some surface water to make mountain lakes and rivers. It all depends on what kind of MMPs you have and what you want to do with them. In other words, it's only up to you.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f0694aaf5_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Apr.29031609099590.jpg.bb127be9232a347156f82139ade4fa4d.jpg)

And do you know something cool about MMPs? You can put whatever you want at wherever you want. For instance, if your map has plenty of snow, in God Mode you can either cover those areas with your tree controller or let them barren. But in Mayor Mode, you can use trees covered by snow to add some realism and variety to your landscape.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f05b7b86e_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Apr.19031609099494.jpg.9d23b01f80ce6c18fa8b079e99a66403.jpg)

Another good thing about the Mayor Mode is the fact that you can use the transportation tools, with some assistance by your slope mod, for further and more detailed terraforming, such as smoothing the ground for paths and dirty roads.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f0afa9579_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Sep.18001609096812.jpg.26970792633ac58a428bb8f50418e9d8.jpg)

But wait, there is more. Not all of the MMPs are about natural things such as trees and rocks. Some of them add some civilization to your wilderness, like tents, signs, cars, passenger airplanes, even buildings. You can create small settlements made by MMPs to tell a story. And here we have two of them, all made by MMPs.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f0a2e151f_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-May.4031609099632.jpg.6170434b3168a06a619397adb17cb0e8.jpg)

This is a small settlement which was set up by explorers and free-spirit people, who just have had enough with our "civilization" and decided to build a small and isolated colony with their rules and ideals.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f095cc85b_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Mar.24031609099244.jpg.83ac2486bf81d7c635a87165b6186be4.jpg)

Their colony has a small electric engine to provide them with some energy, a small seaport for fishing and harvesting weed, an observation tower that can also work as a lighthouse, a small graveyard, and a pad for Vertical Take Over and Land aircrafts that provide necessary supplies to the colonists, all maintained by a robot.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f09bc651d_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Mar.28031609099278.jpg.d4ffdfe06d3f54169c8393f7d559cc2b.jpg)

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f03b5621f_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Apr.9031609099352.jpg.701342f309a74027929d24b9df891240.jpg)

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f033b3d78_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Apr.1031609099311.jpg.59eb12bedcead7e8b0a15ddfe38ce094.jpg)

But they're not alone. Some native folks have already made a small settlement of their own. Let's hope that both the natives and the colonists with live and share their land peacefully.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f04338ae2_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Apr.11031609099369.jpg.021afa32887269a0e9f6a15f6070915a.jpg)

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f04c3f160_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Apr.14031609099390.jpg.f9237fd629d0434c0e21efa4aa54a7aa.jpg)

So, this is it. Our landscape is ready, with all the details and stories we want to add. Now, we can just let it as it is, just save and exit, right? Well, yes, we can do this. But that very city tile will still be considered by the game as urban tile, in Mayor Mode, with an actual city on it. And this is not what we want to do. I don't know for you, but having an entire region considered as a big city, with all of its tiles in Mayor Mode just because I wanted to add some extra props, is a deal breaker for me. I like letting some of my region in pristine situation, preserving and even enriching nature by adding some nice looking things. We usually do this with MMPs, obviously in tiles with already established cities, and some of us wishing we could use those MMPs in God Mode tiles too. An having a region with some of its tiles detailed and some other of them plain is a big eyesore and make the region look ugly. So, what we can do? Returning this tile to God Mode, while keeping intact the Mayor Mode props? Yes! And it's possible!

After customizing our landscape, we click the God Mode toolbar (after 100% ensuring what we have finished with our hard work) and choose Obliterate City. This will remove all trace of civilization, any prop-able lot and transportation system we have, without touching the flora type of props. Including the MMPs, which is what we want. So, click Obliterate City...

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8fde07a03a_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-May.15031609099676.jpg.de2d79862310c08814ae308c02947847.jpg)

...and we're now back to the God Mode. See? The date has been reset, the Mayor Mod button is deactivated, and all the God Mode tools are back. We're in God Mode...

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f07a70432_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Jan.5001609099809.jpg.dce12955d698ec7d1b5c652a757b2ea8.jpg)

...but we still have our Mayor Mode props. All the extra trees (including the snow covered ones), all the flowers, all the rocks and all the bushes we have planted in Mayor Mod are still here, in God Mode.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f08205978_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Jan.9001609099891.jpg.ac1f5794250325825364835d81dfece1.jpg)

Even our settlements are now in God Mode.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f088d494e_ThisIsHowWeDoIt-Jan.11001609099920.jpg.47d0a9a34807a33bca039bb7b280e76b.jpg)

And when we return to the Region View, we'll get this. A more detailed tile...

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f0cb3414f_TimbuktuToo-1609099993.jpg.b2915e95c333641271da2b1ac3fd38a4.jpg)

...in God Mode.

(https://www.simtropolis.com/objects/attachments/monthly_2020_12/5fe8f0c367ce3_TimbuktuToo-1609099977.jpg.d52d3ff5670f611339162ea6a25b4831.jpg)

Do the same above thing in every single tile of your region and you'll get a very beautiful and realistic natural landscape, with everything you want and some more. Have fun ;D