Disappearing Props - not to be confused with Prop Pox

[Chrisim]

There are several reasons why props may disappear from your city - and it does not necessarily mean that your city is infected by Prop Pox as discussed in other topics in this forum.

One reason is that the games graphics settings are set to low - therefore, certain props and textures are not displayed. Sometimes, you may not know that your graphics settings have changed, for example: after updating (patching) the game, the graphics settings are reset.

Props do also disappear from your city in the following case:
1) You have a saved city containing custom contents. As example I use this tram station:

Two custom props and the custom automata are marked by blue arrows
2) Then, you have removed this custom content from your Plugin folder
3) You open the city - in this example case you get a warning message and a brown box, but in other cases you may not get such warnings.
Warning message and brown boxes appear only when models of buildings (referenced by the saved city savegame file) are missing in the Plugin folder.
You don't get warning or brown boxes when props (referenced by the saved city savegame file) are missing in the Plugin folder.
4) You save the city (that's the mistake)
5) You decide that you wish to keep the custom content, so you move it back into your Plugin folder
6) You open your city, and the custom props are still missing. For this example it looks like this:

No brown box anymore, because the model file is back in the Plugin folder. One red shelter is displayed, because it is (technically implemented as) a building. The other red shelter and the signs and the automata are missing, because these are custom props and automata. The savegame file has lost their references in the procedure described above. Of course, no tram automata will show up in such a city.

Well, this problem is, in principle, easy to correct - bulldoze all these lot and plop them again. Of course, if you had saved a city when a dependency MEGA file was absent in the Plugin folder, there might be many lots affected. When these are growable lots (instead of a plopable lot as in this example), it may be pretty annoying. So, think before you play, and make backups of your Regions folder on a regular basis.

This has nothing to do with Prop Pox, and we believe that this does not cause Prop Pox. It is simply mentioned here to avoid confusion.

[wouanagaine]

Thx Chrisim

Stickied

[RippleJet]

After reading this post by Diggis:

OK, a few weeks ago I stumbled upon this thread here:

Adding Props to Resized lots

which struck me as interesting.  The trick outlined in that thread appeared to force the game to reload the props on a file from the lot files, not the prop subfile (where the Pox apparently lies).   

This got me thinking, if we can rebuild the sub file we might be able to remove the Pox.  After a few failed attempts which left my cities still poxed I have found a technique that at first checks appears to remove the Pox and restore props to poxed lots.

1. Back up the poxed city
2. obliterate the city (using the mayor mode tool with the dynamite that removes the city, but not the terrain)
3. open the backup in the reader and delete the prop subfile
4. open the obliterated copy in the reader and copy the prop subfile into the backup
5. restore the back up and open the game
6. set the city display level to minimum, save and exit
7. set the city display level to high and save and exit.

8. send the file to Tage for testing   

It would be very helpful if people with an effected city would be able to have a go at this and see if they can also restore their cities to a working state.

...and dsrwhat316's tutorial Adding Props to Resized Lots that Diggis is linking to,
I believe the solution provided by Diggis can be used to reload props that have gone missing due to not having the props in your plugins folder...

Thus, could someone check to see if this provides a solution to disappearing props:

• Set the city display level to minimum, save and exit
• Set the city display level to high and save and exit

[Meastro444]

I found another thing that causes disappearing props and automata.

Make sure the encircled box is UNticked! THis causes certain props and automata to be deleted.

[SC4BOY]

• Set the city display level to minimum, save and exit
• Set the city display level to high and save and exit

I have tested this in the broad case and it does not replace the missing items. There may be specific issues that this will correct, but not the general case.. at least as far as my tests have shown.

[RickD]

I ran into a problem with disappearing props. On one city tile I noticed that every time I save and exit and then reenter the tile more and more props disappear. It starts with a stripe of about 10-15 tiles along the eastern city border. From there it spreads step by step over the city every time I save and exit.

Replopping the lots does not help. I had used custom graphics settings with my ATI card for a while but disabled them like Maestro444 pointed out.

By setting the graphics to minimum and back to high again I can get most of the props back but only until I reenter the city. Then the process starts all over again.

I suspect this started when the game stopped responding during saving. I was forced to quit the game in task manager. This was the first time this ever happened and I have no idea why.
But I am not sure because I also modified the air pollution of a building without bulldozing it before. Could this cause problems?

I restored a backup and it seems that it is not affected.

[RippleJet]

Those are very clear signs of the prop pox, which you can read about here:
What causes Prop Pox (and how to avoid it)

[RickD]

Oh ****. I have the PEG-OWW2_BDK_RESOURCE.dat in my plugins. I guess it's too late then. 

[RippleJet]

I guess it's too late then. 

For this city, yes, unfortunately.

[JeffCoyote]

hello,

[ sorry for my english , I 'm French ]

I had a problem which is nearly like this but with differences

I wanted to grow a commercial building in particular, then I remove all the commercial folders of my plugins, and I drop every $ TSB_BlockAll_CS. dat and CS $ $. dat, etc. ... necessary

then when I open the game, a window above me says that I'm missing elements (just removed from the plugins folder of course!), and told me to accept , no other choice (I 'm not sure exactly how it was written ?) and areas where I had my downloaded bats turn blue zones (such as areas comm.) with just a few props, and some details, and I saved  and I close the game .. . to return to normal with all my buildings

So then I replace all the commercial bats folders  in my plugins, everything should return to normal, I had already done, but here is what appears:


they are all Growing bats , it was a commercial malls zone , such as  SimGoober Large Malls , It's not dependencies problems , All was ok before my problems

and when searching , I found a file  -XP 3236F8A990CC-config-log.txt   is created in the C: \ Program Files \ Maxis \ SimCity 4 Deluxe \ Apps that there was not before is that is dated the day and hour of my last backup

who can help me, please?

thank you

[tito_golden]

Hello people!

I´m one of the affected by the prop pox... I've been obliged to discard one of my most developed cities... so i've decided to continue with the one right next to the poxed one...

no problems until yesterday, after doing some improvements, nothing about movements into plugins folder or something like that..

i've one backup but some weeks ago so... i want to know if someone can identify that like prop pox or only dissapearing props and the way to solve if somebody knows..

SC4save told me that is prop pox free but, there are lots of disabled props and looks like... but i don't know exactly cause, for example, neighbour arrows are still there...

look the sc4save report



Some help please... and thanks

[tito_golden]

Hi everybody!

After being affected by prop pox, and by that "dissapearing props look like" problem I've posted just above, and forced by the lack of answers or solutions to the last one specially ( , but without resentment), and by despair and impotence about viewing all of that work useless for this cluster of problems... I've stopped playing SC4 (and I thought forever). But as I told in another recent post, like all perverse addictions, SC4 abstinence was no more tolerable... 

So I've installed again SC4 and (maybe someone could analyze or think about the problem above and the way to solve here...) started to play whn I noticed that the problem mentioned above in my last post, was solved, no missing props!!

I have to pass SC4 save to be sure about missing props and all of that but now, my city looks like before the problem, and I had no neccesity to continue with the last backup before the problem.

But nothing is perfect, all the trees are gone (well, not all, only those placed over grass pieces or similar pieces, trees places direclty in terrain are not affected).

I have posted with this problem of trees before (I think...).

Trees do not appear also in any of my cities, even when there were no problems in them, thing that is solved placing graphics at high level (but when I stopped playing some months ago, were at medium...) except for the city with the problems (and of course, poxed city also).

I'm afraid, there is no posibility to turn graphic options higher the next time I reinstall SC4 for any reason, what you think I (or anybody) should do in case of "dissapearing trees" problems?

(obliterating cities and recharging with a backup of the same city placed in another region folder does not work for me to solve this, worked to solve some other problems but not that one)

Thanks for the answers!

[jmyers2043]

So I've installed again SC4 and (maybe someone could analyze or think about the problem above and the way to solve here...)

Those who knew the most about prop pox are no longer active, hence the lack of answers to your question. I've not had the prop pox. I am a very fussy downloader. I've not needed to study the subject.

I highly recommend that you learn to use the XTool. I check everything I download to insure the building has the correct capacity, consumption, and pollution numbers. Checking to insure the building grows at the correct stage. Checking the model file to insure the dimensions have not been altered, etc. It will not help you with the prop pox but will be of a help in other ways.

- Jim

[vortext]

But nothing is perfect, all the trees are gone (well, not all, only those placed over grass pieces or similar pieces, trees places direclty in terrain are not affected).

Which kind of trees went missing? The vanilla Maxis trees or any of the custom (MMP) trees?

[tito_golden]

HI, and thanks for the answer.

Its a pity some of those people who have "studied" prop pox are no longer active..

Ok I'll try to check the Xtool to view and check building properties, it could be interesting, although its doubles the time to install plugins... download, check, download, check.. 

Vortext, vanilla maxis trees and all the custom trees, everyone of the trees planted onto grass pieces or similar terrain pieces (even wall pieces) have dissapeared, it is not the first time it happens to me, I've tested some things but for now the only way to recover the city is to plant again... (although, this time, when getting graphic options to high level, are back in all the cities, except those cities I've had a problem like prop pox or dissapearing props...but as I've said those cities were at the last time I've played with medium graphic options).

Seems like when it happens in a city with some of the two big problems (even has happened one time to me before prop pox, so it could be viewed as bad news...) are impossible to recover.

More theories? thanks!