SC4 Devotion Forum Archives

SimCity 4 Devotion Custom Content Showcase => BSC Place => Team Custom Content Projects => CAM - Colossus Addon Mod => Topic started by: InvisiChem on January 28, 2016, 02:06:53 PM

Title: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 28, 2016, 02:06:53 PM
After much work and lots of discussion, CAM 2.1.0 has finally been uploaded. You can get it http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3335 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3335)

Attached to this post will be two manuals. More will be added as time goes by and better translators get hold of them.

The instructions and readme's in the installer all have multiple languages, so be sure to scroll through the file and find your language or one you are familiar with.

Enjoy the new CAM and please let me know your comments, questions and complaints. All are valuable to the continued progression of this mod.

InvisiChem.

P.S. The Japanese version of the manual is questionable. I don't speak or read Japanese, so the liberal use of Google Translate is what made this version possible. Japanese speakers, please let me know how well or poor the translation is.


Edited Attachments. Links should be working now. :) Thank you M4346 for the quick and awesome update to these.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: M4346 on January 28, 2016, 02:29:41 PM
Thanks! This is awesome!  ()stsfd()

The hyperlinks in the manual don't work though. Not sure if you printed it as a PDF or exported it as a PDF with Acrobat Professional?

If you send me the original Word / text document I can have a look at it?  ;D
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 28, 2016, 02:33:10 PM
No problem. Send them right to you.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 28, 2016, 03:49:38 PM
And now the Macintosh version is up.

No installer, but very detailed instructions.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: markussaage on January 28, 2016, 04:35:06 PM
 &apls &apls &apls That is soooo awesome.... I use CAM 1.0 since my very first days... Looking forward to use this new version. SC4 is improving every year, that's why we all still love this game.
Thanks a lot!

Kind regards!
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: indovote on January 28, 2016, 10:25:07 PM
Thanks Invisichem! With this, I can create a city that have many skycrapers!   :thumbsup:

Oops, I forget to say that the CAM-shipped SimCity4.exe make the game unplayable. I using SC4 Deluxe Disc Version (not Digital) SKU2 (Europe), updated to 1.1.640.0 (lastest Disc Version update) + NAM, SC4Fix, Extra Cheats, bldgprop, BSC Canal + Windows 8.1 with lastest update (w/o KB3086255 security update).
I hope you to fix it, because this problem make me can't enjoy full CAM 2.1.0 experiences.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: FrankU on January 29, 2016, 02:34:10 AM
Ah great!  &apls  :thumbsup:  &apls

Are the properties that SC4-Pim provides at this moment for new buildings and lots in balance with your CAM, and if not, will there be some kind of update for SC4-Pim?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: markussaage on January 29, 2016, 03:38:05 AM
The very first ever CAM Stage 7 farm... ;D  ;D  ;D
Seems it works!

Uh, one question: did I get it right, that the I-HT Bug is fixed in this version of the CAM? Thanks again!

Kind regards!
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 29, 2016, 06:41:06 AM
@indovote  Let me update the installer script a tiny bit here for you. The problem is I am updating the Version number in your EXE file to 1.1.640.1. Quick fix, in your \Documents\SimCity 4\Original Maxis Files\  you will find a backup version of your SimCity 4 EXE file. Restore this one back to your folder and everything will work fine. The version number update only tells the installer the IR Patch was applied so it doesn't run SC4 Dat Packer everytime you run the installer. I'll probably just go off the registry with the installer update. Sorry about that, I didn't anticipate the SafeDisc restrictions with the original RH and Deluxe editions

@FrankU Currently, all occupancy values are the exact same for this version as with CAM 1.0, except stage 8-10 farms. These have not quite been developed, but are in progress. I hope to update PIM-X, but if not I will provide a chart mapping the values for these higher stages. If I have to go the chart route, it will be in Excel for ease of use.

@markussaage You are correct, the I-HT bug is fixed in this version. The cause of the bug was the Census drives asking for 10% R$ 80% R$$ 10% R$$$. Since the R$ and R$$$ were the same, the bug cause I-HT to not hire any R$$$. The new values are 15% R$ 60% R$$ 25% R$$$. No bug possible. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mikey Knox on January 29, 2016, 06:47:33 AM
Is it a Problem when i dont have the DAT Packer installed, getting an Error (missing DLL) at this Step.

Also:

Do i need the OperaHouse Fix.dat anymore?

Is it advised to not use the Radical Ordinance V2.0 (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/21318-radical-ordinance-v20/) with this?


Thx :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 29, 2016, 07:27:05 AM
@Mikey Knox  It should not be a problem. I have included it in the installer. Which dll file is it saying is missing?

I still suggest using the Opera House Fix. This one is not included in CAM.

Radical Ordinance V2.0 should not conflict. Just load after CAM and NAM. CAM has a crime attenuation fix, so be sure to load this after, NAM modifies the Car Smogging ordinance, so load this After NAM to overwrite that one. Careful loading after NAM. There is a couple of Pathfinding exemplars in there that could mess up the Traffic Simulator in NAM.

It is radical, so be careful with it's use. It can unbalance things very easily.

SPAM will completely overwrite the IR modifications of the CAM. SPAM stages only go to 5, whereas CAM goes to 10. Also, the traffic and pollution fixes in CAM would be overwritten. There is ways to modify the SPAM Controller file to work with CAM, but that is for a different discussion and I'm not sure if it violates PEGPROD's agreement yet.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 29, 2016, 07:59:07 AM
The Windows installer has been updated to remove the EXE Version updater and use a Registry read for detection of the IR Patch. This should solve the problem of causing a SafeDisc error.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: markussaage on January 29, 2016, 10:30:19 AM
Quote from: InvisiChem on January 29, 2016, 06:41:06 AM
@indovote  Let me update the installer script a tiny bit here for you. The problem is I am updating the Version number in your EXE file to 1.1.640.1. Quick fix, in your \Documents\SimCity 4\Original Maxis Files\  you will find a backup version of your SimCity 4 EXE file. Restore this one back to your folder and everything will work fine. The version number update only tells the installer the IR Patch was applied so it doesn't run SC4 Dat Packer everytime you run the installer. I'll probably just go off the registry with the installer update. Sorry about that, I didn't anticipate the SafeDisc restrictions with the original RH and Deluxe editions

@FrankU Currently, all occupancy values are the exact same for this version as with CAM 1.0, except stage 8-10 farms. These have not quite been developed, but are in progress. I hope to update PIM-X, but if not I will provide a chart mapping the values for these higher stages. If I have to go the chart route, it will be in Excel for ease of use.

@markussaage You are correct, the I-HT bug is fixed in this version. The cause of the bug was the Census drives asking for 10% R$ 80% R$$ 10% R$$$. Since the R$ and R$$$ were the same, the bug cause I-HT to not hire any R$$$. The new values are 15% R$ 60% R$$ 25% R$$$. No bug possible. :)

&apls &apls &apls :bnn: :bnn: :bnn: Awesome... Thanks a lot...

Kind regards!
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 29, 2016, 01:29:33 PM
Well, off to work everyone. Keep the comments coming. Got some great info coming out of this. New ideas being developed, concerns coming in that I'm contemplating and working on. All good stuff.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: M4346 on January 29, 2016, 02:47:44 PM
I LOVE this 'mod'!

(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1697/24578491072_4f6b903558_c.jpg) (https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1697/24578491072_2ed0f0ef60_o.jpg)


Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: TheTeaCat on January 29, 2016, 03:30:33 PM
Working fine from the little bit of testing/playing I've done so far. Am really liking what you have achieved!!  &apls &apls

I'll post some CRV stats once I've played a bit more.

TTC
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 30, 2016, 12:09:00 AM
Thank you guys. Hopefully this continues on just as well and much more will come.  :satisfied:
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on January 30, 2016, 03:38:33 AM
Thank you. I haven't played with this, but I have studied the manual. It is a very through indeed and you must spent some time with it. I like changes you have proposed although I will see better when I play game a bit.

But one thing. How is a transition form CAM 1.0 city a 2.1? Will there be any hiccups?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 30, 2016, 05:40:18 AM
There is a few things to watch out for.

1. The original CAM 1.0 Workforce bug. If you had been playing without the fix by Z or a merged SimCity_1.dat file, the regional workforce was doubled. Also, the Commercial and Industrial totals were doubled, further doubling the residential population. Switching to CAM 2.1.0 from a doubled region will cause an economy crash for a while. You would end up having to rezone Residential into some jobs in every city and let it play for a while switching between cities. If this bug was not present, there should be no issue in this part.

2. There are 3 buildings that are fixed in this version of CAM, the Small Medical Clinic, Nuclear Power Plant, and Solar Power Plant. If your city has any of these buildings, you must delete them before installing the CAM or you will end up with the "Phantom Slider" bug.

3. Depending on which PlayStyle you use, the region stages could be off. For instance, lets say you use the Extended PlayStyle. The regional population requirements are approximately double for each stage of building. All this would do is grow new buildings at a lower stage until the regional populations reached a point where your CAM 1.0 stage is. Then, all would be back to normal.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 30, 2016, 05:47:53 AM
One important part I forgot to mention in the Manual.

The Commercial CAP relief for the Dirt Road network was increased to provide the same as Maxis Highway connections. The reason for this is to provide proper CAP relief for the RHW connections. Those without the NAM will see no benefit with this change, simply because the Dirt Road network was never activated in the standard game.

RHW Highways now provide the same CAP relief as Maxis Highways, as it always should have been.

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on January 30, 2016, 06:59:39 AM
Ok, that didn't went well. :( The installation failed with IR FIX. It deleted the simcity_1.dat file but failed to create a new one. It gave me an error, but I didn't realise to take a screen capture. The error refered to a log file but I can't find one. The Dat packer did not run. I don't have that program, but I did understood that it wasn't neccesary.

The file simcity_1.dat is now missing and I need to re-install SC4.

My OS is Win7 and I have GOG version of the game.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on January 30, 2016, 07:26:13 AM
New attempt. Now the install says that IR FIx is already installed even though I made full re-install and the game is now vanilla Rush Hour. Ok, I need to try with Mac manual install.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: sputnik1969 on January 30, 2016, 09:46:32 AM
I use sc4 digital from steam, after using the install the game would not start.
After some digging I found the SimCity_1.dat file in a new folder called "original SimCity files" in the my documents section for the game.
I moved this file to the program files version of SimCity with the rest of the SimCity .dat files and then made a new shortcut from steam (right click game name, properties, create shortcut) and it now works.
I also noticed in the program files version of SimCity in the sku_data file that it contained sku1 (American) and sku2 (European) so I have deleted the one I don't use.
Hope this helps.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 30, 2016, 03:14:44 PM
@bombardiere  Let me modify the installer real quick to allow an option to run the IR Fix anyways. The installer is definitely not one of my strong points. I'm very interested in seeing what the error is so I can fix it, but we shall go with what we have for now.

I do wish you would have waited to reinstall, but great that it is done. The backup SimCity_1.dat file should have been created in the \Documents\Original SimCity Files\   directory. This could have saved some time.

If you don't wish to wait for the new installer, I'm going to step you through the removal of a single registry key to get it back running correctly.
1. click the start orb.
2. in the white box at the bottom, type regedit
3. click the "Registry Editor" entry that comes up or just press enter
4. Click yes on the UAC Message that pops up
5. On the left pane will be a series of keys. Click on the plus sign to the left of HKEY_CURRENT_USER
6. Click the plus sign next to SOFTWARE
7. Right click the Colossus Addon Mod entry and select Delete.
8. Agree with the warning.
9. Close regedit and rerun the installer.

The only problem with going the route of the MAC verision is you need to have a knowledge of JDat Pack or SC4 Dat packer to merge the files correctly. This is what the installer is supposed to do. Just in case, here is the directions for SC4 Dat Packer.

1. Extract the Mac Version into your \Documents\SimCity 4\  directory.
2. Create a folder in \Documents\SimCity 4\Original SimCity Files\
3. Download Dat Packer http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26) and install that.
4. Copy your SimCity_1.dat file to \Documents\SimCity 4\Original SimCity Files\
5. Make another copy of your SimCity_1.dat file to the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1\  directory
     NOTE: In this directory is already a file named z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat
6. Run SC4 Dat Packer
7. Select just the SimCity_1 listing in the main program window
8. Click start, then close on the window when it pops up and is done, then quit on the main SC4 Dat Packer window.
9. Open the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\Plugins Compressed\ folder
10. Copy this SimCity_1.dat file to your SimCity 4 install directory, overwrite if asked.
11. Delete the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1\   directory.
12. Delete the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\Plugins Compressed\  directory
13. Follow the rest of the instructions in the MAC version to finish Installing the CAM


I know this is a lot of instructions. This is what makes the Installer so complicated, it really is doing a lot. I apologize for my failure to foresee these issues and I will do everything I can to make sure this does not happen again. I'll post here once I have the new installer up.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 30, 2016, 03:24:31 PM
@sputnik1969 The copy that you copied over was your original SimCity_1.dat file. This means the IR Fix is not applied. Now, lets figure out what happened.

I imagine from the symptoms when you move the SimCity_1.dat file back to the SimCity 4 install directory, it did not ask you to overwrite the file. Please tell me if this is correct?

If this is correct, then this means the DatPacker failed to create the SimCity_1.dat file from the merged files, but the rest of the installer ran correctly.

Let me update the installer for the same reason as bombardiere had and we can troubleshoot this further. I'll also be adding a check to make sure the file was created before removing the original from the Install Directory.

If you do not wish to wait, the same steps above will work in your case. If you do follow these steps, please let me know how this went and if there was any problems so I can fine tune everything.

Thank you both for your patience and I apologize for these problems. This will help me to build a better product for everyone though.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 30, 2016, 04:37:33 PM
Installer update complete. Even if the Registry entry has been set that the IR Fix has been applied, you can still select to apply it again. If you are unsure, go ahead and reapply the patch. It won't hurt anything.

It also checks for a SimCity_1.dat merged file from SC4 Dat Packer before deleting the SimCity_1.dat from the SimCity install directory. If the merged file is missing, it will give you an option to continue the install, but warn you the packing failed.

sputnik1969 and bombardiere, this update is specifically for you guys so nothing has to be done manually. Again, thank you for the reports. This allows me to produce a higher quality product with less failures.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on January 31, 2016, 12:35:07 AM
Yes I did find that the installer made a copy simcity_1.dat and exe. After I did reinstall. :) Anyway that is  good practise by you. I know better next time.

I also found error text. I attach it to this post in case it is any use to you.

My Oparating System is not happy about changes. I have had Windows 7 only few months but I have already learn that it doesn't like if programs try to change files in "my Documents" of in "Programs Files" folders. Security features no doubt, but hey I want to control my computer, not some bloody Seattle guy. :D

I have had similar type issues with NAM 33. It did install but made my SC4 prone to crash. I am guessing that some vital part did no install correctly or not all files were removed and the was conflict with the files.

In general I don't like install program with BAT. Of course with complex NAM or in your case the need for Datpack, the installer is justified.

P.S. Attachment does not accept txt files so I converted it to pdf. I think the top line says it all "Access Violation."
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: sputnik1969 on January 31, 2016, 02:37:31 AM
The install worked this time with no problems. Thank you for your help and making mods which make SC4 a keeper.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on January 31, 2016, 04:52:00 PM
No problem. Just glad to be creating content and sharing my positive experiences with others. More to come, for sure. If you want, join the CAM 2 Farming discussion and help out with the debate. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on February 01, 2016, 08:20:35 AM
Still no joy. :( I have tried 3 times your new installer. I only get this error message. I tried to follow that path but there was no log file. Just empty folder. I have set the lowest user right level so that should not give acces problems.

However I got a new folder in SC4 plugin folder. Simcity_1 It contains one file z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanet Merge.dat Size is 1 KB

Is this what should happen? Edit Yes, I can see from the installer messages that you sugget I manually merge that file with Simcity_1.dat Ok I get it :)

During the installation I got text document pop up. It say to choose destination for DatPacker, but I never got any option to choose. Just this error pop up.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on February 01, 2016, 08:32:37 AM
@bombardiere

maybe you need Visual C++ 2003 libraries, I had the same error when i tried to run the installer on Wine. I installed those libraries and everything worked.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 01, 2016, 04:39:09 PM
Mero, that is a very good idea.

@bombardiere Yes, the problem is having to do with SC4 Dat Packer failing to load on your system. Unfortunately, the only way I would be able to fix this is to rewrite it or build a program to merge the file myself (Currently outside my scope but planned for future installs)

In this very rare case, I highly suggest installing SC4 Dat Packer manually, and using the MAC version to manually install. I would love to be able to send a merged SC4.dat file, but that would be a very large file and against the EA/Maxis User Agreement and SC4Devotion Upload Agreement.

Bombardiere, use the steps provided by me in a previous post. Feel free to PM me with any parts you may be unclear about at all. I'll also ask that you install iLive's Reader http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=656 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=656) just long enough to verify the merger.

Worst case scenario, I will step you through every change manually with the reader, but we will only go that route if absolutely necessary. Reader does not like to save files this large.

Please, PM Me and I will step you through everything. Be patient, I do work graveyard shifts tonight.

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Zeratai on February 03, 2016, 04:48:23 PM
`Hi, I recently downloaded CAM 2 but the exe wont run. I cant give more details because there aren´t. I only double click the exe and nothing happens. Also I tried tu run as an Admin but still nothing happened. I notice that when I run the .exe in task manager 3 process open dont know why but nothing else happens. I leave a pic of the task manager.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 03, 2016, 06:27:18 PM
Looking into this for sure. Windows has initiated the process threads, but failed to operate the executable or is stalled on the Init script.

I'm not seeing anything in the NSIS .onInit function that should be causing this. This is going to be a manual install for now. For the next increment, I will write the installer using InstallShield and see if that helps with some compatibility issues. For now, follow these steps exactly.

1. Extract the Mac Version (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3336 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3336))into your      \Documents\SimCity 4\  directory. (If you have changed your plugins directory, change this path)
2. Create this folder  \Documents\SimCity 4\Original SimCity Files\
3. Download Dat Packer http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26) and install.
4. Copy your SimCity_1.dat file to \Documents\SimCity 4\Original SimCity Files\
5. Make another copy of your SimCity_1.dat file to the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1\  directory
     NOTE: In this directory is already a file named z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat
6. Run SC4 Dat Packer
7. Select just the SimCity_1 listing in the main program window
8. Click start, then close on the window when it pops up and is done, then quit on the main SC4 Dat Packer window.
9. Open the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\Plugins Compressed\ folder
10. Copy this SimCity_1.dat file to your SimCity 4 install directory, overwrite if asked.
11. Delete the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1\   directory.
12. Delete the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\Plugins Compressed\  directory

This will have patched your SimCity_1.dat file

13. Open \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\a__CAM\a__Core\
14. Remove the files you do not want. You must keep the MainController and only one PlayStyle. If you keep the Rural PlayStyle, you also must keep the FarmOverride file.

That will install your CAM and patch the file. You will not have the registry entries or uninstaller, but that will be fixed with the next increment. I am getting better with installers, so I do greatly apologize for my failures here.

A final note, The FarmOverride file can be kept with all playstyles, it just provides a ton of boost to the normal farm demand drives. I suggest removing it if you are not using rural cam though.

I'm not sure what is causing the stall right now, so I'll look into it a lot more.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on February 05, 2016, 07:03:02 PM
After playing with CAM for a while, I got some conclusions and suggestions.

The CAM controller fixes very well how the game handles RCI demands and workforce distribution. I'd recommend it to all players.
So, would be nice to add in the installer the option to install only the controller and the playstyle (like the NAM does with the traffic simulator).

I'm telling you this, because before installing the CAM i had some low-rise R overrides (I don't like how those maxis buildings look like). Those overrides don't work while the "CAM_2.1.0_Buildins.dat" file is in the CAM folder (removing it the situation is reverted).

What do you think about this?
There are some people, other than me, who could use this option?

I also tested the IRM (CAM version) with I-D and I-M Addons.
Addon lots fits quite well with low stages, they provide approximately the same jobs amount per tile.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 05, 2016, 07:39:35 PM
Thank you for your detailed and great observations. These help out a lot with further development.

I actually contemplated the optional install or not install of certain features, the Farm Demand boost with the rural CAM added to other PlayStyles, but found I lack in experience with installer scripting to make it happen quite yet. I am learning how to use the InstallShield scripting, both to make the installer more compatible and less buggy than the NSIS installer I'm currently using, and to give me a smoother scripting language I'm more familiar with.

The buildings file contains:
the original CAM 1.0 altered maxis files for all but IR
the Nuclear Power Plant, Solar Power Plant and Medical clinic with fixed workforce values(Workforce bug like IHT)
IR Buildings unchained from their parent cohorts along with the query fix and altered workforce and pollution values.

The problems you are facing tell me these share the same TGI as your custom buildings and the original Maxis buildings. An easier fix would be to put your custom buildings in a folder that starts with a letter after a (i.e. B_LowriseR, LowriseR, etc.), to load after the a__CAM folder. This should override my buildings file, while retaining the fixes. Make sure they're not just in the Plugins folder. If I remember right, it loads these first and then folders.

I would make this an optional install except the altered stages and occupancy values are necessary to keep balance with the new stage settings. Since the original CAM used older modified values, I am currently separating out the buildings and updating them with the current PIM-X values for an incremental release. With this, overriding in the same fashion should work well still.

I am very happy to hear the IRM Addon Lots have similar occupancies. I personally really like the mod. I don't use it while developing and testing, but I do use it when playing casually. :)

I hope this helps out a bit. The game will play without the buildings file, just quite a few stage 7 and stage 8 maxis buildings are quite out of density ranges for CAM.

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on February 06, 2016, 06:05:26 AM
Making my low-rise overrides load after a_CAM doesn't fix this issue, however I merged them with CAM_2.1.0_Buildins.dat and it worked, this should keep all other balances.  :thumbsup:

I can't say now if I-D and I-M Addons fit well with industry higher stages, I'll continue to play with IRM to see how factories develop.

One more think, I used JDatPacker
http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3140

If you succeed into run it in the installer would be great, many people haven't Visual C++ 2003 libraries installed since they are old. ()testing()
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 06, 2016, 02:44:34 PM
QuoteMaking my low-rise overrides load after a_CAM doesn't fix this issue, however I merged them with CAM_2.1.0_Buildins.dat and it worked, this should keep all other balances.  :thumbsup:

Can't argue with that fix for sure  :D Glad it worked out.

I know there was someone working on the IRM Addon packs awhile back. They never did release it out, as far as I know. I was reading there was an easily solved problem with the modifications, but shouldn't be too hard to get them going. Just very time consuming. I noticed Twrecks is very flexible about this type of modification to his mod. After I get done with this, I'll take a look at them if noone gets to them first.

From your observation, is JDatPacker as friendly to use as SC4 Dat Packer in an installation? The purpose of using Dat Packer was to remove as much user interaction as possible without rewriting the program. I originally was going to use command line arguments, but this ended up corrupting my SimCity_1.dat instead. Any info you have to make that happen would work very well, especially for compatibility reasons. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Tyberius06 on February 07, 2016, 02:43:26 AM
Hello!

First of all, thanks your hard work.

Quotethe I-HT bug is fixed in this version. The cause of the bug was the Census drives asking for 10% R$ 80% R$$ 10% R$$$. Since the R$ and R$$$ were the same, the bug cause I-HT to not hire any R$$$. The new values are 15% R$ 60% R$$ 25% R$$$. No bug possible.

About the quote: Do I need to install the full package or just a part of it to fix the I-HT bug, because at this moment I wouldn't like to use the rest of the benefits of the CAM.

I had a fixed Simcity_1.dat file, fixed by the I-HT census mod, but lately I needed to reinstall the game (digital copy). Now I wanted to "reinstall" the  I-HT census aswell (before I read your post about the fixed I-HT bug), but I can see in the datpacker the notice: useless file, all entries have been superseed in: ....plugins\Simcity_1IH_census_10_78_12.dat
Well I'm not sure what exactly means that, but the new SC_1 dat file is smaller then the original, and I can't recall that I read this notice the last time, when I "installed" the I-HT census.

Thanks any help and advice! :)

Tyberius
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on February 07, 2016, 05:40:26 AM
@Tyberius06

I don't know how CAM files exactly have been built, but I imagine that the I-HT fix is somewere in the two .dat files in Plugins/a__CAM/a__Core.

@InvisiChem

Both DatPackers have some pros and cons.

SC4DatPacker:

Pros

Cons

JDatPacker:

Pros

Cons
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 07, 2016, 05:49:24 AM
Hello Tyberius,

The IHT bug fix does what the CAM does basically, changes what kind of workers IHT asks for. Originally, IHT asked for 10%R$, 80%R$$, 10%R$$$. IHT bug fix brings 2% away from R$$ and applies it to R$$$ bringing the to total request for 10%R$,78%R$$,12%R$$$, fixing the bug. CAM does use different, albeit I feel more balanced numbers. CAM adjusts these numbers for most employment types.

With that said, I highly suggest using the new CAM in it's entirety to balance out the stages and fix a few more bugs. Since you do not wish to install the CAM, I'll provide you with some results from my testing though.

Do use the installer to provide the IR Fix only. This will cause IR to be tallied into your total industrial numbers and be provided CAP relief without altering any other part your game.

The doubling bug first found in the original CAM and thought to be part of the IHT Bug fix, I found this to only be the case when using the Total Census Exemplars. If you are not sure of what these are, there is a group of files that are listed Census, Regional Census and Total Census. It is only by using the Total Census ones that sum together the properties, all industrial for instance, that the doubling bug occurs. I could not duplicate this bug under any other circumstances using any other census exemplars.

So, placing the IHT bug fix into your plugins without dat packing should be sufficient to fix this bug without getting the doubling bug. The Total Census Exemplars I was just talking about, they have just been dat packed into your file using the IR Fix only option in the installer.

The reason for this message is usually trying to dat pack the file with SimCity_1.dat loading after IH_Census_10_78_12.dat file. I would restore your original SimCity_1.dat file then run my installer with the IR Fix only. If you still wish to dat pack the IH Fix after that, follow the directions very closely and be sure to rename IH_Census_10_78_12.dat to z_IH_Census_10_78_12.dat. This will fix your entries superseded issue.

If you want to avoid all of that, restore your original SimCity_1.dat and just install the CAM SkyScraper version. This version is very close to the original stage values, keeping the game growing quickly but still giving all the benefits CAM provides.

Hope all of this helps.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 07, 2016, 05:55:45 AM
Mero, you would be correct, the fix is in the MainController file. It also has the all the other changes and workforce drive changes as well.

I could try it with JDatPacker. Being able to choose the input and output folder, I could actually setup the fix in a folder outside plugins, decreasing the probability of someone accidentally compressing their entire plugins folder with SimCity_1.dat.

I know wouangaine did not mind his tools being used in installers as long as they were not permanently installed and the program was still credited, I think I remember reading memo was the same way with JDatPacker.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Tyberius06 on February 07, 2016, 06:15:59 AM
QuoteThe reason for this message is usually trying to dat pack the file with SimCity_1.dat loading after IH_Census_10_78_12.dat file. I would restore your original SimCity_1.dat file then run my installer with the IR Fix only. If you still wish to dat pack the IH Fix after that, follow the directions very closely and be sure to rename IH_Census_10_78_12.dat to z_IH_Census_10_78_12.dat. This will fix your entries superseded issue.

Oh, d... sh... :D :D :D You're right, I totally forgot the proper loading order this time, and I forgot to put the "z_" tag before the mod-dat file.
Well, I'm gonna check the IR Fix.

Thank you for your help! :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on February 07, 2016, 08:06:01 AM
QuoteI could try it with JDatPacker. Being able to choose the input and output folder, I could actually setup the fix in a folder outside plugins, decreasing the probability of someone accidentally compressing their entire plugins folder with SimCity_1.dat.

Yes, that's great!  :thumbsup: Doing so you have to move SimCity_1.dat only once in a backup folder. Then select the backup folder as input, and the output will be ".../Maxis/SimCity 4 Deluxe" or ".../Steam/steamapps/common/SimCity 4 Deluxe" for Steam users.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 07, 2016, 07:54:16 PM
just downloaded the jdatpacker source code. See if I can build a version that removes the interaction altogether. A huge thank you for the help here.

Also reading your posts about the Wineskin wrappers and your NAM 34 port. With that knowledge, an installer for Mac OSX may be coming soon as well for the CAM.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on February 08, 2016, 08:15:02 AM
Before doing that, there are some things about Wine you have to know.


My suggestion is to make a special .exe installer (that I'll port on OSX) that won't try to update SimCity_1.dat, but installs under "Documents/SimCity 4/CAM Auxiliary Files" the JDatPacker, the "z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat" and provides all instructions how to do the update (I can write the instructions file if you need).

Finally, all Wine files are about 300MB big, so I'm planning to make a single Wineskin Port with both NAM and CAM installers inside.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on February 08, 2016, 11:31:44 AM
Got it :) Finally  &apls I needed mfc71.dll Perhaps you could add that to installation instruction. I found out this as I tried wougantine's DatPacker and it gave me this error.

After that the installation with your installprogram went smoothly. Thank you. I installed your full changes. Now to see how it looks in the game. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 08, 2016, 02:55:56 PM
@Mero99 I can do that. I'm a little worried about the 300 MB Overhead, but we'll work on that. Just in case, I am also looking into a Java based Installer Generator. Again, I wouldn't be able to access the protected package, but let me build the NSIS Mac Exe and I'll send it to you, along with the script.

@bombardiere The mfc71.dll is actually included in the temporary folder with SC4 dat packer and removed when the installation is completed or stopped. Interesting results though, means that even with the redistributables in the application directory some windows installations want the dll registered.

This is yet another reason to use jdatpacker as the base for the patch for an incremental release. Thank you guys for all this.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on February 09, 2016, 08:11:47 AM
That's why I want to create a single Wineskin port with both NAM and CAM inside, multiple programs can run in the same Wine environment if they can run on the same Wine release. I have tested the NAM 34 installer with more than one Wine release, it should run on all releases above the 1.6.2 (which is quite old) &Thk/(. It runs the Clantiol, but ofc can run the Compiler and the TSC during the installation, they must be run manually after the installation.

However I'll test if a disk image .dmg gives a better compression than a .zip file.

I'm gonna write later a detailed guide how to install the IR fix on the Mac version  "$Deal"$, it seems complicated, but they are just few clicks.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 10, 2016, 08:32:16 PM
Mero, I sent you a PM with the new Mac Installer and the sources. Again, I can't express how much I thank you for all this help.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 12, 2016, 07:07:49 PM
Mac users, be sure to visit this link http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=17344.msg505849#msg505849 (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=17344.msg505849#msg505849)

This work by Mero99 made this possible. It is a big download, but really nothing with all of our broadband speeds anymore. Contains both the NAM and CAM. Check it out.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mandarin(a) on February 14, 2016, 09:05:16 AM
Hello again!

Well, I finally had some time to install CAM - of course not without problems  &sly
I am using Windows 7, so I downloaded Windows installer, ran it and get an error message that my system is missing msvcp71.dll So I downloaded it and installed to my system directory, ran CAM installer again - and an error occurred again. In this case, there were no specific details, just a path to logfile: C:\Users\AppData\Local\Temp\nsfD867.tmp\Contrib\ExtProgs\DatPack\SC4DatPacker.exe.log - nsfD867.tmp was never created in Temp folder.
So I went on to manually merge SimCity4_1.dat (everything else seems installed right). It went well, I think it is going to work; I just don't have enough time today to run the game and see if everything is alright.

Please inform me if there is something I missed and I hope that this helps somehow  :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on February 14, 2016, 09:27:21 AM
Hi,

that's because msvcp71.dll is part of Visual C++ 2003 libraries, and they are no more installed by default on Windows. You can look at the following thread how to merge files into the SimCity_1.dat (it's for Mac users, but can be applied also for Windows).
http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=17341.msg505737#msg505737

You will find the IR fix file in the Mac version.
http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3336

However, InvisiChem is working on a new version of the installer.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mandarin(a) on February 14, 2016, 09:51:49 AM
Yes, that's exactly what I have done!  ;D I have used SC4DatPacker but if I understood correctly from that thread, there is no real difference.
One thing though: I have noticed that merged SimCity_1.dat is smaller for 10 kB than the original one. Is this a normal thing to happen when merging or is this wrong?
Thank you for quick reply!
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 14, 2016, 03:01:23 PM
Yes, this is normal. I end up with the same results. I imagine it is because SC4 Dat Packer strips any unnecessary items from exemplar files.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Flaschensammler on February 22, 2016, 09:41:36 AM
Thank you for your all work! Never tried cam, but decided to give it a shot now. I'm stuck at following problem.

So I tried to install it, got that missing mfc71.dll everytime.
Tried packing it manually, after failing that I uninstalled everything and installed it again, and failed again, again following the upper guide designed for mac which should work for windows, too (I have windows 7). Both times after packing most of the RULs of the original game (which are streets, roads, etc., right?) doubled (and my SimCity_1.dat file did not get smaller). Any ideas how to procede now?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on February 22, 2016, 09:49:42 AM
Just scroll up on this page  :P I have made a post about the mfc71.dll  ;D
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Flaschensammler on February 22, 2016, 10:14:41 AM
exactly. Sorry for being unclear, but it's your instructions -for manual Simcity_1 merging- I followed and although they were very fool proof, I somehow fucked it up :D.
I'll try again later.


EDIT: Well, couldn't fix it, whenever I load the game with a merged file, the vanilla streets, roads, rails, zones, etc. are doubled, the industry wants water and somethings are just weird


EDIT2: Guys, I'm an idiot, after installing the file which should be merged with the original SimCity_1.dat file appeared in my plugin folder and it took me ages to come up with the thought, that the Simcity_1 folder doesn't belong into the plugins, but into the main folder.... Nearly deinstalled the whole game :D

Everything works fine now, I think, can't tell the difference yet, super hyped to try this now
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Vee Andronov on February 22, 2016, 02:03:06 PM
hi invisichem today i was uninstall sc4deluxe because i install your cam2.1.0 and test all types like ir fix only cam extended midrise skyscrapers etc but this mod is really very fast developed all skyscraper who i was install in the plugins fold according their dependencies but can u fix only one problem in your cam 2.1 and this is the residential buildings for fix does not appears buildings who i was install in plugings fold but developed only maxis exactly ingame buildings this is [Watch the language and tone. - Tarkus, Admin] i dont like the ingame buildings
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 22, 2016, 03:47:18 PM
Vee,

I am working on changing the way the in game buildings are used in CAM. The current buldings are the same buildings as CAM 1.0. The TGI (address for the buildings and lots) is the same Maxis TGI. This remains unchanged thus far. The only 3 buildings I added still use the Maxis TGI - Nuclear Power Plant, Solar Power Plant and Medical Clinic.

With that said, lets see what is happening and get you a solution. The CAM and it's buildings are loaded in a folder named a__CAM. This is so any custom content that needs to override aspects of CAM can by being installed into any folder that begins alphabetically after that. If the custom buildings you are using use the same address as the Maxis TGI, please be sure they load after the CAM (i.e. b_Residential building 1, etc.)

The custom CAMeLots and CAMpatibles downloaded here should grow without any issues with the new CAM. They mostly all use a different TGI than the Maxis buildings. They should grow alongside the Maxis buildings perfectly.

It sounds as though you have quite a bit of custom content and do not wish to have the ingame buildings growing. To make this happen, be sure to have plenty of custom content along all stages (lowrise, midrise and highrise) then use BSC Maxis blockers http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=897 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=897) to stop the Maxis content. Remember, CAM adds no buildings to the game. It uses the maxis content.

Be warned, if you do not have enough custom content and use the BSC Maxis blockers, your city will fail to grow properly, if at all.

Hopefully this helps.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on February 23, 2016, 12:00:11 AM
Quote from: Flaschensammler on February 22, 2016, 10:14:41 AM
Everything works fine now, I think, can't tell the difference yet, super hyped to try this now
Glad to see you got it working; I always forget that the DATpacker leaves everything in your plugins folder. In the case of SimCity_1.dat, this means it doubles all your transit items, and I did the same thing you did when I first started out. Don't beat yourself up too much.

Also, not to be that guy, but try to keep your language PG level. I'd edit your post myself, but I don't actually have Mod permissions over this part of the forums.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 23, 2016, 07:52:34 AM
Thank you APSMS. Somehow I missed that post completely.  Me being  ???

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Ocram on February 23, 2016, 10:00:16 PM
I look forward to playing SimCity 4 in my free time (this summer). It only took 12 years for the game to experience a renaissance. Thank you for working on the CAM!
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on February 23, 2016, 10:40:52 PM
Quote from: InvisiChem on January 29, 2016, 07:27:05 AM
@Mikey Knox  It should not be a problem. I have included it in the installer. Which dll file is it saying is missing?

I still suggest using the Opera House Fix. This one is not included in CAM.

Radical Ordinance V2.0 should not conflict. Just load after CAM and NAM. CAM has a crime attenuation fix, so be sure to load this after, NAM modifies the Car Smogging ordinance, so load this After NAM to overwrite that one. Careful loading after NAM. There is a couple of Pathfinding exemplars in there that could mess up the Traffic Simulator in NAM.

It is radical, so be careful with it's use. It can unbalance things very easily.

SPAM will completely overwrite the IR modifications of the CAM. SPAM stages only go to 5, whereas CAM goes to 10. Also, the traffic and pollution fixes in CAM would be overwritten. There is ways to modify the SPAM Controller file to work with CAM, but that is for a different discussion and I'm not sure if it violates PEGPROD's agreement yet.
Could we load the SPAM before the CAM, so that the farms grow (they will need to be modified, but I'm not feeling up to whipping out the PIM-X for that yet) but the controller is overridden by CAM?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: FrankU on February 24, 2016, 12:19:46 AM
I think you don't need to load the SPAM in order for the farms to grow. I guess you can just put the farms in your plugins and let them grow with CAM.
For a proper reply I should have tested this first, but my time is limited.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 24, 2016, 06:49:58 AM
Indeed you are correct Frank, you can run SPAM farms without the SPAM controller. There will be some farms missing from SPAM if you use this method. These are the farms that override the Maxis farms in SPAM.

There is another problem with attempting to use SPAM farms. SPAM uses all industrial types in their farms. If you look at them in reader, the jobs are IR, ID, IM and IHT. Fields included. The exemplars removed to make them compatible also sum all the industrial types together.

Before CAM, this was a great way to get IR to act like other industrial types. The main benefits of SPAM are now included in CAM - Education does not automatically kill farms, traffic effect lessened, pollution effect lessened, job amounts, field query - only I think CAM does it better by not shifting these values into all the industrial types.

The SPAM farms are very pretty though, so in order to properly use them, one would have to PIM-X the farm buildings and remove the ID, IM and IHT occupant groups and job types from farm fields.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Kolossi on February 25, 2016, 05:54:45 AM
Been playing with CAM 2 for a while now and it's been interesting but however not to my liking, specifically choosing the Extended option. As such, I'd like to switch over to the Standard option, so I assume I need to reinstall CAM 2 over. My main concern is the region I've been building with Extended option. Can I keep it if I switch to Standard or will there be some drastic changes that could set back progress by a long shot?

Also, is the reinstall as simple as just running the installaion again or do I need to do a fresh install?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 25, 2016, 07:53:17 AM
For the install, just reinstall using the Standard option. No need for a fresh install. The installer will run the uninstaller on its own, so when you see CAM 2 successfully uninstalled, you are on the right path. Just keep running the installer.

With Standard, your stages are going to progress faster, so you'll start seeing larger buildings quicker. There should be no dramatic effects from switching PlayStyle. The only changes will be the amount of population required to reach specific stages and the loading screen will change to reflect that style.

Feel free to play with the PlayStyles until you find the one you like. Standard will run mostly like the original CAM, Rural is less likely for high stage development, Extended is for large regional play, Midrise grows like European cities and Skyscraper is for extremely fast development.

Have fun. :)

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Kolossi on February 25, 2016, 09:01:58 AM
Alright, thanks for that. ;D
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 26, 2016, 07:20:23 PM
@APSMS
QuoteCould we load the SPAM before the CAM, so that the farms grow (they will need to be modified, but I'm not feeling up to whipping out the PIM-X for that yet) but the controller is overridden by CAM?

Technically, this could work fine. The only problem then comes with the way jobs are distributed in the SPAM farms. Although, this worked fine for many years, so many people are okay with the way they are distributed. It should work the same way. The CAM exemplars will override the SPAM exemplars. Unfortunately, the Maxis TGI farms in SPAM would again be overridden by the CAM Maxis TGI exemplars. Even once I finish the building updates for this CAM, The Maxis TGI are completely blocked.

I could set up a specialty group to interact with the SPAM so as not to override PEG's Maxis override. I would rather get PEG's permission to CAM his SPAM though. lol
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Applevorous on March 06, 2016, 06:02:41 PM
Sorry to ask a troubleshooting question here, but I've looked everywhere for a solution with no success.

When trying to use the installer (have tried with both extended and standard settings enabled), the SC4 Dat Packer window does not appear when it should, after I close the ReadMe file. Instead, I get an error message directing me to a log file (SC4DatPacker.exe.log), which loads blank with an "Access Denied" message.

Also, since I will be starting my new game without CAM loaded, is there any issue with installing it on an already-functional city?

Thanks much for the mod and for any help!

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: matias93 on March 06, 2016, 06:15:34 PM
Maybe some missing DLL? Paste the content of the error log to check that.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: woodb3kmaster on March 06, 2016, 06:18:42 PM
"Access Denied" makes it sound like a UAC conflict (assuming you're using Windows). Did you try running the installer as an administrator?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Applevorous on March 06, 2016, 06:31:01 PM
Yeah, was hopeful that would do it, but no such luck.

One thing I forgot to mention was that I initially encountered another error message relating to a missing DLL, "msvcp71.dll". That message went away when I installed a copy, but no change otherwise.

On the advice of a comment I read in the STEX page for CAM, I also made sure to have the mfc71, gdiplus, and msvcr71 DLLs installed, but again, no difference.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 06, 2016, 09:44:55 PM
MSVCP71.dll is included with the SC4 Dat Packer in the temporary directory with the installer. Same with MFC71.dll and GDIPlus.dll. Unfortunately, these are not always working correctly. Next version of the installer is going to move to a modified version of JDat Packer to solve this problem.

This error only happens a handful of systems. Not exactly sure what is the whole problem yet. As a workaround, here is a different install process.

1. Download the Mac version here, http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3336 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3336)
2. Download JDat Packer here,http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3140 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3140)
3. Unzip the Mac Version of CAM to your \Documents\SimCity 4\  Directory.
4. Create a directory in \Documents\SimCity 4\  named Original Maxis Files
5. Create a directory in \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\  named PluginsCompressed.
6. Copy SimCity_1.Dat from the SimCity 4 install Directory, should be something like C:\Program Files(x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\  , to the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1\   folder
7. Copy SimCity_1.Dat from the SimCity 4 install Directory to the new Original Maxis Files directory (This creates your backup copy of SimCity_1.Dat)
8. Run JDat Packer - Input directory will be \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1\  - Output Directory will be \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\PluginsCompressed\
9. Close JDat Packer. In PluginsCompressed, rename the file SimCity_1.dat
10. Copy the new SimCity_1.dat to the SimCity 4 Install directory - Overwrite the file if asked to.
11. Delete the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\PluginsCompressed\  folder.
12. Delete the \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1\   folder
13. In folder \Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\a__CAM\Core Files\  Several files will be listed as PlayStyle. Keep only the PlayStyle you wish to have. If you use the Rural PlayStyle, also keep the FarmOverride file. Delete all other PlayStyle files. They are not compatible with each other.

This will fully install CAM the manual way. There will not be any Registry entries telling future installers the IR Patch has been applied, which version of CAM is installed and no uninistaller. This will not hurt your system and all future installers will continue using Cleanitol, so this also will not be a problem. I never suggest manually editing the Windows Registry.

Again, I apologize for this failure. SC4 Dat Packer is a great program, but it is getting very aged and new Windows operating systems are not very kind to it.

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 06, 2016, 10:11:23 PM
Forgot to reply to some of your other questions here. Sorry.

QuoteWhen trying to use the installer (have tried with both extended and standard settings enabled), the SC4 Dat Packer window does not appear when it should, after I close the ReadMe file. Instead, I get an error message directing me to a log file (SC4DatPacker.exe.log), which loads blank with an "Access Denied" message.

Also, since I will be starting my new game without CAM loaded, is there any issue with installing it on an already-functional city?

The reason for the Access Denied message is the Temporary Directory is deleted after the installer finishes. Any files that could not be immediately deleted are marked for deletion upon restart and restricted, even with Admin Privildges. The installer automatically runs in Administrative mode, so no need to run as administrator.

There will be some minor effects on the new city after installing CAM. Demolish the Nuclear Power plant, medical clinic or solar power plant before installing and replop or you'll get the phantom slider bug. It will take a small amount of time for your economy to readjust to the new settings in CAM. Other than that, it should be okay. The problem is only magnified in large regions. One or two cities should recover very quickly.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on March 07, 2016, 05:32:45 AM
Did you something to the rewards? ;) I started a new region with 2.1. and the Mayor's house show up only after I had 3500 residents. That is ok. I think that in vanilla game the rewards came too early. There is nothing for late game.

Otherwise I think I like what you have done. :)  I use "extended" option and growth, upwards, is clearly slower. That is good as I want build up slowly. Money is tight, but not too much and I have been able to build in Hard mode. Although I have no money for big projects. So no highways until my population builds up and then I may need the Pradoan banking and transfer money between cities.

The demand, or should I said drivers, are high however. With one city in the region, only two road connection and 3500 population, I have 50 000 drive for R$. Pretty high, but I have to see how it behaves on long run.

Another issue is the agriculture. I haven't read exactly what you did with the jobs, however now even small farming lots are demanding a large number of employees. If it is a fruit orchard, then 6 x 6 lot can employ about 100 workers.

I have got used to play with large number of fields filling my early cities.  Sometimes it seems that no matter how many fields I lot, I am not able to satisfy the demand. Now with 2.1. 5- 10 lots are enough for early demand. I haven't played long, but it looks like this demand recovers quickly. However, I have a huge number of agricultural jobs available in my early city and I can't keep up zoning residential lots fast enough for these worker. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 07, 2016, 07:39:47 AM
QuoteDid you something to the rewards?

Yes, these had not changed since vanilla. With the much larger populations attainable with CAM, I extended the populations before rewards with this version. It is not perfectly set yet, but a work in progress.

QuoteAnother issue is the agriculture. I haven't read exactly what you did with the jobs, however now even small farming lots are demanding a large number of employees

Certain fields, such as the Lettuce field gained an extra worker. Most are left with the original CAM 1.0 employment numbers. The largest changes to IR were separating them from the Parent Cohort chain, changing how pollution/garbage were handled by fields, Air pollution and traffic effects, and an increase in the spread of desirability to lessen abandonment. CAM 1.0 started to bring IR to similar employment as other types of medium density industry, just a little lower. Increasing certain fields brings IR into a similar range as other industry. :)

QuoteI have got used to play with large number of fields filling my early cities.  Sometimes it seems that no matter how many fields I lot, I am not able to satisfy the demand. Now with 2.1. 5- 10 lots are enough for early demand. I haven't played long, but it looks like this demand recovers quickly. However, I have a huge number of agricultural jobs available in my early city and I can't keep up zoning residential lots fast enough for these worker.

The demand indeed does recover very quickly. The drives are designed this way now. :) I wanted to make IR a truly viable industry for both rural areas and skyscraper cities. The only limit now is imagination. I've got a lot of ideas to make it even better, but let me get it slightly working before I let loose too much. This massive employment is also where your R$ demand is coming from. I hope it doesn't kill the gameplay for you.

IR has always been a niche area and a starting industry for any region. Now, just like in real life, farms are always in demand. I think of them as the industrial backbone since they provide the food needed for all civilizations. More people, more farms needed, which then need more workers, then more farms to feed them, etc.

I am glad you are enjoying most of the changes. Feel free to post photos and give all your feedback you want. It will help me to refine each one to better suit all the players, you and I included. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on March 07, 2016, 09:21:53 AM
QuoteYes, these had not changed since vanilla. With the much larger populations attainable with CAM, I extended the populations before rewards with this version. It is not perfectly set yet, but a work in progress.

I'm glad to see that, I'm currently work on a stats balance of civics buildings, including also power, water, police, fire and education rewards (not health for now). For some rewards I completely changed their trigger giving them a more proper task. ()stsfd()

This should work in synergy with both NAM and CAM (I'm testing it with them). For now I approached to this by overriding only reward scripts files instead of the costants file, that could used by other mods (CAM included). I hope this won't have conflicts with the future CAM. &Thk/(
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 07, 2016, 12:20:51 PM
It shouldn't. I edited the main constants LUA to make this happen. The other scripts are left untouched. If we find any conflicts, we can work together to work out a solution. :)

P.S. PM sent with the IID's of the ones modified.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Applevorous on March 07, 2016, 03:38:29 PM
Thank you for the manual walkthrough and help! No apologies necessary about the datpacker, I know how finicky new OS's and old programs can be (I'm on Win7 64x, btw). Though ironically, when it came to step 7, JDat Packer refused to work, and I was able to use SC4DatPacker 2008 instead.

JDat just went through the motions and looked successful, but PluginsCompressed kept showing as empty, even after refreshing. I tried it with some other plugin folders and it worked fine, just not with SimCity_1...very weird. Anyway, I figured the other dat packer would work for this step and all seems well, hopefully I didn't screw something up. I removed my medical clinic before installing as you mentioned (had no nuke or solar plants yet).

Thanks again for the help.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 07, 2016, 03:44:40 PM
That is perfect. Doesn't matter which program. lol. Looks like it is installed good then.

Glad I could help and please enjoy the CAM. Be sure to give plenty of feedback. Good, bad, whatever it is all important for continued development.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 10, 2016, 01:44:54 PM
Added a download for the now completed, fully PIM-X'ed Maxis R$ buildings. All building family ties have been broken, so staging is not skewed for other buildings in the family using the same lot. All buildings have been given their own lots and lot IID's, so a lot of conflicts should be solved with this. Maxis Blockers will no longer block this content, but see the description to see how to get rid of the buildings you don't want.

This file is mainly for those still using CAM 1.0 and not planning to update to the newer version and for those who want to run the newest buildings before the release of the next CAM version.

These can be found
http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3349 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3349) or
http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/30990-cam-r-maxis-building-replacements-full-pim-x/ (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/30990-cam-r-maxis-building-replacements-full-pim-x/)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: FrankU on March 11, 2016, 03:02:54 AM
Hmmmm, great! Yeah, thanks a lot.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on March 11, 2016, 10:45:36 AM
Hello. Another question about the rewards. Did you do something with reglious rewards? I don't have churches and cemeteries anymore. :(  Your CAM is only major change in my game recently.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 11, 2016, 03:21:06 PM
All of the rewards have been adjusted. They come at the same city stage (extended values for now) as the original Maxis stage. Since the population of these stages are extended through the PlayStyle, the populations needed are extended as well.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on March 12, 2016, 12:44:33 AM
Ok, but you haven't removed Religious houses and cemeteries? Because for some reason these are not in my game anymore. Of course it may be something else than your mod.

I use FrankU's Dutch rewards as replacement, because I don't like the Maxis versions, and before those have been working fine. I still have FrankU's Dutch City Hall in the reward list.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 12, 2016, 05:51:13 AM
The only change to the rewards was the change in the constant declaration numbers. The building exemplars and lot exemplars are still in the SimCity_1.dat file unchanged.

There does seem to be some kind of conflict, so lets see what we can figure out. Attached is a photo from my computer using CAM 2.1.0 with some unstabalizing new additions. My version is a mess right now. lol. I utilized the "You Don't Deserve It" cheat to plop the buildings.

All 3 churches, all 3 cemetaries and the City Hall have all been plopped. I did not see anything missing from my menu. This tells me the problem is elsewhere in your plugins folder.

FrankU does an amazing job modding, so I don't think his replacements would be an issue. After work, I'll install them and see if I can duplicate your results.

What else do you have in your plugins that may alter the rewards themselves?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 12, 2016, 03:40:50 PM
Installed FrankU's replacement rewards. Only issue I had was a missing dependency, so a 10 story or so brown box. lol. Love those things.

Anyways, to make sure I understood the question correctly.

The rewards House of Worship and Cemetery are not showing up at all in your menu?
Are they just Greyed out and not available?

Not showing up at all would suggest something is overwriting one of the exemplars rendering it invalid. Greyed out is the change in the settings in the LUA Script defining the constants.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 12, 2016, 09:58:05 PM
R$ buldings temporarily locked. Had some midrise buildings growing on low density zones. Not a hard fix, but a time consuming one with my hectic work schedule. Be back up in a few days. Also, gives me a new bug to watch out for while completing these. Thank you to gamzdude at simtropolis for catching this error.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: FrankU on March 13, 2016, 05:26:09 AM
Quote from: InvisiChem on March 12, 2016, 03:40:50 PM
Installed FrankU's replacement rewards. Only issue I had was a missing dependency, so a 10 story or so brown box. lol. Love those things.

Anyways, to make sure I understood the question correctly.

The rewards House of Worship and Cemetery are not showing up at all in your menu?
Are they just Greyed out and not available?

Not showing up at all would suggest something is overwriting one of the exemplars rendering it invalid. Greyed out is the change in the settings in the LUA Script defining the constants.

I'm sure you will be able to find the missing dependency.  ;)

So now about the Cemeteries, the Houses of worship and the City hall.
In the beginning of the game the cemeteries and the houses of worship are not visible in your menu. Not in the vanilla game, and not if you install my rewards. That is the way Maxis had planned it. It's confusing, but it is correct.
By the way: my rewards behave exactly like the Maxis rewards. The only thing I did was make new lots and in some cases exchange the model of the building (a matter of changing some IID's in the building exemplar, if you want to know exactly). I did not change anything about the requirements or so.
So if this is the case: nothing's wrong.
The City hall (first stage) is visible from the beginning. That is Maxis policy too.

When the requirements for cemetery 1 or house of worship 1 are met you get the message and if you open the rewards menu you will see the reward. After you have plopped it it is greyed out.

So, bombardiere,
If your rewards are behavindg differently please tell us exactly what happens. It has to be fixed.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on March 13, 2016, 09:23:47 AM
Quote from: InvisiChem on March 12, 2016, 03:40:50 PM


The rewards House of Worship and Cemetery are not showing up at all in your menu?


The reward House of Worship do not show up in my menu.

I removed your "A_CAM" folder and the church was in the rewards menu. (I Have apperently crossed the rewards stresshold). However when I put the folder back in the plugin folder, the church reward is gone. :(

See attached picture.


However, oddly, as a test I removed FrankU's reward from my plugin folder and suddenly the game did offer me the standard House of Worship. I have used FrankU's rewards a long time and I don't have had any problems before. I really like this mod. Maxis's "churches" are so bland.

This is a new city and region begun with CAM2.1
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on March 13, 2016, 11:02:55 AM
@bombardiere

Your church disappearing problem could be related to the CAM core files. In this .dat file there is a LUA containing all tuning costants of reward buildings. I haven't checked them all, maybe InvisiChem raised up churches requirements; he should give you a better answer.

Your House of Worship disappearing problem let me think about a TGI conflict, but I'm not sure at 100%.  &Thk/(
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 13, 2016, 03:54:04 PM
Digging through the constants right now in fact. lol.

Although the LUA changes most of the constants, I'm not finding the one for the house of worship. The numbers for the reward capability also do not match my changes to the City stage constants.

For now, I'm probably going to give him a controller file that does not change the reward constants for troubleshooting reasons.

I did note his previous message that the church is offered if he removes a__CAM, if he replaces a__CAM and removes the Dutch Rewards it is offered, but not with both.

Once I find the reward constants for the church, i'll see if I can identify and fix the conflict.

Edit: Link to the modified controller file sent by PM to him. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 13, 2016, 04:11:56 PM
The following is a list of the Tuning Constants changed in the LUA in CAM 2.1.0.
--REWARD TRIGGERS
    tuning_constants.MAYOR_HOUSE_POP = 3450
    tuning_constants.MAYOR_HOUSE_MR = 20
    tuning_constants.BIGLIBRARY_POP  = 69360
    tuning_constants.BIGLIBRARY_MR = 37
    tuning_constants.BIGLIBRARY_NUM_LIBRARIES = 5
    tuning_constants.BIGLIBRARY_LIBRARY_GRADE = 85
    tuning_constants.RADIO_POP = 33660
    tuning_constants.RADIO_MR = 30
    tuning_constants.TOURISTTRAP_REGION_POP = 100000
    tuning_constants.TOURISTTRAP_NUM_CITIES_CONNECTED = 4
    tuning_constants.TOURISTTRIP_NUM_CITIES_REGION = 6
    tuning_constants.ARTMUSEUM_POP_RH_AND_RM = 75000
    tuning_constants.ARTMUSEUM_MR = 45
    tuning_constants.ARTMUSEUM_NUM_MUSEUMS = 4
    tuning_constants.ARTMUSEUM_MUSEUM_GRADE = 85
    tuning_constants.COURTHOUSE_POP = 109000
    tuning_constants.COURTHOUSE_MR = 33
    tuning_constants.UNIV_POP_RH_AND_RM = 40000
    tuning_constants.UNIV_MR = 42
    tuning_constants.UNIV_SCHOOL_GRADE = 95
    tuning_constants.OPERA_POP_RM_RH = 220000
    tuning_constants.OPERA_MR = 52
    tuning_constants.CITYHALL1_POP = 50000
    tuning_constants.CITYHALL_MR = 20
    tuning_constants.BOFB_POP = 115000
    tuning_constants.BOFB_MR = 30
    --tuning_constants.BOFB_H_AND_E_FUNDING_P = 103
    tuning_constants.MINORSTAD_POP = 50000
    tuning_constants.MINORSTAD_MR = 20
    tuning_constants.MINORSTAD_NUM_REC_PARK = 16
    tuning_constants.MAJORSTAD_POP = 540000
    tuning_constants.MAJORSTAD_MR = 30
    tuning_constants.FARMERSMKT_POP = 8000
    tuning_constants.FARMERSMKT_MR = 34
    tuning_constants.FARMERSMKT_IR_POP = 2450
    tuning_constants.MEDRESCENTER_POP = 141000
    tuning_constants.MEDRESCENTER_MR = 45
    tuning_constants.MEDRESCENTER_NUM_HOSP = 3
    tuning_constants.COUNTRYCLUB_RH_POP = 11000
    tuning_constants.COUNTRYCLUB_MR = 55
    tuning_constants.TVSTUDIO_POP = 330000
    tuning_constants.TVSTUDIO_MR = 50
    tuning_constants.ADVRESCENTER_IHT_POP = 8000
    tuning_constants.ADVRESCENTER_MR = 54
    tuning_constants.STOCKXCHNG_CO_POP = 100000
    tuning_constants.STOCKXCHNG_MR = 45
    tuning_constants.CONVCENTER_C_POP = 100000
    tuning_constants.CONVCENTER_MR = 40
    tuning_constants.MOVIESTUDIO_POP = 110000
    tuning_constants.MOVIESTUDIO_MR = 52
    tuning_constants.ZOO_POP = 80000
    tuning_constants.ZOO_MR = 68
    tuning_constants.ZOO_NUM_PARKS = 25
    tuning_constants.STATEFAIR_IR_POP = 5000
    tuning_constants.STATEFAIR_POP = 9600
    tuning_constants.STATEFAIR_MR = 48
    tuning_constants.RESORT_RM_RH_REGION_POP = 280000
    tuning_constants.RESORT_NUM_CITIES_CONNECTED = 2
    tuning_constants.RESORT_NUM_CITIES_REGION = 4
    tuning_constants.RESORT_AIRPOLLUTION = 20
    tuning_constants.RESORT_MR = 52
    tuning_constants.SOLAR_RH_POP = 31000
    tuning_constants.SOLAR_MR = 55
    tuning_constants.NUKE_CITY_POP = 85000
    tuning_constants.NUKE_ENERGY_DEMAND = 25000
    tuning_constants.FUSION_IHT_POP = 16000
    tuning_constants.FUSION_ENERGY_DEMAND = 30000
    tuning_constants.MAYOR1_POP = 5000
    tuning_constants.MAYOR2_POP = 30000
    tuning_constants.MAYOR3_POP = 60000
    tuning_constants.MAYOR4_POP = 120000
    --EP1 Reward tuning contstants
     tuning_constants.SPACE_PORT_IHT_JOBS = 25000
    tuning_constants.CRUISE_PORT_C_JOBS = 15000
    tuning_constants.CRUISE_PORT_PARKS = 15
    tuning_constants.CRUISE_CITY_WATER_PCT = 35
    tuning_constants.DELUXE_POLICE_STATION_POP = 41000
    tuning_constants.DELUXE_FIRE_STATION_POP = 31000
    tuning_constants.GRAND_RAIL_STATION_POP = 172000
    tuning_constants.GRAND_RAIL_STATION_UTILIZATION = 4000
    tuning_constants.GRAND_RAIL_STATION_STATIONS = 2
    tuning_constants.LARGE_ELEM_SCHOOL_POP = 4000
    tuning_constants.LARGE_ELEM_SCHOOL_SCHOOLS = 12
    tuning_constants.LARGE_HIGH_SCHOOL_POP = 6000
    tuning_constants.LARGE_ELEM_SCHOOL_SCHOOLS = 8
    tuning_constants.LARGE_WATER_PUMP_CITY_CAPACITY = 40000
    tuning_constants.LARGE_WATER_PUMP_POP = 10000
    tuning_constants.MARINA_CITY_WATER_PCT = 20
    tuning_constants.MARINA_POP = 18000
    tuning_constants.MARINA_MR = 53


As can be seen, the changes are the first attempt to keep the rewards at approximately the same stage as the original Maxis reward stages. Consider it a rough draft.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: kelan on March 15, 2016, 11:41:25 AM
Is there any way to get this CAM working without merging the simcity_1.dat file with the z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent_Merge.dat?

I ask because I'm running Windows 7 and Windows 10 (two different pc's) both 64 bit versions and despite trying everything I can think of, as well as following everyone's suggestions on how to get them to work, I cannot get those two files merged. SC4DatPacker refuses to run on either operating system, and although JDatPacker has the appearance of working fine, no output files are ever written to the folder selected as the target directory. And again, that's either operating system. And I've tried various locations as well as even going as far as changing security permissions on the folders in question in case the packer was getting an access error that I couldn't see.

I have a fresh install of Simcity 4 Deluxe (English North American Version) with the applicable update patch and only NAM34 installed. The fresh install was due to a hard drive failure forcing me to reinstall windows, and everything else that goes with it. Yay me! =/

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on March 15, 2016, 01:46:02 PM
You installed and ran the programs as administrator I'm assuming? One suggestion would be to "Take Ownership" of the SC4 files using the Take Ownership extension (can't remember where to find it, cause I'm on my phone, but I'm pretty sure someone here talked about it), which is really handy because it lets you perform administrator actions on files without having to constantly convince the computer that you do indeed want to edit this file you already have permission to edit.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 15, 2016, 01:57:39 PM
I really wish I could distribute a patched version of SimCity_1.dat without violating a whole bunch of agreements here.

If you run the game with the z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent_Merge.dat file still in there, it will double your industrial numbers. This is the only flaw without merging the files. I will need you to move this file an rename it though.

Move this file to the a__CAM\a_core directory. Rename the file a_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent_Merge.dat.

This would normally be a normal installation, but the file being in the plugins folder doubles the industry through the Total Industry Census exemplar, specifically the Sums item.

For now, I am working on a new way of merging the files utilizing a personally written front end to the same DBPF file library JDat Packer uses. The doubled industry will not harm your game too much, just need half the amount of industry to give the jobs.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: kelan on March 15, 2016, 02:11:37 PM
@APSMS: Ahh, thank you. Although I do know how to do it, I completely forgot to try taking ownership.

@InvisiChem: I understand. It would be nice if EA would publicly release this very old game, but I'm sure it's just wishful thinking.

However, I decided it was worth the effort for me to reinstall my virtual windows xp on my windows 7 pc and that did the trick. hehe. So yes, it is now working for me as well.  :bnn:

Prior to my post I had even tried to change the folder permissions while the temp folder was there, before the packer ran, and even tried changing paths in the files on the fly to get it to work, all to failure.

It's amazing the hoops we'll go through to get something awesome to work. I just can't play vanilla simcity 4 again. It's soooo boring and uninspiring after having so many great plugins for so many years now. This just happens to usually be the first plugin (CAM 1 until now) I install. I completely stopped installing any more after putting the newest NAM in. If I can't get what I feel are the two most essential plugins to work then there's no point moving further. $%Grinno$%

So I just want to say thank you!!! to all of you great guys that spend so much time to this to make it a better game for all of us.  &apls
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 15, 2016, 02:21:05 PM
I am glad you know how to use VM software. Way beyond the scope of the casual user.  ;) 

Rock on with this, the patch is now done. No longer need to do that again. Be sure to keep me updated on how you like the new CAM, pictures are always awesome. Play on and it's all of us that keep this game alive.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 16, 2016, 07:09:55 PM
R$ CAM buildings updated and unlocked. The issue was certain buildings growing on a lower density than they should. This has been fully corrected. Light density is now 1-2 stories in height, Medium density is now 3-10 stories in height, and of course High density is 11+. Light will grow on all 3, Medium on medium and high, High only on high. If you had downloaded these residentials, please redownload or you can wait for the next CAM release that will fix them automatically.

Cheers.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: kelan on March 17, 2016, 05:37:00 PM
@InvisiChem: Yes, thankfully I've been around for ages and have acquired enough knowledge to get around most situations. It's one of the reasons I was surprised I was having such a hard time merging the files. lol. If all else failed I would have gone back to the first CAM. I've been playing Simcity in its various forms on and off since the Commodore 64 version, and it's rarely not installed on my pc so I couldn't do without it in some form. I'm waaay hooked on SimCity - from the moment I plopped down my first road.  :laugh:

Anyway, so far, so good! My first attempt on an existing city however didn't go well. I completely forgot to add some CAMeLots so not a lot happened. Once doing that I tried it again, using the mid-rise option, but I didn't see much happening in the short amount of time I was watching, which is probably normal because I didn't give it a lot of time. I wanted to see a more dramatic effect so I tried the high-rise version and boom! The city just exploded. lol. It was certainly the dramatic effect I was looking for to verify it was working.  ;D

I haven't really had a whole lot of time to watch it work though. The spare time I've had has been devoted to either adding in more of the plugins I have accumulated over the years, which is a little slow due to verifying dependencies, etc, and then also trying to understand how to use the RHW in the latest NAM. I once tried playing around with an early version and could never quite figure out how to get the ramps to transition to other road types... a problem I still seem to be having.  :laugh:

But like I said, it seems to be working for me. If you're looking for specifics though, like how things are building, etc, I'm terrible at that. I don't micro-manage my game enough to notice subtle changes, and I mostly build it on the fly, starting with a road, and usually without any blueprints or even a notion as to how it's going to turn out, which isn't that great for troubleshooting. Not to mention the number of plugins I'm adding could change something that I might not realize. I've been pretty careful this time to avoid things that change numbers in the game though, and mostly concentrated on adding growable CAMeLOT buildings, textures, a few extra utilities to keep up with the larger populations, and of course the plethora of dependencies needed to run them. Thankfully I've kept backups of them over the years which makes it MUCH easier to reinstall things.  :)

If I actually get something built I may post a picture. We'll see.  ;)

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 17, 2016, 06:53:03 PM
The pictures of a haphazard city is actually something very helpful for me. Be sure to install the CRF (Which I'm building a new one for the next release by the way) to get some really cool stats as well. The normal casual user will not have a hardcore plan that is implemented fully. I love Haljackeys work for instance, but even his building a city from scratch shows how difficult it is to have a specific plan and stick to it. He switches on the fly and he is a very experienced above the top player. :)

I'm glad we could get this worked out so easily. I've been thinking after this next update, I'll start rewriting some of the tools in Java (Cross Platform compatibility) to update to these new systems. I fully respect the work of all the previous authors, but most of them are no longer active so I might as well have some fun and step up.  :satisfied:
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: kelan on March 18, 2016, 08:04:10 AM
I'm sorry, CRF? My brain isn't translating that acronym into anything useful that would apply to SimCity. It's too early.  ;)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on March 18, 2016, 10:54:38 AM
Census Repository Facility
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: kelan on March 18, 2016, 11:20:49 AM
Ahh. So many projects.. so many acronyms. hehe. I already use the CRF (I'll try to remember that), but is there an updated version? I would say my version is at least 3 years old, probably much older.

It took me a while to figure out what RTMT meant too. Turns out it's another plugin I usually run, but this last time I tried it I found it instantly broke my roads, so rather than spending any time on it I just removed it for now and I'll revisit it later and see if it's still NAM-patible or what the issue was.

I also use the CAMeLot Counter, again a version at least three years old.

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 18, 2016, 04:24:42 PM
3.1 is the last version thus far. CAM 2.1.0 breaks the ability to properly report the IR CAP, but everything else is still valid.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: wildal99 on March 30, 2016, 11:59:53 AM
Nice work on the readme, May want to check the hyperlink in the readme for the CAMeLot Counter though, It links to the NAM. The other links appear to be fine.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on March 30, 2016, 02:14:35 PM
Good catch. I'll get that fixed up for the new version. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Bgrmystr2 on April 06, 2016, 06:24:50 PM
Quote from: InvisiChem on March 06, 2016, 09:44:55 PM
MSVCP71.dll is included with the SC4 Dat Packer in the temporary directory with the installer. Same with MFC71.dll and GDIPlus.dll. Unfortunately, these are not always working correctly. Next version of the installer is going to move to a modified version of JDat Packer to solve this problem.

This error only happens a handful of systems. Not exactly sure what is the whole problem yet. As a workaround, here is a different install process.
Hey, new user here, long-time player of the SimCity series. I've got a couple questions and a plethora of problems.. though most of which I'm not sure apply to CAM 2.1.0 specifically, but I'm relatively sure they do.. in some way. Now, I am a computer tech, so I do know a little bit of technobabble if it's necessary. Also, just some system specs to get it out the way :
Win 7 64bit / custom self-built
AMD Phenom II 955
8GB DDR3 RAM
GTX 760

I recently got SimCity 4 Deluxe installed via Origin and decided to go on a city spree with NAM. Still thoroughly enjoy this game. Earlier today I had just remembered about the mod that makes landmarks functional, and upon several hours of exploration on the different versions and the problems that plague them, I came across a thread saying that toroca's Functional Landmarks 1.0 (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/21340-functional-landmarks-complete-set-v10/) works with CAM. So off I went to find what this CAM thing was and install it. 2.1.0 seemed like the obvious choice, and thus installed it wasn't. Obligatory missing msvcp71.dll in the middle of the install. I even went and manually downloaded Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=703). Nope. Needless to say it didn't work.. After surfing the internet in frustration for a bit, I found this very thread with a few posted solutions. Many links were clicked, many tries were had, and nothing seems to work.

My last resort was your manual installation instructions via the MAC version. It worked up until 9. "Close JDat Packer. In PluginsCompressed, rename the file SimCity_1.dat" Yeah.. there is no new file. The packer created nothing. Weird thing was.. half of the files from the CAM installs are still there. I removed all of the extra files I had added for Functional Landmarks as well as some of the maxis-created DLC landmarks (since I wasn't sure where to put them at the time), and booted up the game just to see if it would run. Apparently now all of my cities seem to have their demand multiplied by an unknown factor.. Some demands are absolute-negative, others are maxed out. Cities load fine and buildings seem to grow wildly. I understand that CAM changes how demands work, (not exactly how it works, mind you, just the fact that they are changed), so I figure that part may be working, but I also find that when I go to zone something, I have two of the same button. Two low, medium, and high density of Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and the dezone button. I have two pipe buttons, but one button for the rest of the list. Two Landfill buttons, but one button for the rest of this list as well. I didn't save any of the cities, as I simply wanted to see if there was any effect and wanted to make sure if there was, I could roll back any changes if my cities ended up breaking. What's really weird is that I noticed in the manual instructions to only have one Playstyle file as the rest are incompatible, but the demand bar still changed. But.. according to which one? I have no idea.

I'm not exactly sure if I should reinstall SC4, since the things I've noticed seem very abnormal. I also noticed that CAM isn't in the add-remove list for Win7, so I'm not exactly sure what files go to what, either. Right now in addition to the half-installed CAM, I'm using :

Republic City map (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/27610-republic-city/?tab=comments#comment-605171) (I also have SC4 Mapper because of this)
Meadowshire Terrain Mod (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=58)
Network Addon Mod (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=851)

I plan to use these (presuming they do function with CAM) :
The extra DLC landmarks from Maxis (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/29647-maxis-dlc-landmarks/) (If you know a better place to find them all, please let me know.)
toroca's Functional Landmarks 1.0 (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/21340-functional-landmarks-complete-set-v10/) (As noted above)
I was also looking specifically for a large-scale manufacturing industrial building that was more efficient than the normal Maxis growables since it had 700 or 800 workers or something? I'm not sure if I'll need this since CAM seems to change demand, but with the landmarks functioning as commercial, I'm thinking I may actually need the 3rd party higher-density manufacturing industry growables to support the commercial district. That or I may just be terribad at understanding how to use NAM's highway features.

I can upload the city I'm currently playing if how I specifically built it may be what's causing the wild demand bars. Though it's probably unnecessary, still leaving it open. If I broke something, do feel free to let me know. Honestly, any insight would be appreciated. Cheers, guys.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 07, 2016, 12:41:22 AM
I oh so wish I could just distribute the modified SimCity_1.dat file without having to patch it. Solve so many issues. lol

The doubled icons are caused by a copy of SimCity_1.dat still residing in your plugins folder. It is probably in the SimCity_1 folder with my z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat file. This alone is going to cause some really weird demand results and the doubling of the icons.

Here is a list of the CAM files that are currently in 2.1.0.
Folder "Plugins\a_CAM\a_Core"
CAMmed Maxis Buildings folder only contains one file: CAM_2.1.0_Buildings.dat
SimCity_1 folder under Plugins should contain the SimCity_1.dat folder you copied over and the Permanent Merge file mentioned at the top of the post.
All other files are in the "Documents\SimCity 4\CAM Auxillery Files" folder. Documentation, stuff like that.
Per instructions and the installer in the "Documents\SimCity 4" folder, a folder called Original Maxis Files was created with a backup copy of your SimCity_1.dat and SimCity.exe file if the installer made it, or just SimCity_1.dat if by the manual instructions.

Now for the fun parts (insert irony here), JDat Packer has not had this problem with my system, but it is not the first I'm hearing of it either. It runs, but produces no output. SC4 Dat Packer has an issue running from the temporary folder. Once installed fully in the Program Files (x86) folder, with the dll files added to the directory as well, it seems to run pretty good. This could be another route to make the patch. Since you have some technical knowledge, you could download and register the dll files through the command prompt, but just adding them to directory is much easier.
The patch file only does this -- Causes IR Totals to be included in Regional Industrial Totals and Adds IR to the industrial connections list for Industrial CAP relief. If it is left in the directory without patching, it will still do this, but it will double your industrial totals (basically act like an industry doubler).

The PlayStyle files change the Stage growth curves. This does not seem to be your issue at this point.

The CAM Main Controller contains the exemplars that change demand. It is a complete change of all areas of demand, just like CAM 1.0 just much more elaborate and in depth. All aspects of demand (Both work to residential and residential to work) are modified.
The Farm Override file contains some of the same changes, but is specifically tooled for the Rural CAM. It overrides the CAM Controller file for this special boost. CAM 2.1.1 (or if I increment it 2.2) will remove this redundancy.

For the moment let's double your industry numbers and get it running properly for you.
Copy the z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat from "Plugins\SimCity_1" to the "a__CAM\a_Core folder"
Delete the SimCity_1 folder from Plugins.
Choose your PlayStyle. Go to "a__CAM\a_Core" and delete all PlayStyles except the one you wish to play. If you play Rural CAM, keep the Farm Override, otherwise delete it as well.

This will get it running, although your industry will be doubled. The mods you mentioned are all fully compatible with CAM(all version so far). All other fixes will still be there though.

I'm going to ask a taboo question in another thread to see if I can find a workaround for the Patch problem.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on April 07, 2016, 03:54:10 AM
Ooh, someone who actually uses my map :bnn:!!

As for the workaround, it does seem ideal that, in the short term, you merge the files using an installed version of SC4 Dat Packer, as it seems to be mostly reliable. JDatPacker is useful because of the script support and the fact that it's cross-platform.
Caveat being I can't tell you which files to datpack the SimCity_1.dat file with.

As for your industrials, keep in mind the different workplaces only function as job holders. Having landmarks provide jobs will actually decrease your need for industry, as any landmarks you place will employ Sims (and industry doesn't create anything except for freight traffic and pollution). I like industry, and a healthy industrial area is fun to grow, but keep in mind enhanced commercial (which is what the landmarks are) will decrease your need for industry, especially if you focus on a commercial business city model.

Not sure what the NAM has to do with your demand, other than making sure your Sims get to work on time. The highway options are complex; if you're feeling overwhelmed, I suggest easing yourself into all of it, one piece at a time. Then again, I took the firehose all at once and never looked back, so YMMV.

As InvisiChem said, the extra playstyle files aren't your problem. The CAM changes the demand bar to 50 000 max, no matter which style, and to check which playstyle version you were using, sort the files alphabetically. SC4 plugins follow alphabetical load order, so for conflicting files the last file loaded overrides all the others and is the one you'll end up using.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on April 07, 2016, 06:39:50 AM
Does Origin have a game file repair?
On Steam I can repair game files without reinstall the whole game, obviously the CAM patch will be removed.

Try to follow the Mac installation guide, just skip steps 4 to 6. Windows and Mac folder structures are similar, but not exactly the same.
http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=17341.0
I have also attached a picture how folders should be created (I know is the Mac interface).

However if you want to have a better control of your industrial development I strongly suggest to install the Industrial Revolution Mod, or the Industrial Revolution Mod CAM version if you are using CAM.
http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/28268-industrial-revolution-mod-base-pack-maxis-lots/
http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/29669-industrial-revolution-mod-cam-version/

You can also install the IRM addons on the CAM version, they fit quite well if you have no industrial CAMeLots installed.
http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/28274-industrial-revolution-mod-i-d-addon-set-1/
http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/28283-industrial-revolution-mod-i-m-addon-set1/
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Bgrmystr2 on April 07, 2016, 08:12:22 AM
Always seem to find myself installing something into a mess while everyone else I know runs the same things without issue. Not this install in particular, but in general it happens so often, and I don't really know why. Possibly the way I use my OS and programs, and what I feel is necessary / unnecessary, but that's hard to test. Either way, thanks for helping. It means a lot.

Originally I was worried because I couldn't find z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat at all, and was re-living the moment I realized there was no file made by the packer.. and remembered originally thinking that it was the new SimCity_1.dat that the packer made.. and finding out it was only 1kb instead of 141kb.. and then proceeded to think the packer broke while making the file and never completed it. Sooo.. I tossed it and tried the packer again, but nothing happened.. didn't think about putting it back. Oops. That's my bad. Restored.

To be fair, didn't know what it was at the time. Still, slowclap.  &apls

Quote from: InvisiChem on April 07, 2016, 12:41:22 AMFor the moment let's double your industry numbers and get it running properly for you.
Copy the z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat from "Plugins\SimCity_1" to the "a__CAM\a_Core folder"
Delete the SimCity_1 folder from Plugins.
Choose your PlayStyle. Go to "a__CAM\a_Core" and delete all PlayStyles except the one you wish to play. If you play Rural CAM, keep the Farm Override, otherwise delete it as well.
Consider this done, bar the last one since I've a couple questions before deciding.

With the Extended playstyle, is it possible to get the same level of cityscape as shown in the artist rendition of Republic City (http://www.simtropolis.com/repository/screens/monthly_05_2012/27e310e3a48a6a24d6ab52279d8b3774-.jpg)? I'm totally open to the more vibrant and long-winded playstyle that Extended seems to encourage, but I don't know if I'll be able to get that density of high-rises from a more realistic city structure. Does Skyscraper make the population values of buildings lower so even small cities grow tall? I'm not picky and definitely open to putting effort into building a reigon-sized sprawl, but I simply don't know if it's possible to actually generate the visual aspect that actually functions the way it looks. I can just try putting one in at a time and see what happens, right?

Quote from: APSMS on April 07, 2016, 03:54:10 AMOoh, someone who actually uses my map :bnn:!!
That map design is absolutely glorious. It came out spectacularly so consider me very impressed. I edited the shores of the cities I've played to be smoother since I like beaches and such, but that lovely terrain mod sort of gets rid of them anyway.. heh. Don't know too much about terrain mods or those non-seaport canal wall things.. like these (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=317.msg353400#msg353400). I don't know what kind of wall would be visually accurate, so I went for beaches. That didn't really work either. I've got more important problems to deal with, though, so whatever. My biggest concern with the map is the fact that the main body peninsula isn't parallel with the grid system of SC4 so creating a roadplan that would work for such a landscape is very difficult. New York City is known as an inspiration for the original map design, and the grid network clearly works as NYC is one of the largest cities in the world. Problem being diagonal roads don't work very well in SC4, and even they aren't at the correct angle for the map. Bridges across the water are not easy to place either, and it's difficult to use the different city sizes in SC4 Mapper since what I mentioned previously don't exactly line up to, well, anything.

If I could change anything, it would simply be to line the map up parallel with the grid system. Would solve many of the transportation network problems and also make it more accurate to the design of the city. Of course, the grid won't line up to everything, so you can't win em all. But hey, that's part of of SC4, right? Overcoming the system, putting your personal touch on it, and making it your own.

Quote from: Mero90 on April 07, 2016, 06:39:50 AMDoes Origin have a game file repair?
On Steam I can repair game files without reinstall the whole game, obviously the CAM patch will be removed.
Ninja-poster! Posting things while I'm still typing this..

And no, it doesn't. Command Line Arguments, Hide game in Library, and Uninstall. It'd make me completely reinstall SC4. I'd like to attach it to steam, but it's a physical copy and steam has some kind of issue. I got a ticket going for this issue at the moment, though, so we'll see. It looks like the Mac instructions would have the file one wants to compress as well as the Simcity_1.dat in the same folder, but I wouldn't know what other file I'd be compressing. You're talking about merging z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat with SimCity_1.dat right? Yeah creating a folder on the desktop away from the SimCity 4 data folders still gave the same no-file-created problem. :/

I'll check into the mods you posted. I'm not too knowledgeable about SC4 mods, especially interesting and complex ones like CAM and NAM, so anything that works well with them and even the terms themselves.. I'm still learning. I'll get there.  :thumbsup: I guess most of my post is semi-off-topic, but it's nice to know I can come here and get help with whatever.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 07, 2016, 01:23:20 PM
Always willing to help. lol. For the artist rendition, I would suggest sticking with Extended. It is going to take you quite some time to grow that. Watch carefully how you zone as well. Do not go over medium density zoning until you reach 8 mil residential population and 4 mil commercial population. Then High density zone the coastal areas, demolishing as necessary to get the stage 15 buildings.

SkyScraper will be much faster to accomplish this, also the higher stages have a higher percentage of growth, so again it would be controlling growth with zoning density. I could see higher stage buildings growing in areas you don't want with SkyScraper though. Either way, liberal use of the bulldozer and zoning density along with the make historical should get you very close to the rendition with either version.

The fix for this patching system is coming soon, just taking me a little longer than I wanted to interpret the DBPF JavaFX library code so I can modify a driver for newer systems. I'm generaly a C# programmer, so a bit of a learning curve here.

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 09, 2016, 09:55:45 PM
Been awhile since I have given an update.

Currently, I have been working on the full PIM-X of all Maxis growables. I have released the R$ in a zip package and had to fix a slight oversight and correct my methods to make them grow properly based on height and density. All good, fixed and slowly being downloaded. Next, I am about to finish the polishing touches on the R$$ set, but I am going to be testing a new installer for everyone. This one is written so it will be cross platform, one installer script for both Windows and Mac OSX. I may just add the code to detect the WINE folders on Linux systems to complete the cross platform. This will be in EXE format for Windows, .app format for OSX.

I was working on a deal with the PEGPROD team to merge the SPAM into the CAM. Unfortunately, we could not come to an agreement to make that happen. I still wish to shout out to the PEGPROD team for their professionalism and dedication to the community. They do Pegasus justice in keeping his wishes with the mods he created. Thank you again PEGPROD for your time and consideration. I still look forward to working with them in the future.

CAM is still coming along nicely. The building updates are only one part of the next release. The next release will also include several more fixes, Opera House, Private School, Dirt Roads IR CAP that I accidentally missed on this one (Didn't hit save when I exited the exemplar), and an update to the installer to solve some of the technical issues that have come from this installer version. This is the most time consuming part. Java is a beautiful language, but it does have some serious limitations.

Work on this version has given me some cool ideas on an Industrial Overhaul plugin for the CAM. Don't have a lot of details yet, but the most significant impact should be on the Farming communities. Instead of working with the broken IR System that is in place, shifting to a new zone and developer should be pretty smooth. More to come once I really start modding it. This requires a shout out to Twrecks and his Industrial Revolution Mod for the starter points on this idea. I just hope I can take the idea and revolutionize it.

Rest assured, I am dabbling in many other areas of the modding process, but work on the CAM is still in progress and always will be.

Cheers,
InvisiChem
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on April 10, 2016, 04:26:06 AM
Only thing I can think of is to make the Opera House and Private School fix optional, or at least run a check to see if they're already installed. I don't know if recopying the files would do anything, but obviously if they've been modified in any way this would cause the phantom slider bug.

And I commend you for your diligence in trying to reconcile SPAM and CAM. Given Peg's attitude toward the BSC after the static/timed Maxis props replacement fiasco, I'd have not even tried, but I give you points for trying (I know PEGPROD isn't Pegasus, but there's a good--well, not really good, but a definitive--reason the PLEX and LEX weren't merged, and I doubt that isn't one of the reasons).

About the industrials, I suppose you could always start with the IRM for CAM and go from there. After that it's just the simple matter of making CAM 2.0 IRM CAMpatible versions of every CAM industrial on the LEX. No sweat! $%Grinno$% FWIW, anything that gives more control over industrials is a plus in my book, but I wouldn't dare ask anyone to take on that kind of work. If you're up for it, though, I'm buying.

:popcorn:
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 10, 2016, 09:03:22 AM
QuoteAnd I commend you for your diligence in trying to reconcile SPAM and CAM. Given Peg's attitude toward the BSC after the static/timed Maxis props replacement fiasco, I'd have not even tried, but I give you points for trying (I know PEGPROD isn't Pegasus, but there's a good--well, not really good, but a definitive--reason the PLEX and LEX weren't merged, and I doubt that isn't one of the reasons).

I think I've made some pretty good progress making this very old rivalry go away finally. Blunder from PEGPROD was very pleasant to talk with and seemed quite open to ideas. Paeng, he was also very pleasant to talk to. Considering his request to leave all this behind, I suggest we leave him be as he wishes. Although I didn't talk to Craig personally, the talk about him is all so great I can only assume he is just as great. For now, I must let things rest in that arena, but at least the community over there and the one here are communicating. That is a major step forward from what I read from back then. :)

QuoteAbout the industrials, I suppose you could always start with the IRM for CAM and go from there. After that it's just the simple matter of making CAM 2.0 IRM CAMpatible versions of every CAM industrial on the LEX. No sweat!

Uh Oh!! We have a challenge.  :thumbsup:  Seriously though, this is kind of inevitable as I go along. Trying to keep the CAM dependency free, but we shall see. Permissions, stuff like that, I may be able to keep it possible. The CAM is a specialty play type thing, so have to talk to content owners and see if special versions may start to be included without adding dependencies. Credit of course is required and to be documented on the first page of the manual, First page of the Installer, everything. The community is why all of this exists. :)

For an elephant in the room for some, do not worry. I did release the CAM over at the STEX, but BSC/LEX is the home of CAM, always will be the home of CAM and will always be the home of InvisiChem.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on April 10, 2016, 02:02:30 PM
No need for dependencies, it's just that the number one place for CAMpatible industrials is on the LEX, so you wouldn't need to package them in the LEX, but it would be ideal to update the Lot files with a second, CAM 2.0 version that would play nice with a reworked IR scheme.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 10, 2016, 02:51:26 PM
I can agree with that. I'm up for the challenge. Give me something to do when things start grinding on my patience anyways lol
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on April 11, 2016, 04:55:28 AM
Quote from: InvisiChem on April 09, 2016, 09:55:45 PM


Work on this version has given me some cool ideas on an Industrial Overhaul plugin for the CAM. Don't have a lot of details yet, but the most significant impact should be on the Farming communities. Instead of working with the broken IR System that is in place, shifting to a new zone and developer should be pretty smooth. More to come once I really start modding it. This requires a shout out to Twrecks and his Industrial Revolution Mod for the starter points on this idea. I just hope I can take the idea and revolutionize it.


This sounds interesting. :) Twreck had a great idea with his mod. I don't use his mod as such as I generally block all Maxis buildings, including industries, but I like the principle he created. Medium zoning for dirty industry and High zoning for the clean industry. And Manufacture industry between those two.

I have always hated when my nice high tech industry enclave was killed by one suddenly appearing dirty smokestack.

I wish the industry zoning could be divided into dirty and clean, which both would have light and heavy option. So that there would be 5 zone for industry. Agriculture, Dirty Light,  Dirty Heavy, CLean Light and Clean Heavy.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 11, 2016, 08:54:30 AM
I attempted to create a new developer exemplar type deriving from the current developer types. Got some great CTD's from it.  :angrymore:

Perhaps in the future I can figure that out, but for now I have to work with what we have got.  :popcorn:
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: WaffeSS on April 13, 2016, 12:51:11 PM
Any tip for Fix my error.

Game Version: SimCity 4 Deluxe Ed. GOG
MOD Ver: Colossus Addon Mod 2.1.0 (7A9F628FA81F720137A62CB6CFF4CF83)

LOG File
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "datPacker.py", line 1, in ?
  File "datPackerApp.pyo", line 1, in ?
  File "wx\__init__.pyo", line 45, in ?
  File "wx\_core.pyo", line 4, in ?
  File "wx\_core_.pyo", line 12, in ?
  File "wx\_core_.pyo", line 10, in __load
ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "datPacker.py", line 1, in ?
  File "datPackerApp.pyo", line 2814, in ?
pywintypes.error: (2, 'RegOpenKeyEx', 'O sistema n\xe3o pode encontrar o arquivo especificado.')


Edit: Problem FIXED (Installed old version of .NET Framework 1.1)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: arne123 on April 15, 2016, 02:42:40 PM
Just tried to install CAM 2.1.0 and it said "datpacker was unable to update simcity_1.dat" or something like that, so I canceled the installation.

Windows 10
SC4 Deluxe via Steam
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 15, 2016, 03:14:37 PM
I truly apologize for the failure. I am working diligently to solve this issue once and for all. :)

This error states it was unable to patch the SimCity_1.dat file through a failure with SC4 Dat Packer. I have to look through the installer code again to remember if the Patch file is still installed when this happens or if I need to get you the Patch file separately. For the moment, I have to go to work, so tonight when I get home I'll check that real quick and shoot you a reply on how to get this installed properly.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 16, 2016, 12:15:23 AM
Wow, looking back at the script, I actually did a pretty good job with possible failures. I think I missed the delete of the SimCity_1 folder in plugins, but that will be okay.

Here goes, rerun the installer. If you get the failed message again, click yes to continue. A message box will popup and tell you to manually merge the SimCity_1.dat file. Click OK and continue the install to the end.

Once complete, download and install SC4 Dat Packer http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26). Next,copy your SimCity_1.dat file from the Program Files location to "\Documents\SimCity 4\Original Maxis Files" and another copy to "\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1" Run SC4 Dat Packer and select the SimCity_1 entry. Click start, let it do its thing, click close then exit. Next, go to the "\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\Plugins Compressed" folder and copy the SimCity_1.dat file to the original location in Program Files. If asked to overwrite, select yes. A backup has already been made. After this, delete the "\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1" folder and Plugins Compressed folder.

Thats it, all done.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: arne123 on April 16, 2016, 12:25:36 PM
This may be a dumb question but... I don't have a SimCity_1.dat in my Program Files, I'm guessing because it's installed through steam? Will the same instructions work using the SimCity_1.dat from steam\steamapps\common\simcity 4 deluxe ?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 16, 2016, 12:39:17 PM
That is the one. The Steam folder should be in your Program Files folder, "Program Files (x86)" if running a 64 bit architecture. The only reason I don't give an exact location for the SimCity_1.dat file is steam installs to that location, the discs install to "Program Files (x86)\SimCity 4 Deluxe", Origin installs to it's own games directory and users can change the install directory as well.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: arne123 on April 16, 2016, 03:44:02 PM
I followed your instructions and as far as I can tell it's working now. Thank you for your help. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Teddy on April 19, 2016, 09:49:32 AM
Quote from: InvisiChem on April 16, 2016, 12:15:23 AM
Wow, looking back at the script, I actually did a pretty good job with possible failures. I think I missed the delete of the SimCity_1 folder in plugins, but that will be okay.

Here goes, rerun the installer. If you get the failed message again, click yes to continue. A message box will popup and tell you to manually merge the SimCity_1.dat file. Click OK and continue the install to the end.

Once complete, download and install SC4 Dat Packer http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26). Next,copy your SimCity_1.dat file from the Program Files location to "\Documents\SimCity 4\Original Maxis Files" and another copy to "\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1" Run SC4 Dat Packer and select the SimCity_1 entry. Click start, let it do its thing, click close then exit. Next, go to the "\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\Plugins Compressed" folder and copy the SimCity_1.dat file to the original location in Program Files. If asked to overwrite, select yes. A backup has already been made. After this, delete the "\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity_1" folder and Plugins Compressed folder.

Thats it, all done.

Will this work if you had a DLL failure? There was another procedure a few pages back telling you to do this via the mac version or something?

EDITED TO ADD
I followed the above instructions (as opposed to the earlier post) and everything seemed to work.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on April 19, 2016, 08:00:44 PM
A quick way to check is to install the Central Repository Facility http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1831 (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1831). Plop the Vault or facility and query it. If IR is calculated in the regional values, then it is installed correctly.

Coming up soon I will have the patch in a single file, no programs. Same with the next CAM release. Building the installers for these right now in fact. The difficulties are soon gone.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Ocram on April 26, 2016, 11:47:15 AM
My final exams are next week but I really look forward to playing SimCity 4 again. Where can I find good city journals with good use of the CAM? I'm interested in all occupant types from agriculture & shops & houses to giant factories & skyscrapers.

Also, how do I install it on the Steam version? I have a Surface Pro 3 running Windows 10 if that matters.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on May 02, 2016, 05:26:04 PM
After using several different versions now, I would suggest installing the GOG Version. No DRM, plus it has most of the settings needed in the shortcut already for you, the updated Gragphics.sgr file, etc.

If you wish to stick with steam, download the steam client to your computer, install it. Then, purchase the game through the client. When I had installed the steam version for me, it allowed me to enter my CD ROM Key and accepted it. Anyways, click download through the client and it will install it for you. You'll just have to set up the CPU Priority, Custom Resolution commands and any other command line options manually through the Steam Client.

As for City Journals/Mayor Diaries, check out the ones here at SC4Devotion. A lot are using CAM, but the CAM is not noticeable really by sight. It changes the rate of growth to more realistic. You'll really know it while you are playing the game. Growth rate will be a lot slower, but much more satisfying once you get to the higher stages. It does not stagnate like the vanilla game. All mayor diaries should work for you, as well as YouTube, etc.

Custom content will work just by properly installing it, so be sure to read the readme's and build slowly and methodically. Everything will be awesome. You could even start your own Mayor Diary or City Journal to showcase the new CAM. :)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Ocram on May 02, 2016, 08:44:38 PM
Sorry, I must have been unclear. CAM refuses to install. I have SimCity 4 from Steam. It's fully patched but because it is from Steam, I presume DATPacker doesn't know where to look. Either that or I'm missing some piece of software like a DLL.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on May 03, 2016, 05:58:44 PM
On newer systems, sometimes the system has problems finding the VC++ dll files when installed with the program in a temporary directory created during install.

At the beginning of this thread is several methods for the manual install of CAM. Although you would have to install SC4 Dat Packer yourself, this should solve the problem of it running. Then utilizing the MAC download, you can manually install the CAM.

Once I get back from training, I'm going to learn how to upload the already patched file to the LEX, so this problem will be solved shortly. All the patch does at this point is add IR to the regional industrial counts and give IR CAP relief through industrial connections. No harm will come to your game for the short amount of time we are looking at. I'll try to upload it to ModDB tonight. Maybe that will ease some issues until I can learn to upload large files here.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Bojci43 on May 07, 2016, 10:23:36 PM
Hello

Have a problem with installing this new CAM.
During the installation DATPACKER doesnt work, so i have to merge the files manually.But I cant do that.
DATPACKER doesnt work on my system (WIN10, 64 bit), and the JADTPACKER  tells me every time the same problem.
This is it:  File C:\WINDOWS\Systems32\JDatPacker.properties cannot be accesed. You may want to check your directory permissions.

Can somebody help me?

brgds


Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on May 08, 2016, 07:53:18 AM
Bojci43, I am at training right now, but I'll help out as I can. I am awaiting approval over at ModDB for the patch file. Also, once I get back from training, I'm going to get it up here on the LEX. It's a big file, at almost 80MB, so there is a few workarounds we have to do to get it up here.

As soon as I get the approval, I'll give you a link to the complete Patch file. All you have to do is replace the SimCity_1.dat with this one. The installer can do it for you, or there is an extract only if you want to do it yourself.

As for the CAM, it will run fine without merging. The merger just allows IR to be calculated in the Regional Industrial Counts and causes industrial connections to include IR CAP Relief. The old CAM doubling problem has been fixed, mainly from the great work by Z and a few modifications of that fix by me for the updated system.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on May 08, 2016, 09:19:26 AM
Alright, it is up and awaiting approval from ModDB. http://www.moddb.com/mods/ir-fix-from-cam-vanilla-series (http://www.moddb.com/mods/ir-fix-from-cam-vanilla-series). The next CAM installer will have this automatically in it. No more dat packing. For those having problems with the installer, this file will fix the problem completely.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mandarin(a) on May 08, 2016, 10:15:17 AM
Great to hear!  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Bojci43 on May 12, 2016, 05:24:02 AM
another question - after installing CAM 2.1 in all my cities IND demand is strange (i am playing extended version).
in all cities (if i have 5.000 residents or 80.000) is the same - enormous demand for Agricultural and Higt technology and non for Dirty and manufacturing.

i tried this also in a complete new citi, and i cant get no demands for dirty and manufacturing industry.

has anybody any tips?

brgds
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on May 15, 2016, 03:20:53 PM
This will be your education levels. Agriculture is going to keep a very high demand. Everybody wants agriculture except your highly educated R$$$ sims. Everybody else provides some demand for Agriculture. The other Industrial types, really depends upon education. Low and most manufacturing industries require a mostly uneducated, poor group of people. Same with the manufacturing except they are driven by educated poor sims.

This is telling me you have large pockets of highly educated sims, possibly in rich areas. Try to decrease the desirability of some of these pockets by removing parks/plaza's, etc to get more of a low income or medium income group moving in. Your demand for Dirty and Manufacturing will then begin to build.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: steveh71 on May 16, 2016, 01:04:03 AM
Hi,

I'm also having problems setting up CAM 2.1. I have a freshly installed GOG SimCity 4 Deluxe Version set up for Windows 10, with no mods in place yet. CAM 2.1 didn't work the first time I tried, so I followed the previous advice, ignored the error message, and set up CAM 2.1. I didn't get the option to deselect the Traffic Simulator, but maybe you only get the option in the CAM 1.0 download. However, I can't get SC4DatPacker 2008 to work. I received the following error message when I tried:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "datPacker.py", line 1, in ?
  File "datPackerApp.pyo", line 25, in ?
  File "win32ui.pyo", line 12, in ?
  File "win32ui.pyo", line 10, in __load
ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.

I followed the previous advice from another poster to fix the problem, but unfortunately I downloaded the latest version of .NET.Framework 1.1., which might explain why SC4DatPacker still wouldn't install. Can I just try downloading an older version and installing it over the top of the other version, or do I need to delete the newer version first?

I also checked my Documents folder and I don't have 'Original Maxis Files'. My folder is called 'Original SimCity Files'. Both it and the Plugins folder have SimCity_1 in place, with 'z.CAM_2.1.0_Stand Permanent Merge' in the Plugins folder. I'm sorry if I'm providing too much information, but perhaps the extra information might help you provide advice on what I should do next.

Regards,

Steve
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mero90 on May 16, 2016, 03:45:45 AM
This is related to some old Visual C++ libraries ()testing(), download the Mac version and follow these instructions

http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=17341.0

Yes I know it's for Mac users, but can be applied also to windows with some changes.  ;)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: steveh71 on May 16, 2016, 07:12:35 PM
I appreciate the help, Mero90. The Mac version of DatPacker worked, so I copied the new SimCity_1 file back to 'Original SimCity Files', crossed my fingers, and ran CAM again. It seemed to work, although half-way through the installation it shifted to 'Uninstalling' for some reason. I quit out of that and CAM kept installing. I then received a message saying CAM had been successfully installed, so I'm hoping that all went well. The directory now contains manuals and an 'Uninstalling' file, which makes me think that I'm good to go.

Cheers,

Steve
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on May 16, 2016, 07:27:42 PM
The uninstall was happening part way through because of a previous install. It would have been okay to continue the uninstall. But it completed the installation as well. That is perfect. Please check the a__CAM/a__Core folder and be sure it has only one type of PlayStyle in it and only one controller file.

I am back from training everyone and have got the patch file up on ModDB for the moment. I'm going to update the CAM Installer and put out a quick fix for the installer including this new patch file as well. Both will be here on the LEX, I'll bother Tarkus or Casper as soon as I finish the new CAM installer, probably tomorrow. Mero, I'll probably bother you to start a thread on how to update the installer in the NAM/CAM bundle as well.

A native OSX installer is in progress for the CAM as well. A little more difficult since I am not a native Mac user, but not too bad overall. Big learning curve though.

Mero, Tarkus, APSMS, and all others in this thread, I owe all of you a huge thank you for providing the level of support I was unable to while at training. You have shown me why I am honored to be a part of this group (I'll call it a team).
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: steveh71 on May 16, 2016, 09:31:01 PM
I checked the folder and there's only one PlayStyle and one controller in it, so all I have to do now is run the gauntlet and download the Starter Packs. I can't thank you enough for putting this program together and for the level of support at the site.

However, could I bother you for, hopefully, the last time. I wrote down the instructions for the old version of CAM and they said to select 'No Traffic Simulator'. I didn't get the option with this version. I'm just about to set up NAM 34, so will the pathfinding be based on NAM?

Cheers,

Steve
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on May 16, 2016, 09:50:47 PM
Yes. The pathfinder with the old CAM was developed before the NAM. It is completely defunct. This has been built to have the NAM handle all the pathfinding instead. They are much better at that system than I could wish to be right now.

Instead of the starter packs, which are good, try reading the blog from tarkus, https://simtarkus.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/building-up-a-plugins-folder-of-camelots-the-quick-and-legitimate-way/comment-page-1/ (https://simtarkus.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/building-up-a-plugins-folder-of-camelots-the-quick-and-legitimate-way/comment-page-1/). This should help you out a lot more.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: steveh71 on May 16, 2016, 10:55:35 PM
Thanks once again for the help. Once I get NAM up and running, I'll check out your link and hopefully get a nice lot of new buildings to make the most of CAM without needing to download a ton of dependencies.

Cheers,

Steve
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on May 16, 2016, 11:08:10 PM
No problem. We are all here to help. :)

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: tycoonmike on July 20, 2016, 02:02:07 PM
I'm a new user. Created an account here because the CAM actually got me excited to play SC4 again. So many cities built that collapsed because of bad growth models. Been trying to set CAM 2.1 up for most of the day today but I always get the same error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "datPacker.py", line 1, in ?
  File "datPackerApp.pyo", line 1, in ?
  File "wx\__init__.pyo", line 45, in ?
  File "wx\_core.pyo", line 4, in ?
  File "wx\_core_.pyo", line 12, in ?
  File "wx\_core_.pyo", line 10, in __load
ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.

I've tried the fix with the Mac version and that didn't work either. My suspicion is the DatPacker, but it's been a long time since I've gone around futzing with mods, so you'll have to forgive me if this problem has already been fixed. I'm just not sure what I'm doing wrong. I also haven't been able to find the readme at all. Was wondering if you could give me some assistance?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on July 26, 2016, 11:02:54 PM
Hi tycoonmike,
This is a problem with DatPacker not being very nice with newer systems. I have the new files ready and am writing the installer for the next version. I am doing this a little faster than I originally wanted to do because of these problems. It will not be a full update, but no more DatPacking. Think of this as an alpha release that is very well tested. Being that no methods have worked so far, I think this is going to be the best path.

I have been trying to write the installer for both Mac and Windows platforms utilizing a cross platform install builder. For now, I will just put up the Windows version. El Capitan is not playing nice at all. Yosemite works well with this builder, but El Capitan not so much. I will PM you once it is uploaded. It will be a big file, but is absolutely necessary to get rid of these problems.

Mac users, once I get the developer signature abilities, the Mac installer will work well.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on July 26, 2016, 11:14:39 PM
Sorry everyone for being so quiet for so long. RL has been in the way big time. I have not fully completed the update to all maxis growables. The installer definitely needs an update though. Next up, a large file with some improvements.

No more DatPacking.
Some maxis growables have been updated. The rest will come with each release.
Minor adjustments to the Occupation Drives (Balance was off for High Tech)
Fixed the CAP relief for Dirt Road (RHW) - accidentally did not include it in the last release.
Demand drives smoothed out by being included in the SimCity_1.dat file.

This is the biggies. I'll go back through and document every update as I type up the readme and change log. Cheers and I'm still active and working the Mod.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: astragalia on August 02, 2016, 08:01:31 AM
Hello! Thanks for making the mod. I love CAM and had 1.0 but I have uninstalled it in favor of 2.1.0. Everything seems to work as intended, however I have one thing that irks me. On 1.0 the agricultural buildings show job counts of ~100 when I query them. Now, with 2.1.0, they just show the usual counts, i.e., the originals from Maxis, like so:

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgiCMQoT.png&hash=8eca6f7daacd52c7f1f13f2b5c7ae40a4ce2253b)

I was worried that I was getting too little employment for too much land, but when I consulted the Census repository, it was saying the city has more than 7,000 agricultural employees anyway (this is a ~9,000 pop city) — which seems unrealistic to me because I know those few farms with such low job counts couldn't possibly offer up to ~7,000 jobs.

I followed the installation instructions to the letter and I chose the extended version. I am playing a pre-existing region, but it's a relatively fresh one that used CAM 1.0 before.

I was hoping to "migrate" this region to 2.1.0 and the transition was smooth enough. It's just... this very low job count thing is bothering me. Is it intended to be that way or could I have possibly done something wrong, or is it a bug? I appreciate any insight or help that I could get. And once again, thank you for making this!

EDIT: I chose to install CAM 2 on the "My Documents\Sim City\4\Plugins\" folder, but going through the plugins folder in the game install directory, I saw that there is still a folder called "Simcity_1" that contains the file "z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat" -- should I delete this folder? I was thinking it was a residue from the datpacker sequence that the installer somehow failed to delete, but I'm not sure.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on August 02, 2016, 09:31:46 AM
@astragalia, Assuming you already have a SimCity_1.dat in your plugins, I would move those files to a safe place outside your plugins. Likely they're the original backups, and your assumption is probably correct, but I think that the installer failed to move them, not delete them.

Unless, of course, you already know where the backup is. Still, it can't hurt to have more than one backup hanging around, unless you're pressed for space.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Tarkus on August 02, 2016, 01:01:36 PM
The SimCity_1.dat file should be in your game installation directory, not your Plugins, with the old version of it backed up.  If you have a full-on copy of SimCity_1.dat sitting in that folder in your Plugins, it'll actually completely block out NAM functionality.  SimCity_1.dat, even after being modified for the CAM, contains vanilla versions of all the RUL files and the traffic simulator.  I recently went through a tech support case involving that scenario with a user on Reddit.

-Alex
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: astragalia on August 02, 2016, 03:34:01 PM
Quote from: Tarkus on August 02, 2016, 01:01:36 PM
The SimCity_1.dat file should be in your game installation directory, not your Plugins, with the old version of it backed up.

This is exactly what I have, or at least I know I have - a CAM2-modified version of SimCity_1.dat sitting in the installation folder, with the originals backed up someplace else (aside from the CAM2 installer-created backups).

Quote from: APSMS on August 02, 2016, 09:31:46 AM
@astragalia, Assuming you already have a SimCity_1.dat in your plugins, I would move those files to a safe place outside your plugins. Likely they're the original backups, and your assumption is probably correct, but I think that the installer failed to move them, not delete them.

Unless, of course, you already know where the backup is. Still, it can't hurt to have more than one backup hanging around, unless you're pressed for space.

Ooh... yeah, I think moving them to an entirely unrelated place makes much more sense; I did that just now, thanks! But I hope you didn't misunderstand. I don't have SimCity_1.dat in my plugins; I have them on the game's main install directory. What I have on the plugins directory is a folder named "SimCity_1" containing the aforementioned file. What I'm actually worried about is that maybe it's intended for that folder to be there and "z_CAM_2.1.0_Stand_Permanent Merge.dat" does something that I don't know but is essential. I've moved the folder now, and playing without it for a little while I don't notice anything funny. But really, I am a casual player so I don't know if behind the scenes there are some stuff going on.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: cacciabombardiere on August 27, 2016, 01:49:40 AM
Hi,
I have just installed sim city 4 deluxe from steam.
I have installed NAM too and I was trying to install cam on my WINDOWS 7 pc but I have the following problems during the installation:


-I selected the CAM Extended (InvisiCam) to be installed

-when I click next to begin the installation, after few sconds a pop up appears: "error occured" with a path in which I can find the log file.
- I click ok and the installation proceeds.
- a new message appears: SC4 Dat Packer failed to update your SimCity_1.dat file. continue install?
-I click yes and a new message appears: "Be sure to Merge the SimCity_1.dat file manually with the file in the Plugins:SimCity_1 folder
-Now, cleanitol starts its job in order to find possible conflicts.
-there are no conflicts and the installation finishes.
-"you have succesfully installed cam"

How should I fix the error?


Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mandarin(a) on August 29, 2016, 02:09:20 AM
Since InvisiChem looks busy with other things, I will try to help because I think the same happened to me.

In the readme, search for the instructions for a manual installation. You will have to manually merge SimCity_1.dat with the patch InvisiChem made (using Dat Packer). It is not difficult, everything is explained in the readme.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: TheEgonTowst on September 14, 2016, 07:09:09 PM
Has the update InvisiChem was talking about been put online yet? I've combed my way through this thread trying every method (I'm having the issue where JDatPatcher does not create any file when it is run) but have had no success.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: vortext on September 15, 2016, 04:55:41 AM
Quote from: TheEgonTowst on September 14, 2016, 07:09:09 PM
I'm having the issue where JDatPatcher does not create any file when it is run

In order for JDatPacker to run successfully the files to be packed need to be inside a folder, i.e. it does not recognize single .dat files within the source directory but rather only packs folders inside of the source directory.

So what you could try is to create a new folder within the plugins folder called 'CAM' first of all. Now put simcity1.dat & CAM files in there. Next open JDatpacker, set the source directory to the plugins folder and run it. Barring any Java issues it should have created a new .dat file called CAM inside of the plugins folder. 
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: CT14 on October 04, 2016, 07:20:58 PM
Quote from: InvisiChem on February 24, 2016, 06:49:58 AM
There is another problem with attempting to use SPAM farms. SPAM uses all industrial types in their farms. If you look at them in reader, the jobs are IR, ID, IM and IHT. Fields included. The exemplars removed to make them compatible also sum all the industrial types together.
...

The SPAM farms are very pretty though, so in order to properly use them, one would have to PIM-X the farm buildings and remove the ID, IM and IHT occupant groups and job types from farm fields.

I'm still reading through the whole thread, but if this hasn't been done yet, I might look at it. I do like me some SPAM.

I also want to mention that there are no problems running SC4DatPacker on Windows 7 if you install a few old DLLs in C:\\windows\system. That directory existed but was empty before adding GdiPlus.dll, MFC71.DLL and msvcp71.dll.

MFC71.DLL at least is one that comes from the old .NET, but you can just grab all of these from https://dll-files.com without installing .NET (scroll down page on that website for DLL download links). Thanks to the commenter on the 2.1 file thread who pointed this trick out. No need to "register" the DLLs or anything crazy, either.

(scroll down each of these pages for the download links)
https://www.dll-files.com/mfc71.dll.html
https://www.dll-files.com/gdiplus.dll.html
https://www.dll-files.com/mvcp71.dll.html

With these DLLs in place, the CAM 2.1 installer "just worked" on Win7.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on October 09, 2016, 05:27:36 PM
Efforts have been made to reconcile the SPAM with the CAM, but it appears that the gap between PEG and the BSC might be too great.

The PEG caretakers and InvisiChem were unable to find a way that would properly allow use of the SPAM and still maintain PEG's vision for the project. Additionally, I think there was an effort to incorporate some of the SPAM concepts into the CAM, but the jury is out on whether or not that's a feasible idea. Basically it requires a rethink of both, and we want to be careful not to step on the toes of PEGPROD, since Pegasus introduced the concepts so many years ago (things like water and powerless farms, reduced pollution, Industry type farming to satisfy job requirements).

If I understand it correctly more work needs to be done, but your best bet at the moment is to make something for yourself that incorporates both, with the caveat being that I have no idea how this would be done.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Zeratai on November 07, 2016, 02:21:45 PM
I will give this a try, but will this work with Industrial Revolution Mod by T wrecks?
Making a clean plugins run, only CAM and NAM on plugins....
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: mgb204 on November 07, 2016, 03:13:51 PM
Quote from: Zeratai on November 07, 2016, 02:21:45 PM
I will give this a try, but will this work with Industrial Revolution Mod by T wrecks?

Not by default. But a special CAM compatible version of IRM was released not too long ago which will.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Zeratai on November 08, 2016, 08:02:38 PM
So I decided to install the CAM, the installer failed to merge simcity.dat but I did it manually. I thought it installed correctly. What is bothering me, is that almost 430 sims are working on a single farm(?), and when I query the farm says it has 10/10 jobs... I realize every single farm tile gives jobs, but can it be more balanced? I think what I'm supposed to do is to build adyacent cities to balance demand? Or can it be done another way? I was trying to build a little farm town.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on November 09, 2016, 02:06:38 AM
So, what tells me that everything appears to be fine is that of your 950 or so Sims, about half (430) are working. CAM bugs display themselves via disproportionately large numbers of workers, closing to a 1:1 ratio of residents to workers, so having only half go to work is actually fine.

You have to consider that, like you said, farm fields provide jobs. If every tile provides 2 jobs (the std number, I think, which is essentially default from Maxis), then your farm right there (which has a rough est. dimension of 24 by 12 tiles) provides not quite 500 jobs. &idea

Most farms IRL can obviously be run with significantly less personnel most of the time, but MAXIS, in their wisdom of using farming as a starter job provider, figured that having giant swaths of farm fields empty (not employing workers) would not lend itself to much use for starting players, so they made it so that the farm fields all give between 1 and 3 jobs (I think 2 is the default max, but 3 would not surprise me), so that you get jobs out of really large farms, rather than having to zone for tons of little ones since the query only represents the main building on the farm.

SO, all things considered, it looks like you're doing OK.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Zeratai on November 09, 2016, 01:49:43 PM
Thank you for the response :) I think I will need to accept that and generate a lot of demand to accomplish a lot of big farms.

What about I-D I-M and I-HT, I once used quadrupler by Toroca, but I read that it is inCAMpatible. Does CAM fix the jobs for each industry too?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: gn_leugim on November 22, 2016, 02:02:09 AM
Reading the manual you ca read:

Quote• Standard – Just like CAM 1.0 stages, just the curves have been smoothed out and the range slightly extended.
• Rural – Stages are set for smaller, rural style growth. Stage 15 can happen, it just will be in very large regions and very infrequently.
• Midrise – Stages are set to place an emphasis on growing midrise stages. This is similar to the way European cities grow.
• Skyscraper – Stages have been set to allow Skyscrapers to grow quickly, even in one city regions.

Is there any place where we can see these stages thresholds, to better evaluate them and chose?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: MarkShot on January 10, 2017, 08:19:06 PM
Win7 Pro SP1 64 bit (GOG version SC4DLX)

I am having this problem:

  File "datPacker.py", line 1, in ?
  File "datPackerApp.pyo", line 25, in ?
  File "win32ui.pyo", line 12, in ?
  File "win32ui.pyo", line 10, in __load

I there any solution to this other than the MAC around?  I prefer something more straight forward and I am not so eager to hack files.

Thanks.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: matias93 on January 11, 2017, 03:29:24 AM
Quote from: MarkShot on January 10, 2017, 08:19:06 PM
Win7 Pro SP1 64 bit (GOG version SC4DLX)

I am having this problem:

  File "datPacker.py", line 1, in ?
  File "datPackerApp.pyo", line 25, in ?
  File "win32ui.pyo", line 12, in ?
  File "win32ui.pyo", line 10, in __load

I there any solution to this other than the MAC around?  I prefer something more straight forward and I am not so eager to hack files.

Thanks.


I'm not completely sure of what's the procediment to install the CAM 2, but from the error report I guess this is another, related problem.


Have you used the DATpacker before? It could be that you lack some DLL library to use it, which is a very common and easy-to-fix problem.


In fact, this is what the readme says:

QuoteDependencies

In order to run SC4DatPacker, you'll need the following dlls installed on your system.

       
  • MSVCP71.DLL
  • MFC71.DLL
  • GDIPLUS.DLL
or you'll get things like
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "datPacker.py", line 1, in ?
File "datPackerApp.pyo", line 23, in ?
File "win32ui.pyo", line 12, in ?
File "win32ui.pyo", line 10, in __load
ImportError: DLL load failed: Le module spécifié est introuvable.


There are sites that distribute those DLLs freely on internet, and you should install them on the installation folder of DATpacker.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: MarkShot on January 11, 2017, 06:21:34 AM
Well, I am not sure what the automatic windows installer problems is but ...

On Page 2, I found the instructions how to do this manually from the MAC version.  Also, the Windows packer on this site is not complete, but one 7zipped into the windows installer is.  So, I used that for windows.

A lot of messing around, but I got it.

Thanks!
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: ChiefZDN on January 23, 2017, 07:41:22 PM
Why I can't run the DATPacker that is included & ran automatically by installer in the Linux? Because, I want to finish my CAM installation. I was installed gdiplus (through the PlayOnLinux), mfc71, and msvcp71 (these 2 are installed manual through copying the files into the system32 folder). I used Ubuntu 14.04 (more specificly, elementary OS 0.3.2 "Freya", x64), 32-bit Wine, and SKU2 SimCity 4 Deluxe.

Problem resolved. Thanks for your information.  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: mgb204 on January 23, 2017, 08:49:03 PM
The process of DAT Packing is something separate from the installer. It was included, to try and make life easier for users. But, I doubt a Windows installer is going to just work on Linux without a little extra effort.

As such, either you can get DatPacker running, then manually pack the appropriate files. Otherwise, perhaps using JDatPacker (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=16500.0) (a Java-based multi-platform alternative) would be better for you as a Linux user.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: mgb204 on February 01, 2017, 05:11:37 PM
I've spent a long time trying to assist a user over on ST with a problem installing CAM. I've never used it or been inclined to do so, but as part of the process, I decided to download the latest installer with a view to working out what's gone wrong.

I've noticed a number of people who can't get the DAT Packer to work as part of the installer. But the problem I've come across here is much worse than that (http://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/72212-issue-with-installing-cam/?do=findComment&comment=1653539).

The installer correctly installs the DAT Packer to AppData\Local\etc, but it simply doesn't run. It's obviously waiting for a command to say the app has finished, but since it doesn't run, that's not going to happen. My only solution is to force quite (End Process Tree) the installer in Task Manager. However, it doesn't install the a_CAM folder as part of the process. It does seemingly do everything else in preparation for DAT Packing the fix for SimCity_1.dat though. Leaving rather a mess behind in my computer, folders in three locations and presumably registry entries and temporary files it won't be cleaning up too.

The solution is to use 7zip and manually extract the a__CAM folder, but of course that's really just a work-around at best.

I'm using Windows 7 x64, Ultimate. UAC disabled, Full Admin rights and Windows fully updated. I also already have SC4 DAT Packer installed, if that makes a difference. Since I'm not the only one reporting the issue, I'd have to assume something is wrong somewhere with the installer. At the least, a cancel button would have been nice.

Anyhow, assuming you see this Invisichem (I'll PM you too), perhaps we can work together to try and resolve the problem?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: InvisiChem on February 14, 2017, 07:31:07 AM
Still active and on it. Thank you so much for showing me this.

Work has taken me away, writing a Database for them right now, so I have not completed the new CAM. Still, I can probably just put something together with a partial update to fix these problems. No more DAT Packer at all.

I'm having trouble writing a MAC installer for the new files, which removes the need for DAT packer completely. MAC security is a pain lol. Perhaps just a windows installer will work for now, along with the NAM/CAM package update for MAC users.

Give me a short time to write the new instaler, I'll put up the partial update. DAT Packing just isn't working anymore. :(

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: vortext on February 14, 2017, 10:28:00 AM
Yeah somehow datpacker doesnt play nice with modern OS and I use JDatpacker  (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3140)instead, maybe that could work for CAM installer as well?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: mgb204 on February 15, 2017, 05:04:32 AM
In my case it's not an incompatibility that was behind the problem. I have and use DATPacker frequently without trouble. But the installer simply failed to launch it, but it did install the temp files. It's not a permissions issue either, since UAC is disabled and I have full Admin rights, plus the files are not in a protected OS folder.

As I understand however, you've another solution in mind, so I guess it's a moot point.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: tommyc86 on March 02, 2017, 10:11:50 AM
Hello,

I hear you (InvisiChem) are making a new or updated version of cam well good luck with that and I wouldn't mind an outline on what is planned with that.

Question 1 - After a year I want to change my install type do I have to restore original Simcity_1.dat before I do this.

Q2 - Is there a table somewhere with the updated stage ranges for all install types.

Q3 - What is the quickest way I can tell the difference in-game between Standard Install type and Midrise or your Extended version or any other if you want to.

Q4 - Is there any difference between cam 2.1.0 on STEX AND LEX I assume not.

Thanks
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: twalsh102 on March 02, 2017, 10:05:33 PM
Q1.  The manual for CAM 2.1.0 (installed at \My Documents\SimCity 4\CAM Auxillery Files when you install CAM) specifically states in the first paragraph (labeled Important Note:...) of the Installation section that you must restore the original version of SimCity_1.dat.

Q2.  There is a table in the CAM manual, but InvisiChem states that it only relates to the Extended version, and other versions have different thresholds.  He also states that he will upload tables for the other versions to the CAM General Discussions forum as he develops them.  I wasn't able to find anything new there.  Since RL essentially caused InvisiChem to be absent from the forums from the end of July last year through mid-February this year, my guess is that he never got around to doing that.  There's a lot of work involved because these tables will be huge.  Ripplejet put together tables for CAM 1 back in 2008 that you can look at here (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=3578.0).  Now imagine redoing this with 4 more versions.  My next guess is that updating documentation is going to happen only after InvisiChem gets all the installation bugs taken care of.

If you have to see what the percentages are now, rather than waiting for documentation to get updates, there is a way to do so.  But it is neither pretty nor easily readable:
1.  Load the PlayStyle DAT file mentioned below into ILives Reader. The only exemplars included in the file are the Developer Exemplars for each Developer Type / Wealth Level.
2.  Use the Exemplar Analyzer to more easily find the particular Developer type you are interested in.
3.  Once you click on the particular Developer type/Wealth level in the left pane, the configuration properties will show in the right pane.  You are looking for the Stage xx vs. Size properties. 
4.  Remember that you are working with pairs of values, with all values separated only be a comma.  The first value in each pair is the population threshold for that particular Developer type/Wealth level; the second is the percentage of that type building at that particular population threshold.  Note that the values for percentages are not neatly rounded.  Also note that after Stage 1, the first 2 pairs of numbers are used to delineate where you jump from the previous Stage to the new Stage.  Also note that you can have multiple thresholds within each Stage.  There can be as many as 39 pairs for each Stage.  Double-click on the property for each stage to more easily view the values

Q3.  There is no way I am aware of to tell in-game which Install type is currently installed, since the only real differences are values in the Developer exemplars. You might be able to tell by prolonged, detailed study of what you experience in-game.  However, if you open \Plugins\a__CAM\a__Core, you will see 2 files:  CAM_2.1.0_Main_Controller.dat and CAM_2.1.0_PlayStyle_<xxxx>.dat with <xxxx> replaced by the Installation Type currently installed.

Q4.  While I haven't personally checked, it would be folly from a support standpoint to upload different installers for different locations.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: tommyc86 on March 04, 2017, 12:10:27 PM
Thanks.
Q1 I realise I only have the IR fix added to original DAT so I'm OK.
Q2 I didn't realise it was the extended table sorry and thanks for the rest I will try that.
Q3 never mind about that's a stupid question from me.
Q4  I only ask because it was uploaded and especially updated on stex after lex but    ok

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Kitsune on March 08, 2017, 11:01:46 AM
Is there a change log of stuff changed from 1.0 to 2.1 or 1.0 to 2.0 ? I currently use 1.0 and manually modify demand.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: twalsh102 on March 08, 2017, 11:43:06 AM
If there was an "official" one (i.e. one created by the author), I would think it would have been included in the manual, or a read me file.  There isn't anything there.  Since Cam1, and Cam2 were created by two different authors, I seriously doubt such a log exists.  Probably the best you can do to get an idea of differences between the two (if you haven't done so already) is read through the Cam 2.0 Restart topic <http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=17239.0>
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Kitsune on April 20, 2017, 08:10:33 AM
I did just find the change log for major changes by pure luck at the cam thread on simtrop. Now I'm debating to upgrade or not. I dont "play" the game per se... I start with 1 billion in money, manually change the demand and have parks with jobs and massive cap relief. Result is you can get more organic looking cities, but can be a struggle to get any midrises. The play styles would seemingly fix this. Hmm...
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: shawnthrawn on May 02, 2017, 09:08:39 PM
Dude, you are a damn genius! You have managed to fix so many of the balance issues that have been plaguing maxis arithmetic miscalculations and oversights for years when it comes to growth and development on every level. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. I look forward to the more streamline version 2.1.1. I know you're a very busy man but I was wondering if you had a time in mind for release? And, of course, I must give kudos to RippleJet for the initial work that he started. I'm using Win 10 and have many of the same issues as others with a modern OS. I was wondering if 2.1.1 will address these problems? (ie: needing to manually use a datpacker because the sc4dapacker included in the 2.1.0. release wont run during the installation process) Again, thank you for all your hard work, I just hope you know how much it means to all us old Sim City gamers.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: shawnthrawn on May 04, 2017, 02:05:05 PM
For those having issues running the win installer because the Dat Packer will not run during the install process here are the following steps that made it work for me (keep in mind that this is for win 7 and above and was also posted by CT14 in an earlier post. I'm running win 10):

1) Download SC4DatPack: http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=26 (Make sure to save it to a location you will be able to find it again ie: Desktop)

2) As mentioned by CT14 you will need to download the missing DLL's and copy and paste them into your "C: / Windows / System" sub folder. Simply copy and paste the 3 DLL's (no need to install or register as was mentioned by CT14) After you have copy and pasted the 3 DLL's you can close the "System" sub folder (You will not have to go back in there after this step)

The DLL's download links are here:
https://www.dll-files.com/mfc71.dll.html
https://www.dll-files.com/gdiplus.dll.html
https://www.dll-files.com/mvcp71.dll.html

3) Now run the SC4DatPack installer (If you have tried installing SC4DatPack before and received errors then adding the 3 missing DLL's to the "System" sub folder from step 2 should have resolved this) After the SC4DatPack install has completed you can close the program and the read me that comes up for it as you wont need to use it.

4) Now download CAM 2.1.0, if you haven't already done so, and go ahead and run it.

CAM 2.1.0 can be found here:
http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3335

Following these steps should have resolved the dat packer not running during the CAM 2.1.0 install process on modern Windows OS's (Win 7, Win 8, Win 8.1, Win 10) Hope this helps. Happy gamming!
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mikey Knox on May 06, 2017, 03:51:52 AM
Quote from: mgb204 on November 07, 2016, 03:13:51 PM


Not by default. But a special CAM compatible version of IRM was released not too long ago which will.

Can you tell me where i can get this?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: APSMS on May 06, 2017, 08:53:03 AM
It should be available on the STEX: http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/29669-industrial-revolution-mod-cam-version/ (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/29669-industrial-revolution-mod-cam-version/)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Giovanne Lima on May 29, 2017, 05:37:52 PM
Hello everyone!


I need some help with my SC4. I recently installed the CAM on my game and something happened to the income of the taxes of my cities: they plummeted to very low levels!

Now all my cities don't make profit, one of my major cities had 500k of profit before the mod, now it's only 50k. I tried uninstalling the mod but the income still keeps low.


What's going on?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Tarkus on May 29, 2017, 10:23:22 PM
First off, welcome to the SC4D forums!

I've not heard of this particular issue, and unfortunately, can only make educated guesses as to what might be happening here at this juncture.  The CAM does alter the growth stages and stats for lots/buildings included in the base game, as well as the demand simulation, and it's possible that the new stats may have changed your income stream.  Its rebalancing also makes the upper levels of difficulty more difficult.

I'm not sure how you tried uninstalling the mod, but it does alter files within the SimCity_1.dat file, and if you just deleted the files out of plugins instead of running the uninstaller, it would not have actually changed much in the grand scheme of things.  It's also worth noting that the simulator also takes some time to process major changes in parameters, so it may require running the game for some time in order for it to reacclimate to the old stats.

Additionally, CAM 2.1 also alters the stats on the Medical Clinic, Nuclear Power Plant, and Solar Power Plant, to address some issues with them.  Per the section of the CAM 2.1.0 Manual that deals with running the CAM on existing cities (pages 5 and 6), it is advised that one should bulldoze any instances of those lots and re-build them after installing the mod, in order to prevent the Phantom Slider Bug from occurring.  The Phantom Slider Bug effectively breaks the funding slider on various utility and governmental lots in the game, and this can also have a pretty negative impact on funding--and one which (IIRC) would not be fixed by uninstalling the mod.

If you were also using any sort of "cheat" or "radical" mods prior to running the CAM, there's also the possibility that their presence might be causing some issues.

-Alex

Edit: More on the Phantom Slider Bug (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=9249.msg284513#msg284513).
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Giovanne Lima on May 30, 2017, 08:00:23 AM
Thanks for the reply, Tarkus!

I used the uninstaller to remove it and restored the SimCity_1.dat to a version before the mod was installed, unfortunatelly the taxes income continued low after this. I used a funding mod but removed it before installing CAM too.

But once again, thanks for the help!

EDIT: I got another problem now. The commercial zones don't develop.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on May 30, 2017, 10:42:05 PM
CAM 2.1 affects to the taxes. It cuts income and makes game harder. There are a few options in CAM 2.1. and these affect on how big the cuts are. However I do not remember the details. Read me files have more information.

Cam 2.1. has also effect on growth. Again it depends which install option you have choosed.

I like these changes as it makes the game more challenging. In my opinion the Vanilla SC4 is too easy on money. After about 100 years money keep flooding in, which makes game play boring. Altough I could sink money into Landmarks.

I find it is best to start a new region with CAM 2.1. You can play from Vanilla regions, but because of the changes in game balance, you may find it hard to get old cities back in black.  You may need to cut utilities and services to counter smaller income.

With CAM 2.1. you need to be more careful with the utilities and services in early game. I keep those bare minimum and introduce the police and fire service only later in the game. The growth may also be slower depending which option you choosed. (I think there are an accelerated growth option.)  So you may need to plan what you zone more carefully.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Giovanne Lima on May 31, 2017, 06:27:17 PM
Well, I didn't found any options regarding the taxes during the instalation. And well, the taxes became way too low to have some kind of progress. I already uninstalled the CAM, yet my taxes income is still very very low. I wonder if this all caused some sort of damage to the game files, weird...

And about the commercial zones development: it returned back to normal.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: bombardiere on June 01, 2017, 03:51:33 AM
oh I need to specify. CAM 2.1. does not have a tax level option as such, but it contains different play styles. I can't remember the exact names, but something like rural, skyscrapers or original 1.0.

As far as I know, that the SimCity_1.dat modification contains only IHT fix. The rest are in separate Dats and folder. As far as I know these can removed or switched without any ill effect. Install is really needed for the IHT fix, which is hard to implement.

I am not sure, but if you keep playing your taxes might recover. However it may take time because CAM 2.1. has a huge impact on the demand. I have lost one or two cities when I have tried introduce too radical changes in midway. (One went irrevocable in red when I tested NIMBY effect and made a modding error in iLives editor. I used a wrong type of string and my slight negative effect to mayoral rating turned in  to a overall hatred on my mayor.  ::) )
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Kolossi on August 11, 2017, 06:34:03 AM
Decided to return to SC4 after a long while and went on to get CAM. The three dll files that I need to get though: the link provided in this thread, the website wants a 15 dollar fee to get them. Is this the only way or are there free versions somewhere?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: mgb204 on August 11, 2017, 08:02:55 AM
The fee is a scam, it's not authorised to release those .DLL files separately by third parties.

Most likely you already have them on your machine, but they need to be copied into the correct location, do a search in Windows to locate them. Frankly though, I don't understand why you need .dll files for CAM, it's a mod for the game? Usually it's the third party SC4 tools that rely on such .dll files. From a recent similar discussion over on ST:

Quote
dll files should NEVER cost you money. A DLL or Dynamic Linked Library contains the necessary code to allow programs written in a given language to work. Scammers have been taking advantage of people's lack of understanding about how they are distributed, to con people into paying for them. But this act is simply illegal, since those selling them don't even have the rights to do so. Google doesn't help either, since it will link you to the dodgy sites first (i.e. they are paying advertising to Google who look the other way and take the money).

The real problem is that often the creators of the DLLs don't release them as separate files. For example you might need a suite for C++ or Visual Basic, which will contain amongst the install the .dlls you need. However, it's often not as transparent what files are contained within a package as it might be.

For example: Microsoft don't sell MSVCP71.dll, it's free, but you can't install that file on it's own, you need the entire C++ runtime library package. Anyone not Microsoft trying to sell it (who wouldn't charge), are simply breaking the law, which should tell you why you want to avoid the site like the plague entirely.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: eagle74 on August 11, 2017, 08:24:47 AM
Back when I installed DatPacker I got the DLL's for free off of one of those sites.  They offered "support" for a fee, but if you just click on the specific DLL link on the same site you can still download it at no cost. 
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Kolossi on August 11, 2017, 08:39:47 AM
Okay, I had them in my machine indeed, but just in the wrong places. After copying them about I got DatPacker working and the installation finished. Was there anything else that needed to be done afterwards? Gah, been so long...
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: mgb204 on August 11, 2017, 08:42:55 AM
When you say "Move", note I said "Copy. This is an important distinction, if you moved them, you may mess up other installed applications.

Provided the installer correctly updated the SimCity_1.dat file, you should be good to go.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Kolossi on August 11, 2017, 08:48:18 AM
Yes, copied, fix'd that in my previous reply. ;D

Alright then, I'll start moving my old plugins folder I had on one of my externals. It's gonna be good, hopefully... And no need to download a crapton of stuff again.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: eagle74 on August 11, 2017, 01:55:16 PM
A question about taxes.  I noticed in the main controller DAT file that the neutral tax rates have been lowered vs RH, but there appears to be an error for the rates intended above a population of 6.0 MM.  Starting at 6.15 & for subsequent entries they are off by a decimal place making it 615,000 etc.  Since this range is already indexed much earlier in the table with much higher tax rates, is this going to cause issues (perhaps severe dips in demand around these population levels)?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Mikey Knox on September 15, 2017, 10:03:49 AM
Is it safe to switch the Preset from Standart to Extended midgame or do i have to start a new Region for that?

Thx
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Zeratai on September 23, 2017, 07:48:33 PM
Hi there Invisi: Finally I got a new computer after some long years. I left SimCity for a long time, now I'm back, I've installed your CAM, but I don't know if it installed correctly. Is there any way I can know I have it correctly installed? Great Job!
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: mgb204 on September 24, 2017, 06:04:32 AM
Did you see any errors during the install process? If it didn't work correctly, you would have. So if not, you can safely assume that everything is OK.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: twalsh102 on September 24, 2017, 12:14:20 PM
Mikey Knox,

There's not a simple answer here.  "Safe" is a relative term.

Can you change playstyles without it "blowing up" your existing region?  Yes.  Are there ramifications?  most certainly!

If you look at the Growth Stage Tables in the CAM 2.1.0 documentation, the values shown are for the Extended Playstyle.  The values used for the Standard Playstyle are essentially half those for the Extended Playstyle.  So for example, the R$ population threshold for Growth Stage 10 in Standard Playstyle is 268,963, while for Extended, it is 537,926.  So essentially, at the same population level, changing from Standard to Extended will dump you back into Stage 8.  Nothing would happen to any existing Stage9 or 10 buildings after making the change, but you wouldn't see any further growth of Stage 9 or 10 buildings until your population grows to meet the new thresholds.  So essentially, across the board, growth of higher stage level buildings will be stunted until populations grow to meet the new thresholds.

Not sure how familiar you are with everything the Growth Stage tables represent, but what InvisiChem shows in his documentation is only half the story.  The tables also determine the ratios of buildings in each Growth Stage that will be allowed to grow.  There are also two or more population thresholds within each growth stage that adjust those ratios.

The following example shows the changes in ratios you would experience,based on a population level of 268,963, and a change from Standard to Extended PlayStyle in an existing region:

Standard PlayStyle
    R$             R$$             R$$$   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10
268963   403282   537622   6   7   8   9   11   12   15   17   15   1
333961   500739   667544   5   7   7   9   10   12   14   16   18   4

Extended PlayStyle
    R$             R$$            R$$$           1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10
221320   331846   442390   7   10   11   12   14   17   19   10   
277268   415734   554222   7   9   10   11   13   15   18   16   1
346586   519668   692778   6   8   9   11   12   14   17   19   4

Since the game will not allow further growth of buildings of a particular Growth Stage if the existing number of buildings for that Stage exceed the ratios set in the tables, you would not even see growth of any new Stage 8 buildings until your R$ population exceeds 346,586.

So, is it safe?  Probably, depending on what your definition of safe is here.  You would certainly see more consistency in growth during the lifespan of your region if you made the change when starting a new region.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: murray1234 on January 05, 2018, 06:40:49 PM
I'm playing CAM 2.1 + Colossus Farming, and I just need to install CAM and this happens with my older cities: (https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6iBRHLvMXAZWoH3V-eTv4EHtsb2F-AjcAd8RscfgS8TybMOHKv_bu862FvCYXI-0cgEIPWFFQVXF_bmm2gY6H3WVKI0kzAUDIXu4Tl4BlfkM13MPDybbbtOYGAj7fLkTRVoku0dpwxi7AJ-tv9T-djSbcHeElIevKmCw7N59rl1Va84gGICVPpTN5720yvceqoEOtxX-MlMbddYQS_MP8Jwd0tXE0f-phbCznrzxH5oLgRRD29d0E6jO4_Jdq-kvh0eBci6mKXoEhq6IxJdCk6YcTso6HxQUnzxp_Tzay_BkNc4hSGQkJeG4c9XySThh9kQoJ3q9INNsaqhNKp1_CXb7AaNuwmAL7xYddjOxlAKyUwie9dATD3JNXs1W54kKgOY062ZYn3xLvfbGnoXS1s0EfYDUmVRBSmkkQfMtJh6kecJ6hZKLgADSADzbv1xzobmBKKtXlf9zLMGy0EZzfwsM-dAEOORSgj6enhVG6yyWbmZ9uLf1U3DmlMxyn14O_L-Zb0nvT4BcXv1Tw8kF78LmFTOfnpgUiGsNrgeZFgUaHN4lPz5SIsXU8xN6nzy3K816Mh5KEXCkEHLuvhAGbhNsdufG-Ap7=w1684-h947-no)
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: twalsh102 on June 08, 2018, 12:20:29 PM
Has anyone else noticed that there is an error in the Demand Simulator exemplar included with CAM 2.1.0?  I haven't been able to find any discussion of this issue. 

The error occurs in the Demand: Neutral Tax Rate vs. Population property.  The default Maxis version of this exemplar stops at a population level of 6 million.  It appears that InvisiChem's intention was to extend this to 7.2 million (based on tax rate values supplied).  However, there is a missing zero for all population levels above 6 million.  So, for example, instead of a probably intended population value of 6.15 million, the actual value in the exemplar is 615,000.  Instead of a probably intended population value of 7.2 million, the actual value in the exemplar is 720,000.

The unintended consequences are that according to this exemplar, the neutral tax rate for a population of 600,000 is 7.86%.  Initially, there are no other population level values between 600,000 and 750,000.  But because of the missing zero, at a population level of 615,000, it drops to 3.28% (a drop of 58%) and continues to drop until a population level of 720,000 where it hits 3% (a total drop of 62%).  At a population level of 750,000, the neutral tax rate will rise back up to 7.61% (an increase of 154%)

I can't help but think that this will have a very dramatic effect on demand and growth when those unintended trigger values are reached.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: eagle74 on June 08, 2018, 01:58:31 PM
Quote from: eagle74 on August 11, 2017, 01:55:16 PM
A question about taxes.  I noticed in the main controller DAT file that the neutral tax rates have been lowered vs RH, but there appears to be an error for the rates intended above a population of 6.0 MM.  Starting at 6.15 & for subsequent entries they are off by a decimal place making it 615,000 etc.  Since this range is already indexed much earlier in the table with much higher tax rates, is this going to cause issues (perhaps severe dips in demand around these population levels)?

Have known this for sometime.  I have not used CAM 2.1 in awhile, but I fixed the rates in my files before playing it.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: fantozzi on June 10, 2018, 12:36:55 AM
Quote from: twalsh102 on June 08, 2018, 12:20:29 PM
Has anyone else noticed that there is an error in the Demand Simulator exemplar included with CAM 2.1.0?

[...]

I can't help but think that this will have a very dramatic effect on demand and growth when those unintended trigger values are reached.

Oops ... no ...

... yes, I'd agree. This could become quite annoying.

Thanky you. I suggest to upload a third party fix?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: jeffryfisher on July 14, 2019, 09:29:05 AM
Looking for CAM stage threshold data, I found a sticky on this board that describes CAM 1.0, and I see that CAM 2.1 has been the norm since 2016. Is that because the numbers are unchanged sine CAM 1.0? I suggest that the threshold sticky be temporarily reopened and a note added regarding applicability to CAM 2.1 (with a link to revised values if 2.1 has changed them). Or perhaps it's time to un-stick a sticky that's only good for CAM 1.0.


Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: b22rian on July 31, 2019, 12:57:02 PM
Quote from: jeffryfisher on July 14, 2019, 09:29:05 AM
Looking for CAM stage threshold data, I found a sticky on this board that describes CAM 1.0, and I see that CAM 2.1 has been the norm since 2016. Is that because the numbers are unchanged sine CAM 1.0? I suggest that the threshold sticky be temporarily reopened and a note added regarding applicability to CAM 2.1 (with a link to revised values if 2.1 has changed them). Or perhaps it's time to un-stick a sticky that's only good for CAM 1.0.

Is there a CAM 2.1 manual , like the CAM 1.0 Manual pdf one ?
I was thinking the  thresholds data might be in there if there is one ?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: jeffryfisher on August 01, 2019, 09:39:22 AM
Quote from: b22rian on July 31, 2019, 12:57:02 PM
Quote from: jeffryfisher on July 14, 2019, 09:29:05 AM
Looking for CAM stage threshold data, I found a sticky on this board that describes CAM 1.0, and I see that CAM 2.1 has been the norm since 2016. Is that because the numbers are unchanged sine CAM 1.0? I suggest that the threshold sticky be temporarily reopened and a note added regarding applicability to CAM 2.1 (with a link to revised values if 2.1 has changed them). Or perhaps it's time to un-stick a sticky that's only good for CAM 1.0.

Is there a CAM 2.1 manual , like the CAM 1.0 Manual pdf one ?
I was thinking the  thresholds data might be in there if there is one ?
That was the first place I looked (before even coming to the board to find the obsolete sticky). What the doc says about thresholds is "Although the current tables are for CAM 1.0, I will be
slowly updating them into a CAM 2.1 version..." followed by one set of tables presumably from 1.0.

Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: twalsh102 on August 17, 2019, 02:06:36 AM
b22rian, there is a manual placed in a folder titled "CAM Auxillery Files" under your My Documents\SimCity 4 folder when CAM 2.1.0 is installed on your PC.
Unfortunately, it includes only abbreviated Growth Stage charts, and only for one of the five Play Styles (Extended).

I've recently finished creating a complete set of Growth Stage charts for all five Play Styles in spreadsheet format.  Now that the website is back up and running, I'll be posting them here in the next couple of days.  Then we can hopefully get Tarkus (or someone on his staff) to add a link to the WIKI article.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: b22rian on August 17, 2019, 04:06:58 AM
thanks Twalsh !

At least for the time being...
and with this current region , I have been playing for so long now..
I still have CAM 1.0 installed and I am currently still playing and enjoying the region and its cities.

But yes, of course if i were to start up a new region, I would want CAM 2.1 , to be a focal point :)

So thanks for the info and your posting my friend,,
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: twalsh102 on August 29, 2019, 08:52:33 PM
I herewith offer the complete set of Growth Stage charts for CAM 2.1.0.  The attached .zips contains five spreadsheets which are derived directly from the Developer Exemplars for the various Play-styles in CAM 2.1.0 as created by InvisiChem.  All creative credit belongs to him.

The Growth Stage charts shown in the User Manual that accompanies CAM 2.1.0 are an abbreviated version of the charts for the Extended Play-style, in that they do not show either the complete set of thresholds (each Growth Stage contains 2 or more intermediary thresholds), or the percentages of lots that are allowed to grow at each threshold level.  As far as I have been able to determine, a complete set of Growth Stage Charts for CAM 2.1.0 has not been previously released by InvisiChem or anyone else.

Each threshold number is the sum of the Regional Capacity for all wealth levels for each major Developer Type, i.e. the R thresholds are the sum of Regional Capacity for R$ + R$$ + R$$$ Sims; the thresholds on the CS and CO charts are the sum of Regional Capacities for all wealth levels of both CO and CS Sims; the thresholds for the Industrial chart are the sums of the Regional Capacity for IR + ID + IM + IHT Sims.

Summary of major changes related to Growth Stages, between CAM 1.0 and CAM 2.1.0:
1.  There are now five different Play-styles, each with a different set of Growth Stage thresholds and percentages.
2.  Maximum Capacity levels in each chart have been greatly extended.
3.  While the thresholds for CO and CS are the same, the percentages are different; hence separate charts.
4.  Regional Capacity for IR is now counted for threshold purposes.  Thresholds and percentages for IR and ID are now the same.  They have therefore been combined in the IND charts for all Play-styles.

There are five spreadsheets, one for each Play-style.  Each spreadsheet contains four worksheets:  one each for R, CS, CO and IND.  The farthest right column in each worksheet is nothing more than a sum of the Growth Stage values in each row to verify numbers add-up correctly.

While the percentages for each Growth Stage appear as integers, they are almost all rounded numbers.  Actual values extracted from the relevant exemplars may include up to eight decimal places.  For example, the true value for a cell showing 63% may be 63.09999847%.  The true values can be viewed by either clicking each cell, or by changing the format for the Growth Stage values to include eight decimal places.

In the Extended Play-style spreadsheet, the values for percentages of lots that are allowed to grow at each threshold have been converted so that they display as percentages.  In the remaining spreadsheets, they have not and the numbers shown represent the equivalent percentages.

I have included charts in .xlsx format for use with Excel-friendly spreadsheet programs, and in .ods format for use with most Open-Source spreadsheet programs.  Make sure you download the appropriate .zip file.

Please let me know if you encounter any discrepancies so I can correct the appropriate spreadsheet.

Tarkus, can someone add a link to the Wiki article when the Wiki gets put back together?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: jeffryfisher on August 30, 2019, 09:09:04 AM
Just to be sure: Capacity is what's built, not just zoned, right?
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: twalsh102 on August 30, 2019, 02:21:57 PM
That is my understanding.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: Zeratai on November 27, 2021, 08:00:19 PM
I wish to know if the Residential Population Halving Mod can be used along CAM 2.1.0. I search for info, but couldn't find anything about these two.
Title: Re: CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready
Post by: mgb204 on November 28, 2021, 02:37:30 AM
You probably could use it, but I'd say it's a fair assumption that it would upset the balance of R/C/I that CAM uses. Note that at its core, CAM expands the growth stages and alters the capacities of the base buildings. So any mod that also changes these, will at the very least essentially undo the CAM changes. Honestly, I couldn't advise using these two together, since they are both altering the same things in pretty much the opposite way.