CAM 2.1.0 Uploaded and ready

[InvisiChem]

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.

[kelan]

@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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

[InvisiChem]

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. 

[kelan]

I'm sorry, CRF? My brain isn't translating that acronym into anything useful that would apply to SimCity. It's too early. 

[APSMS]

Census Repository Facility

[kelan]

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.

[InvisiChem]

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.

[wildal99]

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.

[InvisiChem]

Good catch. I'll get that fixed up for the new version.

[Bgrmystr2]

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 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. 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 (I also have SC4 Mapper because of this)
Meadowshire Terrain Mod
Network Addon Mod

I plan to use these (presuming they do function with CAM) :
The extra DLC landmarks from Maxis (If you know a better place to find them all, please let me know.)
toroca's Functional Landmarks 1.0 (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.

[InvisiChem]

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"

• --CAM_2.1.0_MainController.dat
• --CAM_2.1.0_PlayStyle_<type (Note: there is Standard, Rural, Extended, Midrise, SkyScraper. Only 1 should be installed at any point in time.
• --CAM_2.1.0_Rural_Farm_Demand_Override.dat (note: this should only be used with Rural to boost IR Demand

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.

[APSMS]

Ooh, someone who actually uses my map !!

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.

[Mero90]

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/

[Bgrmystr2]

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. 

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.

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? 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?

Ooh, someone who actually uses my map !!

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. 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.

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.

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.  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.

[InvisiChem]

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.

[InvisiChem]

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

[APSMS]

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! 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.

[InvisiChem]

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).

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.

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!

Uh Oh!! We have a challenge.    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.

[APSMS]

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.

[InvisiChem]

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