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The Prop Pox!

Started by snorrelli, May 03, 2007, 08:53:49 PM

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Andreas

It looks indeed more like the graphics settings have been reverted somehow. The shadows in the second image look like what the software mode is producing, or a very old/incompatible graphics card in hardware mode. Maybe the details settings were switched to "low" during that reset as well.
Andreas

sedator

The first pic is with no updates applied and no plug-ins in either the C:/Program folder, or the simcity my doc folder. This shows what the lots should look like, I get the fences, driveways, cars and so on.

None of my graphic settings are on low all medium to high and hardware rendering. I don't have a great system by any means but I can get detail it just runs slow.

The second pic is with no updates and my original plug-in folder in place. As you can see I am starting to loose stuff from the lots.

Both pics came from quick test cities, some of the larger cities I had going before I nuked everything had more problems than these pics show.

Most of the problems I seen came from the maxis lots, but some BSC lots were affected. My minor league stadium was just a grass lot, several parks were also just grass lots. Flower Market was just a building on an empty lot.

I don't know if I have another Issue or what but a lot of what I seen in my cities looked like what a lot of the pics in this topic have looked like.

FrankU

Quote from: RippleJet on September 03, 2010, 11:42:04 AM
Frank, I cannot access that file... your link only takes me to FileDen's homepage...
I wonder if you've set that file to be private only?

As far as I know everything should work fine. I am now in the office and are not logged in into Fileden, and never was before. When I click the link I immediately get the question "do you want to download the file ... " And then the filename, what was it? Something like FrankUPropPox.zip.
Maybe you try again?

If it still does not work I'll try something else.

BarbyW

After Tage had a problem downloading your file he asked me to try. I was also unable to download it BUT today when I tried it worked so Tage can try again later.
Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened. TP



Barbypedia: More alive than the original

Diggis

Quote from: RippleJet on September 03, 2010, 11:42:04 AM
Frank, I cannot access that file... your link only takes me to FileDen's homepage...
I wonder if you've set that file to be private only?

Works for me too Tage... but as a popup.  Do you have them blocked?

RippleJet

Here and today at work there's no problem accessing it...
I got the window asking where to save it right away.

I'll try again at home tonight. ;)

FrankU

OK, so it does work.
Thanks in advance and I hope my files can be of any use with the search for the prop pox causes.

bap

Quote from: sedator on September 03, 2010, 06:40:08 PM
Both pics came from quick test cities, some of the larger cities I had going before I nuked everything had more problems than these pics show.

This tells us what you have is not Prop Pox. You would need lots of props (prop subfile beyond 16Mby) ir order for this problem to manifest itself. Your problem appears on almost undeveloped cities.


Quote from: sedator on September 03, 2010, 06:40:08 PM
None of my graphic settings are on low all medium to high and hardware rendering. I don't have a great system by any means but I can get detail it just runs slow.

OK, we can presumably also exclude the graphics problem explanation.


Quote from: sedator on September 03, 2010, 06:40:08 PM
The first pic is with no updates applied and no plug-ins in either the C:/Program folder, or the simcity my doc folder. This shows what the lots should look like, I get the fences, driveways, cars and so on.

The second pic is with no updates and my original plug-in folder in place. As you can see I am starting to loose stuff from the lots.

I don't know if I have another Issue or what but a lot of what I seen in my cities looked like what a lot of the pics in this topic have looked like.

It seems something in your plugins folder is the culprit. The best suggestion I can give is to ask you to make binary search with the content of your plugins folder. Since it is quite easy to reproduce the problem (it appears on a small, undeveloped city), this may not take much time. The procedure is as follows:
1) Divide the content in your plugins folder in two parts of comparable sizes.
2) Develop the test city with only one of the the two subsets of plugins. If the problem appears, you know that the culprit lot/package is sitting in this particular ("bad") subset. If not, mark this as the "good" subset.
3) Develop the test city with ony the second subset of plugins. If the problem appears, you know the culprit is in this particular ("bad") subset. If not, this will be the "good" subset.
4) Eliminate the "good" subset from the search. The problem is not there. Divide the "bad" plugins subset again in two separate subsets of comparable sizes. Go to step 2.

If you have 200 files to search for, the first run will help you constrain the problem to only 100 files, the second run will help narrow the search to 50 files, and so on. After 7-8 runs your search will be narrowed to only a couple of possible culprits. If the number of possible problematic files is larger, it will take you more steps to narrow the search to 1-2 files.

The algorithm is straightforward if you have only one problematic file to find. It may get a little bit trickier if the problem results from the interaction of more than one file. But the basic idea is the same: you have a reasoned way to narrow down where the problem is.

I wish you good luck with your search. Please let us know what you find.
Bap

jacksunny

Hi Everyone,
So I was just checking out this forum because I suddenly started having the prop pox.
I decided to develop my city's coast with Pegasus' CDK3 Mods so I downloaded some stuff. That's When I Started Having the problem. Is there something wrong with one of the CDK3 mods that I just don't know about? Please help!!!!
I don't think my computers RAM is the problem as my city only had about 70,000 people and no skyscrapers or other tall buildings.




TiFlo


FrankU

So another city in the same region has gotten the prop pox. Is there any reason that it would be interesting to upload this city also?
And is there anything I can do to help find the bad prop in my plugins? It's really annoying and it makes me want to abandon the region.
Maybe I really should put some time in finding the prop, but is it possible and how should I do it?

cogeo

Finally, do we have a list with all props (download link incl) causing the prop pox?
I have heard of an umbrella, and some simcity props modded in a plugin by PEG, but which ones exactly?

RippleJet

Quote from: cogeo on October 12, 2010, 09:53:41 AM
Finally, do we have a list with all props (download link incl) causing the prop pox?
I have heard of an umbrella, and some simcity props modded in a plugin by PEG, but which ones exactly?


bap listed all four of them in his thread: ;)

Quote from: bap on February 24, 2009, 08:53:46 AM
PEG_OWW2_BDK_RESOURCE.DAT

Quote from: bap on February 24, 2009, 08:53:46 AM
items 11, 12, 13 and 14 (exemplar names R1x1x2_BeachChair_29B2, R1x1x3_PatioChair_290D, R1x2x2_Recliner_2911, and R2x3x2_$$Beachumbrella_2900)

FrankU

But these are the four that are identified. There must be more.
At least: I do have prop pox, but the identified prop pack is not in my plugins and never was.

RippleJet

Quote from: FrankU on October 12, 2010, 10:19:18 PM
There must be more.

Yes, but so far we haven't been able to find or identify any of those... &mmm

Nardo69

Quote from: FrankU on October 12, 2010, 10:19:18 PM
But these are the four that are identified. There must be more.
At least: I do have prop pox, but the identified prop pack is not in my plugins and never was.


I haven't found the identified pox mines in my plugin folder, too, yet I am a pox victim ...

I would think that only an automatied script would find them. As far as I understood, that would be possible as the pox mines are static props defined as timed props.

FrankU

I guess it would be possible to use BAP's Maxis city that he developed. And then put a small set of lots into the pluginsfolder, let the new lots grow and see if the proppox bursts out....
If not, try the next set of lots, if yes try to find out what props are the reason.
Would that work?
Maybe I can dedicate some time in trying to narrow the mass of my own plugins into a small amount of lots or proppacks that may contain the evil stuff. If this is considered helpful, I'll do that.

cogeo

#277
Quote from: RippleJet on October 12, 2010, 11:46:44 AM
bap listed all four of them in his thread: ;)

Thanks for your help!  :)

It's just outrageous that the author does not recognise these as the source of the problem and refuses to provide a fix.
Even if these do not cause the prop pox, he shouldn't have modded them (change them from simple to timed) in the first place  anyway, as lotmakers may have used them in their lots, and expect them to work in their original way. If he wanted them timed, he could have made new prop exemplars (with a different instakce ID). Enough said!

@Franku and others: I was considering to make a new utility, named say "Installation Analyzer". It would scan the installation and generate a report about possible duplicate files and conflicts. If a second instance of an exemplar was found, it would be added in the list, along with an "conflict level" indication (Duplicate, Override, Conflict, Redefinition etc). Other functions: Find a file (by ID or Name) and Find References (usage). It would be then easy to add a function detecting if a prop was changed from simple to timed or vice versa. But SC4 is an old game (and this does not encourage me to make this), plus I do not currently have much time. Anyways, is there some utility capable of searching the installation?

Lowkee33

Maybe this solution would not work for a Post-Prop-Pox city, but what if an overriding mod was made that turned those specific props back to vanilla maxis?  That way all of the pox-causing lots could be used again.

RippleJet

Quote from: Lowkee33 on October 13, 2010, 01:14:17 PM
Maybe this solution would not work for a Post-Prop-Pox city, but what if an overriding mod was made that turned those specific props back to vanilla maxis?

Safer not to ever have those modded props in your plugins in the first place.
Otherwise, e.g. with the help of SUM, you could at some stage play the game without having those overrides...
And since once might be enough to cause havoc...

Quote from: bap on February 24, 2009, 08:53:46 AM
However, at the time of writing there is no way to restore an infected city. I am afraid it would not be possible to restore poxed cities. It seems once the sc4 city file is corrupted, there is no way back.