DAMN Development Thread (formerly known as "Custom Submenus")

[Jonathan]

I knew I'd mess it up somehow

It should work now?

I used CamStudio, and Live Movie Maker to Trim and upload it to youtube.

[dragonshardz]

It isn't perfect, but hey, it works!

I can see it, it's great to see Jonathan moving on to bigger and better things.

Just don't forget the HSRP, eh?

(I still can't believe he's younger than I am)

[z]

I've created a mod that lets you use a Bigger News Window, which is extremely helpful if you're using DAMN with the Urgent Advice Dialogs turned off.  In fact, I like it better than the popup window form of DAMN, since it takes up less space and is a bit more responsive.  Daeley, is it possible to have an option in DAMN so that the popup windows are not created?  And regardless of the answer to that question, how would turning off the popups be done manually?

[City Builder]

This has probably been asked but (after 20+ pages in this thread...)  A simple question.

Will the DAMN still work if I datpack my plugins?

[z]

Yes.  Just don't DATPack DAMN itself.

[z]

I'm in the process of creating DAMN menus for RTMT, and they're mostly done.  (Using the SSPTool, over 50 stations took only 15 minutes to put into a multi-level setup.)  What would be really nice would be if I could have an RTMT icon placed at the end of each menu, where clicking on the icon would take the player back to the root of the RTMT tree, which is two levels below the main root.  Looking at the LUA scripts, it looks like it should be possible, but I don't know enough about how this works to actually do it.  Could someone please help me out here?

Sure, I'd be glad to!  By modifying customMenu.dat only slightly, and putting the exact same small chunk of code at the bottom of every menu file, you get something like this:

(These pictures are using my bigger news boxes, but this technique works the same with standard DAMN as well.)  If you then click on the RTMT icon, you go back to RTMT root menu:

This is the feature implemented as requested by the OP.  However, consider the nature of DAMN menus:  They tend to be used by large projects, where a feature like this would come in handy.  I think that to generalize it would be very useful, as well as removing the need for another icon taking up vertical space.

The generalization I would call a local root, as opposed to the global root represented by the house button.  I think that the best way to implement it would be to have another button beside the house button (maybe a smaller house?) that DAMN creators could set to a local root menu; SSPTool could be modified to facilitate this.  This would come in very handy when you're plopping a number of different pieces from a set, and I think it would save a lot of time.  What do you think?

Meanwhile, there's another request which Diggis and Stefan thought I should post here.  There's partial support for other languages in DAMN (via LTEXT), but it's not complete.  Specifically, the linkname field does not use LTEXT.  Is there any reason it couldn't, in the same way that the description field does?  For example, in RTMT this would allow us to use all the translations for the stations that we have accumulated, and will continue to accumulate, without having to manually edit each .dat file.

[debaser]

Hm.  I installed this and ran the indexing thing.  I can open up DAMN but there's nothing in the menus.  When I ran the indexing thing it said "access denied" a bunch of times on a DOS looking screen.  I suspect that may have something to do with it. 

[debaser]

Now my game will not open at all. 

[Rady]

Hi, I already created some DAMN menus using the SSP tool but I cannot get a clue what I have to do in order to hide the icons in the "normal" SC4 menu? May anyone pls give advice! Thanks!

[Bobbi]

Hi, I already created some DAMN menus using the SSP tool but I cannot get a clue what I have to do in order to hide the icons in the "normal" SC4 menu? May anyone pls give advice! Thanks!

In the step 3, there's a checkbox called "hidden". If you choose it, SSPTool will hide the icon when it creates the DAMN menu. If you want to hide a lot of icons, you can click "Mutil-tool", and choose "Set hidden for all lots".

[shanghai kid]

also your folders in my doc->sc4->plugins must not start with a number, see here for more info -> http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=6818.120

[Gringamuyloca]

I've been downloading and installing RTMT 3.60. The number of new goodies available has prompted me to finally install DAMN... I've been following it's development for a while...

1. Shows where DAMN is installed.

2. Ran the DAMN-Indexer.cmd  (double clicked)

3. The result... Hmmm...I remembered reading something about this in the DAMN thread, so online I go... yep there it is... right click SimCity 4 Deluxe icon in the start menu.... check where 'it' starts in;

4. Well gee, I don't see any \app in there.... hmm I'll reboot everything and try again..



After rebooting I tried again with the same result,... so I right clicked and ran as Admin and the result is it looks in/for (?) C:\Windows\system32\DAMN-index.txt . The system cannot find the specified path. My system as follows:

OS Name   Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Version   6.0.6002 Service Pack 2 Build 6002
OS Manufacturer   Microsoft Corporation
System Name   DESKTOP
System Manufacturer   Seanix Technology Inc.
System Model   MS-7383
System Type   X86-based PC
Processor   Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     E4600  @ 2.40GHz, 2403 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date   American Megatrends Inc. V1.1B1, 13/02/2008
SMBIOS Version   2.5
Windows Directory   C:\Windows
System Directory   C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device   \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale   Canada
Hardware Abstraction Layer   Version = "6.0.6002.18005"
User Name   DESKTOP\User
Time Zone   Pacific Daylight Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM)   2.00 GB
Total Physical Memory   2.00 GB
Available Physical Memory   812 MB
Total Virtual Memory   4.23 GB
Available Virtual Memory   3.05 GB
Page File Space   2.29 GB
Page File   C:\pagefile.sys

Am I outa luck? Did I miss something?... I appreciate the effort that goes into MML's, but was/am looking forward to using DAMN!  Anyone have any ideas?? Thanks.. t

[Jonathan]

The fix is quite simple, you need to open the Properties of the DAMN/Support folder. Open the Security Tab, and then click edit then click add and type "Everyone" into the box that appears and then give "Everyone" full control.

Jonathan

[Gringamuyloca]

IT WORKS! It works!!    You're a good man Jonathan!  ......now how did that little tidbit get by???

mucho mucho gracias!

[camaro_69_327]

Thank You
Thank You!
   Thank you!!!!  


Wow ..

I posted in the SSP tool thread also. Cant be said enough Thank You.  Of course it Goes without saying the Reason we Needed this SOOOO much is all the Fantastic stuff the community here gives us. I Have a 1.4 Gig plugins folder that I know would have been 3 gig but I was overly selective because the menus were already out of control...lol 

Vista x64
UAC = off
C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe
C:\Users\Dark\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins

Everything works!

[Gringamuyloca]

Thank You
Thank You!
   Thank you!!!!

Daeley...thank you for sharing your talent with us. Definitely increases my enjoyment of the game! 

[Rady]

Hi, I already used the DAMN menus with success. However, after I added some additional menu items, I suddenly face two problems:

1. the DAMN menu doesn't open in the extra window (although the advisors are turned on). This wouldn't be much of a matter to me, 'caues it's no problem having the DAMN menue in the news window. However, this is where problem 2 appears on the scene:
2. in the news window, when clicking on the "open additional submenues" line i get an extra "news" line (the root entry of the DAMN). Problem is, that the menu tunrs to light grey. This occurs both after selecting one entry or - if nothing is selecetd - after a given time (some 10 .. 15 seconds, I would guess).

So combining problem #1 and #2 makes it impossible to use the DAMN menu at the moment.   

What have I done so far:

> re-indexed the DAMN
> startet SC4, turned of the advisor windows
> stopped sc4
> started SC4 again, turned on the advisor popups again

With no appearant effect so far.   

Thanks

[z]

The grayed-out items are easy to fix.  Just click on "Open Additional Submenus" again, and they'll turn black and be usable.

By any chance, are your additional menu items the RTMT DAMN menus?

[Rady]

First, no, I haven't done anythinhg for the RTMT up to now. I saw that someone is working on that, so I decided to wait for that work to be finished ...  This problem is with my own DAMN menus I created yesterday (some 30 or so ..)

Second, I took your advice how to get around that "greyed-out"-bug, but I only came so far. Finally, it reminded me of the first time I played DOOM where you had to find the hidden door. You know, where somewhere else a hidden door opend for some seconds when you passed by a certain point. You than had to manage to run fast enough to that door in order to get there while it's still open. It's the same with the DAMN menu. Once you click the "open submenu" line you need to scroll up the menue in a hurry and find the icon you're looking for before the menu greys out again.

Well, I haven't been a good 'DOOM secret door runner' then, and this is continued with the rush for the DAMN menu ... with large menus e.g. like some seawalls or parks it's nearly impossible to find the icon before the menue is disabled again.

Add to that that with some plugins you need to select the icon again after one plop even if you want to plop the same lot again ... so e.g. plopping Marrast's embankment is ... well .... let's just say I decided there are other important things in my city to be finished first. And who really cares about embankments .. 

So, is there any solution to that "grey-out" problem?

[jp]

hey Rady I found that when the game is paused the menus don't grey out, and it depends on game speed