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PIMX Official support thread

Started by wouanagaine, November 04, 2009, 12:56:55 PM

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SuperMessi

Hi!

I need some help regarding your software. I am a newbie, although I have read the tutorial.

My problem is the following:

- I want to create a plopable item with some props.

- Thus, i drag the blank file to, for example, education menu. Then, i click on the  "create a plopable item" (I think it is called like that), i name it, etc. I open the lot editor, I add the props, etc, and save.

- But, when I open the game, the item does not appear in the menu. Also, when I try to plop it through the "building plop" cheat, all I get is the red cursor.

It should be noted that I have changed the plugin folder in order for it just to have the necessary props. What I did was draggin the plugin folder to the desktop, and creating a new folder in the My Documents folder called plugins. Then I add the necessary props to it.  In the end, I rename this folder, drag it to the desktop, and drag the plugins to the My Documents, while adding the files that I have edited to this last folder.

Thanks :D

Ernestmaxis

The prop can only be used in the lot editor. When you want to use props ingame you need to make a MMP. Therefor you need the tutorial I have send to you

vortext

It seems like lot creation went okay, SuperMessi, but maybe something went wrong during the moving of files. A red cursor when using the 'building plop' cheat means there's no associate lot file for that building. The most likely scenario is that only the ._LooseDesc file is in the plugins, not the actual lot file. It's best practice to delete (or remove) the ._Loosedesc file from the plugins after you've created a lot.
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

SuperMessi

Quote from: Ernestmaxis on November 10, 2015, 06:04:25 AM
The prop can only be used in the lot editor. When you want to use props ingame you need to make a MMP. Therefor you need the tutorial I have send to you

Well it is different because i am using them as lots, that is, as buildings. It is not as good as a solution as an MMP, but they are easier to make :D

SuperMessi

#364
Quote from: vortext on November 10, 2015, 07:41:23 AM
It seems like lot creation went okay, SuperMessi, but maybe something went wrong during the moving of files. A red cursor when using the 'building plop' cheat means there's no associate lot file for that building. The most likely scenario is that only the ._LooseDesc file is in the plugins, not the actual lot file. It's best practice to delete (or remove) the ._Loosedesc file from the plugins after you've created a lot.



It was probably something regarding the props, i probably lost some through draging the folders LOL. Now it is okay.

Another question (actually i have posted this on my mayor diary):

The PLIMx blank lot that we use to create new lots has a invisible building. It occupies a small space. Is it possible to remove this building? I need it to be off the lot because this way I cant plop MMP's in that area and the lots just dont blend in natural environments.

Thanks guys!


vortext

#365
Quote from: SuperMessi on November 10, 2015, 02:37:28 PM
The PLIMx blank lot that we use to create new lots has a invisible building. It occupies a small space. Is it possible to remove this building? I need it to be off the lot because this way I cant plop MMP's in that area and the lots just dont blend in natural environments.

No, every lot always has a building - even if it's invisible. What you can do, however, is reduce the Occupant Size of the building. When you create the building, double-click the Occupant Size and a window pops up. Here you can enter the new dimensions, I typically go with 1,1,1 meaning the building is now 1x1x1 meter. Click okay and then create the lot file.

Note: while you can alter the building Occupant Size after you created the lot, the new building dimensions will not be reflected on the lot. Hence it's important to set the Occupant Size beforehand if you want a small building on the lot.

Also, if you want the lots to blend into natural terrain it's a good idea to set the slope thresholds high enough so you don't get foundations. You can do this in the SC4PIM as well. When you've created the lot, look for LotConfigPropertyMaxSlopeAllowed and LotConfigPropertyMaxSlopeBeforeLotFoundation in the lot file, double click those properties and enter high values. I always go with 200 and 201 respectively and have yet to encounter a slope it couldn't handle.
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

SuperMessi

Vortext thanks! I will try this today, and I will give feedback. Hope it works!

2b2gbi

Any idea what's wrong here?

I recently did a reinstall of Windows 10 after upgrading and had to reinstall PIMX, which worked fine for me on Windows 7. After downloading the DLLs which were missing and getting the app running, everything seemed to be fine except for some failures to get thumbnails for some stuff. Soon, I discovered however that when I try to drag anything I get this error.



Any idea what's going on?
You can call me Jon. :)

Check out my MD: Bienville, Missouri

vortext

Seems to be a Python related error, have you also updated multiarray.pyd? File is attached to this post.
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

2b2gbi

Quote from: vortext on December 22, 2015, 05:24:57 AM
Seems to be a Python related error, have you also updated multiarray.pyd? File is attached to this post.

I hadn't, but I did and I'm still getting the same error.
You can call me Jon. :)

Check out my MD: Bienville, Missouri

Tyberius06

Hello!

When I start using the PIMX usually I get these error messages. Of course after a few clicking I able to use the program, but I don't know what is the problem?



Thanks for any help!

Tyberius
You may find updates about my ongoing projects into my development thread here at SimCity 4 Devotion: Tyberius Lotting Experiments
or over there on Simtropolis into the Tyberius (Heretic Projects) Lotting and Modding Experiments.
I'm also member of the STEX Custodian and working on different restoration projects on behalf of non-anymore-active custom content creators.
Current projects: WMP Restoration and SimCity Polska Restoration.
Member of the NAM Team and RTMT Team.

mgb204

When you load SC4-PIM the first screen allows you to select the folders to load.

If this message appears, usually it's because you are loading more content than the program was designed to handle. At some point it will simply crash on startup, but before then it fails to index all the props/buildings correctly.

Try loading less items and the problem should disappear.

Tyberius06

Quote from: mgb204 on December 31, 2015, 02:59:48 PM
When you load SC4-PIM the first screen allows you to select the folders to load.

If this message appears, usually it's because you are loading more content than the program was designed to handle. At some point it will simply crash on startup, but before then it fails to index all the props/buildings correctly.

Try loading less items and the problem should disappear.

Well I start defenetelly not understanding this PIM-X thing. I put only a few stuff in my pluging folder following your advice. On the SC4-PIM loading screen I checked all these folders (prog files plugin, my doc plugin, the wanted folders and files - texture packs, prop packs - as the pictures show below), after this I launched the program and I got a very short initializing screen (short as time) than an empty PIM-X. Nothing was loaded, I didn't find any building or props data in PIM-X.

So what happend now? What do I do the wrong way this time?








Thank You for any help!


- Tyberius
You may find updates about my ongoing projects into my development thread here at SimCity 4 Devotion: Tyberius Lotting Experiments
or over there on Simtropolis into the Tyberius (Heretic Projects) Lotting and Modding Experiments.
I'm also member of the STEX Custodian and working on different restoration projects on behalf of non-anymore-active custom content creators.
Current projects: WMP Restoration and SimCity Polska Restoration.
Member of the NAM Team and RTMT Team.

vortext

#373
Tyberius06, this typically happens when one of the folders/files has a special character (like &) in the filename. SC4PIM can't handle those characters and will consequently fail to load any of the contents. Looking at the picture the folder names seems to be alright so it's probably one of the filenames which throws things off kilter. You might have to do a binary search to find the offending file.

2b2gbi, not sure what's going on. It might be that you're trying to do something which isn't possible, e.g. make a building exemplar out of a prop exemplar. Perhaps you could provide more information when exactly the error occurs?
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

Tyberius06

Thanks Vortext, I'll give it a try. I'm sure some of the name of my folders contains special caracters (most common &), but the funny thing is if I load much more contents (as my original issue was something like that a few post above), I can get to work the PIM-X just it failed to load a lot of prop pictures and I get a huge amount of error message. But for example the LRM v4 Megapack (Mendelsoft) contains special "&" caracter in each of its original subfolder name. Should I rename this pack (LRMv4 Models & Props), if I would like to use with the PIM-X?

My other question is how can I create props from buildings? If I want to make a bigger lot which contains more buildings, I guess I need to create props from the buildings, but I don't know how. For example I would like to make a multi-transit lot included visable subway connection (like Shibuya El-Rail station http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/27761-shibuya-station/, where the "building" is a NAM EL-Rail-Subway station - I can see the subway platform & connection in underground view -, and the main building is a prop).

Thanks for any help!

- Tyberius
You may find updates about my ongoing projects into my development thread here at SimCity 4 Devotion: Tyberius Lotting Experiments
or over there on Simtropolis into the Tyberius (Heretic Projects) Lotting and Modding Experiments.
I'm also member of the STEX Custodian and working on different restoration projects on behalf of non-anymore-active custom content creators.
Current projects: WMP Restoration and SimCity Polska Restoration.
Member of the NAM Team and RTMT Team.

vortext

Yes you'll need to rename the folders, & is the most common culprit for this issue though often times I also have to rename files from Simcitypolska (all those crazy characters . . ).

As for making a prop exemplar, the steps are identical to making a building exemplar shown here, though you'd drag the model to the appropriate category in the prop descriptor tree, obviously.
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

Tyberius06

Hello!

I found a weird thing about the PIM-X. I made some diagonal filler lots (with diagonal sandstone overlay texture) by Lot Editor, I don't know which pack contains this (0xdddd3660) overlay texture, but it doesn't show up in PIM-X. See the picture below.
Not just this specific texture, there are a lot of overlay textures which doesn't show up in PIM-X, they are probably in the same pack.
What happend in this case?



Thanks any help!

- Tyberius
You may find updates about my ongoing projects into my development thread here at SimCity 4 Devotion: Tyberius Lotting Experiments
or over there on Simtropolis into the Tyberius (Heretic Projects) Lotting and Modding Experiments.
I'm also member of the STEX Custodian and working on different restoration projects on behalf of non-anymore-active custom content creators.
Current projects: WMP Restoration and SimCity Polska Restoration.
Member of the NAM Team and RTMT Team.

mgb204

You've not loaded the diagonal Sandstone texture in PIM-X.

The LE loads everything in your plugins folder. This is a bad thing though, PIM-X will simply misbehave if you try this. You need to be familiar with the props/textures you use and load them with PIM-X as and when you need to work with them.

Often asking people which textures correspond to a particular ID will not gain you much help. It's just as quick for you to track it down as anyone else? In this case, I happen to know that diagonal sandstone texture came with the file "sandstone_filler_textures.dat" off the top of my head. But it's worth familiarising yourself with the contents of dependencies you use in creation. This handy visual reference can be very useful, but only covers the most popular packs.

I made a lotting for beginners tutorial you can DL from the STEX, whilst it covers the Maxis tools, you may find some of the more general information useful.

Tyberius06

Thank you for the information and the links. I already have your tutorial, but I was looking for some kind of props and texture collection.
Although I don't have the "sandstone_filler_textures.dat", or at least not on this name. Can you tell me what other files or folders came with it? Or witch download pack contains this file. At this moment I do the hard way and one by one put the dependecies out from my 'working' folder to find out where is that specific file, because if I use my regular in-game plugins I use this file (the contents show up properly), but it isn't in my workind folders, when I want to make custom conents...
You may find updates about my ongoing projects into my development thread here at SimCity 4 Devotion: Tyberius Lotting Experiments
or over there on Simtropolis into the Tyberius (Heretic Projects) Lotting and Modding Experiments.
I'm also member of the STEX Custodian and working on different restoration projects on behalf of non-anymore-active custom content creators.
Current projects: WMP Restoration and SimCity Polska Restoration.
Member of the NAM Team and RTMT Team.

Andreas

You can use SC4Tool to find the file that contains the texture with said ID. Make sure you have both the lot and your texture files in the plugins folder, start SC4Tool and then open the Dependency Scanner. In the left panel, open the lot file that is using the texture, then click on the dependency tab on the right side, and scroll down to the analysis of the scan. Find the ID in question and you'll see the filename where that texture is located in (in case multiple files contain the texture, only the last file in the loading order is displayed).
Andreas