Hey guys,
As my nag and disappointment that SC4 developers failed to have water at higher levels other than at the base level there was no way but to use ploppable water as an alternative. With inspiration from the sc4cheats.dll that the infamous buggi had given to us to test and to tweak, and with the help of rayden and especially travis (beskhu3epnm) for giving me that opening and also goaskin for posting the idea that you can override the maxis default sealevel and with my desire to have water at higher elevation levels. I have been able to make it a reality. This breakthrough although still in the development stages due to the fact that other settings will have to be adjust for this to work properly, players will now have that privilege to have water at higher terrains. Soon as more testing and tweaking are performed, There will be a tutorial soon to explain how this was performed and the steps to take so you the player can customize your terrain settings. The key factor in adjusting the sealevel is through guesstimation at the moment by using the sc4cheats.dll in the console box.
Also if you want to customize the settings, experience in Ilive Reader is very important. One of the mistakes i made that nearly costed me losing the whole game was tweaking the wrong file in my early stages of finding the certain setting. Note to self: make sure you back up the simcity1.dat file if you ever dare to tweak the settings.....anyways in the pics i am about to show will make your jaw drop and make you want to shout and leap for joy. keep in mind that there are still some settings that will have to be tweaked such as the temp settings,shoreline settings, and any other settings that needs to be adjusted. Travis (beskhu3epnm), has offered his help and further knowledge of terrain mods and together, we will remod the terrain packs available but keep in mind that each remod will take time and will be released when its released...now enough of me rambling and onto the goodies:
Before:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg54.imageshack.us%2Fimg54%2F144%2Fbeforexi2.jpg&hash=e0671876b602571ccce957efe1e96e0d932227d4)
After:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg54.imageshack.us%2Fimg54%2F7546%2Fafteroq7.jpg&hash=8f764954adfb1f428dc85eb0e542c15e30c5e802)
Some adjustments will have to be made such as the shoreline settings:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg54.imageshack.us%2Fimg54%2F6759%2Fshorelineglitchpr6.jpg&hash=42452f8302555fb3ca588a1a53dc9b81fa9234e1)
Your jaw dropped yet? you will when the finished remod is available to all terrain mods.....make sure to keep posted and to visit for further developments as it occurs!
Another great addition to the game that Maxis "forgot".
In another couple of years this game will be almost unrecognizable. Amazing.
I remeber an idea similar to this but it was through altering the climatic parameters to do something similar.
This looks like it was implemented differently through altering the sea level it means that you still cant have river channels over a signifigant drop.
The breaking waves at the shore line has its own exemplar but i am not sure how it can be altered so that the terrain will be right.
Hope this goes well and that you can get land that is not part of the river and below the water level to still be land. the problem with changing the sealevel is it raises the water level every where and no land below the water level is ever land.
moganite: perhaps from what you know about that area and what me and travis knows we can work together and find a way to make this ultimately work. anyone else that is familiar with terrain properties post your interest here and let us know what you are familiar with. there are so many settings that will have to be tweaked and tested so the more the merrier! :thumbsup:
It is changed by tile? Or what?
This is absolutely amazing stuff here. :thumbsup: I had messed around a little with those parameters at one point and thought it had some potential, so it's really good to see this being pursued more.
-Alex (Tarkus)
WOW i know you was telling me about this in MSN ryan and to see the effects.... This is something else omg i know im excited.... thank you to both of you guys ryan and travis great job :thumbsup: &apls
There is a weather effect mod available on Gizmo's website, for which you'll have to register, here:
http://gizmo.lunarpages.com/index.php
It allows you to create flat bodies of water at any height, at multiple levels, but unfortunately they cannot be saved and have to be re-done when you open your city.
Very good for creating lakes and reservoirs, but you will have to use ploppable water to create any rivers on slopes etc.
Here's an example (I hope!)
[url=http://img258.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newcity28may15118846320il5.png
It can also be used for re-creating floods!
There's that, but this is another way of implementing it, and it's done in such a way that it allows the end result to be saved (does it?).
I have quite a few q's about this, because I'm not sure how you implemented it...
- How?
- What is the difference between this and Gizmo's mod?
- What is the exact effect of this?
There are water at 0 m, too? Or only water higher?
I hate to be a pessimist about this, but I don't see any difference with "normal" sea level values. The thing Maxis forgot was not water on different levels, but water on multiple levels.
If that is however what you have accomplished, then many kudo's to you and this will be modd of the year, but I am afraid it isn't but a change of terrain parameters ...
I'm slightly confused. Whats the difference between this and altering the 'sea level' property in the terrain controller of one's terrain mod?
I do this all the time without problems. ???
If i am missing something and this is in fact breakthrough modding with amazing potential, then i say; excellent work. $%Grinno$%
please, please let it be multiple levels
Fila/Flip: OMG! Are you sh*toot*ing me?! This is promising bro.. This is promising :D
Well the rain mod was at multiple levels... It's just that teiresu could never figure out how to make it permanent.
And that is where Filasimo is figuring out to make it a permanent body of water at higher elevations
It would truly be a breakthrough simply to get the game to save "game" water at different terrain levels. I don't see any mod out there that would allow water to "descend" across tiles as it would in a normal watercourse. With available rapids and waterfall effects to provide transitions, though, some pretty amazing things could be done.
Thanks, Ryan (Filasimo) and all for working on this.
David
wow this is very interesting i will keep an eye on this &apls &apls
wow very cool. i really hope this is a mod to put water on multiple levels.
This is a really interesting idea, but some also interesting questions have not been answered.... :-\
Quote from: Shadow Assassin on August 30, 2007, 01:28:23 AM
There's that, but this is another way of implementing it, and it's done in such a way that it allows the end result to be saved (does it?).
I have quite a few q's about this, because I'm not sure how you implemented it...
- How?
- What is the difference between this and Gizmo's mod?
- What is the exact effect of this?
;)
fairly good start. i hope you can acheive it. good luck. :thumbsup:
Sorry I kept ya guys in the dark after announcing this. After a few attempts and this is for whoever wants to tweak it themselves. by setting the sealevel and max sealevel properties in the terrain controllers of most terrain mods to their desired level it will only raise it to the sealevel specified and sorry all thats the only thing you could possibly do with it you still cannot have water at multiple elevations in one region. i know i was disappointed as well. the only positive of tweaking the sealevel properties in the terrain controllers is that you can have water past the default maxis 200 settings. aside from tweaking the water level you will have to tweak other settings as well with the terrain controller. i myself have not messed with it bc i have been real busy with RL stuff when i found out about this. to developers making terrain mods: feel free to tinker with the sealevel settings and the other settings accustomed to it. players will love to have terrain mods with sealevels higher for maps that have higher terrain. i hope this answers alot of questions and again i had struck fools gold instead of gold :-[ , then again it still will be useful for terrain mod developers to raise the water level and have water present at a higher level plane (not multiple) :thumbsup:
O man, that is a pity. :'(
Well my hopes are dashed.
*lightbulb*
wait, gizmo's mod? Which one?
(sorry, jeroni! (apparently sucks is inappropriate. OOPS! &blush))
Despite being discouraging, a good post, Ryan! :thumbsup:
It takes a man to admit he cannot deliver up to expectations, and move on to his next project.
Quote from: dragonshardz on September 17, 2007, 03:44:46 PM
wait, gizmo's mod? Which one?
Gizmo's
Weather Effect Mod is available at his site:
http://gizmo.lunarpages.com/index.php
Ryan you are a true man!!! A real man admitts when he has bitten off more then he can chew... &apls &apls I admire you for trying and that is the best thing you did you tried to git r done!!! - pat
Well, good shot at this, my friend! What you've done already is very good, though!
would have been great. but anyway, we're getting used with ploppable water.. $%Grinno$%
thank you for trying and experimenting.. :thumbsup:
Maybe next time then :thumbsup:
Dont discourage ;), who knows what is still waiting for us inside these dat files.... ::) :D :D
Thanks for all the kind words guys. As I have mentioned you can still edit the water levels and have it at a higher elevation than the default maxis level. So in a way there are still benefits to my findings. If anyone is interested in trying to tweak the water levels and other settings I would love for you to post a pic of what you come up with.
my kind regards,
Ryan :thumbsup:
please dont give up because there is always a way when a humble dat file holds the key to terrain water level.
Madeira: Im not giving up but pretty much passing the torch to anyone who knows more about the game coding than I do. I only stumbled onto the water level properties like some have. Thanks for stopping by though! :thumbsup:
Well, Filasimo, let's hope someone takes up the torch OR that you make a brilliant discovery...
&apls
nothing more to say
Well, because you've edited the water level: it'd be a breakthrough for allowing multiple levels of water in a particular region (not city tile, though...). It's still an improvement.
Quote from: Filasimo on September 18, 2007, 09:16:30 AM
Madeira: Im not giving up but pretty much passing the torch to anyone who knows more about the game coding than I do. I only stumbled onto the water level properties like some have. Thanks for stopping by though! :thumbsup:
:angrymore: Just lost a post and my detailed train of thought. To summarize, I know this is a dead thread and issue (currently) but had to sound off. "Real Water" above sea level exists. Gizmo's rain work does fill the mountain depressions with water that support water only lots and items. There are to many very smart people in our hobby here and elsewhere, to think they will never break into the solution. It's there even if Maxis wouldn't or couldn't do it.
I am pleased to see that the issue keeps being surfaced by people such as you, to keep it in front of the faces of those geniuses until their collective light bulb goes on.
Thank you very much for your efforts.
well, buckbeach, madeira filasimo has tried her his best and has passed the modd to anyone who thinks they have an idea. True, the rain modd (by Teirusu) does work at higher elevations, but the water is not saved and the tool itself is tricky to work with. It is handy for landbridges and making dry lakes where waterbuildings were once built though.
Edit: corrected names and was more specific.
Seeing that we won't get any better results out of this with the multilevel watermod, has anyone ever tried to continue the rainmod from gizmo and maybe have it made that it CAN be saved? Or is this really impossible? That would be great though.
I am not a Modder whatsoever, never have been and surely never will be, but I think with what all the SC4 Modders have achieved in the last years with this game, they probably would be able to find a way to have that rainmod made savable.
Good luck and keep on thinking and modding, making this game even better and more interesting than ever.
mrbisonm ;)
@dragonshardz....my my did you miss the memo? madeira aka She Who Will Not Be Named aka constantia aka thomasine aka daddysbabysmomma (nothing related) had nothing to do with this rain mod other than gizmo and the other modders that came before me with failed attempts and for your answer bison due to the fact of the save game issue where most modders hit a dead end its always unfortunate thats where the end of the road lies unless someone discovers a way around it.....as for dragonshardz please have a banana and just breathe sit relax, take a breather or two.... ya been a bit hyper the past few weeks mkay? ;)
sorry, filasimo, i changed subjects rather abruptly didn't I?
what i meant to say was that Maderia aka She Who Will Not Be Named, etc, etc, has gone my bad, you, Filasimo, had gone as far as you can with this particular modd and that Teirusu's rain modd works at any elevation but the water is not saved. Good greif, I feel dumb.
Yeah, i have been hyper haven't I? I guess that once i get on a particu;lar train of thought, i just charge ahead. Oops! Oh, well, only human aren't I? Case in point: the semicolon in the word particular.
You know what would be more useful? If the water level was lower so we can make mountains seem taller. Am I right? Because we can't really get mountains to go as high as we want. Maybe lowering the water level will make mountains seem taller and larger. Maxis does have some errors. Maybe you can fix it.
By the way, Nice Mod, keep up the good work!