Where is the lot related information stored?

[dare2go]

After my recent post I started almost from scratch again, meaning I emptied my entire plugin folder and re-installed only the plug-ins I really want.

Now I have very mysterious things happening: buildings appear (as boxes) in my game - buildings which I have never re-installed after I emptied my plugin folder.
I understand why they appear as boxes since, of course, there isn't any information about their lot and props.

What I don't understand: how can buildings appear in the first place if there is no reference to them in my plugin folder?
Where would the game get the idea to build any particular lot if it isn't in the plug-ins? 

One of them is SimGoober's Boomland (all of its files are named very clearly *_BoomLand_*.* = easy to search for), another is SimGoober's Sum Ting Wong Chinese Food; in the previous installation I stumbled across similar problems with some of SimGoober's commercial lots, eg. the Chocolate Factory and California Pizza Restaurant (both of which I couldn't find in my plugins either - these haven't raised their ugly head - yet...).

Is there another file/directory where I have to clean out plugins, apart from the C:/Program Files/Sim City 4/Plugins and the obvious /My Documents/Sim City 4/Plugins???

Edit: results of my Cleanitol and the DatPacker 2008 are a little conflicting re. prop files - so I have BSC MEGA Props - SG Vol 01.dat installed, although DatPacker insists to remove it... What is correct?

Confused 

[adroman]

dare2go,

Alright, I have to ask... did you bulldoze all existing lots before deletion? Have you tried deleting your current region and restarting (you could effectively do this by "Obliterating" every city in the current region)?

If I remember correctly, the region stores lists of all the plugins used in that city, so if you delete it, the region has a cache of it.

I tried deleting lots like you have, and the only cure that I found are the methods listed above.

Adrian.

[dare2go]

dare2go,

Alright, I have to ask... did you bulldoze all existing lots before deletion? Have you tried deleting your current region and restarting (you could effectively do this by "Obliterating" every city in the current region)?

If I remember correctly, the region stores lists of all the plugins used in that city, so if you delete it, the region has a cache of it.

I tried deleting lots like you have, and the only cure that I found are the methods listed above.

Adrian.

I "obliberated" (blew up from God mode) the entire city and started again with a blank terrain.

Though: there's one very old city in the same region from a previous install of SimCity4 without Rushhour (never touched it again - just kept it for sentimental reasons since it was my largest with almost 400,000 Sims) - most downloaded plugins never worked without Rushhour, so I expected they wouldn't be any, but who knows (~3 years ago)...
Maybe, just maybe, this could be the reason  Will start with a new region and see what happens...

CHEERS - this might be the reason

[teddyrised]

I have a feeling that the region does keep a cache of the plugins used. The safest way is to start afresh, i.e. creating a new region folder and importing all your cities except for the old city, or just start from scratch.

p/s: I laughed out loud at the Sum Ting Wong restaurant. You know it's word play, right?

[sim-al2]

p/s: I laughed out loud at the Sum Ting Wong restaurant. You know it's word play, right?

Isn't everything he's made (commercials at least)?

@dare2go: Have you tried making a new city in a new region and seeing if the buildings are still appearing?

[dare2go]

Unfortunately this problem is not resolved!

@dare2go: Have you tried making a new city in a new region and seeing if the buildings are still appearing?

Yep: I made a small new region (only 512x512 pixels large), and over the last hour (after the new city reached 10,000 Sims) had exactly the same 2 commercials pop up again (the Boomlands around 3 times, and Sum Ting Wang probably twice) - there shouldn't be anything in the region cache since it was newly created after my initial question...

[dare2go]

BUMP - any more ideas?

Unfortunately this problem is not resolved!

[xxdita]

Well, there are 2 Plugins folders you need to look at. One in your Program Files (x86 for Win7)/Maxis/SimCity4 Deluxe folder, the other usually in the Documents/SimCity4 folder (unless you've chosen other places to put these). Also check your Program Files/Maxis/SimCity 4/Plugins folder, just in case, since you have had the original version of the game installed as well.

[jmyers2043]

Yep: I made a small new region (only 512x512 pixels large), and over the last hour (after the new city reached 10,000 Sims) had exactly the same 2 commercials pop up again (the Boomlands around 3 times, and Sum Ting Wang probably twice)

I'm joining the conversation late ... but let me get this straight. Your cities are growing Boomland and SumTingWong and you don't wish them to?

Assuming I have the issue correct? Then .. well.. if they're growing then they are in a folder somewhere, somehow, someplace.

XXdita gives good advise. Simcity loads the Simcity.dat files first, then files from C:\programs\maxis\plugins and lastly it loads MyDocuments\SimCity4\Plugins.

Do a search ... look for *boomland*.SC4LOT  There should be 5 lots of various sizes and a model file.

[catty]

While you can still download Boomland and Sum Ting Wong separately on the STEX, on the LEX SimGoober has merged them into one DAT file, in my plugins its called SG_Lots_Small_Shops.dat and I'm not sure if the models are included or if they are in another file, the LEX is being really slow at the moment so I'll I'll get back to you with the download link.



EDIT:

The model file can be found here  http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1123  and;

the lot file can be found here  http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1124

please note

This is a pack of over 60 growable lots of simgoober's small shops that have been updated.

so if you delete these files to get rid of Boomland and Sum Ting Wong you will also get rid of the other 60 plus shops in these files

[dare2go]

Thanks for all the replies, though some are missing the point...

It's not a question if I want these buildings, or not, the puzzling question is:
why am I getting these buildings (in form of boxes) if I don't have them anywhere installed, hence the game should not know about them???

I'm joining the conversation late ... but let me get this straight. Your cities are growing Boomland and SumTingWong and you don't wish them to?

Assuming I have the issue correct? Then .. well.. if they're growing then they are in a folder somewhere, somehow, someplace.

XXdita gives good advise. Simcity loads the Simcity.dat files first, then files from C:\programs\maxis\plugins and lastly it loads MyDocuments\SimCity4\Plugins.

Do a search ... look for *boomland*.SC4LOT  There should be 5 lots of various sizes and a model file.

also:

Well, there are 2 Plugins folders you need to look at. One in your Program Files (x86 for Win7)/Maxis/SimCity4 Deluxe folder, the other usually in the Documents/SimCity4 folder (unless you've chosen other places to put these). Also check your Program Files/Maxis/SimCity 4/Plugins folder, just in case, since you have had the original version of the game installed as well.

See above - starting post - I have searched everywhere to find any traces of them, I even searched the entire C:/ drive for *boomland*.* - NADA, ZILCH, NOTHING = they are not there - yet the game insists to place them (and then it cannot find the files of course)... Before installing Deluxe I un-installed Simcity 4 and run Tune-Up to clean my registry (partly because I wanted to get all available space on my harddisk).

[ I might be a relatively inexperienced SimCity player, but I know my way with computers and programming - I'm using the damned things since 1982 - pre MS-Dos and well before Windows... ]


So - still not resolved!

[RippleJet]

So - still not resolved!

Did you even search for the file Catty mentioned, SG_Lots_Small_Shops.dat?
As Catty mentioned, that file contains lots of lots, including Boomlands and Sum Ting Wong.