Removing 'ploppable' versions from the game

[MaximePenen]

The question is this: I'd like to weed out my plug-ins folder. Most importantly, I'd like to remove the dozens of custom 'ploppable' buildings from the Landmarks menu, without removing their growable versions.

Now, for a bunch of buildings, this is easy. Since there's often files with 'LM', 'Landmark' or 'Plop' in the filename. What I'm concerned about are the ones where this is not the case.

Most of the buildings I have come with a .sc4lot file and a .sc4model file. The model is, obviously, the one we shouldn't touch. So, is the fact they are ploppable and growable stored in the lot file? I'm not familiar with the inner workings of all mods, I just like to play with them :p

I understand I might need ILive's Reader, but the subforum for it doesn't give me a clue about what to do. And opening a specific lot isn't exactly helping my confusion :p


Thanks in advance for any help.

[io_bg]

You'll need to delete the .SC4lot files which contain "LM" / "Landmark" in their names. Hope this helps you

[MaximePenen]

You'll need to delete the .SC4lot files which contain "LM" / "Landmark" in their names. Hope this helps you

Well, yeah. I already did that for the ones that *have* such denotation in their file name (as I said above). Problem is, alot of buildings do not have such separate landmark files.

[sithlrd98]

Generally , plop lots will have 2 .pngs.(one of these is for the icon )  When looking at the building exemplar in reader or whatever,
you will see a lot of values , but if you see these:Item Icon      
Item Order,   OccupantGroups- Building: Landmark,Building:(etc.)
Then its ploppable.

These are the easiest ways to know (besides the inclusion of Plop or LM) to see.

Jayson

[MaximePenen]

Thanks alot.

So, it is entirely possible that in one SC4lot file, a building is designated as both ploppable and growable, right? So is there a way to delete the attributes that make it ploppable somehow? Or does it take advanced editing skills?

[wes.janson]

The ploppable and the growable with be seperate .SC4lot files, Jayson (Sithlord98) was just stating that, upon opening the lot file in the Reader, the ploppable will have the aforementioned properties.

I find when downloading from the LEX that most growable lots will have the type of lot in the name (i.e. I-m1_3x2_jes_Drywell_Ink) whereas the ploppable lots will not (i.e. jes_2x3_Drywell_Ink)

[sithlrd98]

Each lot has at least one .desc file.The .desc file is a "container file" for the building or Prop model exemplar.The building exemplar has the info which determine if it is a grow or plop lot. Some of the downloads you will get are both plop and grow ,and thus multiple .desc as well as  multiple lot files : look at each one that you are not sure of and look to see if the "Building exemplar" has the info that I showed before.If it is all in one .dat (which can act as a container file for the .desc file(s) and model , and lot) You will see multiple exemplar files ,building exemplars  and depending on if it has multiple lots inside , you will also have multiple lot config exemplars. Then still need to identify which exemplar is for the building and which is the lot.( Once opened in reader , one says "Buildings" the other says "Lot configurations" Once you find the lot you want to remove , you can safely remove that exemplar from the .dat or if it is only in the lot , you can safely delete or remove that lot from your plugins folder.
I am sorry if I have overcomplicated things for you , as I'm more a hands on person so sometimes I confuse people.

Jayson

[Andreas]

Well, if the creator didn't label the files better, the only way is to open them in the Reader and have a look at the content. It looks incredible complicated at first, but if you compare those unknown files with some ploppables and growables you know, you should be able to spot the differences that define a ploppable and a growable. Some key indicators have been mentioned here already, that might be enough to weed out all unwanted files.

[MaximePenen]

Thanks alot folks. That was fast (and extensive). \o/

@Sith: naaaah. I'm not computer illiterate, so I understood it quite well. I'm just not familiar with the workings of the SC4 files themselves, that's all. So I'll cope

Hehe, thanks all.