Seaports Revealed: Unofficial Guide to the BSC Functional Seaports

[whatevermind]

Part 14 - SNM Seaport – 8 Stages

The SNM Seaport has eight stages and should be plopped entirely on land, see the note on seaport placement at the end of the post here.  The seaport uses the SNM Navy Base Set along its waterfront (this is not a dependency and is only linked for reference), which is similar to the BRT WIMPS waterfront – either one should work as an accessory to the seaport, though you might notice differences.  There is a graphics glitch at Stage 6, where some dock on the right side of the lot is out of place.  Also, be warned that this seaport is LOUD, whenever you plop or query the lot, prepare for a loud horn blast.  This seaport provides jobs and has nightlighting.

Stage 1:


Stage 2:


Stage 3:


Stage 4:


Stage 5:


Stage 6:


Stage 7:


Stage 8:



Some side views of the seaport at Stage 8:





Some close-up views of the seaport at Stage 8:





Dependencies:
BSC Essentials.dat
BSC_TexturePack_Cycledogg_V 01.dat
BSC MEGA Props - Misc Vol01.dat
BSC MEGA Props - Misc Vol02.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol01.dat
BSC MEGA Props - SG Vol 01.dat
BSC MEGA Props - RT Vol02.dat
BSC MEGA Props - RT Vol04.dat
BSC MEGA Props - RT WFK Vol01.dat
BSC MEGA Props - RT WFK N Vol01.dat
BSC BAT Props - RT SNM Vol02.dat
BSC BAT Props - RT SNM Vehicles Vol01.dat
CSX MEGA Props - Vol04.dat
SOMY Prop Pack Vol 04 Ships.dat
BSC_Flag_Pack_1.dat
RT_WIMPS_SNM_N_DryDock.dat
SNM LHA Dock.dat

Note that the formal name for RT_WIMPS_SNM_N_DryDock.dat is the SNM Navy Dry Dock, and likewise SNM LHA Dock.dat is the SNM Navy LHA.  Also, BSC_TexturePack_Cycledogg_V 01.dat is version 1b of that dependency.

[whatevermind]

Part 15 - SDP Warehouse Port – 6 Stages

The SDP Warehouse Port has six stages, and should be plopped entirely on land, see the note on seaport placement at the end of the post here.  This seaport uses the BRT WIMPS waterfront (this is not a dependency, just linked for reference), and the 4-tile deep lots in that set will match the fence locations on this lot.  This seaport provides jobs and has nightlighting.

Stage 1:


Stage 2:


Stage 3:


Stage 4:


Stage 5:


Stage 6:



Some side views of the seaport at Stage 6:





Some close-up views of the seaport at Stage 6:





Dependencies:
BSC Essentials.dat
BSC MEGA Props - Misc Vol02.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol01.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol02.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol03.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol04.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol05.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol06.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol08.dat
BSC MEGA Props - RT Vol04.dat
BSC MEGA Props - RT WFK Vol01.dat
BSC MEGA Props - RT WFK N Vol01.dat
SOMY Prop Pack Vol 04 Ships.dat
RT_WIMPS_SNM_N_DryDock.dat

Note that the formal name for RT_WIMPS_SNM_N_DryDock.dat is the SNM Navy Dry Dock.

[whatevermind]

Part 16 - BLS Container Port – 8 Stages

The BLS Container Port has eight stages, and can only be plopped on land.  It is the only one of the BSC Functional Seaports to use the BLS Industrial Waterfront BSC (Marrast waterfront) (this is not a dependency, and is only linked for reference).  The 3-tile deep lots from that set will fit along the sides of this seaport and match the fence and rail locations.  This seaport has a rail line running across the lot which can be connected to your rail network, but cannot carry rail traffic or accept freight trains.  The rail links break whenever the lot upgrades if they cross a road immediately adjacent to the lot (as described in the post above, here).  This seaport provides jobs and has nightlighting.

Stage 1:


Stage 2:


Stage 3:


Stage 4:


Stage 5:


Stage 6:


Stage 7:


Stage 8:



Some close-up views of the seaport at Stage 8:









Dependencies:
BSC Essentials.dat
BSC Textures Vol 01.dat
BSC Textures Vol 03.dat
BSC MEGA Props - Misc Vol02.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol01.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol05.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol06.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol07.dat
BSC MEGA Props - SG Vol 01.dat
BSC MEGA Props - Gascooker Vol01.dat
BSC BAT Props - T1 Vol3.dat
SOMY Prop Pack Vol 04 Ships.dat
Marrast MEGA Pack Vol01.dat
BSC Ships.dat

Note that the formal name of BSC Ships.dat is BSC CAL Ships Prop Pack Vol 1.

[apeguy]

Very helpful and informative. Turns out I was missing a few of these dependancies and didn't know it, so thanks for providing the links as well.

[whatevermind]

Part 17 - Cargo Handling Facility – 8 Stages

The Cargo Handling Facility has eight stages, and is the first of three inland "seaports", which are lots that have seaport properties (such as moving freight), but are not intended to be located on the waterfront (they don't have docks or boats).  Additionally, all three of the land-based seaports are located in the Airports menu in your game.  This lot is street enabled at three locations, and rail enabled at two locations.  Like the other rail enabled seaports, the connections will break when the lot upgrades if they cross a road immediately adjacent to the lot (shown here just after upgrading):



This is one of only two lots with rails that actually accept freight trains.  In order for this to work, the rail must cross a road adjacent to entering the lot (and subsequently breaks on upgrades and needs rebuilding every time).  This is explained in greater depth in the Readme.  Passenger trains cannot pass through this lot.

The functionality behind being able to accept freight trains is that the seaport converts the freight trains to freight trucks as the trains cross the road adjacent to the seaport.  An interesting side effect to this behavior is that the freight trucks are then free to leave the lot and travel elsewhere.  In my testing, I noticed that if another seaport is across the street from where freight trains enter this lot, the freight trains will sometimes go to the Cargo Handling Facility, get converted to trucks, and then cross the street to the other lot:



While the above picture shows two Cargo Handling Facilities, this appears to work with a Cargo Handling Facility and any other seaport.  This only appears to work if there is another seaport or a neighbor connection immediately across the street.  Otherwise, the Cargo Handling Facility would still be the closest freight destination and the trucks would have no reason to go elsewhere.  While this effect can allow freight trains to "reach" seaports that don't accept rail freight on their own, I advise against relying on this behavior as the only way to get freight to other seaports, as it seems to work intermittently and stop working if the Cargo Handling Facility dilapidates after Stage 8, which would leave the other seaport inaccessible to freight.  Note that even though this seaport converts freight trains to freight trucks from a functional standpoint, all you see in the game is freight trains traveling the rails across this lot – there is no visual counterpart to the train-to-truck conversion:



This seaport provides jobs and has nightlighting.  This seaport also randomly selects which buildings get built at each stage, so for example, while the same location at the same stage might always have a large warehouse, it may not always be the same warehouse, so your results may vary from the pictures below.

Stage 1:


Stage 2:


Stage 3:


Stage 4:


Stage 5:


Stage 6:


Stage 7:


Stage 8:



A side view of the seaport, and some close-up views at Stage 8:







Dependencies:
BSC Essentials.dat
BSC Textures Vol 03.dat
BSC MEGA Props - Misc Vol02.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol01.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol02.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol03.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol07.dat
BSC MEGA Props - SG Vol 01.dat
BSC BAT Props - T1 Vol3.dat
Logistics Centre Dependency Pack

See Note 7 here regarding the Logistics Centre Dependency Pack.

[whatevermind]

Part 18 - BLS Airport Cargo Handling Centre – 6 Stages

The BLS Airport Cargo Handling Centre has six stages, and is another one of the inland seaports, which means that it will be located in your Airports menu.  Plop this seaport and you will quickly see why it is considered an airport, since it is the only one of the BSC Functional Seaports to have airplanes.  While you don't have to locate this seaport anywhere near an airport, it will look a bit out of place if you don't, as you can see from the pictures below.  This seaport provides jobs, and has nightlighting.

Stage 1:


Stage 2:


Stage 3:


Stage 4:


Stage 5:


Stage 6:



A side view, and some close-up views, at Stage 6:








At early stages, the parking lot appears to be missing some textures or props (see picture below), however, once the parking lot is replaced by a building later on, everything looks right, just in case you find yourself looking at that area and wondering what's missing.




Dependencies:
BSC Essentials.dat
BSC MEGA Props - Misc Vol02.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol01.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol02.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol03.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol04.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol05.dat
BSC Mega Props - JES Vol06.dat
BSC MEGA Props - SG Vol 01.dat
BSC MEGA Props - RT Vol01.dat
BSC MEGA Props - RT Vol02.dat
BSC BAT Props - T1 Vol3.dat
CSX MEGA Props - Vol04.dat
AC MEGA Textures Vol01.dat
AC MEGA Props Vol02.dat
AC MEGA Props Vol04.dat
AC VLT Cargo Planes Vol01.dat
Logistics Centre Dependency Pack

See Note 7 here regarding the Logistics Centre Dependency Pack.  Note that the dependency AC VLT Cargo Planes Vol01.dat is also called AC Cargo Planes Vol01.

[whatevermind]

Part 19 - Package Loading Center – 1 Stage

The Package Loading Center has only one stage, and is the third of the inland seaports.  Like the other inland seaports, this one is located in your Airports menu.  Like the Mr. Truesage Local Seaport, this is a legacy port that was included in the BSC Functional Seaports since it was already in widespread usage.  This seaport is street enabled at two locations, near the "front" gates, and is rail enabled at either end of the rail line that crosses the seaport.

This is one of only two seaports that can accept freight trains; however, it does so far less reliably than the Cargo Handling Facility.



Unlike the Cargo Handling Facility, the Package Loading Center does not require that the rails cross roads immediately adjacent to the seaport to accept freight trains.  Because it does not upgrade, rebuilding rail connections is not an issue.  It does convert freight trains to freight trucks, but appears to do this on the lot itself.  Because it converts the trains into trucks, the trucks are free to leave the seaport and cross the street into another seaport, same as with the Cargo Handling Facility.

I have not yet seen it send trucks across the street into a neighbor connection, but it should be possible.  The one problem with using this seaport for freight trains is that it does not always accept freight trains.  After some extensive testing, the ideal condition for getting the Package Loading Center to accept freight trains is to build it before you start playing the city, and it must have rail connections in place at this time.  Then, as the city grows, factories along the rail lines (or using freight stations) will send freight trains to this seaport.  Once it starts accepting freight trains it should continue to accept them for the duration of the game, even after dilapidating.  However, if you build a Package Loading Center in an already existing city, it will generally not accept freight trains, even if you cut the seaport off from road access and it's the only way for freight to leave the city – instead your industry will just stagnate and complain about clogged warehouses.  This seaport provides jobs and has nightlighting.

Stage 1:


The other side:


A close-up view:



Dependencies:
bldgprop_vol1.dat
AC Airport Textures.dat

AC Airport Textures.dat is not an individually downloadable file, and is only available with installation of the AC Functional Airports.  However, after installing the Functional Airports, you can delete everything but this file if you want.  This dependency is required only for a single grass texture, and I suspect it is probably available elsewhere; however it exists on my computer only as part of this file.

Critical Note: The AC Functional Airports installs some files that overlap with the BSC Functional Seaports.  This includes the files:

• Enable SWAP Package Loading Center.dat located in ..\Plugins\X-Ports\Airports
• AC Functional Seaports, Version 0.0.dat located in ..\Plugins\X-Ports\Seaports

You will have to delete both of these files after installing AC Functional Airports or risk crashing your game. Additionally, the installer will place several other enablers into the folder:  ..\Plugins\X-Ports\Airports, as well as the file AC Functional Airports, Version 2.1.dat, all of which should be deleted to prevent the Functional Airports from showing up in your game (the props, textures, and sounds files can stay).  If you already have the AC Functional Airports, or wish to keep them (and I recommend you do, it does for Airports what the BSC Functional Seaports does for seaports), then you simply need to delete the two files highlighted in bold above, and consult the AC Functional Airports readme and support threads to get started using that mod.

[whatevermind]

Part 20 - Conclusion

*whew*

That concludes the guide for now.  Thank you for reading, and I hope you have found it useful, and that it has helped you get the most out of the BSC Functional Seaports.  If you notice any errors or omissions in this guide, or have suggestions for improvements, please let me know.  As I mentioned at the beginning, this guide does not cover the five canal-based seaports included in the BSC Functional Seaports.  If I start using canals in my games, I may go back and add them to this guide, but there are no plans to do that in the foreseeable future.  Once again I advise you to read the BSC Functional Seaports Readme, as well as consult the Support and Development threads for the wealth of information they contain.  And of course, you can always ask questions at those threads or here.

Happy seaport building! 

[RippleJet]

OMG!

*whew*

Indeed!!! That's what I said too after reading it... it's perfect... better than I would ever have managed, had I had the time for it...

Agree on the K-point

Yes, me too! Well deserved!

[Raindog]

Much, much appreciated Whatevermind. This is a great introduction to those ports. I never knew it was possible in the first place: upgradeable lots. You think you've seen it all until you people come up with something new.

[mike3775]

I'll say it again, thanks to this guide I have been playing around more with seaports.  Great job and enjoy the K-points you earned

[Muko]

hi all nice ports i tryed them out and found somthing odd when i put ports in my city the industrial demand went to 0 with a city of 40k there should be at leest some demand. im yousing camelot that changes the game a bit but theres always som demand posetive ore negative. i tryed the demand mods to se if thay could help me but thay arent compattble with camelot so no luck there.

Anyways good work with the ports 5/5*

sorry for my bad english

[FrankU]

Hi, this is a fantastic guide. 

But!
Just one question about the lots: who made the decision that the lots are to be placed in such a way that we can see the landscape rock texture under the construction of the quays? That is really really ugly! There should be some seawall prop or texture to hide this, or the lots should be overhanging so that the landscape disappears. Booh!

[Lowkee33]

The cliff tile isn't used though, it would be simple enough to plop a texture there.  (Not saying that is the reason)

[FrankU]

Exactly! A solution is simple.

Or an overhanging seawall prop isn't that hard to find.

[Rayden]

My guess is because those ports were plopped on a too high terrain. By default if you plop the Maxis port, it flats the terrain very low, almost sea level. I believe the Terraformer by Wounagaine has an option for terraplan ports at the proper height. If that is used and then plop these lots, it will show only the quays, hiding the texture of the cliffs.

[Muko]

hi is there any way to get the industrial demand back after placing the ports mine has gone to 0 in the city ??

[whatevermind]

Hehe, oh, you noticed the ugly cliffs?    I did purposely take these pics without any terrain plugins.  I also realized too late that my testing area was too high out of water to properly show many of the seawalls, but I wasn't going back to fix it.  The marrast and jeronij seawalls both work on gentler/higher slopes, as you can see.  The only ones that really stand out are the BLS/SNM seawalls, which require an insanely steep slope to hide the cliff.  Of course, the closer to the water you plop them, the less steep your slope would have to be to hide the cliff.  As for the lots themselves - that's mostly Barby's handiwork from my understanding.

@Muko:
Adding seaports should have the opposite effect.  In fact I even tested a few cities where I maxed out the industry, then placed seaports to test that they actually did provide cap relief (they do), and sure enough my industry would grow again.  I also generally tested them with CAM running.  Some suggestions:

• Use the Census Repository Facility to make sure you haven't managed to hit a cap of some sort.  It might not even be an industrial cap - too few workers available could hurt your demand as well.
• This could be a regional problem - if your region has tons of industry, a new city (with or without seaports) might show really low industrial demand.
• Make sure you haven't overloaded your seaports.  If you don't have enough export capacity (by seaport or road/rail connection), your industry will stagnate and demand will fall.  Long freight trips also have a negative impact on demand.  It's possible that placing some seaports reworked your freight export paths in a way to make it harder for your industry to find the quickest way out of the city.
• This is really unlikely - but it happened to me at one point while I was working on these.  I doubt it's related, but it might be a fix.  There's a temp file that opens/runs while SC4 is running - you can often find it in your processes after a game crash, because the game doesn't get the chance to close it properly.  Make sure this isn't continuing to run in the background after exiting the game.  Somewhere, in a Temp directory I think, this file will also be sitting on your hard drive, and you can delete it when you're not in the game.  The name is along the lines of ~ed5431.tmp (or similar to that) - and it seems to contain some info about the state of the last city you played.  If that city happens to be one with tons of industry, and if that file is malfunctioning, any other city you play might show low industrial demand.  I don't know the particulars of what that file does, but deleting/closing it when it's been left behind has occasionally solved some maddeningly weird problems.

[mike3775]

hi is there any way to get the industrial demand back after placing the ports mine has gone to 0 in the city ??

I have never had that issue happen to me any time I have ever plopped a port at all.  In fact, I have found that whenever I plop seaports, my demand for Industrial skyrockets and my ports can never keep up with the demand.  I once had an all Industrial city with the BLS City Ports lining BOTH sides of a river running through the city and I had seaports the entire length of the river from beginning to end and they were all maxed out with only 1/2 the large city tile even developed.

[FrankU]

Well, allright.
It's quite some time ago that I actually played the game, but I already had the feeling that the port lots were placed too high.
Terraformer has indeed an option for harbour height terraforming. I used it very happily when I was building my large seaport areas.

Ok, so if I use the correct height I won't see the cliffs? Then it's all ok with me. Making the ater opaque will hide the cliff completely.

Thanks.