Questions about mods

[Hondacar1212]

Hello I'm new here.
I have been playing sc4 since 2005 when i first got the game,  but very recently got into adding some mods.
I started with the NAM, then a few ploppable buildings, but needles to say i have a few questions.
I got a new computer and am currently reinstalling mods.
I started with CAM, then i installed NAM. The cleanitol for the NAM moved the traffic simulator for CAM to a new folder. Is that all that needs to be done,  or do i actually have to delete the CAM traffic simulator?

I want more variety with my growable buildings.  That was my main reason for installing CAM. I dont want to plop them. Are all the custom buildings in the LEX growable?

I also have the RHW slope mod, and i like that. However it has a tendency to carve through mountains, which i don't like. I can make a slight incline with the tools,  but the slope mod seems to destroy it, is there another way to have my roads climb a mountain, without making it look weird?

Finally the mods that i have used make the game more realistic and way more fun. What else should i download?

Thanks to all who have created these mods, i know it cant be easy, and thanks to all who will read this post. I look forward to your advice.

[FrankU]

Hi Hondacar1212, welcome here!

The CAM traffic simulator is outdated. Please remove it from your plugins folder. The NAM will take care of your traffic simulations.

The CAM itself does not provide any buildings. It is only a mod that helps your city growth in a more realistic way. And it gives you more growth stages. For these higher stages you need CAMified buildings/lots.

The LEX has all kind of buildings, The descriptions should tell you if they are ploppable or growable.
You can also look at the STEX: http://community.simtropolis.com/files/ for more files.

You could choose terrain mods and water mods for the looks of your terrains and water.

Good luck hunting! It can take some time until you start understanding what is what and whatfor you need which file... There is so much available.
But that is part of the fun. And if you have questions: please ask.

Frank

[vester]

There is a thread that gives you an overview of all the slop mods. Been trying to find it, but no luck.

What you could do about the slope on roads, is try a few different slope mods she what fit your likings.

[NCGAIO]

Well ... there is this mentioned below although some images no longer exist


Civil engineering support thread: slope mods, other tools and issues

[Hondacar1212]

Thanks guys for the advice and links.
I will definitely give them a try.
Another question, i want to make like a park and ride,  but i don't like the maxis garages everywhere, but like the idea of how they work. Around where i live the stations have huge parking lots.  I found a mod that has street parking that i think looks good.  The lot is listed as modular, does that mean it works like the maxis garage?
The mods was made by Andreas.

Also what is SFBT?

[vester]

SFBT: Sim Forum Batting Team. Its a german team.

Andreas has for a long time upload their creations here.

[Themistokles]

If you're looking for mods, this list (https://sites.google.com/site/sc4modds/) is a great start. Maybe you've already seen it, but I think it's good advice for anyone looking for good, generic mods. It helped me out a lot in the beginning.

[Mero90]

Hi there, there are tons of mods to make this game more realistic, but the number depends on your playstyle. if you like a more "sandbox" game you will need a lot of plopable buildings. However I would suggest some mods to start you modding experience (and dependencies experience  ).

• CAM 2.0: This wont add some cosmetic features, but balances how the game handles population.
• NAM: if you use the RHW you should know a lot about this mod. However remember to install this after other stations, cause some of them can be updated by the NAM (i.e. http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/16436-semitransparent-train-stations/)
• A slope mod: I'm currently using the Ennedi slope mod: http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1512
• The Road Top Mass Transit: this will allow you to place bus stops and underground stations on your roads. You can find it on the LEX, the manual install takes some time.
• A terrain and a water mod: you can find a lot of them on the LEX or on the STEX. Choose the one you like.
• A tree controller: there are seasonal and nonseasonal tree controllers. Currently I'm using this nonseasonal one: http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=59
• Industrial Revolution Mod: you can find it on the STEX, this gives you a better control of your dirty and high-tech industries and updates all maxis industrial buildings (there is a CAMpatible version and you can use only IRM AddOns industrial growables).
• A sidewalk mod and a road decoration mod. There are many sidewalk mods on the LEX and on the STEX, but less road decoration mods. I'm using the Nekopanchi one, but I don't know if all it's dependencies are still available.

[Andreas]

The SFBT Street Tree Mod (I guess that's the one you're talking of) is only cosmetics, which means it doesn't actually add any parking facilities to your streets, but just parked car props. There are several lots that work like parking garages, though, such as the SFBT Parking Lots.

You can place them in the vicinity of a mass transit station (bus stop, rail station etc.), and they will "convert" car traffic to pedestrians, which will walk to the next station or nearby jobs. Obviously, the capacity is relatively low for such a small parking lot; for creating large park&ride facilities, you might want to use other downloads.

[Hondacar1212]

Mero90 thanks for the links I'll definitely check them out.

Andreas the one that i found is titled SFBT Parking Lots (v. 1.0) by Andreas
I can't get the link though.

Edit: i just realized you mentioned that mod,  i was at work earlier and not paying attention.


Thanks for all the help, if i have more questions I'll be sure to ask.

[Hondacar1212]

So i got the mods, tons of buildings and all the dependencies i think.  Got everything installed and the new buildings look great (plopped then to check for brown boxes).
However, i am getting brown boxes on maxis industrial lots. The two that popped up were farleys foundry and dover dye (i think) had them everywhere.  I ran the cleanitol and it said i was missing bldg prop 1 and 2.dat files.  I downloaded them and cleanitol says i have all dependencies, but i still have brown boxes on at least these two maxis lots. Only seems to be the industrial.
Any advice?

[Andreas]

If brown boxes show up on Maxis lots, then those must have been modified by some download, or maybe they are different lots that use the Maxis buildings, but some other models as well. Or maybe you're using a tree or vehicle replacement mod, but didn't download all necessary dependencies.

[Hondacar1212]

I fixed the lots,  now I'm having trouble with my trees.
I downloaded the meadowshire terrain mod, looks amazing, and I also got the Meadowshire River Tree Mod (v1.0). I have all the dependencies listed in the Readme, but have brown boxes at the higher elevations. It seems to be deciduous trees that are brown boxes. At lower elevations, there are no trees at all.
I read the entire readme but no luck.
If i remove the controller, all trees become brown boxes.

[mgb204]

Firstly a small warning, never remove a tree controller, when you've planted items from it in saved cities. If you subsequently install a different controller, likely your cities will CTD when you try to open them. If you want to remove the mod, you must first remove every tree planted with the controller.

Brown boxes are always related to missing dependencies, so somewhere you must have missed something. I'd go through the dependency tracker on the LEX and if you can't locate the missing file, just go through them again one at a time. Sometimes the documentation is not as up to date as the dependency tracker, so probably best to rely on that for what you need.

[vortext]

If i remove the controller, all trees become brown boxes.

As mgb204 said you have to be careful removing tree controllers from since it can cause Crash to Desktop (CTD). And in general it's bad practice to remove content from your plugins folder without bulldozing said content in your cities beforehand.

As for the meadowshire tree controller, it's been a while I used it but I do recall one particularly stubborn brown box and iirc it was a small, purple flower found in either one of D66 or MJB's prop packs. Maybe it's the issue here as well - just go over the dependency list once more.

At lower elevations, there are no trees at all.

This is by design, not something to worry about. 

[Hondacar1212]

Sure thing guys, ill double check again.
Thanks for the warning about the tree controller i didn't know that.
I wasn't saving anything,  just merely testing,  seeing the box then quitting without saving.  The reigon is blank.  I pulled the controller or then all trees i tried to place turned to brown boxes. Ill look again though,  i really like those trees and prefer to use them if i can.
The dependency tracker says i have them downloaded

[mgb204]

The dependency tracker says i have them downloaded

But that's not the same thing as verifying they are all locatable in your plugins folder. It would be advisable to search for each one in turn, and check for sure they are there.

[Hondacar1212]

You were right, the installer and dat files were not there, but they are now and it works.
Thanks everybody for the help. 
Now i need a good hilly reigon, any suggestions?

[mgb204]

Just to be clear. You only need have the files that the installer creates in your plugins folders.

Any installers or .zip archives etc, should be moved somewhere else. It's best to keep those somewhere, since it saves having to re-download them again in future, should you need to install them again.

In much the same fashion, and image files, readmes and other non-SC4 files are best removed from the plugins folders. Too many of them can cause an instable game. But each erroneous file causes the game to load slower too.

[Hondacar1212]

One step ahead of you.
I have the installers,  readmes and jpegs all in their own folders on the desktop,  for that very reason haha.