Creating a New Zealand Animated Flag

[catty]

I've been trying to create a New Zealand Flag which is compatibly with PEG OFMN Mod, I've got this far with it.



But it only works if I have nothing else but Pegasus stuff in my Plugins folder, the moment I add in the rest of my plugins, this happens



Opening the New Zealand Flag in the reader I see this



Checking thru all my plugins I have my new NZ Flag and BSC_Flag_Pack_1 and 2.

I am now going around in circles, I have done something wrong, but have no idea what ...

Any help on this would be gratefully received

Cathy

[Diggis]

I have some bad news for you.  Geoffhaw has already done an animated NZ flag, part of flag pack 2 I believe.

To make it compatible with the OFMN mod you need to assign it the IID of the Mod, (I don't remember it the IID needed)

It looks like you have the Dutch flag installed as a OFMN mod already.  If you put your NZ flag into a ZZ folder it should over ride the Dutch one.

If you didn't install the dutch flag, then it's possible someone has accidently included it into an upload and it would be good if we could figure out what one it is.

[catty]

Diggis thanks for your answer, unfortunately I have checked both BSC_Flag_Pack_1 and 2 before I started this and neither one has a NZ Flag in it, when I looked thru the topic that Geoffhaw started about creating animated flags he mentions that he was / is going to create a NZ Flag for BSC_Flag_Pack_3, but there is only Pack_1 and 2 on the LEX.

I do not have the Dutch Flag installed as a OFMN mod as this was the first thing I checked when this happened, so I will have to start looking thru my plugins folder to see if I can track it down to a specific plugin, in the meantime I will take your advice and put the NZ flag into the ZZ folder until I can work out where the dutch flag is coming from, when I do find it, I'll report back with the name.

Thank You Cathy 

[Diggis]

Catty,  Sent you a PM.  Best way to find the dutch flag, would be to move the flags through the folders untill it appears.  The dutch flag is in the previous one.

Oh, and happy ANZAC day 

[catty]

Oh, and happy ANZAC day

Thank you and happy ANZAC day to yourself, the dawn services get busier each year 

I have started off by moving it to the zzz folder and now have a NZ Flag, so over the course of the next couple of days I will start at the beginning and move it down a folder as you have suggested and keep going till it turns dutch, hopefully it will be obvious by that point where its coming from. Cathy

[Swamper77]

I have started off by moving it to the zzz folder and now have a NZ Flag, so over the course of the next couple of days I will start at the beginning and move it down a folder as you have suggested and keep going till it turns dutch, hopefully it will be obvious by that point where its coming from. Cathy

The NZ flag is buried in one of the CSX MEGA Prop Packs, as are several residential houses and a couple of train stations. I've manually removed them from my copies with the Reader program.

-Jan

[catty]

The NZ flag is buried in one of the CSX MEGA Prop Packs, as are several residential houses and a couple of train stations. I've manually removed them from my copies with the Reader program.

-Jan

Thanks Jan, that confirms what I found going thru my Plugin folder as I've found LM1x1x18_ZA_FLAG_2CCB in both the CSX MEGA PROPS-VOL03.dat and also the CSX_TOWNHALL.dat plugins, I've also found that if you have the maxis dayopeace.dat in your plugin folder and it loads after your flag then its anybody guess what flag will pop up instead, other than that my plugin folder is clean as a whistle and I have all of the SC4D DVD contents plus about 1/2 GB of other site stuff.

So I'll be keeping my flag in the zzz folder in the meantime, I plan to redo it as I used MS Paint when I was doing the graphics, so want to have another go when time allows using a proper graphics program as I'm sure I can do better with some practice and its another skill which is always worth having ... Cathy

[Diggis]

The NZ flag is buried in one of the CSX MEGA Prop Packs, as are several residential houses and a couple of train stations. I've manually removed them from my copies with the Reader program.

-Jan

Thanks the South Africa Flag Jan. 

I've also found that if you have the maxis dayopeace.dat in your plugin folder and it loads after your flag then its anybody guess what flag will pop up instead,

I could be wrong about this, but the day of peace file shouldn't matter.  I think Peg made new Descritpion files for the animated flags and it's which ever one of these you have installed that will show up.  I think you HAVE to have the Day Of Peace installed for the original DAT to work.  Because you have a custom description file, and a custom flag, you can safely remove both the day of peace file and the OFMN mod from Peg. (in face you SHOULD remove the OFMN mod from Peg as there only should be one Description file installed, the NZ one)

[catty]

I could be wrong about this, but the day of peace file shouldn't matter.  I think Peg made new Descritpion files for the animated flags and it's which ever one of these you have installed that will show up.  I think you HAVE to have the Day Of Peace installed for the original DAT to work.  Because you have a custom description file, and a custom flag, you can safely remove both the day of peace file and the OFMN mod from Peg. (in face you SHOULD remove the OFMN mod from Peg as there only should be one Description file installed, the NZ one)

Yes I tried that and you are right  neither file needs to be there for my NZ Flag to appear on Pegasus's lots, I just need to make sure that it loads in after the CSX files. Cathy

[geoffhaw]

Reading through the thread, I can only think that Diggis is right when he says that you must have a plugin with Pegasus' OFMN Dutch flag exemplar in it.  The method of overiding this is the way you have done it - by putting your NZ flag in a folder that will be read by the game after the offending plugin, i.e. a "zzz" folder.

To find this plugin all you have to do is remove your zzzfolder, and then remove half of your plugins.  If the flags on your lot disappear, the offending plugin must have been in the half you removed.  If it is still there, it must be in the half that are still in your plugins folder.  Repeat with an ever decreasing set of plugins until you get there.  (This process isn't actually that bad to complete, and it won't take as long as you would imagine.) 

Meanwhile, looking at your Reader screenshot, you have the OFMN exemplar number correct, but you have still got the Australian IID numbers for the FSH files.  If you ever wanted to have the Australian flag in any of your lots, you would get the NZ flag instead if you keep your flag in the zzzfolder.  (Although, as a Kiwi you may not mind...)

The NZ flag I did hasn't been released yet - if I ever get around to completing Pack 3 it'll be in there!  If you'd like to send me your email address by PM, I'd be happy to send it to you.  The IIDs of the exemplar and FSH files are unique.  All you would need to do is to change the exemplar IID to be 073D4582.  Actually, I could send you a OFMN version as well!

[catty]

Hi geoffhaw

To find this plugin all you have to do is remove your zzzfolder, and then remove half of your plugins.  If the flags on your lot disappear, the offending plugin must have been in the half you removed.  If it is still there, it must be in the half that are still in your plugins folder.  Repeat with an ever decreasing set of plugins until you get there.  (This process isn't actually that bad to complete, and it won't take as long as you would imagine.)

I have taken both yours and Diggis advice re my plugin folder, but so far its still only the CSX MEGA PROPS-VOL03.dat, CSX_TOWNHALL.dat and the dayopeace.dat, but while I was shifting files in and out of my plugin folder a pattern emerged.

1. Either the CSX MEGA PROPS-VOL03.dat or the CSX_TOWNHALL.dat and the dayopeace.dat loading after them and it equals the DUTCH flag.

2 My version of the NZ Flag then the dayopeace.dat loading and it equals the AUSTRALIA flag which makes sense as I haven't got around to changing the Australian IID numbers in this test flag version as you noticed

Meanwhile, looking at your Reader screenshot, you have the OFMN exemplar number correct, but you have still got the Australian IID numbers for the FSH files.  If you ever wanted to have the Australian flag in any of your lots, you would get the NZ flag instead if you keep your flag in the zzzfolder.  (Although, as a Kiwi you may not mind...)

Which would suggest the CSX files have the same situation?

Both mine and the CSX version work correctly once the dayopeace.dat is removed

If you'd like to send me your email address by PM, I'd be happy to send it to you

Thank you I have sent you a PM

On a personal note, It was your tutorial on Simtropolis that got me started on this and before this I would have blithely asked for a new animated flag without realising the amount of work involved in creating it, when I looked at the image files it was like OMG there's hundreds of flag zooms and positions to alter I'll never be able to change everything and I nearly give up on the spot, so

Thank You   for your hard work

I plan to continue with this and finish it even if it never goes anywhere other than the inside of my computer's Harddrive.

Cathy

[geoffhaw]

Well, after a bit of research and collective memory searching, I think we've got this mystery solved...

There were basically three problems, one of which we thought we had solved a while back.

Problem 1 - The main dat in "CSX Civic - Town Hall" contains the files which make up an OFMN version of the South African flag.  With hindsight this was a mistake, as it could possibly (depending on folder order in the Plugins folder) overwrite an individual player's own OFMN choice.  Even if a player had not chosen an OFMN flag, the South African flag would have appeared on those lots where this prop had been included.  Solution - BarbyW has re-uploaded this dat, taking the South African flag out.  This is now available at http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=515.  I would advise everyone to download this latest version.

Problem 2 - Whoops!  This was my fault!     The South African flag was one of my first flags, and it has the very problem I highlighted in my previous reply to this thread.  The flag I based it on was the Dutch flag, and I didn't change the IIDs.  So, this is why the Dutch flag appeared when the Dayofpeace download was loaded last.  I was young...  Downloading the new version of "CSX Civic - Town Hall" will also eliminate this problem.

Problem 3 - This is the one we thought we had solved.  Earlier versions of "CSX MEGA Props - Vol03" did have the OFMN version of the South African flag in it.  However, at some point in time we must have spotted this and removed it.  The current version of this Prop Pack does not have this prop.  You (and possibly many others) must have the older version of this Prop Pack.  I would suggest that you replace the older version with the latest one available on the LEX here.  http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=461

Anyway, I've sent you the NZ flag by email.  Do post a screenshot of it when you get a chance, and do carry on with your version as well!

For those who are interested, here is a pic of my version.  A bit blurred, but it looks better when it's moving!

[catty]

I have now updated the CSX MEGA Props - Vol03 and CSX Civic - Town Hall from the LEX  , but this has brought up another minor problem as I replaced my entire plugin folder with the SC4D DVD, apart from my PEGPROD and RTMTV3 folders and few old favourites like a factory that makes simcity brown boxes  .

The LEX CSX MEGA Props - Vol03 is 9.05mb in size and doesn't have a SA flag in it, the DVD CSX MEGA Props - Vol03 is 9.21mb in size and does have a SA flag in it 

The DVD is still worth every penny as my plugin folder has never been so healthy  and most importantly for the first time since I started downloading custom content I actually know just what I have in it 

I'll try and post a flag picture this weekend.

[BarbyW]

Unfortunately I have just ordered a new batch of DVDs so cannot put the correct version on them but I will put it on the CD which will be available in the near future. I am sorry about this but I had the outdated version which is the one I put on the DVD.

[catty]

No worries, but thank you for the reminder about the CD I must make sure I have some money set aside in my paypal account for it.

Diggis, geoffhaw and BarbyW thank you all for stopping in and lending a helping hand much appreciate it.    Cathy

[catty]

Sorry its taken so long to come back with a picture, I had hoped to have finished my version of the NZ Flag by now, but a combination of some RL stuff and beta testing for the RTMT project has put this on the backburner for the time being, but as promised here is a picture of geoffhaw NZ Flag in action and very nice it looks too 



Cathy