HippoTank's guide to a happier SimCity 4 in 2015!

SimCity 4 is a great game. This game was originally released in 2003 and has mostly stood the test of time. There are a few bugs left in the game and the aim of this bundle is to collate a lot of the bug fixes made by the community into a zip file of plugins.

This bundle is therefore a combination of already made mods and my own bug fix mod. It will fix:

| Industrial High Tech | Medical Clinic | Solar Power Plant |

| Nuclear Power Plant | Opera House | Space Port | Crime Rate |

NOTE I have only tested this with the digital (download) version of the game (1.1.641.0)

For the High Tech Industry fix I have already combined this with a clean SimCity_1.dat (more details in that section). The rest of the bug fixes are regular plugins. That means if you have mods that you have packed into SimCity_1.dat manually you will lose them/you will have to re-add them.

Installation

Download Bugfix Bundle from the sidebar on the right.

Backup your original SimCity_1.dat file and move it out of the directory or rename the extension (important as the game will read all .dat files in the folder).

Put the new SimCity_1.dat provided in the Bugfix Bundle download into the game directory replacing the old one.

Copy the files from the Plugins folder of the Bugfix Bundle download into the Plugins folder of the game directory.

Enjoy SimCity 4 with less bugs

NOTE: If you have any Opera Houses or Space Ports, bulldoze them before adding the plugins. For details why, please read about the individual bugs further below.

Game Versions

My SimCity 4 version is 1.1.641.0

This is Simcity 4 Deluxe from steam with nothing new installed or added. SimCity 4 Deluxe on steam is just SimCity original with the Rush Hour expansion installed and the two available EA patches. If you have this version you are good to go!

If you have an old CD version of the game, you NEED to have Rush Hour + the two patches for this to work. You can check the version of your game by browsing to the install folder, and checking the properties of the game exe. Version 1.1.640.0 or 1.1.641.0 means you have the latest version.

1.1.641.0 : Refers to the digital (download) version of the game, such as those available from Origin, Steam, Amazon or GamersGate. This is the same game but the version number is updated to distinguish between the original (CD) version.

: Refers to the digital (download) version of the game, such as those available from Origin, Steam, Amazon or GamersGate. This is the same game but the version number is updated to distinguish between the original (CD) version. 1.1.640.0 : A boxed (CD) game updated to the final version. This confirms both the EP1 + the nightlights patch is installed. Same as the latest digital (i.e. Steam) version.

: A boxed (CD) game updated to the final version. This confirms both the EP1 + the nightlights patch is installed. Same as the latest digital (i.e. Steam) version. 1.1.638.0: This is the game with Rush Hour and the EP1 patch installed. But no night lights patch.

Remember, the patches are only required for the CD version of the game. The digital (download) version comes fully patched and ready to play, and is therefore recommended.

Some More Information

Default install path for Steam game is Steam\steamapps\common\SimCity 4 Deluxe

To change resolution in Steam: Right click game in steam lbrary list > Properties > Set Launch options > type -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1200x32

All mods downloaded from STEX (Simtropolis Exchange)

SimCity 4 Bugs to Fix

Industrial High Tech jobs Medical Clinic jobs Solar Power Plant jobs Nuclear Power Plant jobs Opera House capacity Space Port fix Crime rate uncontrollably high

The job fixes relate to a bug where the game creates demand for a particular bracket of job but does not actually employ them.

The reason for this is because of a bug in the ratio coding. In SimCity 4 the buildings that create demand (available jobs) do so by separating them by wealth bracket. There will be a certain about of jobs available for $ sims, $$ sims, and $$$ sims. This is displayed in a ratio. E.g. crude example- 20:50:30 means there are 20 jobs available for $ sims, 50 jobs for $ sims and 30 jobs for $$$ sims.

The bug occurs when the data in game has two ratios with the same value. It causes the game to ignore one of the values. High Tech Industry has the ratio 10:80:10, and as a result of this bug it causes the $$$ part of the ratio to be ignored resulting in no $$$ sims being employed.

The other ratios with duplicate values are the Solar Power Plant, Nuclear Power Plant and the Medical Clinic.

Forum thread with full details of bug and testing: <link>



As you can see, no $$$ jobs before the bug fix.

1. Industrial High Tech jobs

As many players already know, the game has a bug that does not allow R$$$ sims to work in I-HT (High-Tech Industry). It does create demand for R$$$ (10% of the I-HT jobs) but does not actually employ them.

This one is the most complex fix. If you just add the dat file to the plugins folder it causes issues where things get duplicated (Double Demand bug). It needs to be merged with Simcity_1.dat to avoid the Double Demand bug. I've merged this with a clean copy of Simcity_1.dat and have confirmed it is working fine.

Instructions: Backup your original SimCity_1.dat file and move it out of the directory or rename the extension (important as the game will read all .dat files in the folder). Replace with the new SimCity_1.dat provided in the Bugfix Bundle download.

Link to standalone download: <link>

Link to forum install thread: <link>

2, 3, 4. Medical Clinic, Solar Power Plant, Nuclear Power Plant jobs

The I-HT jobs bug fix only fixes the $$$ jobs issue in I-HT. The other buildings affected by the bug, ie the Medical Clinic, the Solar Power Plant and the Nuclear Power Plant must be fixed separately. All I did was modify the number of jobs (Demand Created - both jobs & amenities) so that no two job numbers (for each wealth level) were equal. I saved these combined as a .dat file.

I edited the values for demand created as follows:

Medical Clinic

OLD: $ 1 $$ 6 $$$ 1

NEW: $ 2 $$ 5 $$$ 1



Solar Power Plant

OLD: $ 10 $$ 12 $$$ 10

NEW: $ 11 $$ 12 $$$ 9



Nuclear Power Plant

OLD: $ 20 $$ 20 $$$ 8

NEW: $ 22 $$ 18 $$$ 8



Instructions: Put HT_DemandFix.dat file from the Bugfix Bundle plugins folder into the game (Program Files) plugins folder.

Link to standalone download: <link>

5. Opera House Capacity

Your city grows, but your Opera house's ability to handle more sims does not. In response, having Opera house in your city starts actually lowering your education, after threshold is met. Original limit was 1200, new limit is 25000, mod also includes a slider to adjust capacity and raises cost accordingly.

Instructions: Bulldoze any existing opera houses and then put OperaHouse.dat file from the Bugfix Bundle plugins folder into the game (Program Files) plugins folder. To remove bulldoze existing opera houses then remove from folder.

If you do not bulldoze them before adding the patch, it is reported the game will crash when you actually do try to bulldoze them.

Link to standalone download: <link>

6. Space Port fix

This mod fixes a problem with the default Maxis Space Port, which claims it "Provides a boost to high-tech industry" however, it does not. Maxis forgot to include this boost, therefore it boosts nothing but your costs and some slight commercial desirability.

This mod fixes that. A significant yet realistic (non-radical) boost to High Tech Industry is now provided. Placing the Space Port now provides 150000 High-Tech Industry Cap Relief. This is well within the range of other similar buildings such as the Advanced Research Center, University, and Marina.

Instructions: Bulldoze any existing space ports and then put Spaceport Fix Mod.dat file from the Bugfix Bundle plugins folder into the game (Program Files) plugins folder. To remove bulldoze existing space ports then remove from folder.

If you do not bulldoze them before adding the patch, it is reported the game will crash when you actually do try to bulldoze them.

Link to standalone download: <link>

7. Crime rate uncontrollably high

SimCity 4 has a bug where the crime doesn't settle even if you cover your city with Police Stations. This mod fixes that so when you place more Police Stations, it actually has an effect on the crime.

Instructions: Put Plugin_Crimedoesntpay_modd.dat file from the Bugfix Bundle plugins folder into the game (Program Files) plugins folder.

Link to standalone download: <link>

Other Bugs

The game uses a route-finder path that gets sims to go to work with the shortest distance rather than the quickest route. I have not included a fix in this bundle but the mod which fixes it is called NAM - I decided not to include this as I wanted to just get the more simple mods included.

Area 51 base cannot be built in the same city as Air Force base. I don't think this is actually a bug though.

Private Schools: like the bug with Opera house. Once the student threshold inside the school radius is met (the capacity is 1000) they become overcrowded. Overcrowded schools lead to a lower education grade for the entire city, in the same way as the overcrowded opera house was known to cause. I didn't include this fix as the patch adds a rather unrealistic slider that allows maximum capacity of 10000 and limousine travel in replacement of bus funding. I found that the default 1000 capacity is more realistic anyway and you will have to add non-private schools to deal with the overflow.

Final Notes

Thanks for using my compilation of patches! Any issues just post them on the Simtropolis Exchange download page for the demand fix.

Thanks to the authors of the mods included in this bug fix bundle!

Industrial High Tech demand fix : By HeinBloed4711 and tutorial by cogeo

Opera House Fix : By toroca

Space Port fix : By Cougar2004

Crime Doesn't Pay : By RalphaelNinja

HippoTank Demand fix* : By HippoTank (me)



*fixes demand values for Medical Clinic, Solar Power Plant, Nuclear Power Plant