Comments - TarkusSC4

That's a very good question, and one where I don't really have a definitive answer, as you're the first Steam Deck user I've encountered. Apparently, it is possible to use non-Workshop mods with Steam Deck, but I'd have to know more about the file/folder architecture of a SimCity 4 installation on a Steam Deck in order to even guess at how to pull it off.

If that's happening, it's possible you don't have the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed. If you are on 64-bit Windows, like most of our userbase, there's an OpenJDK installer for the JRE included in the download. Run it first, and then the installer should work.

Is it the installer, or the mod itself in game? Note that the installer requires the Java Runtime Environment (try Oracle or adoptium.net--the OpenJDK version we bundled in is for Windows, not macOS), so it won't run unless you have that installed.

If it's an issue with the mod itself, note that if you're on the App Store version, the installation process is different, since the App Store version has plugins configured very differently from the Steam version. Our ability to provide Mac-specific tech support is very limited, and it's basically non-existent for the App Store version, which none of us on the NAM Team have (those of us with access to the Mac port all have the Steam version). Your best bet in that case would be to go to the SC4 Mac Users board at Simtropolis, which is the best place to get Mac-specific SC4 tech support.

The current download for the NAM is cross-platform, meaning it's the same download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Yes, but it requires installing the LowRAM/NoRHW option for the NAM Controller, and does not permit one to run the RealHighway (RHW) features, which require the greater access to RAM that a 64-bit OS and the 4GB Patch provides.

Make sure you run the installer (NetworkAddonMod_Setup_Version39.jar for the current version). Simply dropping the contents of the download into your Plugins folder will not install the mod, and nothing will show up in game.

The big difference between the NAM's Traffic Simulator Plugins and the game's default is that it causes the traffic simulation to look for the route that takes the shortest amount of time, rather than merely the shortest distance. For instance, the game will recognize that the Avenue you built has a higher speed/capacity and actually allow it to be utilized, rather than clogging a Street simply because it's two tiles shorter.

If you're going from having no plugins to having a large mod like the NAM installed, you are going to notice an increase in load time. Give it some more time to let it load.

Make sure you've picked up the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). You can get that from Oracle, or from adoptopenjdk.net (the latter probably being a better option). If the JRE has been installed properly, Windows will see the .jar file as being associated with Java.

The list of additions to the game's transportation networks is probably too long to list. Note, however, we did not add any new transit types per se, and ambient vehicles are more something we leave up to third parties.

The mod has an installer, which, since it's Java-based, is a .jar file and not a .exe file, and will need the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) in order to run. Also make sure you patch the game to be Large Address Aware (LAA) using the enclosed 4gb_patch.exe file, as this is a big mod that requires more access to RAM (and without the patch, the game will crash). Simply putting the files in Plugins without running the installer will have no effect.

Which version of SC4 are you running? The 4GB Patch will prevent NAM 37-specific crashes, even if you have less than 4GB RAM, so something most likely went wrong with your patching.

Check the 0-read-first-nam37.html file included in the download itself. It has all the info you need, but I'll supply it here as well.

NAM 37 requires that the game be patched with a "4GB patch" to be Large Address Aware (LAA), meaning that it can access 4GB RAM instead of a mere 2GB. Without being patched, the game will crash upon loading.

The installation package includes the NTCore 4GB Patch--the patch file is named 4gb_patch.exe. Open this file, point it to the SimCity 4.exe file in the game's installation directory, and click "Open". You should then get a window with an "Executable successfully patched!" message. Click the "OK" button. Your game is now successfully patched to be Large Address Aware, and you can run NAM 37 without issue.

For reference, these are the default locations of the SimCity 4.exe file in the available and compatible versions of the game:

GOG: C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps

Steam: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\Common\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps

Disc: C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps

(Origin: C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps--note that copies purchased from the Origin Store are not supported, due to being unpatched and unpatchable. Ask for a refund. If your copy was obtained by redeeming a CD Key with Origin support, it is patched. Check the version number on the executable if you remain unsure. 1.1.641 = fully patched, 1.1.610 = unpatched, unpatchable, and incompatible.)

While all NAM versions over the past 6+ years have incorporated a routine to apply the 4GB patch, do not assume you automatically have already applied it and are ready to use NAM 37 out of the gate. If you've changed from disc to digital in the time since NAM 36 was released, or have swapped to a different digital edition, the edition you are now using will need patching.

There is no .exe file. The installer is a .jar file, as it was built in Java.

This feature is not available yet (and that includes with NAM 37). It's unfortunately been delayed to some as-of-yet unknown future release.

The mod comes with an installer, which will take care of that for you. Extracting the contents of the download into Plugins won't do anything, and manual installs aren't really possible (or advisable), due to the complexity of it.

Just to give everyone here a heads up, NAM 37 just entered internal alpha testing at long last. Right now, it's unlikely there will be any further revisions to this package for NAM 36.

Wineskin and Mojave are not the best of friends, as best I can tell. I had to use an "unofficial" fork, as the original version has not been updated to deal with the curveballs Apple threw with Mojave update.

NAM 37 is planned to still use the same NSIS installer for Windows--which does mean we'll be forced (at least initially) to give the wrapper system another go for the Mac.

After that, however, we're looking at changing installer systems (and packaging/file architecture in general), and have a potential in-house solution, which is cross-platform. The plan is to have whatever new system we're planning on using be in place for NAM 38, though if that cycle ends up being a long one, we may consider a mid-cycle phase-in of the new system.

We're also having to watch out for Apple's impending "32-bit apocalypse" with macOS 10.15 (the version after Mojave--likely being released Fall 2019). The SC4 Mac Port, like all other versions of SC4, is currently a 32-bit app, and if Aspyr doesn't decide to give it the 64-bit treatment, it's not going to be playable with 10.15.

The NAM Team has zero active Mac users among its membership right now, so unfortunately, we're extremely limited in terms of our ability to provide installation help for the Mac version of the mod, especially with High Sierra or Mojave (Sierra was the newest macOS version when NAM Version 36 was released). Most of the advice we can give would be from what we've heard from other Mac users.

Apparently, moving the installer out of the .dmg to the desktop, unchecking "Unmark Auto Detect CPU Info for Direct 3D" and checking "Use Mac Driver instead of X11" under the "Screen Options" section of Wineskin may help with High Sierra. As we don't presently have a High Sierra machine at our disposal, we can't verify that this works.

If you're referring the game's default highways, there are indeed no acceleration lane options there, but if you look into the more advanced RealHighway option (which is the main focus of highway development in the mod), there's definitely options to have them. The NAM is indeed still an active project, with work on Version 37 ongoing--our homebase is over at sc4devotion.com.

The draggable items you're referring to are starter pieces. The starters themselves do not drag, and attempting to do so will lead to the result you've encountered.

Once you place the starter piece, you'll need to then switch over to one of the base game networks, drag that base game network through the starter, and it'll override the base network to match the starter piece. There should be some indication on the button or on the tooltip associated with the specific starter as to what network should be used.

In the case of Draggable GLR, after placing the starter piece, drag the base Elevated Rail network through it to convert it to GLR.

The GLR documentation still needs to be overhauled (and isn't really present as a result), but if you check the High Speed Rail documentation, the process is identical, just that you're using Elevated Rail instead of Monorail to accomplish the dragging.

We encountered another Linux user recently who had similar issues . . . while we're not really able to provide support for running it on Linux directly ourselves, there are quite a few helpful Linux SC4 players over on Simtropolis. One of users there had success with Wine 1.8 on Ubuntu.

There isn't really a feasible way to do a manual install, unfortunately. There's just too many moving parts--particularly, options that don't get along with one another-- and it'd take incredibly detailed knowledge of both the game and the mod in order to successfully accomplish it.

What operating system are you running?

Based on the fact that we've now been getting more reports of this, I suspect the installer is incompatible with macOS High Sierra. It would likely need to be rebuilt in High Sierra if that is the case, and I can't give a timeline on when (or if) that will happen, unfortunately.

Haven't verified yet, but it's possible that High Sierra doesn't like a wrapper made in Sierra. Happened to us one other time before when Apple decided to "surprise" us. Apparently, they're killing 32-bit support in the next macOS release after High Sierra, so unless Aspyr updates the Mac port of SC4 to be 64-bit (unlikely), it's game over.

Sounds like an issue with your connection. That's unfortunately out of our control as the makers of the mod, and all I can advise is trying it again at another time. ModDB is the only place to get the Mac version, due to its size.

Make sure you pulled the .app file out of the disk image (DMG) before running it. The installer was built with macOS Sierra (10.12), not High Sierra (10.13, which hadn't been released when NAM 36 was made), but as there haven't been any reports of it not working with High Sierra in the three months it has been out, I'm not sure that it would make a difference.

Make sure you pulled the .app file out of the DMG, or if you have access to Windows, try opening it on there, and when it asks if you're porting it to a Mac, select "Yes".

There's an installer in there--run it to install the mod. Dumping the contents into your plugins folder won't do anything. Check the enclosed Read First document, or click "Read More" above for more details.

There is a Mac version of NAM 36 up here. It was briefly unavailable for about 12 hours, but is up once more.

The Mac version of NAM 36 has been re-uploaded after a minor tweak.

Norton scanning it gives a clean bill of health here on my end. False positives have become ubiquitous since many AV programs are using heuristic algorithms based on source/download frequency instead of actual scans when initially flagging files.

Yes, absolutely. In fact, if you run the NAM 35 installer with your old version still installed, it'll detect your previous options, and automatically select them in your new install. I'd probably wait until NAM 36 is out to do your upgrade, however, as we are getting really close to release. I can't give a specific date (we don't know yet when, as it's dependent on the last phases of testing), but it is imminent.