ever wanted to play like this:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg181.imageshack.us%2Fimg181%2F485%2Fwindowedoo0.jpg&hash=f4bd159bc8cdb59ab53f606edeba0f84516b31d3) (http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/485/windowedoo0.jpg)
or start up and appear at this screen:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg100.imageshack.us%2Fimg100%2F7426%2Fstartscreentb8.jpg&hash=66222745846de84c7514d213401065e100236f57) (http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7426/startscreentb8.jpg)
This is done by changing the game shortcut. find your simcity icon. It looks like this:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmac.planting-field.com%2Ffile%2F20050813021624.png&hash=3ef057795a93fe920359a219b12ba6637ff9a073)
Right click and go to properties.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg101.imageshack.us%2Fimg101%2F2251%2Fpropertiesdd4.jpg&hash=887dc85870a8ca460abb3023e08f3ee766fe8a59)
In the highlighted box that shows
"O:\Games\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe"
add these different properties for different effects each with a space in between it and its predicessor:
-w
To change back to full use -f (if that doesn't work follow this tutorial (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=3683.msg113522#msg113522) by Chrisim) (I believe this needs a -r command after it to make sure it works, it is advised to add -r800x600x32)
-d:Software
-audio:off
Turns all the audio output off
-r[W]x[Y]x[Z]
Where:
WxY is a resolution (without using -CustomResolution:enable the screen resolution has to be either: 800x600, 1024x768, or 1280x1024)
Z is colour depth (32 or 16)
-Intro:off
Turns the introductory splash screen and video off, instead taking you straight to the game
Options for the More Advanced User
-CustomResolution:enabled
Enables custom resolutions including the 16:9 ratio
-d:DirectX/Software/OpenGL
Change the rendering mode of the game, either using DirectX or OpenGL libraries or software rendering
-CPUPriority:low
-CPUCount:X
Where x is the number of the processors your computer has.
CPUPriority lets other processes (programs) use the processor more when the game isnt in use.
-IgnoreMissingModelDataBugs:on/off
Off (default) shows all missing models as brown boxes.
On just doesn't show anything for them at all.
-BackgroundLoader:on/off
On (default) loads all the none visible models in the background, whereas Off doesnt
-l:english
Change english to a language to change the language (well duhh) only works if you have the language sets. This also allows you to change driving side (and possibly other language based effects.), thanks to smoncrie (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=3961.msg282741#msg282741) for finding this out.
Valid languages are: English, German, UK English, Traditional Chinese, and Japanese. (check this (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=3961.0) thread out for more info on changing languages)
Options for the SUPER Advanced User
Warning: Not all effects are known.
-AllowMultipleInstances
Allows the player to launch additional application instances after the first one. By default, an attempt to run a second instance of the app will merely call forth the first instance of the application.
-Cursors:disabled/bw/color16/color256/fullcolor
-CustomCursors:disabled
Sets the color depth of the game cursors. Some hardware doesn't like some cursor color depths.
Disables the use of application-supplied versions of standard system cursors such as the arrow or hand cursor. Normally, the customized application-supplied versions are used.
-ExceptionHandling:off
Disables application exception handling, which provides for safer shutdown of the app in case of a crash.
-gp
Enables game pausing when you switch to another application. This is useful for if you go away from the game and you want it to sleep while it is in the background. This is a stronger form of the -CPUPriority command line option.
-IgnoreMissingModelDataBugs:on/off
If enabled, then the system does nothing when requested to display an object for which there is no graphical representation. By default this option is disabled and objects that are missing a graphical representation are drawn as a large "package" that suggests you can download the graphics for this object from the SimCity web site or similar.
-IME:enabled/disabled
Enables application-supplied IME (input method editing) for Asian systems. If disabled, then the default operating system IME will take control. By default, IME is enabled. If it is disabled via this command line option, you'll probably want to run the app in windowed mode (-w) in order to take advantage of the OS-supplied IME GUI.
-RenderProp:,value -RenderProp:" value"
Forces a render property to be set. See documentation on render properties for a discussion of them. You can use this command line multiple times on a single command line.
-Restart
This is an internal command line used to indicate that a prior instance of the app launched the current instance while it was shutting down. This causes the current instance to wait for the previous instance to fully exit before proceeding. This is useful for automatic app restarting during certain operations.
-UserDir:path
Specifies the directory where the users game directory is. If the default subdirectories of "Regions\", "Plugins\", and "HTTPCache\" arn't found, then it creates an instance of, (in the case of Regions, it copies the default set over). The default game data directory defaults to being the same directory as the game installation directory. Quotes are necessary if the path name has spaces. Make sure there is a "\" on the end of your path or it creates directories like "testPlugins\" and "testRegions\"
-WriteLog:on/off
If On, this causes the app to write a log file that describes the user's system configuration. The file is named "computer-config-log.txt" and is placed in the same directory as the program executable.
-CodePage:id
Sets the code page portion of the locale for the C runtime library. Normally, the code page is determined by the language the application runs in (see the -l command line option)
-ConfigLog:server | off
Sets the destination of where to write the computer configuration log specified by the -WriteLog command line option. By default, the server is "studiotech.max.ad.ea.com".
Here is my set up: no intro or sound, windowed at 800x600
"O:\Games\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -w -r800x600x32 -intro:off -audio:off
Hope this helps some people. There are more here (http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=7059) and thanks to Andreas for posting some more here (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=3683.msg113485#msg113485) which have been added to the list.
Joe
Updated 10th June 08
I've heard that this does not work with Vista. Have I heard the truth?
Hi, Star.torturer ...
Excellent Tutorial - Thank You !!!
I saw first time a new EA support thread only one hour ago, but without this result ...
Thank You very much ...
Krio, no you have not heard the thruth, it works
I play in a window all the time now, and I'm on Vista.
My social live is saved! I have not been able to talk to people on IRC and MSN while playing SC since I bought new PC with Vista, but now I can "heal" my "wounded" relationships to people. ;D
Tutorial looks good. One thing I'd suggest though is posting an example setup for maximum clarity.
I've run SC4 at 1680x1080 using these commands. It looked great. Sadly, the 22" widescreen LCD was only on loan...
Cheers,
Kevin
Just a side note... I'm not positive, but i'm pretty sure the game is a 16bit color game.. so setting the window to 16 bit will save half of your color memory won't it? At least I can't tell the difference and I run it in 16 bit color windowed all the time.
Quote from: SC4BOY on January 28, 2008, 09:37:26 AM
Just a side note... I'm not positive, but i'm pretty sure the game is a 16bit color game.. so setting the window to 16 bit will save half of your color memory won't it? At least I can't tell the difference and I run it in 16 bit color windowed all the time.
I'm not sure about you, but I have the option of choosing 16 or 32-bit colors in SC4. So, to answer your question, it's both.
Im guessing its probably 32 bit that is scaled down rather than 16 that's improved/faked. Though, tbh, I have no real idea
Thanks for all the thanks, and yeah i dont see it not working in Vista, because they are all standard extentions to programs, should even work on Mac's and in Linux
I will be using this tut myself.. LOL, it was never well documented how to make sc4 windowed on ST
Joe
And now someone has to get in and recall us what is the command line option for setting custom resolution, as I'm 100% sure I've seen it somewhere but don't remember it
This list of all command line parameters was once posted at the official support site. I'm not sure if it's still there, but it has come in handy for me now and then:
Troubleshooting Command Line Options
Run the game in a window: -w
Run the game in Software Rendering Mode: -d:Software
Run the game with no sound: -sound:off
Run the game with no music: -music:off
Run the game with no sound or music: -audio:off
Generic Command Line Options
-AllowMultipleInstances - Allows the player to launch additional application instances after the first one. By default, an attempt to run a second instance of the app will merely call forth the first instance of the application.
-BackgroundLoader:on/off - Enables or disables the background model loading system. Normally, when you switch the view zoom or rotation the application loads only the visible objects first and makes a background task of loading the additional models. This allows the game to be more responsive during view changes, but it has the side effect of slowing down the game for the next few seconds or minutes.
-CPUCount:X - (Where X is the number of cpu's on the system) Specifies how many CPUs to take advantage of when there is more than one CPU present on the system. By default, the app takes advantage of all CPUs present on multiprocessor systems. However, some system drivers (sound in particular) are known to have problems when run in a multi-CPU environment. Thus it might be useful to specify -CPUCount:1 in order to prevent crashes with these faulty drivers.
-CPUCount:0 has no effect.
-CPUPriority:low - Specifies that the application set its base process priority to low instead of normal. This is useful for having the app run side-by-side with other applications and have it not take too much processing time away from the other applications. This is a more benign form of the -gp command line option.
-Cursors:disabled/bw/color16/color256/fullcolor - Sets the color depth of the game cursors. Some hardware doesn't like some cursor color depths.
-CustomCursors:disabled - Disables the use of application-supplied versions of standard system cursors such as the arrow or hand cursor. Normally, the customized application-supplied versions are used.
-CustomResolution:enabled - Allows the user to specify a non-standard resolution that isn't normally recognized or accepted by the app. This is Useful in conjunction with the -r command line option.
-d:DirectX/Software/OpenGL - Sets the graphics driver for the app to run under. Currently the DirectX and Software drivers are supported, while the OpenGL driver is currently experimental.
-ExceptionHandling:off - Disables application exception handling, which provides for safer shutdown of the app in case of a crash.
-f - Run in full-screen mode.
-gp - Enables game pausing when you switch to another application. This is useful for if you go away from the game and you want it to sleep while it is in the background. This is a stronger form of the -CPUPriority command line option.
-IgnoreMissingModelDataBugs:on/off - If enabled, then the system does nothing when requested to display an object for which there is no graphical representation. By default this option is disabled and objects that are missing a graphical representation are drawn as a large "package" that suggests you can download the graphics for this object from the SimCity web site or similar.
-IME:enabled/disabled - Enables application-supplied IME (input method editing) for Asian systems. If disabled, then the default operating system IME will take control. By default, IME is enabled. If it is disabled via this command line option, you'll probably want to run the app in windowed mode (-w) in order to take advantage of the OS-supplied IME GUI.
-Intro:off - Disables the inroduction video that plays on app startup. By default it is on. Some systems have driver problems that may cause the introduction video sequence to crash. This option bypasses the video and goes straight into the game.
-l:language - Specifies the language to run the app in. The app can only run in a language if the resource data for that language is present in the application's data set. Valid languages are English, German, "UK English", "Traditional Chinese", and "Japanese".
-music: on/off - Enables or disables music for the application. Music won't play unless audio is enabled. Also works as -radio:on | off
-RenderProp:,value -RenderProp:" value" - Forces a render property to be set. See documentation on render properties for a discussion of them. You can use this command line multiple times on a single command line.
-Restart - This is an internal command line used to indicate that a prior instance of the app launched the current instance while it was shutting down. This causes the current instance to wait for the previous instance to fully exit before proceeding. This is useful for automatic app restarting during certain operations.
-UserDir:path - Specifies the directory where the game data is. The game data directory defaults to being the same directory as the game installation directory. Quotes are necessary if the path name has spaces.
-WriteLog:on/off - If present, this causes the app to write a log file that describes the user's system configuration. The file is named "computer-config-log.txt" and is placed in the same directory as the program executable.
-CodePage:id - Sets the code page portion of the locale for the C runtime library. Normally, the code page is determined by the language the application runs in (see the -l command line option)
-ConfigLog:server | off - Sets the destination of where to write the computer configuration log specified by the -WriteLog command line option. By default, the server is "studiotech.max.ad.ea.com".
That is a list :)
'UserDir' looks quite interesting to investigate :-\
Probably, yes. I also just discovered that "-IgnoreMissingModelDataBugs" might help some folks that are plagued by the infamous brown boxes... :)
Thanks for the bigger list... I will update the first post sometime soon
EDIT: Updated, Thanks for the extra knowledge, and feel free to edit my original/ suggest different explanations and whatever you want
Joe
Quote from: wouanagaine on January 28, 2008, 12:53:00 PM
'UserDir' looks quite interesting to investigate :-\
Very interesting !
Especially for LotMaker
Quote from: wouanagaine on January 28, 2008, 12:53:00 PM
That is a list :)
'UserDir' looks quite interesting to investigate :-\
Quote from: wouanagaine on January 28, 2008, 01:03:58 PM
Very interesting !
Especially for LotMaker
And W's right onto it $%Grinno$%
I have been playing in window mode ("-w") for more than a year, but sometimes it is more convenient to play again in full screen mode. Simply replacing "-w" with "-f" does not work for me - the game continues starting in window mode.
The following trick works for me - big thanks to frimi who posted it on the German SimForum:
Assuming the case that your desktop resolution is 1024x768 and the SimCity window has 800x600 points, just follow these steps:
- remove the parameter "-w"
- change the Windows resolution to 800x600 (exactly the size of the SimCity Window)
- start SimCity
- exit SimCity
- change the Windows resolution back to "normal"
- start SimCity
Now the game should start in full screen mode again.
EDIT: I learnt here that "-audio:off" saves the day when the game keeps crashing due to a malfunctioning sound card (for Sundays when the computer shop is closed)
Quote from: schm0 on January 28, 2008, 09:42:52 AM
I'm not sure about you, but I have the option of choosing 16 or 32-bit colors in SC4. So, to answer your question, it's both.
You can choose it, but it doesn't matter in how the game appears.. therefore you're just wasting your memory space. That was my point.. of course I can choose it.
Heres a sample custom res:
"C:\Program Files\Games\simcity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -CustomResolution:enabled -r1440x900x16 -f -intro:off
Thanks a million, Joe and Andreas! &apls
I was looking for that list on the official site quite a while ago (following one of your posts at ST where you mentioned it, Andreas), but I was never able to find it.
So maybe it isn't available anymore... except here! ::)
Quote from: wouanagaine on January 28, 2008, 12:53:00 PM
That is a list :)
'UserDir' looks quite interesting to investigate :-\
Isn't this basically what the SC4 Startup manager uses? This could be very powerful for testing... :)
I prefer fullscreen, but wouldn't it be simpler to remove the sound.dat and intro.dat files all together? I pulled my intro.dat file out, no problems. It just got irritaiting after a while, and it seemed it was something extra it didn't need to load if I was going to skip it anyway. I do still use sound though, so that file stays. The reason why I did it that way is because I didn't know this method before hand. If I knew the command option before hand, I would've done it that way. What I would like to know is the command or configuration for UDI. I mean the missions can be turned off so you don't see them in build mode, but when you click any vehicle icon in the menu, the missions pop up even though you just started a different mission, and the programming in that is really dumb, you can get started facing the wrongway, or out of no where another vehicle pops out under yours, and yours explodes! Especially the stupid cement mixers. Maybe thats why they never made another first person simcity driving game. Any programing options for UDI?
I keep two shortcuts in my Quick Launch Menu, one for Window mode, and one for full screen.
But if you copy the shortcut that you've edited, you have to then edit it again, to force it back to full screen. Deleting the parameters you've set doesn't change it back.
"C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -f
-UserDir:path does pretty much what it says on the tin, changes the directory location of the users simcity4 folder. if it cant find one of the original subdirectories it creates it. needs a "/" at the end of the path.
Quote from: wouanagaine on January 28, 2008, 12:53:00 PM
That is a list :)
'UserDir' looks quite interesting to investigate :-\
Does it only point to the plugins folder or the regions etc too?
It relocates where the default mydocs folders are. So yes it does want the regions and the HTTP folder in their too
Look at this (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=3764.0) tutorial :thumbsup:
Joe
Bugger, but no worries. Would be nice to have it only looking for the plugins.
you can always just move your maps....
Yess, but I have to move them if I want a different plugins for the same region. :'(
QuoteIm guessing its probably 32 bit that is scaled down rather than 16 that's improved/faked. Though, tbh, I have no real idea
It's like a GIF, really. 16bit removes colours, it doesn't look as nice and there's really little difference in how it looks and performs. It's really meant for the old, old graphics cards that don't support/won't run 32-bit.
Thanks for clarification. :thumbsup:
Joe
I wonder if some of those settings could be experimented with to provide better performance to ATI users?
I think OpenGL would probably provide better performance: but I don't know if you need anything special for the game to use OpenGL, besides the command line? [I tried running SC4 in OpenGL, it wouldn't start up]
have you tried running it in software rendering mode?
and to my knowledge you shouldnt need anything for openGL to work except the graphics card driver (as both ATI and nVidia have OpenGL included).
maybe updating the drivers will work?
tbh I am also having problems with OpenGL ... LOL, having just tried it on my GeForce 8, it fuzzes out for a second on startup and renders all the terrain in pure white... Infact it just doesnt render very much...:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg174.imageshack.us%2Fimg174%2F9591%2F45957997ee9.jpg&hash=723a6fd1ab3be64ce6e7434407bc299aa285bd5e)
Duno about anything else
Joe
Quote from: Diggis on February 12, 2008, 08:25:49 AM
Yess, but I have to move them if I want a different plugins for the same region. :'(
You could put your regions in the program files directory?
And any plugins you want all the different "games" to have could go there.
LOL.. just for grins I tried to run my game in OpenGL.. even though I started with the -f arguement, it ran in a tiny window about 400x300.. otherwise worked fine.. that was grins.. obviously I didn't do something I should have.. haha.. (all I did was specify -d:OpenGL -f). I didn't persue this further, but got a chuckle out of it..
Quote from: Warrior on February 18, 2008, 10:46:29 AM
You could put your regions in the program files directory?
And any plugins you want all the different "games" to have could go there.
Plus you could move the default one's out.. unless you just are in love with them (or are actually playing them) .. they are on the CD.
Joe for years I've been trying to get these codes to work maybe it was me being dumb, but today alas I got it to work and I did it by your tut so a biiiiiiiiiig kudo's to.... Im soo happy I got rid of that dang cursed intro/no more clicking on it to stop it playing and also now I have a window to play in......
well tbh I wouldnt have explored it without Andreas and Wou talking about it. so Kudos to them too :thumbsup:
Joe
agreed Joe a biiiiiig kudo's to them as well!! I'd give a karma point to you all Joe, Andreas and Wou....
Quote from: Warrior on February 18, 2008, 10:46:29 AM
You could put your regions in the program files directory?
And any plugins you want all the different "games" to have could go there.
Cunning. I might have to look into that. Good Call.
I have three SC4 Icons, one for Big Dig stuff, one for the current HSRP, and one for developing HSR.
The arguements for the current HSRP icon are these:
-w -r800x600x32 -intro:off -UserDir:"C:\Users\Jonathan\Documents\SC4\SimCity 4 HSR/"
For some reason I now get a different UI the RCI bar is lying on it's side below those green and red bars and the Mayor rating thing is next to that on side just above the news bar. It looks very different, Does anyone know why the UI has changed and if it can be changed back?
The reason I'm putting this here is it is the only thing I have changed since I got the different UI. &hlp
I think what happend is the window size might have gotten screwed a bit and changed.... I know I had that same issue when my window was running at 800x600 setting but I changed it back up to the second highest setting and it went back to normal
Quote from: BigSlark on January 28, 2008, 09:22:12 AM
I've run SC4 at 1680x1080 using these commands. It looked great. Sadly, the 22" widescreen LCD was only on loan...
Cheers,
Kevin
I run it up at 1680x1050 and indeed it is nice looking AND the biggest benefit to me is that it gets rid of the blue stripes that occur on the region map when viewing at 1600x1200. That and my screen looks to me to be a bit less blury at the monitors native resolution of 1680x1050
My link looks like: "D:\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -w -CustomResolution:enabled -r1680x1050 -f -intro:off
Unfortunantly the -UserDir does not work on the LotEditor. That would meen you could have a seperate folder with the megapacks that you would like to use for your lots, without having to change the name of your plugin file. Unfortunantly, it doesn't work.
@ Warrior: well i can spot one problem with it straight away,
Quote from: Warrior on February 22, 2008, 10:02:06 AM
-w -r800x600x32 -intro:off -UserDir:"C:\Users\Jonathan\Documents\SC4\SimCity 4 HSR/"
that forward slash "/" is the wrong way round, it should be a back slash "\"
hope this solves it, be nice to see a screeny tho :thumbsup:
Joe
Quote from: Warrior on February 22, 2008, 10:02:06 AM
I have three SC4 Icons, one for Big Dig stuff, one for the current HSRP, and one for developing HSR.
The arguements for the current HSRP icon are these:
-w -r800x600x32 -intro:off -UserDir:"C:\Users\Jonathan\Documents\SC4\SimCity 4 HSR/"
For some reason I now get a different UI the RCI bar is lying on it's side below those green and red bars and the Mayor rating thing is next to that on side just above the news bar. It looks very different, Does anyone know why the UI has changed and if it can be changed back?
The reason I'm putting this here is it is the only thing I have changed since I got the different UI. &hlp
In 800x600 resolution the UI is not displayed the same as in higher resolution
Hi,
Sorry for bumping this, but i bought Sim City 4 deluxe recently, and I want to play it in windowed mode.
I tried the commands you said but unfortunately, when I try launching the game i have this message "the process cannot be launch".
Someone have an idea ? All the commands are not working, maybe a windows problem ?
Thanks
so your adding them after the trailing " of the original shortcut:
...Apps\SimCity 4.exe"
to make it like this:
...Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -w -r800*600*32
for example?
Yes I tried that and even the -intro:off gives me the same error message ...
please post a screenshot of the shortcut property tab
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.imagup.com%2F03%2F1213617681_screenshot.jpg&hash=0a68c187c8d54ec0b6efbffdf1cf5ff05211a1b8) (http://www.imagup.com/imgs/1213617681.html)
Here it is !
It's not with the -w command as it gives me the same error message, I've tried several commands including this one.
try with intro instead of Intro
Same :( tbh I don't know what could be the problem... I'm clueless here :/
Mine is
"C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -intro:off -r800x600x32 -w
Maybe if you only have vanilla SC4, it does not work
What is vanilla ?
Wou, the shortcut it for Delux. And I think he stated it was Delux earlier too. ;)
Then I'm wondering why his path is "Simcity" and not "simcity 4 Deluxe" ?
This is what my shortcut looks like:
"D:\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -CustomResolution:enabled -r1680x1050x32 -w -intro:off
Quote from: City Builder on June 16, 2008, 06:43:46 AM
This is what my shortcut looks like:
"D:\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -CustomResolution:enabled -r1680x1050x32 -w -intro:off
I tried this one, and unfortunately no change, I'm wondering if it is not a windows problem as it is working fine for everyone else...
@wouanagaine: Simply because I installed it in a custom folder (I tried with standard one, and de installed and re installed like 3-4 times, and always the same result)
News, I tried this on vista, and it's the same ! So probably not a computer issue.
Jut kinda wondering here.. is there anyway to change the path for the StartupManager so that when you start the game through there it would go windowed?
I don't think that the startup path for the SUM can be changed, since it uses the one that is defined in the registry. However, if I'm not mistaken, you can set the game to "Windowed Mode" in the SUM options.
oh wow.. I feel stupid... didn't even see that..
I am sorry to say this, but this stuff is so good it works on linux XD
I will soon be moving this tutorial to the wiki
Quote from: kalijav on June 16, 2008, 06:47:45 AM
I tried this one, and unfortunately no change, I'm wondering if it is not a windows problem as it is working fine for everyone else...
@wouanagaine: Simply because I installed it in a custom folder (I tried with standard one, and de installed and re installed like 3-4 times, and always the same result)
Sorry to bump this old problem, but I just stumbled upon this thread.
About the custom resolution possibility, I found out that I can only run the game at resolutions which are available in the Windows' screen setting dialog. For example: I wanted to play windowed @1600x1000, but even with CustomResolution:enabled the game always refused to start with this non-standard resolution ( I had no error message though, the game just closed itself).
After I added the 1600x1000 resolution as option to the system display properties, the game would launch without problems.
I thought that this would maybe be a helpful addition for using custom resolutions in the game, at least I didn't see any reference that the desired game resolution has to be available in the system display options as well.
In short words: To make this work (game installed in custom folder btw.)...
"G:\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -intro:off -CustomResolution:enabled -w
-r1600x1000x32 -d:Software -audio:off
... you need to have the possibility to choose this resolution in the system (you don't have to actually choose it, just have it as possible resolution):
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi240.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fff211%2FMcDuell%2FCustomResolution.jpg&hash=930465d4d19de7b3865a4d0c7dedf17cecc23336)
Hope this made some sense :).
Yes, I noticed this as well. In some display drivers, you have the possibility to define custom resolutions, so they show up in said Windows dialogue. If you can use them in Windows, you should be able to use them for the game as well.
I didn't even know this topic and these possibilities existed! Now - after years - I can finally play on 16:9! Man I want to go home and play! :D
JoeST I applaud you &apls
Hey Howling, it wasnt just me, Andreas and others found and helped decipher a number of them too :)
Joe
Yes, I applaud everyone who figured this out &apls &apls &apls absolutely, I think I applauded Andreas before though.
But you're the author ;)
lol Well thankyou very much for the recognition and thanks :)
Joe
Wow, i also just noticed this. This is great! My startupmanager kept forgetting my developementprofiles, config settings, forcing random crashes and such. Now I can play at custom resolution at 1280x800 on my laptop and looks sooo much better than before. And better yet, no random crashes. Thanks man! :thumbsup:
HAH!
COOL!
So, after finding the thread here about how to assign CPU priorities to fix the hyperthreading/multipleCPU problem and fixing a problem I had with CTDs on the HT computer, I find this and it helps with the problem I've had on my other computer that wouldn't allow me to use hardware rendering.
Ingame, no matter what I did, when I picked hardware instead of software and restarted, it would be in software again, or on rare occasions it would keep the hardware setting but set all the other options to standard, and when I changed ANY of the other options, it would revert back to software.
The Radeon 3850HD on that computer would not let hardware run in SC4. Other games are fine, just SC4.
So, I follow this thread and viola, that problem is fixed! Thanks!
I had to get the radeon 3850s, as they are still rated the best AGP card made, and I am not ready to start going PCIE yet.
Thanks mucho grande once again! I was beginning to believe that the Radeon3850 just would not play nice with SC4.
Hate to bump this, but I've seen other people post approximately the same thing. I have a Compaq Presario F572 US running Vista Premium, but I CAN'T GET THE STUPID SC4 TO RUN IN WINDOWED MODE!!!!!!!!!!! AND IT'S REALLY GETTING TO ME!!! &hlp &hlp &hlp &hlp &hlp &hlp &hlp &hlp
whats it not doing hconline? have you added -w to your shortcut?
I'm having no joy with getting the windowed mode. :(
About my spec:
I'm using Vista Home Premium (64bit) with SP2;
I have an AMD64 6000+ processor (Dual Core);
Asus Crosshair Mainboard;
4GB Memory
Nvidia Geeforce 8600GT (500MB)
Game is patched to the latest version, and has been patched with the CPU affinity method to solve the dual core issue.
Currently running in Vanilla mode, no mods or plugins of any kind yet (want to get it working first).
All drivers are up to date (clean install of Vista done only 2 days ago)
Okay, I have tried all of the suggestions in this thread, currently my shortcut has -intro:off -w switches and the game runs in fullscreen mode, the game works very well in this mode, hardware enabled, music off and all settings to max. I have tried the other switches suggested and no change happens.
I last played SC4 on XP SP3 about a year ago on the same spec PC and I could run the game in windowed mode so I guess it is a vista thing?
If anyone can help me out, I wouldbe very grateful. :)
Stewey, please copy and paste the entire line of code in your next post. Maybe you are just missing something.
Best bet is to copy the code from the above table and paste it right in at the end and don't foget the space.
Robin ;)
Thanks for the quick response rooker1. :thumbsup:
I've copied the code from the bottom of joes post, here's target line:
"C:\Games\Sim City 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -w -r800x600x32 -intro:off
I can confirm to you that this does indeed work and it is running at that resolution in windowed mode. :)
I'm going to try to see if I can bump up the resolution as high as I can and post back my results here.
Edit to add: I have tried all of the following resolutions:
"C:\Games\Sim City 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -w -r800x600x32 -intro:off
"C:\Games\Sim City 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -w -r1024x768x32 -intro:off
"C:\Games\Sim City 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -w -r1280x1024x32 -intro:off
All these worked. :)
I think what has happened is that I was trying for 1600x1200 but that is beyond my monitors native resolution which is 1900x1080, so the game instead went into fullscreen.
So thanks to you rooker1 for your help.
I hope my experience helps others in the same situation: Dont use a higher resolution in windowed mode than your max native resolution can support!
Good to see that you have figured it out. ;)
Choosing 16 over 32 bit also does not affect game play.
The game itself does not use any more memory, as far as I could tell when I just tested it. It scrolls the same, too, so it's not any faster to use 16-bit.
I have dual monitors, so it is easy to watch memory usage through Task Manager on the second screen.
I really didn't notice any difference, in any area, and I only have a 256MB video card. I suppose it might make some difference on a very low-end card, though.
Perhaps someone else could test it with a 32-128MB card.
I see no advantage to forcing 16-bit. Not using as much video memory is a moot point, if you have enough.
I'm sure somewhere there was a command line option or something that lets choose a city to load into without clicking on it in region view, so it just starts the city automatically.
Jonathan
To achieve the same on a Mac, simply press the 'Option' key when starting the app. It will show a window of options to choose from. :)
Hi, sorry for bumping an old post
I tried playing the game in windowed mode and I don't have a problem switching it to that mode, but while I'm in that mode, I can no longer scroll the view by moving my mouse to the edge of the map. The pointer moves off the screen before it scrolls. I switched back to full screen mode to test it and I can get the edge scrolling to work again. So my question is, do I have to choose between playing in windowed mode or having edge scrolling?
Thank you
Try holding down the right mouse button while moving your mouse. It's been a while since I've fired up SC4 however I never used the edge push screen system as it's laggy, so I've always just used the mouse button and moved my mouse to move the screen around, on my computers it's always been more responsive anyway.
All you have to do is right-click & drag to the area you want. Or click on the minimap in the left hand corner to go to a specific area.
I found that it is necessary to type in the -UserDir: parameter if you move your Documents folder to another drive with the SimCity folder containing your custom regions and custom content files in the plugins folder. I moved my Documents folder with all of its data onto an external drive to free up space on my hard drive. I set the target path for My Documents to the new drive. I was told that any program that uses the My Documents folder will go to that drive. However, I left the game files in the Program Files directory alone. When I started my game I found that only the default regions were showing, and when I loaded a city, no custom content was showing up. I found this tutorial while trying to find a solution to my problem. I added the -UserDir: parameter with the new filepath and restarted the game. All of my regions showed up and when I loaded a city, and all custom content was available again.