A City Planning Tool

[HandsOn]

What I am suggesting here may well be impossible or even over the top, but maybe some of the aces here will want to think about it: A city planning tool. Here's what methinks it ought to do:

a) it would let you draw - not plop - zones, transportation, utilities, et al, on a given region or city, using standard map symbols such as are used by some regional traffic map mods
b) based on the zoning it would then forecast scenarios, using perhaps the algorithms applied by the Census Repository of RalphNinja - an excellent report

This way you could play around, much like in a sandbox, print the result via PrntScrn or some such and finally turn it into SC4 reality.

The drawing could perhaps be done using overlay textures (I think, but I am stabbing in the dark here).

Does this at all sound possible? Master Wou, peut-etre..?

[wouanagaine]

I always like to have something like that, that will allow me to draw road and prezone in regional view ( ie in SC4TF ), unfortunatly the sav game format is still cryptic on thoses parts

What you can do, it to save overview in  SC4Mapper/SC4TF and use your favorite paint program to  zone/draw road.
One pixel of the overview  = one SC4 Tile

[HandsOn]

Monsieur Wou; I always seem to have problems with TF - and I say right now it's me, not the tool. Whenever I create a new region, SC4 shows about 2/3 of it as it was in TF, the rest are just patches (always city-wide) of ugly SC4-green.

As for the tool idea: why even bother to include a save option? To start with it could simply be a one-shot; you lose the markings if you exit. Besides, if the markings stay, I am sure one or more custom lots would end up having problem. I am thinking of it as a pre-game analytical tool, much like a footbal coach's drawing board. Sketch some plays, hit a button, and voila - there are the predicions for, sya, the next five decades of SC4 time.

[wouanagaine]

Monsieur Wou; I always seem to have problems with TF - and I say right now it's me, not the tool. Whenever I create a new region, SC4 shows about 2/3 of it as it was in TF, the rest are just patches (always city-wide) of ugly SC4-green.

Try to check if you are in Transit view or normal view

As for the tool idea: why even bother to include a save option? To start with it could simply be a one-shot; you lose the markings if you exit. Besides, if the markings stay, I am sure one or more custom lots would end up having problem. I am thinking of it as a pre-game analytical tool, much like a footbal coach's drawing board. Sketch some plays, hit a button, and voila - there are the predicions for, sya, the next five decades of SC4 time.

To be honest, this can be done by someone else
As I said, a paint program will easily allow you to do what you describe

[thetinker]

   I know I'm bumping an old topic, but mayhaps this can help someone.

What I am suggesting here may well be impossible or even over the top, but maybe some of the aces here will want to think about it: A city planning tool. Here's what methinks it ought to do:

a) it would let you draw - not plop - zones, transportation, utilities, et al, on a given region or city, using standard map symbols such as are used by some regional traffic map mods
b) based on the zoning it would then forecast scenarios, using perhaps the algorithms applied by the Census Repository of RalphNinja - an excellent report

This way you could play around, much like in a sandbox, print the result via PrntScrn or some such and finally turn it into SC4 reality.

The drawing could perhaps be done using overlay textures (I think, but I am stabbing in the dark here).

Does this at all sound possible? Master Wou, peut-etre..?

   HandsOn, I may be able to offer you a little help with a). See my posts here http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=532.0.  Although the topic (multi-lingual queries) might seem far from your request, about half-way down the page, here http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=532.msg226712#msg226712 I mentioned a technique I've used to modify labels for planning purposes. I won't publish it as a modd for reasons mentioned in the posts, but its fairly easy to implement with the ilive Reader. If you go here, http://home.covad.net/~jay07zorch/sc4pics/, you can see what is available, and some examples of how I've used it.

    As for b), that's way over my pay grade. I think that would require a genius with close ties to the NAM team, Ripplejet, Daely, et al to pump their brains.

   Sorry I can't give you what you want, but maybe this can help you in the interim.