DAMN Manager

[Yild]

fast test with 'freshly' downloaded:

SFBT [mainly the cemetery/ church set]... for some reason it has 'hidden' my SFBT cemeteries/churches, they are 'plopped' and then the game crashes, plus when trying to restore to normal with the cemetery/church set back in menu, it is no where to be found...

yes there is a problem with some lots - incorrect exemplars are created for some of them and game crash when plopped - will have to investigate, didnt found any problem with 'missing' lots from simcity menu when undamned

the concrete grunge sets/series as it can't find the icons and posts a 'generic' "no icon"...

only 9 ploppable lots are available in this set (8 lots + 1 mmp), the rest are props for lots creation, tested with ssptool same thing -8 + 1, rest no icon

[Yild]

fast test with 'freshly' downloaded:

SFBT [mainly the cemetery/ church set]... for some reason it has 'hidden' my SFBT cemeteries/churches, they are 'plopped' and then the game crashes, plus when trying to restore to normal with the cemetery/church set back in menu, it is no where to be found...

crash error fixed

new version uploaded on stex



to update already hidden lots use 'Update hidden lots' from the DAMN Menu popup menu

[ScottFTL]

First of all, thank you for all your work on the DAMN Manager.  This is an excellent tool.   

I've noticed a few problems while taking the program for a test drive.  All of my comments are related to v1.0.3.

I had a few problems with Maxis parks.  There are a few lots that simply turn the game cursor red after I select them from the menu.  Here are the items that gave me problems:  beach, ranger station, soccer field, softball field, and tennis court.  I also noticed that DAMN Manager is not pulling the proper plop cost when I add these items.  It simply lists the plop cost as zero.  I haven't played around enough to know if this problem is only related to Maxis lots or not.

Finally, I have one small request.  I find the interface a little problematic when you are trying to reorder items in a menu.  The list box always scrolls to the top after you choose one of the reorder buttons.  Everything works properly, but I have to do a lot of scrolling to rearrange things on a large menu.  If the focus could stay on the selected item, that would be much easier.

Thanks again for all your efforts!

[Yild]

First of all, thank you for all your work on the DAMN Manager.  This is an excellent tool.   

I had a few problems with Maxis parks.  There are a few lots that simply turn the game cursor red after I select them from the menu.  Here are the items that gave me problems:  beach, ranger station, soccer field, softball field, and tennis court.  I also noticed that DAMN Manager is not pulling the proper plop cost when I add these items.  It simply lists the plop cost as zero.  I haven't played around enough to know if this problem is only related to Maxis lots or not.

red arrow is pain in the ...
cost - yes there is an error if plop cost property is in parent exemplar/cohort - easy to fix

Finally, I have one small request.  I find the interface a little problematic when you are trying to reorder items in a menu.  The list box always scrolls to the top after you choose one of the reorder buttons.  Everything works properly, but I have to do a lot of scrolling to rearrange things on a large menu.  If the focus could stay on the selected item, that would be much easier.

again this is pain in the...

atm Im in a middle of 5 things all of them annoying  so I will get to it when time permits

meanwhile - when you arrange items position you can select more than one and move all selected items at once

[oyefor]

Hi.

I didn't try the result in game yet, but simply the program. I just finished to browse my plugin folder and took available lots in the DAMN menu. All worked fine, except for 2 files (on a thousand...  ) : after closing the Manager.exe and reopening it, the acces to the jpg or png corresponding to the icon menu of the files can't be found, then the program freezes when clicking on the Root Subfolder that contains the lot and can not be edited anymore. Dunno why. If it can help:

-SFBT Pre Fab School
-SimFox ThermoFisher (all the ploppables)

Curiously, no problem appears with the others SFBT and SimFox Lots.

Mainly I have to thank you for this tool update and wish you to find easily how to make it work perfectly cause it's indispensable to play with a huge plugin folder   

[Yild]

Hi.

-SFBT Pre Fab School
-SimFox ThermoFisher (all the ploppables)

Curiously, no problem appears with the others SFBT and SimFox Lots.

ok, I have nailed the problem in... external library that I use for a png image manipulation, those images from prefab elementary school and thermofishers contains some additional chunks that was ignored (actually author was saying: want to use it implement it yourself ) when saved

i will upload update tomorrow 21-11 (probably)

[Yild]

new upload available on STEX

changelog:

    fixed: plop cost for some of the Maxis lots was not correct (thanks to ScottFTL).
    fixed: menu icons was not correctly saved into menu DBPF files for some PNG icons (thanks to oyefor).
    fixed: MMP Maxis trees generate additional unwanted cash when plopped. To eliminate this problem remove trees from your menu and add them again.
    fixed/changed: manager will remember select when reordering menu items in "DAMN menu items" panel.
    changed: updated help files (new QA in FAQ, new contents regarding new features).
    changed: updated ui language files.
    added: DAMN menu export into HTML file.

[oyefor]

What a reactivity! Thanks to you!

I come to see that the Root directory (so are the DAT files) is fully compatible with precedent version of DAMN, it's interesting for reluctant people who think you have to recreate whole part of the DAMN Menu with your version. They have juste to use Import/Export function and backup their menu to have it as before

I know that now, cause later I tried it IG, and I had an empty Daeley window for some reason. This was not a shortcut "Start in" problem as noticed almost everywhere on the net, so I reinstalled the old version (with ssptool in Java) and then merged Root and Support folders with the backup I did with 1.0.3 . Now it's good, it works fine. Maybe it was an indexation problem, I'm such a dick ok, perhaps I did something wrong at the installation or would I not have to remove whole old files. Just to say that if someone have this kind of issue and can't resolve it after trying to remove "/apps" from their shortcut, they should consider to reinstall the old from the 1st step (like explained in the Paeng Tutorial) and switch to this new version.

[ivo_su]

The game crash every time when I plop C.P. tree Vol 02 mega prop pak
http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2791

[Yild]

The game crash every time when I plop C.P. tree Vol 02 mega prop pak
http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2791

It doesn't seem to be related to DAMN, I checked this trees, no problem here, however I did test in clean environment - only this plugin and its dependencies were installed.

It may be a problem with plugins sharing same TGI, doubled some files (props, models), etc.

[jmyers2043]

I have the new revision and gave it a test this evening. My experience was both good and bad. Good because this is a slick program and works as advertised. It is intuitive. It moved my hole digger lots from my transport menu and placed them in the ticker menu.



There are a couple of things that caught me by surprise.

The first read me does not tell me anything useful. I read it and thought to myself "I guess it is a straight forward installation. Time to click .exe and see what happens". I can then start making menus. Not so fast. I get an installation window. OK, no problem, I guess this will deploy necessary files to the correct places.



But what is all this. I'm supposed to start making decisions and haven't a clue what the best choice is.



The good news is that incorrect choices are simply overwritten by installing again. The real read me opens automatically afterwards but I wish that I had the opportunity to read it prior to clicking the installer icon. May I suggest that the casual gamer should be able to easily find the read me after unzipping. That the link to open the read me should be placed in the same folder as the installer icon. Right now it is hidden away in the resources lang folders.



I mentioned above that I easily added a menu item and the 12 hole digger lots into it. Clicked save. Clicked close. I opened the game ... and ... no new ticker item.    Where could it be. Ah, I use the Startup Manager and the zzzzz_DAMN menu was put in plugins disabled. I make the change to the startup manager but still no ticker. So the second thing that caught me was the DAMN folder placed in C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4\Plugins\DAMN. The startup manager put it into the SimCity4\plugins disabled folder too. I think that a comment about file deployment or in the FAQ would benefit.

I'm off to learn some more about this program.

[Yild]

It moved my hole digger lots from my transport menu and placed them in the ticker menu.

yay... it works! 

The first read me does not tell me anything useful.

readme is a readme, help is help...
readme - brief info how to start, it's not an instruction how to build a rocket engine...

May I suggest that the casual gamer should be able to easily find the read me after unzipping. That the link to open the read me should be placed in the same folder as the installer icon. Right now it is hidden away in the resources lang folders.

...and I will not move help file to 'root' folder, I can create URL file that will point to a deeper location (but it may not work for everyone - depends heavily on browser safety settings), thing that will work is another button in the above image ("Yes", "No", "Open help file" or something like that).

I use the Startup Manager and the zzzzz_DAMN menu was put in plugins disabled. [...] I think that a comment about file deployment or in the FAQ would benefit.

I don't
I know that it exists and how it works but tbh if you are using it you should know what to do if you install some 'new plugins'.
I will add this info to FAQ

[Gul Dukat]

Hi;

1st of all, I apologize because it all may sound like something you've heard before, but I don't know what to do... If I may ask you guys a little patience, I'll tell my yesterday's little oddissey

I have windows 7-32bit ("damn" day I left XP...), and the new LM I downloaded since last tuesday just don't show up in the menu. Surfing through the forums I read about DAMN. I installed it, the SSPtool and the DAMN plugin. But there is no DAMN menu showing up in the game, just the "root menu" line and nothing else at all.

I tried to re-instal 4 times, fixed the "apps" line in the sc4's shortcut, read all the help I found, I have spent all my day yesterday trying to fix this issue with the landmarks that I installed but they still do not appear in any menu (game or DAMN). Also I tried to delete landmark files that I never use, but they are still there polluting my menu.

How come I delete the files but the buildings are still there on the shelf?!?!?

I read something about permissions but I do not undestand how to change it - my windows is in portughese for I'm brazilian - and I do not know if it is allright. I see I only got one group ("todos" = "everyone") with full control of the folder and I can't change it anyway...



So I have pretty much this: no menu, no new ploppable buildings, and can't get rid of the old ones... Gets more frustrating: After I re-downloaded, substituted and re-builded the Sears Tower it disappeared from the city, and shortly after that my Rockefeller Center that used to be functional became eye-candy only for some reason (magnetic storms? Nibiru? Romulan strike? "damn!")

I am going up the walls! When I think it worked out allright it didn't, and then another bug unfolds... Has anyone a tip about it?

[Yild]

I don't know why you ask here but...

Best thing to do is to compare new folder (new plugin) permissions with already existing one (and working).

Second thing if you set permissions for the selected folder they _may_ not propagate to its children (aka subfolders and/or files), you must select button "advanced" -> "permissions" tab -> "change permissions" button and check "include inheritable permissions from parent".

[PleasesPeople2]

As a previous user mentioned, I would like to know if a feature could be added to the Damn Manager that will allow users to customize the path to the Plugins folder as was possible with the SSP Tool Damn Manager 2.0.9. Some users would like to create their menus separate from the default game folders (in particular DatPacker users).

[Yild]

new version at STEX:

1.0.5:
    fixed: in some cases the filter button was disabled when filtering was active and lots list was empty.
    changed: information message at DAMN Plugin installation.
    changed: updated help files (new QA in FAQ, new contents regarding new features).
    changed: updated ui language files.
    added: now you can browse folders other than "my documents/SimCity 4/Plugins" - option available in "Plugins (folder)" panel context menu.

[Kergelen]

Hi Yild,

Thanks for this useful tool. I never use the SSPTool and DAMN before but I knew some day it would be very helpful. That day has arrived and I decide to use your version. It's really intuitive and easy to use.

I have a question: If today I make the Root menu with the Lots assigned to it, and in the future I change the structure of my plugins folder changing the location of the Lots assigned previously, the program will have problems to find them?

[Yild]

Thanks.

If you move plugins outside "my documents/simcity 4/plugins" that may be problematic, if not and stucture will change only inside plugins folder - there is an option in Extras menu called "Update plugins list" to update file locations in plugins folder.
To be clear this option is for DAMN Manager internal operations (ie, you want to unhide lots and then you change your mind) it doesn't affect Simcity - because everything that is in plugins folder will be loaded on start.

[Architect_1077]

Yild, I've run into what I think might be a bug with the manager.
What happens is that, with some lots, it doesn't detect those lots when you are navigating within the folder they are in. Instead, the manager only detects them if I navigate to the main folder that contains the folder with the lots I want to add.

Example:
Imagine I want to add "Lot1", "Lot2" and "Lot3", which are in "Subfolder1". This subfolder is located in "Mainfolder". So, what happens is that when I navigate to "Subfolder1" the manager doesn't see any of the lots. However, if I go to "Mainfolder" and then press "Scan with subfolders" button, then I can see the lots.

So far this problem has only happened with the RMIP/AC TEAM airport lots. I'll update if I see this problem with any other lots.
Despite this minor bug I was still able to add the lots.

[Yild]

Thanks for the input...

ok... problem with RMIP is based on lack of the "Exemplar Type" property in the lot exemplar, the exemplar itself points to other exemplar (parent cohort) which contains this property (Im guessing, coz I didn't bother [yet] to search for this particular cohort) and when this 'parent cohort' is not located within 'scanned' folder (or its subfolders).

ATM DAMN Manager remembers (for future use) only lots exemplars list. Props, and 'parent cohorts' are not included (file size could go to tens of megabytes).