SC4Tool - TE saving problems

[Ralfger]

I am sure that I juste missed something - but I can´t save a lot after transit enabling and I have no clue why
I´ve set the paths accordnigly, typ and direction as well as defined the values for transit switch. What do I do wrong?   

[mgb204]

It's probably easiest to know which lot you are modifying, that way I can see at a glance any potential problems. If you could link to the download that would be very helpful too.

Just a guess, but usually when SC4Tool won't allow you to save a file, it's because the elements of the Lot, i.e. the Buildings Exemplar and LotConfiguration Exemplar are not in the same file. It expects them to be in one SC4Lot file.

[Ralfger]

Ok, that should be the reason... I started to edit a lot from SFBT signalboxes series (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1357)
Now "Dalheim signal box" is indicated as building - but it´s not visible on the lot itself.

[Andreas]

IIRC, the signalboxes are park lots that use an invisible building, the visible one is a simple prop. Not sure how that affects SC4Tool's ability to edit the file, though, but it might be better to use the signalbox model and create a proper building of the desired type (a railway station?), and design a new lot along with it.

[Ralfger]

Andreas, I used the signalbox to creat a little railyard - no intention to use a building on the lot other than your prop. As it was my first attempt "lotting", it seems that I unintentionally mixed up things.
Unfortunately I cannot simply delete the Dalheim signal box and fall back to the invisible buliding....

[Andreas]

I didn't mean that you should delete something. Put the Dalheim signal box *.SC4Model file into a subfolder of your plugins, start PIM-X, select said folder, and then click on "Models" in the list on the left side. The BAT model should show up in the list on the top right, select it and drag it to the proper category on the left. This will create a new SC4Desc file with all the properties that are necessary for a proper railway station/freight yard.

Then right-click on the list of properties, and select "Create lot" for making a new blank lot. Open this lot in the lot editor and edit it as desired, and finally use SC4Tool to transit-enable it. If you created a nice-looking lot already, you can copy the lot layout manually with the Reader, there's some tutorial around. If you run into some dead-end, feel free to drop me an e-mail (andreas [at] simcityplaza [dot] de) and attach your work there, then I'll have a look.

SC4 relies on a set of properties that determine the type of the lot, but unfortunately, there are several ways to create a lot, and the actual data can be spread across multiple files, which need to be linked properly via a set of unique IDs. Even though it seems to be a good idea to start with an existing lot, the properties that are tied to it might break things, so it's always best to start from scratch, hence I suggested to use this way, instead of editing something that exist.

[Ralfger]

Wow, thanks a lot for your quick response.
Little problem and quite a complicatet way to work around... PIM-X is an seperate program I suppose?  I didn´t intend to use a building on my lot so the invisible one would have been the best start for me...Can I create invisible ones the same way?
Now it is time to dig deep into SC4.... 

[Andreas]

The way Maxis is using invisible buildings is using a special ID value (Resource Key Type 0 instead of RTK 1), which can be set to an "invalid" ID (Type, Group, Instance of 0,0,0), but this is advanced modding territory already. PIM-X (aka SC4PIM) is a separate program, but very helpful when it comes to create proper lots for the game.

[Ralfger]

As I already get stuck trying to start PIM-X, I take your generous offer and send you a mail! Perhaps it is only a mouse click for you... If not I have to start from scratch. Don´t waste too much of your time! 

[Andreas]

Thanks, I got your e-mail. Unfortunately, I ran into the very same problem; I  made a new lot, however, I wasn't able to save in SC4Tool's TE Editor for whatever reason. I can't tell what's wrong, though, so I ended up and used a little trick, making a new, empty lot of the same size, TE'd it on the tiles that have railway tracks in your lot, and copied the properties manually in the Reader. After all, that might be easier and faster than checking the lot for hours and see what might be wrong...

[Ralfger]

Thank you very much! The new lot works perfectly! 
I would like to show an ingame pic but can´t make a picture - I only get an empty shot even after restarting SC4...

[Andreas]

"Print Screen" should work in any case, or use some screenshot program like IrfanView.

[Ralfger]

How studpid...

[Andreas]

Looks really great!