Hi @rpmanning - I moved your post to the Other SimCity Games forum, since it's about SimCity 4.
You've done a lot of troubleshooting, I'm sorry it hasn't fixed it but at least it eliminates a few things. In addition to trying all the compatibility settings on the exe, try disabling Origin in-game. There are also a few command line switches we can add in the Origin interface, to help this old game run. The main thing we're trying to do is configure things to work on a modern computer. It's actually remarkable to me that after almost 20 years, this SimCity 4 is still able to be played and enjoyed and still has a pretty large fan base.
So - let's see if we can get it to launch. First, in Origin, right-click SimCity 4 and choose Game Properties.
Explanation of the switches: -d😕oft sets the game to use software rendering; -intro:off turns off the intro video (which I guess looks really weird and stretchy); -CPUCount:1 sets the game to only use one CPU (I know - it seems a shame to waste all your other processing power, but SC4 doesn't know what to do with the other cores); -f sets display to full screen mode; -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32 allows you to set the game to render to a custom resolution of 1920x1080. You need to set this to a resolution that your monitor supports. You might not need this, or you might want a different resolution once you get in the game, so you can play with these settings to see what works best for you.
For now, the most important thing is setting the game to use software rendering, and the CPU count set to 1 will hopefully reduce crashing as your city grows bigger. Hopefully, this will allow you to get into the game itself and play with the menu settings. Be aware that any settings you have in the command line switches will supercede the ones you put in your settings. So, if you set your resolution to 1366x768 in the game settings & save it there, but you have it set to 1920x1080 in the command line switch, it will launch in 1920x1080 and you'll have to change it every time you start the game.
Let us know how it goes, and reply back with details on what happens if there are any more errors. Happy Building!
First, Thanks! Your suggestions at least got me past the EA intro and into the game, albeit briefly. I still couldn't lauch from the Origin application, but I was able to find that I could add your switches directly into a shortcut to the actual game exe. This did cut out the EA intro and I got all the way to the region screen from which you start a city. I am only able to be there for about 10 seconds before it crashes. Its not enough time to actually play with the settings, but I was able to grab a screenshot of my graphics properties as they are at launch:
If you have more suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. I've been playing Sim City since it came with a 3 1/2 AND 2 5 1/4 inch floppy disks and SC4 is my favorite.
TIA!
EDIT: I searched for other SC4 command line switches that might be available. I found some here. I turned the audio off (-audio:off) and it has now ran for nearly 5 minutes without crashing. I will let you know if I have any further issues though. Thanks again! I couldn't have done it without your leads!
@rpmanning - I'm so glad you got it working. Great job on modifying the exe directly. I wonder if you have an issue with Origin in some way, in addition to the usual tweaks needed for SC4. Regardless, make sure to keep Origin in-game turned off, it's been my experience that causes a lot of issues. Also, if you use OneDrive, you may want to exclude SC4 docs if you have any issues with saving.
Using software rendering is the easiest to explain (from my standpoint) and bypasses the need to identify your graphics card and modify config files. Looking at your available resolutions, I would try using one of the existing choices. For instance: -CustomResolution:enabled -r1280x1024x32 Running in windowed mode can also sometimes help (-w instead of -f)
If you want to see if hardware rendering helps or gives a better experience, this post gives a great step-by-step (with pictures - my favorite!).
I also played SC on floppy, then on the Wii lol. I completely bypassed SC4, but have played SC2013 since it launched. Love the game - many SimCity players think that SC4 is the best of all of them. I hope someday they create a new version. Happy Building!
i love u. it worked from the steam version. In july come to Akrogiali Restaurant in Samos, Kokkari Greece to eat whatever seafood you want for free. i play the game for 18 years
