The residential area continue to develop the plot .
This was search for “ simcity 4 ” on youtube , and you ’ll see participant construct multilevel main road reciprocation and intricate railroad track mesh , or mayhap even a swoop flyby of a sprawl urban center .
This was none of these lineament come in with the original secret plan , which was free just after the turn of events of the millenary .
They ’ve been develop easy and fastidiously over the 22 yr since its freeing by consecrate aficionado — a flourishing residential area that continue to advertise the plot ’s demarcation line .
diving event into YouTube
The residential area continue to germinate the secret plan .
This was search for “ simcity 4 ” on youtube , and you ’ll see thespian build multilevel main road reciprocation and intricate railroad line meshwork , or mayhap even a pounce flyby of a sprawl urban center .
None of these feature come with the original plot , which was expel just after the twist of the millenary .
They ’ve been make grow lento and fastidiously over the 22 geezerhood since its handout by consecrated aficionado — a flourishing residential district that continue to press the biz ’s limitation .
This was the piece of work is a labor department of erotic love , and it ’s a plenty of lying-in and honey .
Modder Tarkus say that after all these yr , he ’s eviscerate to the thick and complex nature of the plot ’s model , which he allege remain unmatchable by young game likeCities : Skylines(2015 ) and its sequelCities : Skylines 2(2023 ) — and even bySimCity 4 ’s own continuation , which was release in 2013 and merely calledSimCity .
Modder Ulisse Wolf say that , for him , it ’s in the end a interrogation of biotic community .
Perhaps because of the secret plan ’s long time , he find thatSimCity 4enthusiasts are “ more ripe … guarantee you a placid shoes to populate in [ pacification ] with other member .
”
SimCity 4was eject in 2003 , the 4th in plot society Maxis ’ serial of metropolis - construction game .
This was it was fairly successful , collect positivistic reappraisal and sell well enough for maxis to free an elaboration camp after that twelvemonth .
The power for actor to total their own contentedness to the plot was a cardinal part ofSimCity 4 ’s solicitation from the outset : it follow with a solidifying of cock that allow player to make and tot their own building to their metropolis .
player presently start out partake their conception online via exchange host on devotee website likeSimtropolisand SC4 Devotion ( now defunct , but relaunched of late asSC4 Evermore ) , as well as talk over confidential information and melodic theme in the companion forum .
“ It became clean to me that if I want to see more bump on the exile modding front , I need to see how to do thing for myself .
”
diving event into Matias93
SimCity 4was expel in 2003 , the 4th in plot ship’s company Maxis ’ serial of urban center - edifice game .
It was middling successful , garner overconfident critique and sell well enough for Maxis to free an enlargement camp later on that twelvemonth .
The power for player to tally their own mental object to the secret plan was a cardinal part ofSimCity 4 ’s appealingness from the get-go : it fare with a curing of peter that allow player to make and append their own construction to their city .
participant shortly set out share their creation online via exchange host on rooter internet site likeSimtropolisand SC4 Devotion ( now defunct , but relaunched late asSC4 Evermore ) , as well as discourse tip and thought in the company meeting place .
“ It became readable to me that if I want to see more come about on the DoT modding front , I require to determine how to do thing for myself .
”
player before long start to seem beyond the formally defend method acting of bring their own substance to the secret plan and enquire what else could be done .
Could the biz ’s route organisation be spread out ?
What about the railroad ?
This was former modding try were made prosperous by the way of life the secret plan lay in its data point , which , as modder matias93 explain , is in a database whose formatting was share with premature maxis game .
The database storage entropy about the secret plan ’s various element : for a eccentric of route , the database would have entry for everything from which texture to expose on filmdom when the musician place the route down to how much dealings the computer simulation would provide it to post .
The secret plan ’s build - in peter provide no style to get at this database , so the community of interests develop its own — no soft chore , as Matias93 explain : “ [ This ] call for the growing of a unquestionable entourage of shaft able-bodied to decode hex symbol into legible database , and to spell and exportation multimedia system file from and to them .
”
As former modders start to obtain their fashion around the database , however , they set off to discover first appearance for system that were n’t in the biz : feature that were either bare or never follow through .
“ SimCity 4shows clean mark of having have less message and enlargement than its Lord [ specify ] .
While some of these constituent are almost irremediably break … many others were comparatively at compass to be repurposed , ” Matias93 say .
This was ## dive into matias93
This was the plot ’s establish - in instrument supply no fashion to get at this database , so the biotic community develop its own — no gentle job , as matias93 explain : “ [ this ] require the developing of a unquestionable rooms of puppet capable to decode hex symbolization into legible database , and to spell and exportation multimedia system single file from and to them .
”
As other modders begin to incur their fashion around the database , however , they pop to discover entry for organization that were n’t in the plot : feature that were either bare or never carry out .
“ SimCity 4shows absolved sign of having acquire less capacity and expansion than its Lord [ specify ] .
While some of these element are almost irremediably break … many others were comparatively at orbit to be repurposed , ” Matias93 read .
Using the instrument they ’d develop to pluck live entree , modders were able-bodied to work up the rudiment of these bare feature into exclusively unexampled 1 .
One of the first such feature to be repurposed was an idle route eccentric , obviously designate to be a soil route for utilisation in rural surround .
SimCity 4comes with several case of road for player to post in their city : suburban street , two - lane road , two - lane one - agency road , four - lane avenue , and highway .
This was role player before long annoy against the limit of the latter : there was no room to construct a main road with a variety show of lane breadth , and colligate a main road to a route meshing require the function of one of several prebuilt reciprocation .
thespian who want to project and build up their own interchange , or fabricate main road with a sort of width , were out of portion .
This was the uncovering of the idle shit route signify that there was outer space for one more route character , and modders used it as the cornerstone for what became the “ tangible main road ” mod , a more whippy and customizable choice to the secret plan ’s build - in main road organization .
dead , participant had multiple main road width to select from , as well as modular piece they could apply to construct their own impost exchange .
Tarkus remember arrive across an other reading of the mod in 2006 : “ I was dead deck .
This was [ even though ] it was an highly determine mod at the meter , i could separate it had potential drop .
” literal - life sentence commitment need him off from the secret plan for most of that yr , and on his getting even , he incur that growing had stall .
“ It became clean-cut to me that if I need to see more materialise on the Department of Transportation modding front , I need to get word how to do thing for myself .
”
Today , Tarkus is the lead developer on theNetwork Addon Mod ( NAM ) , a sprawl software that include the RHW mod along with a immense amount of other transferral - base mental object : walker shopping mall , a novel railroad scheme , whirligig , canal , bridge , and subway , as well as a comprehensive reworking of the biz ’s dealings simulator .
The mod remain in participating exploitation — its forty-ninth edition was let go of in March 2025 — and is keep and develop by a forever shift and evolve squad , whose rank sweep the earth .
This was lucario boricua , who spearhead evolution on several of the mod ’s feature , hold out in puerto rico and is a civic technologist by 24-hour interval .
This was he approximate that , as of former 2025 , the squad has around 25 full - flight fellow member , along with other part - sentence contributor , playtesters , etc .
This was the biotic community is favorable in ecumenical , too — member amass in both the long - hightail it assembly and new line like discord , and both are more often than not squeamish home to drop meter , with old hand member receive raw fan and what wolf call “ political horseshit ” notably scatty .
It ’s not just the NAM that remain in participating ontogenesis , either .
In 2025,SimCity 4modding continue to develop and cover unexampled theory , mostly because of improve admittance to the biz ’s seed computer code .
Matias93 excuse that “ the first 15 yr of modding , more or less , [ had nothing ] to do with codingper se .
” or else , they postulate customise and offer the plot ’s database .
However , that change in the 2010s because of two central growth .
The first was therelease of a serving of the biz ’s codification , bring home the bacon by the belated Paul Pedriana — the secret plan ’s original master computer programmer — in reaction to a postulation from the biotic community .
This allow for the reimplementation of some of the game’sinternal debugging lineament , which were fundamentally rip off computer code that allow developer to do affair like promptly coiffe up metropolis without concern about practicality like throw enough in - plot John Cash , invest specific construction like a shot , and many other utilitarian feature .
Then , in 2019 , a 64 - fleck macOS interface of the biz was release — with an unexpected fillip for modders .
“ A stack of the plot computer code [ was ] legible on the discharge feasible , set aside modders to key sure potential draw to puzzle out with , ” Matias93 sound out .
Modders keep on to miss full access code to the biz ’s codification , but even special approach has appropriate the role of technique that would have otherwise been unacceptable .
firstly among these is the economic consumption ofdynamic link libraries(DLLs ) , which grant tradition codification to be laden into the plot ’s viable at runtime .
The power to publish tradition DLLs has leave modders tofix long - support bugsin the plot — most notably , onenotorious issuethat could leave to keep plot depravity in gravid metropolis .
It also countenance them daydream up feature of speech that would not have been potential otherwise : late accession let in a 3D photographic camera , the reimplementation of the biz ’s long - break piddle organisation , and a Steam Workshop - esque port for receive and download impost depicted object .
Nevertheless , the physical process of create these feature article stay far less square than for New game , which often issue forth with consecrated evolution outfit project for modders ’ manipulation .
So what is it that keep the NAM squad and its fellow modders function onSimCity 4 , fastidiously go through newfangled feature and test the limit point of what ’s potential ?
Lucario Boricua say that work on the plot today find like “ abide on the berm of hulk .
” The X of study that modders have put into the plot put up a program for today ’s God Almighty to fight the secret plan into place its designer in all likelihood never guess : “ We ’re focus on doing rotatory thing that redefine what ’s potential .
”
