MUltiplayer mod

[Kusher436]

Im wondering has this game got a multiplayer mode i have been told it ahs but cant find it?

[Morkonan]

Basically, this : http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=11945.0

SimCity 4 uses "dropbox," which allows for real-time file-sharing.

It's not much different than a "Play by mail" system, but you're using it in-game. You can set something up like this for you and your friends. BUT, since you're actively sharing files on your system, just be sure you know the people you're playing with.

There is no native Multi-player in SimCity 4, only some workarounds using this sort of technique.

[Kusher436]

so for instance its not a good idea to play with a complete stranger like yoursel?

[Kusher436]

when i login into dropbox i dont get any invite prior to clicking the share tab?

[Morkonan]

I don't play Multiplayer or use dropbox, so I can't answer those questions. I only know that players use a dropbox system, as described in that thread, to sort of "fool" the game into letting them play a multi-player type of game. You might have to ask about specifics in that forum.

By the way, dropbox isn't associated with SimCity 4. It's simply a file-hosting serice, but it is used because it allows for simultaneous sharing of stored files, which allows players to share city tiles in their regions, but it won't allow two players to play the same city tile, I don't think. They'll just both be able to play cities in each other's regions.

[Delta 1038]

Publicado originalmente por Morkonan:

I don't play Multiplayer or use dropbox, so I can't answer those questions. I only know that players use a dropbox system, as described in that thread, to sort of "fool" the game into letting them play a multi-player type of game. You might have to ask about specifics in that forum.

By the way, dropbox isn't associated with SimCity 4. It's simply a file-hosting serice, but it is used because it allows for simultaneous sharing of stored files, which allows players to share city tiles in their regions, but it won't allow two players to play the same city tile, I don't think. They'll just both be able to play cities in each other's regions.

Wait, I thought the drop-box system was introduced waaaay back in The Sims 1 where you can upload your sims into an online database to share?

[Morkonan]

Publicado originalmente por Delta 1038:

...Wait, I thought the drop-box system was introduced waaaay back in The Sims 1 where you can upload your sims into an online database to share?

I have no idea. "Filehsaring" wasn't invented by Maxis, though. "Dropbox" is a service that is aimed at business users or really anyone that wants to easily and securely share files. In using it for SimCity 4, it's just being co-opted for a sort of multi-player scheme because it allows simultaneous sharing of files. So, two players can each have a region on their computer where the city of the other player also exists.

Cities, in SimCity 4, are saved as individual files within the "directory" of a Region. So, if you can simultaneous share a city file, you can have the same city in the Regions of multiple players. I think that because of how SimCity 4 updates its Regions, the illusion is given that the other player is actively participating in your game, but it's just an illusion, really - All they're doing is making changes to the city file.

You'd have to look deeper into how people multi-play using this method for SimCity 4. I have never used it and don't know a lot about it. I'm just making assumptions based on the sort of things people do with Dropbox.

[jdenm8]

Publicado originalmente por Delta 1038:

Wait, I thought the drop-box system was introduced waaaay back in The Sims 1 where you can upload your sims into an online database to share?

Dropbox is a separate service operated by Dropbox Inc. It's not affiliated with EA or Maxis in any way.

There was a service for The Sims that allowed you to share Sims and Lots. Equivalent services for SimCity 4, The Sims 2 and SimCity Societies were also created. Since the services operated through each respective game's website, they've gone down at the same times their websites have.

What people do now is use the Dropbox client to synchronise their Region folder to their Dropbox account, then share that folder with other people with their Dropbox clients set up the same way.

You can't play the same tile as someone else (Well, you can, but one will overwrite the other when you save the city), neither can two adjacent cities be played by different people at the same time: Saving one will write over the other one because of how the game saves the intercity commute data.

It's really only useful if you want to show somebody a particular city or have someone more skilled than you build something. For public sessions, it's more trouble than it's worth.