sc4-terrain-extensions

A DLL Plugin for SimCity 4 that provides terrain extension tools. The plugin creates custom terrain manipulation tools accessible through in-game cheat codes.

Features

Command-Line Terrain Tools

Activated using the cheat code earthbender followed by tool commands:

• Constant Grade Tool: Creates paths with constant grade/slope between two points
• Flatten Tool: Flattens terrain areas to a specified height
• Bridge Approach Tool: Creates bridge approaches with specified parameters

Drag-Based Tools

Activated using the cheat code bridgebuilder followed by tool name:

• Bridge Approach Drag Tool: Interactive bridge approach creation with real-time parameter adjustment using scroll wheel
• Parameter adjustment with modifier keys (Shift/Ctrl/Alt) for different settings
• Visual feedback during drag operations

System Requirements

• SimCity 4 version 641
• Windows 10 or later

The plugin may work on Windows 7 or later, but I do not have the ability to test that.

Installation

1. Close SimCity 4.
2. Copy SC4TerrainExtensions.dll into the top-level of the Plugins folder in the SimCity 4 installation directory or Documents/SimCity 4 directory.
3. Start SimCity 4.

Troubleshooting

The plugin should write a SC4TerrainExtensions.log file in the same folder as the plugin.
The log contains status information for the most recent run of the plugin.

License

This project is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License version 3.0.
See LICENSE.txt for more information.

3rd party code

gzcom-dll Located in the vendor folder, MIT License.
spdlog Located in the vendor folder, MIT License.
args Located in the vendor folder, MIT License.
mINI Located in the vendor folder, MIT License.
Windows Implementation Library - MIT License
sc4-dll-basics Located in the vendor folder, MIT License.

Source Code

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2022 or CLion with Visual Studio toolchain
• CMake 3.20+
• Windows 10 or later

Building the plugin

# Configure with CMake presets
cmake --preset vs2022-win32-debug     # Debug build
cmake --preset vs2022-win32-release   # Release build

# Build
cmake --build cmake-build-debug-visual-studio --config Debug
cmake --build cmake-build-release-visual-studio --config Release

The build system automatically deploys the DLL to your SimCity 4 Plugins folder.

Debugging the plugin

Configure your IDE to launch SimCity 4 with the following command line:
-intro:off -CPUcount:1 -w -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32

You may need to adjust the window resolution for your primary screen.