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I'm going to try and address some of the questions that have been cropping up about the new city plans.
Q. How do I use the new Optimized City Plans?
A. Simply start a new City. So long as you didn't turn on the new Complex City Plans option, it will automatically use the optimized version.
Q. Can I switch my existing complex Cities to the new Optimized versions without restarting the City to level 0?
A. No, unfortunately, the new versions had to be completely new design records, so they will require you to start them over to use the new versions. To do, so - go to your City Planner's Desk, select Take Back City, and then assign a leader again and allow them to tear it down.
Q. Can I keep using the high-detailed, complex plans I already have?
A. Yep! By default, Sim Settlements won't touch any of the Cities you already have built, or building. If a City started with a complex plan before this patch, it will remain the complex version until you decide to scrap it.
Q. Can I mix and match using some optimized, and some complex?
A. Not without toggling the option back and forth. It's assumed that if your system can't handle one, it won't likely handle the others either. Our priority is avoiding save corruption, which can happen if you overburden your system in a settlement.
If you're up for changing the Complex City Plans performance option before starting each one, then you can definitely use a mix!
Q. Can I use all the City Plans now on Xbox/Low End PC?
A. Yes! We successfully put all of the City Plans on single saves on original Xbox One (which has around the baseline required system specs for the game - so it should account for low-end PC as well).
Be careful with the Sanctuary, Red Rocket, Abernathy area - it's best to choose one for those three as they are so close together, they often all end up loaded simultaneously.
Q. How many settlers do these support? Am I limited to that many settlers?
A. We aimed for 15 or less at each settlement. You can absolutely build additional beds and plots to attract more settlers beyond 15! We found that 15 was the most that original Xbox could handle and remain stable - so do so with caution if you're on a low-end system.
Q. Will this stop crashing?
A. That depends. There are lots of factors that go into crashing, we resolved the crashing caused by having too many items in a single zone. If you have an excessive amount of scripting mods, or have built a lot of extra stuff on top of what the City Plan places, you may still experience issues.
What we made sure of, was that if you have all of the performance options disabled, and take a City Plan to level 3, you will never* get locked out of visiting a settlement even on systems that have the minimum system specs. *Take never with a grain of salt, as we can't account for all of the other mods you're using.
Q. If I was crashing before, should I try again?
A. Yes, but do so carefully. First, turn off all of the performance options. Second, change City Upgrades to Manual. Thirdly, plan on doing just a few at a time until they are up to level 3, then start a few more. Finally, plan on saving before you allow an upgrade to happen - when it finishes, try fast traveling back and forth a few times to make sure its stable for you - if not, roll back that save, and leave the City at the previous level.
Unfortunately, this game engine has a lot of limitations - and despite our best efforts, a small number of you may never be able to use City Plans to their fullest alongside your entire mod load order.
Q. How do I use the new Optimized City Plans?
A. Simply start a new City. So long as you didn't turn on the new Complex City Plans option, it will automatically use the optimized version.
Q. Can I switch my existing complex Cities to the new Optimized versions without restarting the City to level 0?
A. No, unfortunately, the new versions had to be completely new design records, so they will require you to start them over to use the new versions. To do, so - go to your City Planner's Desk, select Take Back City, and then assign a leader again and allow them to tear it down.
Q. Can I keep using the high-detailed, complex plans I already have?
A. Yep! By default, Sim Settlements won't touch any of the Cities you already have built, or building. If a City started with a complex plan before this patch, it will remain the complex version until you decide to scrap it.
Q. Can I mix and match using some optimized, and some complex?
A. Not without toggling the option back and forth. It's assumed that if your system can't handle one, it won't likely handle the others either. Our priority is avoiding save corruption, which can happen if you overburden your system in a settlement.
If you're up for changing the Complex City Plans performance option before starting each one, then you can definitely use a mix!
Q. Can I use all the City Plans now on Xbox/Low End PC?
A. Yes! We successfully put all of the City Plans on single saves on original Xbox One (which has around the baseline required system specs for the game - so it should account for low-end PC as well).
Be careful with the Sanctuary, Red Rocket, Abernathy area - it's best to choose one for those three as they are so close together, they often all end up loaded simultaneously.
Q. How many settlers do these support? Am I limited to that many settlers?
A. We aimed for 15 or less at each settlement. You can absolutely build additional beds and plots to attract more settlers beyond 15! We found that 15 was the most that original Xbox could handle and remain stable - so do so with caution if you're on a low-end system.
Q. Will this stop crashing?
A. That depends. There are lots of factors that go into crashing, we resolved the crashing caused by having too many items in a single zone. If you have an excessive amount of scripting mods, or have built a lot of extra stuff on top of what the City Plan places, you may still experience issues.
What we made sure of, was that if you have all of the performance options disabled, and take a City Plan to level 3, you will never* get locked out of visiting a settlement even on systems that have the minimum system specs. *Take never with a grain of salt, as we can't account for all of the other mods you're using.
Q. If I was crashing before, should I try again?
A. Yes, but do so carefully. First, turn off all of the performance options. Second, change City Upgrades to Manual. Thirdly, plan on doing just a few at a time until they are up to level 3, then start a few more. Finally, plan on saving before you allow an upgrade to happen - when it finishes, try fast traveling back and forth a few times to make sure its stable for you - if not, roll back that save, and leave the City at the previous level.
Unfortunately, this game engine has a lot of limitations - and despite our best efforts, a small number of you may never be able to use City Plans to their fullest alongside your entire mod load order.
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