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SCURK - SimCity® Urban Renewal Kit

©2023 Adam Alexander T. Croke. SCURK is freeware.
SimCity is a trademark of Maxis.
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INTRODUCTION
--------------------------------

  SCURK is an application designed to work with SimCity® (SNES version) save
  RAM data (.srm files), which are used to play the game with emulators.

  It can be used to edit existing save data or create new data, with a rich
  assortment of features and capabilities in this regard, as described below.


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GETTING STARTED
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  SCURK is a standalone application. Simply launch it, and it's ready to go.
  Use the File menu to create a new save file or open an existing one.


  New save data
  ------------------------
  This option will create a new save file with no cities in its save slots.
  At least one save slot (city) must be added to the save file before it can
  be saved to disk, as a save file with no save slots is equivalent to no
  save data at all.


  Open save data
  ------------------------
  This option will read SimCity® save RAM from disk and load it into SCURK.
  This typically comes in the form of a .srm file. Most emulators will store
  this file in the same directory as the game's ROM file, with a similar
  name to the ROM file.

  If a saved city in the file is of such complex nature that Maxis'
  proprietary SNES compression routine is required (i.e. a 'junk city' with
  175 Airports or completely riddled with road and rail tiles so that a 3x3
  zone couldn't even be placed), then SCURK won't open it. That being said,
  it is practically impossible for a city to be this way unintentionally,
  and so it isn't a concern.


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WORKING WITH SAVE DATA
--------------------------------

  Save data contain the two save slots (a.k.a. cities), a checklist for
  scenario completion, and a checklist for debug menu options; these can all
  be edited with the property grid on the right side of SCURK.

  Using the Slot #1 and Slot #2 menus (or the context menus which appear when
  right-clicking on a slot), there are multiple options for managing the save
  slots.


  New save slot
  ------------------------
  This option will display a dialog with options for creating a new city: the
  name property, subject to the same limitations as the game, and a choice of
  template to begin with.

  The templates include the default, open land-only map, as well as the map
  of each of SimCity®'s 8 scenarios. A new city will always be treated by the
  game as the Freeland scenario (no presents and no scenario time limit).

  Double-clicking on a "(Slot not present)" slot on the left side of SCURK is
  a shortcut for this option.


  Edit save slot
  ------------------------
  This option will launch the Slot Editor, which manages a city's tiles and
  its properties. The property grid on the right contains a host of settings
  for the city, and the toolbox below it is used to draw on the map.

  The tools at the top left of the toolbox are simple and self-explanatory:
  Select, Brush, Line, and Clear. Drawing on the map can take a moment to
  complete, as recalculating the file and redrawing the city can be taxing.

  Use the tile palette at the bottom right to select tiles to draw with. Note
  that many items are actually comprised of multiple individual tiles: click
  on an individual tile in the palette preview above the palette to choose it
  for drawing, and click it again to choose all tiles again.

  Right-click on the map for additional options, including copy and paste.
  The Slot Editor also provides an option (in the status bar) to display the
  city in analysis view, similarly to using the magifying glass menu icon in
  the game.

  If the city becomes sufficiently complex, then a status warning will be
  displayed and the ability to commit edits will be disabled until this is no
  longer the case.

  Double-clicking on an existing city's slot on the left side of SCURK is a
  shortcut for launching the Slot Editor.


  Copy/Paste save slot
  ------------------------
  These options allow for quick duplication of a save slot. Once copied, it
  can be pasted into the other save slot in the current save data, or even
  into a new or freshly-loaded one.


  Import/Export save slot
  ------------------------
  Similar to copy/paste, these options allow for importing and exporting
  slots (cities) to and from save data. Copy and paste typically requires
  fewer clicks, however import and export allows for saving to file (a save
  slot file will be given the extension .sc).


  Deactivate/Reactivate save slot
  ------------------------
  On the SimCity® startup screen, one can press L + R + Select + Start to
  'erase' the save data and start fresh. While this action does reset the
  scenario completion and debug menu checklists, it only 'deactivates' the
  save slots (without actually erasing one's cities), making the game behave
  as though no save slots are present until the slots are overwritten with
  new cities.

  SCURK can recover save slots which have been deactivated this way. It can
  also selectively deactivate or reactivate slots.


  Delete save slot
  ------------------------
  While this is self-explanatory, note that deletion isn't permanent until
  the save data are saved to file.


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JUST FOR FUN - MAPS
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  SCURK can render the entire city map (with option to save as a .png image)
  in three different styles: SNES, analysis, and isometric. The SNES map is a
  default SimCity® map render; the analysis map renders the analytical view
  from the Slot editor (described above); and the isometric map provides a
  2.5-D pseudo-isometric render of the city, with much more third-dimension
  depth than the original 2-D map.

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