13 thoughts on “Virtual Memory and how to use it

  1. snoopy55

    Posted by Ozz 2018/06/09 at 6:48 pm:
    This tool is in my opinion far better than the 3GB Enabler, which causes much stress trying to work out how to follow their instructions. Whereas, the 4GB Patch is a one click fix and much easier to follow. I have re-worded the README File to make it easier to understand, as the original readme was written in a way from a professional & technical point of view.

    4GB Patch 1.0.0.1 ( Download the Patch from http://ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php )
    4GB PATCH README by Daniel Pistelli @ NCORE:
    This tool was originally created for a friend who needed it. Otherwise, it would not have been written.

    WHAT IT DOES
    It automatically upgrades (Patches) the 2GB Virtual Memory to a total of 4GB Virtual Memory, within the Executable file (*.exe file) of a x86 Platform based Program or Application.

    WHAT IS AN EXECUTIVE FILE (*.exe file)
    In simple terms, it is that “Icon” which you click on to start up a Program, usually found on your Desktop.

    This tool allows your Program or Application to run more fluently on x64 Platforms, greatly reducing the problem of insufficient Virtual Memory, which may cause programs to stop or crash. It’s a great Tool for Old Applications that need a lot of Virtual Memory for Games, 3D Renderization, Multimedia etc.

    WHAT TO DO
    Once Downloaded, click on the Tool and find the Executable file (*.exe file) of the Program or Application you want upgraded to gain these extra 2GBs. It is located in one or the other C/Program Files… within the folder of the Program name. The other way to find it is through the Command Line. Look in the “Start Menu” and find “Run” then type “4gb_patch file.exe” and locate the file. It will automatically create a backup copy of the original executable within that folder.

    WHAT CAUSES THIS PROBLEM
    The reason why things are this way on x64 is easy to explain. On x86 applications have 2GB of Virtual Memory out of 4GB (The other 2GBs are reserved for the Operating System). On x64 the other 2GBs can now be accessed by 32bit Applications.

    TECHNICAL EXPLANATION
    In order to achieve this, a “Flag” has to be set in the file’s “Internal Format”. This is common knowledge for professionals in this industry who do it everyday with the CFF Explorer. However, there are many others who don’t even know this can be achieved. This was another reason why this tool was made.

    Cheers from Ozz

  2. snoopy55

    Posted by railage 2018/06/10 at 10:39 pm:
    Hi Ozz,
    SMRI has been superseded by the SAM: Stand-alone map system. There is a very good reason for this. There is a bug in the game where it’s impossible for some files to be local. For example the RRT_Goods XML file must be Global.

    Local files, have a suffix for that map, such as RRT_Cities_Cajun_Country. It’s possible for multiples to coexist safely.

    Global files don’t have a suffix. That would be RRT_Goods. There can only be one in the entire …My Games\Sid Meiers Railroads! folder. If there is more than one there, the game will give preference to the one that was saved last.

    There is simple brilliance in how the SAM system avoids the bugs. No need for a technical explanation which those who just want to play aren’t going to read anyway.

    If it seems hard to switch between SAM maps, my solution is to have all in the UserMaps folder, but all zipped. Then I unzip the one I want to play, taking care to delete the previous one, so I only have one unzipped at a time. If I am tinkering with a map and I want to just play a bit, I zip it up till I feel like coming back to it.

  3. snoopy55

    Posted by Slider38 2018/06/11 at 6:01 am:
    As an alternative to the zipping and unzipping, I have about 6 games currently in my “My Games” folder – Sid Meier’s RailroadsCajun_Country, Sid Meier’s RailroadsConnecticut, Sid Meier’s Railroads, (which is my test map), Sid Meier’s RailroadsMinnesotaRails, etc. I just have to do 2 name changes to run any map I want. If I want to work on Cajun_Country, I just rename The Sid Meier’s Railroads map to Sid Meier’s RailroadsPractice _Run (my test map) and rename Sid Meier’s RailroadsCajun_Country to Sid Meier’s Railroads. Whichever map has that name is the one that the game will use. It does use some extra disk space, but with the size of today’s harddrives, I don’t think that’s an issue.

  4. snoopy55

    Ozz – One of the main reasons SAMs were created was this game insisting that it must have everything in it’s hand, whether it needs it or not. If you were to build a map that did not use any of the games original materials it would still load every one of them! If you have 5 maps installed in the Sid Meier’s Railroads! folder, it will load every Good, Train Car, Engine, Industry and anything else that was there other than the XMLs. I cannot tell you how much memory it uses because it is written with FPK files which pack materials into a single file. I had to search for and download a copy of it as I never liked it in the first place, it just used to much memory.

    Every map in it has been written as a SAM. And, as I posted in Nov of 2008, “While it was a great thing when it came out, it’s like the Model A Ford… outdated” And another part of that post… “Second, Memory. While a lot of the maps will run OK on 2 Gb of memory, many need more. 4 Gb memory and 4 Gb of virtual memory set for a drive that is not your main drive. What is happening is this, this game is stupid. It does not look at what map you are playing and then go thru it’s toy box and get the parts it needs, it grabs the whole toy box, slings it over it’s shoulder, then goes and grabs the map you want to play. So, with SMRI, even if you are playing one of the Original maps, it will have all the new Mods loaded. It takes more memory for storage, and you have less memory for playing.”

    When you made your post above, you wrote ‘ it is better to just have 4 cities minimum, ‘… did you mean ‘ it is better to just have 4 cities maximum, ‘? I cannot remember if there is a limit of Cities, or, except for Goods, a limit on anything. As the sign on my computer says, Been There, Done That, Can’t remember. Once a problem like that was found, researched and solved, once I got it in my head and actions, I tended to forget about it, it became automatic.

    Do as Slider suggests, rename your Sid Meier’s Railroads! folder to Sid Meier’s Railroads! SMRI and restart the game. It will work up another Sid Meier’s Railroads! folder with all the folders needed. One thing you will have to change in it is the Settings.ini file. Copy it from your SMRI folder and paste it into the new folder. ( note to Slider….. you forgot the ‘!’ in your folder names. It HAS to be there) You can also do the map naming with the UserMaps, adding the map name to the end of it. The CustomAssets folder HAS to be empty to do this. All those files can be put in a folder like ‘Warehouse’ in the UserMaps folder. You will see this in the Connecticut SAM.

    Go over to http://www.sidmeiersrailroads.net/ and find out what we have there. The Building Blocks (BBs), posts and other maps there are a treasure chest of data and information. Post your finished maps for testing and create BBs from your maps for others to see and use. Once your maps are working correctly you can post them on this forum and Warll will post them here on his Map Database. We also have Construction Kits which allow you to skin your own Engines, Industries and Train Cars. Tutorials can also help you to do works of art with this game.

  5. snoopy55

    Posted by Ozz 2018/06/19 at 6:08 am:
    Re Slider38 & Railage:

    Hi Guys, with regard to what I said about my map mentioned above, so far I realized I needed to remove all SMRI maps and files from UserMaps & CustomAssets to stop any clashing of files. I didn’t get back to my map I created to test any changes, but after removing the SMRI stuff, the Cajun Map worked better.

    I am not any IT expert. Also the explanation in my previous post is the 4GB PATCH README by Daniel Pistelli at NCORE. (It is not my work) I assume that he is Italian and his original wording and phrasing of his original readme was hard to understand, therefore I did my best to make it readable and easier to understand for everyone, without changing his main points or principle in discussion.

    (1) So first of all, I mentioned previously how the 4GB PATCH works perfect for me and not the 3GB Enabler.

    (2) Although I haven’t as yet got back to my map (to test after removal of SMRI), in that part when I wrote of it, I used the phrase “minimum of 4 Cities”. I mean’t to say then, possibly a maximum of 4 cities. BUT now, I think this may not be the issue, bcos I forgot I had SMRI installed at that time. However, I will get back to my map to test it again.

    (3) I haven’t got the foggiest idea about SAM and what you were referring to which SAM superseded.

  6. snoopy55

    Posted by Slider38 2018/06/20 at 6:00 am:
    The purpose of creating SAM maps is simply to prevent the game from loading every file built into it. By creating Stand Alone Maps the game only loads the files that your map requires leaving more memory available for game play.

  7. snoopy55

    Posted by Ozz 2018/06/20 at 12:53 pm:
    Oh is that all a SAM is. I thought by the way it was spoken about, that it must be a special way or thing that automatically fixes stuff, but didn’t know how.

    I was confused about all the instructions of what one was supposed to do to bypass the extra load of files which overloads the game.

    With that said, I have made a very nice (15×15 Map), using a random landscape from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). I have placed numerous cities around about it and currently adding the landscape and decorations etc.

    However, when I play this map, sooner or lated, it freezes up and crashes to the Desktop I don’t know why or what is causing this. I have removed everything from all folders which are not original, including saves. Still crashes, but is a very pleasant map to play.

    I have patched the .exe file with 4GB Patch 1.0.0.1 ( Download the Patch from http://ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php )
    by Daniel Pistelli at NCORE

    So at this point, I am thinking that the more your map has lots and lots of mountainous regions, plus lots and lots of decorations AND Cities, it has to be using up a lot of memory to hold and store this data while I play. If this be the case, it is very disappointing to say, that there is no point of making such a nice map for all to enjoy if it is only going to crash.

  8. snoopy55

    Posted by Ozz 2018/06/20 at 12:56 pm:
    I forgot to mention, this game was continuously crashing on me before I used the 4GB Patch.

    I’m running Windows 10 on my Gaming Built PC

  9. snoopy55

    Posted by railage 2018/06/20 at 8:15 pm:
    Don’t give up. The game is a bit of a diva, as the need for SAM system illustrates. But people like Snoopy55 have spent enough time trying to understand the game, that there is now enough info around that anyone can get the game to behave sensibly. In your case, which I interpreted as a random crash some time after starting the map while using default assets, the cause is likely to be an event file crash.

    Open your event XML file, then delete everything and paste this instead:
    [code]

    GLOBAL_RECESSION

    GLOBAL_STOCK_DECREASE

    GLOBAL_BOOM

    [/code]

    Fingers crossed this comment section will get that correct. I will post again if not.

  10. snoopy55

    Posted by railage 2018/06/20 at 8:23 pm:
    Good, that worked. You need to copy the section of code after the red text: RRT_Events_MAPNAME.XML. Make sure to be accurate. Obviously stop before the sentence “Quoting Snoopy.”

    PS. It might be better to start a thread for yourself in the forum. That way you can upload your map and I can double check the diagnosis plus give you a ready-made replacement file that will fix the problem with all naming and everything correct.

  11. Willard Payton

    This site is a great resource. Keep up with the great work and thanks for explanations tat help those of us who are not computer savvy.

  12. Tallyho

    I am using windows 10 and windows 7 64 bit Intel duel core 3.16 G E8500.
    8 g mem MSI HD6450 2 gig video card.. For some reason this patch is not working for me. I sent it to exe it says it’s good I run the program and it starts okay but when i get to Dec jan 1886 the game crashes on Nafta 2.

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