I want to help.

For anyone that may be interested:
I have some extra time.
I'd like to work on making some XL plazas XXL compatable and/or creating new plazas from scratch. Not looking for credit, I just want more good things for building realistic cities. What you can put between and around the cool buildings and roads can make a huge difference in realism.
I can use Pak/Unpack and Notepad++ and know some things about using/editing textures. I've experimented with some plaza files already, but with little success.
All I need ...I think... is a recipe(lack of a better word). The more specific the instructions, the less I'll need to request of someone else's valuable time.

 

I've managed to successfully exchange my own textures with a couple of png files, alter some file names and create additional plazas (cloned class & layout files) to the same data/design folder. I'm afraid I don't have 3ds to replace any dds files.
No success in changing paths in order to create stand alone plazas.

My challenge at the moment is trying to edit some existing XL plazas so they wont crash XXL. I copy/pasted a "tag" line from a working XXL plaza, still crashed.
Copy/pasted some lines that appeared to be missing in the XL layout files: example
<NormalMapIntensity>0.6999999881</NormalMapIntensity>
<DetailLodDistanceNearFar>0,0</DetailLodDistanceNearFar>
still crashed.

I need a better understanding of how to read and interpret the lines in the class, layout, and other files.

 

..........\data\interface\ddstexture\buildings\xxx.dds
These .dds files are only for the interface icons(thumbnails), correct?
Can any other file format be used instead?
Do they affect the actual game display or function of the mod (a plaza for example) in any way?

 

I have the dds plugin for Gimp and thanks for the verification.

 

Issue: XL Plaza mods crashing XXL(2015)
The plazas work well when placed properly between roads, but, with a plaza selected, and the cursor is positioned at any point outside of roads with the "area not enclosed by roads" prompt showing, the game will freeze momentarily and then crash.

Fix: Edit this line in the .class file of an XL plaza mod. Change ### to a maximum of 40.

<SurfaceOperation>
<ExpandWidth>###</ExpandWidth>

I'm sure not everyone has this issue. Maybe just me.
There may be other or even better fixes, but this is the only one I could find.
Attached is a text file showing a list of plaza mods that I've edited and tested with success in eliminating any crashes.

 

I'm sure the capabilities of a PC has a lot to do with mod performance. I'm running a fairly strong machine with an Intel i7 core and an older Radeon 6900 card.

 

Perhaps a couple of resources you may not have tried yet.
Free textures for 3D modeling, design and game development
[CG Textures] - Textures for 3D, graphic design and Photoshop!

I lost all of my resource bookmarks, not to mention all the other things, with a pc crash last month. These I remember.