SC4 Converter

Extract text from SimCity 4 game saves (SC4)

Select File
Drop or upload your .SC4 file

Online File Converter

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How to extract text from your SC4 file

Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your SC4 file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert SC4 to another file type

To convert SC4 saves to another format, you need SimCity 4 or other Game software.

Convert a file to SC4

To convert other file formats to the "Saved Game / Audio" file type, you need software like SimCity 4 or a similar tool.

About SC4 files

The .SC4 extension primarily refers to saved city files created by SimCity 4, the classic city-building simulation game by Maxis and Electronic Arts. These files store detailed topographical data, zoning layouts, and simulation states within a proprietary container format known as DBPF (Database Packed File). While essential for gameplay, .SC4 files are notoriously difficult to access outside the game; they cannot be opened by standard image viewers or text editors, making it hard to share city snapshots without loading the full simulation.

A significant portion of .SC4 files are actually legacy digital voice recordings generated by older Panasonic and Sony portable recorders (such as the DMR1000). These audio files often use proprietary ADPCM compression to save space on limited device storage. The primary friction point for users today is compatibility: modern media players like VLC and Windows Media Player frequently fail to recognize the codec, leaving valuable voice memos or interviews inaccessible.

Conversion Recommendations:

For Audio: To preserve these recordings, it is crucial to convert the proprietary .SC4 audio to a widely supported format like MP3 or WAV. This ensures the audio can be played on smartphones and web browsers.

Convert.Guru analyzes your SC4 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted SC4MODEL, SGS, WHS, RSG and SC3 files.

FAQ

If you want to convert SC4 file to EXE, ISO, BIN, CUE, PAK, WAD, PK3, PK4, BSP, MAP, SAV or DAT, you can use SimCity 4 or similar software from the "SimCity 4 City Save" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert MOD, BIN, CFG, SCX, DAT, MPQ, LOG, CUE, INI, EXE, SCM or ISO files to SC4, try SimCity 4 or another comparable tool in the "SimCity 4 City Save" category.

The SC4 Converter Story

The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our SC4 converter.