The diagonal streets mod

[xcalbier 43]

my own personly Pond lots i made boats on the water resort falls the whole 9 yards.

Ps used added texturs from peg and others to creat these lots.

[frimi2 0]

A new Version is online :-) Many things added, many things left to go. You can get it here .

Have fun :-)

[frimi2 0]

I'm sure, that one (may be another one or two or so ;-) Tiles are still at the loose, but found allmost I think. They are implemented yet and you can find it here . Have fun

[inuyasha fan 0]

I dont know if this has been suggested or not and I am not going to read the whole thread but in stead of using the highway values cant you substitute road values instead?

 

[Cjah 15]

You sould always try and read the whole tread...must treads like this are 20 to 80 pages long so be thankful for that.....

[Andreas Roth 607]

Date: 5/27/2005 7:36:10 PM Author: inuyasha fan

I dont know if this has been suggested or not and I am not going to read the whole thread but in stead of using the highway values cant you substitute road values instead?

quote>

Yes, we will mod the ANT to act more like a street, when it comes to capacity and speeds (both actual vehicle speed and automata). The costs will be changed, too, as well as the icon (it will be moved into the roads menu and feature a street-texture look). Unfortuately, Tropod has to change one entry in the main NAM file, since you will have doubled ANT icons otherwise. I already talked to him, so the next NAM version will take care of this issue. It's already under development, so I think a public release is to be expected in the near future.

[lakeyboy 12]

Just thought I would help you guys out. Here is one ANT piece you missed:
https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//Texture%20Bug.JPG align=baseline>
The grid lines are showing. It's where 2 ant networks end in the same grid square. Hope this helps. This is a great mod, but if you look at the NAM development thread, the ANT network is fast being used to make One Way Highways[:0]

[Teirusu 38]

Fast?  ;  No, not really, that was just an experiment which ended up becoming successful.  It'll take quite a bit more code to make it really useful, but I am planning on creating it.  It'll take some time though and, I'd prefer to find another way to create diagonal streets first before before turning ANT into a highway kit.  Also, we'll need the textures anyway to make that possible.

 

-Teirusu

[Andreas Roth 607]

Date: 5/28/2005 11:41:58 PM Author: Teirusu

Fast?  ;  No, not really, that was just an experiment which ended up becoming successful.  It'll take quite a bit more code to make it really useful, but I am planning on creating it.  It'll take some time though and, I'd prefer to find another way to create diagonal streets first before before turning ANT into a highway kit.  Also, we'll need the textures anyway to make that possible.

quote>

I must admit I don't fully understand the purpose of those one-way highways - besides of splitting a highway in hilly terrain or maybe in combination with some puzzle pieces for some neat flyovers/el-highway bridges in cities. As far as I've seen, you plan to add additional code lines in the main RUL file - would this make the current diagonal streets mod useless if you install the street textures? Or would it still be possible to create more than one ANT plugin (one-way highways, diagonal streets) and select and use the one you prefer (unless we'll find another way for creating diagonal streets)?

[abcd 5]

Date: 5/29/2005 10:47:19 AM Author: Andreas Roth

Date: 5/28/2005 11:41:58 PM Author: Teirusu

Fast?  ;  No, not really, that was just an experiment which ended up becoming successful.  It'll take quite a bit more code to make it really useful, but I am planning on creating it.  It'll take some time though and, I'd prefer to find another way to create diagonal streets first before before turning ANT into a highway kit.  Also, we'll need the textures anyway to make that possible.

quote>

I must admit I don't fully understand the purpose of those 'one-way highways' - besides of splitting a highway in hilly terrain or maybe in combination with some puzzle pieces for some neat 'flyovers'/el-highway bridges in cities. As far as I've seen, you plan to add additional code lines in the main RUL file - would this make the current diagonal streets mod useless if you install the street textures? Or would it still be possible to create more than one ANT plugin (one-way highways, diagonal streets) and select and use the one you prefer (unless we'll find another way for creating diagonal streets)?

 

quote>

I think someone just created oneway highway Puzzle Pieces!!!   There is a Thread about it but I cant find it anymore!   Do somebody know where to find it?

[frimi2 0]

Date: 5/29/2005 1:14:31 PM Author: abcd

I think someone just created oneway highway Puzzle Pieces!!!  There is a Thread about it but I cant find it anymore!  Do somebody know where to find it?

quote>

Seek for the latest posts of Teirusu

[inuyasha fan 0]

About the diagonal streets mine don't work. I have the latest NAM and everything, they just don't show up in the menu.

 

[frimi2 0]

It's all discussed in this thread

[Teirusu 38]

To be fair Andreas I really don't understand using ANT for diagonal streets either since sim's can't get onto them in the first place.  However, at this moment I'd rather have diagonal streets in some form then none at all.  Also, I didn't replace any textures to do what I did, just added code to swap out textures in some configurations.  So, technically, the modds could co-exist together, the only conflicts would be about speed and capacity.  Moreover, they wouldn't be just one-way/split level highways.  At it's core it'll still be a single-tile wide rural highway.  Only when you drag two stretches next to eachother, or connect it to ground highways would it become a one-way highway. 

 

In any case, like I said, I'd perfer to find another way to make diagonal streets before finishing and releasing that.  I know 7th mentioned working on it, but if he ends up taking an extended hiatus for RL I might just start on it.  I have a general idea what he was planning I believe, at least I think I do.  ;

[Andreas Roth 607]

Well, I don't know very much about creating puzzle pieces and other network stuff, so using an existing - but presumably not that widely used - network seemed to be the easiest way to create some diagonal streets, which I always wanted to have. frimi created the textures, and I made a small mod that provides a new icon, new speeds and such (not released yet, as stated above) - so it was possible to create a whole new thing without any deeper knowledge. Some weeks ago, the modding scene was quite silent, since nearly all members of the old Modd Squad seemed to have some severe RLS. I'm really glad you guys are coming back, and if there's another (better) possibility to create functional diagonal streets, I'd be glad to support it as good as I can.

 

Following the logic that lies behind the ANT, neither diagonal streets nor highways were intended by Maxis - and I still could think of the creation of real dirt roads to avoid the drawbacks that happen in combination with the usage of your good old dirt road mod - but that's another story, of course. Actually, what I wanted to say is that we always should take care of other projects and try to avoid any incompatibilities when more than one mod uses the same base for different developments. Seeing this discussion (and others as well), I'm really glad all modders are working together, sharing knowledge and such, regardless if they are old stagers or fresh blood. Just let me take the chance and thank you for all your effort, I really appreciate it.

[Teirusu 38]

<b>Date:</b> 5/29/2005 7:25:22 PM
<b>Author:</b> Andreas Roth
<DIV>Well, I don't know very much about creating puzzle pieces and other network stuff, so using an existing - but presumably not that widely used - network seemed to be the easiest way to create some diagonal streets, which I always wanted to have. frimi created the textures, and I made a small mod that provides a new icon, new speeds and such (not released yet, as stated above) - so it was possible to create a whole new thing without any deeper knowledge. Some weeks ago, the modding scene was quite silent, since nearly all members of the old Modd Squad seemed to have some severe RLS. I'm really glad you guys are coming back, and if there's another (better) possibility to create functional diagonal streets, I'd be glad to support it as good as I can.</DIV>

<DIV> </DIV>

<DIV>Following the logic that lies behind the ANT, neither diagonal streets nor highways were intended by Maxis - and I still could think of the creation of 'real' dirt roads to avoid the drawbacks that happen in combination with the usage of your good old dirt road mod - but that's another story, of course. <IMG src='https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/2.gif'> Actually, what I wanted to say is that we always should take care of other projects and try to avoid any incompatibilities when more than one mod uses the same base for different developments. Seeing this discussion (and others as well), I'm really glad all modders are working together, sharing knowledge and such, regardless if they are 'old stagers' or 'fresh blood'. Just let me take the chance and thank you for all your effort, I really appreciate it. <IMG src='https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/1.gif'></DIV>

quote>

Aww, thank you Andreas.  It's people like you that honestly keep me here. Not the game, I haven't made a real city in SC4 since... forever.

And I totally understand, I always wanted to do split highways in SC4, and when I discovered the dirtroad network in RH back in '03 (And also the sad fact that sims couldn't get on it directly.)  I thought it was the perfect way to go... I just needed to figure out how.  ^^;  So, had I been in your shoes I would have done the samething.

Speaking of dirt roads... and cobblestone, and brick streets, etc.  There is another, and I believe, better way to make them all work while avoiding some of the drawbacks.  The idea is turn the mentioned (Or any other) textures into flat props then put them into network lots (21 exemplars).  Then, using the network lots you can precisely control what zones and wealth levels they appear around.  The benefit (I'm hopeing) is that network lots are handled a little different then the textures.  The textures are only influenced by the buildings right next to them, so half the length of street could have a medium wealth textures and the other half might be low wealth or high wealth textures.  Network lots, on the other-hand, seem to cascade down the leg of a network.  The effect is fairly noticeable with avenues.

 

-Teirusu

[kassarc16 4]

Date: 5/30/2005 1:53:52 AM Author: Teirusu

Speaking of dirt roads... and cobblestone, and brick streets, etc.&nbsp; There is another, and I believe, better way to make them all work while avoiding some of the drawbacks.&nbsp; The idea is turn the mentioned (Or any other) textures into flat props then put them into network lots (21 exemplars).&nbsp; Then, using the network lots you can precisely control what zones and wealth levels they appear around.&nbsp; The benefit (I'm hopeing) is that network lots are handled a little different then the textures.&nbsp; The textures are only influenced by the buildings right next to them, so half the length of street could have a medium wealth textures and the other half might be low wealth or high wealth textures.&nbsp; Network lots, on the other-hand, seem to cascade down the leg of a network.&nbsp; The effect is fairly noticeable with avenues.

-Teirusu

quote>

 

Ah! Very nice one! If it would work, it'd be a great mod.

[Teirusu 38]

Here we go.  I had to take a small break from 2x2 roundabouts (My head is spinning...   Okay, bad joke... ) so I decided to see what I could code in terms of true diagonal streets by detecting 'zig-zags' like Trumpets mentioned.  Here's a pic.

 

It's no where near done, but it works quite nicely considering the limitations.  Unfortunately, you can't drag long stretches of diagonal street.  You have to drag two tiles at a time, but that's better then puzzle pieces and homes can develope along side them.  Btw, awesome textures guys.

 

-Teirusu

[yticmic 87]

wow! keep it up, diagonal streets would be great!

[vil 3]

Just wanted to thank andreas and teirusu for being andreas and teirusu.

With cobblestone AND diagonal streets AND trams AND dirt roads we are getting close to an actual european version of this game after a few extra years of development.

 

Who says this game is old?

[Andreas Roth 607]

Wow, that's great news, Teirusu! With the new NAM, I could easily change the ANT plugin to have the look, capacity, speeds and costs of the regular street (in the previous NAM version, I had to deal with doubled icons and such), but a more functional diagonal street tool is to be preferred, of course.

 

What do you think, guys, should I release the modified ANT anyways? Being some kind of rural highway, I think the grey textures are still fitting, and esp. for those long stretches in rural development, a draggable tool would be more convenient, I guess. It's up to you, most of the work has been done already, I'd only have to change the traffic and automata plugins for the new speeds and capacities (or write a small tutorial how to do it on your own).

[jeronij 13]

Date: 6/9/2005 7:36:19 AM Author: Andreas Roth

Wow, that's great news, Teirusu! With the new NAM, I could easily change the ANT plugin to have the look, capacity, speeds and costs of the regular street (in the previous NAM version, I had to deal with doubled icons and such), but a more functional diagonal street tool is to be preferred, of course.

What do you think, guys, should I release the modified ANT anyways? Being some kind of 'rural highway', I think the grey textures are still fitting, and esp. for those long stretches in rural development, a draggable tool would be more convenient, I guess. It's up to you, most of the work has been done already, I'd only have to change the traffic and automata plugins for the new speeds and capacities (or write a small tutorial how to do it on your own).

Hi Andreas, first I have to say GREAT WORK  !!! with the modified ANT. I am using it in my cities, and gives much more flexibility .

After seeing the development of the diagonal streets that Teirusu is actually working on,  ,  it seems that there is a way to keep the normal streets having the option to drag digonal streets, even long trams are not availabe (yet) and the diagonal streets must be drawn two tiles by two tiles. When this option was just  a dream, your mod was really useful. If this tool comes a reallity, then your mod would not be so necessary .

 

My suggestion, which is not original, since someone mentioned something like this before, would be to take profit of the additional ANT tool to get some sort of rural road. There are different types that you could choose, but anyone of them would mean re-texturing ALL the tiles probably . (I hope frimi2 is sitting on a chair when reading this ).

 

I think this would really add a necessary functionality to this tool, and I think it would also keep somehow the original intention of the mod, giving to the ANT a real aditional function, wich at least half of the SC4 players would like to use .  Not everybody likes to build dense cities, rural areas are also really pleasant for the players, and if we want to use some sort of existing mod ( like Trolca

[Andreas Roth 607]

Ok, for those who already use the diagonal street textures or who can't wait for the version Teirusu is working on, here's the final version:

 

Download the Diagonal Streets Mod here.   (about 1.9 MB) Before using this mod, make sure the following things:

 

- Please download and install the latest version of the NAM (NetworkAddonMod_Beta_06.08.05.zip or nam_beta_06_08_05.zip).

- Remove any previous (beta) versions of the diagonal streets mod.

- Please read the readme file! It is important to read the installation instructions in order to get the mod working properly.

 

In this version, the following changes to the ANT have been made:

 

- All textures have been changed to look like the street network. (There still may be some textures that aren't converted yet, but most of them have been done.)

- The speeds and capacities, as well as the costs are the same as with the streets. (Due to technical reasons, there are no monthly costs shown in the budget window; most likely this cannot be changed.)

- The menu icon has been moved to the road menu, just above the regular streets icon. If you use colored cursors, the cursor will reflect the texture change as well.

 

I included a couple of modified Automata and Traffic Plugin files that originally came with the NAM. If you're using one that isn't included or if you made a custom one, please refer to the readme file for instructions how to modify them for usage with the diagonal streets mod. If there are any questions left, feel free to post them here.

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Yhea... Personally if we can get true diagonal streets, leaving us with a free ANT, I'd prefer to do what Maxis wanted originally: some sort of rural highway. It would be great to have the option to have a higher capacity rural road which didn't have the fresh asphalt look of the inner city roads. Something with big, wide, lanes with a tar-sealed street kinda texture... Something which looks more at home linking dirt roads with the city than regular roads do.

Having the rural highway (or whatever you call it) as our extra draggable would mean that the ideal texturing solution for most would be to have the rural dirt roads with some sort of NAM puzzle piece solution for those strets you want to be brick, cobblestone, dirt, tar sealed, whatever. Currently I love the brick streets, for example, but the way they grow due to game limitations (such as a rich neighborhood with one $ house might make the entire street brick except for the corner or the intersection....) is frustrating. Be nice to be able to pick and choose the brick areas, as they don't need dragging nearly as much as the dirt roads. After all, frankly I like the idea of having the ability to let some rich neighborhoods be brick but others just be street textures, cobblestones, whatever.


-GM

Edit: Doh. That'll teach me to wander away from a post before I'm done... By the time I finished writing Andreas posted and makes it look as if I'm replying to him.

Either way: woot! Download!

[Teirusu 38]

Key words being, It's no where near done.    This will take quite a bit of code to really work right and might end up having a few limitations.  There can really only be so many different configurations I can bleed from 'zig-zags'.  The reality is, this is like taking hamburger meat, mashing it together in the form of a cow, then putting a cow hide over the mass of beef and calling it a cow.  It might look like a cow, be made of parts from a cow... but it definitely isn't a cow. 

[frimi2 0]

Date: 6/9/2005 6:54:30 PM Author: Teirusu Key words being, 'It's no where near done.'&nbsp; &nbsp; This will take quite a bit of code to really work right and might end up having a few limitations.&nbsp; There can really only be so many different configurations I can bleed from 'zig-zags'.&nbsp; The reality is, this is like taking hamburger meat, mashing it together in the form of a cow, then putting a cow hide over the mass of beef and calling it a cow.&nbsp; It might look like a cow, be made of parts from a cow... but it definitely isn't a cow.

quote>

 

As long it gives milk and it makes mooh ... it doesn't care

[Teirusu 38]

Date: 6/9/2005 7:05:17 PM Author: frimi2

Date: 6/9/2005 6:54:30 PM Author: Teirusu Key words being, 'It's no where near done.'&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; This will take quite a bit of code to really work right and might end up having a few limitations.&amp;nbsp; There can really only be so many different configurations I can bleed from 'zig-zags'.&amp;nbsp; The reality is, this is like taking hamburger meat, mashing it together in the form of a cow, then putting a cow hide over the mass of beef and calling it a cow.&amp;nbsp; It might look like a cow, be made of parts from a cow... but it definitely isn't a cow.

quote>

As long it gives milk and it makes mooh ... it doesn't care

quote>

 

Great... Sounds like I'll have to go all Doctor Frankenstein on this one. 

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//diastreet02.JPG align=baseline>

 

Just a few intersections I managed to code for... out of many, very many. ^^;  So no moohing or milk yet.

 

-Teirusu

[Swamper77 90]

Teirusu,

Thanks for the update on your work with making diagonal streets. I was about to ask if could connect orthagonal streets to the diagonal sections. Your pic answered that.

-Swamper77

[Dutchdragon 74]

Thanks for this mod, I'm definitly going to use it!!

[Guinnessmonkey 0]

Go Tierusu go!

*cracks the whip!*


Oh, and there's no way to split up the workload at all, is there? I'd be more than happy to help with such a worthy project.

Edit: And Tierusu: It might not be mooing yet, but at least its standing up on four legs.