OMG!!! just now figured this out after years of play!!!

[Tysons4 68]

so i was reading thru the manuel and i came accross a passage that reads

"To build an irregular or overall diagonal route , hold the [shift] key down with your selected transportation network tool"

i then loaded the game, did what it said, and got this

How cool is this... maybe everyone knows this already but anyways.... just thought i would share my recent discovery.

 

edit: works with all network types except street (powerlines have some interesting curves)...  it's not a fact that the road is diagonal, but bending in the middle

[thingfishs 417]

that's cool. it is a little time saver. It doesn't work for streets of course, but for all transport networks that can do diagonals already.

It took me years of playing and moving around my region by dragging my mouse to the corner of the screen (or using the mini map) before I realised you could hold the right click and move around a lot more freely.

[Nuclear550 3]

My god! All that time spent doing one little measly road done with a quick press of shift and down. Thx this helped!

[City Planner 121]

I had no idea, I'd just been dragging them off in a diagonal direction to see if they were capable of doing that. Guess I'll have to try it with the shift key now to see if there were any that could not be dragged diagonally without the shift key and see if I missd.

Pffft, manuals?  We don't need no stinkin' manuals.  Manuals are for girliemen.

No no senior, I think we do need manuals, we need them very much, even if you don't gonna read them.

Pedro, when was the last time you read a manual?

Si senior, I read the manual to cities xl, but it get me nowhere.

Pedro, why am I talking to you on here?

I don't know senior, me thinks that you need more than 1 hours sleep in 8 days maybe.

Maybe Pedro, maybe.

[Larks2242 251]

Interesting i have never tried that thanks for the tip!

[local_authority01 3]

The shift and alt keys can also be used when zoning to remove auto-roads and to help your lots face a certain way.  Diagonal roads can help add realisim to cities.  Too bad you cant zone or build diagonally.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

This needs to be in the Omnibus!

[kingdiz_55 12]

This is surely something new. We were probably too excited to play the game to look through the manual.

[Mayor Dylan Thomas 2]

Im impressed...

[gio10469 24]

Guess you really do learn something new everyday. Good to know!

[MsProll21 0]

Well, actually I didn't know that. I never use diagonal networks but that's a good tip. Thanks for pointing this out.

[mrbisonm 1,622]

*sigh*, did anyone read the instruction manual (besides me)....that came along with the game ?....lol....I don't believe that so many folks didn't know the oldest thing there is in SC4...dohhh!

[Yonk 2]

I read the instruction manual while it was installing... or at least the first few pages and stuff. I figured there wasn't much new to learn because it was basically the same as SC3K except more complicated and with more stuff. I mean, by comparison, you'd need a manual the size of Gray's Anatomy to explain how to do everything that's been added to the game that I've found since then ^^

- Yonk

[830point35 8]

pssht Reading the manual. Weirdo.

Be nice. 

-Moderator

[jdenm8 362]

Wow. SC4 is probably the only game in my collection that I haven't read the manual for. I wonder if there are any other little manual secrets like this in there...

[Yonk 2]

I just keep the manual for reference. Things I can't remember completely, like the prerequisites and unlocked rewards for U-Drive It missions, the number of residents of each wealth level needed to get medium and dense buildings, and some of the more obscure keyboard commands. I memorized most of the keyboard commands, actually... (they've basically been the same since SC3K) and except for custom content, any parks, and NAM puzzle pieces, I don't ever have to open the toolbars, which is really helpful.

- Yonk

[pckiller 1]

Manual, what is that?

[JLAAPRTM 12]

I got my SC4 game in the Sim City Box, (Sim sictiy socities, simciy socities destinations, SC4, Rush hour expansion pack, and Sim carnival: Snap City) and no manuals were included!

But i did download the manual and i read it.

[mrbisonm 1,622]

lol......I guess, everyones rushing to the manual and read it now, right?......lol

If you guys didn't know this above of the game, maybe there's more.....? I suppose not everything is in the instructionbooklet.

I remember having seen an aircrash of theose military planes once and then it had parachutists, that was something that surprized me back then, also a fellow in a chair with balloons flying by and a tugboat making a line of yellow buoys and the sparks and fires that some powerlines produce (haven't figured that one out yet, why).

But after 7 years of playing, I don't think there's something left for me to see that the game can produce (maybe a seamonster like in SC3K?, nahhhh), besides some crazy glitches that come up once in awhile here and there.

Anyways, maybe after all Tysons-4 DID make a good find....

mrb

[Legosim 14]

Originally posted by: pckiller

Manual, what is that?quote>

lol  

I never knew this, must go build a new town now

[Cleaner475 150]

Never knew about this and I've actually read the manual - don't remember seeing this but I'll try it out

Thanks, nice discovery

Richard

[thingfishs 417]

Originally posted by: mrbisonm

also a fellow in a chair with balloons flying by 

mrbquote>

? I haven't seen that one... I remember the story though.

[BlackStar 0]

Yep, that's lawnchair larry, one of the easter eggs in SimCity 4. There's a mention of it on Wikipedia if you fancy a look.

I got 2x SC4 boxes and a RH box and cannot see anything about this feature in any of them! I've never used shift to make 'clean' turns, you can simply drag the network out by a further tile from the orthogonal piece, then at an angle of < 45° (left or right). Its a bit hard to explain in text but it's just in the way you draw the network which determines the corner type.

You can also use this method to make a large-radius 90° turn within 3 tiles.

[local_authority01 3]

Originally posted by: mrbisonm

*sigh*, did anyone read the instruction manual (besides me)....that came along with the game ?....lol....I don't believe that so many folks didn't know the oldest thing there is in SC4...dohhh!quote>

SC4 + Rush Hour is probably the most complex computer game on the market and has been since its release.  Multiple times I have read both manuals, the strategy guide, the omnibus, etc. and I am still learning new things about this game.  Though the strategy of this game seems easy, there are a lot of things in your city that are happening behind the scenes and the game mechanics are astounding.

If you are interested in learning more about SC4 + Rush hour, I highly recommend the prima strategy guide.  It is useful to newbies and SC4 veterans alike.

[TGYoshi 0]

Hmz, never knew this .

I never read manuals. =D

Some people aren't even using diagonal stuff.. Give me one reason why. Messy city's with roads everywere.. That's just awesome .

[Raceman95 3]

maybe this is the last discovery out there and no more.

like oil

[local_authority01 3]

If you are just learning how to make diagonal roads now, I bet there is a ton of stuff about SC4 that you dont know.  There is a lot of information available in the manuals and strategy guides and there is also a ton of SC4 info available on the web.  Simtropolis offers the omnibus and there are many other sites with SC4 guides and tutorials.  Some stuff though you will only find out by browsing through the forums.  The modderaters here seem to know everything and may have more useful "secrets" to share.

[Skimbo 304]

This is not ment to be critisism on moderators but: No one knows everything, I'm shure they know a lot but not everything.

PS: Just shift?.... dam, I've never tried it....

[ed_diaz 10]

if after years of playing someone didnt know how to do a diagonal road... then should probably play something else. you can do it without the shift key too, just drag your road uh, diagonally..

[Mr Nobody 32]

I never knew that also! (I don't know much) Thanks for saying!