Problem with using car and passager ferry with new NAM...

[m gaby 0]

hi i got a major problem when i want to put a car and passager ferry the game crash.. i think its because of the NAM 2010. anyone have a soluce??

Just edited title slightly. [CaptCity]

[jim 546 43]

Just to clarify - this didn't occur before you installed the NAM?

[D3LM3L 0]

I have the same exact problem here which began after installing the May 2010 NAM.

[m gaby 0]

nah this problem began when i instaled the NAM 2010

[Tarkus 6,933]

I replicated the issue yesterday with a clean install, tracked it down and found at least an interim solution.  More details will be forthcoming.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[bristowcitybuilder 0]

Im having the same problem and the ferry system is vital to my city region

[Fnit 0]

Dito!! The same problem here, after installing the May 2010 NAM. Help a.s.a.p.

[NYM1980 3]

I get this problem off and on. I also had a lot of trouble with people not using the ferries, it caused buildings on entire islands to be cut off.

[CaptCity 4,893]

Don't know what Alex's interim solution is, but I did some playing around with this and noticed that the crash occurred only when placing a ferry that faced east (the arrow on the lot). Also, if temporarily removed NAM to build ferries then put NAM back, all seemed to work nornally. The problem with doing this, however, was having to rebuild the NAM pieces after replacing it since the game was saved without them. Wouldn't be a big issue in new cities, but in existing cities it would be. For what it's worth...

[ozzieman 0]

No it is crashing when placing a ferry terminal south as well. I guess no direction is safe. Anyone looked on a NAM forum and know if the issue has been noted?

[CaptCity 4,893]

Originally posted by: ozzieman

No it is crashing when placing a ferry terminal south as well. I guess no direction is safe. Anyone looked on a NAM forum and know if the issue has been noted?quote>

Hmmm... South seemed to work for me...

...and Tarkus (Alex), who posted above, is one of the "gurus" on the NAM team, so yes, they are aware of it.

...and putting this in the Transit Networks forum.

[Tarkus 6,933]

I'll discuss the "further details" part now, just to clear everything up. 

The issue here is a conflict between the newly-introduced "AutoPlace FAR" with the Transit-Enabling (TE) setup on the ferry terminal.  The AutoPlace FAR is initiated in the RUL that handles puzzle piece placement, and is designed to convert setups in which two parallel 3-tile stretches of orthogonal Road over to the FAR Straight Piece.

The ferry terminal's TE setup is also two parallel 3-tile stretches of orthogonal Road, and the issue seems to be that when the ferry terminal is being placed, the game is trying to convert the TE setup under the ferry terminal into a FAR Straight Piece.  The game doesn't know how to handle this, so it simply crashes.

Unfortunately, the solution for the time being will likely be to disable AutoPlace FAR until a new method of implementation is found that doesn't suffer from issues with the ferry terminal.  Work is already underway on that new method.  The whole thing came as a bit of a surprise, as it's the first time we've ever seen a RUL entry interact with a TE Lot like that.

The issue is a RUL-bound one, and as such, it'll require us to update the NAM Controller file.  There's a couple other minor things being fixed at the moment as well on that end that will be implemented, so once that's done, we'll get the corrected files out.  Most likely, existing May 2010 NAM users will be directed to download the NAM Essentials package to update their controller, while members downloading for the first time will be able to pick up the NAM Core without Essentials.

Hope that explains everything, and be on the lookout for the update--I'll announce it here when it's ready and on the STEX.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[CaptCity 4,893]

Thanks for the explanation, Alex. Will be good to know if anyone else raises the issue.

[ozzieman 0]

Thanks Alex, I look forward to obtaining the updates when available.

[TheCommissioner 1]

This issue must be fixed. Ferries are a must..

-Please announce the problem.

[CaptCity 4,893]

Originally posted by: TheCommissioner

This issue must be fixed. Ferries are a must..

-Please announce the problem.quote>

The problem is explained by Tarkus above and a "fix" is in the works. Patience...

[GeneralEtrius 78]

The game crashes to the desktop when I try to place a car ferry. The game runs fine when I place a passenger ferry. The strange thing is that I place car ferries before and no crash occured. Can anyone explain this?

This and the following several posts merged here from Bugs & Technical...

[CaptCity 4,893]

Originally posted by: GeneralEtrius

The game crashes to the desktop when I try to place a car ferry. The game runs fine when I place a passenger ferry. The strange thing is that I place car ferries before and no crash occured. Can anyone explain this?quote>

Yes, this is a result of a componenet in the new NAM (Do you have it installed?) that allows draggable FAR pieces. The ferry has two parallel transit enabled stretches of three road tiles. This is also the configuration to automatically create the FAR piece, so the game becomes "confused" and crashes. A fix is in the works.

[Legosim 14]

Mine only crashes if I place the ferry with the boat loading facing to the west. I create a new part of land and make it face north or south now

[CaptCity 4,893]

Originally posted by: Legosim

Mine only crashes if I place the ferry with the boat loading facing to the west. I create a new part of land and make it face north or south now quote>

Likewise with mine, but others have reported crashes while placing ferries in other directions. May depend on game version... (just a guess)

[m gaby 0]

i have exacly the same problem... i can place them facing south or west... east and north make the game crash

[Legosim 14]

Strange how It is different for everybody. I have the latest NAM, and doesn't affect any existing ferry stations only new ones plopped

edit: not much of an inconvience, just that the new region im working on has a lot of islands

[Hatchet999 0]

I had the same problem, but found North facing didn't crash.

If I had to chose between NAM or the ferries I'd be making them swim to the other side. Perhaps I should just build a bridge instead :-)

[CaptCity 4,893]

Originally posted by: Legosim

I have the latest NAM, and doesn't affect any existing ferry stations only new ones ploppedquote>

Yes, in fact, that is one way around the bug. You can temporarily remove NAM and place the ferries. After that, you can put the NAM back into the plugins. However, this should probably not be done in existing cities, as anything built with NAM pieces and components may need to be re-built after saving the game without it.

Just a thought...

...and going to merge this thread with another on the same issue.

[kalbo1313 0]

so... is it not resolve yet?

[CaptCity 4,893]

Originally posted by: kalbo1313

so... is it not resolve yet?quote>

No fix has been released as of yet. However, things are being tested.

[MaxCheng95 5]

I saw a post from a Taiwanese SC4 Forum that there's a problem about NAM that the game would crash and return to the desktop itself after you build the ferry pier, and the problem solved after removing the NAM2010. This morning I experienced the same thing. Does anyone of the NAM Team knows what is the cause of this problem?(Sorry for my poor English)

Merged with other thread on same topic.

-CaptCity

[Vahr 343]

We're working on a fix, should be out sometime soon. Its due to an issue with the draggable FAR.

[MaxCheng95 5]

Thank You

[pipelad 6]

i was trying to find a post where if im not wrong andreas, had stated that this issue had been fix and that we should look forward for a Nam esentials update in the near future, cant seem to find it now tho ...

*sorry for the late post.. i guess i was writing it wile it was being answered*