Mass-Transit

[Simsavior 0]

Hi,

I must admit, I am relatively new to the SimCity series, but got a bunch of them in a collection as a present while I was in hospital, as my family knew I loved Sim-games

The collection was called the SimCity-Box and included SC4 Deluxe, and SCS Deluxe. So far, I have grasped all the basic concepts of SC4, but I am still a little bit uncertain of how to lay out my cities strategically, in terms of roads. All the time my city is getting traffic-jams not stop, and I am not sure what I can do to expand the roads, without demolishing allot of my city to re-structure it. My city has grown to a stage where all zones are of a high dencity, and there is no further room for road expansion.

So I was wondering, are there any good tutorials/guides out there that can help me learn how to lay-out my roads in a more structured way, to allow for better transit for my angry Sims?

[Unassigned 23]

If you haven't done that already, try using the NAM and Road-Top Mass Transit (RTMT) plugins to alleviate the traffic issues.

The NAM has a different (and imo better) traffic simulator than vanila SC4 DeLuxe. When installing, the traffic simulator can be configured with different capacities, or you can make a custom configuration with the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool. The NAM also offers trams (aka Ground Light Rail, GLR), and you can have trams running in the middle of avenues, streets and roads, meaning you don't need to demolish buildings much to make space for it.

RTMT allows placing bus stops & subway entrances on sidewalks instead of having to demolish buildings to make room for these things.

Installing and setting up NAM and RTMT so they work for you may take a while (and some perusal of readme files). It's worth the effort. For example, my large city tile with 150K population which mainly use cars, feet & GLR runs fine traffic-wise.

You may need to download a some further plugins, namely GLR stations and dependency packs.

[z1 566]

Also, be sure you have applied the latest patch to your game.

  Edited April 28, 2011 by z1  

[Simsavior 0]

Thanks for the info

I checked out the NAM, and it looks fantastic! I will certainly have a go at installing it, hopefully it can help alleviate the traffic from my horrendous highways! I don't mind if it takes a while to configure and install it, as I certianly have allot of time on my hands right now, and I am sure allot of it will be spent playing SC4

[z1 566]

I checked out the NAM, and it looks fantastic!

It is.

I will certainly have a go at installing it, hopefully it can help alleviate the traffic from my horrendous highways!

It will; the NAM traffic simulator will improve traffic flow on all your networks. It offers versions with different network capacities, so you can configure your game to decide how much congestion you want in your cities.

  Edited April 28, 2011 by z1  

[Kusajika Yachiru 9]

Simmies are tricky... one can make the most realstic transportation network with main roads/freeways planned out. Include an effective El-Rail line or passenger rail and they wont go any of it like one had planned. But I have noticed since NAM that path finding has become way way more correct. Just remember, place stops and stuff where your sims live, and then near their jobs. If you want sims to take one main route, I sugest not having main if any other routes going the same direction. Also as other mentioned their are more mods and plugins to add for the best possible networking. Best of luck and remember... build, destroy, build!

[Vern 29]

One thing to keep in mind with RTMT. When plopping bus or subways stops on OWR (one way roads) it will change the direction of the traffic. You will need to go back and fix it. Its a pain but there isnt a fix at the moment. This could be a problem if you are using a mod that removes the one way arrow since it will not indicate that it has been change.

There was a bug with the NAM and GLR stations where touching the GLR station, with the tracks, while laying down tracks (or was it vice-versa) crashed the game. I think the fix was an upgrade in those GLR stations. IRC, this was the case with the Tonkso GLR station.

RMTM and NAM are a must have for me. Enjoy!

[Kusajika Yachiru 9]

One thing to keep in mind with RTMT. When plopping bus or subways stops on OWR (one way roads) it will change the direction of the traffic. You will need to go back and fix it. Its a pain but there isnt a fix at the moment. This could be a problem if you are using a mod that removes the one way arrow since it will not indicate that it has been change.

There was a bug with the NAM and GLR stations where touching the GLR station, with the tracks, while laying down tracks (or was it vice-versa) crashed the game. I think the fix was an upgrade in those GLR stations. IRC, this was the case with the Tonkso GLR station.

RMTM and NAM are a must have for me. Enjoy!

Also road top mass transit blocks residental growth, preportional to the lot size. So a 1x1 buss stop on a road, will stop a 1x1 house from growing... or if it already exist, it will lose road connection. And a 2x2 avenue one will block 1x1 and 2x2 lots the same way. Comerical has no problem, niether does industrial. Something to note ya.

[z1 566]

Also road top mass transit blocks residental growth, preportional to the lot size. So a 1x1 buss stop on a road, will stop a 1x1 house from growing... or if it already exist, it will lose road connection. And a 2x2 avenue one will block 1x1 and 2x2 lots the same way.

Although this is true, there are a couple of techniques that can minimize problems here. The most common is to hold the Control key down while creating a zone that faces an RTMT station; the key here is to ensure that at least one tile extends beyond the station. This can be done over an existing zone. Alternatively, if you place stations at intersections (which is a common place for them), having the intersecting road go along the side of the lot is sufficient to ensure road access. Even having a road go along the back of the lot (or part of it) will work.

Commercial has no problem, neither does industrial.

Although you are right about industrial lots, commercial lots are affected; however, unlike residential lots, they don't dilapidate as a result, so it's easy to miss this. But if an RTMT station completely blocks a commercial lot, no Sims will go to work there. The solution is the same as with residential lots.

This is all described in detail in the RTMT Readme file.

  Edited April 29, 2011 by z1  

[Kusajika Yachiru 9]

Also road top mass transit blocks residental growth, preportional to the lot size. So a 1x1 buss stop on a road, will stop a 1x1 house from growing... or if it already exist, it will lose road connection. And a 2x2 avenue one will block 1x1 and 2x2 lots the same way.

Although this is true, there are a couple of techniques that can minimize problems here. The most common is to hold the Control key down while creating a zone that faces an RTMT station; the key here is to ensure that at least one tile extends beyond the station. This can be done over an existing zone. Alternatively, if you place stations at intersections (which is a common place for them), having the intersecting road go along the side of the lot is sufficient to ensure road access. Even having a road go along the back of the lot (or part of it) will work.

Commercial has no problem, neither does industrial.

Although you are right about industrial lots, commercial lots are affected; however, unlike residential lots, they don't dilapidate as a result, so it's easy to miss this. But if an RTMT station completely blocks a commercial lot, no Sims will go to work there. The solution is the same as with residential lots.

This is all described in detail in the RTMT Readme file.

Oh poo you nija'd me... well done! I don't use them not for those reasons, but with all the other surface mods, and NWM I use... they're losing their effectivness vastly in my cities.

[Happytown 0]

These add-ons look interesting. Where can I get them? I like the RTMT idea. I was looking to install it, but I can't seem to find it.

[EyeofMobius 27]

Also to take note of is the infinite commuter loop. Where for example you have four tiles linked in a corner and the commuters just perpetually build up because it is always faster for them to commute to the next tile for work but they dont go to jobs and just clog all roads. There was a detailed thread on this somewhere; maybe in the Omnibus. The best tip I can give to this right now is that you dont need to go crazy with city connections when it comes to transportation.

[CaptCity 4,753]

These add-ons look interesting. Where can I get them? I like the RTMT idea. I was looking to install it, but I can't seem to find it.

You can find the easiest-to-use RTMT here. And get the update here. It includes the newest files and stations. Be sure to read the installation instructions carefully. If you have any questions, feel free to post in this thread.