Real Highway (RHW) - Development and Support

[Haljackey 17,398]

This post is directed towards all RHW team members, past and present.

I don't think I've had the honor in this crazy day and age to express my gratitude for your work.  Over the years, I have seen this idea start out as a simple ANT that was just a wall-less ground highway turn out to what it is today.  Now, I have no idea how you managed to create a fully modular highway and interchange system with the dirt road ANT, so all I can say is wow.  Wow to the fact that you stepped up to the challenge, not for money and fame, but because you wanted to.  No one made you make this, and no one should have the right to push you around because you work for no-one!

I commend you for all the hard work, year-after year.  You managed to stay focused throughout the entire journey up to now, both during the good times and the bad.  There have been some bumps here-and-there, but yet you remained committed.  What started out essentially "Rural" has become anything but, a new highway network even better than what Maxis could come up with.  I think its really impressive that a small number of you have done something better than a major international cooperation; and what stuns me the most is that you worked on it at your leisure, while the people at Maxis/EA were being payed a full-time salary. 

Who would have known?  Not them, not I, maybe not even you.  Did you think that when you were first acquainted with the RHW and all its inner-workings, that such a feat could be accomplished?  I think you had some hope that it could be done, but you knew that you were just one person and really couldn't do it by yourself without teammates.

Look at this site.  Now, take a closer look.  Look at the members at this site.  Look at your teammates.  Would you be able to call them your friends even if you never met them in person? 

Now take a broader look.  Look at the whole community.  Look at their appreciation for all that you have done.  Look at what they have done with what you have provided them with.  Look into the past.  Look at the beginnings, the midpoints, the present, and now, look to the future.  Look at all the members' posts, questions, and comments.  Look at the responses to these.  Look at yourself... what you were back then and what you are now.

---

There's a lot of history to this project, eh?  Something like this really deserves admiration, and respect.  None of this would have been possible without your contributions, and for that I thank you.  Your work will be looked at and admired for many years to come.  Every post includes a little bit of this project's history, a history that is unique as the members who made it. 

Anyways, there you have it.  I hope this means something you, and that it gives you a chance to reflect on all the effort put into this project.  I wish you the best as you continue to make this project better and better, and to all the members who have worked on this in the past.

-Haljackey

[JCarter 0]

Amen, Haljacky!

[Need4Camaro 50]

This project is great, however; I would like to add that The MIS and RHW still needs a bit more flexability. Here's the constricting issues I've run into...

When you launch an MIS Exit Ramp, bend it away from the Highway, then turn it completely Perpendicular to the highway, and then try to bend it back toward the diagnal angle, it turns into a standard RHW-2... There are interchanges in real life that require the ramp to run perpendicular for a moment due to space issues around loop around ramps and outside obstructures...

The MIS Ramp needs to beable to curve at the same frequency as a one way road otherwise looparound ramps attain a large bulky feel to them... Currently Oneway roads can have much tighter curves - What I mean is to beable to have the 90 smoothe Degree curves while going diagnal...  I'll post a photo if anyone needs better caption...

MIS needs to beable to change into a oneway road or Avenue and it also needs to have traffic lamps at its intersections... Most freeways have traffic lamps on the top or bottom of their on/offramps where they intersect the road...

It's a nice introduction but I still feel it's very... ...loose so to speak...

[Hamish 1,370]

I would suggest posting requests on this page because the people who run the project do not normally come back over to simtrop.

[Ryan B 35]

Originally posted by: Need4Camaro This project is great, however; I would like to add that The MIS and RHW still needs a bit more flexability. Here's the constricting issues I've run into...

When you launch an MIS Exit Ramp, bend it away from the Highway, then turn it completely Perpendicular to the highway, and then try to bend it back toward the diagnal angle, it turns into a standard RHW-2... There are interchanges in real life that require the ramp to run perpendicular for a moment due to space issues around loop around ramps and outside obstructures...

The MIS Ramp needs to beable to curve at the same frequency as a one way road otherwise looparound ramps attain a large bulky feel to them... Currently Oneway roads can have much tighter curves - What I mean is to beable to have the 90 smoothe Degree curves while going diagnal...  I'll post a photo if anyone needs better caption...

MIS needs to beable to change into a oneway road or Avenue and it also needs to have traffic lamps at its intersections... Most freeways have traffic lamps on the top or bottom of their on/offramps where they intersect the road...

It's a nice introduction but I still feel it's very... ...loose so to speak...

quote>

 

The RHW is (and I suspect always will be) a work-in-progress.  We're working on adding more options and flexibility, don't you worry.    What I can't say is when y'all will see the fruits of our efforts.  We like to surprise people. 

One of our mottos is also "Fucntionality first, cosmetics later."  Simply put, we're going to make sure it works before we make sure it looks good.

Once again, I must ask the community for patience.  Let us do our jobs.  If we keep hearing pressure (ex. "Will this be in it?  How about this?", and "This is good, but it needs more", etc.), then it'll take us longer to add the features, and the release (whenever it will be) will be delayed.

Be sure to check out the RHW Development Thread over at SC4Devotion for the latest updates & information.

Thank you!

[Haljackey 17,398]

Originally posted by: Need4Camaro This project is great, however; I would like to add that The MIS and RHW still needs a bit more flexability. Here's the constricting issues I've run into...

When you launch an MIS Exit Ramp, bend it away from the Highway, then turn it completely Perpendicular to the highway, and then try to bend it back toward the diagnal angle, it turns into a standard RHW-2... There are interchanges in real life that require the ramp to run perpendicular for a moment due to space issues around loop around ramps and outside obstructures...

The MIS Ramp needs to beable to curve at the same frequency as a one way road otherwise looparound ramps attain a large bulky feel to them... Currently Oneway roads can have much tighter curves - What I mean is to beable to have the 90 smoothe Degree curves while going diagnal...  I'll post a photo if anyone needs better caption...

MIS needs to beable to change into a oneway road or Avenue and it also needs to have traffic lamps at its intersections... Most freeways have traffic lamps on the top or bottom of their on/offramps where they intersect the road...

quote>

Do you mean you want to construct a loop ramp similar to this???

To get it that tight does cause the MIS to "transform" into a RHW-2.  However, with a few "loopholes", you can get it to fit.  I find that with the RHW network, there is always a way around the problem. 

If this is your issue, let me know and I can make a quick guide that will help explain how to make "tighter" loop ramps for the RHW MIS.

Best,

-Haljackey

[SamuraiClinton 0]

Whenever I try to get a long-distance rural highway to go to another township, the traffic never makes it through with an RH4 connection. Therefore I have to resort to using a short stretch of the original highway that maxis made for the game. I know it ruins the aesthetic consistency :-(, but I want somebody to fix that soon!

Also, I want the modular interchanges to have overpasses soon; that way I can make trumpet junctions with an RH4; one example of a real life trumpet junction with one-lane parts is I-75 where the US-23 concurrenty splits off near Standish.

Also, I would like to see some RH4 stretches go over a road, and have RH4s go over other RH4s; so that way we can have a rural aesthetics on a cloverleaf instead of use the city-style colverleaf bundled with the original SC4.

I also wanna see a RH4 split into 2 one lane MIS stretches, as that would be another step to have seamless trumpet junctions. In order for me to make trumpet junctions, I have to resort to using one-way streets with one-way over RH4 overpasses. I also have to resort to using one-way over RH4 or again, the original city style cloverleaf in order to have a 4-way freeway junction.

Because ever since I studied real-life freeways on maps, and had curiousity about real-life freeway construction, I was wondering if this rural highway project would evolve to sufficient, realistic flexibility.

[ChaosEmerald 0]

This is kind of a ***** question...is the side of the RHW-4 with the yellow lines supposed to be facing towards the inside or the outside of the highway? I have two RHW-4 lanes side by side with the yellow sides touching...is that the way its supposed to be?

[MandelSoft 2,775]

Originally posted by: ChaosEmerald This is kind of a ***** question...is the side of the RHW-4 with the yellow lines supposed to be facing towards the inside or the outside of the highway? I have two RHW-4 lanes side by side with the yellow sides touching...is that the way its supposed to be?quote>

Yes, that's the way it's suppose to be. The yellow lines are at the inside of the RHW

[ChaosEmerald 0]

Ok, I was just wondering because I have seen people using them both ways and wanted to know which is correct in real life.

[Need4Camaro 50]

Originally posted by: SamuraiClinton Whenever I try to get a long-distance rural highway to go to another township, the traffic never makes it through with an RH4 connection. Therefore I have to resort to using a short stretch of the original highway that maxis made for the game. I know it ruins the aesthetic consistency :-(, but I want somebody to fix that soon!

Also, I want the modular interchanges to have overpasses soon; that way I can make trumpet junctions with an RH4; one example of a real life trumpet junction with one-lane parts is I-75 where the US-23 concurrenty splits off near Standish.quote>

 

For your first question, I believe they've already discussed that it was impossible - or if not it would be extremely difficult to implement. Here's why... Neighborhood borders, sims see them as "Jobs" now for a Job to function it has to have a way "too" a path that GETS them there ... and a way "from" a path that gets them back home... RHW only register's as a way "too" which is why freight trucks can use them. But because The RHW is actually two seperate tiles, they act like one way roads and the simulator doesn't see the other halve of the RHW as the same highway, just as a seperate road and thus instead the simulator believs that there is no way to get sims back home, and thus why they don't make good neighbor connections.. Here's what you do to defeat that... at the very end of the RHW before it jumps to the next neighbor, convert it to a Avenue... Avenue's act as a single road and can provide a way too and from and is the closest thing to the continuety of a RHW... Since the neighborhood connection only acts as a job, the speed between it and a ground highway will be negligible to non-existant.... I personally would like to see something done in which can accomidate RHW's that are divided for up to 4 tiles but as of now the only way is to convert...

Your second question.... I live near both I-75 and U.S. 23 in Atlanta... Just thought I'd share...

[warrior 169]

Neighbour connections for RHW-4 are possible but very wierd and... wierd.

[Need4Camaro 50]

Warrior - Do you think we might see them in the future in that case? Would it be possible to program the game to recognize the first side you lay into a neighbor connection as a "Too" Route and the second stretch you lay as a "From" route?...

[SamuraiClinton 0]

If only Maxis could just make this an open source program, and allow developers to "extend" the capabilities to allow more flexibility of aesthetics. Also, even during some instances of a highway bypassing a town, the vehicles bypass the freeway. I think there are some bugs that cause the freeways to be underused.

With a variety of flavors of freeways in real life, thats why the RHW project is still deemed to be "incomplete".

[SimRabbit 48]

Need4Camaro: we can't do that. I don't see EA making SC4 open source. they are still making profit from the game.

[warrior 169]

Im not saying anything else on the neighbor connections except that is ... wierd.

[Haljackey 17,398]

Originally posted by: Need4Camaro This project is great, however; I would like to add that The MIS and RHW still needs a bit more flexability. Here's the constricting issues I've run into...

When you launch an MIS Exit Ramp, bend it away from the Highway, then turn it completely Perpendicular to the highway, and then try to bend it back toward the diagnal angle, it turns into a standard RHW-2... There are interchanges in real life that require the ramp to run perpendicular for a moment due to space issues around loop around ramps and outside obstructures...

The MIS Ramp needs to beable to curve at the same frequency as a one way road otherwise looparound ramps attain a large bulky feel to them... Currently Oneway roads can have much tighter curves - What I mean is to beable to have the 90 smoothe Degree curves while going diagnal...

quote>

As Need4Camaro requested me to make, here is a quick guide showing you how to build tighter curves for the MIS.

How to Make Tighter Curves along the RHW-MIS: A Basic Guide

1.  Construct a RHW and an overpass:

2.  Build your MIS system.  I will construct a B2 parclo interchange for a simple example.  As you curve your MIS, you will notice this to happen:

3.  Its okay!  Let the RHW-2 build instead of the MIS.

4.  The RHW-2 needs to be overwritten to reestablish itself to a MIS.  Construct another ramp away from the rest of the interchange:

5.  Join the new MIS segment with the RHW-2.  A full MIS ramp should now appear.

6.  Delete the ramp:

7.  Extend the MIS to intersect with your road/avenue.  You now have a tight, fully functional ramp!

9.  Do the same for the remaining loop ramp.

[warrior 169]

While I'm not saying how far away the next RHW version is (because I honstly don't know) but the tighter curves will be made possible by just dragging MIS normally, so without doing what Haljackey just said in his helpful guide

[Haljackey 17,398]

Originally posted by: warrior While I'm not saying how far away the next RHW version is (because I honstly don't know) but the tighter curves will be made possible by just dragging MIS normally, so without doing what Haljackey just said in his helpful guidequote>

Ah, just like the Multi-RHW before the current version, eh?  It was possible, but was a pain to make.  Now its so simple! 

-Like I mentioned, this is just a basic guide to help Need4Camaro make some tighter loop ramps.  I discovered this technique just by playing around with the MIS, just like how I discovered the Mult-RHW.  A bit of deja-vu, eh?

Best,

-Haljackey

[Need4Camaro 50]

Sweet deal haljackey I'll definately be using this...

[chrisnhl50 2]

Hey Tarkus. I realize that people are constantly requesting and requesting, but I was just wondering if it is even possible to make a 2 lane MIS with a solid like going to the middle. I know that you can use the RHW-2 exit ramps for this but it would be just neat to see a very thin 2 lane onramp like the MIS. I do not expect this, I was just wondering if it is possible?

[sedimenjerry 1]

i cant seem to get the cursor to change for red to green to make RHW exits

am i not giving it enough time or what?

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

Guys, I'd really recommend you'd take your questions and concerns over to the new official thread in sc4devotion.com

[Haljackey 17,398]

Originally posted by: ilikehotdogsalot Guys, I'd really recommend you'd take your questions and concerns over to the new official thread in sc4devotion.comquote>

As ilikehotdogsalot pointed out, the project has moved to SC4D.  There are links to it in my signature if you want a direct hyperlink to the ongoing project.

-You are able to view everything there without registering, however, you will need to register there to post (similar to ST!). 

Chrisnhl50: unfortunately, Tarkus is no longer active here @ ST (like his signature says.).  He is, however, quite active @ SC4D.  All you need to do is register there and either send him a PM or make a post about your question in the RHW thread (link in my signature.).

sedimenjerry: Hmm... I would take a look a the readme file and make sure you have installed everything properly.  In addition, Filasimo has made a complete RHW reference guide @ SC4D (link in my signature.) that you may find useful.

Anyways, I hope I helped you out in some way!

Best,

-Haljackey

[fizscy46 0]

I don't know why but I am getting these ugly pieces which I wasn't before and they really detract hugely from the look of the offramps

Any insight?

[SimNation 139]

fizscy46 [p]Where did you get that tunnel thats in that picture ur showing? And I have the same thing happen..I dont think they have made a piece that lets the MIS go directly into the road network..ull have to have ur MIS go into a regular RHW piece and have the RHW piece go into the road network for now.[/p]

[warrior 169]

You must have at least one tile of stright MIS before Joining it with a rooad, hopefully the above will be added soon.

[Haljackey 17,398]

fizscy46/SimNation: I posted a guide on the last page that can be applied to override this type of intersection as well. Essentially, you have to drag the MIS or build another ramp further apart to make the MIS become "stable", and then place your intersection.

-Or, just add another tile to straighten the MIS just before the intersection like warrior stated.

SimNation: The tunnel in fizscy46's picture is just the standard road tunnel in SC4.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

I would really like an RHW-4 Y-split, so it can go into 1-lane/MIS ramps.

[roadgeek 0]

I seem to be having installation problems. I installed v20 w/ all options checked but none of the v20 features seem to work and if I click on the divided highway, it does not present any highway choices.