Real Highway (RHW) - Development and Support

[Tarkus 6,933]

On that note, would a moderator/admin be willing to remove the download links at the beginning?  They point to a 3-year-old Alpha Version which is RUL-bound and conflicts not only with the new RHW, but every NAM release since January 2007.

Thanks in advance.

-Tarkus

[Andreas Roth 619]

Link removed

[art128 4,622]

Wow -- Alex, you're doing a fabulous work here my friend !

[sting632 0]

hi, i am new here, and i still cant get hold of the freakin highway!!

where can i find it?

[Tarkus 6,933]

sting632, welcome to ST!  Try this link.  There's going to be a new version released shortly, too.  (It'll be at the same link when released.)

Hope that helps!

-Tarkus

[un1 41]

Look at who is online...

Could he be releasing the new RHW?

-un1

[jenferd 0]

I can't use the RHW and would love to but unfortunately it messes up any city I use it on

thought I would post this just in case it might help some people who have probs with it or may be of use to the developers as I have seen some comments here and there that it causes a few probs for others.

I always use the NAM, I've tried installing the RHW three times now and each time it makes the cities go from quick (I've got a fairly decent set up) to slow as hell. The first time I couldn't work out why, the second time I connected it to the RHW, I've just tried again and I think I've found a connection and why it's throwing one.

Some things to note...
It only slows up cities where the RHW has been used.
It only slows down big time if you have used some of the network and then deleted certain parts of it, if used and kept with NO deletes at all it's slower but bearable.
The problem only comes up after you have shut the game down and restarted.

On an off chance I looked at the exception reports folder and since putting the RHW on today the problem has been with the file ntdll.dll in the system32 folder, after much googling it seems to be a problem closely related to AMD processors but not exclusively & also seems to be related to amongst other things plugins, for programs, games and IE7 (one that makes it throw one is an MS own add-in & another from Nero so!!!)

I have uninstalled it for now, any games the network has been used in don't behave even with a reinstall of SC (even if any RHW pieces have been deleted) so it's a bit crap as the city I was working on was coming on OK, but I do like the network a lot so will keep trying, though next time will do a small test on a new city rather than adding some to one thats already got a lot in.

This thread http://www.softwaretipsandtricks.com/forum/windows-xp/9366-ntdll-dll-windows-explorer-problems.html on another site explains it quite well & the post referring to EA on the 3rd page is interesting... unfortunatly it doesn't fix my problem but hey ho.

I've got a vague idea of what they are on about when they mention the programming aspect and how that particualr file is used... but only very vague!!!

Looking forward to trying out version 3 & fingers crossed it'll work OK for me then...

Jen

[TripleXtraLarge 0]

www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=19957&v=1

I'm trying to download these textures here for the RHW. I follow the steps, but everytime I play the game, I still get the default textures. Not the Aspahlt ones.

[Haljackey 17,390]

jenferd: Hmm... I'm not quite sure why this that is happening. I would check the readme and/or FAQ and see if you can find anything there that can help you.

-Hopefully RHW 3.0, which is coming out very, very soon will help you with this problem. Let's keep our fingers crossed for that one!

TripleXtraLarge: Well those textures were not made by the NAM team or RHW team, they were made by deathtopumpkins. I would contact him about any problems you have with his mod.

-In the meantime, where did you put the file? Is it in your main plugins folder or in your NAM folder? I would place the file in whichever folder you don't have it in and see how that works.

Hope that helps!

Best,

-Haljackey

[deathtopumpkins 43]

TripleXtraLarge: Well first of all, you unzipped the file and placed it in your Plugins/Network Addon Mod/Rural HighWay folder, right?

If so, I'm not really sure what to tell you... I've never heard of anybody having this problem before...

Oh, and Hal, the textures were made by both me and videosean He did the photoshopping and I did the modding and uploading.

[sting632 0]

hi again (thx for the link btw)

just wondering, roughly how long will it be until the new version is released?

also, its a bit of topic but i was wondering if someone could send me their plugins folder, im looking for new buildings and stuff, but i really cant be bothered to look though the millions of files here

thx

[Haljackey 17,390]

Originally posted by: sting632 hi again (thx for the link btw)

just wondering, roughly how long will it be until the new version is released?

also, its a bit of topic but i was wondering if someone could send me their plugins folder, im looking for new buildings and stuff, but i really cant be bothered to look though the millions of files here

thx

quote>

Well, we don't give dates, but I can assure you the next version is imminent.

Sorry, but its against the rules and good judgment to just copy and paste pulgin folders from one person to another.  All the BATters, lotters, modders, etc. have put a lot of time and effort to make their creations and its a privilege to have these publicly available for downloading.

If plugin folders are just transferred from one person to another, the creator of the content loses out.  Their download count does not go up even though you have their file and you are not able to offer feedback to them, positive or negative.

I hope you understand.  Think it of like downloading a torrent for a game rather than going to the store to buy it.  The difference here is that you don't need to pay either way.

Best,

-Haljackey

[aiumkastarkius 0]

So where is the RHW website?

[Haljackey 17,390]

Originally posted by: aiumkastarkius So where is the RHW website?quote>

The RHW doesn't really have its own website, but it has development threads both here and on SC4 Devotion. 

Here's the link to the development project at SC4D:

https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=990.0

I guess I don't need to provide a link to the ST thread because this is it! 

Best,

-Haljackey

[david1314 44]

So, I just was reading the readme for the RHW's newest version, and I've had a thought about how to avoid the "loop connector"...at least cosmetically.

Before the dragable method of networks (like RHW) was devised, connecting to a neighbor with non-standard networks meant laying the standard network and plopping a puzzle peice over it. The first version of this was z_connector.dat for the GLR over El-Rail (by smoncrie or Goaskin), I made an updated version of it that is still available, though obsolete.

Anyway, using that same method, you could use the RHW-x textures with the RHW-2 pathing to make what the game treats as a loop connector but appears to be RHW-x. The only thing would be traffic would not work, but this is nevertheless a vast improvement over the strange looking current situatioin. Also, I presume that the capacity could be upped so that the cross-traffic would not factor in to the congestion?

Also, an RHW-2 -> Subway & RHW-4 would be a nice little touch to add for making neighbor connections with wide, multi-tile medians

[Tarkus 6,933]

david1314, interesting idea.  That was actually my initial thought when I was first trying to figure out a way to get the Neighbor Connectors to work.  However, all my various prototype attempts a few months ago were unsuccessful. 

It has to do with the one-way pathing--the game doesn't like seeing it on a 1-tile network, as it is hardcoded to try to enter and exit on the same tile with those networks.  (Hence why the OWR network has no Neighbor Connectors.) 

I am planning on working with the Neighbor Connectors some more to see if I can get something that looks a little better, though.  I am thinking of finding some sort of way to "camouflage" the Loop Connector, mainly.

-Tarkus

[david1314 44]

I think the way to do it is a puzzle peice that goes 2 tiles into the city from the edge. The problem being that you cannot get the RULs to behave properly, as far as I understand, going out as RHW-2 on the neighbor-side and RHW-4 on the city side over a single tile...i.e. each conjoining tile must be of the same RHW-x as the tile it enters onto the puzzle peice...at least if it's the same network

You do have the option of other networks. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anything would prohibit a 4x1 puzzle peice that would connect an RHW-6 to Ground-Highway. I don't think the game coding has any problems with multiple traffic exemplars per tile, so long as each access-side doesn't conflict. Unless there is something hard-coded pertaining specifically and only to networks, this should work the same as a multi-network TE-tile.

My point is, we know that the puzzle peice can be used to feign a connection to a neighbor; and we know that we can multi-TE any tile. I'm wondering if it's where you got caught up, but I think this method should work on puzzle peices nevertheless. Am I wrong?

Let me try to be productive here: I don't know how to get the new intersection into the RUL files and into the game properly. If you could make a plugin that applies some pathing and some textures to the file, I'd be happy to get my hands dirty with the editing.

Edit: Also, where did you get hung up on your attempts with this method?..I can't help but think a more conspicuous disclosure might help solve the problem.

[DavidBrown 0]

Been playing around with the new RHW for the past few hours (thanks Warrior for the links in the other thread), and whilst very good, there are one or two things:

- I'm having major problems with diagonal RHW-6 and 8 - it's causing the game to freeze on and off and no vehicles seem to be able to use it (with traffic generators).

- For me the RHW-6 and 8 curves are just too sharp and it seems rather odd that there's no smooth curves for them. Plus there's no curves at all for RHW-6 centred, which kinda renders that network pretty much useless for me, sadly.

- The Euro Textures I had for the previous version don't work on the new puzzle pieces (although I understand mrtnrln is starting work on new ones), and there aren't any left hand drive signs available for the new networks at the moment.

Of course, I would love to be able to help sort out the issuees myself, but I'm useless at BATing. Downloaded it, tried it, read the tutorials, but I just can't do it!

Many thanks for any help.

[GamerOS 1]

I onloy got one question: Are there going to be more RHW-6C pieces? It's kinda annoying that I can only swithc it to RHW-4 and not to RHW-6S our 8... anything about that?

[Haljackey 17,390]

DavidBrown:  See the readme file included and the FAQ at the RHW project @ SC4D (link in my signature) for help on those problems you listed.

---

GamerOS: Short answer, yes.

Future releases will contain additional content, allowing you make the setup you requested.

The next release? We'll see...

Best,

-Haljackey

[Tarkus 6,933]

Originally posted by: david1314

Edit: Also, where did you get hung up on your attempts with this method?..I can't help but think a more conspicuous disclosure might help solve the problem. quote>

Well, as far as a more conspicuous disclosure, the pieces I had set up were designed very similar to the old GLR "Z-Connector", and had special pathing on them that included a reverse loop.  I tested the piece on both sides of the Neighbor Connection, and it didn't work.  I also attempted using some other pathing tricks, like full-dual-way pathing, and using 255 as an Entry/Exit direction--neither worked.  There needs to be a physical, hard connection.

The best course of action, as far as I can tell, would be to implement more overrides to improve the appearance of the Loop Connector--perhaps by making it completely invisible.

-Tarkus

[Haljackey 17,390]

Hello everyone, just wanted to let you all know I now have a RHW interchange guide up.

Currently, it contains two guides (one for diamond interchanges and one for elevated diamond interchanges), but I do plan to expand it as time goes on.  You may find it useful when contemplating how to build interchanges for your RHWs.

Link:

ST:   https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=23&threadid=105017&enterthread=y (In city-building concepts, since its not a modding: transit networks thread)

SC4D:  https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=6843.0

I hope you will find it useful!

All the best,

-Haljackey

[Tarkus 6,933]

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, RHW Version 3.0 is available on the STEX as well now:

Windows

Mac

You'll need the January 2009 NAM, which is now available in the Modds & Downloads section as well.

-Tarkus

[michaelsjewel 0]

REQUEST: can you guys make a 10 lane bridge? or perhaps a one way bridge with five lanes to accomodate the 10 lanes RHW?

[ch0c0 13]

^way ahead of ya.....kinda.

however, it wont be based on the RHW (ANT) network, but rather the ground highway network, simply because the RHW8&10 are 2-tile wide networks (for the purposes of bridge construction anyway). 

a RHW6C bridge is very unlikely to be made.....

but 6S, 8 and 10 are feasible. 

[michaelsjewel 0]

well - are there any releases of the ground highway network right now besides what's already in NAM?

[ch0c0 13]

there are a few bridges included with the NAM, in the 'Additional Bridges Plugin', and some standalone bridges released the NAM team for various networks.

the only additional ground highway bridge that comes to mind is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge by fukuda.....

otherwise, work is being done on some additional RHW bridges.....it will take some time though....

[michaelsjewel 0]

i actually tried playing around with the RHW - and for some reason the connection to the next city didn't work - well it appeared that it was connected on both sides - or maybe it was the whole lanes altogether - i tried the 10 lane to give more traffic access to the next city - and well - wasted a few hours of my time trying b/c i ended up demolishing it all and building the ground highway - with my own one ways to be used for my own customer interchanges..... which seems to take up way less space too - i just found it frustrating all the work i put into getting the RHW to work for me - only to it not working right....

i realize lots of work went into making it - just it's really finicky and hard to use

[Tarkus 6,933]

michaelsjewel, there's a special trick to making neighbor connections, and it involves building something called a "loop connector".  Basically, you just need to drag the RHW tool all the way through perpendicularly to allow the traffic to pass--there's a guide to it in the Readme.  I'll try to have a pic up here at some point here shortly.

It's still very much in development as well--and I recognize it's not for everyone, either.

-Tarkus

[Tarkus 6,933]

Attached below is a Path Fix, which will upgrade your RHW to Version 3.13.   It addresses issues with the RHW-6C Ramp Style B, OWR-over-RHW-4 piece, a couple MIS Intersections and the Elevated Rail and Monorail crossings over RHW-4 and MIS Ramps.

Just install to your Network Addon Mod\Rural Highway Mod folder, and you should be good to go.

-Alex