Real Highway (RHW) - Development and Support

[RaccoonFox 1]

So... i've been experimenting with the Diagonal Bridge Enabler... and while it works mostly as advertised, it seems to insist on using the original six-lane Maxis freeway texture for diagonal bridges, instead of the more modern 4-lane NAM textures... is there any way i can determine what's causing that? is it a conflict? am i missing a dependency?  I'd love to have a four (or even six!) lane freeway going diagonally, like Interstate 80 entering downtown San Francisco...

[RaccoonFox 1]

On 7/21/2022 at 7:00 AM, Tarkus said:

This probably would have fit in NAM: Requests better than RealHighway Development, but technically, as an unintended byproduct of all of the GLR/Tram content being dual-pathed between Lightrail and Rail (as Lightrail can't support U-Drive-It, but Rail can), it's possible to use the existing Tram-on-Street content for that purpose.  It won't be the cleanest result, and normally, from my experience, Streets with train tracks down their midst aren't nearly as fancy as the cobblestone design used on Tram-on-Street, and Tram-on-Street is very limited in its current feature set.  But it's at least something to experiment with in the meanwhile.  I don't know how high the probability is of us doing a proper Street Running setup, though I'll note, it's been requested on occasion over the years.

-Tarkus

thanks for the advice!  i've moved my request over to there... that does still give me quite a few ideas on possibilities for my industrial areas served by spur-lines...

[Lucario Boricua 7,050]

On 7/30/2022 at 10:16 PM, RaccoonFox said:

So... i've been experimenting with the Diagonal Bridge Enabler... and while it works mostly as advertised, it seems to insist on using the original six-lane Maxis freeway texture for diagonal bridges, instead of the more modern 4-lane NAM textures... is there any way i can determine what's causing that? is it a conflict? am i missing a dependency?  I'd love to have a four (or even six!) lane freeway going diagonally, like Interstate 80 entering downtown San Francisco...

There's some ongoing (albeit inconsistent) work in updating the Diagonal Bridge Enabler. I myself revised the slope tolerance parameters to make it easier to use, but I'm waiting on other fellow NAM team members to expand support, one of those support types is, of course, expanding the network variants supported, including the various RealHighway widths. For the time being, don't hold your breath waiting for the updates until further notice.

[Tarkus 6,933]

"Just one more lane, bro . . ."

Inspired by a recent convergence--some discussions I've had recently with @Haljackey, and @tez being excited enough by the concept to piece together a DIY "fake" version in this thread, I've decided to revisit the idea of the RHW-12S.

Those of you who have been following the RHW project for many years know that the idea of the RHW-12S has been around for a good long while.  In fact, both the RHW-12S and another "mythical" network, the RHW-10C, were previously under development and originally slated for inclusion in NAM 31, which was released almost exactly 10 years ago (March 2nd, 2013). 

They were cut in the later stages of that development cycle, due to there not being any way to connect them to other networks--no ramp interfaces or transitions had been made at that point.  And after NAM 31 ended up being one of the absolute worst releases in NAM Team history (a fact many have forgotten, since the situation with SimCity (2013)'s release just a few days later overshadowed it), the RHW-12S and 10C, along with most other new network plans, were mothballed long-term.

However, 10 years later, and with the NAM Team in a much better place, it seems time to finally revisit these networks, beginning with the RHW-12S, which I have decided to make my main project for the NAM 47 cycle.  To answer a few questions I suspect many will have about this network:

Will there be elevated forms?

Yes.

Much like the RHW-10S, the RHW-12S will come in L1 and L2 elevations.

What impact will this have on network capacity/congestion, when compared to the RHW-10S?

Sadly, not really much of one.  The game calculates capacity on a per-tile basis rather than a per-lane basis, and the necessary presence of crossover paths means that the "DIPs" trick (used to boost the RHW-3, RHW-6S, and many NWM networks) won't work here. 

In most instances, since they are of the same tile width, the RHW-12S will have the same capacity as the RHW-10S, with the exception of some isolated instances with curves (where the "new" lane extends on to tiles not really covered by the RHW-10S), and in the fact that the network mainline after ramps with lane drops will be wider (i.e. an RHW-12S Type D2 ramp will drop down to an RHW-8S, which is a substantial difference from the RHW-10S Type D2 dropping to an RHW-6S).

Note, however, that widths beyond the RHW-12S (and 10C) end up requiring greater tile widths, and will result in capacity increases.  (To paraphrase Lay's Potato Chips' slogan, "betcha can't add just one more lane".)

Wait . . . you said "will".  Does this mean there's going to be more widths beyond the RHW-12S?!

Yes.  There's another classification of RHW networks we've termed "Ultra-Wide".  The RHW-14S and 16S have long been in the official future RHW plans, along with the RHW-12C and 14C.  The RHW-16S (with 8 lanes per direction) has been planned to be the maximum, based on the status of the Downtown Connector (I-75/85) in Atlanta, Georgia, which has a sustained 15-lane mainline.  We are, however, evaluating the Arizona Department of Transportation's I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project in Phoenix/Tempe, Arizona, and how its mainline configuration translates to the RHW.

The development horizon for the Ultra-Wide RHW networks is still sometime farther off in the future, however.

What is happening with the RHW-10C?  Why is the RHW-12S currently being prioritized over it?

The RHW-10C is still planned to be added in a near-future release. It fills a parallel niche in the C-type network scheme to the one the RHW-12S occupies in the S-type scheme, and is ultimately a necessary preparatory step for future Ultra-Wide RHW development.  While the RHW-10C had some advocates within the team, the RHW already has one extant 10-lane network, the RHW-10S, whereas there is no 12-lane network.  This novelty factor, combined with the recent heightened interest in the network, has put the RHW-12S on the fast track for development.

Are we going to finally get X3 (i.e. 3-lane) FLEXRamps because of the RHW-12S?

X3 FLEXRamps are planned for the near term (there may have even been . . . prototypes), but they are very unlikely to be part of NAM 47.  The RHW-12S is slated to receive the same repertoire of ramps as the RHW-10S in this initial phase.

How about some more developmental screenshots?

Sure thing!  Here's some more from the early stages of development.

And yes, this time we have ramps.

 

What about Bridges?  Multi-Radius Curves?  Fractional Angles?  Cosmetic Pieces?  Is it possible?

Getting some serious History Channel vibes here.

Planned in some form or another . . . yes.  All those things in this release . . . no.

-Tarkus

[rsc204 21,866]

On 31/07/2022 at 4:16 AM, RaccoonFox said:

and while it works mostly as advertised, it seems to insist on using the original six-lane Maxis freeway texture for diagonal bridges, instead of the more modern 4-lane NAM textures...

I realise it's been six months, however... I added support for the Maxis Highway Override, which essentially allows the use of RHW-4 as well, a long time ago (2015):

Unless someone has managed to regress to an older file, I don't know why/how those could be missing. But you will need to be using the Maxis Highway Override mod as part of your NAM install, there is no specific RHW support.

[Tarkus 6,933]

Meanwhile, with the RHW-12S, things are . . . ramping up, so to speak.











RULs and textures are in place . . . pathing is not as of yet.
 

-Tarkus

[Tarkus 6,933]

Next up . . . diagonal ramps.

-Tarkus

[Tarkus 6,933]

Next up . . . FLEX Width Transition support . . .

-Tarkus

[Haljackey 17,398]

The RHW-12S is becoming more stable. Here's a few examples I can showcase widening a 10S to 12S.

-----

Firstly, I use plops right next to the edge of my RHW networks, excluding the 6S since it overhangs. The new 12S does overhang a bit, but only about half the shoulder is cannibalized compared to the 6S where you often lose the entire shoulder.

Original- 10S


New- 12S


This is the sacrifice you will need to make if you want this kind of setup. While proper signs and other plops/props will be needed to work with the 12S' new size, functionality comes first.

Here is the same route without anything next to the highway, showing the full shoulder.


-----

Next up, new ramp interfaces. Here are some before and after examples. While FARHW ramps do not currently exist for the 12S, the flex ramps do look quite good. Still some wealthing textures and whatnot to clean up, but again functionality first.

Before


After


-

Before


After


-

Before


After


-

Before


After


-

Before


After


-

And here are a couple images showing the 12S to 10S transition


With pathing (yes I know the trees from the sound wall plop is in the shoulder now )


-----

The team has been hard at work developing and testing the 12S. As you can imagine there is lots to work on introducing a new network, and every new network requires even more work to ensure it is compatible with all the other current networks. Bug reports and subsequent patches are churning with each and every new build, and good progress is being made.

Hope you enjoyed these screenies

[Ulisse Wolf 4,460]

RHW 12S & X3 RAMP

You read the title correctly. RHW 12S and the infamous X3 RAMP are contained NAM 47. You can see the content in action on this video

But that's not all. NAM 47 will have a feature that completely revolutionizes SimCity 4 by turning it into another new game, but you have to be patient. Waiting for the big reveal here is a nice promotional image of RHW 12S and X3 Ramp

[Ulisse Wolf 4,460]

Although late with the announcement but I did a Live Streaming Tutorial on RHW starting from the basic concepts up to the most complex concepts. Here is the link of the live streaming Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/live/kJmmeIC3cvk?feature=share

[Paul LeBon 3]

On 23/08/2005 at 12:08 PM, Johnnyman7 said:

This would be TIGHT if it could be pulled off. Seperated highways with a large median?! Shoulders?!?! Are we talking SimCity 4 or SimCity 5 here???

Great, great idea.

We are getting further and further away from the too heavy plasticity of previous versions like SimCity 2000... Where just ppl planning water system was really fun and road networks were lacking true realism..!!

[CahosRahneVeloza 385]

Guys I apologize for my laziness for not searching first in the entirety of the discussion thread before asking this question that might have already been answered in here somewhere...

But is there an MIS to RHW-4 transition I can use?

Basically I'd like to transition an MIS (used as a single lane) entrance and/or exit lane into a two lane (RHW-4) highway. Basically a funnel for RHW. I know it should be doable, but I don't know where to find the transition piece or how the drag transition pattern is done.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,460]

26 minutes ago, CahosRahneVeloza said:

Guys I apologize for my laziness for not searching first in the entirety of the discussion thread before asking this question that might have already been answered in here somewhere...

But is there an MIS to RHW-4 transition I can use?

Basically I'd like to transition an MIS (used as a single lane) entrance and/or exit lane into a two lane (RHW-4) highway. Basically a funnel for RHW. I know it should be doable, but I don't know where to find the transition piece or how the drag transition pattern is done.

Use  FLEXWidth Transition for Same Network Type (S-to-S or C-to-C)

[CahosRahneVeloza 385]

17 minutes ago, Ulisse Wolf said:

Use  FLEXWidth Transition for Same Network Type (S-to-S or C-to-C)

Thank you!

[mallenuk 193]

Hi all,

I am seeking to replicate this transition that I found here, can someone kindly advise how it can be done please.

Ideally with 4 separable but 5/6 separable can work too if not possible.

Thank you!

[matias93 7,535]

10 hours ago, mallenuk said:

Hi all,

I am seeking to replicate this transition that I found here, can someone kindly advise how it can be done please.

Ideally with 4 separable but 5/6 separable can work too if not possible.

Thank you!

The general version of that centre ramp is available on the FlexRamp button on the Highway menu, look for it at the end of the tab ring when using the tool. You can override the base RHW-4 branches with RHW-6, but to be honest, I had never seen such asymmetric arrangement, and I'm not sure if the code to make it run was actually implemented. @Tarkus is the one capable to say if it was.

[Tarkus 6,933]

It's called the Type D1-Dual Shift Inside ramp--if you press Shift-TAB three times to go in reverse under the FLEXRamp button, you'll get right to it.  (Going forward, it's in between the X1-Inside ramps and the X3 ramps).

The default version of it is set up for an RHW-6C splitting into two RHW-4s with the RHW-2 in the middle--note you'll need to use starters on both ends even with the base setup, as the 6C and the two 4s aren't automatically generated from the piece (mainly to make the overridden versions more stable). 

The asymmetrical setup shown above is also supported (an "RHW-7C" splitting into an RHW-6S and an RHW-4 with the RHW-2 in the middle), as is the RHW-8C splitting into two RHW-6Ses.  It's L0-only, so no elevated support at this time.

-Tarkus

[mallenuk 193]

Thank you @matias93, @Tarkus, I am travelling just now so will have to wait patiently to attempt this myself. I have an RHW-6S since this leads to a bridge and there’s no option for an RHW-C bridge. Is there an elegant way for the RHW-6S to transition to RHW-6C so I can connect it with this Type D1-Dual Shift Inside ramp?

[Tarkus 6,933]

20 hours ago, mallenuk said:

Thank you @matias93, @Tarkus, I am travelling just now so will have to wait patiently to attempt this myself. I have an RHW-6S since this leads to a bridge and there’s no option for an RHW-C bridge. Is there an elegant way for the RHW-6S to transition to RHW-6C so I can connect it with this Type D1-Dual Shift Inside ramp?

Yes, there's multiple FLEX Width Transitions that allow for S-to-C transitions, including 6S-to-6C, as well as things like 8S-to-6C and 6S-to-8C, and asymmetrical setups.

-Tarkus