Light rail modding help

[Tunafish 48]

Excellent idea daeley. I think thats the best idea

[jtportland 184]

Daeley, that is a great idea! (making light rail puzzle pieces as ground-level elevated rail) the only problem i can think of with this is intersections with roads, how would this work?

using the elevated rail also is good too because portland has a light rail, but also a normal trail rail. i can't wait too see light rail in simcity! keep up the great work

[Stoneruler 0]

This is my first post and first day at this site. (sorry if this is a bad place to post this, but this is one of the main threads causing me to register)Only one word to say about this site...

AWESOME!

This is great stuff. Very professional work.

I just bought Sim city 4 on the 19th. I have started over a few times and am learning the ropes fairly well. I think the mods here are great. I think this mod that you are working on will be totally awesome.


Great work!

[mikeseith 457]

Date: 11/19/2004 3:35:07 PM
Author: Daeley
another idea just hit me... would it be possible to create these light rail puzzle pieces as ground-level elevated rail? (gosh that sounds silly )
that way they'd be usefull for someone who doesn't actually want the light rail mod too, and it makes it easier to have trains and trams co-existing. It does kinda shift the problem to making trams and elrail live together, but personally I don't think too many people would mind if I replaced the normal elevated rail with trams... they're light rail too anyway.

quote>

That would sure work for me. You just have to convince Tropod that it's a good idea. He is the brains behind the NAM and is one of the few who seems to be able to whip up those nice puzzle pieces. Sounds like something for everyone in this solution.

[greedygreg 1]

The commuter rail is freakin awesome!I love it. A great idea to those involved in the making of this.

[+Guest]

Hello busy modders! First let me say how impressed I am with folks that can do this. I'm still trying to master the lot editor!

I've downloaded the Daeley's Beta for this and played around with it. One minor observation. In a city where I do not have any Tram systems or stations, my Passenger Trains running to another city do not have locomotives. The Freight Trains are not affected.

Cheers,
rascalbc

[mikeseith 457]

Date: 11/23/2004 7:30:44 PM
Author: RascalBC
Hello busy modders! First let me say how impressed I am with folks that can do this. I'm still trying to master the lot editor!

I've downloaded the Daeley's Beta for this and played around with it. One minor observation. In a city where I do not have any Tram systems or stations, my Passenger Trains running to another city do not have locomotives. The Freight Trains are not affected.

Cheers,
rascalbc

quote>

If you intend to have a city that does not use the light rail mod and you want to use trains its a good idea to remove the light rail mod before playing that city. The mod removes the passenger trains to allow the trams to work properly (for now).

[flrscf 0]

Is there progress on this mod? Are we waiting on something? I hope this isn't dying.

[jtportland 184]

what is the progress on this mod?

here's a picture that might be helpful:

[6459978. 106]

I don't know if this has been suggested (or if it's even feasable), but what about using the ANT (or puzzle pieces or something else) to make a network that is enabled for both rail and car traffic, something along the lines of the streetcar system in Toronto. So it would still be possible to drive in the streetcar lane (like in that last picture I think).

[jtportland 184]

network that is enabled for both rail and car traffic is a great idea! if it is possible even, but it would be perfect for my portland recreation, as seen in the picture above, portland has for both light rail and car. if this isn't possible i'd be happy with just rail enabled, but with the look of light rail would be awesome!

has it been decided to use El rail other than train rail?

[Daeley 46]

to be short, no progress has been made on this mod the last few weeks... it's all in the hands of the transportation guys, and they seem to be quite busy lately.

unfotunatly I have no time at all anymore for SC4 the next few weeks (at least until februari) so I do not have the time to learn how to work with puzzle pieces or the ANT. If anyone does have time and skill for that, you're welcome to try.

[eangulus 3]

Is this now officially a dead mod?

I hope it isn't...

[Daeley 46]

well if you mean dead as in there's nobody working on it... well then... yes unfortunatly...

 

but I think the current beta I have released is pretty neat, so that will have to do unless somebody wants to pick up where we left...

[jtportland 184]

hey Daeley, that's too bad that no one is working on improving the light rail mod, but could you post pics of what beta looks like? and give some explanation of what it does... is there a read me anywhere on download directions? any known conflictions/complacatoins?

i like to know all the info before i download a mod

[jtportland 184]

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[jtportland 184]

ah, another triple post. i think there's something wrong with the forms...sorry guys!

[masher 3]

I read the whole thread....i still dont get it...it looks simple but there are so many issues etc... i still cant understand how maxis could release this game so incomplete....

things like this and what the NAM added to game should have been part at least of rush hour...IMO...anyway... in case this project returns from where it is....i could always beta test it if you need help with that...which would be the only thing i could do

 

[Andreas Roth 607]

@jtportland: Look at Daeley's signature, there is a download link for the mod. Basically, it introduces some new railway stations (in four different colors) and matching automata (tram cars). These are using the ground railway system, and therefore the standard ground rail automata has been disabled in order to avoid odd graphical effects (but it's still fully functional if you place normal railway stations). With the mod installed, you can use standard railway tracks and the new stations for creating a tram system with the appropriate automata. Each station will spawn trams with matching colors, so it's possible to create several tram lines.

[lakeyboy 12]

I can see that the trams have slowed down of late. If anyone working on this that doesn't have RLS? I think all that needs to be done to finish off the project is probably diagonal tram stops (use tropods diagonal lots). I would make some myself but they require modding for the trams to appear and the trains not. And if Tropod or anyone comes back sooner or later, then some tram puzzle pieces should be made. A 1x1, a +, straight to diagonal inner curve, straight to diagonal outer curve, road, street, one way crossing & avenue crossings, pedestrian footbridge, road, one way road, avenue, elevated highway, elevated rail, monorail and rail over tram track puzzle pieces. That might seem like alot, but that is the only way to get this mod finished without any modding of the ANT. P.S. Modders, please come back.

[silentbreaker 6]

Awesome mod!

Here some small problems I noticed while testing it:

The trams always stop at the end of any lot (track + station).
Maybe it's possible that the trams can stop in the middle at the stations:



In UDI-Mode the trams stops at every branching but this only happens in UDI.
And why are the track-lots in the park menu?
But the worst thing is that the normal trains are missing or if you have a custom train car installed they drive at the tram-tracks.
I also tested the lightrail mod with combined tramstation and normal passengerstation. It works fine:



And here a picture of my test city:



The available mod is good but it's not very good, so please modders go back to work!

[Daeley 46]

meh... well I suppose good but not very good is a compliment...
most of the people on this mod have suffered from RLS so don't expect too much from it...

[DuskTrooper 314]

Any progress on this modd?

[Andreas Roth 607]

Date: 2/5/2005 2:08:39 PM
Author: DuskTrooper
Any progress on this modd? 

Maybe - take a look at this thread: https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=59684

[DenMar 0]

I'm wondering why???

I'm trying out those tram tracks with the trees around it, the ones that come in 1,3,5,7 long. And than also the stations.
The thing is i cannot connect them together.
I mean not next to each other, i always need to keep open a spot for normal rail, wich makes it looks pretty goofy!!!

What am i doing wrong with this.
I am using the newest Anybody that can tell me what i'm doing wronghere!!!!

[kassarc16 4]

Date: 2/16/2005 2:26:20 PM
Author: DenMar
I'm wondering why???

I'm trying out those tram tracks with the trees around it, the ones that come in 1,3,5,7 long. And than also the stations.
The thing is i cannot connect them together.
I mean not next to each other, i always need to keep open a spot for normal rail, wich makes it looks pretty goofy!!!

What am i doing wrong with this.
I am using the newest Anybody that can tell me what i'm doing wronghere!!!!

It's not a problem on your end, or with the mod. It's the way Maxis programmed trasit enabled lots, which is what those are. There's a new way of making this happen, with puzzle pieces, that's going on here https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=59684&num=30&pageno=3 This looks the most promising way of getting it working, PLUS it can transition between El-Rail to ground, then to subway. It's in Alpha right now, but the way progress is going, it might not be long until a public release, which might be the next NAM update.

[DenMar 0]

OW ok, because i saw some pictures posted here that looked like it was possible.

[Simbourgeois 139]

First of all - THANK YOU !!! This mod is one of the best things we have to improve the gaming experience
But I've one request though - I suppose nothing very difficult. I think that many of us are using this mod in very dense areas. Everything goes well - until we need to end the line somewhere. There's no last stop (terminals

[GoaSkin 2]

I don't think this is possible because there are limits depending the automata in the game. Depending on vehicle type, incoming and outgoing side of a field, there is only one way a vehicle my move and so it may not be possible to use both (left and right track) to be used by vehicles coming from and going to the same direction like in your example, but using one track for both directions should be possible. So the left track on your example has to be unused or the ending station has to be a single-track station.

In some situations the game creates too many trains so that the railway track is jammed and looks like if there is an endless train going on it. A single-track ending station is no good eyecandy.

Another possibility for ending stations may be a lightrail-roundabout.

[Simbourgeois 139]

GoaSkin: As I said already in my previous post - I understand that this would be only eyecandy (as you call it). But I wouldn't say that it would be no good eyecandy. Of course, trams would come in this station using the left side and go out using the right side. But I think that a station with textures similar to those in my picture would be a bit more realistic than a current station used as a terminus. But note that my picture is only an explanation of my idea - as it would be in real life. I didn't mean that in SC4 conductor would come out of the tram and go to the other end of it...

If those trams are dissapearing anyway at the last stop - do you think it is more realistic that they're dissapearing when those tracks are separated or connected as in my picture? I think that such an eyecandy (I repeat - without changing any paths of those trams, just changing textures) would add a bit more realism to our cities...

Best regards,

Simbourgeois

Mayor of Belleville