Slope Mod Tutorial

[dirtguru 24]

Am looking for a tutorial on how to open and adjust parameters within a slope mod?

[cogeo 960]

You mean how to use it or how to further mod it?

[dirtguru 24]

Further mod it or create my own.

[nos.17 5,133]

Further mod it or create my own.

 

I'd highly recommend modding an existing one - its a lot easier. Find one that you like (some include exemplars that only modify certain networks, so I recommend the which modifies all networks, including RHW (which will appear as 'Dirt Road').

 

Open the file in Reader. Click on an exemplar (blue) and then see what network it is (green). You can change any ones you want and most are self explanatory, but at a minimum, I recommend the ones in orange. You can also check here if you do not know what any of the properties mean.

 

[Shy Dude 149]

I have a related question, is there a way to make zoning not change the slope of the terrain? Because every time I use a slope mod, the zoning ruins the gentle slopes.

[dirtguru 24]

Thank you sir. As I mentioned in another thread my old slope mod [Ennedi MTN] seems to have stopped working? Everything checks out in the reader so????

Decided to experiment with my own version.

Your help is much appreciated.

[SimCoug 5,973]

I have a related question, is there a way to make zoning not change the slope of the terrain? Because every time I use a slope mod, the zoning ruins the gentle slopes.

I'm guessing that is hard coded into the game, because I've never heard of anybody being able to change that aspect of the game...

[McDuell 301]

Just press CTRL while zoning to prevent any terrain modification. This will create a single lot of a specific desired size. Repeat this procedure for every planned lot to get a smooth zoned slope.

[cogeo 960]

nos. 17 pretty much covered it!

 

I have some few notes though:

- I would recommend that (before you start experimenting) you copy-paste the exemplars into a new datfile one by one, so they are ordered in an easy-to-find way, eg street, road, one-way,  avenue, highway, rail, el-rail, monorail - I would put the ANT network last.

- Why set the MaxNetworkSlopeChange property, and specifically equal to the MaxSlopeAlongNetwork one? It could make the mod unable to change some steep slopes. Instead, I would rather put a high value there, so that there are no restrictions.

- MaxSlopeAlongNetwork is the key property, the one that determines the max slope.

- MaxTunnelSlope does the same, but for the part of the network in tunnels.

- MinTerrainSlopeForTunnelStart is another important property, that determines whether a tunnel can be started, and conversely, whether the network can exit the tunnel. Using this property in combination with the previous one, I have been able to lay long underground rails (tunnels) on mostly flat terrain, eg under the city center. Setting MaxTunnelSlope to a very low value (close to zero) and MinTerrainSlopeForTunnelStart to a moderately high value (but not too high) will make starting a tunnel possible while keeping the network from emerging above ground before the intended point.

 

You may want a different max slope in various parts of your city for the same network, eg roads in a hilly area may have steeper slopes. This is particularly hard if the two parts are too close and you lay the steeper part first - the roads and zones will be mangled if you lay a new stretch of road close by, with a lower MaxSlopeAlongNetwork value. Also having multiple mods (each one with a different slope, eg 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% etc) can prove hard to maintain, not to mention that you may want intermediate values too, eg 12%. An easier way to do this is to have high slope values for most of the networks, and only mod the slopes for the ANT network for each network-laying session - then of course bulldoze the ANT network (it was only used to make a properly slopped roadbed) and lay the normal (intended) network.

 

Hope this helps