NAM General Support

[jlouhill 0]

What is the 4GB patch?

[z1 566]

What is the 4GB patch?

 

It's a patch that allows SC4 to use 4GB of virtual address space instead of the standard 2GB allocated to 32-bit processes.  It gets rid of most, if not all, of the crashes associated with the larger controllers of NAM 31.1.  It uses a standard Microsoft feature to accomplish its purpose, and it is perfectly safe to use.  It does require a 64-bit version of Windows, though.  You can find the patch here.  Starting with NAM 31.2, the patch will be included in the NAM installer.

[jlouhill 0]

I did some research on this patch. I've seen where others have been unable to use sc4 launcher with this. I checked it out and downloaded it. Don't quite understand how it works though. Can you give me some insight on it?

 

Oh and any idea when 31.2 will be out. I know y'all are working hard and I am patiently waiting. Just curious though.

[z1 566]

I did some research on this patch. I've seen where others have been unable to use sc4 launcher with this.

 

Could you please provide a pointer to the posts describing this?

 

I checked it out and downloaded it. Don't quite understand how it works though. Can you give me some insight on it?

 

It simply sets the Large Address Aware Flag in the executable's header.  Google "Large Address Aware" for more information on how this works.

 

Oh and any idea when 31.2 will be out.

 

As fast as we can get it done.

[jlouhill 0]

 

I did some research on this patch. I've seen where others have been unable to use sc4 launcher with this.

 

Could you please provide a pointer to the posts describing this?

 

I checked it out and downloaded it. Don't quite understand how it works though. Can you give me some insight on it?

 

It simply sets the Large Address Aware Flag in the executable's header.  Google "Large Address Aware" for more information on how this works.

 

Oh and any idea when 31.2 will be out.

 

As fast as we can get it done.

 

I've been tinkering with it. I think I made it work. I did it and it made a backup of the sc4 executable file. I opened the game with launcher and everything worked fine. Oh and I reinstalled nam 31.1 with the extended controller. Everything seems to be working fine. No crashes and the L3 part worked like I wanted it to. I will keep playing with it. Thanks for your help. Y'all are doing a wonderful job with the NAM.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

There is a lot of palaver about using the 4GB patch.  Has the NAM hit its limit by consuming all the text space?  By text, I mean the non-shared space that normally contains only executable code, but in this case also contains the plugins tables.  32-bit programs never were intended to use virtual space at all, and I don't believe SC4 can actually use any meaningful virtualization.

[GeometryMath Algebra 614]

The RHW-2 has sidewalk paths!! (Can't post a picture right now because of internet issues) Undocumented feature or intentionally added?   BTW, is NAM 31.2 imminent?

[Ganaram Inukshuk 906]

The RHW-2 has sidewalk paths!!

They've been there for, well, forever. BTW, the paths for the RHW-2 (as with its original textures) were taken from the Road network.

 

BTW, with regards to this, we're hoping to not have droughts like what happened in 2012 again. Besides, considering the drought, ain't it awesome to have three (and I say three because NAM 31.1 was technically released twice) NAMs within one year already? (The prospect of a fourth, that's yet to be determined because we're not at the imminent point yet.)

[Gurning_Chimp 398]

Are the RHW-4 bridges meant to be unable to carry vehicles across? Even the drawpaths show they're broken!

[michaeldcannaday 42]

Is there a way or a puzzle piece that places a 6 lane (3 lanes each direction) freeway onto a NAM or RWH 6 lane piece?  The only way I can connect so far is connecting onto a 4 lane roadway. There has to be a better way.  Ideas??

[Ganaram Inukshuk 906]

Are the RHW-4 bridges meant to be unable to carry vehicles across? Even the drawpaths show they're broken!

 

They're all pathed properly...

 

Is there a way or a puzzle piece that places a 6 lane (3 lanes each direction) freeway onto a NAM or RWH 6 lane piece?

 

There isn't any puzzle piece. Though technically you can use OWR-3 between the MHW and RD-6.

By the way, proper terminology for these networks is MHW (not freeway), RHW-6S (not RWH 6), and RD-6 (the six-lane road thing you're using).

[Gurning_Chimp 398]

 

Are the RHW-4 bridges meant to be unable to carry vehicles across? Even the drawpaths show they're broken!

 

They're all pathed properly...

 

Is there a way or a puzzle piece that places a 6 lane (3 lanes each direction) freeway onto a NAM or RWH 6 lane piece?

 

There isn't any puzzle piece. Though technically you can use OWR-3 between the MHW and RD-6.

By the way, proper terminology for these networks is MHW (not freeway), RHW-6S (not RWH 6), and RD-6 (the six-lane road thing you're using).

 

 

Well it doesn't work when I UDI over it, nor do Sims seem to use it.

[z1 566]

There is a lot of palaver about using the 4GB patch.  Has the NAM hit its limit by consuming all the text space?

 

I sincerely doubt that SC4, even with a full NAM installation, has reached 2GB of text space.  But whether SC4 with the NAM was running out of space for text or for data really isn't the issue; the fact is the symptoms and the result of the patch clearly indicate that SC4 had consumed its total address space.

 

32-bit programs never were intended to use virtual space at all, and I don't believe SC4 can actually use any meaningful virtualization.

 

Virtualization is something that is done by the OS, and is usually invisible to programs.  But any program that runs on any NT-based version of Windows uses virtual memory, simply because that's the way the OS works.  By default, 32-bit processes are given 2 GB of address space, which to them looks like physical memory, even though it's virtual.  If they try to allocate more than this total of 2 GB, the allocation fails.  This all applies regardless of the amount of physical memory that the computer has.

 

The 4GB patch merely changes the size of the address space for 32-bit processes running on a 64-bit OS from 2 GB to 4 GB, allowing the process to allocate more memory than it would be able to otherwise.  So it's not a question of whether SC4 uses virtualization; all programs running under all modern versions of Windows are completely virtualized.  No user program has direct access to physical memory.  But to the programs themselves, virtual memory is indistinguishable from physical memory.

 

That being said, the 4GB patch is used simply because crashes that occur without it don't occur when it is installed.  Since the only thing this patch does is to double the virtual address space, this implies that SC4 with the current NAM was reaching the limits of its 2 GB address space, and memory allocation calls after that were failing.  Doubling the virtual address space allows those memory allocation calls to succeed.

[Tarkus 6,932]

 

Well it doesn't work when I UDI over it, nor do Sims seem to use it.

 

 

Are you in LHD mode?  That might explain it.  Knowing which bridge(s) and seeing a pic or two of DrawPaths would help.

 

There is a lot of palaver about using the 4GB patch.  Has the NAM hit its limit by consuming all the text space?  By text, I mean the non-shared space that normally contains only executable code, but in this case also contains the plugins tables.  32-bit programs never were intended to use virtual space at all, and I don't believe SC4 can actually use any meaningful virtualization.

 

That's an interesting existential question, which has crossed my mind as well.  z1 already answered the virtualization bit very well.  The way I look at the 4GB Patch is that it's basically something the game needs in order to perform well on newer systems.  In that regard, I don't see its use as being anything different than the command line parameters that people have added to their game's shortcut to alleviate crashing on multi-core CPUs, or use higher resolutions that are standard nowadays.

 

There obviously are limits--the RUL2 size correlation to the CTD-on-save caught us by surprise.  The trick, however, is to continue innovating as much as we can, pushing that limit farther out there, giving ourselves some more headroom--either by expanding the space, and/or finding ways of fitting into that space more efficiently.  The NAM is often cited of the main reasons that people are still playing SC4, some 10 years after release, and the promise of further NAM development is a factor in its future longevity.  I don't say this to be egotistical, but if we truly "hit the limit", and can't feasibly expand upon the NAM any further, it could very well end up being a mortal wound to SC4's continued relevance.

 

-Tarkus

[Gurning_Chimp 398]

 

 

Well it doesn't work when I UDI over it, nor do Sims seem to use it.

 

 

Are you in LHD mode?  That might explain it.  Knowing which bridge(s) and seeing a pic or two of DrawPaths would help.

 

 

 

Oh of course.

 

 

Yes I'm in LHD mode (I'm a limey ) and it seems to be the RHW-4 bridges.

[Tarkus 6,932]

Thanks for the screengrab!    That does indeed look like an LHD issue--most likely, the paths are in a remapping range, and there aren't paths at those IIDs, so it's doing that.  There had been some reports with that bridge before it was incorporated into the NAM, and I think it had been fixed a couple times on our end, but those fixes never made it into the version that got included in the NAM.

 

-Tarkus

[Gurning_Chimp 398]

Thanks for the screengrab!    That does indeed look like an LHD issue--most likely, the paths are in a remapping range, and there aren't paths at those IIDs, so it's doing that.  There had been some reports with that bridge before it was incorporated into the NAM, and I think it had been fixed a couple times on our end, but those fixes never made it into the version that got included in the NAM.

 

-Tarkus

 

So 31.2?

[Tarkus 6,932]

Yes, it'll be something we'll do for 31.2.  I've opened a Github issue for it (#134).

 

And to the folks who have reported issues with the traffic signals not working on new Road Turning Lanes intersections, built with the Rail click-over method, I've fixed that by switching it over to a One-Way Road click-over.  That method will be implemented in NAM 31.2 as well.

 

-Tarkus

[Metalpuritan 160]

I did some research on this patch. I've seen where others have been unable to use sc4 launcher with this. I checked it out and downloaded it. Don't quite understand how it works though. Can you give me some insight on it?

 

Oh and any idea when 31.2 will be out. I know y'all are working hard and I am patiently waiting. Just curious though.

I am using the 4GB patch and have been for quite some time, I used it with the logic bomb launcher and now with this new one too, works just fine...for me.  Some folks...you got to watch closely, some folks will change multiple things on their PC at once and when things go wrong they just pick one of those things and blame it, not exactly scientific method you know. I have an acronym for this, I call it a p.i.c.n.i.c., Problem In Chair Not In Computer and is almost always the case.

[Haljackey 17,325]

Oh and any idea when 31.2 will be out. I know y'all are working hard and I am patiently waiting. Just curious though.

 

When it's ready. NAM 31(.0) was the only time in the history of the NAM when a release date was given. I can also say with certainty that it will never be done again. We like to surprise people

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

So, surprise me and I might surprise you back!  The newer stuff that's being collected for 31.2 is starting to sound very tantalizing.  Giddyap!

[z1 566]

I did some research on this patch. I've seen where others have been unable to use sc4 launcher with this.

 

I checked around, and found exactly one person who had this conflict, while I found many others who had no problem at all using this combination.  I can't think of any problem with the patch that would explain such behavior.

[jlouhill 0]

 

I did some research on this patch. I've seen where others have been unable to use sc4 launcher with this. I checked it out and downloaded it. Don't quite understand how it works though. Can you give me some insight on it?

 

Oh and any idea when 31.2 will be out. I know y'all are working hard and I am patiently waiting. Just curious though.

I am using the 4GB patch and have been for quite some time, I used it with the logic bomb launcher and now with this new one too, works just fine...for me.  Some folks...you got to watch closely, some folks will change multiple things on their PC at once and when things go wrong they just pick one of those things and blame it, not exactly scientific method you know. I have an acronym for this, I call it a p.i.c.n.i.c., Problem In Chair Not In Computer and is almost always the case.

 

Yea, that's one thing I've learned is that most of the time the issues most people have aren't because of what they think it is but because they have their system so wrapped around the axle the first thing they think of is the last thing they installed. I like your PICNIC acronym. It's fitting.

 

 

 

I did some research on this patch. I've seen where others have been unable to use sc4 launcher with this.

 

I checked around, and found exactly one person who had this conflict, while I found many others who had no problem at all using this combination.  I can't think of any problem with the patch that would explain such behavior.

 

I have been using it with the old and the new launcher and have had no issues with it. I thought I read that more than one had an issue but I could have been wrong. I like the fact that I can now use the L3 and L4 pieces. Thanks for your input and help.

[jlouhill 0]

 

Oh and any idea when 31.2 will be out. I know y'all are working hard and I am patiently waiting. Just curious though.

 

When it's ready. NAM 31(.0) was the only time in the history of the NAM when a release date was given. I can also say with certainty that it will never be done again. We like to surprise people

 

I know y'all aren't putting out anymore dates. I am waiting with baited breath for the surprise when I check daily for the update. It's like opening a present everyday. Except the box is empty. I know one day there will be the present I eagerly await.

[JessiLaurn 184]

Re:  PICNIC

 

Back when I was in front-line tech support, we used to call that PEBCAK:  Problem Exists Between Chair and Keyboard.

Or the "Eye Dee Ten Tee" problem (ID10T).

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

And I generally call that the loose nut holding the keyboard.

[Haljackey 17,325]

Hi guys, just wanted to grab your attention for a min.

 

Z1 has set up a platforming poll to take a survey on what computer specs NAM users have. If you haven't voted in this poll please do! 

[Superbacon 380]

The L2-A1 ramp will not rotate on some stretches of Project Symphony highway.

[Joomie 0]

This seems the most appropriate place to voice my opinion, so here goes (ahem):
WOW Thanks a billion, this is brilliant!

 

We're big SC(4) fans and have been through a few versions of NAM which were all great, but this most recent one is, well, extra BRILLIANT! SC helps with our homeschooling in several areas and we had a smashing good time playing with this newest version. We actually created an entire twisty-turny-wonky completely mental, utterly unrealistic (and might I say sadistic) neighbourhood on a blank city and then added (maximum of course) and watched the poor automata go berserk!
 
I couldn't say this to child, but (pardon me for this) the little round nubs on the end of roads and streets they look a bit like sperm which made it extra funny to me. Surely that wasn't the intention and sorry in advance to any embarrassment the (brilliant!) NAM team may incur due to that statement/revelation, but I do not apologise for the guffaws and giggles that this may cause the team or anyone/everyone else.
 
This would be perfect to close with the appropriate emoticon: the one that bows down before the profound greatness of the NAM team. You have my undying appreciation, affection, awe and admiration - in short: I'm not worthy, but I sure enjoy your efforts!

 
 May the Flying Spagetti Monster bless you eternally.
 

[GeometryMath Algebra 614]

 

I couldn't say this to child, but (pardon me for this) the little round nubs on the end of roads and streets they look a bit like sperm which made it extra funny to me. Surely that wasn't the intention and sorry in advance to any embarrassment the (brilliant!) NAM team may incur due to that statement/revelation, but I do not apologise for the guffaws and giggles that this may cause the team or anyone/everyone else.

 

Well, the proper name for those "little round nubs" you're talking about are called cul-de-sacs. You always see this on a dead end of a street. (usually in a suburb) If you don't like cul-de-sacs, remove the file "zzzNAM_Retexture_and_Cosmetic_Mod_Culdesac_Plugin_Superhands.dat" (if you're using american textures) or "z8_eurotexture_culdesac.dat" (If you're using euro textures) from your z__NAM folder (probably inside a subfolder called "Road Textures").

 

Regards,

-Geometry