simcity4 NAM 34 Now Available

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Already did the reinstall with no result.  My understanding of the loading order (from z1) is that it is handled by the game and not the file system.  I am not overly excited by the fact that something that was working has ceased to do so, and I think that since the result is relatively harmless I am not going to dig into this any further. 

The last time this worked without any intervention on my part to the best of my knowledge is NAM 33.  Since I have all the recent NAM distributions I could back out to there, but for now I am just going to ignore this problem.  Consider the issue closed, but keep a note of it for future Quality Assurance.  There is a hiccup somewhere, but it is too much for me to bother with right now.  RL is pouring in on me at the moment.

[Tarkus 6,932]

I've heard of users having load order-related issues in Linux.  Why it would have worked before but not now makes little sense, as there's been zero change to the installation procedures for that particular plugin.

-Tarkus

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Beats me.  The collating sequence is the same (UTF-8) AFAIK.  The only time one has problems with this is with machines running with EBCDIC, and I don't think PCs do that.  Anyway, it is not going to stop me from running.  If I get a brainstorm, I'll try it.

[cmdp123789 710]

Hey guys.. I have a quick question about NAM 34 RRW. I remember I downloaded some Rivit's fixes for the grass textures back in NAM 32. Do I still need them? or does the RRW provide the no grass option for RRW?

[rsc204 21,836]

You'll still need the "transparent earth" file from RUM. I'm not sure there are plans to include it in the NAM.

[cmdp123789 710]

Well thanks for the answer! Just a quick question, is there by any chance a possibility that we might see rails getting wider? like 3 rails or maybe a QTR?

[rsc204 21,836]

Possibly. But with limited resources, I think the focus is very much on getting the fundamentals into place. After all, you can always double up rail lines for the time being.

[cmdp123789 710]

Yeah, but the problem I have with that is that I get this weird texture.. and if I leave it just as grass, then it looks like there is a gap.. is there anything I can do to get a "right" look? you usually mod a lot, and know everything about textures.. any ideas?

[rsc204 21,836]

Could you elaborate with a screenshot?

[cmdp123789 710]

Yeah.. I have attached a picture. The thing is.. I understand that the rails get a dirt texture around them, but how is he achieving that grass texture in the middle? I know he probably has like a small park plopped in there because there is a 1x1 gap, but the rails seem to have a texture that is almost identical to it.

[KiethMarkus2014 14]

I would have to say perhaps Photoshop or another image editing program. I would PM the user and ask him/her for a more accurate response.

[rsc204 21,836]

16 hours ago, cmdp123789 said:

Yeah.. I have attached a picture. The thing is.. I understand that the rails get a dirt texture around them, but how is he achieving that grass texture in the middle? I know he probably has like a small park plopped in there because there is a 1x1 gap, but the rails seem to have a texture that is almost identical to it.

Probably just a texture mod that swaps the dirt for grass. I've attached one that will work, since this is only one texture. If you use TGN or would prefer another texture under rail, I could easily make that for you. Essentially copy the texture into a new DAT, then just give it the same ID as the attached texture, 0x08400000. Don't forget to change the group ID also if your original is a lot texture.

Personally I prefer transparency, because on diagonals you'll need to use fillers and the like to cover the edges. Bear in mind the rail underlays are basically the 4th wealth sidewalk. It's also used for zoning next to farms, so any changes made to rail are mirrored there too.

Edit: Just as I am finished typing, I stumbled across this. Perhaps it was not the solution I proposed after all?

Rail+Rural_GrassUnderlay.zip

[Kim Sunwoo 817]

Hi there! Great work with the new NAM release. Installed and working flawlessly.

 

I've got a question about textures. I realized that when you use El-Rail over road 4 the texture being loaded for the sidewalk is in the file "mipmaps_sidewalks.dat" contained in NAM/El Rail/El Rail over avenue networks/z_mipmaps. There are three textures, wealth dependant I suppose, numbered 0x0810000A, 0x0820000A, 0x0830000A. I replaced the 3 of them with my own sandstone textures, deleted the original .dat file and place my own with the exact same name.

Now, when I use the piece in the game the sidewalks do not appear and I see some red and blue colours where it was supposed to be. Does someone know why this is happening? I have replaced almost every ingame texture to Paeng's Sandstone, but this one is resisting...

Apologies if this is not the right place for this type of questions.

Regards.

[rsc204 21,836]

2 hours ago, Kim Sunwoo said:

I've got a question about textures.

This was answered on the SC4D thread here.

[+Guest jdcthk]

Is anyone knows how to deal with an installation problem with the newest NAM??? It keeps stopping installation process at "Setup Type". 

 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Solved elsewhere.  Please do not multiple post problems.

  Edited January 24, 2016 by Cyclone Boom  
Added the thread for anyone wondering.

[LivingInThePast 364]

The newest installation seems to require Java. Is this new, or did my old computer (which I installed Java on to help with online homework) just have it and follow the instructions. The installer warned me that the non-Java traffic controller would be take more time to run. Does this mean that the installer only needs Java, or do I need Java for SimCity 4?

[rsc204 21,836]

You don't need Java I think, but without it the custom NAM controller will fail to run, so you'll get the default one with everything instead.

In short, the amount of code is snowballing in the NAM, to keep up with all the new additions and content. If you are using everything, a full controller won't make much difference. But, if you only use a small amount of the NAM and especially if you do not use RHW, you'd be better off with a custom controller. This will only contain the code required for the selected options during install. This gives quicker loading times and can make your game more responsive too.

Creation of the custom controller requires Java installed, useful because it's cross-platform for Mac/Linux players.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Java is used to compile the NAM controller, which if you don't use all of the features, will result in a much smaller controller with fewer RULs that need to be interpreted, and so faster when dealing with NAM add-ons, especially RHW.  Since Java is a free download, you might just as well go ahead and get it ugly as it is.

If you don't have the Java compiler, you get the default controller which has everything including the kitchen sink.

[davlethut 0]

Hey,

I installed NAM 34 and it's working properly. Great work!
I still got a question, I can't find the transition tools anymore for RHW; e.g. 3-Lane-RHW from Level 0 to 1, or Level 0 to 2. There's only the Flex height menu button, but since there are only 2-Lane-RHW ones I am very limited. Is there a new trick how to use the ramps? Thanks for your help!

[MushyMushy 3,618]

The FLEX height transitions are meant for more than just the 2-lane highway. You drag other RHW networks through the FLEX transitions and then the transitions will "morph" into a transition for the RHW type that is drug through them. As far as I know, this was done to cut down on excessively long menu cycles.

[davlethut 0]

Thanks. Not sure if I like this a lot, but well. Pobably have to use more 'starters' in more dense areas so they don't morph into weird roads. Thanks for your help!

[rsc204 21,836]

The trick with the flex transitions is usually to build the overpass, before connecting the networks under/over them. If both sides of the overpass have a stable RHW connection, starters are rarely required.

If you try to cross networks directly whilst building the overpass, this leaves a more complex RUL problem to resolve. Often this will destabilise the overpass, because the small amount of tiles between networks confuses the code, where it has to resolve things on the fly. Whereas the other way, it will know exactly what RHW connection the overpass is, making the job of finding the correct overrides for crossings much easier to get right.

[davlethut 0]

Yeah what you're saying makes sense.

But one thing: There seeams to be no standard length Level 0 to Level 2 ramp anymore, just the very long one. This is really annoying; I try to get by with the Level 0 to Level 1 ramp which has the traditional ramp length but limits my capacities to build things. Is there a way to still use the standard ramp tor Level 2?

[rsc204 21,836]

If you install the depreciated ramps, all the original items are still usable.

But whilst those ramps are convenient, they are anything but realistic. Personally I've changed my mind-set preferring to use on-slopes more often with earthen ramps. In addition, I use more L1 than L2 content as the options for doing that are much improved these days.

Of course, sometimes you need to go to 15m for some setups to work, but even then I try to avoid all the original steep ramps where possible. Of course, you may not be bothered about realism, in which case often the original ramps will do things the new ones simply can not.

[Tarkus 6,932]

To add to rsc204's comment, the only situations I can think of off the top of my head where L2 would be required would be the Elevated FlexSPUI (which hasn't been touched since NAM 30, the last release where L1 wasn't available) and that one static curved MIS transition.  Aside from that, L1 does the trick, and those two aforementioned situations are planned to be fixed to be L1 compatible, though not right away.  The FlexSPUI update can't be done until the new Flex Turning Lanes (FTLs) are finished--those are a replacement for the puzzle-based Turn Lane Extension Pieces (TuLEPs).  And the curved height transition is going to require some new modeling work to be done.  It's on the list, but hasn't been started.

-Tarkus

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Clash of the acronyms again!  FTL in my vocabulary means Faster Than Light.  Boy, is this ever getting specialized into a tower of Babel.

[Tarkus 6,932]

The use of that particular acronym was intentional.  Using the new FTL system will seem Faster Than Light compared to the old TuLEPs.

-Tarkus

[davlethut 0]

Thanks.

''If you install the depreciated ramps, all the original items are still usable.'' Not sure what you mean with that; how do I install those? I had to reinstall Sim City 4 and just installed NAM 34.
Well, I need the level 2 ones for highway interchanges, especially when coming from 4 directions. And sometimes for ramps in a sunken highway mode. The long Level 2 ramp is hard to use in hilly terrain. I actually do value realism a lot, I also try to make everything look proportional and real, but Level 0 to Level 2 ramps never crossed my mind to look unrealistic

[rsc204 21,836]

It simply means, the option to install them is set to off by default. Re-Run the NAM installer, tick the box for this option - in Real Highway Options - and they will be back and functioning in the same way they always did.