Are "scripts" feasible?

[LivingInThePast 364]

So I was watching "SimCity 4 - Building a real interchange" on YouTube by @Haljackey. Now, it was technically impressive, but you could tell it took several hours in real time. Sadly, that's not how most users would want to do things. Even though I do love NAM, I don't think I could devote several hours on one interchange. Most would just want some sort of plop.

Obviously, plopping giant interchanges is unfeasible at best and NAM has said repeatedly that will never happen. But what about a script? Instead of trying to roll up all those individual puzzle pieces into a single hefty piece, what about a "script" lot that will activate putting those pieces exactly as they should be?

RHW-4 (4,-1)
RHW-4 (3,-1)
LR30 (2, 1)

To explain the code above, let's say, at the tile that it's placed at, it builds an RHW-4 tile four tiles to the north and one to the west, then another one at a different place, then places another piece at two spaces north and one to the east. Place the tile, and watch the interchange build itself. Obviously, it would need the NAM, or otherwise won't build puzzle pieces it's supposed to, but at the end the interchange is complete.

Problem is, I don't know if this process has actually been done or can be done. Aren't the Digger lots this sort of thing, though? Sure seems like it...

[matias93 7,535]

I think Tarkus already got ahead you, check his posts starting from here:

https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=990.msg510562#msg510562

[rsc204 21,805]

The work done by Tarkus is not technically a script. However it does use RUL to combine many pieces into a one quick-change intersection. Whilst these developments are truly awesome and even Tarkus himself "felt dirty" having made one. You need to keep your expectations in check here, because whilst some such flexible quick-change pieces will almost certainly make their way into NAM. This is never going to cover more than a few standardised setups for convenience. I think the intention is to cover the most frequently used junctions/exits only. Albeit with flexible pieces that can expand to add more lanes or turning lanes with ease.

For an idea of why this is so, you need look no further than Maarten's work on the T-Interchange for Maxis Highway Overrides development. Even with only a few different options, the amount of coding required was simply hideous and this one piece took around a year of development alone.

So the modular pieces will always be necessary in some form, especially if you want to make really complex setups, the like of which HalJackey creates. Honestly, if you're not inclined to spend time on building intersections, then the MHO is probably a better choice as it's much simplified over the RHW counterparts. Plus you keep the flexibility, since it was designed to interface with both MIS and the RHW networks in general.

[Tarkus 6,932]

Just thought I'd pop in to add a little more clarity to precisely what I did with the QuickChange Xpress (QCX) system, and some of the other points in the original post.

As @rsc204 correctly pointed out, the QCX items are implemented through RUL code.  They were made possible by our recent transition away from traditional static puzzle pieces toward FLEX items--and in fact, as early as 2012, I had speculated in private team discussions about this potential development.  The improvements to elevated functionality also opened the door.  QCXs are giant, composite FLEX pieces, made from combining several other FLEX items that had originally been designed for modular use.  If we were still focusing on static pieces, there's absolutely no way anything like this would ever have been done.

There's several different RUL file formats in the game, and the IntersectionOrderingRUL--often referred to in NAM parlance as "RUL0"--is the one that handles the placement of ploppable network-based items, including both static puzzle pieces, starters, and FLEX items, including QCX.  The RUL0 code for each item does in fact use a grid with a legend, to tell the game where things are supposed to go.  There's not really any need for a script, as RUL0 already does everything you need.

We're still figuring out just what setups will be supported by QCXs--diamond interchanges and the like will be first on the docket, sometime around NAM 36 or 37.  More complex RHW x RHW interchanges are going to be farther out, because there's a lot of legwork involved to find the best footprint.

As far as the self-destructing raisers/diggers, those actually rely primarily on Effects Directories, or EffDirs.  Simple EffDirs are used to display the preview models for RUL0-controlled items--there's some extra "tricks" in the raiser/digger ones.  They're probably the least accessible format by far, as the only real means of modifying them is through hex editing.  Even the simple boilerplate stuff we do when adding preview models can be a minefield.

-Tarkus