NAM - placing various elements

[denzo 5]

Hi,

I am new to NAM, and lost in its lots of options, expanded the vanilla edition.

But I found some difficulties, placing the elements:

some of the elements not placed onto to tile where I wanted to (see pic1); the cursor is at the position where the "SAM 1 - Parking Lot Textures" tile, but when I place it, it drops next to it. Several other elements do the same behaviour like this.

Furthermore, I cannot connect the angled roads end to a straight road end. (see pic2, where I tried to drag a road to the angled road's end, but it is "denied")

Is it an installation problem (missing something?) or am I doing something wrong?

 

Appretiate any help!

[Fantozzi 4,067]

2 minutes ago, denzo said:

lost in its lots

Well me using the NAM for many years still having the exact same 'issue' and I'm afraid being of no much help here. Often I download You-Tube videos from players they created something similar me wants to create and then I replay them at very low speed and simply copy each step done in the video. That's the only way I found to learn on this complex mod - I think it's not possible to learn it systematically (by learning the 'grammar' rules of this mod) but by exercising, practicing - to watch how the geeks resolve a task and to copy their techniques (like you would learn  a foreign language not by reading a dozends of grammar books but by repeating sentences constantly in class - you start with simple conversation and advance - you would learn the grammar implicit).

Regarding the connection issue I think you have to leave more space (at least one complete tile, better two) between the angled road and the straight and then try to connect starting from the angled part, not from the straight part. I think that's because they working as overrides of the default and so when starting from the 'default side' isn't recognized as fitting but when starting from the 'override side' instead it is. The same like on starter and puzzle pieces. You can't drag from the standard to the override instead have to start from the override side towards the standard. And there has to be space between them. I think this space is needed because basically there must be placed a 'transition part' that can't be only half a tile or two halfs of a tile but needs at least one complete tile of empty space between them, sometimes two.

Hope this was right and you have some progress.

There is a subforum for NAM in this forum. And also there are many players knowing NAM better than me. So let's see their comments.

[denzo 5]

"watch how the geeks resolve"

Yeah, started to watch yt videos, and I am just blinking... (WHAT? HOW? HEH??)  

As you said, right, I tried to find a systematically learning curve guideline over the net, but it seems, watching and prcaticing could be the solution to understand how things working in this mod.

As for the angled road issue: of course I tried it started from the angled, but no success. It is red too. What I figured out it is working only on one end of an angled road...

 

Anyway, thanks yor response!

[markussaage 762]

Well, the behavior you described in pic 1 is normal and the way it used to be, because this is called SAM (Street Adoon MOD), and after you've placed that so called Starter Piece (that little piece, that is offset and kind of blank), you need to drag the ingame street tool from this starter piece at least six tiles in one direction and the ingame street texture will change it's appearance to the one that you picked with the starter piece...Then you can demolish that starter piece and drag from the other side all the way you want the street to go.

Let's explain it with some pictures:
1. The SAM in the Street/Road Menu

Pic it and chose the street you want by using <TAB> on your keyboard to scroll through all available SAM streets.

2. Rotate the chosen SAM street with <POS1> and/or <END> on the keyboard, until the desired direction is correct and place it.

3. Here I chose the SAM 3 - PEG Dirt Road. Now go back to the Street/Road Menu and pick the ingame Street tool. Drag from one end of that placed Starter piece (at least six tiles).

4. Demolish the other end (just the 1 tile with that flat end).

5. Drag with the Street tool again in the other direction.

6. To prevent the already existing street at the bottom to become a SAM 3 PEG Dirt Road, go to the MISC Transit Menu and pick one of the SAM Stoppers, here the SAM 3 PEG Dirt Road Stopper.

7. Place it with the arrow facing the existing street and plop it.

It will automatically connect to the existing street. If it doesn't connect right away, use the Road tool to level the tiles around the connection area. Now you can use the Street tool again to extend the picked SAM 3 Dirt Road where ever you want it.

I hope, this little explanation makes is more clear how to use it. It's also the same procedure with all the other SAM Roads in the SAM Addon Menu, even with the first one, the parking texture.

Kind regards!

[rsc204 21,808]

Indeed most starter pieces will place the network piece one tile from where the cursor is, this is intended behaviour. Although the preview does clearly show where the starter will end up.

As for the angled roads, you can't drag from the angled part, you must place a transition piece from the angle back to either Straight or Diagonal road before you can start to drag again. This is because the game has no notion of any type of angled connection, it can only draw Straight or Diagonally (roads).

Puzzle pieces are quite dumb and have strict limitations for how they work. That's why we're slowly moving away from them to Flex pieces, which you may find more intuitive. I made a set of NAM tutorials for beginners, find the link in my signature, I can recommend having a look, it should give you a good grounding in how the NAM elements work.

[denzo 5]

Wow..

You guys...

I am impressed.

Really..

Thanks for your effort, this is so great to see this helpfulness.

As soon as I can get to play with SC4 I will do these steps!

 

thanks again!

[Tarkus 6,932]

I'll also add that the NAM's documentation was revamped for the NAM 36 release, and includes some detailed step-by-step guides for many features, including the SAM.  You'll find it in the My Documents\SimCity 4\NAM Auxiliary Files\Documentation folder.  The "1-start.html" file will get you started.

-Tarkus