Help! I want to mod a road. How to start ?

[Atas-Pelangi 1]

Are there any tutorials and or guides on how to mod roads and transport tiles ?
how was NAM made ?
im looking to make my own stuff but dont know how to start.

all i can find is lot and building guides. i don't need another lot tutorial link.

any help welcome.

[matias93 7,535]

@Tarkus @rsc204 know

[rsc204 21,836]

It would help a lot if you could be more specific about exactly what you are trying to create/achieve. Working with transit networks is very different from making Lots and Buildings.

Usually the easiest way to get into such mods is to directly override an existing network. For example, taking the street textures and changing them to a different style. But if you want to create brand new networks, then it's a much more involved process. It should also be noted, it's not possible to directly add new networks to the game. We need to create "override" networks, which are based upon the existing ones. An example of this is SAM (Street Addon Mod), where placing a starter piece allows for the existing street network to be overridden to show a different style. However, the reality of making a new set like SAM, involves not just making the textures, but adding RUL2 code to make it appear, pathing and more besides.

In both scenarios, I can't direct you to one single tutorial, because the process is very specific to the exact task you intend. Not to mention, for some of this stuff, step-by-step tutorials simply do not exist.

[Atas-Pelangi 1]

to start id like to know if there is a program i need, or where the files exist to reverse engineer.
i guess when i asked i just wanted to know how to start to find out whats possible.

my 1st project would be to edit the textures, after that i want to know if i can make an 8 way avenue intersection.

[rsc204 21,836]

All the textures exist either within the SimCity game files (SimCity_2 - SimCity_5 DATs) or the Network Addon Mod & z___NAM folders (NAM). Due to the nature of the NAM's development, textures are strewn over the various files/folders of the mod, there isn't a single location where you'll find them. Learning where to find specific textures can be a bit difficult.

iLives Reader is pretty much a must-have tool for any serious modder, it will enable you to see/edit the contents of SC4 container files. However, specifically for working with textures, GoFSH is about the best tool there is, it comes with a comprehensive manual.

The simplest method to changing things is to replace the existing textures with modified replacements. Network textures are all 128x128px in size, by using the same ID as the original texture, then loading your replacements after, they will appear instead. If you extract the originals using GoFSH, you can then edit them as BMPs and re-import them into a new DAT, without having to mess with IDs manually. It would be useful to familiarise yourself with the ID/Wealth scheme used by SC4 textures too, here would be a good place to start.

NAM already includes the possibility to create an 8-way avenue intersection, all of which can be dragged normally.