Updating NAM: What NAM is right for me?

[Jedimarine 119]

So I am enticed by the announcements of NAM updates, but the numerous postings of CTD have long given me pause to step up my version.

As such, I am not even sure what version of NAM I am running.  I "think" I am on NAM 29, but I am guessing based on a readme in a zip folder that was on a backup drive collecting dust.

I have read all of the "compatible" notes:

I am playing a SC4 retail disc (old school ) patched to 640, but I am playing on a 32 bit machine, so the full muscled NAM is out of the question.

All I really want is to be able to use a few transit bats I have downloaded that call out for NAM 32 or newer.

Can you even download older versions of NAM?  I have seen comments that legacy machines should use NAM 36 of older, while NAM 37 is where things got taxing.  True?

I have read contradicting messages about deleting older NAM folder, or absolutely do not remove NAM folders, which I assume means "it depends on your installation".

The last thing I want to do is break what is working, which is why I have stayed still for so long.  Are there more "stable" versions of NAM then others?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Lucario Boricua 7,062]

I don't know where you're getting your information, but this seems to be extremely outdated, inaccurate for the current status of the mod (we just published NAM 45) and potentially very limiting. You can find the latest version of the mod here:

 

As far as compatibility of transit lots go, pretty much everything is compatible with current versions of the NAM. Prior to the NAM 30s, many of today's rail and transit networks didn't exist or were in early stages of development. The latest such network to join the ranks is the Hybrid Railway (conventional rail which admits HSR services, as a dual rail/monorail network), first introduced in NAM 38 and gradually expanded since.

As for compatibility of the NAM with older computers, you have to be using something extremely limiting (32-bit operating system with 4GB of RAM or less) for a full NAM installation not to work. As of NAM 45, these are our installation options:

• NAMLite: a very small scale package of essential NAM features which only affects the game's base networks, more or less equivalent to what SimCity 4 should ideally support out of the box had it received 1-2 more expansions. It brings no new networks nor transit stations, only bugfixes, traffic simulator, automata controller, and a small expansion of functionality to the game's default networks. If you do intend to use these extra transit stations, this version isn't for you. You can read more in the NAM documentation's version history, specifically under NAM 45.
• NAM low RAM: this option brings most of the Network Addon Mod content, excluding the RealHighway, which on its own represents a sizable portion of the mod, and a sizable increase in gameplay complexity. If you're unfamiliar with the network and don't feel interested in trying it out, you can go with this version and get everything else. I think this might be the option most appropriate for your needs. As far as your interest in using transit content with your stations, you should be able to use all the options at your disposal.
• NAM full installation: this option brings the full set of content for the Network Addon Mod, including the single largest portion, the RealHighway. Due to the size of the network controller (the file containing the code to operate and stabilize the networks), this installation requires a 64-bit operating system, more than 4GB of RAM (reasonably at least 8GB), and application of the 4GB patch to SimCity 4. 

As far as the availability of older NAM versions, no. The NAM team does not distribute older NAM versions, only the current one, and forbids their distribution as well. We do not have the time, money nor manpower to service multiple NAM versions at the same time. We are, however, attentive to as many bugs present in older versions, and diligently work to fix them. Some new bugs can be introduced at times when creating new versions, but the overall product is always improving with each new iteration. On the rare occasions we roll back features, or make major overhauls to them, we have really good reasons to do so.

Since NAM 37, our policy with NAM installations is to completely remove the previous version manually, then run the installer to get your new version in place without conflicts. Note as well that, since NAM 31, the mod is provided as a single unified package (monolithic). Any and all older standalone versions of network families, like the RHW, SAM, NWM, HSRP, CAN-AM and European texture packages, are no longer distributed separately, and instead form part of the core offering of NAM files. You can back-up your old version if you feel unsure about the new one, but we feel very confident that the newer version is far better, and worth adopting instead.

 

     We hope this is helpful for your gameplay needs, let us know how the upgrade goes!     

[Ulisse Wolf 4,478]

With NAM 45 there are three versions available

• NAMLite: Any system which can run SimCity 4, with 40MB available disk space.
   
• NAM with a LowRAM/NoRHW Controller option: Any system built within the last 15 years, with 750MB available disk space. (Users running this option cannot install the RealHighway (RHW) features.)
   
• NAM with a Full 4GB Controller option: Any system with a 64-bit operating system, at least 4GB RAM, and 1.2GB available disk space. If on Windows, the 4GB Patch must be applied to the game's executable.

Since you wrote that you are using SC4 on a 32-bit machine you cannot use NAM with a Full 4GB Controller option and consequently cannot use RHW. If you want to use RHW the only solution is to buy a computer with a 64 Bit processor and a minimum of 8 GB of RAM.  So from what you wrote you have to run the INSTALLATION NAM with a LowRAM/NoRHW Controller option

50 minutes ago, Jedimarine said:

Can you even download older versions of NAM? 

NAM Team does not provide downloads and support for older versions of NAM. Currently the NAM Team only provides support for version 45.

https://simtarkus.wordpress.com/2020/11/29/why-old-NAM-versions-are-immediately-discontinued-spoiler-alert-theyre-rubbish/

50 minutes ago, Jedimarine said:

I have seen comments that legacy machines should use NAM 36 of older, while NAM 37 is where things got taxing.  True?

Completely FALSE.  NAM 36 is the latest NAM version that used NSIS as an installer and is famous for skipping pieces during installation. Also including controller files. NAM 37 was a breakthrough for the installer change that made things easier. But both NAM 36 and NAM 37 are garbage compared to NAM 44 or NAM 45

55 minutes ago, Jedimarine said:

I have read contradicting messages about deleting older NAM folder, or absolutely do not remove NAM folders, which I assume means "it depends on your installation".

AGAIN. This news is completely FALSE. If you do not delete the old NAM installation folder and perform a dirty update you will only have problems with the controller and the various NAM components.

the correct procedure is as follows

1 Delete the old NAM Folder
2 Perform a Clean NAM installation

58 minutes ago, Jedimarine said:

The last thing I want to do is break what is working, which is why I have stayed still for so long.  Are there more "stable" versions of NAM then others?

There are no stable versions. The NAM Team considers the stable version the only version available to the public. Currently the stable version is NAM 45

 

[Jedimarine 119]

Thank you @ulisse & @Lucario Boricua

That is mostly in line with what I was thinking, but it helps to get confirmation.

To help with clarity, as part of my investigation into doing a NAM update today, a simple google search pointed me to this forum posting:

Clearly it is quite old, and now with confirmation, it is partially out of date.  I don't know if there is way to tag the posting as such, but I wanted someone to know google will send people to that post.  Perhaps I can message @Tarkus directly.  But this is what made me think twice considering the extreme age of my version of NAM.

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And there again, as to removal of the old NAM...is it as simple as taking the NAM folder out of plugins, or must I run the uninstall exes inside (there are 2). I wonder if one of them is a relic of long forgotten NAM update.

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Thank you again.

[Tarkus 6,935]

24 minutes ago, Jedimarine said:

To help with clarity, as part of my investigation into doing a NAM update today, a simple google search pointed me to this forum posting:

Clearly it is quite old, and now with confirmation, it is partially out of date.  I don't know if there is way to tag the posting as such, but I wanted someone to know google will send people to that post. 

-----------------------

And there again, as to removal of the old NAM...is it as simple as taking the NAM folder out of plugins, or must I run the uninstall exes inside (there are 2). I wonder if one of them is a relic of long forgotten NAM update.

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I've gone ahead and edited that post to specifically spell out that it's outdated.  But in general, with anything SC4-related--and specifically, NAM-related--one need to be careful to look at the date of the posting.  If you're presently still on NAM 29, that release is from August 2010--12 years ago--and the mod is still very much in active development, it should stand to reason that there's been a lot of changes.  The mod's been around for 18 years, so there's plenty of outdated information out there--far more than we can be reasonably expected to keep track of on our own.

Also, do not use any uninstall executables included in old NAM versions--just delete or move any old NAM installations out of your folder.

-Tarkus