screamingman12

Years ago I downloaded the infamous "JT_Tower06". It's a nice building, but it grows like a weed. I can't seem to find the plugins file for it (it was probably compressed along with other stuff), and I was wondering if it's possible to make some quick and dirty fix to make it grow less often or to remove it. Could anyone guide me with this or point me to a fix that has already been made?

Not sure if this has been reported before, but I'm having this problem with elevated rail: I've checked my plugins folder and I can't seem to find any other elevated rail prop mods or cosmetic mods.

I wouldn't demolish them. I know they're going to look ugly but they eventually will be re-occupied. In addition, demolishing a building further throws off the demand for that particular zone, leading to even more abandonment (demand will drop as once-full parcels are developed) if done on a large scale.

It's not just about population, it's about controlling growth. Always zone less than you think you will need (i.e. a couple blocks at a time, rather than the entire city at once). This will take longer, but you will have less abandonment in the long run.

When I first learned Automata, the rule was 150 polygons, and that was pretty much set in stone as far as we were concerned. As far as the red/blue/green splotches go, that happened when people started playing around with 512x512 textures, which need hardware rendering to support. I would imagine that 200-225 polygons would be the upper limit as far as models that will spawn frequently (cars, trains, buses, etc). I know a few years ago someone built a CTA L train with an interior for the game, but I don't know the polycount on that.

As you know, you can cycle through the puzzle pieces with the tab key. I know there are elevated rail over T-RAM and elevated heavy rail over T-RAM puzzle pieces in the latest version of the NAM. There are also tram in road/tram in avenue underpasses and tram in road/avenue to subway transitions on the STEX. What you could do is go from streetcar to a couple tiles of tram-in-road to a tram-in-road to subway transition, then back again on the other side.

Transit usage is inversely related to wealth level. The higher the wealth level of a sim, the more likely they are to drive. If you're not using the NAM, you should download it, it can help negate this some.

I was web surfing the other day and found a custon error message generator: http://atom.smasher.org/error/ let's see what everyone comes up with. (note, your error messages will not get added to the gallery of errors, I'm not sure why, but they won't). Here are some of mine:

I agree, this is completely stupid. What needs to be assessed is the state of copyright law in this country, not the necessity of a government blacklist of websites. In the meantime, I think this is a good time to download UltraSurf.

Try removing the ordinances and see what happens.

Same here. I'm going into Civil Engineering in the fall, and I hope to go on to Urban Planning in graduate school, preferably at UCLA.

So we already have a thread for portable music players, but what about those who consider themselves full or semi audiophiles, and will settle for nothing less than a large mound of professional equipment to play their vinyl/cassettes/CDs on? Well now such a thing exists! Tuner/Receiver: Pioneer VSX-7300 Multi-CD Player: Technics SL-PD5 Cassette Player: Harman/Kardon TD292 Turntable: JVC QL-A200 Speakers: Sony SS-F5000P (2x)

Can't you just make backup copies of the CDs? That seems like it would be much more useful than storing the files on your computer.

Can't you just make backup copies of the CDs? That seems like it would be much more useful than storing the files on your computer.

In many of the threads about light rail/transit in the old forums, the idea of a light rail or streetcar system being build in New York City often came up (usually by me). Well, out of boredom one day I put this into Google, and found some very interesting stuff: -Apparently the city has a $295,000 grant to look in to a project in Brooklyn. It would probably make more sense to start out /develop a system in one of the outer Burroughs first, the construction and management would be outright simpler. Plus the fact that the BHRA already has a good amount of cars (They just need to find them) which could easily be restored and get a line or two up and running so the system could be proven and modern cars could be bought from some place in the United States. -Another, albeit unrelated, project is Vision42's proposal to turn 42nd Street into a pedestrian park with a light rail line in the middle (emergency vehicles could still use it). This was actually passed by the city counsel in 1994, but the money never appeared. Many local businesses appear to support this plan, so much so that Clear Channel offered a free Times' Square billboard to the project for promotion.

Originally posted by: Duke87 Originally posted by: screamingman12 I personally have never heard of many serious (keyword: serious, as in people killed) accidents involving streetcars.quote> It's happened plenty of times historically, although I'm not finding any modern examples. Regardless, modern non-fatal crashes are hardly unheard of, and they do send people to the hospital, which isn't a good thing, either. ...besides causing massive delays. I was stuck on a light rail line in Baltimore last summer for over an hour because somebody's car decided to make friends with one of the trains ahead of us. That doesn't happen with grade-separated rail lines. And with buses, they aren't stuck to any tracks and can easily be rerouted around the incident. quote> Hmm, sounds like some cities need to teach people how to drive around light rail. Stuff like that just shouldn't happen. In San Francisco for instance, the drivers know what they're doing, its just the motormen who like to not pay attention and hit other trains.

Originally posted by: Duke87 For what it's worth, New York already has Bus Rapid Transit (sort of) along the Fordham Road/Pelham Parkway route in The Bronx. And plans are in the works to implement a more full-fledged BRT along 1st and 2nd Avenues in Manhattan. Makes far more sense than streetcars, if you ask me. Not only is it cheaper, it's safer. Rail-based vehicles should not be mingling on the same square footage of ground with road-based vehicles and pedestrians. That's asking for accidents. Rail, when not completely grade separated from everything else, is being done half-assed. Period. (and if you want to pick the nit, there already is light rail just over the river in New Jersey) quote> Safety is a hotly debated topic among BRT vs. LRT/streetcars. There really isn't a straight answer to that, just that it depends on the corridor its being applied to. I personally have never heard of many serious (keyword: serious, as in people killed) accidents involving streetcars. Most of those that have happened involved a stupid motorist or a lazy motorman and ended in a t-boning of some sort.

Lots of people consider Els to be more unsightly than streetcars or light rail systems, even with overhead wire. As streetcar usage increases, surrounding traffic will decrease and more people will use the streetcars. Streetcar systems are comparable to bus systems, not to light rail or heavy rapid transit systems. A streetcar will not necessarily be faster than a bus system, but it will be more effective for the following reasons: Streetcars usually promote new development (Portland, OR). Less expensive to construct as opposed to light rail or subways Effectiveness is not determined by road maintenance, as opposed to buses Streetcars usually hold more people depending on the type of vehicle used The goal of this project is to provide service to undeserved or economically depressed parts of the city where the existing transit system is either over capacity or does not serve the area adequately (or at all, in some cases). It may not be economically sound to construct a subway through some of the places where the streetcars are being considered (Brooklyn mostly), because of the high costs.

Personally, I prefer a Brooklyn network over the Vision42 proposal, it has the potential to grow into a large-mileage system, which is what I want to see. However the Vision42 proposal would be more symbolic as to the role that transit will play in the future and the locations in which it will be utilized. However, a Brooklyn system of some sort could be going already. I feel like the DOT took steps to sabotage the project that BHRA was constructing (scrapping material stored on vacant lots, granting consent and then revoking it after construction started, etc.). I think there was a lawsuit over this, but I'm not sure. There are a myriad of proposals currently out there as to what would be done with a light rail/streetcar system in the Burrough. IMO, what would have to happen is that these would have to be consolidated into something substantial that could work and be funded. This means that either the MTA or the DOT would have to probably be involved somehow.

I know I have not been active in this discussion for a while now, but I will bring up something relevant. There is a link between the presence of weaponry (firearms were the focus of these studies) and the likelihood of people to engage in violent acts. Having said this, I don't think the idea that many mass shootings would be prevented by harder access to handguns is that much of a stretch. To provide an easy to relate to example, lets say you happen to be sitting at home and you have a loaded handgun on your coffee table. Your neighbor knocks on your door and when you answer he says "I slept with your wife last night". What would you do, would you grab the gun or wouldn't you? The way people react under spontaneous conditions is not always predictable or logical, providing an enabler for these actions is usually not the best idea, there is a reason why slightly more than 11,000 US citizens are killed by firearm use every year. That being said, there are other issues at stake here. I think the main question is how did the United States get a little more than the lion's share of the world's crazies? By the way, the idea that being in places where lots of other people have guns (i.e. Fort Hood) will prevent shootings doesn't seem to work anymore.

I think he was talking about your mention of "being cared for by a nanny state". Anyway, my $0.02 on the healthcare bill: I'm glad they did it, it was certainly necessary. However I would prefer if there was not as much under-the-table dealing going on to try to get only one or two people on board (Nebraska deal). On another note

Another thing that needs to be considered is the types of development these modes of transit promote. An auto-dependent area will promote strip malls, suburban houses spaced far apart, and overall low density living with poor walkability and well-defined uses. A transit-dependent area will usually have much higher density and the buildings will be spaced in close proximity to one another, usually with mixed use. I would go in to the whole form based v. performance based debate, but that will come later.