Aka

@AsimPika3172 : Thank you for your comment. You're right—the error occurred because I simply didn't launch the game in LHD mode, so the traffic lights remained in RHD mode. But it's all good; both versions are available and work perfectly fine. @Ernestmaxis : Yes, in principle, SENT can be used to overlay all texture replacement mods... At least, I think so! @Turnstyled : Yes, SAM 1 and all of its variants created by other players are 100% compatible with SENT. SAM 1 is the only one among all SAMs that has the unique feature of containing no textures related to the NAM networks (RHW, NWM) or those from Maxis (RD2, AVE4, OWR2). That is, textures with T- or X-shaped intersections with the aforementioned networks. This means that SAM 1’s intersections with other networks are built using street textures (Maxis, WestWind Streets by Hugues Aroux, Urban Tarsealed Street Mod by rivit). The only thing you need to be careful about with SENT and its dependencies is that SENT must be loaded last in the “Plugins” folder. If you use (for example) “WWS” for the streets and “WestWindStreets SAM 8 - Firenze” for SAM 8, then make sure these two mods are loaded before SENT. This ensures that SENT is loaded last so it can replace identical instances across the different mods. Don’t forget: to ensure texture compatibility between SENT and other mods, be sure to check the correct box to install the proper replacement textures during the SENT installation. Aka

Hello, I'm not quite sure where to post this, and I'm not sure if starting a new thread is really necessary. Please forgive me in advance if I'm in the wrong place... I recently saw these two threads on Reddit SC4: - Started a petition to EA to request a release of the source code. - Why can’t we get EA to release source code? This is just my personal opinion, shared by others, but I fear we’ll never have access to the game’s source code through the game editor. These two issues are very important and represent something that all modders dream of having access to so they can finally modify the game without obstacles. I don’t know what Simtropolis and its community’s stance is on reverse engineering for video games, but there is a method using AI that can “easily” recreate a video game’s source code, which can be found on GitHub. I’m no expert on the subject—far from it—but it’s certainly a plausible approach. Reverse engineering has been used for other games like Super Mario 64 or GTA 3, Vice City, and SA, the latter of which was apparently completed using AI in just a few months, even though people had been working on it for several years. Speaking of GTA and Rockstar, the latter has systematically sued anyone who has published the source code, even if it was created by someone else and not copied from Rockstar. My question is: is it possible to use this method for SC4? Something tells me it is—if it worked for GTA SA, I think it could work for SC4 too. Legally speaking, it’s legal—it’s not a copy in the strict sense of the term, and it’s a new invention since the game’s source code was never copied but rather imitated. If this method is possible, should we expect a legal backlash from EA? Aka

Thank you so much for your comments! @Ernestmaxis : Maybe I didn't quite get your point, but why not use @rsc204's SAM7 : https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/30929-cataylsts-sam7-bikepaths-mod/ ? @Dead_End : As for the grass, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. You’re not the first person to ask me about this. In fact, I had no experience with textures before starting SENT, so I followed a few tutorials to get started, and my workflow doesn’t allow for easily changing the textures of resources or grass. I work with image editing software (GIMP) on .PNG files, unlike @hugues aroux, who uses a different method that makes it easy to modify this parameter (vector graphics). Currently, SENT consists of approximately 35,000 to 40,000 .PNG files for all these variants and options; about 30–40% of these files contain resource textures. That’s far too many for me to go back and change my workflow. Sorry. When it comes to crosswalks, the answer is almost identical to the previous one regarding detail textures. To go into a bit more detail about how they work: I deliberately chose to create crosswalks that are larger than the default ones in the Maxis/NAM game, which are usually just two parallel lines. But unlike in the base game, since my crosswalks are larger, they aren’t displayed when there are no buildings nearby. As a result, crosswalks are mostly visible in built-up areas. I can understand that, depending on the look and feel of the city you want to create, such large crosswalks might be a bit too visually “intrusive.” This is something I’ve taken into account (belatedly) since I started working on the third version of SENT (AVE4 & RD4), so I’ll try to add more variety in this regard when I work on the fourth version. One final note on this: in the first version of SENT (RD2, OWR1 & OWR2), I placed crosswalks almost systematically wherever pedestrians crossed the road, displaying the path taken by pedestrians using the “Path” command from Extra Cheats Plugin.dll. But now, it’s less systematic, and I try to weigh the pros and cons of what seems excessive and what doesn’t. Finally, regarding the T21 accessories, version 3 already includes an option in the installer so that players can choose between using my T21s or an alternative (Maxis/NAM or another mod). Furthermore, since there’s now a DLL mod that lets you place accessories anywhere you want without restrictions, it’s clearly wiser to let players decide for themselves! Thank you for your suggestions. And here are a few pictures:

Hello, Here are some pictures of SENT with the SAMs (and these replacement mods). This work has been shown before, but the post containing the images was lost when the website went down. And the latest additions: standard roundabouts with and without GLR, as well as turbos for the AVE-4 and RD-4 networks. I hope you like my work; please do let me know if you have any comments. See you soon! Aka

Hello, Due to server issues at ST, I had to update or re-upload my mods. They are now available for download again, of course with the latest version available at the time of the website crash : I don’t have the images posted with my previous messages in this discussion thread saved locally. Therefore, I won’t be able to restore them. However, where possible, I’ll include a few images to best fill in the missing details. That said, SENT continues its slow progress toward the upcoming version 3. Since the crash, I’ve redone all the textures for the RHW and GLR (ToA, Tram-on-Avenue); here are a few images : Aka

Hello everyone, Thank you so much for getting the forum back up and running. I’m really happy to see it in this condition, even though some posts and files are missing. It’s really not a big deal—the bulk of the content is still there, and the forum seems to be in excellent shape. I don’t think it should be too difficult to restore it to a state that’s almost identical to how it was before the crash. Thanks again to the entire ST team for taking care of everything, and for your professionalism (even though this is an amateur forum), you handled it like pros! As for me, I’m going to get my STEX files ready so I can post them again soon!

An overview of the work done: all NWM networks are now complete. Some comparisons of the original/SENT textures to see the difference and the corrections made to the three-tile NWM: Next step, SAM textures... Aka

Hello everyone, This isn't a request for help, just a question that's been bugging me for a long time. For about two years now, DLL mods have been a big part of SC4 modding (thanks to @Null 45 , @simmaster07 , and @memo , by the way), and they've made things possible that were just unimaginable not so long ago. I don't know how .dll files work, but I realize that they can do amazing things, though I don't know to what extent... I think, like most SC4 players, that the Starter pieces in the networks aren't very practical (NWM, SAM, RHW), nor are the puzzle pieces. For the latter, the NAM team has greatly changed its policy and has now improved the viaduct drag networks, for example, but I think conversion to this system for the TiA (Tram-In-Avenue) network is very complicated. Finally, is it possible to create a .dll to actually add more network tools to the game? By that I mean, a bit like the RHW, which used an unused Maxis network (Dirt Road), would it be possible to add more to create new networks that would replace the Starter pieces? One network tool per network type: TLA-3. TLA-5... TiA, ToR, TiR... RHW-2, RHW-3... SAM1, SAM2... etc... I think you understand what I'm getting at. In my opinion, this would have enormous advantages. We would be able to create networks very easily without stability issues, as with RHW or certain 3-tile NWM pieces. Network construction would be fluid, especially for 2- and 3-tile widths. It would be possible to know immediately whether or not a network supports a certain layout, without having to try different things and tricks. We could also group networks into submenus, with all SAMs together, all TLAs together, etc., for example. The work is of course very extensive, but I suppose it would be possible to take the RUL, Path, FSH, and exemplars 21 files from each network without having to recreate them to convert them into full-fledged network tools. Perhaps the biggest task is to create a .dll that allows this, and for files to be created to redirect the files mentioned to a network tool... But I'm probably getting ahead of myself here, especially since this is outside my area of expertise, which is unfortunately quite limited. Let's just get back to my initial problem: is it possible to create new network tools, or not? Aka

Ciao @Vanz I can definitely say that there are two mods you are using, but they are not running properly... You are using the NAM mod and the SENT mod, but the latter requires dependencies... This means that in addition to NAM and SENT, you need to download other mods. In your case, it seems that Rivit's Tunnel Mod is the problem... You have downloaded SENT, but SENT only replaces the textures/visuals of other existing mods. To use the tunnel portals that you are using, you must first download this mod : Once you have downloaded this mod, it will replace the Maxis tunnel heads with new Rivit ones. This is where the SENT mod comes in... In your plugins folder, you need to have the NAM read first, then the mod for the new Rivit tunnel portals, and then the SENT. I strongly suggest you read this post to better understand how mods for road network textures work : I hope these brief explanations help. If you want to use the Rivit mod, Tunnel Mod, but not SENT, then there's no problem: just download the Rivit mod, Tunnel Mod, and make sure it is read after NAM. That's all there is to it. You don't need SENT unless you want road textures that look more like European networks than those in NAM. Aka

A quick update with some details on the progress made on the streets and texture replacement mods for the streets. A small change for pedestrian crossings: given the very limited space I have for crossings between the 3-track (1 tile) NWM networks and the AVE-4, I had to redesign the pedestrian crossings. The presentation is in RHD-Yellow, but of course, all other variants are available. Aka

The work looks impressive, even colossal! Is it possible to reduce the size of NAM by more than 90% using only DLLs? The loading time and stability of NAM, even without adding new features to NAM 49, would have been enough, but with the new features as well... Thank you for your work! I can't wait to try this new version (as soon as it's available for manual download).

During the tests and comparisons earlier, I noticed this detail, but I didn't think it was that important! Now there's no excuse not to get to work. Thank you for your help @rsc204 ! Aka

Thank you for your replies, @Tyberius06 and @rsc204 ! I successfully modified the path for the orthogonal station OWR-1, which now displays the correct path. However, when I modify the diagonal station OWR-1 with the path 0x51030200 (instance for the texture and path of the diagonal segment OWR-1), it no longer displays any path in the game. I tried several orientations, but still nothing, so I tried with random paths that I took from the NAM of any network just to test (GLR, OWR-2, etc.), and sometimes the path is displayed, and sometimes it is not. If I am not mistaken, this means that the problem is not with the batch, but with the path, is that right? Based on this conclusion, I tried a new approach: I took the .path 0x51030200 file and simply modified its instance, but even this way it doesn't work... No path is displayed on the diagonal batch of the OWR-1 station. I tried comparing my batch to those of other creators or those of the NAM, but I'm really struggling! What were these exceptions? Were they comparable to my problem? Thank you. Aka

Hello, I've been wondering about something for a while now, and it's been bothering me... I would like to extend my mod for OWR-1 parking lots to other networks. Soon on the RD-4 network, but this one needs to be traced with the RD-2 network. If I build a bus stop on the RD-4, then vehicles will pass as if it were an RD-2 at the TE lot location. This is something I can't allow, because the difference in vehicle passage between RD-2 and RD-4 is too great and vehicles would be driving on the sidewalk on the TE lot for RD-4. The easiest way to understand this is to look at the image below: I have the same problem with the OWR-1 network. To build it, I have to use OWR-2, which by definition creates vehicle passages for OWR-2, whereas I would like to have passages for OWR-1. This problem isn't really a problem; it's logical and normal for the game to treat TE lots this way. But I would like to get around this problem, so my question is: Is it possible with a TE lot to create custom paths for each lot? Or do I have to resort to the puzzle pieces solution? If I have to use the latter alternative, is it appropriate for bus/subway stations? I'm asking the question because I'm not sure, even though there are transport stations made with this method in the NAM (e.g., GLR). I found this excellent tutorial. Is it still relevant? Thank you in advance for your help! Aka