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NAM Issues Thread - PLEASE POST YOUR NAM QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS HERE

Started by jahu, June 03, 2007, 10:15:49 AM

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bladeberkman

Hi all,

Thank you to everyone who has responded and I apologize for not being clear (that's what I get for posting past 2:00 am  :D). The issue is that I cannot place a flex height transition next to the exit version of this particular type of flex ramp. The pieces rotate away from one another, like placing two magnets of the same polarity side by side. This behavior is an exception to the behavior of all other flex height/flex ramp pairings. Here's what I mean:

An entrance ramp works:


An exit ramp does not work:


All other flex height transitions and flex ramps can be placed end-to-end, with one exception:


-Blade

mgb204

Perhaps there is some missing or unexpected code there for the Flex Piece. Personally I used the Draggable method to test this, which works just fine. Both pieces are identical, they are just placed differently.

Here's where you can find the patterns for the Draggable Ramps, that's the best work-around for the moment.

bladeberkman

Hey mgb204,

Thanks for the suggestion! I've tried dragging, too, but with mixed results. For example, the same footprints with different RHW networks produce the following outcomes (on flat terrain, of course):

Drawing this exit does not work:


Drawing a 6S to 4S exit works, but drawing an 8C to 6C exit does not work:


Ultimately, of course, this affects the symmetry of cloverleaves and parclos. For example, drawing a 6S to 4S exit can yield  this:




However, it seems this height/ramp combo doesn't work with all RHW networks. Given the length of the transitions, the footprint of the ramps, and the geometry of the curves, interchange loops like these are only possible on other RHW networks if the flex height transition and the flex ramp piece or draw pattern can touch consistently.

-Blade

mgb204

You must have the RHW-8C from the overpass stable BEFORE you try to drag the E-Type ramp, otherwise you can not drag it. Because the RHW-2 which is there now simply doesn't support ramps which reduce the lane count, there is no such configuration which prevents you continuing. Just make the overpass longer and use a RHW-8C L1 starter (which you can remove later if desired), to get everything in place. If definitely works, I tried the exact same setup to check.

bladeberkman

Like this? Sorry, still no luck...  &mmm There's an 8C starter at the top of the height transitions.



EDIT ( :satisfied:):

There we go! Mgb204, I'm sorry if this is what you were trying to tell me to do - I just wasn't understanding you. What worked was adding multiple back-to-back L1 8C starter pieces at the top of the overpass until the flex hight transitions finally, uniformly flexed into 8C mode. In my prior pictures, for whatever reason, the L1 8C starter piece only partially converted the flex height transitions, leaving me to click around and manipulate them into an 8C height transition. Unless the flex height transitions uniformly (not partially) convert into a C-based network, drawing the E1 exit ramp is impossible. However, if the entire flex height transition converts to 8C at the same time, then the E1 exit ramp may be drawn. The key was placing one starter piece after another at the top until the ramps uniformly converted.



Thank you for all of your help! Sorry it took me so long to figure it out!  &opr

-Blade

mgb204

It's a tricky beast, because one side will be RHW-8C, but the other RHW-6C. Placing it so tight causes stability issues, but by working in a very specific order, success can be yours. Follow this three step process and as you can see, it works just fine:




  • Set up both the RHW-8C and 6C, but leave a gap a few tiles from where the DRIs will be, to prevent the two interfering with each other.
  • Drag out the the E1 Ramps.
  • Now when you connect the gap left in step one, everything becomes stable.

I think the issue is unique to the C type networks. Because when you use a D/E type ramp, the lane count needs to be altered. But unlike the S networks, only one such configuration is supported, 8C to 6C. Due to this "exclusivity" if you will, if anything around the ramp is not completely stable, its flagged as an invalid configuration, triggering the Unsuitable Area to Build Network message.

If you drag just the basic E1 ramp, the outside tiles (step 2 - shown touching the height transition), would not convert to 8C/6C. That's why you need such a specific order for the RUL to figure everything out, which would just happen by default if the ramp/height transition were one tile further apart. As this creates a more stable setup, it just works without messing around. I hope this helps, but just keep in mind, many setups are possible which may at first seem like they are not. Usually a bit of creative trial and error will find a solution to push the possibilities of RHW that little bit further.

Pythias900KMB

Many salutations!  I have had some time on my hands and fiddled around to answer the question of how to have a single egress ramp diverge toward the intersecting highway in both directions and then to have the two ramps converge into a single access ramp to then join the highway.  I am pleased to find that the RHW-10S C3 egress ramp does wonderfully for the former; still, the RHW-10S F2 access ramp . . . well . . . (indicates the attached screen captures)

bigshow8891

I am having a problem with NAM 36. I want to go back to using default Maxis rail textures instead of RRW. When I reinstall using a custom configuration with RRW disabled the textures are not getting deleted and it appears that nothing involving RRW is getting deleted. When I look at plugins all of the NAM folders will say the current date for "date last modified" except for the RRW which still shows a date from earlier this year. This makes me think that the installer is not installing the RRW (like I wanted) but is also failing to delete the old RRW. How can I get rid of RRW without using the installer? I was going to just delete the textures but I don't want to mess anything up with the game and the readme was saying that installing over previous versions is the recommended way.

APSMS

Keep in mind that RRW is not merely a texture reskin but a full rail functionality overhaul. That being said, if you delete the RRW folder, with the textures and the RULs and then rerun the installer afterwards in the hopes that it recognizes that you don't have RRW installed, that might be a solution to try out.

You do need to rerun the installer because you need a recompiled NAM controller that has the right rail files, otherwise the rail networks might not work or have undesirable behavior. Again this is because he RRW is a functional overhaul that has a different texture set, rather than a simple texture reskin.
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bigshow8891

Quote from: APSMS on July 23, 2018, 10:27:05 AM
Keep in mind that RRW is not merely a texture reskin but a full rail functionality overhaul. That being said, if you delete the RRW folder, with the textures and the RULs and then rerun the installer afterwards in the hopes that it recognizes that you don't have RRW installed, that might be a solution to try out.

You do need to rerun the installer because you need a recompiled NAM controller that has the right rail files, otherwise the rail networks might not work or have undesirable behavior. Again this is because he RRW is a functional overhaul that has a different texture set, rather than a simple texture reskin.

Thank you for speedy reply! I deleted the NAM folders and reinstalled and now the rails are back to Maxis. No other problems with the NAM at the moment.

Pythias900KMB

Ahoy, NAM team!  I have a few types of traffic junctions that could benefit from the OWR signalization in common use throughout my cities.  Is there something I missed during the construction process?

Tarkus

Yes, there needs to be transitions to the Road network right before the intersection, and in the case of OWR x OWR setups, a Road 90° bend that gets overplopped by the One-Way Road network (kind of similar to the semi-automatic Road Turn Lanes).

The NAM Documentation does have a nice visual step-by-step guide to the process, which can be found here

I'll also add that the directionality of your OWRs in the last two images looks to be bit unusual.  For instance, the only permitted motions at the OWR x OWR intersection in the second image are turns, rather than through motions, and SITAP isn't designed to work with those sorts of intersections.  Indeed, in an RL setup of that configuration, a signal wouldn't actually be required, as theoretically, there are no conflicting motions (though you'd probably see an island in the middle of the intersection, to channel motorists into the correct traffic pattern and prevent wrong-way situations in what could otherwise be a rather confusing intersection).

-Alex

Pythias900KMB

Quote from: Tarkus on August 05, 2018, 05:56:02 PM
Yes, there needs to be transitions to the Road network right before the intersection, and in the case of OWR x OWR setups, a Road 90° bend that gets overplopped by the One-Way Road network (kind of similar to the semi-automatic Road Turn Lanes).

The NAM Documentation does have a nice visual step-by-step guide to the process, which can be found here

I'll also add that the directionality of your OWRs in the last two images looks to be bit unusual.  For instance, the only permitted motions at the OWR x OWR intersection in the second image are turns, rather than through motions, and SITAP isn't designed to work with those sorts of intersections.  Indeed, in an RL setup of that configuration, a signal wouldn't actually be required, as theoretically, there are no conflicting motions (though you'd probably see an island in the middle of the intersection, to channel motorists into the correct traffic pattern and prevent wrong-way situations in what could otherwise be a rather confusing intersection).

-Alex

Gratitude for the insight and the resource guide, Tarkus; I am reviewing the latter right now.

The directionality of the OWRs in the screen caps was a bit of engineering genius on my part; still, bearing in mind the RL motorists here in San Antonio that either incorrectly appraise right-of-way -- or worse, risk a bad wreck hastily seizing right-of-way, I can imagine why this is not done in RL.  However, if it was, the intersection would likely be signalized with opportunistic turns on red strictly forbidden during the opposing traffic's autocratic green phase.  Sadly, the RL motorists here in San Antonio -- and in a lot of US cities -- seem to get confused about the requirement of first coming to a stop and yielding to the motor traffic that is legally acting on its green phase when preparing to execute a turn on red.  I am worried for pedestrians everywhere -- especially yours truly.

In any case, SITAP being able to deal with this situation would be a step in the right direction.

Terring7

I'm having some graphical issues with some of the NAM parts and I'm not sure if it's because of some error on installation or because of my graphic cart (AMD Radeon R4).

The RRW bridges looks funny at night. And no, it's not because of any night mod.





The grass of those roundabouts changes from pedmall to black while zooming.







I'm not using the Symphony Project as you can see, but some of the puzzle pieces doesn't like the ground MHWs. Even most of the drag-able networks will change the highway. Only oneways and the elevated RHWs keep the MHWs as they are.









Any help, please? ()what()
"The wisest men follow their own direction" Euripides
The Choice is Ours
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AsimPika3172

Hmmm...  ??? I saw this bugs for Maxis Highway because of this file found at Z____NAM directory.

Quotez1_MHW_Override_Euro_Textures_Standard.dat

That one for Europe version of MHO. For American one, I think was different name...
I delete them and you got old Maxis Highway, but no shadow appear for under anything just like this!

I loves Sim City forever!

Tarkus

Quote from: AsimPika3172 on September 01, 2018, 05:52:58 PM
I delete them and you got old Maxis Highway, but no shadow appear for under anything just like this!

Those are all base Maxis Highway setups that exist without the NAM.  The shadows are quite apparent if you're using the stock textures, and the non-MHO "re-textures" do not include anything that modifies the shadows.  Rather, the way the texture looks simply makes the shadows much less noticeable, and that seems to be especially so with the "Euro" version.

Quote from: Terring7 on September 01, 2018, 09:41:05 AM
I'm having some graphical issues with some of the NAM parts and I'm not sure if it's because of some error on installation or because of my graphic cart (AMD Radeon R4).

The RRW bridges looks funny at night. And no, it's not because of any night mod.

I'm not using the Symphony Project as you can see, but some of the puzzle pieces doesn't like the ground MHWs. Even most of the drag-able networks will change the highway. Only oneways and the elevated RHWs keep the MHWs as they are.

Any help, please? ()what()

The Maxis Highway issue appears to be some textures from part of the MHO somehow sneaking into your installation.  The file AsimPika3172 listed is likely the one that seems to have jumped into your Plugins.

As far as the RRW bridges, it looks as though the +-crossing textures are somehow interloping, though as of right now, I don't have any idea as to what would be causing that, since there should be no reference to that texture IID anywhere on that bridge.  As far as the blackened spots, it appears you may have some sort of texture mod partially installed, since there are extra bits of sidewalk showing that are not normally part of those pieces.

-Alex

mgb204

Quote from: Tarkus on September 01, 2018, 09:55:23 PM
Quote from: AsimPika3172 on September 01, 2018, 05:52:58 PM
I delete them and you got old Maxis Highway, but no shadow appear for under anything just like this!

Those are all base Maxis Highway setups that exist without the NAM.  The shadows are quite apparent if you're using the stock textures, and the non-MHO "re-textures" do not include anything that modifies the shadows.  Rather, the way the texture looks simply makes the shadows much less noticeable, and that seems to be especially so with the "Euro" version.

Quote from: Terring7 on September 01, 2018, 09:41:05 AM
I'm having some graphical issues with some of the NAM parts and I'm not sure if it's because of some error on installation or because of my graphic cart (AMD Radeon R4).

The RRW bridges looks funny at night. And no, it's not because of any night mod.

I'm not using the Symphony Project as you can see, but some of the puzzle pieces doesn't like the ground MHWs. Even most of the drag-able networks will change the highway. Only oneways and the elevated RHWs keep the MHWs as they are.

Any help, please? ()what()

The Maxis Highway issue appears to be some textures from part of the MHO somehow sneaking into your installation.  The file AsimPika3172 listed is likely the one that seems to have jumped into your Plugins.

It's a quirk of the MHY models, rather than apply a shadow mask to create shadows under bridges, for some reason all MHY models are split into sections. One with the shadow part, which references a darker "shadow" or darker version of the normal MHY textures, then on either side the regular parts with normal textures.

When adapting this for the MHO, I re-used the texture ID for this shadow texture, which is what you are seeing that makes it look weird. Indeed, if you don't have the MHO installed from the NAM, the file AsimPika3172 mentions should not have been installed, which is causing the issue. It's perfectly safe to simply delete it, you don't need (or want) anything inside there if not using MHO.

Quote from: Terring7 on September 01, 2018, 09:41:05 AM
The grass of those roundabouts changes from pedmall to black while zooming.

Are you using any sort of texture mod outside of the NAM?

Some of these roundabout textures are puzzle pieces, with fixed Alphas (transparency). Those should show as transparent, but I do recall some graphics cards having problems showing this and instead, you see the Alpha channel (black). Whilst this is an issue (incompatibility) with your GPU/Drivers at it's core, a set of textures without the alphas would fix the problem. I have automation setup for all these, so can make you a special custom set which will avoid the problem altogether. Let me know if you want this by PM, also please confirm you want them with regular (Maxis/NAM Default), grasses and sidewalks or otherwise. However, right this moment, I'm very pre-occupied elsewhere (RL), so if you could wait a week or so, then send me the PM. It would ensure I didn't forget about it. It's really no trouble to do this for you, I just don't have time for such things right this moment.

Terring7

Thank you very much, my friends. I've followed your advises and I've found some light in this tunnel.
First of all, AsimPika was right. After removing the z1_MHW_Override_Euro_Textures_Standard.dat, the problem with the MHWs has been solved &dance
Tarkus and mgb204 was also right. It was indeed a mod that conflicts with the roundabout textures, and I think I know who's the suspect. A mod that replaces the grass with pedmall which I think I've found here on LEX. I really don't want to remove it, because I don't like having grass next to my plazas and little shops, so I'll try to make it more compatible with my roundabouts. Glad to see it wasn't my graphic card &dance
But the problem with the RRW bridges still remains ???

Quote from: mgb204 on September 02, 2018, 05:47:48 AM
I have automation setup for all these, so can make you a special custom set which will avoid the problem altogether. Let me know if you want this by PM, also please confirm you want them with regular (Maxis/NAM Default), grasses and sidewalks or otherwise. However, right this moment, I'm very pre-occupied elsewhere (RL), so if you could wait a week or so, then send me the PM. It would ensure I didn't forget about it. It's really no trouble to do this for you, I just don't have time for such things right this moment.

Thank you very much for your kindness, but I guess you don't have to :)
"The wisest men follow their own direction" Euripides
The Choice is Ours
---
Simtropolis Moderator here. Can I help? Oh, and you can call me Elias (my real name) if you wish.

Ralfger

Dear NAM-Team,
I really enjoy all the new possibilities to create more realistic networks! Great work!
But now I came across some issues I can´t solve:



1. I can´t get rid of the glitches at the flyover and nearby - the terrain beneath is perfectly flat. The same occures with RHW2 and when placing the flyover further apart from the crossings.
2. The bridge of the railway don´t convert into RHW3 - where is my mistake?
3. I cannot find a diagonal transition between RHW2 and RHW2?
4. Is there a diagonal "s-curve" for the MIS - or a "far"-alternative?
5. And in general: Are the patterns to draw networks like rail/road also valid for RHW? I´ve tried that without success..

Thank you for any reply!

Seaman

Hi Ralfger

just a quick response from my side:
The MIS flyover does not support diagonals.

Also: I've just checked on my PC, but I cannot get the diagonal onslope height-transition for RHW-3 to work, either. I assume, RHW-3 is not supported, here. This is, why your Rail bridge has the issues. Diagonal RHW-3 over rail works perfectly fine, though. It's just the transition.

EDIT:
Quote from: Ralfger on September 06, 2018, 06:56:42 PM
5. And in general: Are the patterns to draw networks like rail/road also valid for RHW? I´ve tried that without success..
Due to the nature of the networks (we only have single and dual carriageway rail), only some DRI patterns are the same (for example the "split" pattern). I also get mixed up sometimes. The RHW patterns can be found here, the RRW patterns are explained here.


Quote from: Ralfger on September 06, 2018, 06:56:42 PM
4. Is there a diagonal "s-curve" for the MIS - or a "far"-alternative?

Yes there is and your gut feeling is alright! It's indeed the FA-MIS to diagonal MIS piece, which can be turned into an S-shape: