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NAM 31.1 Release Announcement

Started by Tarkus, April 16, 2013, 12:39:03 AM

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Tarkus

The NAM Team is pleased to announce the release of NAM Version 31.1.  NAM 31.1 is a full package, which improves upon the initial "open beta" that was NAM 31.  It fixes about 100 issues that had been reported since the NAM 31 release in March 2013, improving overall stability and performance.

Download Link on LEX
(You must be registered and logged in on the LEX to see the download link.  Forum accounts will not give you LEX access or a download link.)


  • Crash-to-desktop (CTD) on save and related performance issues from NAM 31 are largely solved: A number of users, particularly those with newer Intel Core
    Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs (e.g. i7, etc.) had experienced issues with the game crashing to desktop (CTDing) when trying to save, with NAM 31 in their plugins.  This was
    tied to the much larger NAM Controller build that was contained in NAM 31, which also caused the game to use considerably more memory.  The increase in size was
    largely due an attempt to "ultra-stabilize" some NAM override networks, including some RealHighway widths/heights and the Street Addon Mod variants (SAM ultra-stability
    had been in place in NAM 30).  The code on these override networks has been whittled down for this release, eliminating stability for situations that users were much less likely to build.  In order to address a wide variety of possible scenarios, the NAM Team is now providing two different controller packages--the smaller "standard" (or "s-series") package, and the larger "extreme" (or "e-series").

    The difference between the s-series and e-series is that the s-series disables SAM ultra-stability, and the higher elevated RealHighway networks (Level 3/22.5m and Level 4/30m).
    The s-series is installed by default.  Users who desire the larger e-series controller can select the option from the installer, using the Custom Installation option.  It is recommended that if you are using the e-series controller on one of the crash-prone processors, such as a Sandy Bridge Core i7, and especially if you have a large plugins folder (at least 3GB), that you should patch your SimCity 4.exe file to be Large Address Aware.  A suitable Large Access Aware patch can be found here.  You should have more than 4GB of RAM if using Large Access Aware mode.

  • Road Turning Lanes: As with NAM 31, the Road Turning Lanes are no longer automatically generated when a Road x Road intersection is built.  The
    auto-build functionality was causing considerable complications with the functionality of the Network Widening Mod and new Draggable Fractional Angle Roads, and as
    the NWM and Draggable FAR have a greater impact on game functionality (adding capacity and new build angles, as opposed to mere eyecandy), the Road Turning Lanes Plugin has
    been redesigned to function in an "optional" manner, which doesn't interfere with other features and allows the user more freedom in turn lane placement, without resorting
    to Turn Lane Extension Pieces (TuLEPs).  To add turn lanes to a Road x Road intersection, simply click the intersection with the Rail tool.  As with all previous releases,
    the Road Turning Lanes only apply to Road x Road intersections.  If you desire turning lanes on Road x Avenue intersections, you will need to use Turn Lane Extension Pieces
    (TuLEPs).

  • Transit stations: After the first release of transit stations in NAM 31, a number of bug reports were received about these stations.  As a result, all of the stations
    included with the NAM have gone through extensive retesting, and have been modified when necessary.  Many of the modifications fix major bugs, while some of them simply improve the performance of the station.  For PC users, any stations plopped in your cities from NAM 31 will automatically be upgraded when you install NAM 31.1.For Mac users, the replacement set of basic Maxis stations had to be modified, along with the Modern El Train Station by Brenda Xne.  These fixes were necessary due to a bug in the Mac version of SC4.  If you're a Mac user and you plopped any of these stations from the NAM using version 31, you will have to bulldoze them and replop them once you have installed NAM 31.1.NAM 31.1 also includes a number of new stations, which have gone through the same extensive testing as the stations listed above.  Most of the new stations are optional, meaning that they are not automatically installed with the Complete Standard Installation; instead, you must select the Custom Installation and select these new stations on the Components page.

  • New Street network functionality: Some new draggable wide-radius curves, and intersections along wide-radius curves, are now possible with the Street network.
    Credit for this new feature goes to Swordmaster from the NAM Team.

  • RealHighway Filler Pieces: The RHW Fillers have been, at long last, restored and expanded for NAM 31.1.  They were previously in such a broken state, that
    they had been disabled for NAM 31.

  • Mac users: The separate NAM for Mac OS package has been discontinued as of NAM 31.  It is recommended that you access a Windows machine or Windows installation (or use WINE), run the installer, and transfer the two installation directories (Plugins\Network Addon Mod and Plugins\z___NAM) to your Mac system.  Alternatively, use Keka (http://www.kekaosx.com) to open the executable like a .zip file.  If you are planning on using cosmetic additions, like the Euro Textures or the Maxis Highway Override (AKA "Project Symphony"), they are contained in the "$[65]" folder, which you should rename to "z____NAM" upon extraction.  Please also note that the NAM--and most other Plugins--have compatibility issues with OS 10.7 (Lion) and later, due to the removal of Rosetta and the requirement to use the Aspyr Universal Binary patch to play SimCity 4 Deluxe in those OSes, which make the game prone to crashing.

  • Installing over previous versions: NAM 31.1 may be installed directly over top of any previous NAM releases.  It is a full release, not a patch or a hotfix.  All
    future updates are planned to be in full package form, and there are no plans to issue patches or hotfixes in the future.  Please also note that the NAM Team only provides
    technical support for the most recent version, which, as of this document, is NAM 31.1.  We cannot assist users of the original NAM 31 release, or NAM 30 (or earlier).

  • Special Thanks: The NAM Team would like to thank the following members of the community, who have tested the penultimate build of the NAM 31.1 controller and given their feedback on its stability, and/or assisted with other controller-related tests after the NAM 31 release, in an effort to nail down the game stability issues: A Nonny Moose, dyoungyn, Joe 90, mgarcia, mneonnew, shanghai kid, spot, and txrailcat74.

For further details on the rest of NAM 31.1's functionality, please consult the enclosed (and extensive) PDF User's Guides.  You may need to install Adobe Reader in order to read these documents.

-The NAM Team

elhefebonito

 &apls Thank you guys so very much!  &apls

FrankU

And again, for the umptiest time, we are so happy with the work you have done! Kudos to all of you!
I am repeating myself, but I am happy to do so and I hope I will repeat myself many times in the future!

gn_leugim


TheAttendee

Glad to have my RHW filler pieces back. Oh how I missed you so.

As always, excellent work NAM team. Kudos. &apls

Now it's time for a break.

the81kid

Thanks guys!
I'll check this out later on

Lach77

Yay, seems the servers are overloaded, hopefully I can get it tomorrow morning  ;D

Tarkus

Download locked.  Seems somehow the diag-to-orth transitions on RHW networks are zorked--how the heck that happened, I have no freaking clue.  Download locked until I have time to fix it tonight.

-Alex

rivit

Hi NAM Team,

  Got your 31.1 tonight (apparently just in time), and I have to say very impressed overall at the packaging and general improvements in organisation apparent from v30. I'm also somewhat overawed at the flood of road textures now existent - although it seems not too much changed in rail. Documentation is very thorough and a great intro before installing - its a pity most of the world will find that TLDR. Also the selfdestruct lifters/diggers are brilliant.

   I did a complete (s) install (custom option to see what was there) with AUS euro tex. Game loaded up into just on 1GB private mem without any other plugins, and at this ran well - I'm on a 2004 3GB Memory Dell Pentium4 so strapped for grunt.

Two things in my test walkthru tonight.
1. Many of the new custom stations trigger underground mode when selected - dont know if this is deliberate.
2. I got the z_Lefthand Plugin, controller s179_LHD and the vehicles are on the right of the road (ie US setup). Now the installer says I'm going to get them driving on the left of the road, as does the PS manual. They are in fact correctly named as installed because LHD vehicles travel on the righthand side of the road. Its just the nomenclature thats been flipped. The old US/UK delineation was less ambiguous if parochial... 

For me too the final determination of the correct rules for stations etc. would be a handy technical addendum in the NAM main manual - that way other stations can be modded to fit - as it is for me only the maxis stations were in my existing set of stations.

  regards and thanks Ron

TEG24601

I'm looking forward to this tonight!

fefenc

I hope that the 5 minutes of loading screen bug has been fixed .-.

spot

Quote from: rivit on April 16, 2013, 08:53:15 AM
...Documentation is very thorough and a great intro before installing - its a pity most of the world will find that TLDR. Also the selfdestruct lifters/diggers are brilliant....

The 311 pages of documentation is ridiculous. Poor souls who wrote it.

MandelSoft

One poor soul here. The other is Ganaram. Lots of hard work has been put into this ;)
Lurk mode: ACTIVE

jdenm8

Quote from: fefenc on April 16, 2013, 01:03:00 PM
I hope that the 5 minutes of loading screen bug has been fixed .-.

It's not a bug, it's the game parsing the RUL2 file. It's VERY big for a SimCity file (Larger than a lot of BATs) and takes a long time to parse.


"We're making SimCity, not some dopey casual game." -Ocean Quigley

Nosimx


thinkdude

So excited, cant wait for 31.1 to be unlocked again.  Thanks  for all the hard work on this mod!

smf_16

Well, since the download is locked, is there a way to get the documentation already? I'd love to read about all the features I still don't know about!  ;D

MOREOPTIONS

Questian,  is the NAM31.1 the same I downloaded before that's close to 300mb's??? or is the larg file from simtrop not the same???
Quote from: smf_16 on April 17, 2013, 04:01:40 AM
Well, since the download is locked, is there a way to get the documentation already? I'd love to read about all the features I still don't know about!  ;D

fefenc

Quote from: jdenm8 on April 16, 2013, 06:05:37 PM
Quote from: fefenc on April 16, 2013, 01:03:00 PM
I hope that the 5 minutes of loading screen bug has been fixed .-.

It's not a bug, it's the game parsing the RUL2 file. It's VERY big for a SimCity file (Larger than a lot of BATs) and takes a long time to parse.

But the 5 minutes is so..... boring, but just happens when u open a first tile since you entered the game, it can be a city or just an empty terrain.

After this, the loading screen takes 15 ~ 30 seconds to load the tiles.

This is the cause that I think this is a bug.

aka.john

Quote from: fefenc on April 17, 2013, 08:49:39 AM
Quote from: jdenm8 on April 16, 2013, 06:05:37 PM
Quote from: fefenc on April 16, 2013, 01:03:00 PM
I hope that the 5 minutes of loading screen bug has been fixed .-.

It's not a bug, it's the game parsing the RUL2 file. It's VERY big for a SimCity file (Larger than a lot of BATs) and takes a long time to parse.

But the 5 minutes is so..... boring, but just happens when u open a first tile since you entered the game, it can be a city or just an empty terrain.

After this, the loading screen takes 15 ~ 30 seconds to load the tiles.

This is the cause that I think this is a bug.

Doesn't quite take 5 minutes for me for that file to load, and yes when you open new tiles this delay is gone.  The reason I think is that once the file is loaded into memory, it doesn't need to reload again until you exit and re-enter the game.