Three Rivers Region

[abcvs]

Abcvs,

There aren't paths for Left-Hand users yet. Judging by your Route Query arrows, your vehicles drive on the left. This will most likely be fixed before the public release.

-Swamper

Ah Swamper...  I think you may have found the answer to my problem, I do indeed drive on the proper side of the road... (the left) and so do my Sims...

I was just having a converstation with David about this the other day...  because my trains drive on the left as well...  My concern then was when I saw the STR merging with the right hand track on a double line.  I was wondering what would happen ... would the train 'jump' the track and carry on on the left...? 

Anyway I will change back to right-hand drive and see if this fixes the problem...

I will let you know when I have done the switecheroo.

Craig

Edit: This is the tutorial from the ST Omnibus on switching from right to left and back again...

How To Switch From Right To Left Hand Drive.
By Etherian

There are two major steps. 

Part one of two
1. Locate and go to the directory where you have installed SC4, usually it is C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe
2. Within this directory, you will see a folder name English, it should contain a file called SimCityLocale, if it does, you are looking at the correct folder.
3. Now rename this folder from English to UKEnglsh (not a typo!)

Part two of two
4. From your START menu, select Run.
5. Type in regedit into the field and click OK.
6. On the left hand directory tree, expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Maxis > SimCity 4 > 1.0
7. Change the Language value by right clicking it and selecting Modify.
8. Leave it as Hexadecimal and enter 13 into the Value Data field. Click OK.

With these two major steps complete, your sims will now start driving on the Left! If you wish to switch from the Left to the Right - rename the folder to English in step 3, and enter 1 into the Value Data field in step 8 instead.

oooOOOooo

Edit Edit:

Thanks Swamper that was indeed the problem...


Now we are driving on the right with left hand road markings... doh.   


Of course you know what this means David...     
Looks like I just became your left side drive alphabetacvs tester.   

Edit, edit, edit:
OK it is way late here, but I just could not resist a peek back in my spiral tile...




Good Night!

[Duvad]

Psst... wide and diagonal runways?

EDIT: Please don't pester people. In addition to being impolite, it never works. Your request was noted above, but I'm sure you noticed that a lot goes on in 3RR at any given time. Be patient. - Dustin (thundercrack83)

EDIT:  Oh- that's okay.  I set myself up for a little pestering by overpromising.  Duvad- I'm working hard to make sure the orthos are in fact right before I post them.  The diagonals are further behind, but I've heard from a volunteer willing to help out.  A bit of patience, as our friend Dustin counsels, will serve you well here. -DE

[dedgren]

It was sort of nice just to take a Sunday off today.  Sort of...

We built a sunroom a few years ago.  Not "had it built," mind you.  Heather and I went all the way from tearing a huge hole in the corner of our house through framing, wiring, roofing... the whole nine yards.



The one thing we never finished up was insulating under the floor.  As the sunroom is integrated into a deck we built at the same time, there's a crawl space underneath and it's open to the elements on one side.  For about six months of the year, that floor is too cold to risk with bare feet.

So back in the waning days of September, back when the days were in the 50s (F)/10s (C), I bought a bunch of R-30 fiberglass insulation batts and 2"/5 cm foil-backed foam insulation boards thinking I'd fix that before another winter set in.  Two months later, here we are.



It was 20 (F)/-6 (C) today.  I got almost exactly half the job done.

So how was your day?

* * *

I want to do two things this evening.  One is to finally respond to our friend Allan's (allan_kuan1992) recent post concerning the present direction of 3RR [linkie].  The second is to bring some closure to a labor of love I posted about six weeks (and 34 pages) ago [linkie].  I'll do the second first.

* * *

Back on the 3^rd of October, I spent some time telling you about what a huge fan I am of Brian's (c.p./cycledogg) seasonal trees.



I noted then that, because he changed the fall colors of a number of the trees after they had been out for a while, several of the original versions, which were done in striking oranges, reds and yellows, were at risk of being lost forever, as he had recycled the unique TGI (type-group-instance) numbers for those trees from the old to the new version.  I said that I was working, with Brian's permission, on MODding the old tree files in a way that would keep them available for everyone's use.

I also made one of those promises...

...oh no!- not again...

...that I would be posting those trees on the 3RREX later in the day.  Well, just like with my good intentions when I bought that insulation, one thing and then another intervened.  And, once again, here we are six weeks later.

But, 45 minutes or so from now, that wait will be over, too. 

I have mated up all of Brian's seasonal trees, new and old versions alike, and for good measure ArkenbergeJoe's wonderful seasonal SFBT birch trees, with 3RR Plopperizer^TM technology.  As previewed a couple of posts ago [linkie], this lets you plop entire forests of whatever season trees you want, all with a few mouse clicks each.  For those who are not into using seasonal tree lots, but still want to create a specific seasonal atmosphere, these should be for you.

Here's what they look like.  Each type tree appears under its own mayor mode "Flora" menu icon.



Just select a tree type and click through the seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter, then around again) until you get the seasonal variant and placement that you are looking for.  For the old and new "cycledogg" trees, there's an icon for each.



This lets you plop a few trees with blazing fall color with the majority of the same kind being more muted in appearance.  The game takes care of randomizing the placement, so with each plop you have a three-in-four chance of seeing a different side of the tree.



You can query each tree to see just what you have.



Spring and summer trees are just as easy to plop.



Winter trees also.



These will be here on the 3RREX [linkie] as soon as I wrap up this post.

* * *

This has run on for a bit, so I won't be long winded in addressing Allan's concerns that 3RR has turned away from being a regional collaboration of administrator/planners developing their quads and is becoming just another custom content thread, with me spending pretty much all my time doing roads and rail and telephone poles and trees and all that sort of stuff.

Let me first say something I've recently had the occasion to say elsewhere- I am about the most reluctant custom content developer there is.  Frankly, and I hope I don't pop anyone's balloon here, I wish I wasn't doing 90% of the MODding and other stuff I've been up to lately.  I wish with all my heart that I could be confident that, if I stopped today, someone else would have the time, the energy and, most important, the desire to pick up the slack.  I'm a realist, though, and I know that what might seem of overriding interest, even importance to me as far as SC4 goes may not even be a blip on some other custom content developer's radar screen.  Everyone has their own set of "must haves" for this game.  My must have list is a pretty long one.  The list of folks I can, barring all other considerations, absolutely count on to accomplish the things on my must have list is very short- me.  There's no way I could presume on anyone's time the way that I can on my own.  Folks like Alex (Tarkus), Matt (threestooges), and Jonathan (Warrior) have gone hugely out of their way to help me out.  If I'm not willing to take on as much of that load as I can myself, I can't continue to ask others to pitch in.

I'm not whining, mind you.  I've been delighted at my ability to learn how to do a few things that would have left me scratching my head and saying, "huh?" a year ago.  On the other hand, a year ago right now I was wrapping up the mapping for the last of the 64 townships for the 3RR Atlas and making huge progress populating the Gazetteer with detailed info about 3RR minutiae.  I have 20 more or less completely "deitized" quads ready to send out to the collaborators- my brush with mortality last spring put those on ice, but they haven't gone anywhere.

The problem I have right now is the one my friend Navin Johnson [linkie] had.



You see, I've had all this stuff.  I've seen wide diagonal runways and true seasonal plops.  I've seen fully functional STR and quads with no "game" road or rail curves.  It's very hard to let go of that and move on.

But I know I need to.  That's what's behind my current huge push to seemingly get everything done at once.  December 20^th is the second birthday of 3RR here at SC4D.  If you're a collaborator, you might put a little circle around that date on your calendar.

Later.


David

173344

[Tarkus]

Craig, actually, there is an LHD patch out there that ebina did a little while ago.  I attached it to a post back on Page 254.  That way, you can have the trains on the right . . . er . . . left side of the tracks.

David, looks like you're making some progress there with the sunroom.  It sounds like the insulation is really going to come in handy.  20F is what I would call "wearing 5 polar fleece+goose down coat weather", which I experienced plenty of when I was living up in central Washington state . . . not that far off from "Cicely, Alaska", mind you.

-Alex

[thundercrack83]

Good luck with the insulating project, David!

I can't believe that you and Heather built the addition on yourselves! I wouldn't even know where to begin!

Take care, my friend,

Dustin

[Pat]

David breath taking is all I got to say!!!! WOWzers!!!!

[allan_kuan1992]

I had put up that previous message as more of a reminder than a complaint... in a sense I feel that it was interpreted the other way... and now that I read your response... i feel like if i've gone overboard slightly =O

actually if i reflect on this... i've seen 3RR evolve since many pages back, and way before you started to move into custom SC4 content creation. And from that viewpoint... a lot of things have been achieved. I can understand the fact that it's hard to stop and put things down when you're so interested in continuing on. I'm no stranger to that.

My message wasn't really one of criticism... maybe you can call it that... but I thought of it more as a reminder... of where we are compared to where we were originally forecasted to be months ago. Then again, just like the weather... things can change unexpectedly. And, to be frank, my priorities are like the weather... and maybe many times faster than it too

- Allan Kuan

[emilin]

As much as I would like to see the collaboration take place, I have to admit that it doesn't really matter all that much in the end. Sure, it will be fun to see what 3RR turns into when developed, but everything going on in this thread is fascinating just as it looks right now.

I have a pretty clear picture in my head of how 3RR "really" looks, so, in a way, some sort of development has already taken place.

And, this is by no means "just another custom content thread". 3RR is very much a journal about the development of a specific region - it has just taken a very long road to get there.

[Nardo69]

On one hand as a civil engineer who did some roof and facade works in Russia I must say it is not very clever to "forget" the insulation.
On the other hand I do know that temporary things and soltution have the tendency to last forever ... Want a big example? After WW II and because of the German separation the Federal Republic of Germany (=Western Germany) never had a "Verfassung" (=constitution) but a "Grundgesetz" (=basic constitutional law) as a replacement in order not to prevent a later reunion with East Germany.
Now the reunion was 18 years ago and Germany has still no constitution ...  

Take care, finish that insulation works in order not to get the flue and don't forget to make backups!

Bernhard  

[metarvo]

Don't worry about one thing, David!   The custom content is not bothering me at all.  The journey itself is sometimes more fulfilling than the destination, because the journey is over once the destination is reached.  In this case, I guess the final destination would be the completion of all 256 3RR quads, while the journey is the development process, the collaboration, and all custom content that is created along the way.  In addition, the developments that happen along the way are a part of the journey.

[dedgren]

Thanks for the recent comments, folks.

I now have the ploppable seasonal trees up on the 3RREX [linkie].



I couldn't connect last night to my space on my IP's server, but it seems fine this morning.

Enjoy.


David

173554

[Pat]

SO seeing that your post is finally finished from the other one there David I see that Dec 20th is a very important date hmmm!!!! I wonder could this well be finally oooo I bet!!!! Sorry for my rambling lol, BTW if you need any help to further along Not the RMIP... Lemme know ~~ Pat

[Toichus Maximus]

David, this is stunning. I just want you to know how much I, and the greater sc4 community, appreciate your contributions to the game. Even if there were many other people who had the know-how and the drive to do what you've done with this game both in content and actually playing the game, I doubt there would be many could rival the finesse and quality we all see from your work. With or without custom content, we all love 3rr and the vision you've shown us. I've taken note of December the 20th, even though I'm not a collaborator, so I can see what you've done with these wonderful tools you've supplied us with. Thank you.

Cheers,
Matt

[threestooges]

The trees look great David. After my trip to Kentucky (a place where leaves actually change color) I know these will have a place in my cities, and will be useful in December too from the sound of it.
-Matt

[deathtopumpkins]

Hey David, I just thought of something that would be nice to see on the 3RREX: The small mod you attached a while ago that removes the props from SAM intersections. I'm looking for that now, and can't find which page it's on.

And those seasonal trees are great! 

[abcvs]

Craig, actually, there is an LHD patch out there that ebina did a little while ago.  I attached it to a post back on Page 254.  That way, you can have the trains on the right . . . er . . . left side of the tracks.

-Alex

Thanks Alex!  I appreciate that.  I will check that out when I get home from work.

I have now completely rebuilt the spiral tile with the FARR pieces including a fractional neighbour connection at the top.  It is all functioning well (albiet with the trains currently driving on the right...).

I will post some more pics when I have made it all look a bit more pretty.

[sithlrd98]

David, I as many others , am glad that you have continued with the creation of custom content along with  Alex (Tarkus), Matt (threestooges), and Jonathan (Warrior) and anyone I forgot. I never actually had checked 3rr out that much before your work with the FAR\FARR , but since then I continue to look forward to what you have "cooked up"  today. Now , with the STR and the fruition of the Plopperizer^TM tutorial , you have given us ploppable telephone poles and  MMSPT , I thank you for these fine additions! I can't wait to see what's next!

Jayson

[bob56]

All this content is amazing! cant wait especially for STR!!

[abcvs]

Just popping in to get the the LHD fix from page 253...  but this is last nights work...





Fractional neighbour connection...


More later.

Edit:  OK I have downloaded and installed the mods from page 253... and I am ecstatic to report that my cars and trains are now happily driving on the left where they belong.  I have also now installed Andreas' mod that fixes the texture differences, remembering of course to remove the swamper-peg one.

Quick sandbox check...


Anyhoo now that I know that all is well with the world I shall proceed back to my spiral tile and see how it looks now!

[frdrcklim]

Thanks for the recent comments, folks.

I now have the ploppable seasonal trees up on the 3RREX [linkie].



I couldn't connect last night to my space on my IP's server, but it seems fine this morning.

Enjoy.


David

173554

Can't wait to use those trees.