Ennedi plays Shosaloza

[capo]

Your work is truly groundbreaking, I can't say that enough. Thanks for all the information you share with us.

I bow to you Sir Ennedi

[JoeST]

Indeed it is, Its just truly amazing

I was thinking too, yes it is easiest just to leave that property at 35 though I was just trying to minimise the waves as much as possible

[Silur]

Hi, Adam ...
With great wishes to You in New Year 2008 ...
Only one stupid question - I must have ALL 3 files ENN Slope Mod in my Plugins or only one ?
Chto to Ya ne ponayal ... tupaya bashka ...
I see - SC4 work with 3 together ...
Thank You once more ...

[Ennedi]

Hi, Adam ...
With great wishes to You in New Year 2008 ...
Only one stupid question - I must have ALL 3 files ENN Slope Mod in my Plugins or only one ?
Chto to Ya ne ponayal ... tupaya bashka ...
I see - SC4 work with 3 together ...
Thank You once more ...

Hello Silur,

Thank you very much, Happy New Year and best wishes for you too!
As for your question: You should use only one file. Look at their names, you have "smooth", "eco", and "combined" versions, choose one of them.
Every of these files is a complete slope mod.
What is the difference between them? Each version has different values of the property called "MaxSlopeChange". This property decides, how much the network angle changes from tile to tile when we drag the network from the flat surface to slope (and from slope to the flat surface).
- The "smooth" version has the MaxSlopeChange for every network set as 2 degrees, it means every next tile has an angle higher by 2 degrees than the previous one. The angle changes till it will reach the maximum slope. For example, maximum slope for street is 20 degrees, and if the MaxSlopeChange is 2, we need 10 tiles to make the transition from the flat network part to the part with maximum slope (at this point network is not curved yet, it start to be straight). The "smooth" version is really smooth, but you need more tiles to cover the height difference.
- The "eco" version has the MaxSlopeChange value set as 4 degrees, so it reaches the maximum angle 2x quicker and you need less tiles to go downhill/uphill. Sometimes you have two interchanges at different levels and you want to connect them, but you don't have so much distance to use "smooth" version. The "eco" version is useful in more hilly cities.
- The "combined" version is more universal. Various types of networks have various MaxSlopeChange (i.e. smoothness) value. Parameters for various networks are described in the second table in my last update. Using this mod you can make various combinations, ie. if you want to make more steep avenue, you simply drag it (MaxSlopeChange=4). If you want to make it more smooth or more flat, you can drag another network first (this one which has less MaxSlopeChange and MaxSlope values, you can use the second table as a guide), bulldoze it and then drag an Avenue.

Why SC4 works with all 3 versions?
The slope mod (as many other mods) consists parameters responsible for various things, for example transit networks behaviour. These parameters are present also in SC4 files.
If you place the mod in your Plugins folder, the game reads SC4 original values first, and then values from your mod. This way original values are overwrited by values from your slope mod.
If you have in your Plugins more than one mod which modifies the same parameters, the game will read these mods one by one according to the loading order. If these mods are in the same folder (root folder or subfolder), it will read these mods in an alphabetical order.
In our case, the "smooth" version will be read as the last one (look at their names), so if you have all three of them, you use in fact only values from the "smooth" version.
This is also a reason why some mods don't work - it happens if you download another mod which uses the same parameters and game reads it later, and you don't know about it (I described it a few updates earlier when I showed Terrain Mods, there are some other mods which are in conflict with them)

Try to remove smooth and eco and play with the "combined" version a bit 
This version has another nice feature, usung road tiles you can level the terrain in a wide range, you can also use Ground Lifter and Hole Digger for Sunken ((look again at my last update, I described it there).
Of course if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask! 

Edit: There are no stupid questions, there are only stupid answers 

[figui]

i was not in montevideo the past days, so been away from my pc and internet, but need to say what a great job you've done! i'll try your slope mod next time i run sc4

mauricio.

[Silur]

Hi, Adam ....
Thank You Very Much !!!
I'll must study Your big answer ...
Thank You once more ...
10 minutes after: OH, Thank You - I understand ALL !!! 
Good Luck ...

[paroch]

Hi Adam,

Hey that is a great piece of work there.  You explain it in a way that I can fully understand, thanks.  I've not downloaded it yet (there are so many good new "toys" out there at the moment) but I will be giving it a go, for sure.

And it's your MD, so it's your decision, but I think that the tutorials / new developments / research that you bring us sit perfectly in your MD.  When you visit Shosaloza you never know if you're going to get some stunning pictures or some stunning new terrain information - I love it.

Whatever you decide, you will continue to have a BIG following.

All the best,

Paul

[Danthe]

Hello Adam,

great mod you have created  I've selected a smooth version, it's a most realistic. You must think about RHW too, because not any slope mod no cooperates with it

Pzdr. Mariusz

[Ennedi]

Hello my friends,

A few days passed and I should to tell you what's new in Shosaloza?
The biggest city grows - maybe too slowly, but my time is limited. I decided to develop it in a natural way. I started from main roads and now I build some residential districts and the industrial area. I will see what will grow in residential zones and then I will think about changing some buildings, placing commercial lots depending on traffic in particular areas etc.It simply needs much time. But I think I will be able to show you some developed areas soon.

As for the slope mod... Yes, it is very interesting. Now I'm checking some parameters combinations (there are about 30 properties in the exemplar) and I still have some issues:
- I can build land bridges quite easy, but I can't formulate a simple principle how to build them 
- Sometimes I can regulate the length (and angle) of the sloped network part, but not always - the network is attracted by the terrain and I want to know which property (properties) is responsible for it 
- I would like to build a network in many situations (as less red stripes as possible), but in the same time I don't want to destroy a network/buildings which are built yet. These goals are opposite, I must find a compromise.

I had even more questions and finally I ended with a large Excel table (all networks, all properties, all slope mods) and now I'm checking which property values cause which network behaviour. It seems I should change the mod and run the game not less than 100 - 150 times more... 
But I think I will produce an useful version(s) at last 

Yesterday I was a bit tired of these all roads, slopes etc. So I started to play with something else. I opened simcity1.dat and started looking at exemplars. I found a few interesting things - but first



Yoman: Thanks again for your present, it will be used for sure!
I'm glad you find my mod useful, I will think about making the slope for rail a bit less.

Cjah: Thank you very much for your nice words!
I would like to work with the terrain in a more complex way. I'm trying to use terraforming tools not only for making a nice terrain, but also to make building cities more easy and realistic. This is a reason I'm working with maps, slope mods and other similar thing in the same time.
Last time I use extensively something I call "Precise Terraforming". It needs some patience, but enables building practically in every situation.
It will be nice to see you here again! 

Szarkoz: Thank you very much! Unfortunately, there is no universal solution for every situation. Sometimes you want to make a realistic
soft road on slope, sometimes you need to cover the slope in as short distance as possible. This is the reason I made the "combined" version - you can do exactly the same as in the smooth one, but you have more possibilities if you will built another network first and then replace it by the one you want to build - exactly what you described about road and street.
Yes, it is time consuming, but after some practice you can do it really quickly.
As for red tiles - I want to reduce them, but it can cause another side effects and it isn't easy. To achieve really soft networks and realistic maximum slope some parameters should be very restrictive and it causes red tiles.
There will be next versions of this mod, and first of all - a good readme 

bat: Thank you very much for your visit and wishes! Everything best in the New Year for you too! 

Silur: Very nice to hear my work is a bit useful for you 

Shadow Asassin: I know very good You are very creative guy and I'm sure you have some nice things in your hiding place 
Very good, I think we will have more common themes in future 

Jmouse: Hello Joan, thank you for your visit!

suplado!: Thank you - I know you don't need any slope mod now on your deserted seashore, but in future - who knows? Dunes can be really high sometimes...

nedalezz: Hello my friend, nice to see you here! It was not my intention to work as a professor here, I remember most of our young friends are in school and I'm not sure if they would like to have another classroom on their favourite game site 

Pat: Hello Pat, Thank you for wishes, Happy New Year for you! You work hard too, it can be seen in your own MD - great new streams and landscapes 

star.torturer: Thank you Joe for your visit, I think we will have more to invent together 

capo: Hello my friend, I must say your work deserves exactly the same respect - but thank you!

figui: Hello Mauricio, thank you for your visit!

paroch: Hello Paul, I have read your comment carefully and I will think about it. In fact, If I would only build cities, the region development would be much faster. But building gives many occasions to meet new things, some of them are really interesting, and sometimes we need a new tool/method. So I must stop for a while, look at these new things and maybe research them a bit. Of course it's impossible to do everything in the same time, so the region development slows down.
But these things I research (terrain mods, slope mods etc.) are strictly connected with the main theme, so I agree with you it is good to show them here. In addition, it is much better (in my opinion) to show a new tool/method in the living city/terrain than only speak about it.
A surprise factor is good for me too - the main theme can be missed for a while, but we will find it again 

Danthe: Hello Mariusz, thank you for your visit, I know you are very busy now!
My slope mod includes RHW! Try it! Other mods including RHW: bones1, kt3 (he made a series of slope mods dedicated to particular networks,
one of them is slope mod for RHW only. But bones1 is more universal and very popular.)
You are an experienced player, I suggest you to play a bit with the combined version.
I will send the Polish description of this mod in the near future (maybe when I will make some further experiments and modifications).

Now, what was I playing with yesterday?



Many times I was irritated by water ripples at the sea/riverside. In my opinion they look very unrealistic. It's nothing strange when I found an exemplar called "Ripples" in simcity1.dat, I was interested in it.
I copied this exemplar, made a mod and started to play with it:

The beach - ingame ripples:
17.1


The same beach - ripples after some modifications.
17.2.


Another example - ingame ripples
17.3


And my modification:
17.4.


As you see, water ripples are more wide and more subtle now (I changed their speed to more natural too, but haven't time to make an
animation). But they don't cover all the seashore and they don't touch it in every place. It can be good in some cases (such as at this beach in my opinion), but how they look in another surrounding?

Now let's visit the lighthouse which I showed a few updates ago:
Ingame ripples - as you see they look nice here, they are visible and they look quite natural amongst all these stones:

17.5.


...And my ripples:
17.6.


Another place - ingame ripples
17.7


...And my version
17.8.


17.9.


What do you think?
Now we go to the straight part of seashore: the fishing port in Hakodate. Here are my ripples:
17.7.


Hmm... Not very nice. The waterfront is straight and we have rounded ripples without any reason. But maybe another version will be better?
17.8


And now?
OK, let's look how the "version2" will work near the lighthouse:
17.9


It is different than version1, but it works well too I think.

I made two versions of the "Water Ripples Mod", you can find them at the end of this message. What is the difference between them?
Version 1 doesn't cover all the shore, it's distance from the shore is various, it forms rounded ripples. It is more subtle. In my opinion it is good for very soft beaches, it also looks good on cliffs (creates groups of white ripples), but without much stones, flora etc.
Version 2 is better for straight waterfronts, it covers more seashore, it is narrower but more visible.
How to use them is a question of your taste.
I attached to this message also an "unchanged" version. It is simply an original exemplar from simcity1.dat without any modifications. It is for people who would like to play with it themselves.
I know it is a little and unimportant thing, but maybe somebody will make an use of it? 
And here is the "Ripples" exemplar:

17.10.


I found also another interesting thing. But this time it is more difficult (and more intriguing!): Waves

17.11


I played with it some time. First of all I noticed the maximum number of waves is set to 0 (Highlighted property on the picture above), so I changed it. But I wasn't be able to create waves, even after changing other parameters.
I think it would be great to make waves on our seas. So, let's make

The competition

I attach the "Waves unchanged" file to this message. The first person who will make waves will be a winner.
The prize:
The winner can give me his own map (from his current or future region, or the map he likes) and I will customize this terrain in a complex way (terrain, rock, other textures, snow if you want, water..., also preparing terrain for placing cities to make it easier). I promise to use all my current knowledge - very incomplete, but maybe we will achieve a nice result? 
Have a nice play! 

Adam

[gmavignier]

Once again I am speach less. Amazing work. I always wonder how it comes to people like you to mod the tiny waves of the game of small details like that. The wave and ripple mod together with your still not released water and terrain mods look amazing. I am hoping you won't take long to release those on the file exchange. Keep up the good work.

Cheers

[Jmouse]

You're doing some incredible things here, Adam. Even though I don't understand how it's done, I do know greatness when I see it!
The details make one work of art stand out from the rest, and you certainly are a master of details!

Until next time...
Joan

[kimcar]

  Great work mate. It`s a chance to have brain like you who play this gane  Thanks

[Pat]

Adam, Wow you are really becoming a great modder here and experimentor extrodinare...

[thundercrack83]

Your attention to details are astounding, Adam! Completely astounding! I would have never even thought of playing around with the water ripples, much less be able to actually do it if I wanted to! Your results do look great, too! I hope someone can come up with a solution to the competition, and it will be quite a fun time following along and seeing how it all unfolds. Keep up the good work, my friend!

Dustin

[Yoman]

Another excellent modification to the gameplay of Sc4. Looking forward to more as always, though I won't be entering the competition, I would barely manage to open the file correctly

[suplado!]

omg...cool!!! thats a really nice mod for beaches and rivers....

[tooheys]

Ennedi, I like what you are doing here. Have always had that problem with my docks, regardless how steep and consistant the drop off, you always tend to get an irregular wave break line.

It's great to see how you are experimenting with the game, especially with such beautiful areas.

Always a pleasure to drop by 

Cheers

Dave

[bat]

That's looking really nice, Ennedi! Great work there.

[ejc]

whow!

that must be the most impressive coast-lines I've seen within SC4!!

nice use of those custom props

[rooker1]

You have really done some very ,very impressive work over the last little while and now you go and check out how the the ripples work in game.  Incredilbe, just incredible.  Where do you find the time? 
Back to the Slope Modd, do you know if a bridge needs to be the same hieght on both ends and/or if it can be changed so that one is higher or lower than the opposite side.  If you don't understand my question, just PM me and we can talked about it later.
Anyways, I can't wait to see if you have made any progress with your city as I have not made any myself.  So busy over the holidays. 

Robin