The Noro Cooperative

[Gugu3]

Has it something to do with the texture?seems like there's more grey asphalt (like an emergency lane) on side of the RHW...

[vortext]

Oh, I just realized what it is with the RHW! Should I tell?! 

Two hints; colors & lines! Right?!

Nice map Willy, that must have taken quite a while to put together! And great intersections from you Maarten! Pleased to hear you enjoy the tree controller as well. 

[Simcoug]

Nice map Willy, that must have taken quite a while to put together!

I agree... just how long did that take???  Is there a simpler way than going into each tile, taking a snapshot (rinse and repeat) and putting it together piece by piece in photoshop?

In any case, I love the map.  And great work to everybody involved in this project.

[MandelSoft]

Oh, I just realized what it is with the RHW! Should I tell?! 

Two hints; colors & lines! Right?!

Nope, still not it...

Clue #2. Something is... missing...

[vortext]

Nope, still not it...

Well, that just goes to show I don't use RHW all that often because I really thought you had a new color scheme going. 

Anyhow, I'm really curious what's different. Surely someone must be able to tell?! 

[Gugu3]

No chevrons...

[epicblunder]

Clue #2. Something is... missing...

No T21 grass where the roadsigns are plopped? 

Then again i haven't got to play with the new RHW much yet, and maybe that's a nam 31.1 feature...   

[MandelSoft]

And Epicblunder gets the prize! Indeed the grass is missing! We've deleted the wealth textures for the RHW and we made all networks model-based   Currently, this is a NORO-only mod, since it's not that user-friendly.

[Gugu3]

Wow!didn't notice that feature!!!that's a cool one Maarten!
always good to see some developement/new features...so who's working on what at the moment?
i love this project
cheers
Guglielmo

[vortext]

Doh! The devil is in the details!

so who's working on what at the moment?

Yeah, and who're actually involved at the moment? I lost track! 

[rooker1]

Have a look at this !!

[vortext]

Neat! 

[epicblunder]

 

And Epicblunder gets the prize! Indeed the grass is missing! We've deleted the wealth textures for the RHW and we made all networks model-based...

Do you happen to have the TGI of the grass the RHW t21 uses?  I think i'm going to try to replace mine and see what happens....

[MandelSoft]

It's not a T21. It's a texture (we call them Wealth Textures) that are there to prevent sidewalks from poking through. I just found another way to prevent that

[epicblunder]

It's not a T21. It's a texture (we call them Wealth Textures)

Ah.  So do you know the TGI of that texture so i can try to overwrite it?  Or can point me in the direction of where i can find it's ID if you NAMites don't have it listed near at hand?   

[MandelSoft]

Well, it's not as easy as it sounds. The method I used is some pretty advanced modding involving removing textures and use models instead. There are also some drawbacks (like not being to able to see the preview of the tool while dragging).

Besides, why don't you just check out the files yourself with the Reader? There's nothing that stops you from doing that

[epicblunder]

Alrighty, thought you just might have had it close at hand.  I'll stop hijacking now.   

[benedict]

Congratulations to the cooperative on being featured as OSITM.

@ Mandelsoft - I like the simple shield for the NOROWAY.

[noahclem]

Watch out for tunnel squirrels! It's another bit of Noroway headed your way 


I've been a bit quiet and perhaps should apologize. Much like the swimming duck I've been apparently quite boring and yet paddling clownishly out of sight. Much like the noble beaver I've been industrious. And like the gopher (not golfer!) from Caddyshack I have been enjoying myself as well. I invoke the spirit of the noble squirrel to bring you a few pictures I hope you'll find interesting.


First off a couple of panoramas--click to enlarge! You've already downloaded the whole picture 

My latest completed interchange, from quad Fq--this is where the outer beltway intersects highways headed west and south(west)



Another view of the last train station



A recent map of the central area for reference



Most of my recent SimCity work has been with highways--perhaps my favorite part of the game but extremely tedious because of the way I build them. Even on the more simple ones I usually build and demolish several times before coming up with something I'm really happy with, and on the big ones (like the first panorama) it takes days. And this new one for the port....well it's been may days of headaches testing the very limits of what's currently possible with the NAM in a bid to combine perfection with a desire to release the quad to Willy to continue rail and port development. Here is the series of shots I came up with to keep my team members abreast of my progress:


keep in mind when building interchanges I work with slope lessening networks parallel to highways and with lowered sea level in case I need to build "bridges"












I've since started a major revamp of the eastern section to better work with the expressway-port road and it's local and expressway connections. The amount of networks involved and the inter-connectivity makes the project, and any small change to it, a major task. Maybe it would be better explained by:

DESIGN FEATURES:
6-way RHW interchange
Local traffic access to freeways and expressways in all directions
Local traffic access to most areas under the interchange
All central interchange elements elevated to allow for port, parking, or other use under the interchange--with all wide radius curves
East-west primary rail corridor crossing near to the interchange's center
Seaport railway crossing north-south near the interchange's center; not at grade crossing with rail corridor
Connectivity limited to directions where traffic would realistically want to go to a practical level
Interchange fits within space provided considering port development and close adjacency to the CBD quad Noropolis

The challenge is massive, at least for me. I've reached the point where finishing the junction could be done with a small bit of hard work but that's not enough. There's too much involved, too many networks, too many people, and too much of my own time. I'll be working on this project for a bit and fine-tuning it for who knows how long as future technology develops and the needs of our city become more clear. I have an idea of how the port and surrounding rails will look and I'm holding my highway to that standard.


At the southwest corner of the port tile (Mo) the expressway serving the port diverges from the motorway



Oh, and I made the central interchange of Iu a while ago too 

I'm thinking about adding a half diamond to the western section of it. Any thoughts?


Something pretty for the end

[Kergelen]

wow, I'm impressed with the complexity of the layout