SAM - Street Addon Mod

[Filasimo]

@ Andreas: no problem my friend and I would gladly like to do more future readmes if you guys would like its something less that you guys have to mess with, and yes HTML can be a PITA sometimes!

[Tarkus]

@Warrior: For the time being, an updated NAM Essentials file has been included in the SAM. The installer will make a backup of the original NAM Controller, and if you use the uninstall feature of the SAM, the original NAM Controller will be restored. Please keep in mind that the SAM is still in BETA, so things are subject to change.

One other quick thing to add to that--since the new NAM Essentials is included in the SAM file right now, it changes some things with the RHW installation, if you plan on doing that for the first time.

If you're installing the RHW and SAM:
After installing the main Network Addon Mod file, instead of the NAM Essentials file from June, just install the SAM.

If you're installing the RHW, SAM and any of the Additional Bridges:
After installing the main Network Addon Mod file, install only the Bridge Controller update from the June NAM Essentials (that option exists ), then install the RHW and finally, the SAM.

-Alex (Tarkus)

PS--Ryan (Filasimo), that readme, in addition to being informative, is highly amusing.   I was rolling on the floor laughing.  Anyone who doesn't read the readme is missing out on some really funny stuff.   

[Olasz]

 

[Filasimo]

@ Tarkus: LOL i wanted the readme to be as fun to read and enjoy and down to the point im glad ya like it and i do hope that people will read it too bc they dont know what they are missing out!

[JoeST]

I just downloaded it especially to read the readme, LOL its good, unfortunately my plugins are playing up, and so are my graphics so I cant play

[Andreas]

@Tarkus: Thanks for the explanation regarding the RHW/NAM Essentials. The NAM Controller won't stay in the SAM, of course, and I can only stress to use the SAM BETA uninstaller before installing the final version of the SAM. The SAM BETA was released mainly due to popular demand, so please keep in mind that you use it on your own risk at the moment.

[Filasimo]

btw my inspiration for the readme  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1Q_yZeXkOY

[DFire870]

Woohoo, it's finally released! Great job everyone, and I can't wait to try it out in the game. And what a great birthday present.

-- John

[jplumbley]

Thank you everyone for ALL of the support!  This has been a great success.

Unfortunately, as it turns out I missed a couple path files for the newest textures the AVE Intersections.  Probably picked the wrong SAM Path Files as I have multiple copies of everything.  I will find the right ones and make an update to the file!  Thank you Tarkus for the warning.

ABOUT the NAM Essentials (NAM_Controller) file.  In this BETA release of SAM it has been determined due to the small size of it (if you want to call it small) that the NAM_Controller will be updated with the SAM installation.  But in the future when SAM is more complete, like it will be in BETA v2 the updated NAM_Controller will be in the NAM Essentials and need to be updated as a separate download.

[Madeira aka Constantina]

its very attractive although the first thumbnail is bit plain.

[metasmurf]

Umh is it possible to "end" the sam texture and make an intersection with the regular maxis street? I want to make the gravel dirt street the "main rural street" and the dirtroadmod "side roads". However the problem is when I make an intersection with the gravel dirt street, all of them turn into gravel dirt streets

[jplumbley]

its very attractive although the first thumbnail is bit plain.

Im not sure what you mean by this.  Are you talking about the Menu Icon?  If so, it kinda small to do anything flashy with it.

Umh is it possible to "end" the sam texture and make an intersection with the regular maxis street? I want to make the gravel dirt street the "main rural street" and the dirtroadmod "side roads". However the problem is when I make an intersection with the gravel dirt street, all of them turn into gravel dirt streets

Due to the limitations of the SAM technology, it is not possible to volunarily "stop" a texture and revert it to the original MAXIS streets.  The way that SAM works is that it is an override of the MAXIS Street network, meaning it essentially replaces the textures of the MAXIS Streets.  We have been able to separate these textures so that it is possible to "activate" them with a ploppable starter piece.  Unfortunately, once you start it you cant stop it in the same line.  There is no way around it, it is a limitation.  I may be able in future BETA versions get Inter-SAM intersections to work, but I still wont be able to get the original MAXIS Streets to intersect with a SAM intersection due to the fact that the network being overriden is the MAXIS Streets.

The best way to do this right now is by offsetting the MAXIS Street by 1-tile in either direction or have a Gravel to Road before the intersection, with the MAXIS Street leaving the intersection.

[metasmurf]

I found a way to get around the issue. I made a 4x1 TE:d lot with dirt-street textures. It seems that the te'd lot works as an end lot for SAM



With an asphalt fading to dirt texture, it could look really smooth

[metasmurf]

Sorry for double posting but I made a transition texture (not perfect obviously) but it looks kinda good to me



So by making a 4x1 ted lot we could make transitions from all sam streets to every kind orginal maxis street.

[flame1396]

Metasmurf. wouldnt the dirt be smeared onto the pavement in a streaking pattern from cars?

[metasmurf]

Dunno but it's common around where I live. Maybe the asphalt could go into the lot 1 tile deeper.

[jgehrts]

Looks great so far!

[jplumbley]

@metasmurf  There are better ways to do this.  I will confer with Alex (Tarkus) and see what we can do with Puzzle Pieces.  We ,may be able to edit the existing Puzzle Piece Starters and add a MAXIS Street Stub at the begining of the Starter Piece and have the Starter Piece as the Transition to the MAXIS Streets.

This is a link to my opinions and the opinions of many senior Transit Modders around the community on TE Lots being used for Network Pieces: http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=2361.msg71057#new

As to the status of TE Lots.  TE Lots are NOT good for transit networks.  I will tell you why:

1.   The intended purpose of a TE lot is for Transit Stations (Bus stops, Subways, etc.)

2.   TE Lots with SC4Path files theoretically work.  But in actual usage they dont work properly 100% of the time.  The biggest issue with these is that the Sims can "jump" paths.  This is relevent in many cases, most of the time when a TE Lot is placed between two networks of the same type, like Road/TE Lot/Highway.  You will notice that the Sims will use the TE lot as a shortcut from the Road to the Highway and it will seem as if they float through the air.  This is a very bad thing, it screws around with commute times and pathfinding.

3.  These lots can NOT be placed next to each other.

4.  TE Lots are a major component of the well known and well documented NAM puzzle piece CTD.  Remember when GLR was all puzzle pieces?  You would be placing a Station and hold it over a GLR piece by accident, or you would be placing a GLR track puzzle piece and you'd have a CTD.  The biggest reason this happened was because you would have touch a TE Lot when placing GLR Puzzle Pieces.

Now imagine having these TE Lots ALL over your city at the intersections or where you wanted the texture of the Road to be a little different.  Your # of CTDs will sky rocket when using puzzle pieces.

5.  There are better ways to do what these people are trying to do!  They want to add variety to the game.  There are 2 ways to add a variety of intersections:
         A)  T21 Exemplars - These are essentially lot files to networks.  They are just as easy as lots to make and are tied to certain Network Textures.  

         For example Aznoverdrive has made a variety of extra stop lights.  IF he took these stoplights and made lots for them he could easily copy the appropriate LotConfig Properties from the Lot Exemplar to the T21 Exemplar.  Then in the property that references the Road 4way Intersection's Texture all he would have to do is put in the IID of that Texture.

         The way T21s work is that there can be upto 256 different "Lot" variations of a Network Texture.  When the intersection is drawn the game randomly selects a T21 "Lot" variation to place.  So, IF Aznoverdrive had made these TE Lots as T21s it would not override the original stoplights (unless he made the new stoplight have the same IID) and it would allow for the game to randomly select the type of stoplight chosen.

         B)  The other way would be to make a puzzle piece.  Puzzle pieces are MUCH safer.  They do not in have quite as many issues with path jumping as TE Lots.  In fact that number is very close to 0.  The only time it has been documented is Path jumping from 15m to 0m in intersections like Raised Road over Road.  Each puzzle piece could have its own set of stoplights and they would not have such a texture difference (Brightness) which you see in many of the TE Lot uploads.  This gives you the choice of which stoplights are placed where and they are much safer, and are calculated in teh path finding and commute time properly as they works as if they were a part of the network, unlike TE Lots.

         C)  For those TE Lots that have overhanging textures use to change the look of a network.  This is one of the worst applications of textures I have ever seen.  If you want to see the proper way of adding texture variations to networks goto SC4Devotion and check out the Street Addon Mod (SAM, a link is in my signature), other great projects that are in production that are "adding" networks are the Turning Lane Avenues (TLA), Rural Highway (RHW), Wider Avenues, One Way Road - 5, etc.  All of these projects are not replacements of the vanilla networks they are alternate texture variations which are draggable from a puzzle piece drag starter.  These projects will change the way we play the game and I guarentee they will not take the shortcuts used by the people here who are creating TE Lots.

I hope these modders will finally stop making these TE Lots.  They are very bad lots and modding applications from a technical standpoint.  I would not recommend to anyone that these lots be downloaded because they simply are just not good for the pathfinding system and they certainly are not upto the standards of NAM.  

[Sim Shady]

nice to see SAM out to the public 

[SimNation]

jplumbley

Fantastic Mod and great idea..have different types of streets aka more then just asphault/brick/dirt is one hell of thing that shoulda been in the original game(but thats why modders always make vanilla games better ) Was wondering if you could incoroprate a street texture that just about every person should know about. One that has the cracklines running through them at different intervals. You know the ones you typically see in just about every suburban/urban lightly asphaulted neighborhood.
Cracks Like These



P.S. I got a few other textures you could use for streets that Ive seen no one give. Let me know if you want them.
I got 3cracked textures,1 unique shaped stone texture,and one used asphault one