CAM + NAM

[cogeo]

Cleanitol in NAM's installer suggests removal of CAM's Traffic Plugin file.

So how should NAM + CAM be installed?

[RippleJet]

Yes, since CAM was released a lot of work has been done on the pathfinders in NAM.
There are now better pathfinding plugins included in NAM, which can be used with the CAM.

The next version of CAM will actually not include any pathfinders at all, but instead rely on those provided by NAM.

Anyone installing CAM today, and already having the latest NAM, should opt for using the pathfinder provided by NAM.

[xxdita]

So for new users, it's best to choose no traffic simulator while installing CAM. Instead use the ones included with the latest NAM. And even with that, I'd suggest downloading the MAC version, which has all of the files in a zip, so that you can test them for yourself, and choose the right one for your cities, and your playing style.

[Eunomiac]

Edit: Sorry about starting that new thread; I feel dumb for not seeing this one.

I'm torn between the NAM and CAM pathfinding fixes. On one hand, NAM just came out with spiffy new pathfinding simulators. On the other hand, the capacities seem to be too low by CAM standards, even with the easiest plugin.

I apologize if I get too thorough below. I'm hoping this thread might prove helpful to others who are looking to install these two plugins!

First, the capacities:

       
         
         
         
         
         
         

	NAM (Easy)	NAM (Medium)	NAM (Hard)	CAM (from CAM 1.0 Manual.pdf, pg. 5)
Street:	2250	1500	1000	1000*
Road / OWR / Avenue:	5600 (all)	3750 (all)	2500 (all)	6000 / 8000 / 10000*
Highways:	10800	7200	4800	16000*
Rural Highway:	10800	7200	4800	12000*
Rails:	13500	9000	6000	20000*

* CAM also increases the speeds of different traffic types, sometimes by as much as double

Second, each of the above NAM plugins comes in one of two flavors, Simulator A or Simulator B:

Simulator "A" has been designed by JPlumbley to extend the original travel distances set by the MAXIS Simulators.  For example in the original game the MAXIS Simulator allows the Sims to walk up to 7 tiles, but with Simulator "A" the Sims will walk upto 43 tiles to get to work.  This change in travel distance is due to the calculations used to allow Car Traffic to travel one full distance of a large city tile (512 tiles) on Avenues.

Simulator "B" has been designed by Mott to work with the original travel distances set by the MAXIS Simulator.  For example in the original game the MAXIS Simulator allows the Sims to walk up to 7 tiles, therefore in Simulator "B" the Sims will walk up to 7 tiles.  Simulator "B" has also been re-calculated to be more balanced and provide better path-finding overall.

Other modifications to both Simulators include changes to the follow properties with minor variation:

• Congestion to Accident Probability - Revamped the probability curve.
• Congestion vs. Speed - Made use of this, not used to full potential by MAXIS.  Sims will now look for better routes if the network is over congested.
• Trip Length to Minutes Display Multiplier - Used in calculations for time displays on Commute Time Graph.

So, my question to y'all is: What traffic/pathfinding plugin should I install? NAM's or CAM's, and which one?

Thanks for any advice you have for me!

[jplumbley]

I'm torn between the NAM and CAM pathfinding fixes. On one hand, NAM just came out with spiffy new pathfinding simulators. On the other hand, the capacities seem to be too low by CAM standards, even with the easiest plugin.

I apologize if I get too thorough below. I'm hoping this thread might prove helpful to others who are looking to install these two plugins!

First, the capacities:

Second, each of the above NAM plugins comes in one of two flavors, Simulator A or Simulator B:

So, my question to y'all is: What traffic/pathfinding plugin should I install? NAM's or CAM's, and which one?

Thanks for any advice you have for me!

The NAM Traffic Simulators are the ones you should be choosing from as they are the latest developements in the research into the Traffic Simulator.

We did extensive testing on these Simulators, the (Easy) version was tested in a CAM Medium Tile City by xxdita.  He was able to have a city population of over 2.5 million Sims, of course his roads were generally red, but what city in the Real World has 2.8 million Sims in a 2x2 km area (none)....  And Cities of the world have loads of traffic at even lower populations across larger areas.

It is probably a good idea to install one, see if it does what you expect, if not try another.  I would make sense to probably start with the "Hard" version and see if you like it.

[cogeo]

So I guess I need to update my RTMT pack now.
The obvious first step is to drop support for (old) CAM, ie remove the CAM capacities settings.
The classic Traffic plugin files (Standard, x2, x5, Radical) are about to remain of course.

Do capacities for "A" and "B" traffic simulator settings anyhow "match" with the above capacities (at any level, easy, medium or hard)?

[jplumbley]

Simulators "A" and "B" have been calculated with two different base designs, but each has "Easy, Medium and Hard" versions.  The only difference between "Easy" and "Medium" is Capacity, whereas all Simulator files that are "Easy" versions have the same Capacity.

Explained further in this thread: Traffic Simulator

Cogeo, we have had lengthy discussions on the Traffic Switch Entry Cost of TE Lots aswell.  Something you may really have an interest in if you are planning to update the RTMT is the following [Link] posted by CLR1SC4D.. He has done some extensive testing and we have come to an agreement that the Traffic Switch Entry Cost for ALL Transit Stations should be equal to 0.2687.  This will be the value that will be incorporated into the X-Tool when it is released and it will not be editable in the X-Tool.

[cogeo]

I have checked your link, and from what I have seen capacities don't match the classic ones - some are 2.5 times the original, some others 1.2 etc.
So do I need to make at least three more plugins, or there are different capacities for A and B too?
Roads, oneways and avenues have the same capacities. I guess this means for each direction, isn't it?

As for the entry cost, I think a value of 0.27 is quite high. Only the A param set has a max trip time of 12, in all other versions it's 4, so a value that high won't only cause underusage, it will also increase travel time in general for the whole city. Indeed, what's exactly the travel-time for cars for traversing a 1-tile-long stretch of, say, road. Shouldn't this be taken into consideration too? Avoiding shortcutting can't be the only criterion, I think.

[whatevermind]

• Bump 
• Will somebody please sticky this thread?

This is really useful information, and this thread seems to contain it most concisely.  Additionally, perhaps the NAM folks would consider putting a note regarding CAM in their next update?  Right now neither the CAM nor NAM documentation covers this (AFAIK).  Likewise, if CAM ever does get updated, I'd suggest putting a note in its documentation pointing you to the latest NAM as well, especially since the current CAM contains a traffic mod, which people will notice is missing in the next CAM.

Also, perhaps we could have some input from staff at NAM and RTMT as to which settings from each of those mods is the suggested pairing to CAM, if there is one?  Surely I can't be the only person out there using all three of these mods 

[catty]

Hi whatevermind

Time moved on as did knowledge, please take a look at this post  http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=6812.msg304847#msg304847

and these topics

A Guide to the Operation of the Traffic Simulator   http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=10261.0

NAM Unified Traffic Simulator and Data View Help   http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=6812.0

Relevant quote and answer from z (RTMT Team Leader)

Hi Z.

I've read your post about the different versions of the simulator z and I would like to try it with the CAM.
Can you give me some advice about the best version to go along with the CAM?

It's really the same advice for non-CAM users; base it on the size of your city and the amount of rapid transit.  If you're specifically building a large CAM city with lots of big buildings, I'd recommend using the High simulator; you can always move to Ultra later if you need it.

hope that helps

Catty (RTMT Team)