Argh, SC4's recalcitrance with building bridges with the NAM is annoying!!!

[Pythias900KMB]

Ahoy out there!!!  Is there a way to drain away the water so that I can get a bridge built and not have to throw away the whole day -- and my sanity?  If so, how?

[APSMS]

Hi

I mentioned this in one of your other threads. Using ilive's Reader tool with a custom terrain mod will allow you to safely drain your city's water.

Simply open the Custom terrain mod DAT in the Reader tool, and under the Sea Level parameter, change it from its default of 250 meters to any value you want. Typically anything under 200 should drain all the water you need out of your city, though you can experiment. Raising the water above 250 should not have too many deleterious effects either, but I would advise caution in that regard.

However, none of this will really help you build a bridge. The game's engine typically only places bridges over water or spots of extreme depth/steepness. A valley (instead of a river basin) will likely cause the game to try to run the road (or RHW, or whatever) down the bottom of the riverbed, rather than over it.

Most of the art of bridge building (when the game is being stubborn) is based on the terrain at the bridge ends, and has very little to do with whatever is in the middle. Two-tile bridges (Avenue and Maxis Highway MHW) are a little harder to place because both tiles (at the bridgehead) must have the same slope.
Small elevation differences can be accommodated, but for best results, use Buggi's Extra Cheats Mod and the cheat "Terrain Query" (without the quotes) to allow you to use the Query tool to see the elevation (Z-parameter) of your terrain at both ends of the bridgehead; you can then level it out with the terrain tools (Mayor or God mode).

[Pythias900KMB]

I have downloaded ILive's Reader and am trying to get it to cooperate -- without much success.  However, I did look into the ini file of the region and this is what I found:

[Regional Settings]
Name = New York
Terrain type = 0
Water Min = 60
Water Max = 100

I am not sure if I can use this data to my advantage.

[Pythias900KMB]

If I find a terrain mod in the LEX, will that include a whole new region or can I continue using the New York region which came with SC4?

[mgb204]

Honestly if all you are trying to accomplish is to build a bridge, messing with the Reader and .ini files is not going to help you out.

I don't know why you think the water being there is an obstacle, it's not. Did you know using the SetSeaLevel can have negative effects? Such as demolishing infrastructure that was previously in place?

Building a real highway bridge is much like building other bridges, the Maxis "Rush Hour" tutorial in Timbuktu has an interactive tutorial. You'd be much better off following that. Otherwise here is a YouTube tutorial, specifically aimed at the RHW.

[Pythias900KMB]

I have some good news, everybody:  after fiddling around with the terrain and shifting my strategy toward the main lanes being a pair of RHW-6S instead of RHW-8S, I have finally built the bridges that have been giving me trouble at long last!!!  Boy, do I feel like the south end of a horse for not having thought to do that sooner ...

The video about how to construct bridges with the RHW mentioned that it is important to have a slope mod installed ... unfortunately, following that counsel has worked to my detriment as SC4 is refusing to comply my construction orders with greater frequency because of slight elevation discrepancies that catch the attention of the slope mod and would normally not be a problem for me.

I do need something explained to me -- how to build Neighbor Connections with the RHW.  I have dragged the carriageways to and over the edge of the map; still, I am at a loss as to what utility these NC pieces are.  When I place them at the edge of the map, I cannot draw the RHW to it or through it.

I also built a couple of RHW-8S bridges using the MHW; still, I could not connect the RHW to them like in the video.

[CasperVg]

I do need something explained to me -- how to build Neighbor Connections with the RHW.  I have dragged the carriageways to and over the edge of the map; still, I am at a loss as to what utility these NC pieces are.  When I place them at the edge of the map, I cannot draw the RHW to it or through it.

Drag the RHW to the edge of the map, allow it to make the connection. Then, plop the NC pieces on top of the dragged RHW at the border. It might seem useless at first, but it's actually required to allow the transit simulator to use the RHW as an actual neighbour connection.

[Pythias900KMB]

How many Neighbor Connection pieces do I use?  I was making some RHW neighbor connections last night and it took longer than I thought it would because the NC piece kept flopping around the opposite direction (yellow edge line to the outside) along with refusing to plop down right on the RHW I had drawn.

Anyway, I have another question.  In one of my cities, an interchange I am building calls for a overpass across a depression in the middle for another highway; if I build the overpass at an altitude of 15 meters all the way across, it will dip where that depression is instead of staying flat all the way through.  I had originally excavated the trench to an inverse altitude of 15 meters and wanted the overpass to have an altitude of 30 meters when crossing that trench.

How do I get the NAM to respect my decision to avail 3rd/4th lvl elevation RHW for part of the overpass without it leaving a gap at the edges of the trench?  I do not want the sunken highway to have an unsightly rise just to go under an elevated RHW nor do I want the elevated RHW dropping 15 meters simply to cross a sunken highway?

[mgb204]

How many Neighbor Connection pieces do I use?  I was making some RHW neighbor connections last night and it took longer than I thought it would because the NC piece kept flopping around the opposite direction (yellow edge line to the outside) along with refusing to plop down right on the RHW I had drawn.

Firstly, if the tile is not absolutely flat, the NC's probably won't plop. General rule: Puzzle pieces can not tolerate slopes. As for them rotating, be very steady with your mouse when plopping, puzzle pieces like to auto-orient themselves if the cursor is moved even very slightly.

Anyway, I have another question.  In one of my cities, an interchange I am building calls for a overpass across a depression in the middle for another highway; if I build the overpass at an altitude of 15 meters all the way across, it will dip where that depression is instead of staying flat all the way through.  I had originally excavated the trench to an inverse altitude of 15 meters and wanted the overpass to have an altitude of 30 meters when crossing that trench.

How do I get the NAM to respect my decision to avail 3rd/4th lvl elevation RHW for part of the overpass without it leaving a gap at the edges of the trench?  I do not want the sunken highway to have an unsightly rise just to go under an elevated RHW nor do I want the elevated RHW dropping 15 meters simply to cross a sunken highway?

Please do not repeat questions in multiple threads. It won't get you a quicker answer.