NAM Traffic Simulator Development and Theory

[Jack_wilds]

Hello Z, Jack wilds here...

Not sure how much more I can elaborate -but here goes...
1)   double click on desk-top icon
2)   the tscp-ui appears with 'open' pop-up "...NAM folder was not found..."
3)   press 'ok' button
4)   2nd 'open' pop-up appears "...showing contents of plugins folder..."
5)   highlight the NAM folder press 'ok' button
6)   "...loaded values from simulator file..." appears
7)   'ok' pressed and current values appear
8)   it all appears to be good... game plays normally as before

As you made a plan of action concerning the 'read-me', so be it -well done

Jack 

[z]

What you describe sounds like the way the program was designed to work.  Normally, it looks for the NAM folder in a couple of standard locations; you only get that dialog if you've installed your NAM folder in a location other than the default, or if you've renamed it.  In that case, once you point the program to your NAM folder, the program remembers where it is from then on.

Where is your NAM folder installed, and what is its name?

[Jack_wilds]

Hey Z, Jack here...

The first three folders in my plugins folder is:

Aa_cam
Ab Network Addon Mod ( all things NAM )
Ac Mods ( a select mod files that needed loading after cam and nam before bats)

The folders are named -titled so they remain in order; rather simple, nothing complex

Jack 

[z]

OK, then it sounds like everything is working as designed, as you're using a nonstandard name.  You just have to point the program at your NAM folder the first time you use it; after that, it will remember the location unless you change it.

[CaptCity]

OK, then it sounds like everything is working as designed, as you're using a nonstandard name.  You just have to point the program at your NAM folder the first time you use it; after that, it will remember the location unless you change it.

Well, got the beta and, of course, had to give it a go... First, this looks like a very marvelous piece of work and just wanted to thank all involved for your work on this. 

On the subject of NAM folder names...

I also use a non-default naming system for my NAM folder. Actually several since I do some testing of the various works in progress. I did notice that I had to navigate to the NAM folder the first time (as indicated above) and once I did that it opened from then on. Now, my question becomes, what happens when I load one of my other NAM folders into the plugins? As it stands now, TSCT still opens as if it found a NAM folder with values in all the normal places. I am assuming that these values are whatever they were from the last run and not from the new folder now in place, and it would then be necessary to navigate to the new folder and load the new simulator.

If that is expected behavior, then that's fine. I just wasn't sure if my assumption is correct, or if it should give the "NAM folder not found" warning again. (It even opens with no warning with no NAM folder in the plugins.)

Also, any files created upon a "Save" are being saved in the root Plugins folder (not the NAM folder). That's not what I expected from reading the User's Guide and wanted to check.

[z]

I'm not quite sure I understand, but if you move your new NAM folder to where the old one used to be, then the program is picking up values from the new one.  In such a case, it has no way of knowing that the new NAM folder is not the old one, or what you did with the old one.

It even opens with no warning with no NAM folder in the plugins.

I cannot duplicate this behavior.  The program always looks at the last place you had your NAM folder; it also looks for the NAM folder directly under both the user and system Plugins folders.  If it doesn't find the NAM folder in any of these places, it always gives an error message for me, followed by the folder dialog box.

Are you experiencing something different from this?  If so, could you please tell me exactly what you did?  Thanks!

[CaptCity]

Sorry for the vagueness...

This is what I was trying to explain... My regular NAM folder is named NAM - Jul09. It is what I usually have in the plugins during normal game play. When I ran TSCT the first time, I received the "No NAM folder warning" and had to navigate to the folder. That was understandable, and all was well. The TSCT would open to it each time.

Then I put one of my other testing NAM folders into the plugins (call it NAM - RHW), replacing the first one. When I ran TSCT again, I expected to get the no-folder warning again (because of the new non-typically named folder), but I didn't. TSCT opened with no warning and loaded values in the various "windows". I thought maybe these values were the same as those from the previous run. Well being curious, I removed all NAM folders from the plugins and ran TSCT again. It opened up once more with the values it had had before. Hope this makes sense...


Edit:  All right... never mind...

Once again, this game (or my computer) makes a liar out of me... I re-installed TSCT, and now things are behaving as expected. Don't know what it was, but sorry for the trouble. Will speak up if it pops up again.

[z]

I'm following what you're saying - but again, I can't duplicate the problem.    Am I correct that you do not have a folder named "Network Addon Mod" directly underneath either your user Plugins folder or your system Plugins folder?

If so, then in the Help menu, there's an entry named "Log".  Take a look at that, and see if it gives you a better idea as to what's going on.  If not, could you please post it?  Thanks!

[CaptCity]

I'm following what you're saying - but again, I can't duplicate the problem.    Am I correct that you do not have a folder named "Network Addon Mod" directly underneath either your user Plugins folder or your system Plugins folder?

That's correct. But it's a mute point now (Did you see my edit above?) Everything appears OK now.

If so, then in the Help menu, there's an entry named "Log".  Take a look at that, and see if it gives you a better idea as to what's going on.

Good to know it's there if this pops up again. Thanks

[CaptCity]

More on the TSCT test front... A UI issue...

I noticed this today when I closed the program and it asked me to save after I thought I had made no changes. Turns out I had changed something but was unaware of it. It seems that the cursor does not actually need to be on any of the check boxes in the Mass Transit Usage and Data View areas to select/deselect them. Nor does it have to be on the text describing each box. If the cursor is anywhere within about an inch and a half to the right on the horizontal, the boxes can be selected or deselected. Not a really big thing, but it was a little surprising.

[z]

I see what you mean.  You could be clicking on a blank space in the window just to select the window, and accidentally change an option in the process.  That would seem to be undesirable behavior; I'll talk to Stefan about it.  Thanks for the report!

[Duvad]

Hey z,

I'm developing my region so that it looks and (hopefully) develop like a typical real Australian city, and that means buses and trains are the main forms of public transport used, with generally there being just 1 or 2 railway stations per (medium-sized) city tile, with bus connections. I've also been reading through this thread (as I'm using your simulator) and I've been hearing from others how much rail is being used. And I don't get it. I'm getting so little traffic on the train lines and it's frustrating me.

In any suburb, on average, theres a few hundred commuters using the rail services, and maybe a couple thousand using buses, but tens of thousands (and more) are using cars. As a reference, in an average suburb in real-life Melbourne (Australia), there is about 50% of commuters using public transport to make their way to work each morning.

So I'm wondering what I can do to improve my public transport use. Clearly I'm (edit: not) planning my roads and transport system in a way conducive to high public transport use, but I'm thinking this may also be due to the goal of my region I outlined at the beginning. I've got tonnes of road connections in each city tile so each city has the same street layout, and I think I've also got bad 'eternal commuter' issues in each corner of my cities because of it.

[z]

You need many more railway stations per tile for the Sims to use them.  Otherwise, the faster speed of the trains does not make up for the extra time it takes to get to the stations.  Similarly, to get more bus usage, you may have to use more bus stops.

The tool that's been described recently in this thread will also allow you to increase your bus usage; it should ready fairly soon.

Finally, you need to get rid of any eternal commuter issues, as these can disrupt transportation (and many other things) in all sorts of ways.

If after trying these things, you still have problems, please continue this discussion in the NAM Traffic Simulator Z and Data View Help, where support issues are handled.  Thanks!

[z]

looks like a nice program although I'd prefer it in System or Nimbus Look-and-feel. I personally dislike the old Metal Look-and-feel, it's getting a bit old.

So for System, you'd like something like this?



And for Nimbus:



I shrank the picture down a tad so that it wouldn't be too wide.  But as you can see, Stefan has been working hard.  He even did a Motif skin:



(Again, this has been shrunk just a little.)  All three skins, plus the original, will be selectable through a configuration file.

The next version of the TSCT, which will include these skins, will be going out to testers reasonably soon.

[z]

As Simulator Z has become the NAM Unified Traffic Simulator (or NAM Simulator for short), this thread has been renamed.  The core of the NAM Simulator is still Simulator Z, so further development of this simulator will continue in this thread.

[z]

As many of you know, the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool was released last week as part of the new NAM.  The TSCT installer is automatically launched at the end of the NAM installation if you choose the "I want to build a custom simulator" option in the list of traffic simulators.  If you do this, you will then have shortcuts that will allow you to launch the TSCT whenever you want to tweak your simulator.

If you just chose one of the standard NAM Simulators during the NAM installation, though, you don't have to rerun the whole installation in order to get the TSCT installed.  Instead, the easiest thing to do is to download and run the NAM Traffic Subsystem, which always contains the latest versions of the traffic simulator, data views, and TSCT.

A few hours ago, I updated the NAM Traffic Subsystem with TSCT 1.1.0, which is a newer version than the one released with the NAM.  This version of the TSCT supports improved backup handling and documentation, and also adds a new property that can be tweaked:  the Customers/Traffic Noise Coefficient.  Trias has done a series of experiments with this property, documenting its behavior in far greater detail than was ever known before.  It is his work that has made it possible to include this property in the TSCT and document its behavior in a very predictable fashion.  This is one of the more important properties in the entire traffic simulator, although its end effects are largely seen in a city's economy.  Raising the value of this property very high can drive a big economic expansion in your city; dropping it very low can plunge your city into a deep recession, or worse.  Those looking for another form of challenge from this game might want to check out this new property.  Full details about its operation are given in the TSCT User's Guide, which can be accessed from the Help menu.

[z]

The NAM update released today contains the same version of the traffic simulator, data view files, and TSCT as the NAM Traffic Subsystem.

[z]

Do your Sims have it just a bit too easy?  Not only do they have short commutes compared to the real world, even with maximum congestion, but they never have to worry about their jobs.  Who knows what they do in there all day anyway?  They probably sit around playing Sim City for Sims on their simulated computers.  Why shouldn't they?  Have you ever heard of a Sim getting fired?

Meanwhile, you probably have the stress of working for a living or going to school.  You have to get there on time, or there are consequences.  Maybe your Sims should be subjected to the same types of pressures.

Currently, the NAM traffic simulator allows the Sims to take as much time as they need to get to work.  In this sense it is realistic; in the real world, people have all sorts of commute times, and by planning their schedule properly, they can get to work or school in plenty of time.  Realistic behavior was one of the prime goals of the NAM traffic simulator.

But what if you're not interested in realism here?  What if you long for the days where if Sims didn't get to work on time, they lost their jobs, had to leave town, and their residences became abandoned?  Most people didn't like that behavior, but for a few it was a real challenge.  For this latter group, the Commute Trip Max Time field has been introduced into the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool.  You can now reduce the amount of commute time available to your Sims, right down to the one minute level.  Watch your Sims go nuts, battling rush hour traffic before their time runs out.  Commute Trip Max Time is continuously variable in increments of one minute, so you can set it to essentially any value you want.

Originally, I had hesitated about having this field put into the TSCT, as I didn't know what kind of support problems the TSCT would cause in general, and the introduction of this field intentionally allows the user to create problems in his or her city.  I have been happy to see that support problems for the TSCT have been almost nonexistent, which is why I felt comfortable having Stefan add this field to the TSCT.  A full description of how this field works follows below; it is taken from the TSCT User's Guide.



Commute Trip Max Time

This field specifies the maximum time in minutes that Sims are allowed to take to reach their jobs in the morning commute.  (The evening commute never has any time limit.)  This is the only field of its type that is grayed out in the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool, and the reason for this is that setting the value in this field too low can have extreme negative consequences for your game.  The field can be enabled by checking the box next to it.  The default value of 600, which translates into ten hours, may seem quite excessive, and in fact may seem to imply an impossibly long work day for the Sims.  However, time does not flow quite as you would expect in this game when there is traffic to other cities; this effect was discussed in the previous section, Commute Time Graph Scaling Factor. Before the current value for perfect pathfinding was discovered, a value this high was required for effective intercity commuting. Although this is no longer the case, higher values, at least up to 600, do seem to provide a slightly positive effect on a city's health, without providing any negative effects.  Raising this value beyond 600 does not seem to have any effect at all.

What are the effects of lowering this value?  Once it becomes substantially lower than 600, there is often a small decline in the general wealth levels of  the city.  This decline tends to be rather small, though, and is often noticeable only by examining the Pop & Jobs graph over many years.

Reducing this value down into the double digits starts to have more of an effect.  Normally, all commutes within a given city are Short, and all commutes to neighboring cities are Long.  Short commutes give a slight increase to the desirability of a Sim's residence, while Long commutes result in a slight decrease in desirability.  Medium commutes have no effect on desirability.

As the value of Commute Trip Max Time continues to drop, some of the longest commutes within the city will become Medium, making their originating residences less desirable compared to the residences of Sims who have Short commutes.  As Commute Trip Max Time drops even further, some Long commutes will start appearing in the city, and the residences from which those commutes originate will have even lower desirability.  Jobs with a Long commute in the current city have lost their built-in advantage over jobs in a neighboring city, so that paradoxically, there is a certain lower range of Commute Trip Max Time where it becomes more attractive to many Sims to look for jobs in adjacent cities than in their own.  This may also aggravate any eternal commuter loops that may be present in the region.

Once Commute Trip Max Time starts falling into the single digits (and sometimes slightly before), the probability that Sims will find jobs for which they are qualified starts to decline, because there is just no longer time to reach them.  When this happens, the dreaded No-Job Zot appears over the Sims' homes, and if they can't find a job within about six months, the Sims leave town, and their residence is abandoned due to commute time.  At these levels of Commute Trip Max Time, traffic routes and congestion levels become much more important, because every second counts in determining whether Sims will keep their jobs.  This whole situation can become quite challenging, but it is because many people like this type of challenge that this option has been included in the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool.

For reference, the original game had a Commute Trip Max Time of six minutes.  In the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool, this field can be set as low as one minute.



The new version of the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool that contains the Commute Trip Max Time field can be found in the updated version of the NAM Traffic Subsystem.  Enjoy!

[b22rian]

although, I like the present idea of almost unlimited commute times when i play my cities,
I know a lot of players are going to enjoy tinkering with this new feature.

None of us could ever thank you enough for all the time and effort you have put into your work
and research on the traffic sim.
You have improved it more than I ever dreamed possible, Steve.

Thanks yet again, Brian

[H2Odk]

No other changes to this game or changes to your playing style need to be made to use this simulator.  However, there is one main change I would recommend, especially if you're playing large urban cities and/or using CAM:

High capacity mass transit stations.  I have found that most mass transit stations in this game have too little capacity for their environments.  For details, please see my posts in Cogeo's Transportation Lots.  In my cities, I tend to use mostly cogeo's RTMT stations, along with a scattering of RaphaelNinja's five-way stations.  I would recommend doubling the capacity of RaphaelNinja's stations.  I have files with these capacities implemented if testers would simply like me to send them to them.  If you're using other stations, here are my recommendations for minimum capacities.  They are only approximate, of course.

Bus                    22,000
Subway              22,000
Bus + Subway     28,000
Passenger train    10,000 for Maxis-type station
                          5,000 per tile for inline stations
Elevated rail        20,000
Monorail             20,000

For multi-network stations, you should add about an additional 5,000 capacity for each addional network.  For stations on streets, you can divide the first three numbers by two; for stations on avenues, multiply them by two.

I did play SC4 some time ago, but RL go in the way. Now I'm back...

Since the post was edited this year, I assume that the above values are still valid?

Wasn't there talk about the Transit Switch Entry Cost should be changed too?

If so what would you recommend.

and what tool is the best to change these values in, especially the Maxis stations and bus-stops.