RHW (RealHighway) - Development and Support

[Tarkus]

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone!

Crosslinking continues . . .





-Alex

[ivo_su]

Alex I know that probably you have not reached this stage with RUL codes, but I really want to see how they interact HSRP With its broad network ERHW -6C/8C/10S and etc. When you are finished with this process, please show me both orthogonal and diagonal intersection between them. Otherwise, everything seems far more promising. Now I begin to understand how laborious it is to you and how many tons of work waiting for you. But any delay, it will definitely be worth the wait - we still talk about NAM (proven brand)

[Tarkus]

You'll definitely be seeing more along those lines as it gets developed.   As development continues to scoot along, I'm going to do my best to keep having stuff to show regularly.  It's been a long development process, and there's still a considerable amount to do before we can think about a release, but hopefully, showing the "nitty-gritty" of the RHW being rebuilt takes some of the edge off of it.

-Alex

[ivo_su]

Euro textures Maarten and Riga (which are fantastic) you will be able to work with 31 or NAM will have to wait for another mod, as always?

[riiga]

When P57 will be nearing completion (no more changes or additions) I think we can start work on converting the textures to the new specification. Maarten might have other plans though, so you'll have to ask him for a definite answer.

[Tarkus]

More SAM crosslinking . . . all orientations have been taken into account.





-Alex

[MandelSoft]

When P57 will be nearing completion (no more changes or additions) I think we can start work on converting the textures to the new specification. Maarten might have other plans though, so you'll have to ask him for a definite answer.

I've made some starts with re-indexing and re-fitting Euro Textures for the RHW for P57 (since all textures get re-indexed and quite some re-oriented. Most of the textures will be re-used, but new textures for new pieces will be created too. I also need to work on more NWM-RHW crosslinking (and more on the NWM overall). But this will take some time

Best,
Maarten

[memo]

Does that mean IIDs are changed and previously built RHWs have to be redragged? Then this might be the right point of time to delete the RUL file from the oneway road arrows reduction plugin to get rid of the the extra RULs needed for it which merely caused trouble.

[epicblunder]

I also need to work on more NWM-RHW crosslinking (and more on the NWM overall). But this will take some time

Does that mean NWM networks crossing RHW networks puzzle pieces or transitioning from RHW to NWM puzzle pieces?  Just curious.

[chosenreject]

i know development of new exits will not be in the near future. But I was wondering if there are any plans for exits where the lanes on the right side are wider than the continuing main highway. Ie RHW10s or 8s splits to 4s + 6s instead of 6s + 4s. I got this idea for an interchange from the Dunmore/Throop interchange that i travel on every day. The main 4s continues on in my case as I-81 while the 6s splits again to connect to I-380/84 and route 6.  http://maps.google.com/maps?q=dunmore+throop+interchange&hl=en&ll=41.418083,-75.610834&spn=0.001768,0.004128&sll=41.405413,-75.634768&sspn=0.056588,0.132093&t=h&hq=throop+interchange&hnear=Dunmore,+Lackawanna,+Pennsylvania&z=19 sorry the pic is hard to see the lanes i am talking about since the concrete and the lane markings are very white

[Tarkus]

Does that mean IIDs are changed and previously built RHWs have to be redragged? Then this might be the right point of time to delete the RUL file from the oneway road arrows reduction plugin to get rid of the the extra RULs needed for it which merely caused trouble.

The IIDs are indeed being completely changed.  I have "legacy support" in place in the form of code and a support file, which will prevent old RHWs from disappearing, and allow the user to convert them to the new standards as needed.  The OWR arrow plugin didn't really interfere with the RHW too much, but it did require some extra accommodation with the NWM, which is anticipated to get a similar revamp.

Does that mean NWM networks crossing RHW networks puzzle pieces or transitioning from RHW to NWM puzzle pieces?  Just curious.

I'm guessing he means the NWM/RHW intersections and transitions, at-grade, none of which are puzzle pieces.  An NWM-over-RHW piece, if it existed, wouldn't require new textures (it'd reuse existing ones), but that functionality wouldn't be of much use until there's elevated NWM networks, and those aren't likely until the NWM is revamped.

i know development of new exits will not be in the near future. But I was wondering if there are any plans for exits where the lanes on the right side are wider than the continuing main highway. Ie RHW10s or 8s splits to 4s + 6s instead of 6s + 4s. I got this idea for an interchange from the Dunmore/Throop interchange that i travel on every day. The main 4s continues on in my case as I-81 while the 6s splits again to connect to I-380/84 and route 6.  http://maps.google.com/maps?q=dunmore+throop+interchange&hl=en&ll=41.418083,-75.610834&spn=0.001768,0.004128&sll=41.405413,-75.634768&sspn=0.056588,0.132093&t=h&hq=throop+interchange&hnear=Dunmore,+Lackawanna,+Pennsylvania&z=19 sorry the pic is hard to see the lanes i am talking about since the concrete and the lane markings are very white

Certainly a plausible setup.  We won't be making one quite as long as that one, but the basic concept is viable.  Not sure on the implementation side yet, as we're looking to do away with standard puzzle pieces on ramps.

-Alex

[kj3400]

I was wondering, are there plans for a 45°-90°/90°-45° L0-2 (and maybe others) transition ramp?

[GDO29Anagram]

But I was wondering if there are any plans for exits where the lanes on the right side are wider than the continuing main highway. Ie RHW10s or 8s splits to 4s + 6s instead of 6s + 4s.

Under proper terminology (Yes, I'm that big on people using the right terms), that would be an RHW-10S A2 Ramp. Yes, there are names for every single ramp that is currently possible.

Scratch that; You're requesting an inverted version of what I said, but what you had in your picture was an inverted 10S D2 and an inverted 6S D1. Once again, implementation is yet to be determined.

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/9320/rhwptoep57ver1.png

I was wondering, are there plans for a 45°-90°/90°-45° L0-2 (and maybe others) transition ramp?

If and only if someone makes the models for them first.

-----

Given the new influx of new height levels, I don't think L0-L2 height transitions are even sufficient. L0-L1 and L1-L2, perhaps added into the mix..

[kj3400]

Is it particularly hard to make models? I was thinking about trying my hand at them.

[MandelSoft]

Quite so. You need some vertex budgets, 3DS Max and quite a lot of modding experience. So it will take quite some effort.

[Patricius Maximus]

There was a discussion a little while back about "inverted" RHW ramps, where, let's say, a RHW-6S ramp merges with a mainline RHW-4 to create a RHW-10. I actually have a situation where something like that would be useful, as well as the (presumably) forthcoming diagonal ERHW-6. This is the present setup that I have in that situation:



That's the heaviest-duty splitter piece (or in this case merger piece) that currently exists. However, over 15000 cars pass over that 2-lane overpass and it's pretty congested. It got so bad that I had to create an identical overpass further south for the additional 15000 commuters to ride on. If I didn't have two interchanges like that, about 36000 cars would have to ride on it, and that would mean total gridlock.

Being able to have a 3-lane overpass and ramp would alleviate this problem a great deal, and would lead to a higher-capacity interchange (if not in SC4 then certainly by real-world analogy). Unfortunately diagonal functionality for the ERHW-6 doesn't exist yet and neither does the needed network or ramp splitter, namely the RHW-12S Type E3 ramp.



In less severe situations, like the interchange further south, a setup like this would be much appreciated:



This is the ramp type that was discussed earlier, the "Inverted E2" ramp. I have quite a few situations where traffic on the onramp is much heavier than the mainline freeway, so there isn't anything superfluous about such a design. Even more useful would be an inverted version of the RHW-6S Type E1; in my region I actually have a cloverstack variant interchange where that's needed. I realize that these things aren't top priority for the RHW crew at this time, but these new ramp types and networks would be very useful.


On a related note, although I don't have any such situations at this time, I can envision a scenario where a RHW-10 is already packed to the hilt with traffic and more traffic is incoming with a RHW-4 or -6S ramp. In that case the splitter ramp would lead to a new network which would (if I remember my terminology correctly) enter the legendary realm of the "ultra-wides".

The RHW-4/RHW-10 merger would lead to a RHW-14 Type E2 ramp, and the RHW-6/RHW-10 merger would lead to a RHW-16 Type E3 ramp. If I'm not mistaken both of these would end up being 3-tile networks. Both of these ramp types are of course purely hypothetical, and no "Type x3" ramps of any kind currently exist. Ultra-wides (according to the SC4 Wiki and the P57 specs) aren't out of the realm of possibility, but they're currently in the back end of the back burner. I for one am anticipating the eventual release of the Type x3 ramps as a fascinating prospect. Even farther out into the hypothetical realm, there is the possibility of a RHW-16 Type E4 ramp, which would split a RHW-16 into two RHW-8's. Talk about heavy duty.

Of course, I've verged into speculative ramps here, and I'd like everyone here to consider all of this as a tangent, albeit one to consider in the far future of the RHW. As for the hypothetical situation of the packed RHW-10S, one could solve it now with a Multi-RHW collector/distributor configuration, but as we've seen with the previous experiences of Multi-RHW's, a Multi-RHW is a different beast from its combined counterpart, like the classic Multi-RHW vs. the RHW-8S.

[Tarkus]

Some very interesting thoughts there, Patricius!  It's definitely interesting considering the post-P57 possibilities.

One little development pic before bed.  Not much there.



-Alex

[woodb3kmaster]

It may not be much, Alex, but it's certainly great to see. All this diagonal-RHW-over-X teasing is fantastic to see, since for every L1 RHW-2 overpass, I can just imagine being able to do the same with other ERHWs once NAM 31 is released. My hat is off to you, and to the rest of the team!

[gn_leugim]

It may not be much, Alex, but it's certainly great to see. All this diagonal-RHW-over-X teasing is fantastic to see, since for every L1 RHW-2 overpass, I can just imagine being able to do the same with other ERHWs once NAM 31 is released. My hat is off to you, and to the rest of the team!

QFT / Support

[mike3775]

It may not be much, Alex, but it's certainly great to see. All this diagonal-RHW-over-X teasing is fantastic to see, since for every L1 RHW-2 overpass, I can just imagine being able to do the same with other ERHWs once NAM 31 is released. My hat is off to you, and to the rest of the team!

QFT / Support

+2 from me.  These pics are great to see, elevated diagonal crossings is something that the game has lacked for so long