NWM (Network Widening Mod) - Development and Support

[Tarkus]

Will it require redrawing the roads in question, or will it work retroactively?

It will work retroactively and automatically.  It's actually part-simulator edit and part-trick pathing.

thats awesome... can the OWR-1 be "downgraded" so that you dont have to make it OWS instead? cuz that would be even more awesome ;p

Thanks!  As far as the OWR-1 goes, unfortunately, the limitations of the technique don't allow a downgrade of that sort.

-Alex

[santoan]

Is there plans or an example of a ARD-5 or ARD-7?

[Tarkus]

Is there plans or an example of a ARD-5 or ARD-7?

An "ARD-5" . . . or MAVE-5, as it is "officially" termed . . . is technically possible with a little trickery in the current version.  A dedicated starter piece is planned for a future release.

There are currently no plans for MAVE/ARD-type networks beyond the MAVE-6, however.

-Alex

[jondor]

Well . . . suffice to say, I've managed to trick the game into giving the MAVE-6 a higher capacity/speed, without really altering how it works.  And the even better news is that the technique I used can be applied to the ARD-3 and OWR-3--and in the near future, will.  It also works for the RHW-6S and can be used on TuLEPs, making them all more useful from a functional gameplay perspective.

-Alex

Okay, that is 100% COOL!  You guys rock in ways that cannot be described!

[JoeST]

you, sir, are AWESOME!!!!! <3

Joe

[Glazert]

This is great news that extra lanes will have a functional effect and won't just be cosmetic.

[noahclem]

Wow, that's a pretty major step forward Alex, thanks! 

Did you make some kind of intersection pathing that doesn't go anywhere? Curious to know how you snuck this guy in. Sounds like this could effectively solve almost all of the capacity differentiation issues, with the exception of OWR-1 (seems likely to be resolved by conversion to OWS-1) and MIS being lower in capacity than single-tile RHW.

[metarvo]

So, I should now be able to relieve traffic on my avenues by upgrading to MAVE-6.  This is just what I wanted to hear.  Good work, Alex!    This game continues to get better and better all the time!

[Ciuu96]

The capacity fix is great, i have currently many avenues with high congestion which i cannot upgrade to highway because of zoning and which some already have GLR there, so upgrading to MAVE-6 with bigger capacity would be great! (long sentece )

Care to explain how you did it?

[Nego]

Wow! That's great news, Alex!  Will this also be able to be applied to the ARD?

[Tarkus]

Thanks for all the kind words--I'm glad to see the idea has been well-received!

Now to answer a few questions:

Did you make some kind of intersection pathing that doesn't go anywhere? Curious to know how you snuck this guy in. Sounds like this could effectively solve almost all of the capacity differentiation issues, with the exception of OWR-1 (seems likely to be resolved by conversion to OWS-1) and MIS being lower in capacity than single-tile RHW.

Yes, essentially.  I've used something I've termed DIPs . . . "Distilled Intersection Paths", which trick the game into thinking the tile is an intersection without really disrupting the network. 

As far as the RHW end of things, I had been considering it for RHW-4/6S differentiation rather than MIS/RHW-4, though that's an interesting idea.

Will this also be able to be applied to the ARD?

Yes.  The technique is planned to be employed on the MAVE-6, ARD-3 and OWR-3.  A side-effect of its implementation will also increase the capacity on the TLA networks and anything with a crossover path--e.g. the OWR-4 and OWR-5, which can't be differentiated, unfortunately. 

-Alex

[citybuilderx]

Wow Tarkus.

With this new function "meaningless" eye-candy can be given a functional meaning.

As for tidal flow, will you guys consider including it in RHW? And if so will the time of day effect the tidal flow?

--Nick

[Tarkus]

As for tidal flow, will you guys consider including it in RHW? And if so will the time of day effect the tidal flow?

The "tidal flow" on the OWRs is hardcoded as part of that network, so it can't be applied elsewhere.  And unfortunately, it also requires the user to flip the direction themselves--there's no known way of setting paths up to be time-sensitive.

-Alex

[TJ1]

Excellent on the MAVE-5 Tarkus. You know what would be good for the next Nam release, A TLA-7 to RHW-6C transition

[jgehrts]

Excellent on the MAVE-5 Tarkus. You know what would be good for the next Nam release, A TLA-7 to RHW-6C transition

They've talked about TuLEPs for the RHW, although I don't know if anything above 4-lanes will have turn lanes initially.  I recall seeing a testing pic in either the TuLEP thread or the RHW thread fairly recently.

[Tarkus]

You know what would be good for the next Nam release, A TLA-7 to RHW-6C transition

Planned, yes.  Next release, not certain.  I can, however, confirm that the TLA-7 is in fact back in development.

They've talked about TuLEPs for the RHW, although I don't know if anything above 4-lanes will have turn lanes initially.  I recall seeing a testing pic in either the TuLEP thread or the RHW thread fairly recently.

Yes, the MIS Ramps, RHW-2 and RHW-4 will all be getting TuLEPs.  The wider ones will not, aside from the cosmetic pieces with the arrows, which are kind of TuLEP-y in conception.

[Fresh Prince of SC4D]

Would asking about possible NMW roundabouts push the subject too far? (for the larger pieces; anyone can make a one-way roundabout for AVE-2 intersections.

[Nego]

Development pics of the RHW TuLEPs*

*Scroll down in the post for the pictures.


I can't remember if this has been asked and answered already, but will there be TuLEPs for the NWM? I know the existing ones work with the ARD-3, AVE-2, and TLA-3, but what about networks like the TLA-5, OWR-3/4/5, and the MAVE-4/6? Are they planed and/or in development?

[Tarkus]

I can't remember if this has been asked and answered already, but will there be TuLEPs for the NWM? I know the existing ones work with the ARD-3, AVE-2, and TLA-3, but what about networks like the TLA-5, OWR-3/4/5, and the MAVE-4/6? Are they planed and/or in development?

The existing Avenue ones work on the TLA-5 already--they were dual-CheckTyped.   Just about all the future Avenue TuLEPs will have the same ability.  TuLEPs for the various MAVEs and OWRs are planned as well.

-Alex

[metarvo]

Going a step further with the TuLEPs-NWM interaction, I wonder if TuLEPs might be a viable solution for diagonal NWM intersections, particularly those on the wider NWM networks?  Of course, I'm getting ahead of things here, but I just thought I would put the idea out there.