SC4 Devotion Forum Archives

SimCity 4 Devotion Custom Content Showcase => Network Addon Mod (NAM) => Topic started by: Tarkus on December 03, 2020, 12:50:17 AM

Title: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: Tarkus on December 03, 2020, 12:50:17 AM
As of 1 April 2021, with the release of NAM 40, NAM 39 has been discontinued, and is no longer eligible for technical support.

The NAM Team is pleased to announce the official public release of the 39th edition of the Network Addon Mod, NAM 39.

(https://simtarkus.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/nam39-promo-moddb.jpg)

Download Link
SC4D LEX (Cross-Platform) (https://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=851)

RELEASE NOTES

Before you run off in excitement to install the new NAM version, please make sure to read this (short) document first, to ensure the best Network Addon Mod experience. Note that without the 4GB Patch being properly installed (or manually running the Controller Compiler to build a leaner NAM Controller), the game will crash to desktop.

REQUIREMENTS
Note that the NTCore 4GB Patch is REQUIRED, and due to the installer change, is no longer installed by default. The patch can be found inside the download, or downloaded directly from NTCore here (https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371), where further instructions on use of the patch can be found. Also due to this installer change, the NAM Controller Compiler is no longer run as part of the installation process. All users will be initially given a full NAM Controller, which has a substantial size. Users not using all features wishing to have a smaller controller can still run the Controller Compiler manually, as it is available in the download. Those on 32-bit versions of Windows should proceed with caution.
The NAM is also now using a Java-based installer, designed by daeley, which is cross-platform (meaning no more separate Mac versions, and Linux support without WINE). As such, the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is now REQUIRED to run the NAM installer. It was previous recommended for users wishing to utilize the NAM Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool (TSCT). An open source version of Java can be downloaded from here (https://adoptopenjdk.net/).

Users who fundamentally object to installing Java (or are unable to for other reasons) can perform a manual install, with patience. Details can be found here. (https://sc4devotion.com/forums/#manual-install)

With the new installer, the old NAM installation is no longer removed automatically, so users should manually remove the "Network Addon Mod" and "z___NAM" folders from their Plugins directory. It is recommended that you back those folders up in a location that is not in your Plugins folder. The "z___NAM" folder has been eliminated, and all files are now installed to the "Network Addon Mod" directory.

The RealRailway (RRW) standard for Rail is now the default and only option. One may choose to disable the RRW's more restrictive default slope settings by unselecting the "RRW Tunnel and Slope Parameters" box in the installer. The original Maxis Rail specification will be supported via a Legacy Plugin, downloaded separately, at a later date. Also note that a number of cosmetic-oriented NAM plugins, such as the El-Rail Alternate Implementation, the Bullet Train Mod, and some advanced texture options (largely deprecated) have been removed from the installer. The Alternate El-Rail and BTM will be made available separately at a later date. Please note that, much like Maxis Rail, these Plugins are effectively in "Legacy" status, and may not be actively maintained or supported by the NAM Team going forward. Both the original Maxis Highways (MHW) and the "Maxis Highway Override/Project Symphony" (MHO) remain available.

The Station Locator, Updater, and Reconstruction Project (SLURP) is also no longer handled by the new installer. A scaled down version of the old installer will be made at a later date to handle SLURP routines. Users wishing to retain SLURPed stations should retrieve them from the "z___NAM\Mass Transit Lots\Station Overrides" folder in their existing NAM installation, where they will be found in the "Mass Transit Lots" subfolder. Note that users running the 64-bit version of SimCity 4 on macOS may wish to refrain from retrieving SLURP stations, as there have been some encoding issues with stations that cause that version of the game to CTD.

The new installer also no longer performs a version check. Please note, however, that for Windows users, Version 1.1.638 and above are still required, as Versions 1.1.610 and 1.1.613 have notable instabilities that may have a significant negative impact on the use of this mod. Copies purchased from the Origin Store will still not meet this requirement, and support will not be offered to users with "unofficial" copies of the game.

New Features for NAM 39

Requirements and Compatibility

The Network Addon Mod, in its current form with default installation options, is designed to run on systems with a 64-bit operating system and more than 4GB RAM. Most modern PCs should be able to comfortably run the mod. By installing fewer options and using the Controller Compiler to manually compile a smaller NAM Controller, however, it is possible to run the NAM on 32-bit operating systems, and/or systems with 4GB or less RAM. At least 1.2GB of hard drive space is required, in order to fully unpack the installer, but actual installation size may run from as little as 1.7MB to as much as 850MB, depending on the options chosen and if one selects to manually run the Controller Compiler after installation.

The Network Addon Mod is compatible with the following versions of the game:

The Network Addon Mod is NOT compatible with the following versions of the game:


What should I do if the NAM installer rejects my copy of the game?

The new NAM installer (introduced with the NAM 37 Release Candidate) no longer runs a version check. However, it is strongly recommended that users check the version they are running, as unpatched copies can be unstable. In Case F, the solution is simply to install the EP1 Update 1 patch, which can be downloaded from EA (SKU 1-5), SimCity 4 Devotion (SKU 1-5), or Simtropolis (SKU 1 and 2 only). To determine the correct SKU version for your copy of SimCity 4, find the installation directory, and look in the subfolder named sku_data. Alternatively, one can simply try all the SKU versions of the patch, until one works.

For Case G, see the section about Origin in the "Read First" document (https://sc4devotion.com/namdoc/0-read-first.html).

For Cases H, I, and J, it is recommended that you purchase a digital copy of SimCity 4 Deluxe (NOT from Origin).

For more information about NAM installation and this release, please see the "Read First" document, enclosed in the download (0-read-first.html) and available online (https://sc4devotion.com/namdoc/0-read-first.html).  The remainder of the documentation can also be consulted online at sc4devotion.com/namdoc (https://sc4devotion.com/namdoc/0-read-first.html).

Thank you all for your continued support--hope you enjoy!

-The NAM Team
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: Shiftred on December 03, 2020, 10:07:21 AM
Awesome news! Thanks to you and the NAM Team for the years of work and dedication to the NAM, SC4, and community!


I noticed a slope mod included with NAM 39. Does it only govern RRW slope or all networks? I'm currently using Bones1 slope mod and wonder how they compared? I don't like the Ennedi mods because they automatically make too many terrain changes but I did like the actual slope ranges. Might try the BRF for a while.

https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/13302-smoother-road-and-rail-slope-mod/
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: AsimPika3172 on December 03, 2020, 04:35:46 PM
HOLY COW!!!! Few months later and the next version was released! Thanks Alex!!!!  :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: &apls &apls &apls :bnn: :bnn: :bnn:
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: gn_leugim on December 04, 2020, 08:13:05 AM
what a shame I have a four day weekend ahead to explore this :D

thank you guys for your effort! great job!  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: jeffryfisher on December 04, 2020, 08:18:21 AM
Quote from: Shiftred on December 03, 2020, 10:07:21 AM
I noticed a slope mod included with NAM 39. Does it only govern RRW slope or all networks?
Simtropolis had a discussion about this when the two slope (network placement tuning) exemplars showed up in NAM 37. RRW is one, and RHW might be the other. In the discussion, there were just four settings in each of the two exemplars called out as customized by NAM, and I think only two of those really matter (having to do with tunnel-entrance graphics). The needed parameter names and values were given in that thread (and have hopefully made it into the latest NAM manual).

The conclusion was that everyone who wants to choose a slope mod now needs to learn those two (or four) settings, then edit their own slope exemplars to incorporate the NAM settings within them, and then replace NAM's slope exemplars with the custom NAM-compatible slope exemplars.
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: dyoungyn on December 07, 2020, 07:03:42 AM
Thank you for all the hard work going out to the entire NAM Team.

UNFORTUNTELY, yet here is another NAM update, NAM 39 and I am still not able to execute the NAM 37/8/9 .JAR file.  I do have Java installed and activated,  I de-activated my Norton 360 Virus Scanner, completely removed NAM 36 and all associate files all with no work around. 

I am resorting to installing a brand new M.2 drive which will give me an additional drive on my machine with a completely fresh Windows 10 Pro installation installed on it and formatting my other Sata SSD. 

I am at a loss on why this happening.  It is just that, Nothing happens, when I click on the .JAR file to execute, nothing happens. 

I thought it may be Windows Defender, but it de-activated and not running.
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: jeffryfisher on December 07, 2020, 08:17:29 AM
Quote from: dyoungyn on December 07, 2020, 07:03:42 AM
Nothing happens, when I click on the .JAR file to execute, nothing happens.
Two possibilities:

1) The JAR file type has not been associated with the JRE (or the correct JRE).

2) The Java folder is not in your PATH environment variable

Try Googling for general JRE help with your symptoms (JAR file does not run when double-clicked in Win10)

Good luck!
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: Tarkus on December 07, 2020, 11:01:02 PM
I'll also note, we added a batch file (NetworkAddonMod_Setup_Version39.bat) to this release, which is designed to help circumvent some of the .jar-opening issues.  Try running that instead.

-Alex
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: kbieniu7 on December 08, 2020, 01:04:21 PM
Haven't been on the forum for a while and I see some great news on the entry! Big thanks for the entire team for keeping on years of creating enormously great content  &apls
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: Tarkus on December 10, 2020, 01:24:51 AM
Also, a quick little shameless promo--ModDB, one of our distribution partners, along with SC4D and Simtropolis, has their voting period for their annual Mod of the Year awards up for another 14 hours and change.  You can indeed vote for the NAM right on our page over there (https://www.moddb.com/mods/network-addon-mod)--just a single click, and you don't need to be registered or logged in over there.  Each vote for the NAM will help show the broader gaming world that yes, in 2020, SC4 is still very much alive and kicking.

Thanks!

-Alex
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: roadgeek on December 10, 2020, 01:50:37 PM
Quote from: Tarkus on December 10, 2020, 01:24:51 AM
Also, a quick little shameless promo--ModDB, one of our distribution partners, along with SC4D and Simtropolis, has their voting period for their annual Mod of the Year awards up for another 14 hours and change.  You can indeed vote for the NAM right on our page over there (https://www.moddb.com/mods/network-addon-mod)--just a single click, and you don't need to be registered or logged in over there.  Each vote for the NAM will help show the broader gaming world that yes, in 2020, SC4 is still very much alive and kicking.

Thanks!

-Alex

I tried, but I didn't see where to click.
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: Tarkus on December 20, 2020, 10:35:51 PM
 Also, if anyone is still having difficulty with crashing/the 4GB Patch process, I've written up a batch file which should work.  Unzip the NetworkAddonMod_Setup_Version39.zip file into its own folder (or place this in any folder that has a copy of 4gb_patch.exe), then place the .bat file contained in here into that folder.  It reads the registry, so it should pick up your SC4 installation directory and the location of SimCity 4.exe.

Should this do the job, I'll add this routine to the .bat script for NAM 40.

-Alex
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: dyoungyn on January 19, 2021, 07:00:35 AM
Quote from: dyoungyn on December 07, 2020, 07:03:42 AM
Thank you for all the hard work going out to the entire NAM Team.

UNFORTUNTELY, yet here is another NAM update, NAM 39 and I am still not able to execute the NAM 37/8/9 .JAR file.  I do have Java installed and activated,  I de-activated my Norton 360 Virus Scanner, completely removed NAM 36 and all associate files all with no work around. 

I am resorting to installing a brand new M.2 drive which will give me an additional drive on my machine with a completely fresh Windows 10 Pro installation installed on it and formatting my other Sata SSD. 

I am at a loss on why this happening.  It is just that, Nothing happens, when I click on the .JAR file to execute, nothing happens. 

I thought it may be Windows Defender, but it de-activated and not running.

Update to this, I completely updated my entire Digital Storm Aura AIO machine with a new a Motherboard, CPU, more memory and new M.2 drive with a freshly installed Windows 10 pro and wa-la, Java and NAM 39 installation now works like a charm each and every time.

Honestly, I always thought is was my Windows 10 Pro installation which was at fault that was preventing me from executing NAM from NAM 37 and beyond. 

Again, problem resolved and disappointed to not see 3 tile NWM curves in NAM 39.  Also, I did not see those stellar simple wider Quick Change interchanges.

Thank you going our to the entire NAM team for their stellar accomplishments they are so gracious to share.

Don
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: Tarkus on January 24, 2021, 09:28:00 PM
Quote from: dyoungyn on January 19, 2021, 07:00:35 AM
Again, problem resolved and disappointed to not see 3 tile NWM curves in NAM 39.  Also, I did not see those stellar simple wider Quick Change interchanges.

Multi-Radius Curves (MRCs) for the Triple-Tile NWM networks (currently TLA-7 and AVE-6) haven't gotten out of the planning stages yet.  They're definitely on the list, but are going to be pretty complex beasts from both the RULing perspective and the pathing perspective, given how big they'll be.

QuickChange Xpress (QCX) is on hold for right now, unfortunately.  The biggest issue is that the bit with the FTLs going under/over the RHWs is rather janky.  I suspect it'll get revisited once FTL work re-enters the development stream, since that's kind of a prerequisite.

-Alex
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: Bipin on February 19, 2021, 01:23:48 PM
Seriously impressive work guys. I'm amazed at how this game has been chugging along non-stop for NEARLY TWENTY YEARS! Thanks for keeping it alive and well.   :thumbsup:

I've got some older SC4 modders/batters interested again - Jazzmaster, marsh, and confused04. It'll be fun to play this with them in a shared region and get back into SC4 again!
Title: Re: NAM 39 Now Available
Post by: pierrebaptiste on February 20, 2021, 04:43:24 AM
Hello Bipin

Quote from: Bipin on February 19, 2021, 01:23:48 PM
Seriously impressive work guys. I'm amazed at how this game have been chugging along non-stop for NEARLY TWENTY YEARS! Thanks for keeping it alive and well.   :thumbsup:

I got some older SC4 modders/batters interested again - Jazzmaster, marsh, and confused04. It'll be fun to play this with them in a shared region and get back into SC4 again!

It's an hazard . I profite of this message , can you see your private message . I have a question for about one of your built for Simcity, and to the nam . :thumbsup: