NWM (Network Widening Mod) - Development and Support

[Tarkus]

I still cant figure out why people here think its so hard to use roundabouts ... and actually recently in the US (at least where I live) Ive been seeing a lot more of them being built, especially in rural areas. We do have a ton of "suicide Lanes" too, I live off a road with one

The main thing I find is that folks don't use their turn indicators in the roundabouts, which, at least here in Oregon, is the law.  But no one ever follows it and it's never enforced, so it also basically defeats the entire purpose and causes the roundabouts to act like nothing more than vastly overpriced 4-way stops.  If you know the intent of the other motorists in the circle when you're approaching it, they actually work alright. 

I would like to see something like this in the Next NWM

That's also more in the T-RAM vein . . . we're not going to be directly dealing with Tram/Rail stuff here aside from crossings with it.  Which allows me to segue back into being on-topic.



The NMAVE is really in great shape right now.  Just a little bit left to go.

-Alex

[Lowkee33]

I still cant figure out why people here think its so hard to use roundabouts

We have a two-lane roundabout (although we call'em rotaries) that has a highway, a main road, and two side roads that travel through it.  People don't understand that the highway traffic is going fast and often don't look as they cross the highway. Google Image.  The development there is a maximum security prison.

On a side note:  Has anyone noticed that dragging roads over certain SAM starter pieces makes a NWM texture?  I don't remember which ones, but I think there are three, and cobblestone is one of them.  

[Tarkus]

On a side note:  Has anyone noticed that dragging roads over certain SAM starter pieces makes a NWM texture?  I don't remember which ones, but I think there are three, and cobblestone is one of them.  

I haven't seen it myself, but it makes complete sense.  The "false intersections" with the Street network used for SAM starters use a lot of the same cross-components as the Road and OWR overrides used in the NWM.

-Alex

[BigSlark]

Alex,

Great work on the GLR/NWM crossings. I hope that new T-RAM and GLR-AVE/NWM crossings puzzle pieces are coming as well.

Peace,
Kevin

[noahclem]

NMAVE-4 is looking good  

The new T-RAM ideas seem really interesting as well! Don't want to distract from the topic at hand however  

Alex, I'd agree 100% that if motorists fail to signal before they exit roundabouts it defeats most of the purpose. On a more SC4-related note, is any integration planned between NWM networks and OWR- or AVE-roundabouts? MAVE-4 into avenue roundabouts is particularly appealing to me  

And not sure if this is the correct thread, but is a gradual road-to-avenue transition planned (similar to the existing AVE-2 to AVE-4)?

As always thanks to the NAM team for all you do  

[Nego]

I know, at least in New Jersey, we call them circles. They are being phased out, but you can still see some of them scattered around the state. Here is what used to be a circle, or roundabout, but now it's just a darranged blob. The signs in NJ look like this:

Probably strange to most of you...

I've also never liked the idea of a reversible lane. That's why I'm glad that as of right now, they can't be made functional in SimCity.

PS. The NMAVE looks great, Tarkus! Can't wait for more development pics!


Edit:
Regarding the Tram-On-MAVE-4 development, I've also made an intersection texture of the Maxis Road and the tram-on-MAVE-4 if anyone was wondering how that was going...

What do you guys think?

[Nexis4Jersey]

Roundabouts are quiet come here in NJ , i think theres 70+ statewide. (all types)   Can we get some NWM Roundabouts so i can recreate my state.

[travismking]

A lot of the new intersections in suburban baltimore in residential areas are being done as roundabouts, to slow people down, not to mention the 2 lane circles in commercial areas ... i hate two lane circles cuz most americans cant even drive in 1 lane circles, so lets make it two lanes and twice as confusing :p

[michi_cc]

I've been playing with the NWM quite a lot lately and I have to say it's really great. There are some things that could make it even greater though.

What I'm really missing is a OWR-3 to MAVE-6 transtition and a Maxis (ground) highway to MAVE-6 (or OWR-3) transition. Is somebody already working on that? A split/join of OWR-5 to OWR-3 + OWR-2 would also be nice. I could try my hand in drawing some textures for that if nobody has done something already. (Are maxis highway transitions actually textures or real models?)

[Dexter]

Great work everyone!  

Just a quick something I would like to point out...



I noticed that some textures in the NAM have nice rounded corners, whereas some don't - for instance the SAM.  I always thought the square edged corners looked lethal, especially on diagonals.

PS.  I keep seeing road cul-de-sacs everywhere, but I can't find them anywhere  

[Nego]

PS.  I keep seeing road cul-de-sacs everywhere, but I can't find them anywhere  

That's part of a retexturing mod by superhands and Tarkus as seen below. It just so happens that it makes the corners smooth instead of 90º. Ironic, huh?

It's still under development, though...

[michi_cc]

Qoting myself...

What I'm really missing is a OWR-3 to MAVE-6 transtition

Some photoshopping later (not perfect, but better than nothing):


I've no idea how to code that though.

[io_bg]

^ Looks great!
I'd like to ask, though, can we expect that re-texturing mod soon?

[Tarkus]

On a more SC4-related note, is any integration planned between NWM networks and OWR- or AVE-roundabouts? MAVE-4 into avenue roundabouts is particularly appealing to me  

Roundabouts are quiet come here in NJ , i think theres 70+ statewide. (all types)   Can we get some NWM Roundabouts so i can recreate my state.

Roundabouts are on the "eventually" list.  There probably won't be much in the way of development on that end until after Version 2.  In order to make it such that MAVE-4s can hook into Avenue roundabouts, it'll require adding some additional functionality for interfacing the default Road network with them.

And not sure if this is the correct thread, but is a gradual road-to-avenue transition planned (similar to the existing AVE-2 to AVE-4)?

There was one planned at one point . . . in fact, I had a prototype at one point, but wasn't happy with some of the modding on it so it kinda fell by the wayside, and I don't think I have the files for it anymore.  I think the piece would still serve a significant need, so I'd classify it in the "eventually" category.

That's part of a retexturing mod by superhands and Tarkus as seen below. It just so happens that it makes the corners smooth instead of 90º.

Actually, all the credit goes to superhands on the mod.

Qoting myself...
Some photoshopping later (not perfect, but better than nothing):

I've no idea how to code that though.

I do already have some textures laying around for that transition, but I have to say, that looks very nice!  That transition is planned and will be implemented as a draggable setup rather than a puzzle piece.  Already have a fairly good idea of how to code it . . . the main thing I need to figure out is where to place it in the IID scheme.

I noticed that some textures in the NAM have nice rounded corners, whereas some don't - for instance the SAM.  

The SAM predates a lot of the more recent rounded corner work, and due to how some of the SAM textures are laid out (particularly some of the brick sets), it can get kinda tricky.

I'd like to ask, though, can we expect that re-texturing mod soon?

Well, as with all NAM items, there's no release date or timeline for release.

-Alex

[ivo_su]

 -Alex
Could you comment on the proposals which did
would be glad to know your opinion on them

[Tarkus]

-Alex
Could you comment on the proposals which did
would be glad to know your opinion on them

The multi-lane Avenues?  Well, an AVE-6 is definitely planned and is actually coming along nicely on the development end. 

The AVE-8 (and its TLA counterpart, the TLA-9) are planned as well, though they're not quite as far along.  Since they don't actually add any functional capacity beyond the AVE-6/TLA-7 as far as the game is concerned, they're not as high a priority.  The methods being used for implementing them also allow for the easy creation of asymmetrical AVE-7s and TLA-8s.

The intersections you described sound kind of like some TuLEPs that are on the drawing board as well.

-Alex

[ivo_su]

Thanks for the quick response I hope soon to be a fact your new developments

[ivo_su]

just one more thing
Is it possible the design of the parking strip to be added to the rightmost lane of the streets and Avenues
and I apologize for the harassment that you create with all my questions
  - Ivo

[michi_cc]

I do already have some textures laying around for that transition, but I have to say, that looks very nice!  That transition is planned and will be implemented as a draggable setup rather than a puzzle piece.  Already have a fairly good idea of how to code it . . . the main thing I need to figure out is where to place it in the IID scheme.

Thanks. Meanwhile, a hackish Maxis highway to MAVE-6 transition. The colour mismatch is straight from the highway-avenue transition texture. (No idea if it would fit in-game, the highway-avenue transition seems to have some additional 3D models.)



EDIT: And the same for Maxis highway to OWR-3:

[j-dub]

Great work.

I guess it would be great for people that use the original Maxis highway texture. On my old, existing Maxis highways, I use Mrtnrln's Highway ReStyling and that would require different transition works. The scale with Mrtnrln's also is not exactly the same as Maxis'.