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Expanding the ferries technique

Started by Terring7, September 27, 2011, 12:26:34 AM

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Terring7

There is a great ability with the ferries. Once Sims and cars are loaded on a ferry, there is no time penalty for the trip, making ferry ports a great alternative for bridges and road connections. I would like to know if it's possible to use the same technique not only for water, but also for land and air. Airports and heliports could transport people just like the ferries. Teleporting, jetpacks and wormholes could be possible as well :thumbsup:
"The wisest men follow their own direction" Euripides
The Choice is Ours
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Simtropolis Moderator here. Can I help? Oh, and you can call me Elias (my real name) if you wish.

Dantes


apeguy

It's a good idea, but I think the main limitation is that Ferries have to be on water, and I don't think you can change that because I think it's part of the .exe file. (I'm no expert on the subject, so I'm not 100% sure)

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z

Quote from: apeguy on September 27, 2011, 06:01:24 AM
It's a good idea, but I think the main limitation is that Ferries have to be on water...

Well, mostly.  I noticed a while ago that ferries share the same travel type number as freight trucks.  Apparently the executable figures out which is which, apparently by seeing which is on land and which is on water.  But it's not immediate.  If you go into the Traffic Volume Data view with your screen centered over some heavily traveled freight truck routes and then select the "Ferry" display, the freight truck routes will momentarily light up with the colors for their proper volume, scaled according to the ferry scale.

Quote...and I don't think you can change that because I think it's part of the .exe file.

This is true.  But you can build perfectly good wormholes without ferries.  All you have to do is set a travel type to run on a network where it currently doesn't run, and set the speed very high - it will be effectively instantaneous.  For example, you could do this having trains run on monorail tracks.  Then you would just create a bunch of puzzle pieces for underground monorail that would be very much like the basic set of puzzle pieces for underground rail.  This way, the network would be effectively invisible.  At the wormhole portals, you would have TE lots that would convert trains running on regular rail tracks (both passenger and freight) to trains running on monorail tracks, and vice versa.  Trains would seem to disappear at the portal (since the monorail network continued underground) and reappear instantaneously at the exit portal, which could even be in another city.

For someone who is good with puzzle pieces, this would be rather simple to implement.

Terring7

7 years has been passed since the last post, but let me bring this topic back please.

apeguy was right. I made a land-only version of the ports and the result was a big nothing. No ferries, no traffic, nothing. But z has said something very interesting...

QuoteI noticed a while ago that ferries share the same travel type number as freight trucks.  Apparently the executable figures out which is which, apparently by seeing which is on land and which is on water.  But it's not immediate.  If you go into the Traffic Volume Data view with your screen centered over some heavily traveled freight truck routes and then select the "Ferry" display, the freight truck routes will momentarily light up with the colors for their proper volume, scaled according to the ferry scale.

Can we exploit this mechanism to make new types of transportation, this time using both land and water? If yes, we can use it to make fully functional air transportation systems, both intercity and regional, like the helicopters from Cities in Motion and the blimps from Cities: Skylines. We can even make the airports actual send and bring both Sims and cargo, just like the real airports.

And of course there is also the possibility of functional wormholes ;D

So, 7 years has been passed since then. NAM is getting more and more awesome, diagonal bridges are possible, and even Prop Pox has been cured. Can Simcity 4 community do the impossible for once again?
"The wisest men follow their own direction" Euripides
The Choice is Ours
---
Simtropolis Moderator here. Can I help? Oh, and you can call me Elias (my real name) if you wish.

Seaman

That would be hilarious! Thx Terring7 for pointing it out!