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Three Rivers Region

Started by dedgren, December 20, 2006, 07:57:49 PM

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sim-al2

#5820
Ouch, transit editing... I've heard that particular tool is evil because you might have to manually edit the paths afterward...
Now, do I dare ask to be a beta tester for this new one... I hope there's nothing wrong with that!?

EDITNothing wrong at all, my friend.  Count yourself in! -DE
(\_/)
(o.O)
(")_(")

dedgren

I'm on and working on a couple of things to wrap up the weekend with.  Mostly this morning, though, I've just been looking out the window...



We've had about 6 inches/15 cm of snow since yesterday evening, and are expecting more today.  It has been a great weekend to be at the cabin, and to close out November.

We'll hit that quarter-million pages views between 3RR-ST and here; that is, if we haven't already.  3RR here at SC4D will finish up with over 22,000 page views this month- just over one every two minutes.  You all are the best!

Back in a bit.


David

182646

D. Edgren

Please call me David...

Three Rivers Region- A collaborative development of the SC4 community
The 3RR Quick Finder [linkie]


I aten't dead.  —  R.I.P. Granny Weatherwax

Skype: davidredgren

thundercrack83

Things look so beautiful there, David, I'm so jealous!

We've got a layer of sleet on everything here in PA, and now it's changed over to rain.

Congratulations on reaching 250,000 views here at 3RR and at 3RR-ST combined, too! It's no surprise that these numbers are increasing almost exponentially, given the amount of exponentially great stuff there is to find here at 3RR!

Hope you're having a great Sunday, my friend!

Dustin

sithlrd98

#5823
Quote from: dedgren on November 29, 2008, 10:12:42 PM
Transit pathing...

..I hate transit pathing.

Later.
David

So that's how path creator is  supposed to look... you wouldn't have a short tut or cheater notes cause I'm stuck!

Jayson

EDITHere's my cheater notes on basic pathing, written by the Transit God himself- our friend Alex (Tarkus).

[tabular type=1][row][data]
As far as paths go, the most recent pathing specs Maxis used, "1.2", is what Daeley's pathing program outputs by default. 

Here's what the numbers stand for at the top:

SC4PATHS
1.2  <-Pathing spec version
2     <-Number of paths in the file
0     <-Number of StopPaths (used at intersections--another story for another day)
1     <-0 for ground-level (or flat) paths, 1 for 3-dimensional

Here's what one path stanza looks like:
-- car_1_3_a <-transit type_entry_exit_path#
1     <-transit type (1=car, 2=pedestrian, 3=rail, 4=subway, 6=lightrail, 7=monorail
1     <-path#.  This is the 1st path in the path file which is traveling from 1 to 3
1     <-Entry point.  0=West, 1=North, 2=East, 3=South
3     <-Exit point
0     <-UDI Key.  Rarely used except for some Lightrail and Monorail pieces
3     <-Number of coordinate sets in path stanza
-2.5,8,0   <-x,y,z coordinates.  Limited to +/-8 on x,y (except some Maxis items), unlimited on z (height)
-2.25,0,0
-1.75,-8,0

One note about the x,y,z coordinates--for the x coordinates, +8 corresponds with the East edge (2), -8 corresponds with the West edge (0), and for the y coordinates, +8 corresponds with the North edge (1), and -8 corresponds with the South edge (3).

As far as Daeley's PathCreator, there's two executables included in the directory.  One is called "PathCreator", which just covers a single tile, and the other "MultiPathCreator", opens up a grid, which allows you to see how all of your paths line up as a whole, which I use 99.9% of the time.  You can adjust the grid on MultiPathCreator by going into "Options".  I'll warn you, though, that the Rows and Columns are backwards, so if you want to add a new row, you'll actually want to add a new column, or vice-versa.

Basically, at that point, you'll just need to click on the square in the grid that you want to start with, and it'll open up a pathing dialog.  First things first, go under "Path Options", and pick the "Select Texture" option, which will load the texture into the square on the right side.  After that, go back into "Path Options" and pick "Edit Path", and from the little slide-out menu that appears, "path0"  First of all, you'll want to change "path0" over to something like "rail_0_2" for a rail path going from west to east.  Then you'll need to change the "type" to "train", the entry to "0", exit to "2", and since this is the first path you have in the file going from 0 to 2, just leave the path number at 1.  (if you had more going 0-to-2, you'd need to change it to 2 for the next one). 

At that point, you can simply click points on the texture square, and the coordinates will appear on the left side.  You can manually adjust the numbers after clicking the coordinates into place, which you'll almost always need to do, since it's impossible to get directly to +/-8 at the edges--it usually cuts off at 7.92.

If you need to remove a coordinate, you can just click on the point you want to remove and it will go away.

When you are ready to add the next path, go to "Path Options"->"Add Path".  You can switch back to another path by going to "Select Active" and selecting the one you want to edit.

Unfortunately, PathCreator does not automatically detect any errors, so you won't know if your paths are working until you get them in-game.  The DrawPaths cheat is immensely helpful, and there are certain indications as to what your errors are, too:

Flashing Red Path: The Entry and/or Exit Point is incorrect.
No Paths Appear: There are two paths traveling from the Same Entry/Exit combo listed with the same Path Number.
Some Paths Appear, But Some Paths Are Missing: The Number of Paths Listed is too low.
[/data][/row][/tabular]

I will work up a tutorial on this, as well as on some more complex pathing topics, after I check in with Alex.  He may already have something in the works.  Good luck! -DE

un1

BETA testing already?  :o
You don't know how much I'd love to test everything for the 3RR.

Looking great dedgren!  :thumbsup:

-un1

dedgren

Yeah, I'm late for quarter-million party.  3RR-ST is at 67,772 and we're at 182,758 here, so 3RR is about 500 or so page views into the next quarter-million.

I did find a part of pathing I like.





Looking at it when it's done and finally...

...and I do mean finally- talk about extended trial and error...

...works.  I'm working to get these, along with other recently completed puzzle pieces like the diagonal to FARR transition, in properly to RUL 10000000.

On a side note, I was going to make a diagonal S-curve, but I found that fitting two of the diagonal to FARR transitions together



works pretty well.

Later.


David

182,758 - we'll close out November, as noted, with 22,000 views, our third month in a row over 20,000.  Thanks so much to everyone for that.
D. Edgren

Please call me David...

Three Rivers Region- A collaborative development of the SC4 community
The 3RR Quick Finder [linkie]


I aten't dead.  —  R.I.P. Granny Weatherwax

Skype: davidredgren

deathtopumpkins

If we're talking betas again, count me in.  ;D

And isn't looking at it finished the best part of everything?  ;)

Good luck on the pathing and RULing.

EDIT: Congrats on 250,000 page views!  &apls
NAM Team Member | 3RR Collaborater | Virgin Shores

un1

Very nice progress dedgren!  :thumbsup:
Now, how long until a realese...  %confuso

-un1

c.p.

Great job on all the projects you got going here. :thumbsup:

(I love this thread.  It's like the santa's workshop of SC4D   ;) )

metarvo

One thing is clear now.  If I had to choose between the FAR-to-diagonal piece, or the diagonal S-curve, I would take the former of the two options just for the versatility.  As I pointed out earlier in some pics I posted during the FAR beta test, I did find a way to functionally connect a FAR puzzle piece to a diagonal road by overlaying the puzzle piece over said road, but IMHO this rough connection didn't look that good.  So, I'm quite pleased that there will be a real transition between the two.
Find my power line BAT thread here.
Check out the Noro Cooperative.  What are you waiting for?  It even has electricity.
Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

ben_meissner

Every time I come back after a short hiatus, I am pleasantly surprised. I'd love to get a hold of those rural roads, if you get a chance. Personally, I prefer the small shoulder as it matches northern MN roads, but they all look great. Does that gravel texture match ChrisAdams' draggable path textures?

Ben

dedgren

#5831
Well, I decided to take a break from all that pathing and stretch my mind a bit this evening.



So I decided to do something I've never done before- create a rock mod.  I figured it was pretty straightforward, and it was.  A few 256x256 pixel continuous textures (more about making those someday) turned into FSH files using MOD God darkmatter's FSHMan tool [linkie], load 'em up in the Reader, and there you go.  I'd never used FSHMan before, but you have to in this instance because SFBT's venerable SC4Tool does not create FSH textures larger than 128x128 pixels. 

Once everything is in the Reader save with the TGI address numbers shown,



you simply save to the filename of your choice and put the resulting .dat file in your "load last" subfolder of your My Documents Plugins folder.

Fire up the game, and there you are.



I was shooting for a mossy limestone look.



I got it- at least the "mossy" part.  It may be too green for some- l'm going to let it settle in a bit.



I did manage, with the continuous texturing and another little trick or two (more about those later, too) to avoid the repetitive "fishnet" pattern that some of rock mods show at the lower view levels.



So now it's "been there-done that" for rock mods.  I'll put this one up on the 3RREX over the next 24 or so for anyone who's interested.

December in an hour- man, this year went by fast!

Later.


David

182972
D. Edgren

Please call me David...

Three Rivers Region- A collaborative development of the SC4 community
The 3RR Quick Finder [linkie]


I aten't dead.  —  R.I.P. Granny Weatherwax

Skype: davidredgren

threestooges

I was wondering what would happen when you focused your energies... and now you're making rock mods, puzzle pieces, and ploppable seasonal trees (granted a few of those were in the works before, but you get the idea). You're touching areas of the game few people ever do, and getting some nice results in the process. One of these days we'll have to have a chat about puzzle pieces, but until then, I'm always stunned to see what you come up with. Also, congratulations on the quarter-million views, all well deserved and a testament to what you've created here.
-Matt

buckbeach

As everyone has said. you and your work are amazing, but, not only that the speed that you produce your thoughts into a workable project is mind blowing.

Vandy

Hello, David.

You know, when I'm feeling a bit down or blue, all I have to do is visit 3RR and my spirits are instantly lifted.  I am so very glad to be able to follow this most excellent project (I heasitate to call it an MD as it is so much more than that).  Your creativity and inventiveness have always impressed me and you most certainly continue to do so.

Thank you for taking all of the time and making the effort to keep this wonderful joy alive.  It is a real pleaure reading through it and it is such an invaluable resource to the SimCity community.

Regards,

Gary


In the end you will see, you is you and me is me.  © May 29, 1980

bat

Great work on the rock mod there! :thumbsup: Looking forward to more...

metarvo

It's no wonder this year went by so fast.  I guess I spent a fair amount of the time right here in 3RR.  One of the things that makes 3RR so exciting is the fact that I never know what I'll see in here from one visit to the next.  In less than 10 hours, 3RR has gone from new road innovations to a new rock mod.  Of course, the rock mod looks great, but I wouldn't expect less, David.

&apls
Find my power line BAT thread here.
Check out the Noro Cooperative.  What are you waiting for?  It even has electricity.
Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

debutterfly

wow... :o David's at it again!!! Tackling any and every task he puts his mind to.  &apls I have to ask David: What is your day job? Mine is full time student. Obviously you are older than me.  ;) You sure have a lot of time on your hand.

-Larry (debutterfly)

ben_meissner

Beautiful rock mod, David! I've wondered why we haven't seen more rock and water mods here at SC4D. They are a great way to inject an instant atmosphere into a region. Your latest projects leave me wondering ... what's next?

A seasonal tree controller? FAHW? Hacking the source code? Nothing can surprise me now.

Ben

Dejavu21

Wow, this is just amazing! Nice job! &apls &apls