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FLEX Turn Lanes (FTL) and Related Projects - Development and Support

Started by Tarkus, August 01, 2009, 09:36:25 PM

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APSMS

I would prefer to not have the dashed lines.

If there were precedent for this, like how RL turn lane paths are usually marked with a solid white line in larger intersections (at least here in So. Cal) then I would understand the need to illustrate the realignment of the road but none of those kinds of road markings appear on SC4 textures for what I understand are primarily simplicity reasons (the lack of markings makes it easier to reuse tiles in intersections via mirroring).

However, having set the style, much like the unusually dark asphalt following adoption of the game's texture palette, I would ask that it be continued, since, as Seaman noted, the US doesn't really do very many dashed line markings.

I do like the actual intersection textures and the possibility of single-tile asymmetrical intersections, though.
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Tyberius06

As I remember in Hungary (specially in Budapest) there are many kind of dashed or not-dashed marking lines to show the way to the drivers, but I don't remember similiar solution either. I found example for a similiar situation:



Google link

In both directions there are no right to turn left, the right lane turning only right with a guiding marking as Alex's example shows (on the attached picture from the top to the bottom), and the inner lane is going ahead.

The markings are very old and not well maintananced, but still viewable a similiar set up, what Alex showed us. I admit that one is kind of not usual in the US, but the world is bigger than the US... I visited many cities in different countries during the years and there are very strange solutions for traffic situations anywhere.

And also there are things like this on the second picture. (here is the google maps link for that intersection)



This one is a bit more compicated, this road is rather ARD-3 if I'm correct, where the right lane is a dedicated BUS lane. In this intersection for the right turn you have the right to cross the bus lane and turn right from a lane which were made for this reason. The bus lane and the most inner lane going straight ahead, but the bus lane will end actually into a Bus Stop (on the picture you can see the blue bus into the stop) after the intersection, and only one lane going further with a share use for cars and buses.

So I can imagine the situation with the marking what Alex showed.

- Tyberius
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Seaman

Quote from: Tyberius06 on October 19, 2017, 01:41:54 PM
I admit that one is kind of not usual in the US, but the world is bigger than the US... I visited many cities in different countries during the years and there are very strange solutions for traffic situations anywhere.

Of course the world is bigger than the US. That's why the NAM has several road texture options. But since the default option, the NAM teams seems to focus on, is the US road texture...

by the way: which road textures actually do support the FTL? I've never checked any other than the default one.

Tarkus

Thank you, everyone, for the feedback on the intersection. Right now, I'm leaning away from the dashed lines for the cited consistency reasons.  Besides these particular configurations, there's one other type under consideration for the Road network and related overrides--the Type 011.  The present prototype, which has kind existed in some form for awhile now, basically occupies a footprint that is a hybrid between that of the Road and NRD-4.



Quote from: Seaman on October 19, 2017, 03:36:25 PM
by the way: which road textures actually do support the FTL? I've never checked any other than the default one.

There is a single complete Euro setup for the FTLs available, which should be installed if one selects any of the Euro options.

-Alex

Kitsune

~ NAM Team Member

druidlove

Hi, I'm a bit late in replying, due to me finishing school in a couple weeks. However, as far as the dashed lines go, it depends on where and why the lines are dashed. More often than not, I've seen the left turn lane dashed, particularly if there are more than one turn lane. The dashes are used as a guidance for through lanes. Here's an example from my hometown in Fort Collins, CO where some of the lanes are dashed due to a shift in lane through the intersection:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/100+W+Drake+Rd,+Fort+Collins,+CO+80525/@40.552638,-105.0770464,89m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x87694b098c6088b1:0x713376b9ca0c9b17!8m2!3d40.5526462!4d-105.0772115.
Granted, I've seen Colorado is more likely to use dash to accentuate lanes even through intersections than other states. But it is worth a note. Personally, I'd rather not see dashes in game.

ChiefZDN

Quote from: Tyberius06 on October 19, 2017, 01:41:54 PM
As I remember in Hungary (specially in Budapest) there are many kind of dashed or not-dashed marking lines to show the way to the drivers, but I don't remember similiar solution either. I found example for a similiar situation:



Google link

In both directions there are no right to turn left, the right lane turning only right with a guiding marking as Alex's example shows (on the attached picture from the top to the bottom), and the inner lane is going ahead.

The markings are very old and not well maintananced, but still viewable a similiar set up, what Alex showed us. I admit that one is kind of not usual in the US, but the world is bigger than the US... I visited many cities in different countries during the years and there are very strange solutions for traffic situations anywhere.

And also there are things like this on the second picture. (here is the google maps link for that intersection)



This one is a bit more compicated, this road is rather ARD-3 if I'm correct, where the right lane is a dedicated BUS lane. In this intersection for the right turn you have the right to cross the bus lane and turn right from a lane which were made for this reason. The bus lane and the most inner lane going straight ahead, but the bus lane will end actually into a Bus Stop (on the picture you can see the blue bus into the stop) after the intersection, and only one lane going further with a share use for cars and buses.

So I can imagine the situation with the marking what Alex showed.

- Tyberius

In Jabodetabek (includes the capital Jakarta), a lot of turnings are indicated by signs (for instance left and right turn signs). But, the turns aren't guiding lines (maybe the climate?).

https://www.google.co.id/maps/@-6.1943986,106.8209793,3a,60y,267.01h,85.92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHp4jjg7tTbJ0WXhM6zkAXg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=id

roadgeek




metarvo

Eight lanes total.  Wow!  I'm guessing that might use five signal heads per approach (two lefts plus three straight-through lanes).  ;D  Nice.  :thumbsup:
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Kitsune

Quote from: metarvo on November 02, 2017, 07:58:47 PM
Eight lanes total.  Wow!  I'm guessing that might use five signal heads per approach (two lefts plus three straight-through lanes).  ;D  Nice.  :thumbsup:

Really ? in Canada - it would be somewhere between 3 to 4 - 2 for the through lanes and 1 in some locales, 2 in others for the turn singles.
~ NAM Team Member


Ryan B.

Quote from: Tarkus on November 02, 2017, 06:17:26 PM
Follow up . . . still stabilizing this, but it's progress.



-Alex

[insert dumbfounded emoji here]

Alex, if you need a longer mast arm, send me those textures.  I'll get it done for you - complete with signage.

j-dub

Personally I don't see why we can't have the lights on all sides of the intersection instead of making a longer mast arm. Since the stop points would be in every lane across the junction. It may even work and might be faster than doing a new mast arm. You could just use the shorter mast that already exists, just flipped the other way over the opposing lanes, and put one or two signals on that side, overhanging the wrong direction while keeping the 3 signals straight across on the existing extended mast arm. If you don't get what I'm saying I could always later make an example.

Tarkus

Thanks for all the kind words and feedback/examples on the Type 230! :thumbsup:

Now, onto the signal prop question, one of the big issues is that we're still relying on the rather unflexible Maxis props for signals and mast arms, and trying to produce a suitably long mast arm by stretching the longest Maxis mast arm would be . . . rather dodgy.  The mirrored version I cobbled together for FTL LHD support also has some weird artifacting. 

I did, however, do some measurements on the Maxis mast arm props, and happening to have some of Ryan B.'s prototypes sitting around, after some adjustments, I made a relatively seamless replacement for the existing "long" arm.  The benefit of doing it this way meant that there was no need to alter the T21s at all.



This is probably the style I'd go for with the "extra long arm" for the triple-tile setups.  Recent installs here in my neck of the woods for Type 230 setups look something like the wrapped-up one here.

-Alex

Tarkus

Speaking of the Type 230, go big or go home . . .



Adding the T21 prototypes on actually helped me diagnose a particularly annoying "gator wrestling" situation with the RUL2 code as well, so the overrides are quite stable now.

And once again, credits to Ryan B. for the mast arm model (which I tweaked to make the "extra long" version). Signals are all green right now, as I haven't pathed it yet.

-Alex

AsimPika3172

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noahclem

Great work  &apls The "gator wrestling" sounds quite familiar in the form of making weird network possibilities that aren't intended or barely intended (for example, getting the new diagonal on-slope RHW to work directly adjacent to more RHW) :D Can only imagine the wrestling you're doing and very nice that it benefits everybody, compared to mine that pretty much only benefits me. Before you figured out the solution of tweaking the new props by Ryan B I was going to suggest the possibility of including models from Mandelsoft if he gave permission. Textures look like they took quite a bit of wrestling as well :)

Seaman

Quote from: Tarkus on November 22, 2017, 01:01:59 AM
Signals are all green right now, as I haven't pathed it yet.

ahh... you can leave the signals like that. I'm sure the Sims figure out a way to drive through this intersection in the evening rush hour without them... :P