Updated Puzzle Piece Models

[Pat]

I got a wee bug report that I noticed while playing tonight.... I noticed this with the overpasses...



one way over one way is fine but the road over road aint....

[Tarkus]

Only El-Road models are included in the file smoncrie attached.  He hasn't gotten to the El-OWRs yet.

-Alex

[Pat]

ahhh that explains it lol thank you Alex now I feel like such a NoOb hehehe... See what happens when I fall out of the loop!!!

[smoncrie]

Again, thanks everyone!  I am glad you like my models.     I have not yet looked into changing the shade of the railings, but I will soon.

joelyboy911, sorry but I already have enough projects!  I don't want to do new rail viaducts at this time.

Have you tried modifying the textures used on the current rail viaducts so that they look like cement instead of bricks?  The main textures used are 0x532690f0-0x532690f4, 0x532631e0-0x532631e4, and 0x532631f0-0x532631f4.  You can also change the curve of the arch by changing the alpha map in one of the textures.

I could use some help in finding all the road viaduct models that need to be updated.  I know about the models under the Road Puzzle pieces button, but I have not yet searched through all the NAM mods (e.g. the RHW mod).

Pat, parts of the road overpass puzzle pieces use the same models that are used in other puzzle pieces.  Not all the models have been updated so these puzzle pieces are a patchwork of new and old models.  They will look better when the ramp models have also been updated.

As requested by gardenwong, I have been working on the new model for elevated road and elevated "ground" rail crossing.  There are a number of problems:

The rail is nearly 0.5m higher than the road, so it will be very bumpy to drive over!

To allow it to swing down, there will be a gap in the railing next to the rail crossing gate.  When I have the time, I may make a new rail signal to fix this.

It looks like current euro mods may need to be updated for this model.


While working on this model I needed to examine the rail viaduct model.   It is very well made. (I wish I could remember who made it.)

Here is the current state of the model.  There are parts missing, the road texture needs to be darkened, there is no shadow map, and it needs cleaning up.

[Korot]

Well, I doubt that the rail is going to be lowered, so the bumb had to be there in the original model, right? You models look pretty nice, better then the old ones at least, though I'm not going to download them right now, as I don't want an incomplete mod in my plugins, and it will look weird ingame, if half of the EL-road still has the old models.

Regards,
Korot

[Andreas]

The Rail Viaduct model was created by ArkenbergeJoe, and he did a great job indeed. But there's a reason why this particular model (elevated railway crossing) hasn't been included yet - it's highly unrealistic! One of the main reasons to build rail viaducts is the possiblity to create rail lines without railway crossings (and in a dense urban environment, this is critical). Anyway, if you have some questions regarding the model, feel free to contact ArkenbergeJoe. He's from Germany, and his English skills are not very good, but you could try an online translator, or I can serve as a translator for you guys.

[KoV Liberty]

Don't thnk I will DL this just yet. Great job so far!

[Pat]

Its worth the test drive honestly there Driftmaster believe me!!! Other then its not totaly ready but hey for whats its worth I like it...

[gardenwong]

The Rail Viaduct model was created by ArkenbergeJoe, and he did a great job indeed. But there's a reason why this particular model (elevated railway crossing) hasn't been included yet - it's highly unrealistic! One of the main reasons to build rail viaducts is the ..............

Well.....how about a morden style of Rail Viaduct ?
um....something like this:

[KoV Liberty]

Yeah. I might just DL and give it a shot!

[ArkenbergeJoe]

The new look for the el-road is great work 

But the El-rail and el-road-crossing ist not realistic!
The rail-viadukt is over the road or street...

[smoncrie]

Thanks ArkenbergeJoe!  I could see that the internal structure of the rail viaduct models is very good (they look good too).  I am sorry I forgot that they were your work.

The el-rail and el-road crossing was made long ago.  I agree with you and Andreas that that it is not realistic, and that this was a good reason not to change it.  However, I am updating all the other road viaduct pieces, and I think I should update this one as well.




In the updated model, I have decided to use the GLR cross road texture instead of the Maxis rail cross road texture.  The GLR cross road texture is probably in the current euro texture mod.

[joelyboy911]

Hey smoncrie. I understand that you have a lot of projects on the go. However, I was completely unaware that I could modify the textures to completely change the look of it!

I'm gonna give it a go!

[Chrisim]

Hi smoncrie, your model looks much better than the original elevated road model. 
Please continue and create also diagonal models and a model for the transition from straight to diagonal.
Recently, I had created the old style transition model shown in the picture below, because I needed it in one of my cities, but it doesn't look so good and I stopped my work when I saw your new model.

[allan_kuan1992]

Hmm... can we use overhang technology on that? =O (in other words having the model stics outside the lot a little so the sidewalks look wider?)

[j-dub]

Wether it looks good, or not, (actually looks good for the old version) that is exactly the piece everyone using the elevated road pieces wants, this new version is the perfect opportunity.

[joelyboy911]

Hey Smoncrie, thanks for pointing out the fact that I could modify the Rail Viaduct models, through the textures (I never knew they were there!).



This is what I have achieved. I was unable, however, to get my lattice of rusty steel to appear on the orthogonal ramp. Oddly, it does appear on the diagonal one.  However, this is a little irrelevant as I almost always build a ramp on the land, and use the on slope pieces.

Thanks for the tip. And if anyone thinks this mod is worth releasing (its not finished yet, I'm not quite happy with the colouring) then it could definitely be a happening thing.

[smoncrie]

Chrisim, I was also thinking of making an orthogonal to diagonal transition puzzle piece, but I would prefer to work on other models first.  If that is a problem, please tell me.



You are welcome joelyboy.  Your retextured rail viaduct already looks good!



I am now updating a bunch of diagonal models. I will make them available when I have done enough of them.

The diagonal road viaducts have the same width as the orthogonal versions, so there is a small overhang in the corners where the sidewalk and railing of two tiles meet.

[delta9]

This is excellent.  MOAR MOAR MOAR

This is something that has been needed for a while. Not to disrespect the people that modeled the original puzzle pieces, of course, because back then it was all about the functionality (I still remember when they first came out), but that was long ago and they are far past due for a visual overhaul, not to mention a functional overhaul, such as the basic diag/orthag transition Chrisim displayed.

Hmm... can we use overhang technology on that? =O (in other words having the model stics outside the lot a little so the sidewalks look wider?)

I like this idea, though I could see a possible problem with very tight urban areas with certain tall or w2w buildings that are very close to their lot's edge.  I can't say that this would be a problem for me personally, nor a definite problem at all, but I can postulate that it may be for a building or two, though I don't see why a couple buildings should bury the fantastic idea Except then I'd be asking for wider overhanging diag ground sidewalks...

[ArkenbergeJoe]

@joelyboy911
Greater work 
for the orthogonal ramp updated the modell
Your must activate the option by the "alpha test", and updatet for the gamer the texture AND the model