RHW (RealHighway) - Development and Support

[jondor]

Ran across a massively annoying glitch with one of the RHW ramps....

When using the RHW-6S Type E1 Entrance in the northbound orientation, the translucent preview appears one tile north of it's actual location.  Placement rules, etc all appear to be functioning normally - and it only seems to happen when using the piece as a northbound onramp.

To be more specific - placement rules affect the piece based upon where it will ACTUALLY be placed rather than where the preview indicates it will be placed.



On a separate note:  I also discovered that dragging roads to an RHW-6C produces a TLA-7!  Undocumented feature?

I took a look at that piece since I don't think it's changed since release.  I couldn't replicate any circumstance where any particular direction behaved differently, but what I did find curious is that the entrance version and exit version use a different tile of the ramp as an anchor.  That could make it look like the situation you've described, if you for example, plop an exit, rotate to the corresponding entrance and try to plop it alongside without moving the mouse cursor.  I don't know if those were the circumstances or not, but just throwing that out there.

On that note, I can't find any real difference in the RULs for those pieces that would explain why they use different anchor tiles, which has me scratching my head.

Edit: Correction, my eyes were playing tricks and the entrance ramp preview is offset by a tile, in all four directions.  I'll put that on my list of cleanup duties for later P57 inclusion.

[Wiimeiser]

And yes Art, it is based on Vasco da Gama bridge. unfortunately it can't be fully replicated in SC4 as it's height is not constant and it is curved, which are 2 features we can't do in SC4.

Actually, you can do height changes on bridges in SC4, it just means added complexity in the Bridge RULs.

But I assume height for ferry passage must be constant? On that note how much clearance is required? Judging by the default approach slopes I'd say about 20m (given that the bridge slope remover makes even elevated highway bridges too low; all except the arch road & avenue bridges in fact)

[Shadow Assassin]

And yes Art, it is based on Vasco da Gama bridge. unfortunately it can't be fully replicated in SC4 as it's height is not constant and it is curved, which are 2 features we can't do in SC4.

Actually, you can do height changes on bridges in SC4, it just means added complexity in the Bridge RULs.

But I assume height for ferry passage must be constant? On that note how much clearance is required? Judging by the default approach slopes I'd say about 20m (given that the bridge slope remover makes even elevated highway bridges too low; all except the arch road & avenue bridges in fact)

I believe minimum clearance is roughly 30m. I know that if you use default sea level with the flat default Maxis terrain, that will drag fine across bodies of water using the default bridge height in game. Preventing ferry passage on a bridge is something that HAS to be enabled on a per piece basis, but height variation should not matter anyway for ferry passages, just as long as ferries can pass the bridge. I think the game calculates based on whether the middle segment meets the minimum height requirement, though this is something that needs to be explained more thoroughly by someone who is more familiar with the bridge modding process than I am.

[MandelSoft]

More cosmetic pieces are underway...







The number of cosmetic pieces will rise from about 80 to over 250. No kidding....

Also, all older cosmetic pieces will be converted to P57-Spec. All with all a massive job...

Best,
Maarten

[io_bg]

Excellent stuff! Though isn't it a bit dangerous to have dashed lines on a curve? Here we have solid lines even on the smoother curves.

[j-dub]

Wait, new US rural curves? Nice work Mandel soft!

And in case anyone questions the dashed yellow lines on the rural curves, this setup offen Does exist in mine.  It does not mean you should pass on the curve if its too dangerous though.

There are plenty of times there should be places that have the solid done instead of the dashed yellow, like right before the intersection, but some places that's all they can do, and we also have to remember some places don't have any lines at all either.

I know, it is confusing, but it is what it is.

[jondor]

Normally this is where someone would say "That's the US for you."  But in this case, I have to agree.  Except for maybe the very shallow short Ortho-FAR and Diag-FAR curve on a plain with nothing blocking the line of sight AND not butted up against each other, there would be a double solid yellow around just about all of those curves in real life.

[mike3775]

Normally this is where someone would say "That's the US for you."  But in this case, I have to agree.  Except for maybe the very shallow short Ortho-FAR and Diag-FAR curve on a plain with nothing blocking the line of sight AND not butted up against each other, there would be a double solid yellow around just about all of those curves in real life.

Thats if they are even painted at all.  A lot of curves in my area on 2 lane state highways(which would by RHW-2) are not even painted unless they decide to paint them when they resurface the road, which then means they always have to be painted from then on, so to save money, local Govt's don't paint because it saves that money for other things

[MandelSoft]

If you would prefer it or not, I at least give you the option

[gn_leugim]

Oh, ya, now I remember that "loop/arch" one. But, this one will be overhanging as far I can tell (it is wider than 32m) so I dont know if it still applies in that case. Anyway I will need help on finishing it or hand it over to someone who knows the trade.

The bridge looks great gn_leugim 

Mandel, that's looking very nice

Thank you

And yes Art, it is based on Vasco da Gama bridge. unfortunately it can't be fully replicated in SC4 as it's height is not constant and it is curved, which are 2 features we can't do in SC4.

Actually, you can do height changes on bridges in SC4, it just means added complexity in the Bridge RULs.

Oh, ya, now I remember that "loop/arch" one. But, this one will be overhanging as far I can tell (it is wider than 32m) so I dont know if it still applies in that case. Anyway I will need help on finishing it or hand it over to someone who knows the trade.

[Haljackey]

oh very cool! These are similar to a new lane marking system that we're starting to use in Ontario!




We're also starting to use some arrow markings on the pavement too


Great work on those cosmetic pieces Mandelsoft!

[Shadow Assassin]

Looks great! Though, there's a bit of weirdness going on with the arrows, hmm... perhaps they need a slight update as well...

[jondor]

Looks great! Though, there's a bit of weirdness going on with the arrows, hmm... perhaps they need a slight update as well...

I'd make the background color of the arrow images something close to the roadway color with an alpha value of 1 (out of 255).  That will force your image program to save the color information, but keep it transparent in game, and then you won't get the white halos.

[MandelSoft]

Looks great! Though, there's a bit of weirdness going on with the arrows, hmm... perhaps they need a slight update as well...

I've lost the original InkScape files of those, but I can always replicate them with InkScape again, perhaps making some new sets too...

[Ryan B.]

Nice work, MandelSoft! 

@ Haljackey:  Those line designs were used experimentally here in New York for a few years - they're now being phased out.

[j-dub]

Uh, maybe its because, generally speaking, dashed lines on one side - crossing permitted, solid line in the other - stay in your lane; that's what a number of people are used to, but this does seem kinda confusing from another perspective.

[drjumbajookiba]

Suprise



'

There you Go

[AngryBirdsFan436]

Is there a possibility of a mod that enables side-by-side bridge building? Or this is controlled by the exe?

[jdenm8]

It is a game limitation we cannot change, as the Bridge Construction Conditions are largely hardcoded.

[MandelSoft]

Suprise



'

There you Go

Looks fine, but where are the car trails?