Difference between revisions of "Network Addon Mod"

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{{infobox project
 
{{infobox project
−
| logo = [[image:logoAsmall.jpg]]
+
|logo = [[image:logoAsmall.jpg]]
−
| name = Network Addon Mod <br>
+
|name = Network Addon Mod <br>
−
| version = Version 30 (September 15, 2011)
+
|version = Version 47 (March 27, [[2023]])
 
|link = [[Plugin:NAM|NAM Plugin]]
 
|link = [[Plugin:NAM|NAM Plugin]]
−
| support = [http://www.sc4devotion.com/index.php?board=90.0 NAM Place at SC4Devotion]
+
|support = [http://www.sc4devotion.com/index.php?board=90.0 NAM Place at SC4Devotion]
−
| credits = See [[NAM Team]]
+
|credits = See [[NAM Team]]
−
| status = Released
+
|status = Released
 
}}
 
}}
 +
The '''Network Addon Mod''' ('''NAM''') is a mod improving and expanding upon the functionality of the [[SimCity 4]] [[transit network]]s, produced by the [[NAM/members|NAM Team]].  The most recent stable version, Version 47, was released on March 27, [[2023]].
  
 +
For information on the current release of the NAM and where to download go to [[Plugin:NAM|NAM Plugin]].  For NAM User Guide pages which are up to date with the latest NAM release go to [https://sc4devotion.com/namdoc the online NAM Documentation].
  
−
The '''Network Addon Mod''' ('''NAM''') is a mod improving and expanding upon the functionality of the game's [[Transit Network|Transit Networks]], produced by the [[NAM/members|NAM team]].  The most recent version, Version 30, was released on September 15, [[2011]].
+
== Plugins ==
 +
*[[Ground Light Rail]] (GLR)
 +
*[[RealHighway Mod]] (RHW)
 +
*[[Street Addon Mod]] (SAM)
 +
*[[High Speed Rail Project]] (HSRP)
 +
*[[RealRailway]] (RRW)
 +
*[[Canal Addon Mod]] (CAN-AM)
 +
*[[Fractional Angle Networking]]
 +
*[[Flexible Underpasses]] (FLUPs)
 +
*[[Network Widening Mod]] (NWM)
 +
*[[Turning Lane Extension Pieces]] (TuLEP)
 +
*[[Diagonal Bridge Enabler]] (DBE)
 +
*[[Signage Piece Mod]] (SPM) (unreleased)
  
−
There are also several separate, optional NAM Components available, including the [[RealHighway Mod]], [[Street Addon Mod]], [[Network Widening Mod]], [[Rail Addon Mod]] and [[High Speed Rail Project]].
+
== Development History ==
 +
The NAM project was founded by {{member|redlotus}}, {{member|the7trumpets}} and {{member|Tropod}}, part of [[Modd Squad|Modd Squad Transport]] (now the [[NAM Team]]) in [[2004]], with Version 1 being released on April 24, 2004. Tropod headed up most of the early development on the project, earning him the moniker "Mr. NAM", up until the Version 19 release in October [[2005]]. In its initial form, it largely consisted of a series of bugfixes and a variety of [[Traffic Simulator]] plugin options to improve pathfinding, as well as a few new transit items. As the mod progressed, the focus shifted toward the creation of new transit items, beginning with the viaduct overpass puzzle pieces and new interchanges for [[Maxis Highways]]. Going into 2005, the [[Ground Light Rail]] (GLR) system was added, as well as several new draggable items, including Diagonal Streets, the Road, One-Way Road and Street Roundabout Plugins, and the Road and Avenue Turning Lane Plugins, as well as the Elevated Rail-above-Road dual-network puzzle pieces.
  
−
For information on the current release of the NAM and where to download go to [[Plugin:NAM|NAM Plugin]].
+
Between October 2005 and the end of 2006, the project went into a hiatus from public activity, but was revived by several [[SFBT]] members, including {{member|memo}}, {{member|Andreas}}, {{member|GoaSkin}}, and {{member|ArkenbergeJoe}}, along with a few other prior team members, resulting in the release of Version 20 in December [[2006]], which introduced the Diagonal Street Helper Pieces (the first instance of a [[WAVERide]] setup), and the [[URail]] system.
  
−
==History==
+
With Version 21, the June [[2007]] release, the NAM was "modularized", separating the main [[RUL File]]s that made the mod function out into a separate NAM Controller file. This was done in order to prevent various conflicts that had occurred, such as the NAM Version 20/[[RHW]] Version 1.2 conflict in early 2007, and to allow for easier updating of [[NAM Plugins]]. This also marked the start of the NAM Optional Plugins program, beginning with Version 1.3b of the then-[[Rural Highway Mod]] being released concurrently with the June 2007 NAM, and the first release of the [[Street Addon Mod]] in September 2007. Version 21 also marked the introduction of Draggable GLR, the first [[Override Network]], as well as the Avenue Roundabouts, Tram-in-Avenue, and Road Wide-Radius Curve puzzle pieces.
  
−
The NAM project was founded by {{member|redlotus}}, {{member|the7trumpets}} and {{member|Tropod}}, part of [[Modd Squad|Modd Squad Transport]] (now the [[NAM Team]]) in [[2004]], with Version 1 being released on April 24, 2004.  Tropod headed up most of the early development on the project, earning him the moniker "Mr. NAM", up until the Version 19 release in October [[2005]].  In its initial form, it largely consisted of a series of bugfixes and a variety of [[Traffic Simulator]] plugin options to improve pathfinding, as well as a few new transit items. As the mod progressed, the focus shifted toward the creation of new transit items, beginning with the viaduct overpass puzzle pieces and new interchanges for [[Maxis Highways]].  Going into 2005, the [[Ground Light Rail]] (GLR) system was added, as well as several new draggable items, including Diagonal Streets, the Road, One-Way Road and Street Roundabout Plugins, and the Road and Avenue Turning Lane Plugins, as well as the Elevated Rail-above-Road dual-network puzzle pieces.
+
After Version 21, the team's personnel ranks expanded considerably. The next release, Version 22, released January 1, 2008, was not released as a full NAM version, but rather, used an "update" package, through which the user could simply update their Version 21 files. The subsequent Version 23 release returned to the full package paradigm, and brought several new traffic simulator options developed by {{member|jplumbley}} and {{member|mott}} to the NAM, reflecting the latest research.
  
−
Between October 2005 and the end of 2006, the project went into a hiatus from public activity, but was revived by several [[SFBT]] members, including {{member|memo}}, {{member|Andreas}}, {{member|GoaSkin}}, and {{member|ArkenbergeJoe}}, along with a few other prior team members, resulting in the release of Version 20 in December [[2006]], which introduced the Diagonal Street Helper Pieces (the first instance of a [[WAVERide]] setup), and the [[URail]] system.
+
Beginning with Version 24 in January 2009, much of the new content being added to the NAM itself was by the very productive SFBT unit led by {{member|Chrisim}}, producing the [[Tram-Road Addon Mod]], [[Flexible Underpasses]], and [[URail]] content. [[Fractional Angle]] Roads and Railroads, a project of {{member|dedgren}} and {{member|Tarkus}} also debuted here. 2009 would see 3 more NAM releases, in March (Version 25, concurrent with the initial [[Rail Addon Mod]] (RAM) release), June (Version 26, the first release of the [[Canal Addon Mod]]), and a small update in July (Version 27).  2009 also saw the inclusion of the first new Maxis Highway interchanges since 2005, courtesy of {{member|andreharv}}.
 +
 
 +
There were two releases in 2010, including Version 28 in May, which marked the introduction of the [[NAM Unified Traffic Simulator]] and related [[Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool]] (TSCT), the [[Turn Lane Extension Pieces]] (TuLEPS) and the initial offering of the long-awaited [[Network Widening Mod]] (NWM), followed by Version 29 in August.
 +
 
 +
In September 2011, Version 30 was released, concurrent with RealHighway Version 5.0 and Network Widening Mod Version 2.0.
 +
 
 +
The NAM Team decided earlier in 2011 to move away from the existing "Modular NAM" concept and toward adopting a "Monolithic NAM" paradigm for NAM Version 31. After the "Monolithic NAM" was implemented, all previous major "external" NAM plugins, such as the [[RealHighway]], [[Network Widening Mod]], [[Rail Addon Mod]], [[High Speed Rail Project]], [[Street Addon Mod]] and [[Rural Roads Plugin]], were merged into the NAM Core itself, simplifying the package considerably.
 +
 
 +
For the first and only time, the NAM Team announced a release date for NAM 31, of March 1st, 2013.  The release actually reached the LEX and STEX on March 2nd. Due to the radical changes of NAM 31, the NAM Team released a "NAM 31.1" and "NAM 31.2" to fix up the problems found in the initial release.
 +
 
 +
For the NAM 32 cycle, the team decided to implement a public pre-release system, in order to subject the mod to a broader series of tests.  The first pre-release build of NAM 32, Pre-Release 1 (PR1) was made available on December 19th, 2013.  The pre-release process helped the team polish the resultant full release, which came out less than a month later, on January 14th, 2014.
 +
 
 +
A Mac-only NAM 32.1 release was issued on July 28, [[2014]], designed to address the crash-to-desktop issues that affected some critical NAM components on the [[Aspyr]] port of SC4, which had previously led the NAM Team to drop Mac support after NAM 29.  No other features were added or updated as part of that release.
  
−
With Version 21, the June [[2007]] release, the NAM was "modularized", separating the main [[RUL File]]s that made the mod function out into a separate NAM Controller file.  This was done in order to prevent various conflicts that had occurred, such as the NAM Version 20/[[RHW]] Version 1.2 conflict in early 2007, and to allow for easier updating of [[NAM Plugins]].  This also marked the start of the NAM Optional Plugins program, beginning with Version 1.3b of the then-[[Rural Highway Mod]] being released concurrently with the June 2007 NAM, and the first release of the [[Street Addon Mod]] in September 2007.  Version 21 also marked the introduction of Draggable GLR, the first [[Override Network]], as well as the Avenue Roundabouts, Tram-in-Avenue, and Road Wide-Radius Curve puzzle pieces.
+
After a lengthy development cycle of more than 18 months, NAM 33 finally emerged as a pre-release build on July 29th, 2015.  The official release of NAM 33 went live on November 26, 2015, in time for Thanksgiving in the United States.
  
−
After Version 21, the team's personnel ranks expanded considerably.  The next release, Version 22, released January 1, 2008, was not released as a full NAM version, but rather, used an "update" package, through which the user could simply update their Version 21 files.  The subsequent Version 23 release returned to the full package paradigm, and brought several new traffic simulator options developed by {{member|jplumbley}} and {{member|mott}} to the NAM, reflecting the latest research.
+
In sharp contrast, and following with the team's renewed commitment to smaller, more rapidfire releases, NAM 34 was released on Christmas Day 2015.   
  
−
Beginning with Version 24 in January 2009, much of the new content being added to the NAM itself was by the very productive SFBT unit led by {{member|Chrisim}}, producing the [[Tram-Road Addon Mod]], [[Flexible Underpasses]], and [[URail]] content.  [[Fractional Angle]] Roads and Railroads, a project of {{member|dedgren}} and {{member|Tarkus}} also debuted here.  2009 would see 3 more NAM releases, in March (Version 25, concurrent with the initial [[Rail Addon Mod]] (RAM) release), June (Version 26, the first release of the [[Canal Addon Mod]]), and a small update in July (Version 27).  2009 also saw the inclusion of the first new Maxis Highway interchanges since 2005, courtesy of {{member|andreharv}}.
+
After somewhat longer release cycles for NAM 35 (2016) and NAM 36 (2017), the development of NAM 37 was a particularly long and protracted process, which took nearly 3 years of constant development and bugfixing until its official release in July [[2020]].  NAM 37 marks the debut of a new Java-based cross-platform installer, developed by {{member|daeley}} nearly a decade prior, greatly easing the process of installing the mod on macOS and Linux.
  
−
There were two releases in 2010, including Version 28 in May, which marked the introduction of the [[NAM Unified Traffic Simulator]] and related [[Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool]] (TSCT), the [[Turn Lane Extension Pieces]] (TuLEPS) and the initial offering of the long-awaited [[Network Widening Mod]] (NWM), followed by Version 29 in August.
+
Following the frustrations with the lengthy development cycle for NAM 37, the NAM Team decided to rededicate efforts to shorten release cycle timeframes, adopting something akin to an Agile development framework.  Since this change, which marked the beginning of the NAM's "Agile Era", NAM 38 was released a mere 2 months after NAM 37, on September 3, [[2020]], with NAM 39 released on December 3, [[2020]], only another 3 months out from that.  NAM 40 took a languid 4 months, releasing April 1, [[2021]], but was quickly superseded by NAM 41 the same month, on the 17th anniversary of the release of NAM 1. NAM 42 was released on August 24, [[2021]], and NAM 43 4 months later, on Christmas Eve 2021.
  
−
In September 2011, Version 30 was released, concurrent with RealHighway Version 5.0 and Network Widening Mod Version 2.0.
+
Going into [[2022]], which saw its first release of the year with NAM 44 on March 22, [[2022]], the NAM Team had substantially grown in size, from the mere skeleton crew from the later Monolithic Era, to a size approaching that of the late-00s.
  
−
The NAM Team decided earlier in 2011 to move away from the existing "Modular NAM" concept and toward adopting a "Monolithic NAM" paradigm.  Under the "Monolithic NAM", all previous major "external" NAM plugins, such as the [[RealHighway]], [[Network Widening Mod]], [[Rail Addon Mod]], [[High Speed Rail Project]], [[Street Addon Mod]] and [[Rural Roads Plugin]], will be merged into the NAM Core itself, simplifying the package considerably.  The 31st iteration of the NAM will mark the adoption of the new Monolithic NAM.
+
The second release of [[2023]], NAM 47, saw the introduction of the Draggable Classic PedMalls, a breakthrough upgrade to the Pedestrian functionality that allows access to RCI zones, the first new RHW networks since NAM 31, with the addition of the RHW-12S at ground, L1, and L2 elevations, and the X3 ramps for the RHW, among other features.
  
−
==Information==
+
== Technical Information ==
 
[[Image:Road.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A avenue/road interchange, released as part of a pre-NAM transit mod.]]
 
[[Image:Road.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A avenue/road interchange, released as part of a pre-NAM transit mod.]]
 
[[Image:Smoncrienewcrossings.jpg|thumb|right|250px|On-slope and double-height network [[puzzle piece]]s are some highly-anticipated components included in the past few NAM versions.]]
 
[[Image:Smoncrienewcrossings.jpg|thumb|right|250px|On-slope and double-height network [[puzzle piece]]s are some highly-anticipated components included in the past few NAM versions.]]
  
−
The NAM is a [[RUL]]-bound Plugin, in that it contains modified versions of the game's RUL Files, which control the placement and layout of transit items in-game. These RUL modifications are what allow for the numerous puzzle pieces, draggable additions and bridges that are possible with the NAM. The NAM Team serves as a community steward for the RUL files, ensuring that all RUL-bound transit content is compatible and interoperable.
+
The NAM is a [[RUL]]-bound Plugin, in that it contains modified versions of the game's RUL Files, which control the placement and layout of transit items in-game. These RUL modifications are what allow for the numerous puzzle pieces, draggable additions and bridges that are possible with the NAM. The NAM Team serves as a community steward for the RUL files, ensuring that all RUL-bound transit content is compatible and interoperable.
  
−
One of the other oft-mentioned features of the mod are the modifications to the Traffic Simulator. The current offering as of NAM Version 29 is the NAM Unified Traffic Simulator, developed by {{member|z}} over several years. This simulator plugin comes in several different capacity flavors (Classic, Low, Medium, High and Ultra) and can be further customized with the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool. It is specifically optimized for use with several NAM periphery plugins such as RealHighways and the Network Widening Mod, which require specific settings in order to function properly.
+
One of the other oft-mentioned features of the mod are the modifications to the Traffic Simulator. The current offering since NAM 28 is the NAM Unified Traffic Simulator, developed by {{member|z}} over several years. This simulator plugin comes in several different capacity flavors (Classic, Low, Medium, High and Ultra) and can be further customized with the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool. It is specifically optimized for use with several NAM periphery plugins such as RealHighways and the Network Widening Mod, which require specific settings in order to function properly.
  
−
==Members==
+
== Releases ==
−
For a full list of members see [[NAM/members|NAM Team]].
+
 
−
<DPL>category=NAM/members
+
===Founding Era===
−
shownamespace=false
+
*NAM 1: April 24, [[2004]]
−
order=ascending
+
*NAM 2: May 4, [[2004]]
−
count=20</dpl>
+
*NAM 3: June 4, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 4: June 12, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 5: June 19, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 6: July 2, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 7: July 6, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 8: July 13, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 9: July 18, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 10: August 14, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 11: September 4, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 12: October 28, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 13: November 15, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 14: November 29, [[2004]]
 +
*NAM 15: March 8, [[2005]]
 +
*NAM 16: June 8, [[2005]]
 +
*NAM 17: June 17, [[2005]]
 +
*NAM 18: July 25, [[2005]]
 +
*NAM 19: September 30, [[2005]]
 +
*NAM 20: December 24, [[2006]] (Due to distribution problems, NAM 20 was not readily available until January 2007.)
 +
 
 +
===Modular NAM Era===
 +
*NAM 21: June 1, [[2007]]
 +
*NAM 22: January 1, [[2008]]
 +
*NAM 23: April 24, [[2008]]
 +
*NAM 24: January 14, [[2009]]
 +
*NAM 25: March 7, [[2009]]
 +
*NAM 26: June 21, [[2009]]
 +
*NAM 27: July 18, [[2009]]
 +
*NAM 28: May 9, [[2010]]
 +
*NAM 29: August 14, [[2010]]
 +
*NAM 30: September 15, [[2011]]
 +
**Hotfix 301 for NAM 30: April 13, [[2012]]
 +
 
 +
===Monolithic NAM Era===
 +
*NAM 31: March 2, [[2013]] - all previous separate download component plugins merged into the NAM itself
 +
**NAM 31.1: April 16, [[2013]]
 +
**NAM 31.2: June 4, [[2013]]
 +
*NAM 32: January 14, [[2014]]
 +
**Pre-Release 1: December 19, [[2013]]
 +
**NAM 32.1 (Mac-only update): July 28, [[2014]]
 +
*NAM 33: November 26, [[2015]]
 +
**Pre-Release: July 29, [[2015]]
 +
*NAM 34: December 25, [[2015]]
 +
*NAM 35: November 5, [[2016]]
 +
*NAM 36: September 13, [[2017]]
 +
 
 +
===Agile NAM Era===
 +
*NAM 37: July 2, [[2020]]
 +
**Release Candidate: April 23/24, [[2020]]
 +
*NAM 38: September 3, [[2020]]
 +
*NAM 39: December 3, [[2020]]
 +
*NAM 40: April 1, [[2021]]
 +
*NAM 41: April 24, [[2021]]
 +
*NAM 42: August 24, [[2021]]
 +
*NAM 43: December 24, [[2021]]
 +
*NAM 44: March 22, [[2022]]
 +
*NAM 45: September [[2022]]
 +
*NAM 46: January [[2023]] (SC4 20th Anniversary)
 +
*NAM 47: March [[2023]]
 +
*NAM 48: January [[2024]]
  
−
==Plugins==
 
−
<!-- include the NAM plugins -->
 
−
*[[Ground Light Rail]] (GLR)
 
−
*[[RealHighway Mod]] (RHW)
 
−
*[[Street Addon Mod]] (SAM)
 
−
*[[High Speed Rail Project]] (HSRP)
 
−
*[[Rail Addon Mod]] (RAM)
 
−
*[[Canal Addon Mod]] (CAN-AM)
 
−
*[[Fractional Angle Project]]
 
−
*[[Flexible Underpasses]] (FLUPs)
 
−
*[[Network Widening Mod]] (NWM)
 
−
*[[Turning Lane Extension Pieces]] (TuLEP)
 
−
*[[Diagonal Bridge Enabler]] (DBE)
 
−
*[[Signage Piece Mod]] (SPM) (unreleased)
 
  
 +
== Notes ==
 
{{LTT |type=Certified Team & Project |link=http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?board=90.0 |site=SC4D}}
 
{{LTT |type=Certified Team & Project |link=http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?board=90.0 |site=SC4D}}
−
 
+
{{NAM}}[[Category:NAM]][[category:Teams|NAM]]
−
{{NAM}}
 
−
[[Category:NAM]][[category:Teams|NAM]]
 
 
{{navbox/WORLD}}
 
{{navbox/WORLD}}

Latest revision as of 01:16, 23 May 2024

Network Addon Mod
LogoAsmall.jpg
Link
NAM Plugin
General Information
Credits See NAM Team
Status Released (Version 47 (March 27, 2023))
Project Threads NAM Place at SC4Devotion
Language English

The Network Addon Mod (NAM) is a mod improving and expanding upon the functionality of the SimCity 4 transit networks, produced by the NAM Team. The most recent stable version, Version 47, was released on March 27, 2023.

For information on the current release of the NAM and where to download go to NAM Plugin. For NAM User Guide pages which are up to date with the latest NAM release go to the online NAM Documentation.

Plugins

Development History

The NAM project was founded by redlotus, the7trumpets and Tropod, part of Modd Squad Transport (now the NAM Team) in 2004, with Version 1 being released on April 24, 2004. Tropod headed up most of the early development on the project, earning him the moniker "Mr. NAM", up until the Version 19 release in October 2005. In its initial form, it largely consisted of a series of bugfixes and a variety of Traffic Simulator plugin options to improve pathfinding, as well as a few new transit items. As the mod progressed, the focus shifted toward the creation of new transit items, beginning with the viaduct overpass puzzle pieces and new interchanges for Maxis Highways. Going into 2005, the Ground Light Rail (GLR) system was added, as well as several new draggable items, including Diagonal Streets, the Road, One-Way Road and Street Roundabout Plugins, and the Road and Avenue Turning Lane Plugins, as well as the Elevated Rail-above-Road dual-network puzzle pieces.

Between October 2005 and the end of 2006, the project went into a hiatus from public activity, but was revived by several SFBT members, including memo, Andreas, GoaSkin, and ArkenbergeJoe, along with a few other prior team members, resulting in the release of Version 20 in December 2006, which introduced the Diagonal Street Helper Pieces (the first instance of a WAVERide setup), and the URail system.

With Version 21, the June 2007 release, the NAM was "modularized", separating the main RUL Files that made the mod function out into a separate NAM Controller file. This was done in order to prevent various conflicts that had occurred, such as the NAM Version 20/RHW Version 1.2 conflict in early 2007, and to allow for easier updating of NAM Plugins. This also marked the start of the NAM Optional Plugins program, beginning with Version 1.3b of the then-Rural Highway Mod being released concurrently with the June 2007 NAM, and the first release of the Street Addon Mod in September 2007. Version 21 also marked the introduction of Draggable GLR, the first Override Network, as well as the Avenue Roundabouts, Tram-in-Avenue, and Road Wide-Radius Curve puzzle pieces.

After Version 21, the team's personnel ranks expanded considerably. The next release, Version 22, released January 1, 2008, was not released as a full NAM version, but rather, used an "update" package, through which the user could simply update their Version 21 files. The subsequent Version 23 release returned to the full package paradigm, and brought several new traffic simulator options developed by jplumbley and mott to the NAM, reflecting the latest research.

Beginning with Version 24 in January 2009, much of the new content being added to the NAM itself was by the very productive SFBT unit led by Chrisim, producing the Tram-Road Addon Mod, Flexible Underpasses, and URail content. Fractional Angle Roads and Railroads, a project of dedgren and Tarkus also debuted here. 2009 would see 3 more NAM releases, in March (Version 25, concurrent with the initial Rail Addon Mod (RAM) release), June (Version 26, the first release of the Canal Addon Mod), and a small update in July (Version 27). 2009 also saw the inclusion of the first new Maxis Highway interchanges since 2005, courtesy of andreharv.

There were two releases in 2010, including Version 28 in May, which marked the introduction of the NAM Unified Traffic Simulator and related Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool (TSCT), the Turn Lane Extension Pieces (TuLEPS) and the initial offering of the long-awaited Network Widening Mod (NWM), followed by Version 29 in August.

In September 2011, Version 30 was released, concurrent with RealHighway Version 5.0 and Network Widening Mod Version 2.0.

The NAM Team decided earlier in 2011 to move away from the existing "Modular NAM" concept and toward adopting a "Monolithic NAM" paradigm for NAM Version 31. After the "Monolithic NAM" was implemented, all previous major "external" NAM plugins, such as the RealHighway, Network Widening Mod, Rail Addon Mod, High Speed Rail Project, Street Addon Mod and Rural Roads Plugin, were merged into the NAM Core itself, simplifying the package considerably.

For the first and only time, the NAM Team announced a release date for NAM 31, of March 1st, 2013. The release actually reached the LEX and STEX on March 2nd. Due to the radical changes of NAM 31, the NAM Team released a "NAM 31.1" and "NAM 31.2" to fix up the problems found in the initial release.

For the NAM 32 cycle, the team decided to implement a public pre-release system, in order to subject the mod to a broader series of tests. The first pre-release build of NAM 32, Pre-Release 1 (PR1) was made available on December 19th, 2013. The pre-release process helped the team polish the resultant full release, which came out less than a month later, on January 14th, 2014.

A Mac-only NAM 32.1 release was issued on July 28, 2014, designed to address the crash-to-desktop issues that affected some critical NAM components on the Aspyr port of SC4, which had previously led the NAM Team to drop Mac support after NAM 29. No other features were added or updated as part of that release.

After a lengthy development cycle of more than 18 months, NAM 33 finally emerged as a pre-release build on July 29th, 2015. The official release of NAM 33 went live on November 26, 2015, in time for Thanksgiving in the United States.

In sharp contrast, and following with the team's renewed commitment to smaller, more rapidfire releases, NAM 34 was released on Christmas Day 2015.

After somewhat longer release cycles for NAM 35 (2016) and NAM 36 (2017), the development of NAM 37 was a particularly long and protracted process, which took nearly 3 years of constant development and bugfixing until its official release in July 2020. NAM 37 marks the debut of a new Java-based cross-platform installer, developed by daeley nearly a decade prior, greatly easing the process of installing the mod on macOS and Linux.

Following the frustrations with the lengthy development cycle for NAM 37, the NAM Team decided to rededicate efforts to shorten release cycle timeframes, adopting something akin to an Agile development framework. Since this change, which marked the beginning of the NAM's "Agile Era", NAM 38 was released a mere 2 months after NAM 37, on September 3, 2020, with NAM 39 released on December 3, 2020, only another 3 months out from that. NAM 40 took a languid 4 months, releasing April 1, 2021, but was quickly superseded by NAM 41 the same month, on the 17th anniversary of the release of NAM 1. NAM 42 was released on August 24, 2021, and NAM 43 4 months later, on Christmas Eve 2021.

Going into 2022, which saw its first release of the year with NAM 44 on March 22, 2022, the NAM Team had substantially grown in size, from the mere skeleton crew from the later Monolithic Era, to a size approaching that of the late-00s.

The second release of 2023, NAM 47, saw the introduction of the Draggable Classic PedMalls, a breakthrough upgrade to the Pedestrian functionality that allows access to RCI zones, the first new RHW networks since NAM 31, with the addition of the RHW-12S at ground, L1, and L2 elevations, and the X3 ramps for the RHW, among other features.

Technical Information

A avenue/road interchange, released as part of a pre-NAM transit mod.
On-slope and double-height network puzzle pieces are some highly-anticipated components included in the past few NAM versions.

The NAM is a RUL-bound Plugin, in that it contains modified versions of the game's RUL Files, which control the placement and layout of transit items in-game. These RUL modifications are what allow for the numerous puzzle pieces, draggable additions and bridges that are possible with the NAM. The NAM Team serves as a community steward for the RUL files, ensuring that all RUL-bound transit content is compatible and interoperable.

One of the other oft-mentioned features of the mod are the modifications to the Traffic Simulator. The current offering since NAM 28 is the NAM Unified Traffic Simulator, developed by z over several years. This simulator plugin comes in several different capacity flavors (Classic, Low, Medium, High and Ultra) and can be further customized with the Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool. It is specifically optimized for use with several NAM periphery plugins such as RealHighways and the Network Widening Mod, which require specific settings in order to function properly.

Releases

Founding Era

  • NAM 1: April 24, 2004
  • NAM 2: May 4, 2004
  • NAM 3: June 4, 2004
  • NAM 4: June 12, 2004
  • NAM 5: June 19, 2004
  • NAM 6: July 2, 2004
  • NAM 7: July 6, 2004
  • NAM 8: July 13, 2004
  • NAM 9: July 18, 2004
  • NAM 10: August 14, 2004
  • NAM 11: September 4, 2004
  • NAM 12: October 28, 2004
  • NAM 13: November 15, 2004
  • NAM 14: November 29, 2004
  • NAM 15: March 8, 2005
  • NAM 16: June 8, 2005
  • NAM 17: June 17, 2005
  • NAM 18: July 25, 2005
  • NAM 19: September 30, 2005
  • NAM 20: December 24, 2006 (Due to distribution problems, NAM 20 was not readily available until January 2007.)

Modular NAM Era

  • NAM 21: June 1, 2007
  • NAM 22: January 1, 2008
  • NAM 23: April 24, 2008
  • NAM 24: January 14, 2009
  • NAM 25: March 7, 2009
  • NAM 26: June 21, 2009
  • NAM 27: July 18, 2009
  • NAM 28: May 9, 2010
  • NAM 29: August 14, 2010
  • NAM 30: September 15, 2011
    • Hotfix 301 for NAM 30: April 13, 2012

Monolithic NAM Era

  • NAM 31: March 2, 2013 - all previous separate download component plugins merged into the NAM itself
    • NAM 31.1: April 16, 2013
    • NAM 31.2: June 4, 2013
  • NAM 32: January 14, 2014
    • Pre-Release 1: December 19, 2013
    • NAM 32.1 (Mac-only update): July 28, 2014
  • NAM 33: November 26, 2015
    • Pre-Release: July 29, 2015
  • NAM 34: December 25, 2015
  • NAM 35: November 5, 2016
  • NAM 36: September 13, 2017

Agile NAM Era

  • NAM 37: July 2, 2020
    • Release Candidate: April 23/24, 2020
  • NAM 38: September 3, 2020
  • NAM 39: December 3, 2020
  • NAM 40: April 1, 2021
  • NAM 41: April 24, 2021
  • NAM 42: August 24, 2021
  • NAM 43: December 24, 2021
  • NAM 44: March 22, 2022
  • NAM 45: September 2022
  • NAM 46: January 2023 (SC4 20th Anniversary)
  • NAM 47: March 2023
  • NAM 48: January 2024


Notes

The Certified Team & Project that this article is about can be found here on SC4D.

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