Bridges

Bridges are a subset of Transit Networks and apply mainly to vehicular travel. Technically power lines can form a bridge (the model switches to show the yellow orbs) but for the present purposes of this article, only networks which move Sims will be discussed. They are used by the game to traverse bodies of water, or even land if the bridge is high enough. All of the standard game transit networks, with the exception of Streets and One-Way Roads can create bridges. With developments in the NAM, it is now possible to create bridges for any transit network that is contained in the Bridge Controller file in the NAM.

Types of Bridges

Standard Game

Bridges listed in alphabetical order by name.

Bridge Name	Image	Road	Street	Avenue	Highway	Rail
Cable Stayed	http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9781/cablestayedavenuebridgezf0.jpg	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Cantilevered Truss	http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5076/canteleveredbridgegamech9.jpg	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Covered Bridge	http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/6302/coveredbridgegamebt9.jpg	Yes	No	No	No	No
Golden Gate	http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5108/goldengatehighwaybridgeus6.jpg	No	No	No	Yes	No
Long Suspension	http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/2353/longsusupensionavenuebruo9.jpg	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Large Steel Arch	http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7017/steelarchavenuebridgegand9.jpg	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Medium Suspension	http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4817/mediumsuspensionbridgegia9.jpg	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Over deck Truss	http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/807/overdecktrussbridgegametw1.jpg	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Plain/Level Road	http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/3407/levelroadbridgegameuw8.jpg	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Raised Road	http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/2192/raisedroadbridgegamere9.jpg	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Stone Arch	http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/3320/stonearchbridgegameyl4.jpg	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Small Steel Arch	http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/1860/steelarchbridgegamedw6.jpg	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Under Truss	http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/682/undertrussbridgegamerh5.jpg	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Custom Made

Listed Alphabetically by name

Road

• Covered Wooden Bridge - threestooges
• CSX Bridge - Kwanyoni - Colyn
• Dusktrooper Road Bridge - DuskTrooper
• Garabit Viaduct - paulvmontfort
• Garabit Viaduct Green Version - Modelled: paulvmontfort; Modded: Jeronij
• Krummbach Bridge (Road Version) - Jeronij
• Old Road Bridge - Jeronij

Street

• Rural Street and Rail Bridge - Jeronij

Rail

• Metal Arch Rail Bridge - Fukuda
• Metal Pylon Rail Bridge - Fukuda
• Modern Rail Bridge - Jeronij
• Rural Street and Rail Bridge - Jeronij
• Warzone Bridge - Jeronij

Avenue

• Millau Viaduct - Fukuda
• Plain Avenue Bridge - Tropod

One-Way Road

• Plain One-Way Road Bridge - Tropod

Highway

• Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge - Fukuda
• Tsing Ma Bridge (Hong Kong) Single Deck - Jeronij

RealHighway Mod (RHW)

• Plain RHW-2 Bridge - smoncrie
• Plain RHW-4 Bridge - smoncrie
• Steel Arch RHW-4 Bridge - smoncrie

High Speed Rail

• GHSR by Jeronij
• HSR Bridge by Jeronij

Modelling

Main article: Tutorial:Bridge Modeling

A bridge is essentially composed of three pieces:

• A Start/End Piece (automatically reversed when drawn in game)
• A Support Piece (is what extends to the surface to support the bridge)
• A Repeat Piece (fills in the gaps between the Start/End and Support pieces)

Each bridge piece can be modelled in the BAT and must be rendered with a specific and unique ID. The Model Exemplar that is attached to the model will define what type of bridge it will be used with. A tutorial for the creation of basic, three piece bridges can be found at SC4Devotion. The creation of more complex bridges, like suspension bridges, involves the use of RULs.

The LODs for the bridge may be as wide as necessary, but may only be 16m (one game tile) long. They should be rendered with xy coordinates of 0,0. If the LOD covers the roadbed, it will obscure the vehicles using the bridge so care must be taken when designing bridges with parts above the roadbed. A bridge that wishes to include sections longer than 16m must break the section into 16m segments. For example: if you have a Start/End piece that is 32m long, it must be rendered as two separate 16m long models, each with its own ID. They will then be modded as Start/End pieces in the Reader.

Hint: A bridge can be built, carry commuters, and still not be visible. This would indicate a GroupID and/or InstanceID problem with the files involved, and/or possibly a S3D file problem.

Modding

To Be Written