NAM/Puzzle Pieces

A list of Puzzle Pieces in the NAM (originally found in the NAM read-me)

Other Info

More puzzle pieces may [or may not] be added with future updates.

Each of the different Menu Buttons for these Puzzle Pieces works by using the HOME/END and TAB key(s) on your keyboard. HOME/END rotates the Puzzle Piece on the cursor [where possible], and TAB (&/or SHIFT+TAB) cycles through the different Puzzle Pieces that belongs to that menu button item. When you TAB from one Puzzle Piece to another, the type of Puzzle Piece is displayed in the TEXT on the cursor itself [where possible]. Puzzle Pieces must be built manually from the Menu.

So what are Puzzle Pieces?

(Please note: That there are some exceptions to the following section. Typical Puzzle Piece placement rules as described & depicted further below do not apply to every single Puzzle Piece item. Some Puzzle Piece based items may differ slightly in their placement &/or use due to their design. The following section is only meant as a guide.)

Puzzle Pieces are essentially like jigsaw puzzles; many smaller pieces making up a bigger picture. Puzzle Pieces came about as a result of Overpasses, from the previous section. With Overpasses you are restricted to having an Overpass at a set length, with the overpass only passing over one network. With using Puzzle Pieces though this set length can be overcome; and you can now build extended Overpasses [extended overpasses must be built manually using the Puzzle Pieces]. You can also have two or more networks, whether they’re the same or not, going underneath extended overpass(es); these too must be built manually using the Puzzle Pieces. Puzzle Pieces now also have raised intersections, which should increase their flexibility even more.

Puzzle Pieces can typically be placed on uneven &/or unlevel terrain; including placing Puzzle Pieces next to each other on uneven/unlevel terrain. The more level the terrain is though, the less the Puzzle Piece Model has to conform to the terrain, thus giving a much better visual look. This also includes being able to place Puzzle Pieces on water (any Puzzle Pieces placed on water will still function properly & carry commuters, as long as everything is linked up properly). Note: That this is by design that this is possible.

Intersection-Based Puzzle Pieces: Where there exists Intersection Puzzle Pieces like “Road x Road/OneWayRoad”, this is an Intersection Puzzle Piece aimed at and primarily for Road + Intersection, but is compatible & will work with OneWayRoad Puzzle Piece connections. Where there exists Intersection Puzzle Pieces like “Avenue x Road/OneWayRoad”, this is an Intersection Puzzle Piece primarily for Avenue intersection, and is aimed for use with Road &/or OneWayRoad Puzzle Piece connections. In other words, these intersection-based puzzle pieces are flexible. Because of this flexibility though, some minor oddities may occur (please see Technical Notes for more details regarding path oddities).

How To Use Puzzle Pieces?

Most Puzzle Pieces had to be made in a very particular way. For this reason some people may have a little trouble using them sometimes. There is a particular method in which Puzzle Pieces must generally be used, otherwise they may not function properly as intended. Puzzle Pieces that have a dual network, for example Road over Road Puzzle Piece &/or Road over Avenue Puzzle Piece, must typically be placed on top of an existing section of the network in order to implement and use them in the game properly. This is something that may take some practice, a little patience, and some trial and error to do.

Auto-Resolving & how it can help

Because some Puzzle Piece network buttons, especially OneWayRoad Puzzle Piece menu button, contain numerous items on the Home/End keys, trying to find the item you want for a given situation can be impractical. Auto-Resolving helps overcome this impracticality (thanks to Maxis!). Auto-resolving occurs when hovering the cursor of an interchange-based related item, such as Puzzle Pieces or interchange items, over existing sections of (non-reserved) network & Tabbing &/or Cycling through the different items attached to an Interchange-Based Related Menu Button. The game will automatically resolve only appropriate possible items for a given network in a given situation, when pressing the Tab &/or Home/End keyboard keys. Puzzle Pieces involving a two-tiled network, such as avenue & ground highway, may require the cursor be moved across the two-tiled area of the network when using the Home/End keys to access any/all of the possible configurations an item contains. There are some exceptions to this Auto-Resolving ability for some items, which typically depends on an items internal design. If in doubt, please experiment.

Diagonal-Based Puzzle Pieces

Many of the Network Puzzle Piece Menu Buttons &/or items now contain their Diagonal equivalent. In order to access Diagonal Puzzle Pieces, select a Puzzle Piece menu item & use the Home/End keyboard keys to rotate an item (where applicable). Note that not all items contain a Diagonal equivalent.

The same “How To Use” principles described above & depicted below apply to Diagonal-Based Puzzle Pieces, as they do with normal (straight-based) Puzzle Pieces. Diagonal-Based Puzzle Pieces though may take a little bit more practice, patience, and trial and error to fully utilise. Please note that all of the Diagonal-Based Puzzle Pieces have specifically been made the way they are for a reason - their (unorthodox) design makes them much more interchangeable with each other & all the rest of the puzzle pieces, thus making them much more versatile.

The following tries to illustrate how Puzzle Pieces must be used in order for them to work properly as intended:

You must have 3 Tiles of Street laid down already before you build the Road over Street Puzzle Piece. It must be done like this. With Puzzle Pieces that are 1x2, 2x1, or 2x2 etc tiles, the arrangement & set-up may be a little different but the same principles as this apply.

OneWayRoad Puzzle Pieces

Because OneWayRoad Puzzle Pieces flow of traffic only travels in any one direction, using them is a little different from other Puzzle Pieces. The same principles above apply to OneWayRoad Puzzle Pieces. The only difference is the Starting & Ending Pieces. If you use “OneWayRoad Starting Piece - ON” on one end of an extended overpass, you must use “OneWayRoad Ending Piece - OFF” on the other end of the extended overpass.

Many of the OneWayRoad Puzzle Pieces now contain Directional Arrows to assist with their placement & general use. OneWayRoad Puzzle Pieces should be placed & linked together according to these Directional Arrows, where applicable, in order for them to work & function properly. Fail to do so may result with whole sections of raised OneWayRoad Puzzle Pieces not working properly at all.

The following gives an example illustration on how this should be done with OneWayRoad Puzzle Pieces in order for them to work properly as intended:

GLR Puzzle Pieces

Ground Light Rail (GLR) Puzzle Pieces are basically Elevated Rail tracks on ground level. Use the Elevated to Ground Light Rail transition to connect both. Since the NAM doesn't contain lots, you have to install GLR stations separately. vester_DK has created a list of all available GLR stations in the Simtropolis forums.

Draggable GLR

Draggable GLR can be used similar like the in-game network tools. You have to place a special starter puzzle piece first that will indicate the direction of the draggable GLR. Use the in-game el-rail tool for dragging GLR tracks. Please note: Due to certain restrictions, the preview still shows up in the same height as the el-rail tracks. At the moment, this cannot be changed. With draggable GLR, you have almost the same liberties as with any other draggable network. For some special cases it's still necessary to use puzzle pieces, though, such as a GLR x El-Rail intersection.

The existing GLR stations need to be updated for placing them directly onto draggable GLR. A patch with updated files is available as a separate download. There's no need to bulldoze the existing GLR network or existing stations in your city, and the patch won't affect stations that have been placed already, however you might want to update your GLR setup to draggable GLR anyway, since it's more flexible and less prone to crashes. You can connect GLR puzzle pieces and draggable GLR with the starter puzzle pieces (which also serve as transition pieces) at any time.

Limitations

Puzzle Pieces currently have some limitations &/or known issues with them, and are as follows:

The Data View Map Congestions & Data View Map Volume Traffic Overlays do not always appear fully on all the different Puzzle Pieces (there is a reason for this). They will still show up in the Data View Map itself though.