Network Widening Mod
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The Network Widening Mod (NWM) is a transit mod produced by the NAM Team, consisting of a series of Override Networks, which are wider variants of the existing in-game networks, extending the RHW concept to Car-Based Surface Networks. The project was initially conceived in December 2006 by jplumbley, Tarkus, Ryan B. and beskhu3epnm. After a 3 1/2 year development cycle, it was initially released on May 9, 2010. The current iteration, Version 2.0, was released on September 15, 2011. The next version will be merged into the Network Addon Mod itself rather than being a separate-download NAM-linked plugin, as part of the "Monolithic NAM" initiative.
The project was on hiatus for an extended period of time through much of 2007 and 2008, due to several NAM components needing an overhaul to handle the NWM, and Tarkus and jplumbley being occupied with the RHW and SAM, respectively. This cast doubt on the future of the NWM for a considerable period of time. However, development recommenced privately in 2009 with superhands from the RAM Team coming on board to collaborate with Tarkus. The results of their efforts were first displayed in a re-opened NWM development thread at SC4 Devotion in March 2010. Version 2.0 marked the inclusion of the triple-tile 6-lane Avenue (AVE-6) and 7-lane Turning Lane Avenue (TLA-7), as well as the single-tile 4-lane Narrow Medianless Avenue (NMAVE-4).
Contents
Basic Network Characteristics
The NWM networks are all Override Networks, using Starter Piece Technology and extending on the Road and One-Way Road networks, both Surface-type Networks. They do allow for direct access to RCI Zones. In order to function properly, the NWM, upon its release, will require the use of the NAM Unified Traffic Simulator. There are 13 networks in the current release, including 6 single-tile networks, 5 dual-tile networks, and 2 triple-tile networks. These comprise 5 basic network types, as outlined below.
Turning Lane Avenues (TLAs)
Turning Lane Avenues (TLAs) are Road-based, despite the name. They incorporate a median left-turn lane to allow for left-turning motions across the roadway without interrupting through traffic flow. In the case of multi-tile TLAs, this allows for traffic to access zones on either side of the network.
TLA-Type Networks
Single Tile: TLA-3
Dual Tile: TLA-5
Triple Tile: TLA-7
Avenues (AVEs)
NWM Avenues (AVEs) are Road-based, much like the TLAs. Like the default Avenue network that comes with the game, NWM Avenues feature a raised and landscaped median.
AVE-Type Networks
Single Tile: AVE-2
Triple Tile: AVE-6
Asymmetrical Roads (ARDs)
Asymmetrical Roads are Road-based, are medianless and feature an asymmetrical lane configuration. So far, only one ARD network has been seen.
ARD-Type Networks
Single Tile: ARD-3
A dual-tile ARD-4 (in a 3+1 lane configuration) has been rumored for eventual inclusion.
Medianless Avenues (MAVEs)
Medianless Avenues are Road-based and are effectively Avenues without medians. In the next release that will be part of the "Monolithic NAM", the MAVE networks will be renamed as "Road" (RD) networks, in order to eliminate potential confusion between the MAVE and AVE networks and better align the nomenclature with Maxis network naming.
MAVE-Type Networks
Single Tile: Narrow MAVE-4 (will become Narrow Road-4)
Dual Tile: MAVE-4, MAVE-6 (will become Road-4, Road-6)
One-Way Roads (OWRs)
The NWM also includes additional width varieties of the game's default One-Way Road network, ranging from 1 to 5 lanes. There have been discussions of eventually converting the OWR-1 to a Street-based network to give it its own, separate capacity, and an OWR-6 has been rumored.
OWR-Type Networks
Single Tile: OWR-1, OWR-3
Dual Tile: OWR-4, OWR-5
NWM Development Team & Contributors
Current
Former
See Also
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