RealHighway
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The Rural Highway Mod, or as it is perhaps better known, the RHW, is a modification produced by the NAM Team, currently headed up by Tarkus. The RHW is optional component to the Network Addon Mod, released separately, and hence requires the NAM as a dependency. It enables a completely new network that Maxis left unfinished (known internally as DirtRoad), formerly part of the NAM ANT Plugin. Through Override Technology, wider variations of this network, often allowing increased capacity, can be created through draggable means, along with Modular Interchange System (MIS) ramp segments.
In spite of its name, it has expanded from merely being a network for strictly rural usage to a largely modular, all-purpose highway. As a result, there have been calls to change the name of the project for years now, but the name has essentially "stuck" in spite of those, with various team members over time advising the public to "imagine the 'R' stands for something else".
The most recent version, Version 20, was released on January 1, 2008.
Contents
Project History
The RHW project was started by qurlix and nooneatall in August 2005, with an initial "public alpha" release, Version 12, coming in November that same year. (The version numbering for the RHW is rather unusual, and only beginning with Version 20 has it become directly sequential.) qurlix had also planned a couple of other releases at various points, Version 15 and Version 17, but neither was ever finished.
Tarkus became involved in the project in September 2006, and took over the project in March 2007 after qurlix's departure from the community, releasing a small update, Version 13 in April, largely to address compatibility issues between the December 2006 NAM release and RHW Version 12, something which the unreleased Version 17 was originally intended to fix. With the release of Version 13b in June 2007, the RHW became an official NAM Team project.
For the Version 20 release, the RULs for the mod were completely re-written to change the RHW from a "side-by-side" override to a Starter Piece setup, coinciding with the incorporation of the Modular Interchange System, which allowed for true RHW interchanges for the first time. During Version 20 development, Tarkus expanded the project development team to include texture artists rickmastfan67 and Shadow Assassin (who had provided some graphical work for Version 13a and 13b), and Big Dig modeler blahdy, but all three of them left during 2008.
A new version, Version 21, is currently in development, with no definite release date set. At this point in development it is expected to include highways ranging from RHW-2 to at least RHW-10, and possibly wider, and also much additional functionalty and expandability. Tarkus also intends to include a new, more realistic American texture set for RHW Version 21, with much darker pavement, no reflectors on the pavement, and much shorter dashed lines. smoncrie and alidonkey, the latter having been an occasional contributor since early 2007, have joined the development team. Swamper77 will also be further involved in a modeling capacity.
Basic Network Characteristics
The RHW network is a Highway-type Network, which means it does not allow access to RCI Zones. Due to the "unfinished" state Maxis left it in, it does not have Tunnel capability (One-Way Roads, Avenues or Maxis Highways must be used for workarounds), nor can it show up on the Regional Transportation View. Both of these functionality gaps are the result of hardcoding, and thus, cannot be fixed. RHWs can also be bulldozed using the Dezone tool, much like Streets. It is also a 1-tile network, the only such Highway-type network, which makes it particularly conducive to producing Override Networks.
There was at one time an Underground RHW proposed as a solution to this problem, but that component has remained dormant since April 2007.
In the current Version 20 release, bridges are not possible, but smoncrie has developed several for both the RHW-2 and RHW-4 networks, which will be included in the Version 21 release.
RHW-2
The base network the RHW Network Tool produces is known as the RHW-2 (RHW, 2-lane). It is a 1-tile, 2-lane, 2-way network, much like the Road network, but with a higher capacity and speed. The increase in capacity and speed is dependent on the Traffic Plugin one has installed, but it is generally about twice that of a road. (The "A" and "B" simulators are recommended for RHW users.)
RHW-4
The RHW-4 is an Override Network of the base RHW-2 network, utilizing a Puzzle-Drag Override to transform the RHW-2, into a 1-tile, 2-lane, 1-way network. It is known as the RHW-4 because the full width of both directions is 4 lanes over 2 tiles, but because it is based on a 1-tile network, the two halves of a full RHW-4 do not need to be adjacent, and can be split, to allow Variable Width Medians, unlike Maxis Highways (without the cumbersome Multi-Highway technique). It has twice the capacity of an RHW-2.
Also unlike the Maxis Highways, the RHW-4 can have at-grade intersections with other networks, in addition to allowing for grade-separated interchanges using the Modular Interchange System (MIS) interface ramps. In Version 20, orthogonal at-grade intersections with Road, Street, Rail, and RHW-2 are available, and GLR at-grade crossings are made possible by a puzzle piece. Drawing a street on the inside of an RHW-4 causes it to turn into an Emergency Turnaround Lane.
RHW-6S
The RHW-6S is just like the RHW-4, except that it takes up an additional two tiles in width, and has an extra lane per direction, fitting 6 lanes on 4 tiles. The capacity of the RHW-6S, due to how the paths are situated, is exactly the same as the RHW-4, and its primary purpose is as "functional eyecandy" to allow for realistic acceleration/deceleration lanes at interchanges. In this regard, it is not a "true" wider network. Its only interaction with other networks is through grade-separated interchanges (with the MIS), and with Overpasses.
In Version 20, it is an Orthogonal-only network, though diagonal functionality is expected in Version 21.
Future Networks
There are several other RHW-type networks that are currently in development, that are not in Version 20. They are expected to arrive in subsequent versions, in some form.
RHW-6C
The RHW-6C is a 6-lane, 3-tile network, not available in the current Version 20 release. Due to how it occupies its space, it is a "true" wider network, having a capacity 3 times that of the RHW-2, and 1.5 times that of the RHW-4. Using the NAM "A" and "B" simulators, it also has a capacity 1.5 times greater than the Maxis Highways.
Unlike the RHW-4 and RHW-6S, it will not be possible to separate to allow for Variable Width Medians with the RHW-6C. Due to the complexity of the diagonals for a non-separable network, it is unlikely that Diagonal 6C functionality will be added at any point.
RHW-3
The RHW-3 is an Override network, built on the same principles as the RHW-6, but allowing two-way traffic, much like a 2+1 Road in Europe, or climbing lanes on mountainous highways. It is the RHW equivalent of the ARD-3 from the NWM project.
RHW-8
The RHW-8 is a "true" wider network, not currently available in Version 20. In its full form, it will be an 8-lane, 4-tile network, with 4 times the capacity of an RHW-2, 2 times the capacity of the RHW-4, and 1.33 times the capacity of an RHW-6C.
At one point, there was also an RHW-8C planned, which would have been situated on 3 tiles, like the RHW-6C. A prototype of this network was shown in August 2007 in the RHW thread at SC4D. However, it has since been canceled.
RHW-10
The RHW-10 is the widest RHW network, consisting of 10 lanes over 4 tiles. It has the same capacity as an RHW-8, and thus, is more or less functional eyecandy.
Ultra-Wide RHWs
As of this writing, there are no current plans to take the RHW network wider than the RHW-10. Any network, if it were to be created, would probably have to be limited to orthogonal-only usage, due to the size of the network (at least 5 tiles), and the complexity of diagonal RULs.
Elevated and Double-Decker RHWs
Elevated and Double-Decker versions of the RHW networks (including the MIS) have been in development for some time, and will be included in a future release of the mod.
Multi-RHW Technique
Wider RHWs can also be made using the Multi-RHW technique first developed by Haljackey, which essentially involves putting two one-way RHWs (usually RHW-4 or RHW-6S) in the same direction, side by side. Although this creates 8 lanes (or possibly more) in each direction, the networks are still separate RHW-4s, and must be linked together to work properly. A Multi-RHW is a great way to make a collector/express system in SC4 that many real life highways use.
Prior the version 20 release, the Multi-RHW was possible, but very difficult to make due to the fact that the RHW-4 was built using a Side-by-Side Override. This would often result in some parts of the Multi-RHW going in opposite directions and was a pain to correct. With the switch to the starter piece system included with version 20, Multi-RHWs can now be dragged without any worry of changing direction, making them much easier to construct.
For more information about the Multi-RHW, see Multi highway.
Additional Modifications
Shadow Assassin has released a popular Euro Texture Set for the RHW, and mrtnrln has released a series of prop additions as part of his RHW Addon Mod.
History of Releases
- Version 12 (November 16, 2005)
- Version 13 (April 14, 2007)
- Version 13a (April 28, 2007)
- Version 13b (June 1, 2007)
- Version 20 (January 1, 2008)
- Version 21 (In Development)
RHW Development Team & Contributors
Current (Version 21)
- Alidonkey(Development/Textures: 2007-2008, Version 20-21)
- Andreas (Packaging: 2007-2008, Version 13-21)
- ardecila (Development/Textures: 2008, Version 21)
- burgsabre87 (Props/Textures: 2005-2008, Version 12-21)
- dedgren (Textures: 2008, Version 21)
- ebina (LHD Pathing: 2008, Version 21)
- jplumbley (Development: 2007-2008, Version 20-21)
- Tarkus (Lead Development/Textures: 2006-2008, Version 13-21)
- smoncrie (Development: 2008, Version 21)
- Swamper77 (Development/Models: 2007-2008, Version 20-21)
- videosean (Textures: 2008, Version 21)
Testing
Former
- blahdy (Models: 2007-2008)
- Filasimo (Packaging: 2007, Version 20)
- mjig_dudy (Textures: 2007)
- nooneatall (Textures: 2005, Version 12)
- qurlix (Development: 2005-2007, Version 12)
- rickmastfan67 (Textures: 2007-2008, Version 20)
- Shadow Assassin (Development/Textures: 2007-2008, Version 13a-20)
- Zeddic (Textures/Packaging: 2005, Version 12)
Original ANT Plugin Reintegration
Current Development Thread at SC4D
See also
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