[REL] Better Roads (0.8)

[oppie]

Recently I've been getting into Locomotion again, and I couldn't stay away from modding. I've always regarded Locomotion as having a digital model railroad, but one of the things that has always bothered me is that the cities/towns look really lifeless - partially because of the monotony of the buildings, but also partially because the roads are really uninteresting and don't even have sidewalks.

So, I took it upon myself to create something better. I'm still in the premature stages of planning everything out, but I've gotten to the point where I can at least show you a screenshot. The following screenshot showcases three new road types: a basic road with sidewalks, a double wide avenue (using one-way roads) and a highway (on the bridge).

Changelog
BetterRoads 0.5
- Added Highways
- Added On/Offramps
BetterRoads 0.8
- Added Avenues

Known Issues
- Cities will sometimes use the road without sidewalk as their main 'non-dirt road'
- Cities will build houses along the highway and on/offramps
- Bus stops can be built on the highways and on/offrams

Limitations
- Due to the way one-way roads work in Locomotion, there are limits to what kind of intersections you can accomplish with the avenues.

[hayeswood]

Can't wait to start using your roads looks very good

[MjD]

Looks very good oppie, glad to see your back doing some modding after all these years.

MjD

[Manuel18]

Looks good .. I had actually i had a "4th Electric Rail Project" and a "ATO track project"

[oppie]

Thanks everyone! I'll hopefully be able to release the first two road types by tomorrow. The screenshot below shows all the pieces available:


Furthermore, here's a little teaser for the next phase; a more realistic highway. I wish I'd be able to make the onramps less wide, but that's a limitation I can't overcome because of Locomotion's inherently limited road system. Nevertheless, it looks loads better than the default roads, don't you agree?

[AxelP14]

Definitely better

[jo3do88y]

Those roads are brill when you released them would you mind if I edited them slightly? Only I hate it when buses try to overtake each other Also really like the pavements XD

[oppie]

As promised, I'm releasing phase 1 of the 'Better Roads' mod. This one contains two new road types - one with a sidewalk and one without (as seen in the first screenshot in my previous post). Never mind the NL prefix, that's just an old habit from the good old modding days.

Oh - note that these are still somewhat a Work in Progress and I might change them a little in upcoming versions.

EDIT: The highway is also amost finished - I'll hopefully release that one tomorrow.

[oppie]

Today's release (BetterRoads 0.5) contains all the roads visible in the picture above:

NLROAD.DAT (Road with sidewalk)
NLROAD3.DAT (Road without sidewalk)
NLROAD4.DAT (Highway)
NLROAD5.DAT (Highway on/offramp)

[Illegal_Alien]

Welcome back again!

[oppie]

Welcome back again!

Thanks! It's good to see some people from the good 'ole days still hanging around here!

when you released them would you mind if I edited them slightly?

Go ahead - as long as credit is given (if you're planning to release your version), I don't mind how you edit them.

By the way, I've got a few more mods in the works (most of the graphics are already done) - this one is just the beginning.

[Densha]

Oh, wow. I didn't expect a mod like this to appear after so many years. Awesome!
The bus in your screenshot looks like a certain Dutch bus, is that right?

[Illegal_Alien]

Looks like those old DAF ZWN busses.

[Densha]

My guess is this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTsz7PldLKQ

[jo3do88y]

Welcome back again!

Thanks! It's good to see some people from the good 'ole days still hanging around here!

when you released them would you mind if I edited them slightly?

Go ahead - as long as credit is given (if you're planning to release your version), I don't mind how you edit them.

By the way, I've got a few more mods in the works (most of the graphics are already done) - this one is just the beginning.

No, wasn't going to release my own, just was going to get rid of overtaking, however you've already done that so there'll be no need Thanks anyway though

[Densha]

I wish I'd be able to make the onramps less wide, but that's a limitation I can't overcome because of Locomotion's inherently limited road system.

What exactly do you mean with that? Do you mean the slope/incline/or whatever you call it? You can make a slope with a lower gradient with the earth slopes. If you don't mean that I don't know what you're trying to say.

[jo3do88y]

Not sure if i'm right, but guessing he means the width of the road, i.e. normal slip roads such as these would not be two lanes wide. Is that right?

[oppie]

Oh, wow. I didn't expect a mod like this to appear after so many years. Awesome!
The bus in your screenshot looks like a certain Dutch bus, is that right?

It is! It's indeed a DAF MB230. I have a few dutch buses I'm working on, which will probably be the next mod I'll be releasing.

I wish I'd be able to make the onramps less wide, but that's a limitation I can't overcome because of Locomotion's inherently limited road system.

What exactly do you mean with that? Do you mean the slope/incline/or whatever you call it? You can make a slope with a lower gradient with the earth slopes. If you don't mean that I don't know what you're trying to say.

Like jo3do88y said, I meant that the on/offramps do normally not have two lanes. Ideally they would be only 1 lane but Locomotion doesn't allow that.

Anyway, I've uploaded version 0.8 of the mod. There are some issues that I can hopefully solve in a future version.

[Densha]

Nice! I now feel like playing lomo again but since I'm a perfectionist I want the game heavy modded and that takes up so much time I don't feel like playing it afterwards.

Oh, right, again it's my ignorance in English probably. It doesn't look too bad to me though.

[maquinista]

Very nice roads.