Since EA just spent months fixing that mistake everyone (except EA) knew they never should have made, you may find yourself tempted to finally buy the 2013 version of SimCity. Nuts to that, says I, 'cuz there are still plenty of changes, additions, and enhancements being made to 2003's SimCity 4 , courtesy of the ever-growing Network Addon Mod . NAM is entering its 10th year and still adding new features to the game's transportation system. Lots of them.
The Network Addon Mod is all about giving you options -- tons of options -- on how to thoughtfully and efficiently design your city's transportation system. Some of the elements it adds are major, like massive highway systems, high speed rail, and working canals, and some are small, like turning lanes, nicer curved roads, and elevated pedestrian walkways. Finally, the mod fixes bugs and improves the game's traffic systems with better pathfinding for your tiny citizens.
This latest update, version 32, promises some exciting new features. From the mod page: First person horse skyrim xbox one.
'The NAM Elevated Viaducts for Roads, One-Way Roads, and Avenues are now available in a draggable form, at both Level 1 (7.5 meter) and Level 2 (15 meter) heights, complete with FLEX Height and On-Slope transitions.'
I have no earthly clue what that means. Also:
'Transit station functionality has been further improved, including the beginning of the implementation of the SLURP, which will gradually raise all transit stations to NAM standards.'
Again, no idea what they're talking about. Frankly, most of the descriptions from the mod are completely baffling to me. However! You don't need to fully understand every last detail of the mod in order to enjoy it. Here's one teeny example of how it became useful in my own game. In a primitive SimCity 4 metropolis, you'd see something like this where the train tracks and the streets intersect:
Lame! Cars have to stop every time a train comes along. What is this, the Middle Ages?
That's more like it. NAM adds oodles of options for underpasses, overpasses, and intersections, allowing your SimCitizens to quickly and efficiently drive from their homes to the front door of your mansion so they can complain about the deadly pollution and lack of police stations or whatever is currently bothering them. Even more importantly, you can see just how well the new items fit into the game, both functionally and aesthetically. None of the parts and pieces look like they don't belong in the game.
Please note, the next two images are not from my own SimCity, which is fairly SimCrummy, but from the NAM wiki and the ModDB page, where people actually know what they're doing and can build things that are actually pleasant to look at.
A big focus of NAM has been the Real Highway System , based on a feature Maxis intended to include in the game but never did. It allows for bigger, beefier highways that allow greater speeds and vehicle capacity. These highways can range from simple two-lane affairs to massive, sprawling, ten-lane asphalt rivers. The mod has a myriad of parts and pieces to help you build intricate networks of highways and interchanges.
The NAM mod also includes an entire neighborhood's worth of plugins. The High Speed Rail plugin modernizes your city with both ground-based and elevated bullet trains, and provides several stations to choose from, including a massive multipurpose station that includes bus and regular rail service. The Ground Light Rail plugin lets you add passenger trams to your city streets, which run on a different network of rails than the subway does.
Image credit .
Even if you're not looking to build a massively complex city, there's tons of little items in the mod to enhance your experience, and everything I've played with is not only functional but blends perfectly into the look of the game. And, as you can see, even a decade later, the game itself still looks fantastic. I've heard from a few sources that SimCity 4 doesn't run that well on newer systems, but on Windows 7 I didn't experience any crashes, even with the mod installed.
If NAM has a single drawback, its that there are so many new parts and pieces added that it can be hard find what you're looking for, and sometimes it can be hard to even know precisely what you're looking for. If you feel a little lost, as I did, there's a forum with all sorts of how-tos and tutorials .
(Header image credit .)
Installation : It's super easy. Download here , then extract and run the .exe file. (A window will pop up, telling you it's using something called 'Cleanitol' which sounds slightly alarming, as if it is wiping your hard drive clean. It's isn't. It's searching for outdated NAM files and will update any it finds.) Once installed, launch the game normally, and you'll find all the parts and pieces in the construction menus.
Best Mods For Simcity 4 Online
Posted by7 years ago
Archived
there are a few threads on here compiling mods, but they're all fairly old and don't really go too in-depth. this post is to serve as the ultimate collection of must-have and just plain awesome mods for the serious simcity4 player. i've always used nam and a few other mods, but over the past few days i've been going crazy with downloading mods to give my cities a unique and fresh feel. looking through simtropolis and other mod sites can be somewhat overwhelming due to their high volume of content so this is basically what i consider to be the best. there are mods for beautification of the city, there are mods that make gameplay easier or more realistic, and some are just plain fun. this is obviously by no means a complete list so feel free to contribute and list your favorite mods.
please keep in mind that some mods may require dependencies. dependencies are files essential for properly running the mod and must be downloaded. the dependencies for each mod are listed on the respective mod's page. also, the sites on which you will find these mods require that you create a free account in order to actually download the content.
NAM: Network Addon Mod is easily the best and most used mod for sc4 players. it includes transportation related fixes such as better pathfinding accuracy and performance. it also includes many improvements and additions to the existing network tools. roundabouts, turning lanes, intersections, new overpasses, a ground lightrail network, and much more.
SAM: Street Addon Mod gives you a lot more choices when it comes to streets and roads. gravel streets, dirt roads, parking lots, and much more. make sure you read the instructions before trying to use this mod because placing these can be a little bit tricky at first due to the starter pieces. once you get the hang of it however, it will be easy to fill your cities with a nice variety of unique streets.
NMW: Network Widening Mod is an addition to NAM that adds a wide variety of surface networks. it provides mutliple-lane avenues which are sure to come in handy when the traffic in your city becomes overbearing.
RealHighway Mod is another optional addon for NAM. i haven't really gotten into this one yet, but it seems pretty cool. it gives you a wide variety of options when creating realistic highways and one of the cool things i read about it is that it includes a double decker highway.
SPAM: SimPeg Agricultural Mod is an awesome mod that completely replaces simcity's default farming system. most players consider simcity to be all about creating a thriving metropolis and the in-game farming system was actually unfinished at the time of the game's release. this mod changes how farms look and play and makes them a viable part of any city. you can create maps in your region dedicated to just agriculture or implement them into your larger cities as well. there is also a ton of SPAM addons that take things even further with buildings, roads, etc, dedicated to getting even more out of your farm cities.
Paeng's Parks gives you the power to create truly beautiful parks in your city. if you look up Paeng on any of sc4 modding sites, you will find a lot of amazing mods and custom lots. i consider this to be his best work and although this mod requires a lot of dependencies, it is definitely worth a download. this and this are two examples of the amazing parks you will be able to create with this mod.
Paeng's Free Waters allows you to beautify your lakes and rivers. if you want to get more in depth, look up Paeng's Turbulences Vol. 1, Paeng's Turbulences Vol. 2 and PEG Ponds and Streams. here's an example of what you can do with the Free Waters and the Turbulences mods. addtionaly, the PEG Stream Kit actually includes waterfalls which i find to be absolutely awesome.
MAPP: Modular Amusement Parks Pack is a mod i haven't got around to using yet, but it looks dope. it allows you to create amusement parks within your city and includes a wide variety of rides and coasters.
rivit's Coastal Mod allows you to change the color of the water and beaches in your regions/cities. there are several choices of color for both the water and the shores, giving you a nice variety to mix and match and play with. this is a major improvement over the boring old water and beaches that come with the game. i'm using inshoretropic, rippledseadkcyan, whitesandbeach, and whitesandforeshore, and it looks stunning!
Beach Extend Mod gives you bigger beaches! this is a really simple mod but to me it makes your beaches a lot more realistic by simple extending them slightly further onto the land.
IH Missing Jobs Fix is a mod i consider truly essential. apparently there is a bug within the game where almost every IH lot in the game doesn't offer any high wealth jobs even though it creates a demand for high wealth residents. this fix takes care of that and will have people filling up those IH jobs, allowing your lots to prosper and grow.
there are some other mods that i use that i haven't listed but can be easily found on simtropolis. the industry doubler gives you industry zones more jobs per lot so that you don't have to clutter your city with these buildings. there is also a radius doubler, which increases the range of coverage for your schools, hospitals, fire stations, etc. tollboothboost is a fix for toll booth traffic and allows you to charge more for the use of the toll booths, giving you some additional income. there are several slope mods which create smoother transitions when it comes to building networks and cities on a slope.
again, i encourage all of you to list your favorite mods. there are some canal and snow mods that i want to check out, but there seem to be quite a few of those and i haven't yet found out which are the best. i look forward to hearing from the community!
(EDIT: adding more mods and addons..)
CAM: Colossus Addon Mod as suggested by XtcWorkout. the CAM allows you to use CAMeLots, which completely redefine the look of the game. if you're tired of the same old buildings popping up in your city, this is the mod to use. the CAM itself alterns the stage growth of in-game buildings for better development and the lots spice up the game by adding a ton of new buildings. with this mod, you can create an entirely different look and feel for your city. note: lots of dependencies will be needed in order access all the lots!
Simcity 4
RMIP: Runway Making Improvement Project as suggested by Canadave. with this mod, you will be able to create your own unique airports. although it won't be out for quite a while, the guys behind this are already working on the next mod in this series which you can follow here: RMIP-3 Large Airport Edition.
JRJ Sidewalk Mod is an older mod that allows you to change the sidewalks from the maxis default in your cities. there are several styles to choose from, allowing you to give your city a fresh look.
CDK3: Marina this is a part of the Coastal Development Kit, which is a series of mods and lots to liven up your coasts. you can also check out the entire CDK collection which includes seaports, seaport villages and boardwalks (OWW2: Old Wooden Waterfronts). i've chosen to focus on the marina because i've really come to love these lots since downloading them recently. they give you an entirely new marina for your game and allow you to actually expend the marina along the entire coast with additional buildings such as boat storage, a yatch club, a sport fishing club, a marina parking lot, and more. this image shows you what you can create with a combination of the CDK3: Marina and the OWW2.
MTP: Mountain Theme Pack is the collection for anybody who's tired of the city life and in need of a getaway to the mountain side. this mod comes from PEG, the same crew behind CDK3, Ponds and Streams, and several other mods. their work is really amazing and it really shows here. these downloads will allow you to create entire communities in the mountains and forests, with many unique lots and buildings. trails, a lumber yard, a saw mill, unique roads, parking lots, and parks for your new community, lodges, cabins, and much, much more!
31 comments