Getting bridges to show in custom neighborhoods

[Regina]

I'm just wondering if anyone besides me has had this trouble.  I've tried to make a couple of neighborhood terrains with small bridges in them and every time I put them into TS2 the bridges don't show.

I have the Rush Hour expansion on SC4 which gives more bridge options, so I choose the one that looks like those in the in-game neighborhoods, which is the first bridge in the menu.

Anywho, like I said, I'm wondering if anyone else has tried this and had it not work.

[Baa]

I think Simmiecal expressed difficulty with the bridges when she was making the custom terrain for the Simpotence thread. You might want to check there for tips.

[MissDoh]

You might want to take a look at this, it is taken from the help section of the official Sims 2 bbs:  http://thesims2.ea.com/help/detail.php?help_id=91

[Regina]

Okey-doke!  Thank you!

Unfortunately the TS2 site doesn't really offer much help, because I'm not sure which in the game are the SC4 Deluxe small steel arch bridges (there's no individual tool tip for the bridges). 

I decided to make a custom map for my DT area last night and set about it.  Everything was working out fairly well, except for the darned bridge. LOL  Then I discovered I have to re-boot my PC every time between starting TS2 and SC4 or else the graphics are completely skewed, so that just complicates the process even further.

At any rate, I'll also check that other thread and see if there's something more specific in there.  The way my brain's working the past while I just about need a picture drawn for anything I try to do.

[witch]

I had to try about 6 times before I got the bridge in my terrain right. I'm pretty sure it's the first, most simple road bridge in the catalogue you have to use. The land running up to the bridge needs to be quite flat - for some way out - and you will have to try to avoid going in on the diagonal. In the thread here about the shared n'hood, there's a pic of a bridge on my terrain. Check it out and see if the picture of the bridge is big enough to see which type it is.

[Regina]

Thank you, Witch!  I read that thread to find the info, which is more helpful than anything else I've ever read.  I'll give it a whirl again tomorrow and see if I can succeed.  My very first neighborhood ended up with a lake in the middle of it because I couldn't figure out the bridge thing then.  I like the lake--in fact, I love the look of that neighborhood, but I wanted a river in this one and it just doesn't seem right with no bridge! 

[witch]

Here Misty, I took a pic tonight. You will find the river has to be quite narrow at the bridge point to work, the bridges don't seem to stretch like in simcity.

Mind you, I was on a funny angle I've just noticed.

PS Put the roads in last, as you see the ground gets elevated near the bridges and wrecks roads that are already placed.


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[Regina]

Thank you for the picture!  I finally got a bunch of housework and laundry done so decided to sit down here for a while (then went back to the HW), but maybe I'm about finished for the day.

One post I read said to make the water itself very shallow.  Is this what you did?  I'm debating about whether to try the bridge tonight or play my game for a while.  The game may win out, then I'll tackle the bridge later.

[simmiecal]

What I found is that the width of the river has to be very narrow (which usually means not too deep as well). In SimCity, if the elevation is too close to "sea level" it won't place a bridge - gives you a message something like "unsuitable terrain".   Also, if the elevation is low, but not quite sea level, it will build the bridge but create a hill for the landing. Often when this hill is imported into the neighborhood, the bridge and the road won't appear to be connected. (See the "deal breaker" picture in the second terrain I posted in the Shared Neighborhood thread http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=1400.0  it's the post where I say "bridges are a pain in the ass" ). But, if the level is very low (almost like beach terrain) and the water level isn't deep (water barely visible in SimCity) once you go into the Sim neighborhood, you will see that the water is bluer and deeper and you can use the Sim neighborhood bridge.

Other things I noticed:
You tend to have more difficulty placing the bridge if the elevation is different on the two sides of the river. This is especially true if you are trying to place the Sims neighborhood bridge.

Try to have a stretch (a few tiles) of straight road after the bridge connects across the river. In SimCity, I had a cross road right near where the bridge hit the river bank. Looked fine in SimCity. In the Sim neighborhood, instead of there being an intersection, the cross road was actually running straight thru the base of the bridge.

When looking at your river (especially when trying to make a very shallow one) look closely and see if the water is "flowing". If there isn't a flowing animation, somewhere along the river the elevation isn't low enough and when you import it into Sims, that point will be much more visible and look funny.

Other SimCity stuff:
If you place two roads right next to each other, even though they are right next to each other in SimCity, when it is imported into Sims, there will be a strip of tiles between the two roads (one tile wide). I use this to make boulevards and major roads with "park islands".

Any road going up a hill or mountain that looks like it has supports (similiar to a bridge) will not show up in the neighborhood. Neither will tunnels.

I'm not at home right now, but I think I remember each tile in SimCity is three tiles in the Sim nieghborhood. So, in SimCity if you have two roads with two tiles in between them, in the Sim neighborhood it will be six tiles wide.

For some reason, it seems to import the terrain's mirror. So, if you have a lake on the right hand side, when you import it, the lake will be on the left.

If there's anything else I can help you, with let me know.

[Regina]

Thank you, Simmiecal!  Indeed, it seems that one tile in SC4 is three tiles in TS2.  I didn't really figure that out until the other night--kind of a good thing to know in reality!

Yes, it was your post with the very shallow water tip!  I've made a few notes so when I do try it again maybe I'll remember some of this.

I was thinking last night about what you said about the empty tile between the two roads and it got me to thinking about SC3000.  If you placed two roads side-by-side to create a boulevard, the game generated a beautiful row of trees between the two streets, so doing something like that in TS2 might look fantastic.

You've given me some ideas to think about and maybe even develop this new map into something much better than what I had originally intended.  I don't have a ton of creativity on my own.  It seems I've always done best at taking other people's ideas and melding them with my own.  Only then does anything ever seem to turn out halfway decent.

[simmiecal]

I don't have a ton of creativity on my own.  It seems I've always done best at taking other people's ideas and melding them with my own.  Only then does anything ever seem to turn out halfway decent.

Hey! You've just described me! That's exactly how I feel. I've read some amazing tutorials by people and have been able to incorporate some really neat things into the game. I love to pass along anything I've learned because I know my game is so much more fun because of all the wonderful people in the community that have shared their knowledge and talent.

[Regina]

Hey! You've just described me! That's exactly how I feel. I've read some amazing tutorials by people and have been able to incorporate some really neat things into the game. I love to pass along anything I've learned because I know my game is so much more fun because of all the wonderful people in the community that have shared their knowledge and talent.

I know what you mean--I read tutorials and learn so much, and people's creativity just amazes me!  I have creative talent that surrounds me on all sides of the family and here I am, clueless. LOL