Glossary

A glossary of the most commonly used terms within the Network Addon Mod.

• NAM: Network Addon Mod. The Network Addon Mod is an extensive mod for SimCity 4 Deluxe/Rush Hour, which encompasses virtually all community-developed transport network content (excluding most third-party stations, cosmetic mods and Lot-based items).

• ABEP: Arthur Berkhardt Expressway Project. An “April Fools Day” cosmetic mod produced by Tarkus for the RealHighway’s RHW-8S network, inspired by the episode of the American comedy series “Seinfeld” (Season 8, Episode 16, “The Pothole”).

• ATL: Avenue Turning Lanes. An optional but now deprecated NAM feature, which adds turn lanes to +-intersections between two orthogonal Avenues. It has since been superseded by the FLEX Turn Lanes.

• AVE: Avenue. An abbreviation used not only to refer to the game’s default Avenue network (sometimes called “AVE-4” in this short hand, because it has 4 lanes), but also the single-tile 2-lane (AVE-2) and triple-tile 6-lane (AVE-6) networks with divided medians, included in the Network Widening Mod (both of which are actually Road-based override networks built from starter pieces, as single-tile and triple-tile networks are extraordinary difficult to build from the dual-tile Avenue network).

• BTM: Bullet Train Mod (also called Shinkansen Addon Mod). Refers to two separate Monorail replacement mods, both of which were popularized by Haljackey. The first was developed by the Japanese content creator APTX, while the second was developed by another Japanese creator, Moonlight (sometimes known as Moonlinght). The Moonlight version was a cosmetic override options available for the Monorail until NAM 36, since deprecated and pending publication as a legacy package.

• CAN-AM: Canal Addon Mod. A NAM transportation that allows for fully functional transportation via Canal, using puzzle pieces. Developed by daeley, Chrisim, and members of the BSC.

• CP: Cosmetic Piece. Cosmetic Pieces are specialized puzzle pieces, designed to allow users desiring great attention to detail to customize the look and feel of their transportation networks. The best known Cosmetic Pieces are included in the RealHighway system.

• DBE: Diagonal Bridge Enabler. A Plugin that uses temporary files, draining all of a city’s water and locking road and rail slopes, to allow the construction of diagonal bridges and other advanced bridge designs from starter pieces.

• DIP: Distilled Intersection Path. A Distilled Intersection Path is a bogus path designed to trick the game into thinking that a non-intersection tile is an intersection tile. Coupled with the settings for intersection capacity in the NAM Traffic Simulator, DIPs actually increase the capacity of affected tiles by 25%. They cannot be used on any network tile that already has an intersection or crossover path. DIPs are used to adjust capacities of wider networks in the RealHighway (RHW) system, the Network Widening Mod (NWM), some Turn Lane Extension Pieces (TuLEPs), some FLEX Turn Lanes (FTLs), and to induce congestion approach effects in the Mid-block Crosswalks (MBCs).

• Draggable: A network item that can be built by using the dragging/drawing mechanism of the game’s base network tools, often by using a specific drag pattern.

• Elevation/Level: With the Network Addon Mod, networks can be built in up to 6 elevation/level options:

  • L0, 0m (Ground Level): default for most networks, where the network’s surface is at the ground level, or minimally elevated (0.5m) as is the case with the Maxis Highway and Maxis Highway override, two model-based road networks using full 3D models instead of flat planes.
  • L1 / 7.5 m: network elevation first introduced through the RealHighway and since expanded to the RealRailway, base network surface roads (Street, Road, OWR, AVE) and the Hybrid Railway.
  • L2 / 15.0m (road networks) 15.5m (rail networks): network elevation introduced by several game default networks, including the elevated Maxis Highway, the Monorail and the Elevated Light Rail. Early on, this was the standard for most NAM elevated network items, but is in the process of being relegated to a secondary and more niche role.
  • L3 / 22.5 m: network elevation introduced by the RealHighway and used exclusively by MIS, RHW-4 and RHW-6S, to allow the construction of multi-level interchanges.
  • L4 / 30.0 m: network elevation first introduced with the High Elevated Rail and High Monorail puzzle pieces, later expanded to include MIS, RHW-4 and RHW-6S for multi-level interchange construction.
  • Underground (U, subway view level): network elevation introduced by the game through the Subway network, since then expanded to the subway-based FLUP U-Road networks, the underground counterparts of all single tile RHW networks, introduced since NAM 39.

• ELR, El-Rail: Elevated Light Rail. An acronym sometimes used to refer to the game’s default Elevated Rail network, particularly when discussing its ground-level counterpart, Ground Light Rail (GLR).

• EMHW: Elevated Maxis Highway. An acronym sometimes used to refer to the game’s default Elevated Highway network.

• ERHW: Elevated RealHighway. An acronym sometimes used to refer to Elevated RealHighways.

• ETRM: Euro Texture Replacement Mod. A cosmetic mod designed to change the appearance of roads to look more European/International, rather than the American default. The original version was by frimi2 of the SimForum.de BAT Team (SFBT), and the most recent version is by MandelSoft. Options for European and international style texture replacements have been reduced in number since NAM 37, in favor of a single generic European style network texture option.

• ESURE: Express Subways and Underground Rail Extensions. This special piece allows subway lines to cross without forming a full intersection, allowing them to operate independently from one another, akin to an overpass crossing. They also provide transition and crossing functionality for cases where they’re otherwise unsupported.

  • FURL: Four-way Underground Rail Lots. These provide crossing functionality for Underground Rail alignments, supporting turning maneuvers and full intersection maneuvers for various U-Rail lines converging on the same tile.
  • SURC: Subway to Underground Rail Connectors. These are transit-enabled lots supporting the transition between Passenger Rail (in Underground Rail) and Subway traffic.

• FA: Fractional Angle. A network piece that is neither orthogonal (0° or 90°), nor diagonal (45°), but in between the two. As of NAM 45, FA content exists in the following angles:

  • FA-1.5: the network shifts 1 tile to the side for every 1.5 tiles it moves forward, equivalent to shifting 2 tiles to the side for every 3 tiles it moves forward. Equivalent angles are 33.7° and 56.3°.
  • FA-2: the network shifts 1 tile to the side for every 2 tiles it moves forward. Equivalent angles are 26.6° and 63.4°.
  • FA-2 Alt (Alternative): the network shifts 1 tile to the side for every 2 tiles it moves forward. Equivalent angles are 26.6° and 63.4°. Unlike FA-2, this one uses a different footprint, and in the case of rail networks, it supports more sophisticated turnouts and smoother curves.
  • FA-3: the network shifts 1 tile to the side for every 3 tiles it moves forward. Equivalent angles are 18.4° and 71.6°.
  • FA-6: the network shifts 1 tile to the side for every 6 tiles it moves forward. Equivalent angles are 9.5° and 80.5°.

• As of NAM 45, Fractional Angle alignments are supported by the following networks:

  • FAA: Fractional Angle Avenue. As of NAM 45, it only has limited puzzle piece support for the FA-3 alignment.
  • FAHRW: Fractional Angle Hybrid Railway. As of NAM 44, FLEX piece support for the FA-2 Alternative alignment was introduced.
  • FAMHW, FAMHO: Fractional Angle Maxis Highway and Fractional Angle Maxis Highway Override. As of NAM 44, both networks have limited FA-3 support for their ground-level versions through puzzle pieces.
  • FAOWR: Fractional Angle One-Way Road. As of NAM 45, it has limited FA-3 support in puzzle piece form.
  • FAR: Fractional Angle Road. As of NAM 45, it has both puzzle piece and drag pattern support, for FA-1.5, FA-2 and FA-3 alignments.
  • FARHW: Fractional Angle RealHighway. As of NAM 45, it has some puzzle piece support for most ground-level (L0) RHW overrides, with the exception of RHW-3, and limited RHW-6C, 8S, 8C and 10S support. All current support is in the FA-3 alignment.
  • FARR: Fractional Angle Railroad. As of NAM 45, it has the greatest support, featuring FA-1.5 (limited), FA-2 (moderate), FA-2 Alternative (moderate), FA-3 (extensive) and FA-6 (limited) support, including the only elevated FA support of any network in the NAM, first introduced in NAM 38 for FA-2 at the L1 elevation.

• FHW: FakeHighway. A pejorative term sometimes used to describe MHW, due to the fact that it is half-scaled compared to other game networks.

• FLEX Piece: A ploppable network item which, unlike a standard puzzle piece, which is static, is dynamic, and can accept overrides from draggable networks. This allows a single FLEX Piece to incorporate functionality that would take anywhere from a few to hundreds of traditional puzzle pieces in order to implement.

• FLUPs: Flexible Underpasses. A system of modular underground network items, covering Roads/Highways, GLR/Tram, and Tram Dual-Networks. (Rail coverage is via the URail system.) It comes in two implementations:

  • Draggable/Subway-Based FLUPs: The draggable, Subway-based FLUPs were introduced in NAM 39, developed by Tarkus and Girafe, covering only Road and RealHighway (RHW) networks. They use overrides of the Subway network and FLEX Piece overcrossings, to allow for draggable underground and curving tunnels. This implementation can go under Buildings and Lots, but does not support traffic underwater.
  • Puzzle Piece FLUPs: The original implementation of FLUPs, first deployed by Chrisim in NAM 24, which uses puzzle piece-based portals, network undercrossings, and blank terrain tiles, and supports Roads, One-Way Roads, Streets, Avenues, PedMalls, Ground Light Rail, and Tram-in-Avenue. It cannot go under Buildings or Lots, unlike the Subway-based draggable system, but can support traffic underwater.

• FTL: FLEX Turn Lane. A series of draggable/FLEX-based turn lane features for the various surface road networks, the networks in the Network Widening Mod (NWM), and the RealHighway (RHW). The naming scheme for FLEX turn lanes consists of declaring the lane configuration it possesses, starting with the cross-median turning lanes (RHD traffic’s left turn, LHD traffic’s right turn), then the through lanes, and finally the outer turning lanes (RHD traffic’s right turn, LHD Traffic’s left turn). As an example, Road networks use the FTL-110, consisting of a 1 cross-median turn lanes, 1 through and 0 outer turn lanes; as well as the FTL-101 when used to end a Road on a T intersection, with 1 cross-median, 0 through, and 1 outer turn lane. Other related terms within the FTL ecosystem include the following:

  • QuickTurn (or QuickFTL): Pre-fabricated FLEX Turn Lane intersection configurations, which feature FTL approaches and FLEX intersection pieces pre-assembled into an easy-to-use package. These are available in + and T intersection configurations.

• GID: Group ID. See TGI.

• GLR: Ground Light Rail. A ground-level counterpart to the game’s default Elevated Rail network (sometimes also called the “Tram” network). It exists in several style variants, all of which are Elevated Rail-based override networks built from a starter piece, and dual-networking options, embedded in Avenues, Roads, and Streets, also exist (see T-RAM, TIA, TIR, TOR, and TOS).

• GMHW: Ground Maxis Highway. An acronym sometimes used to refer to the game’s default Ground Highway network.

• HRW: Hybrid Railway. A FLEX-based dual network, first introduced in NAM 38 and gradually expanded since, combining Rail and Monorail. This network is equivalent to conventional railway main lines with high-speed rail passenger services. It also features catenaries.

• HSRP: High Speed Rail Project. A project which adds starter piece-based mass transit networks based upon the Monorail network. The two components included are the Elevated High Speed Rail (HSR), and Ground High Speed Rail (GHSR).

  • HSR: High Speed Rail. The elevated component of the High Speed Rail Project (HSRP). It is a Monorail-based override network built from a starter piece. It is primarily cosmetic in effect.
  • GHSR: Ground High Speed Rail. The ground-level component of the High Speed Rail Project (HSRP). It is a Monorail-based override network built from a starter piece.

• IID: Instance ID. See TGI.

• MAVE: Medianless Avenue (deprecated). A Medianless Avenue is a network that maintains a lane count of 4 or greater (equalling or exceeding that of the game’s default Avenue), but has a narrow, painted division between opposing directions of traffic. The MAVE networks that were included in the Network Widening Mod (NWM) have since been redesignated as “Road” networks (RD-4, RD-6, and NRD-4).

• MHO: Maxis Highway Override. A reskin of the Maxis Highway network (sometimes called “Project Symphony”), which redesigns the network to resemble the RHW-4, with two lanes in each direction (instead of the three narrower lanes on the default Maxis Highway), and interfaces with the RHW’s Modular Interchange System and its own prefabs, rather than using the standard Maxis Highway interchanges.

• MHW: Maxis Highway. A term sometimes used to refer to the game’s default Elevated and Ground Highway networks, often in contradistinction to the RealHighway (RHW) system.

• MIS: Modular Interchange System. This term has a dual meaning. The MIS is generically used to refer to the RealHighway (RHW) system’s capabilities to build modular interchanges, as opposed to the pre-fabricated plop interchanges of the Maxis Highway system. More specifically, it is also used to refer to the “MIS Ramp”, single-lane, one-way RealHighway-based override network, built from starter pieces, and is most often used to connect RealHighways to surface streets or other larger RealHighways. Since NAM 43, the MIS system has been expanded to feature MIS-2, a 2-lane and single tile footprint variant of the MIS, used as a type of turning lane for interchanges connecting to surface road networks.

• MRC: Multi-Radius Curve. These are a more recent iteration of Wide Radius Curves (WRCs), which are FLEX-based (and in some cases with smaller radii, draggable), and allow for smoother curves and bends than the game’s defaults for supported networks. As the name implies, MRCs come in multiple radii, usually specified with an “R” number (R1, R2, etc.), with larger “R” numbers referring to wider radii.

• MTA: Mass Transit Authority. Working group within the Network Addon Mod team, it specializes on defining and applying standards for transit-enabled lots, and oversees NAM projects involving TE lots.

• NREE: Nicole Richie Effect Eliminators. Early codename for RHW Neighbor Connectors.

• NSGID: Network-Specific Group ID. A Group ID (GID) for exemplar files, which is specific for a given network.

• NWM: Network Widening Mod. The Network Widening Mod is an expanded network family which uses draggable overrides for various Road and One-way Road configurations with the use of starter pieces. Each override network varies in width, capacity, and appearance. Network Widening networks are often referred to in a shorthand based on their type and number of lanes they have (e.g. TLA-5, OWR-3). Most NWM networks do have higher capacities compared to the networks upon which they are based, except for OWR-1 and RD-4. These capacity increases are provided through Distilled Intersection Paths (DIPs) or crossover paths whenever traffic must be distributed between more than one tile in the same direction.

  • ARD: asymmetrical road. This network uses a 3-lane cross-section, with one direction having 2 lanes and the opposite having the remaining lane. In realistic scenarios, the extra lane can be used for intersection approach queuing or used in alternating directions to provide extra capacity without using 4 lanes. The NWM currently has ARD-3 as an asymmetrical cross-section network, while the RHW has RHW-3 as its rural express road counterpart.
  • AVE: avenue. These networks provide a hard or landscaped median fully separating opposite traffic directions. By default, SimCity 4 Rush Hour and SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition bring the 4-lane Avenue (AVE-4), while the NWM provides the AVE-2 (single tile, 2 lanes total) and AVE-6 (triple tile, 6 lanes total).
  • OWR: one-way road. These networks have all their lanes travel in the same direction on a single pavement surface. By default, SimCity 4 Rush Hour and SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition bring the 2-lane One-way Road (OWR-2), while the NWM provides OWR-1, OWR-3 (single tile with 1 and 3 lanes, respectively), OWR-4 and OWR-5 (double tile with 4 and 5 lanes, respectively).
  • RD and NRD: road and narrow road. These networks have a conventional bidirectional lane configuration. The original SimCity games bring the 2-lane road (RD-2) by default, while the NWM provides the 4-lane road (RD-4, dual tile with 4 lanes), the 6-lane road (RD-6, double tile with 6 lanes) and the narrow 4-lane road (NRD-4, single tile with 4 lanes and minimal sidewalks). These were formerly known as medianless avenues (MAVE).
  • TLA: turning lane avenue. These networks use a paved median which separates turning maneuvers from the through travel lanes, allowing easier access to buildings while reducing traffic congestion on the travel lanes. The NWM currently has TLA-3 (single tile, 3 lanes total), TLA-5 (double tile, 5 lanes total) and TLA-7 (triple tile, 7 lanes total).

• OWR: One-Way Road. An abbreviation used not only to refer to the game’s default One-Way Road network (sometimes called “OWR-2” in this short hand, because it has 2 lanes), but also the single-tile 1-lane (OWR-1) and 3-lane (OWR-3), and dual-tile 4-lane (OWR-4) and 5-lane (OWR-5) variants, included in the Network Widening Mod, as One-Way Road-based override networks built from starter pieces.

• PedMall: Pedestrian Mall. A type of puzzle piece designed to carry only pedestrian traffic.

• Puzzle Piece: A static, ploppable network item, which can take on a variety of forms. The term was first introduced in NAM 4, to refer to the breakup of the original ploppable overpasses into smaller, modular chunks, which could be reassembled, like a puzzle. Puzzle pieces were, for many years, a staple of NAM development, but since NAM 31, have been in the process of deprecation, in favor of FLEX Pieces and draggable items.

• PRM, PedRev: Pedestrian Revolution Mod. This network family encompasses all future FLEX and draggable network features intended for active transportation modes, including pedestrian, cycling and true multimodal corridors. It launched in NAM 45 with the FLEX-based mid-block crosswalks (MBC).

  • MBC: Mid-block crosswalk. Mid-block crosswalks are a type of pedestrian crossing facility placed away from intersections of surface road networks (in the NAM: Road, OWR, AVE, SAM, NWM and FTL), providing dedicated crossing locations along longer city blocks, at the entrance of large buildings and transit stations, or where pedestrian routes intersect a roadway. These were first introduced in NAM 45 in FLEX form, although older puzzle piece-based prototypes were created but never reached completion.

• RABET: Roundabout Extension Tiles. This is the name for a set of puzzle piece roundabouts with Network Widening Mod (NWM) compatibility, supporting all double-tile bidirectional NWM variants (RD-4, TLA-5, RD-6), ARD-3 and AVE-4. These feature conventional and turbo roundabouts.

• RAM: Railway Addon Mod. An older rail network expansion which formed part of the NAM until version NAM 36, since deprecated in favor of full development of the RealRailway. This railway specification matched the appearance and functionality of the Rail network as originally developed by Maxis. Some NAM railway terms originated in its development:

  • STR: Single Track Rail. Railway using a single track for two-way traffic.
  • DTR: Dual Track Rail. An acronym sometimes used to refer to the game’s default Rail network, particularly in the context of the extended networks included in the Railway Addon Mod (RAM) and later the RealRailway (RRW).
  • TTR: Triple Track Rail. Railway using three tracks for two-way traffic.
  • QTR: Quadruple Track Rail. Railway using four tracks for two way traffic, with two tracks on each side going in the same direction.

• RD: Road.

• REW: RealExpressway. A feature which adds ramp interfaces / branches to the One-Way Road network, in both draggable and FLEX piece form.

• RHSR: Real High Speed Rail. A future replacement for the existing High Speed Rail Project (HSRP), designed to the same specifications as the RealRailway (RRW) and Hybrid Railway (HRW), and designed to interface with HRW.

• RHW: RealHighway (formerly Rural Highway, before late-2009). The RealHighway system is a NAM network family providing full-scale freeway or motorway functionality. It is based upon an unfinished network (“DirtRoad”) that Maxis left in the game’s files, and was reactivated by the NAM Team in 2004-2005. It currently consists of a series of variable-width highways (ranging from 2 to 10 lanes) with the ability to have variable-width medians, built from starter pieces, and uses modular construction techniques to construct interchanges, rather than the pre-fabricated plop interchanges of the default Maxis Highways. RealHighways are connected to surface streets (Roads, One-Way Roads and Avenues) and other RealHighways through Ramp Interfaces. Transitions between different widths and ground and elevated networks are accomplished through Transition Pieces. RealHighway networks are often referred to in a short hand based on the number of lanes they have in a symmetrical setup allowing for travel in both directions, for example, RHW-2, RHW-4. Networks beyond the RHW-4 often are classified as either being C-type or S-type (e.g. RHW-6C, RHW-8S). C-type networks are “combined”, and the two travel directions cannot be separated like S-type (“separable”) networks. Other important terms within the RealHighway network family are the following:

  • DDI: Diverging Diamond Interchange. A type of interchange popularized by American traffic engineer Gilbert Chlewicki, which resembles a standard diamond interchange, but flips the driving directions between the freeway connections along the surface street, to allow smoother movement of cross-turning traffic. The RealHighway system includes pieces to construct DDIs, which, in-game, have a higher capacity than standard diamond interchanges.
  • DDRHW: Double-Decker Real Highway. This term refers to a special class of elevated highway viaducts consisting of two viaduct decks, each of them carrying traffic in one direction in a compact manner. As part of the RealHighway, only the 4-lane Double-Decker Real Highway (DDRHW-4) is available.
  • DRI: Draggabble Ramp Interface (see RI below).
  • FLEXFly: Flexible Flyover. A series of special FLEX Piece flyover ramps included in the RealHighway system. It is ploppable, but unlike a standard puzzle piece, is overrideable like a draggable item, as all FLEX Pieces are.
  • FLEX-HT: FLEX height transitions. This refers to the general type of height transition, consisting of an inclined viaduct connecting two different network elevations of the same width. These come in orthogonal, diagonal and curved forms (45°, 90°, 180°, and 270° for MHO only).
  • FLEX-NC: FLEX neighbor connectors. This refers to FLEX pieces made to accommodate bidirectional traffic across multi-tile RHW neighbor connections. By default, the game does not support neighbor connection traffic in one direction on single tile bidirectional networks. These pieces provide an underground path configuration by re-arranging the unidirectional paths into separate bidirectional path configurations on each network tile at the neighbor connection.
  • FLEX-OST: FLEX on-slope height transitions. This refers to a special type of height transition placed across a cliff separating two areas of flat terrain.
  • FlexSPUI: Flexible Single-Point Urban Interchange. A special FLEX Piece included in the RealHighway system, designed to allow for the construction of Single Point Urban Interchanges, which resemble standard diamond interchanges, but with the ramps meeting in the center to form a single intersection. It is ploppable, but unlike a puzzle piece, is overrideable like a draggable item, as all FLEX Pieces are. As of NAM 44, FlexSPUI supports FTL-120 and 220 at ground level, and FTL-120 for L1 (7.5m) and L2 (15.0m) configurations, for all RealHighway networks, and Avenue and RD-4 as the surface roadway networks.
  • FLEX-WT: FLEX width transitions. This refers to FLEX pieces made to accommodate widening and narrowing of RHW override networks, while circumventing the auto-connect property of RHW end stubs.
  • QC: QuickChange. A FLEX piece designed to combine a Ramp Interface with a Height Transition, to make interchange construction quicker. The name is a portmanteau of “quick” and “interchange”.
  • QCX: QuickChange Xpress. A full, ploppable, FLEX-based RHW interchange. The first QCXs were introduced in NAM 45.
  • RI: Ramp Interface. These are geometric configurations used for freeway, motorway and expressway ramps, including the RealHighway (RHW), the Maxis Highway Override (MHO), the RealExpressway, and the Avenue. These come in draggable form (DRI-draggable ramp interface), FLEX piece (FLEX Ramps) and puzzle pieces (in process of deprecation).

• RRW: RealRailway. The NAM’s default modernized specification for the Rail network, in contrast to the standard Maxis Rail specification. This standard consists of revised realistic geometry, FLEX piece support (FLEXtrack), and a vast expansion of draggable geometries.

• RTL: Road Turning Lanes. A deprecated NAM feature, which adds turn lanes to +-intersections and T-intersections between two orthogonal Roads.

• RTMT: Road-Top Mass Transit. The Road-Top Mass Transit is a TE lot project which creates an assortment of bus, subway, GLR and multimodal combinations of these transit services for placement atop transportation networks, as opposed to requiring space away from networks. This project is managed by members of the NAM team, but published separately.

• RUL: Network Rule File. Network rules are the code used to define the placement, interaction and override of both transportation (anything road or rail) and utility networks (water pipes). There are several types of RUL code, three of which are unified, and various others which operate on a per-network basis.

  • BridgeRUL: A type of Network Rule (RUL) file used to handle the layout of bridges. This RUL type comes in two flavors: the simple viaduct style, which only defines abutments (ends of the bridge connecting to land), piers (intermediate supports) and spans (bridge segments between consecutive supports); and the elaborate style, which defines main and approach spans typical of large bridge configurations, such as suspension, cable-stay, large arches, and large truss structures.
  • INRUL: Individual Network Rule File. A type of Network Rule (RUL) File, used to handle the placement of individual networks, including intersections of the given network with itself. All INRULs lie in the IID range between 0x00000001 and 0x00000018.
  • RUL0: Shorthand for the RUL with the instance ID 0x10000001, the IntersectionOrdering RUL. This RUL type defines pre-fabricated network pieces, using either definitions done only within this type of code, which yields puzzle pieces, or summoning definitions made in INRUL or RUL1, yielding FLEX pieces.
  • RUL1: Shorthand for the RUL with the instance ID 0x10000001, the IntersectionSolutions RUL. This RUL type defines any and all situations in which two different base networks overlap, including real intersections, transitions between compatible networks, and invalid definitions used as seeds for other configurations (false intersections / falsies).
  • RUL2: Shorthand for the RUL with the Instance ID 0x10000002, the NetworkOverrides RUL, which is used in the creation of “override networks”. It works by comparing any pair of network pieces programmed in INRUL or RUL1, considering their orientation (rotation and mirroring), and assigning either a new configuration (override), stabilizing an override configuration (adjacency stability) or blocking the configuration from existing (prevent line).

• RuRP: Rural Roads Plugin. This is a small option using puzzle pieces to construct roads with a narrow footprint and striped appearance, or a dirt road appearance based on SAM-3 and SAM-4 (PEG dirt and PEG gravel streets).

• SAM: Street Addon Mod. The Street Addon Mod is a set of cosmetic overrides for the Street Network, featuring parking lots (SAM-1), dirt/gravel streets (SAM-3, 4, 5), alternative pavement styles (SAM-7, 10 and 11) and brick/cobblestone styles (SAM-2, 6, 8 and 9).

• SIP: Signalized Intersection Piece.

• SITAP: Signalized Intersection and Turn Arrow Project. SITAP uses draggable and FLEX Piece-based functionality to allow working traffic signals on intersections involving networks that, due to the game’s hardcoded limitations, can’t otherwise support them, including the One-Way Road network and some of the smaller RealHighway (RHW) networks.

• SLURP: Station Locator, Updater and Reconstruction Project. This is a project conducted by the Mass Transit Authority (MTA), a working group within the NAM team specialized on TE lot standards. It consists of editing the TE lot programming (transit switches, paths, capacity, etc.) of existing transit lots published separately from the NAM and RTMT, and then overriding their TE lot programming through the NAM installer. This feature was supported from NAM 32 to NAM 36 under the NSIS installer, plans exist to re-implement the SLURP functionality for a future revision of the NAM installer.

• SPM: Signage Piece Mod.

• T-RAM: Tram-Road Addon Mod. This is a dual network family consisting of Elevated Rail in representation of tram networks and various surface road networks, including Street, Road and Avenue.

  • TIA: Tram (GLR)-in-Avenue
  • TIR: Tram (GLR)-in-Road. This Road/El-Rail dual network uses tram tracks separating two road lanes, such that road traffic doesn’t overlap with the tram tracks.
  • TOR: Tram (GLR)-on-Road. This Road/El-Rail dual network uses tram tracks placed atop two road lanes, in a four-lane cross-section (comparable to NRD-4 - 4-lane narrow road), such that road vehicles can travel atop tram tracks.
  • TOS: Tram (GLR)-on-Street

• T21: Type 21 Exemplar. This exemplar controls the placement patterns of network props, including landscaping, signs, streetlights, traffic signals, pillars of elevated networks, barriers, railway catenaries and certain types of pavement markings

• TE Lots: Transit-Enabled Lots. These are ploppable lots with a transportation function, including bus stops, rail stations, freight yards, multimodal stations, ferry terminals, seaports, parking lots, parking garages and toll booths. These involve the programming of various properties, including capacity, fares, network paths, transit switches (definitions of which transit types can go in the lot, and how they move or change from one to another) and construction/maintenance costs.

• TGI: Type-Group-Instance IDs. These are hexadecimal values SimCity 4 uses to define and identify the different asset types used throughout the game.

  • TID: Type ID. A hexadecimal identified to specify the file format of a given game asset. As an example, a PNG image, which can be used as an icon within a menu.

  • GID: Group ID. A hexadecimal identifier designed to specify the function of a given game asset within the game context. As an example, a GID used to define whether the asset is used for a texture-based network or a model-based network.

  • NSGID: Network-Specific Group ID. A Group ID (GID) for exemplar files, which is specific for a given network.

  • IID: Instance ID. A hexadecimal number used to identify a specific network piece, exemplar, RUL file, etc. Items using different type and group ID values are used in unison if they share the same instance ID values. Conflicts between mods can arise if two unrelated items of the same type and group share the same instance ID values.

• TuLEP: Turning Lane Extension Piece(s) (or Project). This is a set of puzzle pieces used to create intersections with turning lanes and slip lanes. These were made for Road, Avenue, some bidirectional NWM networks, RHW-2 and RHW-3. They have since been superseded by the FLEX Turn Lanes (FTLs), first introduced in NAM 36 and substantially expanded from NAM 43 to 45.

• URail: Underground Rail. A series of puzzle piece-based items allowing for underground functionality of the Rail network, both with and without Dual-Networking functionality (i.e. URail-under-Road). Developed by GoaSkin, and later by Chrisim, it debuted in NAM 20.

• WAVERide: Wave Override–deprecated term to refer to what is now known as a FLEX Piece.

• WRC: Wide Radius Curve. These are network configurations available in draggable, FLEX and/or puzzle piece form, which replace the sharp 45° and 90° bends achievable with simple drag patterns of networks. These allow players to get smoother and more realistic roadway and railway geometric alignments. See also MRC.

Acronyms sometimes confused for being Network Addon Mod-related:

• CAM: Colossus Addon Mod, which is not transit-related at all, but rather, a mod dealing with RCI simulation, which adds additional stages to growables. The original version featured its own traffic simulator, since deprecated and superseded by the NAM traffic simulator.
• SPAM: SimPeg Agricultural Mod, which is not transit-related at all, but rather, a mod dealing with the farming and agriculture. The original version featured its own traffic simulator, since deprecated and superseded by the NAM traffic simulator.