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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 4:17 AM
Default Neighborhood Mass Transit
I asked this as just a random question and got a few responses, but I'd like more feedback and more specifics, if possible, so I'll pose it quickly again-

When you place the monorail or the railroad neighborhood decorations in your neighborhoods, where do they go? Most importantly, exactly how far are they from the nearest parallel road? But also, what kinds of neighborhoods do they pass through? What other decor do you associate with them? Etc, etc. I'm mentally trying to figure out the logistics of making transit station lots that would fit together with the neighborhood decor.

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#2 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 4:27 AM
I've never been able to make them work, either they either clip down into the ground but not far enough for a tunnel or there are rocks in the way/too long/not long enough.

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Mad Poster
#3 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 5:42 AM Last edited by HarVee : 20th Sep 2018 at 6:48 AM.
Sadly I've never found a practical use of them either. The maxis design of them doesn't look realistic at all. I think unless a player uses a flat area of their neighborhood map to place them they'll always clip with the surrounding landscape.

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#4 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 5:48 AM
I think I have one that goes over the bay and then disappears into a bunch of Deco skyscrapers in one of my down towns. They like...go on forever so they are tricky to place.

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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#5 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 5:58 AM
Hmm... Well, I'm still going to try making a monorail stop regardless!

Maybe I'll persuade a few people to find ways to integrate them into their 'hoods!

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Mad Poster
#6 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 10:35 AM
I've tried to put into a neighborhood, but it just seems so out-of-place and silly in most of them.

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#7 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 11:07 AM Last edited by simsample : 20th Sep 2018 at 11:38 AM.
I'll repost my idea for the monorail here:


ETA: I'm attaching some images of how I integrated the monorail into my hills; I used Criquette's railway tunnels:
http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=319998
Screenshots
Mad Poster
#8 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 3:25 PM
I used a monorail as the Hogwarts Express in my neighbourhood with Harry Potter sims. It was the right colour. XD
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#9 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 4:05 PM
I've done the same thing as simsample with the tunnels. I've also sat the track on top of a bridge, like so:

It looks kinda dumb, but it looks less-dumb than the track hanging unsupported over the water.

If you want to build a monorail station, getting some sort of platform to line up right with the track will likely be your toughest problem because in lot view, the track sits at sort of an awkward height, like so:

It's tall enough that you can stick a one-story building with a moderately-pitched roof under it but not much taller than that. Hopefully it'll line up at least "well enough" with one of the available "click heights" when using the constrainfloorelevation cheat to chop walls down to different heights.

That being said, in neighborhood view, the track seems to be taller than a two-story building. (See the first pic. The two identical brick buildings near the middle of the pic are two iterations of Jo's hostel lot, which is foundation plus two full stories tall, plus a little "outbuilding" on the roof.) So, I'm kinda thinking that something you build to look good in lot view might not look so good in neighborhood view, and vice versa. I've noticed in general that the scale of neighborhood-deco objects in lot view doesn't always match the scale in neighborhood view. Or maybe it's more that the scale of lot imposters vs. neighborhood deco is off in neighborhood view. Either way, things don't always line up the same in the two views.

If it all works out, you'll also have to place the track so that it doesn't run into other buildings, so that'll limit your options. Me, when I use the trains or monorail (which isn't often) I usually place the tracks running parallel to the longest straight stretch of road in the neighborhood. It'll hang off the ends of the world, of course, but this isn't often visible from lots or in close-up hood-view pics. If it is visible...Well, strategic camera angles work.

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#10 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 6:27 PM
I will try to make the monorail work when I attach a downtown, but so far I've never been able to successfully place it and not have it look stupid. The train is almost the same, I've only once managed to place it and have it look OK. It was in a military base subneighbourhood. It ran parallel to the main road, as close as I could place it. I've since lost that savegame, though.

I will definitely be paying attention to this thread in search of ideas!

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Mad Poster
#11 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 8:08 PM Last edited by RoxEllen1965 : 22nd Sep 2018 at 9:55 PM. Reason: spelling
If you can get them lined up properly, Sophie-David extracted the animated effects so you can have a train or monorail actually move through a train station lot. They can be tough to line up though and the monorail is at ground level (or wherever you place the effect object). They won't stop to pick up passengers either. I attached Sophie-David's picture because there's no way that I'm fast enough to get one myself.

http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=500080
Screenshots
Alchemist
#12 Old 20th Sep 2018 at 8:11 PM
railroad decoration; I take it came with Freetime.
and if I remember correctly, Freetime's main neighborhood starts with at least one.

have not experimented with it.
Scholar
#13 Old 21st Sep 2018 at 7:04 AM
I tend to stick the monorail on a flattish piece of land, and build round it. I put the spaceport near it since major mass transit facilities tend to be next to or near one another, but I've never tried making a formal train station. (I use steam trains less often; for me they fit better thematically with something like the forest holiday subhood than my slightly-futuristic main hood, especially when there's a monorail in the same hood.
Scholar
#14 Old 21st Sep 2018 at 7:48 AM
I did a bit of a mix using Sophie Davids train effect on Leefish's railway station lot, overlapping the Maxis rails. It's quite satisfying seeing the train pass inside the lot.



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