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Ennedi plays Shosaloza

Started by Ennedi, August 25, 2007, 10:22:31 AM

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szarkoz

#520
Hey there, Adam,

First of all, congratulations for your OSITM award (is it the second already?). I haven't visited here for a while and I was very pleased to see that there are few pages that I hadn't read. It would take too long to talk about all the details I admire. All I can really say is that you've truly inspired me. That semi-realistic style you follow is something that always used to be my own style. Then I tried to make my cities more and more realistic and accurate which apparently led to cease of my interest in playing as it grew boring... Now, after seeing that there are still mayors that sculpt their cities just like Darmok in AVR or Jeronij in his good, ol' SCR, I'm encouraged to start playing again. If you ever happen to see my MD here (which is possible in the future) don't be angry if it will be awfully similar to your Shosaloza - it's just become my biggest source of inspiration. Big thanks to you, Adam!

And I thought my speech will be very short.

Tomek
If you can't read my nick, just call me Tom.

Simpson

Hello
The environement is so beautiful
Abd the city is very good  &apls &apls
;)
My new city is now here
The région of Kaikoura

Teaser of Lopsas[+ How did I do it?]:Lopsas

sebes

Excellent Adam - Excellent - enjoyed watching this update again. I have nothing to add to what other said, but just wanted to leave a comment showing I was here and enjoyed  :satisfied:
Check my MD:               
Rhenen,NN

TheTeaCat

Adam

Congrats on the OSITM award for the second time &apls
And what a way to start it all off. You have shown some of the most amazing pictures that I had to make a second cuppa just
to have a second look. The way you masked the slope of the hill is truly masterful &apls

Trying to pick out a favourite is really difficult so I wont even bother $%Grinno$%
Your skill and attention to detail is simply astounding and it shows in every picture that you show &apls

I am really looking forward to seeing what else you have in store for us this month.
And as its a special month I give you the choice


Regards
Derry




edit: How did that monkey get there?

Kettle's on. Milk? Sugars?    ps I don't like Earl Grey  $%Grinno$%
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - If you're not part of the solution , you're part of the problem!
"Never knock on Death's door: Ring the bell and run away! Death really hates that!"
Tales at TeaTime      Now A proper NUT      TTC plays GRV II

Ennedi

#524
Wow, so much comments  ;D Thank you very much!
I haven't time for answers last time, so today I must reply for comments from last two updates  :D especially because some of them include interesting questions and suggestions.



Simpson: April 20th
QuoteSo beautiful   
I love your work
Can we have a picture of the region??

Thank you! Please wait a week or two for the region view, I must prepare something... ;D

Yoman April 21:
QuoteI must say that it looks even more stunning at night, especially the stairs, maybe I should experiment with some night shots more, though Im yet to get the patch from EA

As for your questions, I know that there are light cones as props that can be found in the Gare Du Nord prop pack, otherwise I have no clue about night lights

Yes, making night views is very interesting! It would be fantastic if you and your teammates would remember about nightlights preparing your Seaport set! Real seaports work 24 hours per day and they have a lot of lights  ;) (but please get the proper patch and check the result ingame after installing)



Thundercrack83 April21:
QuoteUnbelievable work here, Adam! Absolutely stunning! Looks as though I missed an update here, I do apologize for that, my friend. I'll try not to let it happen again!

Always looking forward to more of your work!

Dustin
Thank you Dustin, you are always a very nice guest here - and I know you have a lot of work, so no need to apologize, simply come and relax when you will have a while  :thumbsup:

Wouanagaine April21:
QuoteImpressive work !

Thank you very much Stephane, nice to hear a compliment from a master!

kbieniu7 April21:

QuoteGood Work! That's beautiful.

Thank you, I'm glad you like it!

Meldolion April 21:

QuoteWOW!! Yor work is awesome

I really like the way you are developing the region

Thank you, it will need much work to be able to call this region really developed  :D

bat April 21:
QuoteYes, really excellent work there on that city and your experiments with the night shots!
Looking forward to the next...

Thank you bat! Nice to see you again!

Jmouse April21:
QuoteOh yes, Adam, those gorgeous night shots are icing on the cake! And I do appreciate the soft light under the lamp posts very much. When used with a skilled and subtle hand, PS can add a great deal of depth and character to a scene. Love that first shot with Gizmos' night mod - there's enough light coming through to make it look real. Sometimes I wish there was something a bit less intense, but with more moxie than Maxis!

Anyway, congratulations on achieving yet another high level of excellence!

Until next time...
Joan

Hello Joan, it's always a big pleasure to see you here! :thumbsup: As for PS I'm still learning... :D

figui April 21:
Quoteabsolutely wonderful updates
love the work you're doing with Malecon. i love the stairs area/district, i'd like to visit them and enjoy the nightlife there!

on other side, the port is yet looking wonderful, i'll wait for an update on that area patiently, and enjoying whatever area you decide to share with us in the meantime..

mauricio.

Thank you Mauricio, I'm very glad you visited me!  :thumbsup: Yes, there will be more pictures of the seashore and seaport, but I need some time to develop this area, I hope you will like it  :)

TheTeaCat April 22:
QuoteWonderful update Adam 

I love what you have done with the night shots
It is very difficult to decide which night mod to use at times I agree, but you have found a way around that
with your great use of PSing.

Showing the same picture from raw to finished just shows how much you think about the final shot,
and the final shot is just perfect. (if only we had a night mod to this level and everything would be perfect )

I think your suggestion of widening the light cones is a good idea. Brighter too?

Quote from: Yoman on April 21, 2008, 12:29:43 AM
As for your questions, I know that there are light cones as props that can be found in the Gare Du Nord prop pack, otherwise I have no clue about night lights

Following on from Yoman's suggestion, how about the "biglightcone" from the Highway Light Towers pack linkie. This may be of some use to you.
I know you already have that pack as I have seen you use it before   

Great pics,fabulous setting, beautiful presentation - a truly 1st class update
Now if you could direct me to the nearest Teashop in Malecon I would be ever so grateful   

Regards
Derry

Hello Derry, thank you very much for nice words and for suggestions about nightlights!
I will remember about the Teashop, I think I will prepare a mini guide to show you some interesting places (not only teashops, maybe a few Amsterdam style coffe shops?  ;D)

Shadow Assassin April 22:
QuoteOkay, this is just nuts.

Three updates on the same page.


Simply spectacular... I agree with Simpson - we need a picture of the region. I wonder how Shosaloza is shaping up...

As for that method of PSing, it's pretty much very similar to what I used... I like Gizmo's mod, but it turns down the light cones too much for my liking, so Photoshop is my best buddy in that situation.

Thank you! I'm glad you have similar opinion about night views, I highly appreciate your working methods - your pictures are always something special  :thumbsup: Please wait a while for the region view, I promise I will show it soon  :)

star.torturer April 23:
QuoteTHAT IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!!

*me dies again*

Joe

Thank you Joe! I'm glad you like it!

thundercrack83 (and the Staff) May 01:
QuoteHello, Adam! Congratulations!

- The Staff
 

Thank you so much for the OSITM award, it's a big honour for me, I will try to do my best during this month :thumbsup:

star.torturer May 01:
QuoteVery well done to you Adam, excellent, tho tbh I believe you should have a special board just for yourself  LOL

Thanks for being such a good creator

Joe

Thank you again Joe, maybe it's a bit too much with this special board  :D More seriously, a big part of my work is done especially to show beginners that building in SC4 is really easy and they shouldn't afraid about terraforming, slopes, transit networks and such things. I wouldn't want to see somebody looking at these pictures and saying "He can create it and I can't" - it is not true!

paroch May 01:
QuoteHi Adam,

Congrats on your second OSITM.  Your MD has a knack of breaking ground in different ways, be it terrain, slopes, water ripples, your transit planning, use of RL pics, and the last updates of Malecon have also brought a new view of your MD.

So, I am interested to see what you deliver this month - I have a feeling it will be special.

All the best,

Paul

Thank you Paul! I'm learning a lot making this MD. So if I discover something interesting, I want to share it. I like to see new things in another MDs, so I think my experiments can be interesting for a few other people too  ;) Researching new fields is also a reason of slowing down the region development - but I think it is worth of it. Looking at the West End development and your own LE creations I'm sure you like experimenting too...  :thumbsup:

Jmouse May 01:
QuoteGlad to see you in OSITM again this month, Adam, and a well-deserved honor it is. Of course, as one of your biggest fans, guess I'm a little partial so I'm really looking forward to seeing what you have planned for the next few weeks.

Until next time...
Joan

I'm glad to see you again Joan, it's really a great pleasure and encouragement to have such great fans  :D I know you are very busy now, so I appreciate your visits even more!  :) (And I must say I'm a big fan of your BAT attempts, and your guide for beginners is really a brilliant idea!  &apls)

rooker1 May 02:
QuoteWow....Adam, this is great news indeed. 
Congratulations on your move to OSITM this and for it being your second time.  You are now in an Elite club my friend.  There are only a few of us in here for the second time and yours is truly deserved.
I can't wait to see what you'll have for us.

Robin 

Thank you very much Robin!  Yes, it's a great honour, I'm very glad of it. You wait for updates, and I wait for your comments, they are always thoughtful and inspiring!  :thumbsup:

ejc May 02:
Quoteah ennide; you did it again! 

now; ROCK us with a nice update 

E

Thank you! I will try to do my best  :) (and I hope RL will not make any surprise  ;D)

Toichus Maximus May 02:

Thank you very much! Looking at your own work I suppose you will join to the OSITM club earlier or later  ;)

Pat May 02:
QuoteHey Adam congrats on your promotion to OSITM!!!   

Thank you very much Pat, your continous support is very important for me!

Masochist May 03:
QuoteWow, Ennedi!

I love the work you put into this city!  It shows in each and every picture...and if I may say so, I think each and every picture would have a legit shot at making the Hall of Fame (some I would consider guarantees ).  Nice work just doesn't cut it in here; this is jaw dropping!

And congrats on becoming "Of Special Interest" for a repeat time!  Definitely well deserved !

Hello Isaac, I'm very glad you visited me here! Thank you very much for such nice comment, but there are much more beautiful pictures here at SC4D - including yours  :thumbsup: And thank you for your work with the Competition and HoF, thanks to it we can see all this diversity in one place!  &apls

Nardo69 May 03:
QuoteHello Adam!

I should have come here earlier - Anyway, congrats on the well deserved Award! 

And it seems we have the same dedications: different levels and adequate slopes!   

Great work with the avenues, I don't know if I put that avenue roundabout between the bridge but it sure looks great there.

Great harbour - I am never satisfied with mine, well, I am a child from the hills I guess, even though I am living now close to the sea ... 

Take care (and don't forget to make backups!)

Bernhard 

Hello Bernhard, thank you very much for nice words and welcome in Shosaloza! Yes, we have some common points (I like your rural, hilly landscapes very much!) and I suppose we will have even more in future (I like railways too - but I will have to develop them in a special way in this terrain  :D)
As for the harbour, it's one of my experimental areas, there is still a lot to do with it  :)
Btw your homeland Schwarzwald is a beautiful area, it is quite similar to the hilly area around my city Bielsko-Biała (Beskidy,
Beskiden in German)

And now - replies for comments after the last update.

Pat May 04:
QuoteOhhhhhhhhhh My Gawd Adam wow!!!!!  OK I need to take a breather after this update wow, I'm stunned here!!! You have done such a wonderful job and especially on the Votivkirche i believe that is correct for the church on the slop with mas-sans walls...   

Your PS'ing skills are grand even those night shots have left me breathless here WOW!!! I just cant stop but marvel over the wonders you have done and you truly did a fantastic job on that slop with the plop grass....  Speaking of which that area you can almost feel in the one pic as you are truly high up wow, I believe its the 13 pic down wow!!!

Also I couldn't think of better place to make my 5k post and here it is in your most wonderful MD!!!!

Thank you Pat for your continous support, congratulations on your 5000th post!  :)

bat May 04:
QuoteCongrats on your Award there! And it's a fantastic start for this month with that excellent update! And a lot of beautiful views of these great areas!

Looking forward to the next updates in this month!

Another nice guest, thank you bat fo your visit!

Quote from: paroch on May 04, 2008, 08:17:48 AM
Hi Adam,

First up, I want to say Congratulations on hitting 500 posts.  For May Shosozola is SPECIAL and in June it will be CLASSIC - well done (and hopefully West End can pick up enought posts to join you ;))

Absolutely HUGE update there - what a way to start the month, it would have been possible to make three or four updates from just these pics, but no, you give us a MONSTER size update :) :thumbsup: :)

The greenery around the Salzburg Cathederal is extra special, looks fantastic.  The night view of the embankment/raised parks is unique I think, great creativity.

And the old downtown is a joy to see.  It must have taken much planning and then some bulldozing, and maybe some more bulldozing and re-planning to achieve such a great end result.  And I'm impressed with you picture presentation as well - they all look great.

Well done Adam.

Paul

Thank you Paul! Yes, I was thinking about dividing this update into 2 or 3 parts, an maybe it would be wise, I would have more time to develop the city  :D But I have built this downtown area as a whole and I was quite satisfied of the result - so I wanted to show it in the same way  ;)
I supposed it could be bored to show the same area several times.
I'm very glad you like the greenery around the Salzburg Cathedral. I used a few little tricks preparing this area (and some others), I will say about them today.
Walls are very important for me (it's obvious, most of cities in Shosaloza are located on slopes), but I always want to achieve some diversity. I looked for something nice to finish the castle wall - and I noticed that Raised Parks look very well with MAS71 wall texture. Nightlights are a kind of bonus and I like them too  :)
Yes, it was a lot of trials and errors, planning and bulldozing to put all buildings on their final places. But there were two other difficult things here: traffic (especially how to connect the downtown with other districts lying much lower, Big Dig lots helped a lot to do it) and open spaces - sidewalks, plazas and breaks between buildings. I needed to use various plaza sets and fillers, I will show some of them today.

Quote from: dedgren on May 04, 2008, 10:12:15 AM
I'd book tickets to your city this summer just to be able to walk around Castle Hill, Adam.  This is work of such a rarefied level- you are surpassed by nobody in your Euro-city building skills.  All that, and you take such pains with the woodlands, as well.

We have a masterwork and the master himself in our midst.
David


Thank you David! OK, tickets are reserved yet, I suppose summer in Malecon will be very nice, maybe I will be able to invite you to a few interesting places in neighboring cities too  ;) There are still some civil works around the Castle Hill to do, but they should be finished before the high season  :D
Thank you for nice words, I simply like Euro-cities and know some of them. They are so diversified and you can always find something unique and inspiring in each of them. But as you see I don't want to make any exact recreation, my cities are rather a collection of inspirations from many various places and images from my memory. I only try to make this collection a bit less chaotic than in my mind  :D
And nothing interesting would be possible without all these amazing BATs and other custom stuff made by many talented people. Thank you all of you!  :thumbsup:

Quote from: Jmouse on May 04, 2008, 12:21:35 PM
First, congratulations on achieving 500 posts and with it, a well-deserved place in the Classics section, Adam.

The Salzburg Cathedral and surrounding area are stunning, right down to the variety of trees present. And by night, of course, it is breathtaking! You seem to have a natural talent for showcasing the finest gems in an appropriately lavish setting as you have done with St. Stephan Church, too, and once again the night shots are gorgeous.

The photos of the city are beautiful, and I especially like the intricate BATS you have used. Such sights are foreign to this lightly-traveled southern USA gal, but I can imagine how majestic they would look in RL. And you saved the best for last - those gorgeous night shots enhanced by lighting effects that are somewhat new to me. Your talents are seemingly endless!

Until next time...Joan

Hello Joan, nice to see you again! Many things are new for me too!  ;D Long time ago I came to a conclusion that there are a lot of beautiful custom SC4 objects, but to appreciate their value it is necessary to create an apropriate surrounding to every of them. And it is not easy because of various shapes, sizes and textures, and even more difficult if you want to create both nice looking and properly functioning city.
So I made a lot of mistakes and now I slowly learn how to use particular BATs and LE creations. The intention of this MD is not to create a gallery ("look what I have built"  :D) but rather a place to exchange ideas and working techniques. This is also a reason that all comments are very important for me and I want to answer to everybody (although I should make it more often, I didn't do it last time and today I have way too much to write  :D)
I saw most of these buildings many times, and have downloaded some of them. But first time I looked thoroughly at their details including nightlights and I was amazed how beautiful are they. So I decided to show these details as good as I can. These are real jewels and good to look at them closely.

Quote from: nedalezz on May 04, 2008, 12:35:56 PM
Oh my, oh my, oh my! What a majestic update; I dont think Ive ever seen those European buildings look so beautiful. In fact, you just inspired me to build one of my own in Qumma, a new settlement perhaps.

I feel cold just by looking at the pictures, reminds me of winter and the snow!

As for the first few pictures, the way you've set up that cathedral on top of the hill is just fantastic, and I think what does it for me is the quality of the woodlands around it. Fantastic stuff!

Thank you nedalezz for your visit! I'm very glad you like these buildings, I hope you don't feel too cold looking at them  :D We have rather Mediterranean climate in Shosaloza (except high mountainous parts), so don't afraid about cold!
It is difficult to compose various building styles together. Personally I don't know if Paris/Dutch/German buildings would look good in Qumma  :) I will have similar problem as you soon, one of Malecon's neighboring cities will be built in Mediterranean style. Now I'm thinking very intensively what else can I put into this city, and I haven't an ultimate answer yet. I suppose I will lurking in your MD looking for help...  ;)

Quote from: Yoman on May 04, 2008, 01:02:28 PM
This update is looking great Adam, I'm lucky I didn't miss it considering I've been obsessed with Grand Theft Auto IV all week :P

You've come up with some very innovative solutions to some problems, such as the hillside park and the combination of the raised walls and retaining walls, I'd like to see the terrforming you had to do to get the raised parks to blend in with ground level stuff as well as it did. Must have been alot of trial and error.

I'm really enjoying the development of the city so far, and I'm looking forward to those slums. How about a region shot though?

Hello Owen, I'm glad seeing you here and highly appreciate your devotion  :D My last adventure with race games was NFS Underground and I can also say I have been obsessed a bit more than one week  ;D
In fact there was not too much terraforming with these raised parks. I showed a nice method how to do such things a long time ago, but I suppose not much people saw it and most of these who saw found it too bored or sophisticated ;) I will show it today.
Slums: I remember, please wait a while  ;D The same for region shot, I must prepare something 

Quote from: star.torturer on May 04, 2008, 01:47:15 PM
Adam, sir, I am sorry but I just can not think of the words to tell you how utterly amazed and happy I am at seeing your images. your skills are unmatched, your patience must be phenomenal.

Thank you more than plain words themselves can say.

Joe

Hello Joe, thank you for nice words! I think all of us must have a lot of patience to do anything in SC4, no matter if we want to build a city, make a BAT, mod or a piece of software  ;D. The only way is to take these activities as a patience exercise, it can be later useful in RL  :D

Quote from: kimcar on May 04, 2008, 02:18:10 PM
I missed too much update here , sorry.

Congrats for the award. It`s well deserve because you work is so great and you always show excellent pics. &apls &apls &apls
A lot of then can be in the Hall of Fame . Congrats again

Thank you kimcar for your visit and congratulations! :thumbsup:

Quote from: aliek on May 04, 2008, 02:32:58 PM
Czesz!

Please, where can I get the barroque cathedral and specially the building that there's near!? (third photo)

Welcome in Shosaloza! Very nice to see somebody from Russia, there are only a few of you on SC4D  :)
Links were sent via PM yet, if you will look for something else, don't hesitate to ask!

Quote from: Shadow Assassin on May 04, 2008, 02:55:01 PM
Okay, you've started this OSITM month off with a blast. :P

This'll definitely be hard to beat. ;)

Anyway, the city looks great, I like how you've integrated open space into the construction of the area around the castle hill. This looks brilliant, too.

Thank you, I can't build everything as I want on this terrain  ;D So I must leave some free spaces. I try to think as hypothetic architects - ancient and present: where are the best places for our roads, what can we build on these hills, how to enable an easy access to various areas? This is something completely different as making a simple grid and filling it, and much slower too   ::) But I think building this way makes everything more natural.
Of course, the city need some open areas too and these natural ones look better.

Quote from: ejc on May 05, 2008, 12:55:36 AM
Whow, I just love the shot with the quatre saisons and the temple in Paris!! That night-shot is freaking nice  %confuso

also I like the first picture from "opposite directions" as you tell. I like the way the road go uphill and the houses following it's path

nice update!!

E

Hello ejc, I'm glad you found a while to visit Shosaloza! :thumbsup: Thank you for pointing out what you like, I'm always curious of such opinions, showing pictures is also something like testing various ideas  :)

Quote from: meldolion on May 05, 2008, 01:21:25 AM
OMG!!!! :o
Those are wonderful pictures!!! You are a master Adam :)

Hello meldolion, thank you very much for visit and for nice words!  :thumbsup:

Quote from: rooker1 on May 05, 2008, 11:09:04 AM
That was a fantastic update my friend.
Your move to OSITM this month and the 2x Elite club was already great news, but to know that when you leave at the end of the month you'll be in The Classics, exactly where you deserve to be.
Great use of diagonal buildings along the avenue with a nice park feel.  I also really like that first avenue round about with the avenue running into it as well as the two extra one ways.  I didn'y realize you could do that.
I look forward to the rest of the month with you and your MD.
&apls
Robin  :thumbsup:


Hello Robin! I'm very glad I will join with you and a few other friends in the Classics section (although I suppose it will be even more work to do  :D)
Yes, these diagonal buildings are a fantastic addition to the game, both Paris, Prepo and Krio ones! :thumbsup: Green sidewalks along the diagonal avenue were made using excellent SFBT Diagonal Fillers - it's one of my favourite custom stuff! And perfectly done as everything from Germany  ;D
As for these extra ways from a roundabout - it was a very nice surprise for me when I saw it was possible. I needed a short avenue to the Big Dig entrance and two roads going in the same direction to pass through the Eglise delle Madeleine (this is a TE lot). I still learn various NAM possibilities and still discover new things  ;D

Quote from: thundercrack83 on May 05, 2008, 11:46:14 AM
Hello, Adam!
Excellent work, as always, my friend! I love the area around the roundabout, especially--with the Big Dig tunnels and all the Parisian building. I love it!
I can't wait to see what you'll do with the rest of your time here in OSITM!

Dustin

Thank you very much Dustin! I hope I will be able to show more this month, some areas are developed now, but of course everything need finishing and the most important thing is to have enough time  ;)

Quote from: JBSimio on May 05, 2008, 01:24:26 PM
Fantastic update!   &apls  Your city layout and choice of buildings is great... although that didn't surprise me at all.  What really grabbed my eye was how amazingly realistic the wooded areas look in the first four pictures.  Simply stunning!   :thumbsup:

JB

Thank you Jon and welcome in Shosaloza! I'm always very glad when any of this fantastic custom stuff creators find a while to visit my MD. There are some of your buildings in Malecon too!  :thumbsup:
Nice to hear you like the greenery around Salzburg Cathedral, in fact it is easy to make it in a natural way, it only needs some patience and practice. I will comment it today.

Quote from: vester on May 05, 2008, 01:34:29 PM
Yes, fantastic update, just one thing missing: Trams..... looking everywhere for but no one.

Hello Arne, very nice to see you here! Don't worry about trams, the next big city in Shosaloza will be full of them!  :D In fact, there are too much steep slopes in Malecon - it would be possible to build a GLR network here, but it wouldn't look good. The city lying to the North from Malecon will be placed mainly on a large flat surface and I want to have trams there. I downloaded both your tram sets and I want to choose something from them.
I was also thinking about making trams in the second neighboring city (to the South from Malecon), but I will have mainly Mickbear's buildings in it and placing trams there would be difficult because of GLR base texture.
But you other creations are present in Malecon  ;D Did anybody tell you that the Schlosskirche Christiansborg is a fantastic building? It looks excellent with the Salzburg Cathedral, without it this place wouldn't look such good  :)

Quote from: Rayden on May 05, 2008, 01:46:49 PM
Badsim show is finished, at least for the time being, but, lucky us, you took his role on this play, and, more words for what...  &apls

Welcome in Shosaloza Silvio! It's a great pleasure for me, when I decided to use the Shosaloza map in my MD I looked carefully at all existing Shosaloza creations. I like them all, but yours was probably the closest to my own ideas and it was a great source of inspiration for me! I was worried when you finished your region (almost exactly when I made my first comment in it  :D) and I'm glad to see you again!  :thumbsup:
Badsim's work is the only one of its kind, his LE creations are fantastic and it would be difficult to compare them with anything else. I feel honoured of such comparation, I will try to do my best to give you some pleasure and inspiration too  :)

Quote from: szarkoz on May 05, 2008, 01:57:51 PM
Hey there, Adam,

First of all, congratulations for your OSITM award (is it the second already?). I haven't visited here for a while and I was very pleased to see that there are few pages that I hadn't read. It would take too long to talk about all the details I admire. All I can really say is that you've truly inspired me. That semi-realistic style you follow is something that always used to be my own style. Then I tried to make my cities more and more realistic and accurate which apparently led to cease of my interest in playing as it grew boring... Now, after seeing that there are still mayors that sculpt their cities just like Darmok in AVR or Jeronij in his good, ol' SCR, I'm encouraged to start playing again. If you ever happen to see my MD here (which is possible in the future) don't be angry if it will be awfully similar to your Shosaloza - it's just become my biggest source of inspiration. Big thanks to you, Adam!

And I thought my speech will be very short.

Tomek

Hello Tomek, it was a really big pleasure to read your comment, thank you very much for it!  :thumbsup:
You said about very important thing. Of course somebody can recreate an existing area as exact as possible. But SC4 has it's own, specific kind of "reality" - and the best thing we can do is to accept it and - the most important - to free our imagination and follow it using Sc4 specific rules and possibilities. Places I created in Shosaloza are far from their RL sources (like Salzburg castle, downtown at the riverside and cathedral showed on pictures in my previous update). I don't want to make them similar to the original, but realistic in the general sense. And it gives me much pleasure.
Yes, AVR and especially SCR were my great sources of inspiration too. And it would be a great pleasure if some of my ideas and techniques would be useful for you, in fact the ultimate goal of making the MD is (at least for me) to exchange knowledge, ideas and inspirations.
You have a good eye for details and very good sense of the style - I remember how you recreated a specific Polish village climate in pictures you showed at SC4D a long time ago. So I'm very curious of your future creations!  :thumbsup:

Quote from: Simpson on May 07, 2008, 02:51:00 AM
Hello
The environement is so beautiful
Abd the city is very good  &apls &apls
;)


Hello again Simpson, thank you very much!

Quote from: sebes on May 09, 2008, 06:39:35 AM
Excellent Adam - Excellent - enjoyed watching this update again. I have nothing to add to what other said, but just wanted to leave a comment showing I was here and enjoyed  :satisfied:

Hello sebes, I'm glad you was here and enjoyed - exactly as me in you new MD  :D :thumbsup:

Quote from: TheTeaCat on May 09, 2008, 02:12:09 PM
Adam
Congrats on the OSITM award for the second time &apls
And what a way to start it all off. You have shown some of the most amazing pictures that I had to make a second cuppa just
to have a second look. The way you masked the slope of the hill is truly masterful &apls

Trying to pick out a favourite is really difficult so I wont even bother $%Grinno$%
Your skill and attention to detail is simply astounding and it shows in every picture that you show &apls

I am really looking forward to seeing what else you have in store for us this month.
And as its a special month I give you the choice


Regards
Derry
edit: How did that monkey get there?


Hello Derry, very nice to see you again, I hope you feel better now  ;)
These pictures were designed especially as an addition to the cuppa, nice to hear they play their role correctly  :D
I must take care about details, my viewers are usually very perceptive so I don't want to be ashamed  ;)
What else this month? We will see what will grow, SC4 is full of surprises (exactly as RL  ;D)
Thank you very much for this beer collection (plus raspberry juice - very good with Dilmah tea, plus mineral water - not very good with any tea  ;)). I suppose there was more beer and this monkey knows what happened with the rest, it has very mysterious smile  ;)


Some of you told me that you like the flora in Malecon. I'm very glad of it. I still make many experiments with ploppable trees and I think my forests and parks are still far from perfect. I'm going to prepare a special update about flora (something like my terrain mods presentation), but it will not be very soon.
In the meantime I'd like to show you some simple techniques I use in my cities to create the greenery. Maybe they will be useful for somebody.

1. In general, I use Cycledogg's forests to cover larger areas, especially on undeveloped city tiles. This is a separate theme, I will tell more at another occasion. To arrange smaller areas I use mainly single ploppable trees, bushes etc. and try to mix them. This way I have more control on the final result.

2. Putting trees on slopes I noticed that it is often good to break the slope by (relatively) flat areas and irregular steeper walls instead of creating a constant gradient from the foot to the top. Many tress can't be plopped on steep slopes. It is easier to compose lower and higher trees on a flat surface.
Look at the picture below. I made here a few flat terraces divided by walls 10-15 meters high.
Then I planted a few (not too much!) types of trees making irregular patches and leaving a place for another kind of trees.
At first I covered all wall ends and other lot edges which could look unnatural, then i planted trees in other places.
As you see, I used here trees of similar size and form, but contrasting colors.



Which trees work best on very steep slopes?
- Swamp tree from an SFBT set
- Bush from SFBT too - very useful!
- Maxis Large Dedicious tree (different color than most Cycledogg trees, gives very good effect mixed with them)
And you can experiment with others of course  ;)

2. My next general principle - not only for trees, but for everything I build: After plopping something I look at it from every direction and  at least 2 closer zooms. This way I have no problem with finding nice views to make a shot later  :D (of course it needs some time and more bulldozing  ;) )
But sometimes it is simply impossible to build something looking good from every direction. Look at trees on rocky slope behind the Cathedral - they look strange IMO.



So I had to decide which viewing direction is the most important for me and I did it - look below:



Please also notice flora patches on the rocky surface (top right corner). I tried to make them irregular, to achieve a natural look. This is very important.
Looking again at the picture above you can also see some trees on the riverside, clearly visible on the water background. This is also intentional. One of my first steps (immediately after hiding unnatural lot edges) is putting some characteristic trees on the contrasting background - water, stone wall or the building wall. It needs many trials and errors, but adds a lot to the picture.
Why I should to make it first? Some bigger trees need a bit larger area to plop and if I would fill the area by smaller trees first, It could be impossible to plop these characteristic trees where I want. Making it first I can also improve possible mistakes such as trees growing in water  :D (look below) without damaging the surrounding.



4. Masking edges by trees:



5. Hiding edges and working with a background.
Look below. The left end of the stone wall was hidden by small but dense trees/bushes. High trees (pines and eucalyptus trees) were planted first, then I added the rest:



...And of course I looked at these trees from another side - can be accepted in this case, doesn't it?  ;)



6. Sometimes we need to plop only one tree and to do it very carefully to acheve a nice effect. These Jeronij's Olmos trees were planted on the slope hidden by the offset part of the Raised Park piece:





7. Another example of masking by trees (in this case I had to mask the ugly foundation wall). I always plop one or two crucial trees first, then I add more.



8. This is an interesting thing IMO. Most lots have some trees props added. We can't change these trees without LE. How to harmonize them with the surrounding?
I use something which I called "widening the lot" - maybe you can find better name for it  ;) .
I plop some trees of the same kind around the lot.  Look please at the alley on the picture below. It has aspen trees on alley pieces. So I added some aspens around the alley too  :D



Then I was be able to mix these additional aspen trees with other ones and harmonize everything.
I used this method extensively around lots from the PEG Mountain Theme Pack. PEG pines are very characteristic and they look different than most of other trees. And I had many PEG pines on MTP lots. So I added them around lots too, more of them close to the lot, and only a few in bigger distance. Then I added more other coniferous trees.
Sometimes I do another thing - I add a few trees to the lot, the same ones as used around it. You can see it on the picture below.
Attention: This is a beautiful Praiodan's Charlottenlund Palace - Museum version (there is a Hotel version on larger lot too). This lot is something special for me. The BAT is beautiful, but please look at it's surrounding. Alleys and grass textures are designed perfectly. This is one of the very few lots having textures harmonizing very well with most grassy terrain textures. Textures used in many lots are way too agressive and contrasting and look unnatural. This is a beautiful example of perfect arrangement. Thank you Lars!  :thumbsup:



...And it has very nice nightlights too... ;D



Now some urban terraforming  ;)

I plopped Deadwood's Raised Park Under Rail pieces around the Vienna Votivkirche and conncted them with BSC Parks. How I did it?
I used God Mode tools decreased to the smallest size (Shift 1) and small strength (rubbish F3, Shift F1 to finishing)
Here is my tutorial published a long time ago

1. Plopping RP pieces



2. Raising the terrain



3. Levelling the raised terrain by road tiles, precise adjusting if necessary after the first levelling



4. Building a street (or park, or anything else). The only problem with RP pieces is a shadow on the piece edge, it is always visible no matter how precise you adjust the terrain level. If you hide it on one side, it will appear on the other side  :)



5. You can also make a higher wall and cover the slope with ploppable grass. This way you can create a nice wall with stairs, car parking or an underground station



6. More examples of using RP pieces on slopes  :)





OK, now a few words about plaza pieces and various fillers.

Preparing the Great stairs and downtown areas I looked for various fillers. I knew I was going to use Paris buildings, so I downloaded Porkissimo Plazas made by soulstealer. This is very good set!  :thumbsup: But it has a high-wealth texture, and most Paris buildings has a middle-wealth texture. In addition, I had to use Ped Mall pieces in several places to enable an access to commercial lots and the only Ped Mall texture identical as on Paris lots is the mid-wealth one.
And I found something very useful: the plaza set made by my Polish friend Danthe, available only on Simcity Polska (you must register there). Here is the link



As you see, the set includes two diagonal fillers - very important. Thank you Mariusz!  :thumbsup:
You know this plaza, I showed it in the last update. I combined Danthe's pieces with an excellent Glenni plaza (thank you too Glenni, I love your plazas - normal and neglected ones too!  :D). I added also a clock tower, not Glenni's one in this case - it is too modern to this place.



Other important fillers: BSC BLS Small Commercials, SFBT diagonal fillers. They are perfectly done and extremely useful. The grass texture is the same as along diagonal roads and avenues.
(Btw Prepo's Stickmann Warehouse showed on this picture is fantastic IMO  &apls, I like also Krio's diagonals, especially nightlights  :thumbsup:)



And here is the diagonal avenue with SFBT Diagonal Fillers in action. You can see also the Polish kiosk (available on Simcity Polska).



I'm afraid you can be bored yet, too much text this time. OK, so let's look at some pictures from another Malecon district - Diano Marina. It is located vis-a-vis Great stairs on another riverside. It has more Mediterranean atmosphere. Some good hotels, restaurants, shops, small markets (not everything is legal here  ;)) and of course the waterfront with the ferry station and tourist boats.











And this is a special place (at least for me  :D): The Fish Church Made by SandraSim. In fact it is a large fish market. Looks beautiful, and I love fishes and frutti di mare  :D Thank you Kristina!  :thumbsup:







Looking carefully at this place you can see the black limo staying at the market. Hmm... somebody makes business here... ;D



And at the end - two night shots





That's all, thank you for your attention!

Adam

Edit: And now I have at last some time to look at some other MDs  :)
New Horizons Productions
Berethor - beskhu3epnm - blade2k5 - dmscopio - dedgren - Emilin - Ennedi
jplumbley - moganite - M4346 - nichter85 - papab2000 - Shadow Assassin - Tarkus - wouanagaine

Toichus Maximus

wow, that was a huge update chock-full of information! Some great stuff in here! Thanks for all the tutorials!

Pat

Grand simply Grand here Adam!!! I love all the steps here for what you do to accomplish such wonderful stuff here!!!

Don't forget the SC4D Podcast is back and live on Saturdays @ 12 noon CST!! -- The Podcast soon to Return Here Linkie

CabraBuitre

Holy cow, I LOVE how you've incorporated the elevated parks!  I've wanted to find some stone steps to go from one level to another in a park (using more than the obvious pieces we have currently) and this will work TREMENDOUSLY!  I love how you've incorporated so many different styles but made them flow so well together!!

Check out Abelfarei!

Nardo69

Hi Adam!

You know what, my roots aren't so far away from your homeland as my father was born in Breslau / Wroclaw before the war. Unfortunately I never made it there with him when the time was right, now he is too old and I am too far away. Another missed chance. I would like to get to know more of your country but at the moment I know only Warsaw airport and Thorn / Torun which I really like.

Now to your update:
Great work with the churches and the (historic feeling) retaining walls, you really know how to place them (and you know I am kind of picky with flat retaining walls ;) ). I also like how you made the forests blend into the parks & buildings.

Nice touch with the Votivkirche(?) and the Schiffenberg props, they do work together in your setup!   &apls

Good work with the diagonal Porkie BATs. They are asleep in my plugin folder as I haven't done any new urban layout for months ...

Take care my friend!

Bernhard  :thumbsup:

rooker1

Adam my friend,
It's always very nice to visit your MD.  It seems like you either teach me some new technique or show me to a great download.  And for this I thank you every time.  Your pictures are full of detail and skill and I can see alot of time and patience goes into your city.  You are definately making good use of your time in OSITM.
I wait patiently for your next update.
Robin  :thumbsup:
Call me Robin, please.

JoeST

Adam

once again, you AMAZE me into submition.... I still think you should have your own board... :)

Joe
Copperminds and Cuddleswarms

bat

Like always it's an awesome update, Ennedi! Really beautiful pictures of your fantastic work!!!

Looking forward to the next excellent one...

TheTeaCat

Oh boy was I glad I made a cuppa before catching up here :D

Another marvelous update full of interesting hints and tips &apls
I love the mini tut on the raised parks and how you blended them in is simply .... great

quote "The intention of this MD is not to create a gallery ("look what I have built"  Cheesy) but rather a place to exchange ideas and working techniques."

I think that have hit the nail on the head here my friend, I have learned so much from some of your tutorials that it now affects my whole attitude to the game, (that rocks not in the right place $%Grinno$%, move that tree ::), that spot- why did I do that  ()what() gotta change it) even to the pics I take and how I present them. All improved thanks to you :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I just love the whole shot that shows the Fishchurch and tennis stadium - stunning simply stunning &apls

Time to stick the kettle on, brew another cuppa and go back and enjoy it all again :thumbsup:
You like one too?


Till the next time
Regards
Derry
Kettle's on. Milk? Sugars?    ps I don't like Earl Grey  $%Grinno$%
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - If you're not part of the solution , you're part of the problem!
"Never knock on Death's door: Ring the bell and run away! Death really hates that!"
Tales at TeaTime      Now A proper NUT      TTC plays GRV II

thundercrack83

Adam, Adam, Adam--where do I begin???

What a massive update, my friend. There's so much to take in a digest, I can hardly move!

From the trees on slopes and your wonderful, very clever tutorial with the raised parks to the overall beautiful composition of each and every picture. You are really a master, sir, in the truest sense of the word!

Oh, and...

Quote
My next general principle - not only for trees, but for everything I build: After plopping something I look at it from every direction and  at least 2 closer zooms.  This way I have no problem with finding nice views to make a shot later...

I'm going to employ this from now on. It may be one of the best pieces of advice I've read yet!

Great stuff here, Adam. Thank you so much for sharing with us!

Dustin

mightygoose

NAM + CAM + RAM + SAM, that's how I roll....

Yoman

Hello Adam,

Another excellent update you have produced here. I've never really been one to think about what kindof trees I am ploping, as long as they looked good. But now I'll think about adding some more variety. Though I don't have an cliffs to work with like you :P You are indeed correct about the nightlights on that mansion as well, they are wonderful.

Thank you for that quick little tutorial on the raised parks piece. Should prove helpful in a few situations, I can see it has for you. You've constructed a terrenced city that seems to blend seamlessly, which looks wonderful, in my original Odessa I attempted the same. But failed.

That last area with the market is also looking very nice, hopefully the illegal wares being sold are more along the lines of handbags than AK-47s like the markets in the PSSO :P

Owen

Jmouse

My but you do give new meaning to plopping trees – and anything else for that matter, Adam! I recall that it is very difficult to plant trees in a natural-looking way, whether in RL or in game. But for you, it is just one more in a long string of arts you have mastered while the rest of us (I speak for myself!) are still stumbling around wondering why the landscape doesn't look quite right!

The scenes you show are as near perfect as they can be, and now you have told us of the various ways you achieve such greatness. The way you have used RP pieces is remarkable. The underground parking/station facility is truly an inspiration, and your use of stairways throughout looks so natural. Multi-level environs are not easy to work with, but chalk up another art form you've mastered!

It is funny that I always end up with a lot of water in my hand-terraformed regions, but I'm never able to create the kind of scenic shorelines you manage to produce. And then there are the night shots, infused with color, radiance and even a bit of mystery if you look close enough! Absolutely gorgeous.

Possessing the skill to create such beauty is a gift – the desire to create it for the joy of others is an even greater gift.

Thank you...

Joan

Heblem

#537
really nice pictures, Adam  :thumbsup:

Edit May 16, 2008:

Im sorry for that last short reply I gave you before but i think i needed to edit this post because you deserve something more like that simple comment, im sorry for that  ::)

I admire the detail of your city, thats something that im lazy for to do (unfortunately) but the way you did is incredible detailed, too much patience for to do a such work, I admire that. Let me describe some details that I admire, like the slopes and the parks you did, every single tree is placed properly, the uses SAM fits perfectly in your scenes especially looking at this picture is wonderful!

I wish I had the time and patience you have, even to give a correct reply to everyone! that is that I call patience, something that is harder to me for to do.

I wish you the best and take care.
Eblem

freedo50

Awesome work Adam, all of those pictures are fantastic. I definitely agree with you about Lars' Charlottenlund; that picture is just perfect. There is some really useful advice and information here, thanks!

Fred

mattb325

I've enjoyed every minute here ennedi, thank you for sharing all of the tips and tricks! (where were you when I was playing shosaloza  $%Grinno$%  :D ) You have very skillfully blended Euro W2W buildings into a steep, hilly environment. It is exceedinly well done  and I love your use of trees - it ties everything together :thumbsup: