Tarkusian Cities (Update 107-08/23/2020-West Chemeketa Reconfig, Part 1)

[j-dub]

Ughh, every time I look back to SC4 used in this fashion, with well-known, realtime commercial outlets, I am reminded why it's going to be difficult to start up the next one, and turn a profit on that, not to mention EA's regulations now.

AND!  this latest reroute in this MD, especially with the use of Farr, reminds me way too much of what I am dealing with outside in reality for some time, the project had been left unfinished when I was in high-school, and it finally is confirmed again for next year. Some people will not be happy though, because despite the recession, as I post this, they were building these giant houses right behind where the controversial road was to be constructed. This was planned long ago, but the government got involved, so it will happen whether neither town likes it or not.

Alex, I look at your work here, and can't help but compare it to real DOT websites with how they record their progress with photo capture every step of the way. WOW! documented road construction project photos are hard to find! This one though, http://www.civiltechinc.com/srphotos/ was the closest thing I could come up with finding documented in comparison to the style of shots taken in this SC4 MD, which I found too similar. As an added bonus, that real-life project, there were a lot of train lines that had to be crossed, this time includeing both heavy rail, and an old wired tram line.

[RickD]

Nice work. I love the RD-3 - Ave-4 transition. Maybe you have shown it before but it caught my eye now.

[Swordmaster]

Very good! I wish I could do some big roading right now. . .

Cheers
Willy

[noahclem]

Nice to see you continue on with this effortless- and realistic-looking grid-busting. That new intersection layout with the widened road is just perfectly executed. The seasonal flora fits in very nicely there too. I'm very curious to see what surprises may be in store for the near future!

And it's great to be on the map 

[kj3400]

I'm not usually a fan of non grid and I haven't used FAR/FARR extensively yet, but you execute it flawlessly. Excellent construction.

[Haljackey]

Oh, very nice transition and expansion Alex!

[bakerton]

Alex, what a awesome update sofar. Keep on giving me ideas on some of my transit corridors.

[sunv123]

Your Sims must be so lucky to have you as the mayor

Also, love the roundabouts

[Durfsurn]

As usual a nice grid busting, mind bogglingly good, well planned and seamlessly written update Alex! You Sir are the Grand Poobah of Transit MDing!

[sim_link]

Great expansion as per usual.  I really like the new alignment - very realistic and well executed.

[rooker1]

Here is our third of our 4in1 OSITM!! 
Help me congratulate Alex (Tarkus) and his fabulous MD and the fact that this will be his third time in OISTM!!  It's always fun to see how Alex transforms his city and networks as the city grows.  I'm sure this week will be full great updates as usual.



Congrats from The SC4D Staff!!

[art128]

Congratulations, Alex! Not a surprise your MD was choose for his third OSITM as the quality in each update is top notch! 

[Swordmaster]

Wow, great. Congrats, Alex. Curious to see what you've got in store. . .

Cheers
Willy

[noahclem]

Congratulations Alex! I'm very much looking forward to this week 

[threestooges]

Those "starpoints" remind me of a couple of the roundabouts in Santa Barbara, which are some of the more interesting ones I've negotiated. They handle the traffic well enough, but then they're tucked back in residential areas where there isn't too much traffic going through. Not sure how they'd hold up on heavier use streets. The occasional 5-way intersection also makes things fun. Always fun to see the various transit features you implement Alex.
-Matt

[Durfsurn]

Congrats Alex! Well deserved!

[Wthrwyz]

Congrats Alex! How you manage to include such detail in your own projects and still crank out the development work on the NAM is a continuing source of amazement. For me, such level of activity would require vast amounts of caffeine...but you seem to run on magic.

P.S. If your secret actually is caffeine, then would you mind filling me in on who your supplier is? I think I should buy some stock in them because your demand must be endless. 

[Tarkus]

Hi everyone-

First off, a huge thanks to the OSITM committee for selecting Tarkusian Cities as part of the "4-in-1" special for the SC4D 6th anniversary month, and to all who have followed and supported this MD over the years, without whom I wouldn't be here.  The timing of this OSITM is quite fortuitous--today, of course, marks the 7th anniversary of the first release of the RHW, a mod which has been an integral part of Tarkusian Cities from the beginning, and one that I've had the pleasure of working on for 6 of those 7 years.  This first OSITM update also turns out to be the 96th full update of this MD, so we are quickly approaching the 100-update mark. 

During Tarkusian Cities' one-week residency here in OSITM, I will be showcasing a number of different things.  You'll get to see some familiar things continue to progress, namely, construction projects happening in Chemeketa, dealing primarily with improvements to infrastructure downtown.  You will also get to see some things from Tarkusian Cities' history (and pre-history) resurface, as we celebrate 7 years of the RHW, and head toward Update 100.  And there will be some new things.  Sometimes, these new things will be juxtaposed with the past--such as is the case with this update.

For those who may remember that far back, before Tarkusian Cities, I had a short-lived MD called "Argentum".  Argentum (which eventually got appropriated into the stream of Tarkusian Cities).  While that particular region was a bit rough around the ages (particularly in its early days), as I worked with it for so long, and it was the first region I built with the NAM in mind, I've always had particularly fond memories of it.  Coincidentally, the first ever RHW I built was in Argentum--a roadway initially known as Highway 65 (it was actually a predecessor of one incarnation of "Highway 61" that ran through there).

This was part of one of the most complicated setups I built with the RHW in old Argentum.



That image really shows the limitations of the very first RHW release.  First off--no slope mod (yikes!).  You'll also notice I had to convert the RHWs into Avenues to cross them.  The RHW, at that point, only allowed Roads to go over them.  There was no Avenue-over-RHW piece, let alone an RHW-over-RHW capability, and my initial reasons for getting into RHW development were actually because of this very interchange.  I had to use some very sketchy One-Way Road setups to make the ramps--back in 2006, was pretty much the only way to build custom interchanges--in fact, it was considered "the future" by many transportation luminaries of that era. The MIS wasn't on anyone's minds.  And looking at today's developments, it's hard to believe this could have passed for a "good interchange" at any prior point in history.

This was another interchange of that era . . . farther south along old Highway 65.  It got demolished for good early on in Tarkusian Cities history, in one of the zillions of road re-alignments and "realism adjustments" I made to that old Argentum region over the years.  That approach I took in documenting these adjustments really set the tone for the rest of Tarkusian Cities.



The old Argentum region, over the years, became unstable to play, even as I improved it.  As I was still relatively new to custom content when I began building it, there were some not-up-to-par plugins in there which, over time, corrupted it.

However, awhile back, I revisited the original terrain map for it in SC4 Terraformer.  It was originally an auto-generated Landscape Designer map (anyone remember that tool?) that I tweaked fiendishly over the years in-game, and my last revisions to it cleaned it up.  And I began building a completely new Argentum on it.



Argentum 2.0 Downtown (facing east)



I'll be back to Argentum 2.0 for certain in future updates.

And now to conclude, some replies:

Mike (mike3775): Thanks!  I usually make sure to reserve a good bit of open space early on when building up my regions and cities--it almost always comes in handy.  Glad you liked the 5-point roundabouts, too!

j-dub: Thanks for the kind words--I take it as a huge compliment to have Tarkusian Cities compared to DOT websites.  They've been a huge inspiration over the years.  And I hear you on the long-delayed road projects and NIMBY issues. 

Raphael (RickD): Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you enjoyed seeing that transition there!  It was a late addition to NWM 2.0, textured by michi_cc and implemented by myself and Ganaram.  It seemed a perfect way to lead in from the widened Eriksen Way to the TuLEPs at that intersection.

Willy (Swordmaster): Thanks! And I'm definitely looking forward to being able to do some more big roading . . . got to take care of some P57-Mk2 stuff before I can really sink my teeth into it.

Noah (noahclem): Thanks for the compliments on it, and I'm glad it looked effortless!  That was actually the first time I had really used a few of those pieces in there, especially in that particular combination, and I was quite pleased with how it turned out.  It was also the first time I had used those seasonal trees, about which I'm absolutely floored.  And you're most welcome about getting "on the map"--more loyal readers will be as well before long.

Kenny (kj3400): Yes, it can be a little trick to work it in just right and make it look natural, particularly in more built-up areas--it was a fun challenge, and thanks for the compliments on the end result!

Ryan (Haljackey): Thanks for the kind words!  I'm really glad you enjoyed the update, and I hope you also enjoyed this little bit of "archive-digging" from this update.

Jon (bakerton): Thanks for the compliments on the update--I'm always thrilled to be a source of inspiration, and I hope to see what you cook up transportation-wise!

sunv123: Thanks!  I certainly hope my sims agree--they tend to be pretty good sports about all the dust I kick up across town.   Glad you enjoyed the roundabouts, too.

Durfsurn: Thanks--I'm glad you enjoyed the grid-busting action!

sim_link: Thanks for the kind words on the new alignment--it went together a lot easier than I was expecting!

Robin (rooker1): Thanks to you and all the rest of the OSITM Committee for selecting Tarkusian Cities to take part in this special month--I should have some interesting things to show, and I hope it proves to be a successful week!

Arthur (art128): Thanks for the kind words--I'm thrilled to be here.

Willy (Swordmaster): Thanks for the congrats, and I hope you found the "opening salvo" of this OSITM to your liking!

Noah (noahclem): Thanks, and I am looking forward to it, too--gives me a good reason to go full-blast here.

Matt (threestooges): Thanks for sharing that link--it does indeed look like a spitting image of the Chemeketa starpoints.  And I concur with you about higher-volume situations on them--I'm not sure I'd want to find out.   That one I built at 32nd/Noah/Bernard/Flenderson is probably getting to be a bit hairy about now, so it may end up being an update again. 

Durfsurn: Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed the new update!

Nathan (Wthrwyz): Thanks for the kind words!  And yes, I am generally pretty heavily caffeinated, especially today.   We Northwesterners are obsessed with our coffee.  While back home, there's a little local place I usually visit, but otherwise, I usually look for Starbucks or Dutch Bros (Oregon-based drive-thru chain that's expanded throughout the western US).  White chocolate mochas are my "secret weapon".

See you all next update . . . we'll be jumping about quite a bit during this OSITM spurt.

-Alex

[noahclem]

What a fascinating look back into the history of RHW and Tarkusian Cities! With all the capabilities added since RHW's early days our roads and cities have become completely different creatures. Having begun using the NAM in the days immediately after the release of 3.0, itself a great leap forward, I recall the days before that when OWRs were the dominant element of creative transit networking. Your use of them here is creative and functional, reminding of how difficult but rewarding it used to be to break out of the constraints of prefabricated everything in the old days. They are all the more interesting considering they represent a significant reason RHW has grown into what it has become today.

The picture of Argentum's center is decidedly more modern. It comes across as a very pleasant city with a nice selection of roads and buildings and I'm quite curious to see how the area and its surroundings will develop. A promising start! I think filling some of the dead space out with more of those Girafe trees would add to the area's aesthetics but be careful--MMPs can be addicting 

Congratulations again on your OSITM and the impending update no. 100 

[Gugu3]

Nice reconstruction Alex!looking much better now ;Dthanks NAM
Gugu3