Adara - Update 184 - March 26, 2012

[calibanX]

Very nice work Battlecat. The residential areas are spread out realistically and I like how that river is going to wind through the neighborhood. Nice work making that big warehouse pop up with jobs. I love those giant industrials.

Take care.

Geoff

[Battlecat]

mightygoose: Glad you like the update.  I don't mind a couple of those blue houses, but you're right that there are way to many of them in there.  I'll fix that shortly.  Good point on the fence as well, I'll see what I can do to set that up as well.  Thanks for the suggestions!

djvandrake: Thanks very much!

Jacob (ShultzCity): Thanks!  Good idea on those diagonal filler fences, although I'm not sure it'll work very well with the orthogonal fences already in there.  I'll probably just wind up hiding the jagged edges with trees when I come back to make the stream here.  I'm looking forward to getting that shoreline in place as well, that'll be coming up soon.

Cyclone1001: It's hard to believe there have been so many visits!  Thanks for stopping in!

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thanks very much, glad you like it!

Ethan (ecoba): I'm quite happy with the variety as well, although I'm going to tweak it just a bit in the future.  That huge warehouse was a great find, I really like how it looks!  You're right about those warehouses being commercial buildings, but they also have a bit of an industrial look to them which makes for a nice effect.  There's a huge amount of great talent in this community, I really love getting my hands on all these great lots! 

Will (penguin007): Welcome to Adara!  Thanks for stopping in, I'm glad you've enjoyed you first visit!

Scott (Stray Cat): Thanks for your kind words as always!  One flaw with the standard sized schools is the absence of sports fields, which are pretty much a given in all but the densest urban cities here inBC.  Fortunately, it's easy enough to build a larger complex by attaching the appropriate fields on, although sometimes it slips my mind.

kimcar: Thanks!  It's sometimes quite hard to execute what I'm shooting for, but things have been coming together nicely lately.  Glad you like it!   

Tomas Neto: Thanks very much! 

Geoff (calibanX): I really wanted this stream to run through as many different land uses as possible.  It goes through the suburbs, farmland and then heavy industrial!  I'm looking forward to detailing it.  The big warehouse is actually a plopable landmark that I modded to add jobs, I really wanted something huge and that one just fits perfectly.  Thanks for visiting! 

Update 93
Ellison Flats – Building the Industrial Area

Today I'm getting down to the business of growing and building the rest of the industrial park around the railyard.  Not a lot else to say to start today, so let's get right to it. 

93-1: First off, this classic building developed early on, I'm going to keep it just because it looks great.


93-2: A bit more parking helps sell the area though.  As you can see, I've already gone through one round of demolition here, just keeping the stuff I like.


93-3: The blue building is a keeper for example.  I like that warehouse as well, but it's going to be accidently demolished shortly and it'll regrow another lot down the block.


93-4: Just a few parking lots and more pavement around the blue building makes a big difference.


93-5: Time for a round of work on the custom lots.  This version of Simgoober's Hardun Steel will be modified to fit the area a bit better. 


93-6: Quite a number of changes here but the core layout of the lot hasn't changed.  The lot size was increased, some additional buildings, vehicles and activity around the area.  Most importantly, all the appropriate textures to give the visual impression of an active railyard.  The second switching line is actually not going to be used.  It's a piece that I'm using to represent abandoned switching lines that occur when an industry no longer requires railway access.  The roads often get paved over but these small stubs of track rarely get removed in any great rush if ever.  It's easier and cheaper to just lock out the switch.


93-7: Right next door, a modern pulp processing facility.  Again, I've used the filler lots to visually expand the parking lot.


93-8: A nice variety of warehouses and buildings have finally filled in this area.  I've done some filling, but not as much as I feared would be necessary. 


93-9: Some of this are still needs to be reworked, but that large factory building and the neighbouring features are keepers.


93-10: One more block of industry will be added beside the railway station and tracks here and another block of commercial and warehouses will be added to the highland area near the highway.


93-11: Here's the mix up near the highway.  There is a mix of offices and warehouses here.  It's something I see in a number of locations in transition from industrial to commercial.


93-12: I'm quite happy with how most of this is turning out.  I'm going to be replacing that garbage facility on the right side of the map; it's way too large for this area. 


93-13: The area above the railyard in this shot turned out pretty good.  I particularly like how those two warehouses look related.  One last detail here is to fill in the two tile gap between the road and railyard.  Time for one more custom lot, 17x2 this time!


93-14: I used the same texture throughout just to keep a consistent texture and theme.  One more abandoned spur line adds a nice touch I think.  There's a switching engine prop in the mix here as well, and a clear line ahead.


93-15: From a long ways out, this area is pretty much under control.  There are still a lot more details I can add though, such as fences around the monster warehouse and the shoreline of course, but those are details for a future update.  I've also got a bit of a pollution problem from the incinerator, but I'll be eliminating that facility for something greener later.


Thanks for stopping in!  I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this update!  I'm not sure what I'll have on Friday, but I'm hoping to get started on the water details through this area tonight.  See you later!

[Tomas Neto]

Nice industrial area!! Really very well planned!!

[canyonjumper]

Very nice industrial area, Battlecat! I like what you've done with the LE.

                     -Jordan

[ecoba]

This area of Ellison Flats is really looking wonderful, Battlecat.

There aren't that many industrial areas in Adara, so I think that adding this new area is really realistic. The fact of Ellison Flats also being a suburb of Winfield also really seems to make this area more realistic. I really like the custom lots that have grown up in this area. The warehouses all look similar, as if they are for the same task. The sparseness of factories is also very nice.

The custom lotting that has gone into this area is wonderful. The factory's re-lot is absolutely stunning, the whole "yard" at the entrance really creates the feel of a small warehouse/factory. We have lots of those near where I live, and this seems very similar to what I see at home. The custom railyard lots are also very nice. I think the uniform rail texture in the area creates a very nice touch.

One more thing, I really enjoy how the industrial area is on a hill, you don't see too many industrial areas on hills. Are you planning to fill in the open areas with trees?

Ethan

[scott1964]

Nice.  So that is an idea to use the Rural Highway. I can never get mine to work out. 

[penguin007]

Awesome industrial area there building up around the railyard cant wait for more!!!

Will

[djvandrake]

Looks great!  You're doing a great job of tying everything together in terms of textures and styles.  Bravo. 

[Cyclone1001]

OMG
Very nice work, looks amazing!

[Stray Cat]

Well, dang BC, that is one fine Industrial park you have there.  I absolutely love the synthesis of buildings and fillers there...

The little commercial area nearby is also great...this area has definite appeal across many dimensions...I love it!!!

Thanks for another awesome update...now I cannot wait to see what new developments you shall bring!!!  BRING IT ON!!!   

Cheers!

Scott

[Battlecat]

Tomas Neto: Thanks very much!

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thanks, glad you like the results from the LE.

Ethan (ecoba): The absence of large industrial sites to date has mostly just be a thematic decision.  I plan to do more with them in the future, but I plan to keep them appropriately sized.  Glad you like how the factory re-lot turned out!  It took a bit more time than I expected to get it right, but I'm pleased with the results.  I'll probably do more work of that sort in the future.

The area remaining is going to get a mix of trees and retaining walls, but I'll get into that more during this update.  Thanks very much for commenting, I appreciate the feedback!   
   
scott1964: The rural highway can be challenging, mostly because it works much like the SAM, so when the sections are too short (approximately 6 tiles or less) it reverts to the original textures.  Thanks for stopping in!

Will (penguin007): Thanks!  Glad you enjoyed that update!

djvandrake: Thanks very much, you've pretty much covered my goals in that last update, glad you liked the results!

Cyclone1001: Thanks!

Scott (Stray Cat): Glad you like it, today's update should help put some finishing touches on the southern part of Ellison Flats!  Glad you're enjoying the mix.  The only thing I'd still love to add here would be an intermodal yard, but there just isn't room for a full scale one in the allocated space that remains.  I'll have to put that together for a future tile instead.  Thanks very much for your ongoing enthusiasm! 

Update 94
Ellison Flats – Water Detailing Day

The only thing left to do in the southern part of Ellison Flats is to detail in the shorelines around everything I've built to date.  There are a couple other things to grow first but the majority of today's update is going to be waterway shots!  Hope you enjoy it!

94-1: Before I get started on the water details, I want to add a block of waterfront residential here. 


94-2: This is the rough layout of the zones.  I'll tweak the road layout a bit later.


94-3: The homes have grown, but there's room for one more block here.  The farm next to this block of homes would be on the chopping block for suburban development in the real world.  Fortunately, that won't happen here in Adara. 


94-4: A quick overview of the area I'm going to polish off today.  I'm going to finish the waterfront through to my custom factory lot, and then the entire stream up to the map border.


94-5: This is just the rough layout of the waterfront.


94-6: While I'm thinking about it though, I've added retaining walls and security fences to this warehouse.  This is just a last little detail that needed to be put in before I detail the area.


94-7: Here we go with the shoreline.  Starting down by the farm, I've been working on breaking up the shoreline pattern a bit with rocks and stuff.


94-8: Next I've got three high detail shots of housing on the waterfront.  I'm shooting for a markedly different feel here, so there are few trees between the homes and the water.  There also aren't any docks here.


94-9: I'm pretty happy with how this area has come together.  These homes really make all the difference.


94-10: I've intentionally made the shoreline fairly uniform through here, it's likely a result of the development.  The developer would have been required to replant grass up to the shore. 


94-11: Here's an overview of the finished development. 


94-12: Moving right along, I've now scribbled in the rough stream.  Started at the top of the stream, I'll be working my way down to the lake. 


94-13: This stream is narrow and choked with plants.  These textures don't hold up badly at high zoom levels.


94-14: There's room for a lot of details that will be completely invisible when we zoom out.  It's still fun to put them in though.


94-15: The area between the old and new highways is a bit rockier because it's a steeper section of river. 


94-16: From the highway to the railway I'm beginning to introduce textures that are commonly used at the waterfront. 


94-17: I'm playing around with a few ideas for the industrial waterfront.  In the past I believe the industry here was using the waterfront more, particularly when logging was a bigger industry around Winfield.  So a weedy shoreline with no trees will be common.  I'm also planning on putting in some docks further in, but that'll be a separate update.


94-18: To wrap up today's update I've got two overviews of the finished shoreline and stream.  The stream really is just barely visible through the trees.


94-19: I'm pleased with the overall results here, this marks about the 1/3rd point for Ellison Flats. 


I'll be ramping up development over the next few updates, so next week should be pretty interesting.  See you all later!

[calibanX]

Wow, you work very fast Battlecat. Your industrial areas and that rail yard are really great. The close-up shots are quite nice as well.

Geoff

[Tomas Neto]

Nice update!!! Fantastic work!!!

[djvandrake]

Looks great.  I really like your stream and that custom warehouse.    Those homes along the waterfront look like a great place to live too. 

[io_bg]

Fantastic update! I just love the industrial zone and the lakeside houses!

[MattyFo]

Very Nice creeks and shoreline,  especially 94-17 the one with the industrial building, it looks like a shoreline you would find in a industrial area!  Cudos!


-Matt

[Cyclone1001]

Looks great, but 94-16 isn't showing up for me. I like the lakefront houses, they look nice.

[canyonjumper]

Very nice! I especially like the stream and the residential waterfront!

                -Jordan

[Stray Cat]

Excuse me while I collect my jaw off of the floor and clean it up a bit!   

The detail is, in my opinion, even a little bit better than normal.  It looks like a perfect little place...thanks for sharing.

Cheers!

Scott

[ecoba]

I am more and more impressed every update, Battlecat. The new style of industrial detailing adds an extra level, it seems. Also, the very very high concentration of flora is impressive along the stream. I am also impressed by the beachfront homes, they are so close to the shoreline that they must have to experiance flooding some time or another. Even the riverfront homes in our town that are twenty meters higher than the river have their basements flooded during times of swelling. (P.S. That's basement at sixty meters higher...)

I am also enjoying those fences and retaining walls put in around the SMP warehouse. I'm pretty much a sucker for any of Jeroni's walls, but these are most definitely my favourite. The overviews of the town are also really nice; is this the tile edge closest to Winfield, or on the opposite end. Once again, I really like the density of farms in the area and the new type of suburb-rural transition.

Ethan