Adara - Update 184 - March 26, 2012

[Skimbo]

Good use of STR, Unbelievable good coastline design, a lot of things to see, great mosaique

[TrebuTa]

My first reply here and all I can say is wow! I've been reading this journal since it started over a year and a half ago and I can not stop enjoying reading and watching at the pictures. I love it! Keep up the great work!

[Battlecat]

Arthur (art128): Thanks, that was a pretty nice coincidence eh?  About that curve, it really does come down to the SC4 is stupid problem.  For some reason I can't squeeze the curve into that space.  I think there's some sort of shallow slope in there which doesn't tend to place nicely with some of the wide radius curves. 

cubby420: Thanks very much!  There's a lot of stuff on my list to release after I get the diagonal field project under control.  The other filler lots are very incomplete so I'll have to spend some time on filling in the gaps for them before I can contemplate release.  Glad you're looking forward to getting your hands on them! 

Cyclone1001: Thanks very much!

Ethan (ecoba): Thanks!  I'm quite amazed at how much I've squeezed into this particular tile.

Girafe: Welcome to Adara!  Thanks very much for your kind words!  It's quite hard dealing with the grid some days but there are more and more solutions coming up every day. 

mightygoose: Thanks!

Jayster: No worries!  Glad you enjoyed the last couple updates!

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thanks very much for your enthusiasm.  I love it when a good mosaic comes together! 

RickD: Thanks!  I'm working on polishing them a bit more as you'll see today.  I think I'm getting close to release quality on the textures.  I still have to add orientation props and proper icons to the mix though. 

bat: Thanks very much!

Gjermund (kwakelaar): Thanks!

Tomas Neto: Thanks for your kind words!

kodlovag: Thanks!

marsh: Thanks very much!

Bernhard (Nardo69): It would certainly be something nice to see in Urland someday!  Don't worry too much though, they do take a lot of time to prepare!  Glad you enjoyed the mosaic.  Good call on the double track switch piece, I'll add that in shortly in a couple locations.  Thanks for stopping by!

Skimbo: Thanks very much!  Glad you enjoyed it!

TrebuTa: Welcome to Adara, officially at least!  Glad you've been enjoying your lurking all this time! 

Update 129
Greenwood – Shoreline Detailing

Sorry for the delay in this last update.  Yesterday was my first chance for a brief round of gaming in two weeks.  Today I've got revision four of the diagonal farm textures and a lot of time spend on one section of shoreline.  Hope you enjoy it!

129-1: First things  first, here are the slightly revised textures.  I've added a lot of noise to the curves and sharpened them a bit.  Let me know what you think!


129-2: I also revised the textures a bit, turning them into overlay textures so I could build these without having to create a second set of textures.


129-3: Putting them into practice quickly, here is the farm I built in the last update just accepting the jagged edges. 


129-4: The effects of the revision are subtle since I did a decent job of hiding the jagged bits before, but it does clean things up quite nicely. 


129-5: It occurred to me that I didn't post a detailed shot of the scree slopes from last time.  This one is my favorite. 


129-6: This area is my focus for today.  I looked at this when I started working and asked myself one simple question.  Why is the road so odd?


129-7: I think this is a decent answer.  A small flood channel pushing up against the road would necessitate some creative road construction. 


129-8: I've had plans for a waterfront trail through the area all along.  The Poplar Grove Greenway will wind all through the area. 


129-9: First I added the various rock textures along the channel.  I actually obliterated the trail in areas where it would be washed out every year.  During flood you could follow the road to bypass the blocked channel. 


129-10: The reed grass texture is a nice detail to use right along the edge of the scoured channel.  I'm trying to avoid putting too many plants in the center of the channel.


129-11: The center of this islandish area is quite stable so I've added a nice thick grove of trees in the middle.  The edges are more variable depending on the characteristics of the flood each year. 


129-12: A nice think bank of scrub and grass covers most of the shore.  This area would be scoured clean about once every 10 years or so, preventing large trees from taking hold. 


129-13: This is one of the spots where the trail crosses the channel, now fully detailed.


129-14: Moving down the channel, this area has a nice large pool of game water.  I've used the straw texture underneath the scrub to act as smaller grasses and plants pushing through them mud.   


129-15: This is the other point where the trail crosses onto the island.  I've also scattered a few rocks up higher on the shore, deposited by really high floods in the past. 


129-16: Just a quick overview of the island as it stands now.  I ran out of time due to family commitments but I think I made good progress today.  Hope you enjoyed it! 


That's all for now.  Hopefully I get more time next weekend! 

[Lowkee33]

Wow, very nice trail.  All those maxis rocks must have been expensive

Btw, in the ChrisAdams fence set there is an off-set 45 degree fence that fits quite nicely in the steps.

[Cyclone1001]

  Its so good!

[cubby420]

Very nice. The fields are coming along nicely  

The flood channel is superb and looks so realistic.

[marsh]

I love what you did with the coastline! It looks awesome! 

,marsh 

[canyonjumper]

Awww, BC, you made Cyclone cry

Well done, the flood channel looks great! The trail adds a nice touch as well.

                  Your friend,
                                 Jordan

[TrebuTa]

Another great update and a very good looking coastline !

[io_bg]

Fantastic work as always. Love the way you've detailed the island. Looking forward to more!

[penguin007]

Great innovative update as always!! Your coastlines and rockfaces are as beautiful as eachother!!

Will

[Schulmanator]

Great details - looks awesome. And curved fields... BEAUTY! 

[Jayster]

Very, very nice! 

Jayster

[djvandrake]

Brilliant!  That shoreline area looks fantastic. 

[rooker1]

 Very nice work.
The other night while I was playing the game, I had your MD open in the background taking some notes.

Robin 

[editfish]

     Beautiful!  You are a wonderful landscaper!  

I also love your diagonal farm textures! 

[kwakelaar]

Some great natural creations being put on show here, you have done a wonderful job of making this look like the real thing.

[Skimbo]

Great texture "tuning" on thoose fields!

And the area with this channel is - as usual - stunning!

[Tomas Neto]

Another fantastic update! Great work!

[Battlecat]

Lowkee33: I'd have to check but I don't think the version of the maxis rocks I'm using actually costs anything.  Chris Adam's fences would work nicely as well for filling the gaps, but it's nice to have alternate options in spots where the fences don't fit. 

Cyclone1001: Thanks!

cubby420: Thanks very much, I'm extremely happy with how the flood channel turned out as well.  I expect I'll be doing a lot more of that in the future since this river is loosely based off the Fraser River in the lower mainland of BC. 

marsh: Thanks very much for your kind words! 

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thanks, I'm so happy with how this came out.

TrebuTa: Thanks very much!

io_bg: Thanks!

Will (penguin007): Thanks so much!  Glad you like how they're coming together!

Schulmanator: Thanks very much for your kind words!  Glad you like the curved fields, I'm hoping to release those in the near future. 

Jayster: Thanks!

djvandrake: Thanks very much!

Robin (rooker1): Thanks, that's pretty high praise!  I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got in the works!   

editfish: Thanks!  I'm really looking forward to actually getting those farm textures released.  If they're well received I may do similar work to some of the other simple field styles. 

kwakelaar: Thanks very much!  I've found that to make things look realistic I need to work in small pieces.  It means switching brushes regularly but it helps me avoid long linear patterns.   

Skimbo: Thanks, glad the field textures look better.  If I have some spare time this week, I'm going to see about putting some proper menu icons together

Tomas Neto: Thanks very much!

Update 130
Greenwood – Details . . .

Boy I wish for the days when I had copious amounts of free time.  :-)  Of course the level of detail I'm putting into these shorelines slows things down as well.  Greenwood tile is slowly inching towards completion.  Today I'm going to work on the shoreline in front of the town of Poplar Grove.  I got caught up in things today so there aren't a lot of pictures.

130-1: I'm going to pick up where I left off last week working on the island formed by the flood channel.


130-2: My primary goal is to carry the style of the island around from the flood channel but while also replicating the established style for the riverbed.  I've added a bunch of stumps that would have been left by recent flooding.


130-3: The island is now finished.  I think it turned out pretty nicely if I do say so myself. 


130-4: Now it's time to move downstream towards town.  I'm still playing around with a variety of different mixtures for the shoreline.  I'm trying to avoid getting stuck into any one single style. 


130-5: Poplar Grove used to have a minor fishing industry but that's long gone.  A couple docks still remain in variable condition.  The riverbed here is no longer ideal for boats, the area is slowly filling with sediment and plant life. 


130-6: A short distance downstream, I've tried adding another swampy area.  I'm reasonably happy with this although I probably could add another small island to the area. 


130-7: Pulling out a bit, here's the shoreline in front of town. 


130-8: And even further out, the extents of the area I detailed today.  I wish I could have gotten further, but that's life for you! 


That's a wrap for today!  See you next time!