Adara - Update 184 - March 26, 2012

[TiFlo]

I was looking forward to trying out my brand new gaming rig on SC4 (...).  Ah well, I'm back and the new computer makes SC4 fly once again.  It takes less than 2 minutes to load the game now and it runs much faster.

I hear you. Having gotten a pretty decent new computer a month ago, I was in the same spirit as you. Until I realized I could now play much more power hungry games than ever before. As a result, my SC4 gaming time has been somewhat on hold... Talk about a smart move.   

PS: I love that dam.That's a great idea you had there!

[mave94]

Woow
Your region is really nice.
You have great details!
I like to see your maps; I wish I had that program to do that...
Keep up the good work

Matthijs

[dedgren]

142-10

You could not have done anything in this pic except lay the straight stretch of two-lane road in the "vanilla" game.  It is incredible what has been developed by the community, and then incredible² what happens when a master at the game gets his or her hands on it.  Every one of these pics deserves second (third and fourth) looks to catch all the detail that has gone into them.

142-12



And that's a wrap for today!

Heh!  Don't you mean rip-rap?

It's always great to spend some time in Adara.


David

[noahclem]

Nice work with the lake and dam! The rocks form a great & realistic-looking barrier and you've done a nice job with the narrow "beaches" as well. After using the PEG ploppable water for a long time I've pretty much converted to Jeronij's transparent stuff. You make the PEG stuff look so good it tempts me to switch back though, especially with it's other advantages (compatible canals and not being raised a couple meters above the terrain). I also like the way you've developed the area near the interchange with that nice parking lot, diagonals etc.

Congrats on the new computer and I'm glad your feeling better now!

-Noah

[CSGdesign]

You sure go to a lot of effort!  Very nice!

[penguin007]

I'm sorry I havn't made an appearance here for awhile my friend but great progress being made here again!!

Particually the shoreline looks very detailed and realistic and great point by dedgren there vanilla SC4 has been made incumbent

Will

[Battlecat]

Tomas Neto: Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed this update!

io_bg: Thanks very much, I'm feeling just fine now!  Sorry for the delay on this update, but I'm glad to be back.

marsh: Thanks!

Ethan (ecoba): Good to see you're around once again!  Thanks for stopping by, glad to hear you're still enjoying what you see here!

Elias (Terring7): Thanks very much for your kind words and good wishes! 

Aaron Graham: Thanks!

cubby420: Thanks!  Glad you enjoyed the look.  Feel free to annex the idea, I'd be interested to see how you would approach it.  Just make sure you use Chrisadam's version of the mod here.  It allows the maxis rocks to pack much closer together. 

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thanks!

Jayster: Thanks very much for your kind words!

TiFlo: Fortunately, I haven't really bought any new games lately but I did resub to City of Heroes with my wife which is eating a small amount of my time lately.  Glad you like how the dam turned out, I'm quite happy with it as well.  Thanks for stopping in!

MrMAvE94: Thanks very much for your kind words!  I'm fortunate to have access to very expensive mapping software.  I only use those tools because they are what I'm most comfortable with.  A lot of people do even better work than me with Photoshop and other simple graphics software.  thundercrack83 posted an excellent tutorial using photoshop here.

David (dedgren): Heh, rip rap.    Good point about that first picture, we've gotten so accustomed to the amazing mods available, it's easy to forget how much has been contributed by our community.  At the rate you're going with your Real Roads mod we might not even have the straight normal maxis road in the long run! 

Thanks for stopping in!

Noah (noahclem): I've found that both types of water have their places, although interfacing between them can be challenging.  I played around with that a bit back in Winfield.  You've pretty much summed up the challenges between the two.  Another item is that the transparent water is harder to place near game water.  Thanks for your thoughts and kind words!

CSGdesign: Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it!

penguin007: No worries, it's been a while for me as well due to real life!  Funny enough, you just slipped in before I posted this update!  Thanks very much for stopping in and for your kind words! 

Update 143
Dunster Bend – Back from an Unexpected Holiday

Sorry about the extended holiday everyone.  Real life concerns were far more time consuming than I anticipated this Christmas.  As such, I didn't get a single minute of Simcity game time since the last update.  Yesterday was my first chance!  Fortunately, I'm back and ready to go with Dunster Bend once again!   

143-1: Today is going to be a fairly simple update as I try to recall what I was working on.  First up is the remaining empty spot by the interchange here. 


143-2: I'm just going to keep it as an empty spot, a lot ready for development. 


143-3: Now a series of before and after pictures as I start putting finishing polish on my suburbs in Dunster Bend.  As part of my program of residential style control, the homes already visible here are historical to keep mansions from randomly growing.


143-4: This shot was taken in early fall.  I'm really looking forward to the plopable seasonal trees. 


143-5: Moving along to another neighbourhood.  This area is right next door to the school.


143-6: I added one more cul-de-sac in.  I actually ran into some trouble trying to connect up streets.  My elegant winding roads are challenging to connect up!


143-7: But the results are excellent.  I really like how this neighbourhood is turning out.  My wish right now would be to find a way to add sidewalks to the wide radius curves but only for the black asphalt and traditional street curves.  It doesn't have to have context since I don't use those two street styles in farmland.  Any thoughts?


143-8: Next up, the school and the empty lot directly across the street.


143-9: A sports field, trail and playground always enhance schools. 


143-10: That's all the work for today, here's an overview of the area I've modified today.  I think I'll take a swing at the next section of shoreline in the next update.


143-11: Today I'll leave you with the 6th composite in the series for Dunster Bend. 


That's all for today, see you next time!

[bat]

Great work on this update, Battlecat!
Looking forward to more...

[io_bg]

Absolutely fantastic work! Love the way this town has turned out. Can't wait to see the shore detailing!

[noahclem]

Another great update!    The residential areas turned out really nice. I was curious why you zoned them the way you did some time ago (with smaller zones with spaces between them. The effect is nice, historical-looking neighborhoods. The school area looks great too with the sports field and path. I'd love to see sidewalks available for those streets' wide-angle curves as well.

Can't wait to see how the shoreline develops! 

[Skimbo]

Great rural town, pic 143-7 is another pic that shows: Detailing is an art and you understood how to do it =)

[Cyclone1001]

Welcome back, and might I say good work!

[Jayster]

Yet another fantastic update! Looking forward to seeing how you work with the lake!

Jayster

[Tomas Neto]

Very nice update again, my friend!!! Fantastic work!!! 

[penguin007]

Great update I love the organicness of all the curves

Will

[scott1964]

Waiting for the water to show up.   

[mave94]

Thanks for the link.
I agree with dedgren; you have to see your pics twice, because there are so many details!
Looking forward to see more of the future city.
-Matthijs-

[ecoba]

Once again, a fabulous update !

I like the way that empty lot looks. For some reason, I love the look of empty lots recently.    Besides that, the way that the residential along the hill is grown as another one of Adara's strengths, not allowing the mansions to grow and therefore allowing the smaller homes, makes it very realistic, I think.

The school was also very well done. I find it often neglected that schools are not given ample grounds and fields as they are in real life by most game-players; so bravo at this detail.


Ethan

[canyonjumper]

Great update Battlecat! Love the use of the Ave-2!

               Your friend,
                              Jordan

[Battlecat]

bat: Thanks very much!

io_bg: Thanks!

noahclem: That particular zoning style isn't just for historical looking neighbourhoods, it's also mansion insurance!  Simcity 4 develops large lot mansions in highly inappropriate patterns by default so I like to keep them under control!  Glad you like the results!

Skimbo: Thanks very much for your kind words!

Cyclone1001: Thanks!

Jayster: Thanks!

Tomas Neto: Thanks very much!

Will (penguin007): ]Thanks, I really I'm pleased with how this town is turning out!

scott1964: Wait no more, the lake has grown a few tiles towards completion today!

MrMAvE94: No problem at all!  Glad you've enjoyed looking through all the details!

Ethan (ecoba): Empty lots really do have their own charm, plus they are a feature that is very realistic and yet not encouraged by the default simulator!  Glad you enjoyed the last update, thanks for stopping in!

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thanks very much!  I'm really glad you posted that link to the medians a few weeks ago! 

Update 144
Dunster Bend – Lakeshore Phase 2

Today I managed to find some time to get the next section of lakeshore done in Dunster Bend.

144-1: This is the approximate area I'll be working on today.  I'll finish up the shoreline beside the city up to the edge of the image.


144-2: Before I get started though, how about a sunset image of the town.  It just happened to start setting since I haven't turned off the day night cycle yet! 


144-3: Time to pull out these old mainstays from Williston Lake!  Docks are always a good addition to a lake like this.  I've also put a boat in the lake.  I'll be adding a couple more at a later date.


144-4: Here's another section of shoreline with the rough water edge in place.


144-5: The next step on the detailing is the actual shore edge.  Here we have a mixture of pegs gravel and grass creating a fairly poorly developed beach.


144-6: The rest of the shore is created with blended grass.  For this shore, I decided to forgo the worn pathways to the beach. 


144-7: Zooming back out, here's a look at the area with the finished water in place. 


144-8: That's the majority of the work today done.  It was another busy weekend.  So how about a mosaic of the work completed today?






144-9: And another in the series of composite images! 


And that's a wrap for today!  Not sure what's next but we'll find out soon enough!