Empire Bay: Green Meadows

[threestooges]

I picked the right time to stumble back in here. Great rail update Raphael. What's the small station that used to support the harbor? If in fact it does face demolition, I know a certain group in Greenacre who would be willing to purchase the building. I like the railyard. It fits very nicely into the surroundings. It's functional, yet has the feel of being wedged in to fit the space allotted. I also love the blending of the heavy and light rail systems. 28.8 may well be my favorite of the update. It's so delightfully chaotic yet simple in the layout: 2 main thoroughfares and a t-junction of light rail. Looking forward to seeing how it all came to be in the next update.
-Matt

[nbvc]

Fantastic rail station.

[Grneyes]

Your railyards are in insane! 

[MTT9]

Another great update Raphael, 28.3 is just awesome and the different trams add a lot of realism

[triplennn86]

Another amazing Empire Bay update! My only wish is that we could somehow use this fantastic, detailed work to show Maxis and EA why many of us here consider the "new" SimCity to be somewhat disappointing.

Keep up the great work!

[solsystem]

Anather great update!  Your railway facilities looks amazing.

[vortext]

Nice teaser!!    Sorry I couldn't resist. .

The area in front of the station seems realistic already, at least to me it does. I also like how you've used two oneway roads with the GLR inbetween. Somehow it seems more appropriate than the GLR-in-avenue. All things considered it's a pretty decent city you've got, though with all this infrastructure in place it seems about time for the first proper skycrapers to make an appearance. . 

Looking forward to the next update.

[ladybug]

Your updates are always beautiful! Its rail system makes me jealous. I do not always comment, I see all your updates and certainly I like Empire Bay! 

[benedict]

I love your central station, and the rest of the SC4D folk do, too, keeping you at number one on BTT this week.

[Swordmaster]

All very cool, but as usual I have some nitpicking to do: that tunnel isn't quite possible, not even for passenger trains. Rail tunnels really need long slopes.

Otherwise, great railroading so far. Keep it up!

Cheers
Willy

[Schulmanator]

That's a great rail terminal! 

[Ricky112233]

And yet another wonderful "teaser"! Oustanding job on that railway! 

Ihre Stadt (Oder kann ich 'Deine' sagen? ) ist wirklich fantastisch!

-Ricky

[Dantes]

The main railway station is great.  I love the many railroad tracks and the track prefabrication.   Particularly successful is you, the forecourt. The change in the bus looks very good.   Fantastic work again! 

[RickD]

Previously on Empire Bay:
A new rail terminal has been built. This kickstarted new developments in the former low density residential area around it.

Around the Station

29.1

The redevelopment of the city quarter around the new station has been a huge success.

29.2

The French Market is one of the most noteable attractions in this part of town. It is the first impression travellers have of Empire Bay when leaving the station through the front portal. This makes it an icon of the city.

29.3

Hundreds of merchants are offering their exotic goods from all over the world in and around the two large market halls.

29.4

The market is open 24/7 and the hustle and bustle never stops. Market criers noisily praising their exotic wares, local people, travellers from near and far, rich people, poor people ... the colorful atmosphere is beyond words.

29.5

The area around the station has quickly surpassed Old Town as the cities main business district.

29.6

Lots of new office buildings and shops have been constructed. Railroad Avenue is the main east/west thoroughfare.

29.7

The rail line leading to the docks and western suburbs has been put in a trench along Railroad Avenue.  This removes the level crossings and noise. However, there are still some steam locos using the track which blow thick black smoke through the open roof onto the street.

29.8

The area is lively even at night. There are many entertainment establishments like theaters, concert halls and restaurants.

29.9

Unity Cathedral is another landmark in the area.

29.10


29.11

The "Quatre Saisons" is a luxurious department store. It is famous for its parisian style architecture and high prices.

29.12

Baltard Park is one the few green spaces, Empire Bay has to offer.

29.13

Originally a third and fourth market hall were to be built here but the Planning Commission thought that this would be a too massive construction. So they decided to build a park instead hoping it would have a positive influence on land value and the development of the area. It seems to have worked.

29.14




Next on Empire Bay:
The commercial and residential demand ist still high. The new business district is expanding. This growth is calling for new infrastructure projects.



Replies:

art128, Jeroentje, nbvc, Grneyes, MTT9, solsystem, ladybug, benedict, Dantes:
Thank you for the many comments and for making this update a #1 in the BTT. 

Great update again. I like the station's forecourt with the tram and the bus and taxi stop - reminds me a bit of Frankfurt/Main 

Thanks. It is not an actual recreation but Frankfurt HBF was indeed an inspiration.

Great update Raphael    You've done an outstanding job with the rails in Empire Bay. Now I'm getting curious about the highways and hinted at for the future....

Well, it is a long highway through challenging terrain. Actually the road is already built but all the detailing is killing me.  I hope to show it in the update after the next. But I might have to include some work in progress pictures.

I picked the right time to stumble back in here. Great rail update Raphael. What's the small station that used to support the harbor? If in fact it does face demolition, I know a certain group in Greenacre who would be willing to purchase the building. I like the railyard. It fits very nicely into the surroundings. It's functional, yet has the feel of being wedged in to fit the space allotted. I also love the blending of the heavy and light rail systems. 28.8 may well be my favorite of the update. It's so delightfully chaotic yet simple in the layout: 2 main thoroughfares and a t-junction of light rail. Looking forward to seeing how it all came to be in the next update.
-Matt

The station is the DK1 Railroad Depot. Unfortunately it seems that the modding is wrong, it did not actually work in my game. I just used it when taking pictures and replaced it with the standard maxis station when playing.

Another amazing Empire Bay update! My only wish is that we could somehow use this fantastic, detailed work to show Maxis and EA why many of us here consider the "new" SimCity to be somewhat disappointing.

Keep up the great work!

Thank you. Sometimes I wonder if the guys at Maxis have been looking at some MDs. But I suspect that it wouldn't change much anyway. They are making the game for a broad audience and we probably look like "freaks" to them. But let's see what will be possible with SC5 ten years after the release. SC4 was very limited too, when it was first released and Empire Bay would not be possible without the fantastic work of the community over the last decade.

Nice teaser!!    Sorry I couldn't resist. .

The area in front of the station seems realistic already, at least to me it does. I also like how you've used two oneway roads with the GLR inbetween. Somehow it seems more appropriate than the GLR-in-avenue. All things considered it's a pretty decent city you've got, though with all this infrastructure in place it seems about time for the first proper skycrapers to make an appearance. . 
Looking forward to the next update.

Thanks. With the GLR between one way roads I can upgrade them to OWR-3 later (resulting in a GLR in AVE-6) without demolishing anything. And I'll see what I can do about those skyscrapers. 

All very cool, but as usual I have some nitpicking to do: that tunnel isn't quite possible, not even for passenger trains. Rail tunnels really need long slopes.

Otherwise, great railroading so far. Keep it up!

Cheers
Willy

Glad you like it.
And yes, I know about the tunnel slope. I chose to go the easy way and sacrifice realism for my convenience.  But this area is still work in progress anyway. I hope one day I'll be able to make everything much more realistic. But currently I do not have the time for such a huge lot editor project. I think it still looks better than just some empty tracks, though.

And yet another wonderful "teaser"! Oustanding job on that railway! 

Ihre Stadt (Oder kann ich 'Deine' sagen? ) ist wirklich fantastisch!

-Ricky

Thank you so much.

Im Internet duzt man sich meistens.

[Swordmaster]

Great work! That park is really nice. I think the cathedral sits a little weird in the cityscape, but that's not unrealistic at all.

Cheers
Willy

[Terring7]

Great job, the night pictures are like real photographs!

[epicblunder]

Nice update!   

I like the thought of steam locos in the railroad trench; steam belching out of that trench would be an interesting sight.

Thank you. Sometimes I wonder if the guys at Maxis have been looking at some MDs. But I suspect that it wouldn't change much anyway..

THIS might answer your question.   

[art128]

Wonderful update Raphael. The new area around the station is greatly looking.

[mikeski]

Great update.  The business district looks great and the market and park fits perfectly into the area. 

[noahclem]

Lovely update Raphael    This area is very well designed with a great choice of BATs, that nicely done market, and a perfect park