Greenacre

[JBSimio]

Nice update, Matt!   

I think the hotel definitely blends in better now with the rest of the area.  I was a little worried that I might have to dig out the suburban version and finish it up for you! 

Hope all is well, my friend...
JB

[Pat]

Matt you have made want to pull the valves and crank that full force to make sure the water runs full force for waterfalls!!! WOW wonderful update here!!! I gotten some energy today and spent it hopefully good 

[Jmouse]

The recreational area and parking garage round out the hotel complex very well. Reclaiming that bit of land was a good idea, and I really like the way you've shown the step-by-step process.

Overall, recent development in this little area has really come together in a pleasing way. And I think you're presenting it well.

Good work on this one...
Joan

[CasperVg]

Great update indeed! The redeveloped area around the hotel looks really well done, and it does seem tempting to go take a dip in that pool, or hit a ball in the tennis court. Bulldozing the double OWR and replacing it by the avenue was a great idea, the result looks a lot better.

Can't wait to see more,
Casper

[threestooges]

Replies:

-Battlecat: After seeing what you did with that dam, that's a fine compliment. The first ones I tried were the rocks from Goldiva's set, great for general use, but for the angle and the space, the lacked heft. The ones I ended up using that worked pretty darn well were Jeronij's rocks. They were a set of both white rocks and moss-covered ones in both a small and a large size. I used the large ones, filled in the few gaps with the small ones for depth, and worked in some of Goldiva's plants and the RRP marsh bits for color. The Goldiva plants were grat for blending the bottom of the wall into the sea floor too. I'd link to the ones I used, but I can't seem to find them. However, since the guy who made them happens to be around here, he could probably tell you where they are now (or send them your way himself).


-Jon (JBSimio): Thanks Jon! Good to see you around here again. Suburban version you say? Hmm... I may have just screwed up in reverse... I can always contact the demolition company if it gives you any motivation, heh heh. Things are well, if not a bit busy, but it's all interesting stuff, so it's not too bad.


-Pat: Excellent to hear the rainy season may be coming back to Waterfalls Pat. I'm also glad to hear you're feeling better again. Good to see you here as always


-Joan (Jmouse): Thanks Joan! I had thought the hotel itself was feeling a bit out of place, and when others noted it too I figured something had to be done. Up until recently, most of the areas I've shown have already been developed, so I thought it would be fun to show the step-by-step development. There's a bit more to show in the area, but that'll be for later, after another little project is taken care of. Until then, there are a few other things around Greenacre to see.


-Casper (caspervg): Thanks Casper. I think it was your post that mainly inspired the redevelopment. The hotel itself was just on too little land, which would be fine in a dense urban setting, but it did need space. The avenue was partly a matter of needing a good way to get residents over to the various amenities. I liked Goldiva's overpass, but it was only for avenues. I like the way it turned out too. We're on to a new spot today, but we'll be back to the area in the future.


So we're taking a detour today to have a look at the redevelopment of the Greenacre Naval Base.

14.01


Here's an overview of the area. Your thoughts on its design are appreciated, and please let me know if there are areas you would like to see in more detail. The base is home to at least 5 destroyers, 4 submarines, 2 battleships and an aircraft carrier. I say "at least" since the ships are kept on rotation. The base's actual capacity isn't made public, and it's possible that it may be expanding in the future. Clicking on the image (like the regional image) will bring up a larger image.

14.02


-Matt

[Battlecat]

Superb job on that naval base!  Good choice of lots, plus you've done a great job of transitioning between various shoreline types.

[rooker1]

Hey Matt,
The last two updates are great.
I'll just give my opinion on the last pic though as I think other update is already great.
In this pic I think the aircraft carrier is too big for the area.  It almost drawfs the entire island. I still love how you don't change the terrain that much, I really envy you and the others that have the patients to work this way.  I think the bridge fits in well, but the roads on the island I think should be streets instead.  Cheaper on the budget and I would assume slower traffic through the Naval Base.  BTW, I hate the Palm trees.  Palm tree and evergreens in the same pic, what a No No.
Great stuff and it's always a pleasure to stop here.
Robin 

[JBSimio]

Hi Matt,

One thing I always enjoy about Greenacre is that I never know what you're going to show next.  You seem to get a little bit of everything in here without any of it seeming out of place.  There are certain things that I often find myself wanting to do in Covington, but they don't fit the rest of the region.  That doesn't seem to be an issue here... and I naval island is the last thing I would have expected!

At first glance, I tend to agree with Robin about the aircraft carrier... although the longer I look, the more it seems OK.  It may just be the edge of the city tile throwing things off there, I'm not sure.  I like how you transition back and forth between the natural shoreline and the manmade seawalls and docks.  I think a lot of people would be tempted to surround the entire island with bulkheads and seawalls (I know I would have done), but your approach looks so much better.

As a final aside (to Robin again )... I also hate Maxis palm trees.  However, in reality I have seen many examples here in northern California of palms and pines in the same area.  Granted, my guess is that the palms were all brought here, but it does give a "real life justification" for having the two shown together. 

See you next time,
JB

[Jmouse]

Matt, I'm inclined to agree with a couple of other comments. At very first glance, the carrier did seem a bit overpowering, and it's too close to the edge IMO. On the other hand, there is no other logical location for it on that island. Just judging visually. I don't believe that magnificent aircraft carrier could pass under the bridge without tearing out a few pilings. This may well be true in RL as well, though - my familiarity with military installations of any kind are limited to the time I made a wrong turn and entered an Air Force base! 

Over all, you've done a good job of laying out the transport system here, forever mindful of the island's natural topography. In fact, you seem always to do well at working with the terrain instead of fighting it! And you always do a great job on your shorelines - making them interesting but diverse. It's always a pleasure to see a Greenacre update!

Later...
Joan

[threestooges]

Replies:
-Battlecat: Thanks. The shore thing was more of an experiment to see what other people thought looked better: the pines v. the palms, and whether leaving bits of unwalled shoreline would work. I'm not sure about the palms/pines, but glad to hear the open spots work. The area will likely undergo a bit more development before I'm done (and already has) but I'll likely keep the open shorelines. Thanks for stopping by.


-Robin (rooker1): Heh heh, I've always admired the patience of people who take the time to terraform every bit of the land before building. I think I may have figured out why the carrier looks out of place, and that's the subject of today's, admittedly short, update. As for the roads, it's the military, they have the money (besides, with the crew and supplies required for a carrier, battleships, destroyers, subs and support craft, those roads see some heavy use. The island is a staging point mainly. As for the palm trees, heh heh, I have some pictures from around here that would make you cringe then. As Jon said, for whatever reason, it does happen fairly frequently around here. I think I know what you mean though, with the palms clustered on the island there and the pines on the opposite shore. I was curious to see what people thought of the different trees for the area, and I got a good idea. I think I will stick with the shore pines and carry those over onto the island a bit, but a palm or two may linger (I think it's a California thing). Great to see you Robin.


-Jon (JBSimio): The variety of terrain was something I had in mind when I first made the map. I had never really played on much besides flat land prior to it and I had seen many interesting ideas to draw *cough*steal*cough* from. Actually, the tree lines on the northern plateau of the island were a nod to Green Depra by chocolatemax back at ST (have I ever mentioned this is an old map?). Some of the areas have been...interesting to build on to say the least, but it's been a great testbed and just plain fun.

I was tempted to wall off the entire shoreline too, but partly due to the fact that I wanted to keep the original shape of the island and didn't want to have the wall bend every few tiles to do that (if the seawalls had a FAR version, I just might've, but it's that work with the game, not against it thing) and the natural shoreline looked good, so it stayed. The island is still slowly developing, so some things (like the carrier as you'l see) are going to change, but the shorelines are going to stay.

Also, as a final aside (also to Robin... though I could've just posted this in his reply, but since I'm here...): See? It's not just me, they have these palm tree things in northern California too. You should get some for yourself. Throw a few in Mind Scape. They're all the rage (kidding). Speaking of rage, I'm going to move on before Robin hunts me down for bad taste in jokes.

Always good to see you here Jon.


-Joan (Jmouse0: As you'll soon see, I fiddled with the carrier and hopefully it fits in better now. You're right though, it probably wouldn't fit under the bridge, but fortunately it doesn't need to. From its current position, it can sail straight and still make it to open water. That map I showed you the other night should give you a better idea of that, but the rest of the ships should be able to handle it if necessary. It was inspired (loosely) by the Coronado Bridge in San Diego, CA. It may not curve like its inspiration, but it does connect to a naval base. I have no real familiarity with military installations either, but something close works too. I was impressed how much attention the shorelines themselves got from the last update. I've continued updating them too as you'll soon see, but yeah, the one thing I try to remember when doing terrain and such, is that it's rare to find a straight line in nature. Even if I have to put a curve in something, it usually tends to look better when all is said and done.

Always good to see you here Joan.


So as I had mentioned in several of the replies, I've been doing a bit of work on the naval base. In addition to some landscaping (I think Robin might like it) I adjusted the carrier lot. I think part of what caused it to seem out of place was that it stuck out into the water as far as it did. All of the previous comments mentioned the shorelines and the terraforming. Everything else transitioned smoothly, but the carrier lot just jutted out there (and actually required some land reclamation to get the lot to fit). That was partly done to preserve the slope of the island. It did stick out though.

As a way to fix this, I brought the lot in about four tiles. It results in a steeper slope to the top of the hill, but I think it fits on the island better. Let me know if you think it worked, or what could be done. The area is by no means finished, and suggestions, as always, are welcome.

14.02


-Matt

[rooker1]

Hello Matt,

It does look alot better. 
But I just noticed that ther eis no seawall under the LOT.
I've sent out a crew to burn down all the palm trees in the area and spray a secret fluid over the entire island that will prevent any more palm trees from ever growing!!

Robin 

[Jmouse]

Much, much better, Matt! - all it took was a small adjustment to make a big difference. I noticed you added some foliage to the beach and a few boats in the water, and those details certainly add some interest to the scene.

I just finished taking a retro tour through Greenacre, and it was amazing to see the progress you've made. I'll stick my neck out and say those of us who are fairly regular visitors don't usually go back to the beginning and reclaim a sense of visual continuity. I must say it was a pleasure, though, and during unavoidable lulls, very entertaining.

Later...
Joan

[Battlecat]

Sorry it took so long for me to drop in!  Those tweaks to the naval base look great and are very appropriate! 

[Earth quake]

Does I have posted on this topic ?
I don't suppose, but I visit this MD very commonly.
This small military base in this island is really beautiful and original.
Go on your excellent work.

[threestooges]

Replies:
-Robin (rooker1): Yeah, about the seawall and the lot... yeah... there's supposed to be a wall, but I seem to be missing the plugin, unless they developed a new type of floating concrete... yeah, that's it, floating concrete. *shifts eyes* I would take care of that but I misplaced the readme. I may just go and use Jeroni's breakwalls around the sides. The carrier seems to cover up the front nicely until I figure out what needs to go there. As for the palm trees, they may go, especially since there are shore pines just across the way. You do see the combination around here, just not usually like that though. Thanks for the thoughts.


-Joan (Jmouse): There were a few plants added, I'm still experimenting with the over all style of the island. I'll take pictures as I go and hopefully give a proper update on it all. As for the boats, it seems the local ferry service is doing quite well. Thanks for the help you've given these past few days (weeks) that sent you on those retro tours. I'll make sure it was worth the effort in a bit here. You've been an amazing help here.


-Battlecat: No worries. I should say the same for you and Adara. I should get over there more. You always seem to be doing something good over there. The base itself isn't there quite yet, and there still much open land that needs to be dealt with. Not all of it will be developed, but it will be superdetailed. I've been getting some good ideas on what to do with it too. Partly from certain visits to Adara. I'll just have to see if it can be done in the way I'm thinking. Always good to hear from you.


-Earth quake: Welcome to Greenacre. It is the first time you've posted here, but I hope it won't be the last. Glad you enjoyed the naval base. I may expand it in the future, but time will tell. Until then however, there are many other things to do around here, so I will certainly keep going. Thanks for stopping by.


What with the site's birthday being today (ok, technically yesterday at this point, but it's still a party) and thinking back over how it's grown over the past three years, I wanted to post a series of pictures about an area of Greenacre we've come back to a couple times and have watched change.

The original view:


The last shown update of this area saw the inclusion of TPW:


But comments were made about the sharpness of the cliff edge. After seeing some work Battlecat did in Adara with some rock slides, I was inspired to pop in for a bit of a test. Some landscaping, reforesting, some fiddling with TPW/PW to get the logs to show better, and a few rocks later gives us this:


Did it help? What do you think?

Also, I'll be a bit quiet these next couple of weeks (school and all) but I'm working on a few things that will be coming out shortly. Keep your eye out for them in the near future.
-Matt

[Battlecat]

That area is coming along very nicely!  Glad you found some stuff in Adara inspiring. 

I certainly like what you've done to get those logs floating on top of the water, it's a great touch that makes it look more like an active sawmill!  Your adjustments to the landscape also seem to have helped a lot, the addition of the rocks works quite nicely.  I really do like that scene, all the parts work together very well!

Good luck with school, looking forward to seeing what else you'll be working on when you get back! 

[rooker1]

Hey Matt,
It's amazing what a few little changes can do to the overall effect.  I love the new alterations.  The logs now look like they are floating, but the boats I think are sinking. lol

Robin  

[Earth quake]

Excellent update matt.
The new version of surroundings of the sawmill is really superb.

[Jmouse]

The overall change is amazing, Matt. I think many of us could take a lesson from this - you don't have to move heaven and earth to make a world of difference!

Although there's been a great improvement in the water and logs, I see changes in the trees and a few other things, too. Guess there's much to be said for those subtle adjustments, but I think it's something one develops an eye for.

Glad to see Greenacre continuing to develop. Look forward to seeing what you have in store for us after school obligations are fulfilled.

Later...
Joan

[woodb3kmaster]

Matt, it's the little details that make a picture great, and that last picture shows that your attention to detail is outstanding. It looks so real! I'd say that your changes have definitely improved that little corner of Greenacre. Great job!

Out of curiosity, are those STR bridges included in the STR addon to the NAM, or did you get them off the LEX?