Greenacre

[danielcote]

Great job! I think you're the best at small towns and skii resorts.

[canyonjumper]

Excellent golf course Matt! Great descriptions of each hole, and the vacant lots look good too!

                 Your friend,
                                Jordan

[Jmouse]

I didn't realize just how much I've missed regular Greenacre updates until I looked at this latest one!

The golf course is first rate, and I especially like the way you've discussed and compared each hole. Once again, you've found a perfect BAT to use as a clubhouse, and once again, you've found one I don't recall seeing before. When I get ready to work on my plugin folder in earnest, I'll just sit back and let you send me all those wonderful links you've unearthed.

The neighborhood in 23.15 is laid out beautifully, as are the ones in following screens. There are some older additions with homes built on larger lots in our nearest city, just as they should be. When compared to newer locations on the outskirts, though, I shudder to see houses so close together there's barely enough room to run a lawnmower between them.

I don't recall seeing trails between homes, but it's a good idea and fits in with the older-style structures. Makes it look like a friendly and inviting place to live, and what's to not like about that?!

Later...
Joan

[Battlecat]

That is a superb golf course!  I particularly like how you've used all the flora details to blend it in!  You've given me some great ideas for one I've got planned for the near future. 

[rooker1]

Hey Matt,

I too like the golf course, but I don't think I would give it a 10 out 10.  I'm not too big on the paths you used, but than again I'm not too sure what I would recommend using in it's place.  maybe Andreas' different wealth paths or maybe the dirt paths by chrisadams.  At any rate it just looks too perfect and tidy.
The housing looks great though.  I like using cp houses now, after some practise with lot sizes I now know what to expect. and your layout looks great.

Robin  

[threestooges]

Derry (TheTeaCat): It's just a nice stroll in the park, with a bit of sport added on. The biggest trick in making the course was running everything through the LE to remove nearly all of the original props on the lots (trees and the like) leaving just the essentials of the holes. The rest was just a matter of filling it in with flora after plopping out what felt like an enjoyable course to play. I tried to keep things varied, flora-wise, from hole to hole. Not sure if that keeps the flow or makes it all look disjointed and patchwork, but glad to hear it was enjoyable to look at.


Daniel (danielcote): Thanks! They've been fun to make so far.


Jordan (canyonjumper): Glad you enjoyed Jordan! I tried to get the descriptions for the holes sound like they were written for one of those course books that some places have to walk you through the course.


Joan (Jmouse): I know I mentioned it over MSN already, but I'll start you off with one link right now. The clubhouse is Jacky's Kabin by callagrafx and is available at that link on the LEX. It's probably one of my favorite buildings to use when I need something rustic and homey. It's very nicely done.

As for the neighborhoods, indeed it's nice to see space between homes. I should take a few pictures sometime of some of the housing tracts that popped up here back during the housing boom and earlier. You know, the ones with 5ft between the houses, if that? The paths between the homes was something I picked up from when I lived in Reno. Around where we lived, there were several trails and paths beaten through the bush. Probably used more by hikers than neighbors, but people who lived there certainly used them too. I liked the idea of it fostering a better neighborhood too; that idea of cutting across the back lawn to go borrow a cup of sugar or something from your neighbor. Always good to see you here Joan!


Battlecat: Glad to hear you liked it! It's a fine compliment, especially considering your use of flora in Adara. I don't recall having seen a golf course pop up there yet, but I'll certainly keep an eye out for when it does.


Robin (rooker1): I can see what you mean about the paths looking too clean, especially in what is a most rural town, out of the way from everything. Likely you'd expect to see cracks or patches, and perhaps more curve to the paths. That was one of the things I noticed when I was building it, but hadn't found a decent way around: how to get fluid, winding paths, but using what the game already has. Using the plop flora textures would leave edges that were a bit rougher than I'd have liked. I had forgotten about chrisadams' dirt tracks (which you'll see in this update briefly) but they may have been good to intersperse with the paved paths for the overall effect. Glad you like the residential area too. The mix of CP's and Mattb's houses works out quite well in the setting. Always good to hear your thoughts around here.



So, to bring things back in business here after yet another bit of time off (trust me, the next update will be coming in less time than this one took, and there will be several days of hopefully interesting developments). After having showcased several mostly finished areas, I decided to take this update and use it to step back into Greenacre's past and show the process of redeveloping an area to bring it up to speed.

The area in question is the tiny town of Fergus Junction.

25.01


This area initially developed due to an avenue intersection I put in just prior to it crossing the bridge. The idea was to build a small town that developed as a result of the bridges not yet being built, sort of a company town, that later began to support itself by expanding the industrial opportunities and later taking advantage of the passing vehicles in a bit of the tourist/traveler trade. This first picture illustrates the initial attempt.

25.02


This was back before several developments, including the longer rail curves and the SAM. As you can see, I was still using the brick street mod. There was a rail station in the town, and I did my best to keep development in proximity to the station as it would likely work in real life.

25.03


However, something didn't feel natural about it. Despite the intentions and theories behind it, it didn't feel like it was coming together. Why would there be houses positioned like that around the station? Wouldn't they try to be further away? What would be there instead? So, after giving another attempt at redecorating (this time incorporating things like the gradual rail curves) I was left with this:

25.04


Which is where we start the remodeling of this update. Up close you can also see that the original "commercial area" has had significant changes and moved well away from Maxis properties. I have nothing against Maxis stuff, in fact, you've see it quite a bit before, but it wasn't conveying the look I was after, and the wall-to-wall buildings seemed to fit that look nicely. The houses on the water side of the station have been replaced by industrial buildings and the other avenue is flanked with them as well. That avenue style though bugs me a bit. I was hoping to keep it a bit more green and less industrial.

25.05


As for the first update there are several patches of trees already in the area, but everything around the town looks a bit thin foliage-wise. Step 1 was to fill in the gaps with trees to get the look of a town that carved its way out of its surroundings, rather than having the space already open in the convenient shape that it's currently in. The result of mixing several styles including the CP-Jeroni elms and the Leafy Green Forest brushes yielded the following:

25.06


It was a good step, but there is room for detailing. The water tower was just sort of sitting there at the top of the hill, so an access trail was added to it and covered in with trees. The idea was to have it look reasonably well-maintained, yet tightly wedged in.

25.07


The next thing to address, as some of you may have already spotted, was the incomplete sidewalk system near there. In the middle of a neighborhood, even a sparsely populated one, it's strange to see the sidewalk start and stop so abruptly.

25.08


I know it does happen in some places, but it wasn't what I was looking for here. Some quick "psuedo-zoning" with the control key forced the sidewalks into being. That's right GDOT, get back to work there. The end result is, hopefully, a much more continuous flow for the eyes to follow.

25.09


Increasing the number of commercial zones along the avenue also helped change the avenue style to the greener version I was looking for (and had originally way back when). They also provided some much needed jobs and helps ease the transition from wall-to-wall building to the nothingness that lines the avenue outside of town.

25.10


As mentioned, the wall-to-wall design of the "commercial area" (all four blocks of it) seemed to fit the style I was going for, a densely packed, lightly populated town. These buildings got to stay.

25.11


Some of the industrial lots however got a bit of a change. Adding a few open parking lot tiles around industrial lots is a great way to tie them into a larger complex.

25.12


Expanding them further seems to add to the realism of a sprawling complex taking advantage of the open spaces surrounding them.

25.13


Those were the majority of updates I made to the area in terms of the town. I think as a whole, the intersection there looks much better, and the way the wall-to-wall buildings have their back areas intertwining seemed to create a neat effect.

25.14


The town wasn't the only thing I tinkered with though. There were a few islands just in the bay there, where the creek empties into the bay. I spruced them up a little and tried to add some variety to the bed of the bay.

25.15


So that's what was changed, and how it was done. Hopefully the area looks a bit more pleasing and complete than the older versions did.

25.16


If it does, or if it doesn't, let me know. I'm always interested to hear people's thoughts on how things are developing around here.
-Matt

[spa]

This is a great little journal Matt. I just spent the last half an hour or so clicking back through several pages. You pay good attention to detail. The golf course and ski resort are particularly eye catching. Keep up the good work.

[Nardo69]

Nice Update. But you might already know what I don't like there - the avenue level crossing. Yes, it 's North America style but still, a double tracked major railway line and a major road (I assume it is otherwise you wouldn't have used the avenues, would you?) don#t fit together ...

A possible solution to appease Naggin' Ol' Nardo would be turning the DTR to STR. Put the switch right in front of that avenue level crossing and the other behind the PEG railroad supply to get a RR station where two trains may cross one a secondary RR line with 1-5 trains per direction per day and I stop nagging. I would even supply you with some lots with (German) Signals (mechanical semaphores or electric light signals, as you wish ...

Take care my friend!

Bernhard 

[rooker1]

Hello Matt,
Nice to see an update from you my friend.  Your MD has been truly missed.

I'm not sure I like how the avenues come into the town.  I tend to think that avenues are for big to very large cities.  Maybe you could try RHW on the outside of the town and than avenue in town, that may look mor realistic.
I agree with Bernhard about the rail tracks, but I have seen in small towns rail going across major roads.  So either way is fine by me.
After rearranging the town and adding in the curved rail, I would say it looks a hundred times better.

Always a pleasure to stop in here.
Robin 

[Jmouse]

While I must agree with Bernhard about the rail and to a lesser degree, with Robin about the avenues, I still think this is one of your best updates. Your screen grabs are colorful, the terrain looks good and once again, your BATs are well chosen.

You captured a very good angle in 25.04 which provides a nice overview of the town and its proximity to the water. I like the W2Ws in 25.11, and the little islands in 25.15 looks great. I know from experience  that it takes a lot of time and patience to decorate shorelines.

Also, 25.09 and 25.10 are appealing, in part because of the interesting flora and the way you've arranged it. Once one gets started plopping grass, weeds, trees and so on, it can be difficult to know when to stop!

Good job!
Joan

[threestooges]

Replies:

spa: Welcome to Greenacre! Great to see you here, especially given the number of your buildings that now happen to be dotting the landscape in it. Glad you enjoyed the run through it all, and I hope to see you around more in the future too.


Bernhard (Nardo69): I had a feeling you might have a few things to say about this one. To tell you the truth, the avenue crossing was something that still didn't sit right with me at the end of the last update. Part of it is the fact that there aren't any gates that appear on the diagonal crossing for the avenues in the game, the other part was that, while it would be fine for a developing town to leave it unguarded, as Greenacre developed, the road through became more of a major route, and the rail is a fairly regular line. The trains run point-to-point along the route, so reversing need only be done a the ends, and passing isn't needed since they all run effectively the same timetable, just starting at different times.

There's a station around here that I based this sort of station around (I can post pictures of the real-life inspiration if you're interested, I would just need to go and take them). It serves at least 10 trains per day each direction, and sees probably another good 10-15 pass through, but it gets by fine with simple level crossings and gates. The gates for a given road drop about 30 seconds before the train arrives (a bit longer than necessary in my opinion, but it doesn't result in much traffic delay). The major consideration though, is that the highway in the area actually does go over the tracks, and a highway (or something close to it) is what I was hoping to recreate here. So while the rails will likely remain unchanged, the roads will be moving as necessary, as you'll soon see. I think the results should do the trick, though I'm sure I'll hear from you, heh heh. I liked the challenge of figuring out the fix, hope you like the results.


Robin (rooker1): I still need to tinker with the RHW a bit to get comfortable with how to actually use it, but indeed, it would get closer to the look I'm going for, and it would probably be much more flexible from what I've seen of it in action elsewhere. Hopefully the changes to the rails fit the bill here. For a more in depth analysis, see my response to Bernhard above, heh heh. Always good to hear from you.


Joan (Jmouse): The rail, as mentioned above, was certainly something that had stayed on my mind. Fortunately, it's now been fixed, or at least changed. I think it worked out pretty well too. Glad you enjoyed the overviews and island pictures too. The overviews were more for orientation, but I'm glad to hear they stood well on their own. As for the islands, I've slowly been overhauling the flora of the area too as I've been going. There's some new stuff in this update too. Always good to see you hear Joan.


It's not too often in Greenacre I go right back to somewhere we've been before. In fact, I think this may be the first.

However, there are two reasons for this: one being the response I received regarding the avenue-rail crossing; the second being that I knew they were right ever since I finished redevelopment for the last update.

There was something about it that just didn't sit right with me:

26.01


If you read my response to Bernhard (Nardo69) above, you will already know most of this, but the primary thing that stood out, was the complete lack of gates, lights (outside of the minimal set in the median) and other safety devices. Now, their absence isn't the end of the world. There are a number of instances where it wouldn't seem out of place. However, this isn't one of them. If a road-rail crossing has a crossbuck, lights, and gate arms, it doesn't make sense to see an avenue, which has the capacity for so many more cars, have less than that. So, I got in touch with the Greenacre DOT for their analysis of the matter. They returned the following concept drawing:

26.02


Basically, instead of adding gates, which would back up traffic, and still leave the possibility for drivers to end up on the tracks in the path of a train, they proposed going under it. Going over it was an option, but given the nature of the terrain, tunneling was cheaper (not quite sure how that worked) and more likely to last longer. It was a shallow tunnel though, and the structural concrete still shows, but drivers no longer have to wait for trains to pass, and things seem to be back in action.

26.03


Checking the GPS map directions, it verifies that the new route has been opened, and is functioning properly.

26.04


But there was still more to do in the area. As I noted before, the avenue was without gates. Well there was a little access road near the station that also lacked any sort of signal.

26.05


Given that the station can see as many as 4 trains an hour each way at peak times, and given that the row of buildings near the station effectively blocks the view to one side of the crossing, gates were installed here to help avoid an accident.



As a result of these new infrastructure improvements, both road and rail traffic are moving along in sync again, and doing so much smoother than before.

26.07


Lastly, just up the creek from those bridges, there was a landslide I thought would be interesting to show. The river slowly chipped away at the cliff until a section tumbled down. It's since started to grow back over, but the remains of trees and rocks still let someone glancing over there from the train see what happened.

26.08


Hope you enjoyed, and enjoy the weekend.
-Matt

[RickD]

I really like the drawing. First I thought you were drawing ist yourself but then I realised that it is a some kind of photoshop. And the landslide is very well done. Great detailing.

[Nardo69]

Hehe, you would have been disappointed if I hadn't appeared, wouldn't you? 

Anyway, that new layout is OK with me - including the level crossing for the access road (unless the maximum train speed there isn't exceeding 160 km/h in the village!)

Another option would have been (a) bypass road(s) but as far as I understand it is intended that the two avenues are passing through the settlement.

Another thing I'd like to propose is cutting the industry off the direct access from the avenue and instead create a small access road that crosses the avenue over the underpass (just replace the pedestrian pieces with the street FlUPs) and connects to the avenue at the end of the village.

The landslide looks great, I should try to copy create such a landslide in Urland one day, too!

Take care!

Bernhard 

[Jmouse]

Well now, that's an innovative fix! I doubt if such a solution would have occurred to me, but you're a lot more experienced at working on the RRs. You are so right about the traffic holdup. too. Julie amd I were on our way to the college one day, and we were caught by a slow-moving freight train long enough to block not one, but three roads! We ended up going about 10 miles out of our way to the only underpass in town.

For that reason, I'm not too sure about the crossing in 26.05. Some idiot with his head in the clouds is going to block the avenue, probably more often than not, but if Bernhard says it's OK, it's OK!

You've been creating some very attractive commercial areas lately. I really like those W2Ws, and they look unexpectedly good near the industrials. I might have to complain about the lack of parking space in the commercial area, but that's the only possible fault I see, and it's small stuff.

The bridges in 26.07, especially the RR, look great. Didn't you make it yourself? And of course, 26.08 is the best of the lot! The way you've done the shoreline makes it look very natural in a "wild" sort of way.

Another good update. Hope we'll be seeing more soon!

[kalvar]

spectacular region, is very nice, good job

[canyonjumper]

Awesome Matt! The FLuP solution is great, and the landslide detailing is nice as well

               Your friend,
                            Jordan

[kodlovag]

There are some really nice rural solutions here.
But I think the railroad cross was better before rebuilding it with underpasses. This is a small city, doesn't require under or overpasses.
But I still love it.

[rooker1]

Hey Matt,
I came in here the other day and saw what you had down with that train intersection.....let me perfectly honest okay.  I fell out of my chair at the site of that pic......I now think it's worse than before.  I can really see a town growing, starting with the roads, all business growing on these transit ways and certain roads needing to become avenues where train lines end up crossing, although it may not be proper due to train speeds and such.  But I think your tunnel is unrealistic.  I don't think a train line would have been placed so close to res or comm even when the town was first starting, a one tile space on either side would have made all the difference in the world when your town was expanding to the point where you could have divided the hieght difference between the surrounding land and a bridge for the train line.  Now to change that area would require demolishing most of it and I know that you don't usually do that.  I hope I have made myself clear enough that you understand what I see.  Anyways we could talk later if not.

Now I do really like the river.  That looks breath taking and very realistic.

Robin 

[rooker1]

 This is our third week of the 4-in-1 run in OSITM. as you already know, during the month of November, in celebration of SC4D's Anniversary, we've picked 4 MDs in addition to the others (who will be there for the full month) to appear in OSITM: one every week.  Matt is up third and with that, this makes it the 3rd time Greenacre has been to OSITM.  Congratulations Matt, and it will be very interesting to see what you have in store for this week.




Congratulations from myself and The SC4D Staff!!

[canyonjumper]

Congrats Matt! Well-deserved

                 Your friend,
                                Jordan