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Covington - Update 61 "Chestnut Hills and South River Bend"

Started by JBSimio, March 31, 2008, 07:49:20 PM

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JBSimio

I've been threatening to try my hand at this for a while.  I originally started this region about two years ago, but so many things have changed for the game since then that I scrapped the whole thing and decided to start over.  If you're at all familiar with Greensboro, North Carolina you will probably recognize quite a few names and several main routes (although not the freeways), but that it where any real similarities end.  I did base some of the road layout from memories of living there, but mostly I'm just going for a mid-southern feel.  Rolling hills, curving roads, and lots of trees.

Anyway... let's get on with it, shall we?

1.01


Covington will be my Greensboro which will be the major city for the region.  There will also be four significant communities outside of Covington.  High Point and Ashboro are two of them.  There will also be Riedsville to the north and Raliegh to the east, but I haven't gotten that far yet.  I wanted to get a good farm base before I got carried away with the main city, so that's where I started.  Let's take a closer look at Ashboro.

1.02


US 220 weaves it's way through the foothills just east of the town of Ashville.  The birth of the town (and the whole region for that matter) came from the rail roads.  Two different lines meet and cross paths here.  The north-south line serves as a direct link to Covington and Reidsville to the north.  The other line links Ashboro with High Point and several depots to the east.

1.03


Downtown Ashboro is a quaint little spot to say the least.  Many of the older buildings have stood the test of time here.  The elementary school and the gas station are the newest buildings in this shot.  There's still some work to do here, but the train station is scheduled to be replaced any day now. ;)

1.04


Nestled in the valley and surrounded by hills, the town spreads out along older country lanes.  When US 220 was upgraded to a freeway, several large construction projects were needed to make things fit.  This rail crossing is just one example of the challenges that the department of transportation faced.

1.05


Beyond the town, the roads and rails wind their way amongst the hills and farms are tucked into the valleys where ever they will fit.  Moving west, the land begins to smooth out a bit more as it dips to meet the Cone River.  Just over the river on our way to High Point is the village of West Bend.

1.06


The same rail line from Ashboro just clips the corner of this area, but doesn't actually pass through the village.  There is just a short spur to the edge of town.  In the upper corner you can also see I-85, which connects High Point with Covington.

1.07


It may be an overgrown crossroad, but West Bend's 1300 residents take a lot of pride in their village and it packs a lot of charm.  The water tower smiles down on everyone who works in the meat packing plant, which is the main life blood of the village.

1.08


I really only included this close up because I was just so happy with the way the buildings grew.  It struck me as a great little combination and I quickly made them all historical while I had the chance.

1.09


The village common is a large source of pride for the little community.  The older homes that line its sides are as well kept as the flower beds inside.

1.10


Just another random farm shot.  I just noticed that I forgot to reforrest around a couple of spots, but otherwise I like it.

And finally, just to end on a (hopefully) high note, here is another region shot.

1.11


And there it is.  Next time we'll continue west through Middleton on the way to High Point.

JB


Never trust a god who grins all the time and wears a top hat, that's my motto.  -Terry Pratchett

It's from JBSimio.  Need we say more?  -BadgerBoy of SC4 Devotion

thundercrack83

Hello, my friend!

Let me be the first to welcome you here to the MDs! Covington looks absolutely wonderful, you're off to a fantastic start. I can't wait to follow along with you as things progress!

Take care and good luck,

Dustin

BigSlark

Covington looks great, Jon. I really, really like the region shot. What I want to know is how do have time to play the game AND B.A.T.?  :D

Cheers,
Kevin

TopCliff

This looks great, I love the focus on a small rural region rather than some small towns surrounding a big city of some sort. Great use of, well, your own buildings. Later dude.
Best movie of all time: Ferris Bueller's Day Off. If you disagree, Cameron will send your car over a cliff.


Please, call me Leo.  I quote John Lennon now, a great musician and philosopher. Particularly, one of his songs: You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. I hope someday you join us, and the world will live as one.

superhands

nice work, really like the region shot!

Pat

Jon OMG OMG OMG OMG WOW!!!! Covington is so wonderful and historical at that as well, I loved the village commons...  I truely think that pic would win a HOFer, if you ask me...

Don't forget the SC4D Podcast is back and live on Saturdays @ 12 noon CST!! -- The Podcast soon to Return Here Linkie

figui

great start :thumbsup:
i'll be very pleased in following your md.
the pics you showed in this first update are really nice, and of course, the region shots are amazing.

mauricio.
first forums inhabitant from Uruguay..   first forums citizen from Uruguay..  first forums councilman from Uruguay..   first forums mayor from Uruguay..  first forums governor from Uruguay..
...i'm still the only one from Uruguay!

________

dragonshardz

If your MD skills are up to par with your BAT skills, this will be a classic in no time flat! Great job on the first update JB!

~~Dragonshardz~~

TheTeaCat

Jon

What a grand start &apls

Ashboro looks like a lovely little town and I wouldn't mind living there.
Lovely closeups and the region pic is superb.
very nicely done my friend

I am looking forward to your next update

ps the kettle's on

:satisfied:
TTc
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rooker1

It's great to that you have started a MD. 
I always wondered what your city would look like and now I know and I want to see more. 
Great start my friend.  I love the irregular shape of the farms and look of the curvey roads.
I await your next update.
Robin  :thumbsup:
Call me Robin, please.

bat

Great to see you here!

That's a wonderful start on that region! Fantastic farm areas!!

Looking forward to more...

Howling

Wow looking great JBSimio! In the region view it's almost looking at a massive golf course - surely a hole in one though!  :thumbsup:
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pvarcoe

Really nice start Jon.

The transportation map you started the MD with is just excellent.
There is an amazing lack of grid with the farms.
That takes amazing patience to set them up like that.
The raised rail bridge over the highway in picture 1.04 is quite cool.
I haven't seen one done quite like that before.

oldrogue

Wonderful Jon....I am impressed....you build kind of the way I do, with lots of rural to start with.....I love the the way your farms are so realistic for the south...not midwestern at all. I will relish checking in and harrass...er, making smart as....ummmm commenting on your md!

:thumbsup:
Sometimes I go into my own little world....but it's ok, they know me there.

threestooges

I see you're putting the same care into your cities as you do in your BATs. This will certainly be a good MD. The farms, especially from the overviews, look great. Very natural. It's interesting to see the Smalltown series from your perspective. It's a great start, and I'll be looking forward to more.
-Matt

mightygoose

very realisitic work
NAM + CAM + RAM + SAM, that's how I roll....

JBSimio

#16
Oh my... y'all are too kind!  Thank you for such a warm welcome to this part of the world!

Dustin:  Thank you!

Kevin:  Thanks!  I don't really have time for both to be honest.  The BAT machine will probably slow down a bit until I get back into a home of my own, so I'll be messing around with this a bit more in the meantime.

TopCliff:  Thanks!  I'm still experimenting with some different Maxis blockers to get the combinations I really want.  I guess the Smalltown buildings just fit small towns really well and seem to be the first to grow.  SimGoober's buildings tend to take over quickly if I'm not careful though.   :D

Bighead:  Thank you!

Pat:  Wow!  Your enthusiasm is quite flattering... thank you so much!

Mauricio:  Thanks!  I always build with region shots in mind, but it sometimes makes for some funny looking close ups.  I'm still trying to find a good balance there.

Dragonshardz:  Thank you!  Although, I personally don't feel that my MD skills are all that great yet... time will tell, I guess. ;)

Derry:  Thank you!  I could certainly use a nice hot cuppa this week, so it is always much appreciated.

Robin:  Thank you!  I'm glad you like it so far...  I hope the larger cities can keep up with the rural areas when I get there!

Bat:  Thanks!

Howling:  Thank you!  I've been lurking in your thread recently and I really like how it's coming along.  I need to remember to post a proper comment there.

Pvarcoe:  Thanks!  I really just started breaking the farms up like that while building this region.  I like the effect and I'm glad to hear I seem to be pulling it off.  That rail bridge was just a happy accident... I just kept going until I found a fairly level spot again and that's what I ended up with.

Duane:  Thank you!  Considering that the bulk of my life has been in the midwest, I'm quite glad to hear that I pulled off a different look.

Matt:  Thanks!  I'm kind of using this region to test out a lot of things about all my series really.  Usually I test a building without ever actually playing much with it... so it's fun to actually spend some time finding out how my stuff blends with people like Spa and SimGoober and Jestarr who all have buildings in similar styles.

Mightygoose:  Thank you!

Update Time

I thought that an actual map of the area may be useful.

2.01


You can see West Bend and the Cone River on the eastern edge of the map.  If we follow US 52 west from there, eventually we will pass just north of the village of Middleton.

2.02


There isn't much here now, but given the routes that pass nearby, this area could grow quickly.  Us 52 crosses with I85 nearby.  The rail line connecting Ashboro to High Point passes right through the village, and the line leading to Covington is just to the north as well.

2.03


Yep, that's really all there is here!  A shed for grain and a very small, but quite pretty, train station.  Because the train stops are so short here, it isn't even necessary to have any type of siding.  The main line passes right through the station instead!

Let's keep on US 52 and head into High Point.

2.04


High Point sits along the banks of Cypress Creek.  As we get closer, US 52 widens into an avenue just before crossing over the US 29 expressway.  This bypass is a pretty recent project and skirts around the edge of the developed city on its north and east sides before ending at I85.  US 52 joins up and becomes High Point Road just a couple blocks north of the high school.

2.05


As we get into the downtown area, Us 52 (High Point Road) splits into a pair of one way streets until it crosses Cypress Creek.  Once again, the rail roads played a significant role in the town's development.  From the central station, one can head out of town in five different directions.

2.06


High Point is a city of around 30,000 at the moment, so the downtown area has not really begun to go vertical just yet.  However, the central square is quite nice.  City Hall is surrounded by plazas and just a block over is one of two fantastic markets in town.

2.07


Heading over the creek can look to the north and see what once was a true inspiration area for photographers in the area.  Unfortunately, some rather short sighted decisions by the city council ruined the sight of the water tower and rail bridge by locating the water treatment plant and a radio tower smack in the middle of the shot.  (What a bunch of morons!)

2.08


Although the city is still small, development is quickly encroaching on the farm land to the west of town.

2.09


As you can see, High Point still has a ways to go before I would ever call it finished.  I've been tinkering with different NoMaxis combinations trying to find the right mix for what I currently have.  I'm still have a fair amount of gaps to fill in my plugins folder before I could get rid of Maxis altogether.  But as I switch back and forth, it is making for some rather interesting building combinations.  A lot of fine tuning is in the future... right now I'm still building a population base... the details will come eventually.

Thanks for reading!
JB


Never trust a god who grins all the time and wears a top hat, that's my motto.  -Terry Pratchett

It's from JBSimio.  Need we say more?  -BadgerBoy of SC4 Devotion

Pat

Jon you know me all to well now lol.....  I love cypress creek and I do agree them devolpers killed a damn good photograph by adding the water treatment plant and radio geeeezzzzzs what where they thinking... Until next time!!!

Don't forget the SC4D Podcast is back and live on Saturdays @ 12 noon CST!! -- The Podcast soon to Return Here Linkie

threestooges

I have to say, I really like this style of development. Will you be letting the areas grow over time or are you trying to build to the final phase in one go? I would be really interested to see how you handle the development into the farmland. The map is a nice touch, and is very useful to put all the overviews together. In reference to the water treatment pic, if it helps, the radio tower is almost not noticable, but I hope there isn't a flood anytime soon... that could be bad. It's funny... maybe it's an element of water treatment that I don't know but  it seems interesting that something that processes such filth is located so close to regular water (the Hyperion waste facility is one such facility located, literally, across the street from the beach near my old undergrad). Great update though. I'll look forward to the next update, and keep us posted on new job things.
-Matt

rooker1

Super update.  I like the map and the small town feel.
Robin  :thumbsup:
Call me Robin, please.