Siilijoki

[rooker1]

Wow, wow and wow!
Love that river!

Robin

[Terring7]

The first picture reminds me when I was to the bus going to Kavala

[noahclem]

Well vacation is over and I'm just waiting for the jet-lag to subside 

The news around Siilijoki is I'm test-running the Oberland Terrain Mod and this mini-update will be centering on it. I have so far been very happy with it and also very impressed by how good it looks on flat ground. I've been wandering around the region snapping shots but the ski hill around Tunturikyla and the surrounding area have been the most photogenic and I think best show the character of this mod.

Due to my laptops larger screen size many of these images can be expanded by clicking--No new windows our download time so you might as well just click the pic     Suggestions for how to better do this in the future are welcome

Without further ado, I bring you:




30.1 -- Summer campers by a viewing tower in the ski resort



30.2 -- The ski-lifts are quiet this time of year



30.3



30.4 -- Nearby and further down the mountain is the beginner's lift



30.5 -- Continuing down the mountain we get near a spot familiar from the last teaser



30.6 -- Just downstream the Empire Bay interchange area



30.7 -- Zoom 6



30.8 -- Just down the river and across the municipal border into Pohjanmaa



30.9 -- Jumping across the Siilijoki Estuary we get to the newly christened Greenacre Friendship Bridge and Tunnel

This area was created around the time I started my MD and features lovely but now somewhat outdated flora do to lacking seasonality and HD rendering. I really liked the way the Oberland Mod looked with it though I suspect I'll eventually update the area. Siilijoki's earliest fort and trading post lies on the left bank here.


30.10 -- An overview of Central Igelstadt



30.11 -- And one of my favorite intersections, the Igelstadt Kruz Parclo



And so no one can say I didn't send a postcard from my vacation:

Very nice scenes.  The Aubrac walls do look great there. However, I do have some safety concerns next to a high speed freeway.

Thanks Rick! I'd thought about those walls maybe being too close but are they more dangerous to cars than the concrete barriers you see more commonly? I wasn't super-confident that the answer to that question was "yes" but in the end the aesthetics trumped potential safety concerns 

Very scenic area, Noah! How I'd like to go there to relax and take pictures of the passing trains.

You have a small glitch with the NWM and the avenue on the last pictures btw.

Thanks Arthur! I wish I could join you there    I spent a lot of work trying to get that NWM transition to work right and eventually just gave up. The problem is that the area is right next to an intersection where two OWR-3s with GLR in the middle cross another road that is two OWR-3s with GLR in the middle. The GLR had to convert to subway which just leaves the OWRs. A circle of OWRs that size automatically converts to a roundabout, whether it's OWR-2 or OWR-3 (or something else). I got around the problem by substituting half of a RD-6 for one of the four sides but then there wasn't enough space for it to convert back to OWR-3, then OWR-2, then avenue :/

I love the colors in the first picture !

Thanks a lot!

Pictures from the new laptop looks great. You've got a better graphics card?
I love these natural scene. 

Thanks! Yeah, the new laptop has a NVidea Geforce with 3GB dedicated memory--and the old one didn't even have a dedicated graphics card     So yeah, it was a huge improvement    Glad you liked the nature.

Noah, there are only a handful of players who have the talent, the skill and the patience to be called "exceptional SC4 players," and you're one of them IMO. You are every bit as good or better at creating nature scenes as you are at urban development.

I hope the new laptop works out well for you, but for now, just relax and enjoy your vacation. When you get back home and back in playing mode, though, I think it would be interesting to know where you get your ideas. I'll post something more specific in our private chat thread a bit later.

Beautiful work here...
Joan

I'm very honored at the compliment Joan! I think I'll be doing more work on nature scenes than urban stuff in the near future--I started testing this new terrain mod which made me go back to Siilijoki's more natural areas and I forgot how much I like doing them. Also with the new computer (which is working amazing so far, thanks for asking) I can create massive forests without the graphics minimized and without the game lagging like crazy. I've gotten sick of working on some of my favorite nature areas in the past because the tile fills up to a point that the game quits being fun to play. Anyway, vacation was great but I'm back and I'd be more than happy to discuss ideas and techniques with you any time 

Thats just gorgeous - the pictures have so much life!

I especially loved the fall picture, with the seasonal trees - just made me want to jump in my laptop screen and experience it for real!

Thank you very much!! I'm really glad you enjoyed the colors 

Awesome Noah!the images are great!have a nice time during your holidays!!!

Thanks a lot and holidays were great!!

River+RHW+Adventure= Woahw  Thats adventure fun  in the river And the w2w is fantastic 

Thanks buddy, glad you liked that combination 

I love the river scene - and it is the featured image on BTT because your MD is number one again!

Edit 15 sept: This update was special enough to keep you at number one on BTT for the fifth week in a row - well done.

Wow, I can't believe I made it 5 weeks! Great to see you in Siilijoki again and thanks again for your hard work on the rankings 

I love the river near the RHW. Nice pics!!

Thank you very much!

Wow, wow and wow!
Love that river!

Robin

Thanks a lot Robin!! Glad to have you visit again 

The first picture reminds me when I was to the bus going to Kavala

Thanks Elias! Sounds like a nice place 

[Gugu3]

Very nice Noah!the terrain mod is awesome and your cities just spectacular! &aplsI really like your favourite interchange!it's very realistic and well built!keep it up! ;DYou should post it in the "Show us your interchanges" thread!

[Swordmaster]

Nice two updates - I was on a holiday, too.

I feel that Oberland terrain works better than the previous one, and makes for a nice combination with the water.


Cheers
Willy

[Girafe]

Greener it is, better it is 

[nbvc]

Great landscape and city.

[Gobias]

Love the update Noah!  I've spent so much time looking at the B.Oberland mod as an empty landscape while testing that it's great to see it being integrated in a living breathing city.  Esp love the shots of the cable cars (edit - yeah, make that ski-lifts!... doh! honey, fetch my eye-glasses!) 

Great work here!    

[Jmouse]

It looks like those summer campers picked a gorgeous spot to pitch their tent. I've never been fond of masses of fir trees – I guess that's what they are – but that's the kind of trees that would grow in ski-lift country I guess. I love the foliage in 30.5, though, and the two following it.

30.7 looks a bit pixilated, but my graphic card is outdated. Still, I can see the photo well enough to call it a favorite in this update. Your detail work is amazing, in part because you don't overdo it. And would you tell me again which water mod you're using?

There is certainly a lot to like about the Oberland Terrain Mod. I'm still using the Appalachian because I like the looks of the rock cliffs and the turf. But I also like the tiny "cliffs" in 30.9, and I love the way the water ends without having an abrupt line you have to cover up with weeds (30.7 and 30.9).

Obviously you had a good time on vacation if that's you and your friend in the photo, and that's great.

-Joan

[RickD]

Great pictures. I especially like 30.8. And I am glad to hear you had a great vacation.   

My first reaction to the new terrain mod is that it looks smooth which is good and bad at the same time.

The good thing is that that there are no out of place textures or hard transitions. It is all very natural. And I love the water transition in 30.6 and 30.7. The transition to the snow areas is also very smooth The close up scene in 30.1 shows great detail in the terrain texture and the small cliff is very nice. The intense green color fits very well in your style.

But in the more zoomed out pictures 30.2, 30.3 and 30.4 it looks a bit too smooth for me. I think this terrain mod needs more MMPs than the Appalachian Mod. Don't get me wrong, it looks good the way it is, but with some flowers, grass and small rocks it would be outstanding.

As a conclusion I'd say you should keep the Oberland Mod. 

[nedalezz]

That mod is absolutely stunning! Is it downloadable or is it your own creation?

In terms of green terrain, Id say that the mod is the finest I have seen - simply gorgeous!

And its not like you're doing a terrible job of highlighting it - the pictures were beautiful

[art128]

It's impressive how the interchange fits very well with the city, Noah. You almost managed to make it disappear. Also your smooth curves on slope are magnificent. I love the overview.

The new terrain mod you are using adds lot to your pictures. They seem more lively with this one than the previous.

You went water-skiing, I envy you. Me not being a good swimmer I really don't think I can try it. 

[tb7]

30.10. is my favorite - I like these overviews 

Ur water looks very interessting - what mod did u use?

[Terring7]

You should plant more trees
The pictures are beautiful, great job

[wallasey]

The overviews in this update are certainly some of your finest! I think 30.1 is undoubtedly one of your best, possibly because there is so much to see! I dread to think how many people were moved out when the massive interchange was built!

The terrain mod suits your area a lot, a wise move on your part! I bet the view from the top of the cable-car is immense!

[Kergelen]

The Oberland terrain mod is magnificent specially in the mountain and near the water.
Regarding the city the combination of roads, RHW, train and urban areas are magnificent. I love the smoothness with you design the interchange.

[benedict]

I miss the Roman numerals for your updates. Here's one for you: VI. That's right, you're number one on BTT for the sixth week in a row. I couldn't decide which image to feature, so I chose the one you like best.


I was a bit worried that Siilijoki XXX would give the wrong impression    The roman numerals will be back and thanks for the one you just gave me.

[Schulmanator]

Consistently awesome!

Next time you come tot he US come see me!

[noahclem]

First off, the Berner Oberland Terrain Mod is now available on the LEX

Thanks so much for the enthusiastic response to the last update! I've been working like crazy lately but I remembered an area I developed a long time ago in Igelstadt that I never quite finished or featured here. I ran into some difficulties though so just a couple teaser pics and replies for today. I hope to show the combination of bridges, tunnels, rivers, canals, and buildings that make the rest of this area special very soon 


Woodland and park surrounding the approach to a diagonal bridge



Another, closer look at the area

Very nice Noah!the terrain mod is awesome and your cities just spectacular! &aplsI really like your favourite interchange!it's very realistic and well built!keep it up! ;DYou should post it in the "Show us your interchanges" thread!

Thanks a lot! I'm pretty sure I've posted it in that thread before. It's also the cover picture for the RHW 5.0 download 

Nice two updates - I was on a holiday, too.

I feel that Oberland terrain works better than the previous one, and makes for a nice combination with the water.


Cheers
Willy

Glad you liked them and hope you had a great holiday! That water is the included water from the Berner Oberland Mod and I agree they combine very well.

Greener it is, better it is 

I can agree with that!

Great landscape and city.

Thanks a lot!

Love the update Noah!  I've spent so much time looking at the B.Oberland mod as an empty landscape while testing that it's great to see it being integrated in a living breathing city.  Esp love the shots of the cable cars (edit - yeah, make that ski-lifts!... doh! honey, fetch my eye-glasses!) 

Great work here!    

Thanks a lot for the comment and especially for this awesome mod!! Sorry for omitting the "Berner" (doh!). I'm happy I could offer you a different perspective on your work. I'm using the gondola version of girafe's ski lifts hear so I think calling them cable cars is probably fair and I imagine that they're open in the summer for sightseers enjoying the panoramic view of the city.

Welcome to Siilijoki!

It looks like those summer campers picked a gorgeous spot to pitch their tent. I've never been fond of masses of fir trees – I guess that's what they are – but that's the kind of trees that would grow in ski-lift country I guess. I love the foliage in 30.5, though, and the two following it.

30.7 looks a bit pixilated, but my graphic card is outdated. Still, I can see the photo well enough to call it a favorite in this update. Your detail work is amazing, in part because you don't overdo it. And would you tell me again which water mod you're using?

There is certainly a lot to like about the Oberland Terrain Mod. I'm still using the Appalachian because I like the looks of the rock cliffs and the turf. But I also like the tiny "cliffs" in 30.9, and I love the way the water ends without having an abrupt line you have to cover up with weeds (30.7 and 30.9).

Obviously you had a good time on vacation if that's you and your friend in the photo, and that's great.

-Joan

Thanks a lot Joan! If I recall right those trees are subalpine firs. Besides probably being likely to grow in ski areas like you mention they also have the advantage of seasonal snowcover to blend in with the slopes in winter so I pretty much exclusively use coniferous trees on the mountain. 30.5 is taken at zoom 6 which has the advantage of really showing detail and the disadvantage of pixelating anything that's not HD rendered, including roads, rails, and almost all buildings. Anyway, glad you liked that one!

I switch water mods pretty frequently so it's quite understandable if it's touch to keep up with. In this case I'm using Gobias' mod included with the B. Ober. mod. For both this one and Lowkee's options are pretty limited because of the high level of detail--to my knowledge only their included water mods or dobdriver's most recent set will look appropriate. Speaking of the Appalacian mod, I absolutely love it, but don't use it for most of my areas because I've always envisioned Siilijoki as a green, lush place--the same reason I've largely restricted my use of the Pyr.TM to autumn pictures. Thanks again!

Great pictures. I especially like 30.8. And I am glad to hear you had a great vacation.   

My first reaction to the new terrain mod is that it looks smooth which is good and bad at the same time.

The good thing is that that there are no out of place textures or hard transitions. It is all very natural. And I love the water transition in 30.6 and 30.7. The transition to the snow areas is also very smooth The close up scene in 30.1 shows great detail in the terrain texture and the small cliff is very nice. The intense green color fits very well in your style.

But in the more zoomed out pictures 30.2, 30.3 and 30.4 it looks a bit too smooth for me. I think this terrain mod needs more MMPs than the Appalachian Mod. Don't get me wrong, it looks good the way it is, but with some flowers, grass and small rocks it would be outstanding.

As a conclusion I'd say you should keep the Oberland Mod. 

Thanks Raphael! I'm pretty much in agreement with your assessment of the mod. While I'm pretty happy with the zoomed out pictures, doing some MMP experimenting isn't a bad idea at all. The problem there though is that the area has to look like a ski hill in the winter so most MMPs won't fit. I do have other hilly areas I could take a look at though....

That mod is absolutely stunning! Is it downloadable or is it your own creation?

In terms of green terrain, Id say that the mod is the finest I have seen - simply gorgeous!

And its not like you're doing a terrible job of highlighting it - the pictures were beautiful

Thanks very much! The mod is the Berner Oberland Terrain Mod by Gobias, now publicly available on the LEX 

It's impressive how the interchange fits very well with the city, Noah. You almost managed to make it disappear. Also your smooth curves on slope are magnificent. I love the overview.

The new terrain mod you are using adds lot to your pictures. They seem more lively with this one than the previous.

You went water-skiing, I envy you. Me not being a good swimmer I really don't think I can try it. 

Thanks a lot Arthur, glad you like the terrain mod and the interchange. As for waterskiing, of course you can try--just wear a life jacket! 

30.10. is my favorite - I like these overviews 

Ur water looks very interessting - what mod did u use?

Thank you very much! 30.10 is a favorite of mine too. I usually focus on details but once I've developed an area enough it's really nice to be able to show off a big, zoomed out shot like that. The water mod is the default one with the new Berner Oberland TM, now available on the LEX.

You should plant more trees
The pictures are beautiful, great job

One can never have enough trees! Thanks and glad you liked the pictures 

The overviews in this update are certainly some of your finest! I think 30.1 is undoubtedly one of your best, possibly because there is so much to see! I dread to think how many people were moved out when the massive interchange was built!

The terrain mod suits your area a lot, a wise move on your part! I bet the view from the top of the cable-car is immense!

Wow, thanks for the kind words! The style of 30.1 was new to me but I had a lot of fun making it and am very happy if it turned out well. I put the interchange in before the development, though in real life there would definitely have been some bulldozed homes    Glad you like the mod's fit with Siilijoki. The cable car is a very popular tourist destination because of the panorama.

The Oberland terrain mod is magnificent specially in the mountain and near the water.
Regarding the city the combination of roads, RHW, train and urban areas are magnificent. I love the smoothness with you design the interchange.

Thanks a lot! I hate turns that aren't smooth, even though it is sometimes a lot of work to get things to work and look right with the smooth ones. I'm very happy with the mod too!

I miss the Roman numerals for your updates. Here's one for you: VI. That's right, you're number one on BTT for the sixth week in a row. I couldn't decide which image to feature, so I chose the one you like best.


I was a bit worried that Siilijoki XXX would give the wrong impression    The roman numerals will be back and thanks for the one you just gave me.

Thanks Ben! I can't believe it's been VI weeks, what an honor 

Consistently awesome!

Next time you come tot he US come see me!

Thanks a lot! Sounds like fun 

[art128]

Interesting teaser there Noah. I'm eager to see the update.