Port St Claire (#36)

[sunv123]

Man that is realistic. Must be so much fun to build on that!

Can't wait for the next update!

[RickD]

Nice mountain range. I immediately envision a mining railroad or even a rack railway climbing one of those peaks. 

[feyss]

I like the atmosphere of your pictures. Please continue 

[mattb325]

Some serious (and lovely) lot-work going on here  I really like how convincingly you have taken us back in time.

[Dantes]

Fantastic historical-atmosphere  I like it.  Awesome detailied. 

[MTT9]

Shows that you just can't assume anything in PSC

I think i'll like that...

[nbvc]

Nice mountain and the previous update of St Claire was also nice.

[Swordmaster]

Thank you all for the comments! PSC will return shortly. Until then, a little message for our American friends. . .




Cheers
Willy

[art128]

Breaking nice picture there, Willy! That lighthouse looks nice, even more in this beautifully made environment... 

[noahclem]

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well    Beautiful picture    I feel like you're being seduced by the dark-- I mean MMP -side of things    Interesting to see some of the map as well. I'd always pictured Port St. Claire as a place along the North Carolina coast but that's obviously not quite the case 

[Kergelen]

Beautifull postcard!
The MMP work is always nice in your region as well as the planning on the rural towns. 

[Swordmaster]

It's been a busy week in SC4; I've been doing a whole bunch of things simultaneously, some of which were new to me. There are some interesting things coming up, but nothing's ready yet. I was thinking whether I should divulge some more plans here, but I'll leave it there. This is the last update of the 10-part introduction, which I hope has gotten you somewhat comfortable with PSC, what it's about and where it's going to.

The main purpose of this post is to respond to the 21 comments made here – you folks rule. But there's some goodies at the end as well

Replies

Beautiful two updates, Willy! The morning foggy picture of the county hall is wonderful.

Thanks Arthur!

Great updates again    Nice to see more maps, this time with more detailed plans for PSC's future as well as more details on its place within the region. The area is quite large--is it planned to be mostly urban? And are you sure you set enough land aside for the port area    I guess it's called "Port" St. Claire for a reason! Nice work on the last scenes and the rain and fog effects are pleasant as well. I'll have to return after work when I have access to a monitor wider than 1024px. Speaking of which, congrats on your new purchase. My new laptop has a 1920x1080 screen and I just love it. Good luck with the colors 

Thanks Noah! Yes, the map is large, way too large . It started long ago on a 40x40 config, then 64x64, now it's at 80x80. I always felt I needed more room to create a sizeable rail and road network.

Mostly urban? A simple question with a potential for several pages worth of answers   But let me remain brief: apart from the green areas, urban sprawl will get the better of it, at least by the 21st century. Up till then, agriculture will continue to play a big role.

As for the port, no, I'm not sure
Compare the scale with that of Antwerp's port:

Granted, Antwerp has some of the largest docks in the world, but so does PSC! And apart from docks, a lot of space is occupied by rail infrastructure. Remember, a sizeable railyard occupies the length of a large tile. Like the one where I work!

I guess size matters after all

So much planning. I am impressed. This is my favorite style of MD.

That's good to know! I'm always open for suggestions; you know that.

What a fantastic start of your MD! The attention to detail is amazing! I'd eager to see more!

Thanks and welcome, Ioan!

Amazing updates again! I really like your ideas!

Thank you Theresa!

Just when i was about to ask for a region view!!! Maybe you can add some trees just to the near tiles, even with photoshop. It would add a lot.

As usual, pics have great details Willy. Hope to see some more towns appear nearby

Well, it's only a tiny part of the entire region. . . if the most important one. And I only showed it to give you a bit of an idea what the lake looks like in-game. But that's about it when it comes to region views - I need to do a lot more work to make that relevant (362 city tiles, remember). We'll get to basic regional development in the nearby future, but for now, the focus will stay on the few individual settlements there are.

Can't believe how much I have missed! This just keeps getting better and better!

That is certainly a big region you have there, it will be interesting to see how it all develops over time. I like the setting in time.

The ship sailing up the sound was a great touch, furthermore keeping it in view shows consistency in the storyline which is always a plus. I like the changes in weather too!

You've not missed anything! PSC is always waiting here, until you have a little moment to visit. For which I'm always grateful

Oh wow, those maps are just terrific! And your lotting skills are improving, too.

Out of curiousity, which region are you playing on? It has quite amazing waterways, though a little too flat for my taste. Guess with all this planning ahead there's no change we'll see some mountains arise unexpected?! 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to see it develop, especially Port Anderson, that's gonna be huge! 

Thanks! I've surely spent much (too much) time on the lots, so it's great to hear that.

The map is a direct descendant from a BMP I made for SC3000 somewhere in 2001/2002. Anyone remember those?

The basic principles are still the same: lake in the middle, ocean in the east, and a wide river that links them. One day I may delve into my archives and see if I can produce a picture from those days. . . looks like I still have a .sc3 file floating around.

However, the fact that it's 90% flat stems from that as well. Making realistic mountains in a grayscale is very hard, and by the time I got some terraformer skills, the map had already become too big to load it in the program.

Now if that really had bothered me, I would have found a solution, but it doesn't. The limitations arising from game water being impossible at elevations have been a long-standing debate on these boards, and I've never felt the need to change my region only to find those problems being in the way. So in the game, PSC is perfectly flat. In reality, it's gently sloping here and there, but you just don't see it.

My only remaining gripe was that the Pine Valley national park finds itself at the southern tip of a mountain range, so I needed to solve that using some peculiar tricks. I didn't really make those mountains; they're actually a simple copy/paste/rotate job with portions of dobdriver's Salt Lake City map.


Well, "simple". . . took me long enough

That some sexy mountains you got there, Willy!

Last update was wonderful! The overview is my favorite picture, nice autumn colors.

Thanks Arthur! I see spending too much time in SC distorts one's idea of "sexy"

very nice!!!!!

Thanks!

Man that is realistic. ()stsfd()Must be so much fun to build on that!

Can't wait for the next update.

Thanks! It is a lot of fun, but sticking to a plan and the rules of (attempted)  realism cancels out some of the liberty one might feel working with a big region. That said, it's still great.

Nice mountain range. I immediately envision a mining railroad or even a rack railway climbing one of those peaks. 

Hmm, that'll be problematic. They're in a National Park.

However, there's an important rail corridor that leads through them, so expect some loops and horseshoes .

I like the atmosphere of your pictures. Please continue 

I will! Thanks

Some serious (and lovely) lot-work going on here  I really like how convincingly you have taken us back in time.

Thank you, Matt, and welcome! The further we get in time, the more of your fantastic BATs I'll be able to use! Unless you continue to make warehouses like your latest I've already found a place for it.

Fantastic historical-atmosphere  I like it.  Awesome detailied. 

Thank you! It's very good to hear people like my work

I think i'll like that...

Me too   This should end up quite a diverse region. . .

Nice mountain and the previous update of St Claire was also nice.

Thanks!

Breaking nice picture there, Willy! That lighthouse looks nice, even more in this beautifully made environment... 

"Breaking"? I've just learned a new word – thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well    Beautiful picture    I feel like you're being seduced by the dark-- I mean MMP -side of things    Interesting to see some of the map as well. I'd always pictured Port St. Claire as a place along the North Carolina coast but that's obviously not quite the case 

Heh, being a heavy metal fan, the dark side has always enticed me   Even so, I don't think there's much more MMP work in this one than in previous pictures. I did use some Girafe material, though, which is what you might have noticed. I always found it hard to combine with the CP brushes I had, but the God mode controller I made is actually quite friendly to them.

But it's true, I've done things here I would never have done on my own, thanks to the influence of the great detail masters such as yourself. And I'm afraid I'm beyond the point of no return, now

On geography, well, even though New Brabant is a US state, it isn't actually located in the real world. That is, it doesn't border on existing states, and its geography doesn't make any sense with the exception of the Atlantic Ocean. It is, however, to a great extent related to the context and history of the real America. North Carolina is definitely close, but it's actually Maryland I'm taking most clues from. I'll still have to work out some kinks like interchange numbers and so, but that's a long way off.

Beautifull postcard!
The MMP work is always nice in your region as well as the planning on the rural towns. 

Thanks! Very flattering to hear this from another detailmaster



0.10.  1790 Census

Some folks in Washington thought the 1790 census data for New Brabant had been lost. . . Little did they know it was safely tucked away on my HD.

Click to see:

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3



Got any pictures Willy?

Of course

0.10.1.  A couple of years onward, this is St Claire's waterfront in the summer of 1796.
Click to see more!


0.10.2.  Around the old wharf, business is taking off. St Claire is overtaking Barton as the favorite starting point for pioneers, settlers, and trappers to begin their journey into the state's northern wilderness. And they need guns, wagons, whiskey. . .
Click to see more!


0.10.3.  The first eastward wharf extension was funded by George McCormack, a Scottish entrepreneur who set up shop in the young city. His plot was thus far the only one with paved surface. And with a small crane.
Click to see more!

   
0.10.4.  McCormack's main business was importing, stocking and selling wholesale materials – anything from candles to carts – and his warehouse was a constant hustle.
Click to see more!


0.10.5.  A small city still, but one of the fastest growing in the whole US.
Click to see more!


0.10.6.  As a port city, it's home to a diverse crowd, with the inevitable goofs and loons among them. Folks chasing runaway horses? Nothing strange. Looks like St Claire wouldn't get the chance to be just an average town.
Click to see more!


And to close off, a map from 1796.




Thank you for reading. Next, update 1.0.


Cheers
Willy

[nbvc]

Great town and waterfront.

[sunv123]

That's one of the fastest growing ones? How much does it grow by per year, mine grows by around 40,000 per year, what about yours? (My secretary says to me that it's in 1790) oh, sorry! hehe.....

Great job with this MD!

[rambuckel]

Brilliant update again. I like all those little stories hidden in the pictures

[io_bg]

Another excellent update! I really like the map

[art128]

A nice seaport, Willy!

[RickD]

I just love this historic stuff. I admire all the custom lotting you did for this. This is one of the things I was too lazy for in Empire Bay. 

However, there's an important rail corridor that leads through them, so expect some loops and horseshoes .

Now that's what I'm talking about. 

[MTT9]

Real scale transport facilities as well?! I can't wait for update 1 

[noahclem]

Great historical pics    I love the way you used the new Old Timber Warehouses building. The map is very nice a well.

Interesting to see your workplace. Antwerp certainly has a fascinating transit infrastructure and effectively makes the point that you had the port scale correct!

On a vaguely related note, I was always told growing up that the town I was born in had the widest rail yard in the world at 130 tracks wide. I had to compare to your workplace for scale and it is indeed quite big. Kinda funny for a town in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, here's the railyard in North Platte

being a heavy metal fan

Come to Finland, you'll fit right in     But yeah, having an MD definitely influences playing style. I've really enjoyed it because it's pushed me out of my old comfort "bubble" and forced me to try lots of cool stuff. Also, Girafe flora is amazing!

The countdown to Best Sellers is ticking down...  Can't wait for 1.0