Port St Claire (#36)

[Badsim]

Hi Willy , 

The use of Girafe's trees  ( instead of CP Trees from Vol01 notably ) and VIP Team's flora , has transcended your work . That said ,  it wouldn't have been  that much transcending without your impressive mastery for MMPs , sense of details and eagle eyes , qualities  we could see coming here since a long time . I spent long minutes studing that picture (full sizes) and , well , I love most of all how it's almost impossible to say where land stops , water starts ... and , with draggable FAR as icing on the cake ... that picture is simply breathtaking .

Finest landscaping work I have never seen ( mine included ) , have to say .



Cédric.

[Swordmaster]

1.3.   A closer look at all that

Sneaking in an update between work shifts. . .


Hey, PSC is approaching 10,000 views. Our good friend David (dedgren) once argued how pageviews were more important than comments. However, views just don't say the words you all have been posting here over the past four months. You have my eternal gratitude for supporting PSC and furthering our little project here. A round of applause for you.

Of course, this project entails much more than just plopping scenes full of MMPs. It's just that I've been enjoying this aspect during the past couple of weeks and that I frankly haven't had the time to continue city building right away. I guess this is the downside of letting my perfectionist traits gain the upper hand.

However, if you want to enjoy some views on old American cities, you can always take a look here [linkie]. These plates, like Matt (MTT9) rightly suggested in that thread, should give you a good idea where we are going. I am especially looking forward to what will be St Claire's "golden age" during the period between Civil War and Great Depression.

For now, though, we're staying 100% certified rural. These next images are upzoom (new word) snippets from the previous "monster" (thanks Noah) taken during fall season. Simple 1280 px images you can click to widen.



1.  We start at the mansion. Lotting trick by mrbisonm [linkie].



2.  You will realize I've been watching Bambi. Wonderful movie.



3.  And who doesn't love birds?



4.  Introducing zoom level 7. Trick by Cédric (Badsim).



5.  You know our fisherman has featured in almost every update of this MD. I hope his kids will continue the trade when we move on through time.



6.  Don't you think these bushes grow in strange patterns and colors?



7.  These pigs seem to enjoy the muddy marshland.



8.  More Bambi.



9.  Moving to the shore of that small lake.



10.  Further down, a family of pigs and piglets.



11.  Deer among tree stumps.



12.  More pigs.



13.  More pigs. . . er . . . no, this one's a different mammal.



14.  Back to "civilization".



15.  Finishing with a mosaic. Full zoom 6 version available HERE (1920px - 3.3 MB).

Replies

Great work.  I found the SC4D logo.

Thanks! That was a test to check your attention

Great pic once more Willy! Checking out the huge one is worth the waiting. Don't you forget, i'm still waiting to check out how those coasts and water colors turned out

Thanks Matt. I know, apologies for the delay. I haven't had the time to report back on that yet.

It's a real pleasure navigating around this monster admiring all the details. Call it "splashing MMPs around" or whatever all you want but you've got wetlands creation down perfectly. You've also done an unusually good job with your fauna. Details like boats and sheds, docks and tree stumps, as well as your new farming MMPs are pleasant additions, and of course your network retexturing with draggable FAR-2 is kind to the eyes. Keep up the great work 

Monster, eh? I'll take it as a compliment    Thanks Noah, but it's still "splashing". Now, help me get those MMPs out!

This is a beautiful photo, Willy. You do a wonderful job on your rural scenes. I really like the way you place your trees, too. They always look very realistic and not too crowded.

Even though the overall effect here is uncluttered, there are plenty of details to see. And there you go again using the sand very effectively. Unfortunately, I tend to end up packing in as much stuff as I can – it always seems like one thing leads to another and another and another.

Good job on this...
-Joan

Thanks Joan! I know exactly what you mean. Creating open spaces between the MMPs is challenging because planting them is so much fun. Practice makes perfect, though. On the sand, I just think it works surprisingly well with my terrain. Bit of an unintended but nonetheless welcome side-effect I guess.

Impressive Mozaik.  When I look at the picture of near-it's like I'm in the game.

Very, very impressive.   

I have found your hidden message, awsome ! 

Thanks! Part of the reason why I wanted to make these big pictures is to convey what I see in the game directly into my MD.

Outstanding 

It is apparent that you take time to place each and every MMP - down to the last little weed.  Amazing details - bravo!

Thanks Matt! I wouldn't say I think very hard on where to place MMPs, but I do pay attention to the terrain and the overall composition. Sometimes I take a test shot of I want to show here and then decide which parts need sprucing up.

Unbelievably stunning - everything in the scene is perfect. The colours, water and flora are so detailed - just simply perfect!

Thanks! I'm wary of the epithet "perfect". I think (and hope) there are many areas that I can do better on. But thanks nonetheless!

Outstanding mosaic   

Thanks Antoine! I like to think of it as a "mosarama" (mosaic + panorama)

Your amazing attention to detail in that image has kept everyone interested in your MD. No surprise that you're number one again on BTT.

Thanks Ben! It's becoming a bit monotonous, isn't it? Let's hope someone can beat me this week.

Congrats with another week at #1! Then again, it's not surprising giving your outstanding work! 

The road texture seems about right to me, though I did notice minor flaws; stripes at the far T intersection (hope you understand what I mean) and the shoulder is uneven in the curves. But I'm nitpicking really because it looks great. 

And what about maybe adding prop families to the T21s and/or different trees for different zones?! My two cents. 

In the first take there were many flaws like that and I worked all of them out. In my last test I saw the T was still visible, but I thought "oh well, only Vortext will notice". Now what, am I good at predictions?

The shoulders are meant to be uneven. They're not really shoulders but sort of muddy transitions to the grass side. I agree they can use another couple of touches, though.

On the T21s, I'd like to stick to the willows for farmlands, but everything else needs a bit of a second scrutiny indeed.

Thanks for your constructive comments once again fellow Brabander!

That's such an awesome mosaic! There are so many details, like the birds in the swamps. I can hardly spot the grid. The only place, though, where you can see the grid is the edge of the farmfield. Perhaps some FAFs (Fractional Angled Farmfields) would help? Or maybe something like this. Are those paths transit enabled?  It's always nice seeing some in-game pictures from you.

-Matthijs

Thanks Matthijs! You're right about the edge of the fields, but like I mentioned they will be covered up by T21 modding there (like the diagonals). That solution used by Gordon is hardly applicable for me because all my farm fields are functional and grown, not plopped.

The "paths" aren't paths but re-textured roads (see OSITM update #1) 

These swamps are one of the best things I ever seen in SimCity. Congratulations! 

Thanks! I'm glad they stand out as swamps; probably means I've done my job.

I can just second that. These swamps are awesome! And the transition from the lake to the swamps is brilliant! Very very beautiful! 

Thanks Theresa; it's always good to see you visit!

Hi Willy , 

The use of Girafe's trees  ( instead of CP Trees from Vol01 notably ) and VIP Team's flora , has transcended your work . That said ,  it wouldn't have been  that much transcending without your impressive mastery for MMPs , sense of details and eagle eyes , qualities  we could see coming here since a long time . I spent long minutes studing that picture (full sizes) and , well , I love most of all how it's almost impossible to say where land stops , water starts ... and , with draggable FAR as icing on the cake ... that picture is simply breathtaking .

Finest landscaping work I have never seen ( mine included ) , have to say .



Cédric.

Wow Cédric, I'm very honored by these awesome compliments. None of this would have been possible without your pioneering work in AntigOne, so to hear you say this is really humbling. Thank you very much for stopping by!





Take it easy folks!


Cheers
Willy

[eugenelavery]

You are the master of MMP.

[Girafe]

Amazing job with the landscapes and MMPs 

[rambuckel]

Great pictures! It's clearly visible that all that MMPing was done with a large amount of passion and accuracy!  I love the colors although I'm really tired of that creepy weather outside ... about 5 - 8 °C, windy, rainy, muddy ... really nasty

[MTT9]

Great update Willy Can't believe i missed that SC4D logo when i checked that "monster".

The new mosaic is awesome. I can't wait to see what's next.

[Kergelen]

Very pleasant pictures. What is very well done is the smoothness transition between MMP and water/terrain textures

The swans are MMP right? If so, the water must be very shallow. How do you do to get the water this way?
I guess with the smallest Mayor terraforming tool (ctrl+alt+1) and then flattering the terrain. Or another way?

[noahclem]

At risk of offending an extremely talented player I may not remember off the top of my head (or the rest of the period since your last post) I'll go ahead and say you are without peer in your ability to create these types of rural and agricultural scenes. Just fantastic. I've gone ahead and filed your mosaic into the folder I have for exceptional SC4 stuff and look forward to returning to it in the future. And zoom 7?! It's beautiful--and in it's own way hilarious. I had to try the same thing out after I read your post and it's surprising what is possible. But it won't be me harassing the BATters to release ultra HD versions of their work    Probably not anyway   

I'll stop with superlatives and just repeat that I really like it. Super 

[Schulmanator]

Delightful scenery! I love it!

[eldaldo]

The things you do with this game . . ..  I am always in awe.  every time I think I've seen the most realistic MD someone comes along and adds something fresh and exciting to the game.   thanks for doing such a good job at pushing the boundaries of realism in SC4!

[Jmouse]

Willy, these are some of the most magnificent in-game photos I have ever seen. My first reaction was that any one of them would be suitable for framing and hanging on the living room wall. Then it occurred to me that they actually look like quasi-realistic oil paintings that could grace the walls of a museum.

Every one of them is unique, yet they all fit together perfectly. And the vast amount of detailing defies belief. I'll be coming back to gaze in awe at these many more times.

Exceptional work, my NUTty friend...
-Joan

[benedict]

Congratulations - you're number one on BTT this week.

I don't think it is boring at all - each scene you have created is fascinating. I didn't notice the wild pigs the first time around, for example. They are my favorite!

[Tandini]

What can I say? - - - Truly inspiring!

[sim_link]

Another stunning update - and those plants really do grow in a fascinating pattern.  Very inspiring - you're definitely making me want to improve my skills with MMPing.

[Mr.Lin]

Perfect mix of your plant ！Just perfect ！        

I think I got some inspiration here, thanks for sharing your work , Willy ! 

[sunv123]

Oh, this is magnificent, Willy!

I just love the animals there, especially Bambi. Oh, I love deers.

Anyways, amazing work. The monster has grown quite fierce lately. Destroying what used to be "the limits" of Simcity 4.

PS: Thanks for the swans and the ducks.

[tooheys]

Hi Willy

I don't expect that you have ever seen my MD but my favourite areas were rural. In this regard, I really like the work you are doing here. The use of farm buildings, your LE work, the use of available flora, fencing and other farm props, all nicely brought together to create some great farming and natural areas.

A pleasure to visit and I will be back.

Well done 

Cheers

Dave

[Dantes]

Every picture is art, art great-awesome art   
So good , so incredible 

[rooker1]

Great work with all that MMPing.  The amount of realistic detail you have managed to add is mind blowing.  And it is a little strange the way your plants grow.....gave me a good chuckle, thanks.  But I like it all!!

Robin

[Ol.S / Benoit]

Your rural scenes are always impressive Willy, great work !