WEST END

[sebes]

The New Wardour is great Paul - the plopped river is a piece of art by itself. great job. And if  I may say so: it looks even better than the previous Wardour...

Hmm... maybe I should start all over with my region as well... 

[tooheys]

Great work Paul, particularily like the residential estates, especially with the Jen_P lots, they are some of my favourites.

The TPW looks good, nice work with the shoreline.

Paul, you improve with every update. Looking forward to the next.

Cheers

Dave

[capo]

New and improved, I really like what I see Paul. The first signs of a great rebuild are there, I wish you a lot of luck with it. Jen_P's houses indeed look cute and I'm impressed with your work on JRJ's plopable water. Excellent work (as always), please keep it up!

[paroch]

REPLIES:

TopCliff/Leo:  I think I agree with you.  I'm really enjoying this tile and can see the improvements in my building style since last time.

Bat:  Thanks for the compliment.

Dustin:  Hey, thanks for your kind words.  I admit that my TPW ideas come from Pat and Tooheys.

Nova Vesfalo:  Thanks - it's nice to get such compliments about the river.

Bokrif:  I've already sent you the link to the Jen_P houses.  And I found more of her great buildings and downloaded them too!

Sebes:  I'm liking the new Wardour better too.  But seriously, think carefully before restarting a region.  There are always empty tiles!!  PS-when are we going to see some of your cities???

Dave:  Well, I think the reason it looks good is for two reasons:  1-I copied your TPW style! And 2 - I started with a nice new FLAT tile!!

Capo:  Thanks for dropping in and leaving such kind words.


UPDATE 20 - 3rd February 2008.

Well, the rebuilding of Wardour goes on.  The city population is now up to 35,000.  The original wardour had 49,000.  I plan to get it to the same size and then move on.

The biggest difference between the old and new Wardour is that I've actually planned this city before I started.  I know where I want each type of zone to be.  I pictured where the city centre would be, where the industry would be and where the low density residential estates would be.  And most importantly for this tile, where the farms would be.  I think it's the farms that are the "glue" in this tile.

Enough words..... Picture time.  Today we're going to see the rural bits of the Borough of Wardour.

20.01  Norvaney Village

To the north east of Wardour itself is the village of Norvaney.  It nestles beside a hill and is surrounded by farmland.


20.02  Village School

The village school is a BAT by Vanderaap and it's the first time I've actually plopped it.  I like it, although I guess it would look more at home in a W2W setting.  I just wanted something a bit different for a change.  This picture was taken late in the day and look at those shadows on the football pitch.


20.03  Village Life 1

Here's the south west corner of the village.  I think Jeronij's side street mod just adds so much character to this sort of housing development.


20.04Village Life 2

This is the north west corner of the village.


20.05  Village Flats

The local council built these flats in the village to provide affordable homes to many of the farm workers who work the local farms.  I can't remember who made this BAT (that's the problem when you download so many) but I really like it.


20.06  The Local Team

Norvaney doesn't have a full time football team.  Most of the villagers are fans of Wardouroda Football Club.  But this pitch is used by three local part time teams.  The land was given by one of the local farmers.  And if you look in the garden of the house next to the pitch it looks as though the peace and tranquillity of the village has been shattered!


20.07  Honeysuckle Drive

Here's a close up of one of the residential roads.  I think it's a nice mix of houses and looks like a nice peaceful place to live.


20.08  High Street (South)

Here's the south side of the High Street. 


20.09  High Street (North)

And here's the north side.  This village is great if you like nuts, Chinese food, waffles, like karaoke, have a car that need repairs and you visit "adult" bars.  If you need to do the weekly grocery shopping, I suggest you drive into Wardour itself!


20.10  Lipsmon Bridge

This is the main road out of the village.  The Lipsmon Bridge crosses the River of Qumma (thanks Nedalezz), go over the bridge and turn left for Wardour.


20.11  A Random Farm

A large greenhouse farm for all my Dutch friends.......


20.12  Wardour Overview

This is how Wardour is looking now.  Norvaney is just to the right of the bridge at the top of the picture.  This shows you the whole of the River of Qumma, that flows through Wardour.
You can see the city centre to the bottom right of the shot.

Joan - your naming suggestion will appear next time.
Nedalezz - your other name will be used when I build a building grand enough.  That may, or may not be in Wardour.

Next time I plan to show you two of the key parts of Wardour - the industrial zones and the football pitches!

I should also tell you that West End gained acceptance into the Independent Pact of Nations (IPON).  This is a group of 9 MDs/CJs that hold summits to discuss areas where they can work together.  I'll keep you posted on how this will impact on West End in future updates.  If you're interested in knowing more about IPON just ask me, or have a look at the IPON site here:
http://uisn.freeforums.org/index.php

'til next time................

[tooheys]

Very nice Paul, the residential areas are prepared with your typical high standard and I like the small commercial areas built throughout.

The farms look good and the bridge over the TPW is a beaut.

Perhaps the farms along the hwy need a bit of seperation from the hwy, perhaps a fence or a row of trees.

Nevertheless, another fine update 

Cheers

Dave

[Jmouse]

Hi Paul,
Looks like I missed an update, so I have some catching up to do.
First of all, I'm glad to see Wardour rising from the ashes, and especially glad to see you've inlcuded some ground-zero shots.
The river looks great, and I love the raised banks. Love the farms on those rolling hills, too.
19.12 is the kind of photo I always like to see because it helps me put all the pieces together.
And the Feb. 3rd update...
I think you did well in your city planning venture, and IMO, planning is a vital part of success in the game.
It's a pleasure to see your LE work in use, and I think you're right to limit growth in Wardour to retain the rural atmosphere.
All the photos are just lovely to look at, but the last one - the overview -- is especially stunning.

Until next time...
Joan

[Antoine]

I like very much your village ! So... british with BATs 

[bat]

The village area is looking very nice, paroch!
And great farms there, too! Fantastic update!

[thundercrack83]

Another magnificent update, my friend! The farms, the neighborhoods, everything looks fantastic! Keep it up!

[panthersimcity4]

I love your little towns... they're so quaint and nice. 

[sebes]

Thanks Paul - the residential areas look great! I also love those 2 apartment houses...  And the greenhouse indeed made my day (how did you know 
The overview is giving a good impression of how you develop the town. The farmland on the hills looks very realistic.

[bokrif]

I like Wardour. Looks very nice from the overview. Only those three flats doesn't look good on the west side of the town. Anyway, your micromanagement is stunning.  Good job!

[Nardo69]

Just a pleasure for my old eyes .. 

Lots of nice details like the streets on the dams on the shores of the river, rolling farm fields    and that flat builsings just fits inside that village - most of the time these kidn of buildings don't fit# this is the exception ofthe rule!

I just wouldn't do any more bridge over that river - you already hav 6 of them!

Only thing I miss is a church in the center of the village ....
(Its counterparts are there ...  )

Take care my friend!

Bernhard 

[paroch]

REPLIES:

Dave:  Thanks for your kind words - I'm enjoying the TPW bridges now!  And thanks for the suggestion re the farms next to the highway.  I know what you mean and I'll amend some of them next time I dive in.

Joan:  I think I can forgive you for missing an update   I know you like a good overview shot, so I'll try to keep 'em coming.  Glad you liked the raised banks - I thought they'd make a nice change.

Antoine:  Welcome to West End  always good to see another new face.  And thank you for your comment.  I try to achieve a mix of British with a hint of European thrown in.  But you'd also be surprised that many of the houses in the last update are from Australian Batters - Jen_P and MattB.

Bat:  Thanks my friend.

Dustin:  I'll do my best to keep it up.  I try to keep the balance between trying new things and doing the things I think work well.

PantherSim:  Good to see you here    Quaint is good, I like that, thanks.

Sebes:  It was Capo who pointed me to the greenhouses.  Trouble is, the minute after I took the pic they abandoned!  I really enjoy the rolling farms, so I'm glad you like them too.

Bokrif:  Thanks for your comment.  And I know what you mean about the three blocks of flats..... See the bottom of this update for more on that!

Bernhard:  Cheers for the detailed comment.  I agree with your comment about the flats in the village - most blocks would look wrong there.  Sometimes we are lucky with what grows - that time I was lucky!
And you are also right about the lack of a church in the village.  See below for a re-work,


UPDATE 21:  9th February 2008

Let's start off with a last little trip back to the village of Norvaney.  Nardo69 had it spot on when he said that the village was missing a church.  When I looked at the village again it hit me like wet fish   It was obvious that the village needed a place to worship.
21.01  Norvaney Faith:

And seeing as I missed this first time round I thought I could fit two in to make up for my bad behaviour!  So, in the centre of the village on the cross roads is a synagogue and up on the edge of the village is a church.  And seeing as the flats got such positive comments I squeezed them in the picture as well!


Now, I think that the weakest part of my game is my industrial areas.  Wardour is an important industrial town within West End, so here it is.  Your comments are always welcome and here I'd really appreciate any pointers so that I can improve them....

21.02  Helvetia

This was the first industrial are in Wardour.  The Helvetia plants are my only money cheat.  They generate approx 1,500 per month in taxes, so I often plop one or two early on in the game to give the city that early boost.  They also grow from time to time, so after a while I often bulldoze them to allow for variety.
There's a mix of older brick factories mixed in with tag ones great furnace which is more modern and gives a more "heavy industry" look with their tall smoke pipes.


21.03  Main Junction

More of the same industrials huddled around one of the main junctions in Wardour.  Plus there is a garbage handling site here as well.


21.04  Sewage Works

I love this sewage plant.  It's by Glenni and can be found here:
http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1210
The lay-out here is my standard industrial area lay-out.  A bit griddy with some dead end streets going into the middle of a built up area.  Not exactly imaginative, I know.  Up at the top is the SFBT Donutator.  I like this building and re-lotted the power plant version just to give the parking a more logical position.


21.05  Rail Yards - 1

Here is where much of the city's freight is handled.  I like the various transit enabled Industrials that Jestarr has produced.  Plus the almost "standard" freight yard that we all seem to use!  Plenty of red double decker busses serve this area!


21.06  Rail Yards - 2

This is the first time I've plopped one of these.  They look brilliant, but I'm not convinced I've got the placing of it right - what do you think?


21.07  New Industrial Park

And here is a newly built industrial park on the eastern side of the River of Qumma.  I tried to make it so that the industrials were not actually on the main roads, but you have to enter the industrial park via the streets.


As I said, ANY feedback on how I place industrials will be welcomed - I know it's an area where I can improve.


Wardour is an Industrial town but it is also a football town.  So here's a tour of some of the footie places in town:


We'll start at school level.  All of the schools in Wardour have at least one football pitch.  Here are some examples (hope the regulars appreciate the school names )

21.08:  The Tooheys High School for the Study of Flat Surfaces:


21.09:  The Bat High School of German Efficiency:


21.10:  The Thundercrack Junior School for Statisticians:


As you can see, each school places a lot of importance on their football team.

The next level up is the local amateur football scene.  Local teams either play on park pitches or on pitches that are set aside for local teams - usually on land owned by the local council:

21.11:  Mousie Park:

A double pitch park on the western side of town/


21.12:  Bokrif Corner:

This pitch is used by four different local teams - two who play on Saturdays and two on Sundays.  It's opposite the church, so on Sundays it gets busy around here!


21.13:  The Sebes Arms:

This is where the fearsome team of the Sebes Arms play.  The pub opposite the pitch is called the Sebes Arms and is known to be quite a rough pub where some shady characters drink.  The football team reflects the pub and has been known to have three red cards in one match.  They won their division last season to get promoted and had a celebratory meal in the Sum Ting Wong Chinese restaurant next door to the pub.


21.14:  Nardo Park:

This is where the best amateur team play.  Trouble is this year they have to play Sebes Arms.  It will be a local derby with blood and guts!


21.15:  New Merry Park (rear):

21.16:  New Merry Park (front):

This is home to Wardouroda FC.  One of the big professional teams in West End.  The stadium holds 28,500 and draws its fans from both the town of Wardour and the surrounding farming villages.  This was one of the host stadia used in the West End tournament.  I've heard rumours that there will be the second West End Tournament in May.  If it happens Wardouroda will want to host more matches.


I hope you've enjoyed this tour of the industrial and sporting aspects of Wardour.

Next time we'll focus on the transportation network and commercial areas.  As a warm up, here's a pic of one of the motorway junctions at the Dunrose Union Crossing:
21.16:  Dunrose Junction:



21.17:  Overview:

Here's what Wardour looks like at the moment.  Bokrif raised the point about whether the tall blocks of flats on the Western side of town look right there.  I'm always interested in what you think, so I've set up a poll.  Should the tall flats stay?  Add your vote at this link  http://doodle.ch/m7b3nugkn5zmsqgt and just before the next update I will act on your voting.  If you vote "yes" the tall block stay.  If you vote "no" then the three "plattnebau" blocks will be demolished and replaced with mid-rise apartments.

'til next time.................

[bat]

That's a very nice village, paroch!
...And thanks for the name...

Great work on these schools and parks and stadium!! Also nice pictures of Wardour!

[nedalezz]

The industrial areas look great! The only thing I would say is that perhaps a bit more concrete junk lots around the factories so that they are not so bundled together...but otherwise, they look good. Another huge update, so impressive. Wardour and the surrounding villages look absolutely great!

[Jmouse]

Excellent update, Paul.
You and Nardo69 were right -- the churches add a really nice touch to Norvaney.

I think the industrial areas in Wardour look just fine. Industrial parks, as we often call them, are usually griddy and largely unadorned. Sometimes there's a bit of landscaping out front to make the entrances look a little better, but otherwise they're strictly business for profit. The larger factories usually sit on oversize chunks of real estate where existing trees are left uncut. It makes for a slightly more attractive setting, but I think the underlying reason is the idea of possible expansion in the future, not good looks.

As for the rail yards, I've never tried any either so I'll leave comments to the experts.

The school grounds and parks are delightful, and yayaya, I get two footies and everybody else gets just one!  BTW, does RODA JC in the stadium mean anything?

Thanks again for rounding out the update with an overview which is looking better and better I might add!

Until next time...
Joan

[bokrif]

I know I don't comment too much, but I feel the following is enough: I like the industrial area!

[sebes]

ok Paul , you got to explain to me the link you lay between the roughest bar in town, shady characters and moi... I know that I get a bid after a few too many wines but that it could end in blood and guts derby with Nardo ??    I swear you, there is nothing rough going on in Sebes' arms my friend (but of course if I could get my arms around an entire football team who knows    

But seriously, I also plop railyards in most of my cities (I use NCD's for that) and yours look great. But the 2 double decker busses driving on that dead-end street in the waste lands is kind of funny... make we realy wonder what is going on there... uhm?

The Merry stadium looks great (Joan: the stadium is batted after the Parkstad Limburg stadium in Kerkrade (NL), and the homebase for the local Roda JC football team) . I can tell you FC Manhattan is already training very hard to join the tournament again, and loads of Mets fans are speculatively booking tickets to Westend already.

And in your poll I voted yes, for the plattenbauten to stay. As added in my comments on Doodle: any city with so many industries needs these kind of social housing from the 60's and 70's for the laborers to live in. And as Wardouroda has a 28500 stadium you''ll have to give the hometeams hooligans some shelter too (they need a place to go when they come out of Sebes' arms

[tooheys]

The Tooheys High School for the Study of Flat Surfaces

hehehe, I love it, and I can't believe they still teach that the Earth is round 

Good to see you're dirty side, nice industrial area and rail lots 

In fact the entire update is well done, but I must say, the standout is your LE work. 

Love the fences. I really have to teach myself how to do that.

Cheers

Dave