WEST END

[Jmouse]

What a wonderful idea, Paul! You did a superb job of putting the video together, but more than anything, each picture brings back pleasant memories.

I remember how hard you worked on the canals at first, then how rewarding it was to watch the area develop. There were plenty of ups - those fantastic locks, Dam Square, the Canal Church of Sint Beatrix, the GLR and seeing your market lots in game to name a very few. And there were some downs, too - remember the pollution and no-job zots?

Then came the evolution. Remember when that whale showed to announce a significant reduction in water pollution?! And remember how you solved the unemployment crisis? There have been some pleasant surprises along the way, too, like the trees in Leidsplein and a reworking of some canal shorelines.

The best part, however, has been the opportunity to share the experience with you as a teammate - to encourage, suggest discuss and have a few laughs along the way.

Excellent MDs don't just happen, they are created by authors who are willing to stretch their imaginations then push themselves a little harder to make unique things happen.

West End is an excellent MD because you made it happen!

Later...
Joan

[Pat]

Paul that was a wonderful full monty there lol..... Great video and I know it was kinda funnie how that played off too 

I think Joan said it best here,

Excellent MDs don't just happen, they are created by authors who are willing to stretch their imaginations then push themselves a little harder to make unique things happen.

till the next update!!

[thundercrack83]

Hi, Paul!

Your video is fantastic! What a superb and creative way to kick off your time in OSITM! If you keep things like this up, you will definitely be putting the "S" in OSITM, my friend!

Great work!

Dustin

[JBSimio]

Wow!!!  I'll have to come back when I've caught my breath...    The presentation was amazing... and I loved watching the tile actually build from scratch.  Some of the pictures went by a little quicker than I would have liked... but I know most of them are in here somewhere, so it's just another good reason to go back and look again.  Either way, I really enjoyed the video!  (I also liked the song a lot too, by the way)

JB

[catty]

Great Video and the music was just right 

[Simpson]

Very good city continuen 

[paroch]

REPLIES:

A few of you asked about the music - it is a track called "The Ledge Beyond the Edge" from the album "Dive Deep" by Morcheeba.  I love Morcheeba's music and they have many more tracks that could be used for such videos.

Sebes:  First time I've had      here - thanks!

Bat:  Thanks for the comment, glad you liked the video.

Ennedi:  I used Microsoft Movie Maker - very simple to use and uploading to YouTube was easy - give it a go.  My only dissapointment is that when viewing on YouTube you lose a lot of the quality.  The file I uploaded was 50MB!

Diggis:  Hehe, yeah I hope the music adds to the overall effect.

Tooheys:  Cheers Dave, no "under the counter" videos here 

Robin:  Thanks for that.  You're right there are a few SC4 videos on YouTube and I will do another one some time, but in the meantime I hope mine was just a little different.

Jmouse:  I'm humbled by your words - thank you.

Pat:  I remembered your movie you did and that is what pushed me in this direction (plus that track by Morcheeba told me to do it!), so thanks for being part of the inspiration 

Thundercrack83:  Dustin - thank you for those kind words.  I hope I deliver!

JBSimio:  JB, thanks for your first comment in West End!  And thanks for such positive comments.  My idea was for the pics to pick up speed in time with the music as the song reached its peak at the end.  The loss of quality on YouTube was more marked on the last type of transition I used, so I know what you mean about not seeing them clearly.  Now, if only I could have had the 50MB Real Player version 

Catty:  Another first timer - good to see you here and I'm glad you liked it.

Simpson:  Merci Simpson.


The YouTube video has had 75 views.  Now I know I probably account for 5 of those (testing and such), so come on you lurkers - post a comment to say what you think.  Us MD'ers appreciate any feedback, even if it's just one or two words 


TEASER:

I hope to post the next update over the weekend and it will be a canal boat tour of Kingly, so make sure you take your travel sickness pills!

34.02  Amsterdam Canal Tour:

A montage of canal shots from Amsterdam


34.03  Kingly Damrak:


This is where many of the city's canal boat tours start.  I just wish there were canal boat and landing stage bats to complete the picture.

And whilst you're waiting for the update, I saw this picture in my newspaper today, which shows us that colourful farm fields that you see in SC4 ARE REALISTIC! 

34.04  Dutch Tulip Fields

"Northern Netherlands: Early May means fields full of tulips, like these seen from the air yesterday. More than three billion tulip bulbs are grown in the country every year, of which two thirds are exported. Tulips are such a Dutch icon that proposals have been made to build an island in the shape of a tulip plant off the coast of the Netherlands to rival Palm Island off Dubai. The first tulips in the Netherlands were brought from Constantinople, now Istanbul, via Vienna and planted in a garden at the University of Leiden 415 years ago. Today the area between Leiden and Haarlem is the centre of the Dutch bulb-growing industry."

Maybe I should create the "tulip island" the article refers to


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

[thundercrack83]

Hello, Paul!

I love the teaser, my friend--I can't wait to follow along through the canals! And those Dutch Tulip farms look great, too. I wouldn't mind seeing the Tulip Island, either.

Can't wait to see more!

Take care,

Dustin

[Diggis]

This is where many of the city's canal boat tours start.  I just wish there were canal boat and landing stage bats to complete the picture.

Hmmm, maybe you will have to have a word with your Nutty compatriots and get something up and running. 

[Ennedi]

Paul, check all CSK stuff ie. PEG CSK2 and addons to it. You will find "Small Port" and "Water Taxis".





You can use these lots without any changes. But you can also think about some lot editing. Water taxis and ships (at the Small Port) appear randomly at the waterfront. You can remove them and replace by the boat from Oppie Canal set, it looks very similar as these ones on your pictures.



You can also leave CSK2 boats as they are and make a lot using Oppie boat with Oppie water texture replaced by CSK canals texture.

Adam

[warconstruct]

Hello Paul , I looked at your splendid video and I excuse myself delay 

Really any east perfect in your video the images of the city actually adhesive perfectly with your creation, it is incredible 

Then with impatient I say to you with the next update my friend 

[bat]

Nice new teasers there! And looking forward to the canal tour!

[sebes]

Paul - to get the audience ready I have posted pictures of a canal tour I made last Easter with my brothers kids here (link).

And now I am Looking forward to a canal ride in Kingly next weekend 
(by the way - I have clicked "replay" for your video several times to hear the music again - what a great song!)

[TheTeaCat]

Paul

My apologies for my delay in getting here - you know why
But what a way to start the your OSITM 

Great video, and another morcheeba fan here so really enjoyed it all.
Made me dig out the album to listen to it again so thanks for that alone.

Watching the canals and city developing was great and I can appreciate all the time it must have taken to get it right.
And the end result is equally impressive.

And you know how to tease too 

looking forward to the next installment.

regards
Derry

[Pat]

Paul thanks M8!! That means alot to me that you used me as a kick in the rump lol....  Hey Ive also figured it out how to get the video on the Devo without having to have it else where if you havent seen my md lately... Click on the flash button and set the settings to 800,600 and from youtube just cut out part of the link example of it here....

Code Select Expand

[flash=800,600]http://www.youtube.com/v/YvKVSAngGIM[/flash]

so just get that code out from the link that youtube gives you and put in and done...

[JBSimio]

JB, thanks for your first comment in West End!

Was that really my first comment here?!?  I deserve to be !   I been checking in for so long, I feel terrible that I never said anything until now... my humblest apologies and all that good stuff.  Anyway, loved the teaser... and can't wait to see the real update!

JB

[paroch]

REPLIES

Thundercrack83:  Dustin, good to see you here and thanks for your comments.  Yeah, the tulip field is pretty impressive.  And maybe I really should do a tulip island - perhaps in a few quads time!

Diggis:  Well, Shaun, I kinda feel I've already asked a alot of you.  Luckily Adam's comment gave me some ideas.

Ennedi:  Adam thanks for your VERY HELPFUL comment.  I already have PEG's CDK stuff (you'll see some in the update).  But Oppies canal pieces are very nice indeed.  Unfortunately it would be a MASSIVE task to replace the whole canal system with them, so I have found a compromise - see below.

Warconstruct:  It's good to see you here again Paul and thanks for your comments - I am pleased you liked the video.

Bat:  And now you don't have to wait any longer for the canal boat tour.

Sebes:  You've excelled yourself with those pictures - thanks for sharing them, and I hope you don't mind me using a few!  Anyone who has got interested in Amsterdam whilst looking at this MD really should check out Sebes' pictures.  You'll also be able to judge whether I've done a good job with Kingly.  Hopefully you watched the video again and not just listened !!!

TeaCat:  Derry, I'm glad you're OK, after hearing of your accident I wondered how you were.  Good to see you here again, and yes Morcheeba are brilliant, even since Skye has left them they still sound great.  And so many of their tracks would work for an MD video - maybe I should do another some time.

Pat:  Thanks for your comment and that code.  That will be soooooo much better.  I'll have to play around with it.  I also need to catch up with Waterfalls - I'm on my way!

JBSimio:  Hey, there are so many MDs it's impossible to comment in all of them, so no worries.  And here is the "real" update!


UPDATE 35 - 10th May 2008.

Welcome back to Kingly for an update I've been looking forward to myself for some time.  No visit to Kingly is complete without taking a canal boat tour of the city.  Canals are so important to the city, that you really need to see the city from them.  So today we're going to go on a canal boat tour with Reederij P Kooij, one of Kingly's longest established tour boat companies. 

35.01 Overview of the route:

We start at the red circle on Damrak and then take a clockwise circuit shown by the yellow line.


35.02 Damrak - all aboard.

Following Ennedi's helpful comment, I have re-done the Damrak basin using Oppie's canal set.  I found it impossible to create a custom lot with the canal boat on PEG's water, as the Oppie water and boat are one prop joined together.  I think in a future city I will use the Oppie canals for a change - but it is too big a job to re-do them here in Kingly

Anyway, all aboard our boat, Reederij is ready to go.


35.03  Inner Oosterdok:

We start by going under the Prins Hendrikkade Bridge and turn starboard into the Inner Oosterdok.  On the right you can see one of the only working docks still in the city centre.  Looks like they are having a break before the next barge is due.


35.04  Hendrikkade Drawbridge:

Another starboard turn takes us under the Hendrikkade drawbridge and into the Oude Schans which is where many barges dock when waiting for their cargos to be ready.  We see the transition from Industrial units into Shops along Prins Hendrikkade and residential along the Oude Schans.


35.05  Montell's Tower:

Here is a full size replica of the Montelbaarnstoren that is found in Amsterdam.  The flag of the Netherlands is flying in honour of Queensday, which is celebrated by many of the Dutch families here in Kingly.


35.06  Montelbaarnstoren:

And here is the real thing, picture taken by Sebes (hope you don't mind me using this Sebes).


35.07  Joedenstraat:

On the left you will see a mix of smaller traditional gabled canal houses together with some more modern family homes.  And on the right is the Garonsplein.  A group of houses huddle round a little know gem of Kingly, the Garons Music Gazebo, where many classic musician perform during the summer months.


35.08  Den Haag Tower:

On the left is Den Haag Tower, the tallest building in Kingly.  The tower, along with the complex of modern apartments behind it was built five years ago to house the offices and workers of the Kingly Bank Nederland (KBN).  This bank facilitates trade between West End and the Netherlands and employs over 2,000 people in Kingly alone.


35.09  Amstel River and Gaillard Park:

You'll notice that the canal has widened here.  In fact we are now on the Amstel river.  One of Holland's most famous beers takes its name from this very river.  Luckily the beer tastes better than the river!
Gaillard Park is certainly worth a visit to watch the magnificent fountains.


35.10  Keizersgracht:

We now take another starboard turn into Keizersgracht.  It is rumoured that this canal is named after Keizer Willhem III who had a fancy residence overlooking this canal.


35.11  Row Houses:

On the left is perhaps one of the finest examples of traditional Dutch canal row houses in all of Kingly.


35.12  Amsterdam canal row houses:

And for me, this picture shows just what a great job Vanderaap did when creating these awesome Bats.


35.13  Willhelm Park:

And on the right is Willhelm Park.  This park is very popular for picnics on sunny weekends.


35.14  Clock Tower

And if you look behind you, you'll see we have just passed underneath the Clock Tower.  The largest clock tower in all of Kingly.


35.15  The Church of Sint Johan:

If you look in front of the boat you will see we are about to pass underneath the church.  And you can see the statue of the great man himself behind the church.


35.16  Leidsestraat:

And now we pass underneath the Leidsestraat, the pedestrianised shopping street that leads to the Leidseplein (to the left).


35.17  Boat under Tram:

You can see just how low the bridges really are (thanks again Sebes).


35.18  Dam Boulevaard:

This main road runs from Dam Square (to the right) out to western Industrial area.


35.19  More Kingly Row Houses:

35.20  More Amsterdam Row Houses:



35.21  Prinsenbruek:

On the right is the area known as Prinsenbruek.  These are some of the most expensive houses in Kingly.  There are not many detached houses with gardens right in the centre - so they are quickly snapped up whenever they come on the market.


35.22  Brouwersgracht:

And now we are on Brouwersgracht.  This is the main road into the centre from the west.  During rush hours the traffic backs up as the trams whiz past.


35.23  Central Station:

And we are almost back to the start point now.  On the right are many offices and hotels and on the left (out of shot) is the Central Station.


35.24  Damrak Basin:

And here we are back in the Damrak Basin.  This time with the original PEG canal set.
This time we are looking from Damrak across the basin to the backs of the houses on Wormoestraat.


35.25  Reederij P Kooij:

And that's the end of our tour for today.  Captain Reederij hopes you enjoyed the trip.


I have to admit that I cheated a bit with the pictures.  I just cut and pasted the canal boats into the pictures.  But hopefully it wasn't tooooooo obvious and you'll forgive me!

In the next update we'll take a tour of the tram system in Kingly.

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

[Nardo69]

Wonderful tour. I agree with you on vanderaap's oeuvre, I just wasn't able to let them grow as dense as you did. But when I compare the effect of oppie's and PEG's channels I must commit that on most pictures Oppie's kanal pieces would fit in better ...

About the beer, well, bad rumours are that it is just vice versa .... (bad joke from the neighbours in the west I know ..      )
I had been in Amsterdam only once years ago in a week of sunshine between months of rain but I like the memories - and I did enjoy beer their (as well as cheese .. )

Take care my friend and don't forget to make backups

Bernhard 

[sebes]

An excellent tour Paul - and I don't mind at all that you used some of the pictures - I feel flattered that you did so...

Your tour seems even better than the one in RL a few weeks ago. Good to start with an overview (for Joan probably    but also handy for the rest of us). The boats that you have dropped here and there in the city canals make it very complete, and looks very good. The one under the open bridge, with the barge, is soooooo nice (30.5). It will be to much to comment them all, and too boaring for all readers. 
However, the Den Haag tower and surrounding apartments must be mentioned (30.8). That looks so very cool, and exactly how some parts of the innercity were rebuild in the 70's (near Jodenbreestraat and Wibautstaat) .

Good job Paul - I enjoyed to tour. I will show it my nephew too, he'll probably like yours better 

About the beer, well, bad rumours are that it is just vice versa ....

That is not a rumour Bernard - it's truth - and what worse is...  Ah no, don't want to spoil Paul's fun when drinking Amstel next time 

[Ennedi]

Fantastic update Paul!

I started to write down my favourite pictures, but stopped after the 10th one  
Excellent idea of the boat tour! The overview is impressive, it shows how large is the downtown area. I'm very glad you found my suggestion useful   The temporary method you used was very good done and absolutely reasonable - it's a crucial point of this tour, and I'm sure you will find a nice solution in future  
I'm surprised there are so much Dutch houses, it seems I didn't collect all of them  
Your combination of canals, streets and tramway lines is first class, it looks both charming and realistic  . As I said I like all pictures, but two of them are something special for me: the Keizersgracht and the Church of Saint Johan - that's a beautiful place!

Great update and great continuation of the OSITM show in West End!