WEST END

nedalezz · November 13, 2007, 08:45:52 AM

Im soooo excited about the tournament! Great last update, too. Your waterfront is picture perfect.

sebes · November 13, 2007, 02:16:56 PM

The tournament is getting

!!!

Anyhow, great picture of city plaza! I can picture the Blue&White legion celebrate their victory on that square..!

!

tkirch · November 13, 2007, 03:41:41 PM

Once again amazing pictures and I would love to get in to your tournament

Mandatory:
1. Team Name: Wombats
2. Home City name: Sheboygan
3. Home Region/MD name: Badger Bay
4. Team colours: Purple & Silver

Optional information (that will help but not essential):
5. Stadium name: Fieldhouse on Devil's Lake
6. Stadium capacity:
7. Stadium picture
8. Team kit picture
9. A fact about your team: They have the prettiest cheerleaders around
10. Shirt sponsor: Billy Bob's Food Emporium

Pat · November 13, 2007, 07:53:23 PM

Ohh Hey Paroch i didnt even realize you had updated im sorry lol.... That was a good update i was soo focused on submitting my entry, that i ummm lost track lol.... Wonderful progress and cant wait for the tourney to start - pat

tooheys · November 14, 2007, 12:21:09 AM

Hehehe, Pat you must of shooed that mouse in my direction

Paroch, feel free to select a team for me.

Nice update by the way. Your "worst" neighbourhood looks pretty good. Museum Park is nicely put together as well.

Oh, and leave that rugby field where it is, it might help reduce the pain threshold of some future soccer players

Those stretcher bearers work overtime these days

Cheers

Dave

paroch · November 15, 2007, 01:49:53 PM

Hi All,

Well closing date of the tournament is here and we have 15 teams, 4 from West End and 11 entries from you all, the SC4D community. As 16 will be a perfect number for the tournament, I'll enter a team on behalf of SC4D itself, called the Devotion All Stars.

I'll provide a proper update tomorrow giving full details of the teams entered and the format of the tournament. In the meantime, here are some replies:

Joan: What would I do without you Joan? Thanks for sending PMs and encouraging others to enter the tournament - you're a star. And thanks for the great comments - you take lessons from me??? It's very nice of you to say, but I think Ennedi has summed it up elsewhere by saying that each MD'er brings something new to the table. And you're right, this is a great community.

Pat: Thanks for the football/soccer team entry. And thanks for the nice words too.

Bat: Cheers my friend - always good to see you drop by.

Nedalezz: You're excited? Good!!! Having Manchester United represent Fursan FC means you will be one of the pre-tournament favourites! And glad you like the waterfront - thanks.

Sebes: LOL, I assume the blue and white army will be reasonably well behaved. I don't want them smashing up my city! (Oh, forgot, that tends to be the English fans

)

Tkirch: Glad you made it in time - good to have you on board. Hmmm, purple and silver will be a challenge with the web site I use for football kits - you'll have to use your imagination when you see it!

Dave/tooheys: - Thanks for that! Whilst not a big rugby fan myself, I chuck a few in just to keep a bit of diversity. There's a saying in England that Football is a game for gentlemen played by animals, whilst rugby is a game for animals played by gentlemen!

Sir Bert Microchip will be back tomorrow once the draw has been made. First matches take place on Saturday!

'til next time.....

capo · November 16, 2007, 12:05:49 PM

Excellent update, I really can't wait for the tournament to begin! When looking at the pictures in your MD, I so want to take my own city into modern times as well... Your MD truly is an inspiration! Even the worst neighbourhood (last pic) is still very nice.

I really have to visit the SimScience Museum, because those are all questions that come into my mind as well!

Pat · November 16, 2007, 01:31:37 PM

Paroch i agree Joan is such a great recrutter... Heck i think that should be her offical title...

paroch · November 16, 2007, 01:48:20 PM

Update 10 - 16th November 2007

First up - capo, the wait is now over! almost!! Thanks for your really kind words. I've never thought that West End could be an inspiration, so big thanks for that

.

Hello Everyone, my name is Sir Bert Microchip, Chairman of the West End Football Association - welcome to The Imperial Museum in Regent, where the draw for the West End International Trophy will be made in a moment.

We have 16 teams from across SimNation taking part and they are as follows:

Team: Manager: Representative on PS2

Belmont Rangers Ennedi Legia Warsaw
Devotion All Stars Jeronij & Team Real Mallorca
FC Manhattan Sebes Ajax Amsterdam
FC Portland Paroch Newcastle United
Fursan FC Nedalezz Manchester United
Los Pioneros de Canatlan Heblem Monterrey
Pitchforkers Patfirefghtr Chicago Fire
Regent Royals Paroch Leicester City
Republic Stars NASCAR_Guy New York Red Bulls
Terrigal Mariners Tooheys Lazio
The Seagulls Jmouse FC Dallas
VV Biroud Capo FC Groningen
Wardouroda Paroch Norwich City
West End United Paroch West Ham United
Westmountain Soccers Bat Borrusia Dortmund
Wombats Tkirch USA

First, I must thank each manager for entering a team and wish you all good luck.

(Paroch's note: I hope you are satisfied with your team's representative. I tried to allocate a team from your own country. Chicago FIRE seemed appropriate for Pat. Heblem's Monterrey is his own team I think. Groningen is Capo's home town team. No Australian teams on the PS2 game, so I plumped for an Italian team for tooheys. The Americans are at a bit of a disadvantage because the teams from the USA are not so strong, so I allocated the national team to the Wombats. And with one team short I made up an entry for the SC4Devotion crew - I'm sure Jeronij is from Mallorca, so hopefully he'll appreciate this!)

The tournament will consist of two parts. A group stage, where there are four groups of four teams. Each team will play each other team in their group once. Three points for a win, one point for a draw, no points for a loss. At the end of the group stage, the top two from each group will progress to the knock-out stage. There the winner of each match progresses until we get to the final.

The winner will be awarded a fantastic virtual trophy and will also win naming rights for some future landmarks to be built in West End.

The pre tournament favourites are Fursan FC. They will be hard to beat as they have a very strong team. The other teams with the best chance are FC Manhattan, FC Portland, Terrigal Mariners and Westmountain Soccers. But football is a funny old game, so who knows!

Now it's time for the draw. First up is Group A. All matches in this group will be played in Wardour. And the teams are:
10.1

Group B will be played in Great Portland. The teams are:
10.2

Group C will be played here in Regent. The teams are:
10.3

And Group D will be played in the capital, Oxford. The teams there are:
10.4

Tournament schedule starts tomorrow, with one match in each group. There will be one match in each group for the next six days, so the group stages should be ready to start next weekend which will give time for the final to take place on 30 November.

The West End FA will try to post an update on each day of the tournament (although we hear our press officer has a heavy schedule next week so is likely to miss a few days!) Rest assured all results will be posted as quickly as we can manage.

Good luck to you all - may your teams perform to their ability and may your fans enjoy the hospitality of the host cities of West End.

I'll now hand you back to Regent's mayor, Bill Bailey.

We're proud to be the media centre for the tournament. When Project Regent started, it did so because we sought your views and Joan suggested Regent as the next city to build because of the islands we have. Well, the islands have now been developed, so alongside the tournament, we will be showing you how the islands look. Here is a small teaser, more to come soon..

10.5 Island Teaser:

'til next time.......

Jmouse · November 16, 2007, 03:07:50 PM

Ooooh, this is very exciting! I hope you have a couple of cheering squads on hand.
Now that I've had some experience as a recruiter, maybe I should think about doing a little bookmaking on the side!

And I love the teaser photo. Looks like you've done a great job developing that island.

Until next time...
Joan

Pat · November 16, 2007, 05:40:20 PM

Paroch that is wonderful stuff on the teams... @ joan i'll take a 10 - 1 on that thought...

capo · November 17, 2007, 02:26:21 AM

This draw isn't a bad one when looking at my small team, I might even hope for a small chance progressing to the next round! As one mayor to the other I do feel I have to warn you, I have heard that a small group of hooligans might follow VV Biroud to the tournament, please warn your local law enforcements and make sure you are ready. Most of the people are fun-loving kind supporters of their team, however there will always be a few ruining it for the rest.

ps loving the teaser, very nice composition and I love the colour in the pic!

bat · November 17, 2007, 02:50:43 AM

Great teaser there! And wonderful part of that island! Fantastic work!

Looking forward to more and more from the tournament!

Ennedi · November 17, 2007, 12:58:08 PM

Hello paroch,

First of all I must say West End is a really great place, the Little Amsterdam is fantastic, and my favourite places from last updates are Central Plaza and the Museum Park

As a main soccer manager in Shosaloza I would like to say all Shosaloza citizens are very proud of an advance of our oldest club - Belmont Rangers - to this great tournament!
Here is a photo from the last fashion show in Belmont, organized by Belmont's Mayor on the lakeside in the famous night club "Amnesia":

The team itself also needs some marketing:
We know very good our soccer teams haven't such great tradition and experience as many others, so the team manager introduced some innovative techniques to Belmont Ranger's training, such as Kung Fu techniques:

These techniques are really effective in soccer and they are continously improved, but of course sometimes little accidents happen:

(this photo was made after the last sparring between Belmont Rangers and the best club from the fishermen town Hakodate - Calamare Guys)

It will be a great event, thank you paroch for this idea!

paroch · November 17, 2007, 01:24:14 PM

Before we get started, some quick replies:

Pat - you managed to get your comment in whilst I was updating - great timing! You're right Joan has done West End proud and is now officially Chief Recruiterteermeister (if there is such a word

). And glad you like the team info.

Joan - or should I say Chief Recruiterteermeister. I'm glad a degree of excitement is building! Cheerleaders have never really caught on in football in England, but rest assured there will be plenty of loud support inside the stadia.
If you're running a sim-book I'd be interested to see who you tip and where the simoleons go.

Capo - you're right. Biroud will fancy their chances in that group - and what a great mix of nations. Thanks for the warning about the fans - hopefully our stadium security will confiscate the swords!

Bat - cheers my friend. More island pics below. Your team is in action tomorrow.

Ennedi - LOL, glad you're entering into the spirit of it. Feel free to allow all your female fans to dress in the Shosazolan costumes! And I hope your Kung-fu players don't go head to head with Capo's knights! It's a tough draw for Belmont, so good luck.

One technical note. When I set up the tournament it would not allow national teams, so Tkirch instead of USA I chose Galatasary, a strong team from Turkey. Hope that's OK, no other Turkish teams in the tournie.

Day One of the tournament. There has been one game in each group. Results from the games are as follows:

Group A - Wardour
Wardouroda 1-1 VV Biroud
A very nervy opening match. Biroud looked the stronger team but Wardouroda sneaked a late equaliser in the 82nd minute. A section of the Biroud supporters acted furiously and were last seen pouring boiling oil over the stewards.

Group B - Great Portland
FC Portland 0-0 Devotion All Stars
Portland were one of the favourites, and playing on their home pitch many expected them to open with an easy victory. The All Stars defended really well and had a few chances to score themselves.

Group C - Regent
Regent Royals 0-1 Wombats
The Royals were very poor, maybe nerves got the better of them. Tkirch's Wombats must be please with this early win.

Group D - Oxford
West End Utd 2-1 Republic Stars
Wet End United became the only one of the host nations to actually win their opening game. They were 2-0 up at half time but the Stars fought back hard and had their chances to equalise. The fans from the Republic of Chesterfield seemed to enjoy themselves though.

So congratulations to Tkirch

whose team has got off to a good start. All of the other teams will have their opening game tomorrow on Day Two.

I said I'd also be showing you some pictures from the islands of Regent during the tournament.

There are three islands in Regent:

Crown Island - a small uninhabited island
Regent Island - home to the largest estates in Regent. Also where mayor Bill Bailey lives.
Consort Island - the largest island. Only half of the island is actually in Regent, the rest in Stratton (yet to be developed)

Today I'm going to show you some shots from Regent Island.

10.6 Regent Island Mansions

Here are the three large estates on the island. The top one is Audley End, which is a real building in Essex, the county I live in. It's a great old building in lovely grounds, well worth a visit. The one at the bottom is open to the public, and is a popular place with the sea-side walks - and tooheys, if you're looking, please forgive the difference in height in a couple of places on the boardwalks. It took me AGES to line them up as well as they are!
The wealthy residents insisted on solar power for the environment!

10.7 Sir Waldorf Black House

The house and gardens are now open to the public. Sir Waldorf was a brave and daring sailor in the 1800's. He moved to Regent island to see out his days after a long and distinguished career. Unfortunately his great Grandson, staked the family fortune on the family name, Black, on roulette in the Mirage over on the mainland. The ball landed in Red 36, so they had to sell up to Stately Homes R Us who opened the House to the public!
I love the way the BSC park in the small square opposite the house entrance conforms with the slope. The BSC team did an EXCELLENT job with these park pieces.

10.8 Downtown Regent Island

That is the extent of commercial activity on the island. It's a real sleepy kind of place. But if you like strolling along the beach, or through the woods, this is the place to be!

10.9 St Dagmar's Church

The main church on the island, together with the library and school

10.10 Close Up

I really like this building. I added a medium sized cemetery in front of the church.

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

Jmouse · November 17, 2007, 02:40:09 PM

Congratulations to the winners, and congratulations to you for such a fine update, Paul!

You've done a good job designing the estates, and overall, Regent Island looks like a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the scenery.
But has the dreaded pine bark beetle invaded some of those trees on the beach? If so, I have a group of college students that can help you out!

...and where do you think all those lovely green Simoleons will go!!

Until next time,,,
Joan

Pat · November 17, 2007, 09:48:11 PM

Paul i tend to have that nack of sticking my neck in at the right time to throw someone off lol.... A big congrats to the winners of the first games of soccor err football... What a fantastic update here Paul and i cant wait to play....

@ Joan i will take a 5 pt lead against my foe for my first game, I want a cool mil on that ride - pat

bat · November 18, 2007, 03:01:32 AM

Really good looking island's pictures there, paroch! Great work!

nedalezz · November 18, 2007, 05:14:01 AM

I hope Fursan FC can live up to all the hype! It would certainly bring plenty of pride for the town of 20,000 and the country of 40,000! Go Fursan!

paroch · November 18, 2007, 07:05:22 AM

Well, the tournament is well and truly underway now. The PS2 is buzzing and anticiaption is building.

A few replies before the next update.....

Capo - A few posts back you asked about the building next to the Regent Royals stadium. It's taken me a while to track it down from the ingame menu, and I think it's the Maxis Reward for Major Art Museum. So, if it is then I guess you'll have it available at some point, although I think it'd look a bit odd in Biroud at the moment!

Joan - hehehe, glad you like the island so far. And as for the pine bark beetles, I have to admit that I use the lodgepole pine forest almost all the time near to the water. I just like the look of them - but maybe a bit more variety wouldn't go a miss. We'd love to host the college students from Wildcat Junction. I'm sure we could find a suitable environmental project for them!

Pat - thanks for that, and the waiting is over, your team are in this update!

Bat - thanks for your comment - glad you like it.

Nedalezz - fingers crossed. I'm just glad it's the PS2 that will decide and not me. So many excellent MDs have entered a team it would be difficult to decide on the strength of each MD. By the way, loved your recent updates in Qumma. For those who have not visited - YOU SHOULD!!!!

OK, I'll hand over to Sir Bert Microchip now......

Day Two of the tournament. All of the teams yet to play their opening match played today. Results from the games as follows:

Group A - Wardour
Los Pioneros de Canatlan 3-1 The Seagulls
The Pioneers looked very slick and controlled the match from the start. Their star striker, Marcos Heblem scored a hat trick and was naturally delighted:

Still, The Seagulls gave a good account of themselves and will have hope for future games. (sorry Joan!

)

Group B - Great Portland
Fursan FC 1-1 PitchForkers
This was the shock of the day . Fursan were the pre-tournament favourites. We've heard rumours that they are a team of part-timers, but don't believe it, they played well but Pat's PitchForkers were just more prepared to battle for it today and deserved their point.

Group C - Regent
Terrigal Mariners 3-0 Westmountain Soccers
Two strongly fancied teams here and it was a great game. The Mariners were just that bit stronger on the day and in this group, which has been dubbed the Group of Death because of the strength of the teams, three points will be vital.

Group D - Oxford
Belmont Rangers 1-2 FC Manhattan
This was always going to be a tricky fixture for the Rangers. But Ennedi can be proud of the way they battled. Unfortunately they had a man sent off for a kung-fu challenge on the Manhattan goalkeeper. Manhattan looked a strong side and could go a long way in the tournament.

So congratulations today to Heblem, Tooheys and Sebes on your victories

.

After only one game each we won't bother with group tables yet. We'll publish those after Day 4. That's all from me today.

OK, back to those islands! You can guess that I'm having to do a bit of preparation in advance for these updates.

10.11 Audley End

Here is a close up of Audley End. This really is a stunning building IMHO. I mentioned yesterday that it's in my home county of Essex. It has very lovely grounds, and no swimming pool! I have enjoyed using the ploppable rocks, I think they work well part in and part out of the water.

10.12 Island Fellowship Church

This is an independent church near to the town centre. The paved plaza next to the church highlights the uneven terrain of the island and is known amongst the teenagers on the island as Skateboard Heaven!

10.13 Mouse Point

Named after a good friend of Regent. After all, it was your suggestion to develop the islands!

10.14 Sylvia's Farm

Believe it or not, this is the only farm in the whole of Regent. I made the classic mistake of developing everything else to the point where I-Ag demand disappears altogether. And I have no plop farms (other than rewards) in my plug ins at all. So this is it, the only farm.

10.15 North Eastern Tip

This is the North Eastern end of the island. The opposite end from Mouse Point. Just across from here is Crown Island. I hope that ferry doesn't get too close to the rocks!

10.16 Overview of Regent Island

Here is a shot of the bulk of the island. I think you get an idea of how green the island is, and also how important ferries are to Regent as a whole.

That's probably all from Regent Island - I've been playing with a mosaic but I'm not convinced it really shows anything special! We'll move to another island next.

'til next time.......