Blackwater (with Islas Gemas)

kimcar · March 03, 2007, 05:24:40 AM

Shame on me .

I never saw your MD before ( miss time ) but now i gonna follow it with interest. You make us feel in vacation . Very well done and great pics you have done .Have a nice game

HabLeUrG · March 03, 2007, 08:19:45 PM

excellent!

it reminds north of Mexico

pvarcoe · March 04, 2007, 07:47:18 AM

What a great combination of terrain mod and the dirt trails.
I would say that those are the most natural looking rural roads and trails I have even seen.
With the buildings added in, you've got a completely unique look.

Super update emilin!

emilin · March 05, 2007, 01:09:23 PM

Dedication: NOB - obviously.

[Note on dedications: I thought it would be nice to dedicate each update to some member of the SC4 community that has had an influence on the creation of this MD in big or small ways. It's just my way of saying thanks!]

Personal replies:

Colyn: Thanks for finding it. I couldn't remember who made it for the life of me.

Rayden: Thanks! That was exactly what I was aiming for. I'm very glad it turned out right.

krbe: Thank you for visiting, and follow RayDen's links for the pieces to that particular port. I don't think I actually used any SOMY pieces though, but you might just aswell download those too.

kwakelaar: Thank you! I'm pretty happy with the level of realism, expect maybe for the number of fishing boats in the harbour that might be a bit large for the population of Topaz.

thundercrack83: Thank you so much! I really like your japanese Homer avatar by the way.

meinhosen: Thanks a lot! That was very kind of you. And I really appriciate you commenting here too. No need for further silence.

dedgren: Thank you, David. You are much to kind, but that is very much appriciated. I do think I have finally found a niche (is that the english word?) of my own that I am pretty happy with, and it's always good to know that there are people like yourself who isn't only interested in skyscraper forests (not that there is anything wrong with that).

joelevan: Yup! That's the good stuff. NOB rules!

Marius: Thank you - it does look a lot like arabian architecture, but I'm going more for a Moroccan look than a Saudi one. Northwest Africa, to be specific.

bat: Thank you, bat! And don't think I haven't noticed your regular comments. Faithful commenters are what we all want around here.

kimcar: Thanks! I AM having a very nice game, actually. Hope to see you around Islas Gemas some more.

HabLeUrG: Uh? North Mexico... that was a bit of a surprise, actually. I had no idea you had buildings like that in Mexico. Ah, well, just goes to show how little I know, hehe...

pvarcoe: Thank you so much! That is certainly a very nice compliment considering your own proven skills in rural road building. Your latest update blow me away!

Ópalo

As far as realism goes I guess I was stretching the limits already with the update from Topaz. After that I really went overboard, hehe. That's the beauty of a fantasy region - it is BASED on the actual Islas Canarias, but only as long as I want it. Now let's say I want a lush, green island with... eh... RICEFIELDS and eh... a buddhist SHRINE on it... well, who's going to say that I can't.

I'm trying to connect the island of Ópalo to the same cultural references as the rest of the islands, but I won't lie to you. I fell in love with these BAT:s and the story is just an excuse to use them here.

Islas Gemas is (quite obvoiusly) an hispanic province of some sort. Judging from the number of churches it's most likely a very catholic place. So what why would there be an island full of buddhists here? I'm not really clear on that yet, but I'm thinking something along the lines of the large Indian population of South Africa. Maybe they are ancestors of imported slave labor from Asia, maybe refugees from an oppressed minority somewhere. In either case they must have been here for at least 100 years, judging from the density of the towns.

Anyways, there are to major settlements on Ópalo: the main town called Puerto Azul, and the shrine area known only as Akira. The rest is just lush forests, with lots of waterfalls.

krbe · March 05, 2007, 02:00:46 PM

Quite strange with that Asian theme, that's true. By the way, I found my BAT's (hvorfor bruker dere svensker kommaene slik i utide???).

meinhosen · March 05, 2007, 05:21:14 PM

Wow. The village...the canals through the village...the rice paddies... but my favorite is the last one with the water cascading down through the trees.

Bongoswimp · March 05, 2007, 05:38:27 PM

Wow, that's a brilliant example of a japanese island. Very scenic!

thundercrack83 · March 05, 2007, 07:20:14 PM

Beautiful job! I love the Japanese feel that you've created on this island. And your idea for tying the Buddhist presence into the backstory sounds like a great idea, too! Keep up the good work!

kwakelaar · March 06, 2007, 02:20:36 AM

Yes, a definte change of scenery, and like you say it is all your show.
I can understand why you would like to incorporate all these japanese style bats, they are lovely.

bat · March 06, 2007, 10:42:31 AM

great island! fantastic farm area and wonderful little harbor!

kimcar · March 06, 2007, 12:33:05 PM

Great work . I like the agriculture zone . It`s very well done .

pvarcoe · March 06, 2007, 01:05:47 PM

I love these updates.
Each one has it's own unique look.
Great job of terracing development down the hillsides.

I'd like to see more of the water running downhill in the forest.

joelevan · March 06, 2007, 01:06:38 PM

Are the rice fields seasonal? And do they plop or grow? And where did you get them?

Joel

Rayden · March 06, 2007, 01:45:40 PM

Wow, all the way from north Africa to the far orient

Very nice fishing village, and the rice fields, fantastic.

nova vesfalo · March 06, 2007, 02:03:41 PM

maybe the asia-euro juxtapostion isn't that great, but the isle on its own has is charm !

emilin · March 07, 2007, 12:03:37 AM

Quote from: joelevan on March 06, 2007, 01:06:38 PM
Are the rice fields seasonal? And do they plop or grow? And where did you get them?

They are seasonal. They sort of plop AND grow (you'll see what I mean if you use them), but they are basically ploppables and they can be found here.

Badsim · March 07, 2007, 01:25:44 AM

Wow ... I would like to read a japanese member comment on this . Personally I'm not an expert of asian theme but I find this island totally convincing . I remember to have tried this very stylized sea front walls set by NOB , and to have found it rather complicated : I gave up at this time ! I should not be the only one ; I didn't see it so often in CJs since ...Perfect taste about flora .Your sidewalk mod matchs every where on this island like it was especially made for it.
Beautiful island .

Rayden · March 07, 2007, 01:32:03 AM

One question, what canals are those? I don't mean the irrigation ones, but the others on the village.

emilin · March 07, 2007, 03:35:08 AM

Quote from: Rayden on March 07, 2007, 01:32:03 AM
One question, what canals are those? I don't mean the irrigation ones, but the others on the village.

It's all NOB. I think it came with the "Fake Edo Style" prop pack.

dedgren · March 07, 2007, 01:49:32 PM

Emil-

Brilliantly creative use of the PW stuff- I need to start thinking outside the box more, because what you've put together is just all right there.

And another island fan. I could develop small, self-contained islands in SC4 all day and be perfectly happy.

...of course, then all I'd have would be a bunch of small, self-contained islands...

Always great stuff here. What you've found is far more more than a niche, my friend.

David