Commonwealth of Marathon

[The_Hutt]

1000

Congrats! Keep up the good work.

Fantastic sports complex teaser, I might add.

[rooker1]

Hey Dustin,
Fantastic work here and it has been a super pleasure to work with you.  I can't wait to see how you display all the pics of the area.
PLus I just wanted to have post 1001, seems like a lucky number.  And here's to double that and what ever other projects you have for me. 
Robin 

[threestooges]

Wow, I go away for a bit and you hit 1000 posts. I like the progress I've seen, and the little sample pics are a nice change of pace. Sort of something to look forward to when development begins (then again, I like watching the infrastructure come together, so take your time on it). Here's to looking forward to what you'll do with the next 1000 posts... well, 998 now.
-Matt

[bat]

Nice final teaser of the sport complex...
Looking forward to it...

CONGRATS ON 1003 REPLIES!!!

[art128]

First of all Dustin, congratulations on 1000(+) replies my friend ! 
The last teaser of the sport complex looks nice. It look like, with that green color, a military night shot with they telescope (not sure if it's the correct word...).
Excellent work once again.
Can't wait to see if the next update will be the sport complex, not in a teaser ! 

Arthur.

[Battlecat]

Congratulations on 1000 well earned replies!  I'm looking forward to seeing what's hiding in that last teaser image!

[Luke09]

Wow man...1000+....thats great!I want to see that sport complex,keep it up

[bluesinjid]

Wow fanastic updates!  I havent been here in sooo long and I just love seeing your updates!Just a question in your recent updates,could you tell me where you got that white stadium?

[thundercrack83]

Dark_Jedi06: Thank you so much!

Joan (Jmouse): Hey, Joan! Actually, it was a very welcome coincidence! I didn't think about it being St. Patrick's Day, but I sure glad I chose green! And—Ha-Ha!—I thank you very much for putting aside your dislike of sports, too, for us here in Marathon! No kidding, though, my friend, it's always great to see you here and hear from you, no matter what the topic or update! Thanks so much, Joan.

David (dedgren): Thanks for pushing the counter one notch further, David! Thanks for stopping by, my friend!

deathtopumpkins: 999! Thanks for your wonderful comment!

The_Hutt: Here's 1000—and your first post here, too! What a wonderful welcome! Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Robin (rooker1): Robin, the pleasure of working with you has been all mine. The constant back-and-forth on MSN, the crazy differences in hours we're awake, all of it was definitely worth it, my friend! OK, maybe the conversations at 8:00 AM when you've gone to sleep, woke up, and made it to work, while I stayed all night may not have been worth it, but they sure were fruitful! Thanks again, Robin—you're the best!

Matt (threestooges): Hey, Matt! Thanks, my friend! It's great to see you here again!

bat: Thank you! We wouldn't have gotten this far with your help, my friend!

Arthur (art128): Thank you, Arthur! It did sort of look like a night-vision picture, didn't it! Good eye!

Battlecat: Thank you!

Luke09: Thanks!

bluesinjid: Great to see you again! Thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE XXIX
A Complex from a Complex
Part III: Christening Centennial Quay!
20 March 2009

Well, I have to admit—I really am not sure what I am more excited about, the fact that we've reached 1000+ comments here in Marathon, or the fact that the sports complex is finally finished and ready for your viewing pleasure!

We'll start with the complex, because I'm just too excited!

Before we start, I have an announcement:

[tabular]
[row][data]
I would like, at this time, to extend my greatest and most sincere thanks to my very good friend Robin (rooker1), who worked so diligently on the LOTs that you will see in the following area. All of the LOTting done was handled by Robin! If you like what you see, send all accolades his way, not mine![/data][/row][/tabular]

No kidding, Robin, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the hours and all the hard work that you put into this project. I am forever in your debt, and if you need repayment, I will do everything in my power! For now, a +1 karma point will have to suffice!

So...without further delay, we now present Centennial Quay!

We'll start with...

... Marathon Commonwealth Stadium, complete with...

...access for trucks, etc., as well as bus stops and taxi stops for those heading to the stadium! Note the crowds headed in, too!

Here...

...is a merchandise market near the southeastern gate of the venue.

Moving on!

Here we see the CCM Centre (OK, the Toyota Center!) in the background, with the Commonwealth Tower in the foreground, which we will get to in a bit.

Above is the CCM Centre facing the waterfront, and here...

...the front end of the facility with crowds heading in for an event!

Below is...

...an wonderful garden on the periphery of the arena, which provides a welcome amount of greenery to the area.

Next...

...the Centennial Quay Metro Station, and...

a small arboretum—one of my favorite little additions done by Robin!

On the other side is...

...a transit-enabled street alcove to divert event traffic off the L'Anneau de Marathon to minimize any potential gridlock.

We also have...

...the only surviving wall and foundation section of the Marathon Exposition Centre, the original arena in the city on Oxbow Avenue, which was demolished in 1977. The wall section was brought to Centennial Quay as a memorial.

Below, we have...

...the Commonwealth Tower.

And another mosaïc, featuring the surrounding cityscape, including the Châteauguay Station—

Finally, an overview of the Quay...

So, there it is, friends!

I hope that you have enjoyed it as much as Robin and I enjoyed putting it all together. Again, I express all my thanks to Robin for his work, and again, if you like what you see, make sure you let Robin know!

Shifting gears...

Wait—that's not right...

...

...

There we go!

1000 comments! I am completely in shock at this, friends. When things got started here back in November, I didn't know if Marathon would still be around in March, let alone be active and with 1000 comments! Without all of you, none of this would have been possible and I thank you all so very much!

I did a little bit of math (surprise, surprise!) and, thanks to all of you, not only is Marathon the sixth MD here at SC4D to reach 1000 comments—seven if you count 3RR, or as I like to call it, the Barry Bonds of MDs!—and second-fastest to reach the milestone, missing 3RR's mark by roughly three weeks. Here's the breakdown:

As I said the previous time I posted a chart of this nature, I do not do so as a slight to anyone else's work, just the opposite. To have Marathon included in the cream of the crop of SC4D's MD section as it is above, it's just about the greatest thing imaginable for an MD!

So, here's to another 1000 comments and beyond here, and here's to all of you for making this experience so much more fantastic!

Until next time, thank you all very much!

[MandelSoft]

Wow Dustin! That a huge amount of LOTs! They look very realistic and gorgeous! 

Did the C.O.M. reached 1000 replies that fast? Geez, that does really show how people like this MD 

Best,
Maarten

[metarvo]

Dustin, don't you know that "pi"-throwing is listed in the SC4 Crime Data View?  jk lol

What I meant to say is this:

Congratulations for 1,000 1,010 replies, Dustin! 

Anyway, it's great to finally see a good pic of the stadium.  The station, the parking area, and the stadium grounds are an illustration of true brilliance, and it's all thanks to you and Robin. 

I do have one suggestion, though.  In the pic that showcases the Châteauguay Station, it seems like there are triangular gaps between the ground and the diagonal sunken highway walls.  It's a known issue, but non-slope conforming parks visually raise the ground in these areas, eliminating the gap.  Parks in this category include the Maxis Small Park and any custom lot that has the same Slope Tolerance properties.  I'm not saying this to slight Marathon at all, though.  You have done a great job, Dustin, and I look forward to more.

[Fabian93]

First of, I've got to apologize, since I've never written here before.
But I've been "lurking" for some time now and I couldn't wait for the sports complex. The new area is just fabulous! 
Well done, I really like the little or bigger details, like the entry for the trucks.
Another thing that i find cool is, that you've "rounded" the white texture in that picture with the plaza (i mean that garden), in front of the Subway station, to match it with the plaza itself, since it is also round (I know, it's pretty badly explained)
May I ask from where you've got those green trees, near the bus and the parking cars in this picture:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o134/thundercrack83/MARATHON/Update%2029/29002.jpg
Thanks.

Keep it up and congratulation to 1000 comments already  ,
Fabian

[Battlecat]

Wow!  That's amazing work throughout the Quay.  Amazing details as always.  That's going to be a great place for huge events! 

[Dark_Jedi06]

Oh my, a very extensive update indeed! Certainly well worth the wait. I would really like to see one huge overview to see the general layout of the complex...I especially like the first image, a very interesting distribution of people and that delivery area in the corner adds that important touch of realism.

In the sixth image, can you point me to where those hemi-circle areas of grass can be downloaded? Thanks.

I also very much enjoy your use of flowers and trees, they keep Marathon beautiful.

[Ryan B.]

What, no HSBC Arena?   

Great job, Dustin . . . and congratulations on the 1,000-comment milestone!

Lord knows I don't get over here enough . . . but here I am . . . . and, as always, I'm learning something for the next time I play.

. . . whenever that may be . . .

Keep up the great work!

[art128]

Hey Dustin,
Best. Quay. Ever ! 
No kidding my friend, that sport complex is just incredible !
Seriously , excellent work my friend !
You and Robin does an excellent job in this sports quay ! 

Arthur. 

[kimcar]

  &aplsFirst congrats for reached 1000 post . It`s only 655 more then me  Seriously no doubt people like what you do as for your MD and for the community too.  As for your sport complex you and Robin have done a great work over there. Everything is there and i like the way how the people surround the arene, it`s very well done. Great mosaic too. 

[mightygoose]

amazing update and congratulations on 1000 comments, may the next thousand come just as swiftly

[dsrwhat316]

Impressive lotting, to say the least 

I really liked the loading dock for the stadium (I work at a receiving dock myself, so I know what to look for  ) I hope you (or Robin, for that matter) don't mind a suggestion; the Lots used for the plaza surrounding the stadium have plenty of people grouped together, but none by themselves. Some single people props would give the plazas a bit more life.

Congrats for reaching 1,000 replies, as well! Maybe one day I'll join you...

~ Dan

[deathtopumpkins]

Wow, Dustin, very impressive! 

By far the best sports complex I have ever seen, and some of the most spectacular custom lotting! Very well done.