Commonwealth of Marathon

[jchase79]

Hey love following the development of Marathon... I don't usually reply but I thought I could help you understand the grass burning.  I live in southeast kansas/oklahoma area.  Every spring the prairie grass fields are burned.  It happens every year about this time of year.  The grasses come back greener after the burn off ... not really sure what other benefit other than possibly trying to keep the grasses low so they do not become a problem with brush fires in the summer when it is very dry in this area.  In the area of Kansas where I live, every day there are different sections being burned.  So I hope that helps with an explanation of the sign.

[darraghf]

Amazing Map!

[bat]

Nice LE-work there again! It looks really good!
Looking forward to more...

[thundercrack83]

Pat: Thank you so much, my friend. With support like yours, it makes it very easy to keep working on Marathon! Take care!

Guillaume (Sciurus): Hi! One day, I would love to come to France. I've never been anywhere in Europe yet, but France is certainly on the top of my list when I get there! Thanks for your wonderful comments!

jchase79: Hello, there! Thanks for stopping in to explain the burning grass. That certainly makes sense to me, and it would definitely explain the road signs. Thanks so much! Hope to see you around again!

darraghf: Thanks!

bat: Thank you, my friend!



Back to the Ol' Drawing Board!

After speaking with my good friend and "LE muse" Robin (rooker1), I decided to head back into the LE and play with the "water" areas that I had shown earlier. While I liked the overlay textures that I used, Robin's suggestion of canal pieces looks exponentially better, in my opinion—the water, while a darker shade, looks much more realistic, and I like using the pedestrian bridges for access rather than just the break in the overlay textures. Overall, I think it's a better result!

So, as I am so used to saying here in Marathon...Thanks, Robin!

More to show in a little while, as I start adding back the details.

Stay tuned!

[dsrwhat316]

Definitely much better, Dustin. I always thought the overlays you were using didn't look very realistic. I also like that base texture, too. I don't see anything to critique, really; this just shows your LE skills have been honed very well.

Now back to my LEing, which will be shown very soon...

~ Dan

[KoV Liberty]

Wow! I missed 3 updates in just over 24 hours.  Anyways I can't wait to see the finished product!

Alex

[Jmouse]

Agreed, the new treatment is so much better. I don't care much for the "phoney swimming pool" texture, but do like the idea of surrounding the structure with water and using bridges. Gives a more elegant, uptown feel to the lot.

Later...
Joan

[kimcar]

Hi Dustin. First i`m happy that you use the canal for water effect . The render is much better  and great idea to use several bridge too. No doubt you got real skill for be a true mayor 

[Sciurus]

Very good lotting there, I love, I prefer this as the older
And when you'll comme in France, if you'll come in France, cme in Lorraine, don't forget

Guillaume

[rooker1]

Hey Dustin,
No need to thank me all the time, yet it is very nice.  I'm just the voice in the back of your mind giving you a little advice just before you would have thought it all up yourself.
This new concept does look a million times better!
I can't wai tto see the surrounding areas and how everything blends together.

Robin 

[bat]

Yes, it looks really better now!
Looking forward to more...

[Battlecat]

Looking good!  It's been a while since I've stopped in, your work continues to be quite impressive.  I thing your latest choice for water looks fantastic.  I like the reflections! 

[turtle]

Super fantalastic improvement. This will fit perfectly into Marathon  Just a few people and it will be great!


thomas

[Haljackey]

Some truly amazing work going on here, Dustin.  I was playing SC4 Vanilla over the weekend, and when compared to what I see here, it looks like a totally different game.  Nice going once again, I loved that huge map and the work on that new cool building of yours!

[thundercrack83]

Dan (dsrwhat316): Thanks so much, Dan! After exploring alternatives, I most certainly agree with you on the overlays. In fact, I'm not sure if I'll ever use them again, and if so, only in small doses. It's always great to see you here, my friend!

Alex (Driftmaster07): Hi! Don't worry about missing things here, my friend—you can always catch up! Thanks for stopping by!

Joan (Jmouse): Thank you, Joan! I definitely like the canals better than the overlay textures, too!

kimcar: Thank you so very much, my friend!

Guillaume (Sciurus): Thanks! And don't worry, if and when I make it to France, I'll be sure to get to Lorraine!

Robin (rooker1): Hello, Robin! Thanks again for your advice and critiques, my friend. Thanks to your help, the lots look so much better! Take care!

bat: Thank you, bat!

Battlecat: Thanks! It's great to see you again!

Thomas (turtle): Thank you, my friend! Hope to see you here in Marathon again soon!

Haljackey: Thanks so much!

UPDATE XXXII
Developing Abitibi Square
15 April 2009

Well, before we get started, I've been doing a bit of math...

[tabular]
[row]
[data]

warm Texas weather
+
confined airplane
+
cool Pennsylvania weather =[/data]
[/row]
[/tabular]

Me with a cold. But that's OK—I've still been able to do some work on Marathon in between coughing and sneezing!

Today, we'll be looking at the development and construction of Abitibi Square on Marathon Island, which will take us to...

...Tile E, where the square will be constructed. Here's...

...the six-point intersection in question, Prince of Wales Avenue running north-south, Quay Avenue running east-west, and Duke of Gloucester Street running northwest-southeast. First thing we'll do is...

...destroy the intersection, and replace it with...

...a giant square! The next step, we'll put in...

...our canal pieces that were shown in the teaser pictures earlier.

Above is the canal pieces completely in place. We continue with...

...the FLUPs, which we will place at each avenue intersection, connecting them with one-way roads.

Now, all the FLUPs are in place! At this moment, however, they are only æsthetic, not functional.

With all the transportation sections in place, we need to...

...plan out our lots for the square. According to the diagram above, we'll need an 8x8, a 10x4, a 6x4, a 12x1, and a 14x1. Here they are in the LE:

Now, we put them in place!

First, our 8x8...

...our 10x4s...

...the 6x4s...

...and our 12x1s and 14x1s—

Finally, here is a closer shot of the entire square!

Hopefully, we'll continue development on the surrounding areas here when we return!

[rooker1]

Sorry to see you have a cold.
Great work in LE, the lot does look alot better and I like how you show us everything in LE and how it all fits together.
Sometimes it's unbeliveable....the number of lots it takes to fill a particular area.  Showing it all like this can give us/others the insight on how to do it themselves.
Always a pleasure to come here and see what's up.
Robin 

[Battlecat]

Sorry to hear about your cold, spring always seems to be a miserable time of year to be sick.  At least it doesn't seem to be dampening your talent!  That is one amazing update.  I really like how much you pay attention to the details, you certainly do a great job of making multiple lots that add up to a beautiful product.  Get well soon!

[metarvo]

Oh, Dustin, I'm so sorry about that.  Remember that your priority right now is to get better.  Of course, it seems like you still feel like doing some LE work.  That is impressive! 



Oh, and do get better! 

[art128]

I'm sorry to hear about your cold Dustin.

Your lotting job is excellent my friend, you've done a fantastic area there.
Looking forward to more.
Take Care, and I hope you get better,
Arthur. 

[MandelSoft]

Excellent lotting, man! I'm stunned