Commonwealth of Marathon

[Battlecat]

Nice to see how all this projects of yours fit into the larger picture!  You've still got a lot of room to grow there.

[Earth quake]

Impressive overview Dustin, and nice map. 
Your last update are just perfect.

[thundercrack83]

Darra (darraghf): Thanks!

Matt (threestooges): Hey, Matt! I have fun building these areas, one piece at a time, too, because it always allows for something totally new and fresh to pop up. If I had planned everything from the beginning, that spontaneity wouldn't be there. Thanks for stopping by, my friend!

Robin (rooker1): There he is! The proud father of Alyssa, a brand new baby girl! Congratulations, Robin! This is just wonderful news, my friend! I'm happy to hear that everyone is doing well, and don't worry about missing things around here, you just take care of your wife and your new daughter. Marathon will be here when you get back!

bat: Thank you so much, my friend!

Alex (Driftmaster07): No problem, Alex! Good luck!

Luke (Luke09): Thanks, Luke! And as for your question...well, I actually do not have a job at the moment. I'm in the process of applying to graduate schools, since the area where I live doesn't have the largest employment market for people with degrees in political science. Either way, though, I think moving away is going to be on the agenda at some point in the near future. So I'm at a bit of a transitional period, I guess! That's OK, though—it gives me more time to work on Marathon! Hope that answers your question!

Battlecat: Thanks! There's still a ton of room! So much so, that I have to start thinking of more ideas! Take care!

Vivien (Earth quake): Thank you, Vivien!

UPDATE XL
TE, or Not TE? That is the Question!
5 June 2009

Well, that's really not the question—of course TE! I was sitting here, thinking about where to head next and thought of parking for Abitibi Square. With parking came the idea of parking lots, underground garages, and the like, and with those came...transit-enabled lots. For some reason, this was a bit of a frightening concept to me, but after playing around, I think I figured it out the basics. So, in this, our 40^th Update here in Marathon, we'll look at the process of transit-enabling a lot. But first, a warning...

[tabular]
[row][data]WARNING: Below is a method that happens to have worked for me. There is a chance that it is not the correct way to do things, or that it may have any effects on functionality. Due to my grossly inadequate base of knowledge in this area, I cannot comment on the functionality end—but I'm sure someone from our friends The NAM Team can! If you're only worried about just attain that TE look, as I was, though, this should get you there.[/data][/row]
[/tabular]

OK, so let's get started!

First...

...get your lot ready to go in the LE, making sure that any building or prop that you are "TE'ing" is properly lined up. I made this mistake and had to go back and forth from the LE to the game, lining things up!

Next, we open up...

...SC4Tool, and choose "Visual editor for transit enabling your lots," as the green arrow has pointed out.

Once that is done...

...click the "Open" folder, and choose the lot you'd like to transit-enable.

Now to the actual "TE'ing..."

Choose the transportation network you'd like to use (1). In this case, I've chosen "C," or road. Then, choose the direction that the traffic will be traveling on the compass—north, south, east, or west (2)[. In this case, I've chosen both north and south, since roads have two-way traffic.

Now...

...click on the road icon and drag it over to the appropriate tile that corresponds to where you wanted the transit-enabling to be on your lot.

Repeat if necessary (1), then save (2), and...

...plop it in the game! Just like that, a transit-enabled lot has made it's way to Abitibi Square.

And speaking of Abitibi Square, those of you familiar with it may be wondering...

..."Why did he choose such a strange place for that lot?" Answers are to follow!

As always, though, when I tackle a new topic here, if there is anyone who notices something that I've done wrong, or something that can be done better, easier, etc., please don't hesitate to speak up and let us know! Truth be told, the first lot that I have ever TE'd was the dry run of this before I turned it into our latest update, so to say that I'm not proficient at TE'ing is a monumental understatement!

In a bit!

[metarvo]

Abitibi Square looks very good so far, Dustin.  I look forward to seeing where you go next with the TE lot.  Keep up the good work! 

[darraghf]

Great tutorial for the LE and SC4Tool. The only problem with transit enabling that lot is that instead of automata going down the slope it will stay at ground level. The maker of the lot had the same problem.
I can't wait to see what you have in store for the next update.

-Darragh

[KoV Liberty]

GREAT JOB! Now... You said you have Vista. How did you TE the Lot? When I use Sc4tool it freezes up.

Alex

[Toichus Maximus]

Dustin, excellent work as always, and congrats on making it into the HOF!

sc4tool should work with vista straight if you set it to run with compatability mode on (right click and set it). If you want to use texture editing capabilities, you'll need the new DLL that was made for vista, though I'm not sure where that is.

[Battlecat]

Nice lot editing tutorial!  I'm looking forward to seeing what's going to fill in the rest of that space, probably at least a couple of custom lots coming. 

[Luke09]

Nice job at TE'ing Dustin!your job at Batting is just incredible.Another question now,how old are you?

[bat]

Yes, great work on that little tutorial there!

[thundercrack83]

metarvo: Thank you so very much, my friend!

Darra (darraghf): Thanks so much for your kind words! And thank you, too, for the information about the automata. I actually didn't think of that until you brought it up! See that? I learn something new all the time here at SC4D!

Alex (Driftmaster07): Thanks! I haven't had any problems running SC4Tool on Windows Vista, but I have run into problems with SC4Mapper and SC4Terraformer. Good luck trying to get it to work, though!

Toichus Maximus: Hello! Thank you so much for your congratulations! And thank you for your advice and help on the question that Alex (Driftmaster07) asked above. Hope to see you around Marathon again soon!

Battlecat: Thanks! And you're on the right track, too—I think I might have a few more custom jobs up my sleeve! Take care!

Luke (Luke09): Thanks, Luke! And to answer your question, I am 27. I turn 28 in November. Thanks for stopping by!

bat: Thanks, my friend!



We're still making our way through the latest section of Abitibi Square...

The BAT is a fantastic new one that I found on the LEX by MAS71—the SOGO Department Store Building. All that needs to be done is put the finishing touches on the this lot, then plug up a few holes, and this section will be on the books!

I won't be getting at them until later tomorrow evening, though, as I am heading out for an afternoon of golf tomorrow. It's the first time I'll be getting out this year, so I'm sure the old saying that "golf is a good walk, spoiled," will hold true...at least until the rust shakes off on the first few holes.

Enjoy your weekends, everyone!

[art128]

Nice work with the Sogo building my friend, it's wonderful !
Also, the last tutorial is very useful my friend, thanks for sharing it !
Take care,
-Arthur. 

[Earth quake]

Pefect work with the Sogo building.
I love it bats and the lotting is just beautiufl.
This bat of Mcdry (not sur for the writing) be excellent and integrate is splendid.

Your last tutorial is really excellent.

Vivien

[carkid1998]

It all looks great!

The underground parking is meant to be part of SOGO isn't it??

[bat]

Great place for that building, it looks great!

[darraghf]

That building fits in really well there, aspecially when extra lotting is done with it.

Driftmaster07  asked a question that you couldn't completely answer. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to answer it. It was in relation to compatibility problems with the SC4 Tool and Vista. What you have to do is to run it in compatibility mode for windows xp by clicking properties and going to the compatibility tab. The SC4 tool can't run with windows aero, so while you're in the compatibility tab, look at the cheackboxes under settings, make sure that "disable desktop composition" is checked. That setting turns off aero wheneveer you run the program. I hope that this is understandable. I can get a bit carried away with myself sometimes .

Sorry for hijacking your amazing MD Dustin

Darragh

[KoV Liberty]

Dustin: Awesome area! I cannot wait to see it finished! Also thanks foryou trying to help answer my question.

Driftmaster07  asked a question that you couldn't completely answer. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to answer it. It was in relaetion to compatibility problems with the SC4 Tool and Vista. What you have to do is to run it in compatibility mode for windows xp by clicking properties and going to the compatibility tab. The SC4 tool can't run with windows aero, so while you're in the compatibility tab, look at the cheackboxes under settings, make sure that "disable desktop composition is checked. That setting turns off aero wheneveer you run the program. I hope that this is understandable. I can get a bti carried away with myself sometimes.

darraghf: Thankyou very much darraghf.

Toichus Maximus: I had no idea! Thankyou so much!

Alex

[Luke09]

Hey nice pic again.I never though that you were going to put SOGO on Abitibi,i like SOGO and its Cheesy color .Keep it up

[JBSimio]

Very nice, Dustin!  I had to skip back and forth between this and the previous update to figure out just where in the square this new section is... but I finally nailed it down!     (The angled road is new and threw me off for a minute... cheater)    Nice choice with the SOGO Department Store... it should fit in quite nicely there.  Looking forward to the "finished"  (as if there really is such a thing?) product.

JB

[thundercrack83]

Arthur (art128): Thank you, Arthur! I'm so happy that you like it, my friend! Take care!

Vivien (Earth quake): Thanks, Vivien! I hope that you, and others, can get some use out of it in the future.

carkid1998: Thanks! Actually, I never really put much thought into it, but now that you mention, I guess the parking garage could be part of the building. Good thinking!

bat: Thanks, my friend!

Darra (darraghf): Thank you! Oh, and don't worry about hijacking anything here in Marathon. If you can answer a question better than I did, please feel free to do so! Chances are that you'll teach not only the person who asked the question something, but me, too! Thanks again, and I hope to see you here again soon, my friend!

Alex (Driftmaster07): Thank you, Alex! I hope that our friend darraghf was able to help you out, too!

Luke (Luke09): Thanks, Luke! I'm a big fan of the SOGO building, too. I had to use it somewhere, so I thought, why not in the square? Thanks for stopping by!

Jon (JBSimio): Ha! I was able to sneak one in on you there, eh, Jon? I'm with you, too, on the definition of "finished"—everything is a work in progress for me. There's always so much new and wonderful things popping up around here, "finishing" something seems a bit too permanent! It's always great to see you here, Jon! Come back again soon, my friend!

UPDATE XLI
That Abitibi Square Just Keeps on Growin'!
8 June 2009

Well, I just can't seem to tear myself away from the Abitibi Square section of Marathon Island! Every time I think I'm going to move on, another idea pops into my head for it! In any event, though, I've got all the pieces for the latest section—with which some you are already familiar—ready to go! We have six pieces—an 8x8, two 3x5s, a 2x3, a 2x1 and a 1x1:

Now, to...

You have already seen our...

...underground parking garage lot, as well as the...

...building lot proper, so the big ones are out of the way. As for the remaining pieces, our first to go in is...

...the 3x5 piece in the rear of the building that connects this section to the diagonal street. We also have...

...the side 2x3 lot, with the yellow and red gardens matching up with those on the parking garage lot. All that's left is to fill in the blanks, first with...

...the 2x1s, and then...

...the 1x1s. And that's all it took! Here's a few shots of the section, in its completed stage—

And, finally, an overview for orientation's sake...

So we've got another section of Abitibi Square done! We're running out of room in the area, so there will probably be three, maybe four more sections that need to be added on before the area is deemed "100% complete." Whether I keep going now, or jump around as I was doing before? Well, that's another question entirely!

More to come!