Take a Tour!- An MD of the Mid-Atlantic U.S.

[Travis]

Hi everyone,

Nothing to show today. I have several things in the works for tomorrow, so stay tuned!  I'll do the replies tomorrow as well.
To tide you over, here's a random pic of a large park I made a fairly long time ago.


Oh, and thanks for the continued support everyone. It is what makes all this possible. 

Later.

[Cali]

i love the texture for your parks, very nice

[kimcar]

  Lovely park . Looking very good.

[emilin]

*stays tuned

That teaser looks very promising.

[Travis]

Hi everyone,

We'll get started with some responses...

Replies

@meinhosen, Thanks! About the tiling, I'll try that, but first I'm going to try to make a filler lot (with a matching texture) to place in the middle instead. The trick is to mod it so it won't turn the RHW's base texture to pavement. As for those trees, its
a street-side mod, and can be found HERE on the STEX. Thanks for dropping by! 

@Heinz, Thank-you! 

@Alex(Tarkus), Thanks! And yes, I really find the RHW useful. Keep up the good work on that, too. Thanks for visiting! 

@Cali, Thanks!

@emilin, Thank you! Wow, I do? That sounds cool.  Anyway, come again soon! 

@kwakelaar, Thanks! Glad you like the details. 

@Flipside, Thank-you! That farm, I believe, is a BLS rose farm. Not sure where to get it, though.  Thanks for visiting!

@David(dedgren, Thanks David! Strange though, how I have a feel for the countryside genre, because I've never left the Eastern Seaboard...
On the tiling issue though, I don't think its a problem with the RHW. As I said to meinhosen, all you need to do is create
a filler lot to be placed as a median. I might ask around anyway, though. Come again soon, David! 

@kimcar, Thank-you! I suppose I can do that. Thanks for visiting! 

@Travis, Whoops. Wasn't paying enough attention...

@Cali, Thanks! I like that texture too. Come again soon! 

@kimcar, Thank you!

@emilin, Thanks! I wasn't planning on it, but I guess I'll post a couple more pics of that park tomorrow.

Okay, on to the update...

Uh-oh...

Instead of our normal, "tour" update, we're going to head to my SC4 experiment lab...

For the past week, I have been looking around, downloading a few select objects, and checking some RL references to...
...replicate marshlands. I don't know about you folks out there, but I've never seen any in SC4, or at least on a wide-scale basis.
This is (as far as I'm concerned) uncharted territory. Getting into details, I'll be trying to replicate
A Salt Marsh(linkie). I've seen several in real life, the southern coast of
New Jersey, the Atlantic coast of Georgia for examples. I'm going to use sorchin's ploppable water, but I'm not entirely
sure which one of his I'm going to use. I also use "mayor mode" ploppable trees, in particular swamp and willow trees.
Lastly, I also use Gizmo's water flora. Remember everybody, this is highly experimental, so please give me some suggestions and pointers.
Some pictures. I'm not finished with this area yet, but I wanted to post some pics so you can get a feel of what I'm trying to accomplish...

#1.


#2.


#3.


#4.


#5. An overview of what I've done so far...


That's all. I hope its a good start, but I'm really not sure if I'm on to something or not, so
let me know what you think. I'll be waiting here with open ears. 

Later folks.

[Travis]

Hello?



It's a bit discouraging to see an update go un-replied to. Only a couple of views too.
Look at it this way, at least I don't have to do replies...

In today's update, we'll have a look at a mid-sized tropical island...

#1. Overview of a small, tourist-oriented village...


#2. Another angle...


#3. A jungle...


#4. A marina...


#5. Heading back down the avenue...


#6. Some farms...


#7. The beach...


#8. I just realized I've never posted a night shot, so here is one of the small village...


#9. One last overview of the island. Note the fog on the lowest parts.


Okay folks, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it, because I've got a tough stretch of RL coming up,
but I'll try anyway to get the next update up by the end of the week.

Later.

[Pat]

Ohhh wow Travis great job here i'm sorry i've missed this before,  but dang
great work here and where did you get the blockbuster?  that island view is
something else great work, keep it up



Found the BlockBuster Video but still cant find the BK you used - pat

[dedgren]

Hey, my friend-  I was out of synch with your last update.  I'll be back to do some comments in this space after dinner.

...

[emilin]

That was two good updates (I seem to have missed the first one completly... very strange). The djungle picture is my favourite. That communications station - is that part of one of the military packs?

[threestooges]

It all looks good so far. I do however, have a comment or two for the salt marshes (positive of course).
-They look good, but the water seems to have a noticable slope. Think about lowering the terrain to the lowest possible level before adding the water.
-Slope the boundaries of the water to give it some definition from the land.
-Perhaps add a few small elevated islands for what few plants will grow in/around salt water.
-The plants are dense in some areas and non-existent in others; try to add some intermediate densities.
Keep up the good work on everything, I'll look forward to more.

[Heinz]

hey, my friend. honestly, i saw your detour into the marshes but i did not reply because i don't think i've ever seen any of them in RL. so rather than saying something i don't really know about will be worse, i think. lol. but here's a try. the edges of the marshes seem to be too visible. i mean, they end too abruptly. just like the farms that are by the beach in your latest update. aside from that, i think everything is great. i love small islands that are tourist oriented. reminds me of Siargao Island here in the Philippines. And between the small port of that island and the surf spots and beaches are, farms are abundant. great touch, IMHO. 

[bat]

a wonderful looking rural area!!

!!My 1150th post!!

[Travis]

A Quickie...

But first, some replies...

@Pat(patfirefghtr), Thank-you for the nice comment! The Burger King can be found in this pack(linkie). Come again soon!

@David(dedgren, That must be an awfully long dinner... 

@emilin, Thanks! That time it sank very fast off the front page. I'm not surprised few even knew I had updated.
That communications tower is made by jeronij and can be found Here. Thanks for commenting. 

@threestooges,Thanks! Those are some helpful suggestions. That was an early experiment, and I'll put them into effect
in the next attempt. Thanks for commenting and come again soon!

@Heinz, Thanks! As for those marshes ending too abruptly, no worries. Those areas haven't been worked on yet.
I do have a pretty good idea for blending them in, though. There's also more to come of those tourist islands, so stay tuned!

@Bat, Thanks Bat! And congrats on your 1150th post too.

Okay, I've been really pressed for time lately, so just a teaser for now. Most of next week, Monday thru Friday, I'll be traveling
back up north to Washington D.C., so I won't be around for a few days. I do, however, have an update planned for next weekend.
Also, I hope to snag a few pictures of the Georgia salt marshes on the ride up there, of which I've been discussing lately.

Also, If I have time today, I'll begin updating the front page, and put in a banner and table of contents. We'll see.

To close out this post, a teaser... Have a good week, folks.




EDIT: 3/31/07: It's Saturday, and I'm back, but I'm having computer trouble. In fact nothing's wrong with the computer itself, but the power adapter is shorted out, for the third time, so one of two things will happen now:
1, Find the rare part I need to fix it, or two,
2, Order another new one from Dell, which generally takes 3-4 days.
Hopefully, I'll find that part, and I could be ready to go tomorrow. If not, I might not be back until the latter
part of next week. Right now, I'm typing on my rusty old desktop, which is of no use for SC4. Bear with me
here, folks. I have a ton of new ideas after visiting Washington, We'll just have to wait a few more days
for me to start implementing them. More of that island and on marshes is in the works as well.
For some good news, I at least can work on the table of contents from here, so it's not a complete loss. By
the way, has anyone checked out the new banner on the front page yet? It's quite an eye catcher.
Sorry folks for all the trouble. I have plenty to show once I'm back online, so stick around. Later.

[Pat]

 
Travis that is a sweet little teaser you stinker that is just soooooooo mean lol but hey thank you very much for the linkie - pat

[Heinz]

@zniehadajet, Thanks! As for those marshes ending too abruptly, no worries. Those areas haven't been worked on yet.
I do have a pretty good idea for blending them in, though. There's also more to come of those tourist islands, so stay tuned!

that said, it would be nice to see how you work on those edges. and it would be great to see more of those lovely tourist islands so yes! i would stay tuned  the boardwalk, if i may call it that, is lovely. reminds me of Manila Baywalk and its relaxing to have a stroll there once in a while. staying tuned 

[dedgren]

Hey, my friend...

That must be an awfully long dinner... 

Travis, Travis...  It's a terrible thing to grow old.  Most days anymore I can't hear much other than the roaring sound of my own brain flatulence.

Anyway-

The "Mid-sized tropical island" is a treat.  Have you gone in and affirmatively tried to remove deciduous trees from lots, or did you just select very carefully?  Whatever you did, the effect is wonderful.

The marina pic (#4), I think, is my favorite.  I guess I wouldn't have called it a marina, maybe, but that doesn't have anything to do with a pic that is now my "Desktop of the Week^©."  That's one for a "best pics" thread.

"The Beach" (#7)- Now that's ostentation.  On an island surrounded by gorgeous beaches, somebody goes and puts a cement pond [linkie] by their house.

Nice teaser.  Watching for more.


David

p.s.:  Oh, and it's, I think, about star time.

[Travis]

Hey folks. I know, long time, no post. Sorry to keep you waiting, but if you read the edit above,
you would know that I was having computer issues, immediately after I returned from Washington DC, so I wound up taking a
ten-day hiatus. Sorry once again folks, and take my word for it, there's big things to come a short ways down the road.

I've begun a downloading spree, selecting all sorts of buildings and lots to create my next region with. Up until now we've
been in random-picture mode, hopping from place-to-place to show things I consider interesting. At a point not far from today,
all of that will change. I'll be creating a new region from scratch, and I have very particular ideas for it. So particular,
in fact, that I'll have to create my own map for it, which I've never done before. I will also attempt to create some region plan maps, of the experimental stage which you might see as early as this weekend. I also plan to let you see areas as they're developing, not just the finished product, which I've had the habit of only showing in this MD. Details on my plans for the region will come later this week. I'm not spilling the beans just yet.

Don't worry though, folks. I'll still show a random update or two of some other area I'm working on, I'll just be putting most of my
effort into the new region. As for the marshes, they'll come into play later. Again, not giving any details. 

Okay, its time for...

Replies 

@Pat(patfirefghtr), lol. And your welcome for the linkie. Come again soon!

@Heinz, Thanks! After havin' a look at those links, I have found the Philippines to be a beautiful country. I must visit there someday. 

@David(dedgren), Thanks David! In fact, I didn't tamper with the lots at all, It was just the way they happened to grow.
I'm also quite proud to be the source of your "Desktop of the Week©". See you soon!

On to the update...

Today, we'll have a look at a smaller tropical island...

#1. A waterfront...


#2. A waterfront restaurant...


#3. Looking down the hill at a few homes...


#4. Wind power at work...


#5. A hotel....


#6. A last overview...


Alright, that's all for today. Next update's in the works. 

Also, If you don't already know, I've put up a banner and had a rough first try at a table of contents. Check it out!

See you all later.




P.S Also, I was able to get some pics of the Georgia salt marshes on my trip, but I accidentally left my camera
in Washington at Union Station.  Ooops...

[Travis]

Well, its been less than 24 hours, but I have new stuff to show so I'll post it now.

-Anyway, I had an unexpected day off today, and was able to start initial terraforming of my new region. At first, I
planned to use the SC4 Terraformer, but found things a bit too complex for me, so I started in-game instead. A couple sneak peeks...

#1.


#2.


The truth is though, I dislike terraforming, but the fun parts are soon too come.

Later.

[emilin]

Looks like an interesting place to develop. I wonder what will become of the small island in the middle of the river.

[Travis]

Terraforming update...

@emilin, Thank you! shhh, its just so I can build a bridge across the river. 

Anyway, almost done with the terraforming. Unfortunately, the hardest part is yet to come. You'll see what I mean soon...

Some pics...

#1.


#2.


#3. A preview of the layout...


I might have more up tomorrow. We'll see.

Later.