Adara - Update 184 - March 26, 2012

[tooheys]

You've certainly created a great rural area here Battlecat  .  41.10 is a favourite shot with the
farmland on the river flats below the mountains.

Your close-ups highlight the great detail, and obviously the time and effort you put into each update.

And the last dam pic, nicely done.

Keep it up mate 

Dave

[Battlecat]

Tomas Neto: Thanks very much as always!

Bernhard (Nardo69): I haven't seen anything that would work as a bridge for a cattle crossing either.  Something to keep in mind if I ever play with the bat.  I actually intended to keep the maxis farm, but it was destroyed by accident and then I clicked the save button when I was trying to revert!  Ahh well, such is life.  Thanks for all the feedback and comments! 

Stijn (BarbarossaS): Thanks very much, hope you enjoyed your trip! 

FrankU: Apparently imageshack had a couple servers go down for a while.  The shots should be back now!  Thanks very much for all your comments. 

Railyards are a funny thing, they take up huge amounts of land and are effectively only for sorting and storing rail cars.  Loading and unloading takes place at completely different facilities.  That particular activity usually happens outside of cities on whatever land happens to be available.  As such, they'll tend to look out of place no matter what happens.  In real life, we don't usually notice these things because we can't see the whole context from ground level. 

io_bg: Thanks!

djvandrake: The finishing of the area around the mine isn't going to be hugely dramatic, although the rest of the forest really finishes the area nicely.  I quite literally took that shot and then realized I had to run out the door right then.  Didn't want to make you all wait too long for the next update!

Lora (ldvger): Thanks for stopping in as always!  We have a significant tulip farming community up here in the lower mainland as well.  You're absolutely right about the layout of those farms and the way they sort by color.  Out of the box, the game isn't capable of creating multi colored rows with growable farms.  The tulip field uses a prop family to create a field with diverse but random colors.  I created a solution to that problem today, and I'm going to deploy it in this update! 

As for the farm, that waste dump in the last update is actually identical to ones we have all over the place here in BC.  If you look carefully, there is actually a pipe from the barn in this lot.  The concrete tanks are used here in BC because of the shallow water table to prevent leeching into the ground water (the source of drinking water in the local areas as well).  You're right though; it usually is more remote from the barn and facilities than that, although I've seen some that are pretty close to the barn.

Designing new wasteponds and pipes would actually probably require using the BAT, which I'm not prepared to get into yet.  I'm going to leave this particular farm the way it is but I'll have to look into creating something more in the future.  Thanks for all the suggestions! 

Geoff (calibanX): I decided early on that there just wasn't any feasible way to actually explicitly place every single watercourse that exists on the map.  As many smaller streams are hidden under trees anyhow, this solution works nicely.  Using this illusion allows me to acknowledge that water does flow out of those mountains without actually placing the water.  Hope you enjoy this update!

Albus of Garaway: Thanks for stopping in!  The main thing right along the power lines is going to be the complete absence of trees.  Here in BC, our transmission corporation is extremely aggressive about keeping vegetation under control below power lines.  Hope you like the results!

citycapitalizer: Nothing wrong with lurking, but thanks for stopping in!  Glad you're enjoying the work!

Bobbi: Welcome to Adara!  Glad you're enjoying it!

FrankU: And even more from you today!  You and Lora both have good points about those tulip farms.  Fortunately, I've found a solution.  The nice thing about random prop families, they're always made out of static props!  As for the cattle farm, and specifically the manure pit, I hate to say it but I've seen farms that look exactly like that one.  Farms in North America aren't nearly as well regulated as the ones in Europe, and so facilities like this one by Nexis are sadly more real that one might expect.  Thanks for the additional thoughts!   

Dave (tooheys): Thanks very much!  I particularly like 41-10 as well.  I'll be showing more of those larger scale views soon now that the tile is getting close to completion.  I'm also glad to hear you like the dam! 

Update 42
Vavenby – Back to Town

First as a bit of a warning, one of the days I usually use to play SC4 will be tied up for the next 7 weeks, so I'm probably only going to manage one update per week for the next while.  We'll see how it goes though, I might be able to manage two smaller updates if I ration my enthusiasm.  On the bright side, it's 8 classes of training in sword fighting, which I've wanted to learn for a very long time!

Today I'm heading back to put some finishing touches on the town of Vavenby, plus of course showing you the finished campground!  Beyond that, there are a few bits of lot creation work that came out of your comments from the last update.

42-1: First of all, Lora and FrankU made some excellent points about the tulip farms around my region.  The big problem with them is the totally random layout of the farm.  Now, as we all know, there's no way to create a growable farm with fields that have consistent different colored stripes.  The only two growable options are completely uniform or completely random.   


42-2: Fortunately, we have plopable field options.  I made a series of lots using the static props that make up the SG tulip field prop family.  I made a diversity of lots so I could have odd and even number of rows of each variety since there are two props on each lots.  Looking at this in retrospect, it would appear I missed one color option.  I'll have to create another lot and tweak this a bit more. 


42-3: There are two tulip farms on this tile, so of course it was necessary to modify them both!  This one was first shown in update 29, although I didn't draw any special attention to it.  You can see it in full bloom at the beginning of update 30. 


42-4: The other leftover project from the last update is the final wrap up for the campground area.  The only reason I didn't finish it last time was utterly time related.  Here's the trail leading up to the mine entrance, now hidden away in the trees.


42-5: And the campground now with a pleasant supply of shade from the trees. 


42-6: One last look at the campground area.  You can see the wetter area winding through the trees. 


42-7: Now on to the other job of the day.  Vavenby city itself isn't quite done yet.  Here's a quick look at the urban core today.  As you can see, the wealth level of the town has risen substantially since I first showed it to you.  A fair number of medium wealth homes have appeared since then.  I'll be working on the city over the next two update. 


42-8: This block of land next to the fire hall and industrial area is the only project I'm going to manage to finish up for today's update. 


42-9: Lot by lot, I'm working my way up this block.  The used car lot is commercial, and the other building is an industrial lot.  By zoning carefully I can control the quality of lots that generate here. 


42-10: Working my way up the block, a series of small to medium sized industrial buildings develop.  I've been pretty careful with the ones I allow to develop so far. 

42-11: There's a bit more industry to come, but first I wanted to finish up this corner under the power lines junction.  Originally, this was just going to be an empty block of land as you can see in this shot. 


42-12: But later I decided to add a trail in.  It's unlikely the city would entirely waste a nice chunk of greenspace like that.  I decided against a farm due to the power lines.  Plopable fields don't work so nicely under power lines and that corner is pretty crowded already. 


42-13: Here's the area, now with the river detailing completed.  Across the highway from the trail you can see the start of the road that leads to the campground. 


42-14: Finally, to wrap up today's update, I added a few more businesses to the other side of the highway.  Right beside the main highway at the top of this shot, there's a set of commercial businesses.  At the bottom of the shot, there's another set of industrial buildings. 


As with last time, I failed at time management and didn't manage to finish up the work I wanted on the city.  As a result I'm going to have to leave it off there.  I should have an hour or two in the next couple days to finish that up!   Next time, I'll be getting a big chunk of the remaining available land for housing developed in Vavenby.  Thanks for stopping in! 

[jimbo_jj]

You really have great attention to detail! Very nice campground. I love urban pics but I think 42-5 is my favorite here, it just looks so peaceful there, plus I like all the custom trees.

-James

[threestooges]

Great tweak of the tulip farms; the beds looks much better now. It's also good to see the other projects coming together like the campsite and mine entrance. I like the meticulous development of 43.08-42.10. The building-by-building zoning style really does seem to aid in better building distribution and a more realistic layout. I may have said it before, but it bears repeating, that this MD reminds me greatly of Anduin Valley Revisited (at ST). Great attention to detail, good planning, a willingness to work with the game but to also push the envelope in terms of developments. My only question/critique is about (of all things) the split in the powerlines in 42.13. It would seem a shorter route (and therefore cheaper) to have the line branching to the left begin their trek from one pole further up (making a 90-degree turn instead on the current 45). Was this the result of two separate line-building projects that just ended up like this, or is there a story that goes with it? Always nice to see what you're doing here. It's great stuff.
-Matt

[io_bg]

I agree with James and Matt, your attention to the small details is great! I really like the tulip farm and the hidden from the trees campground. Fantastic work!

[dsrwhat316]

I do like your rural areas, especially pic 42.12. The power lines used fit in better than the Maxis ones, so that makes the pics look more realistic. Nice work!

~ Dan

[metarvo]

Good update, Battlecat.  I notice that you have taken care to keep tall trees from growing under the power lines, which IMHO is quite realistic.  Not only does this reduce the fire hazard, but it makes the electrical service more reliable since there aren't as many trees that might fall on the lines.  Nice work, and I'm looking forward to more.

[peter007]

Nice work 

[BarbarossaS]

I enjoyed my trip a lot, and I hope you'll enjoy your swordfighting lessons. Always wanted to do that myself too. Ah well, maybe someday 

Great work in this update. You know I'm a fan of your river detailing, but all the rest is of a superb quality too! 
Those powerlines through the forest, the trails, the campground,...
I can see why you ran out of time the last updates. Making this all work most be very timeconsuming.

-Stijn-

[Tomas Neto]

It is a great happiness to visit your MD! Here, the updates are always phenomenal!!!
Another great work on Adara!!!   

[djvandrake]

I'll echo the others comments that your attention to the details pays off nicely.  Your tulip farms look great! 

[Nardo69]

Well, the tulips ... they are till on the list of those Bats&Lots&Props that I am not sure of keeping or moving out ...  even though your parallel lines do look better!

Power Lines are a problem with all kind of lots. What works rather good however is laying a street below the wires. You just have to make curves around the poles ... and the flora below them - next to the RRP's grass more or less only Simfox's small trees used as bushes are working rather fine ...

The campground is nice. Never tried something like this.

Take care!


Bernhard 

[hooha47]

Wow.

I just finished reading your MD, and I must echo what others have said, your attention to detail in creating these rural areas is nothing short of stunning.  I've been working on similar areas in my city, and I have all the lots, etc. that you have, but nothing I'm creating looks nearly as good as what you've done.  Keep up the great work.

[Dreamcat]

Amazing work there, Battlecat!

I really like what you've done with the campsite...simply stunning.  I also love your use of trees, which you've probably realized by now.  XD  I must say that this is my favorite MD I've seen so far.  You've realy got your rural areas down.

This is one MD that dam well deserves to be in the Classics section.

[ldvger]

Battlecat-

Excellent work, as always, and I really like the fix on the tulip fields...much more realistic. 

But I think you may want to change the name of your used car dealership in Vavenby next to the fire station.  I won't reprint it here, but I think whoever created that lot had a slightly sideways sense of humor.

Lora/LD

[KoV Liberty]

Looks very good!

[calibanX]

Your fields and greenery look great as always Battlecat. However, in this update I really like pic 42-9. Selecting really interesting buildings gives so much to the area. Those low density industrial lots are great. Love it!

Have a good one.

Geoff

[kbieniu7]

These forests and fields look so nice 

[FrankU]

Battlecat-

Excellent work, as always, and I really like the fix on the tulip fields...much more realistic. 

But I think you may want to change the name of your used car dealership in Vavenby next to the fire station.  I won't reprint it here, but I think whoever created that lot had a slightly sideways sense of humor.

Lora/LD

I agree on Lora's comment. The dealership is probably by Simgoober. And he indeed has a special sense of humor, as we all know.
When there are tulip fields around I always look for windmills, although in real life the windmills aren't the old wooden ones anymore, but more and more the modern auminium and steel ones. There are BATs outside there on the STEX that will be useful.
Wooden windmills by Meurdoos and Oppie,
Modern windmills by Neder.

Good work and have fun with your Sword training!

[Bobbi]

Looks beautiful!

Bobbi