Barsalargonia - Update 23 - August 23 2009

[Splime]

Luke09: Thanks! The first images of C2 should be up soon.

danielcote: Yes, it is quite large. The whole region is 822 km², about 1/5 the size of the US State Rhode Island. I seriously doubt I'll ever finish developing it.

Battlecat: Thanks for your comment!

I should have another update soon, which will cover the planting of trees and a transport network. Transport networks always take me more time than I expect...

[Splime]

Update 18: Laying the Foundation


So, this is what C2 looked like when I opened it up. (Actually, I had already made an adjustment to the mountain area in the lower right since it was preventing the rail connection from appearing in C2.) I wanted to build a bridge connecting the island (North) with the mainland (South). The issue was the grid, as it always is when dealing with bridges. The blue line in the image is parallel with the north-south grid lines, and shows that a bridge on this terrain would look a bit odd, since it could not start and end on the pieces of land that jut into the sea the most.

The situation was set up that I could have built one bridge that was right on the coast on both sides, and I was considering this plan. However, the potential awkward setup and the fact that I wanted a road and rail bridge forced me to reconsider...


Of course, then I realized that simply modifying the terrain would yield a much less awkward situation. (The dotted lines indicate the old shoreline.) In the grand scheme of things, it's a minor change, but it's a lot more grid friendly than the old setup.


This is what the bridges looked like when built. I was somewhat limited in bridge styles by the fact that I wanted matching bridges that looked good on a large span of water, but I think this is a good setup. You'll notice there's a significant height difference between the island and mainland (the island is higher, on the right). This requires a bit of a ramp on the south side (slope mods are far too useful here), which I'm still working on trying to blend it in with the terrain a bit better.


This is the basic road (and rail) setup. I haven't touched the island side yet, since I'll be developing that side only once the mainland side is finished. You may notice that these roads could be really confusing to travelers: there's a 23, 25, and 26. It's a bit of an unfortunate side-effect of the route numbering system in place.


This is what the quad looks like with trees in place. This is zoom 1, so the tree quality isn't so great, but this gives a pretty good idea of how everything looks.


This is the region transportation view, so you can see how the C2 roads fit in.


Finally, here's a region shot of C2 and C3.

You may notice that I've changed the color of the headline text. Since we've moved into a new quad, I think it's not a bad idea to change the headline text to show that change. Also, sorry if you were let down by a lack of development, but this foundation work needed to come first. Anyway, thanks for reading!

[projectadam]

Splime,

I know that you have followed my project and I will never be one that will be let down by seeing the foundation laid

Things continue to progress very nicely and the transportation view looks like it both fits in with the terrain and fits very well with C3. Keep up the good work.

[Bobbi]

@Splime,
Good idea for both road and rail bridge cross the river.

Maybe tile C2 will be good as tile C3. 

Bobbi

[Luke09]

Humm...nice splime,i liked how the bridges are looking,and the roads too.There is a nice place to make port on C2.Keep it up

[danielcote]

hm lets see what you do with this aria. 

[Battlecat]

Hey, as you say, gotta have a foundation to work on!  Looks like an interesting area already, looking forward to seeing more!

[djvandrake]

Very nice.  I like how your road networks have just the right amount of curvature and variation in them to make them look good in the context of the smaller cities.  Great stuff and looking forward to more. 

[Splime]

projectadam: Thanks! Considering the insane level of planning you do, I'm not surprised at all that you liked that update.

Bobbi: Thanks! I'm always hoping that each tile I do will be better than the last.

Luke09: Thanks! I'm not planning on making any major industrial ports, but there should be some nice fishing villages and boardwalks.

danielcote: Thanks, it should be an interesting area to develop.

Battlecat: Thanks! I think the foundation is important in flat areas like this especially, since it helps maintain order in a space where it's always tempting to just mindlessly fill in space.

djvandrake: Thanks! Ever since those curves have been out, I've never been able to go back to sharp bends. (there is, however, the exception with streets, only because those curves aren't always too happy with diagonal streets.

So, the work on update 19 is underway, and I've got 400 sims so far. This area should be pretty rural, besides the coastal areas which will be a bit more developed.

[Luke09]

Yea,i know that you do not pretend to make industrial ports...you say 400 sims in C2 or in the region?

[Splime]

Reply:

Luke09: That's 400 in C2. The region has nearly 19,000 at the moment.

Update 19: Small Village in the Woods

Much like the size of the village, this update is a small one. I got to a point where I thought would be a good time to take pictures, so I'm sharing a small update.


This is where I'm going to start development, in the southeast corner of C2.


This is the initial zoning setup. On Route 25 there's a small commercial area, and an old-looking cabin on the corner. This is Arthur's Tavern, named after art128, who was poster #2 when Barsalargonia was at 100 posts. The lot was made by paeng over at SimPeg, for those who want to know. I'll have a closer picture in a later update. In the center of the development is SimGoober's Geothermal Plant and a water tower, since the new tile needs its own utilities.


Once everything develops, this is the result.


Here's a closeup of the residential area.


Finally, I named the dairy farm after Battlecat, the #3 poster when Barsalargonia reached 100 posts. I thought the farm was fitting since it uses the previously named "Adara Method".

Yes, that was a short update. FrankU and Tomas Neto are the last of the top 5 repliers at 100 posts that need something named after them, and I may be able to get that dealt with before post 200... we'll see. Thanks for reading!

[Luke09]

Nice Splime!For a Rural region 19.000 is a bit good huh?The geothermal power plant is that building in front of the water tower?Take care 

[danielcote]

Thats a cute little town, I too am a big fan of C.P.  ! Although I'd think it should atleast have a gas station.

[djvandrake]

Nice and green.  My kinda little town. 

[Tomas Neto]

Really very nice updates!!! 

[blade2k5]

Sorry I haven't been able to drop in the past several days, but looking through your last three or four updates I have to say I'm more impressed each time I visit.  I'm really loving how you're turning this region into something I didn't imagine when I drew the map.  Keep up the fantastically superb work.

[NASCAR_Guy]

Looking good, How much are the drinks at Arthur's tavern?

[Splime]

Luke09: Thanks! Yes, 19,000 is a lot of people considering how rural it looks. And you're correct, the geothermal plant is right across the street from the water tower.

danielcote: Thanks! The lack of a gas station is something I realized when building this, and it will probably be included next update.

djvandrake: Maybe I should mention that green is my favorite color... 

Tomas Neto: Thanks!

blade2k5: Thanks! I find it amazing how people can do such different things with the same map. And don't apologize for not being around, I don't expect anyone to devote themselves to following Barasalargonia...

Dave (NASCAR_Guy): Thanks! And the price of drinks... I haven't thought about that yet.

Now, I would be working on an update now, except I'm waiting to download a few specific things from the STEX, which is down at the moment... Oh, and 3 more posts until 200!

[Luke09]

+2 post to 200 post and + 31 views for 4500 views  .And Im waiting the update 

[Albus of Garaway]

First of all, congratulations on (Almost) 200 posts!

I absolutely love that village. C.P.'s houses go wonderfully there. C2 looks like an exciting tile to build on, and I look forward to seeing what you'll do it with it.