[dedgren]

That is a kick-butt guide, S_A/.  And I know from guides.


David

[Tarkus]

Shadow Assassin-

I've lurked over at Ensenada-ST, and now that you've brought it over here, I figured I'd break my silence.   Your MD looks awesome, and I'm looking forward to see where you go with it.  You mentioned that the region doesn't fit in Region Census--just how big is it? Inquiring minds want to know. 

And I found your remark about the Guide amusing:

Please note, while the Museum of Fire was featured in last year's Guide, sadly, it burnt down.

Excellent work, and thanks for bringing it over here!

-Alex (Tarkus)

[bat]

wonderful guide and great picture!

[Heinz]

another planet? woops my bad!!! great pic tho. love the work on the guide, too

[Shadow Assassin]

Thank god for Imageshack's uploading directly from the computer. Now I don't have to visit www.imageshack.us anymore!

This is a big update, and it's introducing the first city of Greater Midlands, the northern tile between Brackenfell and Midlands itself. Ideally, I would've finished those other two Interludes, but I'm still gonna post the first update of Book II: Greater Midlands.

It's a different storyline, with the same guy. This takes place several months after the events at Omega Key, on the Skeleton Coast. I'll return to the Interludes later. Unfortunately, I am having problems with the Reader (I actually require it to do some modding for Interludes 3 and 4. I'll do it some time next week.) Oh yes, and I've been experimenting with Photoshop.

Might as well mention that I obliberated the city tile that Arlington Gardens Golf Course is on? Even though our dear, deceased friend the Councillor of Brackenfell got hit by a lawn dart there in a previous update, the layout has changed. Oh, and I have to thank Cycledogg for his wonderful Oak Replacement mod. It's made my cities look much better already.

Anyways, shall we begin on Book II?

Update 11: Life After Omega

This mosaic shows the redesigned Arlington Gardens golf course (formerly Greater Midlands Golf Course), as well as the Southbank Green Belt. It must be noted that the Green Belt does in fact have farmland within its boundaries. The whole purpose of the green belt is to allow a clear-cut division between the administrative areas of Brackenfell and Greater Midlands. Admittedly, there has been a LOT of confusion over where exactly the boundary is between Greater Midlands and Brackenfell, because of the location of the Southbank industrial park. The boundary currently follows the river between Brackenfell's CBD and Southbank itself. Bit on the long side, but oh well.

Ah. Shopping is good. At least it gives me something to think about, especially after what happened at Omega. Due to a gag order, I can't exactly reveal what happened there. I know, I know, I should spill the beans, but the Savannah Government don't want me to reveal what exactly happened in that base. Not to mention, they want their money too. So I've pretty much pissed them off a little.

Thankfully, they can't touch me, because they don't know where I am. Thanks to the services of Zelana, I was able to acquire a new home, a new identity, a new car (it's certainly an improvement over having to catch public transportation). Call it 'witness protection', if you must.

Now, all I have to do is keep my head down...

Since we had gone our seperate ways, life was most definitely a lot quieter. For one, I'm not skulking around in tunnels under Brackenfell City. Never liked them, tunnels. They scare me.

What was I thinking when I took the job offer over here in Ensenada? I had a cushy job back in Savannah City, and it was nice and quiet, just filling out paperwork. I suppose I needed a field job.

I'm no longer working for the Savannah Intelligence Service, by the way. Of course, they were right to fire me after what had happened, especially with the Good Doctor and all. But seriously, they don't need to chase me down.

I wonder if the Mayor of Zemoch could send me some things to tide me over in case a buncha secret service agents decide to pay me a visit and try and give me a dirt nap. Oh, yes, and since when did I become best buddies with many members of Ensenada's criminal underworld? Crazy world, isn't it?

Anyways, back to shopping. The latest tech's just come in, and I fully intend on buying one of those shiny new laser projection TVs. They're certainly very impressive, and better than plasma, to boot. And cheaper, too. Well, I'm standing here ranting, and people are giving me strange looks.

Lucinenne climbed the phone tower. She liked to keep her climbing skills sharp. Even though it was technically illegal to climb a transmission mast, she still loved it for the thrill of it all. After her fiance (the Councillor of Brackenfell) died in that little 'accident' a few months ago, she felt... empty.

She needed something else to do. Remembering back to that strange character she met in Ensenada, she wondered if he could help with something. She would need to talk to Lucia about it. Deep in thought, Lucienne climed the mast. Eventually, she reached the top, where a small steel platform was. There, she meditated.

Fresh from several laps in the pool at Rathane Aquatic Centre, Hunter vigourously towelled himself down, then got dressed. Hidden in his jacket was a small gun. Inside the gun was a single hollow-pointed bullet, the point filled with a greenish liquid.

He had a job to do. As a SIS agent, he was supposed to hunt down someone. Little did he know that his target was at a nearby shopping centre. He knew he had to keep things quiet, make him 'disappear'. Like many agents in the Service, he was quiet, and had the uncanny ability to sneak up behind people. Oh yes, and fast reactions helped a lot, too.

In the car, Hunter had a folder. Inside the folder was several images, one of them the picture of the target.

He knew why the target had to disappear. Now, to track him down.

Over at the Universal Shipping warehouse, infamous for its bright orange text on the roof, directly under the line of the nearby airport's runways, I had just received a large package. Inside were certain objects, that if I was caught with them, I'd instantly be packed away in a jail somewhere. Or I would be hired by a security firm. I loaded the package into my car, and drove to a small place somewhere in Rathane.

Inside, I removed the biodegradable foam, revealing some extremely high-powered computer equipment that had access to some satellite frequencies that the criminal underworld were after for some reason or something. Of course, this was my job, using my contacts in the Intelligence Service, to 'obtain' government information. I had no choice - this was my job. I was only the go-between person. Though, I was raking in the money, which was kept in a secure account that Zelana had set up for me back in Avarinheim. This meant that the government could not touch my money.

Which was good, I suppose. I booted up the system, and it quickly asked me for a password and classification. I started up the 'helper' program, which generated a valid ID for me, and allowed top-level classification...

Once in the system, aware that I was most likely being traced, I changed some things around, which added to the confusion of the government agents.

Over at the Aquatic Centre's cafe, Hunter received a message on his mobile phone.
"Yeah?"
"Agent Hunter, you've got a secure message waiting for you. Come into the Midlands branch, eh?"
"Yessir."
"Don't take too long, this is important."

He left the centre, heading to Greater Midlands' downtown.

Arlington Gardens Interchange is where the rail line and busway intersect. It has a throughput of approximately 50,000 passengers per day, switching between buses and trains.

A high-ranking officer within the Midlands government, Mark Andersson, was enjoying a quiet game of golf. Admittedly, the Midlands course was his favourite, preferring it over his native Hazaria golf course. Even though it was his day off, the same message that had reached Hunter reached Andersson.

"Great, just what I needed." He put the club and ball back into his caddy, and sped off back to the main carpark. Of course, he had to be there quickly.

Part of the Southbank Greenbelt, this area is considered the unofficial boundary between Brackenfell and Greater Midlands. The OFFICIAL boundary is further north, on the river.

Twenty minutes later, the two agents were in the Situation Room. Andersson walked in with Hunter, demanding why he was pulled away from his game for this.
"Sir, it's a Code Blue."
Andersson looked at the secretary in shock. A Code Blue meant that someone had hacked into the system.
"Did you find out who it was?"
"No, sir. We tried tracing it, but it was bounced through six different satellite signals. We got the first few, but he logged off before we could get a lock on him."
"Crap. That's not good. Keep an eye on it, just in case he decides to try it again. What got messed up?"
"Some files regarding our agents, as well as a few sat coordinates."
"Perhaps a clue. And how did he get the highest-level classification?"
"I don't know, sir. It's strange."
Looking to the room of assembled agents, including Hunter, Andersson said "Okay, guys, we've got a situation here. It seems our target is still missing, and we're trying to track him down. Any ideas, anybody?"
An agent towards the back of the room suggested "Sir, what about using our 'network' down below?"
"The tunnels? Wouldn't work, though, it'd seriously shake some people up. Maybe we need to stir the pot a little..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

God, I'm getting tired. I should turn in soon.

EDIT: Replies are a few posts below.

--SA

[Serkanner]

I am quite speechless after seeing these fantastic pictures. I am so overwhelmed by the mosaic and the other pictures that I haven't even read the story. I think I will dwell a bit more into the pictures first before I will read the story ... truly amazing.

[dedgren]

God, I'm getting tired. I should turn in soon.

LOL, Shadow... on the other hand, your readers (no, make that fans- Ensenada has gone far beyond just having readers) never get tired.

Never get tired, that is, of amazing stuff like your recent update.  An incredible mosaic (I can't imagine the initiation fee and yearly dues at that country club), a busway map, extraordinary interchanges (I have a feeling the work that's being done on modular interchange parts has you specifically in mind), a tightly-written and interesting story... what can't you do?

Ensenada is one of the great ones.  It's the classic "desert island" (i.e.: if you were going to one, and could only take a few things...) MD.  We're so proud that it's here on SC4D.


David

[kimcar]

  Great update you done . I`m ready for an 18 holes if youn are  Nice pics too BTW.

[sebes]

Man - I have no words...   All your pictures are wonderfull. The total scenere is like a dream, the mosaic is just  - PERFECT - as if you're flying in a plane over Ensanada. And your exits and crossings of the highway are so well laid...     

[Tarkus]

Yowza! That mosaic is absolutely insane.  And you're probably one of the best suburb builders out there, if not the best.  Your road network is quite nicely laid out as well.  I gotta concur with David on this one.  You're doing some absolutely amazing things here.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[Shadow Assassin]

David: Thanks! I quite like how it does that, too.
Giligone: Not anymore.

David: Thanks! Of course, you'd know, considering you're working on your excellent Gazetteer.
Alex (Tarkus): The config's 64x40, with a total area of oh, 3156 sq. km. (keeping in mind that 1 pixel equals 1.024km on the map). It's a total of 160 city tiles, with around 24 filled up, I think. Actually, I have to zoom out before the region image will appear in Region Census. It never used to do that, but the city information/data is just fine.
bat: Thanks!
Heinz: Eh, it's more my fault for not telling you guys about it. But you can just catch a Savais plane, however, it requires the breaking of a number of laws regarding to physics. It helps if you think about pink elephants so that the universe doesn't catch on.
Serkanner: Uh oh. It seems we've got a little issue here. By all means, spend as long as you want.
David: Aww, thanks. I'm honoured that you actually said all that about this CJ. Three Rivers is, in its own right, one of the most unique CJs out there, and I gotta congratulate you on that. Hmm. I might have to talk to Alex about those modular interchange pieces. In my opinion, I don't really like the grey of the RHW mod, so, I might have to find something else, unless I take the effort to change the colour...
kimcar: Thanks! Come on over, have a game of golf any time. Just be warned: Midlands is a tough course. But then again, it isn't as tough as some of those others out there.
sebes: Thanks! Good to see I got the intended effect with the perspective tool.
Alex (Tarkus): Thanks! And I do look forward to trying out the RHWMIS (though, admittedly, it'd be a little difficult to put into action because of the nature of my curves).

[Tarkus]

Alex (Tarkus): Thanks! And I do look forward to trying out the RHWMIS (though, admittedly, it'd be a little difficult to put into action because of the nature of my curves).

You just gave me an idea for some more new pieces for the RHWMIS. And don't worry about the grey--personally, I'd like a darker road surface too, and I've been recruiting some texture artists, so it's quite likely there will be some options in the near future.

-Alex

[metasmurf]

Great update. I love your realistic buildingstyle! 

[emilin]

Ehhh... I'm sort of lost for words right now. Saying "great!" about that update seems very inadequate. It's far beyond "great".

[JBSimio]

Wow...  I have a borderline obsession with my disgust for urban sprawl.  (Wait for it... I'm not done yet...)  However, that is urban sprawl at its finest.  The golf course, the mall with endless stretches of asphalt, the sprawling highway ramps, the abrupt end of "progress" at the highway where the farms pick up... it all flows together so well.  Although I might not like the real-life practice of such poor land management, I can't very well hold that against you when you done such an amazing job of recreating it here.  If your suburbs look this good, I can't wait until you get back to the city!

JB

[Badsim]

Hi SA ,

As usual , nothing to criticize , you don't need any advice ... it's rather maddening ! 
Awesome golf park , awesome road network , awesome suburbs (I'm particularly jealous about your suburbs ), awesome farms ... and an outstanding mosaic .
Have to be honest about the story , I don't follow it ... firstly I missed the begining and now I have the laziness to translate .

Nothing to criticize but something to ask ; why are you using a single variety of tree for that's supposed to be wild landscape ? 

P.S. : I have to rate this MD, as no one seems to be worried about this ... so far ...

[Mulefisk]

This is without doubt one of the best MDs we have here.
The way you deal with such large spaces while still keeping an eye on detail is simply amazing.
Keep up the great work!

[Flipside]

Tremendous, spectacular, astonishing. Thanks for showing it off to us. 

[Heinz]

Heinz: Eh, it's more my fault for not telling you guys about it.  But you can just catch a Savais plane, however, it requires the breaking of a number of laws regarding to physics. It helps if you think about pink elephants so that the universe doesn't catch on.

oh ok. i was thinking i was the only one in the dark about it. lol. well, maybe i'll take the savais when i get tired of things around here. one thing for sure, if you keep this story and amount of detail up, i won't be getting tired of this MD.  great stuff, my friend.

are your images edited? cause i dont get that amount of detail in my game. well, my system isnt really top notch but i just wanted to know how your images are so... real.

and for personal use, where did you get the universal shipping warehouse and its surroundings? or did you make it? A-grade, my friend. A-grade 

[Air6]

SA the master of suburbs I really like them. Great update.