The Royal Islands: Developemnt Update, Ocean Village Marina: May 4th, 2010

Battlecat · February 26, 2010, 01:10:03 PM

Very nice job with those construction shots! Very nice use of the new plopable features!

MattyFo · March 24, 2010, 12:19:40 PM

!!REPLIES!!

sumwonyuno: Thank you for your nice comment!

Battlecat: Nice to see you back!

Thank you!

King's Port City Tour 3

Business, Industry, and Economy

Hello all and welcome back to the beautiful city of King's Port. Sorry I have been out of action for so long, RL has been a crazy one for the last few weeks and still is. I have been working roughly 15 hours a day! But I decided to take the morning off today to re-cooperate and to catch up on some much needed "me" time. And so here I am giving another update! Today we will look at the economy here in King's Port, as well as a more in depth look at downtown as well as some of the industrial areas that are scattered about this city. I'm no economist so I will not go to in depth on this subject but I will try to make it somewhat realistic to read. This update will also cover the construction of the Royal Island Oceanic Research Center (RIO-RC) and the powerful Atlantic Storms.

Downtown as seen from the East

Downtown as seen from the West

Downtown King's Port is a very densely populated area. In fact it houses over 40 000 of the city's 100 000+ residents. The breathtaking skyline is comprised of both commercial towers as well as apartments and condos. In the center of the picture, at the corner of King's Boulevard and Main Street, We see the Bell Atlantic Tower, the tallest building in the city. Bell Atlantic is the only cable and satellite provider in the whole of the Royal Islands. The tower was built in 1994, and it started the expansion of downtown. Immediately after it's construction, three high-rise apartments and condos were built around it, the Wallace Towers (the two white towers with the canal in between) and the Cattalus Tower ( beige building north of the Bell Tower). These buildings, in the span of 5 years completly change the skyline. Since 1999, more and more high-rises have shot up in the downtown area, too many to even count. People from all over the Royal Islands flock to Downtown King's Port every morning, about 40 000 people work in the downtown area and about 15 000 of them are either from Fort Alexander, Blue Ocean City or the Kidney Islands. Even though Downtown is getting more and more modern as years go by, it still retains its old charm, most notably in the outskirts of downtown, with the old townhouses. But also the shops along Saxon Street in the north part of DT will always be a reminder of the cities early history.

Apart from being a major commercial center, King's Port is also a major port as well (really! with a name like King's "Port" I would never have guessed ) Last year, 124,187,322 tonnes of material passed through Northshore Port. The Royal Islands try to stay away from international trade, but as such a small region it is very hard. The region try's to be as self- sustaining as possible, huge natural gas reserves deep under the ocean provide more than enough for the energy demand on the Islands. Also farms on Horus Island provide most of the beef, pork, poultry, fruits, vegetables, and grain. But still some of these have to be imported. The port area of Northshore Industrial, is the cities main manufacturing centers. Everything from truck part, cement, brick, tools, various metals, you name it and it is likely made here. The Region does have several other industrial areas that manufacture different matrials. They are listed below:

Airport Industrial: This picture only shows the west part of the area, there is another equal sized area north and east of the airport. A large natural gas refinery occupies most of this part of the industrial area, the north part of Airport Industrial is has several manufacturing companies that produce construction equipment, the east part of the area has many different logistics and transport companies and also the airports cargo handling facility.

Southridge Industrial: This area was once the heaviest polluter in the region, but in 2000, the new residential development of Southridge altered this industrial area completly. The new development brought in thousands of new residents and the demand for this industrial area skyrocketed as a result. The old polluters were quickly replaced by modern high tech industry and industrial offices. One of the anchors of this area is the Jerrison Technologies, a large facility that manufactures computer systems for aircraft and ships. There is also a small natural gas refinery, seemingly all that remaisn of the old polluters. The new Southridge development also called for some work to be down on the Coastal Highway. Before, the highway ran right through the industrial area and was succumb to major congestion. The highway now detours around the industrial area and has freeway exits to and from the industrial area.

Finally we have the Royal Island Oceanic Research Center. Not yet completed but it defiantly is already having a major impact on the island's economy.

The Royal Island Oceanic Research Center, RIO-RC for short, will be the main theatre in which scientist will study anything and everything about the Atlantic Ocean. Marine biologists, oceanographers, meteorologists, and all different types of scientists are flocking the King's Port to be a part of this milestone in marine studies. The RIO-RC will will provide scientist with a state of the art facility in the middle of the Atlantic in order to conduct studies on the ocean, as you may know, it is widely believed that we know more about our Universe than about the depths of our oceans. The center will share docks with the Royal Island Coast Guard for the first year or so until it can have its own docks built. The RIO-RC will hopefully also be able to find a fast method in which we will be able to better predict the coming of the Atlantic Storms, and also be able to tell just how powerful they will be. Hopefully by studying patterns in the ocean's current and temperature we will be able to find that out.
(DISCLAIMER: I am not a meteorologist, nor am I a scientist of any sort. The only knowledge I have on weather is from my 8th grade science class and documentaries I have seen on Discovery Channel. If you have any knowledge on weather patterns, what I will say may seen stupid and not make sense to you. I don't feel the need to research jet streams and weather patterns in the mid-atlantic for my MD. Please feel free to share your knowledge as I do love to learn, but I am simply trying to make a entertaining story using what little knowledge I have, thank you.)

The Atlantic Storms are massive storms that hit these islands on average once a month, about 12 a year. Before we get into that; a little bit about the Royal Islands weather. The regions climate is mostly hot and moist, as warm, moist air is brought in from Central Africa, and cooled slightly by the waters of the Atlantic, about once a month, cold, dry air from Antarctica makes its way this far north and mixes with the warm, moist air over the region. This causes massive electrical storms that seem to stay on top of the region and not move. The downpour can last often over 24 hours and in some cases more than 72 hours. Also hurricane force winds whip their way across the ocean and into the islands. During the storms, no ships can be out in the seas, as the ocean is very unforgiving at this time. Massive waves, whirlpools, powerful undertows and other currents make it a very deadly place to be. The storms can normally be predicted a few days prior, but we know know how strong they will be, hopefully the RIO-RC will be able to unlock the mysteries behind the storms.

- MATT

ecoba · March 24, 2010, 02:03:03 PM

Nice update, Matt. I like how downtown is looking. A couple suggestions though: I would suggest getting a slope modd, my favourite is Ennedi's, available on the LEX. Another thing would be to get PEG's power pole mod, which changes them from the ugly 'candy stripe' to a nice silver. This is available on the PLEX at Simpeg.com.

Can't wait for a new update, you've gotten me hooked.

Ethan

RickD · March 25, 2010, 03:15:00 AM

I second what ecoba said. Downtown is great. And you have some cool ideas in the other pictures but it would be even better with a slope mod. It certainly makes building on hills much harder but it's worth it.

Tomas Neto · March 25, 2010, 03:46:42 AM

Nice update!!! The city of King's Port is really beautiful!!!

MattyFo · March 28, 2010, 02:28:54 AM

Thank you guys so much for replying! noo individual replies at the moment

Instead I will just say thank you for recommending the slope mod and the next uodate will include that, and another mod I have been after for a LONG TIME

but could never get a hold of! Also, things are moving slowly on King's Port's new marina development, but the RIO-RC is right on track........stay tuned my friends

Battlecat · March 29, 2010, 08:56:23 AM

Looking good! That's a very impressive urban area!

canyonjumper · March 29, 2010, 05:01:20 PM

Great update, Matt! Excellent CBD.

Your friend,
Jordan

MattyFo · May 04, 2010, 10:56:30 AM

!DEVELOPMENT UPDATE!

King's Port's Ocean Village Marina

Welcome back to my MD!!! Sorry for the loooong time without any update but to be honest, I have not had alot of time for myself this last month. However I am hoping to get alot of work done with Sim City, so I am going to do without the city toursfor a while and focus on getting some work done on the Ocean Village Marina in King's Port.

Ground crews have laboured very hard over the past few months in order to get the ground extension done. I am very happy to report that their efforts have been successful!!! Over the weekend the majority of the extension has been completed and now only minor touch-ups may be needed down the road. The south end of the extension was completed within the first week, therefore construction crews have been able to complete the South Seawall, and are now working on the luxurious Ocean Village Hotel. As I have mention before, I will be BATting all the buildings myself EXCEPT for the Ocean Village Hotel. I will give credit to the designer of that building at a later date as I don't want to give anything away  Anywho, I assume this will take me quite a while to do so I will be updateing my progress every so often to give me a little extra motivation. Now lets get to some pics shall we???

Workers had their hands full in building the road to the marina, (slope mods are hard to get used to;)) The workers extended Victoria Avenue all the way to Riviera Drive, on the plus side, Victoria ave now has a beautiful view of Salvation Bay and the cities picturesque skyline.

The tunnel entrance to the marina is a fresh change for the region, it's only the second tunnel to be built here and is doing wonders to conceal the construction site from the public until the official opening.

But, because I like you guys, you will get a nice tour of the construction site. This here is the entrance to the marina as Riviera Drive turns into a four lane avenue.

Here we have the north end of the marina area. Here is where the main entrance to the marina and shops will be. Where the road ends and splits into the parking lots, there will be a 3X3 plaza that will serve as the main plaza and entrance to the area. All along the boardwalk will be a 1 series of 1 tile plazas that will serve as somewhat of a pedestrian walkway and shops will be facing the walkway and boardwalk, not the parking lots. The Majority of buildings will be 2X3 building to allow for pedestrians to enter the area who have to park at the south end. Speaking of the south end.....

Here it is! The south end will be the same as the north, 2X3 shops along the boardwalk, and in between the parkings lots and the avenue will be more shops, not yet sure on the size. Here you can see and over view of the hotel's construction site along with the now completed seawall.

Just a close up of the hotle's construction site. As you can see workers are going the extra mile to get this done and to be in tip top shape for when the marina actually opens.

Here is an overview of the entire area. As you can see I have my hands full in filling out the entire space. Also note that I have not yet put the docks in, I am waiting until it opens so that I do not have a Marina full of boats that iis not yet open to the public. Also I have not yet detailed the area with flora or anything yet so it does look quite barren right now. Not sure what I will do with that small strip of land above the avenue, I'll probably just detail it with flora unless any of you have a better idea?

??

And here is an overview shot of the area leading to the marina. It's quite scenic isn't it? A very nice addition to a city that seems to be getting over run with skyscrapers and industry.

And now a final overview shot of the marina. This shot give you an idea of where the marina is located in relation to downtown and the city in general. As you can see the marina is very secludes from the city as the majority of the city is quite high above sea level and the marina area is obviously at sea level but is also surrounded by cliffs. This geographic situation of the area is the reason it is called, Ocean Village, because going to be like a small village on the ocean(all without any full time residents of course), and from the marina you will not be able to tell that you are part of a much larger city.

That's all for today, and sorry this took so long. I hope you enjoyed this update and I hope to be back quite often to update any further development either here or anywhere else in the city, however I prefer not to bite off more than I can chew, so for now I think this will be the only project I work on

-Matt