Splime's Bordertown: Main Thread

[Splime]

This is the thread where I will keep an index of my adventures in Bordertown, as well as posting updates that are in addition to the challenges.



Index of Posts:
Challenge 0: Everything done before Challenge 1, including setting up the region, planting trees, and making a geographic map.
Challenge 1: The Main Road (Route 10) and Railroad (Grand River Line) of the region.
Challenge 1 Expanded (Unofficial): Some more pics of Route 10 and the GRL.
Westridge Village - Early Settlement: The first village, established on tile B.
Westridge Village Continued: The expansion of Westridge.
Region Road Map: A map of all the roads in Bordertown.
Westridge - Exiled Citizens: What happens when you attempt to go on strike in Westridge.
Testing Adam's Mod: The answer to the texture issue.
A Question about Trees: I'm thinking about changing the trees use, and here are two combinations I'm looking at.
Challenge 2: Route 12, Bordertown Electric, and the GRV Water Facility.
Region Road Map - Updated: The road map returns.
Splime's GRV II - Post-Challenge 2: Developments made after Challenge 2, but before the Separatists took power.
Challenge 3: VlatCorp takes over the northern half of the region, exiled citizens move into the south.
Region Road Map #3: The map is updated yet again.
Splime's GRV II - Post-Challenge 3: Expansion of the exiles' town.
Challenge 4: XiahouDun takes over VlatCorp and issues commands over the northern part of the region. Also includes my orders to BarbyW. The results of XiahouDun's orders are here.
Challenge 5: mrbisonm is chosen as the new VlatCorp leader, and issues very specific commands for the construction of a new town, Grand Bay.
Challenge 6: The seaside town of Riverton is built, complete with a beach, restaurants, and hotels.

[Splime]

OK, here's three images that will hopefully illustrate Challenge 1 a bit better:

First, a bridge near the northern end of Route 10. I'm not too great at thinking of good names, so I just called it the Vlatsway Bridge.

(By the way, the Arboria region doesn't actually exist... Maybe I'll make it later.)

Then, near where the center of Bordertown will be, this is the approach to the Grand River Crossing. I took advantage of that hill to change the road's elevation without making it look like it stood out... the same can't be said about the other side.


Finally, a rail bridge that I thought looked pretty neat.

(EDIT: Oops, it's I, not J. I remembered that one of the two letters was skipped... and chose incorrectly.)

Coming Soon: The first village in the Grand River Valley (II) Region.

[Splime]

Well, I've been working on a village in tile B, and while I have played a bit beyond this point, I've just finished up the images of the town's start.


Westridge was founded because of the minerals nearby, and the mine was one of the first things built in the town. The housing was built up around that. Other industrial buildings popped up near the mine to process the raw materials and prepare them for rail transport. An extra rail loop was added off of the main Grand River Line to make this shipping easier. A train station has been built, though it's mainly used as a warehouse and meeting place, since there are no other passenger stations nearby, and most freight is sent directly from the industrial complex.


This is a close-up of Westridge Village. The houses are of similar architectural style because this housing was all built by the Westridge Mining Company in order to house its workers and their families. In the south of the village is the church, which was not built by the Mining Company, but the first selectman of the village, when the town's government separated from the Mining Company. The Town Center is full of gas stations and car dealerships, far more than what would normally be needed for a village this size. However, given the lack of any other villages nearby, truckers use the town as a refueling stop, and the fuel is supplied to the industry and their trains as well.

You may notice a lack of farms... they are in fact there, they just hadn't been added when I took these pictures. Tomorrow I'll have the latest pictures up, including the updated region view.

[Splime]

So, this is where I am with Westridge (Tile B) right now:




Westridge Mining and Mineral Processing has grown to become a full industrial complex in its own right, and not all of it is dedicated to mining. For this reason, the complex has been renamed to Westridge Industrial. The Village has also expanded to house 2300 people, the majority of which either work for the mines, or are family members of the mine workers. (The others either work for the businesses in the center of town, or work the farms that keep the town fed.)


Westridge Village expanded across the rail line, which now divides the town into Old Westridge (the original factory village) and New Westridge (because West Westridge doesn't roll off the tongue very easily). To the north is Pine Springs, a few houses built around a natural spring, which now supplies the town's water. (Well, that and the nearby lake, but SC4 doesn't count that as a water source.) Also, the Geothermal Plant was moved and expanded to better supply the growing town.


This is the town center, slightly expanded from before. Most of the car dealerships are gone, and replaced with more useful stores. However, there's still plenty of gas stations. There's also a fire station, since the town government was getting a bit worried. Also, much of the old housing is being replaced with higher-occupancy buildings by the Westridge Industrial Complex, in order to fit in more workers. If you haven't guessed already, this town is built around the mines, and is practically owned by industry.


This is a close-up of the Westridge Mines, which mine ore straight from the heart of the Vlatixan Ridge. The sheds and tanks and nearby factories help refine this raw material, and get it shipped off via the nearby Grand River Line.

[meinhosen]

I can't believe no one has commented yet... you've made quite a start with Westridge.  I can't wait to see how your border towns start showing their contrast once you begin building on the south side of the river.  Looking good 

[Pat]

Splime I seen you working and now I will say it here again you are doing a damn good job sir!!!! WOW!!!! 

[mrbisonm]

I see you have sims moving in already, nice job and a nice little village you got there. Good to see some of your bridges in close up. Keep it up.

Fred

[Splime]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

I've been working on this beast for the majority of today:


(Click for full image)

The colors of the mountains roughly correspond to their colors in the data view screen in SC4. I also named the major streets in Westridge. I'm pretty sure the water line is incredibly inaccurate at the mouth of the Grand River, but it's hard to trace using just the SC4 map.

[Splime]

So, after I saw the isolated cabins that tooheys made in his version of the GRV II, I decided that it would be neat for me to try it out. However, there was one slight issue: my town was already established thanks to the mines, so adding cabins in the middle of nowhere would be a bit odd, without a good reason. After a bit of thought, I figured this story out:

Westridge was in all sense of the word, a mining town. It was established in order to obtain the rich minerals from the Vlatixan Ridge, and all the other buildings were built to better supply the mines. However, it goes further than that. While there is technically a separate town council, the town and all of its housing is under the control of Westridge Industrial Co. Recently, it decided that it wanted to increase productivity, but most of the cheap workers from the Vlatixan mainland were going to other projects, such as the rebuilding of cities after wartime damage. The management of the mines decided to extend working hours, and working conditions were lowered somewhat. However, the management was not stupid. They realized that increasing work hours would make the population unhappy, so they embarked on a town beautification project to serve as a distraction:


The streets were paved, sidewalks were added, and trees were planted all over, adding to the already planted rows of trees that kept the industrial complex shielded from the main village. Not everyone was pleased however, and a few workers tried to start a strike to get the hours reduced again. However, there are few if any worker's rights in Vlatixa, and the few that are established by law are badly enforced. So when the workers went on strike, they were fired, and because the company owned their houses, they were evicted too. With no place in the village to stay, and no place back home to go, they were forced to live outside of the village:


A small village grew out of the side of the mountain, north of Pine Springs. Thanks to the availability of wood, the ex-workers made fairly comfortable log cabins. Food was usually obtained by stealing it from farms, though a few people did start hunting and fishing for food. The Industrial Company wasn't especially pleased about the ex-workers taking up valuable mountainside, but there wasn't really anything they could do about it... yet.


A close up of the mountainside village.


A similar village on the island in Westridge Lake.

Next stop: Testing Ennedi's moisture-fixing mod, and possibly some experimentation with dedgren's c.p. seasonal tree lots.

[dedgren]

You're picking up speed, Splime.  Great map- had the same idea myself.  It'll be very interesting to compare our alternate takes on GRVII in a few weeks.


David

[turtle]

Wow, you're off to a very good start. 

I like Westridge a lot, and that is also a very nice map you've made. Good job!

turtle

[Splime]

Thanks dedgren and turtle! And guess what this update is...



...a map update! (Click to enlarge) Later on, I'll post some pics of the latest developments.

[Pat]

Splime that is a great map there!!!

[Splime]

Thanks Pat!

Anyway, for this next update, you will want to check the map if you want to figure out where everything is. (However, there are a few minor additions since the last map, as well as the extension of a railroad into Tile E.) Otherwise, feel free to just read the update:



I've put little dots on the overview image to show where everything is. (The Overview image is #0, the one below is #1, etc.) Mount Vlatixa Village and North Splimoville are all new, but this update focuses on North Splimoville because I've still got a bit to work on as far as mines are concerned.



This is a picture of the new Westridge Station (facing East). It's been upgraded in order to prepare for more commuter rail traffic as settlement expands.



In the south of Tile B, there is a fairly small village named South Westridge, and it has its own train station. While it is in Tile B, it is mostly an extension of North Splimoville. It's at the northern end of Factory Road, a major road in North Splimoville, and is located along Route 11, which connects Westridge to Mount Vlatixa and beyond.



A bit to the east of the station is the Farmer's Market and Department of Agriculture. While the Vlatixan settlements have mainly been for mining, the farming operation has grown so large that it needs its own government building. The expansion of the farming industry has expanded the freedom of Vlatixan workers as well, since they have to power to move away and start farming if working conditions in the mines are too bad.



A new branch of the Grand River Line brings commuter rail to North Splimoville, which is planned to be the major city in the region. North Splimoville Station is a bit larger than is necessary based on current usage, but it has been planned for use in a larger city.



This is the center of town (besides the industry) at the intersection of Main Street (Route 10) and Factory Road. (The Title isn't in the upper-left corner because I goofed...) Most of the housing in this area is for the industry on the river's shore.



While building lots of industry next to the mines was efficient, there wasn't enough room for it all, so there has been some industrial expansion onto the Grand River. The river banks have been reinforced with industrial-strength seawalls, designed so that a seaport could easily be built in the future. (No seaports have been built yet, however.)



Splimoville isn't all industry, however. There's plenty of farms as well, sometimes just a block or two away from the industry.

[Splime]

A preview of the latest developments:

[mrbisonm]

Nicely starting to get developped. You really chose the best spot to do so too. Love that map!

Fred

[Splime]

Thanks mrb!


(Note that Bordertown Electric on the map refers to the housing, not the plant.)

Since Challenge 3, I've expanded the transportation network of Largonia (the South, see previous map post for transport network) and expanded the settlement. Mayor Largo, who is in charge of South Splimoville, founded Larford as an expansion of the exiles' settlement in order to access the GRV South Line, the new railroad built to allow rail traffic to travel down the Grand River without crossing into VlatCorp (the North), which would now be impossible.



(In this update, all pictures without a compass are in the usual orientation, with north at the top.) In VlatCorp, Route 11 was recently completed. (In fact, it was completed before the separation, and built in Challenge 3.) This is the scenic route it takes in Ridgeshore (Tile K), just before leaving the Bordertown region and entering the unpopulated Arboria region of Vlatixa.



This is a mosaic of (most of) South Splimoville. To the north is the Grand River Crossing, which has a checkpoint on the VlatCorp (North) side. However, Largonia (South) allows all traffic in freely. Route 10 runs North-South through South Splimoville. A few well-to-do people have built houses in South Splimoville, as they were viewed as financial competition in VlatCorp. However, their funding made the Largonian Highway (the main East-West road in the town) possible. The Largonian Highway connects Route 10 to the western border without entering VlatCorp, allowing vehicular traffic to travel through Bordertown once again. It travels from the southern border in Lakefield (Tile I) through (South)East Splimoville (F), (South) Splimoville (E), and (South) Forksville (D) to the regional border.


(Click for Full Image)

This is a mosaic of the town of Larford, including Larford Station in the south. The housing is similar to the original Westridge Factory Housing, which Mayor Largo used to work on before being deported.