Greenacre

[nbvc]

Nice work with the school.

[noahclem]

Excellent work with the new school area    I'm really happy with the end result and it's a nice presentation style, explaining your planning and thought process. I also like that first school you were considering but I think the one you selected is a better choice--fits in nicely with the surrounding tall buildings.

Keep up the great work this month 

Oh, and I love the drawing 

[vester]

Great work on the school. 

[RickD]

That is a very realistic school layout. I like that you do not simply plop a school but also build the facilities that usually come with it. The basketball court does look like a prison, though. I can see the reasoning with the road, but still. Maybe, it can be used to lock away the bullies? 

[Kergelen]

Great process with the school. I like the idea of the trees between fence and schoolyard

[Swordmaster]

Brilliant Matt. I for one like the basketball court, looks very realistic (like everything else here).


Cheers
Willy

[sunv123]

It's going to be an interesting month here for sure Matt.

I love how you go through steps and then add your opinion of them to get the final result. And entertaining, if I may add.

Great Work

[threestooges]

Even something not traditionally thought of as a hammer can fit the bill.

Like one's head, hitting the desk, after a poorly timed (is there ever a good time?) CTD took out the planned update before any photos of significance could be taken.

Oh well, at least I know what I'm going for. Expect an update tomorrow afternoon. Replies will be included there as well. Perhaps coffee too; I know it'll be involved in the rebuild.
-Matt

[metarvo]

Oh, no!    Those things are never good.  I hope you're able to build everything back better than ever.  I've learned over the years to save often, and I've found that datpacking helps to cut down on CTDs too.  Nonetheless, I still lose some hard work once in a while.

[benedict]

Congratulations, you're number one on BTT for a second week.

[threestooges]

Replies:
MTT9: Thanks for the thoughts. I've been trying to increase the detail of my designs, as well as how I show it as I go. Glad you liked it.


Joan (Jmouse): The shoreline was actually already decorated before that update. I'll flesh (flush?) it out more once I finish off the area and get to the sea floor. It is one of JBSimios. Most of the ones I use are his. He made several great sets. Your mental image isn't too far off. You just forgot the cup of coffee. As I've said, Greenacre is hammered together, so the month's theme is quite apropos.


art128: Thanks art! I took another stab at a school today as well. I'll be interested to see how it stacks up to the previous one. Always good to see you here.


Robin (rooker1): I'm not sure what to say about being long-winded-yet-interesting... thanks? Heh, it does take some doing to fully explain the process I use, but hopefully it's something people like to see. I also like the style of the old school, but as you noted relotting would help. I just hate to pester other folks with silly requests like that, because it's a flood gate that could be opened. Besides, I kind of like the challenge of working with what I have on-hand. I may take you up on the offer at some point though.

As for what's goes where the old school was, I think it'll get the commercial services treatment. Everyone around there needs somewhere to shop, etc. Hope the kids enjoyed the update too, even if it did revolve around school.


metarvo x2: I've used that school building a couple of times around Greenacre as well. Cliffton University a few updates back was one such example. As for the can of worms, I think any school facility, at least the ones around here, have a fair bit of fencing to them; both to keep kids from wandering off, and to keep an eye on who/what may be wandering in. As for the CTD, yeah, they happen, and when I went back to rebuild, I was careful to save regularly. You start to forget about it after a while, and then something like that happens and you remember why you do it. Glad you enjoyed the update.


nbvc: Thanks!


Noah (noahclem): You can thank Robin for the drawing. I mentioned a wild idea rolling around in my mind and he was kind enough to sketch it out. I'd say it's fitting. Glad you enjoyed the school update because there's another one coming around the corner right now.


vester: Thank you. Hope you like this next update too.


Raphael (RickD): I used to just plop-and-go as you'll see with today's update, but the facilities surrounding the actual functional building almost seem necessary at this point. I've seen basketball courts with and without fences. Traditionally I've seen fences like that more on tennis courts (where you're trying to belt the ball past someone), and perhaps the fences wouldn't be needed so far back on the school ground, but indeed, as you noted, it could be a good place to corral the bullies. Dodgeball cage matches... there's a scary thought.


Kergelen: Glad you enjoyed. The trees may be a bit dense, but yeah, something was needed to give a visual break between the yard and road/warehouses. I know I'd prefer to see trees more than a parking lot if I were out playing.


Willy (Swordmaster): Wonderful to hear Willy. Incidentally, I have a question for you on the topic of realism. Something that perhaps could be incorporated here before the month is over. I've posted a thread on it elsewhere for you to find.


sunv123: Glad to hear it was both useful and entertaining. I'll be sure to do more updates with this style in the future.


benedict: Excellent news, though still somewhat surprising to hear. I'll take it though. Thanks, as always, for keeping that list running.


The use of hammers is sometimes underappreciated. That's why there's today's update: A Square Peg in a Round Hole.

Many of you mentioned you liked that one school that I considered in the last update. I like it too, but it's one of those ones that really needs a particular space with particular surroundings to really look right. It's a large building, consequently it would need a large base of students. It's also consumes a lot of land, so it wouldn't look right in a skyscraper forest where land would be at a premium. So I found an area of Greenacre that had a mix of population and sprawl. We're going to find this school a home today.

52.01


This area is back when I first started considering the spaces *around* the civic buildings and not just the civic buildings themselves. I liked the parks and all that, but you can see the original approach I used for my education/medical coverage. Plop them next to each other. They serve the same effective range, and people in those ranges would use both services. Makes sense, right? Problem is, small building for the area, and no other school facilities.

52.02


Well time to clear that area out and make room for a school that'll fit the area better. A couple of things I noted with the school after first plopping it: there are driveways at both the front and the back, and there's already a little bit of fencing around the play area.

52.03


With those thoughts in mind, I wanted to make sure both the front and back sides were close to roads, which meant re-orienting the building. Once I decided on that, I figured I might as well just use the whole space. After clearing everything out, I used the plop-a-road leveling technique.

52.04


Turning the school and putting it at the corner allowed easier addition of parking spaces to connect to the backside without consuming too much space.

52.05


Again, I stuck with the fencing. This is a slightly newer/fancier school in design than the last one. An ordinary chain-link fence just wouldn't do for the area. The BSC Park Fences seem to do a nice job though.

52.06


Since I used a soccer field in the last one at the expense of a baseball field, I thought I'd try my hand at fitting a couple of them in here. Additionally, I used a couple of Peg's food court lots to add in an outdoor lunch area, similar to ones that I had at the elementary school I attended (yay southern CA weather).

52.07


The next trick was how to tie it all in. The other school had just used grass, but this school was developing a bit more formal of a feel to it. Paths seemed to be in order. Since I had already used a couple in making the lunch area, I used the NAM ped malls to connect the rest of the facilities. The rest of the grounds were filled in with the BSC Park Filler pieces. I'm not sure if it makes it all feel more like a high school than an elementary school, but I suppose all the trees would afford kids a great area to play hide-and-seek/tag.

52.08


So that's the school. Hopefully with a different feel than the one from the previous update.While we're here though, and on the subject of older playing style and renovations, I'd like to show you why I don't lot.

Or at least, what happens when I do lot.

So Marrast made some excellent small footprint stations (1x6, 2x6) and they're great. I wanted to try my hand at lotting way back in the day, and this is what I came up with.

52.09


Yes, take a good long look. It's not a bad park, but the problem is, it's a train station. There's very little parking and, after looking around the area, it's a waste of space that could be better used for other things: like more parking for commuters. JBSimio's college parking lots and a couple swipes of the SAM parking option do the job.

52.10


Some more housing wouldn't be amiss either.

52.11


So this is how it all sorted out. Still not entirely happy with it, but I'd like to hear your thoughts.

52.12


For now though, I'll leave you with a quick mosaic of the area (to make up for the posting delay).

52.13


As always, thoughts, suggestions, and criticisms are encouraged.
-Matt

[Swordmaster]

Love it Matt. You're making school cool again.

52.09 needs a smooth rail curve. That in itself will lead to solutions for everything else.


Cheers
Willy

[benedict]

Congratulations - you're number one again this week on BTT.

BTT is more an index of popularity than anything else - the formula used relies on update-to-replies ratios. Your MD has been very popular the last few weeks, with a nice boost resulting from being OSITM.

[Jmouse]

Matt, your step-by-step updates are always helpful and informative. Some of the things you do might look easy, but I know from bitter experience that they aren't. Anyone can use MMPs, but getting them to look right can be pretty tricky.

I do have an issue with 52.12, though. Placing apartment buildings that close to a RR track could be a turn off for would-be tenants. Or, if nothing else, it could substantially reduce the rent that could be charged.

On the other hand, my daughter and I lived in a rent house for nearly a year which was very close to the tracks. We hardly noticed when a train went by, but when my husband joined us, he certainly heard the train sounds and could hardly believe we were used to them. Still, I think commercial property would be more appropriate in that location. Our playing styles and the areas where we live in are very different, though, so what looks right to one of us might look wrong to the other.

I'm glad you included that mosaic. Nice work...
-Joan

[art128]

Impressive work with both the school and the station.

Though I would have see a little plaza just before the station. Instead of three lines of parking, just two and one tile of plaza... hmmm...

[threestooges]

Replies:
Willy (Swordmaster): 52.09 won't be getting a smooth curve just yet. There's going to be a railyard nearby so I wanted to sort a few design things out first. Glad you liked the school though. The variety of school buildings is impressive, but combined with what you can do with the surrounding fields and facilities, the options are plentiful.


benedict: Thanks for clearing up that curiosity for me benedict. I'm sorry I couldn't snag the 4-peat on it, but this week's top-of-the-charts MD is quite a good one as well, so I'm pleased to come in second to it.


Joan (Jmouse): Glad to know Greenacre serves as a useful tool for those looking for tips. That was one of the intentions I had for it when I started, and it's one I hope to keep going with it as long as I can.

MMPs are indeed a bit of a pain to work with sometimes, especially when one gets slightly out of place. It's sadly too easy sometimes to misplace one and end up needing to remove a significant chunk of your work as collateral damage in order to fix it. Usually I just try to work the mistake in. Nature is seldom linear, and little mishaps like that can help achieve that look of randomness that's hard to find.

As for the apartment buildings in 52.12, residential units that close to the tracks are fairly common around here. Where I used to live, you were a stone's throw from the tracks, and the building across the street from me was directly adjacent. The property values are a bit lower as a result, but people still live there and, if you're like me and love trains, the reduced rent is a nice plus for desirable accommodations. Today's update will hopefully show a bit of what's around the tracks in Greenacre at the moment, and how various areas deal with it.


art128: Thanks for the thoughts art, and I'm glad you liked the last updates. As for the plaza idea, after reading your comment I completely agree. Hopefully I was able to cobble something together that will fit the bill. Also, congratulations for topping the Top 10 list this past week.


So as the month draws to a close, I figured I'd hammer the month home with one last update, inspired by something Willy (swordmaster) said way back at the beginning:



So now it's time for a rail-related update. We're going to ride the rails from the station we left off at last time, and take a trip down around the eastern coast of the Greenacre mainland. Along the way you can expect to see a number of the varying communities and industries that line the route, as well as the stations serving it. Additionally, we'll look at the state of the line, and try to make some improvements as we go.

The route today is lined out in red:


You all likely remember this image from last time:

53.01


As Greenacre regular art128 noted, there was a bit too much parking lot, and not enough space for people waiting for a train to walk around. He suggested a plaza, and for a short-term fix, here's the result. As you can see, the plaza area triggered a new bout of development.

53.02


A close-up of the area shows a clock (something no rail station should be without), some flowers, and decorative brick work (NAM ped mall). It does seem to add a bit to the scene. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but at least now riders are less likely to be struck by traffic while waiting for their train to arrive.

53.03


Nearby is what currently passes for a compact railyard. There are a couple of signal bridges to direct traffic, as well as some switches to allow for re-routing/reconfiguring trains as needed. Somehow though, the gaps between the rail sets just doesn't quite work for me. There's no good fix I've found for it yet, but time will tell.

53.04


Heading west from the station, the train quickly plunges into an industrial center. Warehouses line the tracks, avenue medians are sparse, and the new gate crossings for the avenues really look top notch (thanks to the NAM). On this section of the line, track space is at a premium as freight rail competes with local and long-distance passenger runs.

53.05


David's (dedgren's) rail switches (part of the RAM, now incorporated with the NAM) were one of the things that really started the railroading revolution that the game has been seeing lately. This image comes from an area north of the industrial complex, and shows a before/after shot of the tracks. That smooth curve not only looks better, but will allow for trains to safely take that corner at higher speeds.

53.06


This brings us to one of the larger stations that's at the center of the mainland. Aptly named Central Station, it serves as a hub for most of Greenacre's long distance routes. The rail Y-stack is a bit unrealistic (at least for freight rail) due to the slopes, but darn it if it isn't a fun bit of eye candy. In RL, light rail and shorter trains are generally able to handle the slopes better due to their lighter weight. Some folks around here can correct me if I'm wrong, but generally even a 4% slope is steep for most heavy rail.

53.07


Speaking of improvements, this parking lot, tucked in to the side of the freeway, could use a facelift. The pieces used were fine at the time, but I've fallen in love with the parking set made by JBSimio for his university pack.

53.08


That's much better, and it also added an additional 29 spaces to the lot. Ignore the texture change of the freeway for now. It all used to be Maxis highway, but I believe that's Project Symphony from the new NAM at work. I may just need to re-plop the interchange. That's a thing for another day though. Today's update is about the rails.

53.09


Central Station touts a 4-lane avenue for passenger drop-off and parking access. It also claims an easy connection to the local light rail line. The problem is that "easy" means crossing eight lanes of traffic, four of which are freeway on/off ramp. This should be updated, but it'll take more planning to fully figure out. The density of the area is going to prove problematic.

53.10


Departing Central Station toward the east, the tracks dip into a sunken channel. Light rail lines for the area pass overhead. In the early morning hours, there are few trains running the line, but I wanted to show this area off as also being part of the new NAM. This is the El-Rail facelift, and boy did it do its job. That bridge is gorgeous.

53.11


Leaving the more urbanized areas, the rail line continues north before cutting a path east, down the mountain towards the water. The steep slopes required careful planning to make the route work. Steep hillsides and narrow valleys required this section to be only a single track wide. It doesn't see the same traffic that the urban centers do, so congestion hasn't been an issue yet, but it does limit capacity. On the plus side, the views out the window can be quite stunning.

53.12


At the base of the mountain, pressed against the shore is the small town of Fergus Coast. It's a tourist destination for those looking to get some peace and quiet. The marina here is a particular draw. They have an old Greek Revival style station here, and this is where our ride will end for this week. That sharp curve there is the next thing on the list of improvements to be made.

53.13


One last image to leave you with: the train rolling on down the rails to other destinations, ferrying its passengers along the seashore. Gentle waves lapping at the beach can be seen through the trees that rush by. An older telegraph, now telephone, line stretches along the route as well, a relic of an older technology re-purposed for modern use.

53.14


Hope you all enjoyed the ride, both in this update, and over the course of this month. It's been fun making these updates, and reading your comments has been all the more encouraging. I'll keep going with this rail trip in the next update, but until then, I look forward to your thoughts on what you've seen so far, and any suggestions you may have for how to improve it.
-Matt

[RickD]

Great railroad update. This was a very enjoyable OSITM. 

[rooker1]

It has been a fantastic month Matt.  Interesting updates and great pics, couldn't have been better. 
The rail ride was my favourite as it took us through several areas of Greenarce and I find it very interesting the different ways people put together thier cities and the transition from one type of area to another.  I like the continual improvements you make to an already 4 plus year old MD/region.
I always like to compare people's maps from when they first started thier MD to current day and yours looks great.

Click on img for larger pic
December 24, 2008, 07:13:48 PM

VS
April 29, 2013, 02:44:30 AM


Here we can see that you have changed your terrain modd and added a lot of new towns and cities.  But what I am really impressed with.....is the fact that the map and the lands look the same.  You never went over board with sculpting the terrain.

Great work as always and another fantastic OSITM month under your belt!

Robin

[metarvo]

If I had a hammer... I guess it would be used to put down railroad ties. 

Nice update, Matt.  It illustrated how our rail systems have improved over time due to additions like the RAM.  53.12's 90° turn bothers me a little, but it looks like a solution is in the works.  On the other hand, the waterfall makes up for it.  The parking lot improvements are well done.  I find myself using that set all the time too, and not just for schools.  It's too bad the month is drawing to a close, but it's been a fine ride.

[noahclem]

This lovely rail journey was a perfect end to what's been an exceptionally fun OSITM to follow. Outstanding work Matt    My favorite pics were the waterfall area and the rail/EL crossing with that facelift mod. That station area is quite the mix of different networks with big intersections--not that that kind of thing is interesting to me    I'm curious to see you return to the area for the highways as you mentioned, hopefully you enjoy the Symphony mod--it certainly looks very nice there.

I also really enjoyed the new school area from last time. Glad that nice school building found a home