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Adara - Update 184 - March 26, 2012

Started by Battlecat, February 10, 2009, 06:39:50 PM

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noahclem

I'm very glad to hear you're feeling better Gordon!

Again, I'm very curious to see how the airport turns out. I really should build one of my own before too much longer and whatever you come up with around here will be closely watched  ;)  The highway work is looking good and I have the exact same experience with those highway walls--always liked 'em, never used 'em. Perhaps that's another thing to be fixed soon....

I'm excited for the return of regular updates  :thumbsup:

Battlecat



Matt (threestooges): Thanks very much, it's good to be back.  Yeah, it's mostly a question of what will look good.  I won't be getting to it for a bit yet because I'm not using cheats to manage the city budgets.  So the next update is actually going to be a discussion about the actual simulation I think. 

Raphael (RickD): Thanks, I don't plan on leaving.  Temporary RL interruptions do occur on occasion and this one was particularly bad.  I'm hoping to actually re-earn that Hall of Fame position this year, the past year hasn't been great for Adara.

SCWTC4: Thanks!  I think I'll be able to create more frequent updates now that my life has settled down.  In fact, I've already gotten two updates worth of material prepped as of this posting! 

FrankU: Thanks, glad to be back!  Evolution is actually working on it!  The organ is actually the remnant of a larger organ that is still found in grazing animals that is used to process cellulose (fibre). 

Not to worry, there will be a lot of stuff going on around the airport to keep your interest!  I plan to be quite diverse with my updates so I may jump around a lot.  That was part of the plan with the massive expansion of the introduced region during the OSITM in November.   

Cyclone1001: Thanks very much!

metarvo: I'm feeling much better now thanks.  Best I've felt in 3 months in fact.  Buddybud has always done fine work, these retaining walls stand out for me because they have so much character.  There are other nice retaining walls but they are pretty uniform.  I was particularly excited to notice that Buddybud is back working on some of his projects again!

The 90 degree turn on a hill was fun to build.  It took a lot of picky terraforming to do it.  Sadly, it's not possible to do that with every one of the wide radius curves.  Curves that use single tile rail or roads to stabilize the puzzle piece will always level the terrain around the curve.  Discovered that the hard way! 

Bernhard (Nardo69): Thanks!  Glad to hear you're recovered as well.  I'll do my best to keep the upcoming updates diverse.  There's a lot of work left to do with railways in this area as well after all!  Thanks for stopping in! 

Geoff (calibanX): Thanks very much for your kind words!  I know airports aren't everyone's cup of tea, so I'm certainly going to avoid focusing too many updates in a row on it!  Also there are a lot of interesting associated developments that should help.  But it's a necessary part of the region plan, in fact this island was specifically set aside for it.  Glad to hear you're looking forward to it! 

noahclem: Thanks!  I'm glad to be feeling better finally.  I'm pretty curious about the airport as well; my only experience has been a small regional airport using the earliest modular components about 7 years ago now.  This one is going to be a medium sized international airport so I've got a lot of reading and research to do if I'm going to make it look good!  Thanks for stopping by! 

Update 182
Kinswater – A Step Towards an Experiment

Today I'm introducing another new tile.  Originally I had planned to do some work on the mountain region for this update, but then I realized that there was an experiment I want to try out.  I plan to have this experiment demonstrated by the end of the month but to do it I have to finish the introductory work on one more map tile after this one which will complete the west border of the region. 

182-1: I wanted to give you all a before and after look at this one.  It's a good thing I did because the changes are quite dramatic.  This is the tile immediately after loading.


182-2: The first thing I did was carve out a nice big swath of future wetland area.  This will be a fun batch of detailing!


182-3: Two narrow streams will wind across this tile when I'm done.


182-4: Now I've started in on the transport networks.  As always, I've started with the railway.  In this particular circumstance, we would usually connect these two tracks with 45 degree connections.


182-5: Since the suggestion by SCWTC4 regarding the RHW a while ago, I've been trying to keep the FAR options in mind when developing tiles.  A shallow curve makes much more sense than a sharp corner.  The offset is targeting a more cost effective bridge crossing.


182-6: Here's the bridge, I never get tired of land bridges!  The first place I saw bridges of this style was in David's (dedgren's) Three Rivers Region which is celebrating its 6th birthday today! 


182-7: This roundabout connects up three highway sections.  The section crossing the border is actually RHW and the road paralleling the border is normal road.  The normal road going east actually connects to Poplar Grove, that small off the beaten track town on the Greenwood tile. 


182-8: On the other side of the river there is a winding road that follows the shoreline for a while.  I had lots of fun with the wide radius curves here.


182-9: Here's the finished tile composite.  I forgot to take one additional shot regarding the highway.  I've played a bit with the uneven RHW (2 lanes 1 way, 1 lane the other) to represent passing sections.  It looks fairly neat I think.  We'll have a closer look at that later.  As always, you can click these images to load a larger version!


182-10: Just to round this out in the traditional manner established by the OSITM run, here is the regional composite. 


182-11: And here is the reference composite just to refresh your memory.  I'm going to try to update this composite regularly, especially now that I can upload them to image shack! 


That's a wrap for today.  Next time we're bouncing back to Seabird Island to get the supporting budget for the airport off the ground.   While I'm working on it, I'll actually take a few minutes to discuss what I know about the simulator behavior since I try to minimize cheating when developing the region.  See you all next time! 

RickD

I am anxious to see the wetland area finished.  ;)
My name is Raphael.
Visit my MD: Empire Bay (My old MD: Santa Barbara County)

io_bg

Interesting network layout, I'm also eager to see further development in this area!
Visit my MD, The region of Pirgos!
Last updated: 28 November

Jmouse

I always appreciate work-in-progress photos to help me get a better understanding of what's going on. Seems you're another player with a knack for laying out good transport networks. How I envy you!

Not that I fully understand where you're going with this yet, but it will be interesting to watch it develop...
-Joan

SCWTC4

nice wetland there, i'll keep an eye here to see how everything will come out  :thumbsup:
me and my (clever) friend..
f: "everytime i play SC4 riots erupts, they even blow up a bridge"
m: "do you ever consider the possibility of putting around some police stations?" (joking)
f: "you're right..."
m:

FrankU

Yes, a very interesting devlopment. Good looks, and you keep me curious.

Battlecat



Raphael (RickD): Same here, I'm actually considering going back and working on that sooner rather than later.

io_bg: Thanks, I've got a lot of areas like that now!

Joan (Jmouse): Thanks very much Joan!  I'll be posting the promised tutorial as update 185, just need to get one last tile prepared first.

SCWTC4: Thanks very much!

FrankU: Thanks!  I'll be getting back to an explanation of the purpose of these extra tiles shortly!

Update 183
Seabird Island – Budget Deliberations

Sorry I'm a bit late!  I was about to post the update and then realized I forgot to take a fairly important screenshot and the final images to update the regional composites.  Today we're back to Seabird Island today to do some preparation work to support the airport construction.  Since this isn't going to be a particularly aesthetically pleasing update, I think I'll go over some of the challenges I face early in tile detailing.

183-1: The first issue of course is balancing the budget.  All the tiles and detailing I've developed to date have been built within the confines of the standard simulator.  So this is an early challenge.  But it's more important here because the airport will likely be quite expensive to develop and maintain.  The transportation network alone is currently costing this tile 262$ per month.


183-2: Demand isn't even remotely an issue.  Between the amplification of demand across tile boundaries and the sheer shortage of certain development types in my region, this tile is just bursting to develop.

   
183-3: This are of the tile will be mostly suburban and industrial lands since it represents the outer edges of a major city.  I'm going to start developing this area here but I plan to demolish a portion of this to make it nicer looking once the budget is stable. 


183-4: The easiest place to start is the same as every Simcity town, a simple, boring urban grid with residential and a small amount of commercial development.  I've added in the high tension power lines that cross the river on their way to the downtown substation. 


183-5: At this stage I just let the simulator run with the development unless something absolutely perfect pops up.  I've upgraded the main east-west road into a narrow avenue from the NWM just to add some diversity.  I've got to remember to use these features more as we move into the urban area.


183-6: Power for the tile is currently being supplied by a small coal power plant.  It's in the middle of what will be an industrial district in the final layout of the map. 


183-7: Speaking of industrial development, this area is the first official industrial area.  I've kept a setback here; this particular section of shoreline will be detailed to a natural coast.  Further upstream (towards the other side of the railway) there will be docks.  The railway line is going to swing around to a small industrial supply station as well. 


183-8: I moved the industrial zoning a tile back from the highway to leave room for fencing and other details.  Some of these buildings are in their final states and have been set to historical.  On the south side of the highway I'm going with primarily residential development, the industry will follow the river shoreline upstream from here. 


That's all for now!  There are supposed to be a few more shots today but I've been caught by some small RL complications.  The budget is pretty much balanced with the development you see here.  Granted, there are no city services yet but at least the cities income is barely in the black.

I'd rather not delay the update so we'll pick this tile up in a couple of updates.  The next update will involve finishing the last tile on the west border of the region and then the following update will be a tutorial/experiment that I've been preparing for.  Then I'll get back to work on Seabird Island for a while. See you next time!

rooker1

I really enjoyed this boring update. :P ;)
I assume the City Beautification of $139 is becuase of BuddyBud's walls....you could destroy them all and place them again much later when the city is doing well.
I'm not too sure I like the highway tunnel before the river, I think I would prefer a bridge, but that's just me.
Great update as always!

Robin
Call me Robin, please.

JoeST

Fantastic updates, its always great to read through your posts :D
Copperminds and Cuddleswarms

noahclem

Great updates Gordon  &apls  It's nice to get a look "under the hood" of Adara and understand more of your playing style. Looking forward to the next one  :thumbsup:

Jmouse

The graphs are all a part of the game, and there's nothing wrong with showing them. In fact, I often bug my NUTty MDers about showing population data and transportation-usage maps. And speaking of stats, what size is this tile?

It looks like development is coming along well. I read somewhere that forcing Sims to pass through commercial zones in order to get to work boosts retail sales. Don't know if that's true or not.

I'm not too sure about putting industry on the riverbank, but we all approach the game differently and that's part of what keeps things interesting. And I'll have to admit 183-8 doesn't look bad at all.

As always, a well-planned and informative update... :)
-Joan

sim_link

Looks great, I really like how you show off the process of developing your city tiles. This current tile is already looking good, I really like where you used the narrow 4-lane road - looks realistic.

mave94

#1993
I am sorry to hear about your illness.
Reading the previous updates was a pleasure as always. I am eager to see how you will develop the airport.  :)
And, congratulations on hundred pages of fantastic updates (;

Swordmaster

Nice update, Gordon! Nice sunken freeway. However, I really feel uncomfortable watching that railway slope in the approach to the bridge. You sure you can't smoothen that out a little more?

Cheers,
Willy

threestooges

As far as airports go, yes, they're pricey, but with the custom packs they do seem to start to at least balance themselves out in a way. Airline companies will pay a bit for jetway space, after all. I'll note for the record that the tile Greenacre's airport is on is operating in the red at the moment, but it's not wholly due to the airport; but it certainly doesn't cover its operating costs at present.

I agree with Robin about the highway tunnel. I'd prefer to see a bridge, but if you do decide to stick with the tunnel it still seems a bit close to the river bank for the slope it'd need to take to run deep enough. If nothing else, perhaps move it back a bit. Looking forward to seeing how the rest of it develops.
-Matt

Battlecat


Robin (rooker1): Thanks!  Good point on the cost of the walls.  I'm not particularly worried about it though, the city is already carrying that cost with ease!  I'm less and less happy with the tunnel each time I see it.  I think I'll try to replace it next time I work on that tile.  Thanks for the thoughts!

JoeST: Thanks very much!

noahclem: Glad you enjoyed it! 

Joan (Jmouse): Agreed, it's an easy aspect of the game to overlook, as evidenced by 182 updates without showing a single one!  I have the same issue with night shots as well!  Industry on the riverbank is mostly me following development patterns around this region.  The river was the primary industrial corridor through the Fraser Valley.  In fact, there are going to be some port facilities on this tile as well as the airport.  But thanks for the thoughts, I certainly don't plan on industrializing the whole riverbank!

As for the tile sizes, all the tiles in Adara are large tiles.  Gives me lots of room to build and reduces the number of times I have to deal with edge issues! 

sim_link: Thanks!  Glad you like it.

MrMAvE94: It's hard to believe I've reached 100 pages!  Thanks for your kind words as always!

Willy (Swordmaster): Thanks very much!  I agree, there is something wrong with that railway slope.  I'll take a closer look at it next time I work on the tile. 

Matt (threestooges): Good to know!  That should help a lot when I get start on my airport.  I'm in agreement on the tunnel; it's going to have to be replaced or at least the portal will have to be moved.  I'll take a closer look at it when I go back to Seabird Island.  Thanks for your suggestions! 

Update 184
Bickerton Hill – Last New Tile for Now

Today we're visiting a new tile.  This is the last one I'm going to introduce for a while, just in preparation for next week's experiment.  This small town is in the far north west corner of the region.

184-1: Let's start off with a quick overview of the tile.  The key feature is the hill in the middle of the tile.


184-2: First, some touching up to the hillside just so it looks nice. 


184-3: Just for something different with the railway I used a series of different track orientations to create a super wide curve.  I hope it turned out nicely!


184-4: The main line continues north but there's a branch line that heads off to the east.


184-5: The branch line winds up over the hill for some reason, I'll give it a purpose later.


184-6: The highway also cross up over the hill here and then turns right across the tile border.  There will be a bridge over the river on the neighboring tile.


184-7: A rural road continues to wind northward.  I just built this whimsically just so it looks interesting. 


184-8: That's all for now, here's the tile composite.  As always, click for the larger version!


184-9: And the reference composite image just to wrap things up! 


That's all for now!  Next update will be a couple days late since I'm going to be away for this coming weekend.  But when I come back I'm going to do an experiment/tutorial regarding synchronizing terrain across region boundaries.  I don't plan on extending into a new region block any time soon but I like to keep my options open and I wanted to share this idea with the community.  So, see you next time!

RickD

I like the rail line over the hill. Even though I don't know what it is good for, yet.  :P
My name is Raphael.
Visit my MD: Empire Bay (My old MD: Santa Barbara County)