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Commonwealth of Marathon

Started by thundercrack83, November 05, 2008, 02:08:19 PM

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sim_link

Woah, the highway area looks much better! Great job.:thumbsup: Love the tutorial on sunken highway ramps, I'll have to try that out. :)

Haljackey

Wow, thats a great and simple little tutorial!

The only thing I don't like with that setup is that the on/off ramps are so steep.  If you're willing to sacrifice another tile or two on either side, you can use andreharv's new side on/off ramps, and then connect them to a OWR which can gradually climb the slope and intersect with the road. 

Still, the last pic looks great with all those curvy roads.  Nice job!   :thumbsup:

Best,
-Haljackey

Jmouse

Hey Matt, glad you asked! :) That's a great tutorial, Dustin, and will be helpful to those of us who are somewhat transport challenged! I get road rash just thinking about trying to create a highway system!

Anyway, I recall mentioning feeder roads early on, and I'm glad to see now how you use them. I'm not convinced coming off a major highway and immediately hitting an intersection would be a good thing in RL, so I'm interested in knowing if it will work in game. Are you far enough along in actual Marathon development to have seen much traffic and studied the patterns?

Either way, good job presenting another interesting and informative update!
Joan

thundercrack83




Alex (Tarkus): Great to see you here again, Alex! The new NAM is as wonderful, as always! I feel like a kid on Christmas morning whenever a new NAM comes out. I'm glad you like the area around the tunnel, and I hope to see you back again, my friend!

Matt (threestooges): Hi, Matt! I'm glad that I was able to help you out! I had a feeling that you were trying to plop the ramp before the road, but when I went into the game to try and illustrate that, it wouldn't let me do it, for some reason. I've done that myself before, so I don't know what happened. Either way, though, I hope you're on your way to building some sunken highways of your own! Take care!

bat: Thank you, my friend!

sim_link: Hello! Thanks for your great comment, and I hope you have fun trying things out!

Haljackey: Thanks so much, Haljackey! I'm glad you liked it!

Joan (Jmouse): Hey, there, Joan! Thank you very much, my friend! As for the feeder roads, you've brought up a very interesting point about the intersections. I actually haven't investigated it in the game, I just did because it seemed like a sensible thing to do when I was laying the sunken highway! I'll have to check it out, and if it seems like it's going to be an issue, we may be revisiting the concept! Whatever happens, though, I'll definitely be posting the results here! Thanks for coming by, Joan!






UPDATE XIX
Hey, Bono—These Streets Do Have Names!
26 January 2009

I apologize for the little lull in action here in Marathon, but I've been engrossed in a bit of a project, the fruits of which I will now share!

We'll go back to our finished map from UPDATE XVI: On the Tedium, Trepidation, and Eventual Fulfillment of Cartography, Part II: From the Drawing Board to...You!:




Well, because that map was such a joy to make, and because I'm a glutton for punishment, I decide to replicate it, but much larger! Using the same method outlined in Updates XV and XVI, I created the same map, only this time using 768x768 tiles instead of 256x256, which was the dimension of each tile used to produce the one above.

The purpose of this—as our update title alluded—was street names! Yes, three-plus days of work toiling in Photoshop for street names! What can I say? I've got problems!

We'll start first, with L'Anneau de Marathon, which is the official name of the avenue ring that circumnavigates Marathon Island. The L'Anneau, as it's called for short in Marathon (with or without the redundant English and French definite articles!), has been partitioned into four quadrants by the Marathon Department of Transportation:




In many instances, the L'Anneau runs concurrent with other streets. For postage purposes, both names are used, with the L'Anneau and quadrant preceding:

          Schmidt, Rose, and McGraw
          Attorneys at Law
          L'Anneau de Marathon NE
          1808 St. Lawrence Avenue E
          MARATHON


Special street signs have been posted to designate the L'Anneau...




The top-right section of the street sign denotes in which quadrant the sign is located.

Major thoroughfares that run parallel from west to east have been names according to an alphabetical naming system from A to Z (U and V have been omitted), going south to north, and designated as Avenues: Acadia, Bathurst, Châteauguay, Daigneault, Elliot, Foxborough, Grand Banks, Halifax, Independence, Joliett, Kittery, Lampreys, Muller, Newfoundland, Oxbow, Presque Isle, Quay, Ridley, Shawinigan, Telegraph, Westmoreland.

North-south thoroughfares are not named according to any specific system.

Below is an street sign example, with directional indicator in the top-right corner.




Also, a north-south street sign:




Smaller streets and non-arterial thoroughfares are usually labeled as Streets:




Directional indicators may or may not be used, depending on whether the street crosses the directional boundary of Kittery Avenue for north-south, or Moncton Avenue for east-west.

So, without any further information, I present to you the most current incarnation our the Marathon Island street map! NOTE: This map is quite large.




It took a long while and a lot of work to put together! Here's a few samples of the process:







Despite the hours, I had a lot of fun put this together, especially naming all the streets. In honor of that, I thought we could play a little game!

Below, I have listed ten street names from Marathon Island—nine based on geographical and/or cultural surroundings, with the tenth being three different streets that have a common bond. Bearing in mind the geographic location of Marathon (North America, Maine-New Brunswick), see if you can guess the significance of the street names!

Example: Halifax Avenue — Halifax, Nova Scotia

Make sense? OK, here we go!

1. Aroostook Street
2. Grand Banks Avenue
3. Presque Isle Avenue
4. Shawinigan Avenue
5. Acadia Svenue
6. Bathurst Avenue
7. Passamaquoddy Avenue
8. Châteauguay Avenue
9. Kittery Avenue
10. Find the common bond: Daigneault Avenue, Desjardins Street, Muller Avenue
BONUS: Find a specific bond between Acadie and Bathurst!


The first person to get them all correct (including the bonus!) will get a prize perhaps an SC4D subscription?!

Good luck, and I hope you enjoyed this street-oriented expedition!

In a bit!

Alfred.Jones

#624
Quote from: thundercrack83 on January 25, 2009, 10:58:33 PM
Below, I have listed ten street names from Marathon Island—nine based on geographical and/or cultural surroundings, with the tenth being three different streets that have a common bond. Bearing in mind the geographic location of Marathon (North America, Maine-New Brunswick), see if you can guess the significance of the street names!

Example: Halifax Avenue — Halifax, Nova Scotia

Make sense? OK, here we go!

1. Aroostook Street
2. Grand Banks Avenue
3. Presque Isle Avenue
4. Shawinigan Avenue
5. Acadia Svenue
6. Bathurst Avenue
7. Passamaquoddy Avenue
8. Châteauguay Avenue
9. Kittery Avenue
10. Find the common bond: Daigneault Avenue, Desjardins Street, Muller Avenue
BONUS: Find a specific bond between Acadie and Bathurst!


The first person to get them all correct (including the bonus!) will get a prize!

Good luck, and I hope you enjoyed this street-oriented expedition!

In a bit!

Hey Dustin,

I have been lurking your MD for a while but never posted. Sorry &mmm

But I can't not post when you have put so much work into these street names!

I hope I got the idea of the game.

Here are my answers ;)

1. Aroostook Street - Aroostook, New Brunswick
2. Grand Banks Avenue - Grand Banks of Newfoundland Plateaus
3. Presque Isle Avenue - Presque Isle, Maine
4. Shawinigan Avenue - Shawinigan, Quebec
5. Acadia Avenue - Acadia National Park, Maine
6. Bathurst Avenue - Bathurst, New Brunswick
7. Passamaquoddy Avenue - The Native American people who live in Maine and New Brunswick
8. Châteauguay Avenue - Châteauguay, Quebec
9. Kittery Avenue - Kittery, Maine
10. Find the common bond: Daigneault Avenue, Desjardins Street, Muller Avenue - I'm guessing this has something to do with retired Canadian Ice Hockey players J. J. Daigneault, Martin Desjardins and Kirk Muller?

I can't as yet find a bond between Acadia and Bathurst but i'm working on it. I will post if I find one.

Thanks,

AJ :thumbsup:

Sim City 4 Devotion

bat

Nice work on the street names there! And looking forward to more...

projectadam

Bonus Question: The Titans???
The Constitutional Monarchy of Ichigamin

Terraforming Update (8/25/09)

dedgren

Or the region [linkie].

Great contest, Dustin.  And, my guess is that you've probably retired the trophy for Best SC4-based Cartography in 2009 early this year.  I scrolled around that for the better part of 10 minutes.  An absolute joy to look at.


David


D. Edgren

Please call me David...

Three Rivers Region- A collaborative development of the SC4 community
The 3RR Quick Finder [linkie]


I aten't dead.  —  R.I.P. Granny Weatherwax

Skype: davidredgren

Jmouse

Here's my meager little attempt.

1   Aroostook is athe largest county in Maine. It is located in the northernmost area of the state.
2   Grand Banks is a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland.
3   Presque Isle is home to the University of Maine.
4   Shawinigan is a city on the Saint Maurice River in Quebec
5   Acadia National Park is located in Hancock County, Maine.
6   Bathurst, unlike its counterpart in Australia, is a city in New Brunswick.
7   Passamaquoddy Bay is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy between Maine and New Brunswick.
8   Châteauguay County is located in the southwest corner of the Province of Quebec, Canada.
9   Kittery, Maine, has a winter parking ban!
10   Mitch Daigneault, Richard Desgardins and Pete Muller are all musicians who are either from Marathon's general area or live near there now. Of course, they could always be hockey players though! :D

Very clever and thoughtful system for naming streets. Once again, you amaze me with your creativity and organizational skills. BTW, I have a couple of extra Big Chief tablets I can send your way if you need them. :D

Later...
Joan

deathtopumpkins

Whoa! Nice map there Dustin! Very professional, even down to the copyright and serial number? along the bottom edge.

Though I think everyone else beat me to the street name game...  :D (Some of us are asleep at 2 AM  :P )

Oh, and those are some fancy street signs! 'Round here we've just got plain white-on-blue ones.
NAM Team Member | 3RR Collaborater | Virgin Shores

rooker1

Dustin,

Not sure where to begin.  Your map turned out much more better than I had first thought it would and I really like how all the roads are named. 
The contest is a great little additive as well, I'll have to have a look at it and see if I can figure any of it out.

Robin  :thumbsup:
Call me Robin, please.

Tarkus

Dustin, this is an absolutely fantastic update here.  I'm in map heaven right now--that's one of the finest I've ever seen, and I intend to stare at it for some time. :D  It's also great to hear about some of the street naming practices in Marathon as well--I'm always fascinated by that sort of stuff being the big roadgeek that I am.  I've always been keen on the alphabetical naming setup, too--makes it rather easy to navigate things. 

I also couldn't help but notice Duke of Gloucester Street on there--immediately reminded me of Annapolis, Maryland.  The layout, in some ways, kind of reminds me of Washington, DC a little--particularly around Independence Avenue. ;)

Fascinating, fascinating stuff.   :thumbsup:

-Alex (Tarkus)

alan_vzla

That kind of work and commitment is what differences a MD from an excellent MD. Yours is surely a SC4 masterpiece, and I wish the best for it.

The update is very good, but I prefer the ones with ingame pics... Yet I enjoyed reading all the names of your streets... Maybe I'll try it over here in Nova Terra xD

Quote from: thundercrack83 on January 25, 2009, 10:58:33 PM
It took a long while and a lot of work to put together! Here's a few samples of the process:



That is impressive... but yet I think I can win you in that department... I'll post some photos of my SC4 notebook sometime...

Alan

thundercrack83

#633



Alfred.Jones: Hello, my friend, and welcome! And your first post is quite the smash! Excellent work! And don't worry about lurking either, it's OK! Hope to see you around more often!

bat: Thank you, my friend!

projectadam: Good answer, we'll see if it's correct!

David (dedgren): Wow, thank so much for that great compliment, David! I'm glad I can return the favor on the map-staring, since I've spent countless hours gazing at the many 3RR maps over the past few years!

Joan (Jmouse:): Hi, Joan! Meager attempt? I don't think so, my friend—I'd say a magnificent attempt if I've ever seen one! I'm glad you enjoyed the map, too, and at the rate I go through legal pads, I might have to take you up on your offer! Thanks for coming by, Joan!

deathtopumpkins: Thanks so much! I'm glad you like the map!

Robin (rooker1): Thanks, Robin! The map came out much better than I thought it would, too, going into it. It was a lot of fun to put together, actually! Take care, my friend!

Alex (Tarkus): Hey, Alex! Thank you, my friend! I was trying to come up with some kind of naming system for a while and couldn't come up with anything, then the alphabetical one just popped into my head when I was looking at a map of Washington, DC. As for Duke of Gloucester Street, I actually stole borrowed that, and Botetourt Street from Williamsburg, Virginia. I found a tourist map from when I was there a few years ago and the rest is history! Thanks for coming by and for your wonderful comments, my friend!

Alan (alan_vzla): Hi, my friend! Thank you so much for your very kind words! And I would certainly be interested in seeing your SC4 notebook, too! Take care!




Well, our good friend Alfred.Jones did a number on the Street Name Game, getting every one correct!

Quote
1. Aroostook Street - Aroostook, New Brunswick
2. Grand Banks Avenue - Grand Banks of Newfoundland Plateaus
3. Presque Isle Avenue - Presque Isle, Maine
4. Shawinigan Avenue - Shawinigan, Quebec
5. Acadia Avenue - Acadia National Park, Maine
6. Bathurst Avenue - Bathurst, New Brunswick
7. Passamaquoddy Avenue - The Native American people who live in Maine and New Brunswick
8. Châteauguay Avenue - Châteauguay, Quebec
9. Kittery Avenue - Kittery, Maine
10. Find the common bond: Daigneault Avenue, Desjardins Street, Muller Avenue - I'm guessing this has something to do with retired Canadian Ice Hockey players J. J. Daigneault, Martin Desjardins and Kirk Muller?

The only slight differences in what I was thinking was Aroostook County, Maine, rather than Aroostook, New Brunswick for #1, and Eric Desjardins instead of Martin Desjardins for #10. Excellent work, Alfred.Jones!

And for the bonus, our good friend projectadam struck home with what I was thinking—the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League!

Thank you all so much for playing! I hope you had fun!

Now, on to what I've been working on lately...




It's a low income neighboorhood in southwest Marathon, down around Lowe Street. Perhaps we'll be exploring this area in finer detail? We'll see!

Stay tuned!

threestooges

Nice work Dustin. I think that's one of the most realistic Chicago-type (for lack of a better word... El Rail over street always makes me think of it) I've seen. The BAT selection is great, and everything just fits. Not sure what you secret is for it, but it's working.
-Matt

Haljackey

Wow awesome job with that teaser pic Dustin!  The el-rail over road looks excellent, and you've definitely created a low-income scene.  Nice photoshopping effects too, its interested to see SC4 on an angle we don't see in-game!

Best,
-Haljackey

metasmurf

God job on the rowhouse development. I've never been to the states but if I would imagine parts of new york some of them would definetly look like that pic.

rooker1

Dustin,

Great picture.  I really jope we can see more of this area.  Especially, more of the el rail and how it goes through the city and maybe even where it ends and begins.  ;)
Congrats to AJ on your little contest.  &apls

Robin  :thumbsup:
Call me Robin, please.

metarvo

You certainly have a way with urban areas, Dustin.  I don't see the El-rail over Road used very often in MDs, but it fits quite nicely here.  I must say that it is interesting to see your planning notes, and it seems like you have a talent in that department as well.  :thumbsup:
Find my power line BAT thread here.
Check out the Noro Cooperative.  What are you waiting for?  It even has electricity.
Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

bat

#639
Welcome to page 33!

Great new picture there! That's a nice part of your city! :thumbsup: