Evergem, The Netherlands

[Serkanner]

Great use of landscape! That village looks like it has been picked straight out of a history book ... many kudo's for representing the "Batavieren" for the very first time in SC4 

[sebes]

Allemaggies Capo - that is a very nice history of The Low Lands! 

And your very well made pictures give the story just that touch that makes sure I will come back again to check the development of that godforsaken corner of the ancient world 

[capo]

Replies:

I am very curious what forced these people to come to the North Sea shore and live there, trying to protect themselves against storms and other hard conditions?

Ennedi: Thanks again for your kind words! The reason that people wanted to live at such a horrible place is the same reason your Polish ancestors built settlements near rivers: the abundance of food....and probably the Dutch stubbornness has something to do with it as well

douwe: I don't think there's a more typical Frisian name as Douwe Thanks for your visit, I'm really happy to be able to please people abroad with small parts of Dutch history..especially when they have Dutch roots like you! The village you are seeing is actually a Frisian village!

tooheys: Thanks for your kind words. The tracks you are seeing are actually Deadwoods his forest lots without bases. Some lots have indeed been edited in the LE, a keen eye you have!

bat: Thanks for your visit and compliment. It's much appreciated.

Serkanner: Thanks for that big compliment! We have a confusing history as a country, if I make any mistakes...please don't hesitate to let me know!

sebes: Thanks for the compliments and your visit. You I would like to ask the same, if I screw up..please let me know! You are always welcome at the MD of this 'godforsaken' part of the world






Small update: Part 2.5
The list of mods will be added with the next full update.

The year is 500 A.D. The Roman empire has fallen apart. About 25 years ago the Germanic leader Odoacer defeated Romulus Augustus, the last (west) Roman emporer...this is the end of an era ...and the starting of a new one. Even though the absence of Roman influence will mean a long period of stand-still for this area, big landscape-changing ideas to gain new land are already starting to arise in the mind of Biroud's only scientist: Jan-Hielke. You can see the earliest developments in this small update.

Even though Biroud has never actually been conquered by the Romans, still some influences of the Roman society leaked into this Germanic village as you can see above. We see some important buildings that are completely made of stone and some roads are no longer dirt but paved, also the first streetlights (lit each night) are found in this village. Most homes still are made of wood though and look pretty much the same. Also most of the roads remained dirt, unlike Roman cities, I think the people of Biroud really wanted to preserve some of their own culture so they denied many great (Roman) inventions. The (now ended) war between the Frisians and Romans did drop a mark on this settlement's looks. You can still see a lot of observation towers and the only road heading into Biroud is well guarded with ranger stations, this way the farms outside this village are also semi-protected and the town can see danger coming from a long way.


The most defining thing is the presence of this small Christian church. Biroud is the only Frisian settlement that allowed the christians to build a church in that time. Another fine example of the peacefulness and tolerance of this small community!  (note: I just noticed 2 cars in the picture, I thought I removed them all...sorry, please ignore them if you can)


Here you see raised reinforced land at the shoreline, this was Jan-Hielke's idea and is generally considered to be the first dike (or levee before some of you Americans start to laugh ). Even though the first serious dikes are dated 6 to 700 years later, this is where sea management really started! Right here in Biroud history is being written! In the centre you can still see the old terp where Biroud is rebuilt on.

The dike offers a good protection against attacks from boats and also protects the village against their eternal natural enemy: the sea. The farms (wich you can see in the pic above at the back) must be abandoned during big storms and the farmers will flee towards higher ground, so every now and then a harvest does get lost...fortunately the fishing community has developed well so periods of famine are very scarce these days.

The path from the fishing port towards the village is the village it's soft spot for an attack, so many big battles have been fought there..it's a place thought to be haunted and no man is seen there walking after dark...

A view of the village and the farms. As you can see, the shape of the island changed dramaticly. This is because of natural erosion and the digging up with lots of sand/dirt to elevate their village with:


until the next update!

thanks for your time, I hope you enjoyed

[bat]

Wonderful developed island there! Looks really great!

[rooker1]

Very interesting idea and update.  The pictures were very fitting to your little story.



Robin   

[nedalezz]

I agree with Robin's comments above. The pictures fit very well, and you have designed your villages in a wonderful way.

[kwakelaar]

Very well done, and interesting take on a MD.

[Pat]

Capo wow wonderful updates here.... I love the island/cove shot that is sweet the coloring on it...

[jmyers2043]

Hello Capo.

The last picture, and aerial view, with the islands, village, and farms is very good. Creative to say the least. I learn so much by looking at the various MD's and it helps my game play.

[tooheys]

Capo, I like this a lot   A difficult area to develop and you have done really well, something different, something that catches the eye.

Nice work, looking forward to more.

Cheers Dave

[sebes]

O man Capo, the picture of the village-island and surrounding fields is gorgeous. I wish now that they never invented the polder: the country would have so much more gezellig without them!  But on the other hand, imagine the traffic jams on the on the connecting bridges...

Looking forward to your next update and some more Frisian-Dutch history.

[Mulefisk]

I love it! 

Your terraforming is excellent.

[tkirch]

Capo,

I love that small village.  Excellent.  I like the way it just fits so perfectly in there.  This is what I love about SimCity the small towns and villages.  The skyscraper cities just don't have that little something extra that you get in a small village.  It is so neat to see th edetail in these small custom bats.  I have all of pegs stuff too and just finding the right spot for a mtp village like this can be a challenge but you made it perfect.  Great job!!

[Khiyana]

Wow, this is an amazing MD:
You teach us a very interesting history and show us great pictures!
I hope you'll nevr get tired 

[Serkanner]

A great update and a pleasure to read.   

History wise I am not sure I should correct you, but you perhaps me  ... I assumed the story would be about the Batavieren, but of course it can also be the Friezen.

I am looking forward to the next instalment of this very interesting diary.

[capo]

I'm sorry I haven't been around much, some big RL issues are ruining my gameplay-time and my time here at SC4D. I hope that I can bring you a new update, and replies to all great comments posted here, this weekend!

(or early next week)

[jayo]

Wow-nice and rural,LOL 

[threestooges]

Splendid update. I'm surprised this is my first time reading this. The history is well done, and you have a great control of the slopes (I can only imagine how long it must have taken to get them just right). I've seen a number of attempts to make old towns, and yours is one of the best examples I have seen. Even more impressive is that you chose to do it on islands. Well done, take care of whatever rl issues you may have, I certainly will be willing to wait.

[paroch]

Hi Capo,

Wow - Two fantastic updates. Your MD is certainly original, I am amazed at what you've acieved in terms of ancient history.  Really great pics, I love the last one with the overview of the island.

I'm looking forward to seeing this one develop.

Take care,

Paul

[Schulmanator]

You have some outstanding spaces developing here!