So, being that I'm now part of the newly created alliance called the United Sim Nations (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=16586.0), I thought it's about time I start a MD of my own. Although I only have one region right now, I'm have ideas for several others in my mind, and they'd all be part of the same nation, which is called the United States of Simerica. It's my fictional country and doesn't really resemble the real United States at all, except that it has the same sort of road numbering system, but all the mileposts and exit numbers are in kilometers, not miles. Metric system FTW! Here's the flag: (very original, huh?)
1.1
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So I've been playing SimCity 4 since around 2005 and never really mastered the game. I could never make money and my cities would go broke as a result and I don't know how many times I'd end up obliterating them and starting over. I lost interest in SC4 as a result and stopped playing 2 1/2 years ago. I re-installed it on my laptop this past February and with the help of one of Dwyrin's YouTube videos, I've been making money ever since. I got into custom content shortly thereafter with the RTMT and NAM being my first downloads ever, and began experimenting with the RHW, NWM and other NAM components.
I quickly found that the default Maxis "Timbuktu" region was completely unsuitable for doing anything with the RHW because of the steep slopes in many places and the fact that it didn't have any large city tiles. So I ditched it and downloaded the Lamont region (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/29280-lamont/) off of the STEX mainly because it was a lot flatter but still had mountains which would be a lot of fun to build scenic highways through. I added some smaller rivers to it and plan to add a few more hills as well. Here's how the region looks as of July 21st, 2014:
1.2
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The biggest city is smack-dab in the middle, and it's called Twin Forks because it's where the two forks of the river meet. To the north at the foot of a mountain range called Peyton Mts. is a suburban area called Mountain View. The currently lonely town at the northeast corner of the map is called Lamont and I plan to make that into another big city and the capital of Simerica. It will also have a big port as well.
I'm really into creating freeways since I'm a big roadgeek and aspiring highway engineer, so interchanges, roads, and maps will be a big part of this CJ. Yeah, there's going to be other stuff too...maybe. :)
I'll start off with some assorted shots from around the region. First, we have a scenic Fall shot of Interstate 5 snaking through the Peyton Mountains. Click to view these images at full resolution.
1.3
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The next few pictures show parts of my biggest city, Twin Forks. This is the CBD currently (still can't seem to get skyscrapers to grow yet):
1.4
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The intersection at the north end of the arch bridge leading into downtown is the most congested in the city. Accidents happen regularly because of the amount of congestion. Even building another bridge into downtown (the diagonal one) hasn't done much to reduce traffic at this intersection, so plans are being drawn up to build a partial interchange here.
1.5
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One of I-5's interchanges downtown. You can see the NAM Engineering's offices in the roundabout, where highway engineers are coming up with plans for an interchange at the north end of the blue arch bridge.
1.6
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This is a residential area in the east part of Twin Forks near the industrial area. The Crosstown Expressway is seen in this picture which runs from I-5 through the CBD and across a bridge to the industrial area. Most of it is elevated, but here it turns into more of a parkway as it runs through this residential area.
1.7
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In the northern part of Twin Forks is the residential area, ranging from highrise apartment buildings to single family homes:
1.8
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1.9
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1.10
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1.11
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The railroad serves as a dividing line between the old and new suburbs. The grid ends on the north side of the tracks.
1.12
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I-5 goes across the river on two concrete arch bridges with a total of ten lanes to carry people to and from their jobs in the CBD:
1.13
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This is a mosaic of the freeway from the bridge north:
1.14
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And another mosaic of the interchange between I-5 (running top to bottom) and the I-20 East-West Corridor, which runs through many of the USN's member regions:
1.15
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Further east on I-20, you'll find this interchange as I-20 turns north when it meets another freeway that goes around the east side of Twin Forks: (area has been developed since this picture was taken)
1.16
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That's it for now. I hope you guys enjoy my MD, and I'd appreciate your comments and suggestions. Thanks!
WOW! ;D Welcome to the MD world! This MD looks like it's going to be really good! I'm sorry to ask but, where did you get the diagonal bridge? I have never seen one EVER. Anyway, great MD! I'll be looking out for this one! ;)
Nice start, good use of various NAM components. Looking forward to more! :thumbsup:
You've made a nice start to your MD, compdude787. That's a clever flag you have there, and an interesting region map. I envy you your ability to use the new NAM so successfully, but I suggest you try and get some traffic on the highways and byways to make your photos really pop. Also, I suggest you number your photos. The numbers make it so much easier to comment on individual shots.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work.
-Joan
Nice start. Your anti-grids are really inspiring. :thumbsup:
So welcome back to Simerica. Here's another update from me. But first, the obligatory replies.
Replies
ﾕﾐーちゃん: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying this MD so far. The diagonal bridge was created using the Diagonal Bridge Enabler (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/26795-diagonal-bridge-enabler-removes-water/).
vortext: Thanks! It was quite a learning curve for me to get this good at using the NAM and particularly the RHW. I still had to rage-quit SC4 after an hour of frustration trying to build both of those big RHW interchanges, so it took me several days to finish them.
Jmouse: Thanks! I'm happy to be getting better with the NAM and RHW; it's a big learning curve, that's for sure. I appreciate your suggestions. I've numbered my photos this time and edited my first post to add numbers to the pictures. I've also increased the "number of cars/sims" setting to high, so hopefully you'll see more cars on the roads this time. However, some freeways still lead to undeveloped areas, so you won't see cars on them anyway, and I think I took a few of these pictures before changing the "# of Cars/Sims" setting.
jmsepe: Glad you like the grid-breaking. I like it too! It's so much more satisfying to create suburbs with the NAM. Grids look nice, too, since they convey the feeling of an older area, but grids can't and shouldn't be everywhere.
Update 2: More views of Twin Forks and Lynden
Okay, now onto the second update. This is just going to be more of a showcase of pictures from Twin Forks again as well as from the neighboring city to the northeast, Lynden. Sorry, no interchanges this time. :( I've built some, but they don't have lights, signage, or development around them yet. Their completion will probably warrant another update pretty soon.
First off, I'll just show you some more shots from Twin Forks. This one shows some riverfront properties and a road going along the riverbank. I like building roads that go along the riverside.
2.1
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Here's another shot of the CBD of Twin Forks. Yeah, I know, those are such tall buildings--NOT! I guess I need a higher regional population. But anyway, the Crosstown Expressway runs across this picture, connecting the CBD with the industrial area on the other side of that arch bridge (you can tell I really like arch bridges :D ).
2.2
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If you look on the left side of the picture, you can see part of the interchange between the Crosstown Expressway and I-5. It sucks right now; I plan to partially reconstruct it soon, and I'll give it an extreme makeover once NAM 33 comes out and I'll have more elevated ramp pieces to use.
Okay on to the next picture. You can see more of that beautiful arch bridge across the river, :D as well as part of the industrial area. I know that the Maxis seaport is probably making you guys cringe, but it's just temporary. In the future, freight from the industrial area will be taken by rail and truck to the real seaport located in the coastal city of Lamont, which will be built soon.
2.3
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The shot below is of the same spot as Image 1.9 in the last update. In an effort to spruce up this area of town, a developer has recently torn down several of those dumpy highrise apartments and built some nicer condos in their place. With the increase of well-paying jobs in the city, many of the residents of those old buildings had the money to move into the new condos or into other houses, so ultimately those people are now better off than they were before. :) People here also enjoy the short commute into downtown, another one of the perks of living here.
2.4
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With that, I leave you with a parting shot of Twin Forks, a view of the entire city. It's far from finished as you can tell, but it's getting there.
2.5
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Okay, now we move onto Lynden, which is located to the northeast of Twin Forks. Here you can see lots of moving trucks full of all the stuff that Sims have for their newly-built homes here.
2.6
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So this is what happens when you zone a whole bunch of 1x1 residential zones: you get nothing but repetition in the form of bungalows and trees placed in the exact same spot on every lot. I think I need to find some more 1x1 residential lots; if anybody has any suggestions for something to download, I'd appreciate it. (couldn't find anything with a quick search of the STEX)
2.7
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fr3q9jcG.jpg&hash=6d3bf4b03e24db6a316c9f98337074623e7f07e2)
Zoom out showing more of that neighborhood:
2.8
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A residential area on the other side of the freeway. People here really like swimming pools, it seems.
2.9
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And now, here's a bridge along this yet to be numbered freeway. I'm not a big fan of cable-stayed bridges IRL, but I gotta admit that this one in the NAM just looks awesome. The touch of elegance on its towers really goes a long way in making it look nice.
2.10
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The elegant cable-stayed bridge really fits in nicely with the equally elegant arch bridge just downstream:
2.11
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Notice something cool I did here with this bridge? Yup, I put an avenue under it. Wha--how do you do that?! :O Well, out of the kindness of my heart, I will tell you. I downloaded the Under bridge Lots off of a Japanese website, http://klex.blog85.fc2.com/ (http://klex.blog85.fc2.com/). Use Google Translate to read it unless you're familiar with Japanese; there's several other things here that this guy has made that might interest you.
These under bridge lots are overhanging lots for transportation networks and they convert it to subway to allow commuters to go under the bridge, so it's actually functional and not just eye-candy. This really adds to realism since I can think of so many examples of real-life bridges of significant length and height where roads go under the bridge. I can't think of many bridges where this isn't the case.
I hope you enjoyed this second update, and I'd appreciate your comments and suggestions.
Hugging the coastline (2.1) reminds me of my own building style. Is your CBD (2.5) mostly C**? or is some of it residential? I tend to put mid-rise apartments near the waterfront hoping to increase demand, but I don't know if it helps or not. I like your neighborhoods (2.8-2.9). Once again, I tend to leave more space for trees, and often obscure the view too much, but I'm in the throes of relearning how to play the game and finding a style all my own.
Nice update. I like it.
-Joan
I like what I see! Your cities are quite simple, but nice to look at; they harken back to the earlier days of Sim City and really bring forth a nostalgic vibe in the way they are built. &apls
Very NICE update CompDude! Totally USN Quality! Looking forward to seeing some of your regional scenes featured in the USN Group Diary! PM me later!
Once again, hello and welcome back to Simerica. It's been a little longer than I'd hoped between updates, but I went on vacation for a week in mid-August and again on Labor Day weekend so I didn't get much chance to play SC4. Now that I've finally got some time, I'll post my update. First, let's do the replies:
Replies:
Joan (Jmouse): Glad you like my building style, and interesting to see that it is similar to yours. I actually tried zoning high-density residential in my CBD and it worked okay, but took a while to grow. (I guess that's to be expected; for me, new residential zones always take forever to grow) It didn't really increase demand for tall buildings though, but I think I'll keep doing it anyway since it's pretty realistic to have apartment buildings right in a downtown area.
Bipin: Thanks! I gotta point out that I don't think my use of the RHW, the NWM, and TuLEPs hearkens back to SC4's early days, because many of the features I use didn't exist back then. :) However, Twin Forks was a city I built at a time when I didn't have much custom content yet, so many of the buildings are mostly Maxis buildings. (and I still don't have many highrise BATs yet) Likewise, the techniques I used to build it were pretty characteristic of that of a new player.
SimRico: Glad to hear that it is up to USN's stringent quality standards! :D
Update 3: A tour through small towns and farms
So this update will show off all the farm towns that I have in my region so far. I currently have three of them and they don't take that long to complete. They are medium tiles, so there's that too.
But anyway, let's take a tour of these three cities. We start out from Twin Forks and head north on I-5 to Mountain View, which is a suburb of Twin Forks and you'll see it in a later update. Next, we begin to climb the Peyton Mountains and marvel at the beautiful scenery that you can see from I-5.
3.1
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After we get over the Peyton Mountain summit (elevation 279.1m, 915 feet, according to TerrainQuery) we now descend towards the town of Sleepy Hollow. Whoa, looks like the season just changed back to summer from fall! :o
3.2
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So we get off at the exit and take a right to head into the town booming metropolis of Sleepy Hollow, population 1,636.
3.3
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3.4
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3.5
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Okay, that's it for Sleepy Hollow. Let's move on to the town to the north, called Farmville (best name ever! ()stsfd() ). First, here's a picture of a typical farm near Farmville:
3.6
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Here's the interchange that we pass by on the road between Sleepy Hollow and Farmville. This road that we're on used to be the main highway from Twin Forks before the freeway was built in the 60s.
3.7
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Here's an overview of the town Farmville, population 3,124. The mayor told me to tell you guys that this town borders another larger city to the north with a population of between 25 and 50K but I don't know what he's talking about. ()what() I guess that town hasn't been built yet. (shh, says the mayor, you weren't supposed to say that)
3.8
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Downtown Farmville:
3.9
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Last, but not least, here's an overview shot of Farmville:
3.10
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Okay, now the last town on our itinerary is Wayne's Ferry, so named because this is where a ferry crosses the river. Run by the Wayne Ferry Company and subsidized by the county, it was originally started by Joseph Wayne many years ago, and the ferry business continues to be owned and operated by the Wayne family to this day.
After taking I-5 south back to Sleepy hollow, we take a right and go west on the road to Wayne's Ferry. So, welcome to the town of Wayne's Ferry.
3.11
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Like many of these towns, Wayne's Ferry gets much of its power from the sun's rays. Speaking of which, looks like the sun's out, because now you can see shadows on the ground. (or maybe the mayor just turned on the shadows on his computer, but don't tell anyone else I said that)
3.12
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Let's drive down to the ferry dock and take a ride on the ferry.
3.13
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3.14
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3.15
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Here's what you can see on the west side of the river:
3.16
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3.17
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fg3b4d9T.jpg&hash=3caaf1d66606a23d5552dc393a81d2b30160450e)
3.18 (whoa, the seasons just changed again!)
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Now, if we go back across the ferry, and south of town, this is what you'll see:
3.19
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3.20
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Whew, that was quite the tour. I hope you all had fun and enjoyed the tour and I'll see you soon. Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks!
-Compdude
Wow! Love the update! Acrually the last two are excellent! Looks like weather's changing early up in the Peyton Mtns! Might be a rough winter brewing. Will have to pass the word along to folks back home to stock up on sand gravel and get those tire chains out , that I-5 route to I-20 interchange always ice-over and no other way in or out of town!
Farmville, Simerica is one of the major cities we go to when purchasing cars at "Knoff's Auto Sales". Sending mechanics from "16Minute Man Specialty Cars" to town to strike up a deal on two of those antiques we were interested in during my last visit!
Nice farming communities! :thumbsup:
Awesome work &apls &apls I really like all the smooth curves and fractional angles used and the way the lots around them fit so nicely. And I'm loving the mountain highway and your RHW interchange work :thumbsup:
Great city Compdude! Great work with the RHW, you're a natural! I love how you have complete disregard to the cities grid with those smooth curves, diagonals and far neighbourhoods. Keep it up, looks great!
Nice rural area. I love the smooth RHW interchange.
Nice idea to use the avenue to connect the ferry terminal. It's a custom LOT though? I don't remember the road connection being made with avenue...
Hello, and welcome back to Simerica. First let's start out with replies to all you wonderful people:
SimRico: Well, the Peyton Mountain summit isn't that high--as I said in the last update, it's only about 900 feet above sea level--so it is perfectly fine during the winter. And the weirdness with the seasons was because I came up with the "tour" idea as I was posting the last update, after I'd already uploaded all the pics. I should have made sure that the seasons were consistent in all my city tiles and photos.
But anyway, thanks for the comment and glad you like my updates!
Erik (Vortext): Thanks, I think they're pretty nice, too! When it comes to farms, it's amazing what some SPAM can do. :D
Noah: When I saw that you'd posted here on my MD, I was like "Ooh, I've gotten the attention of one of the RHW masters! ()stsfd()" I really like Siilijoki too and I've used it and NORO, as sources of much inspiration. Also, Maarten's videos of him building suburbs in NORO have been really neat to see too, and have really influenced the way that I build my suburbs. And there's also something else in his videos that influenced something I did in this update. Hmm, what could it be?
Selles: Thanks! You're right in that I'm getting to be a natural with the RHW (not without the frustration that is standard operating procedure). I'm getting to the point where I constantly feel that I'm pushing the limits of the mod, since it seems like I'm always trying to do something that's never been done before. ("What? there's no puzzle pieces for that, either?!?!") Trying to break the grid with RHW is particularly hard, especially considering that RHW-6S is the widest RHW that has diagonal ramp interfaces. In spite of that, I always like to kill the grid because it makes my freeways look more realistic and organic.
Arthur: Thanks! Having a ferry terminal transit-enabled for an avenue does make a lot more sense than two roads coming out. Fixing this was on my SC4 modding bucket list, until I went on the STEX one day and discovered that someone else beat me to it. (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/29800-ferry-terminal-transit-enabled-for-avenues/)
And now...drumroll please.....
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgIdj5PT.png&hash=8b3a225e81934f3db0f19dda93febb7d247c0e68)
Update 4: "Bridges" inspired by Noroway...
So some of Simerica's highway engineers recently took a trip to the city of Noroway, aka the NORO Cooperative (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?board=439.0), that is currently being built on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The engineers and mayors of NORO Cooperative are highly respected throughout the SimWorld because of their amount of talent they possess at creating good-looking cities and amazing transportation networks. So, as one might expect, our engineers were really impressed with what they saw, especially the bridges over small bodies of water, and they just had to incorporate that in Simerica, using the same cutting-edge techniques that are used in Noroway.
Here is the end result. Just a few pictures, but as they say, it's quality over quantity that matters...
4.1
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fa6BwHdF.jpg&hash=29d4eb105412c1404e43b975144c14a90add73d8)
4.2
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5KgLn93.png&hash=957ea0499e0461304fe85ef6ed7630628f8642a0)
4.3
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7Lsonwr.jpg&hash=054363a2203f0ce360694e14ebd5345315484e73)
Of course, all the roadgeeks in Simerica and a few other people in the news media were impressed with these bridges, with the Twin Forks Tribune calling them "an engineering marvel of efficiency and simplicity." Everyone wanted to know how this was done. Eventually the engineers reluctantly produced a link to a YouTube video showing how this was done in Noroway, courtesy of a Norowegian engineering and construction company called MandelSoft Engineering and Construction. You can view the video here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNM5cDXCeYc&list=UUZSvx_PQWuTVyu6fChJ3Hxw) and sit back and relax as you watch a recording of the bridges being built in real time. ;D
And before I leave you, here's one more shot of the river flowing through the delta, just maybe a hundred meters downstream from those bridges. Those kayakers are paddling up to those new bridges to check them out:
4.4
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F04PglxU.jpg&hash=8940a2328f0deda19f4cacde78060d6f1d3c96d5)
I haven't done much city development; mainly I've been building a freeway to connect Twin Forks with the soon-to-be-city of Lamont on the coast. This is also the first week of classes at my college (Fall Qtr just started this past Monday), so now I'm going to be spending a lot of my time at school and studying, and less time playing SC4. ()sad() I'll try not to totally let this MD languish though....
Well, that concludes this update. Hope you enjoyed, your comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
WOW! Who said regions in the USN arent remarkable!?! CompDude, this is EXCELLENT! I can learn a lot from you and T-Buff! I like the flow of the terrain under the freeways and of course the roadways themselves are a work of art!
I love that last pic where the guy is fishing at the edge of the lake (betcha didnt think i saw that) and the canoes! Are those lilypads on the water? What water mod are you using. i like it!
TEN THUMBS UP!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: &apls
This is really outstanding man &apls I don't mean to sound pretentious saying this, but I don't think the similar bridges we made in Noroway look any better than yours here. Really, really nice man. Thanks for the compliments about NORO and Siilijoki, btw, much appreciated :)
I would suggest you turn off the wave effect when showing rivers, creeks, and small bodies of water. And if your engineers were going for 100% points they could alter their slope mod for pic 3 to use the whole area between the underpass and creek to take advantage of the whole area available for a gradual horizontal slope.
Looking forward to what's next if RL doesn't get the best of you ;)
So, after two months, it's about time I update this MD. Haven't made a whole ton of progress, but I have done some work with the industrial area in Twin Forks that I want to show you. First, let's do replies:
SimRico: Thanks, I really appreciate the ten thumbs up! :D And yes, those are lilypads on the water. And the water mod I'm using is the PEG Brigantine Water Mod (http://www.simpeg.com/forum/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=48).
Noahclem: Thanks for the comments, and I really appreciate the Karma point! Good suggestions, I've turned off the wave effect, and I've smoothed out the slope a bit on that incline. Hopefully it'll look better now. I really have drawn a lot of inspiration from NORO, and Maarten's videos from NORO really influenced how I build suburbs and awesome RHW interchanges. And Siilijoki is just amazing and having read thru your entire MD, I gotta say that this photo (http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy77/noahclem/comp1.jpg) is one of the best shots I've ever seen in SC4. Not only is the RHW just so impressive, but the fact that this is two city tiles, and it's very hard to tell where the boundary is between the two city tiles.
And now...
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgIdj5PT.png&hash=8b3a225e81934f3db0f19dda93febb7d247c0e68)
Update 5: Twin Forks' Industrial Area
So, in this update, I'll be showing off the work I've done with the industrial area in my main city Twin Forks. I've been expanding it lately to provide extra jobs and have added fillers everywhere.
But before I show you that, I'm going to show you a new, more current, region view. Though I haven't posted a region view since I started this MD in July, there's not a whole lot of progress because 1) I have a life :o and 2) I've been working on the RHW between Twin Forks and Lamont rather than city development. Regardless, I've zoned everywhere on the north half of Twin Forks, so that tile is getting closer to being completely developed.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fk0rzbsx.jpg&hash=dbed4a8af9d30ab8205c56ea284b18169990d8cd)
And here's the transport view:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FnNNrkb4.jpg&hash=3e3711a73988612ecdbff8373f0533996a1128f1)
(I know that you guys don't like PNG images, but hey, no compression, right?)
Anyway, now here's the industrial area. We start off at the north end where the railway line splits in two, with the branch to the left leading NW, across the river, and up around to the residential area. The one towards the NE follows the river downstream to Lamont.
5.1
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FeFIAZT7.jpg&hash=c391b606206759a508d368df9f9a1b798e117e8b)
As we move south along the rail line (4 tracks here now), we have an overpass over the railroad. It was built in 2007 after increasing delays and backups for car traffic on the former at-grade railroad crossing, as well as those dumb sims who were trying to make it across before the train came, but failed to do so, killing or seriously injuring themselves in the process.
5.2
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FPDavvlr.jpg&hash=218bab9618ff781a0dc81c4a70cca0ec42630cac)
Now, here's the freight railyard in the industrial area:
5.3
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fl4Qlokm.jpg&hash=3e471da18a59eda3c71eaae1e0b9253298e3ad2e)
Here, we've moved west towards the river, and here you can see the water treatment plant as well as a bunch of warehouses:
5.4
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fyx7Kwbw.jpg&hash=412587e0b21bd7a2b069a669559e43a5221cbf5e)
Riverfront property! Great views...from the warehouse: :D
5.5
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F9g0ErYc.jpg&hash=4bd84dfb9762cc873fd098caa36a002829ac0fe4)
Moving south, you can see the seaport (eventually will be replaced when I build the seaport in Lamont, which will happen I don't know when), more industry, and the waste incinerator:
5.6
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5gcWw4S.jpg&hash=ed13d03b39a2b23d77108a343934090407fdc5f6)
Now, here's a mosaic of the elevated Crosstown Expressway which runs thru the industrial area, and connects to the residential area on the east side of the city tile:
5.7 (click to view at full size)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FKT54wVk.jpg&hash=49d60ff0bc3a224f6fb514a4379c401eb8156d32)
Here's where the industrial area transitions to residential with a strip of commercial in between. My commercial demand is way negative, so that explains all the abandoned buildings:
5.8
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaphnWPc.jpg&hash=2a9c306d05dc347da4ce1c7eb6377e6c2b602d0a)
Finally, to put it all in perspective, here's an overview shot of the entire industrial area. I'm still planning on building more industry in the empty spot in the south. (not yet sure about the empty spot at top-right)
5.9
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FfzLT5GO.jpg&hash=f6a7ff8ea22a4122eb803c20a82b752016aaca4e)
That's all for now, and I hope you enjoyed this long-overdue update to my MD. Any comments and suggestions are appreciated!
Nice region you're working on! The pictures are great too, though maybe next time turn on the shadows, it makes the place come to life more imho. The residential area is well done with all the curvy streets! And yay, industrial fillers! ;D
Keep at it! :thumbsup:
Good job, I like the farms and those industrial estates.
Nice. :thumbsup: I like the curvy residential areas, and the gated parking area near the trainyards.
Great update again &apls Great railways and nice use of industrial fillers to achieve a realistic-looking layout. If you're having commercial demand trouble you might consider installing CAM (which I recommend everyone do). I'd also suggest switching your water mod to the redone HD version of Brigantine (I can track down a link later if you need it but it should be pretty easy to find on the STEX).
Hello everyone. So, it's been exactly 11 months since I last updated this MD and you're probably wondering what happened. I'll explain in a second, but let's get to the replies first:
Quote from: vortext on November 23, 2014, 09:14:25 AM
Nice region you're working on! The pictures are great too, though maybe next time turn on the shadows, it makes the place come to life more imho. The residential area is well done with all the curvy streets! And yay, industrial fillers! ;D
Keep at it! :thumbsup:
Yeah, I tend to forget about the shadows. I have them turned off because of the adverse effect on game performance, and once again, I forgot to turn them on for this update! However, I just put a post-it note above my screen with a reminder to turn them on while taking screenshots.
Quote from: Vizoria on November 27, 2014, 03:49:53 PM
Good job, I like the farms and those industrial estates.
Thanks!
Quote from: c.p. on November 27, 2014, 06:29:44 PM
Nice. :thumbsup: I like the curvy residential areas, and the gated parking area near the trainyards.
Thanks!
Quote from: noahclem on December 01, 2014, 07:58:41 AM
Great update again &apls Great railways and nice use of industrial fillers to achieve a realistic-looking layout. If you're having commercial demand trouble you might consider installing CAM (which I recommend everyone do). I'd also suggest switching your water mod to the redone HD version of Brigantine (I can track down a link later if you need it but it should be pretty easy to find on the STEX).
Thanks! If the SPAM was compatible with CAM, I'd install it, but since I'm already using SPAM and don't want to get rid of it, I can't really install CAM. I think I need more neighboring cities around Twin Forks in order to really get my commercial area to start growing. Hopefully that will solve my problem. As for the HD version of the Brigantine water mod, I actually tried it and didn't like how you could obviously see a pattern from tile to tile. I couldn't stand it. I've ended up switching to the Loch Lomond water mod which you guys use in NORO; it looks a lot better IMO.
Alright, here's the update:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgIdj5PT.png&hash=8b3a225e81934f3db0f19dda93febb7d247c0e68)
Update 6: New interchanges in Twin Forks and what I've done this past yearSo, you're probably wondering what I've done all this time. Besides school, my interest in SC4 waned a bit; I think it took a new version of NAM to get me back into playing SC4 some more. I can totally understand how important new NAM releases are in keeping SC4 alive.
There have been many things I've done over the past while in SC4. During December, I participated in the month-long interchange challenge here on ST. I didn't enter an interchange though because I wasn't able to get my city built in time. I also switched over to the Sudden Valley Terrain Mod and the Loch Lomond water mod, both used in NORO. (I don't have any affiliation with NORO; I just like that region and especially like the mods they use) I think that both look better than what I had before.
Also, around the same time, I started a new region called Cardwell. I intended it to be a natural-growth region. Here's what it looks like so far:
6.1(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F0c7ZcHE.jpg&hash=b43d23da2ba11098c4ec0d94fd0c38e6884e673b)
I haven't done much with it because I still want to do stuff with the RHW and this region is not to a point where I can build any freeways yet. So, I've kept working on my other region, Lamont. Here's what it looks like right now: (click to enlarge so that you can see the city names)
6.2(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FUc882Qf.jpg&hash=fb6aa795bc4d6728a7612af89526e7f48b5b7ef2)
And here's the transport map:
6.3(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FLulVUjl.jpg&hash=e298d329a83ee5c012eb6908adf19c40aa895b4b)
In June, I did some work to fix the most congested and accident-prone intersection in the city of Twin Forks, this one:
6.4(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5bdhxaT.jpg&hash=6ac88b8b9115befb9428e2ab5ab87d5ff257a858)
After much demolition of the area, it has been reconstructed as a partial interchange, which looks like this:
6.5(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FvwnW7BF.jpg&hash=41e9a5a155cc3df1d7aaab7522ab1282e80bb363)
Also, I redid a lot of the street grid to make it more cohesive. Previously it was comprised of streets that were automatically put in place when I dragged out a large area of zoning, something that I don't do anymore now that I'm a more experienced player. As a result, the streets didn't really fit together, but now they do. I also rezoned a lot of it from high density to medium density because I didn't want so many highrises there. Here's what the area looks like now:
6.6(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FNqVG77n.jpg&hash=fa3dab84d86f51fcbddb1f435efc374fa48073b7)
6.7(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fc9ErnD8.jpg&hash=01f76d4e4417389daa1d212810f8461a9e493147)
And finally, back in September, after the NAM 33 pre-release was available, I used the new features to reconstruct this horrible-looking interchange in my downtown area connecting I-5 to the Crosstown Expressway which leads to the industrial area shown in the previous update. Here is the "before" picture:
6.8(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FLSjQDcz.jpg&hash=a8acff0be0a6ddb938e205a11a377265c57d45d0)
And, after:
6.9(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7BgwnwR.jpg&hash=b381afb7122e049054415e6bedaa424e5fc4c010)
6.10(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FcmJsGQ4.jpg&hash=77d8f24445792b17c970fc60dd6efe84317abd81)
6.11(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FvzUW6pr.jpg&hash=fbb7bac67ee345f10d6d1a37ed271af600ef79cf)
You'll notice my first two Wren Insurance buildings in the image below. These will remain the
only two, because I will demolish all others. :P
6.12(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FuNFFRZL.jpg&hash=e9eb268a33571abed964feeec281c436a7298f99)
Downtown Twin Forks is the eastern terminus point for the western section of the Crosstown Expressway, signed as I-120 and US-50. The I-120 designation ends where the Project Symphony highway becomes an avenue as seen in the picture below, but the US-50 designation continues. After traversing surface streets, US-50 eventually meets up with the eastern half of the Crosstown Expressway The avenue represents a gap in the Crosstown Expressway and some roadgeeks regard it as a missing link in Twin Forks' freeway system, mainly because a huge amount of traffic simply gets dumped onto surface streets.
6.13(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fct4KPJj.jpg&hash=1c02ae370ab03c825937bae8d9bb40cbf9a97f3c)
Why is it like this, you ask? Well, kids, it's time for a very exciting, oh so fascinating history lesson: The eastern section of the Crosstown Expressway that goes on a viaduct over the industrial area was opened in 1947, making it the first modern freeway in the Lamont region. At that time, the expressway ended just west of the bridge and did not go on a viaduct through the CBD yet. The next phase of the project consisted of building the western half of the Crosstown Expressway, now I-120, and that opened in 1952. The Crosstown Expressway was extended further east past the industrial area as an at-grade parkway with traffic signals and that opened to traffic in 1954. However, the city needed voters to approve a new property tax increase to get more money to build the missing link of the Crosstown Expressway, as well as the Southwest Expressway that would connect to the Crosstown (this would run from the downtown area to the southwest, going over the hills and down to the lake located southwest of the city). Residents in the neighborhood that would be affected by those two new freeways formed a citizens' group that campaigned against these new freeways and led a successful effort to defeat this new property tax increase that was on the ballot in the 1952.
So, after this tax increase was defeated by voters, the mayor acknowledged the voice of the people and promised that no new freeways would be built in this part of Twin Forks and even claimed to have removed them from the city's freeway plan. But this was not so. Three years later, this mayor reneged on his promise to the citizens of Twin Forks. In 1955, Congress passed a bill that was soon signed by the Simerican president to fund Interstate highways in Simerica, and of course the Twin Forks city government was like "ooh,
federal aid! We can build these freeways now!" and announced that they would begin working with the Lamont DOT to acquire property and whatnot. But the residents of SW Twin Forks were upset by this broken promise by the mayor and protested at city hall. However, the mayor was stubborn and kept pushing forth with efforts to build these expressways. Residents of north Twin Forks were equally upset by the fact that the mayor was not interested in building a freeway to the north part of the city where roads were already more congested than those in the southwest part of town. So, in the 1956 election, that mayor was defeated by a new guy from the north part of town who won in a landslide by promising to build a north-south freeway through Twin Forks (now known as the Twin Forks Freeway, signed as I-5) and no new freeways in the southwest part of town.
The new mayor removed the Southwest Expressway as well as the unbuilt section of the Crosstown Expressway from the city's freeway plan, and put construction of the Twin Forks Freeway at top priority. Construction on this freeway began in 1958 and it was opened in 1960. A connection to the eastern half of the Crosstown Expressway opened in 1961, and the eastern half of the Crosstown Expressway was designated I-105 from I-5 to the eastern end of the elevated section of the Crosstown Expressway. It continues east as the US-50.
What about I-120? Where does that lead to? Well, you'll find out in the next update... (and you won't have to wait another 11 months for it--I promise! :) )
Great update &apls
Cardwell is looking beautiful fully rendered like that. After playing versions of that map for so many years I've ended up falling in love with it--I actually want to visit the RL site now, which is apparently a stunningly beautiful place (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinchinbrook_Island). Loch Lomond is an outstanding water mod, and I'd say a definite improvement over Brig 2.0. I've actually switched to using Xannepan's Poseidon mod but with my own coloration. Add this (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By6RG2miktERV093ZEh4LUlDcTA) to a place in your plugins that loads after Poseidon if you want to give it a try ;)
Both your natural growth approach to Cardwell and your renovation of old regions show an admirable patience I tend to lack :D You've done a great job both with the new grid and especially the new interchanges! I had a bit of trouble locating everything on regions views but was glad to have those overviews available.
Great to see you back!!
Hi everyone. I'm back with another update--this time, it's a video! But first, replies:
Quote from: noahclem on October 23, 2015, 05:43:59 AM
Great update &apls
Cardwell is looking beautiful fully rendered like that. After playing versions of that map for so many years I've ended up falling in love with it--I actually want to visit the RL site now, which is apparently a stunningly beautiful place (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinchinbrook_Island). Loch Lomond is an outstanding water mod, and I'd say a definite improvement over Brig 2.0. I've actually switched to using Xannepan's Poseidon mod but with my own coloration. Add this (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By6RG2miktERV093ZEh4LUlDcTA) to a place in your plugins that loads after Poseidon if you want to give it a try ;)
Both your natural growth approach to Cardwell and your renovation of old regions show an admirable patience I tend to lack :D You've done a great job both with the new grid and especially the new interchanges! I had a bit of trouble locating everything on regions views but was glad to have those overviews available.
Great to see you back!!
Thanks once again, Noah! I appreciate how much of an avid follower and commenter you've been on my MD! I still haven't tried out the Poseidon mod or that file you posted--gotta do that soon, I suppose. Hopefully, you'll have a better idea of where everything is after having seen this update.
And now...
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgIdj5PT.png&hash=8b3a225e81934f3db0f19dda93febb7d247c0e68)
Update 7: Something big is happening...Something big is happening near Twin Forks...something very big. Watch the video below to find out.
https://www.youtube.com/v/B21kyzct7Og
This video format will continue in the future, though I will try to make the videos be a bit shorter and will try to talk louder too. :P But I think this is going to be a great new format for my MD and will allow for more frequent updates in the future. It's going to be kind of like what Casper did in his MD, for those of you who have been around long enough to remember that. However, I will still try and post pictures every now and then when I have finished working on a project. All in all, I think this new format will allow for more frequent updates to my MD so you won't be waiting around so long for an update.
Don't have much to say, but pretty impressive work you got going on. 6.5 should be a great example so others understand how RHW, OWR and Ave can all go together.
I love videojournals :D &apls
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Simerica. At four days, this is the shortest gap between updates, which is quite nice if you ask me. ;D
Replies:Quote from: j-dub on December 11, 2015, 09:38:33 PM
Don't have much to say, but pretty impressive work you got going on. 6.5 should be a great example so others understand how RHW, OWR and Ave can all go together.
Thanks! I did not notice how great of an example that picture was of RHW, OWR, and Avenue coming together. But it could very well be another good entry into the Simtropolis challenge (that's why I'm making this crazy five way interchange, btw).
Quote from: Unconstantean on December 15, 2015, 01:10:34 PM
I love videojournals :D &apls
Thanks! Glad to hear it. :)
And now...
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgIdj5PT.png&hash=8b3a225e81934f3db0f19dda93febb7d247c0e68)
Update 8: Making Progress on the Five Way InterchangeSo, I am making a lot of progress on the Five Way Interchange. I forgot to mention here on this MD that I am doing this as part of the Simtropolis Monthly Challenge, which for this month is NAM Showcase (http://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/69486-nam-showcase-monthly-challenge-5). So yeah, you show off anything awesome you've done with the NAM and then everyone votes on the best picture.
First off, here is the design of the interchange sketched out on paper. This is very helpful as long as you know how much space you're working with as well as the RHW's limitations, and it is something that experienced RHW masters like Noah (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=16445) do with their interchanges.
8.1(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7jIABAl.jpg&hash=dbb5de228dfebb9fb676b1ed7e1fcdfe68d8c38c)
The actual design differs in some aspects from the planned design, which is to be expected. Here are some pictures of the progress I've made thus far:
8.2(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FzSgBqTH.jpg&hash=a17d91161ca0e9c268f811ecc2ea07d3c652adca)
Here's a closer view of the center part of the interchange:
8.3(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FwvxdKRu.jpg&hash=e575578365e0b4bae6b0c356e7cae0c344b91de8)
The tall (L3) overpass near the bottom of the image was one that I had particular troubles with getting over the freeway in the trench. The fact that L3 and L4 do not have good stability and require extra starters made this probably the most difficult part of this whole entire interchange.
And now, here's part 2 of the video series. This time, it is recorded on a better microphone so that you can more easily hear me and it is edited to remove parts where I either did nothing (I was thinking about how to proceed), or had to redo things I'd done previously (they weren't in the right place or the slopes got messed up). Enjoy! :popcorn:
https://www.youtube.com/v/sYhq_O9IJvg
I recorded Part 3 immediately after recording part 2, but have not had time to edit and upload it yet. I will update this MD as soon as I have uploaded it.
Hello, and Merry Christmas everyone! I know Christmas was yesterday, but I wasn't able to update my MD at all yesterday (too busy). So, better late than never.
Unfortunately, nobody commented on my previous update. Why? ()what() Thus, there are no replies, so let's move onto the update.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgIdj5PT.png&hash=8b3a225e81934f3db0f19dda93febb7d247c0e68)
Update 9: Merry Christmas!
Hello, everyone! As my Christmas gift to you all, here is Part 3 to my series of videos showing me building a five-way interchange. Enjoy! :popcorn:
https://www.youtube.com/v/EJpuMwSrusQ
I think that after one or two more parts, I will have this interchange done. I better do it soon before the end of the month, as I plan on entering it into this month's Simtropolis Challenge, which, as I mentioned previously, is the NAM Showcase (http://bit.ly/st-nam-showcase-info). Pretty self-explanatory; just show off what you have done with the components of the NAM. Anyway, once I finish this interchange, Update 10 is going to be a big update. Consider this to be a teaser.
Nice to see you're participating in the Simtrop challenge :thumbsup: And Good Continuation, as we say after Christmas here :)
Hello! Merry Christmas! Well, I need to ask for an excuse, because I lurked there two days ago...
I had no time to see the whole movie, but it's visible, that your highway work is a excellent! To manage such a complicated junction is indeed a hard task. I've never made such one. Bah, I guess, I've never seen such in real life (at least - in rural area...). Sometimes, when I looked ad google maps in the US, my jaw dropped when seeing some huge-sized intersections. In such place (in simcity), I would just make a roundabout, maybe with just few non-collision bypasses (ah, European guy :D)
And for good luck witj the challenge!
Regards!
Its looks promising from the way I watch your video there... good luck on your challenge and cant wait about the update 10 that you going to show! :)
also happy new year!
Hello everyone, welcome back to Simerica. It's been a year since I last posted an update here (well, not really, but you know what I mean). Today is going to be a big update. But first, let's do replies:
Replies:Quote from: Themistokles on December 27, 2015, 01:43:05 AM
Nice to see you're participating in the Simtrop challenge :thumbsup: And Good Continuation, as we say after Christmas here :)
Thanks!
Quote from: kbieniu7 on December 27, 2015, 01:42:47 PM
Hello! Merry Christmas! Well, I need to ask for an excuse, because I lurked there two days ago...
I had no time to see the whole movie, but it's visible, that your highway work is a excellent! To manage such a complicated junction is indeed a hard task. I've never made such one. Bah, I guess, I've never seen such in real life (at least - in rural area...). Sometimes, when I looked ad google maps in the US, my jaw dropped when seeing some huge-sized intersections. In such place (in simcity), I would just make a roundabout, maybe with just few non-collision bypasses (ah, European guy :D)
And for good luck witj the challenge!
Regards!
Thanks! Yeah, I know it's pretty big but as I said in my videos, it's at the very edge of an urban area, so having it be super big is justified. A roundabout would be completely overwhelmed in this case. But yeah, putting in a roundabout between two freeways is such a British thing to do. In their case the roundabouts have traffic signals. Really?! Why?!?! That defeats the purpose of a roundabout.
Quote from: Nanami on January 02, 2016, 01:34:05 AM
Its looks promising from the way I watch your video there... good luck on your challenge and cant wait about the update 10 that you going to show! :)
also happy new year!
Thanks, and Happy New Year to you too.
So, now....
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgIdj5PT.png&hash=8b3a225e81934f3db0f19dda93febb7d247c0e68)
Update 10: Five Way Interchange Complete!So, the Five-Way Interchange is now complete and open to traffic. Here is a video of the last stage of construction:
https://www.youtube.com/v/iDTOZUGqG4E
And here's a sped-up video of the entire construction process. It even includes some bonus, never before seen footage of ponds being built, as well as signs and lights being installed. Enjoy! :popcorn:
https://www.youtube.com/v/q-Ij95vINxs
Now, time to see some pictures...
This first image shows the very south end of the interchange. (south is down in all these images) This is the I-220, the southern beltway around Twin Forks. It goes south and then east to provide a convenient bypass for Sims who want to avoid traffic in the freeways close to downtown Twin Forks. (well, it will do this once built. I haven't built it yet, but I plan to do so soon). Enough talk, here's the picture:
10-1(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FusY1VAM.jpg&hash=63afe120a4a84641d1d04cc8631b23baab55e222)
This is the central part of the interchange. The L3 overpass at the bottom (the one with all the freight trucks on it) was the hardest to get to work, because L3 is not as stable as L1 and L2.
10-2(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FFZOGYw4.jpg&hash=94cc648d7e2b8794d4e20b4a9771b7e53a2f5bd5)
The west end of the interchange. I-20 continues to the west, heading away from civilization:
10-3(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fo7Nfmoy.jpg&hash=9b270b3368a51466243d5e4ab39396b433dcf16c)
This is the north end of the interchange. SR-220 continues north and becomes a divided highway with at-grade intersections and is heavily used by trucks to avoid the steep climb over the Peyton Mountains on I-5. It is technically an extension of I-220 but is not up to interstate standards so no interstate route number here.
10-4(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FBtEbbxB.jpg&hash=79d9aa3e3db07474a5480d506ce9a8fff69c2a30)
At the northeast corner of the interchange, we have I-20 continuing east towards the north end of Twin Forks:
10-5(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYYoYeSt.jpg&hash=0367fde465c83ea8d0b203078db8b0dc0e73c664)
Finally, at the southeast corner, I-120 starts as a spur route into downtown Twin Forks.
10-6(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGLm3DqZ.jpg&hash=82ca11a1b79954768102dd8bfdb570fe3a900504)
The interchange has lots of stuff in it. It has light towers all over the place...
10-7(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FllT8RNM.jpg&hash=017a9f6e96b7abaf777868dd96d11f196c551873)
...several ponds, big and small...
10-8(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FDcHwDqF.jpg&hash=02a2e0b6941bcf8a69d0a6c728e6b52294ee1a68)
10-9(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FG1HESPN.jpg&hash=bb0b51ed018fd26c2d60bcba556aaf6f31140744)
10-10(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYYoYeSt.jpg&hash=0367fde465c83ea8d0b203078db8b0dc0e73c664)
...and even a meadow on the southwest side for those sims who are daring enough to bushwack through the woods to get up to it. It provides a nice view of the valley, and more importantly, the interchange. :D
10-11(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5eyPh0R.jpg&hash=e4122fc08248440f5e0d95b53218e2bfc99de58f)
Here's an overview of this interchange:
10-12(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgDitpsW.jpg&hash=b8dcf9f721e851771eb790654957fa58f259d5e0)
Here's a little history behind this interchange. It was built in stages between 1962 and 1967, with the groundbreaking ceremony taking place on a rainy day on February 6th, 1962. The first phase of this interchange project was completed in 1964 with I-20 opened to the west of this interchange. I-220 and SR-220 opened at the same time; this was the first section of I-220 to be completed. Just one year later, I-120 was opened to the public, connecting with US-50 and the existing Crosstown Expressway a couple miles east in Carlson. And finally, on June 25th, 1967, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the completion of the interchange and the opening of I-20 east of the Five Way Interchange. The interchange was officially named the Charles Watson Memorial Interchange in memory of a former governor of the state of Lamont who had recently died. But nobody calls it that and it is instead commonly referred to as the Five Way Interchange.
The interchange recently received a major upgrade between 2010 and 2012, with many ramps being retrofitted with smoother curves and overpasses receiving seismic upgrades and other safety upgrades. This will prepare the interchange for another fifty years of service to millions of commuters, truckers, and travelers.
For those of you who stuck around to read all this, here's a little treat for you: a huge mosaic showing this wonderful marvel of complexity.
10-13(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F13IiMXY.jpg&hash=80ea19f808e23634cb32ca88ab702eb44347d131)
Click HERE for full-size image (https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/23938888150_93db78feb6_o.jpg)
(WARNING: Huge Image, 42 MB) Hope you all enjoyed this update and I'll see you next time.
Grandiose!!! &apls &apls &apls
My, my that's quite the interchange!
Massive! But, if you think about some wild ponds, you should have thought about some drainage system and retention ponds for that interchange :D
Wow! That's extremely well done. KP for you.
Cheers
Willy
Thats a complicated interchange! nicely done!
additionally these cosmetic stuff (lights and signs) really eye catching.. :)
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Simerica. It has been a while, hasn't it? I got a new monitor with a 1600x900 screen resolution, so now pictures are no longer a mere 1366x768. Well, let's get the replies in:
Replies:Quote from: Alan_Waters on January 17, 2016, 01:42:31 AM
Grandiose!!! &apls &apls &apls
Quote from: Vizoria on January 17, 2016, 04:18:29 AM
My, my that's quite the interchange!
Thanks, Alan and Vizoria!
Quote from: kbieniu7 on January 17, 2016, 06:15:01 AM
Massive! But, if you think about some wild ponds, you should have thought about some drainage system and retention ponds for that interchange :D
Those are the retention ponds btw. But you're right; you can't really see the drainage system. It's there; it's just that these pictures were taken right after a heavy downpour and the ponds were pretty full and they were covering up the drainage culverts. That's why you don't see them. :D
Quote from: Swordmaster on January 17, 2016, 04:57:16 PM
Wow! That's extremely well done. KP for you.
Cheers
Willy
Thanks for the Karma Point! Much appreciated.
Too bad I later lost it by saying something really stupid.Quote from: Nanami on January 18, 2016, 01:02:55 AM
Thats a complicated interchange! nicely done!
additionally these cosmetic stuff (lights and signs) really eye catching.. :)
Thanks! The lights and signs sure are important in increasing realism. It's always the little things that matter most.
So, now....
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgIdj5PT.png&hash=8b3a225e81934f3db0f19dda93febb7d247c0e68)
Update 11: New farms, new skyscrapersA few rumors have been flying around in the Lamont region about some changes that the so-called SimGod (that's me!) made to his plugins folder. Being an honest god, the SimGod would like to confirm that these rumors are indeed true. One rumor that has been flying around has to do with the recent commercial building boom taking place region-wide. This is epitomized by the construction of the Tiberian Thanefirst Tower in downtown Twin Forks:
11.1(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F6MJc11W.jpg&hash=6531df16fab78842285399a96364b669e71b68b4)
11.2(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FhFkD2fV.jpg&hash=0c815de46caf1044933c3c27d6d277e3631be4e4)
Also, another rumor that's been spreading is that all the SPAM farms suddenly disappeared one night and were replaced with Simgoober's farms because the SimGod didn't like how unrealistically tall the corn and wheat crops were. This is partially true, but the real reason to this is that the SPAM was not compatible with the CAM. Oh, and Simgoober's farms look a lot nicer, especially the tulip fields.
Here is an overview of the town of Farmville before and after the change, showing how these new farms look compared to the old ones:
11.3 - Before:(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FSHpKEum.jpg&hash=334134815d3f17e85a9e7ce76c9f8172d785e9b3)
11.4 - After:(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F6Az2HgE.jpg&hash=3ea108d044ae32cc25f043c0559a6255fcfe0509)
I-5 running through the farmlands in Farmville:
11.5(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FOkfXxLj.jpg&hash=e0c30c0acaf4d56bcd494e69c9b4105632a998d1)
And just south in the town of Sleepy Hollow, you see these beautiful tulip fields while driving on I-5 during the right time of year: (well, kind of. The SimGod is a bit obsessed with covering every square inch of vacant land with trees :D )
11.6(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F200xFzb.jpg&hash=8d93120b8ebbaf78d9c04d53cdeafb2b59dc07f4)
As a result of this proclamation from the almighty SimGod, it is hoped that many Sims will come to believe in the SimGod's existence because, as his followers say, it's completely logical that these changes couldn't possibly have happened on their own without his influence. A massive decrease in the amount of atheist sims in Simerica is predicted.
Oh, and last but not least, here's a plan that outlines future development of Lamont's freeway and railway network:
11.7(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FOYMdvA9.jpg&hash=ebb7b60721becaf3150ff485fbaddd70b99dcaee)
I'm going to try to get back to doing videos, too. Stay tuned!
Dusting this thread off...it's been a while since I've posted! Anyway, I finally got a new video editor (Adobe Premiere Pro) because Windows Movie Maker wasn't working properly (it was messing up the contrast on all my videos and I was unable to fix that). That means I finally made a new video of me making a diagonal parclo A4 interchange, something that has never before been built in the SimWorld.
Earlier in the year, I recorded two videos in Ritzville. The first one is just a timelapse showing me developing the town of Ritzville as well as surrounding farms:
https://www.youtube.com/v/FB42ntKaRRI
As you can tell, the contrast is too high, due to Windows Movie Maker being messed up. I have no idea why that happened, and after being unable to get help on Microsoft's help forum, I decided to try out some other free video editors, none of which I really liked. The next video was recorded using one of those editors (it didn't even have a fade to/from black transition! :o ). It shows me building the outer extents of the suburbs in the Ritzville city tile as well as a diamond interchange on I-120:
https://www.youtube.com/v/03R9A59K6oM
And a picture of the diamond interchange:
12.1
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FricmShX.jpg&hash=d4f29698d91045231b64149b2b468982e5e1fc5a)
And, finally, the new diagonal parclo interchange under construction along Interstate 220 in this video. With Premiere Pro, I can easily edit the videos (it has a bit of a learning curve compared to Movie Maker) and I will try and keep them under thirty minutes from now on. No more boring hour-long videos! Enjoy!! :popcorn:
https://www.youtube.com/v/QZsgx3aQxn4
Here are some pics of the completed interchange:
12.2
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F4Z9zzxa.jpg&hash=2e11052ed5734f642d47c1669467e56883aea239)
12.3
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FxAnYt45.jpg&hash=eb8f780ee157ab3504a5be90d06c21bdb6f3b1ba)
Also, I made an orthogonal parclo interchange in the city tile just south of Ritzville:
12.4
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7zXX0Bc.jpg&hash=caf2da9b69282ba05e515583f89c8eb43bbb2c4e)
I know I really didn't get much SC4 playing in this year; I've really been sporadic about playing it. My New Year's Resolution will be to play SC4 more. :D But anyway, I hope to have another update posted in the next week or so of me building my first cloverleaf interchange. Yes, believe it or not, it is my very first cloverleaf. Stay tuned!!
Nice interchanges! I always have problems with preparing good slopes for ramps... thanks for the video :)
So...it's been three months and I still haven't posted an update. I haven't even played SC4 since December, when I made the cloverleaf that's in this update. I really have suffered a lot from a lack of motivation to play SC4. Part of it is that I've been too busy, but really I've just occupied my time with other things. I bet I'll be more interested in SC4 when the next NAM update comes out... :D
Anyway, I did a video of me making my first cloverleaf interchange. I filmed it in December, but it wasn't till now that I finally edited it and uploaded to YouTube. Enjoy! :popcorn:
https://www.youtube.com/v/pcL0mUbKAEQ
And here's a couple of pictures of what it looks like:
13.1
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5ovDLCq.jpg&hash=9d2a782648b69ae6753c7b11808f1e990e9fbd94)
13.2
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgsolPXT.jpg&hash=1e5719eb304401c1b529d8dec91713ad49da3ff2)
I honestly don't know when I'll get back to SC4. Hopefully sooner rather than later...
Hopefully the motivation to play sticks now that you have dusted off the cobwebs and created a spiffy new interchange. Big interchanges are not so much my thing but I really enjoy looking at the city and rural scenes and the storyline of your MD - especially the storyline re: the addition of the CAM to your plugins and the reconstruction shots in update 6. Finished cities are nice to see but I always enjoy seeing how others play and build and 'remodel' their regions.
That's really smooth! I'm not a highway man, I do not have a hand to build such nicely looking ramps, while you play with all possible angles and get an effect as it has been drawn from a circle! &apls