WEST END

[capo]

It's been too long since I dropped by, I missed out on 2 updates! I still really like your eye for detail, many of the pics look so natural and realistic. Amstel Grove looks like a very nice place to live, but please...drink Grolsch

Im very much in love with the stadium of FC Portland picture with the foodcourts but my favourite is strange enough that picture of terminal 1 (east and main entrance). That's a great way of using that NAM piece I so often forget about!

[thundercrack83]

Welcome to the Ones to Watch thread, my friend! You're moving on up! Congratulations!

[bat]

yes, Welcome to the Ones to Watch! Looking forward to a new update...

[sebes]

I too missed a couple of updates. The airport came out nice, and also the city of Portland has some great areas: I do like the way how the high rise residentals are planned along the water front, and the FC Portland Stadium is realy good!

And thanks for posting that region shot and the traffic data. Very interesting. I'd like to see that more often in MD's  

[Sober]

Someone's moved up! 

Welcome to Ones to Watch, where boys are made into men... I think...

[Jmouse]

Congratulations on your promotion!

Until next time...
Joan

[paroch]

Hey, promotion to "Ones to Watch".  I'm really pleased that West End has made it here. 

I'm hoping to post update 6 in a few hours - just having a few problems with getting the right pictures!  In the meantime, some replies and a few pics of something specific.

Joan:  Thanks, had a great trip to Vegas.  Also got to see the Grand Canyon - wow!!!  Driving through Arizona we passed many small towns that really were how I imagined "Smalltownsville" Arizona to look like!  But don't worry, I'm not naive enough to think that the rest of the USA is like Vegas.  Never been to Texas, so hoping that your MD will give me some impressions of your home state.  Thanks also for your advice re building styles.

Capo:  Good to see you here again.  Thanks for your nice comments and I will make sure I have a Grolsch sometime soon!  Indeed, I have heard that FC Portland have just struck a sponsorship deal and will have Grolsch on their shirts next season!  As for the pedestrian bridge, yeah, I like that bridge, I use them every now and then.

Thundercrack:  Thanks for that and for doing a great job modding this board.

Bat: Cheers.  Hopefully the update will be real soon.

Sebes:  Welcome back.  Glad you liked Great Portland and the traffic data.  The city I am working on at the moment has one of the strangest traffic usage charts I've ever seen, so I'll include it in the update.

Sober:  Good to see you again.  I must pop over to Eaton soon and have a "manly" drink with you!

Joan (again):  Why thank you, I have a feeling Wildcat Junction will be here too, real soon.

I'm currently working on Regent within the West End region and hope to post pics later this evening.  (I followed your suggestion Joan).  In the meantime, here are some pics of a recreation of the road I grew up on.  Way back on update 1 Joan asked about the terraced houses and whether they really appeared like that in RL.  Well, here's the answer.  This development is in the region of Broadwick and is based on a road in South Ockendon, Essex, England.

5.13 Overview of the road:

In RL it is not one long terrace.  They are generally in terraces of 4, 6 or 8 houses with a small gap in between.  However, the gaps were too big in SC4, so this looked more realistic.
I haven't developed around this yet, although in RL it is open land on the other side of the main road.  There are flats on the other side of the railway.



5.14 North end of the road:

The two terraces in the bottom left have the small gap between them that makes them VERY close to RL.  On the left hand side was the part of the road we called "the sausage" because of its shape and yes, there is room to park in the middle.
I lived in the second of the two "banjos" (look at the shape).  Whilst they didn't actually have a circle they were that kind of shape.  A small green should be between the road and the houses but then you get the "no road connection" zot.  The green areas between the houses are actually taken up with gardens.


5.15 Mid part of the road:

As you can see, I had a long walk to school!  This was a junior (elementary) school and is no longer there.  They knocked it down to build more houses.  But this is how I still remember it.  The schools was not quite that big but in terms of layout and design it is very similar.


5.16 South part of the road:

Again, the terrace at the top of the picture is more realistic, just couldn't get enough of them to grow.  Just spotted where I should have put the bus stops on the main road and the bridge road - must go back and do that.


I hope you found that of some interest whilst I work on the next proper update.

Til then..........

[paroch]

Update 6 - 14th October 2007

Hi all, welcome back to West End.  I'm conscious that I have not developed a constant "theme" as such with my MD.  Sometimes it's just my comments and opinions, other times its a more factual approach and occasionally I have tried to wind in a small story line.  Now that the MD has moved up a level I feel I should be more consistent, so I'm going to try to write each new update from the view point of one of the officials within either the Regional Government, City Council or another "official" body.  As always, feedback is appreciated - if you like it great, if not tell me so I can adjust accordingly.

Today I will introduce you to Bill Bailey, Leader of Regent City Council:

Welcome to Regent, folks.  I'm proud to be in charge of this city.  I say city, but we're only 20,000 residents at the moment - but I have a vision to grow this place into something special.  I know that Regent may not have the land mass to be the largest city in West End but we have something that the other cities don't have - and that is beautiful beaches.  My plan is to grow this city as the resort and playground of both West End region and Sim Nation as a whole.  Sure it's ambitious, but hey, so am I!

I want to give you a quick tour of Regent now and hope that you'll be interested enough to come back next time when things have developed a little further.  Maybe after this little "teaser" you'll even be willing to sign up for one of the new apartments on the Princes Cove development.

6.01  Regent Beach:

That beach is the finest in all of West End.  It has soft fine sand and the water is perfect for swimming and snorkelling.  On the left hand side of the beach is the exclusive Rose Grange development.  The houses are surrounded by parkland, beaches and trees.  They don't come cheap but they are the nicest places in the whole city.  In the top right of the picture is the Princes Cove development (constructed by Bailey & Co  ).  These apartment blocks are selling out fast, so hurry up if you want your chance to have a piece of the action.


6.02  The Regent Strip:

And this is why things are happening here in Regent.  We recently did a "fact finding mission" to Las Vegas.  I know some of the voters said that such a small city as ours should not spend money to send me and my friends, er I mean fellow councillors, to Vegas.  But it gave us some great ideas.  We recently passed the gambling ordinance and now we will reap the rewards as we expect thousands of visitors each year.  We hired some big name architects to recreate some classics, The Mirage and the Stratosphere.  I tell you, from the top of that tower you can see for miles and miles.  There are plenty of restaurants there as well - I'll show you more next time.
You can see the Princes Cove development is between the Strip and the beach.  I tell you, buy now before the prices get too high!


6.03  The Heddon Golf & Country Club:

I told you this city is the playground of West End.  Well look at this fabulous establishment.  Old Burt Heddon has been whacking golf balls around for as long as I can remember but when he hit lucky on that slot machine on that fact finding tour in Vegas he went and sunk all his money (plus a fair slice from the WestBank) into his golf course.  It's set in beautiful wooded countryside and talk is that he will be running a tournament sometime soon open to all of Sim Nation.


6.04  Regent Boardwalk Theme Park

Well, we had the beaches, the casinos, the restaurants and the golf course, so we discussed the matter on the council and decided we needed something BIG for the family visitors.  The Boardwalk is our answer.  We sold the seafront land to the Dooswords Corporation for 2million Simoleons.  That gave us some cash to invest in city infrstucture and gave those hot shots at Dooswords a prime spot to develop the theme park.  I have to admit that attendances have not been as high as expected but as the city grows that place will be rocking.


6.05  Anthony Haines High School

And this is where most of the money from the Dooswords deal went.  We get some cash from the Regional Goverment for schools, but they'd have our kids learning in leaking portakabins on the budget they give us.  We want our young sims to grow up with their own great business ideas, and with this facility we're giving them every chance.  The school has a great football team (The Wildcats) and we have high hopes that they will win the West End Schools Trophy this year.


6.06  Rose Grange

Here's a corner of Rose Grange.  That church is where Reverend Spires does his thing every Sunday.  He's pretty unorthodox in his approach to religion - the amount of times I've heard him prey for red to come in on Roulette is beyond me!  Rose Grange has been pretty much developed but I'm hoping that the kind people of this city will let me build my, er, I mean the city's Mayoral Mansion in there pretty soon.


6.07  Traffic Volumes

Traffic is not a problem in Regent (yet).  That top purple line is ferry usage.  We currently have two ferry terminals in the city and many of our residents use them to travel to jobs in Oxford and Great Portland.  It's a much greener, if slower way of travelling.  We recently upgraded the rail network and that usage has increased and taken some people off the ferries.  I'll tell you more about our transport system next time.


Well, that's all for today from me.  Be sure to come back soon as development here in Regent has only just begun.  We're still looking for more leisure activities to cram into this place, so if you have any ideas, get your people to call my people and maybe we can cut a deal.


Til next time.......

[Jmouse]

That is what I call an A-1 update, paroch!
The photos and explanation of the "old neighborhood" were very interesting.
Putting the theme park and casino near the beach was a good idea, and the country club looks great. The home of the Wildcats (Hooter is honored) and neighborhood look just fine, but it looks like you plugged that traffic-usage graph into the nearest 220 outlet! OK, so I'm jealous -- mine doesn't look nearly that good!
But you've corrupted my mind forever with the "banjos!" How can I ever look at a roundabout again without thinking of paroch's banjos?

Until next time...
Joan

[bat]

Fantastic looking two new updates there! Great work!

[rooker1]

Super update, I really find your Traffic volume interesting.  I can surely tell you that I have never seen a ferry used that much before, great job.

Robin   

[sebes]

Interesting chart! I guess you have put the trans-river rail connections at the right spot if you get soo many people from the ferry on the trains!

[tooheys]

Hi Paroch, a nice couple of updates. Like the re-creation of where you grew up.

West End is looking fine, the development around the beaches and the school and surrounds is well done 

I don't want to harp on it, but you do need to consider the flow of the land when plopping lots. You're theme park is a good example. The boardwalk really needs to be all at the same level, as it is those poor sims are encountered with a 10 ft drop between sections (ouch  ).

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the updates. Wouldn't mind a game on that golf course either.

Cheers

Dave

[thundercrack83]

Wow, I love the resort town feel of this update! The golf course, the boardwalk, the casinos--everything looks great! I like the way you set up the high school complex, too. Can't wait to see more, my friend!

[paroch]

Hi all.  Thanks for your replies and comments.  And for those just viewing without posting, thanks for dropping by as well.  Hopefully you'll see something soon that will make you feel like commenting.

Specific replies:

Joan:  I feel that you're West End's most loyal follower!  Glad you liked the update and the re-creation of my old neighbourhood.  And yeah, we really did live in a banjo!  As for the Wildcats, there's no league as such (yet??) but Bill Bailey tells me that they are playing really well.

Bat:  Thanks for dropping by and your comment.  Your huge park is still in my mind, I must try and create something similar!

Robin:  Yeah, the ferry usage surprised me too.  It has dropped off as the city has grown, so I'm glad I got the picture when I did.  I'll carry on supplying traffic info from time to time in the MD.

Sebes:  I must admit that I'm not sure if people are using both the train and ferry - must investigate.

Dave:  Welcome back.  I thought the re-creation would be a cool thing to do.  Clearly of massive interest to me, so I like the fact that others enjoyed it too.  Glad you liked the update and I take your point 100% about the boardwalks.  My issue is that I'm playing a pre-formed map, so I have to deal with terrain that is not flat.  I am trying to get into the habit of levelling land before starting certain projects, e.g. Canals.  I have rebuilt parts of the theme park, removed the boardwalk and put in sea walls.  It looks better (teaser below).

Thundercrack:  Hey, I'm pleased you like what you see.  Positive feedback like that helps keep me going - thank you.  And I will be showing more of my resort town.


Development has been slow (a mix of RL pressure and a couple of big game crashes).  I'll post an update either later this evening or in the next couple of days.  The pics are ready, just need to provide some words.

As a teaser here are a couple of pics:

6.08 Theme Park re-worked


6.09 Regent - city overview



Bill Bailey will be back for the next update to provide the narrative.

[tkirch]

Great job.  I love the theme park has everything.  SOmething for the kids and smoething for the adults.  See you at the blackjack tables!

[Jmouse]

Hey, paroch, the tourist destination is really taking shape and looking good!
I used to enjoy visiting a carnival in Galveston, Texas, when I was a kid, and your theme park reminds me of those happy days. There were no casinos there, but there were still a lot of things for parents to spend money on!
Anyway, the beaches, the seawall, the amusement park -- all of them bring  back pleasant memories.
Thank you!

Until next time...
Joan

[bat]

Great looking theme park and overview of that city!

[paroch]

Update 7 - 28th October 2007

Tkirch - glad you like the theme park.  And yes, I'll see you at the tables!

Joan - hey, it's a pleasure that this brings back good memories for you.

Bat - thanks for your words, always good to see you here.



Welcome back to Regent, the resort city of West End.  My name is Bill Bailey.  I'm the leader of Regent City Council.  The council have recently decided that as well as the leader of the council, I should also be the mayor in recognition of the work I've done in developing Regent. 

Things have moved on in Regent since you were here last.  City population has just gone over 43,000.  And we still have plenty of space to grow into.

7.01  Regent City Overview

This map should give you an idea of how the city is developing.  I've labelled the main districts, so you'll know what I refer to.  Our city surveyors office has just started using something called GIMP to produce these maps, so forgive the red fuzzy writing - we'll be experimenting with different colours.


I wanted to tell you a bit about each area within Regent:

Regent is built on the strength of The Strip.  If it wasn't for The Strip Regent wouldn't be the city it is.  This area provides plenty of jobs for residents of both Regent and the nearby areas of Oxford and Great Portland.  We'll focus on it in a minute.

The Central Business District has some medium sized buildings but there is scope for more development there, particularly to the south and east.

Regent City has the highest density of our residential zones.  Our city has plenty of R$$ residents and the Regent City district has more than other districts.

Rose Grange is a low density, medium/high wealth district, probably the most desirable part of the city.

Little Amsterdam is also a popular area.  West End has a very diverse population, with sims from all over the world.  Little Amsterdam is home to many North Europeans who like the canalside and lakeside homes.  It has a nice mix of low and medium density homes, together with some nice parkland.  Tibbs Town (just south of Little Amsterdam) is a medium density zone with easy access to the river and planned riverside park.

Viddiams is the worst part of town - but even this is far from being a bad place to live.  It just doesn't really have much character.

Haines Park is popular because it is so close to The Strip.  And North Regent has some nice European style buildings.

A large development on the Regent South Bank is planned.  It is likely that homes on the South Bank will be higher density and may not be so expensive.  We'll have to see how the development pans out but I am getting complaints that there is not enough affordable housing in Regent.


7.02  Residents Graph

Here you can see that the majority of our residents are R$$ (top line).  I'd like the R$$$ to grow some more - maybe some more parkland and better educational facilities will help.

OK, I really want to show you what's been happening on The Strip since last time.

7.03  East Strip and North Beach

At the eastern end of the Strip is the new North Beach.  Not as big as the Prince Regent Beach, but just as nice.  We've allowed some Residential development, but I have to admit only one of the blocks is what I was hoping for.  I'll be keeping my eye on this and will encourage a higher quality of development.
The theme park (Dooswords) had an issue with the old boardwalk.  Some tourists fell and injured themselves, so they hired a firm of consultants from Australia (Toohey Inc Pty) and they developed a new sea wall - nice and smooth.  Now visitors to the park can stroll along and enjoy the views of the ferries sailing past.

Also at the east end of the Strip is the go-kart track and Hollywood Park.  It's a small park with a recreation of the Hollywood sign, plus a replica of Big Ben and the White House.  It's cheesy, but popular!


7.04  The Rio

The newest hotel on the Strip is the Rio.  It's a hotel / casino / theatre complex.  Everyone says that the cocktails in the Rio are the best on the Strip.

7.05  The Mirage

This is the largest hotel by far on the Strip.  The rooms are also the highest quality.  My old buddy Jimmy McDouglas (you'll meet him in the future) rents the Kings Suite and it costs 2,500 simoleons per night.

Also in this picture is the Century Multiplex, the Guggenheim museum and the Whitehouse.  The restaurant zone is to the south of the Mirage.  We allowed some commercial office development to the north of the strip and a whole row of cheap small offices sprung up.  I'm encouraging some developers to do something a bit more imaginative!


7.06  Sheraton and Best Western

Some of the big hotel brands wanted a slice of the action.  The Sheraton is a fabulous hotel (one of Sim Goobers best in my opinion).  There is a great casino on the ground floor, it's not the biggest but is has a great feel about the place.  It has a very large poker room and holds regular tournaments that attract players from all across West End.

7.07 Restaurant Zone A

Captain Jack's Seafood Restaurant serves the best sea bass that you'll ever taste.  Being so close to the sea means that Captain Jack always has the freshest fish.  The gutted crab is also popular.
Chillis and Waffle House are also nearby.

7.08 Restauanr Zone B

More restaurants including Plaza Azteca.  There is also a great mini golf course.  This is where my grand kids love to go more than anywhere on the strip.  Why, my grandson Tiger holds the course record!

7.09 Haines Park

Haines Park was developed at the western edge of the strip.  When Regent was first developed this was the site of the power plant and the city dump.  Of dourse, as the strip grew we needed to relocate these.  So, Haines Park was built, as we wanted to have a green buffer between the strip and the main housing districts.  Also there is always scope to build more hotels here if required.  Unfortunately we couldn't get rid of all of the land fill.  So, we still have a small dump there, but it is getting smaller and hopefully we'll be able to close it down for good soon.

7.10 Princes Cove

Here is the development that my Building Company has created..  The six blocks have a high standard of fit-out.  Marble bathrooms, concierge in each building plus great views of the sea (can you see how close to the beach they are).  We still have some available - what a great place to live.  Do I sound desperate?  Well, the next loan repayment on the development is due and the bank are making loud noises, so please, just buy one of the apartments!

7.11 Strip Overview

Here it is in all it's glory.  Getting this developed has been my life's work.

I'll be back soon to show you some other parts of Regent.

'Til then......

[Jmouse]

Paroch, that's a really nice update you have there. I can see why The Strip is getting to be a tourist destination.
Also, I appreciate the labeled overview. We know our own region by heart, but it can be difficult for the audience to remember all the details and locations. I always save those photos and put them up on the other monitor while I'm looking at a new update.
I like the way you've combined different zoom levels, too, in this update.
Regent City is really shaping up as a city with many different and interesting areas, and that's just as it should be!

Until next time...
Joan