Commonwealth of Marathon

[Jmouse]

Thanks for the tute, Dustin. I always prefer the easy ones,so I'll be giving this one a try pretty soon.

It's funny how the game display can play tricks on you. The first time I glanced at the Grand Banks Tunnel, it looked like the grey iron fence divided two flat surfaces. It took a moment for my brain to wrap itself around what my eyes were seeing! Anyway, your walls are looking better and better, but my eyes are getting worse and worse I guess  !

Later...
Joan

[Sciurus]

It's very nice, and finally, I prefer the latest texture than the first, it better. I see all this people they're going to work, and I think it isn't financial crisis in your city
You're mini tutorial to help Nova Vesfalo is ver nice, I think it could help me
So, I hope you're take as many pleasure as developp your city, and I wish you a good continuation,

Guillaume

[thundercrack83]

Dan (dsrwhat316): Here he is, the Man of the Hour! Thank you so very much for your wonderful tutorials, my friend! I would be lost without you! As for the resizing of props, that's way out of my league...at least at this point. I used to think the LE was out of my league, but apparently not! Thanks for the tip, though, and for everything else!

deathtopumpkins: Thank you, my friend! I can't wait to see your map of Suffolk, VA, too!

jmdude1: Thank you very much! And that's a great trick to check out the lot foundations, too. I'm definitely going to do that next time. It beats opening and closing! Take care!

Pat: Thanks, my friend!

Piotr (Sheep49): Hi, Piotr! I think it looks much better with people in it, too. Now if they would just show up when I want to take their picture! Maybe they're camera shy? Either way, thanks for your support, my friend!

Joan (Jmouse): Hey, Joan! I did the same thing with the brick texture and the brick foundation when I first saw it! I had to do a double-take to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I'm glad you like the tutorial, and I hope you can put it to good use! Take care, Joan!

Guillaume (Sciurus): Hi, my friend! Thank you so much! I hope you can get some use of the tutorial, too! Thanks for coming by!

UPDATE XXII
Don't You Feel Like You're a Rider on a Downbound Train?
Part I: Construction!
19 February 2009

We'll switch gears here a bit in Marathon and head to a part of the city that I've actually dreaded a bit because I have no logistical knowledge of them—railroads, particularly, the Central Marathon Station.

First move?

Picking a location! I've chosen Tile G for it's central location on the island. Zooming in, we see...

...our labeled streets. I had to get some use out of the street sign graphics, I really had fun making them! Since Kittery Avenue is the north-south meridian on Marathon Island, having the central train station around that area seemed logical.

So, we begin construction!

We bulldoze everything from the tile edge to the water...

...and level the old sunken highway trench.

Next comes the big part...

...our station. And what a station it is! The best rail station ever made, in my opinion, and one of the best BATs overall—the Gare du Nord by xannepan.

Moving on!

Our next move is to do a bit of land reclamation, extending the island out to the west.

Then...

...we level.

Connecting the rails is the next step...

...followed by some clean-up.

Now we go back to our sunken highway...

...and connected that via a tunnel beneath the station. We do the same with Chrysanthemum Avenue, only this time...

...we use the FLUPs, or Flexible Underpasses—one of the recent and fantastic additions to the 2009 NAM release! At this point, though, they are merely cosmetic, as I'm not adept with them yet! No matter, we'll get there soon enough!

Backing up for a second, if we may...

As you'll notice, the slope of the rails has cut off access to the L'Anneau de Marathon, something that I would like to avoid.

The solution?

...a bit of "terracing"—

By leveling the section where the L'Anneau will travel, we can use...

...the NAM Puzzle Pieces to make the connection without any strange angles, slopes, or other assorted issues.

We then continue the rails to their necessary elevation.

After a bit more cleaning up and leveling of things, we get the entire station area. First the top...

...then the bottom!

But the game's not over yet. Those rails have to connect somewhere, and we'll connect with that in Part II!

Or, and before we go...

http://www.youtube.com/v/gXQYT_L4K0U&hl=en&fs=1
"Downbound Train" by Bruce Springsteen. Born in the U.S.A., 1984.

In case you were wondering where our update title came from! For those who are interested (besides me, probably no one, but that's OK!), "Downbound Train" was voted Bruce Springsteen's most melancholy song by Rolling Stone in 1999, I believe. Melancholy or no, it's one of my favorites.

In a bit...I'm off to bed! These late nights are starting to get très ennuyeux!

[JoeST]

oh WOW, I cant wait for more, that is AWESOME!

Joe

[Alfred.Jones]

That is impressive Dustin! I was a bit surprised when you placed the station with the tracks facing the water But i'm liking what you have done so far! I love the avenue overpass over the rails Looks fantastic! Looking forward to more

AJ

[rooker1]

Dustin,
Very impressive walk through....
As for your sleep, no wonder, 6 am, I'm just leaving for work and you are just going to bed and we are in the same time zone.  Well things do get exciting sometimes when playing the game.
I just have to sit back I guess to find out how you are going to work out the rail lines.  You have me a little perplexed.
Great work again,
Robin 

[art128]

Hey Dustin, this is just awesome, I can't find other words to describe your work my friend!
You shown there that you are a genius. Colossal work here with this train line.
It's sure that the train have to connect somewhere, they can't stop here just after the station ! 
Ah and don't forget to add some centenaries !

Keep it up,

Arthur. 

[kimcar]

Excellent start with your train station ..One things is sure , that`s is gonna have a lot of activities over there  Keep it up

[bat]

Wonderful work on that train station so far! Nice pictures!
Looking forward to more...

[Sciurus]

Ypur work is awesome, but one question: will the railroads go under the water? This is the only thing I reproach you

Guillaume

[Heblem]

Nice work 

[Pat]

Dustin looking great here wow!! I love the tracks there...

[deathtopumpkins]

Wow, that looks great! Nice solution there with the overpass...

Though could you refresh me on where the rail lines are going?  Off the island in a tunnel?

[Sheep49]

Hmmm... It's been a while since the last update, hasn't it? Either way, I have to say that this is a really impressive work! First of all, I have to agree about location of the station. I think it's a good idea to build it like that. Bridge(s) shall be moderately easy to build from that point. Oh, and yeah - Gare du Nord is one of the finest BATs, that's one of the ultimate SC4's custom content truths. The next part of update is one of the things that you're doing the best - laying out infrastructure. No complaints at this point neither. Though I'm wondering whether that avenue viaduct over railways could exist in RL. Its span is huge! But it may be a very long arch bridge, who knows?
And thanks for that Bruce Springsteen song! I've gotta admit that I have never heard it. Shame on me!

Can't wait for the part II! Keep up the great work
Piotr

[Jmouse]

Well, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it! That is a technique worth trying out for sure, but I might want to start out with just a couple of tracks. And do I see another tunnel in Marathon's near future?

Outstanding update this time...
Joan

[metarvo]

This may be the first time I've seen Marathon's railroads, but I must say that this is a very good way to start.  You are right about that station, as it became a must-have for me the moment I saw it here.  Keep up the good work, Dustin.

[thundercrack83]

Joe (JoeST): Thank you so much, Joe!

Alfred.Jones: Thanks, I'm glad you like it!

Robin (rooker1): Hi, Robin! My sleep has been quite erratic lately, hasn't it? Maybe if someone wouldn't have introduced me to the inner-workings of the LE...Just kidding, my friend! It's all worth it! Thanks for coming by!

Arthur (art128): Thanks, Arthur, for your very nice comments! I appreciate them very much! And don't worry, I'll get the catenaries in there for you!

kimcar: Thank you! I think the area will have quite a lot of activity, too. At least I hope so! Take care!

bat: Thanks!

Guillaume (Sciurus): Thank you! As for whether the rails will go underwater...well, we'll get to that very soon, don't worry!

Heblem: Thanks!

Pat: Thank you, my friend!

deathtopumpkins: Hi, there! I'm glad you enjoy it! As for the tracks, we'll see where they head quite soon, my friend! Thanks for stopping in!

Piotr (Sheep49): Hi, Piotr! I'm so happy that you like the set-up, it actually took a bit of time to find the right place for it. I even had pictures for this update with the station located elsewhere, but I ended up scrapping it because things didn't come together the want I wanted them to. As for the avenue bridge, you're definitely right about it being pretty long. That's the great thing about a game, though—the Sims can't sue if the bridge gives out! Oh, and don't worry about never hearing the Springsteen song either, it's a bit obscure. While it's on his most popular and best-selling album, it kind of gets lost amongst the seven Top 10 singles on the rest of the album. Hope to see you again, soon!

Joan (Jmouse): Hey, Joan! You may be right about the tunnel, my friend, but I'm not sure...or am I? We'll find out together! Thanks again for all your support!

metarvo: Hi! It's definitely the first time you've seen Marathon's railroads, I've only shown them here for the first time. Frankly, I'm a bit intimidated by railroads because of my lack of knowledge on how they should be laid and arranged. I guess I have to do some research before getting too deep into it! It's always great to see you here, my friend! Take care!



Well, the Marathon Telegraph was able to snap a picture of the sports complex that has been under construction for the past couple of weeks. There's just one slight problem, though...

It seems that the copy-boy dropped it in a puddle during the last snow-melt! Needless to say, he's been demoted to paper-carrier!

More from Marathon is on the way!

[threestooges]

Well what can you do? A little water damage isn't the end of the world. If you squint you can kind of make it out. On a brighter note, I really like what you've done with the train station, and I like the avenue overpass. I do have one critique of it though. The span design looks like it's too long to effectively support the bridge. If you consolidated a track or two in the middle and allowed for a few pieces with pillars it would help the realism in my opinion. Either way though, it's a neat idea and very well done. A good area for trainspotting. Looking forward to seeing where they connect (starting to look like a massive tunnel project might be in the works with that slope). Until then, take it easy.
-Matt

[bat]

Looking forward to more from the Sports Complex!

[Sciurus]

'Love your newspaper! But does the image represent?
See you later, I hope,

Guillaume