Art128's SC4 Projects

[korver]

Great work as always 

[kbieniu7]

Nice and cosy... seems just like the developer wanted to squeeze as much from the lot as possible

[art128]

Thanks ! Yes I wanted to make the most out of that small spot.

As promised here is a night mosaic.

[vester]

Nice update. Love the lights and the life you got in the picture. 

[gn_leugim]

very nice! 

[art128]

Thanks!

Here are some more pictures.

[gn_leugim]

very nice as always! 

I like particularly that building in the center of the 2nd picture, which one is??



I believe you're looking for this Research Center.

[korver]

Nice night pics as always

[metarvo]

Good work on the night views!    I like that building in the first pic a lot.  I'm guessing it's a housing complex of some sort?

[art128]

Yes it's an apartment building. The side we can see is the common hallways where the entrance to the apartments are. It's very common in Japan to have the common area opened like that. (I guess it saves space, time and money.)

Last picture from Usui today, a night mosaic showcasing some street racing!

[Shark7]

Just curious, how is your darknight so much darker than the one in my game?  I'm using the Darknite mod, so I'm wondering do you use a different mod, or do I need to adjust my brightness or gamma settings on my video driver or monitor?

In my game, the nights (even with the darknite mod) is about half as dark as your screenshots. 

The screens look great, and I want my game to look as good when night falls on my cities.

[gn_leugim]

that's the one, thanks

I guess the police should do a better job in your cities I see too much illegal street racing :p

[art128]

Eh, illegal street racing is fun, I see no harm. 
No idea why my nights are darker... I was using Simfox day'n'night mod. Adjusting the gamma/brightness setting of your monitor will not alter the rendering of the game itself. The picture you'll post will be the same.

So I guess this is my final update.











So yeah as I said this is my final update.

I've been playing this game for a long time, around 10 years and I'm completely burn out. I'm not having fun with it anymore despite my attempts at doing other than the usual. I tried making french cities, commie, american, and even a completely custom city with just my own BATs, but sadly all of this resulted in my getting bored day after day of it.

To make things even worse, not only is the game not fun anymore, but it's not even entertaining at all. I keep looking at the same screen over and over again with a dull look hoping that maybe the x^th city I start will catch my interest and won't get scraped like the others. But I realized that after 10 long years of playing the same game, often even neglecting my studies, I just can't anymore.

To add to that, I barely get any comment on my stuff anymore. I guess Japanese cities just get repetitive over time and people lose interest in it, but when I see other creations get almost 10 replies per update, it's really not giving me the willpower to continue. Though in the recent years I started to question "Why do I even post my pictures?". I play the game for myself, for my own entertainment, so why is the lack of replies triggering me so much? I guess everyone who post their creations online must be looking at getting some kind of feedback, like a need to feel liked around a community?
I've noticed that some people don't comment until you comment on their stuff first, well sorry but I don't work like that. I've been in this circle since 2007 so if you want a comment from me, seniority and position rule you kinda have to earn it. Not the other way around.

You might say " Yeah well just play a bit here, a bit there..." I tried, but what am I supposed to do with the rest of the time? I'm just a NEET hikkikomori with no future or job prospect rotting away until ww3 happens. No seriously I tried it and the result was just the very same, scrapped things because I got bored of them, rinse and repeat. And quite frankly it's tiring to do it again and again and again just to get two comments and wonder if my stuff is boring.

Of course people have their own life to play and I'm not criticizing that at all, afterall RL is more important than a stupid video game. (Though I have to say I'm highly against the lifestyle that is considered the norm.)

So now what? Well now is the part where I say that I'm still wondering about some stuff. Mainly the fact that being an admin is all nice and all, the nice red badge and the power that comes with it, but it also adds some serious tiring work. For instance, some threads that all the pictures are .png goes against the rules, but it slipped by so long that there are now hundred of pictures posted and removing the tag would be long, or when someone post something and you keep asking yourself "does it break the rules or not??!" not knowing what to do because of course you never take actions yourself. And let's not forget all the work related to the annual stuff. Like the site's anniversary, or the Christmas period. It doesn't look like it but putting up an advent calendar is a lot of work contacting the necessary people, getting the thread ready, the graphics stuff, the contents.... And then there are the MD HoF stuff or the picture competition that keeps on dying even when someone revives it... All that stuff adds up and seriously makes me want to just stop logging in cause that's way too much to handle. That and RL stuff is seriously putting me on edge.

It's funny, years ago with io_bg we would often joke, when he got induced in the MD HoF, that he took the path of the Hall of Fame, while I, with the bigger MD, got the path of the staff.

Well anyway, all that to say that I'm quitting playing the game, possibly coming to the forum and most definitely stepping down from being an admin.

I had some fun times in those 10 years of playing but they're long gone in the past and now is the time to go.

Cya. 


(oh and please don't spam me with message asking if everything is alright etc, it's pointless.)

[riiga]

Have a good one!

[Shark7]

Well, what can I say?  I am sorry that you aren't enjoying it anymore, and do hope you will at least stop by and say hello now and then.

Now then, if I might be so bold as to offer a bit of well...experience.

I've personally never been one who can stand playing the same game more than a couple of weeks at a time before I get bored with it.  But I rotate what I am playing so that while I've been playing SimCity 4 for the same 10 years you have, I've not burned myself out on it.  I'll play a few days, then move on to another game for a few days.  And I do this will all games.

For example, I still have not finished the main quest lines for Fallout 4 or Skyrim, though I have hundreds of hours into each.  But I just take my time, and work through it, and may not play either game for weeks or even a couple of months before moving back and making more progress.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I pace myself.  Once I start getting that repetitive bored feeling with a game, I just switch to a different game for a while.  And for me, that has worked.  By the time I get back to a game I've set aside, it feels fresh again.

So maybe with some time away from SC4, it will feel fresh again for you as well.

And just know, you will be missed around here.  I always liked to see what new things you had done with your MDs, even though I tend to be rather random with my appearances and comments around the forum.

[mgb204]

Well what can anyone say, it's always sad to see an active member of the community moving on.

I am probably as guilty as anyone of not being the most prolific poster in terms of MDs. But I'm not good with describing why I like things, just certain things tick boxes others don't. All too often I intend to leave a comment, but decide against it because I feel I can't really add anything of substance. However, this is one of those MDs I'd always keep an eye upon. I'm also a fan on your BATs, even if I'm not heavily invested in making Japanese cities myself.

But if you are not feeling it, then there is little merit in trying to persuade you to keep forcing things. SC4 is one of those weird things, to truly get the most out of it requires such a high level of dedication and work, a game this is not. Clearly a lot of love and determination has gone into your cities, modding and BATs. At the same time you've been actively participating in keeping this community going. As such, you will be missed. Best of luck in future.

[eggman121]

It is sad to see you go Arthur 

I hope that you can find something that inspires you more and wish you all the best in the future. I really hope you will keep in contact from time to time 

After all RL is more important. Thanks for all you wonderful contributions to the community 

-eggman121 (Stephen)

[APSMS]

I would agree with Shark7; mostly I rotate through things; there was a long period where I didn't play SC4 for almost a year. Go back and forth between XCOM:Long War and Wargame, which are of course vastly different beasts.

Unfortunately I, too, suffer from a lack of commenting. I'm more of a lurker, and to be honest, even though I find Japanese cities pretty repetitive, yours always seemed to have a certain spark to them. I just wasn't always able to put that into words and unfortunately I dislike posting one-line posts expressing praise ("Nice city there!" type of stuff). I always seem to find myself migrating back to the game even though my most developed region is as widely fleshed out as your abandoned projects.

Still, if you aren't feeling it...

If you at least drop in from time to time, that would be nice. Good luck in whatever you move on to. Sorry to see you leave.

[Seaman]

I would like to thank you for your time and effort you've dedicated to SC4 and the community. I think it's the way of live to move on after such a long time. But maybe, in 10 years from here on, you will take some joy out of it to remember the old days.
I've spent most of my time in the community being totally passive. Because I didn't commit to SC4 100% but mostly because I felt I wasn't able to add something meaningful, like MGB said. But nevertheless, I admire the nice scenes and the skill I've seen the MDs like yours.
Please enjoy the fact that all your work and content is highly apreciated by a dude from another country, you've never met. I would say, that's fame.

good luck

[catty]

Arthur sorry to read your farewell notice   

Having done the same thing a couple of years ago re being moderator here and more recently leaving a team I can quite understand how you feel now, but Shark7 tho makes a really good point with regard to SC4

...So I guess what I'm saying is that I pace myself.  Once I start getting that repetitive bored feeling with a game, I just switch to a different game for a while.  And for me, that has worked.  By the time I get back to a game I've set aside, it feels fresh again....

I would hate to never see another SC4 picture from you and yes I'm just as guilty as everyone else of popping in looking at the pictures and going again without ever posting     and for that I'm truly sorry ... while it doesn't help you maybe the staff here could look at adding "LIKE" buttons to the posts for those of us

...Unfortunately I, too, suffer from a lack of commenting. I'm more of a lurker ... I just wasn't always able to put that into words and unfortunately I dislike posting one-line posts expressing praise ("Nice city there!" type of stuff)...

Take care and I hope you find something that gives you the same satisfaction that SimCity 4 did   

Cathy