Naural ~ A coastal region

[Cassey 0]

Welcome to my CJ.  This is my first CJ anywhere, as well as my first major region/city in SC4.  As such, you all get to watch and see as I develop and how my region grows as I discover new tips and tricks.

But first, i huge shoutout to everyone who has written one before.  Although a huge thanks goes to jeronij with simtropia, Darmok for Anduin Valley, and Shadow Assassin for Dynasty and The Savannah Way.  Those 4 inspired me greatly to start my own region.

The region will feature a few mods, and they may come and go, but here are the major ones:

NAM

Super Demand Ordinance

Transit Supermod[Better Pathfinding, 10x speed, hi-capacity increase (Perfect, while my machine can handle it, makes it hard for me to alt-tab out to the desktop

Industry Quadrupler

While I have many other mods, and tonnes of buildings installed, those are the major ones that alter gameplay.  Also note that money is not an issue, as I'm going for beauty, not for keeping a balanced budget, so money is basically unlimited.  Also, 10x speed increase, while unrealistic I do agree, it makes more sense than having no work zots on a high rise residential a block away from down town (yes, i've had this).  If you're going to work in the subburbs, you'd live in the subburbs.

But I degress.  Without any further ado...

WELCOME to Naural!

Naural is a beautiful map from MallowtheCloud.  If you wish to have this region it is available on the STEX.  I chose to go this route since i would lose interest in trying to terraform the 'perfect' region.  I added trees to various parts, and left the plains wide open.  You can see it below here.  If you want, click on it for a full map.  The image is about 600KB though.

Our first city is Anioma, using a large city tile.  Its located near the bottom tip of Naural, and is sort of the transition tile from the rural towns and farms of the foothills to one of the main cities in Naural.  So shall we begin?

Welcome weary traveller to Anioma.  As you can see from this birds-eye view, the region is relatively flat with only a few foothills to the north east.

A beautiful piece of land, is it not?

1.01 Here we can see the preliminary layout for the rail and highway network that will run through the city.  It was decided that the highways were to be elevated for the entire time they are within Anioma's limits, to help ease conjestion during peak hours

1.02 This is the south east corner.  Current plans have a harbour forming along here, to be the major hub on the eastern coast

1.03 The south west corner.

Here is the finished network from the same birds eye view.  This preliminary layout will give the city planners a rough idea of space.  Changes are expected to the highway and railroad routes in the future.

1.04 Here we see the beginnings of the terraforming process on the first residential area in Anioma

1.05 This is the terraforming for the last of the farms from the neighbouring land

1.06 The road network has been laid down for the residents, now that terraforming is basically finished

1.07 The pathways for the homes are setup.  Citizens in Naural are encouraged to keep in good shape and to exercise lots.  Cities are also going to remain very open and green, providing ample walking opportunities whether it be a lunchhour stroll, or an evening jog.

1.08 Some more pathways are finished and trees are pla...WAIT...who ordered these boxes??  They're supposed to be trees!

1.09 Well, the contractor chosen to do the park area there was quickly dismissed and the city finished it.  As it turns out, the contractor had ordered the trees online for less, rather than going to a local nursary.  Wanted to make every extra penny profit. (probably also bought the trees used, rather than new)

1.10 Zoning has been finished on the residential sector.  Note the solar power that will be used to power this area.

1.11 Heres the finished agriculture zoning.  A few more farms will be added on top of this in the next update

1.12 After the click

1.13 After the click

~~

Theres the first update!  I hope the coding works.  I'm testing out my own image hosting solution, and if it isn't too much of a strain on the server, i'll keep it.  If not, i'll find another solution.

Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, ideas!  I'm always looking for new ideas and suggestions to make my areas better!

(also, i know what some of you are thinking: "did she ever find the problem with the trees in the boxes?"  and the answer is no.  Sadly, I haven't found the dependancy I'm missing yet, but i'll let you know once I have).

~Cassandra

[magpieshooter 1]

Wow, nice start, it has a nice layout...

[clamor_m 0]

Hey that looks like a very pleasant neighborhood to live in! Keep it coming!

[bat 6]

Very good start!

bat

[sloppet 3]

great new start! keep it up

[mayormommy 8]

Nice start - it's good to see how much thought you're putting into the city layout.

[szarkoz 8]

Great start! I love that way of presenting CJ Boxes were funny Your region also looks very nice. I'm looking forward to more! Seriously, good work there.

[SC4Noobie 5]

There is one problem with all this... I cant see the Pictures!! I can see you put in a lot of effort, but fix the pictures. I will check this cj continously.  

EDIT: Never mind, the pictures are working!

[A199999999 0]

nice job! i like the residential are alot

[Micah 16]

It looks awesome, especially those cool region photos. The only thing that I found funny was that box. Don't you just hate those?! haha.

[Cjah 15]

Interesting start.I like the region!

[Cassey 0]

To all:

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement! Also, welcome to Naural With any luck, this region will grow and become something more Everyones words means a great deal to me and encouragement! I may not reply specifically, but your words dont go unnoticed

~!~!~!~

SC4Noobie

Since i'm hosting these on my own personal server at the moment, if the server goes down for a reboot (since my friend is hosting it for me and he does a lot of coding, so it happens) the pictures wont show up, but try again shortly and they should. I'm not convinced that this solution will work in the long run, so we will see.

~!~!~!~

Micah

Those boxes were really annoying, because like none of the trees I wanted to use there would work. I had originally wanted a pine tree forest over the lots with the path and other trees around, but without the dependancy I'm stuck. I'll find it eventually, just had to change my plans

~!~!~!~

Update 2 is in the works and will be released either tomorrow or wednesday, depending on my free time. It will contain shots of some expansion in the residential area, as well as expanded agriculture and some dirty industry

~Cassandra

[kristinaswan 2]

Thank goodness you fired that contractor who planted boxes for trees. Someone should inform him/her that trees are the provider of boxes, not the other way around. ;-) Gorgeous region map, can't wait to see how it forms.

[Darmok 34]

Hi Cassey,

---

Impressive start!

You've put a lot of thought behind all this work, and it's paying off.

The terraforming is not exaggerated and carefuly done.

The map you've chosen is splendid, great variety of terrain in one map, I'm taking notes here!

The only place in this first update where I would have had some critics  (pic 1.03) because there was no link between those two close highways, forcing commuters to make a big detour, was rapidly taken care of in the following comment you were saying that it was only a preliminary layout. Ahhh... I should not be that impulsive

All in all Cassey this is a very good first update.

Count me in!

-John

[dedgren 830]

Cassandra-

OK, you've got my attention.  I don't know about your highway layout- have you put any thought as to where they go once they leave the edge of the current map?

Envisioning high capacity transit routes in a blank region as large as yours strikes me as a brain-buster- I wouldn't sweat my snarky 'urban-planner' sharpshooting.  I bet it will all work out.

Anyway, what sort of central business district ("CBD") area do you see happening here?

The neighborhood looks kind of yuppie planned-community like, with those bike paths and windy streets to nowhere.  One-square, low-D commercial lots- will they be boutique-type retail selling to the granolas who live nearby?  Or do you have something else in mind?

Inquiring minds want to know...welcome to CJing.  Great start!

[Cassey 0]

Since I was bored I was passing through, so here are some more replies. Update will hopefully be posted tomorrow

~!~!~!~

kristinaswan

I let the contractor know. Unfortunately, I dont think they listened We'll have to see about that in the future

~!~!~!~

Darmok

The terraforming can be frusterating, as i'm discovering with my harbour. Its a huge harbour, so a lot of work was needed to get a flat region. The train and highway needed to be moved to make space for it.

And yes, there will be a connection in the southwest corner with those 2 highways. There will also be one more highway heading out to the north which wasn't included in the original transit overview, but will be added.

I really just wanted to get a rough idea of what will be where, so I'm not having to destroy too much of my work to make space for another major artery.

~!~!~!~

dedgren

The major highway network is actually roughly all mapped out on a piece of paper and a printed copy of the region right in front of me. The one heading out the right of the region will become a coastal road and run the entire length of the coast. It will likely be dropped down to a typical 2 lane highway, if i can get that NAM mod to cooperate so they can connect up. The one that goes out the bottom right leads to the true core of the city, and loops back up and out down there as well. Down the left side it hooks down and through a more residential sector and to a connection to get to the bottom island there.

The ones heading out the north part, the furthest left stays along the coast for the most part which will lead to a smaller city at the rivers mouth. The one on the right leads along the western face of the mountain range.

Like I said before, I didn't want to worry about building up too much and having to destroy a huge area to make room for another major artery.

The CBD is modelled after areas you see in some of the inner city communities you see here. While they may not be as loopy, they provide basic services, a restaurant, ice cream, dry cleaners, etc.

As for the roads, i guess i took some inspiration from a huge community in my city. Due to the ability to shortcut through it (since its right on down town) the city has erected barriors and one ways and all sorts of fun to keep you on a main road. However, if you do not know the region and you stray slightly or get lost in any way (since there's no markings beyond the typical signposts), even with a map you're basically screwed because of the one ways and barriors. There are places in there where its a turn into a side street with no exit capabilities, having it completely blocked off and turned into a 1 way.

Its fun trying to drive it, not.

As for more shopping, yes, theres an area set aside that will in the future be developed into more a strip-mall idea, or a road of commercial stores, whatever you want to call it.

~!~!~!~

See you all tomorrow. The update will be happening in the evening, if i can get it finished after work.

~Cass

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Well, the layout is quite good, as for the highways: maybe they should connect in that bottom right corner? 90 degree turns on such a highway is actually not that realistic: imagine taking a curve at 110km/h [70 mph]. But other than that, everything is indeed turning out well. The trails are excellent for linking areas of the community together. Very lush and green. As for the farms, the layout's quite good, but maybe make them a little bigger the further you get out of town?

It'd be quite difficult to have suburbs going out all the way like that, so maybe mix and match a few planning styles?

Otherwise, everything looks good. Can't wait to see the CBD.

Like Darmok said, you have put a lot of thought into it. I hope these 'big picture' hints I've given you will help a lot.

--SA

[GMT 389]

what a great start.

I love seeing things from the beginning!

can't wait to see more

[SC4Noobie 5]

It looks pretty nice! For such a small area, it is very detailed. I have just started using the bike paths, so i am not very good with them. One quick suggestion is to not have that overpass thing, and jsut have a regular intersection. It just looks very weird, because it is such a small area there. Cant wait for more updates!

[Cassey 0]

Shadow_Assassin

The highway curvature is a bit unrealistic, I do agree. One problem with the grid. If there was no grid i'd be a gentle curvature most of the way whenever theres a corner. One of the drawbacks to such a restrictive grid system, but thats not for this thread.

As for the farms, yeah, they'll be bigger, but I do kinda like that size. With the side of buildings built to size of land, they are IMO about a good size, but i do know where you're coming from

Yes, the hints help

~!~!~!~

SC4Noobie

I chose the overpass as a way to separate the residential area from the main route. Its not the prittinest solution by any stretch, but I wanted the separation.

~!~!~!~

Again, thanks for all the wonderful comments! even if I dont reply to you with a message, all comments are appreciated!!

And now...

Welcome back traveller! In this update, we will be focusing on the residential (and commercial) expansion of the area. You'll also see some industrial expansion. Whether I keep the dirty industry there or move it outside this city I haven't decided yet, though we will see.

2.01 Just some basic terraforming for the farms.

2.02 The agriculture zoned

2.03 ... and after the 'click'. What this 'click' is I'm not sure. I hear a click and farms sprout up *shrugs*

2.04 The dirty industry area. They were crying loudly at wanting an area so here it is for them. Its lowered down, and a retaining wall is raised up by the farms to help keep the air quality more localised. An avenue is chosen to keep traffic flowing

2.05 All zoned and ready. You'll notice the power coming from the farms. I connected the solar panels up to the farms (leaving the windmill for a 'rusty' look) so the power is being pulled through there. You'll see this in a later shot

2.06 The first industries are growing. I left a path for the avenue to follow. It will be filled in later.

2.07 The avenue and terraforming cost the city a tonne of money, so a toll booth is installed on the avenue to help recover some of the losses.

2.08 Here is another new avenue (not the same one as what we've been seeing) connecting into the highway network and up to the residential area. they now have connection to the network for the first time on this map!

2.09 Here you can see the avenue gets branched out, then closes up to cross into the next city. I was having a blonde moment when I first built this, doing the one way streets backwards to how I should have done it. Oops.

You can also see the power lines connecting the solar panels to the farms.

2.10 New residential. The road access is from the avenue I just built. You'll spot it later in another ss

2.11 It fills up quickly!

2.12 I am, er, not entirely sure what I was doing with this, to be honest. Why I just didn't make a regular easy access is beyond me. I'll probably go back and correct this at a later date, since i'm not even sure if it works

2.13 Another small commercial sector, built at the access to the new homes. Thats the road I mentioned a couple of pictures up.

2.14 Some more development on the residential areas. Already a home being built when I snapped the picture

2.15 Just an overview

2.16 The industry was crying for some more space, so I granted it to them. Wasn't much added, but enough to keep them happier

2.17 And to finish this off, here is a shot of the median as it currently stands. Residents complained about the noise from it, so trees were added to muffle the sound. The current plan is to develop the median area into a shopping spot, with stores and such on the inside of the median. This wont happen for a few updates yet, but that is the plan at this stage.

~!~!~!~

Thats it for this update! Next update is planned for friday evening! It will focus on the new harbour, which i'm kinda iffy about. It came out decent, but some things are just kind of frusterating about it. More about the issues then.

However, if anyone can give me suggestions on how to make the following look more decent, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again, and enjoy!

~Cassandra

[kristinaswan 2]

Nice update. I like that you put in "goofs" rather than correcting them right away and only showing "perfect". Most cities have their little oopsies, and they generally take forever to correct. Keep it real, girl! I also like that you're brave enough to do this "as you go" from the beginning. Lets us have an insider feeling as we watch it unfold.

I also like the hilly farm area. So many times you see big open flat farms...its a nice touch.

[latazyo 0]

your streets are excellent, the bike paths awesome

what does planting all of those road tiles do?

[oroen 0]

Interesting little commercial area between the two carriageways in 2.13. It's a sort of thing that you come across occasionally, when an existing road's capacity is increased by constructing a parallel roadway, but that roadway needs to go around pre-existing development. Something like http://tinyurl.com/g8zhy is what came to mind when I saw that. Overall I like the initial layouts of the residential developments and farmlands.

[cifa 7]

Looks good!! Keep it up

[GMT 389]

very good layouting work here.

I like it very much!

corect me if i'm wrong, but is this city financially balanced or does it just look like?

[simmax 0]

Awesome terrain and nice terracing, although you should use walls (like those by Jeronij, the stone ones) to make your terraces look better.

[jacqulina 162]

awesome work very nice detail and fantastic pics

[sloppet 3]

nice work so far! keep it up@!

[bat 6]

Nice new update!

bat

[Darmok 34]

Hi Cassandra,

Good work on the small farms, there's even one I don't remeber seeing anywhere else, could it be possible to have a closeup pic of the one in pic 2.03 kind of a long rectangular brownish building... what is that farm?

I like the tiered approach, very scenic.

WARNING Personal preference zone ahead-----

The only thing I'm not so fond of would be the avenue in such a small industrial sector.

--- End of bitching!

Though you make them pay for it (toll booth), yeah! good for you!

I can't wait to see what will develop along those long strip of one-way roads.

Hehehe, you gave yourself a lot of trouble for that highway  access, I always like experimenting with those, mostly we can't reinvent the wheel, but it's fun trying...

Pic 2.17  Interesting concept! and very good idea to put those trees for the noise.

As your last (and small) pic, perhaps using some transit enabled parking spaces such as PEG's  (Sorry can't find them on the STEX, but I'm sure they were there!) I'll try to query the lot in the game tonight and keep you informed

or

Jeroni Street And Road Culdesac Functional Parkings

would give a better result.

Well that's about it for now, See you next time

Take care

---

EDITED

The PEG parking lots are : PEG-MTP Parking Lots

They are part of PEG's Mountain Theme Park

Hope this help