The Mystic County Project

[kant01 5]

Exploration, Part I  - Page 1 Exploration, Part II - Page 2	Settlement, Part I  - Page 2 Settlement, Part II - Page 2 Settlement, Part III - Page 3 Settlement, Part IV - Page 3	Invaision, Part I - Page 3 Invasion, Part II - Page 3 Invasion, Part III - Page 4 Invasion, Part IV - Page 5
Interlude # 1 Page 6
Victoria, Part I - Page 8

[n.b. - So I decided it was time to start a new CJ. I apologize to readers of my last one, Glacier Valley, for abandoning that project. It was my first CJ and I was more focused on the narrative than on the aesthetics of the region and as a result I was a bit disappointed with how things were progressing. I am hoping that with a fresh start I can create something a bit more satisfying.]

The archives of the Linden Province Historical Society indicate that Mystic County at one point consisted in vast stretches of untamed land, most of which had been set aside many generations ago to protect its pristine beauty. According to the records, it was believed throughout the empire by citizens of all classes that the land was unlike any other. Those on the outside of society dreamt of the healing power of the waters from the sacred falls. Those privileged enough to grace the gilded drawing rooms of the VII Empire could afford to send emissaries to collect tree resin and herbs in the hopes of finding cures for their ailments. Many never returned and even fewer could tell first-hand accounts of what they had seen.

It was as the VII Empire’s culture began to decay and people everywhere settled into their bland existence that Chancellor Warden created the wilderness preserve in the hopes of bringing inspiration. He sent the imperial cartographers on an expedition to map the shores and the mountains and he had a picture guide to Mystic County drawn up. These picture guides are now among the rarest and most precious items traded on the antique market. Fewer than 100 copies are thought to still be in existence.

But those days of exploration soon receded into the collective memory of the people. After Chancellor Warden’s reign, after the revolts of Beaufort Lake, after the IX Empire collapsed, after that tragic incident at Glacier Valley where Markos Tores, heir to the Tores industrial empire, shot himself and where nearly 100,000 workers died, after the scandals, the plagues, and the military suppression, after all that time, where the empire appeared to come unhinged, it was then that the first settlers began to descend on Mystic County, hoping for a new beginning.

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Region Information / Mods Used

Region Map - Banks Peninsula, New Zealand On STEX here.

Terrain/Trees - Cycledogg's Columbus Project

Water - PEG Water Mod Brigantine On STEX here.

Seasonal Trees/Country Fences - BSC Prop Pack Cycledogg No. 1 & 2

Dirt Roads - Trolca's Street Mod and Jeronij's Diagonal Dirty Streets Extended Version

More coming soon...

[kant01 5]

For about a month now I have been working on a set of new rural and country style lots. These lots have been inspired for the most part by the breathtaking textures and trees providing by Cycledogg. I have also been inspired by brilliant mountain lots of Pegasus, the wonderful range of farm and other buildings from Simgoober, and of course Jeronij’s amazing CJ, Simtropia.

I’ll update my specific list of dependencies as I go along, but I just wanted to give a sneak preview of what’s to come.

Farm roads with fences and seasonal trees...

Rustic style R$ lots...

And more R$ lots...

The Mayor's house...

And of course, lots of great trees...

In the winter...

In the spring...

In the fall...

I am going to feature these lots in the Mystic County Project, so stay tuned!

...

[sloppet 3]

Awesome Region + Great PIcs = Outstanding CJ, with a Greato start!

[eggie99 6]

wow, this promises a lot, very nice work! where did you get that nice trees? (all of them)

[Benedict 3,119]

Great looking terrain... and a great first update!

[Bombastix 0]

Nice start... I like your region!

[bat 6]

Great start, great region and nice pictures!

bat

[Battlecat 14]

Nice!  Those roadside fences and trees look fantastic!  Reminds me of the area around my grandfathers former farm.  The region looks very cool as well.  Can't wait to see more. 

[andymcnab666 4]

This is really good my man... very american...

Some great usage of custom things as well.

I want to see more as the region promises good things.

[oyd 2]

i like the map..... 

great work so far.......

those fences are beautiful........

[RiverCocytus 0]

Nice work with placing the trees beforehand.

I like the fences/trees combo: are those your own work, or are they available? And do the trees actually seasonally get/lose leaves?

Keep going!

[Nardo69 51]

That combination of fences, dirt tracks and seasonal trees looks just purely great (and I don't like dirt tracks ...)

Remembering yuour great story from ypur last CJ I am really curious what's waiting for us!

Bernhard

[collgab 10]

really nice realism hmm where did u get those seasonal trees?

[Cjah 15]

hmmm....interesting....

I very much liked your last CJ,but this one....well I don't like much......only the mayor ranch and the trees....the houses don't even look realistic...sorry to say...I expected much more from you and the way your last CJ was coulda got you a trixie....maybe this one will do ok after the houses...umm.....well maybe the houses shouldn't have so many fences....well this is odd for me since this is probably my first negative comment in a CJ....

However your region is amazing....really you are pro at terraforming....

Well good luck with this....................................

[cityhawk 12]

That's some GREAT terraforming, and the country feel is very nice. I'll be watchin' this CJ!

[Ringo 0]

cool looking trees--good farms, the low wealth housing reminds me of some of the stuff around Dallas-haha good stuff

[capitol1 1]

awsome grennery this is looking like a good cj to follow

BTWid you hand terraform this region because it is a really good looking region...

[dale_bel 0]

rather cool cj,keep it up

[choco1 4]

I must disagree with Cjah on this, I think this start is truly spectacular.

You have a very creative style of town, and very realstic use of fences.  And I aplaud you for making low wealth look beautiful.

Nice start, I look forward to more.

[tomdapom 79]

OMG you used Banks Peninsula by flamesrock, I live on the city north of the peninsula, Christchurch!!! You made a very unique start, I have never seen anything like this as far as CJs go. Beautiful start and I hope you enjoy this CJ!!

[jacqulina 162]

excellent region,i do love those fences must have took a long time to do what you have done so far and a beautifull result,wonderfull pics

[Micah 16]

Excellent beginning!!

Your terraforming skills are impressive and the storyline is intriguing.

The trailer park and the farms and side trees are just spectacular!

Keep up the tremendous job.

[Sisu 1]

Great start! Those rural fences, houses and other stuff looks so great. Nice terraforming too.

Looking forward to more.

[kant01 5]

Wow, I must say thank you to all the wonderful comments. They are all very much appreciated.

First, I want to make clear that I did not terraform this region myself other than to add trees and such. The region is actually Banks Peninsula in New Zealand. I simply have not had the time to make a region from scratch and I thought this one provided the perfect mix of mountains, coast, and flatland. Thanks to flamesrock for placing this on STEX!

Second, the seasonal trees and lodge pole fences are props from Cycledogg's collection. I simply created ploppable lots for those roadside fences and removed the base texture in order to create the country lane effect. As for the R$ lots, I have created over 40 separate lots using the existing in-game buildings as well as several models from Simgoober and others and then simply placed Cycledogg's seasonal trees individually on each of them. I also created some ploppable lots with those same trees (1x1, 2x2, 10x10) and removed the base textures in order to augment the area around the homes. As far as I know, these trees do not already exist on STEX other than in the Cycledogg's prop collections.

Now for the individual comments:

sloppet - thanks for the kind words! The start is always the easiest part...we'll have to wait and see what comes next.

eggie99 - As above, all credit goes to Cycledogg for his amazing, beautiful trees!

Benedict - thanks for the feedback!

Bombastix - Thank you - I am looking forward to developing it soon

bat - thanks, thanks, thanks!

Battlecat - I love those fences, too. When I saw them I just couldn't resist using them. Hopefully they will make things feel a bit more undeveloped early on. Thanks for stopping by!

andymcnab666 - What a nice comment. Yes, it is very American. After having lived all over the world I still cannot resist the rural beauty of America's farmlands.

oyd - thanks so much!

RiverCocytus - It does seem to take forever placing trees, but it is always worth it in the end. The trees and fences are all Cycledoggs but I placed them on all the lots and create the fence/tree plopables. The trees do actually change with the seasons and they are lots of fun to watch. Some times I just put the game in motion and sit back and watch...

Nardo69 - Wow, so great to find you here in Mystic County! Hopefully I will not disappoint.

collgab - Glad you liked it - realism is what I aiming for. See my notes above on the trees.

Cjah - I appreciate you honesty. I value all feedback! I think the houses/fences will grow on you. Those were just meant as a sneak preview. I spent quite a bit of time making over 40 lots of just R$ and have now begun to move on to C$, R$$, and R$$$. I will continue to tweak the lots as time goes on. I am still not happy with all of them. Please stay tuned and let me know if you have any other suggestions and maybe you will change your mind.

cityhawk - thanks for watchin'!

Ringo - Thanks for the feedback! I have been to Dallas and all over Texas actually, as well as Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. They all came to mind when I was thinking about designing a rural region.

capitol1 - thanks! There was no hand terraforming here. I only placed the trees!

dale_bel - thank you much! I will try!

chocolatemax285 - Wow, what a beautiful comment! I have been hoping to reinvent the R$ lots with some countryside character. We'll see what happens...

tomdapom - Hey, you recognized it! I had worried about using somewhere recognizable to create my fantasy world. Hopefully you will approve and thanks for the wonderful comment!

jacqulina - thanks for your sweet words. The fences did take a long time as my lot/modding skills are virtually nill. I wish I had more time. I have been trying to get things to look right for almost a month now.

Micah - thanks!! The story is one of my favorite parts...and I never know how it will go.

Sisu - I really appreciate the feedback! thanks!

Thanks again, everyone!

[kant01 5]

From the archives of the Mystic County Historical Society:

There are many reasons why the outcasts and dregs of society began to flock to the Linden Province at the end of the IX Empire. Social and political tensions across nearly every province had escalated, food and water supplies were dwindling after pollution had reached epic proportions, and peasant “reeducation” programs had been put into place in order to create virtual slave labor camps. It was only in the Linden Province that the land remained completely untouched and where the provincial governor had refused to implement the Chancellor’s social restrictions.

It is thus no surprise that with hoards of migrants and refugees searching for a place to settle down that they would end up in the Linden Province and in particular in that little corner of the state known as Mystic County, a land previously uninhabited after executive decree many Chancellor’s before.

The delta region offered graceful shores with bountiful supplies of fish…

The trees were solid and unharmed, offering ample lumber for construction…

The soil was full of nutrients, ready to be tilled and planted…

And more than anything the unsurpassed beauty of the region and the legends of old seemed to call to the outcasts of the empire with the promise of hope…

[collgab 10]

nice update can't wait for more, and those scenery pic's r very realistic

[cifa 7]

great start, very good looking region, as the pictures of the farms and the R$ houses

[Bombastix 0]

Very nice updates, looks pretty realistic!... keep it up!

[bat 6]

Great update!

bat

[eggie99 6]

Wow, thats a very nice flora nature you have there