Dawn of a region

[MrFingers 0]

Can you guys give me a few pointers on how to go about this? Things like how should you design and direct arteries, which cities to start with first (is your downtown the right one to begin with), how should you incorporate the landscape, etc etc etc. Just anything you can think of that will help, thanks

[Nerd_Guy 4]

I plan the whole thing out in my head first. I start with deesignating the large city tiles for downtown areas, the medium tiles around them for different sections of the city, At least one of the small tiles should be the designated industrial park for the main part of the city. I add a few low wealth tenements to that one. One part of the city, usually a med. tile should be the slums for the poor people and another one closer to the body of water nearest your city or the mountains or whatever should be the highwealth section. Then out of the main part of the city and surrounding tiles I gradually zone to medium density and no higher and then to low density and lose all forms of the grid. This takes much longer though desinging realistic suburbs. After the suburbs lots of farms and farmtowns built up along rail lines. These extend until the next city's suburbs. Also if you want build resort towns in the regions more scenic areas. small towns in the mountains, big commercial areas on the coasts. They look great too.

Long post, but that's how I do things.

[jacqulina 162]

i allways start with farms

[Goldfish4209 9]

All you need is to have a general idea of what you want your city to look like. Then lay out the basic transportation network. I like to have a few blocks of pure grid then start the erratic suburb planning. Sometimes things just come at you as you go. I had a hill that I didn't know what to do with, then I had the bright idea of terracing it. It turned out beautiful. Cities are spontaneous. Go with what seems right when you get there.

[MrFingers 0]

Is this what you meant by a farming village?  It is sunken in a valley with a river side railroad running through it as it's only connection.

My problems are more with the built up areas I think... I don't know how to begin construction.  should I just put a 6x6 grid down and then start splaying neighborhoods off it?

[gurrgkud 2]

MrFingers, that is really beautiful

[jacqulina 162]

yes very nice

[YourNickname 0]

I never have the patience to sculpt farms so articulately...

[MrFingers 0]

Wow you guys liked that?! awesome, maybe I have some talent after all!

YourNickname, I did that by first winding the railroad in, the town then had an obvious natural location after I cut that corner in the river with the railroad. Then with the farms, I just shift-placed it with no roads, then trimmed the edges to approximately the same elevation and cut it up with roads.

I'm still banging my head over how to start this town center though maybe I'll just keep trial and erroring....

[jacqulina 162]

yes i did its very nice work

[MrFingers 0]

Thanks Jacqulina, coming from you especially that means alot! Your farmlands are staggering

There is something I have come to realise.  When you first start playing this game, like I did a couple weeks ago, you try to bend your landscape to fit your city plans, but as your style matures you bend your city plans to fit your landscape.  I think if you can make that gradual transition whilst retaining functionality that's when your cities start to come together....  not sure though as I'm still learning alot of new things here.

[Goldfish4209 9]

that's pretty nice, except you could put a bit more shapes into it. 6x6 grids are too small. I like 6x9 or 6x12, etc. Grow the grid until you feel it's big enough for the future downtown then start erratic developement. Take a look at my cj that never took off, hit ST, or worked:

http://cksmooth.proboards105.com/index.cgi?board=memberregions&action=display&thread=1145196706

[mightygoose 92]

just start filling in farm fields with terraced houses and then in the original town location start converting bits to commerce on the major road

[Nerd_Guy 4]

Very nice. Beautiful. Like nothing in Illinois...lol everytime I try to do that the BSC farms make terraces at odd angles in the fields...

[MrFingers 0]

I think it would be a good idea to leave that city be and connect it in time to my center no? I don't think there is enough flat land there for that tile to be anything more than just a farming village.... shall I take a screenshot of my region?