Graafsticht ... my vision on how a city should look

[Gryphonite 0]

This is really great. Impressive use of lots of impressive things! I particularly like some of your transport layouts and your use of the GLR.

[sloppet 3]

kingofsimcity: here you can find those food courts: PEG CDK SV Food Court Plazas   . I'm looking forward for the next update!

[NicolaiS 8]

To humbrol,  kwakelaar, jacqulina, Gryphonite and kingofsimcity:

 

Thanks for the nice comments!

 

To pekeboo1:

 

I hope you will visit Graafsticht again. Thanks for the compliment of a flair of brutal reality ... a great description to which I fully agree

 

To kb:

 

Thanks for the compliment ... but, ahum ... no ketchup score on this cj? 

 

To FullStrenght:

 

Groningen is one of the most beautiful cities of The Netherlands. I have been there quite a lot because my parents live near Groningen.

 

The trams you see in Graafsticht are from the Ground Rail Modd. You can find all important information about it: here

 

To sloppet: Great to see you in Graafsticht again and thanks for answering kingofsimcity's question.

 

Time for another update.

As de binnenstad ( downtown ) of Graafsticht is getting more and more finished I present you some pictures from a higher altitude. Note that the low-wealth high rises in these pictures are there for a purpose. I will explain that in a little history lesson in the next update.

Oosterhof:

12.01

Oosterhof from a different angle and Graafsticht Oost railroad station:

12.02

Bredelaan ( wide avenue ) from Binnenstad to Het Oude Noorden:

12.03

Graafsche Brug ( bridge ) from Binnenstad to Zuidwijk ( South neighbourhood )

12.04

[capa don 0]

wow great city!! nice details and beautiful screenshots! you gave me a couple of great ideas and inpiration to keep building. and i really like the name Graafsticht, sounds like maastricht, that's the reason i actually checked your CJ, but i never regret it.

ps, where can i find that mod of dutch/NS trains, busses etc. i used to have it, but i lost it, thank you (of dankjewel )

[theblademaster 1]

mooie stad, ziet er allemaal heel goed uit.

ga je ook de omgeving van rdam nog maken? ik wil wel weten hoe je capelle en krimpen, en natuurlijk europoort eruit gaat laten zien :D

later

[hobostank 8]

is this germany or somrthing?

[blieblie 0]

I think it's dutch

Mooie stad trouwens, hoe krijgen jullie voorelkaar dat je in een stad hele rijen van hetzelfde type krijgt? Plaats je ze a la ploppable of komen ze echt vanzelf? En al dat detail... Echt super mooi, waar haal je dat allemaal vandaan? Gewoon hier van de ST Exchange?

[garfiedude 2]

Looking good.

Where did these bus stops come from?

[NicolaiS 8]

A quick reply regarding the bus stop ... it has been asked twice where I got it from now ... I didn't remember at first but after I searched the STEX and a number of other sites I visit frequently and couldn't find it, there was only one option left .... simcity.com  ... and indeed I have found it again.

 

You can download the bus stop here: Bus stop

[garfiedude 2]

Eh, just my luck, my connection loves the EA lot portal.

[gurrgkud 2]

Wow this CJ is looking really really good!

[ianclowe4c 1]

how do you get your highways to look like that. i would love mine to look like that. nice screenshots.

[theblademaster 1]

Mooie stad trouwens, hoe krijgen jullie voorelkaar dat je in een stad hele rijen van hetzelfde type krijgt? Plaats je ze a la ploppable of komen ze echt vanzelf? En al dat detail... Echt super mooi, waar haal je dat allemaal vandaan? Gewoon hier van de ST Exchange?

quote>

Ik denk dat t met ploppable is, n nadeel daarvan is vind ik, t heeft op deze manier wel weinig variatie das n beetje jammer.

 

In english;

I think he has made it with ploppable buildings, i think a disadvantage of ploppable buildings is that, this way, you get little variation in the city. That is a shame i think.

 

But still looking good.  can we expect an update soon?

 

[Thorvin 2]

Date: 5/30/2005 2:43:41 PM Author: ianclowe4c how do you get your highways to look like that. i would love mine to look like that. nice screenshots.

quote>

 

Have a look here : https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=59577&pageNo=5&num=30

And for downloads : http://thorvin.free.fr/sc4/index.php

 

[nooneatall 6]

I just can't tell you how realistic this seems in my eyes...
I especially love the European feel to this, it makes it that much better!

I'm wondering where I can find the apartment buildings found in Stationsbuurt, if possible. I really like the look of the area, the custom lots used there add a very nice touch; except, I wouldn't want to live there, I don't think

Keep up the good work!

[Superchan 23]

looks great.

[+Guest]

Beautiful city you have, NicolaiS
New euro highway textures fits really good here.

I like the railway station area the most

[Darmok 34]

NicolaiS

Very good update.

I like the Elladremmian inspiration your city have.

Those black highways are great looking too!

Can't wait to see more

Take Care!

[____----____ 37]

I still like this cj one of my top 3 right now great planning i love it

 

 

Alek

[jacqulina 162]

what a great update

[Kwakelaar 92]

Just gotta love Oosterhof. Nice update

[Gryphonite 0]

Very nice update. I can't believe how much better the black-top highways look compared to the originals.

[NicolaiS 8]

Hello everybody. It is time for another update. I took me more time to create the new update then I liked, but I think its worth the waiting. I have left Graafsticht Binnenstad and Het Oude Noorden as they are when we last visited those area's.

I have made some preparations in the region for expansion to the suburban, industrial and rural area's surrounding Graafsticht. That took quite some time and careful planning. Those area's will be part of future updates in which the definite outlines of Graafsticht: The City will become more clear.

 

To start things I will address the comments mad since our last update:

 

To capa don: Those Dutch trains and busses are made by Oppie, you can find them here:

 

http://www.simcitycentral.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=41&sid=ac8321ca1ba33262b446b809772b5d42

 

To theblademaster: Thanks for visiting Graafsticht. I am not sure if I will really recreate Capelle ... I don't know enough of Capelle to re-create it. Europort will probably find a place somewhere ... Regarding diversity. In a way I agree with you, but when you take a look in real city's you will notice large area's are almost completly the same with just tiny differences, examples: Amsterdam grachtengordel, Paris and other historic city's. I tried to rebuild a realistic downtown like Paris ... I think I have succeeded in that.

 

To hobostank: Its not German, its Dutch ... big difference

 

To blieblie: Its a combination between ploppables and grown buildings. The Paris buildings are plopped because growables were not availble yet when I started this cj. Other rows are grown ... it takes some time to watch buildings grow and destroy the ones you don't want ...  Ninety percent of the custom made lots I use can be found right here on the STEX.

 

To garfiedude: I know you have recieved the bus stop. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you again and feel free to ask for any information.

 

To gurggkud: Thanks ... I appreciate it.

 

To ianclowe4c: I see you question is answered by Thorvin. Thanks for stopping by.

 

To nooneatall: I hope you have found the apartment buildings. Thanks for the very nice compliment. Hope to see you again. As a reminder, here is the link:

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?mode=files&filetype=all&category=default&sortby=DatePosted&show=12&Str=chavs

 

To Superchad: Thanks and welcome to Graafsticht

 

To Marrast: Sir, its an honour you have visited Graafsticht. as you can see I am a big fan of your BAT's. Eladremme has been a big influence to me. I am sorry you decided to stop working on Eladremme but I am confident your next cj will be as great as Eladremme. Thanks for the compliment, it means a lot to me.

 

To Darmok: Good to see you again ... I like the black highways very much. I hope the onramps of the NAM intersections will be finished shortly.

 

To Aleking, Kwakelaar, Gryphonite and Jacqulina: Thanks for the compliments, I hope I can keep you interested with this update.

 

---

 

Today we will concentrate on suburbs. I have planned to do three different updates about suburbs ... Dutch style. We will focus on three distinctive periods of city-planning in Dutch 20th century history; namely, the 50's+60's, 70's+80's and 90's to 2015. Those three periods are so very different that I think it will be nice trying to re-create these periods in SC4.

Our first period will be the present one, 90's till 2015. Of course we need some background information about this. Lets go!!!

In 1993 the Dutch Ministry of National Housekeeping, Infra-structure and environment presented the Fourth Plan of Infra-Structure to parliament (in short: VINEX). In this plan the Dutch government presented the idea's and agreements about how the Dutch city area's were allowed to expend. In the plan a number of demands were made for future housing projects and how many houses were to be build by local governments.

Key in these plans was that lessons were learned from the 70's and 80's period in which the growing city's suburbs were rather bad thought out. The city's just build new suburbs wherever they wanted and there was no connexion between the suburban area's. Consequence was that green area's between city's and within the city's themselves disappeared.

VINEX focuses on a number of important items:

* Good access to public transport.
* Good tuning to existing highway systems.
* Good integration between living area's, rural area's, woods and water.
* Better combination of work and life, meaning living closer to the workplace to reduce the use of cars.

But where do you find suitable area's when large parts of the country, especially in the West of The Netherlands? Remember that The Netherlands is a tiny country with 16+ million people.

Within VINEX this will be realized by demanding from local governments to do a thorough research within the City limits and find un-used industrial area's and/or un-used rail yards. Those area's are well suited to be re-used for city expansion.

Within VINEX the demand is made that till 2015 a number of 634.800 new houses will be build on 120 different locations. This number of new houses can be compared with the build rush of the 50's, after world war 2. VINEX should make it possible for The Netherlands to solve all housing problems till 2015.

What kind of houses need to be build? The present home owner or tenant is very demanding. They want lots of space, green area's and the traditional family situation is a thing of the past. VINEX is supposed to comply with the new demands of the 21st century ... Spacious family homes in rows, small apartment buildings and utilities like shopping malls and schools very nearby. Nowadays people demand more quality and the government has to comply.

Lets take a look at real VINEX housing. Here are a few picture of the VINEX are of Ypenburch. Ypenburch is a former airport, situated between three major highways on the outskirts of Den Haag.

Aerial picture of the area knows as Ypenburch

13.01

A typical VINEX street ... lots of row houses, diversity, lots of green and water.

13.02

Part of Ypenburch, a typical VINEX project area.

13.03

Well ... now its time to use this information in SC4. In these next pictures you can see I tried to build a suburb named Maaldam near a highway. I profided the VINEX area with lots of water and green, good acces to roads and some commercial area's nearby for small office buildings.

The Road and street grid. All VINEX area's have one artery road surrounding the area.

13.04

Acces roads to nearby highway, railroad station and Graafsticht Noord. They are sunken to minimize the noise.

13.05

VINEX: Living near water and nature

13.06

Higwhay noise reducers ... note that in reality large earthen walls are build and then trees and grass is grown on it.

13.07

Compare

13.08

Zoomed out

13.09

Thats it for now. In the next update we will take a closer look at Maaldam and see if VINEX really works in SC4 ... till next time.

[humbrol 0]

great update!! Looking good

[____----____ 37]

wooooowwww sweet looking development

[Jerebannus XVI 7]

great updates,  great city, it really is the way a city should look like!, could you tell me where to get that highway from the last pic! lol thnx,

 

im lovin every bit of it

[NicolaiS 8]

Date: 6/2/2005 12:24:35 PM Author: Jerebannus XVI

great updates,  great city, it really is the way a city should look like!, could you tell me where to get that highway from the last pic! lol thnx,

'im lovin every bit of it'

quote>

 

Thanks

 

You can find everything there is to know about the Euro texture modd in this thread:

 

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=59577

[flrscf 0]

Oh, NicolaiS you're the best! I always wanted to recreate this type of suburbs. But I never really started it, because i have no idea how to create them. So i'm very curious how you are going to do that. There are some nice ideas already, like that gras noise barrier. Keep it up! You give me a lot of ideas!

[rooker1 4]

This looks very interesting, please more pics.  I really like your rail network and the preplanning of peg streams and bridges.  Keep up the great work!!

 

L8r

[Joaquin 0]

looks like a real dutch city! I like it so far. I will follow updates always, you got my attention!