Show us your Downtown!

[T Wrecks 10,210]

@ Mista_Fuzz: That's a nice city (except for the brown boxes, of course ), but I see some ways to improve. In loose order:

 

• I think building repetition is something you could work on. Canterra Tower is a wonderful BAT, but seeing it four times within a narrow space kinda ruins the effect, especially because it's not your average, generic black/blue box. Some bulldoze/grow cycles may alleviate the problem.
• The downtown waterfront looks a bit confusing, it's somehow neither fish nor fowl. A beach? A marina? A promenade? A ferry port? Deciding for ONE idea and pulling it through consistently may yield a better result here.
• You don't need the power line over the river - bridges carry electricity, too.
• Bridges are too many with too little space between them. Several road bridges plus an avenue bridge plus a motorway bridge so close to another look somewhat wasteful. Give those bridges some breathing room, showcase them!
• Some trees along the river banks would help to make your city look not only more pleasing to the eye, but also more complete. In a big city, the bank wouldn't be just some unattended, open grassland.
• The transition from downtown to suburbs is somewhat sudden. Although this is purely a matter of taste, I'd try concentrating the skyscrapers towards the waterfront and getting some mid-rise (or lower high-rise) stuff going on further behind for a smooth transition.
• The plaza is really nice, but then again it's not really spacious because most of it is water. Some actually "walkable" space would be nice to have, too.

I'd say you got a pretty fine cake going here; now it's all about the icing and the cherry on top.

[jmsepe 2,039]

Really, bridges carry electricity too? Oh my, that's something new for me.  Just one more suggestion, please use a slope mod. It will terrifically change the gradient of the slopes in your city creating smoother transitions and more realistic road networks.

[Mista_Fuzz 13]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I'll be sure to work on the things you've mentioned. Maybe I'll post it again once it's better.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

I'd sure like to see what you're able to come up with. That downtown is embedded in a very nice and interesting landscape; it definitely has potential!

 

EDIT

 

One word of warning: if you decide to take jmsepe's good advice and add a slope mod, I recommend backing up your city first. You may find that after bulldozing any given street, the slope mod will no longer permit rebuilding the same solution (due to the slope settings being exceeded), forcing you to bulldoze a lot. Adding a slope mod "on the fly" can be tricky. However, smooth and realistic slopes really contribute a lot towards a realistic overall impression.

[Compdude787 916]

When you start using a slope mod, you might as well start over. Having one in your plugins folder makes your city's design end up being so much different than it would have been when you had 45-degree slopes everywhere.

[MushyMushy 3,618]

One thing you can try to smooth slopes out for networks is to use the monorail network and then bulldoze it and build your road/other network. This is the method I personally use. You can use this to your advantage because your roads won't always conform to the strictness of a slope mod; however, the monorail technique can be a bit tedious from my experience.

 

Just a thought.

[henrys1996 127]

@MistaFuzz: so far not bad, I just want to latch onto what others may have mentioned:

• I will say this, so yes, a slope mod makes cities(and roads, in particular) look so much more realistic and smooth and it is definitely more pleasant and appealing to the eye.
• Nice plaza! That's actually a pretty nice way to use the default small Maxis plazas, but like T Wrecks mentioned, add more "walkable" space". Good downtown areas have nice open areas for people to look around, despite the fact that this is a densely built area.
• Finally, I think you should not end the RD-6 at a standard Maxis road. Also, while I'm on that, it won't hurt your downtown if you incorporate the neat-looking NWM networks. It allows more Sims to travel comfortably on your roads and reduces traffic problems. Also, my personal preference is to have a central corridor (either AVE-6 or some dual-OWR setup) lined with your city's most important (or imposing) buildings.
• Decorate your shoreline: you could line it with waterfront buildings, beautiful walkways, trees, so much more. But just a word of warning, like T Wrecks suggested, the best idea is to go with one option and stick to it throughout (and on that note, I would avoid placing beaches near a CBD... it's not particularly organic).
• I notice that you still use Maxis highways and convert it to an avenue and then back to a highway. My suggestion is that if you will have a main highway running through your city, keep it as such. Also, expand your highway to a higher-capacity RHW-10S, as many suburban Sims will count on this method of transport to get to/from work.
• Finally, BROWN BOXES ARE UGLY! Sorry for the caps, but I'm happy you noticed that ahead of time.

Cheers! You've got potential, my friend

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I'll be sure to work on the things you've mentioned. Maybe I'll post it again once it's better.

 

Also, You'd love the bridge height mod. No need for random, ugly slopes no more. You can build any bridge at any elevation.

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

Excuse my stupid repost, but I really want to show you the WIP downtown of Nuevo Alicante, MC, USA. Not sure if I'll put it in my CJ yet. If I would, it would by far be the largest city in the state. Looks like the CBD of a city with at least three million people living in it, right?

 

 

 

...And some close up night shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspiration taken from Toronto, Canada and Singapore, Singapore. And before anyone asks, yes, commute will most likely be terrible when residences start popping up.

[Huston 5,799]

Loving the mash of city inspirations. Can clearly see distinct features from both, and it looks great so far

[Hotwheeler 409]

Whoah,this looks amazing.Love the several influences and the nightlighting.Every building brings it`s own light to compose afterwards a stunning atmosphere.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Good composition, but I think it looks very composed, too. I like several individual ideas (such as the way you used the overhanging Pacific Place buildings!) and the high overall quality of the buildings you use, but as a whole, the city looks somewhat sterile and arranged to me, tbh. The downtown lacks average and boring buildings to look really alive - the way it is, it looks more like a showcase of skyscrapers with a few alibi buildings thrown in to me. Then again, that's of course just my impression and my taste, and it's an impressive and well executed arrangement for sure.

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

Good composition, but I think it looks very composed, too. I like several individual ideas (such as the way you used the overhanging Pacific Place buildings!) and the high overall quality of the buildings you use, but as a whole, the city looks somewhat sterile and arranged to me, tbh. The downtown lacks average and boring buildings to look really alive - the way it is, it looks more like a showcase of skyscrapers with a few alibi buildings thrown in to me. Then again, that's of course just my impression and my taste, and it's an impressive and well executed arrangement for sure.

 

The "too-many-beautiful-skyscrapers-problem" is a problem I've been battling for a while. I think I've finally sort of solved it by placing a bunch of generic black boxes and similarities "behind" the other buildings, out of sight from the waterfront. Mind you, Toronto and Singapore are filled to the brim with architectural mastepieces.

[tankmank 853]

I'd have to agree with T Wrecks it does look a little sterile. There are however some great aspects, i like the park area, something many overlook is greenery and parks and the many wide avenues, even the main parts of Central in Hong Kong are multi-lane roads and i see so many CBDs with street and roads with loads of skyscrapers 

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

I believe I have rid the sterile look many describe. Cars are flooding the streets, so the empty appearance shouldn't be a problem anymore. The city is still so beautiful it's ugly, though, but I suppose that's the style I'm trying to achieve. I always make ugly industrial cities anyway.

 

 

 

[tonyr 926]

Very nice my friend. You have chosen the perfect buildings for night shots as well as day. Hot! 

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

Very nice my friend. You have chosen the perfect buildings for night shots as well as day. Hot! 

 

Thank you!

[T Wrecks 10,210]

I'd like to see a day pic, too.

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

I'd like to see a day pic, too.

 

What? Day pics are lame pics.

 

Alright, fine, I'll see what I can dig out.

[zlotka 44]

I believe I have rid the sterile look many describe. Cars are flooding the streets, so the empty appearance shouldn't be a problem anymore. The city is still so beautiful it's ugly, though, but I suppose that's the style I'm trying to achieve. I always make ugly industrial cities anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

Wow this is very good.

What is the building in front? the ^ shaped one ?

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

zlotka: Not sure if you mean SimFox' SEV Building or Rayden's Dentsu building, (which is only availble from the SC4D LEX). I believe those are the only "^-shaped" buildings in the shot.

[timmie 988]

Old 'downtown'.

 

 

New downtown.

 

 

(Sorry about the software rendering.)

[zlotka 44]

zlotka: Not sure if you mean SimFox' SEV Building or Rayden's Dentsu building, (which is only availble from the SC4D LEX). I believe those are the only "^-shaped" buildings in the shot.

Dentsu HQ building it is . Thanks!

[bmag_20 61]

Working on a new downtown area and have plopped this into place.

 

 

Still not sure if I should keep the Wells Fargo building as it looks a bit out of place. But, I'll probably wait until I grow out the residential areas and see how it looks then.

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

Working on a new downtown area and have plopped this into place.

 

<snip>

 

Still not sure if I should keep the Wells Fargo building as it looks a bit out of place. But, I'll probably wait until I grow out the residential areas and see how it looks then.

 

Not bad! The seawalls you're using makes the city look very small though. And some NWM wouldn't hurt. Other than that, I'd say it's pretty much spot on. The Wells Fargo center does not look out of place at all.

Old 'downtown'.

 

<snip>

 

New downtown.

 

<snip>

 

(Sorry about the software rendering.)

 

That looks so ridiculously dutch! Beautiful work.

[jmsepe 2,039]

I believe I have rid the sterile look many describe. Cars are flooding the streets, so the empty appearance shouldn't be a problem anymore. The city is still so beautiful it's ugly, though, but I suppose that's the style I'm trying to achieve. I always make ugly industrial cities anyway.

 

<snip>

 

 

 

 

 

Nice images. I always have problems with adding lots of tall buildings and maintaining the aesthetics of my city. Normally, more skyscrapers would make my city more occidental in nature. I wonder why. 

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

 Nice images. I always have problems with adding lots of tall buildings and maintaining the aesthetics of my city. Normally, more skyscrapers would make my city more occidental in nature. I wonder why. 

 

Really? I think all my skyscraper jungles end up looking as oriental as Pagodas and djonks.

[jmsepe 2,039]

Morizuki IT Park and Kaname District of Rakuzan City.

 

[Durfsurn 539]

My current project. This is the buisness district for a half built city with a projected population nearing 1 million sims. The northern third is Downtown, the middle third Midtown. The rest is out of view. I kinda messed up the timing with the fountains but they were put there as celebration of the 100th year of the city (I took the shot in the 100th SC4 year for this tile). 

 

 

-Billy

[jmsepe 2,039]

Nice shot Billy.