Switzerland

[Giligone 10]

Nice work on this city. It's nice and dense but not really tall, very european.

[gabry85 2]

Nice town, I love that country club mansion especially! Also those white apartments near the river are well-chosen, they look very German (but what's that swimming car right there??  )

Keep up the good work!

[PhilsCafe 8]

Nice updates. I particularly like the transition from the farmlands to the city. Also, the French quarter is nicely done, I like the promenade very much.

I agree with bighaben, some building types are quite repetitve indeed. E.g. the blue glass-and-steel highrises. Despite of being non-typical for Switzerland, bulldozing some of them might lighten up the skyline a tad. Instead, you could let another type of building grow there, or just replace it with parks or plazas.

I have another suggestion concerning the modds: The Bridge Height Mod by joerg is very worthwhile, it allows you to build perfectly level bridges without the steep on-ramp. You might also try one of the different slope mods from the STEX, to get smoother slopes (although, they can be tricky to use the first time... but when you get used to it, they work great).

I hope you don't mind me giving some tips.

Phil

[Mr. Beer 12]

Sweet... Just two or three suggestions... the area between Yverdon, VD and Neuch

[gndrew 0]

Hey guys. Sorry it's been so long since my last update, but I've been real busy with school and stuff. It may be a couple of days before my next update, but I will now take some time to respond to comments:

@jacqulina: Thanks!

@bbfan02: Thanks - I use Kwakelaar's farms.

@penguin007: I appreciate the kind words.

@Callbat: Thank you!

@suplado!: The waterfront was challenging.

@bighaben: Thanks - I know some of the buildings are repetitive (especially that blue glassed building) but that's the only growable medium density Euro-style CO$$$ building in the game, so I'm kinda stuck with it.

@Mike the Mayor: Thanks alot.

@Giligone: I appreciate the kind words.

@gabry85: lol yeah that swimming car is really random. I don't know what happened there.

@PhilsCafe: Thanks for the tips - I will keep them in mind. The only problem with bulldozing those buildings is that so many people will be unemployed. Then my city will get really ghetto.

@Mr.Beer: Yeah, looking at Google Earth I realize that it's not the best recreation in terms of land use. It would be really hard to go back and re-do it, as the farms won't grow past a certain point, my infrastructure will be messed up, and unemployment and other levels will be way out of whack. I guess I was trying too hard to re-create population rather than focusing on land use. I'll try to do a better job focusing on land use in the future.

[jacqulina 162]

looking out for that update when you have time my friend

[vivydu29 60]

Wow, your city is very wonderfull, great work.

[gndrew 0]

Sorry guys for the lack of updates, but here you go.

Biel-Bienne

Current Population: 58,000

Biel (German) - Bienne (French) is a bilingual Swiss city in the northwest. It borders the Bielersee (lake) and is home to high-tech industry and manufacturing. Biel-Bienne (the official name) is famous for being home to many Swiss watch makers.

Quickly, an overview:

southwest:

central:

northeast:

north areas:

French District/Downtown:

Farms/Suburbs:

eastern side of downtown:

southern industrial area:

peninsula area:

Hope you enjoyed! Comments are appreciated.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Well I am not an expert on Switzerland, but it looks pretty good...  

Those cargo ships would need a really good pilot in that narrow waterway... I wonder if there is an opening bridge bat anywhere... that would look cool.

Have you ever tried flattening out the route for the highway with road tiles first?  That could help smooth out the bumpiness.

I like your custom content, and it mixes fine with the Maxis.

[farmer-alex 2]

A really neat + tidy looking City.

Looking forward to your next Update

[gabry85 2]

Density and mountains, challenging stuff in SC. Love the harbor and that radio station near the farms especially!

[bighaben 0]

Awesome, I understand the repetitivness now, blame the game makers, I find it odd they only have one...anyways, love it, can't wait to see some bigger mountains.

[jjune4991 1]

dude, this is soo nice. it looks so realistic too! and i love the french quarters and downtown areas. one question, where did you get the mod for the turning lanes?

[gndrew 0]

Hey guys. Sorry it's been so long - I was out of town and now I'm a bit sick. I'm working on Geneva right now and have completed all other towns on the western fringe of Switzerland. I have a lot of updates to give - it's just a matter of taking screenshots, reformatting image files, and posting them here. I'll try my best to get another update in the next couple of days.

@abcvs: Thanks! I guess I could've smoothed out the highways, I didn't really think of that before. That would be cool if there was a draw bridge BAT. I'll look for one.

@farmer-alex: I appreciate the compliments.

@gabry85: Thanks!

@bighaben: Yeah it would be nice if they had a wider variety.

@jjune4991: Thanks a bunch. I didn't realize that the turning lanes were based on a mod, but if I had to guess, they come from the European Roads mod. I think you can download it from the STEX.

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, very nice update! I love the farmland and I like that downtown too. Great choice of buildings.

-bbfan02-

[gndrew 0]

@bbfan02: Thanks!

Here is a regional teaser for future updates:

Ok guys, finally I have another update for you:

Fribourg

Current population: ~72,000 (although I'm redirecting northeastern Fribourg into part of Bern's city limits, so really more like 62,000)

Fribourg (or, in German, Freiburg) is a town in west central Switzerland. The majority of the population speaks French, however there is quite a large German-speaking contingent in the city as well.

First, an overview:

The southwest:

northwest:

northeast (including northwestern Bern):

southeast:

central:

downtown with the main train station:

northeastern medical research campus:

airport and northwestern Bern:

some farm scenes:

high-tech industrial north central Fribourg:

Hope you enjoyed! Comments and suggestions are appreciated!

[jacqulina 162]

wow wonderfull update,farms are looking fantastic,i love the views very scenic,excellent work and pics my friend.

[kobenhavn 0]

hms is a very good buts i go to sqitserland alot caus i live in danemark kobenhavn and i seed a cool!

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, great update! That town looks great! I like the rail lines and great city center! Great farms too. And excellent region shot!

-bbfan02-

[Cleaner475 150]

I love the farms, the houses are great too - especially the apartment blocks, they really fit in - great areas,

Richard

[gabry85 2]

Great work, the buildings bordering the rail look very good and the station is very realistic! Love those farms!

[gndrew 0]

@jacqulina: Thanks!

@kobenhavn: Ah, so you've been to Switzerland alot? I may go to Denmark next year for study abroad.

@bbfan02: Yes, the area surrounding the train station is my favorite as well!

@cleaner475: I appreciate it!

@gabry85: Yes, realistic farms are my specialty!

[PhilsCafe 8]

I understand that you'd lose a lot of jobs by bulldozing one of those high-rises. One has to find a compromise between land-use and population figures. In the region I'm currently working on, I calculated the population with realistic density figures. Of course, when you have a scaled-down region, you will only get a small population with that. But since your focus is on population, it's obvious you need to have high-rises to accomodate the required jobs. Maybe you'll find some alternatives to that repeating blue high-rise on the STEX.

Fribourg: I also like the farms a lot. I think the downtown lives up to the RL historic center of the town. Nice choice of bats.

Keep up your good work!

[gndrew 0]

@PhilsCafe: Yeah if I had to redo it I might just go for lower density. O well.

So I'll get you guys an update soon, but I just downloaded some new diagonal that will work well, so I'm gonna try to fit them in somehow.

[jjune4991 1]

man this place is nice. it look like an actual european country, in simulated form! good job, and cant wait for more updates.

[Ric741 1]

and Geneva ? and Zurich ? and Bern ? and Basle ? where is the principal cities of switzerland ? D

[Ric741 1]

and Geneva ? and Zurich ? and Bern ? and Basle ? where is the principal cities of switzerland ? D

[jacqulina 162]

looking out for more my friend

[Mr. Beer 12]

HEy, Fribourg, FR... a city that lies at 40min. by my hometown. Home of the University of Fribourg and the Fribourg Gotteron's hockey club! Nicely done!

See ya and take care!

David

[PhilsCafe 8]

Well, I respect your decision . It's not possible to please everyone anyway... lol.

I'm looking forward to your next update.