The Greater Terran Region

[Haljackey 17,385]

Replies:

bbfan02: Great to hear.  Did you get Yankees tickets? (LOL)

dfnva: Hey, thanks a lot!

lucky7: So what?  You are going to download the roundabout picture and print it for a calender?  Well, go ahead; whatever floats your boat

tommiej: Glad to see you here! (Welcome back by the way!) I hope you stick around for future updates!  I am not too sure what you are asking about highways interchanging eachother, but there are a lot of interchanges in Downtown, just one city in the Greater Terran Region.

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Update time!

Well, as I promised, here is a new update before the new year.  It showcases the development of the city itself since I last left off.  New buildings have been built, new interchanges, new connections, just a whole lot of new stuff.

This is more of a visual update than an informative one, so without further blabbing, here are a bunch of photos!

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Picture Information:

NOTICE:  Please Read!

    Before I post some pictures of my cities, please know that I strive for the best quality of my images possible.  Every picture from here on-in is not photoshopped in any way, and is taken directly from the game to show you exactly what I see in the game.  The only editing done is converting the .PNG file to .JPEG.

***IMPORTANT***    Also, please know that my pictures are COMPRESSED, and are NOT RESIZED! When you resize a picture, a ton of the image's quality is lost, and is shrunk to comply with ST's picture size limits.  Compressing the image retains the quality, but looks terrible when squeezed to comply with site limits.

But, I have found a loophole in this problem.  Each compressed picture displayed will be linked to the actual uncompressed, true image.  All you have to do to view the image in its FULL RESOLUTION (1440x900) is to simply click on the compressed image displayed in this city journal (800x500).  The reason that the images are not 800x600 is because I present my pictures in widescreen (16:10 aspect ratio), making the image much more appealing for the human eye's stereoscopic vision.

If you have any questions or comments about how I display my images, feel free to post a reply.

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Pictures:

Click On The Images To View Them In FULL RESOLUTION!

Kia/Hyndai's new office buildings.

The railroads in Downtown are grade-separated 100% of the time to maximize safety and efficiently of both networks.

A rail junction in a busy part of the city.

GLR/ave linkup.

A small-scale RHW carving through the city.

Tunnel entry to the densest part of town.

A small off-ramp from the elevated highway leads to the city streets below.

The small lakefront

Downtown's new convention centre!

A short highway links up with a longer highway.  Also, note the state of the buildings in this part of town (the east side LOL).  As the aging population continues to age...

Downtown's main Football/Soccer stadium and a performance hall:

A 8-lane Parclo interchange

Tunnel entrance

A partial interchange and a bullet train overpass

A busy RHW during rush hour

Skyscraper showcase:

The start/end of a busy urban highway

A small University campus still in town.  Also, its the morning rush hour on the highway (note the traffic flow).

A small rail station

New development along the RHW

Diagonal ave overpass.

A busy shopping mall

A highway-to-RHW transition near a stack interchange.

Lots of elevated roads:

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Anyways, thats it for this update.  The next update will come in the new year and will show development of the city's remaining open area. 

Let me know how I did with this update!  Any feedback, both positive and negative (if you are so cruel) is appreciated! 

Happy New Year Everyone!  See you in 2008!

-Haljackey

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, all of the buildings look excellent. You really have a nice variety of them, not repeated either. Well, I got a Yankee picture lol. Have a great new year!

-bbfan02-

[suplado! 23]

wow -- thats a really cool downtown area..lots of nice looking towers!! and the road, highways looks nice as well

[jacqulina 162]

wonderfull work my friend excellent downtown great pics

i hope you have a great new year

[____----____ 37]

i think your city is pretty chaotic, tons of high density $$$ causing your dilapidation issues, i'd personally add some more low rise and mid rise neighborhoods, but it's still cool to see all the scrapers.

[Hamish 1,370]

Glad to see you got out a proper update before 2008.

Nice downtown, and cool looking interchange on the last page.

I also look forward to seeing what you come up with with the newly released RHW v20 and the MIS, supposing that you are going to use them.

Happy New Year!

[City2TheMax 3]

Brilliant. That's all I can say about it. Incredibly brilliant. I wasn't sure about it when I saw the first pics, but I could never repeat that complex transportation network.

[GlobalHaze 1]

Do you have the CAM installed? That's an insane city!

[Haljackey 17,385]

Replies:

bbfan02: Thanks, for your comments!  I hope you had a happy new year too!

suplado!: Thanks a lot!

jacqulina: Thanks!

aleking: It is chaotic.  Like I said in my intro, I zone high-density for everything so the sims can decide what they build there.  A shack, a skyscraper, whatever.

hamish: Thanks for the comments!  Once I get RHW 20 and get used to it, then I will use them in further updates!

City2TheMax: Brilliant?  Really?  Wow, thanks a lot!  The transportation network is complex, but it has to be to support a complex city.

GlobalHaze: No I don't have the CAM installed, never liked it.  Too many plugins and extra work for me.  Thanks for your comment though!

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Anyways, no update today everyone.  Sorry I haven't been around lately, I celebrated new years in Las Vegas, and it was awesome!  I found a free internet cafe nearby which I am using right now.  Anyways, my flight leaves tomorrow and it will take me some time to get settled and used to the new NAM and RHW versions. 

With that said, don't expect an update from me soon, but always expect the unexpected!  I may sneak one in before I get the new RHW up and running in my cities!

Best,

-Haljackey

[bbfan02 23]

Lol, thats funny. How much it cost you? Probably a fortune.

[GlobalHaze 1]

I will be awaiting your return.

[lucky7 73]

Haha, but yeah, good idea...why not, lol

Anyways- I like the update, very Megalopolitan,

looking forward to more,

lucky7

[Haljackey 17,385]

Replies:

bbfan02: Actually, not a lot for the trip.  New years was awesome there, and I got an authentic Las Vegas Poker set there which DID cost me a fortune.  Its better playing poker with your buddies for fun rather than losing a ward of cash to poker pros at the tables in the casinos. 

GlobalHaze: I can see that you are committed.  I hope you like the next update!

lucky7: Good idea?  More like GREAT idea!  It was a blast!  I hope you like the next update!

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Update Time!

This will be the first update of the new year, and its a BIG one!.  2008 will be a big year for the Greater Terran Region, you can place your bets on that ! 

Anyways, this update will focus on the ongoing developments of the remaining land in the city of Downtown as well as improvements in the city itself.  Like the last update, this is more of a visual update rather than an informative one, so I hope you like the pictures!

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Pictures:

Click On The Images To View Them In FULL RESOLUTION! (Please see my Picture Information section at the top of this page if you are new to the Greater Terran Region!)

A new forested section lays in the median of this new linkup.

A unique intersection was constructed to provide maximum connectivity of the connecting roads.

The "roundabout statue" was removed because some people felt that it was "out of place" in the area.

Gentle curves link up new roads with older ones.

The highway serves as the current boarderline between the developed areas and the areas yet to be developed.

A new diamond interchange is constructed to minimize traffic congestion.  Now that the next version of the RHW network is out, I may reconstruct this interchange as well as others in the Greater Terran Region. I just hope they still fit!

A large parclo interchange is constructed at the edge of town.  It is designed to handle large volumes of through and connecting traffic.

A new tunnel digs under the RHW to improve connections for city traffic.  The arrow shows the new tunnel if you have trouble seeing it.

A new connection in the heart of the city really helps improve traffic but it required the demolition of a few large buildings.

Construction is progressing on extending the RHW to Downtown's neighbour to the south: Crossings!

This stack interchange is quite busy at the edge of town.  Just wait until the area develops!

New infrastructure is constructed as well as a new Police station and GLR.

The RHW ends when GLR enters its median.

There is a lot of commercial development along the new highway corridor.

This bullet train junction is now used frequently due to the close proximity of residential development.

Here is the airport transit terminal which links Downtown to Crossings International Airport.  Due to the vast amount of offices and residents, this terminal is used way past its capacity and there is no room left to expand it.  A new transit terminal may solve this problem.

A small RHW links the developed area with a nearby highway.

New roads are being laid in place in this area which is scheduled to be developed.

Funny Pic: Here is a tight, tight curve along a RHW at the edge of the city.  It was made like this because this area is to be an intersection in the future, so developers constructed the most cost-efficient long-term plan for the route.  Several signs warn drivers of the sharp bend.

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Well, thats it for this update.  I hoped you liked the pictures! Feel free to comment, feedback is always welcomed and is appreciated.

I plan for the next update to showcase the new MIS for the RHW network.  I have yet to download it along with the new NAM.  Once I play around with it a bit, I will showcase some results.

Best,

-Haljackey

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, excellent interchanges and layout! I love the rural highways and the development. Eager to see the next update!

-bbfan02-

[GlobalHaze 1]

Beautiful as usual.

[Hamish 1,370]

originally posted by:haljackey

Now that the next version of the RHW network is out, I may reconstruct this interchange as well as others in the Greater Terran Region. I just hope they still fit!quote>

For some reason I doubt that some of them will fit, as mine are usually bigger than I expected.

But, great update anyway!

[Haljackey 17,385]

Replies:

bbfan02: Thanks!  I'm glad you like it!

GlobalHaze: Thanks a lot!

hamish: Well, if it requires the demolition of some surrounding buildings, then so be it.  You can bet that newer cities will use the RHW MIS extensively.  Thanks for the comments!

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Mini-Update/Teaser!

I have constructed my first interchange with the new RHW network using the MIS. 

Click on the image to view it in FULL RESOLUTION!

Compare that to the interchange that laid there before:

Best,

-Haljackey

[jrone3 2]

Nice modification. Nice attention to detail by including the signs! Can't wait for the next update

[Hamish 1,370]

It is bigger, But it does look so much better than before.

[PhilsCafe 8]

Impressive city there! Skyscraper jungles are matter of taste and I normally don't like them very much in cities, but your Downtown looks well-organized, with a lot of great-looking green spaces and an elaborate transportation system. Great job!

[jacqulina 162]

very nice downtown my friend your doing great excellent work and pics

[Fresh Prince of Wmbg 44]

Hey ,sorry haven't  posted in a while. All the update are interesting as always, but I can't to see what you did with the new Rural Highway tools.

[patfirefghtr 160]

Hey Hal wonderful last few updates!!! Keep up the hard work and see you back soon - pat

[Markus J 242]

Whoa... so dense and so compact. You have tons of routes and networks it's crazy... the only thing is a lot of buildings seem decaying and dead... why is that?

[bbfan02 23]

Great job with that change. It looks a lot better and more realistic.

-bbfan02-

[Need4Camaro 50]

So How long did it take you to biuld this, my wild guess, a year?

[Haljackey 17,385]

Replies:

jrone3:  Thanks!  Glad you like the detail!

hamish: Is bigger better?  Hmmm... Maybe here.  Thanks for the comment!

PhilsCafe: Thanks!  In order for the city to be dense, it needs to have a "dense" transport layout, so that congestion is kept to a minimum.  A high-rise houses many more people than the average two-story suburban home...

jacqulina:  Thanks, I hope I can keep you interested!

Fresh Prince of Wmbg: Thats okay, post whenever you feel like it!  More RHW and RHWMIS photos are coming soon!

patfirefghtr: Thanks!  Keep up the hard work yourself!

Markus J: That it is.  The networks need to be crazy to support a city this dense.  Decaying buildings are a part of any big city, and I am sure with time buildings decay or return to normal status.  There are no abandoned buildings because of the high land value, but as I stated, the AGING POPULATION might have something to do with building decay.

bbfan02: Thanks a lot!  More are to come!

Need4Camaro: My guess is between 100-200 hours over about six months.  I am not really sure though.

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Update time!

The MIS has arrived in FULL FORCE!  As interchanges are upgraded and highways widened, the whole city is benefiting from safer travel and less congestion.  Here are some photos of recent MIS interchange reconstruction:

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Pictures:

Click On The Images To View Them In FULL RESOLUTION! (Please see my Picture Information section at the top of this page if you are new to the Greater Terran Region!)

This is what the interchange looked like before.

And here are some reconstruction photos:

North ramps reconstructed.  Majority of the interchange still open to traffic:

Construction progressing on new central loop ramps.  Interchange partially open:

In the southern part, the southbound lanes have been widened and resurfaced. 

Central loop ramps completed.  Overpass extended.  Additional overpasses built on the right and left to ease traffic congestion.

Northbound lanes now widened and resurfaced.  A new sound wall is also being installed at the sides of the new 10-lane monster:

Road construction complete. The majority of the interchange is now open. 

Signage and eyecandy is now being added to the interchange.  Also note the roundabout stubs at the side roads that connected to the ave before reconstruction.

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I know this update was more highway and MIS oriented, but the next updates will include a mix of both roads, buildings and development.

Best,

-Haljackey

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, excellent job changing all of those interchanges! I really love that 10 lane highway there. That is cool!

-bbfan02-

[Hamish 1,370]

Yeah, the interchanges look allot better with the new RHW.

And in this case, yes, bigger is better.

And why do you have globes in front of some, if not one, of your interchanges? Is it just for looks or is it something deeper than that?

[jacqulina 162]

hi my friend dont worry im still very interested in your work excellent roads system you have built and the rural highway fantastic.excellent work and pics.