Our Own Region with Different Views

[Benedict 3,119]

Joe90, that is a great update. I love what you did with the borders of your images (normally I am not a huge fan of that kind of thing). And that's a great map, I hope it finds its way to the map forum.

Once again I think this is a phenomenal idea, really interesting to see what people do.

[mrbisonm 1,622]

yunxiang, I hope that your first challenge wasn't too hard. You fulfilled the demands very well. That *double* bridge looks wonderful, almost scenery, well chosen location. The big farm with the big farmhouse is looking good too.
 In the region picture on the lower side of the rivermouth, there are some roads or trails. I don't know if that is done on purpose, but it hit my eye right away and looks darn good, also very simple and not important. You see , I do a lot of flying with a small plane during the spring to fall months, and I see places like these quite often out here in the Appalachians in North-America whether they are for developping or just plein lumbercutting or simple access to the terrains.
And that is what I like to see in simcity4 , things that aren't always *perfect* in real life, but we like to represent it perfectly though with pictures and games. We also tend to forget (on purpose) to see the less beautiful sides of our surroundings, but they are there and representing this in SC4 is fantastic and brings you a good note from my side.

So, you got gold in your GRV....hm....bet I gotta dig in mine now. Love that fence mod for the rails, looks good. Keep it up, some well earned points. I will send you the second challenge later today.

Joe 90, You must be the kind of fellow that buys mostly quality products and has his living spaces always in order, right? That is fine and I can see it somehow the way you organize your simcity. Very nice update and some fierce and solid competition to others.
It is ok to hide parts of your region, we all like surprizes.... . Although the roads are a little too squared off for my taste in the third picture (but very much ok in the others) , it is the best SC shot I like in your update. The location of the the two soccerfields is pictureperfect and very real looking with the trees giving partial shade and protection from the river/lake or sea. Just wonderful. I just feel like taking a good walk on that little sand/gravel trail now. The little creek ending into the river looks great too in the second and third picture. My wife almost sreamed at me to come and see this quickly. She was the first on the net this morning. Very nice explanations with the pictures and so many things to see and to comment about, but to be fair I can't say more. This update is a good one and probably will class itself in the top ten. Excellent. Your first challenge will be send to you later.

Edit: I just had to add, the map is wonderful and professional.

mrbisonm

Ok, I think it is time for our spectators to know what exacrly the First Challenge was. It was demanded in the third update and this is what everyone received in their PM's right after their second update:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Challenge 1
Hi Members of the GRV Development,

Here is your first GRV challenge that we will ask you all to build and show us in the GRV thread with your THIRD update.
We want to see your Bridge building skills , no matter how , where and what kind of Bridge ( no Highway or EL bridge though, but can include a rail bridge) and then you add 2 of your best pictures of it to your THIRD update together with a regional view of the bridge, a pollution map (not the chart) of any terraintype in your region ( do not show any no-pollution pictures) and up to 3 other picture of anything you would like us to see.
Thank

[dbranch 0]

Joe90

Really like your style.  The towns are beautiful.  The shoreline is nice too.  And that's some really nice photoshopping there too.  

Yunxiang

I loved the double bridge.  The terrain mod is very cool too.  Looks like the Northwest with all that mossy green underfoliage.  

projectadam 

Your towns are laid out very well.  I never liked all that much industry as you'll see in my I zones.  Great storyline with your timeline synchronized.  I'm one of those you mention with some hundred years on the clock.  I grow everything and let my crazy megacore NVidia machine go on high speed too much.  

Barby W

I don't know what it is but your pics are sometimes hypnotic.  I don't have CAM installed nor do I intend to, but I'm a big fan of SC4D as well.  Loved the train station.  

MrB

Now that bridge is nice.  And more of what I'd expect to see from you.  I love the underpinnings but don't believe I've run across it anywhere.  I know my first update pushed the limits and it showed, but that's a great solution to the outer island.  Wish I had a better start, but  having great fun now until your last challenge that is.  Working 12 hour days this week so Update 6 might be a while.  

To all I can only wait to see more fabulous work from everyone.  Thanks for the comments and peace.

[ixnayonthetimmay 16]

to Mrbisonm,

Very enlightening. I was wondering why it was all the third updates seemed to focus on the transportation and bridges. I just assumed everyone here really had a penchant for showing off their bridges. Even I subconsciously did it in my lowly first update.

To everyone who has participated thus far,

All of you have done terrific work. It has truly been fascinating to see everyone's individual play styles come to life and see how it is everyone chose what to set up and where to set it up at. Of course, I imagine that was the original intent of this thread, right?

[thepianist 0]

Uh-oh...

I'm still behind... not only in points but in replies...

Haha...I hope this will still be another improvement.

Fastfacts:

Total Res. 61362

Total Com. 38493

Total Ind. 18504

HEXI TOWN (11) (and suburbs) stretch as Meihao, Shengjiu, Linshan (14, 12, and 1 respectively)

DONGJING TOWN (X) has one suburb at (9) as Laomei

Villages:

Jiayuan (13)

Sanding Shan (15)

Wuchong (10)

Unincorporated communities (<200 pop)

Jinshan (2)

The pictures on page two on the update, respectively are from Laomei, Hexi and Hexi.

Update 4 (Needs Adobe Acrobat Viewer to see. Oh yeah...it's also much neater.)

Click here.

First, a clarification on the map

MrBisonm, if you want the original transportation map, pm me and I'll e-mail it. I wanted to try my hand at photoshop-mapping again. I'm stubborn like that. My first mapped region...hmm...it's not too good. hehe...

Also, I have labeled "National Routes" and "Arterial Routes." These are roads-passing lanes in the countryside or avenues-boulevards in the towns that handle over 900 vehicles per day. In California and Taiwan where I live, hehe...I don't know what you would classify as a highway again...there are roads in the middle of nowhere (just plain roads) that are four lanes across stretching forever.

Finally, these are "snapshots" from life in Grand River Valley. If it says "Cont'd on other side" don't take it seriously. I only made one...as school is getting to be very busy with exams. Therefore...it won't be as exciting as everyone elses. Also, I noticed....

---

I'm so behind in comments I'm going to start from page 10 on...

BarbyW...how do you get diagonal bridges? The only way is to use the road puzzle pieces, but they have a fixed height (therefore looking like a collapsed bridge. hehehe...and cars still drive on it

Your updates always blow me away...after all I'm just an inexperienced player trying to get the hang of realism.

Yungxiang

Your village and bridges are quite nostalgic. Their placement is very nice...congrats!

Newsimaddict

Now that is a nicely growing town. Where did you get the train station?

MrBisonm

Hmmm.what a bridge. And what a lot of pollution. Hehe...your design of city layout is quite pleasing to the eye.

Death54

Update 3: I love your bridges and your rocks. Jeronji's rocks, though nice, are either bright grey or dark green. Grey works better, but I like the color on yours better. Putting them on is also quite time consuming...

However, I believe the Industrial Way Bridge is somewhat too high... It works except for the blocky pillar on the bottom.

Love the lake in the slums. Hehe... Crystalline blue...mmm...

MightyGoose

Ohnoes...its the Hutt. hmmm...you're making me jealous again. hehe...I like your downtown area...looks so clean and nice.

I don't quite like the rocks on your sixth picture...they look too spiky. Just my two cents.

ProjectAdam

Great job! I like the farms, but I think the apartments are rather griddy, which isn't bad, but just a tad repetitive. how did you get an apartment building to ap

[dbranch 0]

thepianist

I admire your use of mass transit.  I could never get it through my thoroughly Midwest skull how it works so well.  Now I've ridden subways and trams in New York and SanFrancisco and was blown away.  When it comes to managing it however I have to work on that.  SC was really good for me to experiment with.  It seems that the rest of the world, Europe and the East in particular have us beat there.  Nice job!  

Your diagonal streets were also a nice touch even though SC does not forgive the appearance of the orthogonal lots around which they are developed.  One of my biggest wishes in the game, but just not possible.  

Your CBDs are a bit repetitive and that would be my only criticism.  There are lots of lots in low density commercial. You should look at downloading some.  It would help break up all those blue roofed shops.  Simgoober is a huge batter of these type lots if that helps.  Keep up the good work.  I loved the map too!  Very professional.

[mrbisonm 1,622]

thepianist,  I don't know why , but is it possible for you to show the pictures right here, hosted on another site? The reason I ask is because I don't have Adobe Acrobat on my home computers. We never use it, so no need having it. I will have to go to my office tomorrow and I will have a look at your update 3 (right?) with my Company's computers. They have Acrobat I think....

Please mention also the next time what number of update you're showing us. That will help me finding things quicker. I will will comment tomorrow afternoon or evening.

mrb

[thepianist 0]

I know it is a bit tedious...I should have bolded "update 4". whoops - my bad.

I am working with Adobe InDesign, as I am part of a publication class...unfortunately, it doesn't save to jpg. However, I'll find a way.

The main problem is, because of the huge number of pictures, my home internet often crashes when loading these pages. (esp. 10, 11). It used to work, but recently, it's getty buggy. The school's internet is relatively reliable, and usually these stuff are put together during my free time. I love page flips not only because of how much people have progressed, but also since I can post again at home.

In my experience, pdf files usually retain the best quality (especially on the words), but I'll put in jpg once I have time..

Thanks

Pianist

[Joe 90 358]

Originally posted by: THE_Chris @Joe90.

Thats a savage street map of the region. Did you use a program to do that or just good ole Paint/Photoshop?quote>

Dirty ol' Photoshop

Originally posted by: mrbisonm Joe 90, You must be the kind of fellow that buys mostly quality products and has his living spaces always in order, right? That is fine and I can see it somehow the way you organize your simcity. Very nice update and some fierce and solid competition to others.

It is ok to hide parts of your region, we all like surprizes.... . Although the roads are a little too squared off for my taste in the third picture (but very much ok in the others) , it is the best SC shot I like in your update. The location of the the two soccerfields is pictureperfect and very real looking with the trees giving partial shade and protection from the river/lake or sea. Just wonderful. I just feel like taking a good walk on that little sand/gravel trail now. The little creek ending into the river looks great too in the second and third picture. My wife almost sreamed at me to come and see this quickly. She was the first on the net this morning. Very nice explanations with the pictures and so many things to see and to comment about, but to be fair I can't say more. This update is a good one and probably will class itself in the top ten. Excellent. Your first challenge will be send to you later.

Edit: I just had to add, the map is wonderful and professional.quote>

Not so much Mr. B I'm prone to messiness but when I do something I do it properly.

The towns are a little griddy at the moment. Many older-style towns around here have that sort of layout, with only recent developments breaking the grid. I'm still doing the 'base layer', which will probably continue to look griddy until I revist the towns later and add some growth.

[thepianist 0]

For people who can't open pdf

UPDATE 4 (JPG)

Pg. 1 here

Pg. 2 here

[mrbisonm 1,622]

I was able to open your pdf in my office this morning, thepianist, no problem, and it wasn't necessary to create new links.

Very nice update, quite improved. I liked your map a lot, also the information that came with your pictures. Although the repetivity of the residential homes in one picture, I loved the road outlays of it. Not many have built residentials on diaganol roads. Your powerstation is a little too small for your biggest town, which looks a little unreal to be able to power all these buildings.

Clean and organized update have you earned some good points. Great job.

mrbisonm 

Here are some interesting facts about this playchallenge:

- Did you know that we have 17 active members

- which have sofar shown us 42 updates

- since the beginning which was 81 days ago

I decided to keep the new region * The Rock * for another Community CJ Experience later this fall. Something similar to this, but a little different too, to make it more interesting to the ones that already have had the experience. So we hopefully see you then. We have all summer to think about the difficulties and myseries we could give you.....only kidding....we will have a lot of fun, I'm sure

Here are some internal pictures of * The Rock * for the last time 'till fall. Enjoy.

mrbisonm

[jjune4991 1]

the rock is awesome! can't wait for the fall. i'll bring my skills up before i try one of these though.

[Godzillaman 21]

It reminds me of the last episode of "real lost world" on discovery channel...

[Newsimaddict 1]

thepianist: i believe i got it from the stex. possibly called 'northumberland station.'

joe90: mmmmmmmmm photoshop. great ideas you have going there and i really like the continuation of the rocks in your region.

mrbisonm: nice pics! the look of the bridge with the drop to the pier is a really nice idea that though realistic, i've never seen before in sc4.

By any chance, do you recall where you got your fishing pier? (i've a spot in my region that is begging for a simple fishing pier and though the ones currently on the stex are awesome (the pier kits), they just look out of place in a rural setting...) and the rock project looks really interesting. count me in for it.

cheers all. nsa

[mrbisonm 1,622]

Originally posted by: Godzillaman It reminds me of the last episode of "real lost world" on discovery channel...quote>

 

Yeah I saw that too and that's where I got the idea for the Dinosaurs story from on the last picture....lol. That was somewhere in Southamerica near Columbia I believe if I remember right.

My Rock was made sometime in the X-mas season, when I had a lot of free time and I went through my personal pictures to sort them out and found one picture from our Hawaiian vacation five years on the Kauaii Island that had a miniature rock like this. And then I made it in SC4, wanting to see if I could build on rough terrain like this. 

Of course I have altered and fine-tuned it eversince and then I had the idea of GRV and a new community gameplay.

Just last night I decided to keep it for another community play and this time I will be playing with and against you all, while YOU are my judges......I got all summer to figure out some good, interesting and pleasable challenges.

Newsimaddict, hm.....that fishing village lots came from an Asian site, that I remember, but which one, I do not know. I will have a look, maybe I'll find them. If not I can always find them in my Plugins folder and send them.

mrb

[ixnayonthetimmay 16]

Originally posted by: thepianist Oakwood...mmm...that's a nice town. Hehe...I think my definition of a "town" is much different from yours...and I really like your central business district. (but I think the railroad platform is too short. )I have one question though...

I see you use the steel bridge. I have used it, however, it won't let me use other bridges (e.g. the Krakynomy (sp) Arch Bridge)...do you have that problem? quote>

Thank you for the criticisms. I decided to start out on the basis that GRV starts out as a very rural area; which is the impression I got from reading the rules posted by mrbisonm. Where it goes from there is anyone's guess.

I don't seem to have any problems using the bridges, though I have noticed that some bridges become unavailable if the span you are trying to cross is too wide or if the terrain where the bridge starts and ends is too low. I do have the street bridge mod and the mod that allows you to build bridges at most any level of terrain height, but I still like to make the bridges high enough for ferries/ships to pass under. Just a habit I guess. I hope this helps...

to mrbisonm,

Hmm..the Rock seems interesting...Perhaps the overall challenge that can be made for it is to develop it as much as one can without terraforming or changing the terrain. For some reason, when I look at it, I see another Hong Kong in the making.

...It would only be appropriate to put Alcatraz at the very top. Because, y'know...The Rock...y'know...

[MCO1254 2]

I like the alcatraz idea. The rock on the rock, that would not be a fun place to be.

[ixnayonthetimmay 16]

Hello to all. I am back now after the alotted seven-day timespan to bring you the second update to the Grand River County Journal! The highlight of this update will be the town of Easton.

As you can see from the map shown above, the transportation infastructure in the Grand River Valley area is composed primarily of an east-west running route. There is a convergence of the main road and rail lines located in the center of the County, just east of the unincorporated community of El Paso Junction. It is at this point of convergence that the Union Specific branch line to Easton splits off. Unfortunately, rail traffic coming from Easton has to travel west for a few miles before travelling east, causing a slight out-of-the-way inconvenience. A direct southerly link to the southeast-bound main line is being researched...

The Town of Easton is located due east of Oakwood close to where the Grand River meets the shore. The town itself is situated on a peninsula located at the confluence of a small lake-fed river and the widening Grand River. The town grew as a direct result of the presence of a Union Specific railyard here, and since certain industries wanted access to what they considered to be the 'beginning' of the line, people began moving close by. Research would later prove those people wrong as it was revealed conclusively that this is, in fact, the end of the line.

 

Trains a-keep on a'rollin here. They can even turn around if they want to. This is nice for whenever the town mayor decides to use his 'executive privilege' to commandeer a train and go on a pointless joyride through town. Unqualified as he is to run a train, he can't seem to navigate it without somewhere to turn it around. Fortunately, the mayor hasn't yet killed anyone, but a few small puppies were frightened as a direct result of his shenanigans.

The actual end of the line is shown by this roundhouse, still used to record children's variety shows from the early '90s. Most notable is the restaurant located here that doesn't seem to be open right now, but I kind of get the feeling that in a couple billion years, it might play a pivotal role in the grander scheme of things.

Collapsing Locomotive Syndrome is a common occurence here.

Easton has a downtown area, so to speak. Like in Oakwood, the focal point of the business area is the rail depot. And as such, most necessary functions are within walking distance. Residents are glowing with anticipation of the McWendy's King that should be opening up in the next year. Despite (or more likely because of) the lack of anything else to do, Easton residents generally like to polish and clean their cars repeatedly and show them off to their neighbors. As a result, a car care center and gas stations have opened up to become essential places of businesses.

Dos Rios Peninsula is a housing development that gives everyone lov

[mightygoose 92]

great update i love the region view... fantastic farm zoning....

[jacqulina 162]

great updates very interesting work here

[mrbisonm 1,622]

ixnayonthetimmay

The two things that I really like about this update, are the regional map and the tile's # 9 peninsula (second last picture). Both are well done.  

This update is good, no doubt but not as impressive as your first, your railsystem looks real (just  little too big for the size of the town such as Easton) and your roundhouse is in an excellent location. Also you are using a beautiful watermod. My wife really likes that one.... . The farming zoning like mightygoose said is very good indeed.

Keep it up. Are you ready for your first challenge? It will be sent to you soon.

mrbisonm

[Mike the Mayor 51]

Wonderful pictures, especially the terrain ones! Nice mountains.

[Benedict 3,119]

ixnayonthetimmay, I love your transit map, and sense of humor - union specific? end of the line? hilarious.

[ixnayonthetimmay 16]

to mightygoose,

I like the look of that type of farm zoning when looking at it from the region view. In the city itself, it looks kind of ugly. But square-shaped farms didn't seem to fit too well to me with this terrain. Thanks for the comment!

to mrbisonm,

Going in, I wasn't exactly sure of what to do for updates. I decided to spread the initial highlight of the two towns across the two updates. Since the first invariably has the virtue of being the most original, I wasn't sure how best to proceed without departing too much from the norm I set in the first update.

Thanks for the tips given to me in the PM. I will be sure to consider and incorporate your recommendations into the GRV before update the third.

to benedict,

It seems to get real boring real fast to just talk about Simian Cities as if they are real. So, to avoid CJ updates from looking like dry Wikipedia entries about small towns, I tried to include some humor. It is nice to know that my sense of humor is shared by others, so thanks for the comment!

[BarbyW 40]

Update #6

Felldeep (tile #12)

The sky roared, the land trembled, the Great God Wou was angry at the sight of a world so riddled with imperfections. He clapped his hands and said the magic words, “++?????++ Out of Cheese Error. Redo From Start.” (with apologies to Terry Pratchett). The oceans rose, the mountains fell, the land was engulfed in chaos. Then just as suddenly as it had started it was over, an eerily quiet stillness descended and slowly the dust cleared, revealing a new landscape of near Arcadian perfection. The Great God Wou was happy again, his magic was a success, mere mortals could take up the challenge from here on in; he still had the X_Tool to finish.

With a rocky high plateau, the source of a prolific natural spring and a series of linked lakes perfect for fishing, set around with artfully rolling countryside composed of rich alluvial soils the Great God Wou had left the Mayor with an abundance of natural riches to exploit. 

The mayor set her powers to work weathering the plateau and providing a reasonably flat area on its top around a depression filled by the natural spring for development. The lakes and linking watercourses were deepended to provide adequate navigation for commerce and recreational vessels. This of course was complemented by aggressive planting of deciduous and evergreen trees to provide a natural woodland habitat for animals and birds and an attractive environment for later sensitive residential and commercial development. 

The grand boardwalk of the new water front at Felldeep was designed by Colyn and is a wonderful place to view the river and watch the marlin boats come in and land their catch, much of which goes immediately to the Feskekörka, the historic fish market directly behind the boardwalk.

The town council, ever short of funds for anything but their own expenses, went to the design house of Sandrasim and specified a vaulted market hall with tall windows and an off the peg design to keep the cost down. Since Sandrasim had been working on an ecclesiastical concept for a religious order of monkfish devotees, and the town council were too cheap to pay for advice, they got an outstanding white stone landmark building that matched their design brief perfectly, it just happened to look like a church.

[mrbisonm 1,622]

Very nice and impressive, your talents as terraformer are now well proven. You have done a wonderful job. I like your idea of the earthquake story and also the little pond and the sources with the Hydrodam. There's always a surprize in each of your posts. I like your fishing spot and your harbour with the fishmarket, I love fish......What I liked most is what you wrote: *The town council, ever short of funds for anything but their own expenses, went to the design............*

That is sooo true.....lol.

Great update and not less than I expected from you, BarbyW. I don't really have no negative comments to say about this, nor any advice. Nery nice. Challenge five is on its way to your PM.

Happy Easter............. everyone........................

mrbisonm

[THE_Chris 0]

Damn these are looking good. Love that hydro power plant.

Updated my unofficial GRV work, interesting to see what you can do without restrictions and challenges

https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/categories.cfm?catid=36

[dbranch 0]

UPDATE6

All shots in tile 12

A compendium of news articles covering a monumental event for GRV.

Joe Blowhard here for the GRV Gazette covering the most tragic event in GRV history.  While the people of Grand Forkes have felt tremors over the years, none was truly preparted for the reality of what those tremors meant.  The cone shaped Mount Baldy on the west end of town had been suspect to a volcanic past by geologists in the region.  Last tuesday when the tremors began here is a shot of the mountain in all its glory.

By thursday the quaking was felt throughout most of the the GRV.  That's when the chaos began..........

Plumes of ash rose out of the smoking caldera at first, then came the pyrochastic explosions that sent rock and debris down the hillsides into the surrounding countryside.  Then the lava followed burning all in its path.  The lava flowed fast and furious, cooling quickly as it hit the slopes and eventually the river.  Surprisingly the flow came to an abrupt halt.  Waves of relief could be heard from the townspeople watching from the town of Grand beach where refugees were huddled by the tens of thousands.  The crop dusters have confirmed for us that the damage was ................holy cow it hardly touched anything civilized!

Amazing, just amazing!  The landscape was charred, ashed, and strewn with boulders and lumber from devastated forests, but no buildings had been touched!  Before authorities allowed citizens to return to their homes, however, some closer inspection was necessary.  One farmer was quoted as saying that his crops had been spared but there would be no harvest with all the ash piled up.  "The problem is you see, when the rains come.  All that ash is going to pour off that mountain right into my fields."  The river will be affected too no doubt.

The people of GRV have come together and poured all their resources into reclaiming their fair mountain.  The decision was made to clean up the aftermath and dedicate the land for some new use.  Examining the rocks that were ejected from the caldera scientists were able to determine the cycle of this volcano to be over 10 million years.  That's long enough to wait for this humble reporter.  I guess the residents here won't have to worry anywhere in the near future.   After weeks of  bulldozers and backup beepers here's a shot of the area.  I guess it's up to the planning commision to decide how best to use this new landscape. 

In true West Forke fashion with its devotion to education (recall earlier stat pic) the town council made a cultrual decision that will endure till the next time the mountain rears its ugly head with the construction of the new symphony hall.  A bold repatriation of the forests surrounding the mountain can also be seen here.  It seems nothing can shake the resolve of GRV residents not even this old mountain. 

This has been a grilling couple of months and this reporter is taking a vacation.  Maybe take in a concert or two.  Joe Blowhard signing off.  Thanks and have a prosperous tomorrow......

[mrbisonm 1,622]

Nice , dbranch, very nice. The story is good and the pics are wonderful. Nice idea to attach a disaster like this with the challenge. Funny though....lol....Very funny I might add.....You have chosen the same tile as BarbyW, and even funnier, my part of this challenge is in tile 12 also....... Anyways, great going, very nice 6th update.

mrb

[dbranch 0]

Mr B,

Yeah when I read BarbyW's post I almost fell off my chair.  I have been developing this storyline since my last post.  Amid several crashes and working 12 hours a day I finally got it finished.  The whole disaster thing is what was so funny, having thought of this as well.  Life had been so peaceful up to this point.  With all these nice mountains this one seemed the logical choice for a volcano.  I have attended a few natural ampitheaters across the west and was looking for the perfect spot for it.  Then the idea to create it myself was just too tempting. 

BarbyW  I thought your use of the earthquake was wonderful as well.  I love the new spring and hydro dam.  

Disasters are always opportunity to make good and incorporating that into GRV has been a pleasure.   Thanks to GShmails for the beautiful Symphony lot!