Sterling & Lake Champlain Region

[PhilsCafe 8]

STERLING & LAKE CHAMPLAIN REGION

   Welcome to my new CityJournal Sterling & Lake Champlain Region. After my big plans didn't quite work out as I expected with Acorn Creek, I decided to do something different this time. Other than building just another pre-planned metropolis, I'm going for a more natural theme... in many ways. For instance, the setting in Vermont is known for its natural beauty which I attempt to recreate here. But I also want to let the region grow organically, taking one step after the other, to make development more realistic. This will also allow me to leave the region easily without losing the thread, if real life calls for it. Updates will be released in no particular order or schedule.

---

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

BOSWORTH, VT

Update 1.0: Bosworth

Update 1.1: Pkwami Falls

Mosaic: Bosworth and Pkwami Falls

ST ANNE, VT

Update 2.0: St Anne

Update 2.1: More from St Anne

STERLING, VT

Update 3.0: Sterling Harbor & Waterfront

Update 3.1: Downtown Sterling & Port fix

Teaser: Random Views of Sterling

Update 3.2: Lavigne

Mosaic: Downtown and Lavigne

Update 3.3: South End

Update 3.4: Brighton (Rural Sterling)

Update 3.5: New Year at King's Heights

Teaser: Vermont University

Update 3.6: Vermont University Part I

Mosaic: Residence Halls

INTRODUCTION

I didn't do a lot of advance planning to not constrict my creativity too much. The only planning I did can be narrowed down to the three following steps:

   1) Defining setting and theme: I wanted to cover a different region for once, that's why I chose a New England theme. And I thought that Vermont had interesting parallels to Switzerland what history and mentality are concerned. The region is set on the shores of Lake Champlain, located mostly in the U.S. states of Vermont and New York. I decided to go for a rural theme, since Vermont has a high percentage of agriculture. But Lake Champlain area in particular also has economic potential, which will be represented by the City of Sterling,  the fictional shire town of also fictional Champlain County.

   2) Designating towns and settlements: Determining place names so early allowed me to focus on city building without having to make up my mind for names, which afterwards maybe turn out to be inconsistent with the other town names. Please note that although playing on the Burlington map, all place names are fictional albeit inspired by the real towns. This is not a recreation, I don't do recreations.

   3) Population layout: As a result of the first two steps, I determined the population size of the region. I based my calculations on realistic density figures. I have made two different categories: The Cities Bosworth and Sterling (1,500/km²) and towns (200/km²). Multiplied with the respective land area (shaded grey), I got out the targeted population for each settlement. As for the land area, I didn't calculate with the 16x16m² per square as stated by Maxis, but with 20x20m² since I made the experience that game dimensions are a bit too small in the horizontal. For Champlain County as a whole -- the area on the east shore of Lake Champlain -- it makes a population density of 270/km².

^ Region map with place names and targeted population (in brackets). This map will serve myself as a guideline.

---

CREDITS

Map: Mapp Squad Burlington VT by comdude21.

Mods:

Abandonment Dilapidation Modd by ralphaelninja. Tunnel and Slope Mod by bigredfish. Bridge Height Mod by joerg. No Oneway Road Arrows by Tropod. Radical Ordinance by ralphaelninja. Street Tree Mod by SFBT. Olympic Terrain Mod by cycledogg. Rural Roadways Mod, Rock Mod: Mossy Granite and Water Mod: Windjammer by Pegasus.

BATs & Lots (incomplete):

Low Wealth Lot Set & Generic Lot Set Smalltown USA by ancientsociety. Victorian Country House by csq246. Grey Ploppable Rocks by cycledogg. School Pack Vol01 by JBSimio. St Somebody Catholic Church by mentarman. Nexis Country Church by mrbisonm. Slaytfork Mill Revised by Onlyplace4. MTP C$ Low Wealth Replacement Mod by Pegasus. Kingsway Shops Pack & Saint Leonard GOCB by spa. Farmland Fences by suico.

CityJournals (CJs that have influenced me): Broome County by bourneid.

Anduin Valley Revisited by Darmok; Three Rivers Region by dedgren; LaPlaisance County by dhoppeii; St Marque Inlet by Fox. Paradise Falls by jacqulina; Digby East Coast Region by lewellan222; Urland, a (mostly) rural coastline by Nardo69.

[PhilsCafe 8]

-- place holder --

(for when the first post gets too crammed...)

[Schulmanator 5,787]

I am interested to see what you create.

[brtim2 11]

So, so very excited. I have always enjoyed your work, Phil. So very excited to see your development.

[ky72x 13]

Hey Phil, this is a really nice start to your new CJ! Lots of information, and a great region map with population numbers and cities. It's going to be really helpful for us to pinpoint where each and every city is located. I can't wait for more!

- Kyle

[jacqulina 162]

hiya phil sounds wonderfull my friend,great start and intro i cant wait to see more

[PhilsCafe 8]

Replies

Schulmanator: Thank you for visiting, I hope you're not going to be too disappointed lol.

brtim2: Hey, long time no see! Thank you for posting, and I'm glad you enjoyed my previous work. I'm excited too, because I didn't play in a while.

ky72x: Thank you for visiting, Kyle. I'm really glad you like the introduction. The purpose of this actually was that everyone can follow my train of thoughts.

jacqulina: Thank you, Jacky. I'm glad you like it so far. For once, I'm quick with an update, lol. Take care, my friend!

Thank you everyone for posting. Now that the six hours are over, I can finally post the first update. Questions and feedback are appreciated!

---

Update 1.0: Bosworth

Okay, it's time for the first in-game pictures. I've prepared those long ago, so don't expect the same updating pace for the future :-). As you can see from the map posted in my first post, Bosworth is going to be the second largest city in the region.

^ View of Bosworth from the North-West. The town currently holds a population of 3,075. There is no rail at the moment, as I have only worked on one town so far. I'm expecting the railway to bring another surge in development.

^ Bosworth Elementary School is located at the south end of Market St. Also pictured the post office, small shops and some low-walth commercial.

^ Originally, the town was established by Catholic French settlers. When British and Dutch settlers came into the area, Protestants became the majority.

^ The bridge leading to Pkwami Falls.

Next update will feature Pkwami Falls.

---

CREDITS

BATs & Lots: Low Wealth Lot Set & Generic Lot Set Smalltown USA by ancientsociety. Nexis Country Church by mrbisonm. MTP C$ Low Wealth Replacement Mod by Pegasus. Saint Leonard GOCB by spa.

[Simtastico 0]

this is a great cj so far, I like the region map and the way you define your cj. Look forward to see Pkwami Falls!

[dfnva 34]

Those are great looking rural scenes, they look like they're truly from Vermont.

Dan

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, great start to this cj! I love the residential and great farmland!

-bbfan02-

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Wow, that was incredible. I will definitely keep checking! Heh, no wonder you're a veteran

[seemurray2 21]

A very nice start to this cj, that is a beautiful little town in a very realistic natural setting - I will be checking back for more! 

[Callbat 8]

oooh, I like New England CJs!, this one looks good, your scenes are very green and pleasant!

[gabry85 2]

Wow, great farmlands! I like how the school merges with the farms! Wonderful community!

[vivydu29 60]

Grea start and great work, It's very beautiful and promising.

[jacqulina 162]

hiya phil wow thats beautifull farmland excellent work and pics my friend.

[bobinator 0]

Very nice rural town. I like what you've done with your farms.

[AceofSpades 1]

Great rural town. You def. have this down!

[ky72x 13]

The banners on the bottom of the pictures look beautiful! It is a very nice detail that you have added to enhance them. Nice job on Bosworth, the structures fit the town perfectly. I would suggest building some more of spa's 1x2 retail stores and offices next to that lone one in the third shot. When you have many of them together, they look really good! Keep up the great work, Phil.

- Kyle

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Disappointed? no way! The scale and arrangement and lot selection lend a lot of authenticity. Very nice. Very tranquil. Very Vermont.

[super_monkey 0]

nice job bud... It looks really good.

[dedgren 830]

Gorgeous rural landscapes, Phil.  You can here the bees buzzing and feel the warm breeze on your face...

David

[Nardo69 51]

I have been way too busy last months otherwise I would've found here earlier  ...

Nice rural feeling. I love the river shores - I am never satisfied with mine. Nice touch with the powerline, I like to see them if they are laied out as nice as yours!

Take care my friend (and don't forget to make backups!)

Bernhard

[Simfan34 11]

Wow- a Swiss take on the US. Hasn't this been- oh wow, Phil, didn't notice! So glad to see another CJ!

[PhilsCafe 8]

Replies

Simtastico: Thank you for posting. I'm glad you liked it so far. The reason for my rather elaborate intro is that other people get an idea of how to start a region.

dfnva: Thank you very much, Dan! I guess when this region has the slightest resemlance to Vermont, I already achieved something. I've never been near there in RL, so I let you judge .

bbfan02: Thank you for commenting. I'm glad you like the farmland, because I struggled with it a little bit... the terrain is quite tricky, But I feel more and more comfortable on it.

NMUSpidey: Thank you for stopping by. Well, I'm sure there are more experienced players than I am, I haven't played in a while before starting this CJ... but I guess it's just like cycling -- one never forgets how to do it... lol.

seemurray2: I'm glad you liked the start. Thank you for commenting! I hope to keep it natural.

Callbat: So you like New England, why is that ? I wanted to make something with a more European touch for once. Thank you for stopping by.

gabry85: Your the first to mention the school, I'm glad you saw that detail... thank you very much for posting!

vivydu29: Thank you for your comment. It's very much appreciated, I'll try not to disappoint you then .

jacqulina: Hi Jacky! Great to see you here again. I'm glad you like the farmland, coming from a master of natural settings it means a lot to me . Thank you very much, my friend!

bobinator: Hey, thank you very much! I think the farms are most important to get to look good, since that will be a defining element (just like sprawl in Dartford ).

AceofSpades: Thank you for your comment, it's very much appreciated. I'm glad you like that town.

ky72x: Hey Kyle! Thank you for your detailed comment. About spa's BATs, I've downloaded all of them... they just have to grow there now (I try to grow as much as possible in the beginning). In the meantime, those food stands already gave way to some PEG commercials... maybe spa's are next, we'll see .

Schulmanator: I'm glad to hear you haven't been disappointed yet . Thank you for posting again. I made indeed quite an effort in picking out good BATs, because there aren't many special creations one could use in a rural town. That probably becomes even more obvious when some more R$$ buildings have grown.

super_monkey: Thank you for stopping by, your comment is very much appreciated. I'm glad you like it so far.

dedgren: Hi David, great to have you commenting here again! I'm glad it's that alive for you... let's hope it does not fly away very soon like a bee, lol. Thank you for your compliment over at 3RR too, maybe I'm not giving as much attention to "micro-details" as in AC (maybe as a next step I will), but I try to get the overall feel as good as it gets. Thanks again my friend!

Nardo69: Hallo Bernhard. I absolutely understand that you don't have too much time at the moment , I'm glad you made it here now. As for the river shores, I tried to give them more attention in this update, I'm never satisfied either. I indeed tried to use the powerlines as eyecandy (with the side-effect of conducting power ), I'm glad you like that detail. Thank you very much for posting... and for the heads-up on the backups (I'll do one this week for sure). Now, take care my good friend!

Simfan34: I don't know why I'm always sticking to America either . At least this time I chose something where I can use more Swiss influence... thank you very much for posting. Great to have you on board too.

Okay, this was quite an amazing response. Thank you very much for your great support everyone! Naturally, comments and questions are always very welcome. This is probably my last update in the semester break, which means updating will become slower again from next week on...

---

Update 1.1: Pkwami Falls

Pkwami Falls politically belongs to Town of Bosworth. And it's so small, that I had trouble to find seven pictures for the update.

^ View of Pkwami Falls, Vermont (sorry for the ugly out of bounds texture... I normally don't show the over-the-edge parts)

^ Pkwami Falls lies on Vermont Route 100.

^ Route 100 crosses the northern arm of Pkwami River with a covered bridge. The bridge is a popular tourist attraction.

^ A more general view of Route 100 crossing Pkwami River, aligned by farms.

^ Another attraction is the old Slaytfork Mill. Once the biggest employer in Bosworth, the mill only runs for touristic reasons now. And hence, it only has a couple of employees left.

^ Another view of the mill, from the main residential area.

That was it for now... I haven't decided yet what's next. Until next time!

---

CREDITS

BATs & Lots: Low Wealth Lot Set by ancientsociety. Victorian Country House by csq246. Grey Ploppable Rocks by cycledogg. Slaytfork Mill Revised by Onlyplace4. MTP C$ Low Wealth Replacement Mod by Pegasus. Farmland Fences by suico.

[GreekMan 246]

I like this!

I saw your old Cj and I thouight that was cool!

Good luck with this one!!!!!

[bobinator 0]

The rocks lining the stream around the mill add a nice touch, keep it up!

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, excellent job and excellent scenary! Great farmland and winding roads. Great bridge and rocks! They look so realistic to the covered bridges in Vermont.

-bbfan02-

[dfnva 34]

Another nice update.... I like the winding road as you would often find in a rural area as to negociate features in terrain and such.

Dan

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Niiiiiiice... I'm so homesick.