Digby - East Coast Region

[lewellan222 3]

Digby - East Coast Region

Welcome to the Region of Digby, a modest East Coast community just waiting to grow into something bigger!

This journal will follow the progress of Digby as it transforms from an unremarkable region of small cities and towns into a thriving metropolis.

At the start of our story, Digby consists of eight cities and more than 48 small towns and villages. The starting total population for the whole region is 66,172 Sims. The time is 1950, and things are starting to pick up in the region.

The growth of the towns and cities in Digby will very slow and realistic. In keeping with my desire for realistic growth, I have created the 1950's version of Digby as realistically as possible:

1) City and Town Placement - Cities don't just crop up out of nowhere. They are almost always situated based on two determining factors:

a) Waterways - Cities started from 1607-1900 in North America are usually found on a waterway, either a coastline, river, or canal. Water was for many years the main method of travel. Cities are almost always on waterways.

b) Railroad - Cities founded from 1840-1940 were often placed along rail routes. Rail took over as the main method of mass transportation at the turn of the century. In keeping with this, you will notice the towns and cities of Digby are realistically placed along waterways and rail lines. Note that almost EVERY city and town in Digby starts off connected by rail, because that's the way North America looked!

2) Rural Zoning - If you look at the following maps, the region of Digby is almost entirely pre-zoned as agricultural. This is what a region such as this would really look like. Unless your building Las Vegas, to build a city out of nothing in the middle of nowhere doesn't make sense. Every modern city has to grapple with the intrusion of city into county. Digby will be no exception. Concession roads become main roads and modern highways slice through the countyside! That's progress!

3) Slow Growth - Digby will grow slowly. At this time, there are no highways, no high-rises, no airports, not even any high-density zoning! Only two of the cities have bus routes. There is a small ferry service between the mainland and the two large islands, as this is the only way for people to move off the islands.

4) Minimal Building on Slopes - SC4 is too forgiving about building on steep slopes. Thus, in Digby, very little building occurs on the "mountains". (Note also that "mountains" in SC4 are really only about 900 feet tall, and more like large hills than mountains). But even then, if one looks at the Alleghany or Laurentian mountains, one will find that towns, roads, and railroads will always build around them before they build on them. In the real world, building on slopes is more expensive, and is avoided when possible.

5) Fewer Bridges - SC4 is also far too forgiving in allowing bridges over ridiculous heights and distances, and for far too cheap! In the real world, bridges and tunnels are extremely expensive, and are avoided if at all possible. They will be used sparingly in Digby. You won't be seeing bridges between the mainland and the islands.

Finally, to keep the journal interesting, the progress of Digby will be supplemented with newspaper articles, town letters, and other snippets to keep the reader entertained.

So let's get started!

As you can see, Digby consists of eight main cities. The rest of the region already contains dozens of small towns and villages, and lots of farmland.

Digby Geography
The Regional Municipality of Digby consists of a mainland divided by three rivers, and two large islands. There are also some mountains in the area. The following map show the general layout of Digby geography.

 

Digby Zone Map

The following map is mosaic of the zone map from every single area of Digby. All of the cities, towns, and villages are marked. (Start thinking about where you would like to live!)

Now, let's have a look at the first of our eight major cities!

[lewellan222 3]

 

 

 

 

And a closer look...

Well, as you can see...not a whole lot here...for now!

[lewellan222 3]

Something's happening in...
GRANTON

 

Newspaper Article:
 

[lewellan222 3]

There are lots of towns in Digby, so let's get on to the next one...

 

 

 

 

Looking from a distance, but a little closer, you can see how neatly Grande Forkes fits into the fork of the rivers.

 

 

 

 

Here is the downtown area, on the west side of town:

 

 

 

And don't forget about Edda's Cafe downtown. It's on Bank St and Herman St. It's been there since 1929. They ain't kidding about the pie, either!

 

 

You'll also notice there's a bus stop to the north of Edda's. Grande Forkes is one of only three towns that actually have bus service. They're pretty proud of it, but to be honest, they don't get many passengers. There was rumour that some developers were planning some sort of highway near Grande Forkes, but folks don't believe it'll ever come to anything...things are just too slow around here. Highway, indeed...sheesh.

 

Anyway, that's it for now. Drop in a little later for news on Digby!

[lewellan222 3]

 

 

 

Let's take a closer look at both cities. Here they are together (Lancaster at to the west, Wentworth to the east) You can see the ferry terminals that connect them:

 

 

 

Lancaster
Lancaster has a fair bit of industry, perhaps more than any other town in Digby Region.

  

 

 

 

Wentworth
Across Hampton Strait, Wentworth is not much smaller. Wentworth is actually on a large island, and the only way to get to the mainland is by crossing the strait via the ferry service. You can see the ferry terminal on the coast.

 

[lewellan222 3]

Ferry Service Between Lancaster and Wentworth
The ferry service between Lancaster and Wentworth is a very important link between the twin cities. Because the population between the cities is only 5,000 people, the ferry doesn't run too often. In actuality, is probably costs the city money to operate.

 

[lewellan222 3]

A Word on This Region

I neglected to mention earlier in this post, the Digby Region is created with absolutely no cheats and no mods. Cheating, in my opinion, absolutely takes the fun and challenge out of the simulation. It is not hard to make money in this game, especially now that agricultural zones are taxed. All the extra trees you see in the screen shots have been paid for: $3 each!

 

CHEATS - I read in a post somewhere here where one person said "most people play the game with money cheats. They don't care about playing by the rules, they only want cool-looking cities." I sure hope that isn't true. Part of the fun of building your city is making sure you stay in the black! Maxis has put a lot of work into gameplay balance, and I think it's a shame not to rise to that challenge!

 

MODS - As for mods, some of them are absolutely brilliant. But I prefer to use only the tools Maxis gave me. This way, the region is a clean, vanilla version of the retail game.

 

DOLLAR QUOTES - When posting newspaper articles in this game, I often make references to dollar amounts that may seem high. The game uses very small dollar amounts, so I multiply everything in the game by $1,000. This makes the dollar quotes in the newspaper articles sound a little more credible! Thus, monthly power fees that show as $147 in the game will appear as $147,000 in the news!

[lewellan222 3]

Rail Lines in Your Small Cities

Since we're in Wentworth right now, I thought I'd say a few things about city-building. As I mentioned in the first post, the towns and cities in Digby were built on waterways and rail lines. Rail lines and waterways provide a good guide on how to initially shape your towns so that they can grow naturally and realistically.

 

In the following picture of Wentworth, you can see how the town has grown past the rail lines, and has been forced to accomodate them. Although the rail lines create direct routes from city to city within the region, they still have connections like the one shown that make for interesting irregularities in the city. No matter how much Wentworth grows, these rail beds are likely to remain.

 

[lewellan222 3]

Something's happening in...
LANCASTER

Newspaper Article

[lewellan222 3]

The Large Zone Map
Many people have asked about the maps I use in this journal. It is quite a labourious process to make these. First off, I use a screen capture program that will capture the open Zone Data View in the game (I use HyperSnap DX4). For Digby there are 57 of these individual maps. Next, I use PhotoShop to trim each image right down to it's exact border (256 pixels by 256 pixels). Then I resample each pic to its scale size (based on the small, medium, large city sizes), and then patch them all together, perfectly aligned. Heavy use of layers and other PhotoShop features make this possible.

I am making one more of these maps showing the Digby transportation system, and to help viewers see where the small towns I will be talking about actually are. That will mean layering rail and road together on a plain terrain.

No Further in Building Digby Yet
Just a note to everyone, Digby is still holding in its 1950 form; I haven't actually done any more building since this journal started. I still have to introduce you to the main cities, so we're in a bit of a holding pattern. I want those interested in following this journal to get to know the region a bit before we set off and watch it grow.

So Digby will still stay quite small for a while. There still is only one police department in all Digby (Granton), and no high density zoning (as a player, I have not yet even seen a high-density structure, and Digby is my first region).

There still are no highways, no elevated rail, no subway, few fire stations, no prisons, no avenues, no water treatment, no airports, and no large schools of any sort! Yup, Digby has a lot of growing to do!

[lewellan222 3]

Better Looking Farmland

 

Although SimCity4 is a city-building game, farmland still plays an important role if you want your cities and regions to look realistic. Even if you want to build a huge metropolis, you'll still need farms if you want the outskirts of your cities to look like the real thing. What's on the outskirts of Chicago and New York City? You guessed it...farms!

 

Using the local farms in Digby, here are a few tips to make your farms look a bit more inviting. When you're tired of the hubbub of your busy city, just scroll your cursor to the outskirts and enjoy some fresh country air!

 

 

Concession Roads - Be sure that most of the area outside of your city has lots of country roads (we call them concession roads in Ontario). It is very rare to find areas in the populated areas of Canada and the U.S. that are not completely covered with country roads. (see next picture)

 

Road Allowances - Roads that have been zoned by a city but not yet built are called road allowances. They usually appear as dirt roads or a thick lines of trees. Include some of these for realism. (see next picture)

 

Forested Areas - Not all farmland has been completely cleared for crops. Many farms contain areas of bush that make good habitat for game. Be sure to leave some of these forested areas between some farms. (see next picture)

 

 

 

Treelined Fields - Fields are the result of decades of clearing trees and rocks, which get moved off to the sides of the field. Coupled with property lines, this results lines of trees along most fields.

 

 

 

 

Farmhouses - Farms don't pop on their own; they start out as family farms. Place a single-tile low residential zone near each farm to recreate the family-owned farms that are still common today.

 

The farmhouse below, owned by the Thompson family, is just north of Granton.

 

 

 

 

Crossroads - Agriculture areas often have small communities dispersed throughout. These often occur at a crossroads. Place a few small houses, and a store or two, at some of your crossroads, but use these sparingly.

 

 

 

 

When City Meets Country - Eventually, as you expand, your city will approach your farmland, and you will have to start knocking down farms. That's when your city-building skills come in!

 

 

 

In the next section, I'll quickly touch on how to deal with those nasty, large grain silos that spoil the countryside with their overbearing presence!

[lewellan222 3]

Dealing with Giant Grain Elevators

In an attempt to make farms less repetative, the Rush Hour expansion causes the simulator to build a greater variety of farms. For the most part, this is a good thing. But when laying out your fields, you may find that the large grain elevators are too numerous, and spoil the landscape in an unrealistic way.

 

Here's what I do:

 

Stage 1 - Grain Elevators Grow Like Weeds
After laying the fields, the dreaded grain elevators usually invade the landscape!

 

Stage 2 - Demolish the Large Silos
Knock 'em down! Yup, that's right. It costs you a bit of money, but that's the price of tweaking your region. Get out your demolition tool, and whammo!

 

Stage 3 - Allow Replacement Farms to Build
Allow the simulator to run. Provided there is demand for agricultural zoning, the smaller footprints that were left by the silos will be replaced by smaller, more appropriate structures. 

 

 

Stage 4 - Detail with Treelines and Farmhouses
Now you can add the final touches. Line some of the new, smaller fields with trees. Extend treelines right across the center of existing fields, as below. This farming area now looks much better than in the first picture.

 

When Silos are Desireable
By the way, silos are not inappropriate when they occur in very large fields, as below.

[lewellan222 3]

Reader Comments #1

Here is a synopsis of what other Simtropolites have had to say about Digby. I have done this to tidy up the journal, so please don't be disappointed that your comments have been amalgamated. They are very much appreciated.
 
I wish to thank those of you who take the time to visit Digby, and for your kind comments:
 
Chevylover - Wow, this is certainly a big farming region. The presentation of the pictures is great, I like the newspaper article. Keep it up and keep on updating.
 
AfroThunda - Your region looks awesome. I love your maps that you have mad. Keep the pics comin!
rewright - Very creative story format. It will be fun watching your region grow.
 
The_Fourth_Doctor - Wow! You've captured the rural town feel very well.  To be commended!
 
Minotaur420 - You're region looks pretty good, and you're doing a nice job with your city journal so far. Keep it up.
 
Pooty - Hey this is nice! I like how you use farms all around your region! Good job!
 
berkthomas -  Speechless!  Ok, not so speechless. This is truely one of the most realistic regions I have seen.  This is the way most communities really grow, and so far your attempt is fantastic.  I have seen many realistic regions but this one has really peeked my interest.  For the first time I have even "bookmarked" it so that I will easily be able to track it.
 
Please don't dissapoint.  Keep up the good work and update often.  You have managed to put together the best pieces of a lot of Journals best features.  Suggestion:  A little story of founding fathers or a local Sim that travels around.  Locals that meet and move and grow within the communities.
 
Crazy_Folkie - Can't wait too see what happens next...Great job.
 
MTLT_17 - Hey great job! Love the map...I think I will live in Grande Forkes, it is a really nice looking city located by the mountians, love sking. Once again great, and keep posting! Your CJ is the best. Still wish the awards were still on you would on been up there for my vote.
 
SimCop - Lookin' good Paul!  Granton looks like a great place to live and work.
 
mentarman - Great! Very creative and I like how you're starting with the 1950s version and letting us watch it grow. I've thought about doing something similar (at least going through and making my entire region into farms and small rural towns, then turning it into a realistic metropolis) but I just don't have the patience to essentially make my region twice. Hope you keep this up.
 
cirugo -  Looking good.  I will be following this one with interest.
 
Stardog13 - Wow, your region is beautiful. I love the terrain and how you are building this very realisticly. I can't wait to see how it grows from a large rural area into small towns and cities and then who knows...
 
sam_lawrence - One word..... wow.
 
frogface - Nice cities and region. But what impresses me most is your editing skills in your little news paper articles and things; its nice to see your region from a different perspective.
 
Xurros -  Hey lewellan, great CJ, it's difficult to see small cities that are so good. Very Nice.
 
Minotaur420 - Wow. Your journal is fascinating, your region is stunning, and your rural building techniques are unparalleled.
 
tHe Dark_Child - Wow, the region is facinating, looks nice.
 
savio - Nice! Excellent! thanks for the advice on farm planning. I need it more than anything...cos theres no farm in my country!
 
paletexan - This is a very refreshing rural area and journal.  I love the realism and attention to detail.  I hope it doesnt turn into a jungle of sky scrapers. Keep those city folks out at all costs!!
 
thecoreyt - This is.....beautiful. (Tears of joy).
 
ginchael - Wow.
 
dig1tal - Wow dude, thats nice ... here in Argentina there are LOT of places like that.
 
amdinside - Great job on the farms. I live in Texas and the tree lines follow water and property lines around farms and you captured that look very well.
 
TheJerseyDevil73 - Very nice, very realistic, and very impressive. Any region that gives itself character and a little life while giving a very real look gets a 10/10 anytime. Plus using stories and a newspaper really adds alot. I search the journals all the time just hoping to come across something like this.

[lewellan222 3]

Something's happening in...
GRANTON

 

Newspaper Article:

 

[lewellan222 3]

Journal Graphics Update

I have updated most of the screenshots that occur previous to this post. Go back and have a look at them if you haven't done so already.

 

Improvements include:

 

Screenshot Orientation - Most screenshots now have a small zone map in the corner with a frame that indicates the area in the city where the screenshot has taken place. This will help to keep readers stay oriented as we travel around Digby.

 

Event Location - Events such as newspaper articles also have a regional map reminding the reader where the city being featured is located. This will be especially useful when we start visiting any of the region's 52 small towns!

 

Custom Graphics - Once in a while I have fun inserting things into the screenshots that don't actually occur in the game (check the Lancaster ferry shot, for example). Please don't think I have modded the game to feature these graphics! That is far beyond my capabilities!

[lewellan222 3]

Okay, enough dilly-dallying about...we still have three more cities to introduce!

 

 

 

 

 

And moving in a little closer...

 

 

 

[lewellan222 3]

A Closer Look at Whetherford
Like most of the cities and towns in Digby, Whetherford residents take life at a slower pace. They work hard, but know when to put down the tools and relax with the family.

 

The manufacturing industry is quite vibrant in Whetherford.

Neighbourhoods in Whetherford are quiet, and well-kept.

 

Some of the houses in historic Whetherford remain from the Golden Age of the railroad and ocean transport.

[lewellan222 3]

Towns in the Whetherford Area
As you know, no city in Digby stands on its own. The Regional Municipality of Digby is an interwoven networks of towns and cities, each complementing the other.

 

Let's look at a couple of the small towns just north of Whetherford.

Albion

Albion has problems. People don't live there for long, and property values just can't seem to pick up. Mayoral elections in Whetherford next year will no doubt include discussion on improving the situation in this little town of only 210 people.

 

 

Innsly

Innsly only has 80 people living in it. But the McCormick Cinema is still going strong, and is a favourite place for movie-goers in Whetherford.

[A Killer Ewok 2]

this is definately and inspirational city to all of us. the way you started with the old 1950's look and all the little communities being hugged by the rich farmland. i just love this. maybe once you've developed it well, you could expand the regional size?

[berkthomas 0]

Bravo!!!   Just back to work from Xmas Vacation.  What a joy it was to come back to Digby Updates.  Your doing and fantastic job, and the tutorials are great.  I started my own region while on vacation and I have already included many of your ideas.

 

I use only one Modd that you may want to think about.  I believe it was Troca (sp) who developed a "Dirt Road" modd.  It looks absolutely fantastic in agriculture regions (the streets turn to the regular gray roads after development of res/com/manu.  so they are only dirt roads in the "country". 

[lewellan222 3]

 

Harford and Its Two Closest Towns

[lewellan222 3]

A Closer Look at Harford

As you can see, Harford is a thoroughfare for both rail and road. Most of Harford's shipping industry in gone now.

 

 

 

 

Industry in Harford

 

 

 

 

 

Downtown Harford

Downtown Harford is typically small, but the rumble of trains is always present!

 

 

 

The Endler Building
I am always interested in architecture. The Endler Building, in downtown Harford, caught my eye.

 

 

What's That Small Town Across the River?
Why, Pilotsville, of course!

 

And that's it for Harford, for now!

[cammo2003 20]

Oh, my goodness... I'm in awe. You make my region look bad.  And I've been getting good compliments for mine too...

 

No, really. I'm the first to admit when I think someone's doing better than me (and that's been quite a few times, as there are some excellent sc'ers here. I believe that on the basis that you truly are putting the effort in that exudes from this journal, you will become a well-respected city builder here at SimTropolis.

 

I do, however, recommend that you download the7trumpets transit mods at a later date, though, as they allow intersections not previously possible and also fix certain bugs in the game. It's your choice though.

 

Oh, and are you going to make Harford your regional centre? Because I find the location is ideal. It is very central in the region, that's why. That or Granton. Both of these would also make good locations for major port facilites, given their easy access to the islands and much of the region. Maybe Granton as a port/industrial city. I dunno, It's just that this region screams "potential" and I just hope it's tapped into.

 

Grande Forkes would also make an ideal next most major city area. I would strongly suggest NOT developing it all into one big metropolitain area, but rather one larger metro area and a medium-ish city complex or two.

Best of luck, and sorry for such a long post!

[Ma8thew 77]

I recomend youy download some train skins. I'm sure you'll agree the game's ones are pretty ugly! Try Simcity Central. Great region BTW!

[clindhartsen 5]

Wow, that is the most amasing farmign region I have ever seen. No grid, great design. and a great varity of names. All I can do is sit and aww. This is one amazing region. I like the thought of framing instead or metropolis like most regions. A nice rest from the normal in the game. Anyway, It kind of reminds me of where I live. We have our local Tri-Cities (Richland, Kennwick, and Richland) and then we have dense farming to the west and east untill you get to a nother city, Yakima or Walla-Walla. Anyway, the terrians different but it does remind me of were I live. You know what, you region is great and far superior to most I have seen for the farming region. Wow!!!

[Sabretooth78 808]

I must say what I see here is awesome so far.  Puts my journal to shame!!

 

I also must say I agree with and have used many of your city planning techniques/approaches myself.  I especially like the farm layouts, it never occured to me to use so many trees!

 

As a side note, I notice you have a ferry system.  Do you have problems with EVERYBODY commuting to the ferry (especially commuters from other cities)?

 

-Chris

[lewellan222 3]

Warrington

Let's head over to Warrington Island and check out the town of Warrington.

[lewellan222 3]

And a closer look...

The French Headlands are so named after the French settlers who initially populated this island. There are still lots of people on Williams Island with French names. The Headlands are very windswept, bearing the full brunt of ocean-borne weather.

Read about Cutcliffe in the next post...

[Xurros 10]

I think you could start to develop like a big/medium city...just to be the capitol..It doesnt need to be so big..just bigger than the other cities..

[SkyTearer 10]

Look lewallan, no one has said any bad things about your region, so i'll have to be the one. I'm sorry but I have to tell you that your region is utterly and completely won a

Sky's Shibbylicious Award

 

Congratulations! I, as well as many members of simtropoolis, love your region! My favorite thing is that you teach city builders how to make realistic cities, without all the mods and lots, with just plain ole' simcity, and that requires skill, and what won you this award. Congratulations, and have a great holiday!

 

-SkyTearer