Schulmania

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Ahoy! Maritime Operations Command reports a clandestine mission headed out toward occupied territory. I wonder what they are up to... we'll see soon!

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

Sounds interesting... I wonder what's going on?

[The Duke 11]

Cat Translator....... excellent. Great stuffs as always!!

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Lol cats playing musical instruments

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Ooo, clandestine implies cloak and dagger stuff. That could be interesting. Does Schulmania have their own version of James Bond, or at least Giacomo Casanova?

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Great outdoors are nice! Good to see development and prettyness rather than Queensferry invasion.

[Schulmanator 5,787]

While you're waiting....

[wwetom1 831]

I didn't know cats could play the strings

Nice parks!

[Schulmanator 5,787]

NMUSpidey Meow... that does not compute.... Meow... input fancy feast now to continue.... Meow...

9988 I think it must be a novelty... I looked it up just to see if it has any validity... and I think it is more of a random comment generator for fun. It sure would be handy if it was for real!

NMUSpidey Sure! You can contact him at his office. His boss, Capt. Kangaroo, tells me he has appointments available next week.

Sobol Woo hoo! We sure could use a technical boost from the labs! How's the power cell project for the hover cat doing?

Leech10 Labs compete... we win. (LendingTree for feline scientists)

Leech10 Well, I am having some FTP issues so the military update is a bit behind... it will be on the website when it can upload. Silly technical stuff!

The Duke Thanks! Always glad to have you drop in.

Nathanthemayor I would hate to have to get the hairballs out of the brass instruments though!

NMUSpidey Now that you mention it...

Sgt Pepper Thanks. Schulmania is much nicer without those evil buggs around!

wwetom1 Oh sure! Of course, the banjo is a bit hard to play with claws. But, ya can't win them all!

---

BUREAU OF FELINE AFFAIRS

DIPLOMATIC UPDATE

Dateline: Port Felix, Schulmauckland

The Bureau of Feline Affairs is pleased to report cordial relations have been established between BFA Ambassador Sir Oliver Boyd and Schulmauckland leader Prince Schonheit. Ambassador Boyd's credentials have been reviewed and accepted by the Schulmauckland government. He and his lovely assistant Miss Millicent have been working tirelessly since their introduction in Port Felix to promote cano-feline relations and secure mutually beneficial trade and other accords. Hats off to the ambassadors for an inspiring round of diplomatic successes!

---

MILITARY UPDATE

The latest military roster includes all active duty ST members and their statuses. It includes casualties from the Battle of Cape Eastway and subsequent actions waiting to be revealed when the computer decides it knows what FTP means...

[Dumanios 35]

When Queensferry attacks next, we will meet victory!

[Schulmanator 5,787]

SCHULMANIA MILITARY BRIEFING

The latest information from our surveillance operations in the occupied zone has now been released. Distrubing new information has come at a very high price. Click on the feline warrior helmet below to see Military Briefing #6, exclusively on the www.schulmania.info website.

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Yes there will be victory

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Major N. M. U. Spidey, reporting for duty! Boy, I sure do like the ring to that.

Alright, let's set up an appointment, why don't we say about 4pm Tuesday?

Aaaaand... Catsanova. I should have known. The Pink Panther just stands out too much for covert duty.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand... It seems the war is going poorly... What is going to happen to help turn it around?

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Coming up next...

Something's fishy on one island in Schulmania... and our investigation has FINALLY revealed who (or what) is behind it. Come see next time!

[Larks2242 251]

Cats should totaly catch Catfish, there should be a dogfish too that barks at them, that would be funny.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Cats should totaly catch Catfish, there should be a dogfish too that barks at them, that would be funny.quote>

Yeah, and then the dogfish can totally chase boats and poo on the rug!

[Schulmanator 5,787]

East Tenne: Joker Defeats Batman!

At one point, the island of Watts Bar, found in the middle of the Tenne River, was thought to be infested with a swarm of bats. (see the infestation here) Extensive investigations by Simtropolis scions have been inconclusive... until now. Sleuthing and technical upgrades have finally revealed the secret of the Bat Cave.

The secret will be revealed!

Commissioner Gordon, hang on to the batphone... this will be a major secret revealed!

As we explore this small island town, be wary of signs of a criminal mastermind at work. Methinks The Joker is somewhere on the island, playing a prank on us. And now, the long-awaited official debut of Watts Bar.

It looks innocent enough. Could it be a hideout for one of Gotham's elite criminals?

From the eastern bridge, there seem to be no bats flying about. Interesting, since there were so many before (as noted here)

None here, either. Did they all fly back to the cave?

Earlier pictures of this area had bats all the time in there. Has The Joker captured them?

Wider view, still no bats. Where did they go? A deception? Read on...

Detectives have zeroed in on this area, where they seem to appear and circle quite a bit. We must find the answer, lest The Joker succeed and embolden The Riddler!

Having searched the whole island by surveillance glider, no sign of bats has been seen yet. Have we been had ? Has The Joker pranked us for real?

NEVER!

The mystery has been at last solved! The source of the bats has been found. And, it turns out they are not bats after all!

The statue of Princess Ava seems not to be attracting bats... it is attracting pigeons! Standard Maxis pigeons. I suppose that they are in so few LOTs that all of us failed to recognize them when they burst onto the scene last summer. How did I finally recognize them for what they were? I put in a building that comes with pigeons in a non-Schulmania region... and... voila! There they were - the bats! But, I was suspicious... that do look like bats, but... then it dawned on me... these are oversized pigeons. They mystery has been solved! There are not bats after all in Watts Bar. But, now that we have established no one is manning the Bat Cave, does that free up Schulmania for plundering by The Joker?

Only time will tell...

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Pegasus uses pigeons on his lots, instead of the seagull animation, (which is known to be a resource hog).

So things like the PEG Garbage Chute, seaports, and his lighthouses... yup those are pigeons not seagulls... but he reckons you cant tell the difference between a seagull, pigeon and flying rat at zoom 5....

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Oooo, those dirty flying animals! Over the years, I've come to develop a healthy dislike of them, from the excrement on my freshly washed car, to the strategically placed "surprise" on my windshield directly in my field of view while I'm away and can't wash it off before it dries and is stuck there! I say BRING BACK THE BATS! I never find guano on my car, and that's a good thing !

[penguin007 27]

Great update there my friend the island looks beautiful!!

Will

[Schulmanator 5,787]

And, while you are still digesting this update, the next one is already under development. Woo hoo! And the next one is slanty...

[Schulmanator 5,787]

The Schulmanator has not been sleeping on the job!

(Princess Ava, on the other hand...)

The fruits of my labors are a Valentine's Day treat for you...new stuff on the Schulmania webpage. Come see it [here].

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

No bats? Phooey.

Can't wait for more!

Plundering by a cross dressing Joker?

[Schulmanator 5,787]

The Bureau of Feline Affairs confirms a BBC report that #10 Downing Street is now guarded by a member of the elite Feline Clawguard, who also provide security for the Supreme Wirdle and other feline dignitaries. Read about it [here].

Larry's Glamour Shot

Larry patrols at #10 Downing Street to catch these invaders... rats!

The Bureau of Feline Affairs is delighted to provide this service to the British government and looks forward to a long and fruitful relationship with our new partners.

[§haÅ--Ñ€ §hÅŽo 370]

So Schulmania is helping out the UK with the rats eh? Wonder what Schulmania will want in return, some salmon maybe?

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Heh, at first I read that last line as "a long and truthful relationship," and I thought to myself, what the heck does that mean? But fruitful makes MUCH more sense. Good luck to the BFA!

[kakado_to_save 514]

No Bats? These are pigeons? I still believe that there are bat out there.. >.>

Edit: page 212  

[Schulmanator 5,787]

East Tenne: Getting Bent

Once upon a time, the SimCity universe was oh-so-orthogonal, with straight roads and blocky things everywhere. But, alas, the world is not so griddy after all! Thanks to the enterprising SimCity mod and lot developers, diagonality has left the realm of fantasy and landed right smack into reality. Schulmania has been somewhat slow to adopt diagonality, partially because of the lack of older style lots for diagonals and partially because diagonals don't work well with pedestrian mall tiles in the NAM. Now, more diagonal buildings have come about and Schulmania is not as dependent on pedestrian tiles as it used to be. On occasion, Schulmania has featured the odd diagonal building. But now, for the first time, in Roane-Anderson, diagonal buildings and roads have broken Schulmania completely off of the grid. C'mon... check it out!

A crowd gathers in front of the neighborhood Leech Apothecary to see what's on sale this week.

The intersection with Maxis Avenue is a good illustration of the "bent" road system in much of Roane-Anderson.

The very diagonal General Groves Avenue slants up the western side of the city, separated from the Wirdle River by a leafy waterfront park.

There's slantiness all over town!

General Groves Avenue, which runs northwest (toward lower right of picture) from City Hall to Outer Drive. Parallel to it and just as diagonal is (at left) Calutron Avenue. This parallelogram is as slanty as Schulmania gets so far.

Across the street from the Wildcat Den, Calutron Avenue begins is diagonal journey to the northwest.

By City Hall, General Groves Avenue does the same.

On the south bank, an assortment of diagonal and straight roads lends a refreshingly unpredictable pattern to the town.

Road maps will definitely come in handy.

The domed office of the First Tenne Bank anchors this oblique intersection.

On the north side of town, another branch of the bank presides over a long row of luxury apartments.

Ready for a night on the town?

In the evening, slanty roads carry traffic between midtown and the government district.

Did you notice the bank's ATM across the street with the matching dome?

Roane-Anderson coins are released from the First Tenne Bank branches.

Looks like someone on the second floor had a "bright" idea...

In the evening, one of the popular spots is the local bookstore, Arlene's House o' Books.

---

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

Slanty... interesting. Can't wait for more!

No Leech Apothecary website update?

You forgot the upgrades!

Upgraded flag box with technology reverse-engineered by Leech Labs!

The globe's working, though.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Well, if Schulmania wishes diplomatic relations with Port Matthew, than Port Matthew would be delighted to enter a friendly dialogue and fill in some offices in each others' respective capitals.

Also, East Tenne looks very nice with its new non-gridded look. And I think my college town has a small restaurant called the Wildcat Den. Or was it Wildcat's Den? I rarely ate there, so I can't remember all that well!