A European wall-to-wall tutorial

[will_silver00 0]

A European wall-to-wall tutorial

Prologue

This tutorial has been previously posted in my CJ, but I thought it might help more people if it were posted here. I hope it's pretty self-explanatory, and it mightn't even be that useful for most of you, but if you do have queries, then please feel free to post them and I'll try and get back to you.

Personally I haven't seen anybody else build European cities in quite this way which I think is a bit of a shame, so it's my pleasure to share this with you. BUT, if you've already been doing this for ages, why not share a pic of your creation on here?

Will


Introduction

As we all know, the majority of the BATs available for European cities come from a handful of BATters - primarily Xannepan , Porkissimo , Erdmoebel , JEC and Vanderaap . With my CJ, Otranto, I have found Xannepan's and Porkissimo's most helpful, but most of their creations (Xan's especially) are large lots that offer little scope for variations when you're in the game.

Let me explain. What I mean is that in European cities, whether in England, France, Spain or anywhere, there are rarely rectangular or square 'blocks' with a boundary of buildings and a big space in the middle. Instead, there are courtyards, more buildings, and all sorts that make any European city a dense urban jungle. I also feel that Maxis' roads are way too wide for European cities, so this guide helps to build without too many roads.

Check out this site of Paris aerial pics , and you'll see what I mean.

* I stress that this is all eye-candy. It has to be, as you'll see that roads are not always necessary. *


Preparation

This style of building hinges on filler lots that MUST have no road restrictions, which you'll need to make yourself in the LE. It's easy to do using Xannepan existing buildings many of which can be chopped down to 1x1 or 1x2. Porkissimo's and (most of) Erdmoebel's buildings are both ploppable, with no road restrictions so can go anywhere. You could even use Maxis' buildings to make some filler lots.

I've also heard from pnorrell, that Gascooker's pub lots work quite well as 1x1 fillers. They're growable not ploppable, but appear easily apparently. Thanks for that man!








1.) Our blank canvas.


2.) Plop down some corner buildings.


3.) Fill in the gaps with some of your filler lots.


4.) And then fill in the middle space, using varying patterns, and shapes to create a dense urban space. Use all kinds of lots and different placings to create different effects.






5.) What about awkward shapes in the road like this?


6.) With Xannepan's lots, like this one, it's no problem. Use a 1x2 filler lot with details/windows on all sides to fill in the gap. You don't need to use a 90' corner lot everywhere!


6a.) Or with Porkissimo's 1x1 lot, make use of the decoration on the side of the building and place it at the end of a street. Try and find a lot that fits the remaining gap, like this other BAT of Porkie's.


Lastly, I read on a CJ that some people where having trouble with Xannepan's new BATs:

7.) What you need to do is make sure you zone first, before you plop them. They're a mix of R and C, so zone that out.


8.) And then plop the BATs, and they should thrive. (Interestingly, I've noticed an increase in population/jobs because of these ones, but never any traffic? Wierd.)


So, that's the end of the guide. I hope its been useful and shown you how to go from European cities that look like this before, to more realisitic ones that look like this:

[DuskTrooper 314]

Great tutorial! I'm sure others will find this interesting.

One correction, though: you only have to zone before plopping R. Plopping I and C straight onto the dirt is fine(as I have done it thousands of times).

[will_silver00 0]

Thanks a lot Dusk - that feels like a royal seal of approval!

You know I'd forgotten about the many times I, too, have plopped C BATs straight on the ground!? Of course it works, doesn't it... Whoops. That said tho, these new ones by Xannepan do seem to be ultra-sensitive to outside factors and can delapidate very quickly if you're not careful.

Anyway, thanks again for the input.

[Mickebear 2]

Hi Will, this tutorial is a must-have for every city builder who wants to have that European feel. We still need to work a lot to fool around SC4 to have a good looking old town - problem with existing BATs, albeit they are all suberb works of art, is that you can actually create cities with 18th or 19th century look at best, but everything medieval is squeezed into a square. But... it is a dream that cannot come true with SC4.

[Nik-nik 3]

Date: 6/17/2005 6:02:48 PM Author: will_silver00 You know I'd forgotten about the many times I, too, have plopped C BATs straight on the ground!?  Of course it works, doesn't it... Whoops.  That said tho, these new ones by Xannepan do seem to be ultra-sensitive to outside factors and can delapidate very quickly if you're not careful. Anyway, thanks again for the input.

quote>

I noticed the delipidation as well with the R$$$ buildings of Xannepan. So care is key.

Anyway, please explain it to me (I own SC$ +RH since January 2005 and have bought one of those discounted products, so without an official Strategy Guide that people are referring to (so I do not have the manual, for those who would say RTFM)) Why do the buidlings in the middle not show the no-road zot? Or are they just non-fuctional and just eye-candy (beautifull though).

[Klemvast 0]

Date: 6/22/2005 10:40:00 AM Author: Nik-nik

Date: 6/17/2005 6:02:48 PM Author: will_silver00 You know I'd forgotten about the many times I, too, have plopped C BATs straight on the ground!?  Of course it works, doesn't it... Whoops.  That said tho, these new ones by Xannepan do seem to be ultra-sensitive to outside factors and can delapidate very quickly if you're not careful. Anyway, thanks again for the input.

quote>

I noticed the delipidation as well with the R$$$ buildings of Xannepan. So care is key.

Anyway, please explain it to me (I own SC$ +RH since January 2005 and have bought one of those discounted products, so without an official Strategy Guide that people are referring to (so I do not have the manual, for those who would say RTFM)) Why do the buidlings in the middle not show the no-road zot? Or are they just non-fuctional and just eye-candy (beautifull though).

quote>

 

Yes, it says so in the tutorial above:

 

This style of building hinges on filler lots that MUST have no road restrictions, which you'll need to make yourself in the LE.  It's easy to do using Xannepan existing buildings many of which can be chopped down to 1x1 or 1x2.  Porkissimo's and (most of) Erdmoebel's buildings are both ploppable, with no road restrictions so can go anywhere.  You could even use Maxis' buildings to make some filler lots. 

quote>

 

That's why they don't have the no road zot, you see.

 

And by the way, the manual is not the same as the Prima Strategy Guide some people refer to. You can buy that guide, it's an independent publication (I don't have it myself though)