Hell_S

timcravey · June 29, 2009

News Flash

It happened so fast -- so unexpectedly. I can't really comment right now as I like the rest of the community am still in shock at the severity of the attack and the enormity of the losses. We still have no idea who would do this or why.

timcravey · August 6, 2009

Changha, Cranewife and Jessup's Hole were also lost in toto for causalties upwards of 200,000 sims. Rebuilding had begun even before the bombs had stopped falling. Many many blocks are still covered with debris and ruined buildings but the power and some water is restored and National Guard troops provide security.

Gold Rush has naturally emerged as the largest and strongest city and has become a center of business and finance. Here too is the Qiblaq Moskva - where a spherical compass points always to Moscow, the focus of prayers for the Russian Reform sect of Islam, also called the Roman or Great Indulgence.

A river of ice-fog snakes through the lower Dao Valley.

timcravey · December 18, 2009

A new political order is emerging in the colony --

The original Earth colony, now called Ares is centered around the Kasei and Ares Valley settlements in the Chryse Basin region of northern Mars. The independent settlements of the southern hemisphere have united into a loose federation called the Free City States. It is believed that Evillions has taken control of the newly formed military state of Rama but very little is known about developments in the region since the loss of the space station.

The nuclear detonations have caused some planetary warming, allowing several large bodies of previously frozen water to thaw temporarily. This has caused extensive flooding in some areas, resulting in massive relocation of low-lying communities and putting an added strain on services already over-burdened by refugees from the war.

Many refugees are being re-settled in new communities like Ares Chaos.

These are often small agricultural and mining towns, scattered thinly around an administrative center controlled by the UN.

In the Phoenicis Lacus (Lake Phoenix) region New Shanghai is emerging as the new leader of the Free City States.

It's burgeoning downtown is a testament to Martian resilience as it was also attacked during the first phase of the war but has made a complete recovery.

The idea that the UN ought to be able to respond quickly to incidents of interplanetary significance has lead to a re-vamping of the Maxisland transportation network and talk of a new spaceport.

In a similar vein, the original iBot facility on Jenquai Street in San Indersty is being re-fitted to produce a newer, more deadly armored exo-skeleton that may rival the Japanese gundam weapons.

In the meantime, frieght ships have arrived on Mars carrying relief supplies.

And new launch/landing vehicles are being tried out.

Benedict · December 18, 2009

Wow, the martian regionview looks great!

Evillions · December 18, 2009

Well I do control Rama and hope to expand its power to the top!

Nevertheless, I find this interesting and hope to see more of your work.

(I really hope to come back to SM BATing soon. I'm held up with other projects for the time being such as NYBT, doing real life models, etc.)

SounderBruce · December 19, 2009

Woah

timcravey · December 20, 2009

Thanks guys -- I appreciate the feedback.

Twenty20 · December 21, 2009

Wow your martian region is impressive and very realistic !!!

timcravey · January 10, 2010

It dawns on me one day that I am running this scenario in a virtual reality simulation -- I am not really on Mars!

So I unplug. I need a vacation.

I leave the Sekhata Aru research facility where I have been plugged in to Sim Mars for nearly two years. The nearby experimental shuttle port gives quick access to air transport and I head for the mainland and three weeks in the gambling capitol of Maxisland.

I'm sure everyone has seen Maxisland -- I think it was a download from the Maxis site. I love this region! It has changed substantially since I took over but has also stayed the same in many ways. Weburg is still the business and government center but a "summer palace" in Timagodh along with the development of polders from Derris to Yorba Bueno have shifted the focus away from the mega-cities of the west. The population tanked when I first became governor but has completely recovered now and is stable for over a hundred years at 2 million.

We arrive first at the United Nations Interplanetary Airport in Faresimton.

The Cravey Building serves as a believable terminal.

I also like to check the traffic before leaving town.

I must stop by my mother's apartment on my way to the casinos. She lives in Maxisland second-largest city: Wrenton, 170,000.

Mom prefers the modern lines and bright colors of SimFox's Moscow Red.

Then off to East Weburg.

East Weburg has changed more than some cities. The highway divided the old casino/theater district off from the downtown and it was some years before the economy recovered. Now there are three major casinos, a 15,000 seat arena and every class of accomadation from Ritzy to sleazy.

The city is famous for many things, not the least of which are the Planet-arium, Zoo and Stadium in Jefferson Park.

We stayed at the Hammond and lost rather badly at blackjack but mother made her money back at mah jong. We also had time to look at condos in the historic Ong building. Mother is thinking of moving from Wrenton but she could never afford a place in the Ong.

I leave Mom at her apartment and return on my own to work on Sim Mars. Before plugging back in I stop in Little Town at the Martian Institute to do some research on social dynamics.

The campus is so pleasant that I stay the rest of my vacation here.

Evillions · January 10, 2010

It would look better if you can photoshop them or at least take out the menu thing by clicking the white box. Anyway, looks good!

timcravey · January 11, 2010

Before returning to the simulation I spend the day in South Pennoli at the new monument to the Martian war dead.

It is based on the Blau Pyramid recently uncovered in the Mojave Crater.

There is very little money available to spend on archaeology so these 'features' generally go unexplored.

I plug in and find myself at the Consistory on Mars, in the city of Wadi Akbar. An iBot is waiting to receive my virtual consciousness.

Evillions · January 12, 2010

Now you have a mid-rise version of "Eartha May Proceed"? Why do you never release these!?

timcravey · January 12, 2010

The successful experiments on Earth have led to a new era in shuttle transport for Mars.

Flying over the Ares Chaos we see new farms are developing in more efficient circular patterns.

These seem to be mirrored by the 'natural' formations in the Mojave Crater. Radar images strip away sand to show massive foundations surrounding the pyramids.

Sunset greets an armored patrol near Galillaei Crater.

Larks2242 · January 12, 2010

Woah that is really cool, i really like the futuristic look!

timcravey · January 16, 2010

While investigating the Elysium region, part of which is claimed by Rama, we have discovered the site of the famous Face.

We have established a science base in the region to explore the extensive ruins.

What, from the air, appears to be a rocky natural formation, from the ground reveals itself to be a made object left here by some vanished race.

Initial impressions are that the structure was used as a space port for interstellar ships.

timcravey · January 17, 2010

Gratuitous bump for survey purposes.

It's a new park in one of the resettlement communities.

timcravey · January 20, 2010

The climate having cooled again, most of the open bodies of water have refrozen. I take an opportunity to visit the Vallis Niger city state and assess the recovery efforts. The most obvious signs of the wars devastation are the clearly redrawn coastlines, now littered with ruins. The Little Elephant had many holdings in this region including the largest martian manufactory of Heavy Metal brand Miners. Relocation of other businesses, considered more necessary for the regional recovery effort have led to the selling off of many LE assets in the area.

We arrive by air at night in the regions capitol of Kombaqthu.

We were welcomed by the local administration at their new City Hall where we recieved honors from the mayor for our contributions to the Martian Relief Charity. Afterward we retired to the luxurious Hotel Apilitalo in the Governors Plaza.

In the Morning we leave for our tour of region.

First we go to Bassas d'Bantu where once thriving Gruenheuser assets are struggling to survive .

An overview of the region shows that the problem is most likely to do with the large number of new circular farms.

Lunch is at the L0vn in Zu Hoch.

Zu Hoch has more than doubled in size since the attack and a few miners are still based here.

An aerial survey of one of the mountain villages still devastated by the Dao Massacres.

In the evening we rest at the SimMars Crater Resort.

timcravey · January 21, 2010

In an effort to form an alliance with the Aries Colony I am obliged to visit the Kasei Valley city of Unity in the western Chryse Basin.

The entire region only has a population of 60,000 sims. These are scattered thinly over a very large territory.

Once again we arrive at night but this time the fly over reveals a mysterious construction in the outskirts of the capitol.

At first it appeared to be one of the new agricultural installations, but --

In the morning we approached the local governor to inquire about this and indeed the Colony is starting to build giant Industry circles.

Plans are in place for the Earth governments that fund the Aries Colony to build a lot of these.

We leave Unity without reaching an agreement on mutual protection.

Larks2242 · January 21, 2010

Wow, lots of cool looking stuff in your city great work!

timcravey · January 22, 2010

Another of the Beta 3 buildings being built by E in the Kasei colony.

A sub-rise apartment building with over 20 stories underground.

Evillions · January 22, 2010

So you got to test beta 3 eh? SO if I had SC4 installed in my computer, I could test beta3 then right?

timcravey · January 22, 2010

At this point I'm still merging my files with Andi's. Give me a couple weeks to get them all square and try to work out the Rewards bug.

timcravey · February 5, 2010

In an effort to win peace (and gather intelligence) I have come to one of the larger cities in the Rama Alliance for Terraforming (RAT). Amazonis Planitia is over 100,000 sims, all of them loyal to Evillions.

Pollution has caused the melting of ice along some shorelines, furthering the terra-ists goals.

Rene Corporation has introduced a new style of modular underground house in the area.

Zoning indicates that cities in the surrounding area are prepared for growth, possibly in response to the war.

The spaceport at Koilong connects to the spacestation, now in RAT hands.

lucky7 · February 5, 2010

Fantastic update, everything looks well planned. Looking forward to more,

lucky7

Benedict · February 5, 2010

I really like this update - the zoomed out view looks incredible, and the night view is very 'Martian'. I also like the last pic where you can see the plan for future development. I'm also a fan of the red/brown dashboard that you see in some of your screenshots... great stuff.

timcravey · March 21, 2010

Upon my return to Hellas I began to consider the reasons for my failure to reach an agreement with the Ares Colony. It is true, that they have not been threatened by the Ramans; in fact the Rama government has poured enormous quantities of cash and resources into development and construction throughout the Kasei Valley. Raman corporations receive tax incentives for doing business in the region and the famous Renedius Construction and Investment Group, based in Cyane, has been very active in attracting new investors from Earth and Luna to the colonies. There seems to be very little reason for them to endanger this lucrative relationship even though the war has cost hundreds of thousands of simulated lives.

While researching the economic conditions in the area I came across a Top Secret report that indicates the authorities in Unity have misrepresented the extent of their infrastructure. It would seem that a more accurate estimate of their population would be 700,000 - not 60,000 as I was originally informed. This has caused some trepidation in Agricola and some state ministers have suggested expanding our defense plans to include the possibility that Ares, too, may initiate aggression against us. This hardly seems likely but then, neither does the fact that they lied to us. An updated map of the K3 region shows the extent of the deception:

Even taking into account the number of refugees displaced by radiation in the southern hemisphere who have settled in the new colonies there is no explaining the discrepancies. I must return to Unity (this time 'unofficially') and see what else we have not been told about.

I set about establishing my cover ID as a small time merchant in the village of Hammerskild. Only recently settled, it is easy for me to blend in with all the other new faces. From here I intend to travel cross country to the capitol, posing as a dealer in disposable micro-nuke fuel cells.

Using Cheetah speed I am able to convince the authorities that I have been a long time resident of the Ares Colony. Oddly enough, travel visas are not required for making trips within the state's borders and I proceed unimpeded to the nearby city of Sharanov. One of the first colonies on Mars, it is built within a deep crater and surrounded by high, rugged peaks.

The official assessment lists this as a small mining town of 15,000 sims but my first impression upon arrival at the train station is one of wealth and dense habitation. There are many fine parks, expensive stores and paved streets.

By night I am able to investigate the military base that was once on the edge of town but is now being crowded by housing projects. It is eerily empty and there is little or no activity other than students coming and going at a military preparedness school.

The next day I investigate the so-called Mines in the suburb of Twiddlebobbin. Here, indeed I find evidence of the dreaded military build-up. There are NO mines in this berg, but many busy factories building military aircraft and tanks. My suspicions confirmed, I break in to one of the factory offices to steal evidence of the colony's complicity with the Raman warlords. As it turns out, the documentation shows that these weapons are being shipped to the government of Hellas.

Nearly caught in the act myself while prowling through the factories I decide to approach Unity in a more roundabout fashion, heading north to the city of New Birmingham by air rather than going directly east by rail as I had intended. New Birmingham is a bit of a mystery as it did not appear on any of our previous surveys of the region. Larger than even Changha at its height of glory the city sprawls across many square hectares with very little attempt at vertical growth or high density zoning. Made up mostly of low wealth inhabitants and domestic goods factories it seems of little strategic interest so I move on toward my goal of reaching Unity.

Along the way I stop in Aleph at the Agricultural and Mechanical College, selling them fuel cells as part of my cover. It is here that I find and 'borrow' an unattended hovercraft to take me the rest of the way into the city.

Unity at night is startling. This is no frontier town struggling to survive. It certainly is not a city of 35,000 as we have been led to believe. The downtown sparkles and even in the thin atmosphere it is never silent. I estimate the population to be somewhere around 200,000, with many of them rich, well-educated and widely travelled.

I arrive without incident at the apartment of a friend sympathetic to the Hellasian cause. So far I have seen little to cause me concern but the presence of a Benton N4sr on the street below seems ominous.

Follarch · March 21, 2010

I like what you're doing with Sim Mars, very nice.

Schulmanator · March 21, 2010

Looks good - has the feel of Mars down well. And interesting read. And cool buildings!

timcravey · July 15, 2010

Using my cover as a battery salesman I enter Rama again, this time discreetly. I am to attend a convention in the 'frontier' city of Pueblo.

The city constitutes a region of 500,000 sims spread along the mouths of the Nilo Syrtis canyons.

You can see in this image some of the changes expected from terraforming; the flooding of Crater 2 Aeolis Mensae and a sandier surface layer with some growth of vegetation within 500 years, widespread development of oasis and channels by 1000.

The convention center is part of the world class Schiaperelli School of Business Arts. A gift from the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Martians, the magnificent Shrine of the Evil Baphomet frames a plaza outside the colony's Frontier History Museum. The fact that it remains unvandalized by the Art person mobs seems to indicate that it is being poorly received by the local critics.

we saw it mostly at night and I even took the opportunity to visit Mars' most talked about nightclub -- Mojo's ChickenPotPie! I don't remember much about those evenings but I felt oddly safe and the war seemed very far away. Mojo's is a virtual reality parlor with full perception interactive creations of anything you can imagine.

While touring their business district as part of the convention activities I notice that iBots and Sirius Business have built offices in the town. There is still much available real estate but plans are being discussed of a 'green belt' of inexpensive self-constructing grobots.

I was shocked to see a statue of our own benevolent Governor standing in a park downtown.

Again, the lack of grafitti seems to indicate that the people just haven't bothered to knock it down yet.

The airport is modern and friendly; a few military craft were seen around the terminal but it is not a base. It is large and busy and zoning is in place to allow for commercial development in the area.

The factory district is apparently run almost entirely by robots. The trucks keep rolling out but only a handful of people work there. Most of the population is engaged in providing services or working from home.

Wierd tracers from the runway lights when departing may've been a side-effect of the mushrooms I had at Mojo's.

timcravey · July 15, 2010