The Official City Journal Critics Thread Archive

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

WOW! The crictics are on fire, Great job on the last review guys!

[crunchbite 0]

Sorry about that. Problem with my webhost saying i was over my bandwidth (dont host anything but a couple picture) if you refresh the page they should come up now.

[connor_v 3]

New Alton - a City Journal by Dalton

Dalton's first CJ is an excellent portrayal of rural and oil boom towns. His realistic city building leads to excellent results at the end of the day.

His boom town update portrays a typical boom town, full of oil workers and thier money. The town is put together very well, with absolutely no repeating grid patterns. Dalton's refinery is very well done aswell, utilizing Maxis buildings and a wide variety of resources off of the STEX. But, this area had to be abandoned in later updates due to it's large size.

Dalton starts off his tour of the rural Cornwall area with one of the largest mosaics i've ever seen. There is a subtle beauty in the way his townships are laid out, and every one is unique. The town is also a very realistic rural hamlet, situated off the highway with a rough downtown core that has seen better days. Later on we get to see the forests, which I believe are made with Jeronij's Seasonal Woods. 

Overall, I think Dalton's first CJ is a success, it is above the normal "first CJ" level and I hope it will continue it's success for a long time coming. The only thing I don't like is Jeronij's Street Tress, but Dalton uses them well, utilizing other trees of the same type to make it work well.

Reader Review : All of Dalton's readers like the CJ for it's rural feel. 

Visit New Alton Today!

Review No. 11 - 03/25/07

[Filasimo 1]

hey pats thanks for the review of my CJ this indeed was my first CJ afterall and you can see signs of its developments......my intentions when i first made the CJ was to show how one's city would look like without careful planning twas still the first times of getting used to CJs and how they all looked like so i adapted and changed but also added a storyline as to how the city transitions and the 3rd transformation when done will be the true beauty as you guys have seen on page 12 and soon beyond.....you do have a good point My CJ and city development have struggled in the past but it shows to all CJers past and present, we all have had one point in our CJ life where we struggled but slowly we all learn and develop more skills and ways to make our CJs and our city more vibrant and look at some of us today some of our CJs are awesome. repeat buildings are a pain to get rid of yes and off and on lately i have been workin on getting rid of that specially those damned wren insurance towers! anyways cheers to pats for his in depth review and stay tuned to new updates to my CJ gotta lot of work to catch up on since i was real sick for a week

[patriots_1228 51]

Happy easter ladys and gentlemen(and ppl who r a mix of the two)

A review 4 u but first an announcement

Spring Cleaning!

yea shoot, that time of the year again. I think I 

might actually update the TOC(Daunting Task), 

im going to fix up the front page, and add some

 sugar and spice to the OCJC

 

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Qaddro
by Krio

Welcome to Qaddro, a CJ by Krio(you no the guy with the dancing milk carton). Krios known for being critical of CJ's(or at least i think so) so you may be hoping that his sucks so you can say,"Ha! wut a loser he disses everyones work but his own work sucks!". WELL TOO BAD. Qaddro is a well planned out CJ thats almost as entertaining as the dancing milk carton.

Part Finnish, Part English, and 100% awesome, Qaddro starts out on the right foot, its nothing spectacular yet, but a good solid teaser, showing those perfectly identical suburbs that go on forever like in "Over the Hedge"(great movie). It looks like hes using some custom content, but by the end of the CJ the custom content gets even better. Kriso replys are actually somthing you could read if you were looking for a good laugh, hes awfully funny, instead of the usual,"thank you glad you like it". (i admit i do that all the time). As I said before, if sc4 with no plugins is vanilla, Krios CJ must be quadrupel choclate fudge, hence the name qaddro. Hes got good growables, he uses seawalls and big dig tunnels to prefection, and his landmarks aint half bad either. Theres no visible weakspot in his cities.(at least right now). Unfortuantly, he struggles to get rid of all those annoying things like toolbars early on, but they seem to dissapear later on. His cities are very open, with pedestrian malls and endless lines of Grass. And to prove my point of him being one of the funniest journalist on ST, read this

"Kali's most known landmark, the Bill Gates tower which was built for his memory. He commited suicide here by shooting his brains out. Gates killed himself, because his companys stocks crashed heavily. Poor old Bill."-Qaddro, Page 1.

Moving along, Krio sometimes makes questionable choices in what he puts in his city, like untextured models or my blinding white federal bank reserve(by the way Krio I plan to redo that).Hes really good with the waterfronts and transit, and the only weakspot in his CJ is the presentation(toolbars, zots, etc.) Oh and speaking of which, at least he makes a joke out of it, by putting smily faces and saying things like "poor krio, dont you know how to turn these things off" or "Seriously Krio". Im struggling too find weaknesses, his suburbs and industrial cities are excellent, in fact i would put his industrial city as one of the top on ST that i've seen. Im struggling to make this review interesting, seriously. I keep repeating my self. This CJ is nearly flawless so far, so im going to skip ahead towards the back.

The back is better, beleive it or not. Hes got so many STEX buildings i cant even tell whats maxis and whats Simtropolis. Each updates got the latest 10 star uploads, he might just want to change the name to STEX showcase.OMFG! I found some minor detail that needs changing. he left the grid on!(seriously man, you need to make sure at least somthing is bad before you request a review, or else its really tough for the critic) Ill stop trying to think of things to say now, and right one heck of a clincher. Qaddro is one of ST's most carefully done CJs, in which everything is done to perfection, the Custom content is top notch, the transit is flawless, the skills are superb(sunken highways look great), the humor is great, o and did i mention that Quaddros paper is endorsed by Pepsi? i think that is the sign of a good CJ.

---

 

[patriots_1228 51]

pm them

[patriots_1228 51]

"Keep it up!" Can't Wait for more!" lol great review that cj looks really good.

[SpecialEddie 3]

The Kingdom of New Burgundy

Simfan34's CJ, though it has its flaws, is a CJ with potential. With its interesting graphics and sprawling low-wealth suburbs, New Burgundy should be a treat to the casual city journal reader. The first update (well, at least the one with pictures), is somewhat strange, as they showcase suburbs with plenty of gaps in between street grids. I'm still scratching my head as to why it doesn't look completely developed. The church is even standing by itself, with no buildings surrounding it--a lonely existence. I was beginning to wonder whether this was a "kingdom" at all.

But fortunately it gets better from there. The graphics, as well as the city-building improve. We see some interesting skyscraper clusters, ethnic-districts, and even some waterfront. The political buildings in this kingdom are also finally seen in the second page. Excellent graphics compliment the picture and the soft night-lighting gives the governmental center a quiet, peaceful feel. An unexpected (but nice) surprise comes in page 3 in the form of snow! Snow is tackled tastefully by simfan34, and the effects yield some nice results.

Though simfan34's CJ is still quite young, it's an interesting read. Text-boxes to read and decent cities to look at make the Kingdom of New Burgundy a worthy stop on your CJ rounds.

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

lol, i just popped in here i saw you talking about this review, its very funny and interesting, great job on it

[Krio 626]

Snif...how awesome and long review..snif..so beautiful..thank you a lot patriots.

I shall rise my glass of Pepsi to you! I waited this for whole day (it's 23.28 pm in Finland now, hah hah!) Your review gives me inspiration and motivation to make Qaddro even better. But I do sometimes write "glad that you liked"-replies for those "nice work"-comments! And I left the grid on, because perfect CJ needs a little flaw, hah hah!

I just noticed a little mistake from you, it's Qaddro without the U-letter, allthough it's pronounced with U (not a finnish word), so I would like if you would fix it for the title, no need for editing whole text. And I'm glad to hear that you're redoing your old bats.

And it isn't Pepsi..it's Popsn, because I was too lazy to draw "my own brand" Miracle Drug to it, hah hah!

Final words: QADDRO PWNS OTHER CJS

ps. Suuret kiitokset // BIG Thank you.

[SIMMANIA 4]

Nice work !

(Forget about it, I just read 1st page...)

[patriots_1228 51]

Featured here

Table of Contents 61-90 <excludes follow ups

Table of Contents Shorts 1-10

Reviews:67(2 follow ups)

Reviews here:5

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Other Links

table of contents1-30(first post)

Table of Contents reviews 30-60

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bold black indicates new review

green indicates special note

Borden by Brad_MacD-A review by SpecialEddie

New Alton by Dalton-A review by Connor_V

Olympus City by FIlasimo-A review by Patriots_1228

The imperial Kingdom of Atlantis by belfastuniguy-A review by Special Eddie

he kingdom of New Burgundy by SImfan34-A review by Special Eddie

Qaddro by Krio-A review by Patriots_1228

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New Shorts in bold Black

CJs this week-3/24/2007-by Connor_V

[patriots_1228 51]

oops double post lol noone noticed that.

Qaddro sure thing hold on. lol enjoy your miracle drug.

also id like to announce my new short(kinda like connor_v's new CJ segment) called Trixie Watch, each one ill preview some of the front runners so far for the major CJ trixies.

and the table of contents is going good so far ive got reviews1-62 in.

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

oh! very nice review there patriots, very funny! krio is a pretty funny guy

good luck on TOC, that should be fun, heh. i'm also looking forward to the trixie watch,

if you need any help, my pm's always open!

[SpecialEddie 3]

Borden 'Little Island City'

The first thing the reader will see in Brad-MacD's Borden CJ (that is, if you start at page one) is the Table of Contents. With creative borders and well-laid out, organized graphics Brad's TOC is pretty impressive. But in the long run, it will be problematic. The TOC pictures are too thick (273 pixels in height), and it will take a long time to scroll down the first page when this CJ hits past the 10-15+ page mark. Hopefully, this problem will be fixed easily, and readers (such as yours truly) will be able to zip by page one more effortlessly and quickly. Now, on to the review! 

"You mean that wasn't the review yet?"

Borden (though somewhat of a dull name), with its well-laid out medium density downtown and quaint little suburban townhouses is an interesting CJ with a fascinating story-line that wouldn't really matter if you read it. It adds a nice little touch to the CJ, however, so its reccomended that the reader does. 

Brad-MacD's city-building is also top-notch, the historic little commercial districts blend in quite well with the brownstones and the surrounding wooded suburbia. However, the screenshots are zoomed-in too close so we get that pixelated quality that we all love, right? Nah. The snapshots should be zoomed out a bit farther to get some perspective on the size of Borden, but that's a minor inconvenience. The rest of the CJ makes up for these little inconsistencies. 

Detailed updates await the reader, as Brad-MacD (along with Andrew and Jessica) take you on a tour of Borden, 'The Little Island City.' Close-up shots and interesting little tales add different viewpoints to the city. Simple graphics and color schemes, as well as well planned-out city-building make Borden a worthwile visit.

Similar CJ's:

Lloyd, Ontario, Canada

The Headwaters of Nemenos

[SpecialEddie 3]

Patriots: I didn't review New Alton. Connor_v did. We wouldn't wanna lie to our readers do we?

[GreekMan 246]

what do you mean by similar CJS?

[patriots_1228 51]

CJ's that the journal is like.

maybe they have the same style of journalism or the cities look similar.

Special Eddie-k ill fix that thanks. nice review its nice to see different critics using all these different styles like similar CJs.

[octaves 4]

YAY!!! Thanks!!!! It really brought the Table of Contents back into perspective, I was actually thinking of this over the weekend...But thanks for this awesome review!   It really said what to change, and what not to change.  Thanks for helping Borden along!

[Simfan34 11]

Wonderful reviews guys!

[SIMMANIA 4]

Good work !

[patriots_1228 51]

Special Eddie- Nice Review, CJ looks good.

and now.......presenting

So many journals.......So few awards.

A trixie is the ultimate sign of respect a journalist can get. sure 10,000 veiws, or being put in Phats Hottest CJ's Hall Of Fame is nice, but nothing is as prestigious as a Trixie. 

Schulmania by Schulmanator. Winner of the 2006 Trixie for Best Alternate to History CJ, just recently became the hottest CJ on ST. Twenty Bucks at least a fourth of those readers came in because of this

next to Schulmanators name.

So its obvious how important a trixie is. Nothing on ST is as exciting as the days leading up to the awards. you have the banners all over, jacky preparing an award speech(jk) and every CJer crossing there fingers, hoping there CJ will get called.

We have experts predicting the weather

We have experts predicting the NFL Draft

We have experts predicting wether or not Britney Spears will shave her head again

Now

We have semi-experts predicting the trixies.

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4/15/07

Today we are going to do two categories

Best Story in a CJ

last years winner:Run for your life! by hamsterTK

Why it won:good story(duh!) Photoshopping

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What to look for:

Run for your life had an intense story and great photoshopping. A CJ that I find similar to that is Ensenada, A Tale of Organised Crime, Intrigue, and Manic Depressive Turnips by Shadow_Assassin. One of the Frontrunners for the award, Ensenada has been updated more frequently lately, and has good photoshopping. It won Most Entertaining Journal last year, so it clearly has a large fanbase that will vote for it. Of Course, Hamster Fans who like Run for your Life could always just vote for the sequel: Fly By Night .

My Pick:Ensenada, A Tale of Organised Crime, Intrigue, and Manic Depressive Turnips by Shadow_Assassin.

Others that have a shot:Fly By Night  by HamsterTK,The Presence Of Being  by MrCinatit

Sleeper Pick: Los Coastas  by patriots_1228 (LOL i just had to say that. Trying to campaign early this year ) 

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Best Nature in a CJ

last year:Paradise Falls by jacqulina,

and why waste my time, you no this year it is : Paradise Falls by jacqulina,

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next time:Best City Planner, Best Alternate to History CJ

[patriots_1228 51]

my first trixie watch will come tommarow

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

great review eddie and fantastic trixie watch segment patriots! if anyone is wanting their CJ reviewed, drop me a PM!

[Schulmanator 5,812]

Best nature - Shanna's Laurie will give Jacky a run for her money this year.

[btw, the yellow is a bit hard to read- perhaps a darker color?]

[SpecialEddie 3]

Novaya Tulsk

SIMMANIA's communist/socialist CJ Novaya Tulsk is one of those journals that seems to have everything: well-edited pictures, fantastic city layouts, great taste in BAT's, and a rich history to back everything up. Novaya Tulsk, though obviously influenced by CJs such as Rodina  and the People's Republic of Siberia, stands above and beyond many of Simtropolis's governmental journals. SIMMANIA's CJ has that sense of political power that's seen rarely on the forums. 

Speaking of political power, one of SIMMANIA's highlights came in his beautiful, unique design of Novaya Tulsk's Kremlin, which has similarities and differences to Moscow's Red Square. The Kremlin updates definitely establish this CJ as one of the most well-planned out cities currently on Simtropolis. The Kremlin, which is built on a cliff-side overlooking the sea, shows how skilled SIMMANIA is when working with slopes; skills which he also shows later on when working with more crowded urban centers. 

The picture editing is top-notch, as well, and the crisp .jpgs are of excellent quality, able to show all the details and effects in the images. Weather is also shown in Novaya Tulsk. From snowy weather to foggy afternoon days over the city, SIMMANIA's editing captures all the moods and settings excellently. 

Definitely stop by Novaya Tulsk. SIMMANIA's Eastern European cities with its chaotic road systems and crowded business districts will most likely catch your attention, and keep you wanting for more. 

Similar CJ's

Rodina

People's Republic of Siberia 

The Empire of Chaumont

[Cjah 15]

hmmm...i make nature too,,,,

well its funny...I always am an underdog every year when it comes to City Journals...

[patriots_1228 51]

Wow howd it get yellow? sorry guys.

on my computer i made all the backgrounds maroon and the text yellow,usually it doesnt stay yellow when i post on ST

[patriots_1228 51]

o i forgot about destruction

i thought it was a story so wouldnt it go under story?

[homeandaway 1]

so many great CJs'...i love them all...

~Alex~