The Official City Journal Critics Thread Archive

[Abc987 3]

done! =)

[topcliff 1]

Good reviews guys! I wonder who will be the next lucky one . . . Leonardo

[mencc1701 0]

Frak! My bad, sorry... that was a newb mistake.

[SpecialEddie 3]

Bayhill by Shingure

Shingure's fourth CJ attempt, Bayhill is a confusing jumble of urban concrete, sprawling rural farmland, and oddly sloped cities. That's not neccesarily a bad thing, but the negatives out-weigh the positives in this situation. 

Welcome to Bayhill. Hey Dont be too hasty.quote>

Those are Shingure's first words in his thread, and hopefully you'll stay with this reviewer for the next couple of paragraphs. 

At first glance at Shingure's city, one notes the pixelated images and the curiously sloped neighborhoods. Buildings are literally hoisted up on 50 foot supports. Realism-fanatics will certainly be leaving the thread at this point. Those who stay however, will be treated to the next batch of images: farms that seem to ''hug'' the landscape and more odd slopes, as well as a couple of normal-looking neighborhoods. 

The CJ gets stranger after the first update, though. Skyscrapers are plopped in the middle of nowhere, and roundabouts that make no sense whatsoever plague the neighborhood, while a tornado destroys everything anyway. But why would a tornado strike a place with so many hills and mountains in the first place?

By now, Bayhill is pretty much established as a series of random, abstract SC4 images. Though it might not be everyone's cup of tea, there will no doubt be those who will enjoy the city. It's odd, quirky and out of the ordinary. It's down-right original, and that's a plus. Bayhill is still in its infancy, but readers looking for something unique will feel right at home in Shingure's world. 

[SpecialEddie 3]

Originally posted by: Schulmanator Special Eddie: Trust me, tornadoes *DO* strike mountainous and hilly areas. I used to think they didn't too -- till they started coming in droves around where I grew up about 15 years ago.... and they just keep on coming. Almost saw one myself, F2F. A funny story, actually!quote>

 

Well, okay...but ground elevation usually has a factor in tornados. Where did you used to live?

Anyway, new review!

Verona: Classical Era

UltraGIR XL's CJ, Verona: Classical Era is an extremely detailed historical account of a city's steps towards time. But though it may be detailed in word count, the city-building lacks in quality, and the pictures are somewhat on the small side. Come on! We're here to look at pictures!

In the CJ's first updates, we follow the colonization and settlement of Verona, and two characters are introduced into the mythos: Meloy and Brideau (one of whom is a governor). 

One positive in the CJ is the incorporation (or lack of) of roads. Ancient cities and Medieval towns did not have black asphalt so the use of pedestrian tiles is a plus. The believability of a historical CJ is usually taken away when roads and cars zoom around in an ancient Roman environment. UltraGIR does an excellent job of leaving them out. 

But soon enough the city catches fire, and it makes to satisfy the pyromaniac in us all. The dialogue during these scenes are particularly rich and realistic. 

Though not everyone may have the attention span to follow the adventures of Meloy and Brideau (among other narrators through time), Verona has an impressive array of images, small as they may be. 

The city-building improves through time (and as the CJ progresses) and it is a joy to see Verona develop a history and go through economic and cultural growth. Fans of Schulmania and other historical gems should give UltraGIR's Verona a look.

[Schulmanator 5,812]

Special Eddie: Trust me, tornadoes *DO* strike mountainous and hilly areas. I used to think they didn't too -- till they started coming in droves around where I grew up about 15 years ago.... and they just keep on coming. Almost saw one myself, F2F. A funny story, actually!

[bakercity 270]

Tornados do strike in hilly areas as they strike western Wisconsin (USA) which is hilly (bluffs) with steep valleys and are known to get a few twisters once awhile. Anyway, cool reviews. I was thinking of having mine reviewed, but I decided not to go forth with it; for now.

[patriots_1228 51]

poorly.

[patriots_1228 51]

good two reviews Special Eddie! very imformative.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Oh dear, how so??

[belfastuniguy 18]

Two great reviews Eddie, well done.

How is the trixie watch going???

[Shingure 56]

Oh please dont worry about that. Even though I found that a tornado had struck in a hilly area not too far around here in PA thought . But that was like a decade though.

[TheSixCents 0]

Very Cool Thanks!

[RushHourFreak 1]

Hello everybody:

I am still being a member of this great team, so whenever you want, PM me if you want your CJ to be reviewed.

For you critics, I'm back, so I will write soon. Great revies everybody

[SpecialEddie 3]

The Islamic Republic of Cot'e de Barbare M'oslemakk 

When is a CJ's title too long? Well with a name such as Cot'e de Barbare M'oslemakk-Islamic Republic of the Barbary Coast, you can decide for yourself. But long name aside, TheSixCents's Islamic Republic is a pretty impressive political city journal. It uses the standard mold for government CJ's (flag, seal, history), but gives a unique twist on the genre. Colorful picture-editing, and a dedication to accurately depicting an Arabic nation make the Islamic Republic of the Barbary Coast a definite read. 

There's not much to see on the first page of TheSixCents's CJ, but his work truly shines from Page 2 onwards. There's only 3 pages in the CJ, but you get the point. Even though one of the pictures appears as it if it was misplaced in the journal (it looks more like a Parisian counterpart and sticks out like a sore thumb), the rest do just fine of portraying the look and feel that TheSixCents was aiming for. 

With flaws aside, TheSixCents does an excellent job of custom lot-editing frogface slum lots to give the effect of a dusty, sandy desert. Roads are used sparingly and that's what gives the Barbary Coast a boost of realism. Asphalt streets would look out of place, but with LE, parked cars on sandy roads gives the CJ a whole other level of reality. Along with dusty photoshop effects, the Barbary Coast is establishes itself as one of ST's premier desert cities. 

Fans of frogface's Emirate of Khaled looking for something to do (or anyone else for that matter) should give Cot'e de Barbare M'oslemakk a look. TheSixCents's stunning picture-editing and good eye for Arabic-looking BAT's makes the reader feel as if he or she were really in the environment. 

Similar CJ's

The Emirate of Khaled

[GreekMan 246]

hey pat put me in for city planning trixe watch!

[Amerikaner 42]

haha thanks so much shingure ehh spelling has never been a strong point and i agree with that line being too big...it will be smaller lol agian thanks so much

[Shingure 56]

Republic of Kreveshka BY griffen_star

This Cj is a Eastern European or Russian style Cj which has lots to offer. The Cj it'self is young and rapidly growing with Update 8 on it's second page. But lets begin on the first update. 

The first update gives us a great and extremely detailed history of the nation. The nation which is seemingly an island nation is set in the early 2060's.It shows up several sites.

Afterwards in Update 2 and 3 we have a new article which has great amount of time work and effort to which is put into it. As a matter of fact it's so good looking that you think you were looking at something official.

Update 4 has the same style of news paper. And the choice of buildings are nice. Even though the thing that catches me is that there is a beach in a place that's cold most of the year. But from the Cj 2 months the beach  is open. Or well that made it make sense to me..Alittle. Anywho we move on to update 7 or the second to the most recent update where there is alittle shaky spelling errors. But the author also tells about Festival X. In which took place without much hub-bub and the Travel Ban.

In Update 8 the Travel Ban is ousted. And T.A.T.u is doing a full tour for the metropolitain arenas in the nation. He shows us maps which are great in accuracy and infact match just about perfectly in detail.To be perfectly honest like C0ckatoo said after the 8th Update. " You obviously put alot of effort into this Cj "

And I coudlnt agree more.Go Ahead and Read today!

Shingure's reviews this Cj a 9.6/10

[Shingure 56]

République du Tient by Amerikaner

This Cj takes a very Parisian style vibe to it with it's post opening with high fashion shots to brilliantly form the title and the topic that Cj is covering. There is alot of good. But some  minor to a tiny bit of major flaws. In update one the author shows us around a colorful city full of stone buildings.m The achitecture brings a very West Euro aura as you take a look in the picture to see the buildings come together in not perfect but very fluid sync. 

But almost immediately you notice that the captions on the picture arent very high quality and that the spelling and capitalization is abit botched. But if you can get through that then it's a fine read for the first update.

The Second Update makes reference to the Simlympics Bid for 07. Beginning with the usual fashion shoot opening. Then you notice something characteristic about all the pictures so far and thus forth...They all have the black line running though it. Which makes the image a tad bit hard to focus on at the center. Once again poor spelling and the black line botches the caption on some of the pictures if not all of them. And it ends with a newspaper story covering the 2 sites where the stadiums will be built if the bid goes through. . .

   

In the most recent update the fashion week ends. ( We could have figured there was a fashion week ) . And finally it shows the progression of the economy there in the country. But in this update , the black line has gotten seemingly thicker abstructing even more of the view and the spelling errors are very abundant. Even though the city it'self still looks good. Overall I give this city a thumbs up and a good rating ,and no offense Amerikaner, But spell check is everyone's friend, even mines.

Shingures Reviews this Cj a - 8.0 / 10

[Shingure 56]

Im new to the CJC Team. If you want me to write a lucious Cj Review then come to me and I will be happy to do so on the spot.

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

sorry guys, i'm going to have to stop reviewing for a little bit, have a few projects i'm working on that's taking up time.

[griffen_star 0]

Wow! Thank you for such a glowing review. And so quick to, I wasn't expecting it for a few days now. Haha yes my spelling can be bad sometimes but I have a good excuse! English isn't my first language XD Thank you once again.

[Shingure 56]

Glenni does make a good point. Although Im not sure if the author put the implication of a Parisian style influence.

[patriots_1228 51]

haha the minute i say inactive (shouldnt it be unactive) you come back. wb connor_v. looking forward to that feature, since im just about to start a new cj in about 10 minutes

[patriots_1228 51]

EDIT: SPECIAL EDDIE YOU RULE! thanks for the 5 consectutive reviews your are quite a workhorse man. Rock on! satisfied?

alright cya hot dog.

shinguire, please look at the first page....particularly the "review dont rate" part. please do not rate the cjs X/10. but overall two nice reviews.

an update list of all active critics

Shinguire

Jhrnemo

RushHourFreak-wb, missed ya!

special eddie

unactive or "missing"

me

connor_V

hot dogs

[connor_v 3]

I've just arrived to find that I've been labeled "inactive". Well, I should have seen it coming. You know how life is. I'm going to try and find a little time this week-end to write up a new City Journals piece, something I've been meaning to do for a long time.

-Connor

[Glenni 1,447]

One minor thing to point out :

"Even though one of the pictures appears as it if it was misplaced in the journal (it looks more like a Parisian counterpart and sticks out like a sore thumb)"

Yes they stick out like a sore thumb in an arab/african city, but i am pretty sure he tried to recreate a french colonial part of the city.

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Originally posted by: SpecialEddie

I don't have the right to approve reviewers (that's patriots' job), but I really like the way you have CJ's of the Week in your sig. They're well written, too. Ever considered being a critic?

quote>

thankies, not really lol, but if you would like another reviewer, i would gladly join

[SpecialEddie 3]

Originally posted by: Shingure Glenni does make a good point. Although Im not sure if the author put the implication of a Parisian style influence.quote>

 

He didn't put any implication at all. If it causes this much confusion, it shouldn't be there in the first place.

[SpecialEddie 3]

Vandals Fjella, Page 9 onwards

I*** is a censored and forbidden word [here], why you may ask? because it's swedish! quote>

The censored word? IKEA. So says Glenni concerning his CJ, Vandals Fjella, a Norwegian-inspired city. Vandals Fjella (Vandal Mountains) is a region heavily influenced by rural Scandinavia and urban Oslo, Norway. Norwegian landmarks such as the Royal Palace can even be seen in his cities.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Palace_in_Oslo

Speaking of cities, Glenni's urban centers are crowded but modern wall-to-wall towns. His cities glimmer with glass and concrete BAT's (some custom) that blend quite well with older, more historical landmarks. Glenni's CJ is also one of the first to incorporate heavy use of diagonal BAT's. It works well enough, but doesn't fit in as well as other buildings. Sharp angles stick awkwardly into other structures and even into busy streets. A tad bit overused? Maybe.  

With the urban centers covered, we now move to the rural areas of Vandals Fjella. The small towns are gorgeous in the wooded, mountainous settings, and the scenic black lakes are crossed by long, brick bridges. Custom lot-editing really shine during these updates, as well. The use of curving paths are an excellent addition to the tiny villages, and tours of the lakes and fjords bring Scandinavia right to your computer screen. Boats and cruise ships sail the deep lakes alone, giving a sense of quiet isolation.

From lonely houses to small farms, wooded forest to glass and steel cities, Glenni's Vandals Fjella has it all. A realistic portrayal of Norway, Vandals Fjella is Scandinavian to the core...

...it just needs an IKEA.  

-Highly reccomended.