The Official City Journal Critics Thread Archive

[patriots_1228 51]

i miss the good ole days....before "nice" was considered a lengthy comment

nice review SPed (lol). Nardo-you deserved such a great review, great work with your CJ.

[Vanasonic 49]

I just read the review on my CJ and I'm happy with what I got. Thanks! You sure do review a lot.

[patriots_1228 51]

do ever do anything but review?

your turning this into a one-man (in this case one-women) team lol. Another great one.

[SpecialEddie 3]

Originally posted by: patriots_1228 do ever do anything but review?

your turning this into a one-man (in this case one-women) team lol. Another great one.quote>

 

 I never heard anything from you when *I* reviewed 5 CJ's in a row...

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Sorry, I get a lot of requests

Xperian:  Im glad!  You have a nice CJ.

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

The Miami Tint

A CJ by Deever

From "Road Trip"

Deever’s city journal, The Miami Tint, began with a promising start; his diagonal mosaics and applied yellowish-orange “tint” were creative and interesting, but what really brought in the commenters was the wonderful citybuilding.

His weekly themes range from humorous to astounding: “Mommy, mommy, I got the NAM!” showed off his adept ability to make sunken highways, while “Me Ol’ City” makes us wonder how Maxis could ever look so good.

From "Canals, Streams, Lakes, and All That Jazz"

Suggestions? Perhaps Deever could show us more than just cities (i.e., nature), but I’m sure one of these days he’ll cover that in a theme.

Strong points? Well-built cities and original ideas are Deever’s forte. I love the idea of a different subject each week (or month) for the pictures, which are always doused in a generous serving of the Miami tint. 

Bottom line: Be sure to pop into The Miami Tint  for a refreshingly unique outlook on CJing. 

[Deever 23]

Thanks! Yeah, you could expect nature in my CJ someday. It's already in the planning stages

Oh. . . If only I knew that you were busy with other reviews, I would've asked someone else to review my CJ. You're practically on hyper-drive, BlondeTwiggy.

[patriots_1228 51]

alright. go check now. edited a post. shouldnt be too hard to miss

[patriots_1228 51]

hehe when was this?

[SpecialEddie 3]

That'll do for now.

[SpecialEddie 3]

Originally posted by: patriots_1228 hehe when was this?quote>

 

Page 18.

[Shingure 56]

I need to find more Cj's to review at this point. All of my Cj Reviews are wait ons...

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Haifa - A CJ by Sim_Air

“From your window; sea and mountains”

Sim_Air’s recreation of the Israeli city of Haifa  begins slow and easy with preliminary Google maps and photos.

His steady, precise citybuilding makes for infrequent updates sometimes, but always worth a look.  Sim_Air strives to make this simulated recreation accurate and careful.

Crammed with details, his cities display not only good planning but also beautiful canals and gardens.

Suggestions?  Incorporate more custom content and make pics a bit bigger; sometimes I can’t see them very well…or perhaps it’s just the glare from this window…

Strong points?  Sim_Air’s work is detailed and accurate (as far as I can tell from the maps).

Bottom line:  "From your window: good recreation and citybuilding."

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

LOL eddie and pat

no no it's fine deever, i wanted to review yours. 

And I dont mind getting requests, send 'em in!!

[Sim_Air 2]

I appreciate it! You are awesome Twiggy! Take care; keep up the good job!

[Sim_Air 2]

patriots_1228, am i free to announce it?

[topcliff 1]

*extremely rude fat guy* Hey, my journal needs to be reviewed again! So much has happened since the last review! Besides, that guy didn't do justice to */extremely rude fat guy* Pweez? I'm joking (I think). Leonardo

[Sim_Air 2]

Shingure, well done! Excellent work there! Keep it up!

GRAND NEWS: I am finally a member of the Simtropolis CJ Critics Team!

*celebrates*!, hope you will accept me lol, still no job to do; have been looking for new CJs but no response yet; hopefully , someone will be interested

[cityhawk 12]

You make some very good points, Shingure. I might have to play God and destroy some unwanted, out of place stuff! But anyway, thanks for the positive review!

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

informative review, Shingure!

[patriots_1228 51]

welcome sim_air!

nice reveiws Twiggs and Shinguire! we have been very active lately...thats good.

[Shingure 56]

Selicia by cityhawk

Selicia is a Cj started by Cityhawk on June 1st is a little known Cj. Still in it's infancy it shows some great works of art. The first update shows a map that shows several geological figures. 2 rivers that empty out into a sea . But after the first picture you then look at a stunniing but very zoomed out veiw of Pioneer Valley. The city is a first glance a sleepy farming town. But in all honesty shows realism and is beautiful. Although there is one thing that doesnt match. The street mod and the tree mod trees dont match. Even though it makes the Cj more interesting and colorful.

In the second update more has developed. When you look at the region map though it seems abit awkard that the farms are in nothing but a diagonal line that curves upwards. And just before that a story between the Pastor who is also the mayor and 2 agents. The second update gives up more rural goodness and beauty which at first look made me put myself in the enviroment.But since the growth occured its becoming a bit of a sprawling community. Uh oh...

In the 3rd update rails are put into use. The pictures shows a greatly realistic gradual turn which would make the realism go off the Chart in my head. The first town finally begins to grow showing some of the rich are now moving in | And taking up land | But suddenly by the middle of the update apartments come into view. It throws the rural flavor off to the left and becomes suburban like within that instant. And the next update makes it tropical. It looks nice though. Even though the realism is slightly off it gives it character . I personally like the new edge. Anyway This Cj is a great read. So read it today .Also be a good neighboor and comment.

The Good: This Cj is unique and gives a twist . Also it shows the metamorphsis of a small rural town into a metropolis as the header says.

The Bad: The Sprawl is what makes it bad. But then again as towns develop further it happens. So it's not really all of that damaging .

End of The Line: It's a good Cj and the good outweighs the bad 10 fold. So go ahead and give it a read and a comment today!

[Shingure 56]

Survivor by jhermo

On August 6th the Cj deemed the name Survivor opened to the Simtropolis community

Jhermo , The Author brings to us in this Cj a tale of what the title implies... Survival. This is a Cj in it's infancy and also is going strong. The first update or rather episode begins with 7 people on a boat . The boat is a research vessel that is being sent out into an open sea when a storm catches it.

With the sail broken they are caught adrift and are now on an deserted |At this point deserted| Island. The passengers then begin to leave the ship and check the surroundings and it ends there.  At episode 2 they begin to unpack after checking somethings out. They set up camp and go to rest for the evening.

The boat goes missing by the next morning. 6 out of the 7 characters panic. 

Luckily they find a spring and a source of food by the mid point of Episode 3 which draws us to the end of this still growing Cj. 

Although it doesnt give a great rush of cliffhangers the scenery is nice. Although at first glance the setup is kind of drab and very dull. There is also pictures that show no urban life which most of us are used too. But hey the uniqueness of this Cj gives what ever is missing..

The Good: A structured storyline and great scenery also it's Uniqueness fills up the gaps.

The Bad: For lack of a better word a rush of sorts. Like someone going missing for instance. But still the storyline is in it's infancy and well need sometime to mature .

 End of the Line: The Uniqueness of this Cj gives it another aspect of Cj-ing , meaning you dont have to be urban to prove that a Cj is good. Jacqulina is a prime and great example of that .I hope this one does the same.

[patriots_1228 51]

nice review

nemo-i love your survivor journal, although i think you shoulda waited a bit longer before getting a review, its still brand new.

[Sim_Air 2]

thanks patriots_1228! hope i won't let you down lol, anyway, it's official so anyone who wants their CJ reviewed by...ehem, me(come on, give me a break), just PM me!

[Sim_Air 2]

City Journal Review

Ratislava by penguin007

This is one of the unique City Journals ever to be found in Simtropolis. Perhaps the pictures may not be the reason of success of this incredible CJ, but the layout and the whole idea, which motivates penguin007 to keep updating, are indeed the marvellous pieces of this fascinating journal, which is definitely worth visiting.

The beginning is apparently dissapointing, as you will notice, with little use of custom content, trees and even ideas. Basically, farms, which by the way are standard maxis, can be found all over the place. Penguin007 puts a lot of effort in order to give detail to his small towns and farmlands, with sometimes positive results, although not too bright. Further on, we see smooth development and sudden mid and high rises. The sense of realism appears on most pictures, where the use of trees, parks, custom content and such, are on the increase. Suddenly, somewhere inside the pages, Ratislava has an atmosphere of detail and perfection, while development comes along nicely.

Finally, in the middle of the journal, penguin007 steps on a higher level. He becomes an expert who finally uses the advantages of custom content and maxis itself, with spectacular results. Penguin007's pictures are nicely taken(this phenomenon begins to appear after the middle of the City Journal, where they no longer have the menu and UDI icons on them), although sometimes reaching the extreme or appearing a bit messy, missing the true content of a picture. That's why we see a few special pictures along the way, however, penguin007 shows excellent improvement while we are reaching the end of Ratislava. We also can finally see excellent development and astonishing detail, while the idea of the realism remains. In conclusion, Ratislava finally looks like an expert's work.

Honestly? This is a wonderful City Journal by an amazing author. It has some drawbacks, like a random presentation(no plot, no nothing, just pictures with a small explanation on top), where you lose the sense of where and what, as well as some mistakes in pictures, but in conclusion, it is definitely a wonderful read, well, rather visit because it is based on pictures. Unfortunately, it becomes enjoyable after the middle, which is the sixth or maybe the fifth page. Penguin007 is your friend, wish him luck for his new ideas by making a comment!

Signed, Sim_Air

[Sim_Air 2]

hmm...lol, not crap as usual ?

penguin007, thank you; i am sure you will; good luck!

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Yes nice start Sim_Air very honest and well written.

LoL nice summary pat

[patriots_1228 51]

good start sim_air!

[Shingure 56]

Well Im sorry but my Pm's cut short everytime I tried to post. Im sorry about that. Anyway you can have an update of that review later on down the road.