Recreating my home city

[Argon Vex 1]

I want to try and recreate my home city in SimCity 4 as closely as possible. I was just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers in doing so. I was thinking about using Google Maps as a major guideline as far as streetplans are concerned. That will also allow me to do the most of the zoning, since I've lived here for 21 years and know most of the neighbourhoods pretty well.

For instance, I know I need very little High Density Residential and Commercial and I'll need no Dirty Industry whatsoever. I'm also going to have to take a few liberties with the powerplants, but there are a few factories/utilities that can double as power plants.

I also don't have much experience creating realistic cities, I've developed a very efficient grid-system, but especially when used throughout an entire region, it gets very boring indeed. So anyone have any tips about that?

If I think it has enough entertainment value, I might even turn this project into my first CJ ever.

[CCFC 0]

I've been wanting to do the same thing, but the angles here would be near impossible. But I would have to make my version. So, a answer would be good.

[naftixe 131]

Before you begin, browse through the CJ's here and see what others have done. See what works and what doesn't. DIG, READ, and BROWSE. This is called research, now you know what CAN be done both right and wrong for your vision. Now your homework is done, read on.

Step by step -

1. Research the layout of the roads, transportation, zoning, and topography of your city.
2. Find a USGS topographical map of your city area, either import and edit it using rebel13.com sc4 site instructions, or hand build it. There are tutorials posted to show you how to do this along with other mods and programs.
3. Make sure that the size/scale in accurate to within a reasonable distance, I'd say less than 100 ft / 30 meters or two SC4 tiles. This is done by finding two topographical and measuring them on the source map and your created region. Remember that each tile in SC4 is about 50ish feet / 16ish meters. Then make numerous other comparison measurements with other topographical and man made features. this will get you to within an eye-appeassing ballpark of whether your city will be close for the re-creation.
4. Decide well ahead of time, on how real you want to make it. Will it be a 100% re-creation (very difficult to impossible) or will it be close enough, or a re-envisioned city of your creation. Make sure you make this point CLEAR and stick to it.
5. Get a real printed map of your city with a scale. Now get a ruler. Measure with the ruler and develop your own conversion scale. Use metric if possible.

   My math used for conversions (Not 100% accurate but close enough for SC4 conversions to within 1 lot):

   1 Lot = 15.625 meters = 51.25 Feet = ~0.01 Miles

   64 Lots = 1000 meters = 3280.50 Feet = ~0.60 Miles

   128 Lots = 2000 meters = 6561.25 Feet = ~1.25 Miles

   256 Lots = 4000 meters = 13122.50 Feet = ~2.50 Miles

6. Convert your paper map into your SC4: Example paper map measures 4cm, your scale says 4cm is 200 feet between blocks, then that is 4 tiles between blocks. Round up or down. This will require constant readjustments that you will have to do to keep it to within your own acceptable goals.

7. Your region is ready and so are you. Now find something, several somethings that stick out and define the city. It could be a highway, a natural landmark, where two major roads intersect, an airport, or anything. Now work on re-created that KEY point of your city. Just remember to work on the KEY HIGHLIGHTED / Well-known part first and then work into lesser known areas.

8. Now you got your recoginable / famous part re-created. But oh no, the city goes off the grid, does a wierd 4.653 degree slant that SC4 can't make the roads work. Don't worry! It can be off a couple of tiles. This is when you get creative and make it happen be slightly changing small things to make it fit. Don't worry! Most people won't notice if you had to delete a street or add one or change the zoning slightly. It is your interpretation, and your artwork!
9. Keep referring to the PAPER map to make it happen.
10. HAVE FUN, IT IS JUST A GAME!

Enjoy and thanks

[Dizastrow 4]

I have been trying to do this with my hometown of Duluth, MN.  It has proven very challenging.  At one point I gave up and started building the Duluth of tomorrow, with a skyrocketing commercial and residential district.  At one point, just to make it interesting, I sent a few meteors into my harbor to "change" the landscape a little.  Its easy to destroy your city, when you use cheats!!

[Mr. Beer 12]

Hello!

What is your hometown?

[Argon Vex 1]

naftixe, thanks for all your advice. I think I'll be going with pretty much realistic, whilst keeping a creative lease.

Beer, my hometown is the Dutch city of Enschede. Luckily topography will be easy, since the most defining feature is the canal

[Mr. Beer 12]

Ok, I just hear about the name of Enschede, NL, but no more... I hope the transportation network will be easy to reproduce. You'll have a lot of buidlings to plop and sometimes you'll creat your own lots. But it's part of the game.

You can take a look on TheJerseyDevil's Edmonton CJ, a must see for all realistic city journalists!!!

[Argon Vex 1]

Well, I spent a couple of hours last night trying to reproduce my immediate neighbourhood and that was very tricky. I also though of it more as a chore than as a game. So I made a decision, I'm gonna create a city heavily inspired on Enschede, but not an exact recreation. I've been working on it for a bit already and it's far more fun

[Dizastrow 4]

The most difficult thing about SC4 when trying to recreate a city is the grid layout.  Without the ability to make nice curved streets, everything looks very jagged and sharp.  I might try again to recreate Duluth, but I can never get the streets right!

[littlefriend420 0]

Great tips, naftixe! I was lucky enough to find a large regional map of my hometown (Kenosha-Racine, WI) on the LEX, so this is going to be my next big project. Eventually I want to BAT and LOT some of the actual buildings in town, too, but that's a whole other animal.

[Darth Apple 54]

dizastrow: check the omnibus , there is a curved road(sort-of)tutorial there.

the biggest problems with doing this are: , 1 , money(when trying to re-create Indianapolis , I had a big problem with cash in the build , I only got the metro up to 50,000! and its supposed to be 1.5 million!)and space , maybe , you can kinda cheat with the money , and just try to re-create major routes , landmarks , and the general feel of the city without trying to get up to street detail. this is what I was trying to do with indy.

Hope thsi helps.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

I have thought about doing my town of Melbourne, Australia in itty bitty detail across several regions (only if it doesn't fit)!

But I've got several problems:

1. The CBD is on a diagonal

2. I don't think there is a tram bridge

3. The Eastlink tunnels in the outer east are on a diagonal (I don't think its possible to do)

4. Bolte Bridge Interchange

5. The CityLink tunnels run under the Yarra River (Is it possible to build underwater tunnels?)

6. Westgate Bridge is on a diagonal

Google Image it if you want to see. Can I possibly have some tips?

[io_bg 249]

Hmm in the NAM there are GLR bridges and you can also build underwater tunnels

[XpirAment 0]

Mr. Beer (who has commented above) has recreated 3 cities I have lived in.  Perhaps we know one another?

But to recreate your hometown, it helps to live in the midwest, because of all the gridded streets.  Boring? Nah, just easier that way.  You can't get lost in Omaha.

Follow that up with downloading all the bats/lots from your city on the STEX first (if there are any, I don't think Omaha has a bunch...) and play them in a blank city before setting them permanently in your final city.

Forget perfection.  Omaha has 12 city blocks per mile, while Lincoln has 13.  It's odd that I know that, but again, you can't get lost in Omaha.  While most American cities have 12 blocks per mile, you should use Google Earth/Maps to find some pattern in your hometown.

Last tip: fake it.  Most of us aren't from your hometown, so you can get away with some fudging of the zoning, roads, airport/seaport/spaceport, and/or skyline.  Remember it's just a game.

(Mr.  Beer, watch out though, I am from Omaha-Lincoln-CB,IA, so I will do some judging...)

- Bryan

[writingliberty 0]

You can build underwater tunnels, sort of. The trick is to temporarily raise the land where the tunnel will be to above the surroundings, build the tunnel, then lower it back down. Once the tunnel is built, it'll stay unless you mess with one of the ends.

Also, as for the one thinking of Melbourne... what about rotating the map to get your CBD straight? Or is it diagonal to everything else?

As for Duluth... "Without the ability to make nice curved streets, everything looks very jagged and sharp. " ... there are "smooth road curve" and other plugin type things that you might be able to use.

[TimeMaster 4]

Originally posted by: naftixe

Before you begin, browse through the CJ's here and see what others have done. See what works and what doesn't. DIG, READ, and BROWSE. This is called research, now you know what CAN be done both right and wrong for your vision. Now your homework is done, read on.

Step by step -

1. Research the layout of the roads, transportation, zoning, and topography of your city.
2. Find a USGS topographical map of your city area, either import and edit it using rebel13.com sc4 site instructions, or hand build it. There are tutorials posted to show you how to do this along with other mods and programs.
3. Make sure that the size/scale in accurate to within a reasonable distance, I'd say less than 100 ft / 30 meters or two SC4 tiles. This is done by finding two topographical and measuring them on the source map and your created region. Remember that each tile in SC4 is about 50ish feet / 16ish meters. Then make numerous other comparison measurements with other topographical and man made features. this will get you to within an eye-appeassing ballpark of whether your city will be close for the re-creation.
4. Decide well ahead of time, on how real you want to make it. Will it be a 100% re-creation (very difficult to impossible) or will it be close enough, or a re-envisioned city of your creation. Make sure you make this point CLEAR and stick to it.
5. Get a real printed map of your city with a scale. Now get a ruler. Measure with the ruler and develop your own conversion scale. Use metric if possible.

   My math used for conversions (Not 100% accurate but close enough for SC4 conversions to within 1 lot):

   1 Lot = 15.625 meters = 51.25 Feet = ~0.01 Miles

   64 Lots = 1000 meters = 3280.50 Feet = ~0.60 Miles

   128 Lots = 2000 meters = 6561.25 Feet = ~1.25 Miles

   256 Lots = 4000 meters = 13122.50 Feet = ~2.50 Miles

6. Convert your paper map into your SC4: Example paper map measures 4cm, your scale says 4cm is 200 feet between blocks, then that is 4 tiles between blocks. Round up or down. This will require constant readjustments that you will have to do to keep it to within your own acceptable goals.

7. Your region is ready and so are you. Now find something, several somethings that stick out and define the city. It could be a highway, a natural landmark, where two major roads intersect, an airport, or anything. Now work on re-created that KEY point of your city. Just remember to work on the KEY HIGHLIGHTED / Well-known part first and then work into lesser known areas.

8. Now you got your recoginable / famous part re-created. But oh no, the city goes off the grid, does a wierd 4.653 degree slant that SC4 can't make the roads work. Don't worry! It can be off a couple of tiles. This is when you get creative and make it happen be slightly changing small things to make it fit. Don't worry! Most people won't notice if you had to delete a street or add one or change the zoning slightly. It is your interpretation, and your artwork!
9. Keep referring to the PAPER map to make it happen.
10. HAVE FUN, IT IS JUST A GAME!

Enjoy and thanks

quote>

10. Don't forget about prominent city features, such as high schools, colleges, hospitals, and fire stations.  Check the Google Map on your hometown to find where to put these.  If your town is rural, download some lots.

11. Remember zones, and put farms where they are supposed to go.  Don't flip your city too much.

 

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

Originally posted by: writingliberty

Also, as for the one thinking of Melbourne... what about rotating the map to get your CBD straight? Or is it diagonal to everything else?quote>

No, everthing else is grid-like normally. You can't do bridges on a diagonal (like the Westgate) and I don't think you can do diagonal tunnels.

Not to mention, Melbourne is massive (with about 4 million people) and I dont think it possible to squeeze it onto one region! Mainly because the Mornington Peninsula area covers a very long bit of the bay.