L.A. My Way

[RoddyC 0]

Well I'm not really sure how to begin this, so I'll start with a disclaimer. Despite the name, this region is not intended to reflect the L.A. area in any way. This is basically a unique region with unique cities. Any similarities to real-life are purely coincidental. I just used L.A. city names because I have no imagination to think of my own.

 

So with that said, I also have to thank jeronij for inspiring me on so many levels, and for hooking me up with a lot of useful mods. If you're reading this, I have to say you are the true master of the CJ.

 

And now without further delay, here is my creation.

 

 

Los Angeles

Update 00

 

Regional population: 35,809

 

So this isn't really an update, but many more real updates are sure to follow. Think of this as a preview. About 2 weeks of work have gone into my Los Angeles, so here's what exists so far.

 

Yup, that's right, just two cities right now. The central city of Los Angeles, and peaceful suburban Glendale. Just so you all know, tiles will be terraformed as they are needed, so don't be put off by all the flat land.

 

 

 

And in the transit view below, you can see the basic transportation network of the L.A. region. It's pretty simple right now, but that is sure to change.

 

 

 

That's all for this post. I just wanted to get my CJ off the ground. In the next post I will give you an up-close tour of the city of Los Angeles. That should happen about an hour from now...

 

And of course, questions and comments are absolutely welcome.

[Darmok 34]

RoddyC

Looks really interesting! Good map, and if you were inspired by Jeroni, I'm sure It'll turn out great.

Waiting for more!

[popewiz 1]

The terraforming looks great

[Johnnyman7 0]

Looks like a promising start....

[RoddyC 0]

Los Angeles

Update 01

 

Regional population: 35,809

Los Angeles: 22,726

 

As promised, we're going on a guided tour of Los Angeles. Since there is so much to see, this update will focus on the North shore of the Los Angeles River. First, an overview...

 

 

 

The north side of the river is where L.A. was born, and this area now serves as a commercial downtown district for the small city. Seen below is the busiest intersection in the city. To alleviate congestion, a one-way traffic circle was recently constructed.

 

 

 

After travelling East of the busy downtown centre, we can see the freeway connecting the North and South sections of the city. This underwater tunnel is currently the only way to cross the L.A. River.

 

 

 

And now what you're looking at here is the avenue leading in and out of the downtown area. All Sims travelling to this area from the South shore are required to take the freeway tunnel northbound, before connecting with this avenue and doubling back southbound. As a result, this is a very heavily-used piece of road. It may be inefficient, but I like to keep things interesting.

 

 

 

If we travel over to the West edge of the city, we can see one of the more desirable residential areas. Trees, parks, good transportation access - people like living here.

 

 

 

And in this update's final shot, we see some high-tech and manufacturing industry. This area is located to the far North of the city - but still within a comfortable commuting time, thanks to the freeway. Although it is difficult to judge the elevation, the freeway here is on a constant upward gradient before leaving the city.

 

 

 

And this concludes the first real update of my Los Angeles CJ.

 

Later I'll be taking you across the river to tour the South shore. There you'll see lots of low-density residential, a few interesting elevation changes, a lake, and the bulk of the region's industry.

 

I hope you all like what you're seeing so far. Feedback is much appreciated.

[TrebuTa 0]

Looking good! Keep it up!

 

I hope you will add Laguna Beach and Dana Point to your CJ! I'm planning to move to Laguna Beach.

[RoddyC 0]

Okay, I'm back with the next update. But first I'd like to say thanks for the positive comments so far.  

Los Angeles

Update 02

 

Regional population: 35,809

Los Angeles : 22,726

 

So in the last update I showed you all the area to the North of the river. Now we're taking a ride through the tunnel to the South side.

 

First, here's an overview of this particular area. You can see where the tunnel emerges. Also note the lake which makes for some high desirability. And a keen eye may spot the railway line running across the bottom of this shot.

 

 

 

In the following picture, we take a closer look at the Southern entrance to the underwater tunnel.

 

 

 

To the South-West, and we see where the freeway connects with the rest of the road network on the South shore. Most of the structures here are low-density, and there is heavy use of trees and park land.

 

 

 

A short journey West on the freeway leads to another low-density business park.

 

 

 

In the following shot, I have rotated the camera to face West instead of the usual North orientation. This helps to highlight the elevation changes. A huge amount of work went into sculpting this hillside in order to leave no tile unfilled. I don't know about you guys, but I'm happy with the result.  

 

 

 

Here's another view of the same area. Zoomed in, and now facing North once again.

 

 

 

And here is a park I created to give these hillside residents a place to relax.

 

 

 

Next, we see some rare medium-density buildings - rare in this sea of suburban housing. There is a lot of open land to the South of the railroad tracks, which is planned to be developed in the near future. Expect to see a lot more apartment buildings here.

 

 

 

Finally, located to the far South-East corner of the city is the industrial sector. Dirty industry is never pretty, but this area is far enough out of the city that the residents don't have to look at this eyesore. It should be noted that the camera is facing East in this shot.

 

 

 

And now you've seen everything L.A. has to offer. The next update will showcase the nearby city of Glendale.

 

Stay tuned.

[Allybabba 0]

nice city it looks awsome and realistic your roads are awsome!!!!!!keep up the great work !!@@!@!

[Traffic_Jam 0]

Very, Very Nice!

[Dutchdragon 74]

This looks really good, I'm impressed! You definitly know how to use the walls.

[Natataek 0]

Wow! I love the tiered effect in your residential areas......very refined, really beautiful.

[EricPoehlsen 0]

this is very interesting, i think you used to many concrete walls. for me I would like to see more green around my livingplace

[palmgurl 1]

your city is ultra realistic keep up the great work!

[ganja728 0]

This is really lookin good. I love the way you did the underwater tunnel. Great ideas.

[Superstar 69]

Very cool road system! Lovely set up for it all! Nice new CJ and good luck

[alexr15 2]

Amazing! I love that hillside residential! Keep up the good work!

[RoddyC 0]

Wow, thank you for all the positive comments! I really love this community sometimes.

 

Regarding the residential walls - I appreciate the criticism that I may have overdone the walls a little. I find it hard to know when to stop sometimes. I would say I'm a chronic tile-filler - I can't stand to see empty land. That's why I love these parks, tree lots and walls. They allow me to fill every tile, but still maintain some greenery.

Anyway, onto the update...

Los Angeles

Update 03

 

Regional population: 35,809

Glendale : 14,519

 

To finish up the guided tour, we're going to look at L.A.'s suburb of Glendale. This city lies a short freeway journey to the West of Los Angeles.

 

First, an overview shot. To the right of this shot you can see a road connection to Los Angeles, and above that you can almost see where the freeway leaves the city. And I should mention that the bridge over the Los Angeles River currently doesn't go anywhere, but big things are planned for the future.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_03_01.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And next, we take a closer look at the freeway where it connects the two cities. This route is well-travelled in both directions. You can also see some of the steep elevation changes in this area. Note where the freeway disappears from view behind the high terrain.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_03_02.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

With the camera rotated, you can see the narrow corridor of land occupied by the freeway.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_03_03.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

In the following shot, we see where Glendale was born. This intersection is where the city began, located on a flat piece of land up in the hills. This is still something of a downtown district, but most major development has been focused on the outskirts of the city.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_03_04.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And slightly to the West of that, the busiest road intersection in Glendale. With the convergence of five roads, a traffic circle was a definite requirement.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_03_05.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

PEG's Scenic Drive Kit makes for some nice relaxing green space - and also a place for Glendale's teen Sims to have some fun.

 

 

 

And now we take an up-close look at that freeway bridge, and also some rare high-rise buildings. I allowed (even encouraged) these buildings to grow here. There's something almost beautiful about high-rise projects. They make an interesting contrast with all the low-density housing in the area. Unfortunately I do have some unemployment issues with these guys right now, but this city is indeed a work in progess.

 

 

 

With this influx of new residents, a larger school was required.

 

 

 

And we finish up the tour of Glendale with an area slated for development. The hills to the South of the city should make for some interesting neighbourhoods.

 

 

 

And now the tour is over. All future updates will focus on new construction in the region. I'm still unsure what the next area of development will be - perhaps the Southern hills in Glendale, or perhaps the riverside area. Whatever happens I'll keep you all posted, so keep checking back.

 

Thanks for listening!

[peakman2 0]

Wow! I just scanned through all of your updates and I have to say that this will definitely be one of the journals I watch. First off, your use of the walls is great...there are a lot but they add some real depth to the beautiful landscape. I love the makeout point...most cities with hilly areas have one of those. Overall, I'd say this CJ has the potential to be something great. Keep up the good work, I can't wait for the next update.

p.s. How'd you like to deal with that five point traffic circle during rush hour lol.

[Lord_Bertrum 3]

I look forward to more, perhaps with a few more custom BATs?

[Traffic_Jam 0]

Glendale looks spectacular!

[djrules5454 5]

Very impressive work!

[tracer1138 1]

Je l'aime!!

but it would be confusing as hell to find your way around in real life!

[RoddyC 0]

Thank you, everyone, for the additional positive feedback. I'm so glad you like my creation so far.

 

peakman2: Believe it or not, but accidents were actually reduced after the traffic circle was constructed. Before the circle, I would see constant accidents at this intersection during rush hour. Now things flow much more smoothly.

 

tracer1138: Confusing as hell when you're new in town, but it's actually pretty simple once you get used to the layout. In general, the roads all lead somewhere and the streets generally result in dead-ends. If you remember that then you will never get lost.

 

And now for a mini-update...

 

 

Los Angeles

Update 04

 

Regional population: 35,822

Santa Monica: 0

 

Santa Monica? Yes, that's right. I was unsure which direction to go in next, so I ended up terraforming some more city tiles. A short while into this exercise, I decided to start a new city because I liked the result of the terraforming. First, here is an overview of the region in it's current state.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_04_01.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

As you can see, Santa Monica lies at the mouth of the Los Angeles River. Connections include a (rather indirect) avenue connection to Northern Los Angeles, and a direct rail link to the industrial sector of Los Angeles. Seismic activity in the region (a.k.a. Mayor Currie's God-Mode hand) has formed a lagoon parallel to the river, resulting in a land causeway. Take a closer look.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_04_02.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And

[RoddyC 0]

I've had some time to build the new city of Santa Monica. The result is pretty interesting...

 

 

Los Angeles

Update 05

 

Regional population: 40,168

Santa Monica: 4,096

 

First, a look at the latest region view. Little has changed since the last update, but the new development in Santa Monica can be seen.

 

 

 

And the transit view shows the avenue connections between Santa Monica and Los Angeles. 

 

 

 

And now an overview of the North side of Santa Monica shows a typical residential area. Much like in neighbouring cities, walls have been used to create a layered effect. You may notice that a second underwater tunnel has been added from the causeway - we'll take a closer look at the new tunnel later in this update.

 

 

 

On the South side of the river, we find the commercial district of Santa Monica.

 

 

 

In the next shot, we take a look at that new tunnel I was talking about. I wanted to do something interesting, plus the land was rather awkward to work with. The slope mod meant that the approach needed to be very long, so what you see below is the outcome. I think it will look pretty cool once it's surrounded by tall commercial buildings.

 

 

 

The following shot is another example of my liking for interesting traffic networks. This intersection is completely unnecessary, but it looks damn cool. And I guess in theory it's more efficient - for the through-traffic anyway.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_05_06.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And no city is complete without a NAM interchange. I love to see these interchanges actually being used by traffic.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_05_07.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The next 2 shots aren't from Santa Monica, but rather back in the original city of Los Angeles.

 

I returned to L.A. to create some new connections to Santa Monica. Basically, Sims commuting from Santa Monica to L.A.'s industrial sector were complaining about commute time. The terrain around the industry in Los Angeles was very difficult to work with, but the result is successful in function.

 

So in this picture we see the dirty industrial area. The new addition is the avenue leading East into the hills (and towards Santa Monica).

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_05_08.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And the final shot reveals where that avenue leads. Initially I used a road, but it became so heavily-used that it had to be replaced with an avenue. And thanks to the slope mod, the avenue requires a lot more space to climb the hillside. The result is still pretty cool (I think) and it means that Santa Monica's poorer residents have easy access to the industry of Los Angeles.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_05_09.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

That's all I have to show for now. More will be added to Santa Monica soon.

 

Keep watching this space!

[RoddyC 0]

Los Angeles

Update 06

 

Regional population: 42,068

Santa Monica: 5,997

 

Just a quick update to show the latest changes in Santa Monica.

 

First, this is the last undeveloped piece of land North of the river. Note the windmills - a power supply was required on the North bank and a large power plant would look too out of place. The alternative would be ugly wires crossing the river to draw power from the plant to the south.

 

 

 

And here we see the same area after the zoning phase. Attempts were also made to incorporate the windmills into the landscape.

 

 

 

The next shot shows the rest of the newly zoned residential area. With this, the North side of Santa Monica is almost complete.

 

 

 

To finish this short update, here is the latest view of the underwater tunnel approach. It's gonna look better once hi-rise buildings begin to develop. Unfortunately, the city's population is too low for hi-rises right now.

 

 

 

So that's all for now. I'm not sure if anyone's actually reading this, but I'll update some more in the near future.

[____----____ 37]

i love your non-grid style i recently graduated from girds too

i think that a lot of people feel using daigonals limits what you can

design but cj's like yours show every how great non-grid cities can be

[djrules5454 5]

Which NAM did that interchange come with?

[RoddyC 0]

aleking: I used to be a gridder too. A grid network is more efficient and takes up less space, but diagonals can be much more visually appealing. I found it very difficult to break away from my costant use of grids. You have to learn to give up some functionality (grids) in favour of beauty (diagonals). Now whenever I start a city, I lay down a basic transportation network first - and this always includes diagonals and other unnecessarily complicated features - but it makes the city much more interesting in the end.

 

djrules5454_simtropolisedition: If you're talking about the avenue Y-interchange, I believe it comes with all versions of the NAM. You just have to click the button for the custom highway interchange, and then press the TAB key to cycle through the different options.

 

And of course, thanks to you guys for looking.

[katie2007 0]

That's very nice, yet very real!

[gregduh 0]

Now that is sexy. Excellent work, I love the topography.