L.A. My Way

[Codythemonkey 0]

Nice city looking pretty good

[flanig407 0]

Great update.  Just amazing

 

Welcome to page 3

[Romie 1]

I love it! Hope to see some more skyscrapers in L.A.!

[toxicpiano 125]

I keep forgetting which terrain texture you use. It's a very attractive green, very nice city, well done.

[djrules5454 5]

Nice updates in my absence RoddyC!  I haven't been able to all the CJs I want to see on ST due to a sudden and severe case of RLS.  Look forward to more next time I'm on!

[RoddyC 0]

Thanks for the quick and positive feedback!

 

toxicpiano, I just stopped by real quick to answer your question. I have been using CycleDogg's Terrain Mod . I love the look it gives to my region. It doesn't quite fit with Los Angeles, but since this is a fictional L.A. I think it's okay. I believe CD's intention was a Pacific Northwest appearance.

 

Anyway, there will be another update tonight. Stay tuned.

[Glenni 1,447]

heh nicecity!i love those R$ tower blocks

[gurrgkud 2]

wow.. very very nice! i love it!

[StrongarmWombat 0]

Very Very nice work, i hope to gain some inspiration in my cities from this.

[RoddyC 0]

Thanks everyone, for the great comments.

 

GLENNI, thank you. I'm glad you like those low-wealth towers. They are an important part of every city.

 

StrongarmWombat, thanks to you too. I'm glad this CJ has inspired you. I can say that I was truly inspired by the CJ of jeronij. I have implemented a number of his techniques and his lots in my cities.

 

And thanks gurrgkud. I am glad you like what you see, especially since you have such good taste (from your list of great CJs).

 

And now for the next update. It's a few hours later than intended - what can I say, I lost track of time while I was working on my city.

 

Los Angeles

Update 14

 

Regional population: 217,550

Malibu: 101,978

Pasadena: 3,323

 

Malibu continues to grow upwards and outwards. With a population of more than 100,000 Sims and the city tile almost full, work on the city of Malibu is almost complete. And with Malibu progressing well, I started work on the new city of Pasadena. More on that later. 

 

The region view now clearly shows the dense high-rise structures in Malibu.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_14_01.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And by looking at the transit view, you can appreciate how little empty land is left in Malibu.

 

 

 

So here is the latest overview of the city. Lots of new high-rises. Most of the new development has been to the Southwest of the downtown core. The remaining corner of empty land is the former site of two coal power plants and the city landfill. Trash is now being exported to Los Angeles (via Pasadena), and power comes from two solar plants to the North. This empty land will be developed soon.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_14_03.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

As we zoom closer, we see some of the new office towers which have developed in downtown Malibu.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_14_04.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

A closer look at that rather unique building - One Starr Center has become a focal point in the downtown area.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_14_05.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

In the following shot, we see some of the buildings surrounding the downtown park. Despite the high demand for office space, I felt it was important to maintain some grass in this concrete jungle.

 

 

 

The following shot shows where those new solar plants were constructed. There is also a high-capacity water pump located here.

 

 

 

And those are all the shots of Malibu for this update. The following images show the new city of Pasadena. (See the region view for the location of Pasadena.)

 

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

 

So as you may know, Pasadena lies on the highway between Malibu and Los Angeles. I originally started work on Pasadena just to allow commuters to travel from Malibu to Los Angeles, although Pasadena will soon become a large city itself.

 

Pasadena currently has a population of around 3000, with 8000 Sims commuting from Malibu. Of those 8000 Sims, around 1000 choose to work in Pasadena, and the other 7000 continue following the highway into Los Angeles. This situation allowed for quick commercial development in Pasadena before any residents even moved into the city.

 

This situation of high regional demand also means that it will soon be time to return to the original city of Los Angeles, to turn it into a true metropolis. But for now, the focus is on constructing Pasadena.

 

Take a look at the current layout. The highway disects the city. There is currently little need for onramps, since the highway is mostly used as a through route.

 

 

 

A closer look at the structures in Pasadena shows how high commercial demand caused high-density buildings to be constructed, despite the low population.

 

 

 

And in this final shot, we see the main intersection in Pasadena. This city is going to become something of a crossroads in the region, so it was appropriate to start building the city around such a junction. Note the turning lanes - very nice.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_14_10.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And that concludes yet another update. I hope it was well received, and I hope you will come back tomorrow to see the completion of Malibu, the latest progress in Pasadena, and perhaps more.

[jacqulina 162]

wow what great updates love what you are doing looking really nice

[simcitymichi 0]

good work! good roads and motor ways!

[RoddyC 0]

Thanks for the comments.

 

This is just a relatively short update to finish off the city of Malibu. I did some more work on Pasadena, visible from the region view, but I didn't have time to add that to this update. The next update will focus on that city.

 

Los Angeles

Update 15

 

Regional population: 225,595

Malibu: 107,713

 

So to continue from the last update, I had that large empty corner of land in Malibu. I'll show you what happened to it soon, but first here are the region views. These region views were taken after work was completed on Malibu, so they show the city tile being completely full.

 

 

 

And in the transit view, you can see how Malibu has been built right up to the edge of the city tile.

 

 

 

I decided to do something a little different to complete this city. Normally I zone very small areas at a time, but here I decided to zone the entire empty space at one time before unpausing the game. I felt that Malibu was stable enough to handle this sudden influx of new residents.

 

First, a look at the zoning layout.

 

 

 

Closer, and a short time after the game was unpaused. I didn't know what was going to grow here.

 

 

 

Upon seeing so many low-wealth towers, I knew the existing hospitals in the area wouldn't be able to cope. Note the new hospital constructed in this area since the last shot.

 

 

 

And the following shot is an overview of the situation, a few years after zoning began. I had to allow a few years before this area could be considered complete - that's about how long it takes for most of the low-wealth towers to be redeveloped into medium and high-wealth buildings.

 

 

 

Once again, a closer look. A few years earlier, this was an empty piece of land. Now it's an attractive corner of the city.

 

 

 

The next shot is an overview of the Northern part of the city. The solar plants have been surrounded with trees, and a few high-tech industrial buildings have been constructed on the hillside.

 

 

 

One of the finishing touches to Malibu was the area of the cliffside resort hotel. This place makes for a nice getaway from the busy city.

 

 

 

And finally, even when Mayor Currie is taking care of business in other cities, part of him will always be watching over Malibu.

 

 

 

And with that, Malibu is complete. I don't know if we'll be returning here later. Not in the near future anyway. The next priority is Pasadena, and then it's back to the city of Los Angeles.

 

So I hope everyone is enjoying my CJ. Come back again real soon!

[gurrgkud 2]

wow this is amazing!!  i love the suburbs!

[jeeper 14]

Wow man, amazing job. Once of the best layouts I've seen in a while.

[kmoh4346 2]

Hey, amazing work! You have a very good concept of blending suburbs with metropolitan area. I am just wondering if you have any plans with industial area? Great Job anyway!

[flanig407 0]

Great job with Malibu

[Deathtoall 28]

wow i really like how those hill top house look, it reminds me of the hills in L.A when i was there, i try to create those same style cutouts in the sides of mountains because it gives that sort of feel to it

[RoddyC 0]

Wow, thanks for all the great feedback!

 

gurrgkud, jeeper767, flanig407 - thank you guys, I appreciate the kind words.

 

kmoh4346 - thanks to you too. It's not always easy, but I do try to blend the suburbs with the downtown areas in a realistic way. As for industrial areas - well it's difficult to blend those in anywhere. Sometimes I incorporate high-tech industry, but I don't like to use dirty industry in my cities. In my Los Angeles region, the only dirty industry can be found in Los Angeles itself. You can see this on the first page of the CJ (I think), but I will be revisiting this city very soon.

 

And thanks, Deathtoall. Since I live in L.A., I know of many areas where the hillside is densely packed with houses. My recreation is kind of extreme (too many walls maybe), but it does take some inspiration from my surroundings. I'm glad you saw the similarity.

 

And I also wanna say thanks to you guys who keep returning to see my latest updates. When I see the same people coming back again and again, I know I must be doing something right.

 

Anyway, enough talk. Time for another quick update.

 

Los Angeles

Update 16

 

Regional population: 227,333

Pasadena: 7,194

 

As promised, we're moving to Pasadena now. Take a look at the region view to get some perspective.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_16_01.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And the transit view.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_16_02.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And now the latest overview of Pasadena. Nestled in the Northeast corner of the tile, this city has been brought to life by the concrete river running through it.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_16_03.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Here is that busy intersection from the last update, complete with working turning lanes. Those NAM guys are geniuses.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_16_04.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

In the overview, you may have noticed that interesting building by the side of the freeway. Here is a closer look. You're seeing the rear of the building, since obviously it faces onto the avenue.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_16_05.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And so here it is from the front. The Marriott Hotel. I think it looks perfect in this position. This is definitely one of my favourite views in Pasadena. And by the way, I didn't plop that building - it grew as a CS

[jacqulina 162]

nice work,great region pics,have you any night pics to show us please

[Deathtoall 28]

your really lucky cos you got heeps and heep[s of aspen wood condomoniums, i wish that would happen in my cities, but that marroit hotel, wow

[RoddyC 0]

Deathtoall, thanks for returning. Those Aspen-style condos are a great addition to the game. I don't remember who created them, but that guy rocks.

I find it is very easy to get those to grow in my cities. All you need to do is provide all the necessary services - police, health, education - this will make it possible for R

[toxicpiano 125]

Are you going to build an airport?

[RoddyC 0]

toxicpiano, I plan to build an airport in the city of Los Angeles pretty soon. I'm not exactly sure how to tell when an airport is required. My Sims have been asking for an airport for weeks, but my cities are doing just fine without one.

 

Anyway, I wanted to update yesterday but I didn't have enough time. This will be a pretty big update, so hopefully that makes up for it.

 

Los Angeles

Update 17

 

Regional population: 294,005

Pasadena: 74,943

 

A lot of progress has been made in Pasadena. Here in the region view, you can see how the different cities are really starting to blend together.

 

 

 

And the transit view. A new section of highway has been constructed in Pasadena. Later this will link to the cities on the South coast of the region.

 

 

 

The following shot is an overview of the city at the farthest zoom level. I don't normally take pictures from this far out, but I have to explain the recent changes in Pasadena. Basically, with the land on the East side being used up, the city needed to expand to the West. The steep hills made construction difficult, so two tunnels were constructed to connect the existing part of Pasadena with the flat land beyond the hills.

 

The tunnels are shown by the white arrows. The long avenue tunnel was constructed first, and then later a short double-one-way tunnel was constructed to the South. Later in this update, we'll take a closer look at the latter.

 

 

 

Now we zoom closer, centering on what has become downtown Pasadena.

 

 

 

To the North, the Marriott Hotel still remains a prominent feature.

 

 

 

And this is a closer look at the area to the West of the hills.

 

 

 

Back to the downtown area, we can see some of the large apartment buildings which have developed here.

 

 

 

I really love some of these towers. The only downside is that they produce a lot of traffic.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_17_08.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Here we see the Marriott again. It's now surrounded by some larger buildings, but it still looks great.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_17_09.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

The next few shots are kind of interesting. I wanted to create a residential area with a divided avenue. The idea was to create something quite classy, and for this to become a high-wealth area. It's still a work in progess, however the road system is pretty much complete.

 

First, this is the ramp leading up to that Southern tunnel. The traffic circle provides a junction with the split-avenue which leads into the residential area. I should say that the camera was rotated to face West here, just to avoid confusion.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_17_10.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And now we're facing North again. This is an overview of that wide avenue. The traffic circle from the last shot is located just beyond the top of this shot.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_17_11.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And now a closer look. I provided this turning area halfway down the avenue. Some nice towers have already developed along this section.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_17_12.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And further South, you can see where the avenue comes to an end. This little project has created a lot of wasted space, but I think it looks pretty cool.

 

 

 

Here is where the tunnel emerges on the West side of the hills. This area is relatively new, so don't be fooled by the empty land. I intend to construct a lot of low-density housing in this area.

 

 

 

After descending the hill, we come to another traffic circle. As you can see, through-traffic is already heavy in this area, despite the lack of development.

 

 

 

And now we see where all those cars are going. This is the commercial area to the West. It has become something of a second downtown for Pasadena.

 

 

 

This is the junction at the end of that long avenue tunnel. Not surprisingly, this is a very busy intersection.

 

 

 

And just to round out the Pasadena part of this update, here is a shot of some condo buildings near the new freeway.

 

 

 

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So that was the last image of Pasadena, but it's not the end of this update. There is other news in the Los Angeles region.

 

If you have been following this CJ closely then you will know that trash from several cities was being exported to the city of Los Angeles. When you are working on a medium-sized city tile, space is often at a premium. A landfill is a big waste of space.

 

Anyway, I recently returned to Los Angeles and discovered the huge impact of all that imported trash. I kept zoning more and more landfills, but the trash problem was getting out of control. Observe.

 

 

 

But that is now a distant memory (hence the black and white ). Now I don't like to cheat, but I think it's unfair that you can only export trash to the city nextdoor (and not to somewhere in the middle of the countryside (as in real life)). With this in mind, I decided to download PEG's miracle trash chute.

 

I try not to think of this as cheating, since each chute has a monthly operating cost and each one has a maximum capacity. I am still happy to deal with water and power, but now I have an easy solution to the trash problem - dump it over the edge!

 

Take a look at the formerly dirty corner of Los Angeles now.

 

 

 And a closer look at those trash chutes. Genius. I'll be constructing these in each of my cities.

 

 

 

And on that humourous note, this is the end of Update 17. I hope you like what is happening with Pasadena, and I hope nobody will be too upset at my taking the easy way out of the trash situation. With that one minor exception, I still maintain a policy of no cheating.

 

Anyway, stay tuned for the next update sometime soon!

[simcitymichi 0]

very good cj! good region pictures

[mentarman 14]

Hmm, I must have zoned out while this grew a couple pages. Anyway, nice work. Interesting what you are doing here and you've got some good-looking pics.

[Deathtoall 28]

hey nice work roddy, i never knew what space was needed for the aspen villages condonmoniums so thanks, JaWood created them along with a lot of theme park stuff, i like you traffic circles and you one way road avenues, they look better than the games normal avenues hey?

Still lovin' that hill feeling and where can i get those retaining walls and those garbage shutes?

[RoddyC 0]

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

Deathtoall, I'm leaving for work soon so I wanted to answer your questions before I go. The walls are all created by jeronij, and the garbage chute is from pegasus. I'll provide the links...

Residential and Rural Diagonal Walls

Shore Conforming Seawalls

Modern Concrete Diagonal Walls

PEG Garbage Chute

 

[scififan68 23]

Holy smokes! That is amazing! Great job!

[palmgurl 1]

this is a very realistic cj here i think i may add you into my sig!!! but just one more thing and you can be complete add lots of nice palmtrees in a nice good row!