L.A. My Way

[jacqulina 162]

wow fantastic update

[RoddyC 0]

scififan68, jacqulina - thanks for the kind comments, I'm glad you guys like it.

palmgurl - I would be honoured to be in your sig. I don't think I'm in anyone's sig yet. I'm still an amateur. Anyway, I'll try to get some palm trees into the next update.

 

And regarding the next update... I just got back from work, so I hope to update in a few hours (depending on how my gameplay experience goes ). Stay tuned.

[katie2007 0]

nice work i like your roads and highways

[Deathtoall 28]

thanks Roddy c  i like your new downtown in pasenda it looks real nice reminds me of L.A when i was there

[RoddyC 0]

Well, it's a few days later than I had planned to update. On Friday I lost several hours of city-building when SC4 decided to crash while trying to save. That has a way of killing one's enthusiasm. And then yesterday I also discovered that Pasadena had a major pathfinding flaw. I finally tracked it down to those avenue turning lanes - it seems that certain paths are broken, so I had to remove the file and reconstruct the intersections.

 

Everything is fine now though, so here comes the next update.

 

Los Angeles

Update 18

 

Regional population: 349,862

Pasadena: 130,800

 

Pasadena is finally complete. There may be some fine tuning required, and I still have to work on matching up the lines of Pasadena and Los Angeles (you can see this on the region view) - but most of the work on this city is done.

 

Here's the latest region view.

 

 

 

And the transit view. I could probably build a little more into the hillside in Pasadena, to match up the developed area with that of Los Angeles.

 

 

 

So now here is an overview of Pasadena. Not too much has changed. There are more trees now, and a bunch of larger buildings.

 

 

 

As we move South, you can see how the hills have been developed. Most of the hillside land was too steep for construction though, so forests were planted.

 

 

 

And now we see the West side of Pasadena. A lot of this area is new (since the last update).

 

 

 

The Marriott Hotel is still here. In fact, it has stood for over 300 years.

 

 

 

Here is a look at the towers near the downtown core. This area is getting very crowded.

 

 

 

This is the area to the West of the hills. That interesting building on the left is the office of EMI Records.

 

 

 

And this is a divided avenue I created with the help of some lots from the STEX. I don't remember who created the avenue dividers, but they look pretty sweet.

 

 

 

Below is a closer look at the Southwest corner of Pasadena. I like how this area has turned out. The freeway doesn't get much usage yet, since there is no neighbouring city to the South, but that will change soon.

 

 

 

A little to the North, the freeway is lined with residential towers.

 

 

 

And now here is a look at some of the winding roads in the hilly section of Pasadena.

 

 

 

And finally... As with the other cities, Mayor Currie watches over Pasadena from a prominent position. Whenever the residents of Pasadena look up, they will be reminded of their great mayor.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_18_13.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

So that's all from the city of Pasadena. Look out for the next update to the Los Angeles region sometime tomorrow!

[homer2 3]

very nice, I like picture 18.12

[jacqulina 162]

excellent pics,great use of the walls,coming on great

[newy2 0]

Amazing work Roddy C, your updates just get better and better I can see development is comin along good, keep up the awesome work

peace

 

[oroen 0]

Wow, I think I looked at this when you first started, but I haven't visited since, but this is looking really wonderful. I would say it's another one of those underappreciated CJ's. You've got a really eye for building and layout. I have to say that in this update, picture 18.10 caught my eye, especially with the freeway and the avenue underpass; it's nothing fancy but it's pleasing to look at and does the job.

[RoddyC 0]

jacqulina, newy2 - Thanks, you guys! It's nice to see both of you returning to my CJ again and again.

homer2 - Thanks for the feedback. If you like that picture with the walls, you should check out the first page of the CJ (maybe you did already). I used a lot of low-density housing and walls in the early stages.

 

oroen - Thank you, I'm glad you came back! I have to say I'm obsessive about making things look visually pleasing. In terms of layout, I prefer something that looks good instead of something that works effectively (although sometimes it can look good and function well at the same time). It would be easy to make a square road grid with freeway onramps at every block - but that would be too easy.

 

And as for being underappreciated - it's hard to be truly appreciated here when there are so many awesome CJs. The standard is very high at Simtropolis. Plus, things move so quickly here that I can make an update and my CJ will fall off the first page within 30 minutes. It's tough, but I try not to be disheartened when that happens.

 

I'll just keep doing my thing, and if people come then I'm grateful.

 

P.S. - Next update later today.

[kingofsimcity 5,740]

Hey Roddy,

I don't think I've visited here before and I'll just say this word. WOW. This is a great CJ and I know sometimes you don't get all the comments you want. I've had periods like that back around 4 months ago. People seem to visit CJs with 10+ Pages rapidly so I think in a month or so you might make it there. Great LA you got there, and I look forward to more.

[toxicpiano 125]

Please do not adveriise in other people's journals. Thank you. Mr. C.

[RoddyC 0]

toxicpiano - No offense, but please don't advertise your work in people's CJs. If you want to inform me about your airport pack then PM me. If you want to inform others then start a topic in the appropriate forum. At least remove the screenshot, since it has nothing to do with my CJ.

 

I would thank you for your positive comments, but I don't feel like they are directed at my city specifically. It sounds more like a generic block of copy-and-paste spam. Maybe a moderator can remove it if they see fit.

 

kingofsimcity - Thank you very much. That means a lot coming from someone with a great CJ such as your own. I've visited Goldenrod Plains several times - very impressive. I know that you, and a lot of others, have been running a CJ for much longer than I have. I also know that respect has to be earned, and you veteran CJers have earned it. I hope I will be up there with the greats one day.

[deejayc 0]

This is BY FAR the best city I have seen on Simtrop! Fantastic in the transport map, and lovingly detailed close up! Keep up the excellent work RoddyC

Can you tell me however to do tunnels under the rivers? And where did you get all them trees from? You put them in manually?

[RoddyC 0]

deejayc - Thank you! I don't think my CJ is anywhere near the best on Simtropolis, but I'm glad you think so.

 

Regarding the tunnels, there is a tutorial out there somewhere but I'll try to give some simple instructions...

 

1. Pick the location for the tunnel.

2. Use the God-Mode tools to raise a land bridge where you want your tunnel to go. Tunnels can only be built on land.

3. If the land is at an appropriate height, drag the tunnel across the land bridge.

4. With the tunnel built, you can then use the God-Mode tools to sink the land back underwater.

5. Restore the shape of your river so it looks like the land bridge was never there.

6. Voila! You have (the illusion of) an underwater tunnel.

 

And to answer your other question, I use the Random Woods by Pegasus to put trees in my cities. There are two lots - 1x1 and 2x2. They can be used to fill small spaces, or to cover entire hillsides. And each time you place the lot, it produces different trees at different angles. A very good download in my opinion.

 

So anyway, time for that update I promised.

 

Los Angeles

Update 19

 

Regional population: 401,871

Los Angeles: 71,060

 

Some of you may remember the first city in this region - Los Angeles. For those of you who don't remember, you can see the early stages of Los Angeles on the first page of this CJ. Because this was the first city, I had a lot of trouble getting larger buildings to grow. Now that the region is more developed, I have returned to Los Angeles to finish the job. Already today, Los Angeles has gone from a population of around 20,000 to over 70,000.

 

We'll start with the latest region view.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_01.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

In the transit view you can see the newest area of development in Los Angeles, to the South of the lake. You may also notice the new section of freeway in that area.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_02.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Here is an overview of the new section of the city. As you can see, there is still a lot of empty land and a lot of low-density buildings. This area has a long way to go.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_03.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And here you can see the lake from the early updates. The new section of freeway runs South of the lake and through the new downtown area.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_04.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Below is a quick reminder of what lies on the North side of the river. No new development has taken place here since the last time we saw L.A., but that will change soon.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_05.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Now here is a little something I created just to keep things interesting - a corner onramp.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_06.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And no city would be complete without some medium-wealth hi-rise towers.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_07.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Next, this is pretty much the downtown commercial core. You see a lot of low-density buildings right now, since the city population is too low for skyscrapers. Things should take off soon though. Note the nice NAM bridge too.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_08.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Here are some more of those residential towers. (Picture taken at a different angle)

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_09.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Some people have probably been wondering where the industry is located in this region. Well here it is. The regional population is around 400,000, and this industrial sector you see below provides around 40,000 industrial jobs. Recently the area has seen a rise in high-tech industry, causing smog levels to fall. Hopefully this trend will continue.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_10.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And in the next shot you can see the recently constructed high-tech industrial park to the North of the river. This area is connected to the Southern industrial sector by an underwater tunnel.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_11.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

A closer look at the high-tech industry. Industrial buildings aren't very attractive, but I tried to make this area look visually pleasing.

 

 

 

And some more high-tech buildings. PEG's Scenic Drive Kit makes for some nice tree-lined alleys between the structures.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_13.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

The final shot takes us back to the South side of the river. This hillside took a long time to develop, but it's finally complete.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_19_14.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And that's the end of this update. I hope you all enjoyed it. Come back tomorrow for another installment.

[jacqulina 162]

wow this ia sure coming on great,nice region pics,great detail

[simcitymichi 0]

looks good.. good industry!

[toxicpiano 125]

sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry . only trying to help, won't happen again. 

[deejayc 0]

RoddyC, like I said, 'Best CJ On Simtroplis'. I'm a real sucker for the transportation view - and your transportation view simply rox!

Thanks for the tippage on the underwater tunnel, I've created one with success with your guidelines - so thanks a bunch for that.

I do have one last question, I have 'studied' your screenies, firstly there are little pathways between Hi-Tech Industrial units in 19.13 - did you put them pathways in? Also where did you get these 'slopes' from? You've got clean ones and dirty ones and they look simply fantastic - like concrete embankments - under the factory in the top left in picture 19.13 for instance.

Lastly the beach in 19.12 - how you do that?

Sheer SC4 genius

Can't wait to see what else you cook up.

Thanks again.

[Traffic_Jam 0]

awesome update!

 

Nice work!

[RoddyC 0]

jacqulina, simcitymichi, Traffic_Jam - Thanks for returning to my CJ. I'm glad you guys are still following my progress, and I'm glad you like it.

 

toxicpiano - No problem, don't worry about it.

 

deejayc - Thanks again! You're too kind. And I'm glad you were able to create an underwater tunnel. Now that you know the technique, maybe you can come up with some interesting ways to integrate this into your cities.

 

Regarding the pathways in 19.13. Those are part of the Scenic Drive Kit from pegasus. You can find it here on the STEX. This is one of my favourite downloads. The straight sections can be used to create alleys between buildings, and the numerous parking pieces can be used to create large parking lots for apartment complexes.

 

And the walls. There are 3 sets of walls that I use - one is generally for industrial use, one looks good in commercial areas, and one looks good on residential hillsides. All 3 sets are made by jeronij. You can search on the STEX for his name, or I also provided links to each set on Page 3 of this CJ.

 

And to answer your last question, the beach in 19.12 isn't a beach at all. This is just the natural terrain. All I did was level the terrain above the water, and so the coastal tiles take on the cliff texture (and to the left on that, the beach texture - this is based on the steepness of the land). The beachy look is provided by CycleDogg's Terrain Mod . This is also what makes my grass look so green. Another very good download.

 

Anyway, I'm going to try to update tonight. Right now I'm having trouble with growth and employment in Los Angeles. Hopefully things will get smoothed out in time for an update.

[kingofsimcity 5,740]

Hello again RoddyC,

 

You may now consider me a regular follower of this CJ. I live in the greater L.A. area myself and although it doesn't look like it...the tropical and lush terrain certainly looks better than most of the real L.A. sprawling suburban areas and vast industrial facilities. One of my favorite pictures was 19.14, when the road winds up the hill and the use of embankments is crucial if none of those industries want a mudslide.

 

This is an amazing CJ and I wonder why some don't realize the amount of effort you not only put into the city, but also your presentation in the pictures. And now, it feels good that I had ended Goldenrod Plains because your city layout has inspired me to build a carefully caressed city by the sea, which will be very realistic like this. Magnificent work.

 

EDIT: I've noticed your industrial areas have a very lush and non-polluted feel. It is definately amazing and I will apply some of these ideas to my new CJ.

 

EDIT 2: I've read in your first post on this page that you mentioned you were just and amateur. From my judgement, your city is alreasy something that I couldn't accomplish. Your terraforming job is amazing and definately to notch.

 

EDIT 3: I'm forgetting so much! I've never noticed you were using the exact same water mod and terrain mod as me! Even jeroni is using these two, although I am using his rock mod and the white sand mod...

 

BTW, I'm adding this to my signature, if you don't mind.

[Deathtoall 28]

nice work roddyc sorry i missed the latest updates but i have been quite busy lately

[RoddyC 0]

Deathtoall - Thanks for stopping by, I'm glad you're still following my CJ.

 

kingofsimcity - Thank you for taking the time to leave so much feedback. I'm pleased that you will be a regular visitor to my CJ - I just hope I can keep impressing you every time. And it would be an honour to be listed in your signature beside those other great CJs.

 

I'm also glad that you have been inspired by my cities. I was inspired by several CJs here, so a lot of my work is not truly my own. I used to use grids a lot, and I rarely used trees. Only recently have I started to make things greener, more spread out, and more random.

 

One major tip I can give you (I don't think you need tips, since your own CJ was so impressive) is to lay out your main road network before doing any zoning. For me this makes the experience more enjoyable and more challenging. Lay down your highways, roads, avenues - follow the terrain if possible, while trying to make things somewhat random. Once you have a random, uneven road network - force yourself to work with it. Build around it, but don't change it. You'll end up with bottlenecks, awkward open spaces, uneven land - but that's what makes it FUN. Obviously this is just my opinion, but for me a square grid on flat land is way too easy.

 

Anyway, I'm rambling. You mentioned my terraforming. Some people choose to start with a premade region, but I have always made my regions one tile at a time. All the land in my region was formed on impulse. Very little was actually planned, and if you asked me to recreate my region then I wouldn't be able to make it look the same. I form land much like I form road networks - make something first, make it interesting, and then force yourself to work with it. It's a lot like real life I suppose. But yeah, the only problem with making a region in this way is that you need to spend a lot of time getting the tiles to match up at the edges.

 

And oh yeah, regarding the terrain. I first saw CycleDogg's Terrain Mod in jeroni's journal. It doesn't exactly fit in with the real-life L.A., but I just love the lush green grass and the rock tones. I think I downloaded this water mod because of jeroni's journal too. This game wouldn't be the same without all the great downloads available on the STEX.

 

Aaaaanyway, that's more than enough talking. People want to see some pictures. Thanks again for the good feedback.  Oh, I almost forgot to ask. What part of L.A. do you live in? I'm in the San Fernando Valley, so I see a lot of the L.A. sprawl. It would be very boring to recreate the entire Los Angeles area accurately, so I'm just using L.A. city names in a (mostly) fictional region.

 

Update time...

 

Los Angeles

Update 20

 

Regional population: 435,067

Los Angeles: 104,256

 

Los Angeles hasn't changed much in appearance, so this update will focus specifically on the new parts of the city since the last update. I had been having some problems with the city, because of the complicated transportation network, so I didn't make as much progress as I had hoped. Nonetheless, a new subway system eased a lot of the traffic problems so things are looking good for now.

 

In the latest region view you can see several improvements. Firstly, the Southwest corner of the Los Angeles tile has been filled with low-density housing, to match up with that found in Glendale. You can also see the newly constructed airport near the lake. And the other obvious change is that the hills around the airport have been forested to blend in with Pasadena to the South.

 

 

 

The transit view clearly shows the location of the new regional airport.

 

 

 

This first city picture is an overview of Los Angeles. From this distant view you can appreciate the sheer size of the city - already more than 2 medium city tiles. As a result, things can get laggy at times.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_20_03.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Here is a view of the main downtown sector. There are now some larger buildings here, and the city has expanded Eastward since the last time we saw this area.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_20_04.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

And here is what lies to the East. Expansion in this direction has been mostly commercial. The recently constructed airport, conference center and stock exchange have caused a business boom in Los Angeles.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_20_05.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Next we see an overview of that new airport. Access to the airport comes in the form of a tunnel under the runway. Good freeway access is also important for any airport.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_20_06.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

A closer look at the entrance to the airport. As they walk out of the terminal building, it's easy for visitors to forget they have arrived in a big city.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_20_07.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

This next picture shows the Southwest corner of the city (from a different angle). Most of this hillside was undeveloped in the last update.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_20_08.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

In the final shot, we see the commercial area on the North side of the river. This only made it into the update because of that odd-looking skyscraper. I say it looks odd because it is so out of place. I think this may be the first true skyscraper in Los Angeles. And it developed naturally, so I'm not complaining.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//roddyc_la_20_09.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

Well, that's the end of this update. I have to apologise for it being so short, but Los Angeles didn't develop today as much as I had hoped it would. Hopefully there will be a lot more improvements to the city for tomorrow's update.

 

So thanks for reading, and check back soon!

[jacqulina 162]

hey that is coming on really good,nice detail,great pics

[kingofsimcity 5,740]

Another great update Roddy, I especially liked 20.08, with the upscale neighborhoods and such. It gives it such a nice look.

BTW, I live in the San Gabriel Valley area, so I can see pretty much all the sprawl in there, because I live on a hill.

[MissTonya 2]

nice job cutie!! i like how you have your freeways! i want to do that now

Yo it's Tonya!

[toxicpiano 125]

where can i get these wall like implements please?

[RoddyC 0]

jacqulina - Thanks! It's great to see you in here after each update. I don't know how you keep up.

kingofsimcity - Thank you! Some of those upscale hillside neighbourhoods are inspired by my surroundings. In L.A. no slope is too steep to build on. And I'm on a hill at the far West end of the valley here, so I can see across the entire valley. Talk about sprawl. It takes a clear day to see to the other side of the valley though - and that's rare in the summer.

 

And thank you, MissTonya. I'm glad to see you came back.

 

toxicpiano - Those walls are created by jeronij. He has produced 3 different sets of walls, and they're all available on the STEX. You can find them by searching for his name, or I also provided links to each set on Page 3 of this CJ (near the bottom of that page).

 

Thanks again to everyone who is following this, and I will be updating later today.

[toxicpiano 125]

Thankyou.