The New Patrician Showcase: Tour the Pockets of Beauty Cradled by the Sleepy Cities in the Hillss

[kj3400 178]

I find it fascinating how you build your cities like that. But the best part for me is, of course, the arteries and road signs.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

A SMALL SUPPLEMENT

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REPLY:

Kj3400: Arteries are certainly my strong suit.

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Below is a picture of what I've done in the eastern part of Warmfoot after I posted the last update yesterday. Notice the additional transit corridors and a new partial cloverleaf interchange along the F5 route:

Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

SMYRNA RISES

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REPLIES:

Hmm, no replies.....

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I originally posted this in the Show Us Your Interchanges thread, but I feel that it deserves to be reposted here. This is the area containing the interchange between the E7-2 road and Smyrna Avenue, in the city of Smyrna. Both roads are heavily trafficked. Smyrna Avenue was originally a surface street, and the interchange was originally a folded diamond. However, due to huge traffic demand these roads mutated into heavy-duty expressways. E7-2 expanded from 4 lanes to 8 lanes, and Smyrna Avenue got a grade separation and a diamond interchange. The original movements handled by the folded diamond's at-grade intersection were transferred to the intersection you see right of the diamond interchange. One of the folded diamond's ramps was converted into a loop ramp to provide access to the westbound lanes of E7-2.

Below is a picture of the grade-separated stretch of Smyrna Avenue:

Further down the E7-2 road, there's a rather ordinary SPUI, but I think the cosmetic pieces provide a beautiful sight worthy of the Patrician Showcase:

And I'll leave you with one final picture. To the east, there's a more rural neighboring city - Kingston Hill. This is a picture of an elevated highway that 20 000 commuters use on a daily basis:

You might see more in the next update.

Please post your comments, suggestions, and questions.

[simlink 1,098]

Love the last photo, the highway running through the hills is very nice.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

THE 16 MILLION MARK

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REPLIES:

Sim_link: I really like it too. I'm planning on creating more "greenbelts" between urban cores and suburbs, so the "big highway through the wilderness" look will become more common later this year.

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Patian County has broken the 16 million mark when it comes to residential population, which is quite a milestone. I'm now quite confident that it's bigger than Haljackey's Greater Terran Region, at least at the last time population figures were available from the GTR (which was 3 years ago). The last time we heard from the GTR the population was in the neighborhood of 15 million. Perhaps Haljackey can help us out on the population question.

Anyway, this means that Patian County's population has increased from 12.0 million to 16.2 million in the past 2 months, an increase of 35 percent. The annual rate of increase is 210 percent. If I continue at this pace of 4.2 million every 2 months, the population of Patian County will be 20 million by Christmas, and will be 34 million by next June.

Here's a regional view showing my progress. Notice the large amount of "blending" that has gone on. This is to produce a more "coherent" regional picture:

Below is a snapshot of the cities that I've completed and blended together. Can you tell where the city boundaries are? I cannot.

I believe it's some of my best work.

Please post your comments, suggestions, and questions.

[jacksunny 741]

Congratulations! That's quite a milestone.

[kj3400 178]

Wow. That's impressive. How many tiles are you working with?

[Patricius Maximus 236]

DOWN IN BARROWDOWN...

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REPLIES:

Jacksunny: Indeed it is. It's taken almost 5 years to get there, and thus as you go from west to east in Patian County it's like traveling from the past into the future.

Kj3400: The second snapshot showcasing my blending was 9 tiles in height by 7 tiles in width (or 18 km by 14 km). The region itself is 54 km by 20 km.

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I've created a new suburban city called Barrowdown, and I have some snapshots from there I'd like to showcase. Below is one of the major intersections of the town. I used TuLEPs on it and it really adds a lot to an intersection. I considered adding in ramps too, but the buildings looked so nice, I didn't want to damage them

:

Going west and up a hill we find a quaint RHW-3 expressway, which functions as the primary thoroughfare for this section of Barrowdown. Note the profusion of road signs. This is due to it expanding to a divided highway and interfacing with a freeway to the north:

And this is that northern interchange, which happens to be a partial cloverleaf configuration. I've fully decked it out with road signs, trees, and retaining walls, and I must say I really like the result:

Further east, the freeway continues, beginning a scenic elevated stretch. The variable speed signs are offline, so the posted limit (70 mph) is in force:

Although there is a curve that can't take 70 mph shortly thereafter, a motorist can then acclerate and enjoy this view:

Past this stretch I'm planning to create a new city, called Allenby. This new city will undoubtedly draw some commuters onto this stretch. That's Patian County's mantra - making commuting so pleasurable that you actually look forward to it

.

Please post your comments, suggestions, and questions.

[SimCoug 5,977]

That is a very impressive region! I like the forests too - very pleasing to the eye.

[vivapanda 422]

I can't tell where the region ends! Awesome region, large, realistic and nice at the same time

[Patricius Maximus 236]

NEW TERRAIN

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REPLIES:

SimCoug: Great. I've always liked the concept of forests and wilderness areas in the midst of cities.

Vivapanda: Thanks.

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I haven't updated in a long time, so I'll say a belated Merry Christmas to you all. Let's get down to business. Patian County has expanded since the last update, but I haven't worked on Simcity much due to a conflagration of real-life events, the details of which should remain private. The months I've spent away have enabled me to look at my regions with fresh eyes, and I have decided to create some new terrain for city-building, and make an attempt to expand on my previous "design philosophies", a process I've dubbed the New Terrain Initiative

.

The following picture is a departure from my usual regional pictures, but I'd like for you to see what I see in-game. The southern expanding area is the area I've been working on lately, which I've named the Murray region.

This is Murray, which will serve as a bedroom community for a city center to the west, dubbed Murray Downs. In some ways this New Terrain city will be the pinnacle of my city-building style.

The centerpiece of the town is a rather odd-looking Semi-Directional T interchange, which is the northern terminus of the local expressway route. The expressway is designed to be a feeder road into the main freeway. As of yet, none of the roads have been numbered.

And below you can see the bulk of Murray's development thus far:

Although lacking in pedestrian facilities, which will be a key characteristic going forward, Murray does advance my own city-building style. Freeways, as always, are everywhere, but from these freeways branch off expressway routes which function as feeder roads. Branching off from these expressways are Maxis avenues, which function as collector roads. All junctions are either an interchange, a roundabout, or a conventional intersection where the road higher up the hierarchy has priority. The average driver would have a hard time finding a traffic light anywhere near Murray, and typically traffic lights are absent in these new towns. All of this is designed to keep traffic flowing freely and at high speed, and to keep full stops to an absolute minimum. If traffic is low, the average driver won't even need to come to a stop anywhere in the city.

Other characteristics will be plenty of parks and pedestrian facilities providing easy access, which Murray doesn't exhibit yet. The reason that the feeder roads are expressways, which preclude driveway access, is to increase the speed of traffic. Another characteristic is a preference for directional ramps over loop ramps. Directional ramps are less disorienting and can more easily be upgraded to 2 or 3 lanes than loop ramps (well, maybe the 3 lanes will have to wait until the next RHW comes out

). "Fused grid" principles will also be employed, as they always have. Another new characteristic is periodic bends or roundabouts on local streets to reduce speed. Local streets that are straight as an arrow invite higher than desired speed and are less interesting. You will also see plenty of signage on freeways and expressways, though Murray doesn't have these yet.

Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

[vivapanda 422]

Good to see you back!

A beautiful small suburb, I can't wait to see it expanded

[kj3400 178]

Reminds me of Britain's 'new towns.' I like it, and that T is superb.

[simlink 1,098]

New territory is always great for trying new things, I look forward to watching this area grow.

[wwetom1 831]

First post of the new year Happy New Year!

That RHW interchange is nice!

[Patricius Maximus 236]

A SMALL TEASER

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REPLIES:

Vivapanda: Thanks for the compliment.

Kj3400: Elements from British New Towns (especially Milton Keynes) were incorporated into my personal style. It's good stuff.

Sim_link: So do I. However, in January I switched to a new area, but in February I anticipate that the Murray region will come back into focus.

Wwetom1: And I have the first post on Groundhog Day. If you think that RHW interchange was nice, look out below

.

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Before I return to Murray, I'd like to show some of my latest work from a new place over to the northeast of Murray called Farishville. This place is much more urban, and because of the lack of any roundabouts for 6-lane avenues in the latest NAM, conventional intersections have been used. However, many New Terrain styles have been incorporated into this city as part of my building style, such as this pedestrian bridge:

-I've also recently downloaded the Jenx Weather Mod, which introduces an entire new dimension into Simcity 4: weather and seasons. Sometimes the weather is schizophrenic, but I imagine it will be quite useful for my other city journal, Franklin County:

Since NAM 31 is going to be released on March 1, which is less than a month away, I've decided to fully explore the capabilities of RHW 5.0 (the current version) in my new cities. This is about the most complex system of collector/distributor roads that I've ever built with RHW 5.0:

The collector/distributor system, encompasses 3 interchanges. Two are simple diamond interchanges and one is a partial cloverleaf variant known as a "folded diamond". These interchanges are simple to build, but since they are so close fine skill is needed to prevent weaving from occurring. This system of overpasses and underpasses enables more local access than an ordinary system would.

Last but not least, a reminder that fine details make a difference even if you're zoomed out. Check out this neat sign on one of the surface streets:

And so ends this little teaser. Any comments, suggestions, or questions will be appreciated.

[vivapanda 422]

Great highways!

I love Jenx' weather mod, good to see it more and more around in CJ's

[Saint Andrew 6]

Love the highway in the teaser, very good looking!!

[TekindusT 3,809]

Looks like your snowplows have a thing for that overpass on the second pic...

 

Just kidding, great job with that RHW!

[Patricius Maximus 236]

POWER! UNLIMITED POWER!

 

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REPLIES:

 

Vivapanda: Thanks.

 

Saint Andrew: Good looking? Now that I have NAM 31 the good looks will get even better.

 

TekindusT: Thanks again.

 

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The quote above is what Palpatine said when he blasted Mace Windu with force lightning in Revenge of the Sith. I believe the quote captures my feelings as it relates to NAM 31, although unlike Palpatine my intentions are benevolent.

 

I'm sorry to have made a teaser and then abandoned the main course, but the release of NAM 31 means that the updates concerning these cities would be looking towards the past, not the future. With that in mind, behold my very first interchange created with NAM 31:

 

 

It is nothing complicated - just a simple roundabout interchange, but the way it was done is only possible through NAM 31. First off, Project Symphony components were used (including the roundabout itself), and although you can't see much of the new "RHW proper" components, the new RHW is there as well. This roundabout interchange is better looking and more compact than ever before, and from my limited experience thus far I can tell you that NAM 31 is a very powerful mod.

 

Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

[Benedict 3,119]

I knew it wouldn't be long before someone updated a CJ with NAM 31 content, I just didn't know it would be done so fast! Looks great.

[Schulmanator 5,815]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

[simlink 1,098]

Nice work! Can't wait to get my hands on NAM31. But with so much to do I'll settle for drooling over that roundabout. 

[Patricius Maximus 236]

ANOTHER INTERCHANGE

 

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REPLIES:

 

Benedict: When it comes to a new RHW version, I move as fast as Sims on a freeway.

 

Schulmanator: Indeed.

 

Sim_link: Here's something else for you to drool over .

 

 

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At first I wanted to make this post into one of those small special posts, but I decided to go for broke and create a full-fledged update. This is probably the shortest interval between updates in the history of the Showcase, in the neighborhood of 6 hours.

 

Here's another interchange - my first three-level Semi-Directional T. I love the new RHW 8S Type F2 ramps, which enable an even split of a four-lane freeway along a fractional angle. Also notice the new L1 flyover ramp that goes beneath the L2 ramp.

 

 

As usual, any and all comments and questions are encouraged.

[simlink 1,098]

You're right - more drool. Certainly a nice thing to come and look at after a Saturday afternoon midterm!

[Haljackey 17,441]

Looking good! Nice to see NAM 31 features used outside of testing for once!

[Patricius Maximus 236]

PISTORIUS DEVELOPING

 

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REPLIES:

 

Sim_link: Hopefully you've slept off all that drool

 

Haljackey: Glad you like it. Below are some more NAM 31 features.

 

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Below is an overview of the city of Pistorius, which previously was just an empty patch of land enclosed by a beltway. Since NAM 31's release, it has been reconstructed and development has been added.

 

 

Here is the southern terminus of the beltway. This Semi-Directional T interchange takes advantage of the Multi-Height System:

 

 

Towards the east, a RHW bridge crosses the river, as well as an elevated rail bridge. Notice that both of these are new NAM features, and for the first time ever 4 lanes of RHW can cross water uninterrupted:

 

 

Further to the east there is another Semi-Directional T, this time being the southern terminus of an avenue, not a full-fledged freeway:

 

 

The beltway curves to the north, and there is yet another Semi-Directional T. This time it's the western terminus of a full-fledged freeway. Notice the use of the Symphony MHW override.:

 

 

Further north, there is the northern end of the beltway. Drivers on the freeway we've been following can turn left to continue on the beltway, or veer right to continue further north. Note that this is the same interchange that was geatured in the last update:

 

 

We'll continue on the loop. Towards the west there is yet another Semi-Directional T. I think these interchanges are spreading like a virus .

 

 

The freeway curves towards the south, and then we encounter the only interchange along the beltway that is not a Semi-Directional T. This one is a hybrid between a partial cloverleaf (or folded diamond) and a regular diamond interchange.

 

 

Now we'll revisit the elevated rail. There is a neat little elevated rail line that begins in the residential district on the east side of the river. It snakes its way along the shoreline until it crosses the river, as seen in an earlier picture.

 

 

The elevated rail then enters the commercial district, drops to ground level, and then is concurrent with the avenue. For me this is a rare use of the Tram-in-Avenue pieces:

 

 

Next up we have a shot of the RHW-10 overpass. Isn't it beautiful?

 

 

And lastly, a closeup of the Symphony freeway that branches off to the east. As of yet the areas to the east are undeveloped, but there will be a suburb built there by this evening:

 

 

All told, I'm enjoying using NAM 31, and although there are quite a few bugs, they will be ironed out soon enough.

 

You are encouraged to post comments, suggestions, and questions.

[crazychickensc12 84]

Great work with the interchanges in this city journal, very realistic and appealing and I love the variety of lanes used throughout. That being said the bridges that cross the river, the tiles before and after appear to be glitched is this an issue with NAM or something fixable?

[Patricius Maximus 236]

Great work with the interchanges in this city journal, very realistic and appealing and I love the variety of lanes used throughout. That being said the bridges that cross the river, the tiles before and after appear to be glitched is this an issue with NAM or something fixable?

 

Thanks. The tiles are glitched because of a bug in the new NAM. The hotfix package that's coming out soon will fix it.

[Fox 1,444]

Great update.. I love the new highways!

 

That elevated rail bridge looks pretty cool too.. I'll have to go try it out.