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

[Patricius Maximus 236]

NEW CALABRIA, BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE NEW NAM

 

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REPLIES:

 

Crazychickensc12: See previous reply post.

 

Fox: Try out all the bridges. They're great .

 

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Well, I've created a new interchange in my test region. It's yet another Directional T, but this time it has right exits instead of left exits:

 

 

And now on to the meat of the update. I've discovered the wonder of the new draggable fractional angle road feature, and it enables us to smash the SC4 grid with style, as you can see below:

 

 

Below is the primary interchange with the city. To the north there is a large central business district and beltway, and thus New Calabria functions as a bedroom community. A west-east freeway intersects the freeway that goes towards downtown, and I decided to create a multi-level turbine interchange. This might not look like anything spectacularly new, but notice the multiple levels, as well as the 2-lane flyover ramps. Without NAM 31's features the interchange would have to be far larger than what you see here. NAM 31's features also enable the ramps to be "styled" into a spiral shape, which is most attractive:

 

 

Towards the south there is a roundabout interchange which services the new suburb. Notice the 7.5 meter overpass, as well as the clean-looking RHW-6S segment. A big-time improvement over the previous NAM/RHW versions:

 

 

More draggable FAR and smooth curve action:

 

 

And an overview of the area:

 

 

I think it looks much more like a real suburb than anything we could make before. I also can't help but notice that the geometry of every smooth curve in the new NAM is nothing less than perfect. I thank the NAM Team for showing the attention to detail that is always so necessary to create a great product.

 

-Meanwhile, I have a new project in the works. As an experiment of sorts I'm creating a new region, Serenity Lake, which is located next to a lake on an archipelago of islands. An outline of the region is below:

 

 

This will serve as a fresh testbed for what I want to create using new features and techniques. As it stands now I can't do much in Patian County without bumping into some other creation of mine. Another big bonus is that the water will test the mettle of the NAM custom bridges.

 

 

So stay tuned, and don't hesitate to leave a reply.

[Schulmanator 5,815]

Impressive roadwork. ALL HAIL NAM 31!!!

[zimmie 521]

yeah, no doubt, those residential neighborhoods with the new NAM FAR, Curves, etc look amazing. Nice showcase of what can be done now. Can't wait for them to get the kinks worked out of the 31 so we can really start seeing the new features being posted.

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

Great update!!!

[Patricius Maximus 236]

RESULTS FROM SERENITY LAKE

 

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REPLIES:

 

Schulmanator: Indeed..

 

Zimmie: I agree.

 

Aaron Graham: Thanks.

 

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I've been working on Serenity Lake, and this is what I've come up with in intermittent work over a month's time:

 

 

Below are pictures of the southern city. In the first picture note the 5-lane bridges:

 

 

Moving north, there's a partial roundabout interchange and a partial cloverleaf variant:

 

 

Below is a turbine interchange as well as a partial Y and another roundabout interchange:

 

 

Here's some pictures of Hayes Island, the northern city:

 

 

Here's the residential area:

 

 

And the industrial area. Note the compact directional T interchange:

 

 

And lastly is a close-up of a ramp enclosed by noise barriers:

 

 

Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

BACK TO PATIAN COUNTY

 

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REPLIES:

 

Hmm...there aren't any. Saves time I suppose .

 

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First up, a current map of the Patian County Freeway and Expressway System. East of the "prime meridian" the map is complete, and west it's incomplete:

 

 

Today we will focus on these two cities, Reynoldsville and Keyhaven:

 

 

F52 runs near Reynoldsville and an expressway, designated E7-52 branches off towards Keyhaven. This is the segment between the two cities, which features six lanes, a Jersey barrier, and noise barriers:

 

 

Patian County uses the MUTCD definition of expressway (an arterial road with few if any driveways and partial control of access), so the at-grade intersections here come as no surprise. Also note the microwave power plant which receives power from an orbiting satellite, as well as the power lines and the industrial area:

 

 

A Semi-Directional T interchange connects the expressway to the primary freeway (F52), and apparently the connection is mostly used by trucks :

 

 

To the immediate south is a residential area, which looks like a pretty nice place to live:

 

 

Over in Keyhaven there's more housing. Notice the heavy use of draggable fractional angle roads. Also notice that there's a circular bike trail with multiple connections from the neighborhood, giving the subdivision a secluded feel:

 

 

Below is a close-up of the local arterial road, which is separated from the neighborhood itself by noise barriers and is very well-signed. Note the use of RHW in its design - before NAM 31.1 came out, the RHW at-grade intersections had missing paths, rendering the construction of roads like this extremely difficult. Now that NAM 31.1 has restored this functionality, I'm using RHW for most arterial routes:

 

 

Immediately to the north a roundabout interchange connects the route, named Keyhaven Way, with E7-52. This is E7-52's only grade-separated interchange, at least for now:

 

 

Further west along E7-52 an industrial and retail area branches off:

 

 

Last but not least, a bonus. Below is one rendering of what the approach to Keyhaven Way might look like from E7-52:

 

 

Any comments, suggestions, or questions are welcome.

[kj3400 178]

Very nice neighborhood. I really like that fractional angle road.The freeways and expressways are impeccable, as usual. My only issue is the sign Maybe you could just put north over the right arrow and south over the left arrow, with a vertica line between the two arrows, it would make for easier reading by motorists.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

DIES LIBRE AND THE 20 MILLION MARK

 

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REPLY:

 

Kj3400: Thanks, and I've improved the sign rendering.

 

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Below is an improved version of the sign from the last update:

 

 

Meanwhile, a new city has been developed, called Dies Libre, which will function as a hub for the area. The city tile immediately to the south is known as Christinaville. Also notice that Patian County has broken the 20 million mark thanks to these new developments:

 

 

Below is an overview of Dies Libre. F51 is the main freeway but it bypasses downtown; F1-51 is a spur route that feeds into downtown from Christinaville. E7-52 has been featured previously, and comes to an end at an interchange just west of the river:

 

 

Below is a closer view of one of the interchanges on the mainline freeway. It's on the complex side and features an L1 overpass for a local street:

 

 

Moving further north F51 meets E7-52 at a roundabout interchange. The ramps are routed over each other to avoid weaving and to grant full access from all angles:

 

 

 

 

Further north still, a fresh set of overpasses ensures there is no weaving with the next interchange, a classic trumpet setup that interfaces with a "suburb" of Dies Libre:

 

 

Now we move across the river to downtown itself, which is densely packed but is well-served by roads, bike paths, and space reserved for trees, features that were informed by the New Terrain approach to development outlined previously:

 

 

Further south is the center of town, which features the peak of the skyline as well as an intersection between A1-51 (the continuation of F-151) and E7-52. Also note the big parking garages:

 

 

The north-south arterial road through downtown quickly transforms into a freeway once less urban areas are reached, and a roundabout interchange forms the first exit off this new freeway (F1-51). Also notice the long avenue to elevated avenue transition, and the sunken rail stations:

 

 

I've made a sign rendering for the southern approach to this interchange. Exit 2 is the actual designation, since it's 2 kilometers from the southern terminus of the freeway:

 

 

East of this area we come upon some high-tech industry and some rail lines, as well as an arterial road that feeds into Keyhaven further east:

 

 

Further east still we see much the same thing:

 

 

North of the railroad tracks we see a concentration of apartment buildings near E7-52:

 

 

More high-tech industry surrounds the fringe of the city:

 

 

And last but not least, a close-up of a sunken rail station:

 

 

All modes of transit are served well in this region.

 

Happy 20 million! Please post your comments, suggestions, and questions.

[Benedict 3,119]

Definitely some creative interchanges there.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

SPECIAL REPLY POST

 

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BELATED REPLIES:

 

Benedict: Thanks.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

SNEAK PREVIEW

 

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I have yet to complete my latest city tile, Prince William Township, but now that I've decided to get back in the game I think it's fitting to release some pictures of my progress to date. Prince William Township is built on the frontage road/street hierarchy concept to an extent unprecedented in Patian County history, as you can see in the preview pictures below. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments and suggestions are welcome and encouraged.

[Benedict 3,119]

Looks good - I like the gentle curves leading up to the roundabout.

[Ceafus 88 1,929]

I like your use of trees and curves, great work!

[Patricius Maximus 236]

CITIES BEAUTIFUL, HIGH-RISES APLENTY, WOODS GALORE

 

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REPLIES:

 

Benedict: If you like that, you'll love this.

 

Clayton F: So do I - that's why I have adopted the building model I currently favor.

 

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Sometimes I think I grow nuttier with each passing year. I give a sneak preview in January, drop everything in favor of dithering, research and ponder urban planning, vicariously and metaphorically leave no stone unturned in the great world cities, and get the Simcity itch back, only to return in December to the very same city tile I had previewed to the world the previous January. My ambitions have grown over the past year - during 2014 a personal utopia has really started to take shape in my mind, and where better to give it visual form than Simcity 4? Seeing the shape of today's cities and their prospects sharpens my resolve to create a vision of perfection, which is of course ever-changing and evolving, though far more specific and less tolerant of deviation than previous visions. Perhaps one of the benefits of time spent well on a topic is better knowing one's own intellectual desires and indulging in them, letting them interact with each other and evolve. Perhaps my gaming ego grows with the passage of time, a development I find desirable. In any case, the results prove that 2014's changes, which are best described as an evolution, have been for the better. Below is the current state of the subregion I will be showcasing today:

 

 

First off we will revisit Prince William Township, which has evolved and expanded since the last update.

 

 

We saw this area in the last update, except the road network has been expanded, a lake by the name of Sybil Lake has appeared, and an airport has appeared. When pondering my region I noticed a lack of airplanes flying around, and of course clean and appropriately-set airports are a great convenience to all denizens. Instead of plopping the Maxis municipal airport why not create a comparable airport of my own using RMIP components? The results have been great so far, and I think when it's filled out it will be one of the most beautiful sections of Patian County:

 

 

Over on the north shore we see an extension of Sybil Lake's characteristic nature-encircled urbanity. The east-west avenue pictured below encircles the southern part of the lake and is designed to connect with the airport avenue seen in the picture above:

 

 

Over on the west side of the township we see the same route interchanging with a freeway in the form of a paperclip interchange. You seriously didn't think you could get through a Patrician Showcase update without seeing an interchange, did you? Also note the university with attached high-tech industry.

 

 

Below is a closer picture of the north shore area:

 

 

Over here we have a close-up of a rather cozy place, a stone-facade Rite-Aid and Starbucks building with an attached restaurant terrace - the views of the expressway through the woods from such a height must be pretty nice. This is a nice example of my latest thinking - build exactly what I would want to see and experience in a city. In this case I would love a restaurant like this in this kind of setting.

 

 

You may have noticed that I've gone all-out with the spruce-fir forest, and that's because I adore thick woods in a cityscape and find the boreal biome the most attractive. If this were actually in a high-latitude location no doubt the twilight seen below would be a common sight. My other CJ, Franklin County, is already set at high latitude:

 

 

I can easily imagine sleepy business travelers from Prince William Township or Sybil Lake making their way through the boarding gate onto an overnight flight elsewhere. Being an affluent and liberal society airports and their users are undisturbed and treated stunningly well, making airliners' golden age look like the dark age. Hopefully they will be flying to some equally pleasant location - otherwise they may be disincented to leave! This is supposed to be the stuff of dreams, after all.

 

 

Next up we go to Hawthorn Woods, a partly-new and partly-old city that nevertheless has interesting aspects:

 

 

Below is the great college of the district, with a graduation in progress, along with a glamorous view of the expressway, the attached country club and preparatory school:

 

 

A broader view - notice my greatest grid-busting yet accomplished :

 

 

A closer view of the neighborhood reveals liberal use of draggable fractional-angle roads, the nectar of the suburban gods, as well as parkland, woodland, and bike paths spread throughout. There's even a private school and a church tucked into that park:

 

 

Here's a view of the broader university district, showing the expressways as well as the attached Hawthorn Woods Research Center. They are one of the most notoriously discreet research centers in all of Patian County, but rumor has it the scientists working have very loose lips while golfing at the country club, and the rumors are plausible - after all, how else could the whole county always know what they're working on when public announcements are few and far between?

 

 

We now come to the next city in our pleasurable sequence, Foehn Hill. First off is the western edge of the city which is really an extension of the previous city tile. Nonetheless we see a rail tunneling below the mountain and a RHW loop around the development.

 

 

Moving eastward we see the first new urban area I've made, and the unusual sight of a railroad interchange leading up to it. Who says RHW has the market cornered on interchanges? Rail, particularly the new rail mod, is equal to the task if it's given the chance. Also notice the abundance of woods - sometimes I think all a train traveler would see on my routes outside of downtowns (and sometimes even within them) is woods. To be fair, though, that is similar to the view drivers on my freeways get, and we can see high-rises through the woods anyway:

 

 

We now come to the first cluster in downtown Foehn Hill, consisting of liberal use of parkland, rail lines, and pedestrian malls:

 

 

We now see the second and third clusters - no matter where they may live no resident of my new creations is far from a park, or from any heavy transport infrastructure:

 

 

We see the parkland in twilight below:

 

 

And here is an even closer view, showcasing the bicycle paths:

 

 

And I guess that's all for now. Where did the time go? In the next update you'll see Sybil Lake showed off as well as a primer (with graphics!) on my current thinking with regards to future Simcity developments. These are exciting times in Patian County, so don't change your tabs .

 

Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

 

 

 

 

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Great use of C.P.'s trees and a lot of curving roads and rails- nice one. The only thing I can think of to improve upon would be a little less Maxis buildings and a bit more building variety.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Well, it took a year, but you put it out and that's what matters.  I like what you've done here, there are lots of interesting things to look at.  I wonder what the region will look like when everything is connected and filled in.

[JP Schriefer 5,591]

Nice update! Your airport is cool

[Benedict 3,119]

_{Your first image is gorgeous. Perfect treelike and shadows.}

[Patricius Maximus 236]

THE SLEEPY HILLS

 

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REPLIES:

 

Ln X: Thanks.

 

NMUSpidey: Yes, that's what matters, and I too wonder what it will look like.

 

JP Schriefer: I might try to make more of those airports.

 

Benedict: It is one of my prettier ones, isn't it?

 

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In the interim I've made some progress and tinkered around and I've decided to showcase some of the new and not-so-new developments. Below is a subregional overview of what's going on in this update:

 

 

The Mirror of Idle Thoughts is a lake nestled within the hills of the area that offers considerable natural beauty in its views and is simply a gem for relaxation and contemplation, hence the name. The area is to be preserved as the city grows around it:

 

 

Downslope from the lake, you can see the stubby end of a roadway and a railway, associated with the nearby city of Mirror of Idle Thoughts:

 

 

And here is the city in all its glory:

 

 

Gleaming high-rises and the most extensive and best situated mass transit that can be built collude to create quite a downtown:

 

 

North along the local freeway we come to a unique interchange, which is functionally equivalent to a turbine interchange but where the mainlines both turn left rather than continuing on; this is to aid traffic flowing through what are projected to be higher-volume traffic movements:

 

 

 

 

The next city tile northward is Vista of Glass, one neighborhood of which is built in a charming old-fashioned American style:

 

 

This part of Vista of Glass is situated on the slopes of the hills, and is named for the vista of the glass buildings of Sybil Lake that can be seen from many locations in the area. The place's main thoroughfare is a limited-access road that snakes across the hills through the sleepy bedroom community:

 

 

Below is a wider view of the area:

 

 

Northward, we can see an attractive development cradled between the expressway and the local heavy rail line. Notice how the expressway dissolves into the mountainside; this is actually a tunnel...

 

 

...which comes out at this Semi-Directional T interchange with the primary north-south freeway of the outer part of the subregion I'm working on now:

 

 

South along this freeway there is a roundabout interchange that empties traffic onto an arterial route and then local streets. This area forms a local downtown for Vista of Glass and is close to the border with Sybil Lake:

 

 

Below is a closeup of the interchange:

 

 

The city tile to the north is Kid's Bluff, named after the children who frequented its top historically;, has only a basic framework for a portion of it in place. Nevertheless I thought I'd show it:

 

 

A feature of the landscape in and around the central lake is the bridge carrying the primary north-south freeway:

 

 

Below you can see the other features that are taking shape:

 

 

Below you can see the last snapshot of this update, a unique interchange which is functionally a turbine but is divided in the western portion into three roadways which all go through tunnels:

 

 

This interchange is what I call a triple-split turbine interchange, and below is a diagram:

 

 

Below is a diagram of my other unique turbine interchange, which I call a flipped turbine interchange:

 

 

Please post your comments, suggestions, and questions.

[TakemeThere 5,834]

Nice interchange work there! Very unique design choices.