U-Build-It (110% Interactive)

[emgmod 16]

2I had an idea a while ago that I posted in Dan's Place. It might have never been made if I didn't accidentally clear 1/3 of my Plugins folder. Because this would be impossible to fix, I cleared the plugins folder and all the cities I had. Then I remembered this old idea. I made U-Build-It.

Rules:
-YOU have to suggest Plugins.
  -Don't say everything made by x, or anything you made.
  -Switching between US and Euro textures is fine. Just ask and I will set up a poll to change it.
  -Suggesting Packs like RMIP are fine.
  -If you are not specific enough, I'm going to select things within that general category.
-The general layout of transportation is in your control. You can vote and state arguments for/against things.

Updates 1-6 are going to be a summary, only including important images of U-Build-It. I want to get to the Special Edition(Christmas Edition) here soon.

[ironicepitome 0]

mkkk

[emgmod 16]

Summary of Upates 1-3

The start of Invernessen. The hideous Maxis train stations is going to prevent any growth to the region.

Region view after a new train station was built.

The same area as before, now with a little growth.

Now we have a town hall.

Invernessen Town Hall  added fences to the farms on the other side of the tile border.

The United Republic of Illu'a (The country where Invernessen is located), decided to upgrade the road going through into an RHW-2.

But Mother Nature hates them, and the project is cancelled.

And to end this segment, here is a picture of a passenger train leaving Invernessen Station.

I cannot do anything about the pictures. They were taken a long time ago.

[SounderBruce 173]

Nice concept...

[emgmod 16]

***Replies***

ironicepitome:  I don't know how to reply to that..

ComputerGuy890100:  Thank you.

U-Build-It Updates 4-6

In an attempt to get rid of Maxis farms, Invernessen City Council removed all of them, and allowed new ones to grow.

In addition, Invernessen Apples started business. Fresh, organic apples.

Overview of East Invernessen

And a region view.

Pathfinder Freight set up shop in Invernessen.

Repeat-A-Lot also arrived in Invernessen, buying land north of the town.

A canal system was built to serve the farms.

The U-Build-It Special is coming soon.

[SounderBruce 173]

Nice work! I love the Repeat-A-Lot...seems a lot like my neighborhood...

[emgmod 16]

***Replies***

ComputerGuy890100:  Remember That section of Repeat-A-Lot grew. I think it happens everywhere where developers are too lazy to come up with unique suburbs.

U-Build-It Special Edition - The Rail Trip Part 1

Welcome to the Special Edition. Updates are going to come as fast as I can make them, probably daily until January 5.

After doing a quick youtube search, I've planned out the pictures that I'm going to take. Specifically, something like the following video, except without trains that are delayed by a few hours.

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We are taking a southbound Adraman Local (Nazca to Colbitz) train to Colbitz. We can get off and explore at any stop on the way.

Blue: Adraman Local/Express

Green: West Coaster

Red: To be named

Yellow: Central Corridor Local/Express

We start our trip by boarding the Southbound Adraman Local.

Somehow, the horses near this farm are attracted to the train, and have magically walked through the fence. Animal automata is(are?) awesome.

A bit further south, the train crosses the Invernessen Railroad Bridge. Sometimes, the bridge and the Route 27 bridge get flooded during heavy rains.

Scenic Wilderness. I should have made the rail and the road curve at different areas here.

In case you were lost, here's a region view of where the train is right now. There is some civilization near the southern border.

This is where I figured out that I can use a train generator instead of UDI to make pictures. The train passes a rest stop, and almost hits a truck passing it. The at-grade intersection here is actually illegally built by the nearby farm. All at-grade intersections in Illu'a must have flashy warning signals, or a person manning the intersection with a whistle.

Here's how I'm going to make minor cities. The population of the next town is greater then 73. This is an old picture.

At the start of the Evening, we arrived at the first stop in Newport, and unloaded our baggage. Although having a population 1/5 the size of Invernessen, there is a historical landmark near the town.

There is a shuttle bus timed with train arrivals to take people to Newport Point. It's cheaper than taking MaxisTaxi to the point.

We cross the Sparkling River to get to Newport Point. Most of the traffic on this bridge is either tourists or freight.

The bus stops at the entrance to Newport Point. We have to walk the rest of the way up.

The trail winds up the slope, eventually reaching the event of the night, the...

Newport Point Fire ritual. 30 minutes of chanting, dancing, and fire for free.

There's also a lookout where you can view the Sparkling River and the trees. If you look up, there are stars.

Some of the people decided to stay in the only hotel in Newport. Others decided to stay at Newport Point and camp for the night.

The plan for tomorrow is to eat breakfast at the Newport Cafe, then take a 9:00 southbound Adraman Local. If we go fast enough, we can get to Daloa (Second largest city in Illu'a) by the end of the day.

***I need from you today...***

-VOTE: How often should we stop and explore?

-If you have an idea for the trip, PM me. If it requires Plugins, send me the links to the plugins.

-Who wants to have a road town named after them?

-Any Plugins that seem relevant to the area we are heading to.

[Hawkeye9 0]

Wow this is a cool idea!!! I really like the small town feel you have captured in your pictures!!! I will stick around and see how this CJ turns out!!!

[SounderBruce 173]

Love the trail!

[SounderBruce 173]

Love the trail!

[emgmod 16]

***Replies***

hawkeye9:  Thank you. I have never made a town larger than 500,000 in Simcity 4, so I'm used to building small towns.

ComputerGuy890100:  Thank you. I don't know why I used the gravel trails leading to the dirt lots though.

Huge Download list is coming after U-Build-It Special Edition (UBISE?)

U-Build-It Special Edition - Rail Trip Day 2

When we waited for the 9:00 train, a red double decker train arrived. While it was still a southbound Adraman Local, Illu'a National Railways replaced some of the rolling stock with seasonal trains. What's a better way of celebrating the Holidays than free upgraded view? Merry Christmas!

The rail splits into two STR tracks because I wanted it to. This is about the halfway point between Newport and Lordside, the next town.

The train here passes a small lake and a cottage, built in 1931. It's a historical landmark. Aside from the passing rail line and dirt pathway, the cottage is isolated from contact.

And another picture to show you how isolated it is. To the right, there is our train. To the left, the dirt area is the area where the trail starts. You can see parts of the trail if you look closely. Most travelers don't get to see the cottage by road. Only people that decide to take the trail or are paying attention on a southbound Adraman can see the cottage.

If you noticed, I am using multiple image hosting sites so if one site doesn't work, some of the images will still be here. The picture in my signature is hosted in three sites, and I will switch it out of Imageshack decides to randomly delete it.

The train nears the next stop, the Daloa Oil Fields.

I think I should explain the diagonal bridge a bit. You can plop puzzle pieces on water. I just used the diagonal onslope and the diagonal rail pieces to make the bridge.

The Daloa Oil Fields. About 30 years ago, someone found out that oil was around this area. An oil company bought out the land, and placed oil wells to extract the oil. At the turn of the century, the oil well was almost empty. The company is abandoning the wells by January 2010, and Illu'a National Railways is considering not servicing this station.

The train stops for a few minutes, picks up two passengers, and then leaves the crumbling oil wells.

For the first time in a while, the railroad is almost parallel to Route 27.

Next up are the dual towns of Cambridge/Lordside.

And a border line, so you can tell which is which. The population of both towns is estimated at 17,500 sims.

Our train approaches Cambridge, with a square farm to your right, and suburbia to your left.

The Cambridge 8th Avenue viaducts were built to grade separate the commuter, regional, and intercity trains passing through Cambridge, when automobiles weren't widespread. Now they are considered a part of Illu'a history.

Our train stops at the Cambridge/Lordside station. Here, we have to decide if we should get off, or continue our journey.

A brochure shows the attractions around the area. First, there is the Lordside Research facilities.

Next, there are stores in Downtown Cambridge, near the station.

The Lordside Downtown was made to look historic, with stores facing a pedestrian mall.

Finally, the Cambridge Municipal Airport is nearby, where we can take an airplane or helicopter and have an aerial tour of Daloa.

Right now, the choice is yours. You can choose if we should explore, or if there is something better farther south. The time when the train arrived at Cambridge/Lordside is 4:30 PM.

***I need from you today...***

-VOTE: Should we get off at Cambridge/Lordside?

-If you have an idea for the trip, PM me. If it requires Plugins, send me the links to the plugins.

-Who wants to have a road town named after them?

-Any Plugins that seem relevant to the area we are heading to (Suburbs and a city)

[SounderBruce 173]

Nice towns! I especially love the diagonal bridge! Nice use of the NAM Rail Viaducts!

[Rionescu 14]

Can we have a town named Robertsville, pretty please

[emgmod 16]

***Replies***

ComputerGuy890100:  You should have seen how many people asked if that bridge was functional.

Rionescu:  There's a backlog of names, but I'll try my best to get the name in.

Huge Download list is coming after U-Build-It Special Edition (UBISE?)

U-Build-It Special Edition - Cambridge Air Tours

To start off, we need to get to the airport. Luckily, ND Transit Route 70 goes to the airport.

The bus heads south on 7th avenue to Cambridge Road.

From Cambridge Road, the bus turns left on Railroad Avenue. Okay, there hasn't been a train on Railroad Avenue for a long time, but the name stays.

The last stop before Cambridge Municipal Airport.

And we arrive at the general aviation area, where Cambridge Air Tours is located.

And the helicopter is off!

Hello, and welcome to this aerial tour of Cambridge and Lordside. First off, we are passing by Railroad Avenue. The railroad line in the median hasn't been used since 1965, when Daloa Central Railroad abandoned the line.

While we are heading farther north, there is the West Cambridge Elementary School. The current mayor of Daloa came from this school.

The rail line is abruptly broken by the current end of Expressway 30. The E30 grade separated this intersection in 1979, permanently splitting the old railroad line in two. It is planned that an extension of the ND Light Rail will run the route of the old track to relieve congestion on the E30.

Past the highway is the Cambridge Christmas Tree Farm. It has purebred tiny trees so people can get real trees that aren't 3 stories tall.

Now we are heading east to Lordside. The park trail runs in the old path of a stream, before suburban expansion paved over the area.

Next is the Lordside National Laboratory and Lordside Tower. The tower was built in 1926 to celebrate the unification of Illu'a. Today, it is preserved by the laboratory.

Lordside is the newest suburb in the area. The town center is new, but is made to look old. The entire suburb is surrounded by a road called the Lordside Loop, to "Have a sense of community in the area." In my opinion, it's a barrier to the rest of the city.

Now to head south to the Lordside Pivot Farms.

The pivot farms are used to efficiently water crops in this farm. Takes a lot less people than manually watering all the crops.

And that's our tour. Thank you for staying in Cambridge!

Since the next bus is coming in 40 minutes, we decided to take a taxi to go shopping.

Cambridge is turning into a red light district, so we avoided the area.

The taxi headed down Cambridge Road, and then turned left to North Avenue.

The taxi passes by Cambridge High School and Lordside National Laboratory.

We took well over an hour shopping at the stores here.

After we went shopping, a taxi took us to the nearest hotel.

The taxi drives past the Christmas Tree farm to the nearby hotel. I couldn't get a diagonal avenue to turn into one diagonal and one orthogonal one way road.

We arrive at the Best Western Cambridge and checked in before we went to sleep. I forgot to get the nightlight patch when I took the pictures.

  Backlog of town names, in the order posted:

Kuta

Kemayoran

Sean Town

Scottville

Robertsville

Verona

You can still post names, but it might take a while to get your name on the map.

***I need from you today...***

-VOTE: Relax, it's almost Christmas.

-If you have an idea for the trip, PM me. If it requires Plugins, send me the links to the plugins.

-Who wants to have a road town named after them? Backlog on names

-Any Plugins that seem relevant to the area we are heading to (More suburbia)

[emgmod 16]

U-Build-It Special Edition - Believe

And look at my badly Photoshopped snow!

Children, sleeping.

Snow is softly falling.

Dreams are calling,

Like bells in the distance.

We were dreamers,

Not so long ago.

But one by one, we

All had to grow up.

When it seems the magic slipped away...

We find it all again on Christmas Day.

Believe in what your heart is saying,

Hear the melody that's playing.

There's no time to waste,

There so much to celebrate.

Believe in what you feel inside,

Give your dreams the wings to fly.

You have everything you need, if you just believe.

[Follarch 326]

This is a REALLY good city journal! I'm loving the way youre using your rail networks, and that method of creating a diagonal bridge is very innovative. I should try that sometime.

Keep it up! This is very promising. And since youre asking for suggestions, I'd suggest looking into the HSR and some Bullet Train skins for your Heavy Rail.

[ironicepitome 0]

Well this is brilliant! This is great what you got here, ur goin places kid

[SounderBruce 173]

Great tour and snow effects! Pegasus recently uploaded a new snow mod... https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=22925

For use, see my CJ: https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=36&threadid=112381&enterthread=y#1661542

[emgmod 16]

***Replies***

Archean:  Thank you! I think my train automata would be this: Commuter trains use the NSE trains, the regional trains use the Regional Runner trains, and Express trains use a HSR train.

ironicepitome:  Thank you! I'm trying a few things to improve at the moment, like using the "Make Historical" button.

ComputerGuy890100:  Thank you! About the snow effects, I used the snow mod for the terrain. The rest of the snow was made using Gimp and changing colors to white.

Huge Download list is coming after U-Build-It Special Edition (UBISE?)

U-Build-It Special Edition - The Tri-Name Area

We get up at 6 AM and take a 6:30 Adraman Local. Commuters use the Adraman Local to get Downtown, so the train was more packed then usual.

The train speeds past trees to the next suburb. Enjoy the trees before we head to Downtown.

And... Back to suburbia! There's another shopping center under construction there. I also ditched curvy roads so more custom houses grow. That is, until I find a low stage R Maxis blocker.

More stores, and another slice of the 100% custom content suburbia.

Here, we are arriving at the Robertsville Stadium.

Home to the Daloa _____.

Choice time! There's a light rail station next to the rail station. We are at the Stadium station. Market, Daloa Square, and 3rd Ave./Waterfront are major tourist stops Downtown. Kuta Road and Kemayoran are stops to an ethnic neighborhood. The one station I forgot to label is E30/Verona.

***I need from you today...***

-VOTE: Jump to the tram, or stay on the train?

-If you have an idea for the trip, PM me. If it requires Plugins, send me the links to the plugins.

-Who wants to have a road town named after them?

-Any Plugins that seem relevant to the area we are heading to (Taller buildings)

[SounderBruce 173]

Tram! Tram! Me wants to ride da tram!

[naftixe 131]

The tram.

I had doubts about this CJ when it began, but like "That 70's Show" this is a hit ! Excellent work, one of the best in this style floating around here in the forums.

[kccl35 83]

Mmmmmm.... Trammmmmmmmmm...

[cmdp123789 710]

Hey I just read the whole thread and it's awesome!!! I loved it haha specially the pics that show how it gets better and bigger... is there a way to have a coast town??

[ironicepitome 0]

tram, and I would like a town named after myself thank you very much, it shall be called : "Ironsburg"

[ncvegas 2]

Great CJ, I love the small town feel you're giving your cities. And great attention to detail! And I also vote to hop on the tram.

I would like to have a town (preferably suburb) named after me: Wood Dale

[Za 164]

This is a rather nice CJ so far: you have me intrigued

I must say that your diagonal bridge method is highly clever- I never thought of it! I'll have to try it sometime. I'd also be interested to know wher you found those "pivot farms"

*I'm a fan of the train (but perhaps that's only because I've never managed to get the tram to work well)

[kccl35 83]

Can i suggest a name?

"Daloa Rocketeers"

[emgmod 16]

***Replies***

ComputerGuy890100: Tram it is!

naftixe:  Thank you! I loved "That 70's Show!" I'm wondering what style this CJ is, but whatever it is, I'm doing a good job.

kccl35:  That tram sure is sounding tasty.

cmdp123789:  You're right, it does get bigger. Unfortunately, we are in the middle of an island rght now. That is, unless you want a river coast.

ironicepitome:  I like that name. If we go to that town, expect Industry.

ncvegas:  Thank you! Since we still have a lot of suburbs to go, I think Wood Dale can fit in somewhere.

Za: Thank You! I might write an Omnibus article on building bridges like that. As for the pivot farms, I got it from the 3RREX at sc4devotion.

kccl35:  Done, and done.

Huge Download list is coming after U-Build-It Special Edition (UBISE?)

U-Build-It Special Edition - Daloa University

If you're wondering why the lighting changed, I downloaded the SimFox Day´n´Nite Modd.

NDT Light rail. A newer tram system made to relieve traffic from the rail and bus lines. We depart Robertsville Stadium, passing another tram.

We continue on, passing by suburbia. The elevated tracks allow the tram to act somewhat like a rapid transit system.

Here we have the Foothills Station. Nothing interesting around the station except the tree that somehow doesn't stop the tram from continuing along.

The right-of-way includes the median of the E30. The station here is called Verona/University East. As the name implies, there is a...

...university nearby. We get off the tram and get on a bus to see the university.

The first place we visit is the Daloa University Visitor Center. There, we book a tour.

The first stop in the tour is the library across the street. The Thomas Nelson Memorial library is the second largest in Daloa. The number of books located here is amazing.

Next, we visit one of the classroom buildings. Our tour walks past hallways, and catches a glimpse of a class in session: Ignoring the tour group behind you 101.

After that, we visit a part of a dorm room converted for tour use. You have to admire the open spaces the university has to offer.

Here, we see more dorms, and enter in the Verona tower. We learned that these towers were built around education centers during the Illu'a Unification.

Finally, the tour ends with a stop at the gift shop and restaurant.

Now that school is starting up for me again, My plan is to end the trip in a couple of updates. However, some people might have liked the trip more then Invernessen. Should we continue the trip, or return?

***I need from you today...***

-VOTE: Should we head back to Invernessen, with our new knowledge learned from the trip?

-If you have an idea for the trip, PM me. If it requires Plugins, send me the links to the plugins.

-Any Plugins that seem relevant to the area we are heading to (Midtown buildings would be nice)

[Benedict 3,119]

Great university campus - I love the central area with the diagonal paths.

[ironicepitome 0]

Very nice college! I like how u put the station in between the highways, creative