The Empire of Chaumont - 'Delightfully Oppressive'

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

Looks good, can't wait for more!

[SpecialEddie 3]

Stunning update! I'm loving the effects, and I'm glad this CJ's back! 

This has got to be my favorite pic of the update. The steam from the train is intense! I like it! And the detail in the industrial area is phenomenal. The industrial areas have got to be the most detailed buildings that Maxis has made in simcity. 

Overral--hurrah!

[2ch.net simplayer 180]

YES!! Chaumont is back!!! And looking at the number of custom BATs and props you have, your plugin folder must be at least a gigabyte big.... :-P

[Jerebannus XVI 7]

Wow Jarno, what a comeback. I'm really glad you're updating Chaumont more often now. My favourite picture was the third one in the town of Calignac. I like the effects of clouds over the houses, it looks really defined. Also the coal mine looks pretty good albeit too on it's own but that's how coal mines are meant to be so they don't pose a health hazard to the local population. I also like the more industrial towns of the last few pictures, pretty realistic I have to say, with the victorian style factories and ware houses, it gives the town a feel of an industrial past and at the same time present. The farms in the very last picture remind me of the American great plains, with all the little tractors and the apple trees, let alone the healthy cattle.

In any case, it's been a great tour of the less urban areas of the empire.

Cheers, take care

[Ramona Brie 121]

Originally posted by: pepsi71ocean Great update jarno. i was wondering where you got that railroad bridge (10 pictures up from the bottom). I like the rain effect very unique. The farms are very nicke looking and well laid out as well. As for Powerpoint that my photosopp tool, lolquote>

Search for "buddybud" on the STEX. Great update!

[cityhawk 12]

Those 18 screenshots were great, jarno! The attention to detail is freakin' awesome and realistic! The photoshopping was very well done, too. I'd have to say that my two favorite pics are the one with the IBM building by the railroad track and the one with the Hooters and watertower in it. Anyway, I look forward to more!

[bokrif 18]

Fantastic update. Great detail, and even better effects!! I like it! The bus stops are alos nice.

[yoder7652 21]

like your screenshots jarno...glad to see some activity in this cj again....your skills with photoshop are amazing!

[choco1 4]

Wow! What beautiful views of the empire! While I really love your story updates, I must say that your eye candy updates are extremely pleasing also. The thing I really love about this great creation of yours is that even the scenery shots give you an overview of the empire, and are effective in making you feel its realism and power. Because after all, even the most powerful empires have the base of industry, farms and villages.

Anyway, love the effects and your cities are just beautiful!

Great work mate.

Choco.

[Fischbob 9]

Beautiful update! The towns are stunning, and I love the weather/lighting effects you've added.

Great work!

[CDI_spy 6]

Breathtaking, my friend.  You are truly a master of CJing.  I am truly glad you are back where you belong, updating for your adoring fans.

[jglei701 8]

Nice to see Chaumont is back! Great update and great videos!

[Kwakelaar 92]

Wonderful update Jarno. Small towns, industry and countryside what more could we wish for. Great attention to detail everywere in this CJ.

[owenluby 1]

Awesome work there... Truly amazing...

[Scaley McSlither 1,714]

Incredible. Just incredible. I haven't played SC4 too much lately, but seeing your cj brings back some of the passion for the game I've been lacking.

*eyes Rush Hour cd*

[jacqulina 162]

awesome work amazing effects looking so realistic and awesome pics

[jarnomiedema 52]

Well, today's Imperial Times is a good example of how a news story can be caught up by 'recent events' that screw up your news.. I was working on a new edition of the Imperial Times yesterday to celebrate how the Chaumontian team made it to the semi-finals of the SUFA Cup (something like the World Cup for the SCJU) but when I checked the SCJU Wiki this afternoon and noticed that Chaumont had lost their semi-final game, I was tempted to just say: "I'm not going to put it up anymore"..

But then I thought some more about it and realized that there are people out there who would really like to see more of Chaumont and how I couldn't exactly let them down just because my 'news' was caught up by 'more recent' events..

So, what you'll be seeing after I reply to your comments, is outdated news.. But hey, that shouldn't dampen the fun!

Bat: Thanks for your comment, Bat! Always a pleasure to see you drop by to drop a line!

Pepsi71Ocean: You can find that railroad bridge by searching for 'buddybud' on the STEX.. He created several very beautiful lots to compliment the NAM.. Thanks for commenting!

Usnaguy: Thanks for that great comment, Usnaguy!

Jay_allen1978: lol.. Well, always good to see new people stopping by! Welcome to Chaumont, Jay_Allen1978 and I hope to see you around more often!

Leech10: Thanks, Leech!

SpecialEddie: That was actually the very first picture I took when I set my mind to making an update.. I was scanning around the town to see what could be interesting, when I suddenly saw that train moving across the bridge. When it suddenly produced a huge amount of smoke (that smoke is actually from the game, I didn't enhance it in any way) I quickly pressed the 'print screen' button and immediately came up with the idea of using rain to explain for the heavy smoke.. So you could say that image deeply influenced the update.. In any case, thank you very much for your comment!

2ch.net simplayer: Haha.. Well, after your comment, I went and checked and you're almost right.. The My Documents plugin folder is around 800 MB's and the one in the Maxis folder is about 150 MB's, so I'm not there yet.. But, with some of the great BATs and LOTs on the STEX, the 1 GB marker may soon be broken! Thanks for your comment and thanks for welcoming Chaumont back!

Jerebannus XVI: My pleasure, Jeb! Updating Chaumont doesn't necessarily have to involve screenshots, so I feel glad I can keep up this pace and I hope to be able to keep it up for some time coming.. I actually wasn't too happy with the screenshot of the Coal Mine (because I had seen a much better one in 6Underground's 'New Rhodesia') but there wasn't much time to adjust it and I felt I had to keep it in.. Glad to read you enjoyed the update!

Tracker: Thanks for helping out Pepsi71Ocean and thanks for your comment, Tracker!

Cityhawk: lol.. Yeah, I just couldn't help including the picture of Hooters in the update.. When I was working on the industrial area and that popped up in the empty commercial lot, I laughed so hard that I just had to include that in the update to share it with others.. Thanks for your comment!

Bokrif: Oh, I just love those on-road bus stops! Thanks for noticing them, Bokrif! And thank you for commenting!

Yoder7652: Thanks for your compliments, Yoder7652! 

Chocolatemax285: Haha, glad to read you enjoyed the update, Choco! I always aim to please! Also, you said the exact thing I had in mind when I first started Chaumont: even the largest empires have a base in farming and industry.. So I'm glad you picked up on that! Thanks for your wonderful comment!

Fischbob: Thank you for dropping by to comment, Fischbob!

CDI_spy: Haha, I think that just made me blush, CDI! Thanks for your wonderful compliment and thanks for commenting!

Jglei701: Thanks for your comment, Jglei701!

Kwakelaar: Haha, I'm sure there are plenty of people who wish for me to show the aftermath of the riots on the grounds of the Imperial Military Academy, but I'm afraid that'll have to wait.. Thanks for your compliments, Kwakelaar! Always a pleasure to read your comments!

Owenluby: Thank you for your comment, Owenluby!

Mike_Oxlong: Haha, wow.. That's always a good thing! I hope you picked it up again, Mike!

Jacqulina: Thanks, Jacqulina.. Thanks for stopping by to comment!

Now, on to the new edition of the Imperial Times!

(All you Green Depra fans may want to turn away now..  

Unfortunately, I just read that Chaumont lost it's semi-final match against Privatt with 3-0, so unfortunately our chances of reaching the final are over.. But, don't despair, we still get to fight for 3rd place in the match against Kinata!

That's all there was from me for today! Hope you enjoyed it!

[2ch.net simplayer 180]

Yey, football!!!! Ole!-- ole ole ole!!!

such an excellent newspaper as usual! I'm impressed so many times that I am having hard time how to comment on it... lol

So how should I applaud this time... "fantastic"? no, I said it before. "excellent"? no, commonplace.........

[choco1 4]

Humph..  

I can assure you that every Chaumonian supporter in Green Depra has just been arrested.   We claim war!  Nah, just kidding, we would loose that too! 

I won't comment on the content of the paper... so I'll just say that the layout is nice!

Cheers mate.

[jacqulina 162]

i love your newspapers so much, they have so much detail and some good reading great layout

[yoder7652 21]

great paper as always....wonderful about your victory...sorry about your loss.

[GMT 389]

congrats for the result of the game!

waiting for more cool updates here!

[SpecialEddie 3]

CHAUMONT! CHAUMONT! Great newspaper. It's a fun read. How do you guys decide who wins in the game--if no one really plays? I've always wanted to know...

[sorchin 18]

A supurb Rural township my friend. The rural areas of cj's are my favorite.. I especially loved the area by the church and train station...

[bat 6]

great newspaper!

bat

[usnaguy 0]

i love the new newspaper. the newspaper are so detailed and so fun to read. excellent work!

[ThomasAH 0]

The newspaper is looking amazing! Keep it up the good work!

[cityhawk 12]

I think the Green Depran team is going overboard on the green; I think the shirt being green is good enough! Anyway, nice newspaper as always, and I look forward to more!

[Yoman3 5]

Watch yourself choco I dont think that your many trees and rioters  will protect you from his tanks.

Now nice update. i think that is the first none story or politicaly related one in ages! nice to see other area's of the empire besides that now colorful monument in the city.

Also about the video I look forward to it!

[jarnomiedema 52]

Thank you for your comments and your support everyone!

I tried to work on an update today, but unfortunately my Simcity is acting weird again, so I'm seriously considering a big cleanup operation to streamline my plugins.. I managed to make a single screenshot, then alt-tabbed back to Paint Shop Pro to paste and save and after I did that, I was unable to return to the game.. (The screen remained black, with the occassional odd flash..)

So at the moment, as you can imagine, I'm a little tired of Simcity 4 and combined with the fact that whenever I play Civilization IV: Warlords for ten minutes, the computer simply crashes and restarts, I'm not exactly in much of a game playing mood anymore..

I do however have the one screenshot I meant to start the update with and I hope to be able to show more of the city around it once I get Simcity 4 back to a 'normal' performance.. In the mean time, thanks again for your support!

2ch.net simplayer: lol.. Well, any comment will do, 2ch! Thanks for dropping by to leave it here!

Chocolatemax285: Haha.. That gives me some evil idea for the next edition of the Imperial Times or an emergency broadcast of INN, Choco! Thanks for stopping by to comment, mate!

Jacqulina: Glad to hear you enjoy my newspapers, Jacqulina! That's why I make them!

Yoder7652: That's the great thing about football isn't it? One time you score a magnificent victory and the next moment you're out of the competition.. Thanks for your comment!

GMT: I hope to be able to clean up the game first, GMT, but once I've finished that, there should be a few updates in the foreseeable future!

SpecialEddie: To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure either, SpecialEddie, so I've asked Hammo (who is in charge of the SUFA Cup) and here was his answer to my question:

Originally posted by: Hammo at the SCJU Forums 

It's simulated, kind of like a football manager game for the PC, only its not.. It's Pro Evo on my PS2!  Basically, the competition runs with only 1 player, so the first game in every stage has to be played by me (although, I just switch the controller over to the computer and have to wait for the computer to beat itself). All the other matches are decided upon by the computer - I dont get to see how those ones pan out. Hence my shock when Privatt beat you 3-0! So every goal, every yellow card, every sending off (*Ahem* Xavier) and every corner actually happened as the stats for each game tell me, I just have to fill out the bits inbetween.quote>

So there you have it! By the way, if you'd like to know who won the SUFA Cup, check out the SCJU Wiki, where you can find lots of information about the SCJU.. There is a link to a video on the front page which details the final match of the SUFA Cup..

Sorchin: Thanks for your comment, Sorchin! Always nice to hear you enjoyed the update!

Bat: Thank you for commenting, Bat!

Usnaguy: That's exactly why they're so much fun to make, Usnaguy! It takes some time, but I just love delivering detailed work..

ThomasAH: Thanks for your comment, ThomasAH!

Cityhawk: Haha, well.. I just thought I'd go with some of the more wild colours we've seen at the World Cup, with the team of the Ivory Coast being almost completely orange for instance (everything from shirts and socks to shoes as well..) In any case, thanks for stopping by to comment!

Yoman3: lol.. I would never dream of doing anything to harm Green Depra.. The country is just too damn beautiful to invade.. As for the previous update, there were a few earlier instances of showing off Chaumont's rural areas, but I just like going back there every now and then to show what's been happening there.. Thanks for your comment!

That's it in terms of comments, everybody.. Let's go to that one single screenshot!

This is the Imperial Tax Agency, one of the most feared buildings in the entire Empire.. Fortunately it's now officially the vacation period for civil servants, so the threat of audits and excruciatingly fearsome talks with ruthless government officials are delayed for a couple of weeks.. Trust me, you do not want to mess with the ITA.. 

I'm sorry for this update being so brief, but I have to make way for my parents wanting to look for a new car and I just don't have anything else to show you.. In any case, I hope you liked it nonetheless and hope to hear from you!