The Ragged Edge: A tale of four cities

[mayormommy 8]

Chapter 14: Violet, Vineyards, and Dr. Vu

 

Violet Phems had always admired the Cypress Island Vineyard in Mandevilla. This vineyard disappeared years ago under a tide of development, but that's a story for another chapter.

 

 

Clem had to do a lot of talking to convince a winery that the climate of The Ragged Edge was really suitable for grapes. The resulting wine was surprisingly good, however, and Violet knew that several other vintners were considering the region. She had a lot of cheap land to offer and soon she had persuaded several wineries to start up.

 

 

Other types of farms also moved in, though no one could figure out why Bob had built his chili pepper operation so close to such a precarious drop.

 

 

She didn

[MrCinatit 30]

as usual, some great work on the cities and the story, mayormommy - though i spend most of the time marvelling how you manage your city with the surrounding environment.

[mayormommy 8]

Thanks, MrCinatit. The sims have been pretty cooperative about using the monorail and ferry network. There is some subtle coersion at work - almost all of the roads are deliberately windy, while the monorail and ferry routes are more direct. Though today in Ashwood I got my first no job zot ever - horrors! I finally got the traffic situation under control but Paradise Apartments still looks very sad.

[alt+tab 2]

Lol, nice little job i have there mommy-o
anyways, i like this august-guy
He seems my type of friend, with that funny accent and all.....
Well keep it up man, I dont want to see another Digby Massacre (that means you lewellan)

LOL I should use that phase more often
hmmm...digby massacre............digby massacre..............digby
(cough cough LEWELLAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
o my bad, that was supposed to stay in a thought bubble

[steveg 0]

Wow, what an excellent read. I can't believe I haven't seen this journal before! Can't wait for the next update.

[mayormommy 8]

Thanks for the comment, steveg.

 

Slayerovsims, I'm not sure what you mean about Digby but this journal will keep going, though with occasional breaks for summer travel.

[alt+tab 2]

Digby was a very realistic journal that stopped being posted a few weeks ago.
if you check back a few pages you just might catch it

[Ragnoff 1]

This is VERY nicely done. I am recently back to Simcity (stopped for various reasons just before Rush hour came out (and before the BAT and i giess some of the mods) and was wondering about teh water taxies, what are they and where?

wonderful journal, I wish I had the time to do something similar..

[mayormommy 8]

Slayer, I've followed Digby for awhile - it was an inspiration in that it proved that small town journals can be just as successful as skyscraper showcase cities. And it looks like there's a new update so Digby is still alive and kicking.

 

Ragnoff, you can find the water taxis on the Simtropolis Exchange - just search for Goldiva and you'll find many useful and interesting creations.

 

I'm sorry to report that I was not able to get an update together this week as I had hoped.  With a house guest staying for the rest of the week, a business trip to Spokane this weekend, and a long trip to Okinawa, Japan next week, there probably will not be another update until after July 4. So check back in a couple weeks, because there's a lot of expansion in Gaillardia, Acerton, Ashwood, and Mandevilla to show you!

[dyrcosis 0]

Enjoy Okinawa, Mayormommy. We'll be waiting with baited breath (but hopefully not fishy ) for the return of all these great characters you've created.

I'm constantly impressed with the layout of your land, the success of using mainly monorails and ferries (I love ferries! ) and all the custom lots.

[alt+tab 2]

Ummmmmmm..................A week??? Ya, well ill be expecting SOMETHING soon, I guess....

[mayormommy 8]

Chapter 15: A Real Education in City Planning

Clem stood on the shore at the former site of the Cypress Island Vineyard, heedless of the waves washing over his Teva

[Morovia 0]

Nice city you got there.

[mayormommy 8]

Thanks, Morovia! This update is only half as long as I had wanted to do, but hopefully I'll get to the other half in the next few days. I learned an interesting lesson in Okinawa - even medium density development can be claustrophobic without open space. So I think I'll try to to leave some open countryside between my little TOD developments.

[differ 2]

hmmm, i honestly see a TV soap opera series in this CJ. you should be a scriptwriter!

GREAT WORK mayormommy!

[alt+tab 2]

OMG YOUR BACK!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!
Well, great update, great to see you posting again!

[dyrcosis 0]

WOOT!! Mayormommy is back!! Between you and Mr. Cinatit I hardly get any work done at all.

The latest update was as good as usual. I especially love pix of the cliff-side roads (even if you did throw a Krispy-Kreme in there). Can't wait for the next update. Hope you enjoyed your vacation.

[mayormommy 8]

Thanks for compliments, differ, slayerovsims, and dyrcosis!  The other half of my update will follow shortly. And so I don't get any more polite PMs - yes, I am planning to move these images offsite in the next week or so. It will just take me a while to figure out web posting (<--blonde).

[mayormommy 8]

Chapter 16: Growing Like Weeds

Well, you knew when universities popped up in the retirement https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif>village of Ashwood and the future sin city of Tamarisk that they must be growing like weeds. Bud wasn

[Adley 0]

Very good story.. Keep it up

[alt+tab 2]

WOOO HOOO What a shot Johnson, hit the captain dead-on - O NO! RUNNAWWAYY FERRYYY!!
lol
Great update!

[MrCinatit 30]

as always, a very nice looking region, mayormommy.

as for the Toys 'R' Us by the 4 star hotel - well, the hotel employees need to go somewhere to let off some steam.

[mayormommy 8]

Thanks, Slayer and Adley. It's not the most ecologically correct golf course but it was too much fun to pass up, especially if you've ever seen a certain Seinfeld episode. Maybe that's why they don't get whales in Daphne anymore...

 

MrCinatit, I would have thought the hotel staff preferred to relax at the skateboard park at the CSX Enyati school. Oh, well, the town still has its Toys R Us - it moved over by that huge Frogface tower where it looks just as goofy.

 

Okay, I've got the pics for chapters 1 & 2 moved offisite- only 14 more chapters to go!

[alt+tab 2]

Keep it up and you might need to move over 40 or 50 chapters offsite! lol

[mayormommy 8]

Chapter 17: The Plot Thickens

 

The next regional council meeting was in Tamarisk. It was supposed to have been held in Ashwood but Bud made some excuse about how the Ashwood city hall was being fumigated that week. Naturally, Bud wasn

[Adley 0]

Very good... transportation issues are very important these days..Even with things in the way...

[mayormommy 8]

Thanks for the comment, Adley.  I mentioned in the introduction that this a passenger ferry and monorail based region, so I'm trying to keep folks updated on a major changes to that system. The system might be too successful - I have several monorail lines with orange level congestion while all the intercity road connections remain bright green.

 

But I have a quick question for everyone. I have developed 11 cities out of 16 in this region. Should I keep working on the current cities, following the stories of just these 11 mayors, or should I introduce 5 new mayors to settle the southern islands? I don't want to get people confused with too many mayors and cities to follow, but it seems odd to have this area completely uninhabited.

 

Thanks for your input!

[MrCinatit 30]

does kind of look strange with the empty areas, so perhaps at least developing there would not hurt. i don't think people can get too confused with a couple more characters - there are some journals with have almost as many characters as War And Peace, and they are well done, as is this one. just don't get the characters confused...nothing more embarassing than finding out you just magically transported your main character to the other side of the map! (or even worse...to another city journal, which almost happened to me).

[Dannato 4]

When I first saw your region I thought, well, that guy/gal must be crazy to start a city here...  Now I see you're doing very well indeed, and have a well-written story.

 

Personally, I think it's not a matter of confusing people with a few more characters - after all you don't really have to know their in-and-outs by heart  (ins-and-outs? is that English?)  Just don't settle on all the islands, I think it would be nicer to leave some of them empty -- like nature reserves or something, given the extraordinary region.

[jmusshorn 7]

This is one of, if not the most impressive region I've seen in a long time. Beats the pants off of mine, that's for sure. It's just impressive how the place has such a realistic feel. Love the story as well!

Change your signature - this place ain't cheesy!

- James