Windemere | Announcement

[Jack³ 291]

Nice! I like the places you put Office Buildings. Very realistic.

[Benedict 3,119]

[simlink 1,098]

UPDATE 39:

WINDEMERE'S FESTIVE SPECIAL!

REPLIES:

nathanthemayor:

Thanks, I will do that in the future!

Schulmanator:

Perhaps they would like to visit Meese's sister city, Nipton. They hold the record for the largest catnip manufacturing centre in all of SimNation.

emperordaniel:

Thanks, glad you like them!

rewright :

Glad you like them! It has taken me a long time to be able to use the RHW efficiently. I still discover new things to this day.

jack3oh3:

I'm glad you think so, I strive for realism.

Benedict:

Thanks for the lovely card, it looks great!

Welcome to Windemere's HUGE Festive Special!! Today is an extra long update in celebration of this holiday season. The longest update ever for Windemere, this update consists of 23 pictures! We will be looking at multiple cities in this special - the first update ever to do so. Our story follows a family on moving day. They begin their day at their home in Wetachu before setting on the road, passing through many of the towns you have seen through the course of this CJ. I'm not going to give the entire story away, so grab some eggnog, hot chocolate or anything you need to be comfortable! Welcome to the festive special!...

Ed.'s Note: As you will notice, I just changed terrain mods. Just though I would give you a head's up.

It is pretty early when we started out this morning. The moving truck just left with the final furnishings we had in our house. Soon enough, we would also be leaving. We were saying our final goodbyes to the house we have known for so many years...

We pulled up to the intersection with the main highway through town. I will miss these townhouse blocks - I really enjoyed observing their architecture and attempting to draw them...

We reached the intersection that leads to the new development in town that occured a while back. It was recently reconstructed for the train station access, we never did make it to the new staion.

Flying down the road (okay, well driving really fast) we passed into prime farmland. This was always one of my favourite landscapes, with the whire farm building. I always enjoyed taking pictures here with my friends...

As we entered Baufeld, we passed by the industrial park. It filled in quite nicely over the years. When the project first started, many doubted it would succeed.

Driving through the main section of Baufeld is always nice, passing through the tree lined road.

We turned onto another highway. We passed by "Uncle Ted's" farms. He was one of the friendliest people our family has ever met. His little produce stand always had the BEST green bell peppers.

The road has now widened to 4 lanes as we cross over train tracks and reach the Baufeld/Macoe town line.

We passed through the intersection of the suburban shopping district of Macoe. I have many fond memories of coming here for Christmas shopping and on the weekends once in a while with both families and friends.

We pass by one of the last empty areas of retail space in Macoe. I am curious as to what will go in there someday...

As we pass through the condo developments in the southern portion of Macoe, I can't help but think how nice these buildings are. Surrounded by trees, I would have loved to lived in one of the condo units.

This roundabout intersection was completed as part of the Urban Macoe project to connect the project to Eatburg. Previously the road from Eastburg led directly into Macoe. COngested enough, the region created a more direct unit for Eastburg and other people to get to the Urban Macoe project.

Entering Eastburg, more condominiums. This area sparks memories of the old interchange that was previously here, and the barren landscape that surrounded it.

We are now approaching the highway - but get stuck at a red light. Figures...

We accelerate down the highway ramp, merging into traffic. Now we are really on our way, everything is now getting more real.

I must have fallen asleep, because all of sudden we are once again on a 2 lane road, heading up to my grandma and grandpa's house. They recently moved from Eastburg to Meese.

Pulling into town, I stare at the newness of everything. None of this was here just last year, even a few months ago. It is quite a nice area - U have heard that the town forces the developers to plant large amounts of trees to keep the area upbeat.

We pull into my grandparent's house. We walk in and stay for a bit to say good-bye and chat. We are not moving extremely far away, but far enough we won't see them as often.

We are once again on the road (On the Road Again begins to play in my head at this point...) We pass by a trumpet interchange which is really nicely landscaped.

I wake up as we decellerate into Cranborough. Why we are stopping I have no idea...

We stop for coffee and doughnuts. Mom and dad say we can each have half a doughnut from the box of a dozen. We will be stopping again for dinner soon so they don't want us too full...

Flying by Walmart, it is now beginning to get dark as we enter Simcoe.

We stop for dinner at a restaraunt outside of a large mall. It all looks so new, much like the majority of Windemere does. Dinner is great and we have a fantastic time sharing memories about living here in WIndemere. We talk about the future, funny things, random topics - overall dinner conversation. As we leave and pull back onto the highway, we each have a doughnut despite being pretty full.

I must have fallen asleep - again - because suddenly it is pitch dark outside, and we look like we are in the middle of nowhere. It has been a few hours, the clock now saying it is early morning. My dad says 'the sign is coming up!' I franticly punch in my friend's number. They told be to phone them when we pass by the sign. They pick up. I say "I can see it! I can see it! Welcome to...

My phone battery died."

I hope you have enjoyed this FESTIVE SPECIAL! Hopefully you all made it through without falling asleep, haha. Hope you are looking forward to more, and feel free to comment, make suggestions and post wild speculative rumours.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

[Jack³ 291]

I like it! Very nice special. Merry Christmas!

[rewright 804]

Man, that is some update. That one interchange sure is impressive. Makes me want to buckle down and learn the RHW pieces! Great work.

[dfnva 34]

Nice update... I like your RHW's and suburban settings, the shopping centers, etc. Just downloaded the newest RHW/NAM... I like how you used the new SPUI.

Happy Holidays!

-Dan

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Ho ho ho!

Yep, there's always room for donuts!

[simlink 1,098]

After running for 4 months and 39 updates, BIG changes are afoot in Windemere. A completely new look and format is about to launch and unlike the last format change which saw a slight change in update organization and new banners, this is a far more in depth change.

I'm always looking to keep things fresh, which is why, starting with the next update (tentatively scheduled for tomorrow, December 28th), a completely redesigned, reformatted, and reorganized Windemere will launch. But there is a catch; a new name will also be launched. I am pleased to announce that starting with the next update Windemere will become Windemere & Taschereau.

Hey, wait! You said Taschereau?! Yes, yes I did. As part of the brand new format and relaunch, a new region is being introduced! This region, as you may have guessed, is known as Taschereau. It is not a neighbouring region to Windemere, but rather is a distance away. With another region in the mix, updates will contain more variance, especially considering Taschereau is not a flat block like Windemere is. Taschereau is a mix of urban, suburban, sprawl, agriculture, forest and nothingness. We will be looking at existing areas, developing areas, construction projects, etc. similar to how we have with Windemere. Taschereau is growing rapidly - perhaps even faster than Windemere some experts presume.

Windemere itself will now be shown less - just because of the simple fact there are now 2 regions and the frequency of updates will not increase. Some storylines will be condensed (for example, instead of 4 updates, a storyline will be cut down to 2 updates.) However, this depends on the story and its plot - details will not be skimped on to condense these storylines. Also, most likely, there will be no break between story lines, i.e. it will be completely finished before moving on.

Some background information: Taschereau is built on a map of Montreal, Quebec, Canada from drunkapple/dobdriver. As you may have noticed over the past 2 months or so small changes have occurred in game. Namely, a new tree mod was introduced and just recently a new terrain mod was brought in. These are all part of the development of the new Taschereau region, which has been going on for the past 2 months or so. Preparations for this relaunch have been going on heavily for the past month - and in conjunction with RL is the reason fewer updates have been posted in recent weeks. As Taschereau is revealed, more mods may be introduced/changed to make Windemere and Taschereau the best I can make them.

Upon the launch of these changes, the updates (for about 4 updates) will be co-branded as THE RELAUNCH! to signify the massive change this CJ has just gone through.

I hope you are all as excited as I am for this relaunch! If you have any questions, comments or ideas, please leave your comments! All input is appreciated - I don't want to alienate anyone here. So stay tuned, starting with the next update, massive changes are coming to Windemere!

Please Note: The new update is scheduled tentatively for December 28th - tomorrow. Please note that, as always, that isn't a gurantee.

Replies will also be done in the next update.

[Jack³ 291]

I will miss Windmere, but I look forward to the new region that I have a hard time pronouncing!

[emperordaniel 1,281]

Cool! Can't wait for Windemere to become Windemere and Tashewhatever!

[simlink 1,098]

Update Synopsis:

Welcome to the newly revamped Windemere & Taschereau! In today's update we will be carrying over the storyline of the family moving away from Windemere, as shown in the Festive Special, Update 39. We will have a quick look at their new surroundings, a town of roughly 24,000 residents - known as Carleton. Carleton is located in the Region of Taschereau and has thus far developed in largely a grid-fashion. It almost entirely suburban housing.

Taschereau (Tah-sheh-row)

[Ta - as in Drop It | She - like saying shell, except not pronouncing the 'll' | Row - as in 'rowing']

40.1 | I'm sure my friend knew what I was going to say anyway, though it still sucks my phone battery died right at that moment. We were just entering Carleton. My dad says it is developing quite quickly, but is still developing in a grid fashion - something quite unusual he said. We were just on the limits of the town, and I could see twinkling lights of home owners still awake.

40.2 | Road construction - something we are to used to seeing. It appears they just finished building this overpass to connect to a new development. I suppose they are getting ready for an influx of development.

40.3 | We finally reached our exit and pulled of the highway, slowing down as we did. On my right I could see a brightly-lit office building. It looked quite nice in the early-morning darkness. My dad, who was driving, signalled right.

40.4 | We turned right onto the road and passed through a commercial corridor. I didn't know where to look, really. It certainly is not as impressive as Macoe, but it is all so new to me. There was a bank and grocery store on my left while on my right were office buildings and a small strip-mall.

40.5 | We turned right again onto a small residential street. We made a few more various turns. I looked around. I found the the grid-style easier to navigate. The lot sizes were quite large, from what I could tell. Before I knew it, we pulled into our rental house. I hadn't seen any pictures, so this was my first time seeing it. White siding with a green roof. I don't know what it was - even as a rental, this felt like home.

Replies:

jack3oh3

I'm glad you liked the special - it took a while to finish. Hope you have enjoyed your holidays.

rewright

Thanks, I worked to landscape many of those interchanges just right. The RHW/NAM does take some practice to get used to, but it is well worth it, IMHO.

dfnva

Happy to hear you like the suburban area - suburbs are my favourite thing to build. The RHW/NAM opens up alot of realism for the game. Hope you have enjoyed your holidays!

Schulmanator

I couldn't agree more!

jack3oh3

Windemere will continue to be featured, just in conjunction with Taschereau. How to pronounce it has been included in this update.

emperordaniel

Glad you are excited! How to pronounce Taschereau is included in the update, haha.

As always, I hope you've enjoyed this update and are looking forward to more! Comments and replies are always welcome.

Tentative Next Update: Touring through Carleton

Ed's Note: Hope you like the new look and new format. Some slight changes may occur over the next few updates, incuding possibly resizing the banners.

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

It looks really good, and I really like it so far. I'm not a big fan of total grid style (I like making major roads into pseudo grids and then mixing up the streets a bit), but You make it work pretty well

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Woo hoo! Bring on the new and enhanced awesomeness!!

[emperordaniel 1,281]

Looks nice, good to know how to pronounce Taschereau

[Shingure 56]

Looking good thus far! I'm already liking the new region :-D

[packersfan 666]

Nice, good way to keep yourself going if you get too bored in one region or the other, and you can do things in one that may not fit in the other.

[simlink 1,098]

Update Synopsis:

Today we will be looking further into The Town of Carleton. We will be following our 'transition' family through a shopping trip as they discover some of the shopping choices in Carleton and explore through a small portion of their new surroundings.

41.1 | We were setting out to begin our shopping trip. We were almost at our first stop when we did, of course, get stuck as the light turned amber. It provided a chance for me to look around the intersection in the daylight. Gas station, cafe, tacos, offices. It seems they develop more commercial at major intersections than Wetachu ever did.

41.2 | The light finally turned green and we arrived at Walmart. We have to pick up a new coffee maker - the one in our old house being included in the sale since it was cabinet-mounted. We were also going to browse the electronics, just for fun. Mom and Dad are considering buying a new TV, but will probably wait until we have our permanent house...

41.3 | Next up we visited the plaza right across the street. My sister and I needed new shoes so we went to Famour Footware. Mom needed a new pair of jeans so we then went to TJMaxx.

41.4 | As Mom and Dad went to Staples to send a fax and look at purchasing a new printer (ours promptly stopped working when we plugged it in this morning...) I took my sister to Starbucks. We didn't often go when we lived in Wetachu - we couldn't exactly walk to it.

41.5 | We met up at the car in the parking lot and travelled to the library. I went off to look at books and read for a while, many of books are still in boxes somewhere in the house. I eventually went over to my mom and dad at the computer and grabbed my sister on the way over. We huddled up to the computer and my parents said 'What about this one? - This could be the one.'

Replies:

daTSchikinhed

Glad you like the relaunch so far. I am not one to often use the grid - however I thought I would give it a shot. When the region begins to sprawl a little more intensively a grid/suburb layout will begin - followed eventually by sprawl.

Schulmanator

Glad you are excited about the new awesomeness! I am too.

emperordaniel

Since it is going to be a big part of this CJ going forward, I thought people should be able to pronounce it.

Shingure

Thanks - glad to see you like the new look! Hope you enjoyed this update as well.

packersfan

That was definitely a motivating factor for this. Taschereau has many more landscape features than Windemere, so it presents some new opportunities.

As always, I hope you've enjoyed this update and are looking forward to more! Comments and replies are always welcome.

Tentative Next Update: Into the City (Taschereau)

  Edited December 31, 2011 by sim_link  

[emperordaniel 1,281]

Cool story and great pics!

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Wow!Your suburbs are amazing!

[simlink 1,098]

Update Synopsis:

Today is our last update - for now - with our transistion family. Today we are going to follow them as they explore their new region a little more. They are heading into the city to catch a movie, and also to do some exploring. The "city" to which they are visting is The City of Southlands. Home to the urban centre of the region, Southlands is rapidly growing upwards in its downtown core - and outwards with new low density housing sprawling ever outwards.

42.1 | We are making our way into the city today - we are going to go see a movie at a huge megaplex in Downtown Southlands. We left a bit early, my parents eager to show us the downtown area. As we enter the city from Carleton, it doesn't look much different. suburban housing - though it does feel more compact. The major difference is when we passed a city bus.

42.2 | We arrive at an intersection, and it still looks like the suburbs. Gas station, big-box strip mall, a large plaza with lots of parking. Oh, and not to mention the mall currently under construction...

42.3 | The first signs that we are in the city - condo towers. Ironically, we then pass a warehouse club. But still, I am starting to see we are in the city. Those condo towers look nice - as does the soccer field between them.

42.4 | We arrived at another intersection, my mom (who is driving) signals right. It still looks like the suburbs to me - but I guess it is all part of the transisition into the city. 2 large department stores flank the intersection.

42.5 | It is when we turned onto the road that I can see the city. I can see the skyline off in the distance, and the buildings close to us are getting higher in height. We see some large office complexes - without sprawling parking lots.

42.6 | We arrive to a major intersection in downtown. Tall buildings now surround us. Off in the distance I can see some small houses, but my dad says those likely won't be there for long. we turn right.

42.7 | Dad has mom stop on a side street my this building. It is a large, brown box-like building. I, surprisingly, actually like the way it looks. Dad says his office will be in this building. He works for a medium-sized development firm. He is going to be a planner and representative for theie new projects. His current project is a - oh, well. I can't really say what his next project is...

The empty plot of land to the left of the building was previously a run down city block - which was torn down to improve the area. The land is currently up for sale, and should sell quickly.

42.8 | It is now early evening, and we arrive at the megaplex. Our movie starts in 45 minutes, so we park, get our tickets, popcorn and drinks, and head to auditorium 10. I observe this mysterious fountain out front, just puffs of water floating in the air. (Ed's note: Oops, missing dependency. )

42.9 | We come out of the movie, and it is dark out. I look out to the skyline, now brightly lit with people working well into the evening - or just from people who did not turn off the lights.

Replies:

emperordaniel

Glad you liked the story.

nathanthemayor

Thanks, hope you found today's urban update equally as nice.

As always, I hope you've enjoyed this update and are looking forward to more! Comments and replies are always welcome.

[Jack³ 291]

Wow! I just read the first two updates for the new region and then this one. It is really realistic and I love the night shot!

[emperordaniel 1,281]

Looks terrific, but I don't see no missing dependency D:

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Nice area... I like it! :ducky:

[simlink 1,098]

Windemere & Taschereau - Year In Review

Welcome one, welcome all! With Windemere & Taschereau appearing on Benedict's Top 100 CJs of 2011 today - coming in at 11th - I thought it would be a good time to do a year in review, going over some statistics and thanking you for commenting. Though these are not posting awards (like Schulmanator does with Schulmania) - it is more of an honourable mention and personal thanks. So, let's get on with the show!

I will begin with some general statistics (CJ Forum and CJ Section Combined)

Total Comments*

244

Total Views

14,555

*Includes comments by myself.

Oh look, a graph! This shows the trend of comments for each update (CJ Forum Only.)

Avg. Comments Per Update: 3

The Top Posters: CJ Forum Only

emperordaniel - 32 posts

MamaLuigi945 - 15 posts

packersfan - 14 posts

nathanthemayor - 12 posts

jack3oh3 - 10 posts

Schulmanator - 9 posts

rewright - 6 posts

daTSchikinhed - 5 posts

Benedict - 4 posts

Eʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ - 4 posts

dfnva - 3 posts

vivapanda - 2 posts

steelersfanforlife - 2 posts

scott1964 - 2 posts

kakado_to_save - 1 post

Roger51 - 1 post

10000000000000 - 1 post

-JD- - 1 post

keder - 1 post

Shingure - 1 post

*Includes 3 responses from 2012.

And so there we have it! Those are the statistics for Windemere & Taschereau (and part of 2012)! I would like to thank those who have commented and provided suggestions through the first 4 months of this CJ's existence. I look forward to seeing you all in 2012. Thanks again, everyone.

Replies will be done in the next update.

[packersfan 666]

Wow, I can't believe you rolled in at #11 on Ben's List...I figured you'd be higher than me!!! Anyways, those last few updates have just had some jaw-dropping intersections...I love the look of the new RHW...I definitely will be trying to use that! Wow, also I get #3 for posts, sheesh!

[firzen888 0]

where download?

[simlink 1,098]

Update Synopsis:

Today is a bit of a shorter update - featuring the same city as the previous update, Southlands. Today's update is a mosaic of the general route our 'transistion' family took from the Town of Carleton to Downtown Southlands. There is not much to say, specifically, so let's go take a look at the mosaic.

43.1 | Here is the mosaic. The city gradually transitions from suburban-style housing with your typical shopping centres into the downtown district. The downtown has plenty of room to grow up and out yet, the skyline will change over the coming years.

Replies:

jack3oh3

Glad the new region and the nightshot are to your liking. Hope you like the daytime mosaic just as much.

emperordaniel

I was missing a prop-pack for the theatre - there were water spurts coming from grass.

Schulmanator

Thanks, happy to hear that.

packersfan

I'm thrilled to hear you'd think I would roll in higher, however your CJ is very popular as well. (And Windemere only started at the end of August, so I was surprised to see Windemere & Taschereau that high.) Glad you like the intersections and RHW interchanges - I have a few up my sleeve that will crop up soon... You frequent comments here are what have helped you achieve 3rd highest poster.

firzen888

Hi there, welcome to Windemere & Taschereau! I download most of my content here at ST, on the STEX. Some downloads do come from the SC4D LEX, however.

As always, I hope you've enjoyed this update and are looking forward to more! Comments and replies are always welcome.

[crazychickensc12 84]

Some fantastic work here, I especially love that last mosaic. The suburban sprawl with the downtown there looks really nice and realistic! Great work all around looking forward to more!!

[emperordaniel 1,281]

Fantastic city (as always)

[Eʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ 273]

Amazing Mosaic! Very nice transitions from suburban area to your CBD as well.