Show us What you're Working On

[Barroco Hispano 26,931]

@gutterclub Unfortunately not. 

 

[debussyman 1,349]

Still working on the L1 Sunken rail stations.

[mitsos 12,966]

Hi everyone, check out my the new entry

 

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

Scotch Pines transit maps-

 

 

For the artsy version-

 

[davide1983it 5,426]

1x1 Set Building

3-5-8 Floor in 2 version
 

 

 

[Barroco Hispano 26,931]

zoom 5

[Ssaidd 1,367]

On 21-1-2023 at 11:39 PM, debussyman said:

Still working on the L1 Sunken rail stations.

thats a nice sunken railstation, from where did u get that ??????

[debussyman 1,349]

1 hour ago, Ssaidd said:

thats a nice sunken railstation, from where did u get that ??????

It is part of a set that should be released soon

[Ssaidd 1,367]

1 hour ago, debussyman said:

It is part of a set that should be released soon

Cheers, can't wait !!

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

[mitsos 12,966]

Expansion and improvement of the rail network in Penthesili. 

[Odainsaker 2,137]

Mont Blanc

A warm, summertime view using the VIP Terrain Mod with modifications to snowline, treeline, and rock face threshold.

Aiguille Verte and the Mer de Glace.  I do like when the snow cover and rock facings resemble the actuality...the VIP Team may have drawn their terrain textures from this area:

(Photo by Alessandro Borgogno on Wikimedia Commons)

But, oh noes, the glacier has retreated!  I may have to lower the snowline just a tad more or again use ploppable snow and rocks to simulate the lower glacier.

 

Great Saint Bernard Pass

Napoleon had to march his army on foot from Orsières near Martigny to Aosta without freezing the troops to death.  In order to efficiently haul the French artillery over as well, can you find the lowest ascent over the rugged ridge line of the Pennine Alps into Italy?

I'll be honest, I knew academically how the famous pass worked, and have seen plenty of pictures of the Alps, but this is the first time I have seen the pass so pronounced as a low gap in a wall of mountains whose ridges I could trace.

 

Simplon Pass

We'll have to find a good sculpture BAT of the art deco Simplon Eagle to perch high over the pass into Switzerland:

(Photo from Brig Simplon Tourismus AG)

The challenge is to build a road from Domodossola to Brig with minimal ascent.  Better yet, try a railway with the Orient Express--the Simplon Tunnel ultimately had to go under the Breithorn mountain and would span here across almost 5 large city tiles.

Slopes mods are only going to help so much, check out the yodeling cliff faces around Zermatt:

 

Akaishi Mountains, aka the Japanese Alps

The same terrain mod is in use, but why are Akaishi Mountains on the left of the image rendered so differently in their rock texture compared to the smoother Yatsugatake Mountains on right of the image?

It was even more apparent when compared against nearby Mt. Fuji, and only then did I understand that while both Mt. Fuji and the Yatsugatake Mountains are volcanoes with volcanic slopes, the Akaishi Mountains were instead created by upthrusts from plate tectonics.  The gravity-dispersed volcanic debris slopes are smoother than the vertically upthrusted rock slopes, and this difference is being picked up and even exaggerated by the SimCity terrain mod.  In reality, many of these slopes are so heavily forested that this speckling probably shouldn't be so prominent.

 

[tariely 4,499]

On 16/01/2023 at 6:52 PM, nycsc4 said:

I've been pondering how to achieve a realistic looking and somewhat functional BRT setup in the game and came up with the following.  I made extended TE lots using @UrbanLegend's HOV bus lane lots that filter out everything except bus and pedestrian traffic.  I designed them to go block to block instead of using a 1x1 blocker and then the game's regular networks.  Cosmetically, they came out pretty great looking I think, getting ready to do some testing now...

Can't wait to see them in game !!! 

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

19 hours ago, Odainsaker said:

Mont Blanc

A warm, summertime view using the VIP Terrain Mod with modifications to snowline, treeline, and rock face threshold.

Aiguille Verte and the Mer de Glace.  I do like when the snow cover and rock facings resemble the actuality...the VIP Team may have drawn their terrain textures from this area:

(Photo by Alessandro Borgogno on Wikimedia Commons)

But, oh noes, the glacier has retreated!  I may have to lower the snowline just a tad more or again use ploppable snow and rocks to simulate the lower glacier.

 

Great Saint Bernard Pass

Napoleon had to march his army on foot from Orsières near Martigny to Aosta without freezing the troops to death.  In order to efficiently haul the French artillery over as well, can you find the lowest ascent over the rugged ridge line of the Pennine Alps into Italy?

I'll be honest, I knew academically how the famous pass worked, and have seen plenty of pictures of the Alps, but this is the first time I have seen the pass so pronounced as a low gap in a wall of mountains whose ridges I could trace.

 

Simplon Pass

We'll have to find a good sculpture BAT of the art deco Simplon Eagle to perch high over the pass into Switzerland:

(Photo from Brig Simplon Tourismus AG)

The challenge is to build a road from Domodossola to Brig with minimal ascent.  Better yet, try a railway with the Orient Express--the Simplon Tunnel ultimately had to go under the Breithorn mountain and would span here across almost 5 large city tiles.

Slopes mods are only going to help so much, check out the yodeling cliff faces around Zermatt:

 

Akaishi Mountains, aka the Japanese Alps

The same terrain mod is in use, but why are Akaishi Mountains on the left of the image rendered so differently in their rock texture compared to the smoother Yatsugatake Mountains on right of the image?

It was even more apparent when compared against nearby Mt. Fuji, and only then did I understand that while both Mt. Fuji and the Yatsugatake Mountains are volcanoes with volcanic slopes, the Akaishi Mountains were instead created by upthrusts from plate tectonics.  The gravity-dispersed volcanic debris slopes are smoother than the vertically upthrusted rock slopes, and this difference is being picked up and even exaggerated by the SimCity terrain mod.  In reality, many of these slopes are so heavily forested that this speckling probably shouldn't be so prominent.

 

Those are better looking than the real pics you included. Incredible landscaping.

[JulioC 2,581]

Hey, it's been a while lol 

I don't have a lot to say or to show, I miss playing this game but unfortunately my really old laptop can't run SC4 as i wish it could, so it's been almost 2 years since the last time i played it

But I tried to re-organize my 10gb plugins folder to make a bit more suitable to my toaster (or laptop, you can call it both ways) these days and i could get it to 6.5gb. It's still slower than i would like it, but at least it doesnt take half a day to simply start the game anymore haha

So i'm planning to update my CJ these next few weeks with at least some pics

Well that's it, just passing by to say I miss this game. Hope i can post more images in my next visit. I think i will leave this random pic i made now testing the game just to help update this thread haha

[Barroco Hispano 26,931]

[sejr99999 8,370]

I love that color

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

2 hours ago, JulioC said:

Sweet little bit of scenery. Can't wait to see what you can do full bore.

[younghappy 308]

13 hours ago, JulioC said:

Hey, it's been a while lol 

I don't have a lot to say or to show, I miss playing this game but unfortunately my really old laptop can't run SC4 as i wish it could, so it's been almost 2 years since the last time i played it

But I tried to re-organize my 10gb plugins folder to make a bit more suitable to my toaster (or laptop, you can call it both ways) these days and i could get it to 6.5gb. It's still slower than i would like it, but at least it doesnt take half a day to simply start the game anymore haha

So i'm planning to update my CJ these next few weeks with at least some pics

Well that's it, just passing by to say I miss this game. Hope i can post more images in my next visit. I think i will leave this random pic i made now testing the game just to help update this thread haha

Gorgeous little serene scene right there! 

Well done you for somewhat tackling the plugin folder.  I also have an ancient laptop with an unwieldy plugin folder and many incomplete projects but the situation is beyond salvaging.  For now I play vicariously through this thread!

[justforfun 7,927]

Let me know if your sims get lost less with this: 

 

[sejr99999 8,370]

17 minutes ago, justforfun said:

Let me know if your sims get lost less with this: 

 

thanks for this  it will be a perfect complement to BigMac's navigarden from way back in 2003

[justforfun 7,927]

36 minutes ago, sejr99999 said:

thanks for this  it will be a perfect complement to BigMac's navigarden from way back in 2003

Blimey, I didn't even know someone had had the same idea! Nice spotting!

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

A last look at Scotch Pines(hits delete button)-

[Dreadnought 8,231]

Yo, guys --

I hesitate to mention it -- but the work on the "Imperial Dockyards Series" is continuing. 

"AP" and I have both been bogged down with personal business for the last five months or so -- and it has begun to seem that our optimistic goal of publishing both a "CJ" and "Prop Packs" is "a bridge too far".  But I push on......

I'm just putting the finishing touches on the text for Chapter 46, and created this scene in the Cuxhaven map to give me some more art work to include.

This is the Imperial German battlecruiser SMS Lutzow taking on coal in the shallows of Schillig Roads while on picket duty.  The handsome battlecruiser is courtesy of @Barroco Hispano.  "Picket Duty" was performed by one or more battlecruisers on a rotating basis so that at least two capital ships might respond if German light forces out in the Bight were attacked.  Due to the tidal nature of the estuary, picket ships had to anchor where they had access to the deep-water channel to the sea at all times.  Sometimes, this meant taking on coal and other stores from lighters.  Here you see a gathering of tugs and coal lighters on either beam of the warship to get the coal aboard in the shortest time possible.

The shore and sea islands are done with terra-forming, textured with the Poseidon MOD, and "painted" with MMP work.  You will notice the small green channel buoys marking the edge of the shallows.  Thor Class harbor tugs are standing by the coal lighters lashed alongside the battlecruiser, while two paddle tugs standby to remove the empties as the coal is shifted aboard.  The channel buoys, mooring buoys, tugs, and lighters are all the beautifully detailed work of @AP .

[sejr99999 8,370]

thank you for continuing this project  I have been very interested in the early 20th century as long as I can remember and you have captured the feel of naval ports of that era

incredible attention to detail & accuracy (as much as possible within the constraints of SC4) and some beautiful props that hopefully will be available in future

I can almost smell the coal smoke

[Dreadnought 8,231]

2 hours ago, sejr99999 said:

thank you for continuing this project  I have been very interested in the early 20th century as long as I can remember and you have captured the feel of naval ports of that era

incredible attention to detail & accuracy (as much as possible within the constraints of SC4) and some beautiful props that hopefully will be available in future

I can almost smell the coal smoke

Yo, my friend --

I have been fascinated with naval warfare for as long as I can remember, and my first studies into WW I began at age nine.  I have made considerable study of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods (military, social, and economic), as well as Wilhelmine Germany.  I was impressed by the appearance of the Imperial German Navy from the very first, and gradually grew to understand and appreciate their superb design and superior combat qualities.  My research has stretched far and wide and I have file cabinets and bookshelves full of data collected from all over the world.  The "Cuxhaven" map tile focuses on the "Evolution of the Imperial German Battlecruisers" -- my particular area of expertise. 

Let me add that @AP is also fascinated with the period and shares my interest (Thank The Gods).  Without him, the full scope of this project would never have been possible.  "AP" is the most gifted modeler I have ever encountered and he wishes to share his work with the community -- and I will be happy to help him share the things that have made me so very happy.  My gift is being able to take his beautiful models and make scenes out of them for the game -- then provide a historical stage upon which to showcase them.

We are planing on hundreds of models to be published on two large map tiles -- "Cuxhaven" and "Bremerhaven" -- and Cuxhaven is nearing completion.  (We still have some modeling to do.)  I have written the text for 24 "chapters" of Cuxhaven (129,700 words and 396 illustrations -- so far) and I'm far from finished.  (I begin the Battle of Jutland tomorrow.)  The plan is to release prop packs in conjunction with each chapter. 

I wish we could have started publication sooner -- but this is, after all, something "AP" and I do in our spare time.  (And it is a massive project!)  He has a full-time day job -- and though I'm retired -- I write professionally to keep body and soul together.  (And with inflation being what it is -- I write considerably more than in the past.)  So we do the best we can with juggling our "real world" lives.

But the "Imperial Dockyard Series" will continue.  I can smell the coal smoke, feel the sea spray on my face, and feel the ship tremble when the big guns roar.  I tell myself that, in another life, I must have stood on the bridge of one of those battlecruisers.

I just hope I can make you feel a little of that...

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

16 hours ago, Dreadnought said:

Yo, my friend --

I have been fascinated with naval warfare for as long as I can remember, and my first studies into WW I began at age nine.  I have made considerable study of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods (military, social, and economic), as well as Wilhelmine Germany.  I was impressed by the appearance of the Imperial German Navy from the very first, and gradually grew to understand and appreciate their superb design and superior combat qualities.  My research has stretched far and wide and I have file cabinets and bookshelves full of data collected from all over the world.  The "Cuxhaven" map tile focuses on the "Evolution of the Imperial German Battlecruisers" -- my particular area of expertise. 

Let me add that @AP is also fascinated with the period and shares my interest (Thank The Gods).  Without him, the full scope of this project would never have been possible.  "AP" is the most gifted modeler I have ever encountered and he wishes to share his work with the community -- and I will be happy to help him share the things that have made me so very happy.  My gift is being able to take his beautiful models and make scenes out of them for the game -- then provide a historical stage upon which to showcase them.

We are planing on hundreds of models to be published on two large map tiles -- "Cuxhaven" and "Bremerhaven" -- and Cuxhaven is nearing completion.  (We still have some modeling to do.)  I have written the text for 24 "chapters" of Cuxhaven (129,700 words and 396 illustrations -- so far) and I'm far from finished.  (I begin the Battle of Jutland tomorrow.)  The plan is to release prop packs in conjunction with each chapter. 

I wish we could have started publication sooner -- but this is, after all, something "AP" and I do in our spare time.  (And it is a massive project!)  He has a full-time day job -- and though I'm retired -- I write professionally to keep body and soul together.  (And with inflation being what it is -- I write considerably more than in the past.)  So we do the best we can with juggling our "real world" lives.

But the "Imperial Dockyard Series" will continue.  I can smell the coal smoke, feel the sea spray on my face, and feel the ship tremble when the big guns roar.  I tell myself that, in another life, I must have stood on the bridge of one of those battlecruisers.

I just hope I can make you feel a little of that...

What a coincidence! I've been on a boat! My grandpappy joined the Navy in 1918. Didn't see any action, just troop and supply transport. Must have been bored to tears, as he had time to hand-carve an eagle that hangs on my wall to this day. "C'mon Germany! Just one UBoat so I get 1 story out of this!"

[Odainsaker 2,137]

Coincidentally, when not studying out maps with mountains, my similar fascination with pre-WWI German seafaring lead me to create an accurately scaled giant region of Hamburg:

Yikes, it's another big region, with this full region view image reduced to 25% of the original size just so it can be uploaded to Imgur.  I am actually a sucker for the romanticism of the era of the great ocean liners, and so this map was specifically framed around Hamburg and Bremen, Germany's two leading ports and homes of the Hamburg-America and Norddeutscher Lloyd lines.  This is also the core of old Hanseatic League of the Age of Sail, and the Baltic port of Lübeck is included to reimagine the multi-city trading connections of the Hanse.

(Photo of Hamburg-Museum painting taken by Margret Pirzer on Flickr)

Imagine my surprise when framing the map when I saw the Jade Bight and realized Wilhelmshaven easily fitted in the map too!

Cuxhaven is at the mouth of the Elbe River, and we can see the deeper channel into the Elbe that allowed Cuxhaven to become an ocean liner terminus, with special rapid trains to Hamburg.  HAPAG even sponsored the commercial passenger use of early zeppelins, with Hamburg Airport having been originally laid out early as a zeppelin airport.  Nordholz near Cuxhaven was main base for Imperial navy zeppelins.  Dreadnoughts, ocean liners, and zeppelins...the Kaiser would love it even more than the upturned ends of his imperious mustache!

Alternative test croppings of this map included Heligoland, Kiel, and the full Kiel Canal linking Germany's two main naval bases separated on different seas, but only with the sacrifice of Bremen and the sidelining of Hamburg.  Another alternative cropping reached Hannover, but at the sacrifice of Lübeck and Wilhelmshaven.  Bremerhaven, Oldenburg, Jever, Lüneburg, Münster, and Neumünster can all be found within the current map.

As noted in the amazing Jade Bight city journal, the Wadden Sea in this region is very shallow and noteworthy for its sands banks, mudflats, and tidal islands.  I don't want that aspect lost in the map even as I try to accommodate the water depth quirks of the SimCity game with actual bathymetry here from EMODnet, and I think I now have a strategy that I can rework into a regular procedure.  I know, I need to finish these maps and upload them somewhere, even if their filesizes are too large for the STEX.  Actually, before any of that happens, I am slowly compiling a step-by-step guide using Vancouver as an example model, so that players can see and directly follow the complete process:

This Vancouver region has a rich variety of topographic elements, particularly a lofty major mountain, so it makes for a useful test case.  I don't really expect many players to make or play regions at this extreme size, but the process works just as well on normal maps.  Barring hand editing of detail areas, it can nowadays be done in an evening using existing, updated freeware tools and publicly available, better standardized data, with the intimidating MicroDEM aspects such as shown above actually taking only a few minutes using simple, specific functions.  Of the two regions above, I have not yet hand-drawn anything on the Hamburg map, while the Vancouver map has so far had only some hand editing around Pitt Lake and the Pitt River near the center of the map, and I do want to finish editing the entire Vancouver map as part of the eventual guide.  The rest is really just combined data processed into a form useable by SimCity.

 

[AP 3,591]

11 hours ago, Odainsaker said:

Coincidentally, when not studying out maps with mountains, my similar fascination with pre-WWI German seafaring lead me to create an accurately scaled giant region of Hamburg:

 

This is amazing, Jade-bight, Elbe and Weser entrance are super prominent.

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

Calander Islands