Halcyon Sound Revisited

[joerg 278]

Yes i know there is already a Halcyon Sound thread but sense it was last updated alot has changed. First off the biggest change is that MTLT will no longer be able to continue the region and i am in the process of updating his cities and doing more to connect the region. Ok so now that you guys know what is going on i think i am going to start the story over again.

 

Halcyon Sound has long sense been one of the most desireable locations in the great northwest. Located near the Canadian\Alaskan border the area was first inhabitted over 15,000 years ago by nomadic tribed that crossed the bearing straight during the end of the last ice age. With them they braught some of the first stories of the Halcyon a mythical bird of prey often refered to as the calm before the storm. The bird means many things to many people but to the natives of the time the Halcyon was a sign of calm waters and good fishing.

 

When the nomadic herds finnally arrived in the Halcyon area sometime around 13,000-8,000 BC the area seemed like the perfect home the waters were always calm and the expansive valleys made a great place to live. Today we recognize the area as the cradel of northamerican civilization. It was only 8 months ago that an amazing archeological find was discovered on the construction site of what is now one of the worlds great civil projects, The Halcyon Advanced Rapid Transit System or (Hart) for short. During the first phase of construction alot of artifacts began showing up as the construction moved inwards. Around the year 1979 the constructions crews arrived at a rather large archeoligical anomile. It turned out to become the greatest archeological find in the last 100 years. They had found an ancient city one the likes of northamerica shouldnt have had for another 5000 years in centeral america. This would rewrite history as the world had known it.

 

Just as the ancient ansestors of Halcyon had thrived in the area so have the people of today. The year is now 1987 and the Metro area now has a population of close to 700,000 which is to say the least far more impressive than the estimated 3000 nomads living in the halcyon area 1000s of years ago.

The city is perhaps one of the greatest links to North Americas future aswell as its past. The city is encoutering one of the largest economic booms ever wittnessed. In the last 10 years alone over 100,000 people have moved to or been born in the area and city planners and officials dont see the next decade as being much different with estimates of nearly 1,000,000 people in the metro by the late the 90s.

 

Perhaps the first thing you will notice when you arrive in the Halcyon area is that you had to come by boat car or private jet. As of today the airport for this major hub of the canadian northwest doesnt even have its own international airport. However the (HART) transport system is designed to move people between Taigia, Halcyon, and the Airport. Unfortunetly most of the airports plans are still alittle shady but the project is supposed to be completed in 11 years and that was back in 79 when the HART system started construction. You can see in this pic the black representing the raillines alot of which are part of HART.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/Halcyon-Region-View-Tran198.jpg width=800 border=0>

 

After ariving in the city of Halcyon you will notice its a fairly diverse mix of culture as can be seen in downtown Halycons skyline.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/Halycon-Downtown-1986.jpg width=800 border=0>

 

Moving through downtown you can see city hall near the point at the lower right of the image its easily recognizable you just look at the 2 buildings that run parrallell to each other at an angle. Also in the same area you can see Sky Tower the regions 3rd tallest structure it offers what most consider as the best view of the metro you can find from any man made spot in the region. Below Skytower you see the old city hall buildings Hall A the one closest to the bottom was built in 1908 while Hall B was completed in 1967 and is nearly a perfect replica however the city out grew its cityhall and you can see the new one as mentioned above. Moving up the peninsula now you see the areas sleek modern downtown most of the buildings having been completed in the last 10 years. Beyond downtown we see Nomadin Park and the Nomadin Convention ceter. Continueing down requires a new picture.

Even though the station was only finished 2 years ago it looks like an amazing peice of classic european architecture. This design was chosen by a vote by the city and i think everyone is very happy with its eligance so far.

Now lets move down the the coast alittle before we head back up towards Taigia in the north. Here we have a pic of the massive Halcyon Sound Area Harbor Facitility it finished a massive overhaul about 4 months ago and has sense been operating at nearly double its previous capacity.

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/Harbor.jpg width=800 border=0>

 

Now i guess we can move back up this time to Eastlake perhaps the nicest area to live in the region. East lake is only a short 10min drive out of downtown Halcyon and is the gateway to the beautiful Caspian Coast. First up is a picture of the areas buissness district.

Moving North through East Lake we find well East Lake which is the largest freshwater lake in the area Its also home to a very upscale marina as can be seen in this pic.

Well past Eastlake most of the area is still new developement and empty space but if you follow the HART up far enough about 20km you will find Parkland Hills a large suburb of Taigia the regions second largest city. Unfortunetly last year an earthquake rocked Taigia at 6.5 on the rictor scale and the city is still alittle messy and as such the mayor has asked us not to show any current pics of the area so instead we will show a picture of Parkland hills.

Anyway that should be about it for now. The area is growing like crazy and im sure another update will come soon. So i will leave off with a nice region pic.

 

 

[MTLT_17 26]

Hey,

 

WOW that is more then I could have ever expected. I know that was our region, but I can hardly tell anymore. You have done great work so far. I can't wait for the next update and neither can the rest of Simtropolis. Great work.

 

-MTLT

 

P.S.>Thanx for fixing up my cities.

[carson775 10]

Nice region. i like the burbs. You should fill in the rest of the land with trees, because you can tell were the borders are. good luck

-carsizzle

[JasonW 0]

Of the few regions I've seen of yours, this one is probably the best yet.  Looks like you have spent a lot of time with creating and detailing the major attractions such as the rail station, the marina, the downtown waterfront prominade, and the industrial harbour. Those are the kinds of things that make journals stick out to me.  Some people really need to take some inspiration from these kind of ideas, as there are far too many journals today that have nothing but generic crud in them.  It just takes a little time and some creative thinking and great things can happen as this region proves.

[K_m_H 0]

one of the best looking regions I have ever seen.. and it's HUGE. i really like that port and trainstation and the suburbs.

[+Guest]

Your region is just looking more beautiful every update. BTW, how did you get your zones colored in the transportaion view ?

[ginchael 1]

This looks VERY cool.  Are those suburban valleys I see?  That makes me think of California...Keep up the good work.

[Obiwan 0]

Very cool region but it must take forever to save given the size and population.

[spants 0]

Beautiful reagion, and I love the realistic layout of your city's borders. Very serene from the region view!

Is the region had-terraformed, or is there a greyscale you'd be willing to share?

[andrew george 0]

Very nice so far, keep up the good work.....

[AfroThunda 1]

Well, I enjoy all your regions and this one is no exception. I just hope it'll live a long life, for whatever reason your Cj's live a short life. I hope this one will be different.

 

  -Afro

[Llama_Sim 0]

Very Impressive! The region is so beautiful, and I wish I could live there! I can't wait to see more!

[joerg 278]

Ok its time for the next update. The year is now 1989 and the clean up from the 1985 earthquake in Tegea is nearly complete. Infact the earthquake created a great economic boom in the area as alot of the buildings that were damaged have finished renovations or have been torn down and new structures put in there places. The skyline is really beginning to rival Halcyons with the new economic boom aswell as added pressure that the newly finished and opened HART system place on the city. With HART commuters can move between the cities with a quick 20 min rail travel. Anyways here is Tegea.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/Tegea-Downtown.jpg width=800 border=0>

 

Next up we move down to the Caspian Coastal area. The Caspian Coast starts at the edge of Halcyons downtown and wraps all the way up to Downtown Tegea the area boasts some of the heighest land values in a 300 mile radius. You can take Highway 1 all the way around the coast from Tegea to Halcyon also note the Caspian Straight Suspension Bridge, it is one of the longest in the world and it boasts the highest suspension towers of any bridge of its kind as the water reaches a depth of around 320 feet where the piers meet the ocean floor. You can see the bridge in a later pic. But first here are some of the lush coastal valley suburbs this pic comes from the area of westfalls.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/Coastal-Burbs.jpg width=800 border=0>

 

And finnally a satelite photo taken in 1988 which shows alot of the regions developement however you cant see north Tegea or South Halcyon nor can you see the airports construction site.

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/Halcyon-Sound-Region-1988.jpg width=800 border=0>

[Superstar 69]

Wow, the region view looks so real! I just love that last pic!

[Casper3141 60]

good god....that region is MASSIVE but looks greathow long did it take you to tree that region n-e-ways keep up the good work i cant wait to see a update

[MTLT_17 26]

Hey all,

 

I know how you guys are saying how massive that region is, that is one reason I had to bac out. It took way to long to load a city. Anyway all you can see in the last pic is 1 quarter of the region that give ya a measure to size it by. Great update Joerg. Keep em coming.

 

-MTLT

[+Guest]

This is just awesome!!

 

Where are those bunnies guys?!

 

[villarule 2]

that region is stunning, well done!!

[joerg 278]

Ok well after much planning and contruction the airport finnally was completed this year although a year behind the 1989 completion it was slightly underbudget.

Visitors will be begin arriving at the airport in may of this year. Here are the pics.

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/HALT-aerial.jpg width=800 border=0>

The airports name is HALT international simply a mix of Halcyon and Tegea the city council voted for it last week as the final choice.

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/HALT-Night.jpg width=800 border=0>

[Skippydam73 0]

Date: 6/27/2004 9:09:25 PM
Author:

Hey all,

I know how you guys are saying how massive that region is, that is one reason I had to bac out. It took way to long to load a city. Anyway all you can see in the last pic is 1 quarter of the region that give ya a measure to size it by. Great update Joerg. Keep em coming.

-MTLT

quote>


Awesome work Joerg and MTLT. I love what you did to the Pismo Beach region. I had to do a double take because it was changed slightly but it does have an Alaskan look to it. And thanks for the credit MTLT, I just noticed that in your first CJ on this. Ill keep watching this one.

[MTLT_17 26]

Hey,

 

Nice work joerg! That is fabulous I think u should add a region pic next time of the airport. But great work so far. Keep up the great work, and don't stop. This could be the best CJ u have ever had.

 

-MTLT

 

P.S. Your welcome Skippy for the recognation.

[Tunafish 48]

The Airport master Himself. Very Nice!

[Motina 77]

What terrain mod are you using, Joerg? I can't seem to find it.

 

[Ok, found it. Turned out to be a beach mod/lot]

 

By the way, nice region.

[+Guest]

In your region overview shot the highways are visible.. That's not with my region

 

Is this a patch/mod? Or has it something to do with detail-settings in SC4?

 

please help me out! I want to start a CJ but that's not complete with a nice region-shot

[Alakazam 3]

Men! that city RULZ! [:0]

[nofunk 1,933]

Joerg and MTLT:

This region is spectacular!!! It's beautiful and very realistic. Great job! I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this journal.

One question though: how did you get the zones to show up in the region view? A mod, I assume?

[jasperdeman.nl 1]

Wow, this is the most realistic city I've ever seen! Althouhg I think your cityborders should be made a little smoother... but other than that, it rules!

[joerg 278]

Wow hmm i havent worked on halcyon in awhile, but not to disapoint i you guys i guess i could show you a glimpse of a city i may work on in the future.

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/Night1.jpg width=800 border=0>

 

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/Park1.jpg width=800 border=0>

 

[andrew george 0]

I wanna see some more of that!

 

A

[Xurros 10]

OMG! Great job joerg!

One of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen!!

The beaches are awesome!

But the water looks different... Is it one of the Joerg's Water Pack?

And I also want to know: How did you get your zones colored in the transportaion view?

Really good!!