Apocrypha

[____----____ 37]

this region has been coming along nicely for a while now I am looking

forward to some more development

 

Alek

[ldvger 19]

Hello folks!

And welcome to page 4!

 

Ok, so, the map is posted on the STEX and so far all anyone there has to say seems to be how stupid I am...how kind. 

 

I followed the directions to the best of my understanding, but obviously I didn't understand enough.  I created a greyscale of the screenshot, but now I learn I needs a bird's eye view greyscale.  How do I accomplish that?  Anyone have any clues that might make sense to me?

 

The other suggestion is to post the entire region file, the entire folder, to the STEX, but I find no way that I can understand on the STEX upload page to do this.  There are 3 boxes I can place my upload information into: screenshot, bitmap, and greyscale.  Where would I place my region folder? 

 

Early on in this CJ, I recieved criticism from some folks for using my CJ as a seeking help forum and I anticipate more of same, now that I have once again run into a technical snag.  But, the game is designed to be a learning experience, so hopefully people will be patient with me as I go about the learning process.

 

Lora/LD

[ldvger 19]

Hello folks!

And welcome to page 4!

 

Ok, so, the map is posted on the STEX and so far all anyone there has to say seems to be how stupid I am...how kind. 

 

I followed the directions to the best of my understanding, but obviously I didn't understand enough.  I created a greyscale of the screenshot, but now I learn I needs a bird's eye view greyscale.  How do I accomplish that?  Anyone have any clues that might make sense to me?

 

The other suggestion is to post the entire region file, the entire folder, to the STEX, but I find no way that I can understand on the STEX upload page to do this.  There are 3 boxes I can place my upload information into: screenshot, bitmap, and greyscale.  Where would I place my region folder? 

 

Early on in this CJ, I recieved criticism from some folks for using my CJ as a seeking help forum and I anticipate more of same, now that I have once again run into a technical snag.  But, the game is designed to be a learning experience, so hopefully people will be patient with me as I go about the learning process.

 

Lora/LD

[jacqulina 162]

i am sure someone will be able to help after all we are all a family here at simtropolis and there are so sooo many helpfull people

[tungston 19]

LD:  I am not going to chastise you.  OK, you can't do what you want to do with the grayscale.  The color levels won't be right, as water is the darkest, and of course the peaks the lightest, as the elevation increases so would the shades of color.  Since your region has lots of trees that are of the same color, that would make that area almost flat.

To sum it up it just ain't goin'a work.  And you won't be able to use the STEX to upload the region files, much too big.  Even if it was allowed, it would take hours, if ever, to upload on this site.

 

[ldvger 19]

Ok, so I guess I can't upload the site to the STEX.  Maybe, now that I have zipped the region folder, I can upload it here? 

 

It's worth a try...

 

Didn't work.

 

Oh well, I tried. 

 

If you want the region file, and have the dependencies to support it, email me, I'll send it to you.  At this point, that's the best I can do.

 

Now I have to figure out how to withdraw a map from the STEX....

 

Lora/LD

[Kwakelaar 92]

I can not help you with the uploading other than wishing you good luck!

And again your work with the map looks fantastic.

Tungston, thanks!

[ldvger 19]

Hello everyone!

Well, I fired off a bunch of PM's to folks around the website last night, asking for help, and the upshot is, it ain't gonna work.  The file is simply too large to make available as a download directly from this site, period.  Nuthin' I can do about it, sorry.

 

However, if anyone wants to attempt to build on this terrain as it currently exists, I can and will privately email the entire region file to you.  The file is almost 50 MB, zipped, so your own email capabilities will have to be able to recieve a file that large.  I think all you would have to do, once you recieve the file, is save or copy it into the SC4/Regions folder in MY Documents, then render as usual, but I'm not certain as I have not tried this myself yet. 

 

So, if you think your email can handle to file attachment, PM me and we will exchange email addys and I'll send you the file.  Best I can do...I hope it's enough.

 

In other news, I am hoping to find time to copy my CJ region into a new folder on my hard drive, so that I mat practice using Mayor Mode terraforming tools without messing up the current map, in the next day or two.  Once I am certain I can play around without harming the region, I'll start learning the Mayor Mode tools I need.  My RL schedule is solid for the next 4-5 days, tho, so my play time will be late at night and I don't anticipate having another update for at least a week.  But who knows...like many SC4 fans, I am a chronic insomniac, so maybe it will only be a day or two?

 

Anyway, thank you all for your support and help getting this CJ this far, I really appreciate it. 

 

Lora/LD

[jacqulina 162]

thanks for trying

[tungston 19]

LD:  I don't think any email agent will allow more than 10MB [usually just less], you will need to break it down into smaller zips.  A few cities in each one. The config.bmp, and the region.ini with one of the zips.

[ldvger 19]

Hi folks-

Just a short little update to let you know that I am still a few days away from beginning my experiments with Mayor Mode terraforming.  I am up against a RL deadline of 11 a.m.  Tuesday morning and will be working close to round the clock until then, and will need to find some much-needed sleep after the deadline is met. 

 

So, sometime Wednesday I will begin my foray into this next phase of my CJ.  The good/bad news is, I have a very light RL workload once I complete this current project, so I should be able to spend lots of time working on the CJ when I should be spending time finding new work, LOL.

 

Lora/LD

[ldvger 19]

Hello folks!

Sorry to have once again seemed to abandon my CJ, but you know how crazy this time of year can be (or at least, I hope you do).  After finishing my RL project this last Monday night/morning, on time, I decided to take a few days off...a luxury I have not enjoyed since sometime in August.  The joys of being self-employed are many, but sometimes having more than a few hours to yourself can seem to be an unreachable fantasy.  So, when the last 9 days of December suddenly opened up before me with no work, I have to admit I took advantage and did a whole lot of nothing for a few days. 

 

And while I was stressing about not having work and thinking I should be spending time finding new work, I admit...I didn't.  And, wouldn't you know it...work found me.  No rest for the wicked, I guess.  In the space of 4 days I went from semi-panic mode over a lack of work to once again being slammed with new work.  There really is a Santa Claus!

 

Regarding my CJ, I have been working with the various Major Mode forms of terraforming for the past few evenings, but I have not liked the results and so have not saved any of my work.  I have been wanting to create natural looking creeks and streams coming down out of my many snow-covered mountains...create a realistic looking watershed system...but so far my efforts have left very much to be desired.  I am finding myself in want of a water tool that I can control and vary the same way I can the God Mode terraforming tools work.  I want to be able to create very small watercourses in the higher elevations of my map and have them grow in size as they descend to lower elevations and join other small watercourses.  To do this, I need to be able to paint watercourses across the landscape and vary my brush for width and depth of the watercourse.  Yeah, dream on.

 

So...I am thinking about delving into the world of Mods.  There are a few God Mode mods available, so I know cracking open the God Mode toolbar is not impossible.  Cycledogg's Columbus mods are the best example of this...and a set of mods I made full use of to this point in my CJ.

 

Jeronij is one of my biggest inspirations in the game.  He just keeps tackling one aspect of the game after another, diving into unknown territory to be able to build the cities of his dreams.  He posts his learning experiences in his CJ's and his fans encourage him.  He won an extremely well-deserved Trixie for best City Journal (for Sculpting Columbia Valley), but if any of you have read even a small part of SCV you know that he sometimes let his CJ go to explore the development tools inculded with the game. 

 

I am thinking I may spin off a bit in much the same way.  This game really needs a good water tool.  Earlier versions of the game had above-sea-level water tools and this game needs one, too.  Too many of the hard-core players (among which I count myself), feel this lack.  I am certain it can be developed given the tools that came with the game.  So, I have decided I am going to try. 

 

This is a bit of a sea change in direction for this CJ.  It may be this is the end of this CJ.  It may be that what I hope to accomplish now is better posted under another forum.  Then again, maybe folks who read this CJ will enjoy watching me learn and, if my efforts bear fruit, will be among the first to have access to this new water tool I am hoping to develope. 

 

Time will tell.  So long as anyone responds to my posts here, I will continue to update, no matter what I am doing elsewhere. 

 

But for now, I am off to try to learn how to make a God Mode water tool...

 

I'll be back in a couple of days to report my progress.

 

Lora/LD

 

 

[Goldfish4209 9]

woah

 

that's nice. can I have the map? terraformed and all with trees? those are the PEG god mode trees right? my email is Goldfish4209@yahoo.com Thanks!

[ldvger 19]

Hi folks-

 

Sorry to be absent for so long.  News to share, but first a reply:

 

Goldfish-

 

The file can't be sent as a single download as it is way too large.  I have two other folks waiting for me to break it up into smaller packets that can be sent in separate zips then re-assembled on thier end.  My RL schedule is fairly compact right now, so, finding time to break the region into managable zip files hasn't happened yet.  I hope to find time within the next week or so and would be more than happy to add you my my list.

 

Be aware, tho, that there are a number of dependencies this map requires and you will have to download them and install them if you want the region to render exactly as shown here.  The most important one is Cycledogg's Columbus Terrian Mod.  This is not an easy mod to install, but it controls all my rock/stone textures, all my trees, and all the understory plant growth.  Second in importance is Jeronij's and DarkMatter's Snow Mod.  I would suggest you download both of these mods from the STEX before attempting to download and install my region, as both can be a bit tricky (they both have multiple settings). 

 

And now, for other news.

 

I have not given up on my quest to create a new mod for above sea level water but have come to realize it is going to be a long-term project.  Not wanting to keep this CJ on hold indefinitely while I try to develope this new tool, I have decided this CJ will instead go forward with existing above sea level tools.  So, I will return to my experiments with the Mayor Mode water tools and hopefully have a new pictoral update to post withing the next few days.

 

Again, sorry for having gotten sidetracked for a while.

 

Lora/LD

[jacqulina 162]

wonderfull news looking forward to more updates

[simster6 0]

Great past updates, the terraforming is great and I can't wait to see more development.

[ldvger 19]

Hello folks!

No new update to post yet, I am still being distracted by my desire to create a new God Mode water tool and have started a discussion thread over in the Modding-Open Discussion forum if you care to tune in and watch to see what developes.  With a CJ to create, a lot of learning to accomplish about custom game creations, AND an busy RL, well, you can guess how much time I have for all three (and what takes priority).

 

Some good news to post, I think.  Jacqulina and I have been corresponding via email, trying to figure out how to make my Apocrypha region available to folks who may want to install it to thier game and try to build on this challenging terrain.  As I was warned, the region is too large to be sent as a single zipped email attachment (tried that), so I finally found time to break the region down into 5 zip files of 10MB or less.  I emailed them off to Jacq this morning and am waiting to hear if she was able to load the region into her game.  It worked when I emailed them to myself, but the true test is emailing them to a completely different computer, so hopefully I will know within the next day or two if this works or not.  Jacq, if your reading here, will you be so kind as to post and let folks know your experience with the zipped region files? 

 

Other news:  I am currently shopping the STEX, looking for and downloading those lots I think will fit with this next stage on my CJ's development.  Keeping in mind that this region is supposed to exist someplace in Alaska, I am going to try to develope it as close to realistic lines as I can.  That means, I will not be developing cities as such right away, but will rather be developing very rustic industry and residential areas first.  Think logging, fishing, mining.  Commercial interests will all cater to supplying this industrial/residential base. 

 

I also want to create some rivers across some of the wider valleys.  Problem is, all the valleys end at the sea and so any rivers I make will have to end there, also and so far no one has figured out a good way to meld game water with plopable water.  This game REALLY needs a God Mode water tool!

 

That's all for now.  Of to do more shopping and maybe some river-making.

 

Lora/LD

[ldvger 19]

I forgot to add, when writing about the (hopeful) availability of the region, that I will be more than happy to share my CJ space with anyone who also wants to develope this region.  I think it would be fun and very interesting to see the different directions others may take with the same landscape.  I only ask that, should you choose to give the region a try and decide to post your results here, that

1.) you host all your images off-site and keep them to the 800x600 limit this site requires.  Please don't fill my CJ with little red boxes with x's in them?  If you don't know how to host images off site and size them properly, there are many tutorials available on the site to help you.  I didn't know how when I started this CJ, and it took me some time (and help) to figure it out.  I have already tested the patience of my readers enough with my own learning experience, please don't test them further. 

 

2.) you remember that this is my CJ and please be sensitive about my offer to share this space with you.  If you get really caught up in developing your region and want to share it...start your own CJ?  It is not my intent to turn this CJ into a forum for the development of the Apocrypha region...

 

3.) you credit both Flamesrock and myself for the region, should you spin your own project off into your own CJ.  Flamesrock for the original map and myself for the extensively hand-terraformed map.

 

Thanks!

 

Lora/LD

[jeronij 13]

Hello Lora,

I just wanted to suggest you to use  www.yousendit.com  to send those big files. You can send up to a GB using this web page. And free .

I hope this helps.

 

Happy New Year !!!

 

(I

[ldvger 19]

Jeronij-

Thank you so much for the link to this great site!  I am sure it will help a lot.

 

Lora/LD

[Cjah 15]

Well hopefully there will be an update soon.

 

Good job so far!

[ldvger 19]

Cjah-

I am working on an update and hopefully it will finish soon.  Also wanted to tell you one of my 3 cats is named Seijah, which might (or might not) sound like your screen name.  In the instance of my cat's name, a seijah is a term of respect and honor given to the eldest female sibling in a Chinese family...the matriarch.  I adopted my little boy and girl cat as 8 week old kittens and they are siblings.  At the time, the female was very obviously the elder as she was much larger than the runty little male, and she was very protective of him.  They had been ferals before being captured and taken to the shelter I adopted them from.  The runty little boy was wild and bold and carefree, the older female was very quiet and serious.  I named him MouShou, after the well-meaning but trouble-causing dragon in the Disney film.  A firend of mine, who had traveled to and spent quit a bit of time in China, suggested Seijah as the elder sister's name.  Being both the eldest child and female in my own family, I am also the seijah, so I couldn't help but name my little girl cat accordingly.

 

But, I digress.  Jacqulina emailed me today to tell me she was able to install the region I sent her just fine and that it looks gorgeous to her eyes.  The region comes fully developed per the last updates...there are no grey scale maps  to mess with or config files to worry about.  Just create a new region file and unzip the files to it, then open your game and play.  There are still the dependencies to install ahead of time:

 

Cycledogg's Coulmbus Terrian Mod

The Simolean RH Mod

Jeronij's Snow Mode (low elevation version)

 

Jeronij's snow mod is dependent on Clycledogg's Columbus Terrian Mod, so you must have both, for the region to load as depicted here. 

 

Anyway, if you want a copy of the region, let me know and I'll email it to you.

 

Those of you who have already requested a copy, you at at the top of my list and I will send it to you shortly.

 

Lora/LD

[jacqulina 162]

hi lora yes it is a wonderfull region i cant wait to work on it but i am just admiring it for now till i have more time lol i had all the dependencies allready so it just booted up just fine,thanks again

[ldvger 19]

Jacqulina-

No problem!  Glad we figured out a way to get the region map to you.  I appreciate your patience.

 

And again, once you do begin to build, or maodify the region, please feel free to share here with us.

 

Lora/LD

[jacqulina 162]

thanks and i will share

[ldvger 19]

Hello folks-

 

This is a bit of a sad day for my CJ. 

 

Looking at my RL schedule and how I enjoy playing SC4 most, I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to be able to maintain this CJ. 

 

Architecture is a seasonal business and I started this CJ when business was slow.  Now it is the New Year and my office is overflowing with new work as folks/clients try to rush projects into the various building departments, so they can be in the ground at the earliest possible opportunity this spring.  Most nights I am working until midnight or beyond.

 

I just signed a new client who builds $125 million dollars of homes each year.  I had a busy year last year and this new client is going to double my work load.  I am going to have to hire..and train...help.  Good news for me and my business but very bad news for my CJ.  I will probably continue to play SC4 in the late night hours I have free, but being responsible to a CJ is going to be beyond me, I'm afraid.  

 

I can't tell you how much it hurts me to abandon my CJ.  Having terraformed the region with such painstaking care, I hope some of you who have requested the region will pick it up and run with it from here. 

 

I'm sorry if I have let anyone down...I didn't fully realize, when I started this CJ, the level of commitment it was going to require.  Now I do and also realize I can't live up to that commitment and maintain my RL commitments at the same time.

 

Lora/LD

[jacqulina 162]

sorry to hear you wont be continuing your cj maybe in the future you might do one good luck

[PhilsCafe 8]

^ I totally back that. I know how hard it is to maintain a CJ. And it's good that you have tried it. This journal has been a great source of inspiration. Good luck in RL.

- Phil

[dev 47]

Lovely stuff, sad to see it must stop...Yet RL is more important, great work, and good luck!

[Goldfish4209 9]

Aww, man. This cj was just getting started! Oh well.