Ocean Point

[comdude21 6]

Thanks for the input MayorWoodMan. I'll continue to make pictures like that.

 

South Baytown (Pop. ~12,000)

 

South Baytown is one of the region's quickest growing towns. Complete with a small downtown area along the Pinewood River, plenty of housing developments in nicely wooded areas, and a good sized industrial park with little polluting industries, it's no wonder that this previously small Pinewood Neck town is growing substantially. The Pinewood Neck is the area of land between the Pinewood River to the west (Almost a mile wide) and the Marshland Bay to the east. Four towns are on the Pinewood Neck: Baytown, South Baytown, part of Ocean Point and East Bayville.

 

This overview of town shows the developed portion of South Baytown. I-68 skirts the western edge of town. The I-68 Pinewood Bridge over the Pinewood River is just out of this picture to the left.

 

ImageShack seems to be having problems right now. I have a close-up of South Baytown that I will post when it is back to normal.

 

Please give your feedback!

[Mikeaut1 261]

I agree. This city journal does need more replies. Just a suggestion- maybe you should download some BATs to spice up your downtowns. The regionals look very good as well. Keep it up!

[K_m_H 0]

looking nice, I like the regionview

[comdude21 6]

Thanks for the feedback. Mike, downloading BATs is a very good idea. However I do not use the plopp mod, so any buildings I download would need to be growable unless they are civic buildings which do not change gameplay. I could download some real-life buildings like Wal-Mart, Burger King, and Toys-R-Us to get some more realism, or some growable tall commercial buildings which could pop up in downtown Ocean Point or in other towns/cities in the region.

Now that I have posted pictures of almost all of the main towns in the region, expect to see more close-ups of important places and nice areas. More eye-candy pictures will be coming soon.

[comdude21 6]

Introduction to the 15 Districts of Ocean Point

 

One thing I have not been able to go into detail about in this journal yet are the districts of Ocean Point. If anyone remembers my Ocean Cove- Palm Shores Region (Images long purged) then you have an idea of what this is. The fifteen districts of Ocean Point are sections of the city. For example, Downtown is one district and Westover Neck is another. The districts give viewers a feel of what the city of Ocean Point is about. The city of North Beach, and some of the larger towns in the region also have districts.

 

I will start with these three district maps of Ocean Point: One of the island portion of the city, one of the Pinewood Neck area north of the Pinewood River on the mainland, and one of the area of Ocean Point on the mainland South of the Pinewood River and along the Inlet. Whenever I refer to a district in the city, one can look at these maps to find out where the area that I'm talking about is.

 

The island districts:

 

Pinewood Neck (North of the Pinewood River) Districts. Please note that the District of Pinewood Neck is separate from the geographical Pinewood Neck even though the district is located on the Neck itself:

 

South of the Pinewood River (Mainland) Districts:

 

 

I also have a word on replies. Please reply if you read this journal! Keeping this journal up takes a lot of work. It doesn't matter what kind of comments you have or whether or not you like this CJ. Thanks.

[Mikeaut1 261]

The downtown picture looks great! Can't wait to see more! But try to keep your industrial zones away from residential zones. It causes pollution and a drop in desirability.

[Dargor 17]

I like the update!

 

I think I wouldn't be able to play the game without all the BAT's and mods... So I somehow admire how you work without all those and still try to make the best of what the game is offering you... And you do well! Your cities have one specific style and it all looks nice...

 

If I have to be extremely critical I could say there are too much roads, and that some things are not that realistic... but it's still a game and not the real world

 

And I know you're young... If I am honest, I don't think I would be able to build such if I was your age. And that's a compliment

[comdude21 6]

Date: 1/17/2005 5:21:34 PM
Author: Mikeaut1

The downtown picture looks great! Can't wait to see more! But try to keep your industrial zones away from residential zones. It causes pollution and a drop in desirability.

quote>

Thanks. Those industrial zones do lower the desirability, good pointing that out. However, I noticed the I-HT doesn't hurt the desirability at all. So hopefully the transition from I-D and I-M to I-HT will come in rapid sucession as the wealth levels of the city continue to increase.

Dargor: Thanks for the compliments. I think the extra roads are due to my attempt to stay away from the grid. It isn't as realistic as I would have liked, but it is more realistic (In my opinion) than an all-out grid structure.

[comdude21 6]

A closer look at some of Ocean Point's Districts

 

Downtown is the largest, densest district in the entire region, not just in the city of Ocean Point. It has seen substantial growth with even a couple of skyscrapers appearing. In a region of around 280,000 residents, the amount of tall buildings in Downtown Ocean Point is realistic, as compared to real world cities.

 

Downtown

On the south end of Downtown is the new Ocean Point Park, a large, state-of-the-art Baseball Stadium facing the ocean. The Stadium fills to the brim on those warm summer nights when the breeze coming off the ocean makes it feel nice. Several apartment buildings and homes had to be demolished in order to make room for the Stadium.

 

 

Turnpike

The Turnpike District is located on Cross Island Blvd. and I-268 goes through the western edge of the district. It is known for its commercial office buildings mixed with nice residential houses.

 

 

Westover Neck

The Westover Neck District is west of Turnpike on the Marshland Bay. It is south of the I-31 Bridge and the Bayside District. It is the second oldest District in Ocean Point (And the whole region, for that matter) to Bayside. The District is larger than just the street jutting out into the Westover Neck itself, a small area of land that juts out into the Marshland Bay.

 

That's all for now. Please reply! This CJ needs more replies, or else I may not be able to update anymore.

[comdude21 6]

Ocean Point- District of Pinewood Neck

 

Pinewood Neck is one of the nicest districts in all of Ocean Point. This district is located on the mainland, north of the Pinewood River, and on the geographical Pinewood Neck as well (The land between the Pinewood River and the Marshland Bay. Pinewood Neck has a marina and there are plans to build another one. It also has plenty of commercial areas, with good access to I-31, Route 19 and the Ocean Point Municipal (Downtown) Airport.

 

North part of the district:

 

South part of the district:

 

Also, please reply! This CJ needs replies to go on. How many times have I had to beg for replies. If nobody likes OP, then please reply telling why you don't like it! I think this CJ is too good to die right now. So please reply!

[jasperdeman.nl 1]

I must admit this CJ is too good to die

Actually this CJ inspired me somewaht to make my own Ocean Point-kinda city, maybe I'll make it a CJ someday.

Keep it up mate!

[Superstar 69]

Once again this CJ keeps on suprosing me, very well done!

[bobinator 0]

I like your diagonal streets next to your downtown. Looks really neat!

[comdude21 6]

Thanks for the compliments.

 

I've gotten back into making signs for the transportation/overview pictures. You may remember the MSPaint-edited transportation maps that I made during last summer. They're back, and better than ever. This first one i made has only state roads in it. I have not gotten around to the Interstate Highway signs yet.

 

Specially designated parkways, boulevards and other main regional routes other than State Roads and Interstate Highways may be given their own signs and inclusion on these maps as well.

 

I also have a close-up of the new Stadium in Ocean Point:

 

 

[Casper3141 60]

Looks great, I cant wait for another update

[comdude21 6]

Regional population hits 300,000, Ocean Point's population hits 100,000

 

Ocean Point and the surrounding region is growing very quickly.

 

The population of the region has recently surpassed 300,000. It is now just over 303,000. This is due mostly to extensive development near the Marshland Bay in Bayside and Bay Cove, north of Ocean Point on the Island. The population in Bayside reached the 30,000 plateau, and the population in Bay Cove jumped from 11,714 to over 20,000. This growth is mainly due to an increasing commercial jobs sector in Ocean Point (Which now has nearly 70,000 commercial jobs), and high-tech industrial areas developing across the region.

 

In the western half of the region, growth has been experienced in South Baytown and Pinewood Banks. Both of these towns have helped add to the growing population of the region. From the air, the western half of the region currently looks like this:

 

The eastern half of the region has experienced the most growth recently. The aforementioned towns of Bayside and Bay Cove have caused the regional population to rise substantially as new housing developments have been going on there. The entire island from North Beach southward is now developed, save for a few heavily wooded areas mainly in East Marshland and East Bayville, which are along the eastern shore of Marshland Bay and the western part of the island.

 

Ocean Point has seen the most growth of any town or city in the region.

 

The population of the city jumped from around 89,000 to 101,064 as the downtown sector continues to grow outward and upward. Much of the city is now zoned Medium Density Residential as opposed to Light Density. For a while Ocean Point was only low-rise residential with larger commercial buildings, but now larger residential buildings are being built in just about every district of the city.

 

The Marshland Mills District on the west side of the island along Marshland Bay has seen quite a bit of growth. Route 71 (N/S Avenue) is the main thoroughfare with I-268 just off to the east. Along Route 71, large apartment buildings and condominiums are being built.

 

Downtown has seen substantial growth as well. A close-up of Downtown Ocean Point:

 

[Iknowu 0]

nice city

[texanpride786 2]

i also think that you need some sort of a commercial landmark in your downtown which will make your downtown look so much better. well i like your city and keep up the good work.

[comdude21 6]

Thanks for the compliments.

 

Texanpride: Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't really like putting Landmarks in my cities. Dunno why, I think maybe because I like all of the buildings in the city to be original. I'm not really worried about skyscrapers.

 

I also have a big question for all you image editors out there. I've been trying to make a map of the region but it always ends up all pixelated and crap. I used the all-off data views from all cities with water and put them together to make a map of the Ocean Point Region. I then outlined and colored in the land areas with white and the water areas with dark blue, giving me this:

 

That is a fairly accurate map of the Ocean Point Region. I couldn't wait to start drawing in the roads and putting in the names of towns in the region on their location on the map. It was fine, I saved and closed the document, opened it up and now it looks like this:

 

 

It's all weird and pixelated on the water! Can somebody help me please? These maps are jpeg images.

 

Thanks

[jasperdeman.nl 1]

Well, I don't know what program you use, but you should save your images in bmp if your using Paint() and only save the image you want on the internet as jpeg. Try that, you might get better results.

Great update btw!

[comdude21 6]

Thanks for the help jasperdeman.nl! I am using MSPaint. However it still will not work. I went into the map, saved it as a bmp image and it helped nothing. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, it might take a lot of help before I can get this . I did try something though. I edited a map without roads/town names on it and noticed that it doesn't get all pixelated until after I save and close the image then go back into it. Weird, eh?

 

I tried doing it without exiting the map, so it is open as I type this:

 

 

And again it looks all pixelated!!!!ARGH! Sorry, but I need more help....

 

A normal update coming soon.

[Mikeaut1 261]

I think MSPaint is not the best picture editor to be honest. All of my creations came out pixelated with a colored background. I think the best way to make maps like that is to have Photoshop or some other advanced picture editor/creator.

[comdude21 6]

Well after all that, the map finally works! It's a gif image. Mike, even though MSPaint isn't the best photo editor by any means (You're right) it can still get the job done. Many thanks to jasperdeman.nl and horrorkid64 for help with this map.

 

 

Tell me what you think!

[oroen 0]

I hear you on the MSPaint dilemma. But I'm loving the maps and signs and stuff. I haven't seen this CJ yet; it's quite excellent. I like the little bit of development jutting out in Westover Neck. Also, it's okay to have residential areas near industry, if you don't mind having R$. That sort of thing exists everywhere and IMO adds to the overall quality of your city; that is to say, not everything needs to be pretty for a city to be good.

[comdude21 6]

Thanks for the input oroen.

I'm having trouble posting images now. What happened to rich text and plain text? It's all gone, and now the insert image thing is all weird too. What's going on?

EDIT: I figured out how to post in the normal mode using a link to ImageShack, so I will be able to post updates now.

The Update

I'm working on North Beach. It's one of the fasted growing areas in the region. This update is the first in a series of three North Beach updates.

North Beach Municipal Airport has helped the town become more of a city instead of a small town.



This is what North Beach looks like from an airplane. Major routes have signs, although I haven't gotten good interstate highway signs yet so I-568 will not have a sign for now. Each of the city's districts are shown here.



North Beach Pines Country Club, located in the southwestern portion of town, has attracted wealthier residents to the city.

[comdude21 6]

North Beach Update- Part II

All sectors in North Beach have seen extensive growth recently. Downtown North Beach is a great example of this. The downtown area wasn't much more than a few stores and a lot of offices and corporate buildings in an area of grid roads. However, North Beach Municipal Airport (NBM) has given downtown North Beach a new life.


The North Beach Wildlife Refuge (Part of which is shown in the picture below) is the only preserved land on the island. Even though almost all of the mainland is in its original form, demand has been so high on the island that it has almost completely fallen victim to subdivisions. Now the development extends from the bay to the ocean all the way from the inlet south of Ocean Point to the town of Bay Cove, just south of North Beach.


North Beach University is the only university in the Ocean Point region. It is located just north and west of downtown, near I-568 and the North Beach Wildlife Refuge. The University Park district covers the university as well as much of the surrounding area.

[newyorkrunaway1 110]

WOW, i havent seen this cj yet, its good!!!!

[Mdz1001 0]

This is a very impressive CJ comdude21. However, I hear you on the sign issue. However, I may have a solution. My CJ Binsur is known for its highway signs like this:
https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//2.jpg width=498 align=baseline>
https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//21.gif width=493 align=baseline>
Even with a little practice with MS Paint, you can change the colors like this:
https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//4.gif width=497 align=baseline>
The site I use to get these is here: http://www.kendrick.org/shields-up
Hope this solves your sign problem.

[comdude21 6]

Mdz1001:

Thanks for the help. However I realized that the old signs that I used in this CJ a while ago are still on the old computer and I can get them. Someone custom made them for me a while back. But thanks for the suggestion anyways. That site is pretty neat.


Next Update

One more update is planned for the North Beach major update series. More pictures will be provided soon.


Plans For Future Development

Goal for development is to develop the entire island from North Beach all the way to the southern tip of the island in Ocean Point. I also plan on building another airport in this region, a small municipal type airport on the mainland north of the Pinewood River. It will probably go in the Great Bend-Baytown area.

[comdude21 6]

Update III, the final update in the North Beach Update Series: More Districts

This is the final update that will be part of the North Beach Update Series. From here, I will go on to another town.

North Beach's coastline is one of the nicest beaches in the Ocean Point region. For years, sims have flocked to North Beach during the summer months to vacation here. Nowadays, many of those vacationers live in North Beach all year round because of the great job oppurtunities that exist there. Imagine living at the beach for the whole year!

The Atlantic Beach district is one of the nicest districts in North Beach, and one of the best areas in the entire region. This is what it looks like from the sky on a hot summer's day:



North Beach used to be a haven for dirty and manufacturing industry. In fact, much of the southern portion of the city was polluting industry. This has changed drastically, however, first by the Clean Air Act, and now by the transition to high tech industries. Today, pollution is almost gone in North Beach, and new residential developments have popped up near the industrial areas as there's no more pollution in those areas. The Sprucewood district is one area that has popped up and become a very nice place since the industries have become high tech.



Not all of North Beach's expensive houses are right on the ocean. One of the nicest districts in the city is the Atlantic Crest district. It's just south and east of downtown, near the ocean. In this district are many mansions and nice houses on large lots. Small commercial developments line the main roads with residential areas on the back roads. This district has shown how much suburban-type development is going on in North Beach.



That's all for North Beach. As I said in the previous post, I'm going to do something with airports in the region. Whether I make a new airport somewhere, or even modify the one in North Beach, there will be changes in this area.

The next update will be the State of the Region address. This will give readers a good idea of what is going on in Ocean Point.