Reach

[Stevphfeniey 35]

So, after some hiatus from SimCity 4, and consequently Simtropolis itself, I've decided to return to the game with a little something I've been working on: Reach. Or more officially: The Independent State of Reach, more history on that later. Basic premise was if Hong Kong, Macau or Singapore were done in a Western setting, a little city state with all of your favourite American architecture. I haven't much, but here's something to keep the Simtropolites pleased.

 

 

 

 

I'm hoping for more very soon, probably an update that goes into the history of Reach. And maybe a shiny banner, if I ever get around to it. 

[wwetom1 831]

A very good start to a CJ! There's definitely a Chicago flavor to your city.

 

Welcome back to ST and good luck with your CJ!

[TekindusT 3,809]

The seaport shot looks very promising! We want to see more!

[Stevphfeniey 35]

So, I've finally gotten around to updating and whatnot with this: 

 

 

As promised, this update is dedicated to the (abridged) history of Reach, and all of its wonderful (abridged) detail. At least the first bit of it. But first, replies.

 

REPLIES:

 

wwetom1: Yeah I spent the previous four years of my life living in Chicago, so I may or may not have been inspired by it. Besides, Chicago strikes me as the archetypal "American" city. But yeah, thanks for being the first person to care enough to comment on this.

 

TekindusT: Your wish is my command, here's more. 

 

 

ACTUAL UPDATE: 

 

 

To start here is an old photo taken some time in the past of Reach's city government complex that I found in the attic. I'm pretty sure it was built some time in the 30s after the end of something like the third war Reach had with the Oceanian Empire. Needless to say we the two countries don't much like each other, why? More on that in a minute. Also note the old Reach College building in the bottom left hand side of the picture, which was moved in its entirety to DeWitt Point. More on that later.

 

Anyhow, why doesn't the Oceanian Empire much like Reach? Well, in the sixteenth century, Oceania (its name derived from King Oceanus I, its legendary founder guy) was in a great age of discovery, with brave, swashbuckling and often alcoholic explorers being cast across the Oceanian continent in search of new lands. One of these men, was Abraham DeWitt, a native of Oceania's capitol. Here is a painting of him:

 

 

DeWitt was given a not so substantial amount of gold and silver by the noblemen of the capitol and told to head due East for as far as he could go, in hopes that he would never return. Well, turns out that DeWitt and his party of sixty associates eventually reached the furthest point East on the continent, promptly claiming it for Oceania. He returned a hero, much to the chagrin of his charges. Reach's name actually derives from its ye olde name of "The Furthest Eastern Reach of the Oceanian Empire". Just a fun fact. Anywho, a much more inspirational statue of DeWitt was erected during the nineteenth century after Reach's independence. As seen here: 

 

 

The old college building was moved during the 80s and turned into a museum dedicated to this mediocre man. Now it serves as a place of dread for every school boy and girl in the nation, as visiting Point DeWitt is a de facto mandatory school trip. I myself visited the complex in my youth, spending the day writing profanity into the benches of the museum's food court. 

 

Anyhow, that's enough history for today, more will probably come in the future. So for now, I'll just leave you lot with a mosaic and a teaser, because I know how much ST loves mosaics and teasers. 

 

A shot from smack dab through the centre of downtown. On behalf of the City Government of Reach, its citizens, and that particular street, I apologize for the messy city. 

 

Aforementioned teaser

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Interesting stuff. I like it!!

[Superbacon 380]

The Reach? That name is totally Skyrim related isn't it.

[simcity1999 34]

Nice start!

[Ace3 1,209]

Yeah, I definitely think Chicago rubbed off a bit on you

It's beautiful nonetheless.  I really love that mosaic. I must ask though, is your city lacking in a landfill? (apology not accepted, a beautiful skyline deserves better streets)

[Dazzyls 576]

The tower in the teaser is the Kanton TV Tower in Guangzhou, China, isn't it?

 

This is great work, so keep it up.

[SimCoug 5,972]

Great pics so far - Welcome back.

[Stevphfeniey 35]

 

Well, life has certainly been hectic around this neck of the woods, with the family and I moving into a new home and getting everything good and set up, sort of. And the silly thing is I'm moving again in about a month, but that's for college, so that's OK. Anywho, explanations aside, I felt the need to give all of my loyal fans something to mull over, but first:

 

Replies

 

Schulmanator: I'm pleased that you not only find it interesting, but likable. Thank you very much.

Superbacon: Yeah it does sound a bit Skyrim-esque, does it not? But wrong game reference. Yeah methinks there's going to be a whole boatload of little references throughout the updates. If I ever remember to do them. 

simcity1999: I like nice things

Ace <3 : Landfills are the work of Stan. 

Ultimate727: Yeah, if I ever find the link to it again I'd be happy to give it to you. Anywho, I feel like given your handle you'll enjoy these pics, as well as the next update. But more on that later.

SimCoug: It's good to be back.

 

Right, anywho. I know that in the first update the "teaser" was of that pretty and colourful tower with mysterious gaussian blur, but yeah, no. I basically got bored with working on Reach proper and decided to work on:

 

 

 

It's almost done, just some minor things around the complex I need to get done, and I'll probably go ahead and update on Friday..... or maybe Saturday.... Yeahhhhh....

Anywho, toodles. 

[Stevphfeniey 35]

 

People are a bit disappointing, no comments. But then I realized "Hey, I'm doing this because I think it's fun, why do I need the approval of people I've never met? Who needs comments? That's ridiculous.". Anywho, I decided after some amount of time since the last update, I'd go ahead and update, because I can. 

 

Today we're taking a trip into the industrial heart of Reach: Copperton Borough. Specifically Vermouth International Airport, which, for the most part, calls Copperton its home. The ends of runways 35/17 R/L call neighboring Gateway Borough home. But that's not really important. 

 

Here we have the whole terminal complex of VIA, with Terminals A, B, the abandoned main terminal, Delta Air Lines Maintenance facility, and all three runways.

 

Here we have Terminal A hosting shorter haul flights. It was first constructed, along with the current air traffic control tower and the two main runways, sometime in the 70s, the most significant, and pretty much only, expansion in the airport's history.

 

Here we have the old main terminal building, which served as the only terminal from the 50s until the construction of Terminal A, and intercontinental flights from then until 2004. It's stood decrepit and in the way since then, however there is a plan somewhere in the halls of the Bureau of Bureaucracy to rectify this. Also, there's the DAL Maintenance Facility, and a bit of the industrial area around the airport.

 

Here we see the new control tower under construction in the very centre of the facility. Concerns over the current ATC being too short and not looking cool enough prompted the construction of this. As of now there are rumblings that a new midfield concourse is to be built next to the new ATC and over the crosswind runway 3/21. Nobody really uses that runway anymore anyhow. 

 

And now we have a nice mosaic of the entire terminal facility. Croweded, out of date, and in dire need of replacement. But there's always a plan to rectify this. 

 

Basically, here's your guys' first view (of sorts) of Reach as a whole. The city itself is on the island, but that's another matter for another time. Anywho, you can see where VIA is now, and the two proposed sites. Site A is obviously to the north of the city, and is currently inhabited by hills, suburbs and farms. Site B is to the west, and is also on the coast, much like VIA, and is also a much more developed area of the city. At either site, there will probably be protests against the facility, and some politicians have questioned replacing VIA. However, most of these men and women use a private airport used exclusively be dignitaries, so I doubt they've ever used VIA. Anywho, basically it's an A or B vote, and I'd just like to hear your thoughts on it. 

 

Also, here are two other pictures I thought would be cool to show.

 

My favourite tower in all of Reach: Arcade Quay Tower. At 527 meters, it was the tallest building in the city from 1975 until Reach Tower (the pretty spire building pictured before) was completed in 2012. Although, fun fact: Arcade Quay is actually the small island immediately to the East of the tower, which is where that bridge leads to. It's the private playpen for the rich and snobby right in the heart of the city.

 

The Lutence Science Building, the jewel of the University of Reach, one of the world's foremost acedemic facilities, located in Viery Borough to the northwest of Reach proper. I might have to explain the borough system to you lot one day. Anywho, we'll probably visit UniReach next, unless anybody has any objections.

 

So yeah, that's all for today, or tonight, or this morning, toodles. 

[TekindusT 3,809]

Whoa, that's a really serious airport!! Even though it's not huge, it is quite flawlessly made (perhaps our resident airport expert GMT has some comments to do on it). Also, really cool job with the downtown!