My SC4 CJ Scrapbook | Important update and news!

[coolwiththecool2 827]

Not only is this my favorite cj, but the amount of green in this update made me extra exited. Almost makes me feel like an environmentalist or something lol

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Replies:

 

Hotwheeler: Yeah I wanted some dramatic contrast there. As for the lights they come from one of Mandelsoft's Light Replacement Mods, I think it is the USA version.

 

oci2605823612: Thank you!

 

NMUSpidey: What an amazing coincidence! And it was only a Project Symphony T-interchange.

 

VT_Railroad_Guy: Thanks!

 

JP Schriefer: Thanks a lot! I prefer Maxis night because you can see more, and both Maxis night and Dark night suffer from night light flare from light replacement mods. I may try Dark night to see if this extreme streetlight glare/flare/luminosity looks better.

 

nos. 17:

 

tonyr: Cheers!

 

coolwiththecool2: Thanks, and there's a lot more green in this next update to.

 

 

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Update 68: Xarit Lake

 

The bonanza of greenery continues with a tour around Xarit Park and its lake.

 

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Yet more greenery with the new excessive MMP style I've fallen in love with (for the time being).

 

 

 

And a bit more Eastwards is the offshoot of Xarit Park. I would imagine in the neighbouring tile this park would be extended.

 

 

 

For some reason grassy stretches, in real life, can have patches of different shades of green/yellow which are outliers to the surface of largely green. I tried to emulate this in these grasslands/meadows.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the suburbs to the South-east of One Castle Hill.

 

 

 

If I've said it once I'll say it again- Project Symphony covers all of your innercity highway needs.

 

 

 

 

A pet cemetery. Because Sims believe that little Fido goes up to the Great Kennel in the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trick with MMP flora is to combine two or more items together to create a thick organic look.

 

 

 

A field of poppies. On their own they look really weedy on the naked terrain. But add in some clover and the poppies pop to life.

 

 

 

 

One of the first campsites I created in this game.

 

 

 

Of course Xarit Park gets pretty noisy with the trains passing by every minute.

 

 

 

 

Xannepan's lake terrain brush- the poor man's tool for quickly creating inland lakes. Adding in some of ionionion's OMCo Filling Gravel gives an illusion of depth to the lake.

 

 

 

A fisherman gotta fish.

 

 

 

 

If you wonder why these gravel paths aren't overrun with flora that's because I plopped them down first so I could map out where everything would go in Xarit Park. They're about the only planned thing, the rest was totally improvised on the fly.

 

 

 

Of course creating Xarit Park was an opportunity to further MMP techniques for creating grassland and meadows. Not only do the number of items matter but also the order in which they are plopped in matters! A different order can create a subtle or noticeable difference.

 

 

 

 

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This Friday there will be one last entry from Townshead- Nurdek District. Afterwards there is the dam I've been talking about off and on for the last two months. I just got to build it before New Year, so no pressure!

[MushyMushy 3,618]

Fantastic update! Your nature scenes are always stunning.

[tonyr 926]

So much darn talent! 

 

Happy Holidays Ln X. :kitty:

[Benedict 3,119]

Another great update, and another week at number one on BTT.  Merry Christmas!

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Great update!  The park looks amazing, especially given that it was concocted "on the fly."  I agree, you can't really use a lot of the MMP grasses and flowers unless you layer them.  They look silly alone.

[NielsC007 499]

Stunning!

[Huston 5,799]

Very nifty MMP work. The style really works well, always been a fan of excessive floral MMP

[Mymyjp 1,052]

Extremely well done! I love the diversity of your homes and the pet cemetery....priceless!

[JP Schriefer 5,591]

Fantastic update! Really beautiful city!

[Fasan 35]

Wow - Fantastic MMP works!  

 

(There are also some Pictures here to Krokanien,

but I thinks this has been so far received little attention.   )

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Replies:

 

MushyMushy: Thanks a lot.

 

tonyr: I just spent some time working with MMPs that is all.

 

Benedict: Excellent stuff.

 

NMUSpidey: Thank you. And yes as you said layering is the key to floral MMPs and the secret to making them look awesome.

 

NeilsC007: Thanks.

 

Huston: That's makes two of us.

 

Mymyjp: Cheers!

 

JP Schriefer: Thanks a lot.

 

Fasan: Thank you. Also are you talking about your own CJ on this site? I would have agree with you there, it does not receive the attention it deserves giving the stellar updates you make.

 

 

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Update 69: The Penultimate Update of 2014

 

This will be my last urban update of the year and the penultimate one, while the final one will feature the hydroelectric dam. The last part of Townshead I haven't shown to you is the Nurdek Estate, so here are the last pictures from Townshead as well as a few mosaics to round it all off.

 

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Nurdek Estate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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And now for some mosaics.

 

 

 

[dlsni 156]

you build cities that i would hate so well. paved over, grey, and the way you build your rail is so filthy and imposing. despite the vast green space, it being crammed in between high capacity roads just makes me feel ill.

 

this is a compliment - i think you build ugly cities, but you build ugly cities so beautifully.

[TakemeThere 5,834]

The mosaic with the stadium is totally the money shot.   I love how you put loads of parking around it. I try to do the same around my sporting arenas/stadiums yet it never feels like there's quite enough. But you definitely captured that sense of it being a major venue.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

I was planning on leaving a more unique comment because I already posted this, but then I got to the mosaics and I was like, *sigh*

 

[Mymyjp 1,052]

Couldn't finish the year on a better note....

[packersfan 666]

You must have a backload of updates ready to just post online. How can you put out so much content?!

[JP Schriefer 5,591]

Wonderful update with a impressive mosaic! Great job!

[TekindusT 3,809]

It keeps being awesome!

[Mr.Guilherme 20]

Its cities are incredible, and the touch of nature in the city, makes everything more wonderful.

[tonyr 926]

Another cool update!

[MushyMushy 3,618]

Great update LnX!

 

Where can I nab that oddly shaped building that's next to the New Anfield Stadium in your pics?

[Benedict 3,119]

Nice work - and you're number one for the tenth week in a row on BTT.

[coolwiththecool2 827]

Good lord that last picture is massive

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

Wow!!! I love your city and I love to see my buildings in your city.

[tankmank 853]

Another great update, your mmp work is some of the best 

[nos.17 5,215]

 

 

^^^ OH MY GOD ITS AN IMPOSTOR!! ^^^

 

This can't be Ln X's pic - its an open space with no MMP's!   *Gasp!*

 

Seriously, out of all the pics I have archived for inspiration, yours make up probably 75% of them. I think its appropriate that the mouth drop emoticons keep getting larger: 

 

 

Congrats on the Ben's top ten again. There's a reason you've swept it for the past 10 weeks...

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Replies:

 

dlsni: I totally understand. Even the ugliest areas can look pretty with time.

 

take_me_there: I thought that mosaic would work. Strangely though the stadium is my least favourite part of Townshead. Sometimes too much realism detracts from the SC4 visuals.

 

NMUSpidey:

 

Mymyjp: Thanks a lot.

 

packersfan: Actually I have no more content to show at the moment. I fully fleshed out Townshead to cover me for six weeks worth of CJ content. The Ravensworth entry was a beautiful distraction to keep things interesting. That's how I've been able to post so consistently on this CJ: build detailed cities to provide enough entries for about three or four weeks, and in that time I build the next city or countryside area. To date Townshead is my most detailed and complex city, but surprisingly it was one of the easiest to make.

 

JP Schriefer: Thank you, I put in that little bit extra with the mosaics- even if it meant another 90 minutes of my evening consumed.

 

TekindusT: Cheers.

 

Mr.Guilherme: Thank you very much. I combine greenery and the urban to emulate what one sees in cities worldwide.

 

tonyr: Thanks.

 

MushyMushy: That is the Bridgewater Place, one of the coolest office blocks in Leeds (North England). ILL Tonkso BATted it-

 

Benedict: Thanks alot.

 

coolwiththecool2: The two cross-section city pictures are about the same size.

 

Aaron Graham: I specifically downloaded all of your buildings because I needed more (and better) mid-rise apartments and flats.

 

tankmank: Thank you. At the start of the year I was pretty clueless when it came to MMPs, but now that I know how to use them they are probably the most amazing thing in SC4. You fill an entire city tile with them and each entry would be amazing.

 

nos. 17: Actually it's an open space with a few MMPs. I plopped in the people on top of rsc204's MGB Diagonal Filler Set. These diagonal fillers are just as important as SFBT's diagonal fillers, for they do the opposite of SFBT's ones- cater for empty spaces and are more MMP friendly.

 

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News:

 

I'm taking a one month break from this CJ. The whole hydroelectric dam project was too rushed and in the last few weeks I have been rediscovering other hobbies such as Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, logic puzzles and story writing. Aside from the dam, I have the town of Ravensworth to complete and I would like to build a large coal pit, limestone quarry and a lumber industrial area. Perhaps even another large city.

 

Aside from those project ideas, I feel I have done everything I can with Simcity 4. If last year I had an obsession with Simcity 2013, this year I had an obsession with Simcity 4 and next year it will be storywriting. I do know that this CJ will reach one hundred entries but after that I don't see any further mileage.

 

Also there are changing circumstances, I'll probably be working part time in about several weeks, and I will almost certainly be starting a teacher training course this September. Right now it is far easier getting into story writing versus SC4. Things change and this CJ has had a good run, I reckon this CJ will come to a close some time in 2015 and certainly after a 100 entries. I feel my objective of making amazing landscapes and cities without the Lot Editor or photoshopping has been accomplished.

 

Thanks a lot for the comments and the feedback. It has been a good year.

[JP Schriefer 5,591]

Your CJ was undoubtedly one of the best of the year and deserves to be awarded. You have reached your purpose very well, doing amazing images without editing, as you said. In all the updates we can realize how thorough you are. Know that your CJ is an inspiration to many other members who want to evolve in working with MMPs and landscaping in the game.

I hope that after this time outside, appear even more great ideas!

Happy New Year to Your SC4 CJ Scrapbook

[jmsepe 2,039]

Oh my with that said, a wonderful end of a year to one of the best cities in the site. Happy new year Ln X and I should get to read those stories soon. Story writing is fun especially when you are on its peak, it is also one of the culprit on why I had two months of no update.