My SC4 CJ Scrapbook | Important update and news!

[tariely 4,496]

aaaah, at last !

Very good, as usual. I love the way you use alleys, parkings and "empty" spaces in front of buildings.

[TakemeThere 5,834]

You put a lot of work and detail into that city and it really shows, also the mix of atypical building styles and heights works really well in the CBD.

[raynev1 1,886]

And yet another great entry , well worth the wait . So many details , awesome .

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Replies:

tariely: Thank you!

takemethere: Thanks, mix and match, that's my style.

raynev1: Cheers!

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Update 103: Annuq's City Centre (West)

And now for the west part of Annuq's city centre.

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And a preview of a special project I am working on.

At this moment I have finished the actual dam.

 

Of course it needed quite a bit of MMPs to make this dam visually work.

[Compdude787 916]

Nice new update!!

[tariely 4,496]

What a pure PLEASURE it is scrolling through that new entry ! The diversity of buildings and their alway plausible layout ... the sunken highway...the details... the management of empty spaces... but I confess my first reaction was " Raaaah, What Is that building with the cone ? I Want It !" (very first picture:-).

The dam project looks very interesting, too. I love seeing those Diggis lots ; alas they've hard to use with my favourite water, Tahoe (and with game water, whreas the combinaison Tahoe + Brigantine can work pretty well). Do you (or anyone ?) know of another water mod that goes well with Diggis lots' water ?

PS : another “What Is ?... ”, if I may : how do you get all those cars on your transport network ? (Apparently I haven't found the right mod yet.)

[DavidDHetzel 1,816]

 

I also am wonderring where you got the MeBank Building.

 

Also where did you get the 7 small apartment buildings in this pic

Quote

 

 

[raynev1 1,886]

103 updates of awesomeness . Can't wait to see what you do with that dam .

[sonofsim 6]

wow just wow

 

[LexusInfernus 908]

Your updates never fail to impress! And I can't wait to see how the dam works out. 

[Benedict 3,119]

Another great update, and another week at number one on BTT for the week ending September 3.

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Replies:

Compdude787: Thank you!

tariely: The building with the cone is one of Reddonquixote's creations- https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/29581-melbourne-central-melbourne-australia/. The RFR Plopwater Pack blends in well with Diggis water, it is an MMP which makes it far more versatile. To get more cars on networks reinstall the NAM but do a custom install. Select the type of traffic controller- persistent 24 hours (more traffic). I hope this helps.

DavidDHetzel: See my reply to tariely for the Melbourne Bank building. Also look for Delecto's content on the STEX, here is one of his creations- https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/23092-delecto-pearl-sunshine/.

raynev: Cheers! The dam is done, now I need to work on the surrounding countryside.

sonofsim:

LexusInfernus: Thanks, the dam is complete however the area surrounding it is not.

Benedict: Thanks for that Ben.

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Update 104: The Countryside

To the northwest of Annuq is a lot of farmland and countryside. So let's leave the urban jungle and go to somewhere greener.

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Without a doubt this is my favourite area of Annuq.

 

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In this part I'm going to show the northern half of the farmland.

 

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I use terrain brushes to add another terrain texture on top of the current terrain. The JENX Poseidon mod is a real game-changer strictly because of its terrain brushes, I really wish there were more terrain brushes available. HD terrain textures are so good they make a lot of MMPs redundant in some areas.

 

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Moving away from cattle grazing land...

 

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MMP fields may take some time to create, but the organic look of them is second to none.

 

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This is why I hardly use crop fillers because they look too orthogonal and grid-like.

 

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One only needs two different flora MMPs mixed together to get some impressive visuals.

 

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I reckon there are hundreds of different MMP combinations using just two MMPs, I have not really explored mixing three or more flora MMPs together.

 

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A flora MMP on its own looks a bit insubstantial, add in another suitable flora MMP and this thickens the look.

 

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The M134 highway. This connects up with a massive interchange and the M134 merges into the M4.

 

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FAR highway is cool.

 

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A field of dull pink.

 

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The stone walls are a VIP creation- https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/26807-vip-aubracwallmmp/. They look very similar to stone walls in the Pennines.

 

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The stone walls are both ploppable and MMP.

 

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A field of green.

 

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Believe it or not coniferous forests can exist in hot, drier environments, the Canary Islands is one example of this. So that's why there are coniferous trees next to more arid areas in this section of the countryside.

 

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North of Annuq the environment becomes more arid, not exactly desert but still rather dry.

 

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A took a picture in this area and it ended up in the best picture HOF.

 

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A pond provides much needed water to these willow trees.

 

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Moving eastwards now towards the M134/M4 interchange.

 

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The M134 starts to split up.

 

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The M134/M4 interchange.

 

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With the NAM 34 I could have built a two-laned flex-fly pass which would have been far more convenient!

 

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As for my special project, the dam, well that is complete, however I also want to work on the city tile with farmland, hiking routes, rivers and another, though smaller, special project which is kind of special because I have not seen any CJ author do this- I intend to rectify that. Additionally there are other goodies to and things which I have never done before, so anyway it's going to be interesting.

[Compdude787 916]

All I can say is: WOW! This is amazing looking.

[DavidDHetzel 1,816]

I dare you to submit pic 21 for the photo competition thread.

 

Also where did you get the greenhouses?

[tariely 4,496]

Very nice MMP-ing ! I love the different textures of greens. Picture 13 is spot on, very natural looking -- also the ones with the brush, 23-24. On the other hand, I'm not too sure about that more "arid" terrain -- it looks like sawdust and wood shavings have been strewn about ; I don't know what kind of cattle except goats and perhaps sheep could thrive on that, but cows... not sure:-))). May I ask on what continent is Annuq supposed to be ? I don't quite get the different kind of flora (not the conifers, I get that:-)) but the alternance of lush and dry seems sometimes strange to me (especially as there is no irrigation system). I love the variety of non-gridlike fields:-) though, and the road network is spotless, as usual ! (For country roads and paths through and around fields, do you know SFBT Rural Ways With Walls ? They exist in four different tree versionsa) ; perhaps a bit too European-looking, though ; I have this feeling that Annuq is not in Europe :-)))

[TekindusT 3,809]

SC4 can't get more organic than that! What a way of pushing the game to the limits and telling the grid "go home"!

[LexusInfernus 908]

Hahaha, you managed to make fields of grassland look interesting and beautiful. Really nice and natural looking. Another fantastic job! 

[feyss 1,981]

Those fields look so natural. It's really great MMP work here.

[Benedict 3,119]

Great stuff. And your CJ was number one on BTT for the week ending September 10.

[raynev1 1,886]

   Another jaw dropping entry , I couldn't expect anything less  . You are no doubt , an artist . Just using a different medium .

   One question though . Are your cities functional (managing a budget and demand) or are they eyecandy working the cheats ? Either way , they look fantastic . And I like that you number your images . 

   Since there was no Christmas ornamentation . I don't know if that is a real word , but spell checker didn't give any suggestions .

   Might I ask , will there be a Holiday entry ? 

[philforhockey51 4,216]

I love MMP work and this takes it to another level, beautiful work!

Where are the fences from? I think I came across them a while back but lost track.

[Haganza 33]

WOW! just wow..amazing work

[MissVanleider 1,850]

Very nice again, even with all the American, Australian and Japanese buildings, somehow this all still 'feels' very British, the large green spaces between industrial lots, the organic nature of it, like it has been built up over hundreds of years. Wonderful.

As always, I can't just leave a comment, I have to put a question too. Hopefully it should be quite easy to answer  The highway underpass lots by SFBT are supposed to be placed under the E-maxis highway, but you seem to have them under RHW. Is this some kind of trick that I am not aware of because i get weird texture glitches under E-RHW. 

[TakemeThere 5,834]

Those landscapes just look so damn realistic, I don't think there's anything more you could do to make them look any better. Never knew the Poseidon mod had that, I take it this is the one - https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3077 btw what mmp brushes are you using in image 24/25? I have the ones made by girafe but I could really use some more variety.

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Replies:

Compdude787: Cheers!

DavidDHetzel: Perhaps I will post that picture as a joke. The greenhouses can be found here- https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/27456-franku-dutch-farm-fields/.

tariely: You know that is exactly what that terrain texture looks like, it says grassland in the menu icon but it does look rather dry. I'm not really sure what kind of continent Annuq exists in, I build these cities in a vacuum. I haven't really considered irrigation, so that is something I will perhaps add in future entries. Also where can I find these "SFBT Rural Ways With Walls"? Thanks.

Tekindus: Thanks, MMPs have no need for the grid.

LexusInfernus: Thank you very much, I make a conscious decision to vary the density of the crop yields: flowers and flora, to ensure it does not look too monotonous.

feyss: Thank you.

raynev: I would definitely agree that extensive use of MMPs does start to become an artform. Also my cities are functioning because otherwise there would be no traffic on the roads. The demand side is a little screwy but that's because of all of the ploppable RCI I use, other than that these are functioning cities. And yes ornamentation is a word, a rather lovely one to. Anyway, there won't be a Christmas entry, I don't celebrate Christmas, however this entry will have a little special something to it, a gift if you will.

philforhockey51: Thank you, there are others who do incredible MMP work to: Vortext, Framly, Fasan and basically every great CJ author in SC4D. The real Gods of SC4D all reside on that site. A lot of my SC4 creations are inspired by them, especially Fasan's work. Now the fences are Chrisadam3997's- https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1888.

MissVanleider: I guess living in Britain for all of my life would rub off in this CJ despite the modded game being very US- and Eurocentric. I use the Maxis Highway Override in the NAM to answer your question.

takemethere: Thanks for the comment, yes, you have the link for the Poseidon mod. For pictures 24/25 I used some desert flora MMPs: https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3128 and https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3131, additionally I used OMCO filling gravel for the arid ground look. That should do it.

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Update 105- Agriculture and the Village of Orksley, plus a small present

This ain't a Christmas entry, I don't celebrate Christmas, but here is some more agriculture from Annuq and right at the end is a special present.

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This update focuses on the farmland south of the M134.

 

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The tour begins at this farm and shall end here to.

 

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The road to the farm can get a little muddy at times.

 

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FrankU's greenhouses in action.

 

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The track forms a hairpin so that the tractor can turn around without having to go upon the field.

 

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South of all the farmland is some medium-sized manufacturing plants.

 

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Oxide's Steel Fabrication Works.

 

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A small camping site just north of the village of Orksley.

 

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This interchange on the M134 is one of the main entrances to Orksley.

 

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And here is the village of Orksley. Bound by the railway, the fields and the M134.

 

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The Orksley farmer's market.

 

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I extended the farmer's carpark with some MMPs.

 

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Tapper's Pond.

 

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A sports field for American football.

 

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The Orksley Tavern and Haurice's Greenery. Haurice's Greenery sells fresh food produce.

 

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This field is unruly so send in the pigs. A pig will devour through anything organic, hence the expression as greedy as a pig.

 

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And here are the fields East of Orksley.

 

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Fields which the busy M4 motorway passes right by.

 

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The thing with MMPs is the freedom to use them. Why just have a simple fence bordering a field when instead there can be a row of trees?

 

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All the wooden fences are made by Chrisadams3997- https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1888.

 

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Moving northwards now.

 

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A farmer inspects his flock of sheep.

 

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Which takes us back to the farm. The tour is complete.

 

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And, for the spirit of the holidays, here is one last picture.

The hydroelectric dam is complete. I will post more pictures of it once I have completed work on the city tile.

[tariely 4,496]

It looks very UK in places:-) Wonderful entry ! The dam is extremely inventive ! I can't wait for a close-up. If I understand the set-up correctly, the water overflow goes through the facility on the left  of the picture ? 

Re SFBT ruralways with Walls, it's on SimCity Kurier ; I don't have a link, sorry  (see PM).

Re fences : alternately, one could also use the higher end, white picket fences:-) of the SPAM set (there isalso the brown ordinary wood version of course)

[_Michael 2,681]

Great entry, I especially like pic 16. Keep up the great work and have a merry Christmas!

[Mr Saturn64 742]

Reminds me of the good old turnpike.  I've gone 1400 miles on that agricultural expanse.  Nice work here, Ln X!

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Replies:

tariely: Thanks for the SPAM suggestion, I now have a whole ton of new agricultural toys to play with!

michea95l: Cheers!

Mr Saturn64: Thanks!

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Two Year Anniversary Special

The first entry of this CJ was posted on 29th December 2013, two years and 106 entries later and we reach this point. Thank you very much for your comments, enthusiasm and suggestions which have helped me to become a better SC4 player. I decided to create a video montage of various pictures throughout the two years to briefly explore the areas this CJ has gone to. At the very least you will enjoy some suburb ambient music from the film soundtrack of Traffic.

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There is still much more to do and when it strikes New Year I will put up a news post, in this CJ, regarding the future of the "My SC4 CJ Scrapbook".

Cheers,

Ln X

[raynev1 1,886]

The video montage and thursday's update was very nice , btw the last pic from thursday looked dam good .