My SC4 CJ Scrapbook | Important update and news!

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Entry 1:

 

So I've been playing SC4 for about ten years now and most of that time was spent with the vanilla version of the game. Then a year ago I saw videos of various mods and whilst aware of their existence I was rather discouraged about using them for fear of their complexity.

 

Well after some disasters I finally learnt the art of building up a portofolio of plugins as well as managing them correctly. Over the last three months (after I had to remove all the plugins because I did a bad job with the management) I've downloaded about 3.6 GB of plugins: thousands of buildings, thousands more of props, NAM, SAM, X-ports, slope mods, maps, tree controllers, terrains, more utilities plus civic facilities, parks and all sorts.

 

It's almost overwhelming the choices you have and I've only explored at most a third of all the content I have downloaded. So as such I am still experimenting with my new toys and this is why this CJ is going to be more like a scrapbook. There is no coherent narrative just various pictures of my cities, furthermore there will be all kinds of quirks, oddities, blips and bloopers as I mess around with this huge palette.

 

I had various requests from my SimCity 2013 CJ about starting a SC4 CJ so here it goes. May I introduce the city of Tamboria (in bits and pieces!).

 

 

 

This is part of Eastern Tamboria.

 

 

 

Here is Tamboria's primary power plant, this is also an important regional power plant as well.

 

 

 

And of course no city can function without an oil terminal...

 

 

 

... or function without substations either. It took me a while but I finally found a substation prop configuration which I found aesthetically pleasing.

 

 

 

While NAM is pretty darn cool, I think the rail catenaries are totally awesome!

 

 

 

Tamboria's main hospital, centre right..

 

 

 

Of course no city is complete without its recreational facilities. Behold Eastern Tamboria's sport's arena which serves both for American football and for track athletics as well.

 

 

 

Complimenting the mayor's generous provision of recreational areas are the mini-parks.

 

 

 

Whilst designated green areas are yet another means for overworked Sims to stretch their feet.

 

 

 

Last, but not least, is the downtown WTC area.

 

 

Well that is it for this first entry. The next couple of entries will explore Tamboria more deeply, so stay tuned!

 

Apologies if the interface appears in some pictures or the grid is present, this is because in my enthusiasm to take snapshots I sometimes forget to minimize the interface. Please note that I will only be posting ONE entry per week for this CJ as I have very little spare time.

 

Special thanks to all those batters, lotters and modders who have given hardcore SC4 players a mind-blowing plethora of new features. Finally God bless grunge concrete and the grunge roads of paeng's!

[Terring 6,476]

Great start. Can't wait for the rest :thumb:

[JP Schriefer 5,591]

10 years with the vanilla version...you're a warrior!! kidding
Your city looks good! Loved your green areas.

[Vitoraju 675]

Inglês: Wow, really get 10 years playing the original SC4 is a long time, I also had to learn not afraid to use mods when I had my SC4, after I installed oo NAM 2007 and was impressed with the new transport options in my cities.

His diary began great congratulations!

 

Português: Nossa, realmente ficar 10 anos jogando o SC4 original é muito tempo, eu também tinha receio de não aprender a usar mods quando eu tive o meu SC4, depois eu instalei o o NAM 2007 e fiquei impressionado com as novas opções de transportes nas minhas cidades.

Seu diário começou ótimo parabéns!

[Vitoraju 675]

can you tell me what the name of the terrain texture, I thought it beautiful!

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can you tell me what the name of the terrain texture, I thought it beautiful!

 

That would be the Berner Oberland Terrain Mod (v1.0) which can be found in SC4Devotion.

 

https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2834

[GMT 389]

not a bad start at all

[scott1964 138]

Looks nice  

[Superbacon 380]

Lol @ the Aramark building.

 

Well I'd say you certainly have a talent for this sort of thing =) can't wait to see more. 

[TekindusT 3,809]

Quite cool pics, despite being youre scrapped pics!

[Haljackey 17,403]

Wow, very impressive!

 

I must say that park looks amazing. Nicely done!

 

[Prophet42 1,503]

Nice start to your city journal.  I must say I like all the pictures.

[coolwiththecool2 827]

This is actually very great for a first update. And I though my 1.97 gb plugins floder was big, but yours...

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Wow, very impressive!

 

I must say that park looks amazing. Nicely done!

 

Thanks. I enjoy 'painting' my parks with various grasses, flowers and rocks, but I haven't quite worked out the art of creating streams with water pieces. In the third entry I will be posting some close-up shots of East Tamboria's central park plus a special monument I discovered on the STEX. Whereas the second entry will be a lot more industrial orientated.

 

As for the fourth entry it's going to be all about this path which starts from a village and ends at the top of a mountain. A great way of showcasing the Berner Oberland terrain mod and the Arden (non) seasonal tree controller, which is the most compatible with both the terrain and the region of Zurich which I'm using.

[RepublicMaster 428]

Great start. I like the industrial areas.

[Benedict 3,119]

Great to see you here in the SC4 forum - and your city is great, that park is very special, love how it is tucked between the skyscrapers.

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Replies to comments:

 

Terring: Thank you.

Schriefer: I'm glad you liked them.

Vitor13: Have fun with the Berner Oberland terrain mod!

GMT : Thanks.

scott1964: Thank you!

Superbacon: For some reason the reward buildings -- which count as RCI -- keep getting abandoned.

TekindusT: They're not my scrapped pictures.

Haljackey: I ain't done yet messing around with the park options.

Prophet42: That's great.

coolwiththecool2: I pay the price for having a bloated plugins folder: long loading times, but I managed to sort out the crashing.

RepublicMaster: In my next entry I focus a bit more on Tamboria's industry. However I have visions for a massive industrial city and with my plugins one day that vision will become reality.

Benedict: It's good to be here.

 

 

In just about one hour the next entry will be up. Thank you for all the commentary.

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In my second entry we take a closer look at Western Tamboria, plus there's a quick smooch around East Tamborian's primary industrial district.

 

 

And here we have it; Western Tamboria. Trashy, polluted, wealthy, pleasant and... Well you get the idea, it's a right old hodge podge.

 

 

 

Here we have Eastern Tamboria's primary district. While planning this area I made sure there was some healthy green space between the industry and the wealthy suburb to the east.

 

 

 

I forget the name of this factory, but it's large and that's how I like my industry. Oh yes, sorry for the red and green signs, they're a replacement for the brown boxes. Clearly I'm missing a dependency or two...

 

 

 

A closer look at the factory, plus check out the exquisite detail in that coal pit!

 

 

 

Now we've travelled back to West Tamboria, to the bottom centre left is Tamboria's refueling station.

 

 

 

Ahh, the old abandoned cement factory. While abandoned it is still sealed off and (loosely) guarded with chain linked fences. We wouldn't want any accidents at that substation now would we?

 

 

 

The smallest industrial district in Tamboria. Some cheeky residents called it the pigmy district for its small size, the workers of that district were not amused.

 

 

 

Despite being so close to all of the industry, it has not scared away the wealth and opulence these Sims have bestowed upon the area.

 

 

 

Honest to God, I'm not sure if this is the wealthly suburb in East or West Tamboria. I think it's East Tamboria.

 

 

 

East Tamboria also has its own general hospital- it saves on having too many ambulances crossing the only bridge which connects the two halves of this city.

 

 

 

Sim architecture at its finest!

 

 

That wraps up this entry. Next time we go to Tamboria once more to admire the parks, downtown and a rather special monument located around the outskirts of West Tamboria. This third entry will be the last one of Tamboria, because in the next we take a trip deep into this mountainous region. There you will see the magic of the Berner Oberland terrain mod and the Arden tree controller in all of their glory!

[ROUSANDS 15]

Wow *.*

 

I love your post

 

greetings.

[timmetje 75]

looks really good!

[Sabretooth78 808]

You're off to a pretty good start.  I'm interested to see how this develops.

 

A closer look at the factory, plus check out the exquisite detail in that coal pit!

 

If you don't mind my asking, where did you find that factory?

[Prophet42 1,503]

Another great upadate.  I especially like the building in the 'Sim Architecture at it's finest.'  Really makes the area unique.  I also like the picture with the coal pit.  You are right, it does have nice detail.

[coolwiththecool2 827]

It makes sense the super rich wanna live near "pollution rich" air lol (i know its corny)

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A closer look at the factory, plus check out the exquisite detail in that coal pit!

 

If you don't mind my asking, where did you find that factory?

 

That would be the SFBT Gusslov Foundry by Sam Johnson. Here's the link to it on the SC4D LEX (note you have to be a member to access the LEX):

 

https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2925

 

I hope that helps.

[Titanicbuff 1,262]

Reminds me of Oakland,CA and of Pueblo,CO in its grungyness.

[Jamonbread 222]

While I love your districts and the character you achieve with each one... coherently, I think work on the transitions would make a big improvement! I envy your drive in fixing your pluggins... thats on my to do list.  

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Replies:

 

Rousands: Thank you.

 

timmetje: The best is yet to come.

 

sargeantcm: In the immediate future this CJ will have quite a few nature pictures.

 

Prophet42: I'm glad you're enjoying this.

 

coolwiththecool2: Indeed, it seems NIMBY does not extend to visual desirability.

 

Titanicbuff: Cool! I googled Pueblo CO for images and I was pretty impressed, so thanks for that comment.

 

Jamonbread: Is that transitions from one picture to the next, or transitions from one city area to the next? In either case the transitions are a bit ropey. But in the updates after the second one, the transitions will improve. So thank you for that suggestion.

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In this second update, we take one last tour around Tamboria before going southwards into the region's mountainous South.

 

 

 

This is the largest of the parks in Tamboria, as such this suburb is one of Tamboria's most desirable.

 

 

 

A closer zoom reveals the smaller intricacies of this green area.

 

 

 

One thing which I love about these custom designed trees is the great detail of the models when viewed at a close zoom.

 

 

 

Set in West Tamboria, the Lotus Temple is the cities only monument.

 

 

 

The number 9 is a prominent feature of the Lotus Temple's architecture. Try and count all the 9's which this building exhibits, there are at least seven!

 

 

 

Going Northwards; despite being so close to West Tamboria's football stadium, it didn't detract high-end developers from building these two fine skyscrapers.

 

 

 

Now we're back in East Tamboria, and here's a picture of my favourite cluster of flats. I love the pink and white colour scheme!

 

 

 

This small park is located very close to the WTC downtown area. As always the darker the tarmac, the wealthier the area.

 

 

 

 

 

Amidst the large shopping malls and large skyscrapers housing prominent companies, both of these two sectors always churn out stressed out Sims. Some of whom work themselves almost to death, but East Tamboria's general hospital will make sure these Sims are patched up and fit for work and/or shopping. Ill health is no respite; so the mayor decreed.

 

 

 

Sims far and wide flock to both the marinas and the two World Trade Centres.

 

 

 

Here we take a closer look at West Tamboria's only designated green area.

 

 

 

To conclude this update, here is one last picture of the Lotus Temple.

 

///

 

In the third update we visit the village of Frazier's Top, self-titled after the prominent mountain which overshadows it. Furthermore we travel up Hairpin's Pass, the main route from the village to the top of the mountain. Here's a preview of what is coming next-

 

[Vitoraju 675]

Wow, this park was really amazing, and this Lotus Temple're really cool, your region must be very beautiful!

[Basilins 3]

In first part, there is some grey squares. Are they a mod or something like that ? 

 

A railway underneath a temple It's quiet interesting detail..