Althea

[AIX 270]

Basic Information:

Theme: Zencathy (a fictional nation) just purchased a huge territy, and needs people to settle and use it! The government enacts a law similar to the US Homestead Act.

Goals: To turn a vast frontier into a bustling population center. I want to focus more on creating a perfect eye-candy and highly functional region. Money is no object here.

Confessions/Cheats: Because I want eye-candy and functionality to be paramount, I will be using a money park. It provides $5,000 per month for 1 tile. I may also use a lot that cleans the air. This lot is not a radical 0 pollution lot. It just reduces pollution. No other cheats are going to be used.

Major Mods/add-ons: NAM and a vast array of various BATs.

Map: The map I am using is Charlotte Green. It was created by desz02091 and is available on the STEX. I did modify it in God Mode to include a few small mountains.

Let's get on with it already!

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The Zencathy Government has posted this announcement throughout the land, from sea to sea:

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The Althean Territory offers a vast array of natural amenities that make it perfect for develtopment. It features some of the most fertile soil in the world and a fully navigatable river. The land is so perfect that many people have already jumped on the offer of free land. As a result, towns, farms, and industries are springing up. Here is a first region photo:



Some key places/names: (Towns are numbered, geographic features lettered)
A: Stillaguamish River
B: The Boundary Range
C: Quil Ceda Peak
D: Day Creek
E: Althea Creek
1: Althea
2: La Conner
3: Puyallip
4: Quil Ceda
5: Quinalt

And here is the region, but in transit view:



I will have go into details of each town shortly (most likely later today). I just need to prepare some screenshots and take care of other (work) stuff.

[sloppet 3]

nice start

[jacqulina 162]

nice start look forward to more

[bazzuka 0]

UPDATE :: Very good region!Is it available on stex??  Just asking anyway very nice looking farms. I just love Farms , Hope too see some close-ups soon.

 

OTHER :: Wish you luck with your new CJ.

Take Care.

Bazzuka|Bazzuka

[El_Lobo 0]

Great start, AIX.
Very good choice for the map ...

can't wait to see this eye-candy region growing ...

 

wish you the best for your new CJ.

regards.

[Micah 16]

Great start. The farmland roaming through the hills looks really great!

[mtbrocket 2]

Good start.

-Dan

[nycsc4 5,250]

great start, can't wait to see more

[ianpaschal 77]

Beautiful landscape you got there!

[Superchan 23]

looks good.

[AIX 270]

Welcome back!

In this update, I'll show you some of the towns that have sprung up. Thus far, they are mostly small farming and industrial communities.

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Our first stop is Althea. Althea was the first new town to be incorporated under the incentives provided by the government. It was founded by William B. F. Harrison.

It is a typical small town with a population of 14,526. Here is an in-general photo:



It rests on Althea Creek and the Stillaguamish River. Here is a downtown photo:



Like much of the region, farming is the main game in Althea. There are a few factories in the very far uppler-right corner of the picture.

Althea is also home to the Althean Valley Fairgrounds. Every spring and autumn people from all around the area gather here for fun, food, and good times for all.


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Next, we have La Conner. Also a small farming community, many people consider it to be Althea's sister. La Conner does have a more prominent industrial base however.

La Conner was founded by Harrison's sister, Roxanne Harrison. She founded the town because she disagreed with much of her brother's ideals. The two got in a fight one night that escalated to many broken plates. They havn't spoken since then, and there is a rivalry between La Conner and Althea.



La Conner only has about 5,621 residents, but it's a working town. It provides over 8,600 jobs for the region.



La Conner is more business than touristy.

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The next town is Puyalip. It's a very small community with only about 4,900 people. It was founded as a joint effort by the Puyalip Indian Tribe. They created the town to serve as a trading post.



Just a small farming community, but the Puyalip Indian Tribe has plans for this little burg to be a bustling city soon.



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Quil Ceda is the neighboring city from Puyalip. It was also formed by a Native American tribe.

The officials from Quil Ceda (the town is run by a council rather than a mayor) say they want their town to be a tourist destination for Sims from the world over. They plan to offer plenty of resorts, hotels, and gambling in the future. They plan to use the city's dual-side riverfront because it is the city's most valuable asset.



Quil Ceda is also one of the major populations centers of the region at this time. It has over 16,000 people and provides over 15,400 jobs.



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Our last city for today is Quinalt. Quinalt sits west of Quil Ceda. Quinalt was founded by a group of relgious fundementalists who call themselves the Incandescent Church of the Resurection. They have a strict policy of isolation and they wish to build a contained community.



Here is an aerial view that clearly illustrates Quinalt's isolationists policy.



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Thank you all for the comments! I really appreciate them, and comments are what keeps me doing this!

Bazzuka: The map I am using is available on the STEX. See my first post in this CJ.

[bazzuka 0]

UPDATE :: Nice update, really like the rural areas(if course the towns too) Hope to see more to come from these, because it looks amazing!

 

OTHER :: //

Take Care.

Bazzuka|Bazzuka

[jacqulina 162]

great update i like how you have placed the houses

[r0g3r 1]

Nice start.. That region looks great, and the cities are off to a nice start as well

[olly 0]

This is a great CJ start. I am also intrigued as to where you got the station in the middle of Quil Ceda, was it on the STEX? Anyway great start im keeping my eye on this one!

[El_Lobo 0]

very beautiful zones you have there ...
and your presentation is really good.

 

Keep up this way

[AIX 270]

Olly: I did get that station on the STEX. I cannot recall the name or the author. I'll find out next time I work on it and update it.

Every custom bat, lot, and mod that I use has been obtained from the STEX, so anything I use is easily accessible for anyone.

Again, thank you for all the comments! In a few moments, I will be going and playing for a while so I can have a nice big pretty update within the next 12-18 hours.

I plan to continue to develop the rural/old town theme untill the entire area is filled. After that, I will begin the big-time expansion.

Stay tuned!

[twistie 3]

A very realistic Region I must say. I find the name cool and I am interested in why you chose the name...

Althea was a tropical cyclone (hurricane to you Americans) that hit the coast of Australia on Christmas Eve, 1971. It caused a 4 metre storm surge which flooded the city or Townsville, where I live.

--note--
Yer, I know its totally offtopic but, meh. I just thought it was interesting.

[AIX 270]

Twistie:Althea is the name of a local bar here. That's where I got the name.

I was required to work way beyond the hours that I thought I was going to work, so I didn't get enough work done to justify a real update. I made some progress, but not much. I hope to get one done as soon as possible (within the next 24 hours I hope. I have an 11 hour shift tomorrow).

In the time that I did get to play, I expanded the town of Althea and Anacortes was founded. I'll have more when I get enough done to make a sizeable post.

Thank you!

[AIX 270]

Finally! A new update!

The region has grown quite a bit since we last checked in! Here are some basic updated stats:

Total region population: 116,751

Althea: 31,084
Anacortes (NEW): 22,432
Tulalip: 18,323
Quil Ceda: 15,938
Watcom (NEW): 10,353
Quinalt: 7,697
La Conner: 5,651
Puyalip: 4,909
Swinomish Reservation: 364

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A general region picture:



As you can see, there has been a major growth boom. Even some of the farmers have been forced out by the developers.

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New city: Anacortes

Anacortes is what many might call a Boomberg. It quickly became the second largest town in the region with over 22,000 new Sims.



As you can see, Anacortes is exhibiting the suburban trend of windy streets and large open spaces. Pictured above is the construction site of what will be the largest shopping center in the region. Developers plan for the main mall to be built and to have most of the surrounding empty areas to be developed within 10 years. However, most of the locals know that the area will be bustling and jam-packed long before that.

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Our next new city is Watcom. The founders of Watcom vision a city having all the benefits of the new suburbia without sacraficing old-town charm.



This is Watcom's main street at the train station. It is very busy durring all hours of the day. The heavy traffic is a dream come true for the nearby businesses. People have called it a black hole for tourists' wallets.



Above is a small slice of the suburban residential planning the Watcom Town Council is championing. They want the commercial districts to be designed the old fasioned way, and the residences in the newer fasion.

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This update isn't as much as I was hoping to get up, but it's enough to tide you all over while I work (both on Simcity and in the real world!) and get more posted.

Comments, comments, comments! PLEASE! lol

[Compromise 1]

Looks like a good with the detail.

*Presses subscription button.*

[Micah 16]

Wow, this CJ is still going great! Your farming is fantastic in the region view!

Rating: 9/10

[AIX 270]

I am currently working on a new update, but time is limited (as in not even an hour per playing session). Final exams are upon us and I just got a new job, so the real world has been sucking my time.

I promise a big fat update by Saturday or Sunday. Expect:

A totally new seasons for the valley
A huge boom in business and trade
The introduction of an enhanced transit network

and just plain good times for all!

Thank you all for the patience and please stick with me!

[oroen 0]

The region views looks great, and you have some creative layouts in your towns, not to mention creative town names and interesting back stories.

[sloppet 3]

great work so far The pics are ok,some r awesome

[jacqulina 162]

very nice update sure is coming on great

[AIX 270]

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Yes, it is finally time for the long-delayed (sorry) update. Work has been, well, work. I also got a new computer, so I had to transfer Simcity and everything over to it. Simcity runs 100 times better now! Here we go!

Recently, something rare came to Althea. Snow.

The temperate climate that provides for the very green and lush landscape took a vacation and allowed Jack Frost to reign in. Kids everywhere enjoy days off to build snowmen, and even top executives were seen engaging in snowball fights.

Also, the entire region is going through a massive boom phase. The region-wide population is now over 528,000 Sims. With that said, the federal government is really wishing they would have charged for the land rather than giving it away for free.

Let's start off with a region-wide photo.



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Our first stop is our main town, the quaint little city of Althea. Not so quaint anymore however, as fancy buildings filled with executives and sleek desks pile in.

Althea has ballooned to over 87,000 Sims.



With the added population comes more shopping! A chain of major shopping malls, Federated Department Stores, has opened this and many other malls around the region. This location here in Althea is their main branch.



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A new city was recently established and quickly became the largest city in the region, yet it is not considered the main city. The city is known as Athaenica and is home to over 124,000 Sims.

The city was formed from a group of people who felt the world needed more order. This is seen in the near-grid format and how the city is centered around a massive monument.



Athaenica is also home to Althea International Airport.



And the city of Athaenica hosts the region's Major League Soccer team, The Llamas. Here is the newly-designed stadium district.



As one can see, Athaenica is quickly becomming a major hub. They are home to one of the many chemical plants owned by Newman Inc.



Chemistry is the city's leading industry.

The city of Althea is starting to become jealous of the fact that Athaenica is quickly growing and over-taking them. Because of that, Althea has formed a blue ribbon committee to come up with ways to grow their own city to show Athaenica up.

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Day Creek is next for today's tour. What makes Day Creek so appealing is the fact that they are still a small, quaint town, much like what Althea used to be.



People are flocking to Day Creek to enjoy the small town appeal, so the town has passed legislation limiting the number of Sims that may live there. The town currently houses about 21,500 people and there is currently a long waiting list for people to move in.

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Our next city for today shall be Stillaguamish. Growing rapidly to be a small BoomBerg at almost 30,000 people, it is big but still small.



Stillaguamish is also home to Althean Valley University. Unfortunatly, a bunch of students decided to riot due to pure borebom. Police and fire crews responded right away.



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The very last city I shall show you is an update of Anacortes. Mostly houses, factories, and stripmalls, Anacortes is called the Practical City. Their local economy is experiencing a huge boom in the retail business with the construction of another Federated Department Stores mall.



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Well, that's all I have for now! I hope this is enough to keep ya'll entertained for a few days.

I hope to have another update in a couple days!

[Equilibria 16]

All this looks quite good, and shows a clear personal style. My one suggestion would be to think about embankments for the downtown riverfront, to clean it up a little. Also, I might have missed it, but the religious sect's town did not appear to have a curch. Anyway, this is a very impressively built and well presented region. Keep up the good work.

[Micah 16]

Fantastic update. I really love it. Your region views are awesome. I still love how your farming region looks.

[mtbrocket 2]

Great start.

-Dan