Red Rock, Colorado - Episode 8 "Neighborhood Watch"

[Simulanten 681]

Hey Simtropolis,

After all that hassle and frustration to get my Boston saves running again I felt like going to a lonely town somewhere out west. Somewhere in the Rockies, with just a train link and a national road going through, one school bus, a Main Street with a bit of struggling commercial buildings and not much more.

Here it is, the beginning of it all -

RED ROCK, Colorado

named after Tarantinos fictional Wyoming town and an opportunity to create a place from the very beginning, playing around with the theme editor, the map editor and finally with all the incredible mods and assets that make this game fun (It's a showcase for MrMaison's trees basically...). I still don't use Dynamic Resolution - so bear with the image quality.

This first entry is just the start of a little gem nestled in the Rocky Mountains, with all the time of the world to care about tiny details, props and with the possibility to get to know every single of those 124 inhabitants it has so far...

This is the entry to the valley.Two roads merging and a train line. A lot of conifers, red rocks and a little snow left on the peaks:

From behind the little town - the rivers and valleys still lack detailed vegetation and rocks. I plan to explore the surroundings of the town as soon as the town center is working.

Yay! It's raining - and apart from the glaring rocks in the background it sure looks nice! Only a few buildings around Main Street a little old court house and the school bus...:

The bridge just before entering the station of Red Rock. The line finds its end here:

The still small residential area - great vehicle assets for the rural american feel...:

A little further down the valley there is a small freight station serving the local industry and maybe some forestry and mining in the future:

The popular local diner. I wonder who had the idea of naming it "Two Whales" when it's far from the Pacific...:

And the same road in the other direction. Last sunlight of the day on the rocks above the valley:

Between Main Street and the train station there is a covered wooden bridge. Unfortunately its scale is a bit too big - otherwise perfect:

A brand new beautiful asset - Fargo's WAFFLE HUT is now located at the entry of the town. Still lacking a few details:

And the last one for today - Main Street in all its glory, the school bus is going home to the depot:

Looking forward to living in Red Rock for a while. There's tons to explore! Welcome back soon!

Thanks again to all the modders and asset creators!

Dominic

[DaHindi 11]

Awesome scenery

[Turjan 1,048]

That looks really nice. I see the Waffle Hut . Fresh from the "press".

[Simulanten 681]

It's growing. The newly opened road over the mountain pass brought a lot of traffic.

It's nice to work on small details for a change...

[Horus_Kol 118]

Love it - those shots with the weather make for some great atmosphere

 

[89James89 1,169]

Wow these shots look gorgeous. Really loving the textures that you've used to create the theme settings. Really looking forward to watching this grow!

I Would also love to know where you found textures that actually look good when applied in the theme editor lol.

Cheers

James

[Sydney Claridge 106]

Those rock textures you used make this town look like it belongs somewhere near Yellowstone National Park, just considering the pictures I have seen from that part of Wyoming.

[Simulanten 681]

8 hours ago, 89James89 said:

Wow these shots look gorgeous. Really loving the textures that you've used to create the theme settings. Really looking forward to watching this grow!

I Would also love to know where you found textures that actually look good when applied in the theme editor lol.

Cheers

James

Thanks,

I used screenshots from Google Maps - but heavily edited. First of all you need to make them continuous on all four edges (by inverting the four sides like a wallpaper design) to avoid visible tiles. Then its takes a lot of adjusting of the color balance, saturation and luminosity. CS shows all textures really really bright - so you have to tone them down massively. There's a great mod for seeing the effects of pollution etc. in-game - this is especially important if you use the extra landscaping tools to enhance the scenery with fertile areas, beaches and forests like a texture brush later in then game.

I might publish the theme later but it still needs some tweaking. The theme editor is a great tool.

[TekindusT 3,809]

Breathtaking!

[Judazzz 1,936]

Gorgeous. Especially the rain pictures scream Twin Peaks!

[Simulanten 681]

AAAaaarghh...!

Another patch, another breakdown of everything. Can't load any save now.

Believe me - I'm far from complaining about CO fixing things. But it's just so frustrating after two weeks of updating, research, error logs analyzing, exploring forum after forum and ending up at the exact same point again and again and again. Maybe it's a question of a few days to get all the mods updated - thanks to the modders - but is this really the way we're going now? This is a strong argument for implementing more mod functionalities to the base game - a thing that CO seems to refuse.

AAAaaarghh...! again.

[Judazzz 1,936]

Oh man, I really feel for you  
For some reason everything seems to run fine on my machine, except Fine Road Heights being a party pooper (cannot lay or update roads, but no errors). On the upside, CPU usage has halved (from 85-90% to 40-45%) and my fps has almost doubled (it's still pretty sad, but at least it's in double-digit territory again). It also freed hundreds of Cims that were stuck on pedestrian paths (the sight of dozens of cars being un-pocketed simultaneously was pretty hilarious).

Based on what I read on Reddit, it seems that FRH and Extra Landscaping Tools are causing some problems. As said, the FHR problem I can confirm (cannot lay or update roads - disabling it should solve this for the time being), but ELT doesn't seem to cause issues on my laptop. Have you tried disabling both? And is there any interesting stuff in your output log? And error popups? Have you installed and enabled BP's 'Isolated Failures' mod?

[Turjan 1,048]

The mods that I use are mostly fixed again, so it should be faster for you, too.

[Simulanten 681]

Thanks for the heads-up.

I'll see. It's really tricky and I totally understand that there's a downside to the moddability of CS - and it's awsome how the modders (actually those 3-4 guys who are investing so much time and enthusiasm into the game) are so quick updating. But somehow I still feel there is still a serious lack of awareness at CO about the whole thing. At least it would be great to see a more readable error log routine - or including the isolated feature mod would show that they care. It literally took me two weeks, numerous waits of 15mins to load different mod set ups and endless research to get my saves going again - and on the first day the game is fun again there comes the next patch and my game wouldn't even start up.

Looking foward to the faster game - whenever it's available for me again...

[Simulanten 681]

Here we are - all whining about another patch is over. It's a faster, nicer game now.

Time to explore the surroundings of RED ROCK. Beware, there are a lot of pictures - I have to admit that I fell in love with the area quite a bit...

Here we go:

RED ROCK, Colorado - Episode 2 "Into The Woods"

First of all - an overview across the valley. There are new things to discover - a campsite, 2 trailer parks, a gated community, a fishing lake, a gas/food/lodging rest stop and some remote places in the valleys. Come along:

The town of Red Rock has developped a little bit. There are more commercial buildings on Main Street and definitely more residentials. The train station (the line ends here) is on the right - you can cross the river on that beautiful wooden bridge to get there from town. Traffic on Main Street is dense - there is no bypass around town and there won't be any in the near future.

"Downtown" as seen from the other side. There are still a few buildings from the glorious mining era (the rails are from these good old times too). But today it's mainly tourism and passage travellers that keep Red Rock alive.

The lower part of Red Rock. On the busy through road there is the famous diner next to the fire station and nestled on the foot of the mountains a campsite. There's a barbecue going on - see the smoke?:

And that's how the campground welcomes you when approaching after a long trip across the Rockies:

That's Station Street. A train engine has been forgotten here - and there are only four trains a day. A quiet little station:

This is a Twin Peaks moment - I wonder who's arriving on that train today...:

That's very Twin Peaks as well... Still it's unclear how that whale beached up here - rumors go that it was somebody from Oregon missing the Pacific who built the diner in Red Rock:

I won't complain about the new rain in C:S anymore. With the reduced gloss on the roads it looks gorgeous. The wooden bridge is more than 120 years old. The river never managed to tear it down...

At the upper edge of town there are a few warehouses and a little bit of local industry. UPS delivers even here:

A reminder of the times when the miners and settlers lived in simple cabins. Today it's neither the silver nor the beavers why people love this area - it's the quiet and the green:

We're on a hike a bit further up one of the valleys. There's a wooden tower overlooking the canyon - what a beautiful view I must say:

Another quiet spot - hidden in the trees but only a short drive from the road in the valley. A little lake with a fishing hut and a pier. You can easily spot the lake on the overview further up:

Close to the freight station there is a second trailer park - it has a beautiful atmosphere under the tall pine trees. It's a bit close to the road though:

Close to the edge of the region where the river meets the lake there is a rest stop close to the junction of two roads. Last Wendy's before the mountain pass:

Oh, and that's my car. It consumes an immoral amount of gasoline - but I like its sound:

And here comes one of my favourite assets. Thats where I use to grab a bite on my way home:

Close to the gas food lodging place there is the entrance to a morbid gated community - most of the houses have been sold to elderly neurotic city slickers who thought it would be nice to live in the country. And now they are scared of everything - bears, immigrants and same sex marriage. Once in a while one of the residents dies of a heart attack watching a primary debate:

There's not much up here - an empty playground, huge freezers, bear-safe trash bins and a tennis court. But it's quiet. Very, very quiet:

Close to the large lake a friend of mine owns an old farmhouse with horse stables. It has a nice view across the lake and there's always time for a chat:

Early morning horse training. It's a beautiful spot. The pine trees smell lovely in the morning air.

And finally - that's where I live. On a hill above Red Rock - with a messy lawn in front of the old house but with incredible sunsets. Come and visit!

If you made it until here - thanks for watching and reading.

I must say the game starts to grow on me. As long as you use it as sandbox-painter it's incredibly rewarding. As you can see I use lots and lots of mods and assets - I can't thank the creators enough for their incredible contributions.

Dominic

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

I'm actually speechless......Don't know what to say. I saved the image you shared on Reddit to my awesome CSL screenshot collection the other day. Now I see this treasure chest of MORE. The landscape, the narration and the country feel is awesome. You just brought this CJ section to the next level...again.

 

BTW, make sure you have Isolated Failures Mod enabled. It will make update times a LOT easier and you'll find mods that seem broken without it are actually working making it easier to find the one true culprit.

-Dennis

[Turjan 1,048]

Awesome shots all around. Even in the vanilla game, I always found that pine trees are a very effective way to set focal points in scenes, and those new trees do this even better. Wonderful!

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Just brilliant, these are the best small town scenes I have ever seen from C:S!

[Judazzz 1,936]

That's about as authentic (and beautiful) as it gets with C:SL, simply sublime!

Any idea what is in store next for this map? Creating a totally rural setting requires a whole different look at how to progress your city area, and a lot of restraint as well (it's so tempting to just start building big districts, a downtown, and eventually end up with something pretty much every player has created with this game so far).
I can't deny the idea of starting a whole new map with focus on all things rural and rustic looks more and more enticing after seeing this little marvel!

[Simulanten 681]

1 hour ago, Judazzz said:

Any idea what is in store next for this map? Creating a totally rural setting requires a whole different look at how to progress your city area, and a lot of restraint as well (it's so tempting to just start building big districts, a downtown, and eventually end up with something pretty much every player has created with this game so far).

Thanks for your nice feedback everybody!

Yeah, I know - so far I always ended up with expanding and ruining nature... But this time is different - I feel rather putting small remote places and invest in the details. Maybe it's because shaping terrain, textures and flora has become so much easier these days.

It's interesting that balancing of C:S works quite well in this kind of density. There are garbage trucks going all the way up to the new mountain resort once a week. There's about enough shops for the 2000 inhabitants - just a bit of industry to provide jobs...

There are plans, yes.

- A mountain resort sits already close to one of the peaks - but it lacks a good Overlook Hotel asset... :-).

- I'd like to make a elite mountain academy for stupid rich kids - where parents can send their spoiled brats. I'll use the beautiful Blackwell Academy asset for it.

- The reason for Red Rock's existence is mining (apart from it's location on the mountain pass road). So in one of the valleys there should be a mine.

- Forestry is also big. Might be one of the next projects.

- At the big lake downstream there is space for another little settlement and a train stop. Just close to the entrance to the gated community. A bit like Tuxedo Park - a place I know quite well.

- A rest area close to the highway road is already under construction.

That's about it so far. Ideas welcome! Some stuff is not possible without the needed assets. I'd love to see more Shining / Twin Peaks / Fargo assets in the workshop...

[Judazzz 1,936]

Sounds great, can't wait to see more!

Pro-tip: if you want to start a forestry district, don't forget to check out the Workshops of Core79 and if I'm not mistaken our very own Avanya as well - lots of awesome custom forestry assets to find there! Also, don't forget Fargo's Waffle Hut  

[Simulanten 681]

2 hours ago, Judazzz said:

Fargo's Waffle Hut  

It's there - at the bottom entry of Red Rock. It's closed though (due to police investigation...).

Thanks for the hints for forestry...

[Simulanten 681]

Episode 3 "The Horne Residence"

After my first two entries I'd like to try something different. Exploring Red Rock Valley on a micro scale I'm starting to give all the places a distinct name and history. I wonder if it's even possible to name a few of the citizen and tie their stories together. It's a bit like writing a cable network series...

Instead of posting random shots across the whole 81-tile region I'll portrait the different locations seperately - tell a bit of their history an populate Red Rock Valley with people and stories.

The first location - and the main character of Season 1 / Episode 3 is "The Horne Residence"

It belongs to Benjamin Horne - a real estate guy who got his money on the West Coast. Now he got back to his home state Colorado and had one of his L.A. architect friends build this modernist villa on the shores of Lake Pleasant.

The property is located on the foot of Oakwood Estates - a small settlement with a train station close to the lake. It's the only building that was permitted to be built that close to the lake. Money helps in these cases.

The residence is pretty close to the two lane highway running along Oakwood Estates. A short path goes down to the water - and onto the small peninsula where Ben had his villa built.

Ben often spends his weekends at Lake Pleasant. The nearest private airport is a bit further down the lake - and it's only a short hop from Burbank. The Volvo is one of his local friends' car - a writer who lives very remote. Although the two have such different lives they still share their past at school in Red Rock. Philip Gerard (That's the writer's name) often comes and visits when Ben is around. He doesn't like him too much but is curious about Ben's life - it kind of gives him the creeps...

The Lake isn't a reservoir. So the shores are pretty natural. The water is quite chilly year-round. That's why Ben has a heated pool in his garden.

When the night falls on some weekends more and more cars are being parked close to the walls of the Horne estate. It's a peculiar crowd gathering at Ben Horne's parties. Some locals, but mostly people from all over the place. They say some things going on are conflicting state law of Colorado. I mean it can't be smoking pot then...

Those party nights are famous around Lake Pleasant and in Red Rock. The local sheriff doesn't seem to care too much - once in a while he shows up at the residence patrolling during the day - but he wouldn't dare to bust the weekend parties. Ben is simply too important for the area - and the sheriff knows.

That's all about the Horne Residence for now. We'll be back with a totally different spot in the next episode of RED ROCK.

Dominic

Credits:

The Horne Residence: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=456942375&searchtext=luxury

Most of the trees: The one and only MrMaison!

[Simulanten 681]

You don't have to wait a whole week for new episodes of Red Rock. Here's episode 4 featuring a totally different place in Red Rock Valley:

Episode 4 - Dark Ridge Sawmill

The sawmill has seen better times and is fairly small. But it still offers a few seasonal jobs in the valley. The setting is quite romantic in one of the tributary valleys - not much else than timber back here...

The mill is owned by the Oaks family - they've been in Red Rock since the ACW - and Chad Oaks runs it together with a trucking company. He's a horrible guy to say it boldly. He was bullying kids when he was a first grader in Red Rock elementary and he is bullying people up to today. He has a bumper sticker on his Escalade saying "Obama sucks. And so do liberal cowards who steal my stickers."

You can enter the valley of Dark Ridge from the valley road. A large "Dead End" sign makes clear it's not a through road. Maybe people in Red Rock should take the sign literally. It wasn't set up as a metaphor but it might become one...

There are only two buildings at the mill. The smaller one on the left has all the facilities for the workers, a tiny office (although Chad Oaks is rarely seen up here) and a workshop.

The woods at the bottom of the valley are quite humid and mossy. Here's where the gravel road ends. If someone ends up here he either is working at the mill, has taken a wrong turn or is trying to hide something...

I often wonder how much longer the mill will operate. Some of the logs are already overgrown and are silently rotting. Chad might think that it's a family thing hold on to the sawmill. But maybe there's another reason that he keeps it up and running. Maybe he needs it for something else?

On the gravel road that accesses the mill Chad Oaks dumped a few caravans and trailers to accomodate his seasonal workers. It's a peculiar little community who lives and works here. I wonder what Philip Gerard (The writer from episode 3, remember?) is doing up here in his white Volvo? Either you work here, you took a wrong turn or you have something to hide...

This beauty of a car belongs to the most notable resident and worker of Dead Ridge Sawmill: Budd Driver works as doormen at a strip club if he's not doing his annual routine at the mill. Budd has lived in trailers since he can think - and he is dead loyal to Chad. Whenever the Oaks family needs a job to be done Budd is the man. The police ranger patrolling the valley better leaves him alone...

Dark Ridge Valley looks like a peaceful place. But it definitely hiding something. And if you visit Red Rock only for a day I'd rather show you around some other places...

That was Episode 4. Come back soon!
Dominic

Credits:

trailers: http://steamcommunity.com/id/DethKwok/myworkshopfiles/?appid=255710

log props: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198185225815/myworkshopfiles/?appid=255710

moss & pebble textures: boformer

conifers: http://steamcommunity.com/id/DjelleDK/myworkshopfiles/?appid=255710

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Brilliant!

[Simulanten 681]

Welcome back to Red Rock.
 After the woods in the last episode we are taking a closer look to what has been the nucleus of Red Rock's development: The railway station.

Episode 5 - The Station / End of the Line

Built by reckless tycoons in the 1890's to get their share of the silver boom in the area it was almost abandoned in the early years of the 20th century when luckily the hot springs were discovered in Red Rock and some tourism entrepreneurs and real estate people were investing in a new station building. Chad Oaks' family - competing with their trucking business - never succeeded in letting the rail line become obsolete. Some people even use it to commute to Melrose - a university city down in the plains close to Denver. Now there are about 3-4 trains a day - and they are frequented mainly by tourists visiting the area.

The train station is on the other side of Snowdon River (named after a famous mountain man and trapper who fought for the freedom of speech back in the days) and can only be reached via the covered wooden bridge.

There is not much around the station. A facility building of Red Rock town services (they do recycle in Red Rock!), the bus depot (basically the garage of the school bus) and a few warehouses.

The bridge is solid as a rock - before the freight station had been moved a bit further down the valley it had to carry heavy cargo and logs.

The station building shows the intention of the investors of 1912 to turn Red Rock into some sort of mountain and health resort. It's always been a bit off up here - I mean it's Hillbilly Country and not the Hamptons!

This is the afternoon train - bringing in the usual flock of tourists to this late summer paradise. Some come for the hot springs, some come for hiking and some for more dubious adventures.

The last train leaves just before dark. After that the station becomes really quiet. The local heritage foundation takes care of the building. One of the founders of that society is local teacher Danny Torrance. He even tries to get cultural activities to happen in the station - but so far there only was an exhibition of a local painter, that's all. Philip Gerard was asked to read from his latest books - but he refused because he was afraid that the locals would be offended by his writing and recognise themselves in his characters...

The street behind the station is a dead end - the bus garage is the last building on it. See that dog on the parking lot? That's Ramses - some say he's the kindest of Red Rock's citizens. He belongs to Billie Gibson - a somewhat creepy old lady living on the edge of town. Ramses likes to stroll around on his own. No quirky pet policies in Red Rock.

We know this car by now. It's Budd Driver's - Chad Oaks' guy for tough jobs. He seems to be on the way to the small warehouse at the end of the street. Nobody remembers to have seen the big roll-up door open... And everybody wonders what's in there...

And here's the last one of today's episode: A rainy night in Station Street with the bus that runs up and down the valley after dark - much more competitive than a half-empty train...

Thanks for watching - come back for Episode 6 soon!

Dominic

Credits:

train station: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=448222655&searchtext=ardennes

school bus: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=519017793&searchtext=school+bus

bus depot: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=578980099&searchtext=old+bus+depot

warehouses: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=628722001&searchtext=brooklyn+industry

covered bridge: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=623202202&searchtext=covered+bridge

union pacific train: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=599732316&searchtext=union+pacific

 

 

 

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Amazing area and amazing scenery!

[Simulanten 681]

I just had to change Red Rock's location to Colorado. The longer I live here the more it feels like it. So if you want to visit, take the I-70 West from Denver, and take the exit where is looks familiar...

[Simulanten 681]

Welcome back.
As a resident of Red Rock I wasn't happy with the campground being so close to town and in a rather unattractive shadowy corner. There is a much nicer location a little above Red Rock with beautiful vistas across the valley and - most important - there is access to one of the hot springs! Here we go from the department of Cities:Landscaping and micromanagement (as always - direct screenshots / no photoshopping done except for the episode titles) :

Episode 6 - Happy Campers

Crystal Springs Campground has been a Red Rock institution for years. It definitely was here while shooting the 1969 movie True Grit in the area when it was used as a production base. That were the golden years of the site. The tennis court is still visible in the foreground - a bit overgrown though - and the hot spring (steaming on this pristine but chilly morning) is of course still there as it's always been in a lush corner of the property:

The parking in front of the entrance is where a few of the most beautiful of the area's hiking trails start. It's always been the same family running the campground - the Domergues have owned this land since it was a silver mine claim in the 1870's but it soon ran dry and they kept it for the hot springs that got some attention in the 1910's when Red Rock's identity was re-invented as a tourism location. Daisy Domergue is running the place today - after her husband drank himself to death her two sons (Bruce and Walton) help her out. Crystal Springs had always been a cell phone dead zone until last year when the antenna was installed on Daisy's roof. It's "driving her crazy" she says. 

Daisy doesn't like her son Bruce to hang out with Budd. Fortunately this guy doesn't like to come up here often - the gravel road ruins his car.

Close to the entrance and Daisy's house there is Martha's caravan. She's been here for ages during summer and belongs to Crystal Springs like the hot spring itself. Daisy asks her to join her in the house frequently but she refuses every time - "I'm a happy camper" she uses to say. When arriving at the site you'd probably rather run into her than anybody else.

There has been a fire ban in the recent years due to the dry weather (climate change has arrived to Red Rock too) - and whenever the ban is lifted the campers celebrate their freedom with a huge bonfire in the pic nic area up at the entrance.

Walton, the calmer one of the Domergue's boys took over one of his father's hobbies: The bees. They produce the best wildflower honey in the whole of Colorado (according to Martha) - and the honey might be the reason that the Domergues get really old - if they don't drink.

And here's the reason for Crystal Springs Campground's name: Tucked away behind a few bushes in a quiet corner of the site but mostly visible due to the steam there is a small rocky pond of clear, hot water.

After a hike the campers rather use the hot springs than the old rusty showers of the campground. No wonder. It's a hidden gem of Red Rock that is luckily less commercialized than the spa and pool down in the valley. (And it's the same water anyway...)

In the middle of the campground there is the Crystal Springs Boy Scout Cabin - available for rentals up to 25 people. Bunk beds, a kitchen and a dining room make it a perfect place for school camps and outdoor weeks.

It never gets busy at Crystal Springs though. There are quite a few permanent residents with their trailers - and when the flocks of summer guests are gone nothing can beat the calm around here.

Daisy already started her daily bonfire while the last rays of sun send their golden light across the campground. She is a real pyromaniac. Burning up things makes her feel better and the regular fire bans hit her hard.

While it's usually quiet during the days it becomes creepily silent when night falls. Except for the owls and a bit of wind in the trees there is nothing.

This is the last of the residents coming back to the camp. Daisy always knows who's in or out. She'll wait for her fire to burn down, then it's time to close the manual barrier and watch a bit of TV. It's been another uneventful day at Crystal Springs.

That's all folks.

Time for the closing title and the credits for all those assets (too many this time to name them all):

Trailer homes: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=471183698&searchtext=trailer+home

Scout cabin: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=437733735&searchtext=scout

Bee hive: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=442233952&searchtext=bee

Barrier: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=430294840&searchtext=barrier

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

The characters in Red Rock makes this place very interesting. Thanks for the heads up...I now know where not to travel if I pay a visit  

Awesome and very enjoyable updates! Love the detailing too.