Trixies 2015-2016: Awards Ceremony

Okaiken is what first pops in mind when we think of Asian cities and towns. Modern high-rises, sprawling metropolises, densely packed residential units, an efficient transportation system... given us a very authentic taste of Japanese cities & culture and his constancy regardless of time period he is working in simply remarkable. Sometimes I even thought that Okaiken looked much better than some real Asian cities

Best CBD

Every major city has a CBD, and our CJs love creating CBDs of their own. This award goes to the best example of CBDs that we've seen in CJs this year.

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InvaderNat

Invader crafted a gorgeous waterfront-based CBD area featuring several large sporting venues, a large marina, plenty of parks and opens space, numerous historical highrises and several massive modern skyscrapers all zoned out to perfection.

Best City Journal Startup

This award goes to our favourite new City Journaller whose first CJ has become an immediate favourite.

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MissVanleider

This CJ'er first showed up in the CJ scene in 2015 with her journal City of Pot-Pourri. MissVanleider has an innovative style of city building that gives her cities an open and airy feel to them. She also makes use of an eclectic and colorful mix of buildings which help to make her work all the more interesting and unique all of which is why I still follow her work closely to this day.

Best European Style City Journal

This award goes to the CJ which is the best example of a city created in the style of other European cities.

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_Michael

For creating a very unique composition of highly colorful cities European-styled cities with added mix of a few other styles interspersed in between which don't detract from the overall aesthetic.

Best Fictional City Journal

This award goes to the best fictional city, a city which is neither sci-fi nor a real world recreation, but a city with its own style, history and location.

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Mymyjp

This CJ features a wide array of custom bat's, extensive MMP work and an intriguing city design all put together in a seamless way and in a style all of her own.

Best Historical City Journal

City Journals introduced a new way of learning and living a bit of history. From the Roman Empire to the 19th century, some players decided to go beyond the four predetermined tilesets and write their own little part in history. This award goes to the member who has better told us ancient stories and ways of life.

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Kim Sunwoo

Leningrad transcended what a CJ is, to become a history class, a chronicle of a war. There wasn't only pure destruction, but Kim also showed the city defences for the war, the bunkers, the food harvested in green spaces due to the German siege, propaganda billboards. One of the best historical journals ever published on Simtropolis. Kim meretriciously and accurately recreated numerous scenes of Leningrad during World War 2. He had many of us eagerly anticipating the next update of his CJ, week after week.

Best Industry

The gritty grime of the industry doesn't escape most cities, but this member has fully embraced the smog and pollution of their industry and created CJ which showcases how great their industrial zone is.

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An exhibition of know-how in heavy industrial CJing. He liked spicing up his cities with industrial areas, until he became the king of it in outstanding updates.

Best Narration

This award goes to the City Journal that makes us feel at home in the city, providing familiar landmarks while telling us the story of a city.

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jmsepe

For telling an interesting and compelling story while showcasing a beautiful Asian themed city at the same time.

Best Natural Environment / Landscape Area

Some CJs are designed to show off the beautiful beaches, river valleys, and mountains in their region. This award is for the CJ that best showcases the region's natural terrain.

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tariely

Nominated for showcasing a wide variety of grassy, rocky and watery landscapes in what seemed liked like a hundred different ways.

Best North American Style City Journal

This award goes to the CJ which is the best example of a city created in the style of other North American cities.

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packersfan

Huge sprawling suburbs? Check. Large space consuming interchanges? Check. Gird like street patterns and a centralized downtown core? Check. DoW is quite clearly an authentic north America styled CJ and a very good one at too boot.

Best Overall Design

City Journallers pay close attention to how every part of their Journals look, from how their entries are formatted and posted, to how compose the images they post. This award goes to the member who has the best designed City Journal overall.

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jmsepe

For using a twitter-like format to get effect while and seamlessly intertwining views of his city with the images of several well known anime characters as we follow them living their lives within his creation.

Best Park

Sometimes you need a break from the concrete jungle. Scenic beauty and recreation are elements of this award. This creator has created the ultimate in parks using a naturalistic setting.

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gviper

For creating large elaborate park such as the Ziggurat, Del mar gardens & Jenquai Aqueducts.

Best Photoshopping

This award goes to the member who has the best photoshopping of any CJ. From creating different worlds, to balancing image colours, this member used Photoshop to enhance their images in the most creative way possible.

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MilitantRadical

Blizzards, torrential down pours, gracefully covering his cities with whimsical clouds or illuminating them in sparkling displays of light, there is seemingly no limit to the versatility of this CJ'er vast photo editing skills. A very unique and consistent style of photoshopping.

Best Real World Re-Creation

Many CJs are based off of real life locations, or share similar styles with real cities. This CJ goes beyond that to have the closest recreation of a real world location.

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dedgren

An amazing RL recreation, right at the start of CSL's life. Still going on and still inspiring.

Best Road Map

This award goes to the member who has documented their city in the most amazing road map we have seen this year.

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For his beautiful representations of Pretoria's road and railway network.

Best Road Geek

Every City Journal must have roads, but the recipient of this award paid attention to the detail of each and every road to ensure they had proper functionality and use for the Sims who would be using it everyday.

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Haljackey

The parclo master and RHW interchange building fanatic! All of his highways were built to serve the incredibly large cities and their usage shows it.

Best Rural / Agriculture

Cities and skyscrapers are great, but rural towns are fantastic too. This award is for the CJ that best depicts a rural area.

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47ply

I still vividly remember his bicker road updates even though it's been two years since they've been posted! That's just how good they were.

Best Science Fiction City Journal

The member who wins this award really deserves a lot of credit for designing cities and a region that we could only imagine in a Science Fiction novel.

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Huston

Huston blurred the lines between SC4 and Mass Effect in this CJ, almost retooling all what we know about CJing. He showed us that perhaps, you don't need to build cities in order to show your stunning work. Mass Effect is a great example of what a creative player and mind can create when thinking out of the box, and how to attract viewers who otherwise wouldn't be that interested in pure, raw science fiction.

Best Urban Area

This award goes to the member who has created the best city overall. Many CJs exhibit great parts of their city, but this award goes to the CJ which creates the best city overall.

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MilitantRadical

While he wasn't been as active as in years, MilitantRadical still displayed more than enough to remind us of his mastery of the skyline and city building. His cities are full of epic monuments and towers galore, all put together in a eye catching way.

Best Use of Added Media

Not all that we see in City Journals is real. But of them all, this CJ stood out above them all with the best use of added graphics, sound, or video in a CJ at Simtropolis.

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Besides the CJing aspect, Okaiken's updates were always spiced by a video, a music piece, a mosaic, a piece of Japanese culture... All contributing to create a unified image for Okaiken and to take the reader a bit beyond the CJ.

Best Use of Railroads

Railroads are the backbone of many cities, transporting freight or commuters. This award goes to the CJ which has given us the best example of what a railroad can be.

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philforhockey51

Slopes pose no threat to Phil's rail networks. Whether it's on his Super Chief or modern Bullet network you can count on him making an awesome rail network every time on the dot!

City Journal of the Year

The nominations are in, and it was decided that this City Journal was the best creation this year.

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Kim Sunwoo

Kim meretriciously recreated numerous scenes from the city of Leningrad which was under siege by the Germans during World War 2. Through his incredible attention to detail and his surreal narration of events I felt as though I could actually understand what it was like to actually live through the events portrayed in his journal. For nearly bringing me to a time and place I would never want to be, Kim Sunwoo's Leningrad is to me the Simtropolis City Journal of the year for 2015.

Most Entertaining City Journal

This award is for the City Journal that is really fun. The text, the screenshots, and the everyday life of the theme city are very entertaining.

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Mymyjp

For chronicling the day to day life of the Elizabeth (mayor of New Manshin) in a fun and informative way.

Most Surrealistic City Journal

This award goes to the surrealist CJ that we've read this year.

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utopolist

Utopolist is one of the most unusual things that I have ever seen during the past two years. The audience is left with sets of pictures to describe the landscape for interpretation, it's just that brilliant!

Saddest City Builder Moment Caught on Picture

This award goes to the creator who managed to document the lowest moment of their city. This could be from a natural disaster, a silly bug or from an incredibly bad planning decision. This members misfortune gave us a smile, and so we reward them with this token of our gratitude.

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ユミちゃん

The poor citizens of Tagawa City had to deal with the great tsunami & flood of 3/11, which resulted in nearly 5000 casualties! For dealing with that they are certainly more than deserving of a Trixie.

Custom Content Awards

Best BAT Newcomer of the Year

Big splashes have been made in the community this year by this new BATer!

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A new BATter is nothing we get so often these days anyway, but Diego Del Llano not only made his appearance, but also contributed a whole host of BATs whose quality went from a very respectable debut to really good to pretty awesome fast. For never having created anything before, the quantity and quality of his highrises is impressive. Without him, the highrise category would have been a lot less impressive in 2015.

BAT of the Year

The nominations are in, and it was decided that this BAT was the best creation this year.

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kellydale2003

This building, quite simply, is gorgeous. The nightlights are probably the best I've ever seen on a BAT, those 300+ hours of rendering were well worth it! This building was in production for a number of years, with constant revisions being made time and time again, and the end result is amazing. That sort of dedication to realism and accuracy says "BAT of the year" to me.

BATter of the Year

This member is the best overall BATer this year. Multiple BATs at an outstanding level of quality, mixed with their ability to constantly help others in BAT threads makes this member the best BATer this year.

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Jason continues his reign as one of the most popular uploaders with multiple stunning uploads this year, BATing everything from high-rises, to midrises, to lighthouses. If creating those wasn't enough, he was always ready to everyone asking for help.

Best Automata

SC4 players are in love with their automata. We love to cruise the streets, hop a bus, ride the rails, and fly the friendly skies. This award goes to the member who has ensured we can do all of the above.

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airman15

It's all about the A&A - Automobiles and Airplanes for this member and he is most definitely living up to his name. The streets of SimCity would not be empty without him, but they'd have much fewer interesting vehicles on them. With a portfolio ranging from street sweepers to super sports cars (most of the times in many different colours), no other member has added so many high-quality automata to the STEX this year. As if this was not enough, he also makes planes (true to his nick!) and even trains!

Best Development Thread

This award is for the person who curates the best development thread, through either providing an insight into their own creative process, writing tutorials or just by being the best at documenting the twists and turns of creating content for the STEX.

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Not only are there always breathtaking WIP shots to gawk at, but you also carry away interesting tidbits of knowledge every so often - sometimes about the original buildings, sometimes about BATting techniques, sometimes about measuring and massing, sometimes about things to consider when thinking about how best to add the building to the game, sometimes about 3dsmax troubleshooting. Together with its enormous length, this makes his BAT thread a real treasure chest for anyone interested in SC4 BATting - or at the very least in the final result.

Best Industrial BAT of the Year

Industrial parks are an absolute essential in our cities. But they are often under represented as BATers choose more glamorous subjects. That is not the case for this member. We feel a sneeze coming on due to their dusty realness, because industrial structures have never felt a more reverential touch.

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The towers truly are a marvel of engineering. All of those intricate supports must have been an exercise in patience. It's not common to see towers being released and it was very well done.

Best Large Scale Project

The scale and scope of this project is so impressive that it's taken a great amount of work to pull off. This award goes to the member who has created the best large scale project.

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Not only continuing a long term project to revitalise industrial, but with a whole new twist. IRM is the best large scale project this year thanks to a multitude of expansion lots and new creations.

Best Lotter

This award recognizes the skill of the individual who puts a high level of polish to each lot creation, and has received acclaim from the community with every lot that is created.

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There was a time when lotting was the black sheep of the SimCity 4 modding family. But in the last few years the quality and quantity of new lots has increased greatly, but despite this strong competition, kingofsimcity's lotting output stands out above the rest. His realistic sense of scale, his attention to detail, his tastefulness, and his ability to bring the best out of all of the content he uses add up to a fantastic collection of lots.

Best Props

Every little helps. This award goes to the member who best added to the Lot Editor's custom palette.

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MushyMushy

Props tend to be overlooked because they generally only come into play when someone uses them on a lot, and then it's likely that the lot creator gets much praise not least due to the props they used. MushyMushy made a set of HD-quality trucks and trailers in different variations, offering lot makers a staple prop in a quality never seen before.

Best Re-Creation

This BAT is the best recreation of a specific, real life building, done with total devotion to complete and thorough accuracy.

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Reddonquixote

With his re-creation of Rio de Janeiro's world-famous landmark El Cristo Redentor, Reddonquixote has once again outdone himself. The building is a combination of the sculpture itself - no right angles and copied storeys here! - and a custom foundation that allows players to put this beautiful statue on top of an actual mountain in their game and make it look just right and perfectly realistic. For the sake of flexibility, a standalone version for 1x1 plazas is also included, and both feature truly beautiful and breathtaking night lights in no less than 7 different colour versions.

Best Re-Lot

Taking an existing building and giving it a new lease of life is an important skill. This award goes to the member who has created the best reLOT this year.

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FrankU

Great Dutch relots, specifically the stadiums. FrankU did a very good job with these ones.

Best Remake of a Building From Older SimCity Games

A building from yesteryear, remade for this year. This award goes to the member who has made the best creation from a previous SimCity game.

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Huston

Huston often uploads very diverse stuff and may get overlooked in those categories where he's present therefore, but I think he deserves some recognition for doing very interesting stuff and niche uploads, and all at stunning quality! His remake of SC3000's Aquilina Building is very interesting due to building choice, the rather obscure and fascinating RL inspiration Maxis had for that building and, most of all, the ace quality of the final result which shines on its own, but also brings some sweet nostalgia to the game for old SimCity fans

Big Building of the Year

Buildings come in all sizes, but this is the best skyscraper, highrise or major complex created this year.

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Xyloxadoria

A skyscraper that's an educational building? Now this is something you don't see every day, and much less BATted at such a quality level. Not only the tower itself was recreated meticulously, but also its ground landscaping. This may not be the tallest tower, but it is a very special one, a kind you don't see every day. Rarely I had a building in my cities that looks so lordly and demands respect by everything you plop around it.

Some might not consider this a 'big building' because it's a very tall building, but it's not just tall it's quite long & wide as well unlike a normal skyscraper and is likely the largest building released this year in terms of overall square footage.

Favourite BAT Team

This award goes to the community's favourite BAT team this year.

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NYBT

The era of BAT teams seems to be over for the most part - but not entirely! Against all odds, the NYBT has still brought us a few great uploads - here's to hoping they will stay with Simtropolis!

Highest Overall Quality

This award goes to the person whose creations are consistently outstanding.

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mattb325

mattb325's BATs are nothing short of quality. Additionally, he combines it with balanced moding and fantastic lotting work for a complete package.

Highest Technical Achievement in Custom Creations

This award goes to the individual who has pushed the boundaries of custom content beyond what we once knew, and who have shared their discoveries with the rest of the community.

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NAM Team

Draggable multi radius curves released with NAM34 (December 2015) - Replacing the puzzle pieces with draggable multi radius curves makes network creation so much quicker.

Lot of the Year

Buildings must go on some kind of LOT, and this LOT is the best we have seen this year.

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The King more than outdid himself with Lakeside Place. Not only is it the most beautiful suburb office park complex I've ever laid my eyes upon but he didn't stop there. As if one version wasn't enough he gave us no less then four different lots to make use of. How the heck am I suppose decide upon which one to use Kingofsimcity!? Screw it, I'm using all four!

Mod of the Year

All votes are now in, and it has been decided by the community that this Mod was the best creation this year.

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simmaster07

SC4Fix fundamentally improved game stability for heavy custom content users by killing off one of the most annoying crashes involving transit-enabled lots and puzzle pieces.

Most Beautiful Small Addition

This award goes to the member who has created a tiny yet extremely beautiful addition to the game.

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xonedl

His Parking Entry invokes a certain grace and a unique aesthetic that lacks in many cities.

Most Dedicated Modder

This award recognizes the Modder who has stretched most to go above and beyond, to bring us their best possible work in some shape or form.

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His uploads in 2015 could well be summarised with the sentence "if it's part of the NAM somehow, rsc204 has probably made a facelift mod for it". From SAM streets to elevated rail overpasses and whatnot, he's always there to iron out those small aesthetic shortcomings and often also functional limitations. However, his dedication doesn't stop there: He's also always available to help others with modding problems

Most Luminous Illuminator

Lighting, or more specifically night lighting, creates such completely dramatic changes to the way we view our BATs in game. This award goes to the BATer who provided lighting that is the most realistic, most technically advanced, most beautifully fitting, or even the most outlandishly eye-catching.

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Huston and Jasoncw

Simply, the nightlights are amazing; they're both photorealistic and very visually pleasing. All of the lights blend right in with the rest of the city yet stand apart at the same time. It is an impressive achievement.

Jasoncw's Oakland Tribune recreation has some of the most beautiful night lighting I've ever seen on a building in the game.

Most Important Discovery / Innovation

It seems that some relatively small steps for Modders can lead to some pretty giant leaps for simkind. This award has been invented for the one who sits at the desk in the Mission Control of Modding. Houston, we have a Trixie!

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simmaster07

SC4Fix.dll is arguably the most significant breakthrough in the history of SimCity 4 modding. Simmaster07 not only managed to painstakingly piece together the fragments of a DLL Software Development Kit (SDK) for SC4 over several years, but then proceeded to use his findings completely eradicate one of the most infamous game bugs--the TE Lot/Puzzle Piece crash-to-desktop. This is an unprecedented development.

Most Improved BATter

This award goes to the BATer who has shown the most improvement during the year.

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In the same year Diego came to ST with his works, he also improved his BATs a lot. What an impressive improvement from someone so new!

Most Inventive Creation

With many different cities come many different ways which buildings or creations could adapt to their surroundings, and the only way to overcome this is to make an inventive creation to cover all bases. This member created the most inventive addition to our game.

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madhatter106

The descriptions and stories are a very interesting read. The stories behind each building give players an emotional attachment to them, garnering genuine excitement and happiness when one does grow.

Most Realistic Creation

This award goes to the member who has created a BAT which is extremely realistic. This is a fictional building, yet is so well detailed we could be forgiven in assuming it was a real world recreation.

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kellydale2003

Kellydale's impressive recreation brings every detail from the original into this stunning BAT. An impressive building from a talented BATer.

Most Useful Creation

These creations fill a void that many of us feel came with the vanilla game. They are useful because they make our cities feel more complete.

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This mod has become an automatic install in all of my cities. So many different uses in such an attractive mod.

Most Useful Feedback in Custom Content Threads

This award is for the person who provides great, behind the scenes support for other people's BATs. Helping out, giving valuable instruction, and doing those annoying but necessary tasks needed to bring a quality BAT to the STEX.

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Whenever I see that someone is having creative or rendering issues with their BAT, Jason is quick to show up and provide much need assistance to help the member continue on with their project.

Radio, What's New? Radio, Someone Still Loves You

We saw radio ga ga...

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Catering for a category that had been somewhat neglected for a while, Takingyouthere uploaded not one, but many impressive BATs of radio towers with a wide variety of shapes, colours, sizes, and construction types - all so crisply and beautifully rendered that you're itching to place at least one of them on top of that mountain in your city because you know it will look awesome and add an often overlooked touch of reality.

Small Building of the Year

Buildings come in all sizes, but this is the best small building, house, shack, service, warehouse created this year.

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Big Red Lighthouse, made by Jason, is one of my favourite small buildings of all times for being so small but so lovely and well done, it's also the kind of BAT we don't usually see being released on STEX.

STEX Community Favourite

When asked who was the STEX Community Favourite, most people chose this individual.

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madhatter106

If you look for the spectacular, look elsewhere. But if you look for stuff that is always offered as a complete package of BATs created with utmost love to detail, humourous undertones, fascinating background stories, custom queries, you know this is precisely what you get when madhatter106 uploads one of his signature packs. But it doesn't stop there. Their biggest virtue is that they are tailor-made to bring more variety into the game, and as many users can attest: they never cause problems and always grow. This makes them pretty much care-free staple BATs in any plugins folder, and is the reason why everybody loves them.

Forum Awards

Best Tutorial

While the game may be ten years old, new things and new ways of doing old things keep popping up. This award is for the member who demonstrated a useful procedure in a tutorial.

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Previously, everything about lotting and modding for SC4 had to be compiled by each user; the information has always been there but scattered across multiple sites in dozens of threads. With a single download, users have all the resources in one place to easily create their first mod.

Friendliest Forumer

This award recognizes the most friendly forumer, one who is always piping in with good cheer and making newbies feel at home.

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Every time I open my notifications to find a little message saying this man mentioned me in a topic, it brightens my mood. He doesn't settle for just saying something I might have done "looks great" or that I did a "good job". He also takes the time to explain why. It makes it very clear what my strengths are as a city builder, and makes me feel flattered at the same time.

Highest Quality Poster

Many members have high post counts, some stretching well into the ten-thousands. But sometimes its quality, not quantity, that matters. This award goes to the person who may not have a high post count, but puts a lot of thought into their posts to ensure that each one matters.

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When I grow up, I want to write posts as knowledgeable, clear, precise and detailed as rsc204's. He's an example for all of us forumers, who sometimes might reply leaving some details behind, rsc204 will come to our rescue to really dissect the topic and offer as much help as possible.

Most Engaging Off Topic

This award recognizes the member whose contributions in the Off-Topic section are above and beyond the usual high quality. The winner has a positive attitude, and engages the readers of their posts by making relevant and useful comments.

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For his welcoming presence and willingness to engage in conversation with anyone and on any topic. Always posting all over the general off topic forum section, he was smart and informed, and would occasionally crack a joke. Many of the topics he started lead to interesting discussions, his borad knowledge was amazing.

Most Helpful Post

One post which went a long way to help. This award goes to the member who assisted many people with a notably informative and resourceful forum contribution.

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Cyclone Boom

There is little doubt that the tutorial informing users about the disabling of Safedisk protection has enabled hundreds of users to keep playing SC4. Written very clearly, it is a great resource to point players towards, and it is undoubtedly one reason many players still boot up SimCity 4 every day.

Most Informed Member on Real World Events

This award goes to the member who is most likely to be reading the newspaper right now. This member is constantly engaged with global events and is relied on to keep us informed of what's going on in the world today.

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A Nonny Moose was on the forefront of all news, and was consistently the first to inform us of current events. A budding journalist.

Technical Denizen

The threads in our Bugs & Technical Issues forums discuss many issues. This award honours the best techie who answers the wide range of questions that people raise.

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Hamish Cyclone Boom Huston Toothless Stitch

A Nonny Moose was an always at the ready, willing and definitely able to help out with any question, big or small. His extensive knowledge of everything technical and SimCity related meant he was wonderfully helpful to anyone in need.

Challenge Coordinators

For making the Simtropolis Challenges possible.

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Thanks go to our the team behind Season Two of the Simtropolis Challenges. This season saw a lot of growth, and a couple new faces leading the way. We thank you for your dedication as the fun and frivolity our members enjoyed wouldn't have been possible without you.

Community Awards

Best Avatar

Some avatars are interesting; some not so much. This award goes to the member whose avatar was deemed the most entertaining.

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Dazzyls

When it comes to avatars, they don't get any more explosive than this!

Enduring Dedication Award

Simtropolis has changed much through the ages. The award goes to a member whose dedication, work, and contributions have helped make the site evolve into its current form.

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Schulmanator

Schulmanator has been a highly active member of the community for over a decade now and yet he still continues to post highly entertaining and lively updates in the largest Simtropolis CJ of all time (by both post and view count).

Funniest Overall Member

This award goes to the member who helped spread some good cheer, keeping the community in good spirits.

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Thin White Duke

I literally cannot get enough of this guy! There are times when I have a rough day and it suddenly gets a thousand times better whenever there's a notification he posted!

Merit of Team Spirit

Without teamwork, a project can become chaos. This award goes to the team best able to overcome adversity and to stick together through thick and thin. This team has shown real dedication to making these projects work.

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catty-cb

After the SimPeg disaster she did so much to hold things together. Thank you, Catty!

Most Active Non-City Builder

This award is for the user who does not play a city builder game, but still contributes a massive amount to the Simtropolis forums.

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Duke87

Duke continues to be ever present in our forums, even though he hasn't loaded SimCity in years. A testament to the great nature of the man who has for so many years called Simtropolis home.

Most Consistently Helpful Member

The most consistently forumer is recognized for tirelessly answering questions when possible, often answering the same ones over and over with good cheer, is always eager to share knowledge and point the uninitiated toward the light.

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A Nonny Moose continued to provide an amazing level of support for all members on the site. With a breadth of knowledge so vast he was able to help members young and old, inexperienced and veteran.

Most Welcoming to Newcomers

Some just give a simple "Welcome to the site" to new members who join the site. This member was always there to meet and greet newcomers to the community.

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During 2015, Tonraq was a staple at the Introduce Yourself Thread. Meeting and greeting newcomers is an important role to make them feel at home, and Tonraq did this admirably.

Simtropolis Walking Library

Every community has a member who knows so much about the site we belong to. They are always there to provide us with historical facts about Simtropolis, and this award recognises them within the history of ST.

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Duke87

No one has more knowledge of Simtropolis than Duke does. He is a walking treasure trove of Simtropolis information. Look out Google, Duke is on the scene.

The Member Who Was Everywhere

This award goes to a member whose dedication, work, and contributions have helped make the site a welcoming and enjoyable place for all.

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It's not a secret that our dear Moose was everywhere in this forum. Ever since I became a member of Simtropolis I always saw the main forum directory had A Nonny Moose as an ever-present poster. It wouldn't matter what the subject was about he was always there and each thread was as it "should" be when he made a reply. Now the forums feel.. empty.. to say the least. His passing was a major loss to the entire site and even now they still don't feel the same.

We Miss You; Come Back

In an online community such as this, people come and go as Real Life Syndrome takes over. Sometimes, we lose someone who we really would rather have kept among us. This award goes to the person we miss the most and wish to hear from in the next year.

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6459978.

Many moons ago, 6459978 was one of the fledgling BATers on Simtropolis. On the STEX he only released a few BATs, but they were very good at a time when the community was still trying to figure out how to do things. His recreations were inspirational and informative, and he was really nice guy. He was doing what I wanted to be doing. I still have them in my Plugins today, including two gems from Toronto: Simcoe Place and Roy Thomson Hall. While he hasn't been as active in recent years, I still remember his constructive comments and valuable contributions to the Simtropolis community. Come back, 6459978, We miss you!

Best Dirktator

It can only be...

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Dirktator

Our marvellous leader has provided with another glorious year. He has continued to steer the ship, thwarting bugs and internet goblins, charting a safe course through the depths of the internet. Where will the S.S. Simtropolis take us next? No one knows, but as long as Dirk is at the helm I know we'll be in for smooth sailing.

Staff Awards

Thanks for all your continued hard work and dedication.

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Our Illuminous Friends

What you all brought to Simtropolis has remained with us to this day. Thank you for your dedication to this place, you've made everyone here better for it, even the ones which you haven't met yet. We are always looking forward for that next conversation, and always know that there's a seat for you here in this website which owes you so much.

Stylish Staff

Have you ever seen a more stylish group of individuals? I don't think you have, it's impossible! There's a cheesecake, two Dinosaurs, a superhero spider, a sentient iron, a pony or two, a sheep, a cougar, a couple of buildings, a flag in a ball, some picture frames, a cute little troll, and a bunch of people with super hair!

Thanks to this bunch of super stylish mods our site has stayed free of fashion faux pas.

Adorable Admins

This adorable bunch kept the llamas in check all year. Thanks go out to the cute bunnies, the fluffy kiwi fruit, a city superhero, a little spaceman, a bright glowing orb, a happy smiling face, and a delightful little storm.

Stay classy!

Cyclone Boom · November 14, 2017

2016 Trixie Winners -

The nominations are in and they've all been counted. Here are the winners for 2016!

City Journal Awards

Best Airport

We've seen many examples of airports in CJs this year, this members CJ has paid close attention to the design of their Airport, and we celebrate them with this award.

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kelistmac

For his incredibly realistic and amazingly well put together airport. He creatively used several none-airport related BAT's & lots to great effect and incorporated a couple more which had not been previously seen before.

Best Asian Style City Journal

This award goes to the CJ which is the best example of a city created in the style of other Asian cities.

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Modern high-rises, sprawling metropolises, densely packed residential units, an efficient transportation system... Sometimes I even thought that Okaiken looked much better than some real Asian cities. His CJ is not simply just the best Asian-styled CJ in 2016, but also a contender of best journals of the year.

Best Attention To Detail

Many CJ's include pictures that are zoomed in to the max, showing their detailed downtowns, lots, and other features. This award is for the CJ that pays a great deal of attention to detail and perfection.

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kelistmac

Any Saitama picture is a feast for the eyes, handcrafted to the pixel scale. No car is misplaced, no lamppost is misplaced... One can spend hours looking at them.

Best CBD

Every major city has a CBD, and our CJs love creating CBDs of their own. This award goes to the best example of CBDs that we've seen in CJs this year.

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John A. Rivers

Medrean city features a downtown core with a wide array of nothing but the highest quality BAT releases all spaced out in a eye catching way and intersperse with scenic parks, plaza's, wide boulevards and even a picturesque canal. What more could you possibly want?

Best CJ Startup

This award goes to our favourite new City Journaler whose first CJ has become an immediate favourite.

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philforhockey51

A new comer on the CJ scene for 2016. Phil's Mountain North is a journal that covers a vast region largely covered in dense vegetation and through which numerous rivers flow across. Interspersing across this region are numerous small towns that are connected by a large network of highways & railways. Each of these small cities are highly detailed with a fine selection of custom lots and mmp work ll the more reason why I want to see where he takes us next.

Best Concept in a City Journal

All CJs are special in their own ways. This award goes to the Journaller who presented a concept which stood out in a unique style.

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RandyE

NorthWest Coastal Metropolis is a very interesting and refreshing spin on SC4 - he takes us to all sorts of different worlds and scenarios with each update, and the storyline really makes each update come to life. I've never seen anything like it before -- it's an awesome application of SC4 and what can be possible with a little imagination. Many CJs post lots of pictures without any narration, storyline, or underlying ideas, so his CJ really stands out from the crowd -- it's a truly unique experience.

Best Custom Lotting

Most CJs make use of the great creations uploaded to the STEX, but this member has gone beyond that to create amazing custom LOTs for their own city.

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Krisman

Krisman showcases some deceptively subtle, yet gorgeous lotting in Principauté de Caravella-Guatalaga. I was taken aback when I realized that the entire city was custom lotted - roads included. Everything was done with a coherent theme in mind and Krisman executes this beautifully.

Best European Style City Journal

This award goes to the CJ which is the best example of a city created in the style of other European cities.

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feyss

Feyss created many authentic urban & rural scenes of Europe that are aesthetically pleasing when seen from afar and up close.

Best Fictional City Journal

This award goes to the best fictional city, a city which is neither sci-fi nor a real world recreation, but a city with its own style, history and location.

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When I'm playing SC4 I become a child again my head full of magical stories or maybe: my fantasy a planet of its own, light years away from my adult real life. And I see the same when I watch Onyx-Avalon.

Best Historical City Journal

City Journals introduced a new way of learning from history. From the Roman Empire to the 19th century, some players decided to go beyond the four predetermined tilesets and write their own little part in history. This award goes to the member who has better told us ancient stories and ways of life.

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SimCoug

2016 marked the return of perhaps the greatest Simtropolis historical journal after nearly a year long absence. SimCoug continued to chronicle the rapid growth of the New SorGun region while also narrating the fascinating stories of the characters who live within that creation. Quite honestly, it feels as though I'm reading about events that have taken place in our world and not just a simple work of fiction.

Best Industry

The gritty grime of the industry doesn't escape most cities, but this member has fully embraced the smog and pollution of their industry and created CJ which showcases how great their industrial zone is.

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Behind the name, an exhibition of know-how in heavy industrial CJing awaits. Takingyouthere liked spicing up his cities with industrial areas, until he became the king of it in 2016 with updates like The Apotex Refinery.

Best MMP Use

Mayor Mode Ploppables give us a great way to build amazing places within our city, adding an extra level of detail to our cities. This member has fully embraced MMPs to create an amazing area within their CJ.

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Scribosilyn

The Phoenix Project is a spectacular showcase of some of the most impressive MMP scenes. Scribosilyn regularly and proficiently makes use of a large variety of MMP's to create landscapes that look as though they could be real world locations, made all the more impressive by the fact he his able to do this without the assistance of any kind of photoshopping. The additional tutorial videos give us a nice view of the building process as well.

Best Narration

This award goes to the City Journal that makes us feel at home in the city, providing familiar landmarks while telling us the story of a city.

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SimCoug

For turning a seemingly simple mayoral election into an intense can't miss, edge of your seat, kind of event. SimCoug's story arch on the New SorGun election campaign captivated me to think he deserves this Trixie even more. SimCoug achieved that feeling of thrill the news channels achieve during election nights, the characters were very likeable: just two different politicians with different ideas on how to run the city. A really enjoyable read even more enjoyable when looking at the pictures.

Best Natural Environment/Landscape Area

Some CJs are designed to show off the beautiful beaches, river valleys, and mountains in their region. This award is for the CJ that best showcases the region's natural terrain.

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Scribosilyn

Scribosilyn beautifully saturated huge swaths of land with MMP's in a grid busting manner that I can stare at for hours on end.

Best Creativity in a City Journal

This award goes to the member who has expressed the best creativity in any CJ. Showcasing a spectacular range of skills, captivating the community with each and every update.

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Quite honestly I'm hard pressed to think of another legitimate nominee for this award this year considering what this member has done. Kover has managed to seamlessly blend SC4 screenshots with real world imagery on a scale never before seen and for that he should be a unanimous selection for this Trixie. All his entries in his True Earth CJ are amazingly well created.

Best Real World Re-creation

Many CJs are based off of real life locations, or share similar styles with real cities. This CJ goes beyond that to have the closest recreation of a real world location.

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Check out their YouTube Channel

Sydney, Athens, Ronda... it's simply impossible to choose only one from True Earth. Pick any of them -- it will probably be the best real world recreation out there anyway. His impeccable creations during the past year have been so realistic that it's almost unbelievable how beautiful these turn out. His cities and images transform your monitor into a window to the world. True Earth is not just the Best Real World Re-creation CJ of 2016, it's one of the best and most realistic CJ in all of Simtropolis history.

Best Roadgeek

Every City Journal must have roads, but the recipient of this award paid attention to the detail of each and every road to ensure they had proper functionality and use for the Sims who would be using it everyday.

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Haljackey

The king of intersections never disappoints! Even beyond the epic 100-video series he continues to send vehicles toward all degrees on a compass and no bottleneck (okay maybe some heavy traffic) stands a chance in his city map!

Best Rural/Agriculture

Cities and skyscrapers are great, but rural towns are fantastic too. This award is for the CJ that best depicts a rural area.

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gatakos

Seeing Agrophilia made me believe for the first time that it might actually be possible for Cities Skylines to become the 3D equivalent of SC4, at least for rural areas.

Best Transportation Network

Not everyone drives to work, and not all businesses ship their goods by road. This CJ shows the power of a well-designed public transport network, from the smallest bus stop to the largest rail terminal. Ships, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; this award goes to the member who presents the best of the first three.

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Linoa06

Linoa06 has always had a hand for transportation, since the days she stunned us with maps at the "Show us your Maps" thread. The advent of CSL helped her to free her mass transport ideas into the game. Her cities are always in the move through any kind of transportation, roads and highways as well. A true urban planner.

Best Urban Area

This award goes to the member who has created the best city overall. Many CJs exhibit great parts of their city, but this award goes to the CJ which creates the best city overall.

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_Michael

Quiet streets, W2Ws, old buildings, canals, fighting the grid, diagonals... it looks an easy thing, but complicated to pull off in reality. Michael mastered this art, building cities in always complicated setups like hills and terraced terrain for example in his city Schwyz. Incredibly realistic European cityscapes, and with them he's created some of the most unique and interesting looking urban scenes for SC4.

Best Use of Added Media

Not all that we see in City Journals is real. But of them all, this CJ stood out above them all with the best use of added graphics, sound, or video in a CJ at Simtropolis.

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Besides the CJing aspect, Okaiken's updates were always spiced by a video, a music piece, a mosaic, a piece of Japanese culture, various graphics, RL bonus pictures, and even a custom made video clip serving as the intro of the regional news station. All contributing to create a unified image for Okaiken and to take the reader a bit beyond the CJ. And last but not least he has made an incredibly authentic and highly informative external website dedicated solely to his region which you can see for yourself here.

Best Use of Railroads

Railroads are the backbone of many cities, transporting freight or commuters. This award goes to the CJ which has given us the best example of what a railroad can be.

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philforhockey51

Slopes pose no threat to philforhockey's rail networks. Whether it's on his Super Chief or Modern Bullet network you can count on him making an awesome rail network every time on the dot! Also his detailed work of railroads in the "Show us your" threads is amazing.

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Best Work in Progress City Journal

Some people not only show their finished cities, but also the construction and all other building and planning processes. This award is for the member who's done the best behind the scenes Work-In-Progress presentation.

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Roadman20

A fascinating CJ with a meticulous attention to detail, interesting WIP discussion, and tricks to fight things like the building limit. Keep building onwards and upwards!

City Journal of the Year

The nominations are in, and it was decided that this City Journal was the best creation this year.

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Completely reinventing CJing with scenes beyond comprehension. He dared to take CJing one step forward, and go technical not only through the use of custom lotting, but also to develop his own 3D Sketchup models to fill in the gaps that weren't filled by SC4 custom content. Some scenes, like the African markets, had never been seen in SC4 in such a high quality. Combining MMPing, custom lotting, photoshopping... korver can do it all. True Earth is a true masterpiece, and a truly deserving winner of City Journal of the Year for 2016.

City Journalling Appreciation Award

An award for outstanding contributions to the City Journal scene.

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Ln X

As explained here, earlier in May this year, Ln X (now The British Sausage) chose to end his long-running journal "My SC4 CJ Scrapbook" after it became irretrievable. This came as a big and sudden shock to us all, especially with it being one of the most prominent and followed CJs over the past 2 years.

Featuring a diverse series of updates, Ln X showcased outstanding work and talent throughout multiple CJ genres. Be it industry, rural areas or landscapes, you name it -- he'd done it and done it well. His CJ was a prime example which followed the philosophy of creating a believable world we could imagine living in.

Therefore as staff, we'd like to recognise the marvellous widespread contributions Ln X brought to Simtropolis. His creations inspired many people for many years, and for that we are very thankful.

You may view a sample of Ln X's works from his posted Homepage Features.

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Most Awe-inspiring City Journal

This award goes to the City Journal that has held members in awe longer than any other CJ this year.

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True Earth showcases some of the most incredibly detailed recreations of real world places through clever custom content creation and photo-editing. Bending the barrier between fiction and reality, nobody dropped as many jaws as Kover did this year. Some of the best images there are in SC4, period!

Most Effective Use of Custom Content

This award goes to the best use of Lots and BATs in a single City Journal. The owner of this Journal had many different brands of custom content, but had them placed so that they all complimented each other in perfect harmony.

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True Earth elevates the usage of SC4 content to a never-before-seen level. Through combining MMPs, custom terrain, textures, BATs, lots and even Sketchup converted models, korver is able to create outrageously gorgeous scenes that it often leaves some of us wondering if we're even playing the same game.

Most Entertaining City Journal

This award is for the City Journal that is really fun. The text, the screenshots, and the everyday life of the theme city are very entertaining.

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His CJ Okaiken, tells us an intricately woven story of man stuck in another time, while at the same showcasing his wonderfully designed city through the use of vivid imagery.

Most Surrealistic City Journal

This award goes to the surrealist CJ that we've read this year.

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utopolist

Utopolist's Utopolis is one of the most unique and interesting CJs I've ever seen on this site. Through SC4 + PS he creates amazing surrealistic scenes, and it's up to the viewer to determine their meaning. It's mysterious, intriguing, and beautiful all at the same time -- but above all else, it's true art in the SC4 form. The audience is left with sets of pictures to describe the landscape for interpretation, it's just that brilliant! There is something in Utopolis that attracts us, its mystery, its lack of context. And the pictures are out of this world... Ahem... Out of this SC4.

Saddest City Builder Moment Caught on Picture

This award goes to the creator who managed to document the lowest moment of their city. This could be from a natural disaster, a silly bug or from an incredibly bad planning decision. This members misfortune gave us a smile, and so we reward them with this token of our gratitude.

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pcwhiz24

For giving us a detailed and harrowing play-by-play of the day when a devastating tornado destroyed most of Woodland River City.

Custom Content Awards

Best BAT Newcomer of the Year

Big splashes have been made in the community this year by this new BATer!

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Aarsgevogelte

Aarsgevogelte made a splash at the beginning of 2016 with a host of gorgeous and detailed European W2W buildings. Incredibly detailed and stunning nightlights to accompany them? Yes, please!

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BAT of the Year

The nominations are in, and it was decided that this BAT was the best creation this year.

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mattb325

Chicago Grand Central Station - mattb325 did it again! I love the classic work, scale and overall color combination and texture of the great lot. Also, the detailed work was amazing. For train stations I would argue this is top three in STEX history. Simply impressive. Enough Said.

BATer of the Year

This member is the best overall BATer this year. Multiple BATs at an outstanding level of quality, mixed with their ability to constantly help others in BAT threads makes this member the best BATer this year.

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JP Schriefer

For having made very great BAT's in 2016 that have enriched the STEX collection even more.

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Best Automata

SC4 players are in love with their automata. We love to cruise the streets, hop a bus, ride the rails, and fly the friendly skies. This award goes to the member who has ensured we can do all of the above.

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airman15

Once again, airman15 provided us with a large number of vehicle automata, all created with much attention to detail and faithful to the originals. One of the few who create automata anymore (if not the only one), airman's models fit well in every city and every one of them is superb. Brilliant work from a brilliant creator.

Bastet Edvarz elavery flunight Huston Jasoncw Jonas_Chaves JP Schriefer juliok92012 Maloskero Reddonquixote Wallibuk

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In the Spirit of the Games

Creating a range of brilliant Brazilian BATs to commemorate the Rio 2016 Olympics.

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Rio 2016 Team

Our resident Brazilians joined forces with other prominent BATers to develop a stunning series of models. Rio 2016 was a great project only achievable by combining these skills and for sure they achieved an outstanding series of BAT.

Best Development Thread

This award is for the person who curates the best development thread, through either providing an insight into their own creative process, writing tutorials or just by being the best at documenting the twists and turns of creating content for the STEX.

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MushyMushy

For regularly providing us with detailed glimpses and progress of the many high quality and eagerly anticipated bats that she is currently working on.

Best Effort in Compatibility

Most clear work dedicated to avoid one custom content to break the game when used in combination with others.

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rivit and rsc204

Their respective work in 2016 paved the way for full-fledged sidewalk and texture replacement modification. With an update to GoFSH, rivit enabled a easy way to mass replace certain parts of textures. Then rsc204 released Version 2 of the Terrain Grass NAM (TGN) and sidewalk replacement sets.

These were both a key factor in unifying the potential inconsistent texturing scheme when utilizing modern terrain mods. Furthermore, by offering the entire repository up for download, this easily allowed people to create their own sidewalk and grass replacement sets to match their choice in terrain textures.

Best Industrial BAT

Industrial parks are an absolute essential in our cities. But they are often under represented as BATers choose more glamorous subjects. That is not the case for this member. We feel a sneeze coming on due to their dusty realness, because industrial structures have never felt a more reverential touch.

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While not strictly a building, Simmer's aqueduct set allows SimMayors to complement their industrial areas with a highly versatile, extensive set of pipelines that includes everything but the kitchen sink and makes all past uploads in the same vein clearly show their age. Diagonal, height transitions, bridges... it's all there, and the possibilities are virtually endless. They are beautifully crafted, and can fit into literally any environment from the middle of nowhere to the heart of an industrial port.

Best Large Scale Project

The scale and scope of this project is so impressive that it's taken a great amount of work to pull off. This award goes to the member who has created the best large scale project.

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While buildings are the fist observed items in SimCity 4, the presentation can either be completed or ruined by the lots they sit on and near. Parking lots are not an exception. Over the course of several uploads dealing with parking lot sets it is now impossible to lay out a car-centric city without them! The creation of thousands of textures with dozens of variations and two entirely different styles is simply astounding.

Best Lotter

This award recognizes the skill of the individual who puts a high level of polish to each lot creation, and has received acclaim from the community with every lot that is created.

Spoiler

There was a time when lotting was the black sheep of the SimCity 4 modding family. But in the last few years the quality and quantity of new lots has increased greatly, but despite this strong competition, kingofsimcity's lotting output stands out above the rest. His realistic sense of scale, his attention to detail, his tastefulness, and his ability to bring the best out of all of the content he uses add up to a fantastic collection of lots. Need a lot of epic lots? Leave it to him.

A prime example being the Maxis Mansion Overhaul, which does an unbelievable job of adding variety to the rich parts of town. Every single lot is unique and has its own style, which is impressive considering a number of lots in the pack.

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Best Parks Lot

Sometimes you need a break from the concrete jungle. Scenic beauty and recreation are elements of this award. This creator has created the ultimate in parks using a naturalistic setting.

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Fantozzi

A huge update to fit in with a great parks set. So many lots, this obviously was a labour of love.

Best Props

Like adding extras to a movie scene, this award goes to the creator who developed the finest set of props this year.

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flunight

Primarily known for his Copacabana uploads, flunight has also shared a set of wonderful tropical flora props with us that bring much-needed variety and quality to any scene set in a tropical environment.

Best Re-creation

This BAT is the best recreation of a specific, real life building, done with total devotion to complete and thorough accuracy.

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JP Schriefer

Nominated for the Magnolia Building, a beautiful but lesser known Beaux-Arts style building. This recreation features stunning textures with incredible depth, spectacular nightlights and some of the most intricate details particularly on the roof area, that I have ever seen in a BAT.

Best Re-lots

Taking an existing building and giving it a new lease of life is an important skill. This award goes to the member who has created the best re-lots this year.

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nos.17

In an extreme example of re-lotting, nos.17 has truly saved some great buildings from death with his rescue of the B62 buildings. It's hard to pick just one, but I have to go with Lowes Home Improvement & Distribution Centers, because I don't see this respectable chain get a lot of love in SimCity, and the lotting is superbly done.

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Best Use of Maxis Content

Making resourceful use of the default buildings and props, this award goes to the lotter who found a way to overcome limitations, creating effective new variations.

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RandyE

Maxis gave us a surprising amount of high-quality content. From the Blvd Park to the Energy Data Packaging Plant, Randy has found new, novel ways to combine them in ways that work great, even today.

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Best Vegetation

Doing the environmental advisor proud, this award goes to the member who's created the best flora items.

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Mr_Maison

Mr_Maison created dozens of beautiful tree assets for Cities: Skylines. His creations can be found in many City Journals. His work dramatically improved the look of the game.

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Big Building of the Year

Buildings come in all sizes, but this is the best skyscraper, highrise or major complex created this year.

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Heblem

The Palacio Legislativo marks a welcome return for the illustrious BATer. An elegant and highly refined custom designed historical government building.

Cities: Skyscrapers

Creating an array of magnificent models for Cities: Skylines.

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boldlybuilding

There have been some incredible buildings made for Cities Skylines, and Boldlybuilding boldly goes where no one else has before. Creating skyscrapers has never been so beautiful, and Boldybuilding's development thread shows them off so well!

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Dedication to Railways

This award goes to the content creator who's led the way on the railways.

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R3V0

The attention to detail in these railway stations is incredible. What makes these stations more amazing is the amount of detail revealed in their development thread.

Highest Overall Quality

This award goes to the person whose creations are consistently outstanding.

Spoiler

Rail infrastructure is a tough integration into any city. Just as Sims need gas stations and garages for the vehicles they drive, so should the rail lines use maintenance facilities. Simmer2's selection of rail infrastructure does well more than surpass the grandest station that came with the game! They deserve to be counted as a "must add" to any rail scene! His creations are what you get when you mix large variety with high quality in a perfect balance.

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Highest Technical Achievement In Custom Creations

This award goes to the individual who has pushed the boundaries of custom content beyond what we once knew, and who have shared their discoveries with the rest of the community.

Spoiler

Simmer2 brought in countless projects in 2016 that combined detailed lotting, texturing and modelling. Every one of his releases is testament to his proficiency in each of those categories and showcases of the highest quality all-round releases to come out since SC4's inception.

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Lot of the Year

Buildings must go on some kind of LOT, and this LOT is the best we have seen this year.

Spoiler

You only need to look at SM2 Gogar Tram Depot for a second to realize your looking at something special. Just jaw dropping work on textures. So much more to this lot, it really stands out from the pack. Timed/family props all over the place, modular size and totally custom textures. Simply stunning.

Major Complex of the Year

Big isn't always better. But breaking new ground, this mega monstrosity of meticulous lotting proves otherwise.

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mattb325

CBS Columbia Square TV Station - Love the detail in this large scale project. Very realistic look comparable to many real TV stations we see in any major metropolitan city around the country. The helicopter resting on the helipad was a nice touch. The quality of this work is top notch.

Map of the Year

This award goes to the best map which has graced the STEX this year.

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elliotwiley

Cape York / Blue Summit has been very enjoyable to play on. The great mix of mountains, rivers, beach, and ocean make for some very unique setups; combined with minimal terrain processing (smoothing, etc) when creating new cities make this map a winner.

Mod of the Year

All votes are now in, and it has been decided by the community that this Mod was the best creation this year.

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NAM Team

Ah, NAM. The expansion pack we should have at first place. Honestly, I was a little hesitant to install NAM when I had first heard of it. But ever since I tried it, it became my gateway to better city planning and greater realism! If the latest versions of NAM don't qualify for being a must-have in any new city, I don't know what is!

NAM 35 came in offering plenty of amazing new features, such as draggable FAR, RRW and additional stability with RHW networks.

Modding Tool of the Year

Modding Tools are constantly being created to advance our creations. This award goes to the Modding Tool which has changed our game the most this year.

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rivit and rsc204

Not released this year, but a major update was issued in 2016, so I think its Trixie worthy. GoFSH was massively updated in 2016 to allow for content creators to easily automate the creation of thousands of textures and texture replacements. Never again shall there be any texture a user does not want on his/her networks and lots.

Most Beautiful Small Addition

This award goes to the member who has created a tiny yet extremely beautiful addition to the game.

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Bombardiere

Inspired by the classic TV Series, this lot paints a perfect picture and adds a small sparkle of character. Excellent lotting and attention to detail.

Most Dedicated Modder

This award recognizes the Modder who has stretched most to go above and beyond, to bring us their best possible work in some shape or form.

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boformer

Need I say more? Great CSL mods.

View Posts

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Most Luminous Illuminator

Lighting, or more specifically night lighting, creates such completely dramatic changes to the way we view our BATs in game. This award goes to the BATer who provided lighting that is the most realistic, most technically advanced, most beautifully fitting, or even the most outlandishly eye-catching.

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on001222

All of his buildings look great during the day, but they really shine at night. Such as with Amari Watergate Hotel Bangkok -- Not only was this a great lot but the night lighting will blow your mind. What attention to detail seen, especially around the upper level patio areas.

Note: The above link is an index listing of this user's content.
As it's not possible to navigate between entries, an idea is to open them in separate browser tabs, or click the back button once visiting directly.

Most Important Discovery / Innovation

It seems that some relatively small steps for Modders can lead to some pretty giant leaps for simkind. This award has been invented for the one who sits at the desk in the Mission Control of Modding. Houston, we have a Trixie!

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simmaster07

Following SC4Fix, simmaster07 continued on a journey to go beyond the limits of the core game and enable DLL loading on game startup. It takes quite a lot of knowledge to sort out the code, and lots of dedication to piece it all together, test it, bundle it, and upload. Simmaster07 did all that and has made an extremely valuable contribution to the community.

His work with DLLs is truly incredible and has the potential to allow modding in ways that were previously impossible. In my opinion this isn't just a big breakthrough for 2016, but for all of SimCity 4's history.

Most Improved BATer

This award goes to the BATer who has shown the most improvement during the year.

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As good of a year as 2015 was for this content creator, 2016 was an even better year. Not only was he even more prolific, releasing 16 highrise BAT plus one really cool museum, but the quality of his recreations just kept getting better and better. Diego went from being an aspiring beginner among BATers to become one of the leading forces. As they say, practice makes perfect.

Note: The above link is an index listing of this user's content.
As it's not possible to navigate between entries, an idea is to open them in separate browser tabs, or click the back button once visiting directly.

Most Inventive Creation

With many different cities come many different ways which buildings or creations could adapt to their surroundings, and the only way to overcome this is to make an inventive creation to cover all bases. This member created the most inventive addition to our game.

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The modular parking lots KOSC has provided us with may be based on the SHK parking lots but they truly have taken on a life of their own. They are easily adaptable for a wide variety of situations, a wide variety of cities, and a wide variety of mayors; parking is fairly common.

Most Realistic Creation

This award goes to the member who has created a BAT which is extremely realistic. This is a fictional building, yet is so well detailed we could be forgiven in assuming it was a real world recreation.

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Heblem

For HBS Palacio Legislativo. An elegant custom designed creation of a historical government building. It's so realistic you could of sworn it was actually based off a real life building.

Most Useful Creation

These creations fill a void that many of us feel came with the vanilla game. They are useful because they make our cities feel more complete.

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Any urban area needs lots of car parking, with KOSC SP Modular Parking - Base Set, kingofsimcity has provided the community with one of the most versatile parking set ever created. Did I mention it is possible to plop in MMPs on the parking pieces too? Did I also mention it comes with its street/road pieces which can create back alleyways and private roads (urban)? This a fantastic addon to the game.

Not only creating lot textures, but for actually lotting all of them with useful icons and menu descriptions. The modular parking lots can be used to make great looking parking lots, whether squeezed into nooks and crannies in CBDs or as fields of asphalt for suburban malls. With so many options, it really makes large lots come to life with realistic parking.

Most Useful Feedback In Custom Content Threads

This award is for the person who provides great, behind the scenes support for other people's BATs. Helping out, giving valuable instruction, and doing those annoying but necessary tasks needed to bring a quality BAT to the STEX.

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T Wrecks seems to be continuously floating in and out of BAT threads these days and I mean that in a good way seeing as how he provides much need technical support.

View Posts

Note: The above link is an index listing of this user's content.
As it's not possible to navigate between entries, an idea is to open them in separate browser tabs, or click the back button once visiting directly.

Most Valuable Modder

This award goes to the creator who's made an immeasurable impact on the modding scene.

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Eggman121

Eggman121 has been one of the most prolific NAM Team developers in recent memory, and is largely responsible for a veritable renaissance in the area of Heavy Rail development. He has taken Swordmaster's initial steps with the RealRailway (RRW) project, and fleshed them out into one of the largest NAM plugins to date, realizing several new grid-breaking fractional angles, and a wide array of new switch types, with the FlexTrack initiative. He's also contributed to the road and highway side of things, with his development on Multi-Radius Curves.

Railmaster

All aboard!

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Simmer2 has released this last year to the STEX an impressive amount of railroad-related BATs and relots, they're a must have when seriously building industrial areas and busy main stations!

Note: The above link is an index listing of this user's content.
As it's not possible to navigate between entries, an idea is to open them in separate browser tabs, or click the back button once visiting directly.

Small Building of the Year

Buildings come in all sizes, but this is the best small building, house, shack, service, warehouse created this year.

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Aarsgevogelte

Volkshuis was definitely my favourite small building from 2016. It's stunning how well modelled it was. Complementing his other astonishingly detailed releases this year, you can easily tell that a great deal of care and effort was put into creating this BAT's. Everything down to the smallest detail was perfectly recreated.

STEX Community Favourite

When asked who was the STEX Community Favourite, most people chose this individual.

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Diego has kept the STEX alive with his frequent uploading. He creates quality BATs in great quantities and I just don't know how he does it.

Note: The above link is an index listing of this user's content.
As it's not possible to navigate between entries, an idea is to open them in separate browser tabs, or click the back button once visiting directly.

Transportation Pioneers

Paving the way with an innovative groundbreaking pursuit through the rush hour.

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andreharv and Tim The Terrible

What amazing development these two have shown while creating additional public transportation for Cities: Skylines. An awesome set of mods which has changed the way I play the game and is a must have for any serious city builder.

Forum Awards

Best Picture in a "Show is your..." Thread

Sometimes it's best to just show the world your masterpiece. This award goes out to the most fascinating addition to the "Show us your ..." threads.

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I do not think there has been a picture post by korver that I have not loved. His skill is astounding, and so many times we are simply left jaw-dropped in awe.

Best Tutorial

While the game may be 14 years old, new things and new ways of doing old things keep popping up. This award is for the member who demonstrated a useful procedure in a tutorial.

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Cori joined as recently as March 2016 and proved in a record time that she is currently among the best regarded members of the community. Her CORIMAPS tutorial, various themed Shoppes, link lists, gameplay experiments, have all helped newbies and not-so-newbies better understand complex topics. Thanks so much for all your efforts!

Can't Find It?... Ask Me!

When you need to locate that plugin?

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Yarahi

Rest assured, there are many helpful people with knowledge of the whereabouts of BATs and lots. But when all searches turn a blank, and if ever in doubt, Yarahi's the one to help you out!

Chat Insomniac Award

This award goes to the member who is up until the wee hours of the morning chatting and providing buckets of laughter at the same time.

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I remember one time during the summer of 2016 when I stayed up until 7am without sleeping, and was accompanied all the way by Corina. Good times. I felt a bit sick the day after. Went to bed earlier and woke up the next morning feeling fine, so I went on the chat again and there she was, keeping me entertained for hours on end.

Friendliest Chatter

This award recognizes the individual who has always been helpful and chatty in the chat rooms.

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Always there and ready to help, Corina is always so nice in the chat.

Friendliest Forumer

This award recognizes the most friendly forumer, one who is always piping in with good cheer and making newbies feel at home.

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Her presence on ST this year has been a blessing. Corina is cheerful and her posts are always full of energy!

Highest Quality Poster

Many members have high post counts, some stretching well into the ten-thousands. But sometimes its quality, not quantity, that matters. This award goes to the person who may not have a high post count, but puts a lot of thought into their posts to ensure that each one matters.

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Odainsaker

Every post of his is endlessly delightful. Expertly weaving through topics with depth, insight, and charm. Digression upon digression, yet never truly straying off topic. He is the master.

Most Engaging Off-Topic

This award recognizes the member whose contributions in the Off-Topic section are above and beyond the usual high quality. The winner has a positive attitude, and engages the readers of their posts by making relevant and useful comments.

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Fantozzi

The philosophical insights he gives are very interesting and different than anything I have seen on this site.

Most Helpful Forumer

Recognized for tirelessly answering questions when possible, often answering the same ones over and over with good cheer, is always eager to share knowledge and point the uninitiated toward the light.

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He's always popping into threads answering technical questions, offering insight and all around helping other members in a way that isn't enough to describe in a few words.

Most Informed Member on Real World Events

This award goes to the member who is most likely to be reading the newspaper right now. This member is constantly engaged with global events and is relied on to keep us informed of what's going on in the world today.

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APSMS

APSMS brings knowledge and common sense to our Current Events forum, steering us back on course when things get rocky.

Game Show Hosts

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome your hosts...

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ST Challenges

Thanks for all your hard your hard work with orchestrating and keeping the Simtropolis Challenges running smoothly in their 3rd Season.

Community Awards

Best Avatar

Some avatars are interesting; some not so much. This award goes to the member whose avatar was deemed the most entertaining.

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Abrams124

Those GIFs

Best Captain

Every group has an enduring leader steering the ship. This award goes to the leader which has aided our groups the most this year.

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Tarkus

Without his absolute dedication and resolute level headedness, I'm sure the NAM would not be what it is today.

Most Consistently Helpful Member

This award is for recognition of the individual who tirelessly supports any member, on any occasion, in a range of topics.

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Always ready and willing to help new and old members, and often the first to reply in SC4 discussions, Cori has quickly become an invaluable asset to the community.

Her helpfulness covers several regimes in a complex labyrinth of custom content creation. Whether it is exploring unique concepts (moisture data, for one) to providing a new map making technique (c.o.r.i.m.a.p.s) and even compiling a library of known terrain and water textures (I dare anyone to say how this isn't a must-read for region building!).

Enduring Dedication Award

Simtropolis has changed much through the ages. The award goes to a member whose dedication, work, and contributions have helped make the site evolve into its current form.

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T Wrecks has been providing high quality content on the STEX year after year. Additionally, and as a Moderator, he continues to be a regular in various areas of the site such as on STEX reviews, the social forums area and individual BAT threads, just to name just a few. His longstanding influence on Simtropolis is highly commendable.

Funniest Overall Member

Pwning a troll is funny and all, but we don't have that many trolls anymore. While the others are waiting for a troll to declare their superiority over, this member keeps the rest of us laughing.

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Thin White Duke

I literally cannot get enough of this guy! There are times when I have a rough day and it suddenly gets a thousand times better whenever there's a notification he posted!

Merit of Team Spirit

Without teamwork, a project can become chaos. This award goes to the member best able to overcome adversity and to stick together through thick and thin. This person has shown real dedication and commitment throughout a wide range of community activities.

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Cyclone Boom

For the incredible work they've made and still making to keep Simtropolis the site we all love.

Most Active Non-City Builder

This award is for the user who does not play a city builder game, but still contributes a massive amount to Simtropolis.

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Toothless Stitch

Toothless is seemingly always active in the social forums sections and let me tell you it's never a dull moment when ever he's around.

Most Beloved Moose

Simtropolis is just not the same without him.

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While I didn't get to know Granpa Moose very well I can say that his absence leaves a sorrow-filled space here on Simtropolis. All those lives his presence touched will fondly remember how he would engage in any conversation providing helpful and insightful commentary. I recall somewhere he said (prolly more than once) that he took up playing SC4 to keep from going insane (or something like that) after having retired. I believe he considered ST his extended family and he appreciated all of us as much as we did him.

John will forever remain an integral and most beloved part of the community.

Most Promising Announcement Not Yet Fulfilled

We are promised great things from many creators. This award goes to the member who promised the most, while we still patiently await their amazing concept to be delivered to reality.

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MushyMushy

For everything from her car pack to the pipeline set.

Most Welcoming to Newcomers

Some just give a simple "Welcome to the site" to new members who join the site. This member was always there to meet and greet newcomers to the community with a special cheer.

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When the first avatars newbies see are of extremely engaged and easygoing members, that can only lead to a good start. Cori's relative "newness" to the site give her a unique insight to how it feels to be a newcomer. I noticed she always gives warm encouragement to welcome and guide them on their way.

Or maybe I could nominate her for this ad hoc award: The "Less Terrifying Moderator on Simtropolis".

Noble Newcomer

In their first year as part of the community, a special award to recognise a member who has quickly become synonymous with Simtropolis.

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Ever since arriving, Cori has swiftly become a highly admired and prominent member of the community. Whether contributing to SC4 topics, creating resources, or sharing new and creative ideas, you truly are a shining light to Simtropolis. Thanks for all you do!

Staff Eye Within the Storm

The staff member with the ability to keep their head when all about them people are losing theirs and blaming it on them.

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Cyclone Boom

When it was necessary he always found the right words to unite the community.

Technical Denizen

The threads in our Bugs & Technical Issues forums discuss many issues. This award honours the best techie who answers the wide range of questions that people raise.

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Always willing to share technical advice and help point people in the right direction. Quite simply put he is the go-to source for information on SC4, and I'd imagine very few know more about the inner works of the game. Seldom is any tech issue beyond him in relation to SC4 modding, especially the everyday problems that people encounter all the time. Rarely have I seen a puzzle he couldn't solve. His knowledge on so many fields is amazing.

The Member Who Was Everywhere

This award goes to a member whose dedication, work, and contributions have helped make the site a welcoming and enjoyable place for all.

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Cockatoo dk1 Huston Kim Sunwoo MandelSoft

I can't tell if she actually went all over Simtropolis, because I usually don't. But I certainly know she hangs around the places I do, and I hang around a lot of places. Corina is always around the site and who's tutorials, assistance and more general contributions to the community have shown true dedication.

We Miss You, Come Back

In an online community such as this, some people come and go as Real Life takes over. This award goes to the person we miss the most and wish to hear from in the next year.

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Cockatoo had his finger in many BAT of the Year pies, and nominating this time has been harder without him!

Oh, dk1, how I miss seeing his fun little generically delicious BATs. Nothing flashy, nothing showy, just great little functional BATs, the kind of mundane buildings that make up a huge chunk of our cities. I always float around the STEX, hoping he has logged in again recently and uploading something new...

Huston is a very gentle and skilled member. I believe he's not so active any more due to studies, but I miss him anyway.

Kim Sunwoo, your historical based CJ Leningrad was one of the best CJ's I've ever read through and had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I would love to see you come back and work on another project of that scale I can only images the ground breaking ideas that you would have in store for us.

MandelSoft is one of the model members here at ST; active, engaging, easy going, creator of high quality content and high quality CJs. He has it all, but he doesn't seem to be active anymore. I kind of miss him.

Staff Awards

Thanks for all you do to help keep Simtropolis running smoothly, day in, day out.

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Skyline Squad

The Cities: Skylines Moderation Team

Old Skool

The SimCity 4 Players Forums Moderation Team

Tinkering Team

The SimCity 4 Builders Forums Moderation Team

The 4km² Patrollers

The SimCity 2013 Moderation Team

Simtropolis Socialites

The Simtropolis Social Forums Moderation Team

What are these?

The Gamer Topics Forums Moderation Team

Gossip Crew

The Off-Topic Moderation Team