Many Firsts

[sim-ple 1]

This Journal is a first in many ways. As you can see from the profile this is my first post, consequently my first City Journal. Btw

[Fabiocb 1]

Looks nice so far, interesting developments, but just one question why so many higways, are they needed or are you planning fot the future?

Keep it comming.

 

[sim-ple 1]

Thanks for the feedback. As for the highways, yes they are planned for the future. Also, since I am new to the game play I wanted to make sure that my region was fully linked and that demand spilled over effectively to the harbor where most (perhaps 85% or more) of my industry is focused.

BTW... I have this question for the forum. Since my Harbor is 100% industry and commercial (absolutely no housing), will I still be able to achieve highrises in the commercial zones at the 25,000 limit? Does the simulation count jobs as population to break through the 25,000 barrier?

[mtbrocket 2]

I like the houses on the hill and I like the use of the dirt paths between the farms. Good start. I think you should just keep adding more levels of houses to your hill like you have, saving frequently, until you think there are too many then exit without saving and revert to an earlier save point.

A minor point is the highway should go over the rail not the other way around.

Also a suggestion would be to number the photos.
-Dan

[ElBarto92 7]

This journal looks pretty good so far, keep up the good work. As for your question: I'm pretty sure you need 25,000 commercial jobs for commercial highrises, 25,000 residents for residential highrises, and 25,000 industrial jobs for high density industry. So, having no residents won't matter, they're independent counts.

[Superchan 23]

looks good.

[Yoshi25 0]

I like the streams you made. I also like the farms, i like how you made them. keep up the good work!

[Yoshi25 0]

I like the streams you made. I also like the farms, i like how you made them. keep up the good work!

[tchaos713 5]

I also like the houses on the hill. If you don't want to do more of the same on the upper hill, I would suggest using the BSC Paths or PEG's Trail Pack to create some open parkland. This is a good start. Having all of the freeways to start may save you headaches down the line or create more as you try to build around them. You may find that you will wish to relocate them later.

[sim-ple 1]

Thanks for the feedback and constructive criticisms.

 

mtbrocket: I was thinking about adding one more layer of housing, but I will try your way as well, slowly building up to the point where it is over kill then backing out. Thanks for the tip.  

I agree. The railroad should always be on the ground (at least in real life). I was having trouble getting the elevated highway to align with the cloverleaf at a short distance. I may need to study this a little more nd see if I can get it to work properly.

 

Also, thanks for the heads up on numbering the photos. I'll do that in subsequent updates. (BTW... I went back and edited the original post to show photo numbers)

ElBarto92: Thanks for the information. It isn't really clear in the manual.

 

Yoshi25: Thanks. I think I enjoy the rural areas the most since it allows for more freedom of expression.

 

tchaos713: Once I reach the point where I am satisfied with the urbanization of the hill, then forest and parkland seems to be the best way to go. I have experimented with the PEG's forest/trail pack in Center Point and I like the way it looks. This may be the way to go.

 

 

[sim-ple 1]

This will be a short update as I only had about an hour to work on some things early this morning before dashing of to work. BTW... I am working in Dubai so I am several hours ahead of the North American crowd.

 

2.1 Update on farm development in Ridgeville

 

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1434/ridgevillefarmdevelopment6oj.jpg align=baseline vspace=5>

This view is an embellishment of 1.3 above. If you compare you will see a number of minor enhancements. Let me know what you think.

 

2.2 Ridgeville Town Square

 

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/4585/ridgevilletownsquare5ku.jpg align=baseline vspace=5>

 

Here's a shot of Ridgeville as it has started out. I have not developed anything to the west of the Town Center as yet - that coms next.

 

BTW... On my drive into work this morning I had a great idea for the area to the west. I hope to have this for you tomorrow. I have not seen anything like what I am thinking about and hope it creates some interesting discussion. Please stay tuned...

 

[Rymac91 15]

I like it..very realistic..And to remove those UDI mission indicators....In Sim City click the Sims button and on the left click the car which the bow...or the top button on the left toolbar...then on the bottom on the UDI mission there is something that looks like a x and a o...click it and the mission indicators should disapear.

[sim-ple 1]

Rymac91: Thanks for the tip on the U-Drive icons. I would never have thought to look there. I was looking through the Options menu, which seems more intuitive. They also seem to get in the way when I am building. I don't know how many times I have tried to plop a road or tree and wind up getting the U-Drive mission because the U-Drive icon was in the way.

 

I will still toggle them on and off since my 4-year old likes it when I click on them and drive, eh, crash, a vehicle.

[jacqulina 162]

wonderfull start the farms are looking really great looking forward to more,very nice pics too

[sim-ple 1]

jacqulina: Thanks for stopping by and for your compliment. With 5,450 posts and a Trixie Winner, you have obviously seen a lot and have a wealth of experience. So a compliment from someone like yourself means so much. Thank you. Hope to gain some insights from you as I move along.

[xmenkool 0]

Even though im new , i want to congradulate you on a very nice farming settlement , great job

[jacqulina 162]

i have read a lot of cj,s and i have learnt a great deal from other peoples cj,s and if i can be a help to you just let me know,you have done great work so far and i look forward to seeing more,and thanks

[mtbrocket 2]

Excellent update. I love the town square in photo2.2 and the use of in photo comments.

-Dan

[sim-ple 1]

I am just about ready for update #3. I should have it ready within the next hour or so. In the meantime:

 

xmenkool: Thanks for the kind words. I am also new to SC4 with only three weeks of tinkering and experimenting under my belt. I guess we will learn together.

 

jacqulina: Thanks for stopping in again. I may take you up on your offer for help as I move ahead with this CJ. Thanks for the support.

 

mtbrocket: Another thanks to you for stopping again as well Dan and for the kind words. I liked the way the town square came together as well and I think you'll like the next update as well. BTW... as for the in-picture comments, I am using Macromedia Fireworks MX graphics program. I like this better than Photoshop.

 

Thanks to all those that have stopped by. Please don't be bashful - drop a note or two.

[sim-ple 1]

Well here we are, ready for update #3. I hiope you like the images.

 

I'll start with an overview of Ridgeville and give you some more images of the city. Then I'll take a break from Ridgeville and show you the early development of West Center Point.

 

3.1 Overview of Ridgeville

 

 

3.2 A Closeup of the Town Square

 

 

3.3 What to do with the old railroad station in town?

 

 

3.4 Another heated debate rages about the right-of-way...

 

 

3.5 The proposed Historical Zone

 

 

3.6 And now some shots of residential life in Ridgeville

 

 

3.7 And now for some upscale housing

 

 

And now we'll put Ridgeville behind us for a few days (weeks) as I spend some time on other areas within the region. Here is a sneak peek at West Center Point...

 

3.8 The early development of downtown West Center Point

 

 

I hope you like the updates and the general direction I am taking with these rural oriented towns. Feel free to add a comment or two. Constructive criticism is always most heartily welcomed and appreciated.

 

BTW Dan... I changed the rail/highway crossings.

 

[Alkaola 18]

I like this !

[sloppet 3]

It's a nice CJ! Keep it on!

[oroen 0]

I like the whole thing with the abandoned right-of-way, and the little detail about the roadwork at the old crossing is a nice touch. A lot of nice details overall. The road inside the promenade could easily be closed; even an anti-new-urbanist roadgeek such as myself would support turning the entire area into a pedestrian mall.

[xmenkool 0]

Yes, another nice update!

Btw where did you get that farmers/flee market? it goes really well with your region

[sim-ple 1]

Alkaola and sloppet: Thanks for stopping in and dropping a note. Hope to see you here again.

 

oroen: Thanks for the encouraging words. I have worked with local governments on issues of ROW abandonment and acquisition for green belts and this seemed like a good spot to bring that type of thing out. What exactly is a anti-new-urbanist roadgeek ? Whatever it is it made me laugh.

 

The City Father's are evenly divided on closing the road at the promenade for the moment and only time will tell which way they will lean.

 

xmenkool: Thanks for stopping in again. The farmer's market is actually called City Market Plaza 4x4 by NicolaiS . Hopefully the link will work and take you to the download and description. If not, do a search for market on the STEX and you will find it along with about three pages of other good markets if you are into those things. I personally like them and use them frequently to add atmosphere and character to the city fabric. I hope you find it; if not send me a PM with your email and I'll send it to you in the zip file I downloaded. The BAT has some dependencies so you'll need to download them as well to make it work properly.

 

I almost have the next update ready. God willing, I'll get it up tonight (that sounds wrong). I'll get it uploaded tonight.

 

 

[sim-ple 1]

Update #4 is ready for your viewing pleasure. This me I have concentrated my time on West Center Point. I hope you like them.

 

4.1 An overview of West Center Point

 

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/7489/westcenterpointcityoverview3re.jpg align=baseline vspace=5>

 

There is still a lot of undeveloped land in West Center Point. The town has an opportunity to expand to the north and west. The second lake is under renovation even as I write this so the next update should show this lake improved as well.

 

4.2 Here is an overview shot of Lake Quarry

 

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/5032/westcenterpointquarrylakeoverv.jpg align=baseline vspace=5>

 

BTW... When working with PEG's lake and stream kits, as well as some of the other similar types of kits, it's very important to make sure the land is level otherwise all sorts of strange things will appear in your lake.

 

4.3 A closer shot of Lake Quarry

 

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/7674/westcenterpointquarrylake1rb.jpg align=baseline vspace=5>

 

4.4 An Overall shot of the Fishing Dock and Picnic Grove

 

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/804/westcenterpointdockoverview1bv.jpg align=baseline vspace=5>

 

4.5 A closeup view of the Dock

 

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/3335/westcenterpointfishingdockclos.jpg align=baseline vspace=5>

 

4.6 Some Residential near Lake Quarry

 

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/9272/westcenterpointlakeandhousing0.jpg align=baseline vspace=5>

 

I hope you like this little corner of West Center Point. I really liked the way the lake and fishing dock came together.

 

I guess one reason I like rural development in this game is the ability to add little bits and pieces that add texture and life to a scene. I have to learn how to do this in an urban setting as well.

 

Till next time, give me your thoughts, ideas, recommendations and construction criticism as I need to improve my game play. Thanks or stopping by.

[xmenkool 0]

very nice job on useing peg's strems and roads,

Btw when is your city going to have skyscrapers or are you going for more of a farming look?

[jacqulina 162]

wow that is one fantastic update,such excellent detail and design,love what you have planned to do and cant wait to see the result

[GMT 389]

yes, it's awesome work
your really doing good!

can't wait for more

[sim-ple 1]

Hi Y'all. Thanks for stopping in and checking out my CJ. Please don't hesitate to drop a note, give some advise or....

 

xmenkool: Good to see you again and for the kind words. Since I am not plopping down structures, except to add some atmosphere, I have to allow the game to build skyscrapers when and if I reach the desired target. I do have some mid-rise building going up in Center Point and I'll show them in an update soon. BTW... did you find the farmer's market?

 

jacqulina: Thanks again for stopping. Your words of encouragement mean a great deal. Thanks.

 

GMT: Thanks for stopping by. Your Greater Columbia River is looking great. Sta. Monica is looking like a place I would want to spend some time and money. The river inlet should be a real challenge.

 

BTW... my next update will be coming along soon, God willing. I will try to add a general overview of some other areas under development including the docks at Portside and the urban development of Center Point. Please stay tuned...