Acorn Creek Region - An American Story

[PhilsCafe 8]

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to 'Acorn Creek - An American Story'. In this City Journal, I'm going to portray the City of Acorn Creek and its sourrounding area. Acorn Creek is a medium sized city at the U.S. westcoast. My aim is to draw the image of a city that could fit in every part of the U.S. or even the world. Nevertheless, it will have an own history. The historic background and stories, partially based on real-life events, will hopefully bring this city to life. Despite of that, all names, characters and events in this CJ are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or events is coincidental.

The CJ is splitted up into three main subjects. An Acorn Creek tour guide takes you on a 'City Tour' and shows you around the hot spots and run-down places in the Metro Area. In the 'City Stories', the Morning Press keeps you up to date about the latest events and developments in local politics. And last, but not least, a 'Retrospective' will teach you sim history.

Cheats, an unpleasant topic, but... yes, I'm using them - a lot (weakness always pays...). Now that we have sorted that out, enjoy your stay in Acorn Creek.

- Phil

ACORN CREEK METROPOLITAN AREA

Let's have a quick look at the region.

The region above is based on a greyscale map, which I terraformed afterwards to what is now in front of you. As you can see, I haven't started with the building process. I'm gonna post an update soon.

This is an updated region shot, showing a little bit of development.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

coming soon...

CREDITS

Mods (Edited: 09/20/06):

Bridge Height Mod by joerg; NoOneWayRoadArrows by Tropod; Network Addon Mod (NAM) by the Simtropolis NAM team; SFBT Street Side Mod by Andreas Roth; BRF Tunnel and Slope Mod by BigRedFish.

Custom Content:

(Note: This is supposed to be a full list of the used custom content. Please feel free to report me any errors)

SFBT Park Set by Andreas Roth; NDEX Parking Lots by Ardecila; Underground Parking by baco; Pedestrian Plazas by bauerme; Amtrak Locomotive Set, Amtrak Passenger Car Sets, Atlanta MARTA Train Set and DC Metro Train Set by BigRedFish; Union 76 Service Station and Wal Mart Supercenter by Bobbo662; Jeronij Walls Add-On by BuddyBud; Road Noise Barriers by caghaasnoot; Cemetary Creation Pack by davidhogan; Caltex, Esso & Shell Servo Sets, Dirt Tracks, Forest Fire Tower, Forest Lookout Tower, Forest Rest Area and Forest Water Tower by Deadwoods; Canadian National (CN) Freight Train Set by Dearnen; Gated Entrance by dhoppeii; Church of the Holy Trinity by don miguel; Bishop Gate Building, St Helen's Building, Bus Station, Paris Metro Station and London Kings Cross Station by Frogface; Garage Block by GaryRaggae; UK Village Church by Gascooker; Tropical Sea Set and Tropical Tree Set by Goldiva; Zurich House, GLR Station and Eastland Grand Subway Station by Ill Tonkso; MYOS (Make Your Own Sign) by jbizzle; Fuente de Neptuno by jec; Cement Walls and Diagonal Residential Walls by jeronij; JMyers Farms Vol.1 and Small Shops Restaurant Series by jmyers2043; Airport Pack 2.1 BETA by joerg & Thalassicus; Beijing Olympic Stadium by jtportland; St Michael's Church and Small Church by jule78; Club Malibu by kd5rax; Del Taco, Deny's Diner, Hard Rock Cafe, McDonald's, Sonic Drive-In and Wendy's by kevdan25; Embankment by Marrast; Simple Bus Stop and Embankment El Rail Station by morifari; Fort Pegasus, Mayor Mode Pine Trees, Random Tree Lots, Seasonal Tree Lots, Recreational RTK, Park Trails, Scenic Drive Kit, Industrial CDK, Water Mod Windjammer and Weathered Granite Rock Mod by Pegasus; Asgard Bank Building by ryanr; B&N Booksellers, Chippendale, Club Deja-Vu Showgirls, Lappers Go Go, Double Tree Hotel, Embassy Suites Hotel, Express Inn, Marriot Hotel, Reds Roadside Motel, Super 8 Motel, Hooters Restaurant, Restaurant Row, Piggly Wiggly & Tops Grocery Stores, Fire Houses Chicago E52 & E77, BSC Farmfields, Farm Rewards, Irrigation Canals, Sugarcane Farms, Auto Factory, Small Warehouses and Warehouses by SimGoober; Farmland Fences by suico; Highway Light Towers by The Great Chozo. Thank You.

[Dippit 0]

I hope to see more of this region soon! Keep up the good work!

[djrules5454 5]

You're off to a great start!

-djrules

[ALTX 40]

Thats a very nice blend for terrain in a region!

[bobinator 0]

Wow, the terraforming looks great so far!!! I can't wait for more.

[PhilsCafe 8]

Thanx for your comments. Finally, I can give you an idea of how the whole thing's gonna work.
bobinator, I'm done with the terraforming for the moment (I have edited my first post. You can find there a top-down view of the whole region now).

- Phil


CITY TOUR: ACORN CREEK'S WESTSIDE DISTRICT PART I
Welcome to the first part of the city tour around the Acorn Creek metropolitan area. We'll start with Giligan, a small residential communiy on Crescent Island. Take your seat and enjoy...


It must be wonderful to live in a row house in the middle of Downtown with the skyline rising on both sides of Whitney River. It must be even more woderful to have the money to afford it...




Ever played golf downtown? Ever played golf?




CITY RETROSPECTIVE: THAT 70s IN THE NEWS


The commission worked out an agreement, limiting zoning to low-density and forcing the city to make sure that there are enough green spaces on Crescent Island. An investigation at the local schools revealed that students organizations had planned the barricade. A dozen students got the axe. After Mr Tromp made major changes to his hotel project and promised to fund a golf course, providing the required green spaces, he finally was able to build the Tromp Resort Hotel in 1985.

[Cjah 15]

Your C.J. is really good.

I love downtown brigde and I also like the golf coarse!

Great work!

[gartenriese 1]

Great region, can't wait to see more...

[diwirizaz 2]

region looks great and bridge too.

[sc4player 1]

Date: 1/4/2005 3:42:29 PM
Author: PhilsCafe


*Edit* It was in 1985, when Mr. Tromp, a real estate tycoon has built the Tromp Resort Hotel for business guests.

quote>



mr.tromp?

nice start.

[PhilsCafe 8]

Thank y'all for your great replys Cjah, gartenriese, diwirizaz. They really encouraged me to go on...
sc4player: Yes, this guy is called Mr Tromp. But that's totally coincidental... .
Talking about this guy: He happens to be a main charcter in this update. I'll go on with the tour in a later update. But for now, I promised to reveal the story behind, so don't let us forget this part of the CJ.

- Phil


CITY STORIES: MAYORAL RACE
Have a look at today's headlines.


The power is in The Family again. Sounds like quite a dufficult job for the mayor-elect. Let's take a closer look at the most problematic neighborhoods.






This maybe isn't the best example for the city's slums, but you got the picture...



Well, this was kind of a special city tour.

[gartenriese 1]

Nice!!!

[texanpride786 2]

NICE- AWESOME- WAITING FOR MORE PICS- KEEP POSTING-

[Dannato 4]

These first couple of updates seem to announce a quality journal with an interesting theme, entertaining stories and also a good graphic presentation.  I notice you choose not only the names of persons but also of places with purpose... Looking forward to seeing more.

[bobinator 0]

Really liking the island! Can't wait for more.

[Mikeaut1 261]

Nice suburbs and slum areas. Can't wait to see more!

[Superchan 23]

nice city, would like to see some more pictures of it.

[MsCharamut1969 8]

This CJ is looking very well so far! I have to say I am amazed at your work and you really should keep this journal going. I like the river and the greyscales and really just everything about this journal. I don't normally subscribe to CJ'ers but I'm interested in seeing where this CJ is gonna go!

Keep up the good work....

 

 

MsCharamut1969

[PhilsCafe 8]

Wow, thanks a lot for your nice comments gartenriese, texanpride786, bobinator, Mikeaut1, superchad. I'm glad you all liked the update. Now, I hope I'm not gonna disappoint you.

Dannato: You're right. The names of places are quite important, because they represent their characters. Basically, the names are the guidelines for my city planning, that's why I'm frequently changing names... (Look at the map. You won't find a place called Hardington...)
MsCharamut: Thanx for that great compliment.

The update: I have another part of Westside District ready for you! Originally I intended to show you the rest of this district in one post, but hey, I didn't want to let you wait...

- Phil


CITY TOUR: ACORN CREEK'S WESTSIDE DISTRICT PART II
The tour again. We're still in the city's Westside District. Ever wondered, where the Acorn Creekians are living? You didin't? I'm gonna tell you anyway, since this is one of the important parts. Hardington is said to be Acorn Creek's craddle of life.






And it certainly will...












Credits: See first post.

[gartenriese 1]

One word: GREAT
I love the ... ( I don't know the word - where you get when you're dead )
and the elevaited rail!

[MayorWoodMan 0]

Hey this is a good start to a journal.  I like journals that have a history or some kind of story with them.  Also I like that grey sattelite style picture.  I'll watch as the town grows.

[Djohaal 121]

Forgive my stupidness, but how did you do that aerial picture of the city? Did you just play with photoshop's perspective?

Very nice city, you managed to make it blend quite well with it's surrounding emptyness in the region view

[K_m_H 0]

Date: 1/14/2005 7:31:56 PM
Author: J.O.
Forgive my stupidness, but how did you do that aerial picture of the city? Did you just play with photoshop's perspective?

Very nice city, you managed to make it blend quite well with it's surrounding emptyness in the region view

quote>

Hmm I have tried to do that as well.. the best way I came up with was to take a printscreen off all the datamaps in a region and put them together in photoshop. But obviously this is done in another way, maybe perspecive playing

Anyway, very nice region, I like tha map-part and the avenue bridges to that island.

[PhilsCafe 8]

Thanks a lot for your comments.
gartenriese: Thank you for showing interest again... (Friedhof=Cemetary)
MayorWoodMan: I'm glad you like my journal.
J.O. and K_m_H: I don't have the patience to printscreen the datamaps of each city (I don't have much cities, though). I took screenshots from the regional view, put them together and then skewed the picture in Photoshop. There is a thread about this method: here

The next update is comin' soon (I've already played a lot since last time and I have a lot to show...)

- Phil

[PhilsCafe 8]

Sorry for the bump. Just a quick update of the map to give you an idea what you can expect in the next couple of weeks. I will go on with the city tour and of course reveal some new developments in the storyline. I won't be around that much during the next few weeks, so please be patient. But there'll be a historical update next...

-Phil

[xDbonex 0]

Great, Lots of fun to read, it seemed like I could take alot of the ideas and incorporate them into my future city. I am still learning and the CJ's are the easiest to comprehend while not being to low brow or easy.

[Cjah 15]

Great graveyard!I think this is an excellent C.J. so far and can't wait for more.

[PhilsCafe 8]

REPLYS
xDbonex: Thanks for your reply. You're right. I've learned a lot about the game through other's CJs. Good luck with your city...
Cjah: Thank you too.

It's been a while since I've last updated this CJ. I announced a historical update in a previous post. And here it is. I didn't want to go back in time too much but I think it might be interesting to know the historical context of this wonderful place.

- Phil


CITY RETROSPECTIVE: HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Everything started with a journey of two brave men...














Credits: see first post for a full list.

[rewright 804]

Nice flow to your presentation. I like the graphics a lot. Wish I had that ability.

[bobinator 0]

I like how you have some of the pictures in black and white. Gives it a different feel! Great job with this city journal!