Far Away and Long Ago

[mtbrocket 2]

Peter was feeling good. He looked out over the neighborhood as the helicopter did another loop. This place could make him hundreds of millions of dollars if not an outright billion if he played his cards right. Danton was his place to make. Peter checked his drawings again and compared them to the layout below his feet. The drawing

[mtbrocket 2]

Thank you all for your responses.

Picture 47.1

http://img47.exs.cx/img47/1925/danton336rg.jpg align=baseline>

This is one of the many train stations in the Far Away Region. I always try to give my sims many options on how to get around. This station is very busy as it is the first station across the river from the down town area.

[mtbrocket 2]

Random Picture Time!
As I think about what to do with the center of Danton here are some pictures for you.

Ocean View Harbor:
This is a junction of two major rail ways Coast to Coast Railroad and Here to There Railroad.

Picture 48.1

This rail is a spur line that connects Danton to Ocean View Harbor.

Picture 48.2

 

Here is one of the light houses at the mouth of the Danton River.

Picture 48.3

 

 

Trail Head Pass:
The main employment on this side of the river is the trade and slaughter of cattle of all kinds.

Picture 48.4


Here is another picture.
Picture 48.5

 

Black and Gold Mine is growing with the discovery of a new vein of copper.
Several years ago:

Picture 48.6

 

Now:

Picture 48.7

 

 

Outer Bend:

Picture 48.8

Richard Rich was an explorer back in the day who found a novel use for sippy cups for bass fishing.
The town is named after his trading post that he set up in this location.

 

Two Bends. This is a spot to relax for the busy sims. How many bats and lots from Simtropolis can you find?

Picture 48.9

[mtbrocket 2]

And now it is time for a look at some of the various circles and plazas around town.
Here is the center plaza of Cold River.

Picture 49.1

Although Corner Flats is out in the middle of no where it still has an impressive plaza. Clock included.

Picture 49.2

Danton has an odd circle:

Picture 49.3

Here is a compass plaza in Inbetween. I love this lot and use it all over.

Picture 49.4

Outer Bend has a bunch.

Picture 49.5

 

Picture 49.6

Well this is more like a tunnel but I will show it anyway.

Picture 49.7

Not even Rain Beard is excluded from this club of plaza centered towns.

Picture 49.8

Trail Head Pass has a plaza sort of out in the field. Maybe it’s expecting some growth soon. Hmmmm. I got to love those wild flowers lots.

Picture 49.9

Two Bends has some funky plazas:

Picture 49.10

LLammmaaaa!!!

Picture 49.11

Here is a small hidden one.

Picture 49.12

This…uh…circle is so big it has a pond in the middle.

Picture 49.13

I know I have been writing about a change to the center of downtown Danton but I have been working on other parts of the region. I think I will show those changes first.

[mtbrocket 2]

Susan drank the last of the lemonade. She brushed her hands on her overalls and looked around her garden. The flowers were blooming in bright reds and blues and purples. The many of the vegetables were starting to ripen. The weather was perfect. The morning dew had burned away and the sky was free of clouds. It is going to be a perfect day.
Just then her eyes widened in fear.

[mtbrocket 2]

How about a look around at the tunnels and underpasses?
This is the junction of Coast to Coast and Danton Railroads. Highway 1 runs right underneath.

Picture 51.1
http://img162.echo.cx/img162/3586/danton350pi.jpg align=baseline>

A look from the other side.

Picture 51.2
http://img91.echo.cx/img91/4658/danton377zi.jpg align=baseline>

Another look at a underpass of Highway 1.

Picture 51.3
http://img91.echo.cx/img91/3208/danton380sq.jpg align=baseline>

Here is the underpass for the passenger spur line in Danton.

Picture 51.4
http://img91.echo.cx/img91/1010/danton361jp.jpg align=baseline>

The other side. This is out in the farms:

Picture 51.5
http://img91.echo.cx/img91/2690/danton394xa.jpg align=baseline>

Underpass in Danton. It is in the suburb of Over River. The station is one of the busiest in the region as this is where all the subbies go to commute to downtown Danton. It is in a desperate need of an upgrade.

Picture 51.6
http://img91.echo.cx/img91/8306/danton403jn.jpg align=baseline>

These are the two entrances of one of the tunnels under the central hub hill. I like to make the entrances very elaborate.

Picture 51.7
http://img91.echo.cx/img91/2006/danton412xe.jpg align=baseline>

 

Picture 51.8

http://img91.echo.cx/img91/3639/danton426fy.jpg align=baseline>

Here are some random tunnel entrances.

Picture 51.9
http://img152.echo.cx/img152/9195/danton435xo.jpg align=baseline>

Nice, zig zag:

Picture 51.10
http://img152.echo.cx/img152/4152/danton448nw.jpg align=baseline>

Ocean View Harbor. This tunnel has steep entrances due to the crowding but I love the surrounding area.

Picture 51.11

http://img164.exs.cx/img164/6392/oceanviewharbor104qv.jpg align=baseline>

 

Picture 51.12

http://img152.echo.cx/img152/8467/oceanviewharbor127cp.jpg align=baseline>

 

Picture 51.13

http://img152.echo.cx/img152/8364/oceanviewharbor132ot.jpg align=baseline>

 

Yet another underpass of Highway 1:

Picture 51.14
http://img152.echo.cx/img152/5336/oceanviewharbor142nr.jpg align=baseline>

 

Picture 51.15

http://img152.echo.cx/img152/6776/oceanviewharbor150xz.jpg align=baseline>

This is the Two Bends underwater tunnel know as the Two Bends Underwater Tunnel.

One

Picture 51.16

http://img152.echo.cx/img152/1774/twobends215zu.jpg align=baseline>
Two

Picture 51.17
http://img152.echo.cx/img152/9400/twobends221di.jpg align=baseline>

Three

Picture 51.18
http://img152.echo.cx/img152/9009/twobends237zb.jpg align=baseline>

Four

Picture 51.19
http://img152.echo.cx/img152/8927/twobends240vn.jpg align=baseline>

Okay, okay, I will think of a name. Right now the other side is not done yet so the pictures will have to wait.

But two last shots of Two Bends:

Picture 51.20
http://img152.echo.cx/img152/9062/twobends253tq.jpg align=baseline>

 

Picture 51.21

http://img152.echo.cx/img152/8375/twobends260sm.jpg align=baseline>

Have a good evening everyone.

[jacqulina 162]

love the pond this cj is really coming on great very nice

[mtbrocket 2]

Thank's jacqulina.

 

 

Hey, I’ve gone from squatter to tourist. Sweet!

I am still trying to figure out the redesign of the center of Danton. I did not get any suggestions so I have decided that the low density neighborhood has to go. I did a test run. I tried to widen the small central open grass area but I don’t think it should be too wide as this is downtown and I want it to be the dense part of the region. I scraped a trial run. I’ll show a picture later. The city council has still to vote on the proposition. The locals are very upset to loss their houses but the real-estate agents have several councilors in their collective pocket.

I think I will call the hill in downtown Danton “Whale Back Hill” or “Hub Hill”. What do you think?

What other things in this CJ would you like to see?
-Dan

Random Bonus Picture C

[Cjah 15]

I'd say call it Hub Hill and if you think being a tourist is cool....Then check out my sig it has alot of titles....

[godwin1020 1]

this city is very good indeed

[____----____ 37]

I just love all your creative road and rail intersections and networks

very original design, one of the most important elements of a cj imo.

 

Aleking

[gurrgkud 2]

i love the cj! especially this last city. i love the way you set up your mass transit.. especially the railroad tracks.  

 

BTW... where did u get those billboard signs for the tunnels? they look sooo nice

 

keep up the good work!

[mtbrocket 2]

This is where I got the billboards above the tunnel entrances.

Marrast Roadside Kit ver. 1.1
by marrast (19)

https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?mode=files&filetype=Lot&Str=marrast%20roadside%20kit

Marrart makes a lot of really cool bats and lots.

       I am trying to make each city different. Danton will be a lot of high density while Two Bends is medium density. I like the Bostonian type town houses in the center of Two Bends. Everything from work, to shopping, to parks, to the hospital, to the school are all within walking distance. It also has three small malls and a gated community just because it looks good in Simcity. On a side note I actually strongly dislike gated communities as they are very much against American...er...Sim values. A neighborhood should be a community not a show of class separation.

        Anyway, it is funny how when there is nothing on the map it looks so big but once zones and streets are in place it looks very small. The town houses are only on four blocks wide. Walking four blocks ain

[mtbrocket 2]

Picture 52.1

 

http://img275.echo.cx/img275/473/danton451yl.jpg align=baseline>

This is my first attempt at expanding downtown Danton but I did not like the results. The park became too big. So I am still trying.

[mtbrocket 2]

I should show some pictures of Hub Hill.

Picture 53.1

http://img275.echo.cx/img275/5880/danton466li.jpg align=baseline>

The radio and tv towers send lots of electromagnetic radiation in funny patterns called

[mtbrocket 2]

Do you guys think there is an over use of rock or brick walls in city journals as of late?

[oroen 0]

I like the way you've done the hill in the middle of the city like that.

[jacqulina 162]

Looking Good! Keep the up-dates coming. As for the over use of the walls, my answer would be no, the more natural looking on the game play gives it the ability for Real life airial photographs, in other words, the more natural it looks, the more real it looks.   

[mtbrocket 2]

Among the many philosophies in building in Simcity there are two popular choices. One is to make the city look like a real city. The other is to make the city look good. I have two questions. Do tons of walls look natural or real; for instance in a downtown or suburban neighborhood? I am not talking about one, two or three walls but dozens of them. On mountains and steep hills I can understand but in suburbia? Second, do they look good? If an entire river bank is covered in walls does that look good? Don

[mtbrocket 2]

Here are some more shots of the head of Hub Hill before I add the something special.
One view:

Picture 54.1

http://img91.echo.cx/img91/2804/danton494xf.jpg align=baseline>

Another view:

Picture 54.2

http://img219.echo.cx/img219/7562/danton503bf.jpg align=baseline>

Here is an older picture:

Picture 54.3

http://img219.echo.cx/img219/3364/danton515ey.jpg align=baseline>

[mtbrocket 2]

To make the Hub Hill head more interesting I first added an expressway through a tunnel. This expressway goes under the hill then under Danton River to Outer Bends. The purpose is to reduce commute time for people from Outer Bends into downtown Danton.

Picture 55.1

A close up:

Picture 55.2

The other side:

Picture 55.3

I want to use more of the wild flowers. They are very cool but I have to figure out the base textures. Squares just don’t look that good. The trees should be recognizable; the pointy ones and the yellow ones.
Here is the Outer Bend side of Hub Hill and the expressway.

Picture 55.4

And here is the other side of the river:

Picture 55.5

Another:

Picture 55.6

Over view:

Picture 55.7

And a region view:

Picture 55.8

[jacqulina 162]

great update looking good

[sloppet 3]

very nice update, I'll keep an eye on this CJ for sure... Keep it up!

[mtbrocket 2]

Local Yocal, that's me.

[mtbrocket 2]

Random Picture Time!

Picture 56.1
http://img54.echo.cx/img54/4449/danton556so.jpg align=baseline>
The Dantonteers were doing great until the soccer ball was over inflated and popped in half.

[mtbrocket 2]

Hub Hill

And here is the moment you have all been waiting for, the unveiling of the special attraction on the head of Hub Hill. Yes, it is the CN Tower the tallest building, err tower, err structure, err it

[mtbrocket 2]

Here is a regional picture:

Picture 58.1
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/9839/farawayandlongago65bs.jpg align=baseline>

Transit view.

Picture 58.2

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/734/farawayandlongago72pq.jpg align=baseline>

[mtbrocket 2]

Ok, I need you help. The Far Away Region needs a highway so now you get to vote!
Here are the choices. There is tons of traffic so there needs to be a lot of highways.
Option A
Option B
Option C
Option D
Option E

 

Here are the pictures:

 

Option A

Picture 59.1

 

Option B

Picture 59.2

Option C

Picture 59.3

Option D

Picture 59.4

Option E

Picture 59.5

 

[jacqulina 162]

looking great i choose option b

[oroen 0]

I dont even understand E... what is the purpose of that convoluted routing? I say make both B and D, and make a nice interchange between them. Also, the CN Tower looks really random and out of place...