Anduin Valley Revisited

[Dark Lord 0]

That was an amazing update Darmok and the pictures of the town hall were good

[MadTV_Freak 0]

Wow Darmok, another beautiful update! I just love your work when it comes to rural land! Omg, its so beautiful and serene!

Keep up the EXCELLENT work!

[dadyrghluv 8]

ROFL that "mlotw" was funny and informitive. yes i'm one of the 75% who tried to lick his elbow when i read that! so im an ass what can i say.

[Silur 3,306]

Excellent update - I like it !!!!

[jacqulina 162]

                                                       WELCOME TO PAGE 126                                                        

hi my friend and how are you,

the cityhall is looking fantastic i love where you have put it and the surrounding areas amazing.the gardens and parks are beautifull,excellent cycleways,nice terraforming,i love the step by step,the new residential sector is in a lovely place near the river,nice commerce too.the end result is fantastic very pretty,theres so much great detail in those close up shots,excellent farms they allways look amazing and very pretty.i love the irrigation,nice use of the walls its a very nice touch,  love the trails,awesome pics,beautifull global pic.all in all another awesome update.

take care and have a great week

[Fallon144 1]

man you really are specialized in farming communities arent you

[SpecialEddie 3]

The city hall is so detailed! I love the attention you put in adding every little park and statue! And it's great how you get rid of the jagged edges on the roads with your lots! They look stunning--and the suburbs are great as always!

[luker91 0]

argh...sorry for kinda forgetting about anduin valley. school has been keeping me quite busy (luckily it shouldnt be too bad for the next couple weeks because i just ended a grading period so all my tests are over with) hmmm just talked a little to much monologue-ish.... anyways love what youve done with city hall... also those farms are awesome..picture 12 is my favorite... i like how it looks like it has a little underground dropoff in the irragation things... awesome work... i also like all the trails that slice through the farms.... if maxis had developed any form of rural roads, im sure that is how they would look like.... awesome update!! can't wait for more!

Luke

[Livin in Sim 83]

Hello, Darmok,

Livin in Sim, at Anduin Valley.  (Metaphorical language meaning embarrassment at lurking forever while trying to read all the way through your wonderful journal.)

I remember that STTNG episode in which your name was mentioned.  It was a dandy.  Greetings to a fellow watcher and long term SC4 player, altho you are much more advanced than I.

I discovered this end of your long running classic a few weeks ago.  I determined to do it justice by taking it all in.  "Pack a lunch," was Dedgren's sage advice to another recent discover.  Pack a lunch, ha, ha!  Heck, pack a bag, pack the car, grab the fam, head out for an excursion.

So I packed the car, and motored off, starting at Minas Tirith.  I have now reached Osgiliath.  The roads have been very good, and well marked.  I haven't gotten lost once.  I've stayed and eaten at some very fine establishments.  Everyone I've met along the way has been very pleasant.  I lingered in Dol Amroth the longest.  It was in my estimation the most scenic of your beautiful sights. 

So now I must take a brief break from my travels to thank you for your dedication.  I do revisit this end every Friday.  I'm working on a rural area now.  I get much inspiration from your ideas, so then I go play.  I will try to comment now and then.  It may be more "then" until I reach familiar territory once again. 

Thanks for sharing your journal, and so much of your daily life and other observations.  I feel as though I know you.

--Liv

[PDQAg 0]

Absolutely gorgeous work Darmok.  You have taken your rural cities and turned them into works of art.  I could tell you like doing rural setups as you have more of them than urban environments.  Like you said it definately gives you much more freedom in how you want to put everything together.  Your new farming sectore looks beautiful and #15 is my favorite shot of the update.  It looks like it could really exist somewhere in the world.  When I get SC4 running again I'm going to try my hand at all rural cities again, but this time with your example I think I just might get them to work.

How much more space do you have in Anorien?  From that last picture it looks like a good portion has been developed.  You also mentioned you are going to be working on your next city soon, so does that mean we can expect teasers?

Thank you for the well wishes on my "ring fund."  While that will not happen soon, it is just nice to know that it is going to happen.  Looking forward to Friday!  Take care!

[hondo42769 0]

Darmok,

Just wanted to say thanks for this excellent CJ. And I wanted to note that I finally made it through all 126 pages and am astounded at your commitment and attention to detail. I had been away from SC4 for a while and have been inspired by the great work presented here. I can guarantee that I will be a frequent visitor to AVR.

[Darmok 34]

---

Daniel - Shadow_Assassin - Ensenada - That City in the east

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the info about Joerg's airport grass, I think I have some of his packs installed, I'll look into it.

As for your cycleways, what can I say, you did a superb job when you created them, so we can't miss when using them!

Take care my friend!

---

Rayden - Little Italy

Hey Sylvio,

I appreciate your enthusiasm amigo!

About the irrigation system, after fiddling with several ideas, that's the solution I used, Jeroni's walls, I liked how it looked.

Your link has been corrected. Thanks for mentioning it!

See you soon my friend!

Take care

---

VesterDK - VDK Showcase

Thanks Arne, always good to read you my friend!

Take care

---

wouanagaine - SC4 Terraformer a tool for regional hand-terraforming

Hey wouanagaine,

Thanks my friend, that particular setup (the city hall) is also one of my favorites, (un coup-de-coeur quoi!)

See you!

---

Bat - Capporth City

Hi Bat, Glad you liked it! as for the rural trail here's a little something.

If in need of more details, PM me. we'll see what we can do.

---

Mayormommy - Nightmare Islands: Life on all levels

Hi MM,

It's gratifying to know that I'm part of your Friday's errand!

Sometimes we make some setups that we like more than others, that City Hall is one of them, I just don't know why? Maybe the trees...

I mostly take my inspiration from small towns, the tree serving as buffer is an example. Glad you appreciate.

Take care

---

Fallon144

Hi Fallon,

How big it is? Well not that big, in fact it was one of the smaller maps available in 2003. I just take my time that's why it looks big I guess WINK...

See you later!

---

Nik-nik

Hi Nik,

What can I say sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the good of the community!

And Joni Mitchell was indeed a great song writer.

Yep that car dealer parking is rather small, but hey... he has good deals! See the blue one, it belonged to a priest! Always had Holy Water in the radiator!

As for the small dam, that was the only practical solution I found for that particular setup, though I must say that I like it!

The road in the second field?? well all the fields are interconnected, that way farmers can help one another. This is a sharing community! Not to mention this way the young folks can go from one house to the other... know what I mean... hum...

....For garage band practice! you dirty mind you!

And the hole in the middle will be filled soon enough you'll see!

The club house....err... yeah! I remember... **speaking to self, darn I just plainly forgot about that... what should I say... Oh well..**  I didn't forget, I'm just waiting for the right idea! ** hey! that's a good one, keep that line in reserve! **

What was I saying!! Nothing my friend, nothing, just some idle thoughts!

Well I guess that's it for now, oh BTW, I did get the BBQ out of the tree, what a mess!

See you next week!

Take care

---

Constantina

Welcome to Anduin Valley Constantina.

Glad to know you appreciate.

Do come back anytime you feel like it, always good to see new faces in AVR.

Take care

---

David (dedgren) - Three Rivers Region

Good one about damaged astronauts! Beans are very powerfull, where do you think e=mc2 comes from!

Dedgren DotW, you don't say! I must say that I'm proud that some of my (modest) creation is now exposed in Alaska!

Good to hear from you my friend!

Take care

John

---

Owen - (Owenluby) - Unifire

Hehehe... so did I (about the elbow thing).

See you!

---

Schulmanator - Schulmania

Welcome to Anduin Valley Schulmanator,

Come back anytime you want, visitors are always welcome in AVR!

See you!

---

Gecko_2006

Hi Gecko,

Thanks, but for urban settings the wait could be long. What you've seen so far of Anôrien is about only 25% of it, it'll slowly become more and more urban in a fashion but do not expect Highrises. That will probably in the next city, I have some ideas that I'm working with, mostly in my mind, nothing in game so far, but It could be something I've never done before.

You'll have to be patient.

Take care 

---

Menotyou

Thanks Menotyou!

---

Crazychickensc12 - Trinity River Valley - TRV

Hey CC!

Thanks CC, I just try to imagine some countryside where I'd like to ride!

Take care

---

Gurrgkud - Cordova//Revisited

Hey gurrgkud,

Don't make me blush here! But thanks all the same, always good to know it's appreciated!

---

Salut221

Hi Salut221,

Thanks for your kind words

---

Dark Lord

Hi DarkLord,

Thanks, and the CityHall pic is also my favorite.

See you

---

MadTV Freak - Sweetwater County

Hi MadTV,

Thanks man, I have to say that Dan (Dhoppeii), Bernhard (Nardo69), Meinhosen, Jeronij and lots of others have been there before me and they gave me the best part of my inspiration!

Take care

---

dadyrghluv

Hehehe About the elbow trick, I think that almost everyone tried it, I know I did!

See you!

---

Silur

Welcome to Anduin Valley Silur,

Thanks for visiting and taking the time to voice your opinion!

Come back anytime you feel like it!

See you

---

Jacky (jacqulina) - Paradise Falls

Jacky, my favorite falls creator!

I'm fine thanks, how about you, many baby sitting these days?

I'm always amazed when looking at your CJ my friend, your setups looks like they're taken out of Tolkien Books! I just love it!

It's always a genuine pleasure to have you here!

My week was great, and I hope yours will be the same.

Take care

John

---

Fallon144

Hi Fallon,

Well I don't think that I'm specialized in farms, I'd say that if you look at AVR last region pic, the rural area covers perhaps 30 to 35% of the developed map. The rest is urban, either big cities, Minas Tirith, Osgiliath, or mid sized ones, Dol Amroth, Bruinen Fjord, Anfalas and such.

But I do have fun creating rural setups, they give you more freedom to create what you want.

Take care

---

Special Eddie - Oasis--The Wild West

Hi Eddie,

That setup, (the City Hall) is one of favorite so far, though if I was to redo it (I won't) there would be some changes, I won't tell I'm keeping those thought for a future city!

As for the jagged edge, it would be great if we had a mod (ala PEG railroad) that would get rid of them without having to put some lots along the road.

Take care

---

Luker01 - San Lucas: My first CJ

Hey Luke!

Hey don't be sorry, RL comes first, it's perfectly natural. Same thing with me these days, the guitar is eating much of my free time!

Yeah the dropoff, I like it too, so far it's the best solution I've find to deal with grades in the irrigation system.

Was great reading you again

Do come back when you can

Take care

---

Livin in Sim

** Hum...hummm ** -clearing voice **thud.. thud ** tapping on the mike-

Is this thing on? **screeching feedback noise** woah woah! Turn that thing down... sheesh!

Sorry there Liv, kind of tech problems, I,ll be right back.... **mumbling unintelligible words (threats?) to sound technicians**

There! I'm back... where was I? Oh yeah!

Welcome to Anduin Valley Liv,

Boy am I glad to welcome a fellow trekkie to AVR, and not only that I must say that having read some of your post, I like your style.

My avatar signification is unknown to a lot of people, though, Darmok is, in my opinion, the second best STTNG episode, the first one being "The Inner Light" probably one of the best performance by Patrick Stewart. But I chose Darmok because of the symbol it carries, which is the fact that we should try to go over the cultural and racial barriers and try to communicate and understand one another. (Wow going metaphysical aren't we?)

Allright let's tone it down a bit, I really appreciated your "ride through AVR" allegory, very well written and entertaining!

Not only that, it captured exactly the "feeling" I've been trying to convey through pictures (again the Darmok reference..). So on that topic I'm really pleased to see that you felt the same way while reading through all those pages. Like Maria - Linkie once said "I've must have done something good!" (well that tells a lot about my age..) WINK.

I honestly don't think of myself as more advanced than anyone else, "different" might be a better word, I find an awful lot of inspiration in other CJ's and I really enjoy the diversity we have here!

I also should ad that I find your avatar to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing I've seen in Simtrop.

To sum it up...

** yeah, it's about time you verbose maniac you! **

huh! who said that!

where was I?

Yeah to sum it up, was I saying, It's a real pleasure to see you here, and I'm looking forward to reading you again!

If you have any questions, fire away, I'll try to help as best as I can!

Take care

-John      

---

PDQAg

Hi PDQ,

I certainly can't deny I like to do rural setups! And the thing is, when I began to play SC4 I just couldn't stand them! I simply didn't like doing them! But with all the mods and BATS and props we have now! It's now a real pleasure working with them!

But these days I have some ideas for urban/industrial setups that.... well, let's keep that for a bit later.

Actually, what you've seen so far of Anôrien covers approximately 30% of the "usable" terrain. So there's still a lot to be developped. I'm working on the north shore by now and completed about 60% of the city.

As for teasers for the next city, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit longer, cause I've yet to begin to work on it. For now, as Mr Tweedy - Linkie would say "It's all in my head!"

Making projects and working to realize them is an important part of life! Maybe the most important part! You know what "they" say: "The ride is as interesting as the destination!" or more simply "Gettin' there is half the fun!" Yep easier said that way!

On those words, I wish you a very good week!

Take care

---

James - hondo42769

Welcome to Anduin Valley James,

First I must say, *yeah yeah you always say it*, hum... where was I?... oh yeah, I'm always impressed when someone takes the time to read through all those pages! I honestly don't know if I would do the same! That's quite an undertaking!

Thanks for taking the time and having the patience to do so!

I'm looking forward to the pleasure of reading you again!

Come back whenever you feel like it.

Take care

---

And now ladies and gents, without further ado, here's....

---

---

Again thanks to all of you for the more than great support you're giving AVR, it's always appreciated! 

This week the MLotW can be (somewhat) related to SC4.

**MyStErY LiNk Of ThE WeEk**

---

In the meantime

Take care and enjoy life

Darmok

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Excellent update, Darmok. Hmm, someone's been tweaking the photo settings on your pictures, eh? Doesn't matter - looks nice.

Well, my favourite shot's probably of the new rail yard. Nice work.

[jacqulina 162]

hi john my friend,

im great thankyou and im still doing the babysitting but at weekends and during the school holidays,the little one i look after likes to play toy soldiers well as you can imagine i do allways lose caus he cheats and makes up his own rules lol,i am happy you like what i am doing in my cj,i still am having probs with houses but i think its probably i cant find the housing that i like yet lol,thankyou i love to visit your work and to read your replys.

my week was great too thankyou.

i love the junction sometimes its a lot of work to fit something in so it works properly and looks good too,and what i final result that looks awesome.the overview is amazing and as allways the farms are beautifull,i love the closeup off the junction there is so much great detail to look at,wonderfull pics of the new farms.the overview pics are beautifull,i love the new residential i wish i could get it right like you do.the brewery looks great..all in all my friend another awesome and very scenic update i loved looking through it.  

have a great weekend and take care

[bat 6]

Fantastic update! Great work! Thanks for helping me!

bat

[wouanagaine 83]

Hi John

I really like the new small residential zone

Now I have a question regarding Etienne farm. I triple read the explanation you gave to bat, and I can't get how you have done the same with the two farms .

I tried something like that :

I get one farm to grow then I cut it with your transit / non transit enable lots

But I can't get two farms the lay your lots

Take care

[Schulmanator 5,793]

Great update. Your towns are growing but not at the expense of their character. Too bad towns can't do that in RL! BTW, I agree with you about ST:TNG - Darmok and Inner Light are my favorite episodes. I got the CD of TNG music with a suite derived from the flute music on Inner Light. It is a great melody.

Have a great weekend!

[dedgren 830]

As usual, John, I feel compelled to comment the minute I see your AVR update.  I'm going to continue to indulge that urge by noting some terse and spare points initially, but then start coming back later in the week after I've turned things over in my head a bit.

The two overview pics show why seasonal trees, once you start using them, create a look that is unsurpassed.  I don't know if it is possible, but I think I'll be using seasonals for all deciduous trees in 3RR.

I see a fellow childhood (and perhaps even adult- I built a 2 foot by 4 foot (about 60 cm by 120 cm) "N" scale layout in the 70s that I sold to a local hobby shop when I moved for what was at the time "real" money- model railroader behind some of those EJ pics.  Am I right?

What is the ugly little featureless and too dark building next to the Nexis barn in pic 08?  That's the eyesore of the week in an otherwise stunning set of pics.

The MLotW continues to amuse.  I don't get why, though, anyone takes even a second look at a perfectly ordinary...

...dear, turn OFF THE TV and go outside and MOW THE ROOF...

...Alaskan sod house.  Rainproof, good insulation value and environmentally friendly, all in one.

Later (this week).

David

[bokrif 18]

Nice update! Looks very realistic. Where did you get the TE parking lot (last picture)?

[crazychickensc12 84]

hmmm...awesome...im really liking that train and little industrial area...and the panned out pics are suberb..great work darmok once again!!!

[Benedict 3,119]

Mmmm....wonderful stuff! Pictures so good I want to eat them!

[luker91 0]

hehe looks like in pic 16 that too many people tried to drive home from the brewery and ended up just staying at the inn... very convient location for that type of establishment... return business is what keeps them in the black..... i really like what youve done with the train station.... very nice....also liked the little tutorial on your farming techniques.... great update!

Luke

oops and forgot to ask... whered you get that parking lot

thanks in advance

[Yoman3 5]

Really one of your best updates John. The redoing of the container area stunned me. Your lots all seemed custom made for the area. May I ask what the crane (the white one) lot was? It fit perfectally. The switcher engine on the siding added the perfect touch to the mosic.

The second to last image  also amazed me in the small ridge before the river. But the bike path on the small bank. Wow. Over the hill a perfect set up of comm. and res. The parking in from of the brewery was perfect. All around one of your best updates John.

[owenluby 1]

I love it when you polish off your next city, it really brings it to life. I enjoyed the train junction and the inn and brewery... The car parks look full!

And as for the MLotW, well the ice-cream building was shown twice... sorry, not a good-enough link for me......I have quite high expectations...

Anyways, have a good day, and in your commonly spoken farewell tone, take care!

wen

[MadTV_Freak 0]

WOW... Another great update... you dont stop creating good work at all! You keep going and going I LOVE IT!

Keep up the EXCELLENT work!

[hondo42769 0]

The re-vamp of the junction looks great. I don't know about you, but I always get a little nervous whenever I set out to re-do an area. I appreciate how you take the time to show a few of your attempts prior to coming to a successful conclusion. As for the rest of the update, I was going to comment on the tangle of cars at the brewery, but lurker91 beat me to it. Someone should have called a cab (Although...there probably wouldn't be a cab company in a small community like this). Finally, I do believe that I have never zoned a 1x1 anything in my SC4 history. That will probably change after witnessing how you make it work for your residential areas. Thanks for the update.

[Menotyou 0]

Wow, great work!

[Fallon144 1]

I really like the way you lay out your suburban houses, it really looks realistic mate

keep up the excellent work!

[tommiej 0]

nice work!! nice to see how you build the rural area. keep it up!!

very realistic, i just need to mention it

[pquarles 0]

Hi Darmok -- I'm basically a lurker, but I pm'd you once before. Anyway, I continue to be captivated and inspired by this CJ. When I look at these pictures--especially the ones for this rural region--I remember driving around places that looked very much like this. Not only does that speak to your attention to realistic detail, but it gives me a new perspective on those real world places: it sort of allows me to see beyond what you can see from the road. That's partly just what's great about SC, but it takes a lot of work, dedication and talent to realize the game's possibilities.