Anduin Valley Revisited

[MadTV_Freak 0]

Hey Darmok, another wonderful update!! I love your work, it's so beautiful.. if I haven't said this already, It would be pure luck if I had half of your skills, and could do at least one-fourth of the work you did, that would truly be a blessing. You have an amazing talent at SimCity4, and an amazing talent at Photoshop. I can't wait until your next update!!

Keep up the EXCELLENT work!

And oh yeah....

1000th POST!!!

[Yoman3 5]

Someone around here got nominated for a trixe, I wonder who. Its you! Great update again. I love the extreme detail you put into the begining of the cycleway area. The cycleways in general look awsome. Oh that first link will help me alot. Thanks for it! And the second one......wow, someone has alot of free time.

[salut221 10]

Quoi ?! Le célèbre Darmok , le seul l'unique . . . est Québécois ?! O_o

Eh bah je ne savais pas ça . Je viens de regarder ton profil . Eh ben à l'avenir je commente en français ! Et d'ou viens tu du Québec ? En tout cas je vais arrêter de flouder et commenter ta MaJ . C'est vraiment très beau . Tu travailles bien avec les cycleways comme tu les appelles si bien . Je trouve que tu utilises vraiment bien les arbres de Jeronij . Tu as bien entendu des talents avec Photoshop . Tes fermes sont bien jolies et ton trucage de pluie est aussi très bien foutu . Continue comme ça !

[wobopopilis 3]

One word

-epic

[slann 0]

Gee... *grin*

Darmok! Excellent work! (Once Again!!!)

I am back - you must be getting tired of my comings and goings... but man, AVR looks even more realistic and beautiful everytime I disappear and reappear *grin*

*thumbs up!*

[jacqulina 162]

hi john my friend how are you,sounds like it was a great weekend.lol yes i have to play he makes me lol after all he is the general i have to obey orders lol,he doesnt have any to follow he makes up all his own lol,he took all my men out with one grenade lol,well its sunny here but windy but its better than rain.to do with housesi know what i want but never find it,nope never satisfied wink,i lost the last soldier game only caus i let him lol.

have a great week my friend take care.

Etiennes junction is looking fantastic lots better now.i love the rain effect in the pic of Anorien nice job there.excellent step by step as allways.thats a beautifull random shot i love it.those cycleways look really nice,excellent residential.love how you connect everything just right and what results you get awesome work and pics,i know i will enjoy what you have planned next.

take care my friend

[salut221 10]

Welcome to Page 128 !

[yajixi 0]

It's so beatiful. I like it .

You're the best!

[your_adress_here 11]

Nice cycleways.

*disappears*

[Livin in Sim 83]

Happy Thanksgiving, John!

Actually tomorrow is our dinner, so today has been a nice day, half clean the house and half just relax.

I love the cycleway, and how it looks on the riverbank.  Thanks for patiently showing us your improvements, to get rid of the retaining wall, and make the entrance to the cycleway look the best.  I think those little culdesac parking lots are the ones I just ran across today, are they jeronij's?  They will be of use in a myriad of situations, as is true for most of jeronij's creations.  I also found Vlakhaus' farm entrances--eureka!  It finally took a look thru all CSX, as they didn't show up in a narrower search.  Sadly, I cannot find Marrast's stairs.  BSC recently kindly     reuploaded a lot of his stuff, but I don't think the stairs were in any of it.  I have a nice useable set of stairs, but they aren't quite the calibre.

Also nice rain--it's raining here now.  I once scrolled to a rain picture in Green Depra, which was complete with a lightning bolt.  Suddenly, my desktop weather program, to indicate a weather warning, emitted a crack of thunder.  Man, did I jump!  Talk about spookily realistic!

I've made to to Bruinen Fjord on the other end, so I'll be catching up with myself soon.  In some parts of your region it seems there are seasonal street trees.  Also, I've never seen the 2x3 residential with the protruding garage from Calenhad.  It's the one Nik-Nik mentioned with regards to garage bands.  I just read how you explained to him a tree growing out of the hood of a car, an option that would allow shaded parking!    I can't believe he'd never heard of that feature.

Sorry for so many questions!  Tomorrow, after the dishes are done, and all the company is gone, it will be put the feet up time.  I'll grab the laptop (perhaps a single malt??) and happily look you up.

Read ya then!

--Liv

Edit:  Oh, just discovered that the cycleway parking/entrance is yours--cool!  I have and use your trails constantly.  Thanks, they're great for my farms.

[Darmok 34]

PhotoshopTV

SA Cycleways

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Fallon144

Hey Fallon, thanks, If you're interested in Photoshop, may I suggest to watch each week PhotoshopTV, it's free, it's downloadable (it's big though I hope you have High Speed Internet), that show is made by three of the best Photoshop gurus in the world. I went to a seminar given by one of them, Dave Cross, they simply are the best!

Here's the link : PhotoshopTV

Enjoy!

---

Rayden - Little Italy

Hey Sylvio,

Glad to plug Little Italy, there's so much great CJ's that we just can't notice them all, so a little reminder once in a while can bring some more readers. Who knows?

What's incredible about the video, is that it's not a trick, it's for real, the light are plugged in a lighting control system that program the lights with the music of your choice! Totally weird! And all you have to do when you drive in front  of the house is to tune your FM radio to the frequency indicated, and there you have it!

Take care

---

Crazychickensc12 - Trinity River Valley - TRV

Hey CC,

the cycleways are really fun to work with! A little patience at first to learn how to place the gradual curves, and the result is great!

See you!

---

Bat - Capporth City

Hi Bat,

Thanks!

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Purpledaddy

Welcome to Anduin Valley purpledaddy,

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and drop a word. Always good to see new faces in AVR, the step by step presentation, is something that came without really thinking about it, after reading Jeroni's Sculpting Columbia River. It was he who gave me the push to create a CJ. I guess it was his influence that made me do it that way.

Come back anytime you feel like it come on in have a seat, take a beer, if I'm not there the keys are in the goblin's mouth...

Take care

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Owen - (Owenluby) - Unifire

Hi Owen, How's it going my friend?

No one can miss with SA Cycleways .

About the link to the house see the answer to Rayden (Sylvio) the house is real it ain't no trick!

Take care!

---

MasterPlanMan

Hi MPM,

As I've decided long ago not to worry about money in SC4 (money cheats), and concentrate on the aesthetics of the game, the cost of terraforming is not a problem as far as I'm concern, but I guess that for some readers a good workaround to terraform without the cost would be to use some money cheat that give just enough money to do the work at hand, and afterwards resume the "regular" way of playing.

As I always say the main goal is to have fun. As to get the kinks out, the rail tool is my main tool too, but the road tool is also great to make gentle slopes for grassy knolls.

Thanks for your visit, and take care!

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Schulmanator - Schulmania

QA TLHO' ! Shulmanator! I hope my Klingon is not too rusty!

Yeah well, terraforming takes a little more time than just using the land as it is, but in RL, before constructing anything they do use bulldozers and graders! And the end result is very often rewarding!

Qapla' !

---

Choco (Chocolatemax285) - Green Depra

Hey Max!

How's it going?

Don't worry my friend, you come and go at your leisure in AVR.

As for the height problem, you could see that it was corrected in pic 9, the proprietor was tired of all those medical bills!!

Glad to know that the link to the name generator is of some use to you! I really like it it's the first one I've found that give really usable names, the latin name option is particularly useful!

Thank you for the nomination mate, really appreciated.

See you in Gold and Green Depra!

Take care

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MS (magpieshooter) - Kinata Region SAR

Hey MS,

Thanks mate, the main reason why I keep showing some trial and error process is to demystify the whole thing, I remember that in the beginning I was almost afraid to blast and redo... so if it can help anyone on that topic, then it's worth it!

Always good to read you!

Take care

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Meinhosen - Ralston Metro Area

Hey Meinhosen, really good to know you're back!

Thanks for those good comments man! Much appreciated, and we have so much choices with trees nowadays that it's hard to miss!

Again my friend, it's really good to know you're back!

Take care

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Nik-nik

Hey Nik,

I was trying to picture the scene, with the cereals and yogurth! I read the post to my wife who laughed too! Curiously, those are the things we remember the most! And that will be told many times at family parties! I should say I'm sorry, but truth be told, I'm not, I'm sure it'll bring a smile on your face for years to come!

As to be a perfectionnist, I guess it all come to that point after a certain time, we all want our cities to look the best they could!

Say hello to Pim and Jop for me.....

what am I saying!

Hey Nik! bring them in front of the monitor screen right now, go get 'em, I'll wait.....

You're back! Allright,

---

Hello Pim, Hello Jop! Welcome to Anduin Valley, look at the picture just here :

you can tell your father that you are now the owners of a Train Company in Anôrien. The Pim&Jop Train Transport Company, I'm sure he will be jealous! Not everybody can drive a train here! Well good bye for now! You can tell your father to come back to the computer now!

You there Nik? OK Just wanted to give them a little something... nothing big but I hope they enjoy it! As for Merijn, we'll have to wait till he can drive safely. WINK

Thanks for sharing the cereal scene my friend, it was really appreciated!

Enjoy your weekend, and warmest regards to your family!

-John

---

James - hondo42769

Hi James,

About the cycleways, give them a try you won't regret it, take the time to familiarize yourself with how they work on a blank space in your city, the long curves take a while to figure out, well I know I often place them head-to-tail, but it may just be me  ...

Seriously they're great to use!

See you!

---

Jason -(Aldara6166) - Modular Amusement park thread

Jason!

How you doing, still on 3 jobs at the same time?? WINK How's the family?

I know that the MAPP take most of your time, I understand perfectly, I've downloaded the BETA and I'll try to find some time to test them, I have a hard time finding some free time for SC4 these days! And you know me I HAVE to answer those who write me!

I think that you have missed something around 25 pages, if I remember you posted on page (checking his Excel file.... hummmm.... hummmm... AH! here you are!) page 108... just before Update 17 in Bruinen Fjord, not too bad! hehehe... just 20 pages!

Thanks for the flattery! WINK, seriously my friend, thanks for taking the time to stop by, I know you are very busy! and believe me I really appreciate it! As for advertising your creations, what can I say they're good!

Now go back to the MAPP, and once in a while do take some time off!

Looking forward to reading you again!

Take care

-John 

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MadTV Freak - Sweetwater County

Hi MTV,

First, congrats on that 1,000th post! and I feel honored that you chose to do it in AVR!

hehehe... I think patience is more the key than skills, try and try and try and blast a lot! That's the ticket! I guess that if I had to point out one thing that makes a huge difference, it would be using a slope mod, that's probably where the SC4 engine is the weakest, so by using a good slope mod, you bring a more natural appearance to your cities! As for Photoshop, it's my bread and butter, I work with it each day, it's an incredible tool. And if you're interested in knowing more about it, take a look at PhotoshopTV, see the link in the links section.

See you.

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Owen (Yoman3) - United Republic of Ankara

Hey Owen,

Glad you liked the name generator link, I'm sure that it can come handy for creating a city name! I particularly like the Latin option, gives very credible results. I thank you for the nomination, much appreciated my friend.

As for the second link, if you read my answer to Sylvio (Rayden) you'll see that it was not a trick! it's real!

The cycleway will continue, in fact it follows the river on the whole city tile.

Always good to read you Owen.

Take care

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Salut221 (TWICE) (Deux fois)

Bonjour Salut221,

Eh oui, pourquoi pas! Je suis de la région de Québec.

Pour les arbres, j'utilise aussi ceux de Cycledog, PEG et de DuskTrooper je trouve qu'ils se marient bien.

Pour ce qui est de photoshop, je travaille avec chaque jour, donc pas beaucoup de mérite de ce côté, c'est mon outil de travail. Et j'aime ça en plus!

Merci bien pour tes bon commentaires

Translation: Yep from the Québec area, why not! For the trees, I use Cycledog's, Jeronij's, PEG's and DuskTrooper's I like how they mix together. As for Photoshop, it's my working tool and I just love working with it! Thanks for your good comments.

SECOND COMMENTAIRE (SECOND POST)

Et merci bien pour la bienvenue en page 128

And thanks for the welcoming to page 128

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Wobopopilis

Welcome to Anduin Valley wobopopilis,

Thanks for stopping by and comment.

I think it's the first time that AVR has been described with that word "epic"!

I like it! Because  for me it really have been epic so far, when I started it in february 2005, more than 20 months ago!!!! I never thought it would take this proportion! I thought that if it took a few months at best I would be glad. But the readers here at Simtropolis have shown and are still showing, so much support and offer so much good suggestions that it kept me going!

So, always glad to see new readers, do come back anytime you feel like it, AVR is an easygoing place!

See you!

---

Slann - Viceroyalty of Dominea: Valmont

Hi Slann, long time no see!

What can I say, you're like the tide, coming and going! WINK

No problem there my friend, you do as you like, and it's always good to see you!

Take care

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Jacky (jacqulina) - Paradise Falls

Hi Jacky

Still in your military games hey? I read in your CJ that you finally won a game! that's great! WINK

If you liked the corrections I've made to Étienne's junction, just watch this new update, following Nik-Nik's suggestion, I've added some facilities to it. I think it's more real looking this way.

See you soon my friend, and as they say in the military "Watch your flank!"

Take care

-John

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yajixi

Hi yajixi, long time no see!

Thanks for those kind words!

Take care

---

Your_adress_herel

**Does a double-take, turns around, looking everywhere**

Strange..... I thought I seen someone!!!!

**talking to self** Must change those darn glasses!!!

---

Livin in Sim

Hey Liv,

Thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes. I hope yours will be good and that you and your family will have a great time together.

I really think that those kind of lots, the cycleways, are the "salt" of SC4, they really add a certain "je ne sais quoi" that makes our cities looks "livable" .

I was about to answer your question about the Cycleway parkings, but I saw that you find the answer yourself! But you were half-right on your assessment, I've created them using Jeroni's cul-de-sac as a base, I asked him if he'd give me the permission to use it and he kindly accepted. It's just that here we have those kind of parkings near the cycleways, and I wanted to recreate them in a fashion. Ours don't have those nice fences!

The rain trick is quite simple in fact, it's an old Photoshop trick if you're interested, just follow this link Photoshop Rain Effect

This is only one of the Photoshop tutorial available on the net, you can find practically anything you want!

Hehehe... the tree on the hood, yeah! It's a nice option, but kind of a pain in the Fall! all those leaves on the hood! :wink;

Tomorrow, we'll be making scallop and shrimp pie-dish (now I just don't like that translation, in french we say "terrine") and this is simply extraordinary on fine crackers!

Enjoy your weekend, do relax, and if you indulge in the single-malt sin, may I suggest either a fine Talisker or a Bowmore. I'll be sure to raise one to your health this weekend!

Regards

John

---

This week update is a special one, as promised last week, as it was rather small (the update.... not the week!) I told you that I would make it up to you by posting more pics this week, so here it is, first following Nik-Nik's suggestion another modification of Étienne's Junction, and aftreward you'll have the "regular update"

Enjoy!

---

And now dear readers, without further ado, here's the "regular" update

---

Hoping this make up for last week short one....

As always your comments, questions and suggestions are  appreciated!

Without readers a CJ is nothing, so keep those comments coming as Jason (aldara) would say.

Now, here's the Mystery Link of the week , I've chosen this one for the creativity and imagination it shows!

And the Mystery link of the week take 2 is of a more "serious" nature and will give more credibility to the past history of AVR! hehehe...

See you next week!

---

In the meantime

Take care and enjoy life

Darmok

[vester_DK 477]

Wow that was a good update.

Love the truck stop and the development of the transport center.

But what are that w2w house doing there next to the parking lot, it seems out of place ?

Like that bikepaths and the waterfalls and the green neighbourhood.

Would love to buy that house just next to the waterfall (pic 13 and 14)

EDIT: Love that  Mystery Link no 1

[bat 6]

Awesome work! Great railstation! Great details! Great "small" waterfall! Fantastic residential-area and parks! Many wonderful pictures!

but: where do you get this

[GMT 389]

awesome layout around the mansions and cool working with the trails.

waiting for more

[Nik-nik 3]

Thank you John.

I started this morning with GD and a cup of coffee and finish with a cup of tea and AVR.

Jop and Pim do not understand why their names are on the computer screen on a train. Being a 5 and 6 years old can be confusing indeed. I have a new wall paper. Wanna see?

Back to the CJ.

Great Étienne's transport has turned out quite well. It looks magnificent. I am glad you thought of those truck drivers that need after a long day behind the wheel a good beer and ....eh....some....ehh....well let's say nature's best

ehh that's not what I had in mind.

One point of critism. I think that gray high building at the end of the parking lot is a bit too high. I would reccomend a 2 story high builing instead of 6 stories. But that's just me being silly I guess.

Any house left over in La Plaisance Estate?

What a marvellous place!. Gorgeous. I love the way you used the fences. It is a sign of your genius; even the little pedestrian bridge over the creek has a fence for entering the Estate. Perfect!

That Lasse Gjertsen is some great musician. Crazy but great.

Have a great weekend.

Sinterklaas is coming to town (that is Sinterklaas not Santa Claus)

This guy: 

he's giving away some presents to Jop and Pim and boy are they excited. Merijn joins the fun with shouting and cheering but hasn't got a clue what it is all about.

This is going to be fun.

Nik-Nik

[jacqulina 162]

hi john,

how are you doing,yes still in the military lol,yayyyyyy i won one game lol.i allways watch my flank lol.i have nominated you in the trixies.

thats wonderfull work to the junction and yes it does look more realistic,love the motel that does fit in well,yes the entertainment looks good also.excellent little gas station,thats a beautifull overview pic and what a difference.wow thats a wonderfull job with pegs thing beautifull waterfall and nice job bringing to the sim water.i love the swing bridge very pretty and a great idea,the cycleways are excellent you have done a beautifull job with those.beautifull bridge over pegs stream.love the sunken road wonderfull job there,i love the posh sector thats so pretty.love the pics especially the global ones.all in all my friend awesome work and pics.

take care and i hope you have a great weekend  

[Benedict 3,119]

Beautiful details as always. Have a great weekend!

[dhoppeii 12]

John my friend! I hope this note finds you and the family doing well. I really enjoyed the tribute to my own little place in this virtual world. Your command of the game never ceases to amaze me. I do find time now and then to stop by and at least keep up with what is happening here in AV although work and music take up most of my time now. Family is doing well and the band is booking well into '07 already. I just want to know when I get to see or hear some of your guitar work? I gave you a link to my video after all

Take Care my friend!

[Fallon144 1]

wow man, massive update!

Thanks for the link, I love it!

as far as your update concerns.... man I feel silly for saying it for like....the umpteenth time it is wonderful. It is really good that this CJ is still so incredibly populair, it deserves every single post of praise it gets.

I love the way you've lain out your rail system + the Etienne transportation building, amazing mate.

keep up the incredible work!!

[wouanagaine 83]

Thanks for this wonderfull update John

In the first part I saw lot of BAT I never saw before, and there are really cute

In the second part, I wish I can live here , so pleasant and so green !

Take care

[your_adress_here 11]

In Anduin Valley

Where the children run

In the open fields

They go and have fun

In Anduin Valley

Where truckers rest

So that when they leave

They perform their best

In Anduin Valley

Where trees grow free

So they grow big and mighty

To make tourists happy

In Anduin Valley

Freight trains roam

They carry their goods

To other peoples homes

Oh, in Anduin Valley

It's the place I want to be

Because in Anduin Valley

There is much to see

Anduin Valley

[pvarcoe 0]

That was a great update indeed.

I loved both sections of the update. Good use of empty space for parking for the truckers. I really like that kind of detail.

The rather wealthy homes section is cool too. Really effective use of pegs water, and the waterfall intregrates (sp?) well to the river.

How many times did you have to blow up homes before getting the ones you wanted to grow?

And on a slightly more global note, this cj better collect some trixies this year!!!

Anduin Valley Revisited remains one of the absolutly stellar must-read cj's.

Thanks John, for all the work you put into sharing it with us.

Phil

[salut221 10]

Bien entendu c'était une merveilleuse MaJ . Ton secteur résidentiel dans les arbres à part est vraiment bien fait . Ton photoshop (enfin je crois) avec le truc de Étienne's Transport est vraiment bien foutu ! Continue dans cette voie !

Translation in English :

Of course 'twas a beautiful update . I especially like the estate in the trees . And the photoshopping (I think) with the building of Étienne's Transport is well done . Continue in that way and keep up this awesome work !

[hondo42769 0]

I don't know why you insist on apologizing for the previous update, I thought it was great. As for your latest, FANTASTIC. First, let me say that I love the way you re-worked Etiennes Junction. Etiennes Transport is a great addition to the railyard. Now for the, ummm, criticisim. My comments above are sincere, I just don't know if I would have placed such an expansive railyard in this area. It just seems a little too rural for this kind of development, IMO. But, it's your CJ and, of course, you can develop it however you like. I, on the other hand, am just a humble admirer.

Now for the "regular" update. What a beautiful neighborhood! The way you combined the PEG stream with the rural residential walls creates a very natural looking bridge. I hadn't thought of this, and will probably "borrow" this idea. I also like your use of the swing bridge, also PEGs I believe. I don't know if I would ride a bike over it, but it looks great. Overall, I'm impressed how you combined all these pieces to create such a cozy residential paradise.

[Rayden 7]

I bet you missed my dancing banana just before your update this morning, didn't ya? Beautiful upadte as usual. I love your care for deatils. The Eti

[aldara6166 109]

Another great update John my friend...I really like the high-class (and high-price) housing area...

One thing that bothers me though...the parking for the trucking company...some of it is across the railroad tracks...hate to see Johnny walking across the tracks to work and *SPLAT* Johnny ends up as fertilizer 50 miles up the tracks when the train finally slows down...

Sorry for being graphic..guess that is something I do best...

Great work...keep em comin...

[meinhosen 11]

Now that was cool. Pic #6 has a really cool idea with the PEG ponds and jeronij's walls... I'm going to have to look into incorporating that somewhere. To continue a thought from earlier, you've made really good use of all the trees available on the STEX. Seeing them here makes me want to go and download them and see how they look in and around Ralston (despite the fact that my plugins folder is crying for relief).

As always, great work!

[Nardo69 51]

Hi John!

Long time no see, sorry for that, but RLS ... always the same ...

Okay, let's begin:

Page 125:

I always do love your "green" layout - nothing more to say.  Nice overview!

Nice Idea, too, to let the dirt tracks run over the irrigation canals. A bit wide though, those bridges I know are just wide enough to let one truck pass. Though the question is if the round bridge from the set is better - IMHO it is more a pedestrian bridge ...

Page 126:

Etienne station: not bad, not bad all! I would have build it longer instead next to each other behind each other like a daisychain along the railway but that is my personal taste! I like(!) the railroad crossing in the station secured with the signal bridges; the only reason why I don't use them is that they block any railway traffic ...

Page 127:

Nice area around that cattle loading bay with all those trees and fences ...

I still don't like the missing siding though, I guess I should try to install the LE on that laptop since I have an idea ... (problem is just that I am such a $%&^! regarding LE and modding ...)

page 128:

Nice Transortation Company. I just would have given their "own" track" for simulating another small railyard. But I do like the selection of the ... errh ... special ... commercials around it ...!

I do like "the making of" "La Plaisance Estate". Great how you corssed the railway and the PEG stream with the grey street in 06. Never thought about it even! And the small cycleway tunnel - superb!

Assuming that the railway line is not a main connection I can live with the number of RR crossings ...

Take care my friend!

Bernhard

[your_adress_here 11]

In Anduin Valley

The viewers are waiting

In Anduin Valley

The viewers are waiting

[Darmok 34]

Peg Pine trail Sway Bridge

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VesterDK - VDK Showcase

Hi Arne,

Hehehe, It seems that you're not the only one who finds that building out of place!

Well. I've tried a few and this was the one I finally decided to keep, I wanted a building that was kind of of a bar/pub on the street level, and who had rooms to let for a night or two, you know, nothing fancy... and I didn't want it to take much space because of the parking lot, combine this to the fact that it has a blind wall towards the parking... and also the fact that you always need an hotel near a train station, though I agree that the passenger station in Anôrien isn't big, it's there anyway and some passenger may be in need of a room, so in this regard it was exactly what I wanted!.

As for the house near the waterfall, say no more my friend, first come first served! It's yours my friend!

About the No 1 link! Well I agree! This must have taken forever to accomplish!

Enjoy your weekend!

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Bat - Capporth City

Hi Bat, about Étienne's Transport I just plainly forgot to query it this week, I'll do that tonight and edit my post here, and I'll PM'it you too. The suspension bridge is Peg Pine trail Sway Bridge I just worked a bit on it in the LE to put some of Shadow's Assassin's Cycleways on it.

Hope this'll help!

See you!

---

GMT - Greater Columbia River

Hi Torben,

Thanks man!

---

Nik-nik

Hey Nick,

Glad you liked the train pic! (Nice wallpaper BTW!) And I hope Jop and Pim (and Merijn of course!) had a great time with Sinterklass!

What can I say, nothing can beat nature! I agree about the height of the building in the parking lot but this was the best I could find for what I had in mind... (see my answer to Arne (Vester)).

Houses left in La Plaisance Estate, why, yes there is, let me call Mr Bälin....... **beeping tones, muffled voices.... click** Hey you're in luck, what do you think about this one...

Wow, Real estate business is booming, I'll have to ask Mr Bâlin for a cut!

Yeah Lasse Gjertsen seems to be a tad "off kilter", but he has vision! And as Einstein said, "Imagination is more important that intelligence" So in this respect, I guess that Einstein would have appreciated Mr Gjertsen video! I don't know if I'll find funny videos each week though!

Well that's about it for now, have a great weekend my friend

Take care

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Jacky (jacqulina) - Paradise Falls

Hey Jacky,

Really glad to know that you're winning (once in a while!) WINK And thank you for your nomination! it really appreciated.

For the transport company setup, I just tried to copy what we see in RL in those sector. Can't beat RL for that!

And I must point out that, the idea behind it came from Nik-Nik, it was an excellent suggestion and I was glad to re-revisit that sector!

Have a great weekend my friend

Take care

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Benedict - The Mayors of Ellis Valley

Hey Benedict,

Thanks buddy!

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Dan - La Plaisance County (Best little County South of Canada!)

Hi Dan,

Hey great to hear from you!

Family's doing great my friend, hoping your's is the same! It would have been a shame not to talk about La Plaisance in Anôrien which is one of my "ruralest" (just invented a word here!) city so far, you were one of the first (if not THE first) to start the genre.

And seeing your work, along with Bernhard's (Nardo) and Meinhosen's just gave me the push to try my hand at it. And I'm having so much fun! So it's only a small token of appreciation of your great work!

I went to Exit Reality page on MySpace, you seem to have a great deal of loyal supporters and fans! And I'm not surprised.

About my guitar work, we'll discuss that in a PM! WINK

And yes I acknowledged the link to the video, I even still have a certain mp3 file!!!

But let me tell you that my talent is not (yet, I hope) up to that level!

It is always good to receive some news!

Wishing you the best!

Warmest regards

-John

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Fallon144

Hey Fallon,

Glad you liked both the update and links!

Thanks for your enthusiasm! I really appreciate that!

Take care

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wouanagaine - SC4 Terraformer a tool for regional hand-terraforming

Hey wouanagaine,

You saw some BAT you never saw before! I don't understand, my plugin folder is so small! Just a tad over 2GB! hehehe... seriously I'm contemplating the idea of trimming it down, there's a lot (pun intended) of things I don't use in that folder.

About living there.... say the word and I'll call Mr Balin, and I'm sure he'll find something for you!

Always good yo read you my friend,

Take care.

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Your_adress_herel (TWICE)

My friend this is one thing I won't forget, it is fun, its is well written as well as entertaining!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to create this I really appreciate that!

In fact I'm not the only one, here's an Anduin Valley Council decree....

Your name will be in Anduin Valley history books! WINK

Again thank you for this!

Take care

Second post

In Anduin Valley

The updates are commin'

Albeit slowly

The updates are commin'

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Bow River Valley

Good to read you Phil, you are you doing?

I must say that the transport company setup took me far less time than a lot of simpler setups I've done before, took me about two hours I'd say, longest part was to scroll down the menus to find the bats I wanted ... This being said, I didn't have to blast a lot in La Plaisance Estate, the $$$ houses grew pretty much by themselves, so I gave the buldozer a rest.

Thank you for your kind wishes about the Trixies, recognition by one's peer is always welcome, but I must say that besides that, the thing that is keeping me going on this CJ (ad)venture is the complicity with a lot you! That for me is worth all the Trixies in Simtrop. Trixies are once a year, but good comments and discussion last the whole year!

Enjoy your weekend and take care!

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Salut221

Merci bien Salut!

Le trucage est effectivement fait avec Photoshop. Ce n'est pas grand chose, mais ça ajoute un peu de "piquant" au setup!

Hi Salut,

Yep the ,shall I say, "special effect" was done in Photoshop. It's not much but it's giving a small plus to the overall setup.

Thanks for the kind words!

See you!

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James - hondo42769

Hi James,

I'm really glad to know you appreciated both updates, and the re-revisiting of Étienne's Junction comes from Nik-Nik (Eagle-Eye) suggestion, and right he was...

About your criticism, well, would Anôrien be the only city, I would agree completely, what made me do it this way, (I could say that the devil made me do it, but it would not be true...), what was I saying... Oh yeah, I did it this way for one reason, you must take in consideration that it is near the city limit, and that just over that limit is a very big industrial area in Bruinen Fjord, so it is used by those industries as well, not only the farmers in Anôrien. That was one of the things I didn't do at first when playing SC4, that is to take into account the "regional" aspect of it. It would be great if we could work on the overall region at once... but I guess this would take a "monster" computer!!! And please do not refrain yourself when giving your opinion, as long as it is constructive I really appreciate honest comments and criticism. That's what make us learn new things!

You can "borrow" all the ideas you want, I do it regularly. Simtrop CJ section IMO is the ultimate think tank for creating cities.

As for PEG's swing bridge, I know I wouldn't ride my bike on it, but I can say that I often saw those kind of bridges in RL, that you simply cross walking beside your bike, to resume your biking on the other side.

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed comment!

Looking forward to reading you again

Take care

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Rayden - Little Italy

Hola Sylvio,

Well.... your comment about missing your "dancing banana" intrigued me, so I went back to see what I've missed, but I must say that perhaps you've been the victim of the "missing post bug", because the last post showing before my last update was done by Liv (Livin in Sim). So, sorry to say that, yes, I missed the dancing banana, on which I would certainly have commented! LOL

This being said, thanks for your constant support amigo, I really appreciate it.

About the suspended bridge, I've done the changes in the LE, I just took PEG's suspension bridge and inserted Shadow's Assassin cycleways texture under it, I made a straight section and a T section added some Jeroni's fences, that's about it...

It was not very complicated.

See you in Little Italy!

Take care

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Jason -(Aldara6166) - Modular Amusement park thread

Hi Jason,

What can I say, working there is a dangerous job!

And I have to say that your description of the "incident" was indeed "graphic" LOL

But hey! I do remember some passage in the "Golden Chimera" that were, shall we say, "gory"! So I'm not shocked! WINK

And hey, how can one complain after being given a 50 mile free ride on, or shall I say under... the train!

Ouch! that was a very bad one.... but you know my bad jokes...!

Hehehe...

Thanks for droppin' by my friend!

Take care

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Meinhosen - Ralston Metro Area

Hi Meinhosen,

Yes, Jeroni's walls and PEG's stream goes well together! And believe me I can relate to the IPS "Inflated Plugin Syndrome"! Mine, despite the numerous attempt at "deflating", is still over 2GB!

Thanks for stopping by!

Take care!

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Bernhard (Nardo69) - Urland a (mostly) rural coastline

Hi Bernhard,

Good to see you my friend!

Yep the bridge that come with the set is indeed just a pedestrian one, and you'll see more of them in the following updates. What I've tried to achieve was more of a culvert look than anything.

Étienne's Junction, well I must say that the decision to make it bigger or smaller was a quandary... I wanted it to be big enough to serve both Anôrien and Bruinen Fjord, but not too big as to look out of place in Anôrien, that's why it took me several steps, and many tries, before getting what I wanted. But I already have other ideas in mind for a future rail yard, can't wait to try North Country Dude pack!

About being a $%&^! with the LE, nothing beat the trial and error process, I still consider myself as a beginner with it, I think the most important thing to remember are two simple things, First as soon as you open a lot to edit, save it IMMEDIATELY UNDER A NEW NAME, second, use a name that you'll remember easily, I personally always use the letters drmk at the beginning of each new lot I modifiy, this way when I look for them in the LE for further modifications they are easy to find, and they are grouped.

The transport company, I tried to place it differently so there would be an "entrance" and an "exit" but doing it that way would have implied blasting another farm and redoing the street layout, and that was a price I was not willing to pay. As for the nearby errmmm... business, I just thought about similar setups in RL, and come up with this. Glad you appreciate!

Concerning the numerous crossings, as most of them are not main roads or streets, but mostly farms entry, it didn't bother me.

Great to read you Bernhard, hoping that RL will cut you some slack in the following weeks, and that we can enjoy more of Urland soon!

Take care

-John

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And now dear readers, without further ado, here's....

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This week I didn't find things that were REALLY unusual on the net.... but this...if you like unusual puzzles might interest you... I'm at level 5

Mystery link of the week No 1

The other one, is for those of you who, like me, might be interested in guitar playing and learning

Mystery link of the week 2 (this ones seems to work better with Internet Explorer though!)

That's about it for this week, many thanks to all of you AVR followers and friends, for your kindness and support.

See you next friday!

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In the meantime

Take care and enjoy life

Darmok