Three Rivers Region

[Camedia 0]

This looks cool, very clear overview and good planning

I wish I could make maps like that, should make me head lighter

[Yoman3 5]

You drive me crazy!!! That is an awsome map my friend!! Keep up this awsome work!

[van1357 15]

Hi again David, how are you? I haven't replied since the... 22nd! But I have been checking in every now and again. Anyway, on page 24 you showed a couple of pics of the contour lines in action. Well, the contour lines are nice, but the street in those pics is amazing! I love how you have managed to take it up that slope. It's a great bit of work.

Also, I really like how the maps are coming on. They are looking great! I'm guessing the 8 or so layers will include rail, subway, elevated rail, monorail, airports, and seaports, and maybe the different zones? Am I close!? Can't wait to see the full finished version...

All in all, great work/play, and I look forward to seeing more in the near future...

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Now that Firefox is working now, I can finally comment on your pictures.

The map looks quite good, and hopefully, you will be able to finish it. ;p

Keep it up.

[sorchin 18]

Hey David. I'm guessing your next map will include rail lines, both ground and elevated, seaports perhaps, maybe airports, you might add a zoning layer or two (or three), perhaps even 3 separate wealth layers as well?.. You have me curious anyway. I guess I'll have to wait until Monday... Take care mate...

[Gaston 0]

Hey David,

    I was gonna guess rail networks, ports, zoning and of course the names of the "towns".   But as always, people beat me to it.    Oh well.    The map is coming along great.  I love it.    Guess you are turning into an amature cartographer.

    Looking forward to more updates.   And hopefully an answer about any conflicts anyone might know about between "Columbus" and Peg's "MTP".     Anyway great job.

    BTW,  Did anyone ever say how may meters the contour lines represented in the game?

[bat 6]

great work!

bat

[jacqulina 162]

excellent work my friend hope to see more soon

[Darmok 34]

You won't drive me nuts David.....   to late for that anyways!

The maps are plain nuts, errmm... I mean gorgeous! (of course!)

Though what I appreciate more is your link to William Least Heat Moon, went to red the Wiki, and it sounds very interesting, I'll try to locate one copy of Blue Highways!

And looking at your map, It just occured to me that I havent had a good spaghetti in a while!

Take care my friend!

[rooker1 4]

The trasit map is awesome......great work.

[cityhawk 12]

You're making great progress! I can't wait until it's done!

[dedgren 830]

I have just a few minutes before I'm off on the hour (or so) drive to work, so I'll answer Delta07's question

What do those [ctrl+alt+c] lines represent? Like 100 m. or something? quote>

asked back on August 25th.   Thanks as well, Gaston, for reminding me.

I, frankly, had no idea until I did the following.

I first booted up a suitable hilly 3RR township and immediately pressed the [ Ctrl ][ Shift ][ C ] combination to bring up the "game" contour lines.

#1


I focused on the small hill at the top right edge of the township.

#2
 

The three lines at, bottom to top, increasingly higher elevations should give good results.

I pressed the [ G ] key to bring up the grid...

#3


...and then started collecting data by bringing up the terrain query tool by pressing [ Ctrl ][ X ] to bring up the "cheat code" box, into which I typed the term terrainquery and then pressed [ Enter ].

Through the magic of PhotoSh PaintShopPro-ing, I've summarized what I saw here.

#4


The "y" variable is the elevation in meters at the point over which the cursor hovers; in this case over each of the three contour lines.

Remembering that 250m is SC4's "sea level," we learn, after rounding, that the lowest contour line is at 185m, the middle at 249m, and the highest is at 313m: a nice, uniform 64m in vertical distance apart.

Oh, just to check, in case discontinuous contour lines might be at different elevations...

#5


Well, that's good to know.

So, the answer is 64 meters.  Now, what was the question?

More on SC4's use of scale in my next post.

Later.

EDIT:  Pesky typos.

[jacqulina 162]

that looks wonderfull david the contours are great and great pics

[Rayden 7]

Nice work David, as usual, always helping the others

[Camedia 0]

Good to know, hoped my mountains would be higher than the alpes Then again...

[-DJ-DIABLO- 0]

woah kool pics man

[bat 6]

great pictures!

bat

[ript73 0]

Excellent maps, dedgren! And you are quickly becoming the SC4 answer guy with all of these technical tips! Never would've known any of this stuff without coming to your CJ. Thanks alot and keep those tips coming!

Cya around!

[Gaston 0]

Welcome to page 27 !!!

I've been waiting to be at the top of a page.   

Thanks David,

   Hmmm, I forgot about the terrainquerry cheat.   Seams odd to call that a cheat when it could be very useful.   64m you say, hmmmm.  that is typical maxis I guess they couldn't figure out how to make it 50m or something easy to figure with.    LOL     

  Anyone out there know if I need to do something specific to get "Columbus 'lower'" work properly (like load it before something else)?  I've got it in the right spot but don't seem to have any effects from it.   Any suggestions?

   BTW, David, I got BRF's slope mod running.   WOW   What a difference.   I went back and re-terraformed for ALL my transportation network.   Luckily, I was spending all my time putting in surface water and didn't have alot done on the roads yet.   Just all the complicated switch backs climbing the mountains.   LOL   Well, Off to check out some of the batting threads.   Not that I can bat.   The only thing I ever attempted looked like a melted monopoly house.    Later All.

[PhilsCafe 8]

Great research there David, that's really helpful information. And I'm really looking forward to more of your instructive lessons.

[sorchin 18]

Great mountain area my friend.. I'm looking forward to your creative mind being put to good use in this cityscape... Lokking forward to see what you will do here...

[Nik-nik 3]

Nice technical tutorial. 64 m....how many meters in a yard? 

Can it be that SC4 shows the height in meters but they mean yards or feet (US feet that is). I do not have the idea that the makers are much focussed on the metric system.

The spagetthi (Darmok's idea) map looks maddening great. Lots of roads for an empty area

Must be a former nuclear testing area........

Nik-Nik

[Rayden 7]

Originally posted by: Gaston   64m you say, hmmmm.  that is typical maxis I guess they couldn't figure out how to make it 50m or something easy to figure with.    LOL     

 

quote>

 

That measuring system it was the easier way Maxis found out to make those figgers, as they didn't had to use any kind of formula for showing the distances and used instead the binary code straight form the game. If you see, there is a lot of numbers that show thebinary code in action. For example, a small city being 4 km, a large one being 16 km, 64 meters for distances between countour lines, etc...

Check Wikipedia for Binary Code

Originally posted by: Nik-nik Nice technical tutorial. 64 m....how many meters in a yard? 

1 yard = 0.9144 meters

...quote>

[asturianu 4]

hey, this cj is so cool, dedgreen,i love the map, i have do a map of freeways and avenues for my cj, Lloyd, Ontario, and i think it isn't as real and good as ours. ALASKA IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!

sorry for my English, i'm spanish.

[natedoggg 0]

wow man what is that program !!!!

[SpecialEddie 3]

I can learn so many things from this CJ...SO MANY!

[hamsterTK 93]

you called for lurkers...im here

[Gaston 0]

Ahhhh  Thanks Rayden,

         That would explain why they used what they did then.    Basically, they used what they knew.  Kool, I can deal with that I guess.   

         By the way I am re-downloading "Columbus" because even after pmimg Jeronij and following what he suggested, I still can't get it to work.   GRRRRRRRRRRR.       Oh well thats life in sim city I suppose.    Hope it finishes before my GF needs to go on line.

          edit / addition    Friday 08 Sept 06

         Well the re-download didn't fix the problem with getting "Columbus" to work.     Any suggestions?     I am thinking I might have to take everything out of the plug ins and put it back in; rearranging it as I do so it might load in a different order.   Anyone think that might help.  OR am I just wasting time doing it.   Do I need to delete it entirely and re download?    I am really at a loss as to how to get it to work.

[jacqulina 162]

looking forward to more updates

[cityhawk 12]

You know, I think it's weird that the contour lines didn't show up in game when I pressed [Ctrl][Alt][c]. Oh well; I don't really need them anyway, but I was still disappointed. Anyway, that still is interesting to know about the elevation distance b/w contour lines. It must be good to be able to use your math skills to figure out stuff. I'm good at solving equations in every math class I take, but I'm not so good when it comes to applying that equation solving to problem solving.

I can't wait to see your completed map!