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  1. Okay, let me first explain what my PEEPHOLE entries are. These entries will be my teaser to an area I am working on within the region of Nano. I may or may not include full details of what you see in the screenshot. My region is filled with plenty of data, just like real-world countries do. And I plan to be very detailed when it comes to description of certain places/photos. But since I can not build and write data at the same time, I may release some teaser shots first (usually just one photo). The full entry will then be available a few days after complete with a good storyline, accompanied by facts and figures. I wouldn't want to keep you waiting with boring words and all. Here's an aerial shot of Sparede Island, located west of the main land. _______ PEEPHOLE: Sparede Island:
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    Welcome to Askal - A Street Dog's Chronicle I have been looking at a lot of City Journals since around 2011, and I like a lot of them like Towerdude's recreation of Hong Kong, Huston's Sci-fi Mass Effect Series. Yet something struck me. There was a lot of City Journals that showcase their countries in a good way, and some bad ones that show how life in a "ghetto". So what if there's a journal about how life works in a horrible place, a place that everyone here in Simtropolis is alienated with, the life in a society where there is clear divisions, yet also very stark juxtaposition between the poorest class and the richest classes, thus I created this City Journal - Askal -- A Street Dog's Chronicle. We'll go through sensitive topics such as sanitation, population, housing, transportation. Welcome to a new reality, a reality so common yet so unknown. Welcome to the squatters area. Let's begin in our journey on what is to come here in the city of Malapascua. First of all, let's stop at the local SM Mall. This mall is prevalent throughout the Philippines, and is the place to go for shoppers. Security is really tight, with the guards checking every single item just to make sure that you are not bringing a weapon in the mall. Just south of it are shops that growed like mushrooms in hopes that it will make some money from SM shoppers. And finally, here's one of those unfortunate areas. After being evicted from the city, the poorest class were relocated here in Malapascua. They brought their own dogs, which sparked a population boom of street dogs, which we now call askals. There's also cats, rabbits and even chickens for sabong and goats. I had my own askal, named "Paopao". He's like a hotdog, very long dog. I dedicate this journal to him.
  2. Chapter 6: The Agave Road Once the trade agreement was made between Fisher's Landing and Deeve, a proper trail connecting the two towns was created. Albeit, nothing more than gravel, the path was a welcome change from the mud-choked ground that laid before. Naturally, with so much of the Neutral being dense forests, the new road tended to hug the coast, only cutting through the woods when necessary. This road, then, made a great place for groups to set up shop and try to carve out a living. Such tiny towns dot what is being dubbed as the "Agave Trail." Preecher Point is the largest of all the tiny towns by a wide margin. Some of the town was already in existence (most notably the church and a few small farms) but experienced a sizable boom once the Agave Trail came through. There are lots of things on the Point to cater to the traders' comfort and includes a hotel, saloon, feed store, and other necessary things weary travelers need. Closer to Fisher's Landing is this tiny junction, nicknamed "The Apple Grove" for obvious reasons. It's a few families tending to some farms along the stream that empties into the little sound. Traders will occasionally stop for apples and a warm bed in one of the homes, but it is rare. Once again, the trail is close to the water here, which offers a small plot of land perfect for settling. Traders must forge the aforementioned stream, but seeing as how it's barely a few feet deep for a vast majority of the time, it causes little concern. The trail goes through the narrowest point of the stream. The trail snakes along the shore and through the dense forest. It takes approximately 3-5 weeks to make it from Fisher's Landing to Deeve (almost half the time from before the Agave Trail was built). When one of these Tiny Towns is not within range, makeshift campsites have to do. Tequila is regularly shipped from Deeve to Fisher's Landing. Corn, wheat, and lumber make their way to Deeve from Fisher's Landing along the trail. There are rumors, though, that the small town of Deeve is having a hard time keeping up with the new demand for tequila.
  3. Still digesting your burger and fries, you hop back into your cruiser and begin your afternoon patrol. As you head north on Jim Walls Blvd. you notice a purple hatchback vehicle ahead that just made a U-turn on a red light. "So much for my break," you think to yourself. You radio in your location and inform dispatch that you are about to make a traffic stop. As you get closer to the suspect vehicle, you notice the license plate, "California: C U LTR" You quickly punch the license plate into your computer to check for wants. "Great..." You immediately turn on your emergency lights. You see ahead that the driver is looking at you in his rear view mirror. Instead of pulling over, the suspect vehicle speeds up. Here we go... queue up the police chase music... you radio in for back up. The suspect tries his best to lose you, but its not working. Soon you find yourself on River Drive Bridge. The suspect vehicle is easily going 60 miles per hour as traffic is coming heads on in the opposite direction. "This is dangerous..." You notice that the driver of the suspect vehicle is starting to lose control of his car. He brakes suddenly and then... BOOM! The suspect vehicle crashes head on into oncoming traffic. You were so caught up in the adrenaline rush that you hadn't noticed that your back up was right behind you. Instinctively, you come to a screeching halt, get out of your car and draw your gun. Your backup pulls up next to you and you see your fellow officer Ben Wong. Officer Wong immediately pulls out his weapon and aims it toward the suspect vehicle. At first the driver does not comply. The suspect, a man who you'd guess was about 20 years old gets out and puts his hands in the air facing you. The suspect walks back toward you, you instruct him to get on the ground face down. As your fellow officer covers you, you approach the suspect, cuff him, stand him up and search him. You find a knife, the suspects wallet and a plastic bag containing pills. You hand the suspect over to Officer Wong and then approach the other vehicle. It's not pretty. You see an older gentleman who is unconscious. His airbag deployed but he's not moving and his head is face down in the airbag. You radio in for an EMT and soon the Fire Department arrives. As the firemen work on the other driver, you begin to set up road flares and re-direct traffic. As the scene clears up, you question the suspect. He tells you that he ran because he was "scared". Other than the pills, you find nothing else illegal in his car. Officer Wong offers to take him to jail for you as you clean up the traffic mess. Your first police chase. Crazy... you hope that the other driver will be ok, and the firemen assure you that his chances are good, he'll be fine. You'll head over to the hospital later to get a statement from him as he can't really talk right now. ... The rest of your afternoon is pretty routine. You visit the hospital to take down the other drivers' statement and later issue a couple tickets here and there, nothing out of the ordinary. As 6 pm approaches, you call it a day, looking forward to going home and seeing your wife. ... Later that night... a couple hundred miles away in Oakland... To be continued...
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    A few weeks ago I started a YouTube series called " " where I'm focusing on creating cities with extreme details. The following is a collection of screenshots of the process so far and this is only the beginning. Hope you enjoy! Medium-density downtown area Industrial + Residential area divided by the freeway Smaller neighborhoods by the river coast Vast farmlands with mixed residential + commercial areas Mass transit rail lines go through most neighborhoods Battling slopes with smooth switchbacks A healthy dose of extremely detailed creeks flows through the city Areal view of the still "work in progress" city tile If you want to see the creation of this city step-by-step make sure to check the playlist on YouTube:
  4. River oaks SC4

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    Cubelic2
    Latest Entry
    Well, looks like this is it for this city! I have accomplished my goal, 500K (597.983) That's more than my goal. I'l try to get 3000 sims in my city so it's 600K! Well that's in for my first city journal! Hope you stick around for more!
  5. ("Click" To Change Scenes) (On Mobile Devices - Select 'Desktop View' - Swipe Left or Right Between Scenes) "........There's Nothing Wrong With Your Televesion Set...........Please Stand By......." Founding UnitedSimNations (U.S.N.) Member (Click Graphics To Visit Latest Journal Episode Presentation)
  6. (SC4) Halkken

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    Hi you all! Sorry for the delay of the update, I got a lot homework, anyway today I'll do a larger update, hope not too large to be boring, so enjoy it! _____________________________________________________________________________________ Today we'll go over the Hallanen Metro Area Plan! To roughly give you an idea of how this was developed, I present an sketch of the plan (I made on Paint, so don't expect too much, its just a sketch). From this sketch you can get the general idea of the plan, focusing more on the importance of the industrial clusters, the railway system and the road layout. All of these factors are equally important for the development of Hallanen. Another aspect to highlight is the presence of the tunnels, which where the most used solution by the engineers for the developing the railway system. So let's begin with the pictures! First of all, I'll show you another view of the capital so that you can see the road layout on the main part of the city. The government seek for a organic city design, which includes the nature as an integral part of the city. That is why all the industrial clusters are surrounded by a dense forest, so that it acts as a barrier between the industrial zones and the city. The less important concern is contamination, as you see the industry is High Tech in both cluster, which is a huge boost for the commercial sector on the city. As well, the avenue that acts as boundary between the city and the industrial clusters is called the Rinne Ave, and is one of the main avenues of the capital, and one of the busiest ones. To begin the trip, we arrive to the intersection between the avenues to Hallenest and the one to Malaquie Town to the right of the photo. As you are able to see on the right, the water department of the city decided to invest on water treatment plant that serves the three cities (Hallenest, Sud Halle and Hallanen). This is the main entrance the people use when they come from other cities on the country. Going into the city, you will be able to see a development of high wealth boutiques and commerces that welcomes you to the capital. The corner building you are seeing is called the Waston Boutiques Hall, it includes the prestigious Waston Boutiques as well as others prestigious commerces that are very well known across the country. This little area is commonly called the Rolly offices, because of the Rolly family which are one of the richest group in the city and they own the Waston Boutiques chain. Before going downtown, we'll visit the suburbs. This little suburbs area was developed in the outskirts of the city, and was the first residential zone made after the 18th earthquakes. This is one of the most desirable areas of the city, just after downtown this is because of the forest that surrounds the suburbs as well as for the very effective mass transport systems that serves this sector, including the metro system. The next stop is the fire department. This beautiful glass building is the home of the biggest heroes of the city. After the disaster, the government made a huge investment on security services and even more on this department specifically. The building is called the A - Team Building (alias A - Building), because that was the name of the group of heroes which fight against the fire on 18/9 earthquake. Also the fire department got recently a exclusive airstrip for a air fire fighting force! The next stop is towards the Rinne Avenue, specifically onto the industrial clusters. The two of them are the biggest ones on the country, and supply almost all the works for the people of the capital, the others job sources are the commercial offices. Here is a view of the North Cluster. Another shot! And now we'll visit the south cluster. Both areas are divided just by the Sud Halle Ave. Also, those two parks you see there are the boosters of desirability on the area, both of them are sunken and are called the "Joumelles Parks". This is the sector of the cluster that is on Hallanen, the rest and the majour part is on Sud Halle. In the next photo, you'll see to the right the industrial clusters as well as the forest areas and the farm zones. To the bottom left you'll be able to see the railway tracks and the Maree Mountain. To the top is where the suburbs are, and the huge construction zone in the middle is the prestigious University of Clayhurst. Which is our next stop. At last, that avenue that surrounds the city, from here you can see its importance as it acts as roundabout with the city in the middle of it. University of Clayhurst, this is for far one of the most prestigious and well-known universities across the planet. The committee of the university decided to made a new campus, and as Hallanen was developing and growing as one of the most profitable and with the best living standards, they decided to installed the campus on here. The university offers by now a range of 10 differents careers, from architecture to law studies. But for far the most requested career is Urban Design. The phase B, seeks to finish the campus on Hallanen and the phase C the placement of other campus on the country. Here is a larger view of the area. The next photo is the main entrance to the entrance coming from Finland and Norway. And under the avenue is where the HATC loops into the country again towards Malaquie Town. Following this avenue, we'll reach the intersection at the north between the Rinne Ave and the FR - 1 Freeway. Here is a larger view of the area but focusing more onto the FR - 1 Freeway, this connects you towards the main highway, the A - 1, which connects almost all the cities on the country. For last, you are able to see the clusters of trees around Hallanen, that is because in the beginning, Hallanen was a forest, so that is why the government wanted so much to include nature as a integral part of the city. So that is all for this update, the next and last about Hallanen will go around downtown, and I'll post it around wednesday or thursday. Thanks for reading, and again I hope you like it. Any feedback is completely welcome. Regards, Esteban.
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    Wayfields first major conurbation is now well under way. Heres a little teaser... Cheers for all the comments!
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    fieldsofdreams
    Latest Entry
    Author's Note: this is my first time after a long hiatus creating a City Journal, and I believe that my new flagship CJ will become stronger, better, and more dynamic than ever before. I'm also looking at creating two more versions of this CJ, one for Skyscraper City (a condensed version), the other for my website (with extra back stories). Everything you'll see here reflects my building style and development, and it encompasses my core beliefs governing city planning, something I've been pursuing for the past four years. I've been playing SimCity 4 for nearly a decade now, and it has been a pleasure for me to continue playing it to a point that I've used it to help me guide myself to my chosen major, City and Regional Planning (also called Urban Studies and Planning). Hope you'll enjoy my new journal. A metropolis, for me, means multiple cities having thousands or millions of people crammed within a small land mass. A metropolis, also, could mean a collection of communities working together to build a common goal for a particular region that will help it become economically and socially successful. And Contra Costa, I believe, is an amalgamation of both definitions. So far, the region has three distinct cities. But, don't be fooled by the total regional population at this moment with all those communities combined: San Marcos (medium city tile, population: 312,000), home to the region's first university, Saint Mark's University. Mendoza (also medium city tile, currently the largest city by population at 737,000), currently the de-facto commercial hub for Contra Costa. Santa Maria (small city tile, currently the smallest of the three cities built thus far, with a population of 150,000), which has some unique features in it (only one school and college). Currently, the region is undergoing massive development, with three other cities on the rise: - Santa Clarita, which will host to the region's first rail and subway (metro) depot; - Santa Lucia, which will host to the region's main international gateway; and - San Gabriel, which might be on the running to become the region's powerhouse, with grand civic structures As you might notice, most of my cities have been named after saints, since Contra Costa was first established as a Spanish colony in the 1500s, and the conquistadores were driven out from the region in 1848, a year before the region was founded. Today, its namesake, Contra Costa County (in the San Francisco Bay Area), is far less dense than the Contra Costa I envisioned, but, that name gave me an inspiration to build a region completely my own. Yes, the road development may consist mostly of grids, but, as I've learned urban planning, the grid network provides a best opportunity for pedestrians to walk around, making their walk easy since the land surface is flat, many roads go through each of the cities, and the grid network allows easy access for emergency services to get to an incident. The region is currently served by: - 30 bus routes (shared among the three cities so far, with plans to develop even more over time), servicing over 300 bus stops - 14 subway (metro) lines, all of them linear in nature (totaling around 50 stops) - 2 major rail lines (both under further development) - 1 elevated freeway In the future, the region will develop: - Even more bus lines (including express, BRT, limited-stop, and intercity services) - At least five regular rail lines (with subway connections) - At least two high-speed rail lines (a proposal to upgrade the current Main Line operating between Mendoza and San Marcos to become HSR is underway) - Even more subway (metro) lines that will criss-cross the San Marcos-Mendoza Urban Community - A network of three international and regional airports to allow residents to choose where they want to fly - An elevated ring freeway to encircle the metropolis (this has been hotly-debated, though) - Citywide beautification projects that will address parking, accessibility, and transit options The infrastructure program can be very robust in nature, yet, the fun part is, all my RCI zones are growable. The only buildings that will be plopped include unique structures, civic buildings, transportation depots, and parks and open spaces. Here are a few more shots to start this journey: Looking forward to your thoughts as I will continue developing even more communities. And by the way, I'm looking at replying to your comments on a regular basis, if not after a week (depending on my workload).
  7. Zakumi
    Latest Entry
    Seaside City: Woodland County's Major City: Seaside City was established in 1943 and is now  a thriving city filled with mostly young people. Seaside city never sleeps due to how many concerts, sports events etc. it has.  Population: 364,389 Crime: No Crime Education: Exceptional Tile Size: Big Downtown Seaside City: The business district of Seaside City, it's what keeps the city up and running. Prince Edward Bridge & Palo Alto Bridge: Prince Edward Bridge is the gateway to Seaside City and is home to the main motorways in Woodland County, and the upper bridge is the Palo Alto Bridge. Portland Village: Portland Village is well known for its great hospitality and upscale cafes. It houses the cruise ships docks on the far left. Bayside Iconic Condos: These condos are worth a little over a quarter of a million due to how breathtaking the views are from the condos.   Thankyou for visiting my City Journal    
  8. Replies Thanks, mate! Thank you! I can never think of anything else. Hope you like it! Thank you, mate! I got the idea from your CJ's Twitter style. #ThankYou #HopeYouLikeIt! These are the accounts of Juan dela Cruz from the day he was found in the banks of Rio Primera del Hyderabad. Some ordinary day in Litia's 2nd Geothermal Power Plant. The issue of the Elementian Harbinger was thrown at my desk by my boss. Uh, I hate newspapers. I'll just read the front page. Oh, I need to know more about this Royal Family. I need to know more about Elementia! -Juan dela Cruz That's it for now. I'll be having a study hiatus indefinitely. So, the next update maybe delayed and will only feature the boring day of Juan in the Library.
  9. To battle increased congestion in the downtown area a mass transit plan was introduced. Bus lines were added to all avenues within the Perimeter Freeway, running either east-west or north-south. In addition to this basic mass transit the Mojave infrastructure board decided on building a network of BRTs running on their own grade separated highways. BRT: The western parts of the yellow line (University of Southern California Mojave City-Northwest downtown) and the green line (Millers Valley Ranch-Northwest downtown) were the first to open as the suburbs they run through were not yet finished, why it could easily be added without use of eminent domain. The Eastern part of the yellow line and the souther part of the green line were a bit more complicated, having to be built elevated for some parts, and with pretty tight curves. The green line carries 102 000 passengers every day, of which the majority (76 000) travel between the 670 000 residents government housing complex near the southern terminus of the line and the downtown area. This 8 mile (13km) trip takes approximately 12 minutes, with about twice that for the entire lengt. The yellow line has a total of approximately 25 000 passengers, of which 16000 step of downtown, 4000 at the USCMC and 2000 at the southestern terminus. The whole line end to end is 12 miles/22km, taking about 25 minutes depending on the number of moms trying to haul strollers onto the buses. The Orange line is today nothing but a 1/2 mile stump going north from the central bus station, with a total ridership of 2700. Construction was planned to begin 2027, but the unexpected succes of the green line means there's simply no capacity left on the part that it already shares with the yellow line, why construction has been delayed until at least 2029 while a new alignment is being worked out. Heavy rail: The red line Metro (also called Millenium Park Metro line) is the only "real" subway line is the city. It's used way below capacity at only 25 000 passengers per day, and is not expected to see an increase in ridership unless it gets an extension north of the mountains or southwest to the Corall Reef. Any extension is unlikely the coming 10 years as development downtown has come to a stop. The purple line (often called the "why the hell does it exist line") is a 1 1/2 mile line crossing the red line at the central station. It currently fills no purpose, but still operates with 15 minuts traffic for its 1400 daily riders. Some day it is supposed to be extended north of the mountains and south to the Stadiums. Pending Funding.
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    NielsC007
    Latest Entry
    Yes, it's finally here! Well, kinda... More coming soon!
  10. Simdonia

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    This is Simdaburg, Simdonia's capital, was founded in 1812 along with the entire nation. In 2012 he turned 200 years of foundation and erected the monument to celebrate the planet Earth. Its Central Business District, has a monorail system plus the Tower Simdonia. This full of canals like Venice or Amsterdam.
  11. After spending about three hours trying to match city tile borders building some mountains, I gave up and selected a map I like: -- based on Redding, CA. I have fond memories of this city not only because their local philharmonic has provided me with the occasional cello gig, but also because an hour to the northeast is one of my favorite places in the world, MacArthur-Burney Falls State Park. Sadly, that isn't on this map. But the large expanse of flat land should make it fairly easy to develop, and if I run out of ideas I can always refer to reality. I quickly ran out of original ideas and so I turned to Google Maps to help me lay things out. I decided to start with the major intersection near the old downtown, I-5 and the local 44 which, on the other side of the river, ends and becomes a one-way road system. It only took me three complete bulldozed attempts and about seven cumulative hours of tinkering. (Well, what would you do if you were proctoring a four-hour practice college entrance exam?) I'm pretty proud of it. I know that my Hilltop Ave (road on the far right) is too far from the freeway, and that my curves are square rather than, well, curvy, but it's a pretty good imitation. And it works. Sims use it! So, all-in-all, huzzah. Time for a beer.
  12. Sigmar City

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    After the success of my first real city, Regresado City, I decided to embark on yet another endeavor to create an even better city. Thanks to tutorials on region design, I was able to get a region composed entirely of the largest tiles available. Plus, over time I downloaded a multitude of custom buildings to further beautify the city.    -------------------------------   Here is a compilation of the best screenshots of Sigmar City, in all its splendor.   A region view. Sigmar City actually has four suburbs with a multitude of gigantic industrial districts.   Here is a daytime look at the main city core. It was built on a three river intersection and has a huge amount of skyscrapers. A gigantic tower lies on a central island.     A nighttime view of the city in its dazzling light.    A closer look at one of the skyscraper districts.   Some of these lots are very big.   A relative mix of vanilla and custom buildings.     An even closer look at some buildings.     One of the ultramodern buildings in the city, built on one of the man-made islands in the river.     Another landmark on the same island as the ultramodern building.   
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    CHOAL SETTLEMENT, LANDAU COUNTY --- --- EXPANDING COLONIZATION IN SOUTH SEATTLE PART III --- --- --- Choal has grown to just under 3,000 citizens in just 8 short years of settlement. The building of the Annex Street Bridge to East Choal opened up a swath of valuable territory for development. A significant investment in industry has caused a boom of activity east of the River. As the drive pushes further towards the hills the growth matrix will be shifting to accommodate trends in the market. Agricultural land is in high demand and will take a high priority with the provisional government as the Second 5-Year Plan comes to a close. The eastern limits of town are defined by thick rainforest. Manufacturing and some other medium density businesses have opened in the Annex and are helping to drive a population boom on the east shores of the Choal River. This area is known as the Industrial Annex, giving name to the Annex Street Bridge. In the central Canal District there are many co-operative housing developments aimed at easing the number of vehicles using the Annex St. Bridge. There are no roads in Choal only low-density streets. Corridors for using bikes or walking are required by Landau County transportation and land-use bylaws. The areas surrounding the canal are beautifully kept and easy to maneuver. The Beach Head District will eventually be home to thousands of residents when the 2nd Phase of SettCol Properties breaks ground. Beach Head is not expected to reach completion for another 15 years.
  13. Replies: I just picked a name I liked. Some of the new auto plants here in the USA South are quite large and spread out. It took a couple of evenings to get the basics done. Thanks! Here are a few closer shots. Yes, I like looking at cities from the air, and it gives me some ideas as to spacing and layout. Thanks for visiting. Update: By for now... Dick
  14. VELOTRAP23
    Latest Entry
    Union Station, Downtown Columbus, Ohio
  15. Littleton is a small town that is captivating Jewel of Metropolis. Surburb of Oak Ridge, Hyatt, Halle, and Studdard Bay. Stone cliff hills surrounded by streets for eyecatchers, travelers, and tourists. This is what makes Littleton the Jewel of Metropolis. Downtown center square with large one way streets. A baseball park and plenty of small town shopping. Hope you enjoy the pics. Thanks for reading.
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