Jump to content
  •   Announcement

  • Entries
    8
  • Comments
    74
  • Views
    2,222

Arcadia Metro I - Winchester/New Arcadia

kingofsimcity

1,578 Views

Replies

@Ln X: Thank you! Yeah, this was all mostly built before I discovered the existence of proper diagonal fillers and whatnot. I'll likely revisit some of my older areas in the future and give em a good ole facelift. As for multi-tile mosaics, I definitely have some planned for the future. Just need to get my photo editing skills up to snuff and they'll be good to go!

@Themistokles: I live for the region shots :D. Thanks for the comment!

@kschmidt: Thanks! I try to take advantage of space when filling up flat land.

@korver: Thanks a lot! Gotta hand it to blunder - his Cascadia controller is godly!

@philforhockey51, @Dreadnought, @raynev1: Thank you very much!

Cities of the Avalon Valley

Welcome to 2015 and the Avalon Valley! This section of the region is part of the Arcadia Metropolitan Region which covers several large cities alongside the Avalon River. As the region develops, this area will eventually be consumed by the even greater Avalon Metro Area. I started building this area towards the end of 2014 into mid 2015, so some of you may find screenshots here that you might've seen before. Without further ado...

1. An overview of the valley. The cities we'll be exploring today include Winchester & New Arcadia.

05dwa6g.jpg

Winchester

Winchester was built towards the latter end of 2014 into 2015. This city started off as a bedroom community for New Arcadia but eventually developed into a rather major hub itself. Starting from here I started experimenting with new styles from lurking SC4D and from those that I acquired during my return to ST.
Population: 150,000

2. An overview of the city of Winchester, from north looking south.

9qUFzkp.jpg

3. The administrative sector, which lies in the southwestern corner of the city. A curious mix of different government buildings and assorted services.

0UkF4Ng.jpg

4. Busy industrial sector located fairly close to the administrative area. This was my first time playing around with any semblance of a rail network with these rail yards.

2WOJkzm.jpg

5. The largest park in the city, located fairly close to downtown.

RdGz7Xq.jpg

6. The primary downtown core. My original goal was to have a largely medium-density dominated skyline. However, my skyscraper happy self always manages to find a way...

AWwHH7L.jpg

7. A closer look at downtown. Downtown is dominated by many different architectural styles. With few exceptions, all of the skyscrapers were grown without much pruning.

LCsXZnr.jpg

8. The secondary downtown core towards the northeast. Originally a suburban office center that gradually expanded into several high rises.

3p2eTRV.jpg

9a. BEFORE: The highlight of the city is the primary interchange in the heart of the city known colloquially as the 'Chester, which connects downtown with the A-10 and A-215 freeways. The original route was often congested and was in need of an upgrade.*
* to be honest, no one uses the road so I used traffic generators instead GG :rofl:

TmO5inC.jpg

9b. AFTER: The upgrade was done with an increase in capacity and beautification of the surrounding area. Engineers also managed to devise an ingenious method to relocate the St.Paul Cathedral in order to make way for a new avenue underpass.

4Ed5Mx6.jpg

10. A bonus full mosaic of the interchange and surrounding area from the NAM showcase challenge a while back. A decorative W which symbolizes the city lies between the A-10 west to downtown connector loop. Despite all the improvements, planners and engineers alike once again forgot to build a north -> west connector... :no:

3eQPZ8D.jpg

11. Another angle of the beast.

oMBX4IX.jpg

12. A small patch of nature between the A-215 northbound connector and A-10. A dirt path snakes under A-10 towards the St. Paul Cathedral.

pzPrG1A.png

13. A jumble of highway ramps on A-215. No one seems to be using the fast lane at all.

IOxhrEg.png

14. A new substation marks the first exit of the northbound spur route A-215.

2x0oll9.png

New Arcadia

Due east of Winchester is the city of New Arcadia, the largest city of the Avalon Valley Metropolitan Area. Like Winchester, this city was developed largely in the early portions of 2015 where I started experimenting heavily with different styles. As such, you may find this city to be well... a mess. :P
Population: 460,000

15. An overview of the city.

tUc2xA8.jpg

16. A power corridor with an incorrectly aligned pylon. As long as it works right?

y3RzvFt.jpg

17. Industry along the highway near the local airport.

h0kZ8eM.jpg

18. Some gridbusting suburban areas.

wPV18zq.jpg

19. Projects located near downtown.

Gazo1Na.jpg

20. Stadium and convention center near downtown. I think I'm finally in a good state to attempt some re-lots of these in the future.

94A6atk.jpg

21. Interchanges abound! New Arcadia features several major highway junctions. This T-junction connects the A-10 with local bypass route A-310.

wes4S7e.jpg

22. A-310 goes from southbound to eastbound at the Twister. An unsigned southbound route and a local avenue meet here as well. My ST return screenshot!

ISmuu0w.jpg

23a. BEFORE: Yet another junction that was met with upgrades. This short highway stub connects a downtown parkway with the A-310.

GBFvK9v.jpg

23b. AFTER: With NAM 33 Pre came L1 and wider flyover support. Some MMP and mast lighting improvements were also added to spice up the boring original. Eventually those lights will be torn down in favor of shorter ones.

zdXJuBr.jpg

24a. BEFORE: Downtown at night in its first iteration before I turned into a skyscraper nut:

DYKaphK.jpg

24b. AFTER: Post-skyscraper frenzy. Regardless, being able to have such a sheer amount of unique BATs grow is certainly mesmerizing to watch. The night shots are definitely worth sacrificing some realism for that supertall concrete jungle.

M7CgNKa.jpg

25. A final daytime overview of New Arcadia.

VkyTtZC.jpg

For Next Time

We'll move eastwards towards the original city of Arcadia and surrounding suburban communities.

  • Like 19


13 Comments


Recommended Comments

Brilliant!  So many awesome parts, the highway system, the downtown, gridbusting suburb, 10, 11, 14, 16, 20, 22  all of them actually. Great job on this city

Share this comment


Link to comment

It's nice to get to see the city of home to the 'Chester at last and it does not disappoint. Love the landscaping work especially around the interchange and hydro corridors - finally someone else who seemingly cares about them as much as I do :P On that note, is the park in image 5 a re-lot of yours or made with mmp? Can't quite tell from that height.

Lastly that zoom 6 pic of New Arcadia with the highway network winding around town is simply awesome.

Share this comment


Link to comment

@philforhockey51: Thanks a lot man!

@takemethere: Thanks! My corridors used to end abruptly and looked more barren than the moon. Think I have to chalk it up to you for inspiring me to give my infrastructure that necessary makeover!

As for the park on #5, it's this little gem by benno2005:

 

  • Like 1

Share this comment


Link to comment

I like how your cities are evolving, it is almost like a miniature time capsule. The interchanges look really good and I especially like picture 17 as it is a cool use of retaining walls and Diggis pond pieces. Well done!

Share this comment


Link to comment

Feast for the eye ! Downtown just a good little bit lower of height as New Arcadia, Industrie and utilities area very nice plots. RHW and road network lovely excecuted junctions; MMP theming maybe a little bit more, well done !

Share this comment


Link to comment

Loving the traffic on your highways and roads! I feel that too many CJ's with large cities and huge highway projects are missing this, and they fail to realize just how much more that automata can add to the atmosphere. Well Done!

Share this comment


Link to comment

I'm taken with # 25 --

I like the way you restrained yourself from putting embankment walls on BOTH sides of the river.  And the skyscraper massif looks good (very nice at night) -- though I confine my cities to low and mid-rise buildings.  I've lived in both Chicago and Los Angeles and I like to build an "urban sprawl" rather than the "concrete jungle".  But looks good !

Share this comment


Link to comment

Very nice , overviews and night shots . Looking good , looking real good .

Share this comment


Link to comment

great job! one day my region will look like that too! right now my biggest city has half of the population of new Arcadia.

Share this comment


Link to comment

@kingofsimcity  Love everything about this! I really like how you don't seem to be compelled to build on every.piece.of.land. and instead just let development follow the contours and flow of the land. And the gridbusting! That's something I'm working at improving.

Question: regarding the rocks, embankment and tunnel entrance in #22, as well as the the tunnel entrance in #16. They look so much better than the Maxis version. Did you make them or are they online somewhere? Thanks!

 

Share this comment


Link to comment

@waybig: Thanks a lot for your comment! I actually did used to follow the "fill everything up" agenda for the longest time. As time went on however I realized that taking a less-griddy/realistic approach allowed me to make much more satisfying cities.

For the rocks, embankment and tunnel entrances on #22, here are the files I used:

 

Share this comment


Link to comment

Sign In or register to comment...

To comment in reply, you must be a community member

Sign In  

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

Create an Account  

Sign up to join our friendly community. It's easy!  

Register a New Account

×

Thank You for the Continued Support!

Simtropolis depends on donations to fund site maintenance costs.
Without your support, we just would not be in our 24th year online!  You really help make this a great community. *:thumb:

But we still need your support to stay online. If you're able to, please consider a donation to help us stay up and running. This helps sustain a platform where we can share our community creations for years to come.

Make a Donation, Get a Gift!

Expand your city with the best from the Simtropolis Exchange.
Make a Donation and get one or all three discs today!

STEX Collections

By way of a "Thank You" gift, we'd like to send you our STEX Collector's DVD. It's some of the best buildings, lots, maps and mods collected for you over the years. Check out the STEX Collections for more info.

Each donation helps keep Simtropolis online, open and free!

Thank you for reading and enjoy the site!

More About STEX Collections