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April Fool's joke or not, making a site hardly readable and pictures practically unusable (because you cannot judge any details) for an entire day is probably not the smartest move I have seen in my life. It's more like a supermarket where the floor is covered in wet soap - ain't it funny? What? You can hardly stay on your feet, and shopping here has become a tedious and annoying experience? Well, look at the calendar, haha!

Welcome to the STEX Hall of Fame. If you've been to the STEX today, you might have noticed something a little different. There's a nice looking upload pinned right at the top of the listings, with a green featured tag stuck on it. So, what's this all about then? From today onward, the site staff will be sifting through both the front and very back pages of the STEX in an attempt to discover a wide variety of uploads we consider to be among the best of the best. Two of these uploads, one brand new, and one a little older, will be 'featured' each week. When an upload is featured, as you may have already noticed, it is pinned to the top of the listings for its allocated time (usually 3 or 4 days) and is bestowed with the green featured tag. It will also appear on the homepage. Once featured, an upload will also be given a place here in the STEX Hall of Fame for all to see. Collectively, the staff will be responsible for the selection of these featured uploads (for now). We will endeavour to feature as wide a variety of uploads as possible. You can expect that BAT's, lots, game mods, maps and even items from Cities XL, both old and new, will all eventually be featured in the coming weeks and months. Additionally, older uploads that we feel are a little under-rated or under-exposed, the forgotten gems of the STEX so to speak, may be given preference to older, yet still well known uploads. Remember though, as with most things of this nature on Simtropolis, petitioning or asking a member of the staff to feature your upload will only guarantee that it won't be. So, without further delay... I present to you...

Or you could just grow up and accept that April Fools day is a single designated day where messing about is tolerated and you may also then realize that its just for a day and hardly something thats going to massively affect your life. And I'd have thought you of all members would have realized that the upgrade was a massive piece of work undertaken by the Simtropolis staff and was always obviously going to take time to fine tune as its a completely different change of software. I could understand your frustrations if this was a 'pay to use' site but as its free you should quit your whining. Regards, Richard

Yeah, or just move along to some other site, that doesn't fancy itself sadistic 5 yo. As for april 1... didn't know it was "being annoing, prick devoid of taste and/or imagination" day. Or is it a way to compensate for all the mess site has become since this "upgrade"?

Today's release brings some mighty features to the table, namely: variable height and sculptable terrain, water with realistic particle physics, realistic 3D buildings, building interiors, a building and lot modding tool, 6-Tier fully functional public transit system, trains and tracks, zonable and in-game-moddable airports, infinite (planet-sized) buildable areas, new zoom from street level up to planetary view, realistic weather effects, realistic tectonic plate simulation (earthquakes), a fully customizable road system (1 lane streets to 12 lane super highways), smooth-curved transporation systems, an all new simulation engine, multiple lot density classes, multiple wealth classes, a full range of zonable public services, zonable powerplants, zonable water treatment and distribution facilities, a powerful new user interface complete with graphs and datamaps, volumetric clouds, dynamic (day and night) lighting, and last but certainly not least, full multiplayer support. And yes, the game is still 8MB. Some may say: "HA! April Fool's!", but we, on the other hand, say: "It's only a matter of time." The truth is that this was a rather slow month for us and most of the time we did spend was on internal "under-the-hood" stuff which unfortunately will only benefit the player in the long run. Some things worth mentioning that did get in are the addition of terrain custom textures in DirectX 9 and a debug tool to remove invalid roads (that can't be deleted) and other bad things (until these issues are actually fixed). We do, however, plan another major release either in May or June where some of the above mess might become a reality. More on that next week.

The Member of the Month is .......... Benedict! For battling past the red tape wielding bunnies to compile lists the census bureau would be proud of. The Employee of the Month is .......... Livin In Sim! For fighting through rampaging bunnies, navigating the broccoli fields, and battling through coffee withdrawals to polish trixie medals, and hang them in their new places. Congratulations to the winners! Thank you to nathanthemayor for submitting the winning MOTM nomination! Please be sure to nominate someone for the April award! Remember, the awards depend on your nominations.

Way to go both of you. You've definitely earned it!

Good work guys!

Congratulations, Benedict! A lot of people found your list very useful, thanks! Liv, even without coffee, you still managed to remain totally awesome. You go, gurl.

Or you could just grow up and accept that April Fools day is a single designated day where messing about is tolerated and you may also then realize that its just for a day and hardly something thats going to massively affect your life. And I'd have thought you of all members would have realized that the upgrade was a massive piece of work undertaken by the Simtropolis staff and was always obviously going to take time to fine tune as its a completely different change of software. I could understand your frustrations if this was a 'pay to use' site but as its free you should quit your whining. Regards, Richard That's OK, SimFox has been out gunning for me since the new free upgrade turns out has not pleased him. In fact, I believe he feels this "so-called upgrade" was done out of idle boredom, that the amount of time and effort a very small group of volunteers dedicated to upgrade us out of a sorely outdated platform was an act of evil purely to inflict irritation and misery. It doesn't bother me so much, I've been through it all before, but it does bother me that the people quietly working in the background to improve this system everyday should have to put up with such relentless bitterness. It is on their behalf, that I will be facilitating SimFox to deal with the shortcomings of the site by having him take a healthy vacation from Simtropolis until such time that the site's new features have lived up to his standards.

I know I'm going to sound kind of stupid, but I liked the old city journal section, I wouldn't mind something similar but more enhanced, I hate the sidebar.. and the way the "Community City Journal" displays stuff it displays the BB codes and everything, which should be fixed, also I think we should still have the option to have the banners for our titles and such. I really liked the old image in putter thing that let you re-size the images and stuff right then and there instead of what we have now, I really think that should be another feature brought back. Like I said about the sidebar, I think the update should span the that page/window I don't like how there's the side bar and such, though I like it's features. Like marsh, I liked the way the old city journal's were posted, with a neat table of contents and such, it's really cluttered now, and I think it would look better if we didn't preview the post... because a lot of times that's stuff like replies and BB codes and they don't look right.

If you don't like the current set, do a refresh.

Exactly what I thought. It would be one thing if this were still 6.0, but the kinks are still being worked out in 7.0 - why add kinks? I think the saddest part is that when the calender rolls to April 2, the STEX will still need improvement.

For those annoyed by this use ABP with this filter [code]||simtropolis.com/custom/js/functions.js[/code] For those without ABP there are many other ways of blocking pages, just block https://www.simtropolis.com/custom/js/functions.js I cannot guarantee this will not break some of ST's features.

To those annoyed by the color scheme, take a look at your calendar (bearing in mind: ST is an international site, and the international date line)

Well what is there/here at the moment is nothing short of madness, tacky at the extreme, at that. I just wonder what other idea is behind it (apart of annoying the heck out of user that is).

I find some of the color schemes to be more annoying than interesting. Especially when the text doesn't contrast with the background and I have to reload the page a few times to be able to read anything.

I agree some of the color changes have been I Killing. Good to see you list doing well. Keep up that great work.

The underpass FLUP pieces for RHW are in the Road menu at the bottom. There you'll see the icons for the Raised Road/One-way/Avenue over RHW. The FLUPs are in the first one - just "tab" through the loop and use the Home/End keys for the different options.

We have another new inductee. The Uniform Street Light Mod!

We have a new inductee to congratulate! Please welcome Morifari with the upload Victorian Style El Rail Station! At the moment we are having just a few issues on the STEX, so the upload can not be "featured" at this time. It is however pinned and will be at the top of the STEX page, however, it is not appearing on the home page, we are trying to get this sorted out.

@nathanthemayor I don't think you actually need a mod to make to tunnels next to each other. Granted, it can be a bit tricky to make it work, but it can be done. Just make sure the ground is completely flat where you intend to build.

Here is a preview from an upcoming CJ. If anyone is fluent in Arabic, please let me know of any errors (relying on friend with limited knowledge and Google )

Please congratulate our newest inductee, for his Monument Park, Paeng!

The STEX Hall of Fame 1. Canadian Broadcasting Centre by @spa An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 05th of September, 2008 Inducted: 21st of March, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: A fine example of what can be achieved with absolute attention to detail. 2. Paeng's Monument Park by @paeng A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 14th of March, 2011 Inducted: 24th of March, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: Lotting at its absolute best. 3. Victorian Style El Rail Station by @morifari Note: Updated versions of these stations are now included with the NAM. An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 14th of March, 2005 Inducted: 28th of March, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: Perfect combination of excellent BAT and Fantastic LOT. 4. Uniform Street Lighting Mod by @Kodlovag A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 1st of March, 2011 Inducted: 1st of April, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: Significantly improving a feature that has hardly been modded before. 5. God Terraforming in Mayor Mode by @warrior An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 19th of July, 2008 Inducted: 4th of April, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: This is Gem is an essential item for anyone's terraforming tool box. All the important God Mode terraforming tools conveniently located 24/7 in your Mayor Mode menu... no more three fingered salutes! Yay! 6. Roundabout Underground Parking by @murimk A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 15th of March, 2011 Inducted: 7th of April, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: This lot is an excellent example of one that enhances the illusion of 3D by showing below ground infrastructure. 7. American Four Square v2 by @homefryes An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 8th of May, 2006 Inducted: 13th of April, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: They are very authentic and varied, and fill out your neighborhoods nicely. 8. SimPeg Agricultural Mod (SPAM) by @Pegprod A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 13th of April, 2011 Inducted: 14th April, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: Green Acres is the place to be, Farm livin' is the life for me, Land spreadin' out so far and wide, Keep Manhattan, just gimme...SimPeg Agricultural Modd!! 9. Marrast's Embankment Set by @salut221 on behalf of Marrast An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 18th of August, 2006 Inducted: 18th of April, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: One of the earliest embankment sets and still one of the best. 10. 425 Lexington Avenue by @PBGV103 A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 7th of April, 2011 Inducted: 21st of April, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: There aren't very many Postmodern BATs on the STEX and even fewer of this quality. 11. HK Arch 1 by @bixel An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 28th of March, 2006 Inducted: 26th of April, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: A truly fantastic recreation of an unusual piece of architecture. 12. Farngaten 18 Orthogonal and Diagonal W2W by @Glenni A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 27th of April, 2011 Inducted: 29th of April, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: A great little BAT with some beautiful detailing. 13. SMP Yellow Pause Thingy Remover by @TheQuiltedLlama An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 20th of September, 2007 Inducted: 3rd of May, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: This mod is awesome because it makes making awesome CJ images awesomer! Oh yeah, and it is also Hotdogs certified.. so yeah like I said... it is awesome! 14. Landfill Plop by @FANTA1990 Note: No longer available on the STEX A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 16th of April, 2011 Inducted: 7th of May, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: Sometimes the simple ideas are good ideas. This file is one of those files, that could be easily overlooked... or considered too simple, however on closer inspection the download comes with a number of cleverly made different lots to make landfills of various shapes and sizes. With a little imagination, these landfills can actually bring a whole new meaning to the term 'eye-candy'. 15. Meandering Bike Paths by @6459978. An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 19th of July, 2005 Inducted: 11th of May, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: They are well textured, so generic and random looking, and sufficiently worn as to look realistic. 16. Kamienica Bydgoszcz Gdanska 101 by @abstynent A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 30th of April, 2011 Inducted: 19th of May, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: Nicely detailed W2W buildings, that brings character to the model with unique features and excellent texturing. 17. MAPP Modular Amusement Park Pack by @aldara6166 An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 1st of January, 2007 Inducted: 24th of May, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: A vast collection of modular amusement park rides, stalls, rollercoasters and more. Make sure you download the full set though, from here, here and here. 18. Bridges of Shoreline County by @d_j_p1 A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 7th of May, 2007 Inducted: 29th of May, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: Plugins that add variety to pedestrian overpasses are rare, and these ones look perfect. 19. Blam Blank by @onlyplace4 An STEX Gem... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 13th of April, 2007 Inducted: 1st of June, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: This is one of the gems of the STEX because, it allows those of us who have not yet aspired to the dizzying heights of batting, yet still want to create a unique lot in lot editor, without the constraints of needing a visible building model, the ability to do so. More than one custom content creator, will have started out using this simple yet helpful little file. 20. SHK Tropical Fire Station by @shokthrpy A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 26th of May, 2011 Inducted: 6th of June, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: Making an entry to the world of SimCity custom content, is not always easy, however this creator has shown that he is willing to learn, seek and ask for advice and apply that advice, before rushing to the upload button. This BAT, just his third, continues to demonstrate a very high standard of work and innovation, which includes advanced modding skill, such as timed props to add life to an otherwise static lot. When he couldn't find a suitable fire truck... to suit his needs, he 'simply' set forth and made his own. The SC community is ready and waiting for more! 21. New World Trade Center by @nycc06 A Brand New Upload... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uploaded: 11th of September, 2011 Inducted: 11th of September, 2011 Why this upload was chosen: It is a truly beautiful, carefully crafted recreation of the new World Trade Center complex. A project that has spanned over 2 years, Nycc06 is a very dedicated and hard working BATer, and the hard work has paid off with such an extraordinary outcome. An extremely fitting tribute to the victims of 9/11.

Originally posted by: Cujo58 I thought Obama declared the American Combat Mission in Iraq over? He also declared the troops would be out of Afghanistan within a year of taking office...seen the news lately?quote> One more intolerant outburast and you'll be taking the next week off, got it? THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING