deimo5

There is a lot to cover in this particular grid (Grid E5) of the metropolitan area, so it will be broken up into two parts. We are continuing down I-20, and we leave the tiny slither of Dexington that we touched and finally hit the Tauria state line. We are now officially in the city of Andremore. We immediately hit the densely populated neighborhood of Juanita Heights which is directly east of downtown Andremore. Exit 67B takes you onto I-720 which goes west into financial center of the city. Exit 67A takes you across the Aquamarine Bridge to San Andreas and the Beltway. Exit 66 takes you down into the industrial core of Andremore and ultimately to center of nautical trade for the entire country. Here are the overview shots of this grid of the metropolitan area. Along I-5/405 are the rest of the San Andreas neighborhoods of Nikkisburg, Teachington, and Crystal Lakes. New neighborhoods include Oakcrest, Hondstadt, and of course, downtown San Andreas. Across the bay are tiny portions of Scopesville and Lensing in Dexington, and entering into Andremore, there are Juanita Heights and the industrial areas of Fox Hall, Kendallport, and Krystalport. Kendallport being the major seaport, and Krystalport being the expansive naval port. Across the bridge to the south is also Andremore, where the minor ports of Tungsten Port, Port Pacifica, and Port Atlantica are. In addition are portions of the industrial area of Carbidia and the residential neighborhood of Spryton. Finally, there is Port Atlantica. I am going to jump out of order from the course of the Interstate Tour and run down I-5/405 since this is on the same grid as our regular route. Exit 1E off of I-5/405 is the first downtown San Andreas exit if coming from the north. This exit also provides access to San Andreas mall and the big skating rink. Exit 1C leads into the heart of downtown San Andreas, while Exit 1D leads to Oakcrest and the western waterfront. Exit 1A used to be an additional exit into San Andreas, but it was reconstructed to filter highway traffic across the Aquamarine Bridge to downtown Andremore, where there was clearly more of a need. This made Andremore residents traveling from the south VERY happy because they no longer had to sit at a light off the highway and make a left to cross the bridge. This also made Andremore residents that worked in downtown San Andreas happy because they no longer had to get caught up in that downtown Andremore-bound traffic on their way to work. Crossing the Diamond Gate Bridge, we enter Andremore. Exit 105 empties travelers into Port Atlantica. Exit 104 off of I-5/405 takes travelers through Port Pacifica to cross the Sapphire Bridge. There is no direct route downtown using this road, so downtown-bound travelers coming from the south tend to take the DIamond Gate Bridge instead. Being in Andremore now, the overhead signs change to the next major and cities in the southern direction---Verona, a major suburb of Andremore, and Historia, the next major city much further south. So let's turn our focus to San Andreas. San Andreas underwent some MAJOR changes recently---one being the construction of the downtown loop that routed a lot of unnecessary traffic away from the inner city. The other was the construction of the waterfront which boosted commercial growth and tourism. San Andreas happens to look great at night. The construction of the downtown loop substantially eased the traffic woes of practically all travelers in the area. Traffic is still an issue for San Andreas-bound travelers as you can see, but this is NOTHING compared to what it was before. And traffic on Exit 1E is really not much better either. San Andreas has its own regional airport, and it deserves it. Here is the western portion of the waterfront. This portion of the waterfront has the illustrious Yacht Clubs for the San Andreas residents. The southwestern portion of the waterfront features sport fishing and several shops, sports bars, and restaurants, making this a very popular and walkable area. Some stores rely solely on foot-traffic for their business. Despite the presence of some indsturial buildings, the southern portion of the waterfront still has many shops and is an attraction. It features small marinas. That's all for now. Part 2 will be coming soon where I will be going into detail about the Ports of Andremore.

I feel like I'm cursed! It seems like every time I start to update my journal this issue returns... Very discouraging

@beenthabeast - haha yeah, I do post a lot... that's also a contributing factor as to why it takes so long for me to update... but I like to be organized to make it easier to look at. I find it tough to get through some journals because it's just one pic per entry. So even though it's not as good for my numbers, I like this method of presentation overall.

Interstate Tour - Marshall Moving further down I-5S into Grid G2, we start to move away from the rural and farmland areas into more developed and suburban areas. I-5 separates farmlands from the industrial center of the northeastern metropolitan area, Indiport. Indiport is the area that provides the most jobs to all of the smaller towns of the northeast. Exit 13 east goes to Indiport, while Exit 13 west goes toward the suburban city of Bradford Park. Continuing down I-5, once you pass Miller Farm, you hit the Marshall city limits. Exit 11 for Scherbatsky Parkway. Exit 11 West takes you through Solar City right into the heart of Seven Corners, while Exit 11 East takes you past Marshall and leads you eastward toward the coastal cities of Luxury Coast and Chalmers. Passing Marshall, we get a tiny peek at a northwestern suburb of Marshall's sibling city, Mosby. Exit 10 South takes you to Mosby and is one of the interstate exists for Mosby-Marshall airport. Leaving Grid G2, we are now only about 10 miles from the Tauria State line. As mentioned, Indiport is the industrial center of the northeast. The half in Grid G2 is 100% industrial while the half in Grid H2 is home to several outlets and warehouses for the manufactured goods and materials. This is a good time to explain the signage scheme for the metropolitan area. Signs for major cities are written in UPPERCASE, while neighborhoods within those major cities are written in Titlecase. As seen below, Bradford Park is a major city within the Andremore Metropolitan area. Alandale, Fort Foote, Mode Manor, and Presidential Park are all neighborhoods within Bradford Park. Also visible here is an overhead view of Marshall, the commercial jewel of the northeast. Neighborhoods include Barney Hill, Radnor Park, Teddington Heights, ... ... Alyson Hill, Ericksen, Hannigan, Teddington Heights, ... Cobie Park, Lily Hills, Scherbatsky, Segel, and Stinson Park. Also visible in this view is the northwestern corner of the city of Aldrin. Marshall is actually one of my personal favorite cities in the metropolitan area. Marshall has a very active nightlife. Marshall was voted one of the most desirable cities to live in the country. A closeup of Marshall Square. One of the busiest bus stops in Marshall. Here are the most expensive townhouses and condos in Marshall - right on Howimet Lake. Across the highway from Howimet Lake are very expensive condos on the southern tip of the Barney Hill neighborhood. One of the most controversial issues in the city is pressure from the State to add an exit to one of these overpasses to provide better access to downtown Marshall. The issue is that Exit 11 is the only exit that provides direct access from the highway to downtown Marshall, and the low capacity roads get crowded very quickly. Adding an additional exit would ease the burden. However, residents in Barney Hill do not want to destroy the scenic view or their privacy from having no direct access from the interstate. Barney Hill condos and townhouses. Segel Mall and Scherbatsky Mall are right across from each other, providing plenty of shopping options for the middle and high class residents. The movie studio on the western edge of the Scherbatsky neighborhood is a place of employment of many residents of Stinson Park and Lily Hills---home to a host of celebrities. Lily Hills---Home #1 of the most affluent residents in the metropolitan area. Stinson Park---Home #2 of the affluent residents. Teddington Heights Closeup of Teddington Heights. Scherbatsky Pkwy separating Stinson Park from Segel. Just one last picture of Marshall before we move on down the road. Here are some label-free overview pictures:

Whoa... #LeftField... Ok... this was COMPLETELY unexpected. I think this is the best news we could all hope for---not because I'm excited about Cities XXL, but because now there is some real competition for Cities: Skylines. This means instead of CO simply being able to get away with making something "better than SimCity 2013" (which isn't hard), they are going to have to make a real quality game that includes all of the features that truly belong in an out-of-the-box city simulator if they want to beat their competition. At least that's what I'm hoping will come out of this. ...the other possibility is that they will rush to get it out first... I really hope THAT doesn't happen...

Haha I'm prepped and ready to go too. :-) I'm pretty excited about this despite my better judgment. After the original Cities XL fiasco, then SimCity Societies, then SimCity 2013 (none of which I bought due to the direction the games took while I was following their development) I'm pretty numb to disappointment.

This looks frickking awesome.

Great googamooga. This looks great, and I really like that water texture.

Wow, there are some interestingly shaped buildings in there! *drools*

Wow, you have a lot of patience! Great work.

Thanks as always, raynev1.   I'm back at it with some new updates (finally... after a year... right?). Life gets pretty busy as I'm sure everyone is aware. They are coming very soon. I just got through trying to figure out a good image server to use---Imageshack has worked my last nerve---random images were coming up missing (which you've undoubtedly seen throughout my CJ). So, after quite a bit of searching, I found a new home at deviantart which I hope will prove reliable.

Moving down I-5, we solidly enter into San Andreas. We are getting so close now, but here is where we jump off of I-5 and head west on I-20 straight to downtown Andremore. If we were to keep going down I-5, we would hit downtown San Andreas, cross the Diamond Gate Bridge into residential Andremore and continue around the beltway to Verona. But, so that we can get downtown as soon as possible, we are going to get on I-20. Exit 2A off I-20 takes you north to Darrylton, while Exit 2B takes you south into the Kensington neighborhood of San Andreas. Exit 1E drops you into the Glenmont area, where the tallest hi-rises in San Andreas are located, overlooking downtown San Andreas and Andremore, not to mention Glenmont Country Club. Crossing the bridge, Dexington welcomes you right at the tip of Lensing Peninsula. Exit 1D, takes you along the length of the peninsula through Dexington and Sheldon all the way out into rural Geminia. Exits 1A and 1B take you to the Scopesville and Lensing neighborhoods respectfully. Here, we see even more Darrylton neighborhoods--the rest of Dasani, Fujimont, and Poland Springs; Breezewood, Waterton, Alba Woods, Aurora Hills, Deer Park, Perrier, Cherrywood, Aloe Park, Palda, and Halo Park. San Andreas neighborhoods include the rest of Rico Pines and Barbia, Harmony Hills. Additional Darrylton neighborhoods include Motorola, Sevengen, Cascadia, Dawn Park, Springhill, Lalane, and Whirlington. But the star in this picture is the city of Fairfax whose tiny downtown is visible with its satellite neighborhoods Tasford, Larington, Axelandria, Sorrlyn, Nicolnia, Chintally, Dela Park, Grinpsfields, and Rehndon. We can also see the Beaver Lodge neighborhood of San Andreas. Dexington neighborhoods visible in this grid include Scopesville and Lensing. The Glenmont neighborhood in San Andreas is also visible. And here is a bulk of the remaining San Andreas neighborhoods--White Oak, Kensington, Nikkisburg, Teachington, and the rest of Patricksburg and Crystal Lakes. As mentioned earlier, just south of I-20 is the Kensington neighborhood, which essentially is a commercial strip almost as large as downtown San Andreas itself. Here is another view of how I-20 wraps around the Kensington neighborhood. Kensington is only moderately dense, but it is a nice contrast to the bedroom neighborhoods to the north, providing a small strip of inner-city living style for those that want that big-city feel without the traffic. Glenmont provides an even bigger city feel for San Andreas residents with its tall water-side residential towers. The convenience of the ferry provides some relief to the Glenmont residents trying to leave their populace neighborhood. With the ferry, a direct highway exit, and its subway station, Glenmont has so many transit options. Glenmont Country Club is one of the more diverse clubs with golf, swiming, putt-putt, driving range, two resort hotels, and tennis in a very private, secluded area. San Andreas University and mall. Downtown Fairfax with its many mom-and-pop shops and restaurants. The Lincoln Center on the south end of downtown Fairfax. I-20 cutting through Lensing and Scopesville in Dexington. Townhouse apartments along the coast of Lensing Peninsula. Here are the obligatory clean shots of the grid:

It's 36 square km --- 9 squares x (2km x 2km / square) = 36km^2 which is 3.72mi x 3.72mi. The game will restrict you to expand up to 9 squares only, but in one of the videos, the CEO does say that there will be an option to turn that restriction off and use the whole map, basically go as high as your CPU can handle.

With Cities: Skylines, you will be able to create cities up to 6.2 x 6.2 miles, but you would have to uncouple the restriction that is in place that allows you to only be able to expand to nine 1.24 x 1.24 mi blocks of the map. They said that you would be able to uncouple this restriction and use all 25 blocks on the map.

I hate to break it to you, but I will try and break down the math here (as best as possible): Each tile is 2km x 2km, that's about 1.24mi x 1.24mi. Your city can be up to 9 tiles; that's 3 tiles x 3 tiles or 3.72mi x 3.72mi. They said something about uncoupling the restriction, which means you may be able to build on the WHOLE map, which is 25 tiles; that's 5 tiles x 5 tiles or 6.2mi x 6.2mi. So at MOST, your city can be 6.2mi x 6.2mi, which in my opinion is not HUGE. I want to create a huge metropolitan region with a city maybe the size of their whole map, with surrounding areas up to 3 times larger than that (something I can put a beltway around). Given the processing requirements for this, regional play is essential... so I will have to wait for that.

ZONING: I would like to see different categories of zoning (at least for Residential and Commercial) to better control the personality of the city: Low Density Urban Residential - Townhouses and brownstones, smaller yards, alleys, etc. Low Density Suburban Residential - Single family homes on small-/medium-sized lots, townhouses with parking lots Low Density Rural Residential - Single family homes on large lots, trailers Medium Urban Residential - Low- to mid-rise apartments, no parking lots, designed to be shoulder to shoulder with other buildings Medium Suburban Residential - Low- to mid-rise apartments with parking lots (complexes), trees, grass, etc. High Density Urban Residential - Sky-rises with storefront on lower floors, no parking lots, but may have parking garages underneath, designed to be shoulder to shoulder with other buildings High Density Suburban Residential - Sky-rises with no storefront, large parking lots Low Density Urban Commercial - City-block shops designed to be shoulder to shoulder with other buildings Low Density Suburban Commercial - Restaurants and shops with parking lots Low Density Rural Commercial - Restaurants and shops that look like they could homes or made from wood and things like that Medium Density Urban Commercial - Mid-rise buildings designed to be shoulder to shoulder with other buildings Medium Density Suburban Commercial - Mid-rise buildings with parking lots, may have grass, good for office parks, etc. High Density Urban Commercial - Skyscrapers with skywalks to adjoining buildings, bases that integrate well into city blocks High Density Suburban Commercial - Skyscrapers with parking lots, do not look like they belong in the middle of a city TRANSPORTATION: I think the transportation options are great for now. I would like to see better seaports and airports. And the pre-existing network on the map, I really hope we can get rid of that and design our own. REGION: So they don't have region play, the large maps are good for now, but eventually, I hope they can make this work. I would really like to build my expansive metropolitan area some day. For now, I am unclear about how we will be able to utilize the whole map if we uncouple the restriction. Can we use it all for one city? For multiple cities? SERVICES: I like how they are implementing the way hospitals and fire trucks and the like service the communities (i.e., it's not a radius, but rather a travel distance from the building), but I think even a small infrastructure should have a wider range of service. One building can service quite a large community in reality.

Thanks for the great rating raynev!

Interstate Tour - Michaelsville and Allentown Just after crossing Michael Bay, we enter the city of Michaelsville as we move further down I-5. To the west of I-5 is still Darrylton, and to the east is Michaelsville. Exit 3 is for Michaelsville Pike---3B takes you west through Darrylton and Fairfax, ending in Arbor View on the far east edge of Dexington; 3A takes you southeast past downtown Michaelsville, ending at I-20. Continuing down I-5, mile marker 3 marks the city line between Michaelsville and San Andreas. This is another view of a wide part of Michael Bay. On the east side we can see the rest of Serengeti, a residential neighborhood in Rayban Point, and more of Johnstown, a residential neighborhood in Juan Carlos. On this side of the bay, we see a bulk of Michaelsville and its many neighborhoods--Jones Point, Renaissance Park, April Estates, Casey, Katana, Nunchaku, Saisdale, Boville, Turtle Park, Leonardo Park, Splinter Heights, Michelangelo Park, Raphael Park, Donatello Point, and Shreddington. We can also see a few more neighborhoods in Darrylton---Dasai, Aquafina, Acadia, Fujimont, Purcelville, and Poland Springs. Here are a few neighborhoods in San Andreas---Rico Pines, Patricksburg, and Crystal Lakes. There is also one more neighborhood in Michaelsville we missed---O'Neill. We can also see the bulk of Donatello Point, a rich neighborhood that juts out into Turtle Bay. And finally, there is Allentown, the last city before crossing the Michael Bay Bridge into Juan Carlos. Allentown is one of many industrial powerhouses with industrial centers like Iverson and Debbington. It has very few residential neighborhoods--Marcus Manor, Payne Point, Woody Gardens, Joan Manor, Timsdale, and Stevesburg. This is Michaelsville's very modest downtown right off Michaelsville Pike. This is Splinter Heights, the most populous neighborhood in Michaelsville. Splinter Heights has its own commercial sector in the form of a strip of low-rise commercial buildings along I-20. Donatello Point Mall right off I-20 and due south of downtown Michaelsville. April Estates. Allentown does not really have a downtown, but if it did, this area would qualify. San Andreas Country Club, the eastmost point of San Andreas. The edge of the country club marks the city line between San Andreas and Michaelsville. And of course, here are some clean shots of the entire Grid F4. And we are now less than three miles from the Tauria State Line.

Awesome city, awesome artwork, awesome everything. Very creative.

Haha thanks again, nate1245. I have to agree with you, my favorite part is driving through the suburbs and hitting a point where you catch a glimpse of the massive skyline off in the distance, and watching it get bigger and seeing more detail as you get closer and closer. Are you from a big city yourself?

Thanks, nate1245. We are almost to downtown Andremore. Only about five more miles / three more grids to drive through before we get downtown. Then from there, I guess I will take us down I-205 toward the airport.

Interstate Tour - Solar City and Rayban Point After seeing bits and pieces of Solar City, we finally get to its downtown area and will touch upon the easternmost areas of Darrylton, the second-largest city in the Andremore metropolitan area. We are not going to see its downtown anytime soon, however, because we are going to continue the Interstate Tour down I-5 into Andremore. However, Darrylton certainly is a sight. But I digress. Exit 8B takes you right into the heart of Solar City via Solar City Parkway, and Exit 8A takes you via Mosby Parkway to downtown Mosby, another large city that has been mentioned but not fully detailed. Moving down I-5, we get to Exit 7 for Phoenix Blvd. Exit 7B takes you along the Darrylton/Solar City line toward the Phoenix commercial district in Darrylton. Exit 7A takes you southeast all the way to downtown Juan Carlos (also one way to get to the beaches). Exit 6C is for the I-405 spur, a section of highway just over a mile long that connects I-5 to I-405. I-405 is the 56-mile long Beltway that surrounds the city of Andremore. It is an absolutely vital bypass that spares travelers of I-5 S the treacherous traffic which usually starts well before the merger of I-405 and I-5 at Exit 5. The spur provides outer loop-bound travelers from I-5 the pain of dealing with Exit 5. The spur cuts between Saxon Garden and Langley Lake, and its location is actually a compromise. Southbound I-5 travelers originally wanted to turn Solar City Parkway into the spur, which would have created an over 2-mile long spur that joined I-405 at its Exit 7. However, residents in the Phoenix, Satyr Forest, Cyno Park, and Treantsdale were less than thrilled about the impact it would have to their access to the main shops along the parkway. Thus, the compromise was done. Here is Exit 5, where Andremore-bound traffic generally starts to stack up during the morning rush hour. We are now less than five miles from the Tauria State line. Here we see the last of Solar City's neighborhoods---South Raymont, Windsor, and Polaris, along with the rest of Shinington and Helios. Across the highway are neighborhoods in Mosby---Badum, Saget Park, Frenchtown, Charity Park, and Zinman. Moving into Darrylton, we see Cyno Park, Phoenix (the main commercial area in eastern Darrylton), Satyr Forest, Wisp Manor, Pegasus Park, Peryton, Sylphington, Treantsdale, Triton Park, Saxon Garden, Langley Lake, Arena Park, Dryad Hill, an eastern portion of Hydra Park... ... the eastern portion of Griffin Park, Fauns Forest, Hookah Park, Goling, and Alba. On the other side of the inlet is Rayban Point, a very upscale city that's marinas fuel its economy. Its neighborhoods include Maui Coast, Aviator Hill, Zegna, Oakley, and Serengeti. Here we can also see a few more Mosby neighborhoods---Clinton, Henrie, and Fonseca. It the bottom-right corner is Johnstown, the nortwesternmost neighborhood of Juan Carlos. Here is a closer view of downtown Solar City. It's not a huge downtown areawise as Solar City is driven mostly by high-tech industry, but the towers are tall and provide some great views of the metropolitan area for the executives. The I-5 highway exit empties onto Solar City Parkway right in the heart of downtown Solar City. This is Frenchtown, the westernmost neighborhood in Mosby. This area used to have a high concentration of French residents, but now, things have diversified quite a bit as the commercial scene has changed. This is the Rayban Point country club---one of the best in the metropolitan area I hear from word of mouth. The marinas that power Rayban Point's economy. The very fine neighborhood of Aviator Hill. Phoenix Boulevard as it enters Juan Carlos. This is Phoenix, the main commercial center and densely populated area in eastern Darrylton. The I-405 exit for Solar City Parkway. This is Solar City Parkway as it heads straight to downtown Darrylton, overlooked by twin apartments on the edge of the Peryton neighborhood. Dryad Hill, a very quaint and typical suburban neighborhood. Saxon Garden, the park that gave this neighborhood its name. Here is Langley Lake, right off the I-405 Spur. Here are some clean overhead shots of Grid F3.

Thanks, new update coming very soon... as in... next day or two!

Interstate Tour - Seven Corners We now travel down a very small stretch of I-5S that traverses Grid F2, moving into even more suburban areas as we get closer and closer to the inner city. Exit 9 is the only exit from I-5 in this grid, and it goes through this northern section of Solar City into the heart of Seven Corners. At this point, we are about nine miles from the Tauria State line. In Grid G2, we saw the eastern neighborhoods within Bradford Park. The Bradford Park town center is here in Grid F2. Meade Point, Fashionista, Mogul Manor, Emmerson Woods, Alandale, Rikers Park, and Presidential Park are all neighborhoods in Bradford Park. Feystone Park is also part of Bradford Park. In this section we see Ferrera, an industrial city with very few residential neighborhoods. Pictured here are Bettisburg and Pancho Park. And here is Seven Corners, the largest shopping area in the northeast metropolitan area. Its neighborhoods include Royal Oaks, Jackson Park, Blessed Woods, Kingston, Queensboro, Luxomburg, and Crown Heights. In the very bottom-left corner you can see a peek at I-405, the beltway that circles the city, and parts of a couple of neighborhoods in the city of Darrylton---Pegasus Park, Wisp Manor, Satyr Forest, and Cyno Park. Coincidentally, Seven Corners' exit off of I-405 is also Exit 9. Here we can see the Grid F2 neighborhoods of Solar City, the city center for which is in Grid F3 which we will be going through next. Neighborhoods include Sunnyside, West Starsdale, East Starsdale, Shinington, North Raymont, South Raymont, Sun City, and Helios. Seven Corners has a relatively modest downtown area because most of the commercial focus is services rather than office. Seven Corners Center (7CC) is where all of the upscale retailers are located in the area. It is not uncommon to see high class residents from East Starsdale, West Starsdale, Stinson Park, and Lily Hills shopping here. Although, most actors and actresses tend to stay in the Marshall area when shopping. Royal Oaks mall is a shopping mecca for the middle class residents throughout the whole area. Here is a picture of East Starsdale--wealthy homes on the country club. High-rises of West Starsdale overlooking Sunnyside to the north and East and West Starsdale to the south. The train tracks separate Bradford Park from Solar City. Here are some label-free overview pictures:

IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!!! This city journal has been moved to the official Simtropolis City Journal section here: Andremore Metropolitan Area Latest Update 9/21/2012: The city of Marshall