rklesc

After being away from SC4 for about +3-years, and after having grown tired of MMO’s, I have decided to once again revisit SC4. I discovered in my search for entertainment that what I truly enjoy is the creative building within games. Unfortunately, MMO’s have a nasty way of bringing with them rude and crazed individuals that take pleasure in ruining other people’s experience. Oh well…. Back to me, myself and I. The three of us have been spending the last couple of weeks rebuilding my library of custom content. I particularly enjoy the creations of Pegasus and Simgoober; and you will see a lot of their stuff in my upcoming CJ. I grew up in Chicago and spent all my life living in major cities around the world., but I have always had a fondness for rural communities. As a kid I would spend my summers at my uncles place in Cedar Lake, Indiana. It was a summer vacation communities with some permanent residents, like my uncle, on the shores of Cedar Lake. I enjoyed living there during the summer and spent my days walking around, swimming in the frigid lake and playing sandlot ball with the kids in the community. I also spent many a day traveling to Wisconsin with my family to enjoy the autumn colors and pick apples from the trees. Those were fun times with many fond memories. I was also into model railroading, both as a child and adult and particularly enjoyed the high mountains of Colorado and the intrepid narrow gauge railroads that ventured in to the mountains to serve the mines. The Durango Silverton Railroad is still operating today for those interested in seeing raw nature from the relative safety of a train. So that’s my background and interest and I hope to capture rural America in the pages of this CJ…. I hope you will enjoy. Gemini River Ridge was selected as my region because it is relatively small and do not want to bite off much on my first go. The original map can be found at the BSC Lot Exchange... It is listed as “NHP Land Mini-Map Pack” and can be found here… https://www.sc4devotion.com/?lotGET=1499 Here is the description from the site… The file was uploaded February 2008. Philosophy: My approach to SC4 has always been to create interesting yet very believable environments. I enjoy the creative process, as I am an Architect by education but heading a Real esatet Development company in the Middle East (hence I hate to do modern highrise crafting as I do this for a living). To craft believable environments means downloading a lot of custom lots and plopping to beat the band. Having 6 used car lots next to each other in the center of town is not my idea of believable. Mods I will be using: This is not an exhaustive list but highlight the main mods... 1. 6% Slope Mod - makes it tuff on railroads but also makes it very realistic; 2. No riots, no fires, no more teacher's dirty looks (maybe not the last one); 3. Columbus terrain mod with a healthy dose of Peg's trees; 4. NAM, but not the latest Jan release (my download was currpted and haven't gone back to get it); 5. SAM 3.0, but still haven't figured out how best to use it yet (nasty white boxes show up at the start point... HELP!!!); 6. Bridge Heoght mod; 7. Reward unlock, hate waiting for the good stuff; 8. PEG's eroded rock mod; 9. A number of PEG's facelift mods (terrain, trees, MTP and so forth); and finally 10. An assortment of other misc. stuff... Let's explore Gemini River Ridge... Gemini River Ridge is essentially a small land locked region that measures 2x3 large cities. The region has a large flat, lush, heavily forested valley floor leading to high plains in the middle and eventually gives way to towering peaks. A major river, the Gemini, runs through the valley and has a small creek, Snake Creek, entering it before opening up to a small lake. The Gemini also splits around a small island. This island could become a focus of high end resort living and entertainment. The cities have been rendered with the valley floor heavily forested. The valley makes an excellent place to establish the major towns... The discovery of a variety of ores in The Escarpment has led prospectors to enter the area in search of riches. The Escarpemnt will become the focus of mining and, without question, will require the railroad to come in a big way... I always like to run my major transporattion network first. This allows me to establish all the links I need but also establishes some real life constraints on town planning. So the heavy rail network and Interstate Highway systems have been placed. You will see that the slope mod has effectivly curtailed willy-nilly road and rail locations and I was forced to conform to the geography. This was a major pain and took several hours but the results are stellar... I selected Twin Rivers for the jump-off point for the creative process... As you can see, the major roads have been laid in and the first settlement location identified... Now that all of the preliminaries are out of the way, perhaps I should give you a sneak peak... You want to see the start??? {insert drum roll here} Turn up your sound card if you can't hear the drum roll... Ready??? Your suggestions and constructive criticisms would be warmly received and appreciated.... More development pics coming to a theater near you very soon...

Hey Dan... thanks for still thinking about me. R/L has gotten in the way so need to get some things done there. I had started to create some modular farming lots but for some reason LE didn't save them correctly and I cannot open them up in LE Prop or within the game. I guess I need to go back and redo. The concept I was working on was to let the game grow a residential unit. Then surround it with aggriculture to grow a farm with fields. Then demo the farm and build up the modules around the residential unit to create a more open and airey farm environment. The modules were an assortment of barns, storage sheds, silos and so forth that I could group with the residential unit thereby getting real residential living with the farm jobs. When I get the time I will work that idea up and see how it plays. Hopefully standby for something before the end of the month... fingers crossed

A free bump to the front page...

OMG... just checked in for the first time and noticed I am at number 7... geez-looeez. How'd dat happen??? Thanks to all those that have stopped by and a special thanks for thoise that have dropped a comment or two. Hey selles... way to go!!!

Hmm... was expecting more feedback on the industrial park... oh well... if you missed it, check the bottom of page 4. Let's get to some responses... danielcote: Thanks Dan. The park will remain industrial as other parts of the city fills the commercial demand. CompuerGuy890100: The industrial is doing well now after its recovery. Thanks. edmonton_stinks: Edmonton can't be that bad... is it? Thanks for stoppin' I wanted to bring you some images on the recent developments around the shopping center. So you don't have to scroll back... here's a before shot... And here we are after a few of the out parcels have developed... Note all of the new residential across from the center. Now here are a few close ups of the developments in the out parcels... and another... and what mall would be complete without a movie theater... and a final shot of the main entrance... And here's a shot of the area across the highway.... I just like this shot... So there's the development around the center so far... Hope you like. As always, your constructive criticisms are always warmly received. Have Fun...

Well... I think I am finally ready to introduce the City of Twin Rivers... but first, lets reply to a few folks that were kind enough to leave a note behind during their travels... Jacqulina: As always, thanks for stopping by and for the kind words. I hope you washed your hands first... CIFA: Glad you liked the farms and residential work thus far. I hope you will enjoy the industrial with this update and the retail update in the near future. The residential will follow after that. selles: You are most certainly welcome and let me know when you have gotten the knack of the floral plops... hmm... sounds disgusting actually. Let's rewind and try over. Let me know when you have mastered the floral textures... Schulmanator: I am actually hoping for much more with the mall development... stay tuned. dfnva: Malls run through cycles like everything else and the property values generally will follow suit. They fall in and out of favor, especially in Dubai where the latest flavor of the month is the big attraction. The US is actually going through an anti-mall sort of episode as people long for the great outdoors once again. Placemaking, the art of creating spaces for people, is the current direction. SirUnger: Thanks, took a while to get the placement right. I hope that it will develop within the game properly. ComputerGuy890100: Thanks CG... stay tuned for the next retail update in a couple of days... as I cross fingers. danielcote: Thanks Dan... yeppers, a regional mall with all the bells and whistles... I hope. Now for the industrial update... The industrial area has gone through a zenith, a decline and now a resurrection as I tried to get the balance right. Here are some pics on the resurrected industrial park... emphasis on the park. A wet bottom storm water retention basin to ensure we don't flood during heavy rains... An old cemetary and church were over taken by industrial development as the city grew to the East... Freight traffic is heavy on the roads and the rails... We are sensitive to the river's edge... trying to be eco-friendly... Some workers take a lunch break and pickup a quick game in a vacant lot... Is that some new construction getting started??? The industrial has been a bit of a pain and a surprise overall. I was expecting to develop much more industrial and have actually done half what I thought I would probably need. Right now I am sitting at a population of about 44k with total jobs of about 20k and no zots. Quite puzzling. The breakdown is about 11k in commercial and 9k in industrial. Far less than expected. Oh well... hope you liked what I have done to the place... Levae a note and give me your constructive comments... they would be warmly received. As always.... have fun...

I wanted to bring you something really different, at least far different from what you have seen in this CJ thus far... But before we show and tell... let's get some replys out of the way... ComputerGuy890100: Thanks, and would love your feedback on the new images that follow... selles: Thanks for noticing the flora along the banks. The water flora is plopable from Chris Adams. His stuff is on the STEX. I also mix in plopables from PEG for the pines and underbrush. And then Chris Adams again for flora on the banks for the grasses and wildflowers. I also use his dirt path to create dirt bloches amongst the underbrush before the grass goes in... then scatter in some plopable debris, tree stumps, fallen logs and what-not... oh well... you get the idea. It takes about 7 to 10 layers of work (1. large and small rocks; 2. water flora along the edges using 3 to 4 different types; 3. Pegs beautiful pine trees mixed with lodgepole pine trunks; 4. dirt paths if I use them; 5. underbrush; 6. stumps and fallen trees if I remember; 7. two different types of grasses - green and brown; 8. dirt splotches; 9. yellow wildflowers; and finally 10. garbage.) Maybe I should do a tutorial build-up...what'ya think. BTW... when I finally get around to showing more industrial then you will see this implemented on some of the "vacant" lots. It's beginning to look really interesting. Hawkeye9: Thanks Hawk... really appreciate you stoppin' in and dropping a note. north country dude: Glad you found them. I really like the appearance of them and they help to break up the grid look a little. As for the electric power, it's located over in the industrial zone and transmitted under water to the residential/commercial side. I never use the high tention wires unless I really have too and then only until development overtakes them. I did download the high-tension lines some time ago but will probably not use them. LOL... I found the sunken ships last week. Unfortunately they are way too big for the small rivers I have, but you can be sure I will use them when I have a seaport town... next CJ I guess Thanks for the tip on the R$$$. I managed to get everything into balance now and all the "no work" zots are gone. Now for some really big news... A major real estate developer has come into town and acquired a major super block for the development of a new regional shopping center. BTW... I am a real estate developer in R/L and when I created the infrastructure I looked at the site and said... WOW... I wish I could find a parcel like this in real life. If I had, then what you see is one possible approcah I would take to develop it out... given the game limitations of course. The super block is bound on four sides by major roads with extensive frontage along Gemini River Valley Freeway. The site has large avenues bordering the other three sides. Twin River's Parkway is the major East/West route through Twin Rivers and links the industiral zones to the east with the recreation island to the west. In between is middle and upper residential developments. Franklin Boulevard heads north directly into downtown Twin Rivers while Blane's Avenue is an alternate route to the recreation Island. As in R/L, regional malls add tremendous value to the surrounding real estate and most developers today create and develop these "out parcels" themselves. In the past they would only develop the shopping center but soon realized that other developers were buying up the surrounding farm lands and making a killing on speculation and development around the center. In this case, I will be developing all of the surrounding out parcels myself and take advantage of this real estate play. Here's the basic development thus far... The road circulation has been laid in and tied into the surrounding infrastructure along with the surface parking facilities. The center has been placed in the center with good exposure to the surrounding roads. This image shows the parceling I have used to start the zoning and out building placements... This took about 3-hours or so to get laid out and setup. I am about to start applying some zoning and will turn on the game to see what develops. The center will create about 1600 $$ jobs so residential needs to develop quickly to feed this monster. Also, the Sherryton Hotel provides another 500 $$ jobs so little sims need to start moving in soon. BTW... the R$$ single family now located across the freeway will be redeveloped with mid-rise R$$ to feed this beast. Stay tune for further development at Twin River's Shopping Center... I would love to here from you and sincerely appreciate any constructive advise. Have Fun...

Since the 99th poster was Jaqulina... I wanted to jump in and grab the 100th post for myself.... I'm selfish that way... besides, this is my CJ and I'll do what I want!!! Ok, ok, ok... I'm way out of line... in any event, a brief tease again to keep the excitement going... or a big yawn depending on your point of view... But first, a thank you for the responses as follows... gurrgkud: Thanks for stoppin' and thanks for the kind words. Sad to say, the amusement park may be a bit down the road for the moment. Hope you like the other stuff though... selles: I agree... industrial is a royal pain to get looking right. Trying to make it more park like as opposed to hard core industrial. SirUnger: Thanks for stopping by and hope you return soon. danielcote: Those R$$ condos are called Aspen Village Condominiums Multi Color Version by jawood. They are on the STEX. north country dude: I have been racking my brain trying to remember where I got the angled houses on the lots and can't come up with them. I will keep looking. I got them off the stex though under residential. Sorry I can't be more specific. Glad you liked the cookie. dfnva: Thanks for the koodoos. The frontage roads help move traffic along a little better. ComputerGuy890100: I like tranquil settings better than big and bold... glad you liked. masochist: beat me, beat me... lol. Glad you liked the rural areas thus far. I hope I can deliver on the urban scene as well. I like the bronze tint also but I am not sure what you mean by the blur. I think it may be the tranlation from png to jpg perhaps as I am not adding any blurring to the image. Hope to see ya back soon... saathoff37: Thanks! hope to see ya back soon. Schulmanator: Hands off the cookies... that was for NCD. Jacqulina: Thanks Jac... and hands off the cookie. Now since this is post 100, I thought I would add a couple of more images to keep ya going... BTW... still having a bit of a problem balancing the R$$$ with their jobs. They don't seem to be able to find the high-tech jobs.... ARGH... rich lazy bums... We are beginning to get a little more vertical in selected locations... And some neighborhood shopping springs up... Teaser two is done and dusted. Kindly drop me a note and let me know your thoughts.... Constructive criticism is always welsomed. Have Fun...

Shulmanator... your city is looking spectacular. Love the consistant architectural look and the paved walking surfaces... vary cozy and oh so English. The curved facade of the row houses looks terrific and the many blocks that have small arched passageways to the rear terraces look inviting. Great detail. One other building I am admiring from afar is the commercial block with the clock tower on the corner. Great looking structure with a lot of character and detail. One point... on a much less serious note... since Ostrichs don't fly, do you provide them a ladder to climb up to the bird bath or do they carry their own? And what's with that huge radio/TV mast tower in the back of the house opposite Busscastle's shop??? Do they harbour some special secret technology? Are they a threat to everyone else? OMG... they may be mad scientists bent on the destruction of the Busscastle Chocolateria!!! They will beam their radio waves in through the window and melt the chocolate!!! Is there anything we can do to foil their dasterdly plans???

Beautiful presentation and story... can't wait for the first glimps of this new land...

Sorry for the delay in getting the next update out. I am not terribly comfortable in urban settings and it has been taking me time to get things right before I come out with a big update. So far, I am pleased with the general feel of the "big city" thus far but I am trying to get the employment and residential balanced at the moment and this is taking some time... more time than I would like (but that goes back to the 3-year absence more than anything I guess). Before I show you a couple of teaser shots, I'd first like to respond to the few people that stopped by and offered some comments on the last update. So here goes... selles: Vary happy to see you back and thank you so much for your comments. I didn't want you to wait too much longer so I am putting a couple of teasers up.... hope you like... ComputerGuy890100: Thanks... would like your thoughts on the teasers that follow. north country dude: LOL... you spotted the pine tree.... eh... lumbering freight. Your prize will follow shortly... BTW... I already had downloaded Peg's Area 52 and will definitely use it when I get back to the rural side of things. Darmok: Thanks Darmok... would love your initial thoughts on the teaser that follows. Hawkeye9: WOW... coming from you that is indeed a complement... thanks so much. I hope you come back and give me your comments on my urban attempt. danielcote: Yes... this will be my first "big" city. Although it will still try to stay true to the rural quality established thus far so please don't expect to see any mega-tall buildings. Mid-rise at best. I have downloaded the plane and bus skins now and they look great.... thanks for the heads up, and I managed to find an Emirates skin!!! north country dude: (again) So, even though you were the first to spot the pine tree on the tracks; you DO NOT get a prize. BUT, you commented on the lumbering freight, which I thought was quite clever of me (as I pat myself on the backside ); so I wanted to reward you for reacting to my punny humor... so here is a treat while you surf the forums... Sorry for the little bite... I wanted to make sure it was still fresh. NOW... for the teaser... Since this is my first attempt at an urban environment in a long time, I wanted to get some reactions as to my progress thus far... First an industrial shot... This is along the Snake River (to the left of screen)... An Omni hotel has taken up a location on the bank next to the bridge to provide hotel rooms for the industrial clients... Now for some residential shots.... 2 on offer... and a single family neighborhood... Much more has been in development but that's a tease for now... I would sincerely appreciate your thoughts, ideas and constructive criticisms on this first attempt at an urban environment. Have Fun...

Hmm... the wildflower stew sounds good... perhaps with a slight essence of weed. Or... we could just smoke the weed and forget the whole thing.

Why is the elephant smaller than the Rino? OH NO... you're eating a baby elephant!!! Eh Gads... Stop the slaughter!!! I'll go hungry thank you.

That's not a pine tree on the tracks... Good Grief Folks... That's a slow moving freight lumbering along... I was wondering who would find that.... lol

I wanted to get one last farming update up before plunging into the main city of Twin Rivers, and I'll give you a bit of a tease on the new city as well. But first... a few replys... danielcote: Got the new planes flyin'. they look way better than the maxis stuff.... but then everything else is also. Livin in Sim: Thanks for the complements and the link to the garbage. I promise not to make too much of a mess... mmm... maybe not. BTW... what is this nonsense about sims not driving cool cars. Good grief! We need to change that. As mayor I outlaw all cheap small underpowered cars. If the sims can't afford the slick autos then let them eat cake. north country dude: Thanks for the junk car link. I guess I'll need to figure out how to create a water lot. BTW... found dead bodies!!! PEG MTP-CWP Carnage Pack... dead solidiers strewn about the battle field. Maybe a few washed up on our shores. Need to try this... muahhahaaa... (hope the link works) Now on with the show... this is Update 6.0 With nearly 1000 views (and counting), I expect things will pick up in the comment arena once the bigger city stuff hits the big screen near you. First a region overview... The development is expanding across the length of Twin Rivers with development streaching north to south. The new section of Snake Creek is the next target of development... You can see the extent of development a little better with the transit view... Before we get into the teaser of the main city center of Twin Rivers, I wanted to show you the development of the farming region since the last update. Farms have expanded to the northern edge of the section and the overview below shows the extent of development... We drop a little closer to earth to take a better look at some of the details... What's this, a new preserve has been established... development hits a new crossroads... A couple of new farms have yet to pop, but a new railhead is handling the farmer's load... Development expands along the new crossroads... Development expands up the hill toward another crossroads... So with the farms out of the way.... I wanted to give you another look at the river's edge... This takes a lot of work and time but I think it is well worth the effort... your thoughts... BTW... you can see the Gemini River Scenic Parkway beyond the river's edge... Now for the first teaser... this is on the eastern bank of the Gemini River across from "Pleasure Isle" and across from the river edge shots above... River Side Drive has been laid in along the eastern bank ready for high-end residential development... A drum roll please... an now a sneak peek at the heart of Twin Rivers... and downtown Twin Rivers will be here... Feeding all of this development will be their industrial park located on the east bank of Snake Creek... and a little detail on the entrance to the industrial park... So there you have it. Developments are progressing and the main city will begin... God Willing. As always, your constructive criticisms will always be well received and integrated as best as I can into this CJ. Have Fun...

You are I N S A N E !!! and I love it.

A verbal update on developments and direction in Gemini River Ridge to follow.... but first, some replys and thank you's... Hawkeye9: Thanks for the feedback. I am getting more comfortable with the flora and rocks and I think the next update will show some progress (sensitivity) on handling the river's edge. selles: The next update may be awhile yet.... sad to say. As for the texture question, it's really a matter of philosophy for me when I say texture. For me, the entire screen is a picture that is a fabric, or texture, that comes out in the final picture. For me the texture is the ground texture, the flora and trees added to the ground and the buildings that combine to form the texture. The red brick walls contrasted against the gree trees and the pavement is texture, just as the weeds, understory growth and tree canopys form a texture. So, I am not fiddling with the terrain mod at all, that is set. I am always playing with everything that lies on top of that - the texture. Hope that's clear... if not, let me know and I'll try to expand... perhaps with a step-by-step illustration. Jacqulina: Always a pleasure seeing your galloping horse.... btw... does it ever get to the end of the line or just keeps running? Thanks for the comments and glad you liked my river. The next evolution should be better.... I hope. danielcote: Thanks for the plane skin links. They do make quite a difference to the game appearance (texture). I like the old DC7 and the fire planes. BTW... it weould be cool to have the fire planes respond to forest fires. Now for some verbal updates... I jumped across the Gemini River to work on the east bank across from "Pleasure Isle." The sliver of land will be developed as low-density residential in the $$ and $$$ quality level if I can manage it. I laid in a road that meanders along the rivers edge using FAR pieces. The curving road and river bank look good together. I will hold off on dropping in the residential until I develop industry on the eastern shore of Snake Creek. This area is already served with heavy rail and leads off the far eastern edge of the region. I am hoping the industrial jobs will stimulate medium density residential in the main city center of Twin Rivers, yet to be developed. So I guess I will leave the rural nature of the first five updates to start the main city center of Twin Rivers in the Snake Creek section of the region. This section will have a strong agriculture base to its west (the existing development to date), heavy industry to its eastern edge and the commercial and residential center between. Wish me luck as I launch into a new section of the region... Have Fun...

The first picture of an overview of Shin Shao is a beautiful fan shape of development. It reminds me of a Japanese fan laid out on the ground for all to see. Lovin' it.

Looks like that acre of asphalt could become a new bumper car ride... didn't realize you could do 8 intersecting avenues... cool. Could be great vistas up the avenue. Looking forward to the next update.

You are about to develop a CJ in one of the most magnificently beautiful parts of the United States. Looking forward to the scenic beauty. Good luck.

Surfing the CJ's and came across your great 1920's imagery. Love the look and feel of the place and the B&W pics suit the era and showcase your work perfectly. So glad to hear that you have been able to save your beloved and will stop in again... promise. Some people like the glitz and glamour of the big city highrises but I wax nastalgia for the "good 'ole days".... whatever that means. Good luck... and have fun.

Thanks to everyone that has stopped by and dropped a note on the river. Sometimes I am never quite sure if the direction is right or not so its always good to get a reaction from the community of experts at Simtropolis. Darmok: Thanks and point taken on the stone edge. I actually started to lessen the rocks before your note and the new look is a little better I believe. Perhaps I can upload an image or too in the next update. You know, the beige texture sort of escaped me. I guess it blended in with the lighter river previously so I never gave it a thought on the revised river scheme. May need to blow that sucker up if I can find a decent replacement. Archean: Thanks again for getting me thinking about the water in the first place. Glad you like the new look. Raysfan16: Well, since my first name is Ray I guess you are my ultimate fan then... I found the floating lots you mentioned and will try to work it in later. Maybe when I do the amusement park it will become a bit of a ride. panthersimcity4: Glad you stopped by and liked what you saw. Hope to see ya again. ComputerGuy890100: Thanks again for stoppin... selles: Thanks, glad you like the new look for the river, and you are welcome. Muck308: Thanks for the feedback. Yeah... a car frame would be cool. Schulmanator: Thanks for stopping and for the kind words. Needless to say, the river's edge will take awhile to develop along its entire length, but should be well worth the effort (keeping fingers crossed). The texturing of the hills progresses as I extend the farms and residential areas. I am still not satisfied with the "new" commercial area in Riverton that I started across the avenue. The next update may be several more days when I am finally satisfied with the general direction... for now, build, grow, destroy, start over.... texture, rip out, start over. You know the drill. As always, your kind notes and constructive criticism is always well received and look forward to hear from you as this CJ develops. Have Fun...

It looks as though that one plane... eh... two planes... eh.... anyway.... is it coming or going??? Can it fly in both directions at the same time? lol... Great update. The campus is inspirational.

Peace and tranquility.... need I say more. Your presentation has overwhelmed me...

Hey De Ja Vu.... nice looking flora treatments in the parks. I particularly like the swamp area near the roundabout. The edge looks great. I need to find that mod for Gemini River. Thanks for the ideas.