maskedbandit101

What exactly do slope mods do? Would they help when placing buildings and stuff? What slope mods do you recommend? I see 10000000000000 suggested one by Ennedi...I'll do a search at the ol' Exchange.

REPLIES 10000000000000: Thanks, man! That list helped. I'm still in the process of adding stuff, so I'll work on mixing my foliage. MamaLuigi945: Thanks a lot. Yeah, the Maxis trees are...um...there. Again, I'm working on mixing in other bits. It'll take some time, though. LastTrueChamp: Thanks. vivapanda: Thank you. TowerDude: Ha, thanks! You'll have to check with local realtors to see if there are any lots left! cifa: Thank you very much. NMUSpidey: Ha, thanks a lot. It helps when you have more tools at your disposal to work with when it comes to beautification and the shore line. Gotta build up the resources! vortext: Thanks for the list! I'll be sure to download some of what's there. Crossing Founder's River As Smeethe grew, people branched out across the river. The town is now a full-fledged city, and it has been growing rapidly ever since the interstate connected to Co. Rd. A. Once crossing the river, you'll immediately notice some rather wealthy-looking homes. These are old-money homes, with generation after generation passing the land down to their younger kin. While this area is 'new' by Smeethe standards, it is still quite old. Right across the river, butting up against some farmland, sits Smeethe County High, the county's only high school. The facilities and campus are top notch. Across the interstate and down County Road A sits the town of Skeever. Skeever is a small town and still offers agricultural learning opportunities for children in grades K - 8. Students can learn husbandry, agriculture, and various other 'rural' activities. Founder's River runs through the heart of the region and is named to honor those brave people who first conquered the wilderness and settled in Smeethe County. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ I hope you've enjoyed this entry. I'd like to say thank you again to EVERYONE who has taken the time to look at and comment on this City Journal. I'm always looking for advice on how to improve as well as sets that would help me achieve a more realistic look. Have a wonderful evening and a wonderful week.

I hate to be a Debbie-Downer, but I went through the same thing with Atari a while back with the "rumored" release of RCT4. No matter how much you think you are the core base of the marketing behind another SimCity game, you are not. Any of us that frequent these forums are in the vast minority of people that played the game. Most people don't venture into forums...most people never share their work with others...most people consider SimCity and other games like it just that...a game. For those of us that see these games as a hobby/a creative outlet--we aren't the target market. We are a small fraction of the pie of people that buy these games. So, with all that, they'll cater to the masses, and that is something that will disappoint most people here. EA is a business...their goal is to make money. They will try to appeal to the widest audience possible; an audience that doesn't want to spend days and weeks trying to figure out how to be successful at a game. We live in a society of instant gratification. Very few kids who play games have time to learn how to play a game. They'd rather blow something's head off or race round and crash cars. Just my 2 cents. I'd love to see another SimCity game on par with this one, just updated and improved, but that's pie-in-the-sky thinking. I just want a game that plays closer to SC4 than CitiesXL! If they can do that, I'll be happy.

I love the "clash" between the old-world architecture and the new high-rise buildings. It's all set up very well. I like your plazas and roundabout's, too; it keeps the whole area from feeling "claustrophobic." Nice job!

Love the coastline. A perfect spread of high-rise development and green space. Really beautiful.

This is just stunning. I love the marina and all that...it's really spectacular. The viewpoint is great, as well. Love the view from it! I'm lookin' forward to more.

I really enjoy that park, very nice. What set are the paths from? I'm so new at the custom content thing, I need to catch up, ha. I lol'ed at your Whataburger! Are you from TX? Whataburger is a TX exclusive chain (I think)...it's quite delicious! Either way, the city is looking good.

This is an amazing city! I love "Toyota Island." Your editing is ridiculously beautiful and gives your pictures that extra "pop." This CJ is an inspiration.

REPLIES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Schulmanator - Thanks a lot for the kind words. k50dude - Thanks for your suggestions about the houses. I checked it out and went on a downloading spree! Luckily, they're starting to crop up and look great. NMUspidey - Thanks, man! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rivercrest Has Some Dough! While most of Smeethe County is honest-to-goodness hard-working folk who do what they can to get by (that's our story and we're sticking to it), some people have found some money. Maybe they have some inheritance, maybe they've sold out to the corporate mega-farms, or maybe it's something else. Either way, up in Rivercrest, you can find an area nestled close to the river where the homes are just a bit bigger, the lots a tad greener, and the cars a whole lot fancier than what most of Smiithe Co. residents have. You can always tell affluent areas by the cul-de-sacs! While this area doesn't have any fancy name, some of the people have begun calling it Big Mouth Pass. Maybe that's where some bass hang out or maybe the people in those homes just like to flap their gums... The riverbanks here have nice pebble beaches. Not much for sunnin', but they are a great place for young ones to spend a hot summer day. Too bad it's all private property now. Over on the other side of town, all of us God-fearin' folk that petitioned to have a new church built have had our prayers answered. While some people bow down to the almighty dollar, I'll spend my Sundays prayin' for 'em. Old County Rd. A is getting awfully crowded these days, what with the boom in population across the county. I blame that interstate that came through the region not too long ago. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As you can see, I've tried my hand at 'beautifying' the shoreline around the 'fancy homes.' It's as far as I've gotten, and I'm still experimenting. What do you think? Successful? Any sets I should have to complete the look? BTW, the new terrain mod and water mod I have are a HUGE improvement! Thanks to those that made 'em and to 1000...0 for suggesting them! Again, thanks for the warm welcome and positive feedback with this City Journal. I hope you enjoy reading and looking as much as I enjoy building and posting. Have a great evening!

This is quite stunning! The ruins are great and I love the way everything interacts so perfectly with the terrain. Really inspirational stuff.

1000000000000000000, Thanks for the suggestions. When you say I need to tweak the shores, do you mean what you suggested? Rocks and such what? I'll look into it. I have the MTP pack (I think). Is that 'rocky' enough or is there another set you'd recommend? As for the water mod, I have one that looks quite nice in the 'up close' views, but the larger overviews, it causes it to be bright blue. That's my poor attempt at Photoshop, haha. I made the water darker in post-production. Utvaw, Thanks a lot! I appreciate the comment.

Mild Nooby Disclaimer Below: Good afternoon, Simtropolis! I've been a member of this site for years, but haven't been very (if at all) active. I am an avid RCT3 player and have been a member of that community for several years. Recently, however, I've fallen into a slump and decided to pick this game back up. I'm just now discovering all the wonderful custom content that's available, and as such, this City Journal will be very "vanilla." I'm downloading things as I think of them, but there's several years to catch up with. If you think there's anything worth downloading that I haven't, please let me know! I am still learning how to build, how to play, and how to make the most of the limitations of this game. That being said, I am excited to finally show off what I've done. I look forward to your critiques and suggestions. Now, with that disclaimer out of the way, onto Smeethe County. ------------------------------------------------- Welcome to Smeethe County, on of the largest counties in the region. Here in Smeethe, we believe in a simple way of life: work hard, live right, make the best of what you have. The picture above is the town of Smeethe, the oldest (and largest) city in the county. It's still growing, but it has long since eclipsed the other small towns that dot the county. Here's a look at our downtown district. It's simple and straightforward, but as the years have passed, we've come to love our little main street. Smeethe is a decidedly middle-class town, and that is reflected throughout the area. As the city grew, it began eating into some of the farmland. This little area here is a good example of what's been happening. While farmland is still king in Smeethe County, each year, we lose a little more towards more 'modern' development. Throughout the county, there's little pockets of 'unincorporated' housing. This riverside community is one such example, although they're close enough to Smeethe that they regard themselves as residents. Across the river and down County Road A sits the small town of Rivercrest. This area also relies heavily on farming. This is where the county school is located: Smeethe Memorial, named after the founder of the region. In this picture, you can see how the area is connected. Co. Rd. A isn't very large, but it doesn't need to service much traffic. Not many folk come out this way...but we like it like that. ------------------------------------------------- I hope you've enjoyed the inaugural entry to my first-ever City Journal! Please leave your feedback. I'm used to critiques, so don't be bashful. I'm looking to improve and always looking for ways to be more realistic! Thanks and have a great day!