Jambi

Welcome to Bonne Isle everyone! I've been lurking on Simtropolis for years with nary a post to my name. So why not hit the ground running? The following city journal has been in the works more or less for three years or so, never getting very far before I clear the board and start my region all over or get sidetracked by some other project. So finally after a marathon of zoning and plunking down buildings I decided to finish it up. A Pocket Guide To Bonne Isle takes place in 1950 somewhere in the Great Lakes Region of North America. It's based loosely on Northern and Western Michigan cities like Traverse City and Muskegan. I was also inspired by other journals such as Digby East Coast Region and Adventures In New Urbanism. I wanted to do something to present Bonne Isle as someplace grounded in reality with a history like those fabulous journals did. It won't be a very long journal, but I hope that what you see will more than make up for that. Besides, there's always the ability to continue on if I want to. I've made my screen shots to look like pages in a book of aerial photography. They won't be the largest size possible, so I hope you won't have to squint. Also, I've photoshopped the heck out of most of them. So anything you see that you can't figure out what kind of mod it is probably isn't. Speaking of mods, I've used several, most of which I can't remember offhand, although a lot of them are Peg products. These all look great and also work well on my Mac with no dependencies, which I'm far too lazy to hunt down (unless I see something on the exchange that looks really cool). If you see something that you want to know more about, just ask. I'll try to hunt down which Lot or BAT or Mod it is as opposed to amassing a big list right here. I'm not a very technical player so what you see is based more on how it looks to me instead of whether or not I play the game according to the rules. This is an artistic endeavor. The artist Mark Ryden said that if you delight yourself, others will be delighted. I hope you enjoy Bonne Isle as much as I was delighted to make it.

Well, here we are. The last post in this current incarnation of Bonne Isle. My intention has always been to show the island as a snapshot in time, not as an ever evolving city journal. I may continue on in the future (I've actually laid out some new roads and dropped in a business or two already), but considering how long it took me to get this version up, who know how long it will be. Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone for their comments, including the last three from Benedict, Will, and jacqulina. They're all much appreciated. So here are the last few pics. Thanks again! Jambi

Fold up that big Bonne Isle Map. Next Time: We wrap up our trip to 1950's Bonne Isle and see what the future might bring.

Originally posted by: Nardo69 Looks nice but don't they build larger RR station at such junctions even if the next seddelemtn is rather small? quote> Thanks Bernhard. I have no idea. Maybe not around Bonne Isle. Originally posted by: Benedict Excellent stuff as always. Great name for the railroad, and I love the way it cuts through Eastwood Ridge.quote> Thanks. I don't know if that's how it would really be done but I thought it looked cool too. Originally posted by: nihonkaranws Excellent stuff as always indeed. You astounded me again. Yay, Canadians (my cousins)! Ha, hope to see more soon!quote>Yay Canada! And that's where we're going next!

Been so long you can't remember where you are? Especially when you've got a big Bonne Isle map right here. Next Time: We visit our neighbors on the Canadian side.

Charles, Silur, Nardo69, Packersfan, thanks all! I'll have a new update shortly!

Since I've been asked a few times, here's a quick and dirty visual guide to how I make my book pages. I started by making the spine, inside cover, and pages of the book. This is all done in Photoshop using various paper textures manipulated in ways I can't recall. I actually made much of the book a few years ago but didn't get around to making my city journal until recently. I'd probably do this in a different way now if I were to start over. Next, I take several screen shots of the area I want to appear on the pages. In this example we're looking east over Belle Oak Borough. Because the in-game screen only shows the borough that's in play at the time, I take shots of the adjacent boroughs and butt them up against each other so that it doesn't look like the land just "ends". At this point I take out such things as the yellow arrows at the edge of the map, as well as things like wind generators that I don't want showing up. It was difficult powering up certain areas without having to build them and I didn't want to ruin the illusion that this was a rural area in 1950s Midwest America. I also change colors of buildings just for fun too and blend the water color so it's consistent across the whole picture. When I've finished with that I add a false sense of perspective. By using the distort feature in Photoshop I squeeze the top half of the picture so that the roads look like they converge on a point far in the distance. Once the picture is all manipulated I add it to the book. I put it on a layer above and set it to "multiply" so that the texture of the paper will show through. You probably can't see it though, but I know it's there. Here you'll also notice that I added some haze up in the right hand corner to give it some atmosphere like we're looking over a long distance from high up in the air. Here I've placed border lines showing where the other boroughs begin, along with the compass that looks like the one from the game. I'm not completely happy with how the perspective on the compass looks, but it'll do. Then I add the street names which I double check for placement on the Bonne Isle map. I've put a darker blurred color behind so that the names will show up better against the map. After that a white strip with the island map is added as an introduction. I finish this step by putting in the page numbers (making sure I get them numbered right), and making up names for things that don't appear on the Bonne Isle map. To finish up the page I add this layer on multiply to add shadows and some grunge to make it look aged... ...and this page set to "screen" for highllghts At last, the finished page comes out to look like this: Next Time: We'll finally take a look at some of Bonne Isle's neighbors!

Originally posted by: Almighty Nienaber how do you do that?quote> Stay tuned and all will be revealed.

Sorry it's been so long since an update. I was inundated with work and then was on vacation away from my computer. I felt so alone being away from it for so long. Anyway, I'll have a real update shortly. Originally posted by: Benedict Another good update - I really like the name Badger Cliffs.quote> Thanks! Originally posted by: ky72x Hehe, I like that postcard. You can only guess why. This CJ continues to be a standout with the book format, excellent pics, and nice captions. Your captions blend humor and daily/long-term issues very nicely. I really like that! Impressive overview shot of the area, and that's one clever hiding spot for police cars. - Kylequote> Thanks, Kyle. It was fun coming up with back stories. Originally posted by: Opals25 Originally posted by: Jambi 10 points for anyone who can find the real world Bonne Isle and tell me what it's real name is. Hint: there ain't much there.quote> Looks an awful lot like Neebish Island. Can I use my 10 points for a new update?quote> You win! I wanted to make an island and just happened to be flipping through my Michigan Gazetteer when I saw it. Your 10 points have been allocated to the upcoming update.

Nice downtown! I like that it's not overdone, just a few nicely placed tall buildings. It looks like a nice place to live.

Originally posted by: CallbatHey, are those the White Cliffs of Dover in that first bit? quote>Probably, likely. I'm not sure where I got that photo.

Looking for a way off the island?/B] Look on the big Bonne Isle map right here. That concludes our tour of Bonne Isle... Next Time: We'll take a look at some of Bonne Isle's neighbors!

Smarty218, nihonkaranws, lucky7, thanks all! New update coming in minutes.

Originally posted by: bbfan02 Great work and update!quote>Thanks once again, bbfan02! Originally posted by: ky72x Beautiful presentation of the updates in the form of a book/tourist guide. It looks very nice! Even though you don't use too much Custom Content, the ones that you did use are great choices for a town like St. Helen. Keep it up, and I'll be sure to return for more. - Kylequote> Thanks. I found that a lot of the custom content wasn't working properly on my Mac. But I discovered that If I first downloaded it to a PC (which I sometimes have access to) and then copy to my Mac it works okay. Who knew? So in the future I might have some more custom stuff in there. Originally posted by: thatdamguy I love your photoshop skills, they are extremely impressive! I also love the small town feel of this last page! Great job quote> Thank you very much. I'm always trying to improve my photoshop skills. Sometimes I feel like such an amateur when I see what other people do. And I look at some of the stuff I did here, much of it having been done for a year or more, and already think I would have done it differently. You might not see it, but below the surface all I see is sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. I guess we're always learning. Originally posted by: farmer-alex I could spend hours reading all the pictures and narrative.... *looks at clock* Oh. I have. haha Looking forward to more. quote> Oh, thanks for that! I'm glad that I've been able to hold your interest for that long! Originally posted by: Benedict Love the wine stains quote> Originally posted by: The_Hutt The photoshopping really stands out to me, that's a big plus. Keep it up!quote> Thanks. I try! Originally posted by: Criquette Oh, great CJ concept and its realisation quote>I'm glad you took a look. ........ I've got a "how to" update coming up after I unveil Tapiola Borough. There's only a few more updates left in this 1950s tour of Bonne Isle. After that? Who knows what happens?

Who needs a GPS? Especially when you've got a big Bonne Isle map right here. Next Time: Our tour of Bonne Isle starts to wind down in the Borough of Tapiola!

Sand Island - just a coincidence Opals25. It sounds so unoriginal doesn't it? Truthfully, the shape and size of Bonne Isle is based on an actual island and that little piece of land was called Sand Isle already. So I didn't even make it up. I guess if the name fits, use it. 10 points for anyone who can find the real world Bonne Isle and tell me what it's real name is. Hint: there ain't much there.

This really looks great. I may have to look at how I build cities again now that I've seen your CJ. Keep it up.

If you could actually drive there, ...you might need a big Bonne Isle map like the one right here. Next Time: Bring the wine glasses. We're going to the Borough of St. Helen! quote>

Originally posted by: jacqulina looking out for more my friendquote> More coming shortly. Originally posted by: dfnva More great pics and great effects. Danquote> Thank you! Originally posted by: Benedict The lines (they look like perforations) are a mac thing - aspyr not doing a good job of porting the game to the mac. Nothing to do about them, I'm afraid.quote> Except photoshop the heck out of 'em. Originally posted by: farmer-alex Absolutely Stunning ! Your Photoshop Skills are mind blowing. Looking forward to see more. I love all the little narrative detail about people on the pictures. Keep it Up !quote> Thank you very much! Originally posted by: Callbat Wow the captions are so pleasant to read, I love it quote>Thanks again Callbat! Originally posted by: Mike the Mayor Lovely pics as usual mate, I love the Cadillac Pier Hotel!quote> I think they're going to have to expand that hotel. Originally posted by: Algorithm79 I love this CJ, Its always fun to read the little comments. I hope you do a little photoshop how-to. Great to see another mac user too! quote> Thanks for the praise. I'll try to whip up something soon. Stay tuned. Update coming shortly.

Originally posted by: wir3d Yay! A new update! I love the color of the water.quote> Me too. Much better than the stock game version. I can't remember offhand what mod that is. Originally posted by: Artur_001 Amazing album!! How did you made it? quote> Perhaps I will do a little photoshop "How to" thing so you can see. Originally posted by: suplado! wow -- the pics are well posted together with great caption and description...quote> Thanks! Originally posted by: Smarty218 Fantastic! Simply amazing, I'm very impressed with the realism and nice creative names for everything as well!quote> Coming up with names is a lot of fun. Sometimes I just look at a map and take whatever I think looks good to me. Especially for the Native American names. I didn't want to just make something up and offend anyone. Originally posted by: Benedict While I've been afk you've produced yet more detailed humorous updates - I love it!quote> Thank you! Originally posted by: seemurray2 Still loving the picture book idea, and there are some funny comments in it to go along with the great pictures - which makes it that much better! quote> I'm glad you're enjoying it! Originally posted by: Rennxx Loving the picture book so much! You can actually publish this you know Anyway, I'm Rennxx, and I'm new to this community as a member, but not as a guest! I have followed many CJs, including this one, for almost a year. This is post no.1 - nice to meet you all!quote> I'm honored that you picked my CJ to bestow your first post on. Welcome! As for publishing it, all of the pics are pretty low res and won't reproduce well for a book. Oh well. Originally posted by: Nardo69 Nice update again - I especially like the stories around that tennis pro and his neighbours And these thin line - I just remember some other nice CJ made with the MAc version with these thin lines two ... it is really a pity though Take care and don't forget to make backups! Bernhard quote> Maybe there's some setting I'm not using that's causing the lines to show up. I dunno. Anyone? Originally posted by: jacqulina wonderfull updates my friend beautifull water shots and detailsquote> Thanks again! Thanks everybody!

You won't find it on Google Maps. That's why we've got a big Bonne Isle map right here. Next Time: Let's go fishin' in the Borough of Skandia!

Originally posted by: Nardo69 \You're playing on a Mac, don't you? These thin lines on the mac version are really a pity ... quote> Yeah, what's up with those lines? I thought that was something that was universal, but I guess it's just a Mac thing. But thanks for the compliments Bernhard! And thanks again Smarty218, Callbot, Twenty20, and jacqulina. Another update is coming shortly.

Not sure exactly where you've been so far? That's why we've got a big Bonne Isle map right here. Next Time: The Swanky Borough of Cadillac!

I love that you have large areas of untouched forest and that long winding creek looks great. Not to mention the rows and rows of houses. It looks like a real town from the air. Nice to see that you've put a lot of thought into plopping just the right buildings in just the right spots too. Fantastic!

Twenty20, thanks for stopping by! I hope you found enough her to entice you to visit again. Smarty218, Mike the Mayor, thanks again! I appreciate the ego boost! I'll be posting an update soon, so stay tuned.